1. The Party Wall is a novel of pairs. Where can you see duality in this book?
2. Although Madeleine's situation is unique, many of her struggles could be considered universal. Do you identify in any way with Madeleine? Why or why not?
3. How do you think the narrative would be different if Ariel and Marie's story ended after the big revelation? What do you think is the effect of showing the consequences of that pivotal moment?
4. Simon and Carmen may experience an earthquake in a way that none of the others do, but in what sense do all the characters have to deal with their own personal earthquake?
5. What do you think is the effect of using "The Sisters in the Walls" as a way to close the novel? What does it mean for Monette and Angie? Do you think the sisters in the walls represent any of the other sets of characters in the novel?
6. Is the ending satisfying to you? If so, why? If not, how would you change it? Do you feel differently about the individual endings to each narrative thread?
7. If you could ask the author one question, what would it be?


text:
Split Enz é um grupo musical neozelandês cuja música é uma mescla de vários estilos como rock, art rock, new wave, punk rock, vaudeville, swing e pop.

O conjunto também era conhecido pelo figurino exótico de seus integrantes. Nas apresentações do grupo era comum o uso de roupas com cores berrantes, exagero em algumas performances, nas fotografias e outras  esquisitices.

O Split Enz foi liderado, em sua fase inicial, por Tim Finn e Phil Judd e, a partir do quarto ano, pelos irmãos Tim e Neil Finn.

Em 1980, o grupo chegou ao sucesso com o álbum True Colours e com o single "I got you". Quatro anos mais tarde, o conjunto chegava ao fim e os membros criaram outras bandas como Crowded House e Finn Brothers, embora tenham se reunido posteriormente em muitos eventos.

Membros
 Geoff Chunn ( bateria ) 1973-74
 Mike Chunn ( baixo ) 1972-77
 Noel Crombie ( bateria , percussão) 1974-84
 Emlyn Crowther ( bateria ) 1974-76
 Neil Finn ( voz , guitarra , teclados ) 1977-84
 Tim Finn ( voz , piano , guitarra ) 1972-84
 Robert Gillies ( saxofone , trompete ) 1973-74 , 1974-78
 Miles Golding ( violino ) 1972-73
 Malcom Green ( bateria ) 1976-81
 Noel Griggs ( baixo ) 1977-84
 Paul Hester ( bateria ) 1983-84
 Mike Howard ( flauta ) 1972-73
 Philip Judd ( voz , guitarra , bandolim) 1972-77 , 78
 Eddie Rayner ( teclados ) 1974-84
 Wally Wilkinson ( guitarra ) 1973-75

Discografia
 Mental Notes (1975)
 Second Thoughts (1976)
 Dizrythmia (1977)
 Frenzy (1979)
 True Colours (1980)
 Waiata (1981)
 Time and Tide (1982)
 Conflicting Emotions (1983)
 See Ya 'Round (1984)

Ligações externas

Bandas da Nova Zelândia
Bandas de new wave
Bandas formadas em 1972
Vencedores do ARIA Awards
Split Enz

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


High Point – The white bean chicken chili was incredibly yummy. (I can say this without being a braggart, as aside from selecting the recipe, Bryan did all the actual work – I'm realizing this has become a mini-theme in the past couple of posts...sad.) He tweaked the recipe a bit to add more flavor, specifically reversing the amounts of half and half and chicken broth and amping up the spices a bit.
Overall it was a major crowd pleaser, which is good, as I was pretty nervous going in based on what we now commonly refer to as the "Great White Bean Chicken Chili Incident of 2002", when we made a massive pot, only to realize as we were spooning it up to 20 guests that the chili powder was rancid. Thank goodness for the deli at Central Market.
Low Point -- I have A LOT of Sprinkles cupcakes leftover, and I can't stop eating them. It's a bad scene over here people. I'm going to need a Sprinkles intervention shortly. They're pretty darn amazing.
And yes, sweet Millie did seem to have an awful lot of fun.
happy birthday millie! I'm going to have to try that recipe!
so cute! I love the round happy birthday circles, I've always wanted to try that one from Martha. also, your lamps are RAD, and that white sweater is great, mind if I ask where you got it?
millie - what eyelashes and lips you have!


