text:
Q: Use python regex to catch similar strings I have 2 strings of form:
Beta_Gambus_teta_some_changeable_string_2017.02.1276 and
Beta_Gambus_teta__some_changeable_string_update_2017.02.1276

Example:
 Beta_Gambus_teta_wqtr_2017.02.1276.ctr
 Beta_Gambus_teta_wqtr_update_2017.02.1277.ctr
 Beta_Gambus_teta_tpsedr_2017.02.1276.ctr
 Beta_Gambus_teta_tpesdr_update_2017.02.1277.ctr
 Beta_Gambus_teta_cnmsr_2018.02.1279.ctr
 Beta_Gambus_teta_cnms_update_2018.02.1279.ctr

I need to catch with regex the ones with 'update' in them separated from the ones without 'update' in them.
I'm using ^.+_(.+)\.ctr$ but it is to broad.

A: Unless you're not telling us something, regex is not at all needed here...
strings = ["Beta_Gambus_teta_wqtr_2017.02.1276.ctr",
           "Beta_Gambus_teta_wqtr_update_2017.02.1277.ctr",
           "Beta_Gambus_teta_tpsedr_2017.02.1276.ctr",
           "Beta_Gambus_teta_tpesdr_update_2017.02.1277.ctr",
           "Beta_Gambus_teta_cnmsr_2018.02.1279.ctr",
           "Beta_Gambus_teta_cnms_update_2018.02.1279.ctr"]

with_update = []
no_update = []
for s in strings:
    if "update" in s:
        with_update.append(s)
    else:
        no_update.append(s)

Even getting rid of the if:
res = ([], [])

for s in strings:
    res["update" in s].append(s)

no_update, with_update = res

And both gives:
>>> print(with_update)
['Beta_Gambus_teta_wqtr_update_2017.02.1277.ctr', 'Beta_Gambus_teta_tpesdr_update_2017.02.1277.ctr', 'Beta_Gambus_teta_cnms_update_2018.02.1279.ctr']
>>> print(no_update)
['Beta_Gambus_teta_wqtr_2017.02.1276.ctr', 'Beta_Gambus_teta_tpsedr_2017.02.1276.ctr', 'Beta_Gambus_teta_cnmsr_2018.02.1279.ctr']

A: You may try using the following pattern for the update match:
Beta_Gambus_teta_[^_]+_update_\d{4}\.\d{2}\.\d{4}\.ctr

and use this pattern for the non update match:
Beta_Gambus_teta_[^_]+_\d{4}\.\d{2}\.\d{4}\.ctr

Sample script:
path = "Beta_Gambus_teta_wqtr_update_2017.02.1277.ctr"
if re.search(r'Beta_Gambus_teta_[^_]+_update_\d{4}\.\d{2}\.\d{4}\.ctr', path):
    print("MATCH")

A: To match strings with _update_ use:
^Beta_Gambus_teta_.*_update_\d{4}\.\d{2}\.\d{4}\.ctr$

and to match strings without _update_:
^Beta_Gambus_teta_(?!.*_update_).*_\d{4}\.\d{2}\.\d{4}\.ctr$

Here (?!.*_update_) is a negative lookahead assertion that fails the match if _update_ is found after starting Beta_Gambus_teta_ part.

A: Have you tried the following?
.+update.+


text:
Bend Mom and Son Get the Green Light for New HGTV Show
For the past 17 years, Karrie Trowbridge has been remodeling and flipping houses in Central Oregon, so when producers with HGTV approached her about turning her day-job into a television show, she said "Yes," and the result is a new show called "Mom and Me," which just got picked up for its first full season.
However, as Central Oregon Daily's Anyssa Bohanan reports, the family's work is just beginning as they look for their next projects to undertake for the new TV show.
***IF YOU KNOW OF ANY HOUSES THAT MIGHT MAKE FOR A GOOD PROJECT FOR THE TROWBRIDGES, PLEASE EMAIL THEM AT PATRICKTROW@GMAIL.COM***
Beers, Bands, and Public Lands
City of Bend Looks at Neighborhood Parking
SkiMum: Getting Outside
Source on the Scene: Flight Aboard the Ford Tri-Motor

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home Geography & Travel Geographic Regions
region, Greece
https://www.britannica.com/place/Central-Greece
Alternate titles: Stereá Ellás
Central Greece: Oeta
Central Greece, Modern Greek Stereá Ellás, region of mainland Greece lying south of the provinces of Epirus (Modern Greek: Ípeiros) and Thessaly (Thessalía), and north of the gulfs of Pátrai and Corinth (Korinthiakós) and the Saronic Gulf.
Because the main mountain ranges of the Greek peninsula have a definite northwest-southeast trend in their major axes, the valleys, basins, and ranges of Central Greece are largely southern extensions of those of Epirus and Thessaly. Topographically, Central Greece is bounded on the north by westerly portions of the Pindus (Píndos) Mountains and on the east by spurs or outliers of the same range. The latter are continued in the northern part of Euboea (Évvoia) Island. Farther south and entirely within Central Greece, three massifs, offshoots of the Pindus, assume a more easterly trend: the Oeta (Oíti), which reaches 7,060 feet (2,152 m); the Gióna, 8,235 feet (2,510 m); and the Parnassus (Parnassós), 8,061 feet (2,457 m). Outliers of the Parnassus are the Helicon (Elikónas), Kithairón, Párnis, and Imittós (Hymettus), the last a great ridge east of the most populous area of Greece, Greater Athens.
East of Levádhia, capital of the nomós (department) of Boeotia, few peaks are more than 5,000 feet (1,525 m). These regions have few agricultural areas of significance. Exceptions are the valley of the Kifisós River of Boeotia, which was expanded for cotton cultivation after the draining of Kopaïs Lake, and the smaller Asopós River valley east of Thebes (Thíva). Other major agricultural basins are the Akhelóös (Achelous) and Évinos River basin system in Aetolia and Acarnania and the Sperkhiós River valley in Fthiótis around Lamía. A smaller but still prosperous region is the Amfissian plain that lies southwest of Delphi (Delfoí).
In contrast to these, the depressions of Attica (Attikí) are among the least fertile basins of Central Greece. To compensate, Athens (Athína) in the Kifisós Plain has the ancient advantage of a central position, with easy access to both the Saronic Gulf and the Peloponnese (Pelopónnisos) and to the lead and zinc mines of Lávrion, a port of embarkation to the Aegean Islands. Near Athens, resources of timber, pasture, olives, wine, and quality marble are plentiful. An aqueduct was built in the late 1970s to supplement the water supply of Athens, which had relied almost exclusively on the Lake of Marathon, by tapping the waters of the Mornos River, which marks the boundary between the nomós of Aetolia and Acarnania and the traditional province of Phocis (Fokída).


