Jennifer Lopez needs no introduction. The American singer, dancer, and actress is known for her sultry body and toned abs. She is an inspiration for many as she has maintained a super fit and hot body even in her 40s. It is not possible to achieve such as awe-inspiring body in a day. Jennifer follows a strict diet and workout regimen to maintain fitness and energy levels required for grooving in her music videos and stage shows.
On several occasions, Jennifer has shared that daily exercise, strict diet, and never-ending desire to stay healthy and happy is what motivates her to stay in her best shape. And, as well all know, when Jennifer decides to do something, she gives it her all. In fact, her passion for staying fit has ended her up venturing into a range of supplements which are designed to help women get in shape and improve their workout routine. The supplements are specially designed to meet the specific needs of women without creating havoc on hormones. It was a simple blend of nutrients and plant-based compounds.
The singing sensation has never smoked and rarely touched alcohol or coffee in her life as she believes that you are what you eat. Your diet doesn't just affect your body but also affects the way you look. She has always loved working out and believes that staying hydrated by drinking ample water before a workout can help in pushing harder and gets more out of the exercise routine.
Jennifer believes that working out has more than just to do with your body. Working out always makes her feel happy even if it simple dancing on some days' as dance is her passion, and she always makes it a point to take some time out for moving her body as it is her key to happiness. When a person is happy and healthy, they are better able to take care of others.
Even post workout, she hydrates herself well and gives her body to required rest so that she is ready to hit it again the next day. She fuels up her body with healthy food and makes sure to get a sleep for eight hours at least. She also enjoys spending some time with her kids after the workout and sharing some healthy snacks with them. Jennifer always carries some fresh fruits and veggies to snack in-between the meals.
The pop-star tries to beat the cravings by proteins as it keeps her full and satiated for longer. And, protein is also a fabulous muscle fuel. Jennifer loves to socialise and hang-out with her friends and family. However, she makes sure to choose healthy recipes and low-calorie meals from the menu. Fish, veggies, and salad are her favourite when she's dining out.
She also believes that a man's and woman's body is different. Women store more body fat than men, but they are better at using the stored fat for energy than men. She also shares that cleaning her face after working out is a must to keep the pores clean followed by moisturising for the healthy skin. Jennifer makes it a point to work out even when she's travelling as it helps her in energising and feeling great.
Sticking to a healthy diet and regular workout routine is the secret of her envious body. No, wonder the diva looks spell-bounding even after decades. These, fitness mantras from Jennifer Lopez can help anyone stay in great shape and health.
Can Green Coffee Help to Reduce Weight?


text:
Local Natives recapture their essence on fourth LP Violet Street
By Oliver Kuscher / 25 April 2019, 12:31 BST
Violet Street
Sometimes you just need to hit the reset button.
That's effectively what Local Natives have done on their fourth album Violet Street. Their 2009 debut Gorilla Manor, named after the house they all shared while writing the album, reflected their then lively and boisterous surroundings. It also put their gorgeous three-part harmonies – instantly becoming the band's calling card – front and centre. Their 2013 follow-up Hummingbird was a much different affair. Veiled and shrouded in a sombre dusk, brought on by bassist Andy Hamm departing the group, and lead vocalist Kelcey Ayer's mother's passing, the set of songs were utterly beautiful, full of sorrow and mourning. All of a sudden this five-piece that were so bright-eyed and rowdy only a few years ago had grown up and matured, and were writing some of the finest songs, brimming with emotion.
Then they released their third album, Sunlit Youth, in 2016. But something didn't seem quite right. The intricate vocal harmonies weren't there, and nor was the accomplished song writing. Instead, there were catchy, hollow, sing-it-at-the-top-of-your-lungs hooks, and songs were diluted and thin. With the exception of one or two moments, it felt as if Local Natives took a step in the wrong direction, that they were trying to force themselves into a mould they didn't suit, and lost much of their essence and character by doing so. It left many a Local Natives fan, those that have been there from the beginning, fear the worst: that those gorgeous three-part harmonies and that thoughtful song writing might never be heard again.
But with your first steps onto Violet Street, fears are allayed immediately. The symphonic, beat-less opener "Vogue" sets the scene. Strings and pianos cascade all round like perfect little drops of rain, as Ayer's falsetto takes to the skies. Not long after, the strings reappear on lead single "Café Amarillo", a reflective, shaded number, with the group's trademark harmonies resplendent and crystalline. They give anxious thoughts like "I don't wanna die before I learn to live" an eerie beauty; the kind of thoughts that are peppered throughout the album – the worry of "how long can I ask you to wait" in the mellow, quivering "Someday Now", the despair that "everything was easier before" in "Tap Dancer", a delicate, melancholy ballad.
Their existential quandaries manifest themselves in brighter, more buoyant moments too. Second single "When Am I Gonna Lose You" – its title saying it all – bounces with a propulsive energy, layered vocals colouring the verses before it unfurls into a glittering chorus. On "Megaton Mile", it's "darkest after dawn", yet it flutters on a warm breeze, and shines radiantly. Elsewhere, "Shy" puts drummer Matt Frazier's percussive prowess in the spotlight, with machine-gun like snares blasting through huge punches of synths and brass on its back-half, and "Gulf Shores" is the biggest song Local Natives have ever written, eclipsing anything before it, with its firework explosion of a chorus, and the stunning, intricate vocal tapestry that ushers in a grand, triumphant outro.
For their fourth album, Local Natives have tapped back into the rich veins of sound from their first and second albums, taken the best elements of each – the spark of Gorilla Manor, the moodiness of Hummingbird – and used them as the foundation to build Violet Street. It's a dramatic stretch on life's road map, on which Local Natives have captured their true spirit once again.
Pearl Jamming in the Colombian capital
Nostalgia for the future: Jamie xx live in London

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
TOPIC: Ice Buildup
Steel Roof ice build up, what can be done?
Return to Ice Buildup
I have the first winter with my new steel roof. There was excessive ice build up in my opinion. My rooing company rep says it's normal. See pics at http://offen-online.com/ice_dams/Thumbnails.html The "salesman" was told of the leaking inside due to ice buildup on the old shingle roof. I was concerned at the time that ice build up would be a problem with the new steel roof. The salesman said the installers would put new vents at the top rodge and open up the venting at the soffit. It was written into the contract. The installer did open some of the soffit areas, but in my opinion he did not open enough for poper ventilation. Now the roof is sealed and working on the ventilation means taking soffit and facia down and opening the roof edges enough so ice doesn't build up excessively. The roofer was supposed to do this according to the hand written note on the contract. The representative says it's notmal and just use a roof rake or put up dams. I don't want ugly dams nor do I want to roof rake for the next 50 years. I spent $1600 on a 2 day job installation that was supposed to eliminate this problem. The leaks are gone, but from the run-off of ice along the outside siding, I would wager this ice dam problem will lead to inside water damage sooner rather than later. What can be done now that the roof is in fact "sealed" for 50 years? Who should pay? Thanks for any input.
A lot of this seems to come down to contractual agreements between you and the contractor and, as such, gets into things on which I really cannot render an opinion. From a more practical standpoint, I am curious, though, as to whether there is a ridge vent on the roof. Soffit vents provide intake but they alone do not provide good circulation along the bottom of the roof deck without a ridge ven. Your photos show the snow but they do not show me a lot about the roof geometry or actual construction. Also, I would encourage you to bring these concerns to the company that manufactured your roof as well. I am not quite sure I understand your reference to the roof being "sealed." Unless I am missing something, it should be possible to add additional soffit vents if necessary and a ridge vent. All that said, I will say that there can be certain wweather conditions when ice damming is all but unavoidable. Typically that occures when you have a lot of snow load and the temperatures stay very cold and the sun doesn't shine for an extended period of time. A properly constructed attic and roof system will help but still there can be situations where ice damming is all but unavoidable. One goal of metal roofing, of course, is to also avoid interior damages due to ice damming. Ideally, this would include protection against wall damage although if all the damage is occurring from the outside, that can be hard to control as well. Not knowing where you live, I do not know whjat all weather conditions you typically endure. This may be a case, though, where heat tape on the roof as well as in the gutters and downspouts could be helpful. I hope I have helped in some small way.


Australian Indigenous Fashion Week (AIFW™) is a fresh and exciting new event that aims to showcase and support the design talents of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders from across Australia. AIFW is now recruiting for aspiring and emerging fashion designers to get involved for Australian Indigenous Fashion Week. The Design Program gives aspiring Indigenous artists and designers the chance to learn from and collaborate with established industry professionals. For more information please click here.
Below are some examples of a custom wedding invitation we did for a client for classicweddinginvitations.com.au . They came to us with their own design and this is the result.
Fashion exposed is coming up this month. If you are a retailer, student or connected to the textile industry, it's a great exhibition to take a look at. More information available here. There are also plenty of seminars you can go to such as How social media is evolving retail, The changing fashion market and Exposing 2015 trends are our top picks. More information and bookings on the seminars are here.
The way of the future is 3D Printed lead light dresses. This out of this world dress is an example of what the future has to bring. The dress changes colour with the sound of music.
We recently did some digital printing for the 2013 Synchronised Swimming Australia Open designed by Ruby & Jennifer. Below are some samples of their designs. We look forward to seeing the finished result!