text:
SW.
The new internet.
The Freaking Future
THE FUTURE! Time Travel via Music; Rich People Eateries;
Urban Ghost Towns; The Meaning Of Life
What is the future? What is the past? What is the present? Why is the Financial District empty at 11 AM? Hello??? Can anybody hear me????
THIS ARTICLE IS BEST VIEWED ON MOBILE DEVICES.
SAMUEL HYLAND
I began thinking particularly compulsively about the hereafter when I started taking time to delve into Matt Martians and his low-key brand of far-out Afro-futurism: the future, I began to realize mid-phase, is the only thing that no human being on Earth has any widely credited acute knowledge of. There are extensively believed, somewhat credible firsthand accounts of what happens after death. Just as much, if not to an even greater extent, there exists a widespread slew of eyewitness accounts that provided enough insight into the paranormal over time for us to build an entire artistic subculture off of their collective essence – how do we know the exact course of action for when the ghost of Mary I of England appears in our bathroom mirror, and not remotely the same for an in-house fire (although it is debatable, for some, which of the two circumstances is more life-threatening)? The intelligence of modern man extends without restraint: hexes; the occult; finessing the stock market; unearthing ancient spiritual practices. And still – regardless of our wits – we do not know a single thing for certain about what tomorrow may look like.
The future was heavy on my mind when I was woken up by my twin sister early this morning. My sister has a soft way of knocking that quickly becomes irritating when left to persist for too long. Rather than make that swift flick-of-the-wrist motion that allows for the kind of hearty pound omnipresent in high-rise corporate headquarters, she pushes her balled hand into the wood for about four sporadic repetitions; she doesn't 'rap' at the door, she taps at it. I was being woken up early – 5:30 AM as opposed to my preferred, remote learning-appropriate 11:something – because I had promised her that I would attend an all-important cooking showdown she was to compete in downtown, with a scholarship to her dream culinary school being on the line. A large part of the reason for which I had obliged was guilt: her school holds annual galas in which student-chefs showcase their skills for the best in the business, and I had not ever been to a single one, by choice. The remainder of the pie chart, selfishly, was the allure of a mini-road trip to the Financial District. How much of my to-listen playlist will I be able to knock out in an hour and thirty minutes? I was scoping out the entire thing in my head, divvying up album lengths, checking the morning news with crossed fingers for slower-than-usual traffic rates.
"It becomes increasingly hard to contemplate the future – let alone through an afrofuturist lens – when the music makes you feel as if the present moment is inescapable."
Vince Staples' generally favored 2017 LP Big Fish Theory was what I wound up deciding on for the drive there, because although I was supposed to have listened to it years ago, the circumstances were never just right for me to do so. Generally, there are certain albums I only allow myself to listen to when I am happy. This was one of those albums. The year I was initially planning on hearing it for the first time (2020, surprisingly), I had an acute plan as to how I was supposed to achieve this obscure goal of happiness, after which I would reward myself with the new music: win that big national youth journalism medal (I lost big-time); be invited to talk about your award-winning work on a panel at the Met Museum (again: I lost big-time); be accepted to that competitive pre-collegiate summer program ($13,000 is not the best amount to ask your parents to whip out for one 3-week experience); listen to the Vince Staples album on your way to visit Syracuse University on the first day of spring break. None of this, of course, happened as planned, and I wound up pushing the album to the side because it only really served to remind me of a sadder version of myself. Today – conversely – I was particularly happy because of the fact that I would be missing school for the sake of the road trip. Every piece I had read about Big Fish Theory up to that point, too, painted the LP as the sort of self-directed, forward-thinking, musical time-travel masterpiece that would prove to quench my curiosity about the future if anything at all. It only made sense for me to capitalize on the moment.
We exited the front door at 6:15 AM on the dot – which was, in a very weird way, perfectly in concordance with the suggested departure time given by Google Maps the previous night. I was trying to go into a mental wormhole about the ways it could have been possible that we inadvertently predicted the future, but I did not have the resolve to seek it out as thoroughly, because it was – again – 6:15 AM. There was a thick layer of fog outside when we hit the highway, which would not go anywhere for the remainder of the day. It struck me as deja vu. The last time I listened to an album in the backseat on a foggy early-morning trip was the spring of 2019, when I first heard The Ooz by King Krule. That was a much earlier wake-up, 4 o'clock-ish, and my family and I were on our way to Boston for a college tour the day after Easter. Most of the parallels were too vivid to overlook: moist highway pavement. Yawn-filled Spotify forays. Last-minute, half-awake emails. Once again, I wanted to speculate about how we could have predicted the future in advance; and once again, I was too groggy to do so.
With the way Big Fish Theory started out, I was hyped out of my mind to finally be tapping into some audio-tactile iteration of the future I had been obsessing over. It seemed indubitable that the new-age-oriented reviews I had read were more than kosher: even Staples himself, I learned whilst reading the album's Pitchfork assessment, referred to it as both futuristic and afrofuturistic over the course of its rollout. Opening track 'Crabs In A Bucket' sounded like something constructed as a direct, prototypical brainchild of whatever timeless factory Yeezus was manufactured in. Staples sneered about haters who wanted to see you at the bottom – antagonists who elevated themselves over you in futile hopes of escaping inevitable failure – generational battles within the American socioeconomic system that would not be won any time soon. (Battle with the white man day by day / Feds takin' pictures doin' play by play / They don't ever want to see the black man eat / Nails in the black man's hands and feet). I was invested, paying every word close attention, bopping my head. The rest of the album, in stark contrast, was so boring that I was angry when it ended – not because it was over (that was the good news), nor because it stirred me with its messaging (which it did, but not as grippingly), but because it was supposed to represent my reward for a happiness I had long fought to achieve. And it did not feel like nearly enough.