text:
Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain), by INXS, at 35
In August 1986 (a year I thoroughly enjoyed, as I wrote about here), INXS released the superb Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain), the third single from the excellent Listen Like Thieves album.
Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain) was written by Andrew Farriss & Michael Hutchence and released in Australia on 3rd March 1986 - in the UK we had to wait until 30th August. It was backed with Six Knots, written, performed and produced by Kirk Pengilly (it lasted 51 seconds) and The One Thing (Live), written by Farriss & Hutchence and mixed by Mark Opitz.
The third of four singles from the album (following This Time, released in 1985 in the US and Europe and What You Need in August 1985 - the first Australia/New Zealand release - and followed by Listen Like Thieves, released in the UK in 1985 but 1986 in Australia), it peaked at number 15 in Australia, 42 in New Zealand and 54 in the UK.
Falling down the mountain
End up kissing dirt
Look a little closer
Sometimes it wouldn't hurt
The video was filmed in South Australia in two locations. The white salt lake was at Lake Heart, while the red desert scenes were filmed at Moon Plains, which was also the location for Mad Max 3. It was directed by Alex Proyas who started his career making pop videos before moving to Hollywood and making, amongst others, The Crow (1994), Dark City (1988) and I, Robot (2004).
Listen Like Thieves was released on 14th October 1985 and is widely considered to be the international breakthrough album for the band. It was produced by Chris Thomas, who had previously worked with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Sex Pistols (on Never Mind The Bollocks) and Elton John and of whom Richard Clapton said, "INXS met their match - he was the only producer they've ever had who told them what they needed to hear." Michael Hutchence later said, "This is what we've been trying to do one way or another for a few years now, that is to make an album that is purely just form and function of the songs. It has no artistic pretensions." The album was recorded at Rhinoceros Studios in Sydney from June to August 1985, after initial sessions in March, finishing in August 1985 and including a break for a South American tour. The album spent two weeks at number 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart, peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard 200, 24 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums and 46 on the UK charts. I wrote about the album here, on its 30th anniversary.
The four singles released from the album all had accompanying videos.
This Time was directed by Peter Sinclair and produced by Godley & Crème
Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain) was directed by Alex Proyas and produced by Andrew McPhail.
What You Need and Listen Like Thieves were directed and produced by Richard Lowenstein, continuing the successful collaboration that had started on the previous album, The Swing, with his videos for Burn for You (which won the 1985 Countdown Music and Video Awards for Best Promotional Video), Dancing on the Jetty and All The Voices. Lowenstein would go on to establish a long term relationship with the band until Hutchence's death.
INXS: Story to Story: The Official Autobiography, by INXS & Anthony Bozza
Burn: The Life and Times of Michael Hutchence and INXS, by Ed St. John
Official Charts (UK) information
Discogs release information
Labels: 80s, behind the scenes, inxs, michael hutchence, music, retrospective
Starlog 49, August 1981
This came out forty years ago (it really, really doesn't feel it) - look at the range of terrific films it covered!
Starlog wasn't a magazine I picked up a lot - my film reading at the time was focussed more on Starburst (which I wrote about here) - but I did when they had great covers and content like this. I mean, any magazine that has Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Escape From New York and For Your Eyes Only on the cover has to be worth a read, doesn't it?
The issue features, amongst others, articles on the launch of the Space Shuttle, a guide on publishing a fanzine, storyboarding the FX sequences in Raiders with Joe Johnston, a piece on Mind Warp (a film I don't remember at all but which had James Cameron as production designer) and a feature on previous James Bond films effects (Bond presumably being an honorary SF community member because of Moonraker).
There are also interviews with George Lucas (part 2 of 3, it's quite amusing in places), Derek Meddings on his For Your Eyes Only effects (interesting and thorough) and George Takei.
They don't make them like this any more…
If you're intrigued, the magazine can be read online here
Labels: 80s, derek meddings, george lucas, james bond, nostalgia, raiders of the lost ark, roger moore
Blimey, welcome to my 900th post! After deciding to stick to a regular posting schedule (every Monday), I've thoroughly enjoyed working on the blog (especially in the depths of the pandemic) and, as ever, I'm surprised at how much I've managed to fit in since the last milestone catch up.
Since the 800th post (back in July 2019), life has been a bit weird (to say the least), but the blog's been consistent and something very nice for me to get lost into. In that time, I've had two short stories published, Mr Stix came out as an e-book and I self-published my novella The Exercise (which became, briefly, the No.1 Amazon Hot New Release!). I also wrote another thriller novel (the previous two didn't attract agency interest, sadly) and remembered my first time in print.
I went to Edge-Lit 8 and reminisced about FantasyCon, since all other cons were disrupted by covid and, bloody hell, I've really missed them), The Crusty Exterior revisited horror firsts (on video) and celebrated its 5 Year Anniversary, I got to interview Sue Moorcroft at Rothwell Library and I celebrated my creative years in 2019 and 2020 (along with the 'novels' teenaged me wrote). I also presented two sets of the Westies (in 2019 and 2020).
On the blog, I've written some book reviews, some behind-the-scenes essays (on movie miniatures and matte paintings), had fun researching some retrospectives (on The Six Million Dollar Man, Looking For Rachel Wallace, Skeleton Crew, Will You, by Hazel O'Connor, Dark Forces, edited by Kirby McCauley, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, For Your Eyes Only at 40, Raiders Of The Lost Ark at 40), carried out some Q&A's (with Gary McMahon, Sue Moorcroft, Peter Mark May & Richard Farren Barber, CC Adams, Priya Sharma, Penny Jones, Dan Howarth, Sue again (for Under The Italian Sun)), discovered an obscure gem, 1978's brilliant The Silent Partner and checked out the real-life locations of my novella The Mill.
I caught up with some Three Investigators book reviews, shared a love of novelisations (with The Professionals, The A-Team, The Six Million Dollar Man and Dead & Buried and looked at another Old School Horror (the cracking Death Tour), as well as highlighting Halloween Top Trumps.
I've written some Nostalgic pieces (on posters magazines in 2019 and 2020, the joy of Christmas Annuals in 2019 and 2020, the Usborne Book Of Ghosts, The Empire Strikes Back Letraset, Summer Specials in 2020 and 2021, Starburst magazine, More Comic & Magazine ads (in 2020 and in 2021), Mr Benn, Fangoria magazine) and wrote about the INXS singles Burn For You, Devil Inside, Suicide Blonde and Just Keep Walking, for their various anniversaries as well as the band's 1991 Summer XS gig at Wembley (the first time I saw them). I also celebrated 5 years of the King For A Year project and continued the Ten Favourite Covers thread (with some Hitchock anthologies, More Childhood Terrors, The Golden Age of 2000AD and The Three Investigators). I enjoyed some cover art from Bullet comic, Look-In and 70s British comics (in 2020 and 2021) and also celebrated The Art Of... Bob Larkin and Bryan Bysouth.
In addition, I celebrated being 5 years on from my heart attack and Dude turning 15, walked with The Black Hand Gang, watched INXS on the big screen, discovered the Tresham Dovecote with Dude, remembered Running The World 35 years ago, told a real-life Portugese ghost story and remembered the joy of Photo Stories.
The past two years have been an odd time, with more than half of it spent in various forms of lockdown and I've really missed the interaction of friends and family. Stay safe and healthy and here's looking forward to post 1000.
Labels: 500 club, dude, life, snoopy, writing
Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain), by INXS...


text:
<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace Gedmo\Tests\Tree\Fixture\Closure;

use Doctrine\Common\Collections\ArrayCollection;
use Doctrine\Common\Collections\Collection;
use Doctrine\DBAL\Types\Types;
use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;
use Gedmo\Mapping\Annotation as Gedmo;
use Gedmo\Tree\Entity\Repository\ClosureTreeRepository;

/**
 * @Gedmo\Tree(type="closure")
 * @Gedmo\TreeClosure(class="Gedmo\Tests\Tree\Fixture\Closure\CategoryWithoutLevelClosure")
 * @ORM\Entity(repositoryClass="Gedmo\Tree\Entity\Repository\ClosureTreeRepository")
 */
#[ORM\Entity(repositoryClass: ClosureTreeRepository::class)]
#[Gedmo\Tree(type: 'closure')]
#[Gedmo\TreeClosure(class: CategoryWithoutLevelClosure::class)]
class CategoryWithoutLevel
{
    /**
     * @var int|null
     *
     * @ORM\Id
     * @ORM\GeneratedValue
     * @ORM\Column(type="integer")
     */
    #[ORM\Id]
    #[ORM\GeneratedValue]
    #[ORM\Column(type: Types::INTEGER)]
    private $id;

    /**
     * @var string|null
     *
     * @ORM\Column(name="title", type="string", length=64)
     */
    #[ORM\Column(name: 'title', type: Types::STRING, length: 64)]
    private $title;

    /**
     * @var self|null
     *
     * @Gedmo\TreeParent
     * @ORM\JoinColumn(name="parent_id", referencedColumnName="id", onDelete="CASCADE")
     * @ORM\ManyToOne(targetEntity="CategoryWithoutLevel", inversedBy="children")
     */
    #[ORM\ManyToOne(targetEntity: self::class, inversedBy: 'children')]
    #[ORM\JoinColumn(name: 'category_id', referencedColumnName: 'id', onDelete: 'CASCADE')]
    #[Gedmo\TreeParent]
    private $parent;

    /**
     * @var Collection<int, CategoryWithoutLevelClosure>
     */
    private $closures;

    public function __construct()
    {
        $this->closures = new ArrayCollection();
    }

    public function getId(): ?int
    {
        return $this->id;
    }

    public function setTitle(?string $title): void
    {
        $this->title = $title;
    }

    public function getTitle(): ?string
    {
        return $this->title;
    }

    public function setParent(self $parent = null): void
    {
        $this->parent = $parent;
    }

    public function getParent(): ?self
    {
        return $this->parent;
    }

    public function addClosure(CategoryWithoutLevelClosure $closure): void
    {
        $this->closures[] = $closure;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Frenstar is a privately owned supplier of high specification Butterfly valves to the international oil, gas, power and petrochemical markets. We are seeking to recruit a Technical Sales Engineer to work at our offices in Belfast.
As we are a small business, flexibility is the key attribute we seek in all of staff that we employ. To this end the role will not consist exclusively of Sales and the successful applicant will be expected to maintain a flexible attitude and assist with all aspects of general office work ie: Order Entry/Progress of Outstanding Orders/Liaise with Customers & Suppliers etc.
This role has a heavy focus on incoming & outgoing telephone calls you would need to engage with people in a professional, technical and commercial manner so a confident and proactive approach will be required.
If you are qualified in an engineering subject this would be an advantage but will not be a key factor as we believe product knowledge can be just as useful.
We are looking for someone who is highly motivated, enthusiastic and persistent and enjoy the challenge of finding new sales opportunities.
Two years post education experience in an engineering environment.
Full training will be given to become an integral and valued part of our business.
Closing Date: Friday 26th April 2019 at 12.00pm.


Finding someone to take beautiful, touching photos of the most important day of your life is crucial. After all, you want to be able to look back on this moment and remember the happiness and excitement you felt with the love of your life.
With Leo Photographer, you can achieve this and so much more. His passion for capturing your wedding day shows in every shot he takes, allowing you to feel more comfortable being in front of the camera. It's because of this, as well as his exceptional talent, that he is our pick for the best wedding photographer near Miami.
Leo is there for you through every step of your journey. He uses his unique style and expertise to make sure that every moment you want on film is shot in such a way that will have you cherishing these photos for a lifetime. From getting ready, to that first kiss as a married couple, he's right by your side.
He also works directly with you in coming up with ideas and concepts for your photos. He makes sure to enhance your own personality and story, showcasing you and your mate, as well as your family, the venue, décor, and more. Believe us, no stone goes unturned when you work Leo.
This is your special day and you deserve someone is going to take photographs of every aspect. This is why Leo starts with your engagement, presenting stunning pictures of the time where it all started.
Once your wedding day arrives, he works diligently to capture even the smallest of details, so you can relive those moments sharply again and again. He will capture both the groom and the bride getting ready then together, the ceremony, the after-party, and everything in between. What more could you ask for?
If you're ready to start this exciting journey with a talented professional, Leo is waiting for you. Speak to him today to over all of your photography dreams and he'll no doubt be able to turn them into a reality.


