As Small Business Saturday closed out its eighth year on Saturday, November 25th, shoppers provided an encouraging boost to small businesses at the start to the holiday shopping season.
According to data from the 2017 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, released today by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and American Express (NYSE:AXP), an estimated 108 million consumers reported shopping or dining at local independently-owned businesses.
The Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey also found that 70% of U.S consumers are aware of Small Business Saturday. In addition to support on Main Streets, shoppers turned out for online small businesses – with 35% reporting that they Shopped Small® online on November 25th alone.
The 2017 Small Business Saturday 50-State Survey, also released today by the NFIB and American Express, showed 73% of consumers who reportedly Shopped Small at independently-owned retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday did so with friends or family. The most reported reason for consumers aware of the day to shop and dine at small, independently-owned businesses was to support their community (64%).
Shoppers made Small Business Saturday an all-day affair, as 58% of those who participated in the day reported shopping or dining at more than one small, independently-owned retailer or restaurant on Small Business Saturday this year.
On a national level, nearly half (48%) of consumers who participated in Small Business Saturday reported visiting a small business that they had not previously been to on Small Business Saturday.
Relative to the national average, shoppers in Colorado, Hawaii, and Vermont reported pet stores as the type of small business frequented the most; while shoppers in Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York reported visiting a bakery the most; and shoppers in Georgia, Idaho, Texas reported visiting spas, nail salons or hair salons the most.
Full results of the survey and an interactive infographic with state by state breakouts can be found here.
At the local level, Small Business Saturday is fueled each year by grassroots activities organized by Neighborhood Champions— small businesses, business associations, local Chambers of Commerce, and other community organizers that rally their communities to celebrate Small Business Saturday. This year, more than 7,200 Neighborhood Champions (a 7% increase from 2016) across all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and some U.S. territories — engaging an estimated 2.2 million small businesses — celebrated Small Business Saturday on November 25th, showing their love and appreciation for small businesses through activities such as shopping passport programs, pop-up holiday markets, sleigh rides and a Shop Small sand sculpture.
Through the Small Business Saturday Coalition, more than 575 organizations helped spread the Shop Small message this year, an 18% increase over last year. The Coalition, led by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), was created in 2011 to help amplify Small Business Saturday and is comprised of national, state and local associations that help coordinate activities for Small Business Saturday with consumers and small business owners.
A total of 239 federal officials and agencies showed support for Small Business Saturday through posts on Facebook and Twitter.
The United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution designating November 25th, 2017, as Small Business Saturday.
653 city proclamations in support of Small Business Saturday were issued by mayors and other elected officials covering all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
11 unique public service announcements encouraging the public to Shop Small were recorded by government officials across the nation.
American Express enlisted the support of Corporate Supporters to help drive excitement for Small Business Saturday. Nearly 100 companies, including Grubhub, Etsy, Ace Hardware, FTD, Square and Liberty Mutual Insurance came together to promote Small Business Saturday and the Shop Small movement.
Small business owners successfully used the Shop Small Studio nearly 105,000 times for customizable and ready-to-use marketing materials and/or merchandise to help promote their businesses on Small Business Saturday, up 23% from 2016. As part of a new pilot program, downloadable marketing materials were offered in Spanish and 15% of Studio visitors requested assets in Spanish.
From the first of November through the 25th, there were more than 605,000 social media posts combined on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter about Small Business Saturday and/or the Shop Small Movement, and nearly 177,000 were posted on November 25th alone. Posts included consumers showing-off their favorite small businesses, business owners hosting events with promotions and activities taking place on Small Business Saturday, as well as government officials, celebrities and artists showing their support for the day and their favorite small businesses.
OPEN Forum® – A platform that combines content and community to deliver advice to small business owners. This is where small business owners come together to help each other get unstuck on issues like expanding their business, marketing and more complex topics like expense management.
American Express® Merchant Marketing Corner – An online hub where American Express® Card-accepting merchants have access to free online advertising, Shop Small Map inclusion, signage and marketing materials.
Mark your calendar for Small Business Saturday 2018, which will be celebrated on Nov 24th!
November 25th was the eighth annual Small Business Saturday. Dedicated to supporting the diverse range of local businesses that help to create jobs, boost the economy, and enhance neighborhoods around the country, Small Business Saturday was created by American Express in 2010 in response to small business owners' most pressing need: getting more customers. Learn more at and connect with us on ShopSmall.com, instagram.com/shopsmall, facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday.
NFIB is the nation's leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C., and all 50 states. Founded in 1943 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, NFIB gives small and independent business owners a voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business. NFIB's powerful network of grassroots activists sends their views directly to state and federal lawmakers through our unique member-only ballot, thus playing a critical role in supporting America's free enterprise system. NFIB's mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses. More information about NFIB is available online at www.NFIB.com/news.
Morning Consult, on behalf of American Express and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), from November 25-26, conducted the 2017 Small Business Saturday 50-State Survey, among a national sample of 10,000 Americans aware of Small Business Saturday. The data cited are estimated based on self-reported data from this survey and do not reflect actual receipts or sales. Morning Consult used a statistical technique called multilevel regression and post stratification (MRP) to construct state-level estimates from the national survey data. The state level estimates were weighted to approximate a target state level sample based on age, gender, and education. The interviews were conducted online in English, results from the national survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point, and the state-level margins of error vary by state (typically 2 percentage points to 5 percentage points).
The Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey was conducted by Teneo among a nationally representative sample of 2,160 U.S. adults 18 years of age or older. The sample was collected using an email invitation and an online survey. The study gathered self-reported data and does not reflect actual receipts or sales. It was conducted anonymously on November 26, 2017. The survey has an overall margin of error of +/- 2.1%, at the 95% level of confidence. Projections are based on the current U.S. Census estimates of the U.S. adult population, age 18 years and over. The survey was commissioned by American Express and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB).


What do you do when you want to change the world but have only your time to offer? Below are some opportunities to better a life, even if it is just yours.
There are children with few means of survival, and a bleak existence. There are two types of street children: "children of the street" are homeless and on their own while "children on the street" earn but return home at night. While their lives and meager livelihoods exist outside and on the streets, there are many organizations that help make their living more comfortable. These range from facilities providing free showers to wash off the daily dirt and grit of their work, to ones imparting employable skills so they can make a better living in the future. These children can thrive with proper mentorship and attention, countering all the negativity that surrounds them out in the real world on a daily basis.
The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) has Centers for Street Children which provide leisure activities, sanitation and non-formal education, and are a great place to start if you are interested in the cause.
Innocent and voiceless as these creatures are, they are still mistreated and tortured at every turn to an inhumane extent. Rescued animals are in desperate need to be handled lovingly and rehabilitated after their horrifying experiences. From injured cats to abused dogs, every neglected creature could thrive with proper care and a comforting human touch. You can adopt one to call your own, foster them for a while, or visit a shelter to spend some time with them. The love you receive will be one of the few unconditional kinds that exist in this world.
Writers, artists, vets, filmmakers, anyone and everyone is encourage to apply to further the cause of Pakistan Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) or make furry friends at Adopt a Pet.
The ones most deserving of love and attention are those who have no one to call their own. These are the future of our country, left to grow up on their own, with no one taking the responsibility of ensuring their wellbeing except for God. The more you consider how much effort and care goes into raising a child, be it keeping them away from electrical outlets or monitoring their baby food, the more bewildering it is that many grow up with seemingly no one to kiss their skinned knees or take sharp objects out of their mouth.
Organizations bringing up the ones abandoned, whether for lack of care or money, always welcome volunteers willing to bring some joy into these lives. SOS Village orphanages are based on the premise of "It takes a village to raise a child" and provide state-of-the-art care to those it takes in, and can be made better with your time.
There are organizations aimed at teaching employable skills or counseling survivors of abuse. These include women left destitute and defenseless after being thrown out of their homes, divorced or with the unexpected deaths of their loved ones. In a country where many still consider educating their daughters less important than educating their sons, any and all adverse situations can leave a woman at the mercy of others. It is an extreme need of the hour to enable these women to stand on their own two feet and break the shackles of dependency, all the while helping them fight their psychological demons. You can volunteer at Panah Shelter Homes and teach the residents basic skills such as operating computers.
You bring up your little ones with love and care, comforting after each fall and cheering after every rise, from their first steps to their first car. But one day, if they decide there is no longer anything you can give them besides your prayers and thoughts, they decide to leave you in an old age home to await your death. No matter what they use to pacify their conscience, the abandonment is clear and brutal. Many in the old age homes spend their remaining lives believing and hoping beyond hope that their loved ones would come take them back any time. Some while away the time waiting for Eid to come in order to merit a visit from their children, which is not a guarantee either.
Loneliness is not a pleasant feeling for even the most self-sufficient, and these elders are at a stage where they deserve all the love and care anyone can muster. If you choose to volunteer your time and energy here, you will not regret it. Whether it is the regaling tales of past glory and another life, or a comforting hand on your head and a whispered dua, you will take much away from the experience of caring for someone who spent their lives caring for everyone else. You can receive some love from those who have much to give at centers such as Binte Fatima Old Home.
All anyone really wants in this world is to be accepted for who they are, as they are. While many achieve his great feat through success or loved ones, those who are special struggle more than the rest. In a country where it is still not socially acceptable to be physically disabled, caring for those mentally handicapped is a far cry from the norm. We have seen the beautiful talents and success stories, yet we still fail to nurture and integrate those who are different. To do your part, you can volunteer to coach at Pakistan Special Olympics or with the beautiful children at Dar ul Sukun.
What if the cure to cancer, the secrets of the cosmos, and the answer to all our prayers were locked away in the brains of a child who cannot afford to be educated? Is it not a grave injustice that we force many disinterested children to sit through lessons but neglect those who could make the best use of it? When will we reward those wanting to study under streetlights and on their breaks from hawking with the possibility of quality education?
You can volunteer your time at any organization imparting quality education to the masses. One excellent opportunity is the Alumni Development Programme which aims to help The Citizens Foundation alumni gain admission in the best universities in Pakistan and abroad by tutoring them for entry tests. Besides volunteering at an existing organization and teaching the basics to children, you can also take a leaf out of Master Ayub's book and either join his Volunteer programs or open your own open air school. Who knows how many destinies you could change?