"-to live in the now is to aspire towards beating the clock of fate – but to live in the past is to remove yourself from the equation. There is no sense of imminent necessity to work towards a further point in eternity, because what will happen has already happened; what will exist already exists; you are already all that you will ever evolve into. Not mental absence – mental Non-presence."
Big Fish Theory is, without mistake, a very forward-thinking project. There was one assertion about the record made by the Wire that I thoroughly agreed with while reading it in the backseat: "What's most thrilling about Big Fish Theory is that it doesn't sound leftfield or challenging," the piece mused. "Instead(,) it provides a scintillating snapshot of both the state of the art and the untold history of underground black music for the past 30 years." Afro-centric lyrical choices, put into conversation with production-adjacent elements ranging from London to Detroit, makes the album equal futuristic principle on a conceptual level: when you weave ghosts of the past so methodically into any telling of the ongoing story they work to provide context for, just like 1+1=2, some discourse surrounding the future is guaranteed to be a byproduct. What made my listen boring, rather, was chiefly staked in delivery. A message of BFT's poignance was not, in its respective era, best fit to be brought forth by means of drilling the point down one's ear rather than allowing him to interpret it for himself. By track twelve, the futurism got boring, because it was presented in the same vein as it was in all the other tracks; same 808s; same glitchy melody; same miscellaneous noise. Big Fish Theory stops a listener on the sidewalk, grabs them by the shirt collar, and screams in their face: "I am the future!!!" whereas something like Yeezus conveys the same message by simply emerging from a time machine within eyeshot. It becomes increasingly hard to contemplate the future – let alone through an afrofuturist lens – when the music makes you feel as if the present moment is inescapable.
By consequence, I was a bit more hungry post-listen for something that would make me feel as if I existed somewhere else in time. The sky was getting closer to the blue-tinted gray it would remain at for the day; the fog was not going anywhere. I checked the GPS mounted onto the car's A/C system. We would be at the site in a little over 50 minutes. Frantically, I began to forage through the extensive to-listen playlist I had started two years prior as a direct result of a similar moment to this one. After a few skips – Forever Changes (1967), Bad Brains (1982), Causers of This (2010), Ted Nugent (1975) – I fixated on something that would not take me into the future, but into the past: a deluxe version of Matt Miller's 2010 breakout studio mixtape K.I.D.S (Kickin' Incredibly Dope Shit).
It did not take me long to realize that it is much harder to listen to Mac Miller's earliest work when you know how his story ends. K.I.D.S sees him as a young, upstart, freshly-graduated MC hellbent on surpassing his idols whilst maintaining his pretty boy swag through the battle scars. The music, the drugs, and the grind top out his list of priorities. The latter two serve more as side-effects than lonestanding motives in comparison to the overarching former.
"When you're young, not much matters," he says, without any instrumental backing, in the tape's opening seconds. "When you find something that you care about, that's all you got. When you go to sleep at night, you dream of music. When you wake up, it's the same thing. It's there on your face, you can't escape it. Sometimes when you're young, The only place to go is inside, that's just it. Music is what I love. Take that away from me and I really got nothin'."
"-the hustle had to continue, because, after all, I was living in right now, and there was no real way for me to revel in the past for eternity."
The album artwork of K.I.D.S seems to only accentuate Miller's point. It's very simple – in a lightly saturated photograph, he sits on a wooden bench, sneering in a backward cap, shorts, and a school backpack, alongside tattooed peers who tote boomboxes and cigarettes – but it anywise serves to make a near-identical statement to the one N.W.A famously made years ago: We're here. What are you going to do about it?
I could not stop opening Spotify to stare at the album's artwork as the music played out. Production-wise, a great deal of the instrumentals on K.I.D.S take after the synth-heavy, cloud rap-adjacent underground wave that would quickly blossom in the era Miller championed – as corny as it sounds, they were eerie to me in the sense that they seemed to emulate, intentionally or not so, the dreams upon which Miller solely relied to persist through his ascent in spite of looming responsibilities attached to coming of age.
'Get Em Up,' the third track on the album, was the first instance on our drive in which I felt as if time was altered in some form. I entered the ride in search of some revelation about the future. 'Get Em Up' made me feel something just as striking about the past: when you're in the past, time does not exist. I began to think back to an old interview I conducted, in which the subject broke down his lifelong distinction between being unsuccessful and non-successful. "That approach is all about illegibility," he concluded, referring to the Hong Kong protests of 2020. "It's unsuccessful – or not unsuccessful, rather, I should say non-successful. It is deprived of this aspiration towards success." The same principle, I thought, applies to time in and of itself: to live in the now is to aspire towards beating the clock of fate – but to live in the past is to remove yourself from the equation. There is no sense of imminent necessity to work towards a further point in eternity, because what will happen has already happened; what will exist already exists; you are already all that you will ever evolve into. Not mental absence – mental Non-presence.
"Regardless of what was done – just like the passing of time itself – it would never stop existing, even if we were the last two beings left standing on Earth."
'Get Em Up' featured some of the same thematic me-versus-the-haters bearings as Vince Staples' 'Crabs In A Bucket' ("Young people don't see you as an equal / They just see you as deceitful, tryna send you back to preschool / You only gettin' one shot, no redo / Tell them haters keep they mouth shut, eat glue / Bitch, who the fuck you think you playing with? / I'm Justin Bieber meets Jadakiss") – but the difference was that whereas Staples' iteration came off as if it was sprinting against time to maintain a brief lead in an unwinnable race to the future, Miller's own – both literally and through music – existed so deeply in the past that time, nor consequent angst, seemed to have any meaning at all. And timelessness felt much more serene than a futile pursuit of the clock.