Are you Running the Business or is the Business Running you?
We love a good survey here at Gain but this one highlights a very common problem that small business owners face – namely managing time properly and feeling that because you run a small business it means you have to sacrifice everything and feel guilty if you are not working every hour that is out there.
And it's easy to get into this way of working when you first start running a small business – habit forming in fact. And because it's habit forming, actually taking a step back and changing the way you work can be a frightening prospect because you think it will have a negative impact on your business performance – that's just the way we do it and always have.
But the question is – are you running the business or is the business running you?
If it's the latter then taking a step back and looking at how you work and how you could work smarter to give you more time to enjoy the things you do could be just what you need and make a massive difference to your 2014.
According to the survey by XLN Business Services, one in five UK small business owners will be working on Christmas Day. And this won't be the first time for many, with 64 per cent saying they had worked on Christmas day before and a third of those having done so more than three times.
But the intrusion of work into the personal life of small business owners doesn't end with Christmas, as 28 per cent admitted to missing a loved one's birthday, an anniversary or similar celebration because they couldn't get away from work. Some one in ten also reported losing friends through working too hard and losing touch while running their business.
When it comes to Christmas Cheer – 86 per cent saying they won't be paying staff Christmas bonuses this year. Twenty-five per cent said they will have staff working for them over Christmas yet just 29 per cent will be paying staff extra for this work.
So how can you start to look at the way you work and make the changes that will mean you are not tied to the business so much you find it hard to escape for even a short amount of time.
Stop and step back – Assess where you and the business are right now – it helps to do this off site – away from the day to day distractions and ideally with someone who has the experience, knowledge and understanding to act as a sounding board – helping you to analyse and take stock. Answer questions like – are you being a busy fool?
Why did you go into business – Remind yourself and think what is was you ultimately hoped to get out of it. If you had a magic wand, what would you want your business and personal life to look like in two, five or 10 years-time?
What do you want from the business – Running a business WILL take a lot of your time, effort, hard work and dedication – so it is only right that you ask yourself what it is YOU want to get from the business and not what the business is taking from you.
Understand Your Numbers – it's vital you understand your business numbers and what they are telling you as by doing this you will have a solid foundation from which to plan your future business direction. If you do not truly understand them (and most business owners don't so don't be afraid to acknowledge this) seek the advice and support of a small business accountant that can explain this to you in a language that you understand.
What's working well and what isn't – be honest and address any issues and look to maximise any opportunities. Do more of what is being done well and don't be afraid to step away from or change what's not.
What do I need to do to get to where I want to be? Compare your long term goals with where you are now, identify the areas that need to improve and create a road map to help you get there. Write the plan down so that you can measure progress and it will become more meaningful to you and help you assess how you are doing as the business moves forward.
For your business to really succeed YOU need to be running IT – not the other way round. If you would like help and support to achieve this, call us on 01872 560326 or visit www.gainaccountancy.co.uk.


Ever wanted to write a short story about New Orleans mischief and mayhem circa 1889 Christmas?
Here are a few killer ideas to get your story started!
HINT…these ideas might be used for any locale in any era.
Gilded Age New Orleans: So much more than hookers, hurricanes, and Mardi Gras!
Although late 19th century New Orleans was renowned for the hookers of Storyville, the devastating hurricanes of the 1880s, and the elevation of Mardi Gras to a state holiday, there's so much more to know about the Crescent City during this time!
For starters, there was an assassination that was followed by lynchings (1890), an all-out political insurrection (1874), and a riot that killed 28 people (1900). There were duels in City Park and gunfights on Canal Street. There were too many bankruptcies, lottery swindles, and drunken sailors to count. And every year there was a long, hot summer and the constant threat of yellow fever or other maladies.
With a quarter of a million citizens and ships from the mighty Mississippi river depositing strangers in the city every day, someone was always causing trouble for someone else. Truly, Gilded Age New Orleans is a dream city for a historical mystery writer!
But back to summer…when the heat truly hit in late May, New Orleanians of means retreated to breezy coastal cities in Louisiana and Mississippi. During this "dull season", those citizens who remained in town stocked their iceboxes, lightened their wardrobes and rooms with cotton fabrics, and, as advised by the daily newspapers, stopped working by 3pm.
And into this humid, hot mess of a city I toss my heroine, Fanny Newcomb. And ask her to solve a murder. Twenty-five and learning to make a living on her own, Fanny finds herself teaching typewriting to the hard-working factory girls of the city's Irish Channel neighborhood. It's a grim life.
Fortunately for Fanny and her crew, in addition to the problems mentioned above, New Orleans was also the entertainment oasis of the South.
Throughout the late 19th century, New Orleanians reveled in what the city maps called Places of Amusement. For grand music, they attended the French or Grand Opera Houses or the Academy of Music. For dramatic entertainment, they visited the St. Charles, Avenue, or Faranta's Theatres, stages where Edwin Booth and Sarah Bernhardt both made appearances. For a peak at circus curiosities or a bit of common sensationalism, they bought a ticket to Robinson's Dime Museum.
Horse lovers and gamblers alike visited the Fair Grounds, home of the Louisiana Jockey Club and their racecourse. New Orleanians in need of a quiet place for contemplation could visit a former racecourse, because the 1830's Metairie Race tack had been transformed into the elegant and fashionable Metairie Cemetery after the Civil War. Even in traditionally laissez-faire New Orleans, a cemetery could not be called a Place of Amusement, but because the city had above-ground burials, many of the cemeteries did become celebrated centers of beauty and relaxation.
When New Orleanians tired of the hustle of the Canal Street business district or the bustle of the Mississippi river roustabouts, they retreated to resorts on Lake Pontchartrain, only a few miles from the heart of the city. The "pleasure grounds" of Milneburg, Spanish Fort, and West End offered a variety of hotels, restaurants, casinos, theatres, shooting galleries, and bathhouses. A visit to New Orleans was never considered complete without a "trip to the lake".
Many New Orleanians were more charitable than cultural. Like all large American cities in the late 19th century, the city was home to churches, synagogues, charity hospitals, Young Christian Associations, a Woman's Exchange, and—most vital to Fanny Newcomb's story—a settlement house to assist immigrants in assimilating to their strange and dangerous new city.
Fortunately for me, there is a lot more to Gilded Age New Orleans than hookers, hurricanes, and Mardi Gras. Which means that there'll be a lot more murders for Fanny Newcomb to investigate.
This blog post was originally posted on Jenny Q's excellent letthemreadbooks.blogspot.com.
If you'd really like to win an autographed copy of Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Channel Ripper…head over to Amy Bruno's Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour. The Giveaway ends around March 19.
AND…check out my book tour schedule. Fun for all!
On January 28 I'll be sharing ideas on "Writing a Killer First Chapter" with the Redwood Writers (a Branch of the California Writers Club) in Santa Rosa.
Here are some links with more info….


text:
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When will be De Verandering next episode air date? Is De Verandering renewed or cancelled? Where to countdown De Verandering air dates? Is De Verandering worth watching?
A program about people who've experienced a change of faith due to an encounter with God.
De Verandering next episode air date provides TVMaze for you.
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Near record numbers of Americans are buying second homes — the kind on wheels, that is.
The Great Recession almost totaled the RV industry, but now camper trailers and motor homes are popular again. Daryn Anderson is the owner of an RV dealership south of Kansas City, and he says his sales here have roughly tripled since the bottom of the recession.
But seven years ago, during the recession, RV sales tanked. When President Obama wanted to spotlight the worst of the economy then, he actually went to the RV capital of the world — Elkhart County, Ind., where most American RVs are built.
Kyle Hannon, president of the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce, says unemployment more than quadrupled as dozens of manufacturers went under during that period of time.
Dealerships folded too, like the one Renee Hinson's parents ran for decades near Grandview, Miss.
"If you would have asked me, I would have thought we [the RV market] were sunk," she says.
Now, Hinson is thrilled to be selling RVs again.
RVs range from small teardrop-shaped trailers, with little more than a dry place to sleep, to the ultra-high-end motor homes Clint Mooney sells.
"That's a 55-inch TV. This coach actually has four televisions — three inside, one outside," Mooney says as he points to a $400,000 Winnebago camper that resembles a bus with swirly designs. It looks like a fancy, spacious apartment inside. The shower has a seat. The camper also has a stackable washer and dryer system.
The front seats are wide, heated, massage-enhanced recliners, sheathed in something called "UltraLeather.
"These sell very well, actually. We have repeat customers who come back and buy them every two or three, four years," Mooney says.
The market has seen astounding growth partially because around 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 each day.
Grant and Cathy Lowe are in their 50s, and they just bought a trailer.
This camper figures large in their retirement plans. They intend to have it paid off before they quit working, and with the low interest rates and fuel prices, they're in good shape.
Baby boomers are not the only ones driving the expansion: The average age of an RV owner is now just under 50, according to an industry association, and Hinson says she's selling campers to people in their 30s like never before.
In the meantime, RV companies keep hauling out new products, displayed in an annual RV show in Topeka, Kan.
Greg Smith and his wife are customers looking for a toy hauler.
"I'm looking for something a little bigger. I need to put my four-wheeler in the back," he says.
Toy haulers are trailers or motor homes with garages built in. Smith is planning to spend upward of $100,000 on his.
With the broad smile on his face, it's easy to picture Smith enjoying a warm winter evening far from Topeka, out on the road with record numbers of his fellow Americans, hauling a home away from home.