text:
package org.dohrm.toolkit.json

import org.joda.time.DateTime
import spray.json.{JsString, JsValue, RootJsonFormat}

import scala.util.{Failure, Success, Try}

/**
  * @author michaeldohr
  * @since 03/06/16
  */
case class InvalidFormatException(message: String, cause: Throwable = null) extends RuntimeException(message, cause)

trait Formats {

  implicit def transform[A](obj: A)(implicit fmt: RootJsonFormat[A]): JsValue = fmt.write(obj)

  implicit lazy val dateTimeFormat: RootJsonFormat[DateTime] = new RootJsonFormat[DateTime] {

    private val Iso8601 = "yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSZ"

    override def read(json: JsValue): DateTime = {
      Try(
        DateTime.parse(json.asInstanceOf[JsString].value)
      ) match {
        case Success(date: DateTime) => date
        case Failure(ex) => throw new InvalidFormatException("invalid_date_format", ex)
      }
    }

    override def write(obj: DateTime): JsValue = {
      JsString(obj.toString(Iso8601))
    }
  }
}

object Formats extends Formats

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
name        "opsworks_custom_cookbooks"
description "Supports custom user cookbooks"
maintainer  "AWS OpsWorks"
license     "Apache 2.0"
version     "1.0.0"

recipe "opsworks_custom_cookbooks::checkout", "Checkout custom Cookbooks"
recipe "opsworks_custom_cookbooks::load", "Load custom Cookbooks"
recipe "opsworks_custom_cookbooks::execute", "Execute custom Cookbooks"
recipe "opsworks_custom_cookbooks::update", "Update custom Cookbooks"
recipe "opsworks_custom_cookbooks::berkshelf", "Berkshelf Cookbooks management"

depends "scm_helper"
depends "opsworks_initial_setup"
depends "opsworks_commons"
depends "opsworks_berkshelf"

attribute "opsworks_custom_cookbooks/repository",
  :display_name => "URL to you Chef cookbooks",
  :description => "URL to you Chef cookbooks",
  :required => true,
  :type => 'string'


text:
Q: In Online Exam,How I Will Show The Next quest and ans After Clicking The Next Button.I Can Show Only The First quest The code I have so far tried
 protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
 {
    if (!IsPostBack)
    {
        Time();
        Question();
    }

    }
    public void Question()
    {
        int res2 = Convert.ToInt32(lblsubject.Text);
        var res3 = (from test in obj.Quest where test.subid == res2 select test).FirstOrDefault();
        if (res3 != null)
        {
            lblqst.Text = res3.question;
            opt1.Text = res3.answ1;
            opt2.Text = res3.answ2;
            opt3.Text = res3.answ3;
            opt4.Text = res3.answ4;
        }
      }
      protected void btn_next_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
      {

        /*what code to use here?this is the next button where after clicking it next question will display*/
       }