If your website doesn't automatically resize so it can be viewed easily on a mobile device, you could be losing business. Imagine a potential customer viewing your website on the smaller screen of a smartphone and being unable to read the text, see the navigation clearly or find where they should click in order to purchase your products?
Google has confirmed that in 2015 more Google searches were done on mobile devices than on desktop or laptop computers. If your website hasn't been upgraded to be mobile friendly, it's likely your customers will simply click over to your competitor's site instead.
Who Purchases on a Mobile Anyway?
Statistics show that 69% of millennials purchase products using their smartphones. By comparison, 53% of Gen Xers and 16% of Baby Boomers use their smartphones to buy products.
When you consider the current data available about the number of mobile purchases being made across varying age groups, it serves as a strong indication that in the near future an increasing number of people will make their purchases on a smartphone.
If your business relies on website traffic to generate leads or to promote your products or services, you're already interested in increasing the amount of traffic you receive. Yet, statistics released in 2014 show that mobile media consumption was 21% higher than that of desktop, accounting for a whopping 51% of all digital media consumption.
If your business uses any type of social media marketing to drive traffic or generate engagement from prospective customers, it's very likely that people accessing your site will be using a mobile device.
Recent statistics show that 60% of internet access is mobile.
If you're hoping to generate interest in your business's products or services via social media your website needs to be mobile optimized.
It's no secret that Google has actively favored mobile friendly sites when determining the search engine rankings. If a potential customer is searching for the exact product or service you offer and your site doesn't show up on those search results, you've lost a prospective buyer.
By optimizing your website to be mobile responsive you increase the likelihood of new customers finding you via search engines.
If you still haven't updated your website, now is the time to invest in mobile optimization. After all, a recent survey revealed that 56% of small businesses have responsive mobile friendly websites.
When you think about the numbers, it means that almost half of your competitors might have un-optimized sites. By updating your business website to be mobile friendly, you have a magnificent opportunity to stand out above the competition.


When doing tasks we are often confronted with a fundamental question: shall I do it fast or do it precisely? From experience we know that achieving both is exceedingly difficult; compromise is the best bet. But can speed and precision be maximised at the same time? A new study from Dr. Filippo Menolascina, Chancellor's Fellow in the Institute for BioEngineering and PI at the Centre for Systems and Synthetic Biology, suggests that there is a way to do so and, even more interestingly, marine bacteria can teach us how.
While studying chemotaxis, the ability of microorganisms to seek nutrients in their environment and accumulate towards food 'hotspots', Filippo and his collaborators have discovered that a species of marine bacteria, Vibrio alginolyticus (a close relative of the bacterium that causes cholera), can dynamically alter its 'swimming style' to (a.) arrive at a nutrient source faster and, once there, (b) precisely identify the exact location and pack more tightly to the hotspot.
"The ocean is meager place," says Filippo says. "Feeding often means waiting for algae to burst or marine 'snow' to pass by: relatively rare events that often last only a few tens of seconds before the nutrients disperse away. Being able to exploit them makes the difference between life and death." The question is then how bacteria solved this problem. Filippo has found that there are two ingredients to success: (a) you need to get there before the others and (b) once there, you need to get the most out of it, i.e. you need to continuously track where the food hotspot is.
Swimming fast seems a good idea, but it will only help you get to the hotspot first. If you are very fast you can overshoot and effectively squander your advantage. Not a wise thing to do, also considered that speeding up is extremely expensive: increasing the swimming speed by a factor of two costs a cell four times as much energy.
Cells, at the microscale, are confronted with complex problems too: how can they make sure they arrive first, eat as much as they can and not waste energy in the process? Filippo has discovered that they increase their swimming speed only when they sense nutrients around them and, when they get to the nutrient source, they backtrack their steps more frequently, irrespectively of whether they are going up or down a gradient of nutrients. "They basically developed their own strategy to use a special combination of the cellular counterparts of gas pedal and handbrake/reverse gear." We can take inspiration from this strategy to build better engineered systems, from robots to synthetic cells, to effectively explore the environment.
Filippo used a combination of single-cell tracking of thousands of marine bacteria in microfluidic gradients and developed a new mathematical model of chemotaxis that explicitly accounts for swimming speed in the chemotaxis pathway.
His work provides closure on the long-standing question of why marine bacteria often swim so fast. In a resource-poor environment, speed not only helps them get there faster but they can retain 'pole position' for longer. This new understanding will help us better understand the ecological role of bacteria in important marine microbial processes such as the utilization of dissolved organic matter to the infection of coral reefs.
The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.
University of Edinburgh Press Release: "Ocean bugs inspire smart therapies quest"


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Q: distribution of diagonal entries of Hermite Normal Forms Consider a $n$-by-$n$ matrix $A$ over the integers and let $H$ be its Hermite Normal Form. Is there any result about the distribution of the diagonal entries of $H$, when $A$ is "randomly selected"? For example, each entry of $A$ can be uniformly random from some $[0, N)$?

A: This problem was studied by Gerard Maze in Natural Density Distribution of Hermite Normal Forms of Integer Matrices (2010). One result:
The probability that an $n\times n$ integer matrix $A$ has an Hermite normal form (HNF) with the integers $d_1,d_2,\ldots,d_{n−1},d$ on the diagonal is given by
$$\bigl(\zeta(n)\zeta(n-1)\cdots\zeta(2)d_1^n d_2^{n-1}\cdots d_{n-1}^2\bigr)^{-1},$$
with $\zeta(n)$ the Riemann zeta function.
The expectation value and variance of a diagonal element have been calculated by Hu et al. in On random nonsingular Hermite Normal Form (2015, paywall). I quote their result:

Note that the distribution of the matrices is different in the two papers: Maze chooses the matrix elements uniformly in the interval $(-M,M)$ for large $M$, while Hu et al. choose the determinant uniformly from that interval.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Posted on 16th February 2018 at 9:43 am.
This article by Stuart Waters, covers some important questions that are being posed about the safeguarding of the dance artist, most specifically within the pressures and demands of the creative process. The article was originally commissioned by Disability Arts Online, www.disabilityarts.online.
Stuart Waters is a UK based performer, choreographer and teacher who recently presented at the Once Dance UK Healthier Dancer Conference held at TrinityLaban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (November 2017). His session "Mental Health and Issue-based Work" proposed the development of support mechanisms for dancers when using emotional triggers in the creative process.
My personal "rock bottom" was a near death experience, ironically, when I was at the peak of my dance performance career. It was a period of 35 days in ICU and 8 months recovery, during which my new dance theatre piece, ROCKBOTTOM, was born.
But I am not alone, and I challenge us to consider mental health in the dance sector. Are people working with awareness, balance and wellbeing or do people work to the point they feel stressed, demoralised and emotional? Are dance works devised with compassion or by harvesting personal experiences in an exploitative manner?
At a time when mainstream media discusses mental health, it is also time to examine what we expect from our dance artists in the 21st century and how they are treated in the name of art. How does the artist find time to do excel professionally and look after their mental health?
As I approached my "rock bottom", my vulnerability was being used as a theatrical tool for authentic moments in creation and performance. I was peaking professionally but imploding as an individual. As I experienced the extreme highs and lows of creation and touring, I became increasingly vulnerable as a member of society. When I returned from tours I felt an emptiness. Over time this led to increased feelings of isolation, loneliness, anxiety and bursts of depression. I turned to unhealthy coping mechanisms in order to deal with the growing confusing feelings that were rising inside me. You could argue this lead to additive and self-harming behaviours that only made everything worse.
But whose responsibility was my safety? Was it mine? The choreographer's? The office staff? My colleagues?
Why was it so hard to discover my illness then to disclose my struggle to my employers, especially when we were working so closely and intimately and knew each other well? Then when I did disclose my situation, even though they worked hard to support me, why didn't it work? Ultimately, how could the worst have been prevented?
Why do we need and want vulnerability from artists? What does it achieve and how? Does it create great art or are dancers needlessly suffering because the choreographers don't have the skills to get that material any other way? Is the cost of these explorations worth it?
In January 2017 I began exploring these questions creatively when ROCKBOTTOM gained Research and Development funding from Arts Council England. I wanted to use my experiences, but I knew it would be an emotional process, diving head first into vulnerability as I revisited what had happened. How would I keep both myself and my collaborators safe?
Skype sessions with a therapist to support trigger moments and overwhelming anxiety. We were surprised by how much we were triggered so this was a private and safe way for us to gather fresh perspective without being consumed or creating anxiety in each other.
Each day began and ended with a "check in" and "check out" that helped us understand where we were emotionally, strengthening the sense we were held in a safe space. Every rehearsal finished with reflection and meditation together. This became invaluable as it gave us closure on the emotions that had been ignited through the day, enabling us to leave the work in the studio and not be haunted by it when we were alone.
Selecting and editing our stories so we could choose when truth needed to bend and flex to serve the art and keep us safe.
Some creation took place in retreat like environment, deep in the countryside. Free from traffic jams and in a protective bubble we felt private and safe to re-visit trauma in a productive way.
Now Arts Council England is funding the creation of ROCKBOTTOM. The strategies I initially devised have been developed further and the choreographic process feels empowering, with a light feeling that is joyful, clear, honest and safe. It has informed the participation sessions I lead, creating an empowering approach that evokes profound responses in participants that surprise everyone with their clarity and revelations.
Some of these changes are small and simple but have an impact on the working atmosphere, happiness and well being of an artist. If I can put these alterations into my art then so can large companies and organisation. Together we can evolve with the times and be a better inclusive place. Art is a great platform for this and dance could lead the way.
Posted on 8th October 2017 at 7:30 pm.
Lots of people see 'health and safety' as a set of rules that are necessary to protect workers but nevertheless can be restrictive and stifling. Certainly, in terms of artistic and creative practice, there are worries that overtly focusing on safety may be detrimental to innovation and risk-taking. But healthy and safe dance practice is so much more than industry regulations; it is the best way to optimise performance and to reduce injury risk.
In the 21st century, there is the research and the technology to move beyond tradition and look deeply into how we dance in order to be more effective practitioners and dancers. Dance leaders benefit from a greater understanding of the different types of dancing body and how the needs of dancers change with their development, level of participation and the stylistic demands of an ever-growing range of genres. We now know more about physiologically effective ways to warm-up and cool down, when and how best to stretch in order to recover and improve flexibility and how to support our bodies with proper nutrition and hydration. By understanding how to structure dance sessions from a physiological perspective, we can enhance the dancer's learning and experience, making it not only safer but more productive. Effective communication will help to nurture a positive environment.
Health and safety guidelines for the physical environment are also important to protect people and this includes knowing how to prepare the spaces in which we dance, ensuring that the facilities used for dance are suitable: the temperature right, floors sprung and so on.
Everyone involved in dance should be able to train, teach, rehearse or perform in a physiologically and psychologically safe and supportive environment. Rather than limiting creative risk, healthy and safe dance practice will support the artform as it continues to develop, enhance performance and, most importantly, support the wellbeing of every dancer.
To keep up to date with the latest recommendations, all dance practitioners – including choreographers, artistic directors and managers as well as teachers and dancers – can refresh their safe practice through continuing professional development (CPD) activities that have distilled research into knowledge that can be applied to everyone's everyday dance practice.
With this in mind, Safe in Dance International (SiDI) and People Dancing recently launched their new interactive online learning programme, Preparing for Safer Dance Practice, at the Jerwood DanceHouse in Ipswich during the first regional meeting in the UK of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS). Held in partnership with One Dance UK and DanceEast, the event focused on The Adolescent Dancer and was a perfect venue and setting to launch this new initiative.
Available to all dance practitioners internationally, Preparing for Safer Dance Practice is relevant to those delivering or dancing in any dance style, from classical ballet and ballroom to Hip Hop and Zumba. It works for anyone – teachers, choreographers, directors and dancers – working in any context and at any level, with children or adults, beginners or professionals.
Dance injuries can happen to anyone at any time but they don't have to be inevitable. Of course, being safe is not just about injuries – being healthy in dance also means having the best experience possible. Simple things such as dancing on the right kind of floor, warming up properly, or maintaining a safe environment, both physically and mentally, will all help. In this way, any dancer, whether a professional performing to thousands on stage, a three year old at her weekly local dance class or an older adult dancing for their health and enjoyment, will be able to get the most from their dancing. Preparing for Safer Dance Practice will help all dance leaders provide an effective and enjoyable experience for all those who dance, regardless of age or experience, at the same time as being mindful of injury risk.
Anna Leatherdale, Producer at People Dancing, describes the new learning package as "every dance leader's passport to safer dance practice". She says, "This is all about ensuring dancers' safety and wellbeing, creating and managing hazard-free environments, being risk aware, becoming familiar with safety laws and regulations and always upholding the principles of safe practice, including when conditions may be less than ideal.
The course can be used as a stand-alone learning resource or to support practitioners when registering for the Preparation for Healthy Dance Certificate (PHDC), which is administered by SiDI. The PHDC gives any practitioner an international professional evaluation of their knowledge and understanding of preparation for healthy dance. It gives the practitioner evidence for parents, employers and students that they can prepare effectively and safely for leading or delivering dance. The evaluation also offers a unique CPD opportunity – the course plus evaluation awards six hours of CPD from SiDI as endorsed by the Council for Dance Education and Training.
Preparing for Safer Dance Practice is available online at an introductory offer of £59.50. The course and evaluation, awarding six hours of CPD, and the Preparation for Healthy Dance Certificate is now being offered for only £84.50.
This article, first published in the Summer 2017 edition of Animated magazine, is reproduced by permission of People Dancing. All Rights Reserved. See www.communitydance.org.uk/animated for more information.