We were inching closer and closer into urban New York as the album closed; graffiti grew gradually pervasive, pointy, jagged, utopian buildings protruded from the bottom of my passenger window, and a general sense of place made the setting just as interesting as the soundscape. 'Paper Route' played through my headphones as we approached the location of my sister's competition. The general assertion made by chorus – We do anything to get this paper (…) so for the bullshit we ain't got later – brought my newly timeless train of thought back down to the regular time scheme of Earth: the hustle had to continue, because, after all, I was living in right now, and there was no real way for me to revel in the past for eternity. It was just as I drew this conclusion that my mother and I – it was just us in the car, besides my sister – were reminded that we would not be allowed to go inside for the duration of the event. A parking space on the street would have meant that I'd get the chance to either catch up on the classwork I had missed from not attending school for the previous few hours, read a book, or (the most likely outcome) take an unintended nap that concluded with me opening my eyes several hours later, bewildered, back in my driveway. In a retrospectively fortunate series of wrong turns and circles, my mother was not able to find any above-ground parking. We drove into an underground garage, after which we were subsequently left with a little over an hour's worth of time to loosely wander around the Financial District until my sister phoned to say she was finished.
The first direction we went in was towards South Cove Park, a waterfront park looking out on the Hudson River that I had been gawking at as we approached the competition location. My mother allowed me to walk through the park on my own ("Make sure you take pictures!"); she would be waiting for me on a bench by the entrance. I immediately could not help but notice that this was the slowest I had ever walked in any part of Manhattan. The demographic makeup of the Manhattan I was accustomed to – fast-walking businessmen clashing with rowdy, slower-paced urbanized school children all over both Penn Station and Midtown writ large – was completely opposite the one I found myself amidst today. Every human being I saw was either a jogger, an old lady, a dog walker, or an amalgamation of all three. The entire matter felt hyper-surrealistic, post-apocalyptic: the fog thickened, the streets were relatively empty; I was the only one who looked like myself. To satisfy my mother's request, I set out to take a few photos. I stood at the low-rise fence at the edge of the water and aimed my cell phone camera at the Statue of Liberty. It was a gray shadow shrouded in mist; something obscure at the foot of equally gray waters. Right by the statue, I saw an equally mist-enshrouded mirage of the New York Water Taxi, a small tourist-oriented ferry my family and I used to frequent on Saturdays when myself and my sister were kids. I walked onto a cyclic staircase structure that went up, featured a lone bench overlooking the entire river, and looped right back down to ground level. It was more silent than anything else at the summit. I grew scared after some time alone up there, and made my way downstairs to the street.
I had some time to revisit this concept of a future when I started walking back to my mom. There were so many elements of both my own, and New York's story – the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center, the Taxi Boat – completely submersed in thick fog, that I could not help but get the sensation that I had stumbled into an ominous foretelling of what the hereafter would look like for me. It was terrifying, trippy like if the Ghost of Christmas Future was guiding me through one more harrowing prophecy. Is this what it's going to be like when I grow up? I interrogated myself as if I knew the answers. Walking dogs in semi-spring weather as an old man on an empty street in New York's Financial District, with no friends, no legacy, and no contact with the outside world? Is this what the future looks like?
But it was simultaneously, strangely enough, cool in its own right. I felt as if I was not allowed to be present in the time that I existed in – while the few people I encountered were clad in raincoats, tight exercise pants, and running shoes, I donned a sleek spring jacket I had thrifted for cheap on a particularly chilly New Year's Eve, my go-to pair of pinstriped faux-dressy joggers that never had to be ironed, and the set of long-suffering Adidas Superstars that I felt grew more and more authentic with each rip, scuff, and scratch. The more people glared at me, the more timeless I felt. Not fundamentally absent – fundamentally Non-present.
My mother and I visited a breakfast café that offered indoor dining for a quick meal. I noticed that, again, this was a different New York from the one I identified with: the store was not the minority-run and minority-frequented bodega from which I typically got my pre-class Bacon Egg & Cheese sandwiches. Vibrant conversations in native French (with some Italian here and there) echoed off of the rustic walls. I was asked to take my hoodie off. The Bacon Egg & Cheese I ordered – from a printed menu, for that matter – was offered with the inclusion of smoked salmon, avocado, and kale. It arrived, a fraction of the corner-store usual in size, with an arugula salad and a set of metal utensils. After some initial discomfort, I decided that I would try to look the part. I whipped out my copy of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 and began to read. I crossed my legs and placed my cell phone out of sight. I felt cultured as I sipped from the bare water I ordered instead of my usual Arizona iced tea, politics-oriented book in hand, salmon in my bite-sized breakfast wrap.
"And just like music, the future, the past, and our very beings are equally resurrectable if we don't waste the present worrying about a race against the clock we can never win."