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
E-Learning Queen awaits her imminent coronation, while her loyal (she thought) band of instructionally designing cats are nowhere to be found.
E-Learning Blogs This Month: Part 2
contributed by Susan Smith Nash
Four more e-learning blogs profiled, ranging from the chatty and personable Michael Feldstein's e-literate to Jane Knight's e-program lifesaver, the e-learningcentre, to overwhelmingly encyclopedic e-learningguru and elearnopedia. All are outstanding and a huge service to the community. They encourage the sharing of knowledge and collaborations. Now, if I could only keep my "marketing brain-flashes" to myself (!). Oh well.
elearnopedia -- http://www.elearnopedia.com/Truly outstanding resources are available here. The articles on effective online instruction are both well-researched and accessible. The articles are neatly arranged by category: Academic Researchers, Educators, Developers, General Interest, and Content Managers. The articles are easy to access and useful. For example, in "Educators," I found Marc Miller, Kelly Rainer, and Ken Corley's "Predictors of Engagement and Participation in an Online Course" to be very useful, particularly from a behaviorist perspective, with a view to self-efficacy, motivation, and perceived relevancy of course materials. It did not measure the perceived difficulty of access or comfort level with modes of content delivery, which, although it would have complicated the picture, would have incorporated a realistic factor. I would be interested in seeing how entertaining, aesthetically pleasing, or otherwise semiotically compelling icons and other visual elements promote engagement. A major flaw: The citation does not appear in the portal, nor does the URL to the direct link. Marketing Brain-Flash: Slug-fest it! Add slugs (citations, URLs, author names).
e-learningguru -- http://www.e-learningguru.com/dashboard.asp This is an amazingly content-rich site, with numerous pages and nicely organized sets of links. In addition to links to articles, weblogs, and white papers, there is a useful glossary. There is a bit of information overload, and I would enjoy seeing how our wise elearning guru (Kevin Kruse) would rate the articles - perhaps not stars, or otherwise pedestrian qualitative evaluations, but by yoga poses to indicate how it makes the reader stretch. Kevin Kruse's "Blog Roll" features unique and often-overlooked weblogs dealing with all aspects of elearning. Now, what are Kevin's thoughts and insights? I, for one, would love to read a daily op-ed piece or analysis. Marketing Brain-Flash: Kevin, tell us what you're thinking!
e-literate - http://mfeldstein.com/ Michael Feldstein's e-literate has everything I love in a blog - a sense of the person behind the blog, an engaging tone, great links, articles about all sorts of things, articulate commentary, and lively ways of classifying and thinking about e-cognition, e-learning, and emerging technologies. His "site themes" give one a sense of where he is coming from: "Aggregation Sciences," "Blogo-Eroticism and Other Hype," "Open Source, Open Content," "Tools, Toys, and Technology (Oh My!)" to name just a few. His Blogroll has some of the often-featured blogs, but also a few unique ones - Surfin' Safari http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/hyatt/ and Chatterbots http://chatterbots.blogspot.com/ are wonderful. Marketing Brain-Flash: Icons for the Blog-eroticism and other eye-catching categories.
e-learning centre - http://elearningcentre.typepad.com/whatsnew/ Jane Knight's e-learning Center has been operational since 1994. The site is well-organized, functional and loads quickly (although some of the ads on the portal page are a bit distracting). The practicality and functionally of this site cannot be overstated. It is marvelous - the little things really do count. For example, I appreciate the "Reviewer's Note" at the end of each article lead-in. It is one of the best sites I have seen for individuals who either need to organize an e-learning program or completely overhaul the one they have. She provides links and information to guide individuals along each step of the way. Granted, when perusing her site one gets the sense of a giant box under the Christmas tree labeled, "Some Assembly Required" - but, thankfully, you're not alone. If you're lacking the proper tools or the expertise, consulting services are available as well. Marketing Brain-Flash: Jane has a very friendly presence. We want more! More pictures of Jane working on projects, with clients, leading workshops.
e-Learning Blogs This Month: Part I
by: Susan Smith Nash
This is part 1 in a series which profiles the content, scope, and orientation of e-learning blogs that catch my eye. These largely unheralded resources are absolute treasure troves, mainly due to the insights and comments of the blog owners, who create open communities of practice with their willingness to share, exchange, and (sometimes) rant. I've noticed a disturbing trend, however, inasmuch as fewer blogs link to other blogs, and syndication is, in some circles, becoming a thing of the past. Why? That might be worth exploring.
Stephen's Web OL Daily http://www.downes.ca/Two recent articles, "Assessing Discursive Writing" and "Barbarian Inventions" keep readers on their toes. What differentiates Stephen Downes from other bloggers is the way he does not shrink from probing the underlying ethical and epistemological issues as he deals with topics as diverse as online registrations, grading and evaluating essays, and the way the mind processes signs and symbols. Although they may seem disparate, the thread that holds these together is a concern for how the small things impact the big picture. Further, Downes follows a clear sequence of cause and effect to demonstrate how something seemingly as inconsequential as an online registration may trigger an entire series of events, with negative impact. The rubric proposed in "Assessing Discursive Writing" seeks to re-establish consistency and fairness in what is often viewed as an utterly subjective enterprise. It might be useful to take a look at how MY Access and other automated essay scoring programs develop rubrics for hand-scoring and thus "training" the program via artificial intelligence. Great links, great feeds, pithy and provocative comments.
Opossum http://www.opossum.ca/Great stuff from Opossum, located in Quebec City. Some of the items are "Les ENT dans le monde" http://www.cndp.fr/DOSSIERSIE/46/acrobat/03704111.pdf is a very valuable article, a great example of how future collaborations can take place, particularly across borders and between lesser developed and more developed nations. An example could be with the World Bank-financed education initiative (ties with the Chad-Equatorial Guinea trans-Africa pipeline), sharing could take place. Other examples in Francophone Africa could include cooperatives to facilitate the establishment of online educational initiatives in re-opening nations such as Libya.
Jay Cross -- Internet Time Blog http://metatime.blogspot.com// A good mix of personal reflection on the Internet, online education, and new trends, as well as homages to important moments; the passing of Cartier-Bresson, for one. My favorite article in the last few months was an absolutely fantastic article delineating the differences between Furl and Spurl. This article cleared up questions I had - and, made me a bit surprised to find it was such a straightforward issue. Extremely useful, with lively tone and engaging writing.
George Siemens - elearnspace -- http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/Thorough and eclectic blog, with insightful commentary by Siemens. The website, elearnspace.org is a very valuable resource with respect to evaluation, assessment, and strategic planning of one's online courses and initiatives. Siemen's view is holistic and integrative, with a view toward future developments and practical-level implementation. He has a particular talent for putting together effective diagrams.
Ray Schroeder - Online Learning Update -- http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/onlinelearning/blogger.html Schroeder is a professor of communications and director of OTEL at the University of Illinois, Springfield. Unlike other blogs that tend to focus on instructional technology, design, and administration, Schroeder incorporates a view of changing demographics and the underlying dynamics that are resulting in the widespread adoption of online learning, despite misgivings. Clear presentation, but would be nice to see a more complete index.
elearningpost - http://www.elearningpost.com/index.aspThis is one of my favorite e-learning blogs. It's amazing how many articles editor Maish Nichani manages to incorporate, with pithy and useful descriptions. According to the site, elearningpost provides daily links to articles and news stories about Corporate Learning, Community Building, Instructional Design, Knowledge Management, Personalization and more. This is quite true - the feature articles are good, too, but I wish there were more of them. Some tend to be quite specialized, which is good, but doesn't quite correlate to the level of the discussions (very lively!) and the articles and news stories.
Learning Circuits - http://internettime.com/lcmt/There is a wonderfully provocative article on having a portal. This is a timely discussion, coming as it does, on the heels of vociferous discussions on the ethical, privacy, and access problems associated with requiring users to register through a portal. They are willing to tackle issues that will undoubtedly influence the future of instructional design and useability; namely semiotics, approached through Wittgenstein. I was hoping for a more robust discussion - something from the grammar of visual design - but, it's a start.
The Learned Man! -- http://elearning.typepad.com/A unique perspective is provided by focusing on the Indian e-learning community. This is an area of great potential, with amazingly fruitful discussions and linkages available. Needless to say, the notion of open source and shared innovation is pushed to the limit here. A recent discussion addresses the shortage of trained instructional designers (and, in parallel form, the shortage of robust instructional design training overseas). The uncomfortable reality is that most formal ID programs are 3 - 5 years behind the times. Granted, fundamentals do not change; but in my opinion, it is pretty irresponsible of educational institutions to offer instructional technology and design courses that do not incorporate the latest research, trends, evolving needs, or software/systems. As in the case of video game designers, the best ones tend to be multi-disciplinary and self-taught, or receive training within the development company itself, which is an issue fraught with its own intellectual property & ethics dilemmas.
What Ralph Knows -- http://ralphpoole.typepad.com/ralphknows/Ralph Poole knows a staggering array of things - it helps, too, that he's been in the instructional technology, information technology industries for more than 30 years. His blog touches on almost all aspects, with a heavy emphasis on the technology side of the equation. I'm intrigued by his articles and reviews of skype.com internet telephony. Back in the late 90s, internet telephony was supposed to change our lives. What happened? His article makes me want to investigate. The links to Barbara Poole's online gallery are stunning. Her series of oil paintings are riveting -- my favorite is the "Saint" series. Brilliant narrative & reflexivity in the composition, the palette is evocative of Commedia dell'Arte.
The Ethics of Video Game-Based Simulation
Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.
While video game-based simulation is gaining ground in interactive, multi-user distributed online learning, underlying ethical and philosophical issues remain unaddressed. These are, in some cases, quite troubling, because learner lives can be at stake. In other cases, profound issues dealing with instructional strategies and design are often only tangentially touched upon. This article identifies the ethical issues involved in using simulation in education and training, explores some of the conceptual and philosophical bases, and proposes ways to address the problems and adjust instructional strategies.
Specifically, this article examines the role of video game-based simulation used to prepare members of the military for combat situations. As opposed to the simulations of the past which focused on driving fast cars and piloting aircraft, the new generation of video game-based simulations focus on player-player interaction, and derive much from first-person shooter games. In contrast with the earlier versions of games, in which the goal was to accumulate enough points to go to different worlds or "levels," the new games combine the "sim" world-building experience, with customizable avatars to reflect the player's constructed persona, weaponry, and team members. Incorporating artificial intelligence, the game allows computer-controlled soldiers the ability to respond to student commands from a matrix of possibilities, each selection weighted via algorithms that build in probabilities and randomness.
Perhaps the most well-known of these video game-based simulations are the Full Spectrum Warrior and Full Spectrum Command, which were developed by the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), employing the skills of Oakland-based Legless Productions' project management, Santa Monica's Pandemic Productions for the game development, and Sony Imageworks for the art assets. Not only have these two games received accolades from the Army; they have also become full-fledged commercial successes. Full Spectrum Warrior runs on Microsoft Xbox, while Full Spectrum Command is a PC-based game, accommodating multi-player as well as single-player settings.
The result the ICT initiatives and other such video game-based simulation projects is something that military training centers and training directors enthusiastically endorse. They cite improved training efficiencies, cost effectiveness, and a fine-tuned alignment of training with the actual job to be performed, particularly in terms the development of cognitive skills needed in highly specialized activities utilizing highly technical equipment.
For example, Brigadier General Frank A. Panter, Jr., Commanding General of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, points out what are viewed as indicators of quality: number of realistic scenarios that a student will experience; replicating the stress of the real situation; engaging the affect by being perceived as "fun" and "challenging." Gen. Panter states that the "MCWL is currently experimenting with the Combat Decision Range (CDR). The CDR uses facilitated, multimedia-driven combat scenarios to build artificial experience.