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| A$AP Ferg to headline Spring Fling
Jever Mariwala
A$AP Ferg to headline Spring Fling
Jever Mariwala & Aakshi Chaba 12:10 am, Feb 08, 2018
Hip-hop artist A$AP Ferg will headline Spring Fling this year, the Yale College Council announced on Wednesday at Toad's Place.
In an announcement at Woads, the YCC revealed that Cupcakke, Dagny and Madeon will accompany A$AP Ferg at this year's concert. For the first time in five years, Yale's Spring Fling will feature four artists instead of three, despite a $15,000 decrease in the YCC Spring Fling Committee's budget, which amounts to $274,000, said Lucas Villalobos '19, co-chair of the YCC Spring Fling Committee.
"Obviously not everyone on campus is going to know every artist, but we want to make sure that anyone who shows up will be able to enjoy the performance," said Tyler Bleuel '19, YCC events director. "So we want to make sure that the artist has good live energy, and that the artists are able to feed off of the crowd, and the crowd is able to feed off of the artist."
A New York native and member of the A$AP Mob hip-hop collective, which also includes popular artist A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg is viewed by many as a pioneer of the trap music genre. Bleuel said that A$AP Ferg was the top choice on a YCC survey distributed in October. His song "Plain Jane" has been on Spotify's Top 50 for several months, and other songs of his, such as "Shabba" and "What Do You Do," also have tens of millions of Spotify listens.
Cupcakke, a rapper and singer from Chicago, Illinois, will open Spring Fling, followed by Dagny, a Norwegian pop singer. A$AP Ferg will perform after Dagny, and Madeon, an EDM DJ, will close the event.
Bleuel said that Cupcakke's music employs wordplay and social commentary that students will appreciate. He added that she is "super energetic," noting that the committee's goal this year was to bring energy to Old Campus. Cupcakke's albums were on Rolling Stones' list of the 40 best rap albums in 2016 and 2017, and she has received positive reviews for her recently released album "Ephorize." Cupcakke is also known for her use of edgy, profane lyrics — her most popular song is titled "Deep Throat."
"If CupcakKe is in the lineup, I hope she does 'Deep Throat,'" said Aakshi Aggarwal '21, who was at Toads during the announcement.
Bleuel, who noted that the watched videos of each artist in concert as they decided which artists to approach, said he was excited to see all of this year's acts.
"Dagny will likely be a new name for many students, but she's an amazing performer," Bleuel said. "We were blown away by her stage presence. It's impossible not to bop along to her music."
The YCC Spring Fling Committee distributed its annual survey in early October, asking students to rank both their genre and artist preferences, as well as their opinions on the order of the performances.
The organizers said that most students indicated they wanted the closing act to be EDM, he added, even though EDM is not a popular genre in general.
"Madeon is super exciting to have performing for us this year as one of the most sought after producers in the business," said Griffin Solot-Kehl '19, co-chair of the YCC Spring Fling Committee. "Coming out of the overwhelmingly popular shelter tour and in the process of making a new project this year, students will be thrilled to see somebody of the caliber of Madeon not only DJ but [also] give them a performance to remember."
Villalobas said the committee was able to successfully recruit four acts for this year's concert because it started the process of finding artists earlier than in previous years, after working with the YCC to set a baseline figure for the committee's budget.
In addition to the survey, the committee also uses a variety of other methods to try to understand the genres and artists that currently interest students, Solot-Kehl said. Committee members look at Spotify and Billboard charts, attend different parties and go to Woad's to "see what Yalies are singing the loudest to," he explained.
Bleuel said the Spring Fling committee is constrained in its choices because Yale has a small budget for the event compared to other schools.
"We also have a tighter budget because of the vision that it's the biggest party on campus and we want everyone to feel invited, so we choose to keep it free for all students whereas other schools might sell tickets," Bleuel said. "We don't want someone to have to think twice about going to this amazing event. That being said, we've consistently had a pretty solid lineup."
At Woads, the crowd of dancers reacted enthusiastically to the news that A$AP Ferg will headline Spring Fling, despite technical problems with the YCC's announcement video, which featured Psychology and the Good Life professor Laurie Santos. "It was disappointing that the video didn't work, but I'm just looking forward to Ferg," said Simon Ghebreyesus '21.
Other students said they shared his excitement about A$AP Ferg's performance.
"I only know A$AP, but the others sounded fine," Harry Westbrook '21 said. "The rap and EDM sounded like a good mix."
This year's Spring Fling will take place on April 28.
Jever Mariwala | jever.mariwala@yale.edu
Aakshi Chaba | aakshi.chaba@yale.edu

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Unionized trucking employees of Hendrickson Trucking Co., Jackson, MI, have asked to be allowed to return to work. The workers have been on strike since the summer when labor negotiations broke down.
According to a Michigan Live report, Alan Sprague, president of the Teamsters Local 164 union, said the union put in a request to the trucking company asking it to allow the 25 employees to report to work. Workers have been without a contract since April.
As of Friday, Sprague said he had not heard back from the company about the union's request.
Hendrickson has asked employees to contribute to their health insurance, in addition to other concessions. The company has said the costs to run the business continue to climb every year, and that employees need to make some sacrifices.
The Teamsters union recently filed unfair labor practice charges against the company with the National Labor Relations Board. That case remains open.