We stayed in that café for as long as we could, my mother slowly pecking away at a yogurt to kill time before we would have to go outside again. When we finally got the boot, she suggested that we walk through Brookfield Place (formerly the World Financial Center), a posh indoor mini-mall complete with curved glass ceilings and high-end fashion stores. As I talked to my mom about why I would never wear an untucked shirt no matter if it was specifically manufactured to be worn that way, I was cut off by my own alarm at a satanic-looking, blood-crimson, eerily postured mannequin that glared out from the Gucci store's window. Of everything I had encountered – the apparent ghost town, the silent future, the top of the staircase – this imagery jarred me the most. I got the sense from it that no matter what happened, time was always running out. I could not kill the mannequin. Nor could I outlive it. Regardless of what was done – just like the passing of time itself – it would never cease to exist if left alone, even if we were the last two beings left standing on Earth. When I imagined the prospect of us two being the last two beings on the planet, I did not want to think about it anymore.
A short time after we left the mall, my sister informed us that she had finished her competition (as of now, she is slated to get official results in a month). It was a colorful walk back to the vehicle. She was in tears when we first met with her to pick her up, but she revealed in conversation that it was only a byproduct of how nervous she was. My mother and I reassured her as we drove onto the highway. When the conversation evolved to one strictly held between the two ladies – as these conversations often do – I opted, on a whim, to put in my headphones and listen to one more unplanned album that would give me some closure on the future – I was tired of feeling pessimistic towards it, and I needed to hear something that would give any form of definitive closure.
Because I always viewed Pharrell Williams as a sort of musical Morpheus who delivered undercover messages from the hereafter one song at a time, I chose to hone in on something of his own. The album I settled on was N.E.R.D's NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES, released in 2017. I had first become familiar with the release in my junior year of high school, when, after I had fallen asleep at the conclusion of an LP I did not enjoy, I opened my eyes to Spotify's automatic album-based radio session shuffling to 'Rollinem 7's.' For too many reasons to list, it woke me right up.
The same, more or less, was true for today. NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES was the future – not because it told me it was – but because it acted like it. There was no outright strategy to it sounding like something from beyond today. Every song told its own distinct story in its own distinct manner. The energy never died.
The sole thing that most definitively gave me the answer that I had been looking for all day, albeit, was not the entire album, but a single song: '1000' began with the kind of upstart, percussion-heavy structure typical of Pharrell Williams' career-long leaning. Future's auto-tuned trap manifesto solidified an already-tangible utopian aura. There was, dryly-yet-strikingly, not as much emphasis placed on melody as there was rhythm and rhyme, old school boom-bap influence spiked with a shallowly placed wink at generational ambiguity.
But then – after a complete cut-out of the music, and two hooted declarations from Pharell ("In the mirror there's a hero! One, zero, zero, zero!") – blaring synths. Aggressive, echoing drums. Yelled boastings about hefty bank accounts. Just like that, the color had returned to a once-monochrome musical canvas.
The music itself was not unlike anything I had ever heard before, and I was forced to ask myself why I reacted to it the way I did. I seldom dance whilst listening to music. When a batch of memes came out criticizing people who listened to Playboi Carti while sitting down in a meditative state, I resonated not with the attack, but with the defense – even when hearing Whole Lotta Red for the first time on Christmas morning, I sat up alone in my living room couch, chin propped up on my fist, meditating on what I was listening to word-by-word. With '1000,' I unleashed a seat belt-restrained, hyper-ballistic, back and forth jerk that made me look like a prisoner in a straitjacket.
It was when I woke up in my driveway far after the final track faded out, and – by instinct – replayed the song after my mother opted to go on a quick BJ's run, that it finally registered in full what had hit me so hard: the music was resurrectable. And just like music, the future, the past, and our very beings are equally resurrectable if we don't waste the present worrying about a race against the clock we can never win.
I realized that no one ever really dies. Time doesn't die either – but as long as now remains now, the future is as futile as any quest to outlive it.
About SW
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© 2023 SW.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Students Triumph Over Challenges to Publish 2020 Effusions Journal
Student-run editorial board publishes Effusions Journal online.
The Assistant Director of Comedy of Errors Talks Virtual Theatre
An interview with Dylan Gray, Assistant Director of M.U. Theatre's production of Comedy of Errors.
Miami University Art Museum from home
Step inside the Art Museum from home. The Miami University Art Museum team is pleased to present several new video series as well as online exhibitions and works from the collection.
Interior Design Students Make Semifinals in the 2020 Disney Imaginations Design Competition
Two students in Miami University's Architecture + Interior Design department made it to the semifinals of the 29th annual Disney Imaginations Competition for their pavilion design inspired by a local fossil.
Miami University Students Win Grand Prize at Solar Decathlon
Multi-disciplinary team of Miami University students win Grand Prize for Residential Division in the 2020 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Design Challenge.
Miami Professor Talks About Winning at Belgian Game Awards
Emerging Technology in Business + Design professor Bob De Schutter talks about winning three awards in his home country.
Celebrating student and faculty work and research
Students and Faculty to present at Desire, Conflict & Exchange Exhibition events on Monday, March 16. Symposium is from 5-6:30 PM followed by a Reception and Student Talks in the Gallery from 6:30-8 PM. The exhibition and the talks are the culminating work of the 2019 Art & Architecture History Senior Capstone seminar taught by Dr. Michael Hatch and is one of the featured exhibitions at the Miami University Art Museum open Jan 28-Jun 13, 2020..
Miami Piano Students Present Recital Series as Part of Service-Learning Project
Department of Music students present "Tickling the Ivories" as part of a service-learning project for the Miami University Institute for Learning in Retirement.
Fishers continue to make music at Miami
Lee '68 and Rosemary Holoviak Fisher '69 recently committed $100,000 to establish the Fisher-Holoviak Music Professorship. (Miami University Alumni Association)