text:
Bad Gimmick Hall of Fame: P.N. News
Posted on September 8, 2016 September 7, 2016 by Martin Stezano
Yo, Baby! Yo, Baby! Yo! Yo, Baby! Yo, Baby! Yo! Yo, Baby! Yo, Baby! Yo! Have you had enough yet? P.N. News hasn't, because that's literally all he ever "rapped" during his television matches. Think of this as a precursor to John Cena's character in the mid-2000s, except without the rapping ability, acting ability or charisma, and an added 200 lbs of pure, unadulterated fat. Oh, and let's not forget the neon… so much god damn neon. I'd like to introduce you all to today's Bad Gimmick Hall of Fame inductee, the honorable P.N. News!
When Paul Neu decided to become a professional wrestler, do you think he ever envisioned himself as a neon-wearing rap artist? I'm not entirely sure. When he first debuted, and started making a name for himself in Europe, the 6'2″, 400 lb behemoth was known as Cannonball Grizzly, a badass with a mohawk who wore simple black tights or a singlet, and was just in the ring to kick some ass. He carried around a chain, but not a chain of gold around his neck… an actual chain. For ass kicking. Are you gonna mess with a guy who carries a chain around?
All that ass kicking got him noticed in the states, and he was soon signed by Jim Herd and WCW. If you haven't heard of Jim Herd, he's better known by insiders as "The Pizza Man," because he was hired away from Pizza Hut to run WCW. Turns out his gimmicks were cheesier and even more crusty than the pizza's he'd previously slung. Seriously, Herd had some of the worst gimmick ideas of all-time, as he insisted on having every wrestler become an over-the-top cartoonish character–something Vince McMahon was just as guilty of in WWF at the time.
When it comes to Herd, we're talking some real stinkers. Remember Oz? That BGHOF inductee was a Herd creation. So was a tag team named the Ding Dongs (masked wrestlers who constantly rang a bell in their own corner…for some reason). Shit, the guy even tried to make Ric Flair into Spartacus. Ric Flair! The fucking Nature Boy! The kiss stealin', wheelin' dealin', chariot ridin', Roman fightin'…… wooo?
Anyway, the big idea for the ass-kicking Cannonball Grizzly was to turn him into a rapping fat guy. Let me first be clear about one thing. Rapping fat guys are awesome. From Notorious B.I.G. to Heavy D to the Fat Boyz, rapping fat guys will always have a special place in my heart. The problem with P.N. News, as Neu was so cleverly named (get it? Paul Neu… P.N. News? And it also kind of sounds like PM Dawn? Ah?), is that he couldn't rap, and looked more like an overstuffed piñata than a wrestler.
One thing you should understand about the 1990s, is that during this time, white people decided rap was too urban, and was probably giving minorities and the urban community too much joy, happiness and empowerment, so they decided to steal it, exploit it and run it into the ground. The family-friendly rap train was powering down the tracks, and no one was going to stop it. Remember Vanilla Ice? How about The Fresh Prince? How about the fact that every early 90s movie seemingly had a ridiculously soft rap soundtrack. Don't believe me? Go watch Robocop 3, or Rocky V. OK don't, they're terrible. But take my word for it, friendly rap was definitely in, and WCW wanted a piece of the pie.
While the bastardization of a culture that came about because of disenfranchisement and anger might sound like a terrible thing, we wouldn't have P.N. News without it, and what would you be reading right now otherwise? Anyway, WCW, an organization based in the South and run by a crazy white billionaire, decided it needed a rapper guy to help them take advantage of this cultural phenomenon and appeal to eight year old white kids everywhere, so we got P.N. News.
To be fair, News did attempt to rap before and after matches, if you consider the aforementioned "Yo, Baby! Yo, Baby! Yo!" rapping– I'm willing to bet Jim Herd and Ted Turner actually did–but it was just totally terrible. Little southern white kids who'd never heard the poignant lyrics of Eric B. and Rakim, Big Daddy Kane or Public Enemy thought to themselves… "Hey! This rap stuff is A-OK, Y'all!," so News did have a pretty positive fan reaction from them, and probably their high-waisted jeans wearing mothers, but that's about it.
News made his debut in May of 1991 in an episode of World Wide Wrestling, and entered almost immediately into a feud with "Stunning" Steve Austin, who held the WCW World Television Championship at the time. News' biggest match during this run was, by far, the scaffold match he had at the 1991 Great American Bash. Because putting a 400 lb fatso on a scaffold 20 feet in the air doesn't really make for a crisp and entertaining matchup, News partnered with "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton against Austin and Terry Taylor (then known as Terrence Taylor of the York Foundation). Those three guys were much better suited to do strenuous physical activity, but the rules were still changed to accommodate News' high-risk physique. Instead of having to knock the opponent off the scaffold, a terrible capture the flag-type stipulation was added to the match, all but guaranteeing that it would be a total shit show. No one went off the cage, and News and Eaton won by disqualification. Mick Foley would have been ashamed. To be fair, maybe that's not the match to have when a 400 lb fat guy is involved. I'm sure News did his best.
Unfortunately, News' run soon got pulled out from under him. The fans simply weren't picking up the rhymes he was spitting, or the air he was huffing and puffing while being "blown up" in the ring. It didn't help that News botched his finisher (the "Broken Record") at a house show and caused wrestler Dave Sheldon–aka the Angel of Death–to be out for nearly a year with a knee injury. Although he eventually faced Austin for the United States title in November, the news was all bad for P.N. after that botch. Soon, he was released back to the indies.vHe'd reappear in ECW in 1999 and eventually join Da Baldies, but he was never to be seen by a national TV audience again.
Much like our other gimmicks, I don't mean to disparage the performer, Paul Neu, for doing his job. When you're looking for your big break, and you get it, sometimes you end up rapping in spandex that has been severly stretched beyond its breaking point by your large body, especially in the early 1990s. Even if P.N. News been given a better name (maybe Big Daddy Pain? Ah? KRS-One23? The Notorious P.I.N.? Grandmaster Splash? I could go on all day), or if his theme simply hadn't been a generic rap beat with corny 90s synth thrown in, this gimmick was never going to work for a guy like Neu. This gimmick needed a more believable performer to pull it off. Paul Neu wasn't the one. See?
Just a couple of years later, Vince actually stole this idea, but found two guys more suitable for the role. Mabel and Mo–along with their real rapping manager Oscar–were put together, and Men on a Mission was born. The trio got somewhat over with the crowd and went on to have some pretty solid success in the tag team division. Hell, Mabel even won the 1995 King of the Ring, battled Diesel for the World title at the worst SummerSlam ever and enjoyed a lengthy WWE career. Plus… dat theme song tho.
Who knows what could have been for Paul if he'd been allowed to keep his Cannonball Grizzly gimmick? Who am I kidding, he probably still would have stunk. One thing to note, however, is that News is fellow BGHOF inductee Mantaur's real life cousin. Let's help them keep the shame all in the family, and welcome P.N. News to the BGHOF!
Posted in Pro WrestlingTagged Bad Gimmick Hall of Fame, P.N. News


text:
Ghana Hostels
All Accommodation Types Hostels Only
Accra 67 Ada-Foah 1 Akropong 1 Cape Coast 3 Gomoa Fetteh 1 Karimenga 1 Kasoa 1 Kumasi 4 Takoradi 1 Tamale 1 Tema 1
Ghana is a country on the western coast of Africa, known as the Gold Coast, which borders Burkina Faso, Togo, Cote d'Ivoire, and the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Ghana is Accra, on the Atlantic coast, and which is also the largest city.
Ghana was first visited by the Portuguese the 15th century and was claimed by several European nations until 1874, when the British established control and created the British Gold Coast. The Republic of Ghana was a British colony from the 19th century until Ghana declared independence in 1957. It was the first sub-saharan African nation to do so.
The currency in Ghana is the Ghana cedi. The Ghanan economy is one of the strongest in Africa, having been through a period of relative stability and good governance. Its economy has made it one of the regional powers in West Africa. Ghana has an economy heavy in natural resources, like industrial minerals, precious metals (like gold,) and hydrocarbons. Another strong export is cocoa, and Ghana is likely to be the world's top cocoa producer before 2017. Ghana has an economic plan, entitled Vision 2020, to transform itself into a developed country by 2020 -2029, and then into a newly industralised country between 2030-2039. If it succeeds, Ghana will be the first developed African country, excluding South Africa.
Ghana lies a few degrees north of the Equator, which means that it has a fairly mild climate. Much of the country is tropical, while a small portion in the south is a monsoon climate. Ghana has a dry season and a rainy season, although between north and south Ghana, this does vary by a month or two. In general, the temperatures don't fall under 27 degrees Celsius or go above 32 degrees Celsius. The geography is varied; the coastal region is known for its white surf beaches while inland there is are plains and rolling hills. Ghana is home to the world's largest manmade lake, Lake Volta. It is in the eastern part of the country.
Budget hostel accommodation in Ghana can be found in Accra, the capital. Unlike in other West African countries, you can find traditional European-style hostels in Ghana. In remote parts of the country, however, consider a guesthouse, pension, or bed and breakfast as backpacker accommodation can be rare. Once you have your hostel accommodation sorted, you can set out to explore this vibrant African country.
Travellers to Ghana who are keen outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy the various hikes to waterfalls - including the tallest waterfall in west Africa - mountain summits, and more. There are several National Parks in Ghana; Kakum, Mole, and Ankasa are the three most popular with foreign visitors. Ghana also has some UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The most well-known are Cape Coast Castle, Elmina Castle, and Fort Christianborg; these were originally built by Swedes or other settlers for trade but soon appropriated for the slave trade. They held the slaves before they were transported to the Caribbean or the United States slave markets. Now, they are historical sites. Other popular destinations for travellers are the wildlife parks; Ghana has seven national parks, two wildlife sanctuaries, and five coastal wetlands. A nature reserve and six source reserves round out Ghana's protected areas.
Whatever you choose to do in Ghana, you will enjoy it!
Hi, I'm Jakob Lombardi, the Hostelz.com local expert for Ghana hostels. Welcome.


text:
package com.zwitserloot.json;

import static org.junit.Assert.*;

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.NoSuchElementException;
import java.util.Set;

import org.junit.Test;

public class JSONTest{
	@Test
	public void testStrings() {
		assertEquals("5", JSON.parse("[5]").get(0).asString());
		assertEquals("true", JSON.parse("[true]").get(0).asString());
		assertNull(JSON.parse("[null]").get(0).asString());

		try {
			JSON.parse("[1, 2]").asString();
			fail("JSONException expected");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {}

		try {
			JSON.parse("{\"foo\": 1}").asString();
			fail("JSONException expected");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {}

		assertEquals("foo", JSON.parse("[null]").get(0).asString("foo"));
	}

	@Test
	public void testBooleans() {
		assertTrue(JSON.parse("[\"yes\"]").get(0).asBoolean());
		assertFalse(JSON.parse("[\"off\"]").get(0).asBoolean());
		assertFalse(JSON.parse("[\"FALSE\"]").get(0).asBoolean());
		assertFalse(JSON.parse("[false]").get(0).asBoolean());
		assertTrue(JSON.parse("[true]").get(0).asBoolean());

		try {
			JSON.parse("[foo]").get(0).asBoolean();
			fail("'foo' correctly parses as a boolean; it shouldn't.");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {}
	}

	@Test
	public void testNulls() {
		assertTrue(JSON.parse("[null]").get(0).exists());
		assertTrue(JSON.parse("[null]").get(0).isNull());
		assertFalse(JSON.parse("[1]").get(0).isNull());
		assertFalse(JSON.parse("[false]").get(0).isNull());
	}