In a typical 45-minute training session, the Marine makes more tactical decisions than in a week in the field. CDR has been exposed to the operating forces through the infantry regimental training centers and other units. It is highly acclaimed by participants as a stressful, fun, challenging and very beneficial training tool" (Panter 2003).
He also points out that using video-game simulations as well as other types allows Marines to obtain a training experience of uniformly high quality, and to familiarize oneself with always-evolving high-tech equipment. Modeling likely scenarios and logistical challenges is also cited as an advantage of such training, as is the way that small unit leadership and fire team coordination are developed.
At this point, and important distinction should be made between video game-based simulation and the kinds of simulations employed by flight schools, air traffic control centers, and the military. One such simulation environment has gaming elements, but is large enough for individuals to move about in and develop the physical dexterity and cognitive skills they will need in the actual situation. Dubbed the MOUT, which is an acronym for Military Operations in Urban Terrain, the portable simulators fit in three shipping containers, with final dimensions of 8 ft wide by 9 ft high, and 20 ft long (Wilson, Nov 2003).
They have been shipped to various field training locations, as well as to forward locations, such as in Afghanistan. The simulators have equipment that generates smells, sounds, and sights (lasers, etc.), and allow students to monitor themselves via cameras, recording equipment, motion detectors, and other sensors that allow individuals to "score" themselves.
There is no doubt that training with large-scale, multi-sensory, role-playing simulation equipment is effective. However, truly distributed training is not available for everyone if there is a reliance on simulation equipment. Thus, PC-based simulations based on video games are viewed as ideal. In many cases, the video game-based simulation is used in conjunction with larger, full-scale simulation units.
For example, Full Spectrum Command was first used in conjunction with the Army's MOUT at Fort Benning, Georgia and classroom instruction (Wilson, Nov 2003). The students were asked to develop mission plans as a homework assignment, then to come to class prepared to discuss them and to input them into the game. Later, they emulated some of the conditions and contingencies in the MOUT's onsite large simulator.
However, when one moves into the area of PC-based video game-inspired multi- or single-player simulation, the issue becomes a bit muddy. Ethical issues abound.
Training Efficacy: Does gaming-based simulation really prepare people in the way they need to be prepared?
Perhaps the first and most obvious ethical issue is that of training efficacy. Obviously, it is unethical to claim that a video game is a simulation when it is not. A distinction between "simulation" and "scenario" must be observed, and the simulation must replicate lived experience in more than simply the visual. It must mimic the kinaesthetic by having similar controls. Further, decision-making must incorporate the same factors and conditions as the world that is simulation. For example, Full Spectrum Warrior contains a playbook with such features as "Crossing a Street Under Fire." This can be intriguing to a person who has been watching television footage of action in Baghdad, for example. It can seem like a godsend for a soldier who is about to be sent into a situation where he / she will have to cross a street under fire. Now, one has to hope that the instructions and the scenarios in the simulation are realistic.
Does it really happen this way? It had better do so, or lives will be lost.
The simulation claims to prepare the players for real-life situations by presenting the most likely scenarios, equipment, and avatars possible. To reiterate a point, to not do so is fraudulent and harmful to individuals who may experience physical consequences if they do not act appropriately.
* Equipment in the game must be as faithful as possible to the appearance, functionality, and uses (predictable and unpredictable) as what will likely be encountered in real life. The controls need to be as realistic as possible as well.
* The scenarios need to be as realistic as possible. They must be designed and tested by people who have actually been in the places involved.
* The avatars - the characters in the game - must be as realistic as possible, with appearance, actions, response times, and scripts as accurate as possible. The algorithms that control the "dialogue buckets" must have some randomness at the beginning, but ideally the system should "learn" the player through artificial intelligence.
Illusion of Randomness
It is vitally important that the players maintain the illusion of randomness so that the scenarios, actions, and other items expand the number of envisionable possibilities. The better simulations in the PC-game-based world are those that involve multi-player actions, and which are customizable.
Randomness, or at least a high degree of unpredictability, allows individual players to develop creative problem-solving skills and to make decisions quickly.
The problem with most games is that they feature "charms" and magical amulet-type pieces which, unfortunately, do not exist in the real world. The player who is used to being able to gain lives, power, or magical abilities by grabbing rings, flashing jewels, amulets, or other items, may experience a kind of cognitive disconnect when confronted with the real-life situation.
The other problem is that of the seductiveness of entertainment. The person who will spend hours playing an engaging video game, or who enjoys the game-inspired simulation may or may not make the connection to the real world. The pleasure and "reward" stimuli in the simulation / game environment are not likely to be the same in the real world.
Further, the real-world "rewards" - the social interaction and human bonding - employ different techniques in the real world. To take an extreme example, let's take a look at first-person shooter games. According to James Paul Gee, in the realm of the video game, "shooting" is "having a conversation" and a kind of "social interaction grammar" comes to the foreground. Needless to say, a first-person shooter game-based simulation and a live-fire practice activity employ different social interaction grammars. Shooting a person is not a good way to bond. It doesn't even send a very good message.
The ethical problems of mixing grammars are severe, yet no one seems to be addressing this. One cannot "translate" first-person shooter game to live fire and expect positive results. And yet, that is precisely what the intellectual model assumes when it proposes such a tactic for transfer of knowledge.
Invincibility is not merely entertaining, it invites hubris and/or mission-endangering grandiosity
To be entertaining and to trigger the fantasy-projection aspect of video games in order to have the player want to identify with the protagonist, the video game must feature main characters of superhuman flexibility, strength, and pain-free injury.
The characters must be very "Lara Croft" in order to "sell" - but what are the ethical implications of identification with an avatar that dies painlessly, accompanied by a somber musical signature. There may be an adrenaline-charged moment or two, but they are generally pleasurable. The gaming-based PC simulation does not incorporate thirst, hunger, nausea, pain, dizziness, shock, or other conditions under which a fighter must work in the real world.
Further, when a Lara Croft action figure is employed, the player identifies with the fantasy-qualities and loses sight of the real mission at hand. That is probably unavoidable, given that only with great difficulty is the simulation addressing problem-solving issues that are connected to something. In other words, the "situated learning" that occurs is only situated within the identity of the player; there are no actual tasks and embodied action (the memory of lived experience) does not factor in at all. Needless to say, the player becomes engaged in a fantasy identity construction activity, and pays little or no attention to anything else.
Translate from 3D to 4D in the real world
Navigating real highways and roads using Mapquest is probably on of the best "situated meaning" simulation activities on the Internet. More simulation games should employ the techniques used there. Note that the virtual world represented by Mapquest is at all times connected to a tangible reality that the player must interact with. It is clear at all times that the graphical depiction of reality corresponds to a tactile reality; and, that errors in decision-making have an immediate negative consequence (wrong roads, getting lost).
Abstract notions are rooted in metaphors for embodied experience (Lakoff 1987) and comprehension is grounded in perceptual simulations that prepare agents for situated action (Barsalou 1999).
While Kress and van Leeuwen and others suggest that naturalistic color, lighting, etc. "count as real" (Kress and van Leeuwen 2003), Mapquest's simplified graphical representation and the user's easy identification of that as having a corresponding reality in the real world seems to argue the opposite point.
In the case of warrior-preparing video-game based simulations such as "Full Spectrum Command," the very naturalistic color lighting, and perspective encourage identification and a belief (a suspension of disbelief) in the verisimilitude of the representation.
The Dangers of Dehumanization
Playing a well-designed video game is a pleasurable social experience. To be honest to the experience, a video-game simulation of war should be unpleasant, uncomfortable, and horrifying, as is war itself. However, to fill players with horror, fear, nausea and pain would probably be viewed as demotivating, and it would be difficult to have popular acceptance of the technique as an effective training tool.
Further, many have argued that video game-based simulations encourage dehumanization, by encouraging the players to view other players as objects rather than sentient beings. Oddly enough, this may actually be a benefit, particularly to those in the infantry who are on the front lines and will actually be called upon to see the person they kill (as opposed to artillery or aerial-delivered bombs). Killing is often requisite upon the ability to consider the person a "target" and to disassociate oneself from the action.
Undetected Obsolescence
The training efficacy of a simulation is a function of its relevance to real-world situations. In the world of asymmetric war, particularly in urban settings, the techniques and approaches constantly change. In fact, this is the key to tactical advantage. Thus, a game must be modifiable and adaptable in order to accommodate new equipment, tactics, and players.
Although the designers may shrink at incorporating ethically unsavory tactics and enemy actions, it is necessary to do so, particularly when there are attempts at disguise, entrapment, booby traps, and improvised explosive devises. If the designer does not accommodate the ever-evolving world, the simulation is worse that useless; it is dangerous.
SMEs are Not God, but they do create worlds, and if they get it wrong, you can die.
The quality of a scenario is only as good as its verisimilitude, and its ability to represent the cast, the conditions, and the equipment the players are likely to encounter in the real world. Authenticity and relevancy are key factors. The subject matter expert team needs to "ground truth" often. In designing the simulations, the project managers must ask questions: Who decides what the scenarios are? What are the decision-making points? How many options are presented? Does the system employ adaptive learning? When and how are modifications allowed?
These questions are vital to preserving the integrity of the experience and avoiding the temptation to focus on the entertainment value, rather than focusing on the most important decision-making, leadership, and physical skills to be developed.
Mentor No More: Forgetting how mentorship happens on the ground (trust, etc.)
Although video game-based simulations claim to develop team-building and leadership skills, this is not always the case. The temptation is always to "cowboy" the game and to indulge identity fantasies rather than to develop the skills that will lead to missions accomplished, lives saved. Mentoring is vital. Individuals need to be able to see a seasoned leader and to be able to emulate him or her. Further, trust is developed in the team, and through shared danger, rescue, and extended bonding. This is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in the video-game simulation world.
Perhaps the most persistent ethical issue remains in the area of training efficacy. Other issues are briefly alluded to, and include access, integrity of the experience, dehumanization, and instructional design. This article assumes video game-based simulation for military applications for individuals who are already either active duty or reserve forces. It does not touch on the ethics of using an entertaining experience or satisfying social interaction to recruit individuals to enlist for an experience that is utterly devoid of the glamour, non-stop excitement, pain-free, and freedom from loneliness, anxiety, and discomfort of the game. Further, in a game, no one really dies.
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McPherson, M. and Baptista Nunes, M. (2004). The failure of a virtual social space (VSS) designed to create a learning community: lessons learned. British Journal of Educational Technology. 35 (3): 305-321.
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Pelligrino, J. W., Chudowsky, N., & Glaser, R. (2001). Knowing what students know: The science and design of educational assessment. Washington, D. C.: National Academy Press.
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Wolf, M. and Perron, B. (Eds.). (2003). The video game theory reader. Bristol, PA: Taylor & Francis.
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Yan, Z.; Hao, H.; Hobbs, L. J.; and Wen, N. (2003). The psychology of e-learning: A field of study. Educational Computing Research. 29 (3): 285-296.
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E-Learning Queen awaits her imminent coronation, w...