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text:
Watch Dave Grohl Cover Blood, Sweat and Tears' 'Spinning Wheel'
Matthew Wilkening
Matthew Wilkening Published: December 18, 2022
Kevin Winter / ullstein bild Dtl, Getty Images
Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin and director Judd Apatow have shared their take on Blood, Sweat & Tears' 1968 hit "Spinning Wheel."
Apatow handles vocals on the track, with Grohl on drums, Kurstin on keyboards and a brass trio in support. The cover was reportedly inspired by a karaoke night the director spent in Hawaii with Grohl's family.
You can watch the video below.
This is the first installment of Grohl and Kurstin's 2022 Hanukkah Sessions series, a project now in its third year of paying tribute to Jewish musicians. For the first time this year the songs were recorded in front of a live audience, with the duo joined by stars such as Beck, Pink, Tenacious D singer Jack Black and Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at a Dec. 5 show in Los Angeles.
"This project, which initially began as a silly idea, grew to represent something much more important to me," the non-Jewish Grohl explained at the end of the 2020 Hannukah Sessions series. "It showed me that the simple gesture of spreading love and joy and happiness goes a long way."
Blood, Sweat & Tears' co-founder Steve Katz first gained fame as guitarist for the all-Jewish band the Blues Project, although in 2008 he told the Jerusalem Post that the group's shared heritage wasn't part of any grand plan. "We never got together because we were all Jewish. I guess it happened because there were so many Jewish musicians in New York."
In 1968 Katz and keyboardist Al Kooper left the Blues Project to form Blood, Sweat & Tears. The horn-charged band's original eight-man lineup included fellow Jewish musicians Randy Brecker, Bobby Colomby and Fred Lipsius. After their debut album failed to generate major sales Brecker and Kooper left the band over creative differences.
Brecker was replaced by the Jewish-born Lew Soloff, and the band brought in new lead singer David Clayton-Thomas for their self-tilted 1968 sophomore album. The album was a smash hit, selling over four million copies and yielding three Top 5 singles including the Clayton-Thomas penned "Spinning Wheel."
Hear Blood, Sweat & Tears Perform 'Spinning Wheel'
Jewish Rock Stars
Next: Top 10 Blood, Sweat and Tears Songs
Filed Under: Blood Sweat & Tears, Dave Grohl, Hanukkah Sessions
Dave Grohl and Friends Perform 'I Love L.A.' at Hanukkah Sessions
Dave Grohl and Jack Black Cover Rush's 'The Spirit of Radio'
Watch Dave Grohl and Karen O Perform 'Heads Will Roll'
Watch Dave Grohl and Beck Team Up on a Thunderous 'E-Pro'
Hear Dave Grohl and His Daughter Perform Janis Ian's 'At Seventeen'
Watch Dave Grohl Cover 10cc's 'The Things We Do for Love'
Dave Grohl Helps Pink 'Get the Party Started' With Hanukkah Cover
Watch Dave Grohl and Billie Eilish Duet on Foo Fighters' 'My Hero'
Dave Grohl Hosts 'Hanukkah Sessions' Live Show in Los Angeles


For HAPN Leaders, Conference ends on Friday, October 26th at 10:00PM (after the private dinner meeting).
We are excited to announce the online registration for our annual gathering is now live! Come join us in Oklahoma City again this year!
We count it a great honor and blessing for your continued relationship with HAPN! There is no cost to attend the gathering but registration is required.
Register by filling out the online form at hapn.us/registration.
Gathering theme and schedule to follow. Please forward this invite to your network and friends.
We look forward to a fruitful time together!


Founding editor/publisher of the art periodicals META 1–4, Stuttgart (1992–1994), case (Barcelona 2001, Porto 2002) and Verksted # 1–6 (Oslo 2003–2006); Director of various art institutions and for a number of cultural boards such as chairwoman of the Art Advisory Board of the Goethe Institut, Member of the International Scientific Board of Bauhaus Foundation Dessau; 1996–2006 Professor for theory, practice and mediation of contemporary art, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna; Member of the curatorial board documenta11; Curator Berlin Biennale; since 2006 Associate Professor and Director of the Visual Arts Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge.
*1961 Linz, lives in Vienna.
Since 1991 Fine arts division of the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna; 1998 MUSA Museum on Demand, reorganization of the contemporary art collection; since 2003 Head of the fine arts division of the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna; 2003: (with Bernhard Denscher) Month of Photographie in Vienna / European Month of Photographie, since 2007 Head of the fine arts division Director of MUSA Exhibition space for the contemporary collection of the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna; Exhibition e.g. Oberösterreich, die Zeichnung im 20. Jahrhundert, OÖ Landesgalerie, Linz, Steyr 1999; Leopold Birstinger, Leopoldmuseum Vienna, 2003-2004; Mutations I-III, in the frame of the European Month of Photographie, MUSA and various institutions in Paris, Berlin Bratislava, Moscow, Rome, Luxemburg 2008-2010; The 1950s: Art and Art Appreciation in Vienna, MUSA 2009; The 1960s: Fantastic Modernism, MUSA 2011; Lieselott Beschorner. Between the Abstract and the Grotesque, MUSA 2011; Beauty Contest, ACFNY + MUSA, New York, Wien 2011-2012; The 1970s: Expansion of Viennese Art, MUSA 2013.
1993–1995 Director of Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg; 1999–2008 Director of Galerie Taxispalais/Galerie des Landes Tirol, Innsbruck; Commissioner Österreich-Pavillon Austrian Pavilion, 53rd Venice Biennale (with VALIE EXPORT); since 2004 member of the Art Advisory Board ERSTE BANK GRUPPE and ERSTE BANK STIFTUNG; Exhibitions e.g. Kunst mit Eigen-Sinn. Aktuelle Kunst von Frauen (with VALIE EXPORT), Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna 1985; Topographie II: Untergrund. Video Installationen im Wiener U-Bahn-System, Wiener Festwochen 1991; Zones of Disturbance, steirischer herbst, Graz 1997; There is no border, there is no border (…), Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck 2007; teaching positions and international visiting professorships e.g. Slade School of Fine Arts, London; Academy of Fine Arts Vienna; Academy of Fine Arts Munich. Publications e.g. Die Frau als Bild. Der weibliche Körper in der Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Berlin, 1993/2003; Die verletzte Diva. Körper, Technik in der Kunst des 20 Jh., (with Christina v. Braun et. al) Cologne 2000.
Curator of the Austrian contribution Biennale São Paulo; 2000–2005 Curator of museum in progress; since 1995 Curator of numerous projects in the frame of Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Niederösterreich; since 1995 member of the board of Kunstrat and co-curator of evn collection, Maria Enzersdorf; Curator of numerous exhibitions BAWAG Contemporary and Co-publisher of the series of artist books BAWAG Foundation Edition; Exhibitions Kunstraum BAWAG Contemporary, Vienna e.g. Gerwald Rockenschaub, 2000; Ragnar Kjartanson, 2011; Franz Graf, 2011; text contributions to several magazines e.g. ARTFORUM, PARNASS, springerin.
1966–1990 Sculptor at the intersection of art and design; 1966–1974 Assistant Lecturer Faculty of Architecture, University of Technology Vienna; 1974–2010 Associate Professor at Academy of Fine Arts Vienna; 1983–1991 President Vienna Secession; 1990–2000 Founding Director Kunsthaus Bregenz; 2002–2010 Director Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig (MUMOK) Vienna; numerous publications on contemporary art and architecture; consulting e.g. for EA Generali Foundation, Österreichische Lotterien, BUWOG (Bundeswohnungsgenossenschaft), BIG (Bundes Immobiliengesellschaft), City of Innsbruck, City of Friedrichshafen; management of several scientific research projects funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research and the FWF (Fund for Scientific Research); Exhibitions at MUMOK e.g. China retour, 2005; Erwin Wurm, 2006; Wiener Aktionismus. Von der Malerei zur Aktion, Arbeiten aus der MUMOK Sammlung Sofia Art Gallery (with Tina Lipsky), 2009; Peter Kogler, 2009.
1968–2003 ORF radio; 1968–1984 Contributor and editor Ö3 Musicbox; 1972–1994 Ö3 Popmuseum; from 1994 Editor Ö1 cultural broadcasting station; 1994–2003 Head of the series Diagonal – Radio für Zeitgenossen; since 1988 Lecturer University of Vienna (contemporary history and visual culture); since 1995 member of Kunstrat evn collection; since 2003 Director Museen der Stadt Wien, Museum of Vienna; numerous publications on Austrian cultural history, art, architecture and urban studies; Exhibitions e.g. Die wilden 50er Jahre (co-curator), Schallaburg 1985; Eroberung der Landschaft, Niederösterreichische Landesausstellung, Semmering 1992; Alpenblick. Die zeitgenössische Kunst und das Alpine, Kunsthalle Wien 1998; Go Johnny Go. Die elektrische Gitarre und ihr Mythos (with Thomas Mießgang), Kunsthalle Wien 2004; FIFTY FIFTY – Kunst im Dialog mit den 50er Jahren (with Gudrun Ratzinger), Wien Museum Karlsplatz 2009; Kampf um die Stadt. Politik, Kunst und Alltag um 1930, Wien Museum im Künstlerhaus, 2009.
1989–2001 ORF cultural broadcasting station Ö1 und and Pop-Radio pop broadcasting station FM4; about 2 200 Reviews, Radio essays and features on contemporary art and architecture; 2000–2002 Artistic director Klangturm St. Pölten, 2002–2005 Senior curator and member of the board O.K Center for Contemporary Art Linz; 2004–2007 WZW –Competence Centre for Municipal Knowledge Transfer; 2004–2007 Project manager and curator of Public Art Vienna; since 2008 several teaching positions and visiting professorship for Sound and Media Theory University of Applied Arts, Vienna; Exhibitions e.g. sounds&files, visual aspects of electronic music (as part in the collective of SPK) Kü̈nstlerhaus Wien; Exhibitions O.K Center for Contemporary Art Linz: The Promise – The Land. Jewish-Israeli Artists in Relation to Politics and Society, 2003; OPEN HOUSE –Art and the Public Sphere, 2004 (both with Thomas Edlinger and Stella Rollig); conception of the series of trans-media sound installations OK-spektral (e.g. with C. M. v. Hausswolff, MESO, Annja Krautgasser); numerous text contributions for institutions such as Centre Pompidou Paris, Vancouver Art Gallery, Centre for Visual Introspection Bukarest and magazines such as artmagazine.cc, camera austria, IDEA, PARNASS, skug, spike, springerin.