text:
Home Tech News Gaming Can Nintendo Switch pull in casual gamers?
Can Nintendo Switch pull in casual gamers?
Nintendo is hoping to land a big slice of the gaming console market by going after that one elusive crowd with their Nintendo Switch: the casual gamer.
It's a tough crowd as they don't always take the big money plunge into a console, or they go for the more familiar like the Sony PS4 or Microsoft XBox One. You can understand as they've waited long enough for all the kinks to get out of the system (sadly, that's become a normal thing with consoles being rushed to market to get that holiday money), plus they know what games are available.
Also, I can confirm the JoyCon issue is still there. If I use them behind my back the left Joycon gets a bit spotty when I'm not in the room
— Joe Merrick (@JoeMerrick) March 3, 2017
@nintendolife Beware. My switch won't connect the left joycon. Stuck at startup. #nintendoswitch pic.twitter.com/VkXHxt9NX3
— Brandon Murray (@donofwar) March 3, 2017
@NintendoAmerica Despite the day 1 patch, my left Joycon is still having problems staying connected. Any tips on how to fix this?
— Joe Bixler (@Bixel925) March 3, 2017
Well, the left joycon does desynchronize a lot. It's really pissing me off. @NintendoAmerica
— greg (@DarkCarniVol) March 3, 2017
my left joycon won't sync…
— Keith Evans (@akilladakeith) March 3, 2017
The left joycon desynced and Link jumped out a window.
Thankfully, the right joycon let me press buttons in a panic till I found the glider pic.twitter.com/MVbxWihYrp
— Lythero 🎮 (@Lythero) March 3, 2017
Welp, left joycon issue just started for me. Holy shit is it bad.
— SirNarwhal (@Sir_Narwhal) March 3, 2017
Most new systems come out with a huge marketing splash, but they are lacking in games, and this is the case with the Nintendo Switch.
Another issue we reported on earlier that they haven't fixed yet is the Joy-Con controllers sync problems. We warned in our review that if they didn't fix this, they'd be hearing about it on social media all weekend, and as you can see from the tweets above, it has begun. These are a just a few of the countless ones on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and Tumblr just starting to pile up.
The issue is happening when the Switch is playing in TV mode and also when the controller's signal has been interrupted. Like if you were playing outside and away from the console and then came inside to play on the tv. One thing that also is annoying is that if someone stands between the Joy-Con and the Switch, a signal interruption can occur. Then the left Joy-Con will drop the connection or just become unresponsive. This is when you often have to do a hard reset, and who really wants to do that over and over?
While it's not happening 100 percent of the time to every console, it's becoming noticeable online that it's happening to quite a large percentage of buyers. When you put out $300 for a console (plus more for those extra options like additional base or controllers), you expect your gaming system to work out of the box.
This alone will make the Nintendo Switch a tougher sell for casual gamers. Read on for some of the obstacles Nintendo will be going up against for that market share.
With three kids and constant travel for work, John Hussey jumped at the chance to play an open-world adventure game like "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" anywhere, anytime.
After he heard about the Nintendo Switch, a hybrid game machine that works as both a console at home and a tablet on the go, Hussey ordered one in January even though it wouldn't arrive until Friday, when Nintendo's latest game machine debuts.
Nintendo will need lots of traditional gamers like Hussey to redeem itself as a console maker, after being eclipsed by Microsoft and Sony in the game console wars. But Nintendo will also need lots of casual gamers who are satisfied with playing on a smartphone and would never have dreamed of buying a $300 game machine.
And in trying to appeal to many audiences, Nintendo risks not being the best at serving anyone.
The Switch is like three machines in one. Wireless controllers attach to a game tablet for hand held gaming. Take the tablet to a gathering with friends, and you can rest it on a table with a kickstand and detach the controllers for use as stand-alone devices. Back home, slide the tablet into a docking station and snap the controllers into a grip accessory and you have a traditional game console attached to a TV. With each switch – get it? – you can pick up where you left off.
"Knowing I could get the 'Zelda' game both at home and on the road, at this stage in my life that's essential," said Hussey, a sales rep from Bloomington, Indiana. "I can't sit around at home and play a 70-hour game, but if I'm on airplanes or hotels, it's perfect for me."