Come out and enjoy some wine and music with us, for our first concert since harvest started! Haywired band will be here performing this afternoon, and music will run from 1-4pm. Seating is first come first served, so late arrivals may want to bring their own chairs. You are welcome to bring a picnic, and wine will be sold by the glass or bottle. This event is free to attend, and well behaved children and dogs are welcome. Dynamic vocals and great jams are the hallmark of Haywired band. Liz Schuler plays rhythm guitar, Chris Hunefeld plays lead guitar and violin, Mark Giuseponi is on mandolin and muted trumpet while Scott (Wristband) Porco plays bass.
Try something new, discover Lodi Tempranillo and taste Spain's most popular variety! To celebrate International Tempranillo Day there will be a self-guided tour of 9 Lodi based wineries producing a Tempranillo the second weekend in November (9th-11th). Visit any one of the 9 participating wineries to collect a complimentary guidebook and begin your exploration of the 3rd Annual Lodi Tour of Tempranillo. Each winery will have a different offering and many will have special tastings only available at this event. Participants will be entered in a raffle for each winery they visit. We are excited to be a part of this event again, and will be sampling our 2014 Tempranillo (limited), releasing our new 2016 Tempranillo, and also sampling the 2014 & 2015 Spanish Suite.
Looking for that special, unique gift for the holiday season? Come sip some Heritage Oak wine, and shop a variety of goods from local vendors selling hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind items from 11 AM to 4 PM on Saturday, December 8th. Jewelry, soaps, olive oil, artwork, photography, candles and more will be on display and for sale. We'll have live music in the afternoon with Frankie & Annette. We are also looking to fill a few more vendor spots. If you're interested, download and send us this FORM or respond via email with the needed information. Thank you.


But wait! for this month there's still more.
A double special for the month of October!!!!
In celebration of World Card Making Day, Stampin' Up! is offering the following promotion throughout the entire month of October: buy a Simply Sent Card Elements kit and get 20 percent off the coordinating stamp set–no limit!


In the history of bonsai, it is noted that the origin of bonsai is found during China's Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD). A picture of bonsai was found on the grave of Lee Hyun Prince Zhang Huai, who was the son of King Tejong. However, this ancient historical tidbit is an error and is in need of correction.
During periods of three Korean dynasties, myriad gardens included ponds that were nature-arctically built.
In classic history books Vol #3 of Back Je Bongi, Vol#26~27 and Samguk Sagi by Busik Kim, it is recorded that during King Munmu Sinra Dynasy (675AD) there were, in the royal palaces, plants flowered between rocks which brides took care of.
Even further back in history, images of bonsai can be traced back to Koguryeo Period (34BC ~ 926AD), where image of dance grave (ad300 ~ AD500) included bonsai and the images of bonsai were engraved on its headstone. It is approximated that the graves were created around 300AD - 500AD.
The grave prints of Dukhung-Ri, which is dated back to Dec. 12th 408AD ( Jin Died at 77 years of age), and of An-Ak #3 grave, which is dated back to 357AD show the same Buddhist forms of water-lily (lotus) as is shown on dance graves. This connection shows that the dance grave was during the same period.
These images of bonsai on dance grave of Koguryu Dyansty is at least 200 years prior than the ones found during China's Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD).