	@Test
	public void testNumbers() {
		assertEquals(10, JSON.parse("[1e1]").get(0).asInt());
		assertEquals(10.0, JSON.parse("[10]").get(0).asDouble(), .000001);
		assertEquals(10, JSON.parse("[10.0]").get(0).asInt());
		assertEquals(10.0, JSON.parse("[\"1e1\"]").get(0).asDouble(), .000001);
		assertEquals(10, JSON.parse("[\"10\"]").get(0).asInt());

		//The following number is not representable as a double.
		//When wrapped in a string, toLong() should still handle it correctly.
		assertEquals(1152921504606846977L, JSON.parse("[\"1152921504606846977\"]").get(0).asLong());

		try {
			JSON.parse("[1.2]").get(0).asInt();
			fail("'1.2' is still parsable as an int.");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {}

		try {
			JSON.parse("[1.2]").get(0).asLong();
			fail("'1.2' is still parsable as a long.");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {}

		try {
			JSON.parse("[\"1.2\"]").get(0).asInt();
			fail("'\"1.2\"' is still parsable as an int.");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {}

		try {
			JSON.parse("[\"1.2\"]").get(0).asLong();
			fail("'\"1.2\"' is still parsable as a long.");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {}

		try {
			JSON.parse("[\"foo\"]").get(0).asDouble();
			fail("'foo' is still parsable as a double - probably throwing wrong exception.");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {
		} catch (Exception e) {
			fail("parsing a string for numbers should throw a JSONException when the string is not parsable, not a: " + e);
		}

		assertEquals(5, JSON.parse("[1e-1]").get(0).asInt(5));
		assertEquals(0.1, JSON.parse("[1e-1]").get(0).asDouble(2.0), .000001);
	}

	@Test(expected=JSONException.class)
	public void testJSONParser1() {
		JSON.parse("del window");
	}

	@Test(expected=JSONException.class)
	public void testJSONParser2() {
		JSON.parse("a()");
	}

	@Test(expected=JSONException.class)
	public void testJSONParser3() {
		JSON.parse("a=10");
	}

	@Test(expected=JSONException.class)
	public void testJSONParser4() {
		JSON.parse("flu]]te");
	}

	@Test(expected=JSONException.class)
	public void testJSONParser5() {
		JSON.parse("[{]}");
	}

	@Test
	public void testUtilityMethods() {
		JSON json = JSON.parse("{\"foo\": [1, 2]}");
		assertEquals("~", json.getPath());
		assertEquals("~/foo", json.get("foo").getPath());
		assertEquals("~/bar", json.get("bar").getPath());
		assertFalse(json.get("bar").exists());
		assertEquals("~/foo/0", json.get("foo").get(0).getPath());
		assertEquals(1, json.get("foo").get(0).asInt());
		assertTrue(json.get("foo").get(1).exists());
		assertFalse(json.get("foo").get(2).exists());
		assertFalse(json.get("foo").get("foo").exists());
		assertTrue(json.get("foo").get(0).exists());
	}

	@Test
	public void testLists() {
		JSON json = JSON.parse("[1, 2, [\"foo\", true], null, [[], [\"foo\"], [[[], [], [[]]]]]]");
		assertEquals(2, json.get(1).asInt());
		assertTrue(json.get(2).get(1).asBoolean());
		assertEquals(0, json.get(4).get(0).asList().size());

		List<JSON> list = json.get(4).get(1).asList();
		assertEquals(1, list.size());
		assertEquals("foo", list.get(0).asString());
		assertEquals("~/4/1/0", list.get(0).getPath());
		assertFalse(list.isEmpty());
		Iterator<JSON> iterator = list.iterator();
		assertTrue(iterator.hasNext());
		assertEquals("foo", iterator.next().asString());
		assertFalse(iterator.hasNext());
		try {
			iterator.next();
			fail("JSON.asList().iterator() does not throw an exception when there are no more elements.");
		} catch (NoSuchElementException expected) {
		} catch (Exception e) {
			fail("JSON.asList().iterator() throws the wrong exception when there are no more elements: " + e);
		}

		list = json.get(4).get(2).asList().get(0).asList();
		assertEquals(3, list.size());
		assertEquals(1, list.get(2).asList().size());
		assertEquals(0, list.get(1).asList().size());
		assertEquals(0, list.get(2).get(0).asList().size());

		list = json.asList().subList(2, 4);
		assertEquals(2, list.size());
		assertEquals("foo", list.get(0).get(0).asString());
		assertTrue(list.get(1).isNull());
		assertEquals("~/2/1", list.get(0).asList().get(1).getPath());

		assertEquals(10, JSON.parse("[10]").get(0).asList().get(0).asInt());
		assertEquals(0, JSON.parse("[null]").get(0).asList().size());

		assertEquals(2, JSON.parse("{\"foo\": 1, \"bar\": 2}").asList().get(0).get("bar").asInt());
		assertEquals(1, JSON.parse("{\"foo\": 1, \"bar\": 2}").asList().size());
	}

	@Test
	public void testMaps() {
		try {
			JSON.parse("{\"a\": {\"foo\": 1}, \"b\": [1, 2], \"c\": {\"e\": 3, {\"bar\": 2}}, \"d\": 4}");
			fail("Faulty json with a keyless entry in an inner map was accepted");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {}

		JSON json = JSON.parse("{a: {foo: 1}, b: [1, 2], c: {e: 3, f: {bar: 2}}, d: 4}");

		assertEquals(1, json.get("a").get("foo").asInt());

		try {
			json.get("d").keySet();
			fail("keySet() on a non-Map entry did not trigger an exception");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {}

		Set<String> keys = json.keySet();
		assertEquals(4, keys.size());
		assertTrue(keys.contains("a"));
		assertFalse(keys.contains("A"));
		assertTrue(keys.contains("b"));
		assertTrue(keys.contains("c"));
		assertTrue(keys.contains("d"));
		assertFalse(keys.contains("e"));
	}

	@Test
	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
	public void testAsObject() {
		JSON json = JSON.parse("[{\"a\": 1.2345e2, \"b\": [true, false, null]}, 10," +
				"[[]], {\"d\": {}, \"e\": \"foo\", \"f\": [[[[[], []]]]]}]");

		assertEquals("testing", json.get("foobar").asObject("testing"));

		List<?> list = (List<?>) json.asObject();
		assertEquals(4, list.size());
		assertEquals(10.0, ((Number)list.get(1)).doubleValue(), .000001);

		List<?> l2 = (List<?>) list.get(2);
		assertEquals(1, l2.size());
		l2 = (List<?>)l2.get(0);
		assertTrue(l2.isEmpty());

		Map<String, ?> map = (Map<String, ?>) list.get(0);
		assertEquals(2, map.size());
		assertEquals(123.45, map.get("a"));
		assertFalse(map.containsKey("d"));
		l2 = (List<?>) map.get("b");
		assertEquals(3, l2.size());
		assertTrue((Boolean) l2.get(0));
		assertFalse((Boolean) l2.get(1));
		assertNull(l2.get(2));

		map = (Map<String, ?>) list.get(3);
		Map<String, ?> m2 = (Map<String, ?>) map.get("d");
		assertTrue(m2.isEmpty());
		assertEquals("foo", map.get("e"));

		l2 = (List<?>) map.get("f");
		for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
			assertEquals(1, l2.size());
			l2 = (List<?>) l2.get(0);
		}
		assertEquals(2, l2.size());
		assertEquals(0, ((List<?>) l2.get(0)).size());
		assertEquals(0, ((List<?>) l2.get(1)).size());
	}

	@Test
	public void testExpansionOnSet() {
		JSON json = JSON.newMap();
		json.get("foo").get("bar").get(0).get(0).setInt(10);
		assertEquals("{\"foo\":{\"bar\":[[10]]}}", json.toJSON());

		try {
			JSON.newMap().add().setInt(10);
			fail("Attempt to add an array entry to a map did not cause a JSONException");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {}

		json = JSON.newList();
		JSON i1 = json.add();
		assertEquals("~/0", i1.getPath());
		i1.get(0).setInt(1);
		assertEquals("[[1]]", json.toJSON());
		i1.get(1).setInt(2);
		assertEquals("[[1,2]]", json.toJSON());
		JSON i2 = json.add();
		assertEquals("~/1", i2.getPath());
		i2.get(0).setInt(3);
		assertEquals("[[1,2],[3]]", json.toJSON());
		i2.get(1).setInt(4);
		assertEquals("[[1,2],[3,4]]", json.toJSON());
	}

	public enum Colour { RED, GREEN, BLUE; }

	@Test
	public void testSetAndGetEnum() {
		JSON json = JSON.newList();
		json.add().setEnum(Colour.GREEN);
		assertEquals(Colour.GREEN, json.get(0).asEnum(Colour.class));
		assertEquals("[\"GREEN\"]", json.toJSON());
		assertEquals(Colour.GREEN, JSON.parse("\"GrEeN\"").asEnum(Colour.class));
		assertEquals(Colour.RED, JSON.parse("\"GrEeN2\"").asEnum(Colour.class, Colour.RED));
	}

	@Test
	public void testSetMethods() {
		JSON json = JSON.newList();
		json.add().setNull();
		json.add().setBoolean(true);
		json.add().setBoolean(false);
		json.add().setDouble(1.23);
		json.add().setInt(12);
		json.add().setChar('a');
		json.add().setString("foobar");
		assertEquals(7, json.asList().size());

		int ct = 0;
		assertTrue(json.get(ct++).isNull());
		assertTrue(json.get(ct++).asBoolean());
		assertFalse(json.get(ct++).asBoolean());
		assertEquals(1.23, json.get(ct++).asDouble(), .000001);
		assertEquals(12, json.get(ct++).asInt());
		assertEquals('a', json.get(ct++).asChar());
		assertEquals("foobar", json.get(ct++).asString());
	}