The new "Zelda" game is the biggest available at launch, though Nintendo is also pushing a collection of casual party games called "1-2-Switch." Nintendo says more than 80 titles are in development, including "Super Mario Odyssey" and the action-puzzle game "Snipperclips: Cut it Out, Together."
GAME OVER … TRY AGAIN
Nintendo's Wii in 2006 introduced motion control to gaming and was a massive success, forcing Microsoft and Sony to respond with their own motion controls. But the Wii's successor in 2012, the Wii U, proved disappointing. People thought it was too expensive at $300, especially when it had few must-have games.
Since then, the Japanese video game maker has faced other hiccups. Its NES Classic retro module was a "hot" holiday gift, but it was difficult to find during the holidays. It fared better with the monster-chasing "Pokemon Go " sensation on phones, but that wasn't developed in-house. The iPhone game "Super Mario Run " garnered buzz, but some balked at the $10 price. It's also not available on Android until later this month.
The Switch represents a new hope. Nintendo is forecasting sales of 2 million units in the first month. IDC analyst Lewis Ward estimates Nintendo will ship 8 million within a year – better than the Wii U, though not as much as the Wii.
With the Switch, Nintendo is hoping "to reach gamers, families and we even hope to reach people who haven't played video games before," Nintendo managing executive director Shinya Takahashi said. "Really the goal with the Nintendo Switch is to reach as broad an audience as possible."
Part of that involves changing the nature of game play. Nintendo developed the mini-games in "1-2-Switch" so players look at their opponents – not screens – as they draw guns or milk cows.
Nintendo Switch developer Yoshiaki Koizumi said he wanted the game to reflect Nintendo's roots as a playing card company in the 1880s. Nintendo wants to bring people together, and "one of the best ways to do that is giving them the opportunity to be able to see each other's expression," much like when you're playing cards, he said.
Andrew Maher, a cook in Columbia, Missouri, looks forward to playing with his girlfriend, something they couldn't do together on phones. He said the Switch "seems like a fun group experience."
But Nintendo doesn't want to give up on traditional gamers either – thus the docking station for playing on the big screen.
The be-all approach comes with compromises. As a game console, the Switch doesn't have the range of games available on Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One. As a tablet, it lacks traditional features such as a web browser and streaming video apps like Netflix (even rival game consoles have these).
Euromonitor analyst Matthew Hudak said Nintendo needs a way to be different from rivals, and "the smartest play for them is to try to be this all-purpose console for social, casual or dedicated needs."
But if Nintendo fails to persuade casual gamers to spend $300 on something that does less than their phones, the Switch could wind up on the trash heap like the Wii U.
"For the average consumer seeking a new console, they want to be able to spend the least money, be able to keep up with all the biggest releases and play the same games as their friends, none of which they can currently do with Nintendo Switch," said Joshua Clay, a video game programmer in Derby, U.K., who doesn't plan to switch from his PlayStation 4.
IDC's Ward is more optimistic. While hardcore gamers might stick with the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 because they're more powerful and support more multiplayer online games, he said the Switch's portability and easy-to-use controllers will appeal to first-time gamers.
"I'm predicting Nintendo is going to be viewed in retrospect at the end of the year as 'Back in the game,'" he said.
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The Atlantic Terra Cotta Company, established in 1846 as A. Hall and Sons Terra Cotta, was founded in Perth Amboy, New Jersey due to Perth Amboy's rich supplies of clay.  It was one of the first successful terra cotta companies in the United States.  Originally, the company produced porcelain and household wares but transitioned to terra cotta items. The company, always located at 59 Buckingham Avenue, changed its name to the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company and then to Atlantic Terra Cotta which, as the preeminent architectural terra cotta producer in the United States, went on to produce in its kilns the terra cotta for such notable buildings as the United States Supreme Court, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Woolworth Building.