text:
Conservation praise for local angler Paul
Paul Smith is pictured (right) receiving his award from Paul Pringle, NI Editor of Irish Country Sports & Country Life magazine and web portal.
A Ballymena man's lifetime passion for angling and his work to protect local fish stocks have earned him an accolade from The Great Game Fairs of Ireland.
Paul Smith was praised by Albert Titterington, Director of The Great Game Fairs of Ireland, as a determined and highly effective campaigner for angling conservation
Albert said, "Paul has proved an energetic member of the No Salmon Netting organisation, opposing salmon netting in Irish waters. His experience, passion for angling and his deep-rooted respect for the natural environment have combined to make him an ardent and respected spokesman for NSN and he has long been a key figure in this dynamic organisation.
"A superb ambassador for angling, Paul has also done sterling work to introduce the sport of angling to increasing numbers of young people. The innovative NSN Put & Take Lake at the Game Fair and Fine Food Festival at Shanes Castle has, in particular, introduced a huge number of children and young people to the sport and many of those who had their first experience of fishing there will, I am sure, continue to enjoy the sport and, in doing so, they will also learn to appreciate our wonderful natural environment.
"We are delighted to recognise his outstanding contribution made by Paul to his sport and to the wider community. Angling needs people like Paul who are prepared to share with others their love of fishing and their enthusiasm for our wonderful rivers, lakes and coast."
Traffic 'returning to normal' after Ballyclare collision


text:
in: The Survivors, Left 4 Dead 2
Preferred weapon
Silenced Submachine Gun
Submachine Gun
Hunting Rifle
Sidearm
P220 and G26
Any weapon picked up by player
Skin color/Race
Face model
Jesy McKinney
Alive (Military Custody)
"Folks call me Ellis. I run an auto shop with a couple of my buddies. We're also in a band. I play bass."
―Ellis, introducing himself
"Kill all sons of bitches. That's my official instructions."
―Ellis
"He's like a five year old. With guns. And a comprehensive grasp of every swear word in the English language."
―Nick
Ellis (also known as El) is one of the four playable Survivors in Left 4 Dead 2. He is the youngest of the group.
A junior mechanic by trade in the city of Savannah, he presents himself as a goofy, beer-loving country guy with an unsophisticated and sometimes naive world view.
According to Chet, from Valve, he is "extremely excited" about everything, like managing to visit a concert and being able to kill a lot of zombies, occasionally doing both at the same time, like in the Dark Carnival finale.
Personality-wise, Ellis is open, friendly, inclusive and extremely optimistic, similar to Louis from the first game. In common with most young men, he is a risk taker and believes himself to be invincible.
He is also easily distracted, often breaking into rants about things that have nothing to do with the current situation: far-fetched stories about his friend Keith and indulging in a flight of fantasy about marrying Zoey and taking her off on a cross-country road trip - all at the most inconvenient of times.
Ellis' facial features are based on Jesy McKinney and he is voiced by Eric Ladin.
1 Official Description
2 Relationships with other Survivors
3 Quotes and Captions
Official Description
Ellis "El"
Hometown: Savannah, GA
Ellis is a mechanic with a love of life, a firm belief in his own immortality, and the ability to treat any setback as a fun dare to impress his friends. Born and raised in Savannah, Ellis divides up his time working at the local garage, hanging out with his buddies, and dropping by for Sunday dinners with Mom—why'd anybody want to live anywhere else?
Then the zombies had to go and spoil it. Now Ellis is looking for new things to occupy his time, and finding plenty. It turns out the zombie apocalypse is one big dare, and there's no shortage of crazy stuff he can try to impress his new buddies.[1]
Relationships with other Survivors
WARNING: The following is conjecture and may not be considered canon.
Ellis' irrepressible optimism leads to some mixed relationships with the other team members, who cannot figure out whether Ellis is genuinely oblivious to the danger they face or has a highly resilient, strong-willed personality which he chooses to mask behind a lighthearted surface persona.
Whatever is supposed to be the truth, Ellis presents to his fellow team members the view that the Zombie Apocalypse is a thrill-laden adventure while his open and friendly nature allows him to form affectionate bonds with his teammates effortlessly. Ellis is quick to claim everyone as his friends, as he will sometimes say, "This is what friends are for," when using a med-kit, or will tell a fallen teammate, "I ain't leavin' you!" and he mourns the most when any member of the group dies. In overall terms, Ellis can be viewed as the group's little brother.
Although his apparent obliviousness to the gravity of the situation implies that he is rather naive or even unintelligent, this view is incorrect: he is not stupid, as he proves many times over in combat and most notably when he comes up with the plan of using Jimmy Gibbs Junior's car to escape the mall.
Coach and Ellis, both being natives of Georgia, get along well together and have a shared useful understanding of local culture and geography, which enables them to navigate Savannah and to make life-saving connections to Jimmy Gibbs Junior, the Midnight Riders, and the Whispering Oaks Amusement Park. However, being true to his profession, Coach is inclined to treat Ellis as an immature rookie team member on many occasions.[2] While he seems to care about the kid, he is not above making at least one condescending judgment about Ellis not being right in the head or telling the original Survivors (in The Passing) that Ellis can be left behind to make room for them—though Coach is probably joking.
Nick generally patronizes Ellis and makes fun of him on several occasions, most particularly in the early campaigns, when Nick does not as yet have much respect for Ellis' fighting ability. For example, when the player looks at Ellis when playing as Nick and uses the vocalize button, sometimes Nick will say Ellis' name in a mocking southern accent. There is never any outright aggression in Nick's stance and this could be construed as simple alpha-male banter designed to put Ellis in his place in the pecking order. In return, Ellis never takes offense and even seems to look up to Nick a bit, starting conversations with him such as having the same suit or sometimes being excited at Nick shooting the helicopter pilot. Once his position in the group is secure, Nick will begin to compliment Ellis on his shooting or engage him in small talk such asking if the Midnight Riders are any good.[3]
Although it may seem that Nick is less caring toward the younger man, he has a soft spot for Ellis, as well; if Ellis dies, Nick will sometimes apologize for his behavior.[4] Ellis is always sad to see Nick die. The only time Ellis is really angered by Nick occurs in an argument over the relative merits of horses for riding or as food. Ellis also may sometimes call the Spitter Nick's mom or his ex-girlfriend. Overall, Ellis sees Nick as a very good friend, as in The Passing, when he suggests that the two of them get a tattoo with Bros on it or when he responds to Nick's exclamation of "I hate you, Ellis" with "Well I still like you, Nick."
Rochelle is the most forbearing toward Ellis, referring to him as sweetie whenever Ellis trails off into one of his long-winded stories about Keith. Although Rochelle seems to have a more realistic grasp of the situation and often sides with Nick, she never patronizes Ellis and is always patient with him.[5] Much of this can be attributed to the fact that she is some years older than Ellis, better educated, is used to dealing with different classes of people in her professional media career, and has more world experiences. Ellis is unfailingly polite toward Rochelle, referring to her with the outdated Miss honorific throughout the first Dead Center chapter. Rochelle perceives Ellis as a non-threatening, what-you-see-is-what-you-get character, and this explains why Ellis is the only one who is able to make her laugh. Overall, theirs is a big sister–little brother relationship, and this is why Rochelle stands up to Nick when he picks on Ellis' crush on Zoey and tells Ellis that in order to win Zoey's heart, "You just be your sweet self." He does tend to be closer to Rochelle than his fellow teammates.
Ellis seems to like Francis. He refers to him as a cool guy a number of times and believes he is trustworthy. He takes Rochelle's joke about having respect for him lightheartedly. He and Francis will even talk about cars and motorcycles until they are stopped by Zoey. Both of them also believe that if there are zombies, there must also be vampires and mummies. Their only conflict comes over Jimmy Gibbs Jr., who Francis either believes to be a guy or a dog who sold tacos.[6][7] If Nick or Coach mentions that Francis will probably steal Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s car, Ellis repeats, "I will kill him," and tells the other Survivors that their mission to New Orleans has changed and that Francis is now their target.
Ellis has a huge crush on Zoey. He considers it love at first sight.[8] Coach and Nick tease Ellis about liking Zoey, but Rochelle defends him. Ellis states that he is a nervous wreck when thinking about Zoey and will even tell the others he wants to marry her.[9][10] At the beginning of The Passing when Ellis tries to talk to Zoey, he will sometimes stutter and ask someone else to talk to her because he is so nervous.[11] When leaving, Ellis will show sadness at having to leave Zoey and wishes to see her again.[12] To some extent, Zoey reciprocates this attraction but not to the same degree as Ellis. On their first encounter (when Ellis crumbles into tongue-tied, love-struck embarrassment), she is never anything other than all business. However, at the end of the campaign, Zoey thaws somewhat and may wistfully wonder if she will ever see Ellis again or whether it would have been a better idea to team up with Ellis' group.
Ellis and Louis get along quite well. Sharing their enthusiasm and optimistic attitudes, they are quick to wish each other the best. Louis finds Ellis funny when Francis and Nick begin to argue. Louis also feels Ellis will definitely make it to New Orleans, praising him as he leaves. Both seem to be avid video game fans, as Louis refers to Counter-Strike & Half-Life, and Ellis to Team Fortress 2 in at least one of their lines.
Quotes and Captions
See: Ellis/Quotes
Ellis' T-shirt can be unlocked via achievements for Xbox 360 avatars after winning 10 games of Versus mode.
The logo on his T-shirt is a "Bullshifters" logo. Correspondence with the developers led to an email reply[13] from Andrea Wickland, the person responsible for the design.