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Department of Economic and Social AffairsDESA
Mr. Wu Hongbo Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
Remarks at the Opening of the Second Committee of the General Assembly
8 October 2012, New York
Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished Delegates,
Let me begin by congratulating all the Bureau members, and you, Mr. Chairman, on your elections.
In a world facing increasing uncertainty and risk, this Committee continues to play a central role in guiding and fostering coherent policy responses.
I note, too, the Committee's recent discussions on both its working methods and the six special events proposed for this session.
I eagerly await their outcomes.
As you pursue your agenda this year, you can count on DESA's full support.
Once again, the world economy is teetering on the cliff.
DESA's latest forecast projects global GDP growth of just 2.5% in 2012 — and barely more for 2013.
Glaring weaknesses include: poor job growth; a still fragile financial sector; unsustainable public debt; social inequalities, and ecosystems in peril.
Getting the world back on track will require tackling all of these.
This is no easy task.
Yet, to focus on economic challenges alone would be an equally grave mistake; getting the world on a more sustainable development path must remain a high priority.
Three ongoing processes look set to reshape the UN's development work.
The first is the follow-up to the recent Rio+20 Conference, which articulated a far-reaching vision.
It is now our responsibility to help turn that vision into reality.
In this regard, the General Assembly will deal with a number of issues, including
promoting agreements on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
developing a facilitation mechanism to disseminate eco-friendly technologies, and
adopting a 10-year framework of programs to encourage sustainable consumption and production pattern
The Second Committee will guide these important discussions, paving the way for the adoption of a number of resolutions for action.
At Rio, Member States also reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to Small Island Developing States by agreeing to hold a major conference for 2014.
Here, the Second Committee should lay out a platform on which to coordinate balanced, integrated action in support of SIDS.
Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) remains foremost on our collective agenda. Yet, we are aware that we have only three years remaining to achieve these goals.
With this in mind, we have embarked on the second major process – preparations for the post-2015 UN development agenda. DESA is co-leading the UN Task Team charged with planning, together with UNDP.
The third — and no less prominent — process I'd like to draw attention to are efforts to strengthen global economic governance.
This remains very much a work in progress. Yet achieving a more stable, resilient, development-friendly global financial system and strengthening global economic governance is critical to the health of the world economy.
Rio recognized this, too, pointing out the major role an improved financial system could play in mobilizing resources more efficiently for sustainable development. This would require, among others, building infrastructure, boosting human capital, and encouraging technology transfer.
An important test of our resolve to build "the future we want" will be measured in how successfully we strengthen cooperation — both within the UN system, and with all our development partners.
Take the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) deliberations. These deliberations are an important step forward, which will largely define how the UN system operates for years to come.
Here, whether advising on questions of impact or efficiency, the entire UN system is counting on the Second Committee for leadership. Indeed, some areas in particular would benefit from your special consideration, such as:
Better responding to country-specific development challenges.
Improving both the UN resident coordinator system and program performance reviews, and
Weaving "effectiveness" more fully into development cooperation dialogue.
A clear and precise resolution on QCPR will help the UN development system in becoming more responsive to the changing development landscape.
This Committee has made historic decisions that have helped prevent crises, inspire visionary changes and put the world on a more sustainable path.
As we continue to grapple with multiple challenges, we need, above all, continued leadership and commitment. The choices we make now will shape the UN development agenda for a generation.
I wish the Committee success as you navigate the journey ahead. Please rest assured that DESA, and I, myself, stand ready to support your work.
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Doku and Dimata called up by Belgium, no place for Benteke or Batshuayi
Anderlecht youngsters Jeremy Doku and Landry Dimata have been handed their maiden senior call-ups for Belgium, although there was no place for Michy Batshuayi or Christian Benteke in Robert Martinez's squad for next month's Nations League matches against Denmark and Iceland.
Winger Doku, 18, has established himself as a first-team fixture at Anderlecht over the past year, where Dimata, 22, has returned after missing the entirety of last season with knee damage by scoring two in the opening three Pro League games of 2020-21.
"Doku is an exceptional talent," Martinez said. "He brings something very important in modern football and that is his qualities in one-on-one situations.
"Dimata has a special profile. A number nine is a very important profile for us.
"Just that he has already played three matches can be important for us. We have always rated him highly and think this is a good time to include him in the group. "
Benteke has been a mainstay in Martinez's squads up until this point despite a dwindling goals return – he managed six over the course of the previous three Premier League seasons at Crystal Palace – while Batshuayi has struggled for opportunities at Chelsea, where the arrival of Timo Werner does little for his prospects.
"On Batshuayi and Benteke we have had direct contact with their clubs and it turned out that it was better that they did not travel and did not leave the training camp," Martinez said.
"It is not a football decision. Benteke is in our plans. Batshuayi had a difficult season, but has a lot of credit because of what he did before for the national team. "
Explaining his selections, Martinez suggested players competing in Belgium's domestic competition, such as three-times capped Anderlecht midfielder Yari Verschaeren, had been granted an advantage due to their season already being up and running.
"September will be a strange period," he said. "Some players are coming out of a rest period, so it is a good time to use players who have already gained rhythm.
"Especially for players with a great future. It will be a good experience for players like Doku and Verschaeren."
Thomas Vermaelen was not named in the 29-man group, but Martinez explained the Vissel Kobe defender would be added if his travel from Japan could be cleared.
Belgium travel to face Denmark on September 5 before hosting Iceland three days later in Group A2, which also features England.
Belgium squad:
Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge), Hendrik van Crombrugge (Anderlecht); Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Hertha Berlin), Elias Cobbaut (Anderlecht), Jason Denayer (Lyon), Leander Dendoncker (Wolves), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Jan Vertonghen (Benfica), Timothy Castagne (Atalanta), Thomas Meunier (Borussia Dortmund); Yannick Carrasco (Atletico Madrid), Nacer Chadli (Monaco), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Dennis Praet (Leicester City), Youri Tielemans (Leicester City), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Borussia Dortmund), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid), Yari Verschaeren (Anderlecht); Dries Mertens (Napoli), Divock Origi (Liverpool), Jeremy Doku (Anderlecht), Landry Dimata (Anderlecht), Romelu Lukaku (Inter), Leandro Trossard (Brighton and Hove Albion).
FIFA revises rules on releasing players for September international window
Clubs will not be obliged to release their players for duty in September's international window if it will mean a period of quarantine.
FIFA has revised its rules after consultation with UEFA, whose member associations are involved in next month's international friendlies and Nations League matches.
With the COVID-19 crisis still affecting daily life across the planet, football's governing body has introduced temporary measures to help to reduce the health risk to players and impact on clubs.
As such, clubs will not have to release their players to represent their countries if it would involve a mandatory period of self-isolation of at least five days.
That applies whether the period of quarantine would take place in the country of origin or arrival.
"In light of the recent evolution of the coronavirus pandemic, the Bureau of the FIFA Council has unanimously decided to temporarily adapt the rules concerning the release of players during the upcoming September international window, which is to be played only by UEFA member associations," read a statement.
"The situation of the pandemic is rapidly evolving across the world and many national governments have again implemented travel and immigration restrictions due to a renewed increase in COVID-19 infections.
"Some of these measures directly impact international competition, such as mandatory periods of quarantine or self-isolation and travel restrictions.
"As a result, in order to ensure that the well-being and health of all individuals involved in international competition is respected, the Bureau of the FIFA Council has, after consultation with UEFA, decided that the general rules which normally oblige clubs to release players for national team matches should not apply in the following instances:
- there is a mandatory period of quarantine or self-isolation of at least five days upon arrival at:
- the location of the club which has an obligation to release the player to an association team; or
- the location where a representative team match is scheduled to take place;
- there is a travel restriction to or from either location (a. or b. above); and
- no specific exemption from the relevant authorities relating to the above decisions has been granted to players of a representative team.
"Furthermore, all participants in matches during international windows must abide by the health and safety protocols established by the relevant competition organiser."
The revised measures apply from August 31 to September 8 for men and from September 14 to 22 for women.
Barcelona winger Trincao wins first Portugal call-up
Barcelona winger Francisco Trincao has been called up to the Portugal squad for the first time for September's Nations League matches against Croatia and Sweden.
The 20-year-old has joined Barca for the start of 2020-21 after a €31million fee was agreed with Braga.
Trincao and Granada goalkeeper Rui Silva, who is also uncapped, have been included in Fernando Santos' 25-man squad for the start of their Nations League defence.
Wolves quartet Rui Patricio, Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Diogo Jota have been included, as has Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, despite the two clubs having competed in the latter stages of the Europa League this month.
Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva and Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix are all in the squad.
Portugal face Croatia at Estadio do Dragao on September 5 before taking on Sweden in Solna three days later.
Portugal squad in full:
Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Rui Patricio (Wolves), Rui Silva (Granada); Joao Cancelo (Manchester City), Nelson Semedo (Barcelona), Domingos Duarte (Granada), Jose Fonte (Lille), Pepe (Porto), Ruben Dias (Benfica), Mario Rui (Napoli), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund); Danilo Pereira (Porto), Ruben Neves (Wolves), Andre Gomes (Everton), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Renato Sanches (Lille), Joao Moutinho (Wolves), Sergio Oliveira (Porto); Diogo Jota (Wolves), Andre Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Francisco Trincao (Barcelona), Goncalo Guedes (Valencia), Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid).
Luis Enrique backs new boss Koeman to succeed at Barcelona
Luis Enrique believes Ronald Koeman's Dutch mentality is ideal for Barcelona and is convinced the club will soon start winning trophies again.
Koeman left his job as boss of the Netherlands to take over at Camp Nou following the sacking of Quique Setien, who paid the price for the 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Sporting director Eric Abidal soon followed, while superstar forward Lionel Messi is reportedly considering his future.
Spain boss Luis Enrique led Barca to nine major trophies in three seasons as coach, including a LaLiga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble in the 2014-15 campaign.
He has backed Koeman, a legend as a player at Barca, to turn things around and says Barcelona will come out of the malaise.
"He has the Dutch mentality, very similar to that of Barca," he told a news conference when asked about Koeman.
"Training Barcelona is an immense joy, it is never the worst moment. Then you have to manage it, but these are days when there is always sun.
"It happens to all the big clubs. Now comes more difficult moments. The history of the great clubs is full of these situations.
"They will win titles again soon, but I don't know when. That's the million dollar question."These players are used to this. They have [broad shoulders]."
Asked if he sees Messi leaving Barca, he replied: "Only Messi can answer that."
Luis Enrique named a fresh-looking squad for Spain's upcoming matches against Germany and Ukraine, with Barca's rising star Ansu Fati and Wolves winger Adama Traore included.
"I know him [Fati] perfectly. I think he has the level to be with us," Luis Enrique said of the teenager.
"I would say that only Messi has a higher minute-to-goal ratio than him at Barcelona. I want to see him here. It will be very important."
On Traore, he added: "We have followed him for a long time, since I was in Barcelona. He does many things.
He is a diamond, a brutal potential that can bring us many things. He has even come close to the goal. And he is willing and hungry."
Ansu Fati and Adama Traore called up to new-look Spain squad
Barcelona rising star Ansu Fati has been called up to the Spain squad for next month's matches against Germany and Ukraine.
Wolves winger Adama Traore is also included, having missed out on making his international debut last November due to injury.
In something of a fresh-faced squad, head coach Luis Enrique has also added Manchester City defender Eric Garcia and Real Madrid midfielder Oscar Rodriguez, who has been on loan at Leganes.
There are also places for new Manchester City signing Ferran Torres, Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simon, Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino and Sevilla full-back Sergio Reguilon, another Madrid loanee.
Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba has been left out and there are no players from Atletico Madrid in the squad.
Spain to play Portugal in October friendly
Spain have announced they will travel to Portugal for a friendly on October 7.
The fixture between the neighbouring countries will be staged in Lisbon ahead of both featuring in Nations League games during the October international window.
Luis Enrique's squad are scheduled to host Switzerland on October 10 before travelling to Ukraine three days later - Germany are the other team in Group 4.
Defending champions Portugal, meanwhile, are away to France on October 11, followed by a home game against Sweden.
Spain are also set for friendly duty against the Netherlands in November, with that meeting originally set to take place in March before the coronavirus pandemic caused major changes to the schedule.
Euro 2020 was pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 crisis, with the tournament now set for June and July in 2021.
England announce Wales Wembley friendly in October
England have announced a friendly against Wales at Wembley on October 8.
Gareth Southgate's side will take on their cross-border rivals behind closed doors in their first home game of 2020.
The last meeting between the two countries was in a group match at Euro 2016, when England secured a 2-1 victory courtesy of Daniel Sturridge's last-gasp goal.
After taking on Ryan Giggs' side, World Cup semi-finalists England face a Nations League double-header with home matches against Belgium and Denmark on October 11 and 14 respectively.
England will use the Wales fixture to stage a tribute to former internationals who have died in the past 12 months, including 1966 World Cup winners Jack Charlton, Martin Peters, Norman Hunter and Peter Bonetti.
Coronavirus: Original 12 Euro 2020 venues confirmed for rescheduled tournament
All 12 host cities for Euro 2020 will remain the same when the tournament takes place a year later than planned in 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis.
A meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee was held via videoconference on Wednesday.
After their deliberations, European football's governing body announced a host of decisions, including on how the Champions League and Europa League would be completed.
It was also confirmed the original 12 venues would host matches in the rescheduled Euros.
The meeting had been postponed in May after UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said nine cities had affirmed their commitment to hosting, though there were issues with the remaining three.
But those concerns have been alleviated and, along with confirming the 12 venues, an updated match schedule was also approved.
The tournament will begin with a game between Italy and Turkey in Rome on June 11, 2021 with the final taking place a month later in London on July 11.
Baku, Copenhagen, Munich, Budapest, Amsterdam, Dublin, Bucharest, St Petersburg, Glasgow and Bilbao are the other host cities.
"All existing tickets remain valid for the tournament in 2021," added a UEFA statement.
"Existing ticket buyers who nevertheless wish to return their ticket(s), will have a final opportunity to request a refund from June 18 to June 25.
"The Executive Committee expressed its appreciation to the host associations, cities and their authorities for their continuous support and commitment in organising the postponed Euro 2020."
Four spaces in the 24-team competition remain up for grabs as the play-offs are yet to take place.
The October and November international windows are to become triple-headers rather than double-headers, meaning those ties can be played on October 8 and November 12.
Meanwhile, a new season of Nations League action will begin on September 3, with group-stage matches taking place at regular intervals until November 18.
"UEFA took a bold decision when it decided to postpone Euro 2020," said Ceferin.
"But in doing so, we created the space which has allowed domestic club competitions across the continent to resume, where possible, and play to a conclusion.
"While the game has suffered huge difficulties as a result of the pandemic, those blows would have landed much harder if we had not shown leadership in those early days."
Coronavirus: UEFA pays €70m advance to clubs for releasing players
UEFA has paid out €70million of benefits in advance to clubs that released players for European Championship qualifiers and the Nations League.
Following a meeting of its executive committee on Thursday, UEFA announced payments that were scheduled to be made upon completion of the Euro play-offs – which were postponed in March amid the coronavirus pandemic – have been brought forward.
According to the governing body, 676 clubs from its 55 member associations will receive amounts ranging from €3,200 to €630,000 for allowing their players to participate.
The funds form a chunk of a €200m pot UEFA distributes to teams as part of the memorandum of understanding with the European Club Association (ECA).
The remaining €130m will be shared among clubs that release players for the European Championship, which was pushed back from June and July this year to 2021 as result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
"European clubs are an integral part of the success of our national team competitions," said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
"As a result, a share of our national team competition revenues is distributed to the clubs which release players for those matches.
"In these difficult times when many clubs are facing financial issues, especially with their cash flow, it was our duty to make sure that clubs receive these payments as quickly as possible."
ECA chairman Andrea Agnelli said: "This represents a much-needed liquidity injection into club finances and is a result of ECA's joint work with UEFA on safeguarding clubs at this time of existential threat.
"Whilst public health remains our primary concern, securing financial, legal and regulatory relief in advance of restarting football across Europe, once it is safe to do so, is of paramount importance to ECA and its members."
Coronavirus: UEFA and clubs commit to ending season by June 30
UEFA has announced a commitment to see all European and domestic club competitions for the 2019-20 season completed by June 30.
Earlier on Tuesday, following discussions during a video conference convened by UEFA, it was announced Euro 2020 would be postponed by 12 months to account for the impact of the coronavirus pandemic upon the sporting calendar.
That theoretically freed up room for remaining club commitments to be seen through by the recognised end of the season - June 30 being the date when out-of-contract players would normally cease to be employed by their clubs.
European football is on a virtual continent-wide shutdown as part of efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19, with the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and LaLiga on hold until the start of April and Ligue 1 indefinitely.
Last week, UEFA postponed its forthcoming Champions League and Europa League ties, with both competitions in the midst of their last-16 phases.
A release signed by the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, European Club Association chairman Andrea Agnelli, European Leagues president Lars-Christer Olsson and FIFPro Europe president Bobby Barnes specified "a commitment to complete all domestic and European club competitions by the end of the current sporting season, i.e. 30 June 2020 at the latest, should the situation improve and resuming playing be appropriate and prudent enough".
The statement continued by outlining flexibility in terms of scheduling domestic matches in midweek slots and UEFA club competition fixtures at weekends, and added "possible adaptations" to the qualifying rounds of the 2020-21 Champions League and Europa League were possible if the June 30 target date is not met.
Reports earlier on Tuesday floated June 24 and 27 as potential respective slots for the Europa League and Champions League finals.
A working group comprised of UEFA, league and club representatives will now be established to find solutions "allowing for the resumption and/or conclusion of the current season in a coherent manner".
A second working group will be established at a later date to assess the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and offset any adverse consequences.
Any completion of club commitments must factor in the scheduled June international break, when UEFA intends to stage qualification play-offs for what is now Euro 2021.
The Women's Euro 2021, the 2021 European Under-21 Championship and the 2021 Nations League finals will all be rescheduled as a result of the men's European Championship moving to July 11 to June 11 of that next year, although UEFA has not confirmed new dates for those affected tournaments at this stage.
Nations League draw: France to meet Portugal and Croatia, Germany grouped with Spain
France and Croatia will play out a repeat of their World Cup final having been drawn in the same group in the 2020-21 Nations League with defending champions Portugal, while Germany and Spain will go head-to-head.
Fernando Santos' side won the inaugural competition last year, beating Netherlands 1-0 in the final thanks to Goncalo Guedes, though Group 3 looks set to significantly test their mettle this time around – Sweden also joining them with Croatia and France.
The format of the competition changes slightly this time around, with the groups containing four teams rather than three, but as before the top team from each of the four groups in League A will meet in the Nations League finals.
Italy will fancy their chances of reaching the final stages having been drawn with Poland, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Netherlands, the latter likely their biggest challengers.
In Group 4, Germany and Spain will be the favourites ahead of Ukraine and Switzerland, while England and Belgium are in Group 2 with Iceland and Denmark.
The competition will commence in early September, with the Finals set for June 2021.
Group 1: Poland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Italy, Netherlands
Group 2: Iceland, Denmark, Belgium, England
Group 3: Croatia, Sweden, France, Portugal
Group 4: Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Switzerland
Group 1: Austria, Norway, Northern Ireland, Romania
Group 2: Czech Republic, Scotland, Slovakia, Israel
Group 3: Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Hungary
Group 4: Wales, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Bulgaria
Group 1: Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Montenegro
Group 2: Armenia, Estonia, Macedonia, Georgia
Group 3: Moldova, Slovenia, Kosovo, Greece
Group 4: Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Belarus, Albania
Group 1: Malta, Andorra, Latvia, Faroe Islands
Group 2: San Marino, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar
Man of the Match Andre Fletcher's 89* powers Melbourne Stars…
Barcelona forced to delay presidential elections due to coro…