	@Test
	public void testLongs() {
		JSON json = JSON.newList();
		json.add().setLong((1L << 55) +2);
		json.add().setLong((1L << 50) + 5);
		json.add().setDouble((1L << 50) + 0.5);
		assertEquals(String.class, json.get(0).asObject().getClass());
		assertEquals(Double.class, json.get(1).asObject().getClass());
		assertEquals((1L << 55) + 2, json.get(0).asLong());
		assertEquals((1L << 50) + 5, json.get(1).asLong());

		try {
			json.get(2).asLong();
			fail("A double value (with fraction) was readable as a long");
		} catch (JSONException expected) {}
	}

	@Test
	public void testSetWithJSON() {
		JSON jsonInner = JSON.newList();
		jsonInner.get(0).get("foo").setInt(5);
		jsonInner.get(1).get("bar").setInt(10);
		JSON jsonOuter = JSON.newMap();
		jsonOuter.get("baz").setWithJSON(jsonInner);
		assertEquals("{\"baz\":[{\"foo\":5},{\"bar\":10}]}", jsonOuter.toJSON());
	}

	@Test
	public void testStringList() {
		JSON json = JSON.parse("[\"foo\", true, null, 5, \"b\"]");
		assertEquals(Arrays.<String>asList("foo", "true", null, "5", "b"), json.asStringList());
	}

	@Test
	public void testNumberPrinting() {
		JSON json = JSON.newList();
		json.add().setInt(5);
		json.add().setDouble(5.0);
		json.add().setDouble(5.00001);
		json.add().setObject(Byte.valueOf((byte) 2));
		assertEquals("[5,5,5.00001,2]", json.toJSON());
	}

	@Test
	public void testPrettyPrinter() {
		JSON json = JSON.parse("[5, 10.5, 5.0, \"foobar\", [], [true, null, false], \"more\", null, false]");
		assertEquals("[5,10.5,5,\"foobar\",[],[true,null,false],\"more\",null,false]", json.toJSON());
		assertEquals(json.asObject(), JSON.parse(json.toJSON()).asObject());
		assertEquals("[\n  5,\n  10.5,\n  5,\n  \"foobar\",\n  [],\n  [\n    true,\n    null,\n    false\n  ],\n  \"more\",\n  null,\n  false\n]\n", json.prettyPrint());
		assertEquals(json.asObject(), JSON.parse(json.prettyPrint()).asObject());

		JSON maps = JSON.parse("[5, 10.5, {foo: 5.0}, {\"bar\": \"foobar\", baz: {\n}, \"weird\t\": {foo: true}}]");
		assertEquals("[5,10.5,{\"foo\":5},{\"bar\":\"foobar\",\"baz\":{}," +
				"\"weird\\t\":{\"foo\":true}}]", maps.toJSON());
		assertEquals(maps.asObject(), JSON.parse(maps.toJSON()).asObject());
		assertEquals("[\n  5,\n  10.5,\n  {\n    \"foo\": 5\n  },\n  {\n    \"bar\": \"foobar\",\n    \"baz\": {}," +
				"\n    \"weird\\t\": {\n      \"foo\": true\n    }\n  }\n]\n", maps.prettyPrint());
		assertEquals(maps.asObject(), JSON.parse(maps.prettyPrint()).asObject());
	}

	@Test
	public void testStringEscaping() {
		JSON json = JSON.parse("\"foo\\nbar\t\t\u00EB\\\"\"");
		assertEquals("\"foo\\nbar\\t\\t\\u00eb\\\"\"", json.prettyPrint());
	}
}


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On October 4-7, 2018 Eurasia Local Governments Congress, which brings together local and regional leaders of the Eurasian region, will take place in the city of Cheboksary. The main aim of the Congress is to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals among local authorities, to involve them in the implementation of the SDGs and to provide assistance.
The high level meeting is organized by the Eurasian section of "United Cities and Local Governments" in conjunction with the Cheboksary administration and with the organizational support of the UCLG World Secretariat, UN-Habitat and the Association of Volga Region Cities.
During the plenary session "Towards Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals" participants will share their experience in implementing the SDGs in their cities and regions. In addition, delegations will present their successful urban projects at the special exhibition dedicated to the SDGs.
Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN Under-Secretary-General, Executive Director of the UN-Habitat Program will take part in the event. It will be the first visit to Russia for a high-ranking guest.
"Eurasia Local Governments Congress is a platform where local and regional leaders exchange their experience and best practices on the SDGs implementation. We are honored that this year UN Under-Secretary-General will visit the Congress. It will raise the event to the new level and draw great attention to the problems of the SDGs implementation in Eurasia", said Rasikh Sagitov, Secretary-General of UCLG-Eurasia.
It should be noted that on October 5 the General Assembly of UCLG-Eurasia will take place. Within the framework of the General Assembly a new President, Vice-Presidents and the executives of UCLG-Eurasia will be elected for the period 2018-2021. The same evening, members of the Association of Volga Region Cities will discuss transport reforms.
"The city of Cheboksary is developing in a creative and intellectual way. We have no sea, no oil, no gas. We are growing due to minds of our citizens. We hope that the experience of Cheboksary will be useful to the participants of the Congress. We will do our best to hold the event at a high level", said Alexey Ladykov, Head of the city of Cheboksary.
An important part of the Congress is a training seminar for employees of municipalities and associations of local authorities, which will be held for two days in a format of round tables on the SDGs localization. Special attention will be paid to alignment of cultural strategies with the SDGs.
The aim of the training sessions is to prepare specialists who will explain the essence of the SDGs to the local and regional authorities. Learning modules are developed by UCLG in partnership with UNDP ART and UN-Habitat. The main speakers of the sessions are Sarah Hoeflich, Programme Manager of UCLG, an international expert on urban development and Jordi Pascual, Executive Director of the Committee on Culture of UCLG.
Please be aware that UCLG-Eurasia invites to submit candidacies to host Eurasia Local Governments Congress in 2021. The deadline for application submission is July 31, 2018.