The backstory behind the T-shirt spawns from Ellis' love for trucks. We came up with the idea that Ellis and a group of his high school buddies started up their own truck club, which may or may not still exist, and named themselves the Bullshifters with a logo to boot. A play on words, if you hadn't already guessed: "shifters" referring to cars/trucks, "bullshifters" referring to... well, you get the idea. (Valve's genius writer Erik Wolpaw gets all the credit for that one.)
As for the art, Big Daddy Roth is the influence. He's an artist that is notorious for his motorhead appeal. His style was the obvious one for the shirt design.[14]
Ellis at early builds of the Left 4 Dead 2 beta and Ellis at his look at E3 and Comic-Con versions.
According to one of his lines upon obtaining a Katana, Ellis took karate lessons.
In early designs for Ellis, his cap has the Cross of Saint George on it, this may indicate that at one point in his design stage, he was to be English rather than American.
Ellis' tattoo on his right arm resembles Lewis' tattoo, a character in the game, Primal, on his right arm.
Ellis is the only character to hold a Pistol or Magnum with one hand. Coach and Rochelle also do this when their health is below 40, but this is due to them being in pain or tired.
Ellis will frequently reference other games made by Valve, including Counter-Strike, Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life.
Ellis is apparently a Roman Catholic. This is assumed because of his remark about Nick's suit: "I had one just like that. At my first Holy Communion in second grade." Another possibility is that he is a member of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (which is a part of the Anglican Communion). The Episcopal faith also believes in the sacrament of Holy Communion, and the Episcopal Church has a significant membership in the South, including Savannah, Georgia. The Anglican church also carries out a similar procedure to the communion called Eucharist.
Ellis has many stories to share, most involving his friend Keith in his almost fatal accidents. However, one story he tells in The Mall involves another friend of his, Dave. He tells no other story about him.
Usually after getting hit Ellis stops talking, but on rare occasions he won't stop, resulting in hilarious effects such as Ellis getting hit with a Tank's rock and still telling his stories about him and Keith.
Ellis' line "Die, die, my darlings, die, die, die!" is the same as the lyrics to the song Die, Die My Darling by The Misfits and covered by Metallica. Another line of Ellis' is "I ain't no goddamn sonofabitch" is a line used in the song Where Eagles Dare by The Misfits. Thus it is possible that Ellis, or at the very least someone at Valve, is a big Metallica and/or Misfits fan.
Ellis has apparently been interested in firearms since a very young age, according to one of his lines when picking up an assault rifle: "Man, I've wanted this rifle since I was nine." Interestingly enough, he shows apathy when using a heavy machine gun. He has also claimed to learn how to shoot a gun before he could walk.[15]
When Ellis picks up a chainsaw, he says "Man, if I lose my hand, I'm stitchin' this thing onto the stump", a reference to the cult classic horror movie series Evil Dead, wherein the main character, Ash Williams, replaces his severed right hand with a chainsaw after he is forced to cut it off due to evil spirits possessing it. It could also be a hint towards the video game Madworld , where the player character is an ex-marine with a chainsaw on their arm.
Ellis calls the helicopter whirly-bird likely a reference to Day of the Dead directed by George A. Romero.
Ellis used to run an auto repair shop together with his friends before the outbreak. They were also in a band in which Ellis played bass.
Ellis' cap carries the same symbol as a scrap metal removal poster seen in The Parish.
Ellis in Hard Rain
Occasionally, when a Jockey jumps on Coach's back, he may mistake the Jockey for Ellis, possibly due to Ellis' goofy behavior. Ellis, for obscure reasons, never replies upon the former doing so.
Ellis apparently plays Team Fortress 2, another Valve game, as a community line added in The Passing has him stating that a situation is just like Team Fortress 2, similar to Louis' "Oh man, this is just like Counter-Strike!" This line was probably made for the Badwater Basin custom campaign, which was featured on the official Left 4 Dead blog.
In the Zombie Survival Guide Trailer, Ellis is the only one being directly attacked/targeted by the Special Infected (mainly the Jockey, Spitter, Charger, and Smoker), but he doesn't seem hurt in any way besides fatigue.
During this trailer, Ellis is usually carrying a Grenade Launcher.
Also during the trailer, he was shown to carry multiple primary firearms at the same time (Sniper Rifle and Grenade Launcher on the back and Combat Shotgun in hand. He also briefly carried a Tactical Shotgun).
The only melee weapon Ellis carries in the trailer is a Crowbar.
He loses all of the weapons he carries, though how he lost his Grenade Launcher is unknown. His Sniper Rifle is taken by a Common Infected, he dropped his Tactical Shotgun when a Jockey rode him and he dropped his Combat Shotgun when a Charger pummeled him. However, in the ending elevator ride, after Ellis is back on his feet, Rochelle hands him the Grenade Launcher.
In The Passing, Ellis refers to Jimmy Gibbs Junior's car as Jimmy Gibbs (alternately with Jr. added), personifying the car itself.
Valve's in-game blog revealed the poll results of Thursday 22nd's survey on the community's favorite Left 4 Dead 2 character; for Xbox 360 users, Ellis was first with 43% of the vote, while for PC users, Ellis and Nick shared first place, getting 33% of the vote each. The results were also posted on the official site.[16]
When activating the jukebox, Ellis will sometimes say "Aaay!" in reference to the character Fonzie from the American sitcom Happy Days.
When boarding a rescue vehicle, Ellis may sometimes yell "Run to Jimmy Gibbs Jr.!" even if it is not the racecar as seen in The Atrium or The Port.
Ellis is the only Survivor to mention "Black and White mode" when he is near death. He will state "I hurt so bad, I don't even see right,", showing that he (and the others) may really have bad vision like this near death or that his vision may be blurring slightly as tends to happen when someone is close to losing consciousness.
Apart from Keith, Ellis has some other buddies; Paul (Keith's brother) and Dave are the only ones known so far.
Ellis also mentions his grandfather in one of his stories in The Parish.[17]
On The Hotel in the elevator, Ellis will sometimes mention that he armored up a truck to be 100% zombie-proof and tried to drive away. He then mentions that it was only 99% and that the 1% tore the truck apart (Either by a Tank or by slamming too many Infected with it as seen on Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s Stock Car).
Sometimes, Nick will (likely as a way to poke fun at Ellis) call him "Overalls", the same as one of the names he uses when seeing a Charger. However, contrary to this, if one were to inspect the texture files AND the model of Ellis, it appears that he is wearing coveralls, a one-piece mechanic jumpsuit, rather than a set of overalls. This would also make sense because Ellis was a mechanic.
On the default poster for maps and campaigns without a known poster, Ellis still wears his clothes from the beta rather the retail one.
Despite one of his responses when picking up the Baseball Bat, Ellis doesn't wear a watch.
Upon seeing Rochelle kill a Special Infected, he may say "Well Goddamn, Annie Oakley", which is a reference to Annie Oakley, the American sharpshooter.
On The Sacrifice teaser site, Ellis' hat makes a cameo appearance on the lower left corner of the page.[18] This is because his hat is now an unlockable hat in Team Fortress 2, in celebration of The Sacrifice's release. It, along with the Frying Pan, are given to Team Fortress 2 players who purchase a copy of Left 4 Dead 2.
Ellis' hat is the second hat in the Left 4 Dead universe to make it into the game, the first being Bill's Hat.
Original Concept Art for Ellis shows that he was originally going to wear a John Deere hat, but the hat was changed, likely for licensing reasons.
Before August 26, 2011, a glitch would occur where Coach and Ellis do not speak until Nick is revived, whether it be via a rescue closet or defibrillator. This was patched thereafter.
Ellis, out of any Survivor in their group, seems to possess substantial knowledge about Japanese culture. This is most evident upon obtaining a Katana; he frequently references ninjas upon doing so and jokingly remarks to the others to let him know if they find shurikens (or the way he puts it, "throwing stars") or nunchucks along the way. As mentioned earlier, Ellis also knows karate, a martial art from Japan, although he is never seen fighting Infected with it in-game.
He is referred to as "mechanic" in the game's files.
Ellis is somewhat notorious for not being able to properly name the Special Infected and calls them odd names, possibly due to haste or forgetfulness. For example, he may call the Charger "One arm" and the Tank "Big thing!".
Ellis is similar to Nick Ramos of the Dead Rising series. They are both young mechanics and risk takers who are sometimes naive. Also, both find a tough, feisty, and cynical young woman attractive (Zoey for Ellis, Annie for Nick).
A close up photo of Ellis.
Ellis as he appears in the Left 4 Dead 2 E3 2009 teaser.
Ellis as he appeared in E3 version of The Parish poster.
Ellis with a Magnum as seen in game.
The same car design is on Ellis' cap.
Ellis' face
Ellis and Rochelle on the cover of the August 2009 issue of the Official Xbox magazine.
Ellis' face model, Jesy McKinney.
Eric Ladin, Ellis' voice actor.
Ellis ragdoll model in HLMV.
Dwight Fairfield from Dead by Daylight dressed as Ellis.
↑ http://www.l4d.com/survivors/ellis/
↑ "Man, sometimes it feels like we're baby-sitting, don't it?" --Coach
↑ *in response to Ellis pointing out the Midnight Riders* "Never heard of 'em. They any good?" --Nick
↑ "Hey, Ellis, you know all that shit I was saying? I was just joking."
↑ "Well, he is making the best out of a bad situation...." --Rochelle
↑ "He sold them all the time; he was a great taco man." --Francis
↑ "That's amazing! You mean this car used to belong to the...taco dog?" --Francis
↑ "And it was love at first sight. The other four seconds were gravy." --Ellis
↑ "You know what? This got me thinkin'. I should totally marry that girl." --Ellis
↑ "Ro, it's the zombie apocalypse. First-datin' days are over. Nick, by the way, I'm gonna have to borrow your suit 'cause we're skippin' right to the marriage, brother, then we're goin' cross country. Just her, me, and the Jimmy Gibbs Jr."
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↑ "Man, I sure hope I get to see her again." --Ellis
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text:
Q: Best way to strip punctuation from a string It seems like there should be a simpler way than:
import string
s = "string. With. Punctuation?" # Sample string
out = s.translate(string.maketrans("",""), string.punctuation)