Tarantulas can use their legs like paddles to row across the water, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.
On Halloween, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department posted a video to social media of a tarantula "swimming" across some water in West Texas. The video quickly garnered views and attention. Many people recoiled. Others showed support for the spider.
"Awww HAIL NAW... U gotta burn the whole park now," one Instagram user said.
"Oh dear God! They're learning! We must stop them before they master doors and then firearms!" another person said on Instagram. A third person asked whether or not the spiders could go up waterspouts.
Those who were less spooked expressed concern for the hairy spider, which is known to breathe through a small opening in its abdomen. The department confirmed the tarantula did make it to the other side, using its legs as paddles to row across the water.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department shared a video of a tarantula "swimming" at Big Bend Ranch on Halloween. The video quickly garnered thousands of views on social media. The tarantula is pictured above.
"Do you promise he made it? You're not just saying that to make me feel better?" one person commented on Instagram.
A second added: "Go, little spooder!! Thank you for posting this, our native arthropods don't get nearly as much love as they should."
The video was taken at Big Bend Ranch State Park, but the spiders can be found all over Texas. Though their bites are venomous and can be painful, they do not typically cause lasting harm to humans.


PETALING JAYA - The Johor Football Association (JFA) have promoted Azmi Mohamed from the Premier League squad to coach Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) for the Malaysia Cup next month.
The 42-year-old Azmi, who has barely two years of coaching experience in the Premier League, has been summoned to take charge of the star-studded team with immediate effect. Fandi Ahmad, who was the coach in the Super League, is now the team manager.
Earlier on July 19, the JFA had announced that former Atletico Madrid and Valencia coach Cesar Ferrando Jimenez would replace Fandi as chief coach of JDT for next season.
"I have been instructed to handle the team (JDT) for the Malaysia Cup. The new Spanish coach will arrive in the middle of next month to look at the team and watch some of the Malaysia Cup matches," said Azmi.
The 16-team Malaysia Cup kicks off on Aug 20. JDT have been drawn in Group B with PKNS FC, T-Team and Felda United.
Edres Selamat, Azmi's assistant in the Premier League, will now take charge of the Johor team for the Malaysia Cup. Johor, who finished third in the Premier League, have been drawn in Group A with Selangor, Armed Forces and Sime Darby FC.
An optimistic Azmi is relishing the challenge ahead of him.


Music like the music that Ezra Bell makes is living proof that not all musicians need to hide behind heavy effects: fuzz, distortion, reverb, and even auto-tune to make music that people really enjoy listening to, and that was very apparent at their EP release last Wednesday. They played alongside the Bevelers and Fanno Creek, gracing Mississippi Studios with some deeply beautiful, danceable and heartfelt tunes.
The Bevelers played first as the crowd filtered in, and although the two-piece group has a soft demeanor, it was impossible not to pay attention. The foundation of their whole set is their two beautiful voices creating harmonies so sad and lovely at the same time that you want to get lost in the world that their voices create.
Ezra Bell played second in the evening when attendance was at its peak, kicking off their set with a few familiar songs. Ezra Bell is such a complex machinery of humans and instruments and it seems like having 7 people on stage, something shouldn't work about their set-up. But everything works. Their music is complicated yet not cacophonous, focusing more on interesting sound pairings than everyone fighting for focus. Even the bass and drums took turns being the lead rhythmic force of a song, which felt uncommon, but was just one of many facets of their music that sets them apart from other folk-pop bands around Portland and beyond.
The audience at Mississippi Studios was stoked to see them, cheering loudly between songs and singing along with their older music, which sounds every bit as tight as their recordings. It's rare that a local band can get an entire audience to dance along rather than stand stoically, arms crossed, but it's really hard not to dance when you listen to them.
Fanno Creek ended the night with a surfier, and less folk influenced set by comparison. Ezra Bell was the ideal middle point between Fanno Creek and the Bevelers because unlike the previous bands, Fanno Creek is heavier and more bluesy. They were the perfect choice to end the night though, because, despite a big chunk of the audience leaving, those who stayed were ready to dance and Fanno Creek is dance-y as hell.
Active since 2011, Boston's The Life Electric play rather aggressive but always melodic rock'n'roll, with psych and disco influences. Their personal guitar sound is crafted through carefully chosen stompboxes, so we decided to ask them a few questions about their gear and creative process - check out the interview on Delicious Audio.


Home Access Center: I've started posting grades into Home Access. Please, check weekly to stay up to date on your child's academic progress. Link to Home Access Center. The Home Access link is on the Welcome page of my website. If you still have trouble logging in please contact our school's front office.
Donors Choose: Our Donors Choose Project was completely funded thanks to many of you! We received our comfy chairs and lap desks today. The kids got a chance to test them out too!
Writing: Personal Narrative Unit. Continued to explore Watermelon and Seed ideas. We learned about conjunctions and how to use a conjunction (and, but, or, so, nor) in a sentence. We also started our personal narrative using the "Explode the Moment" strategy to get our sequence of our narrative in order. We'll work on our rough drafts and revising/editing our personal narratives next week.
Reading: We learned a some new ways to develop our reading comprehension this week. We used the "Visualization strategy" and "Fiction Comprehension Check Questions" this week in our reading journals. We also met with our Reading Partners too!
Math: We wrapped up our Charts and Graphs unit with a quiz today. The unit test for this will be combined with the Unit 2 test later this month. Please, remind your child to "show their work" when doing math problems at home. It's just as important to see how your child is understanding and thinking about a math problem as it is in getting the right answer. Points will be deducted for not showing math work (only giving answer) on worksheets, quizzes and tests!!
Social Studies: Continuing to love Class Dojo as it helps us to follow our Social Contract in class. We also did a fun inferring activity with the constitution.


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Q: Java: txt file into a 2nd array So, the first problem is how I can get the number of column from the file txt.
The file is like that:
WWWSWW\n
WWW___\n
WWWWWW\n
W_____\n
WWW_WW\n
W_____\n
W_W_W\n
WE____\n

In this example I have 8 rows and 8 columns but I have to extract that from the file.
Another problem is I can't return the array to another class.
My code:
File file = new File("maze.txt");
Scanner scanner = new Scanner(file);
//contar as linhas
List<String> lines=
Files.readAllLines(Paths.get("maze.txt"),Charset.defaultCharset());

int noOfLines=lines.size()-1;
char[][] myArray=new char[noOfLines][noOfLines];

//this read the file and make the array
for (int row = 0; scanner.hasNextLine() && row < noOfLines; row++) {
    char[] chars = scanner.nextLine().toCharArray();
    for (int i = 0; i < noOfLines && i < chars.length; i++) {
        myArray[row][i] = chars[i];

    }

}

A: I'd read the entire file as you did, and then just use Java 8's streaming capabilities to do all the heavy lifting for you:
char[][] maze = lines.stream().map(String::toCharArray).toArray(char[][]::new);


Virtuoso ecstasies of demonic proportion from Ohlsson, who helps usher in the Liszt bicentennial.
Garrick Ohlsson (b. 1948) helps usher in the Liszt bicentennial with these April 2009 readings of two massive keyboard works, the 1850 (organ) transcription of Meyerbeer's "Ad nos, ad salutary undam," from his opera Le prophete--here arranged for piano in 1897 by Ferruccio Busoni--and the mighty B Minor Sonata from the year 1852. Prior to Ohlsson's thunderous performance of the Ad Nos Fantasy, I knew only one recording, that of the Russian virtuoso Yevgeny Mogilevsky, made some twenty years ago.
Ohlsson plays the Ad Nos Fantasy for sheer girth and magisterial might; the addition of Busoni's thick chords and deep-toned bass figurations only magnifies the impact that this three-sectioned colossus achieves. The first part, a gripping Fantasy, has Ohlsson's negotiating stentorian sonorities that adjust Meyerbeer's original triple meter to a martial duple meter. A slow haunted transition leads to the Adagio, a serpentine theme that modulates to a major key variation in the form of a canon, a device clearly indebted to Bach. The stepwise motion of the Adagio aligns the piece with several of Liszt's "Pilgrimage" works of the period. Besides a marvelously lucid texture, the piece boasts rippling sonorities, what one commentator calls an "angelic arpeggiando final episode" in antiphonal registers. The chromatic fugue subject proceeds in broken style in dotted rhythm, the movement slightly suggestive of Liszt's Spanish Rhapsody. Ohlsson's potent aggression almost overwhelms the recording process, the sudden thrusts of sforzato shattering and manic. Busoni's transcription tries to emulate the organ's diapason, sending competing registers and figures in manifold directions, a virtuoso ecstasy of demonic proportions. The lovely Boesendorfer Imperial Grand makes a superb Liszt vehicle, ably prepared by William Schneider of Michigan state University.
The Ad Nos Fantasy may be a tough act to follow, but Liszt's own B Minor Sonata manages to lift the gauntlet. From the low G that opens this blazing interpretation, Ohlsson seems consciously scale the heights his precursors--Horowitz, Arrau, Wild, and Bolet--achieved in their respective traversals of this through-composed epic work. Its one-movement evolution into four sections takes its structure from Schubert's Wanderer Fantasie and C Major Phantasie for Violin and Piano and simultaneously looks forward to Schoenberg's Verklaerte Nacht. The nocturnal elements in the thematic transformation appeal to Ohlsson's equally fervent dedication to Chopin--although, ironically, the music of Schumann, the work's dedicatee, has little to say to Ohlsson. The huge masses of sound--monumental stretti, in fact--rather, compel Ohlsson's fluent attention, including a brilliantly wicked trill in the midst of stunning runs and broken chords. Improvisational, declamatory, rhetorically extravagant and romantically whimsical, the work embraces every affect, every humor. That Ohlsson extracts its essential singing line raises the level of performance well above the merely virtuosic into the realm of demonized, often contrapuntal poetry, one of the great Liszt statements for the new millennium.