text:
ANC's Ace beats unity drum, despite the evidence
| Scorpio
Opinionistas
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LUTHULI HOUSE
By Carien Du Plessis• 12 December 2019
ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule. The original photo has been altered. (Photo: Foto24 / Gallo Images / Getty Images)
ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule has told journalists that unity in the ANC is 'sacrosanct', and that there were no plans to get rid of leaders such as President Cyril Ramaphosa and himself. Evidence, however, is contradicting this.
A statement read by ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule was a rather dull 20-minute account of what happened at the ANC's national executive committee meeting over the weekend. The party's press conference at its Luthuli House headquarters on Wednesday 11 December, where gender parity and the fight against gender-based violence did get a mention, was an all-male affair, presented by Magashule and party spokesmen Dakota Legoete and Pule Mabe.
Magashule, a man of few words in front of the media, volunteered some information at the end of the statement, off the cuff. It related to recent media reports of a plot to sideline President Cyril Ramaphosa, which followed a report in the Sunday Independent alleging that some in the party were accusing Ramaphosa of trying to destroy the ANC. By these accounts, Ramaphosa and ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe are now pitted against the other four ANC officials — Deputy President David Mabuza, Magashule, his deputy Jessie Duarte and treasurer-general Paul Mashatile (who is said to have had a fall-out with Ramaphosa).
"We confirmed as top six that the unity of the top six is sacrosanct," Magashule said of what happened in the NEC meeting. "We don't know what the papers are talking about because the relationship between the ANC and the rest of the top six, we never have issues. It is important to state this so that you get it from us," he said, blaming media reports on the divisions on an "intention to further create and drive wedges amongst the ANC leadership".
He emphasised that the ANC believed in "collective leadership", adding that its leaders "are happy with progress in terms of unity and renewal, and we said Comrade President must provide [leadership], and we congratulated the president for providing leadership".
Later, when probed again about these reports, Magashule blamed the stories of a plot to oust Ramaphosa on the media.
"That is what the forces of reaction want us to do," he said. "We are a united, collective leadership."
Asked whether the ANC's mid-term national general council (NGC) in June 2020 could be used to oust any leaders, Magashule said it was a gathering to "review progress" and not to remove the president or the secretary-general.
"We have confidence, as the structures of the ANC, in the president. He was elected by all of us." At some point, he also added that the unity of the ANC was the reason why the opposition parties were now apparently falling apart.
Magashule's denial of divisions sounded a bit like that of former ANC secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe in the months running up to the party's Polokwane conference in 2007, where divisions in the party burst open in full view on the conference floor, where former president Thabo Mbeki was voted out. Still, it would be hard for anyone to be ousted at next year's NGC unless one of the two fairly even-sized lobbies within the party manages to pack conference delegates with their supporters and to push through a motion of no confidence.
The bulk of Wednesday's press conference was about the economy — Magashule mentioned radical economic transformation, although it's known that Ramaphosa's lobby is in favour of mere economic transformation — and load shedding state-owned enterprises, as well as government employees toeing the party line. ANC spokesperson Dakota Legoete said it was up to the ANC leaders in government to respect policy resolutions of its 2017 conference in Nasrec.
"We get deployed in government through the mercy and behest of the ANC, mandated by our people who are the voters, and it is up to us at all times to respect that process," he said.
Three weeks ago, Magashule issued a furious statement about being faithful to the ANC's conference decisions on policy. He was unhappy that ANC leaders in government supposedly voted for Morocco's Mohamed Boudra's election to become president of the Organisation of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) at a conference held in Durban. Four days after this election, Magashule threatened to discipline the ANC members who were there, since the party has a policy of supporting Western Sahara against Morocco, which they accuse of having "colonised" the territory.
Magashule has been quiet about the matter after the initial press release, with Mabe instead referring queries to Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, who is head of the party's international affairs subcommittee. Zulu knew nothing about the actual vote, but repeated that the party resolved on its solidarity with Western Sahara at the Nasrec conference.
On Wednesday, Magashule said the disciplinary hearings on this issue would not be going ahead, but instead the party has asked those who were at the conference to "engage" with them, and "to come and tell us what was happening". Magashule conceded that there might not have been a vote. After his threatening press statement, many pointed out that the UCLG presidency was uncontested because the candidate from Russia withdrew. Magashule said, "we are now going to try and understand what was happening". He said the ANC would also talk to the representatives of the South African Local Government Association who were at the meeting.
It's not quite clear why Magashule didn't use the four days between the vote and the issuing of the threatening press release to try to get to the facts. He could have picked up the phone to Deputy Minister for Co-operative Governance Parks Tau or Gauteng Premier David Makhura.
If the ANC really were united, it might have been easier. Tau and Makhura are from the Gauteng lobby which supported Ramaphosa in the run-up to his election at Nasrec. It's likely, however, that Magashule wanted an opportunity to flex his muscles again ahead of the NGC about ANC leaders sticking to the very ambiguous resolutions taken by a party divided almost exactly down the middle at the Nasrec conference. DM
Carien Du Plessis
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text:
The Baggage of Oppression: "Father Comes Home…" at the Taper
Leave a comment Posted by Frances Baum Nicholson on April 21, 2016
L-R: Michael McKean, Sterling K. Brown and Josh Wingate in "Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)"
[Photo: Craig Schwartz].
A hallmark of fine modern playwrighting is the ability of a play to be enjoyed at more than one depth. Story and character can take an audience to one level, and a solid one at that. For those willing and/or able to look deeper, there exists another layer – symbolic, mythical, implied or even ancestral – which can make statements far larger than the comparatively surface scenario which appears most obvious. Such writing is elemental in the work of Suzan-Lori Parks, and one reason her works are held in such high esteem.
As case in point, take "Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3" currently at the Mark Taper Forum, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize this past year (Parks won a Pulitzer for "Top Dog/Underdog" in 2002, becoming the first African American woman to do so). The play can be taken pretty much as chronicle, or it can become a fascinatingly layered look at the legacy of slavery's innate messages to the African-American experience, and why dignity and selfhood were and are an uphill battle, defining and redefining loyalty, respect and self-image.
The play follows Hero, a slave on a small plantation in Texas who ends up assisting his master as he rides off to be a Colonel in the Confederate Army. Hero first must struggle with whether to resist going to support a conflict which keeps him in bondage, then with what it means to be in the middle of that carnage working for that master, and then with the changed world of the plantation – and the changes in himself – when the he returns long before the war is over. Yet, this is only the baseline for what an audience encounters in the play.
Director Jo Bonney gives hints of the greater universality of the piece from the start, as unnamed family slaves are costumed by ESosa not just the garb of the era, but with hints of the future (one wears a Washington Grays baseball jersey, for example). This kind of subtle nudge at the play's more universal underpinnings continues throughout, in all aspects of the play and the production.
Sterling K. Brown proves powerful even as his character wrestles with himself, as he leads the cast as Hero: a man struggling with the nature of loyalty and his right to own himself. Whose promises are real? What makes him have value? Balanced against Hero are three central characters whose own understandings bounce off of his in often emotionally intense, even violent ways.
Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris and Larry Powell wait for Hero's return
[Photo: Craig Schwartz]
Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris makes Hero's "wife", Penny, ferociously real. Distressed he chooses to leave her and follow their owner, she waits with a loving anticipation even as she must live a life without news and find comfort where she can. Larry Powell, as the longtime friend whose escape Hero foiled (and whose punishment Hero was forced by the master to carry out) plays counterpoint to Hero's acquiescence to his position in the world. Homer wants more, even while hobbled, and is willing to risk to get it.
Also a powerful counterpoint to Hero's view of life is, obviously, his master. Michael McKean makes the Colonel absolutely settled in his understanding of his superiority – a superiority which entitles him to a particular, often subtle sadism to which Hero has learned to acquiesce. When this man shouts to the skies how grateful he is to be white, because no matter what happens he will never be as low as Hero is, the message is potent and one Hero unconsciously absorbs.
Patrena Murray and Sterling K. Brown as Odyssey Dog and Hero/Ulysses
In the end, though, the voice of this tale and the icing on this fascinating piece is Patrena Murray's portrayal of Hero's dog, Odyssey. Accompanying his return, and speaking to all of the truths brought home with him, this character becomes the sage tying together loose ends, all the while defining the unwavering loyalty of a dog balanced against the loyalty Hero gave the Colonel and seems unable to give anyone else. Also integral to the production are Russell G. Jones, Julian Rozzell, Jr., Tonye Patano, Roger Robinson and Josh Wingate, all offering alternate voices to the one in Hero's head.
Add to all of this the remarkable talents of Steven Borgonetti, who, accompanying himself on guitar, creates a musical landscape which sets the tone for some of the play's most important moments.
"Father Comes Home…" is long, but so engrossing you really don't notice. There is so much to absorb, and so many different subtle things being said about the long-term messages aimed at Black America and the coping mechanisms – some of which prove emasculating – that a people in and out of bondage have used to deal with those messages. And this production shines as brightly as the play, as Neil Patel's simple, easily adjusted set design and Dan Moses Schreier's evocative sound design inevitably prove.
Go see this. Expect to have to work, as there is much to discover, absorb and analyze. Still, that can be a major joy of watching a fine play: it leaves you with a lot to work over long after the show itself is done. This is one of the reasons for the art form.
What: "Father Comes Home From The Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3" When: Through May 15, 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sundays Where: The Mark Taper Forum, 135 S. Grand Ave.at The Music Center in downtown Los Angeles How Much: $25 – $85 Info: (213) 628-2772 or http://www.CenterTheatreGroup.org
Review 2 & 3, Dan Moses Schreier, dense-text plays, Father Comes Home From the Wars, Jo Bonney, Josh Wingate, Jr. Tonye Patano, Julian Rozzell, Larry Powell, Mark Taper Forum, Michael McKean, Neil Patel, Parts 1, Patrena Murray, Pulitzer nominated play, Roger Robinson, Russell G Jones, Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris, Sterling K. Brown, Steven Borgonetti, Suzan-Lori Parks, the Black experience, the legacy of slavery
← Challenging, Funny and Local: "Six Characters" Invades A Noise Within	"How to Succeed…" in Claremont: Success as a Period Piece →


text:
Shaquille O'Neal Confesses That The Beef With Damian Lillard Is A Joke
Damian Lillard Had To Get A Joke In Following Carmelo Anthony's Farewell From Portland Trail-Blazers
Damian Lillard Shares Thoughts On Boston Celtics Fan Throws A Bottle At Kyrie Irving
Damian Lillard Asks A Fan Who Bet On Portland Trail Blazers To Show His Ticket
Dionne Warwick Links Up With Shaquille O'Neal For Learning The Former NBA Star's 'Some Fancy Moves'
There was a recent fight between Portland TrailBlazers' basketball player Damian Lillard and former basketball star Shaquille O'Neal.
Dame D.O.L.L.A. and Dj Diesel had shared the songs they dissed each other in turn and then there be tension between them.
After all, Shaq brought clarity to this issue. At a recent Los Angeles event, Shaq confessed that his Damian Lillard diss track was a joke and it was not real beef between them. He said:
"The thing that went on for me and him was just for fun. I think he's really, really good and he's very talented. We had fun.
"We all come from the same place. My thing is, if you say you're better than me, I accept the challenge. If he says 'I look better than you,' then okay, I gotta hit the gym and work out; if he says 'My shoes are whiter than yours,' then I gotta go to the store and pick out a better pair. Other people take that stuff personally but I don't. If you challenge me, I'll step up to the challenge."
Also, In a recent interview with Uproxx, Damian Lillard said that the fight with Shaq was not real. He said:
"Obviously Shaq is the pioneer, the one that did it and went big and had a lot of shine on him about the fact that he was doing music. I'm trying to come behind that and do the same thing with the gold and platinum records and all that stuff."
Listen to Shaq's and Damian Lillard's diss tracks below.
#SHAQPUPPETMC #bumpboxx #theoriginator
A post shared by DR. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL Ed.D. (@shaq) on Sep 25, 2019 at 7:48pm PDT
Related Topics:damian lillard, damian lillard news, Featured, Shaquille O'Neal, Shaquille O'Neal news
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Douglas is the capital and the commercial centre of the Isle of Man. It developed as a port over the last 300 years and with better berthing facilities it grew eventually usurping Castletown as the political and commercial centre. Douglas is rich in maritime history; it was from Douglas, Sir William Hillary established the RLNI in 1824; the Isle of Man Steam Packet is the oldest passenger ferry in the world; the Steam Packet vessels, commandeered during WW2 rescued 1 in 7 of all the troops at Dunkirk. Our suggested tour will take you up Douglas Head and from there along the majestic Marine Drive before travelling back into Douglas through its centre to the TT Grandstand before returning along the promenade.


Featuring a rooftop pool, sauna, fitness centre and indoor pool, Hotel Trend is situated in Istanbul's Laleli district, just 50 metres from Aksaray Tram Stop. It has rooms with free Wi-Fi.
Each of Trend Hotel's rooms features luxury furnishings and a private bathroom with toiletries. They also come with a wall-mounted flat-screen TV with satellite channels and a minibar.
The hotel provides a trendy restaurant that serves tasty Turkish cuisine. In the morning, guests can choose from a rich Turkish breakfast buffet.
To relax, guests can visit the sauna or steam rooms. The well-designed rooftop pool surrounded with loungers offers guests the chance to cool off or soak up the sun.
Hotel Istanbul Trend is just a 5-minute walk from Yenikapi Railway Station, offering a fast connection with central Istanbul. Istanbul's covered Grand Bazaar is just 15 minutes' walk away.


TRON 2008 Disney Interactive Studios, Inc.
Discs of TRON 2008 Disney Interactive Studios, Inc.
Galaga 2006 Namco Bandai Games Inc.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - Aircraft Skin Pack 4 2012 Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - F-117A "The [email protected]" Skin Set 2012 Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Puzzle Quest 2 2010 D3Publisher of America, Inc.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - Aircraft Skin Pack 2 2011 Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Invincible Tiger 2009 Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - Aircraft Skin Pack 3 2012 Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Dragon Ball Z for Kinect 2012 Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
SoulCalibur 2008 Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Pac-Man: Championship Edition DX 2010 Namco Bandai Games Inc.
Crystal Defenders 2009 Square Enix, Inc.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - Su-34 "Tekken Alisa & Xiaoyu" 2012 Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - F-22A "The [email protected]" Skin Set 2011 Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - Su-33 "The [email protected]" Skin Set 2011 Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - Typhoon "The [email protected]" Skin Set 2012 Namco Bandai Games America Inc.