Is there?

A: This might not be the best solution however this is how I did it.
import string
f = lambda x: ''.join([i for i in x if i not in string.punctuation])

A: For the convenience of usage, I sum up the note of striping punctuation from a string in both Python 2 and Python 3. Please refer to other answers for the detailed description.

Python 2
import string

s = "string. With. Punctuation?"
table = string.maketrans("","")
new_s = s.translate(table, string.punctuation)      # Output: string without punctuation

Python 3
import string

s = "string. With. Punctuation?"
table = str.maketrans(dict.fromkeys(string.punctuation))  # OR {key: None for key in string.punctuation}
new_s = s.translate(table)                          # Output: string without punctuation

A: Here is a function I wrote. It's not very efficient, but it is simple and you can add or remove any punctuation that you desire:
def stripPunc(wordList):
    """Strips punctuation from list of words"""
    puncList = [".",";",":","!","?","/","\\",",","#","@","$","&",")","(","\""]
    for punc in puncList:
        for word in wordList:
            wordList=[word.replace(punc,'') for word in wordList]
    return wordList

A: import re
s = "string. With. Punctuation?" # Sample string
out = re.sub(r'[^a-zA-Z0-9\s]', '', s)

A: A one-liner might be helpful in not very strict cases:
''.join([c for c in s if c.isalnum() or c.isspace()])

A: >>> s = "string. With. Punctuation?"
>>> s = re.sub(r'[^\w\s]','',s)
>>> re.split(r'\s*', s)

['string', 'With', 'Punctuation']

A: Just as an update, I rewrote the @Brian example in Python 3 and made changes to it to move regex compile step inside of the function. My thought here was to time every single step needed to make the function work. Perhaps you are using distributed computing and can't have regex object shared between your workers and need to have re.compile step at each worker. Also, I was curious to time two different implementations of maketrans for Python 3
table = str.maketrans({key: None for key in string.punctuation})

vs
table = str.maketrans('', '', string.punctuation)

Plus I added another method to use set, where I take advantage of intersection function to reduce number of iterations.
This is the complete code:
import re, string, timeit

s = "string. With. Punctuation"

def test_set(s):
    exclude = set(string.punctuation)
    return ''.join(ch for ch in s if ch not in exclude)

def test_set2(s):
    _punctuation = set(string.punctuation)
    for punct in set(s).intersection(_punctuation):
        s = s.replace(punct, ' ')
    return ' '.join(s.split())

def test_re(s):  # From Vinko's solution, with fix.
    regex = re.compile('[%s]' % re.escape(string.punctuation))
    return regex.sub('', s)

def test_trans(s):
    table = str.maketrans({key: None for key in string.punctuation})
    return s.translate(table)

def test_trans2(s):
    table = str.maketrans('', '', string.punctuation)
    return(s.translate(table))

def test_repl(s):  # From S.Lott's solution
    for c in string.punctuation:
        s=s.replace(c,"")
    return s

print("sets      :",timeit.Timer('f(s)', 'from __main__ import s,test_set as f').timeit(1000000))
print("sets2      :",timeit.Timer('f(s)', 'from __main__ import s,test_set2 as f').timeit(1000000))
print("regex     :",timeit.Timer('f(s)', 'from __main__ import s,test_re as f').timeit(1000000))
print("translate :",timeit.Timer('f(s)', 'from __main__ import s,test_trans as f').timeit(1000000))
print("translate2 :",timeit.Timer('f(s)', 'from __main__ import s,test_trans2 as f').timeit(1000000))
print("replace   :",timeit.Timer('f(s)', 'from __main__ import s,test_repl as f').timeit(1000000))

This is my results:
sets      : 3.1830138750374317
sets2      : 2.189873124472797
regex     : 7.142953420989215
translate : 4.243278483860195
translate2 : 2.427158243022859
replace   : 4.579746678471565

A: myString.translate(None, string.punctuation)

A: Here's a solution without regex.
import string

input_text = "!where??and!!or$$then:)"
punctuation_replacer = string.maketrans(string.punctuation, ' '*len(string.punctuation))
print ' '.join(input_text.translate(punctuation_replacer).split()).strip()

Output>> where and or then

*

*Replaces the punctuations with spaces

*Replace multiple spaces in between words with a single space

*Remove the trailing spaces, if any with
strip()

A: Why none of you use this?
 ''.join(filter(str.isalnum, s))

Too slow?

A: I was looking for a really simple solution. here's what I got:
import re

s = "string. With. Punctuation?"
s = re.sub(r'[\W\s]', ' ', s)

print(s)
'string  With  Punctuation '

A: # FIRST METHOD
# Storing all punctuations in a variable
punctuation='!?,.:;"\')(_-'
newstring ='' # Creating empty string
word = raw_input("Enter string: ")
for i in word:
     if(i not in punctuation):
                  newstring += i
print ("The string without punctuation is", newstring)

# SECOND METHOD
word = raw_input("Enter string: ")
punctuation = '!?,.:;"\')(_-'
newstring = word.translate(None, punctuation)
print ("The string without punctuation is",newstring)

# Output for both methods
Enter string: hello! welcome -to_python(programming.language)??,
The string without punctuation is: hello welcome topythonprogramminglanguage

A: Here's one other easy way to do it using RegEx
import re

punct = re.compile(r'(\w+)')

sentence = 'This ! is : a # sample $ sentence.' # Text with punctuation
tokenized = [m.group() for m in punct.finditer(sentence)]
sentence = ' '.join(tokenized)
print(sentence)
'This is a sample sentence'

A: Not necessarily simpler, but a different way, if you are more familiar with the re family.
import re, string
s = "string. With. Punctuation?" # Sample string
out = re.sub('[%s]' % re.escape(string.punctuation), '', s)

A: string.punctuation is ASCII only! A more correct (but also much slower) way is to use the unicodedata module:
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
from unicodedata import category
s = u'String — with -  «punctation »...'
s = ''.join(ch for ch in s if category(ch)[0] != 'P')
print 'stripped', s

You can generalize and strip other types of characters as well:
''.join(ch for ch in s if category(ch)[0] not in 'SP')

It will also strip characters like ~*+§$ which may or may not be "punctuation" depending on one's point of view.

A: I usually use something like this:
>>> s = "string. With. Punctuation?" # Sample string
>>> import string
>>> for c in string.punctuation:
...     s= s.replace(c,"")
...
>>> s
'string With Punctuation'

A: with open('one.txt','r')as myFile:

    str1=myFile.read()

    print(str1)

    punctuation = ['(', ')', '?', ':', ';', ',', '.', '!', '/', '"', "'"]

for i in punctuation:

        str1 = str1.replace(i," ")
        myList=[]
        myList.extend(str1.split(" "))
print (str1)
for i in myList:

    print(i,end='\n')
    print ("____________")

A: Try that one :)
regex.sub(r'\p{P}','', s)

A: The question does not have a lot of specifics, so the approach I took is to come up with a solution with the simplest interpretation of the problem: just remove the punctuation.
Note that solutions presented don't account for contracted words (e.g., you're) or hyphenated words (e.g., anal-retentive)...which is debated as to whether they should or shouldn't be treated as punctuations...nor to account for non-English character set or anything like that...because those specifics were not mentioned in the question.  Someone argued that space is punctuation, which is technically correct...but to me it makes zero sense in the context of the question at hand.
# using lambda
''.join(filter(lambda c: c not in string.punctuation, s))

# using list comprehension
''.join('' if c in string.punctuation else c for c in s)

A: Regular expressions are simple enough, if you know them.
import re
s = "string. With. Punctuation?"
s = re.sub(r'[^\w\s]','',s)

A: For Python 3 str or Python 2 unicode values, str.translate() only takes a dictionary; codepoints (integers) are looked up in that mapping and anything mapped to None is removed.
To remove (some?) punctuation then, use:
import string

remove_punct_map = dict.fromkeys(map(ord, string.punctuation))
s.translate(remove_punct_map)

The dict.fromkeys() class method makes it trivial to create the mapping, setting all values to None based on the sequence of keys.
To remove all punctuation, not just ASCII punctuation, your table needs to be a little bigger; see J.F. Sebastian's answer (Python 3 version):
import unicodedata
import sys

remove_punct_map = dict.fromkeys(i for i in range(sys.maxunicode)
                                 if unicodedata.category(chr(i)).startswith('P'))

A: string.punctuation misses loads of punctuation marks that are commonly used in the real world. How about a solution that works for non-ASCII punctuation?
import regex
s = u"string. With. Some・Really Weird、Non?ASCII。 「(Punctuation)」?"
remove = regex.compile(ur'[\p{C}|\p{M}|\p{P}|\p{S}|\p{Z}]+', regex.UNICODE)
remove.sub(u" ", s).strip()

Personally, I believe this is the best way to remove punctuation from a string in Python because:

*

*It removes all Unicode punctuation

*It's easily modifiable, e.g. you can remove the \{S} if you want to remove punctuation, but keep symbols like $.

*You can get really specific about what you want to keep and what you want to remove, for example \{Pd} will only remove dashes.

*This regex also normalizes whitespace. It maps tabs, carriage returns, and other oddities to nice, single spaces.

This uses Unicode character properties, which you can read more about on Wikipedia.

A: From an efficiency perspective, you're not going to beat
s.translate(None, string.punctuation)

For higher versions of Python use the following code:
s.translate(str.maketrans('', '', string.punctuation))

It's performing raw string operations in C with a lookup table - there's not much that will beat that but writing your own C code.
If speed isn't a worry, another option though is:
exclude = set(string.punctuation)
s = ''.join(ch for ch in s if ch not in exclude)

This is faster than s.replace with each char, but won't perform as well as non-pure python approaches such as regexes or string.translate, as you can see from the below timings.  For this type of problem, doing it at as low a level as possible pays off.
Timing code:
import re, string, timeit

s = "string. With. Punctuation"
exclude = set(string.punctuation)
table = string.maketrans("","")
regex = re.compile('[%s]' % re.escape(string.punctuation))

def test_set(s):
    return ''.join(ch for ch in s if ch not in exclude)

def test_re(s):  # From Vinko's solution, with fix.
    return regex.sub('', s)

def test_trans(s):
    return s.translate(table, string.punctuation)

def test_repl(s):  # From S.Lott's solution
    for c in string.punctuation:
        s=s.replace(c,"")
    return s

print "sets      :",timeit.Timer('f(s)', 'from __main__ import s,test_set as f').timeit(1000000)
print "regex     :",timeit.Timer('f(s)', 'from __main__ import s,test_re as f').timeit(1000000)
print "translate :",timeit.Timer('f(s)', 'from __main__ import s,test_trans as f').timeit(1000000)
print "replace   :",timeit.Timer('f(s)', 'from __main__ import s,test_repl as f').timeit(1000000)

This gives the following results:
sets      : 19.8566138744
regex     : 6.86155414581
translate : 2.12455511093
replace   : 28.4436721802

A: I haven't seen this answer yet. Just use a regex; it removes all characters besides word characters (\w) and number characters (\d), followed by a whitespace character (\s):
import re
s = "string. With. Punctuation?" # Sample string
out = re.sub(ur'[^\w\d\s]+', '', s)

A: Here's a one-liner for Python 3.5:
import string
"l*ots! o(f. p@u)n[c}t]u[a'ti\"on#$^?/".translate(str.maketrans({a:None for a in string.punctuation}))

A: Apparently I can't supply edits to the selected answer, so here's an update which works for Python 3. The translate approach is still the most efficient option when doing non-trivial transformations.
Credit for the original heavy lifting to @Brian above. And thanks to @ddejohn for his excellent suggestion for improvement to the original test.
#!/usr/bin/env python3

"""Determination of most efficient way to remove punctuation in Python 3.