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Councillors' Surgeries
Hatfield Cemetery
Town Council Bye-Laws
Recreation Grounds
Notice of Elections for Casual Vacancies
Election Results 2015 and 2016
Town Council Newsletter
Annual Towns Meeting
Community Activities & Notice Board
Local Characters
Twinning Association
Hatfield Library News
Declarations of Interests
Notice of Vacancy - Dunscroft Ward
Results of Previous By-Elections
Recording of Meetings
1914-18 Remembered
Town Council Action Plan
Friends of Jubilee Park
What your Council does
CORPORAL HARPER VC
One of our most well known local heroes is, of course, Corporal J W Harper who was the only Yorkshireman to be awarded the Victoria Cross in World War II. He was born in Hatfield on 6 August 1916, the son of George Harper, himself a corporal in the Royal Garrison Artillery during the Great War, serving on the Somme, Types and Loos. He attended Hatfield Woodhouse school and met and married a local girl, Lily Marshall. He enlisted into the York and Lancaster Regiment in 1940 and lost his life on 29 September 1944, aged 29, whilst in action in Depot-de-Mendicite, France and is buried in the Leopoldsburg British War Cemetery in Belgium. He was, therefore, awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. Corporal Harper's actions were recorded in the London Gazette as follows:- "The success of the Battalion in driving the enemy from the wall and back across the dyke must be ascribed to the superb self sacrifice and inspiring gallantry of Corporal Harper. His magnificent courage, fearlessness and devotion to duty throughout the battle set an example to his men, rarely equalled. Such conduct in the face of direct close range enemy fire could have but one result but before he was killed, Corporal Harper, by his heroism, had ensured success for his Battalion in a most important action. The success of the attack on the Depot de Mendicite can be fairly attributed to the outstanding bravery of Corporal Harper."
You can see a memorial to Corporal Harper in Hatfield Cemetery.
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The TGB building is coming up for sale soon and I was able to get a sneak peek this past Friday. Was my first time in the building and I was pleasantly surprised.
Here are some pictures and my first impressions.
Is located across from Pershing Square in between the financial district and the jewelry district. The building stand alone and is surrounded by parking lots. The area is improving a lot and is very walkable. A few thing to note are the farmers market on 5th St and the gorgeous Perch Restaurant.
The building is charming with lots of character and historical architectural details. Each unit comes with valet parking included in the HOA.
There are 76 units and 68 will be up for sale in September. The other 6 units are being purchased by current tenants. Most of the units have views and good light, since there is currently no other building close by. There are 2 level units and some with balconies.
The bathrooms and nicely appointed and the kitchens have nice appliances with gas stove for the cooking minded buyers. One thing that caught my attention was the abundance of closet space, with most units having walk in closets.
Prices are around $700 per Sq Ft. One bedrooms will be on high $600's, Two bedrooms will start on the high $700's. Penthouses will be on the Millions and some of them are spectacular including one with a infinity pool.


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Gallagher Premiership / General
Saracens Snap Up Back-Row From Premiership Rivals
by Jason Hennessy · January 17, 2017
Saracens have announced that flanker Calum Clark will join the club from Premiership rivals Northampton.
Clark has put pen to paper on a three-year deal at Allianz Park and will move to his new club at the end of the current season.
The back-row moved to Northampton Saints in 2010 from Leeds and has gone on to represent England Saxons and England during his time at Franklin's Gardens.
On his decision to sign for Saracens, Clark said:
"I am very fortunate to have played for a great club like Northampton. I've had a difficult 18 months on and off the field and I feel like I need a new challenge. As ever, I am fully committed to playing to the best of my ability for the remainder of my time at the club."
"I feel very privileged to have been given an opportunity at Saracens. They are always a difficult side to play against and I'm looking forward to taking on a new environment and getting a fresh start in the summer."
Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall said:
"Calum is a very talented player and will fit in brilliantly here at Saracens. He is still a player with a huge amount of potential and in our opinion he has his best years ahead of him. We're looking forward to welcoming him to the club later this year."
Clark is Saracens' third signing for 2017/18 season, following the announcements that Wales international Liam Williams and Toulouse hooker Christopher Tolofua will also be making the move to Allianz Park in the summer.
"We're very happy to secure Calum's signature, along with Liam's and Christopher's, as we continue to build for the future," said McCall.
"We have identified a handful of players who we felt would improve what is now a stable, successful and developing squad and we're delighted to have been able to wrap up these signings for next season."


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Hollywood Hints for Filming Bellairs
File under: adaptations, film
Blogger custardpringle has some commentary on any proposed film adaptation, so listen up!
Photographic Memories: Marshall
File under: bellairs walk, michigan
Photographer Lee Rentz recently visited Marshall, Michigan, and shares some of his thoughts and photographs documenting his tour of Michigan Avenue, including Hemmingsen Rexall Drug Store.
Celebrate Edward Gorey's Children's Books
File under: events, gorey
Celebrate Edward Gorey's Children's Books with a visit to the Edward Gorey House and their exhibition of original works by Edward Gorey for his own children's books and illustrations he created for many other authors. The Edward Gorey House is pleased to announce the 2008 opening on Thursday, April 17th and running though December 21, 2008.
Our exhibit will show many of Gorey's original pen and ink, watercolor, and preliminary pencil illustrations for children's books of his own creation, and for other noted children's authors including Peter Neumeyer, Florence Parry Heide, Edward Lear, Hilaire Belloc, T. S. Eliot, and others. Special books such as Gorey's only pop-up book, The Dwindling Party and the three-dimensional accordian book The Tunnel Calamity are highlighted. A unique focus of the exhibit will be early drawings and illustrations by Gorey from his childhood years.
Links: Edward Gorey House EGH Press Release
Something About Eternal Flames
File under: history
Voynich News noted this fact recently, allowing the words "Voynich" and "Susanna Hoffs" to grace the same page.
Links 1 comment:
A summary of Brad Strickland's forthcoming book, The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer:
In Michigan in the mid-1950s, Lewis Barnavelt is convinced that the series of accidents he and his uncle are experiencing are the result of a curse by a mysterious, hooded figure that may be part of his uncle's past.
Remembering the Old Man of the Mountain
File under: curse of the blue figurine, massachusetts
We're a bit behind in marking the fifth anniversary of the demise of the Old Man in the Mountain but our friends at roadsideamerica.com remembered. They also share the story of a New Hampshire artist wanting to replace the stone head with a glass one.


I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to use your Gratitude oil to be grateful for every moment.
Popping my Inner Defense pills like crazy over here to stay 100% healthy! They have made a HUGE difference. Have you tried them? What has been your most effective product for staying healthy this winter?
Star or flag this email so you can reference back to it all month long!
10 oils for Self-Care – Don't skip this part!
NingXia Red: Explore fun and creative ways to take your NingXia Red while learning about all the health benefits of this nutritional supplement drink.
New Year to Wellness: Get simple lifestyle changes for you to incorporate daily in the new year!
Be sure to LIKE and Follow our page.
Lemon: Diffuse for a clean uplifting scent.
Lavender: Apply to feet and diffuse before bedtime.
Frankincense*: Diffuse or apply to forehead for grounding, meditation, or prayer. Also, add a drop with Lavender to your face moisturizer for a youthful appearance. * Free 15 ml Frankincense this month when you place a 400 PV order!
PanAway: Apply to feet after a long day.
Raven: Diffuse for a SPA experience. Use on your chest before and after exercise.
Thieves/Thieves Vitality: Diffuse Thieves for a peaceful cinnamon winter scent. Add a drop of Thieves Vitality to your daily NingXia Red* to support your immune system. *This stuff is a game changer for daily living. If you want more info, respond to this email and let me know!
Copaiba: Diffuse or apply for calming and relaxing your body.
Citrus Fresh: Diffuse for a calming and uplifting atmosphere.
StressAway: Roll on your wrist and inhale whenever you feel occasional stress!
Do these oils look familiar? You should have them! =) If you use all these daily, you will DEFINITELY feel taken care of and relaxed.
Joy has a beautiful floral scent. It is a blend of Bergamot, Ylang ylang, Geranium, Lemon, Coriander, Tangerine, Jasmine, Roman chamomile, Palmarosa, and Rose.
This time of year can be especially overwhelming and busy. Whether you are a stay at home mom or dad, hold down a corporate job, or are building your own Young Living business, Joy oil will keep your spirits lifted and is sure to carry you joyfully through the end of the year.
Add 3-4 drops of Joy essential oil to your diffuser or a drop onto your diffuser necklace and bracelet to uplift your mood.
If you are feeling sad, USE THIS OIL!
Dilute or use fewer drops if the scent is too strong.
THE YL PROMOS ARE AMAZINGLY GOOD!
15 ml Frankincense: I already talked about this one under "10 oils for self-care." This one is pricey, so any time you can get it for FREE, TAKE ADVANTAGE. YL is so generous!
D. Gary Young: The World Leader in Essential Oils book: Reflect on our foundations. This impactful book, written by Young Living Co-Founder and CEO Mary Young, gives an expansive overview of the life, passions, and achievements of Young Living Founder D. Gary Young.
5 ml Gathering: Bring loved ones together. When diffused, it provides a tranquil and welcoming space for everyone.
5 ml White Angelica: This oil protects you from negative energy around you. Put a drop or two in your hands and glide your hands over your entire body as if you are covering it in a shield of White Angelica and then enjoy the wonderful scent!
5 ml Joy: The featured oil of the month in this newsletter! See the details above!
15 ml Pine: Fake tree this year? Bring the pine scent into your home by diffusing Pine oil. 4-6 drops in the diffuser should do it!
5 ml Lemongrass Vitality: Add 1-2 drops to a vegetarian gel capsule and take as a dietary supplement to support your overall wellness.
*Receive these two oils when your 400 PV order is placed through the Essential Rewards program, which is the best way to save money and support your health. If you need more details on this, let me know!
When you earn five points, you'll receive two festive YL-branded mugs in white with red speckles.