This is a nice looking 2 bed semi being marketed by the purple army – Imagine.
At first glance it might seem a little expensive for a 2 bed house but that's just the way prices are going at the moment!
You could rent a property of this quality for £1,295 which gives you a decent yield for this type of property of 4.9%.
Located in the centre of town you will never ever have a problem renting it out. Maintain it well, get nice tenants (we can help with that) and as a long term investment this is a very good property to own.
There are plenty of investors out there searching for deals but in this market they are tougher and tougher to find. This is not a 'cheap' deal but it makes a good investment and if that's what you are looking for then what are you waiting for?!
If you'd like some help to find you a suitable investment property then don't hesitate to give me a call on 01923 375300 and I'd be glad to help you out.


text:
Yorkshire Photographer, Jonathan Pow
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Home / Press Clippings / Food Photography with Hot Rum Cow (Here)
Food Photography with Hot Rum Cow
Food photography, especially editorial food photography, is not without it's challenges. The hunger, the focus, making sure you're always ready to photograph something before it melts. No props were used in this photography, it's as life presented it, no fake ice cream or treated salmon, just good wholesome food.
For my Press Clippings archive, this shoot was for Hot Rum Cow Magazine. You can read the article on their site here – http://www.hotrumcow.co.uk/liquid-lunch-northcote-lisa-allen/?hvid=62uqHP [Opens in a new window]
Or, if that link isn't available, you can click here to read it from my archive
Liquid Lunch with Lisa Allen
Northcote's Lisa Allen takes to the kitchen with the best drinks the White and Red Rose Counties have to offer
WORDS: Chiara Pannozzo PICTURES: Jonathan Pow
Creative careers are often built on natural talent. Those of us that are good with words write. If you can create the right strokes with a paintbrush, you might become an artist. And if you can take a selection of humble ingredients and transform them into something sublime, chances are you belong in a professional kitchen. Head Chef of Northcote, Lisa Allen, married this raw talent with drive and serious determination to secure her place as one of the UK's leading chefs.
"At school I always enjoyed the more practical subjects like woodwork, art and cookery. Food gave me a real lease of life, as it was something that I not only loved but I was good at it. I found I could really express myself through food, which gave me a burning desire to see how far I could go with it – I'm a very determined person," Allen says.
Whilst studying catering at Lancaster and Morecambe College, Allen sought out work experience in high-end and Michelin-starred restaurants in order to develop her potential. "Whilst I was at college, I did a lot of work experience at the Michelin-starred Holbeck Ghyll and I also spent some time at Sharrow Bay. At that point I was trying to get as much work experience as I could in order to enhance my prospects."
"Food gave me a real lease of life, as it was something that I not only loved but was good at"
The time Allen spent at these restaurants ignited her passion for fine dining. "I really latched onto the idea of working with food in that way. It gave me an inside burning and a drive that I couldn't ignore."
Allen's experience then led her to work at the now two Michelin star Le Champignon Sauvage, where she stepped into the role of Commis Chef when she finished college. "It was an incredible place to learn as David Everitt-Matthias (owner of Le Champignon Sauvage) is so passionate and he has this incredible ethos around food. I learned so much about food here and it was a real turning point for me as I could see the journey you could take food on," Allen says.
After working under David for a year and a half, Allen moved back to the Lancashire area and took up the position of Demi Chef de Partie at the Michelin-starred Northcote, which is owned and managed by Chef Patron Nigel Haworth and Director of Wines Craig Bancroft. At Northcote, Allen's career progressed rapidly: "Nigel and Craig have such a great ethos around food. They have always been very encouraging of me as a chef, and helped me to get to where I am today."
In fact, Allen's talents were so well encouraged that within two years of working at Northcote she was promoted to Head Chef. She was just 23 years old. "I'm a really driven person and Nigel and Craig have always given me something to drive towards. They've built up an incredible business here and it's been great to be part of that for the past 13 years. It's helped me to grow as a person: learning how to develop and teach people and progress my skills. It's what's kept driving me forward."
"Nigel and Craig have such a great ethos around food. They have always been very encouraging of me as a chef, and helped me to get to where I am today"
The Nothcote prides itself on its commitment to using local produce, which as Allen points out, makes a huge difference to a dish: "There is nothing better than using food that is in season. If you get something that is ripe and in season, it's at its best, and so ultimately you will be able to create better dishes with it.
"With the seasons, the flavours change. So they are much heartier in the winter and much lighter in the summer. Whether it's cold outside or light outside, all of these things should influence your dishes. It's one of the most creative things about being a chef, using your knowledge of classical flavours and putting a twist on them."
The idea of using locally sourced, seasonal produce at Northcote is sacrosanct: "We have built up a fantastic relationship with suppliers across the area. What some family-run local businesses are producing is very dynamic and some of the things that they grow and produce are fantastic.
"When you're cooking, it's not just about one individual person, but it's about the team of people around you and then, ultimately, it's about the suppliers that produce the elements you need to create an incredible plate of food. If they didn't do it to their best potential to get you some fantastic ingredients, then you couldn't cook Michelin-standard plates of food, so it's really important. And the better you get to know a supplier, the stronger the relationship becomes and you can ask them to grow something in a different soil or hang meat a bit longer. A lot of different things become available to you when you build up a network of reliable suppliers," says Allen.
The standard of Allen's food has seen her win a whole host of awards across her career, and cook for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall following her triumph in the BBC's Great British Menu in 2010. With so many awards under her belt, how does she maintain that standard year in, year out?
"It's all about doing things to your best potential and staying driven and focused. You need to believe in what you are doing, keep pushing the boundaries, keep learning, keep changing and keep sharing your knowledge with other people. And you need to evolve – that's what keeps you motivated."
Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin
Traditionally distilled using the London dry gin method in a small copper alembic still, Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin uses Harrogate spring water and juniper from the distillery's own juniper bushes. Combined with citrus elements and secret botanicals, this 42% ABV gin has a distinct and unique flavour.
Bowland Brewery's Sky Dancer
Bowland Brewery's Sky Dancer is named after a local mating ritual whereby the rare male hen harriers, found in the Forest of Bowland, dance in the sky. Sky Dancer is a 4.5% ABV refreshing golden ale, which pours pale orange in colour and has soft citrus and peach flavours.
Rudgate York Chocolate Stout
Brewed in the Vale of York with a 5% ABV, Rudgate's York Chocolate Stout is a rich, full-bodied premium stout, which pours a dark ebony colour. It is a balance of complex flavours and has a warm, subtle chocolate finish.
Dandelion and Burdock lollipops
Allen boils Dandelion and Burdock cordial with lime juice, water and Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin. She then pours the mixture into moulds and places in the freezer. When they are semi-frozen, she inserts the lollipop sticks. Once they are completely frozen, Allen rolls the lollipops in crushed dandelion and burdock sweets and non-dissolving icing sugar. Allen recommends enjoying the lollipops with a Gin and Tonic.
The main course
Barbeque 'beer can' chicken with winter slaw and loaded potato skin
Allen marinates a chicken in mustard powder, muscovado sugar, malt extract, chilli powder, salt and Bowland Brewery's Sky Dancer golden ale for 24 hours. After that time, she pours more of the ale into a beer can holder, places the chicken on top and roasts in the oven for around 40 minutes. Meanwhile to make the loaded potato skin, Allen roasts a potato in the oven, before scooping out the inside, coating the skin in butter and placing it back in the oven to crisp up. Whilst the skin is in the oven, Allen adds butter, milk, crème fraiche, chives and salt to the potato filling and mixes well. This is then spooned into the crispy skin, to be served alongside the chicken. Allen also serves a slaw with the dish, which comprises sliced carrot, onion, white cabbage and red cabbage. The dressing Allen uses for the slaw is a mix of mayonnaise, crème fraiche, French mustard, chives and salt. To serve, Allen plates up the chicken with some slaw and garnishes with pomegranate seeds and watercress. To wash all of this down, Allen suggests a light ale.
Autumn poached pear, chocolate mousse, honeycomb and chocolate stout ice cream
After peeling wax-tip pears, Allen hollows out the bulbous part and poaches the pears for 15 minutes in Rudgate's York Chocolate Stout, cloves, bay leaf, juniper berries, cinnamon, orange peel, orange juice and soft brown sugar. To accompany the pears, Allen makes a chocolate mousse, which is piped into the hollow pear just before serving. She also makes a stout ice cream, using the same stout, which she serves alongside the pears and the mousse, and tops with honeycomb.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2015 at 8:13 PM.	It is filed under Press Clippings and tagged with Magazine, North West England. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Political factors remained important with Foreign Secretary Hunt stating that talks between the government and Labour Party were more constructive than people think.
Remarks from Fed officials over the need to meet inflation targets limited dollar support amid dovish medium-term expectations.
EUR/USD was little changed as narrow ranges prevailed with a lack of major new factors.
A relatively weak Bank of Canada outlook report undermined the Canadian dollar. Dovish Reserve Bank minutes also undermined Australian dollar support.
Equity markets held firm with a solid tone in risk appetite and significant Chinese market gains on Tuesday.
Oil prices posted net losses amid speculation over increased OPEC output later this year. Precious metals were unable to gain secured support amid a lack of support for defensive assets.
The first ONS economic activity indicator suggested a mixed performance for the first quarter and had little overall market impact. Although risk conditions were benign, a retreat in oil prices limited potential Sterling support.
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There were media reports after the New York close that the Brexit talks would continue throughout the Easter recess, but markets were uneasy over underlying political stresses. GBP/USD held just below 1.3100 on Tuesday with GBP/EUR around 1.1600 ahead of the latest UK labour market data with the wages components important for interest rate expectations.


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