Results in Python 3.8.10 on my system using the default arguments:

set       : 51.897
regex     : 17.901
translate :  2.059
replace   : 13.209
"""

import argparse
import re
import string
import timeit

parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument("--filename", "-f", default=argparse.__file__)
parser.add_argument("--iterations", "-i", type=int, default=10000)
opts = parser.parse_args()
with open(opts.filename) as fp:
    s = fp.read()
exclude = set(string.punctuation)
table = str.maketrans("", "", string.punctuation)
regex = re.compile(f"[{re.escape(string.punctuation)}]")

def test_set(s):
    return "".join(ch for ch in s if ch not in exclude)

def test_regex(s):  # From Vinko's solution, with fix.
    return regex.sub("", s)

def test_translate(s):
    return s.translate(table)

def test_replace(s):  # From S.Lott's solution
    for c in string.punctuation:
        s = s.replace(c, "")
    return s

opts = dict(globals=globals(), number=opts.iterations)
solutions = "set", "regex", "translate", "replace"
for solution in solutions:
    elapsed = timeit.timeit(f"test_{solution}(s)", **opts)
    print(f"{solution:<10}: {elapsed:6.3f}")

A: For serious natural language processing (NLP), you should let a library like SpaCy handle punctuation through tokenization, which you can then manually tweak to your needs.
For example, how do you want to handle hyphens in words? Exceptional cases like abbreviations? Begin and end quotes? URLs? IN NLP it's often useful to separate out a contraction like "let's" into "let" and "'s" for further processing.

A: Considering unicode. Code checked in python3.
from unicodedata import category
text = 'hi, how are you?'
text_without_punc = ''.join(ch for ch in text if not category(ch).startswith('P'))

A: You can also do this:
import string
' '.join(word.strip(string.punctuation) for word in 'text'.split())

A: When you deal with the Unicode strings, I suggest using PyPi regex module because it supports both Unicode property classes (like \p{X} / \P{X}) and POSIX character classes (like [:name:]).
Just install the package by typing pip install regex (or pip3 install regex) in your terminal and hit ENTER.
In case you need to remove punctuation and symbols of any kind (that is, anything other than letters, digits and whitespace) you can use
regex.sub(r'[\p{P}\p{S}]', '', text)  # to remove one by one
regex.sub(r'[\p{P}\p{S}]+', '', text) # to remove all consecutive punctuation/symbols with one go
regex.sub(r'[[:punct:]]+', '', text)  # Same with a POSIX character class

See a Python demo online:
import regex

text = 'भारत India <><>^$.,,! 002'
new_text = regex.sub(r'[\p{P}\p{S}\s]+', ' ', text).lower().strip()
# OR
# new_text = regex.sub(r'[[:punct:]\s]+', ' ', text).lower().strip()

print(new_text)
# => भारत india 002

Here, I added a whitespace \s pattern to the character class

A: I like to use a function like this:
def scrub(abc):
    while abc[-1] is in list(string.punctuation):
        abc=abc[:-1]
    while abc[0] is in list(string.punctuation):
        abc=abc[1:]
    return abc

A: Remove stop words from the text file using Python
print('====THIS IS HOW TO REMOVE STOP WORS====')

with open('one.txt','r')as myFile:

    str1=myFile.read()

    stop_words ="not", "is", "it", "By","between","This","By","A","when","And","up","Then","was","by","It","If","can","an","he","This","or","And","a","i","it","am","at","on","in","of","to","is","so","too","my","the","and","but","are","very","here","even","from","them","then","than","this","that","though","be","But","these"

    myList=[]

    myList.extend(str1.split(" "))

    for i in myList:

        if i not in stop_words:

            print ("____________")

            print(i,end='\n')


text:
Orchid species distribution in rangelands of Epirus, Greece
The orchid family (Orchidaceae L.) is one of the richest plant families in the world, including at least 24,000 species and subspecies. In Greece the number exceeds 200 taxa, while the endemics are 50 or more. These numbers often change, as new species are described or others considered until recently as endemics in Greece, are recorded in neighbouring countries. This research carried out at various rangeland types of Epirus region. A total of 58 species and subspecies were identified. The majority of taxa belong to the genera Ophrys and Orchis. The results revealed that the highest number of taxa (37) exists in forest openings and silvopastoral systems especially of oak trees, followed by 25 taxa in grasslands and 22 taxa in open shrublands (evergreen broadleaved species). The lower orchid richness, 17 taxa, was found in the phryganic ecosystems. As a conclusion, rangeland ecosystems of Epirus are significantly rich in orchids and their conservation, especially in oak silvopastoral systems, seems to be of particular importance for the maintenance of orchid diversity.
Συγγραφείς:Filis E.1, Kyrkas D.2, Vasdekis E.3, Konstantinou M.4, Mantzanas K.5
1Directorate of Agricultural Affairs of Epirus, Decentralized Administration of Epirus – Western Macedonia, P.O.Box 1290, 454 45 Ioannina, Greece, 2Department of Floriculture & Landscape Architecture, Epirus Institute of Technology, 471 00 Arta, Greece, 3Department of Agricultural Economics, Region of Epirus, 45110 Ioannina, Greece, 4Department of Landscape Architecture, Kavala Institute of Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, 661 00 Drama, Greece, 5 Laboratory of Rangeland Ecology, Aristotle University, P.O.Box 286, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Λέξεις Κλειδιά:Epirus, orchids, rangeland types, oak silvopastoral systems
Βιβλίο:Dry Grasslands of Europe: Grazing and Ecosystem Services, Proceedings of 9th European Dry Grassland Meeting (EDGM) Prespa, Greece, 19-23 May 2012 © 2013 HELLENIC RANGE AND PASTURE SOCIETY (HERPAS) Edited by: Vrahnakis M., A.P. Kyriazopoulos, D. Chouvardas and G. Fotiadis


Yesterday I showed you the Mr Bump and Little Miss Naughty jumpers that I designed for issue 79 of Knit Now magazine. Today I'm sharing the other pattern set I have in the issue: my Scheurich hat and mitts set.
The set is directly inspired by the onion motif used in Scheurich Keramik pottery. As soon as I saw the pottery, which features highly textured smoothly curved lines that look a little like the layers in an onion, I knew I had to replicate the curves in knitting.
The hat and mitts are both knitted in the round from the bottom up, starting with a 2 x 2 rib cuff and a ribbed-cable panel that starts in the ribbing and continues along the length of the item, on a stocking stitch base.
At the top of the hat, the cable reduces in size, and continues right up into the crown. The mitts have a plain thumb gusset that is worked at the same time as the rest of the mitt, and the thumbs are finished with 2 x 2 ribbing.
Each item comes in three sizes, so you should be able to find a size that fits you perfectly.
The set is knitted in Yarn Stories Fine Merino DK,* which comes in a variety of solid colours. If you fancied making a really special version of the set, I would suggest using a semi-solid such as The Yarn Collective Bloomsbury DK,* which would emulate the glossy glaze in the pottery.
The Scheurich hat and mitts set is available in issue 79 of Knit Now magazine, which is available in shops now, or you can order a copy online.


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In recent years, social media has had a tremendous impact on various aspects of the way we live, but nowhere has this been more obvious than the advent of the dating service. The ability to communicate instantly, within the parameters of your choice, with individuals in any geographic location, has revolutionized how we date. Those good old days of bumping into complete strangers in bars and thinking of appropriate chat-up lines, or arranging to meet blind dates at some designated spot, now seem positively archaic.
Social media allows you to share photographs on Instagram, upload your CV to LinkedIn, join in group discussions about your hobbies on Facebook, or even tweet your favorite popstar via your Twitter account. But when it comes to the impact it has had on relationships, which areas are most affected?
There was a time when meeting someone new involved a lot of groundwork. You had to spend time choosing an appropriate outfit, then spend a fair amount of money heading out to social settings – typically, bars – in your quest for someone suitable for a relationship. With the advent of dating websites and apps, all you have to do is create an account then log in and begin browsing through the personals, as if you're selecting items from the menu of your favorite takeaway outlet.
You can find out so much about a prospective partner without leaving your home. All the information you could possibly require can be tapped into via your web browser. If you'd like to get acquainted with someone who has interested you, there are often options for a web chat. In fact, should you happen to fall for someone on a dating website who lives further afield in your own country, or in some remote location, you can quite easily establish a meaningful relationship without actually meeting in person.
This latter aspect really has made the most of social media's ability to cross cultural boundaries. Previously people who were looking for potential dates were restricted to a narrow pool of possibilities – singles local to themselves who attended the same bars or clubs. With the advent of social media and global dating sites, many users now embrace the excitement of reaching out to people in different countries.
When meeting a potential partner in one of the traditional locations, there is only so much background information you can glean from a conversation, especially when this is conducted against a backdrop of noisy music. Going online allows you to build up a much more rounded picture of a potential partner.
Because a lot of individuals have several strings to their bow when it comes to social media, exchanging messages with someone new on a dating site is just one way of finding out more about them. Once you know their name and location and have checked out their profile photo and description, you can uncover so many more interesting details by appraising their Facebook profile or Instagram posts. Immediately you can suss out their hobbies and interests, and whether or not they have an interesting looking bunch of family and friends.
Unfortunately, social media can also be a double-headed sword. Sure, it represents an extremely convenient way of touching base, especially when you are reaching out to other singles who may be looking for a date. On the other hand, the ubiquitous nature of this form of communication can prove irresistible. When individuals do meet up for dates, their phone is often at arm's length. It will only be a matter of time before they're distracted by the latest Snapchat or Facebook post.