See also
 Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company
 Flatiron Building

References

External links

 Atlantic Terra Cotta Company Records at the University of Texas

Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Companies based in Middlesex County, New Jersey
Companies established in 1846
1846 establishments in New Jersey
American companies disestablished in 1943


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Mainframe Catalogs: the untold story
Registries and catalogs - a comparison
By Philip Howard 15 Dec 2004 at 11:49
On a Windows PC everything goes through the Registry: whenever you want to run an application the registry has to be referenced. This is, in simple terms, exactly what a catalog does under MVS or z/OS: all datasets are accessed via an ICF catalog.
However, there are two big differences between a catalog and the Windows registry. The first is that mainframes are supposed to support high availability 24x7 environments, while PCs are not. The second thing is that you can have multiple catalogs on a mainframe.
But there is one more similarity between a registry and a catalog: they both get damaged and they both break. Worse, catalogs are breaking more and more often. And, even worse than this, most companies are not even aware of the problem - very few companies consider catalogs when they build disaster recovery plans, for example, and they are leaving themselves exposed to very serious potential consequences if they do not.
There are several underlying reasons for this problem. The first is that you cannot, using IBM's native facilities, re-distribute datasets across catalogs without taking the original catalog down for a prolonged period, which most companies cannot afford to do. Moreover, though IBM does provide the ability to split catalogs, it can only do this if the catalogs are clean. But, in order to ensure that catalogs are clean you need a diagnostics facility that will generate fixes for you.
The result of all this is that it is very rare for companies to create new catalogs and, even when they do, the majority of datasets still go through the first of those catalogs. Indeed, it is typical for tens and even hundreds of thousands of datasets to be going through a single catalog.
This creates problems of its own: a greater and greater strain is placed on the catalog, particularly for shared access requirements, control blocks and so on, which are being accessed by more and more applications. Further, performance is suffering (IBM never designed catalogs for these sorts of volumes) and IBM has been forced to introduce new code to enhance catalog performance, which is a threat in its own right.
Now, as I have stated, many companies are not even aware that this is a problem and, potentially, a very serious one. However, there are tools that are available that allow you to do on-line dataset re-distribution, split catalogs, diagnose and fix catalogs, and analyse the structural content of catalogs (which you need in order to help decide dataset re-distribution) and advanced back-up and recovery (IBM provides basic forward recovery capability).
The leading vendor in this space today is Mainstar, with its Catalog RecoveryPlus product. This has some 200 users world-wide and Ron Ferguson, the company's CEO, is the co-author of IBM's Red Book on this subject. However, you probably haven't heard of Mainstar because they haven't been big on marketing (at least outside the US). However, the company now feels that it really needs to be bring attention to the problem of catalog breakage to the wider market, as it poses such a threat to all mainframe-based high availability systems.
Copyright © 2004, IT-Analysis.com
Symantec eyeing Veritas for $13bn - report
IBM CICS legacy at the heart of SOA
CA intros usage pricing for mainframes


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HomeJames Isles2020-12-15T12:00:15+00:00
Stadler and Rail Operations (UK) Limited sign a contract for the new Class 93 tri-mode locomotives
Pic Credit: Stadler Stadler and Rail Operations (UK) Limited have signed a framework agreement for the supply of thirty Class 93 tri-mode locomotives, which will support rail decarbonisation requirements in [...]
Alisha Gent2021-01-19T12:27:38+00:00January 19th, 2021|News|
11,000 tonne tunnel to be installed on the railway in first for UK engineering
Massive concrete structure to be pushed under the East Coast Main Line as part of £1.2bn upgrade Major works to occur over nine days between 16 and 24 January Hundreds [...]
HS2 to implement UKs first ever project wide health and safety passport
Midlands based company Biosite is working with HS2 developing the new initiative to boost health and safety and competency insight across the supply chain HS2 and its contractors have taken [...]
Alisha Gent2021-01-08T11:33:09+00:00January 8th, 2021|News|
HS2 set to reach 730,000 planted trees landmark by Spring 2021
HS2's specialist ecology teams will plant over 300,000 trees across the Phase One route during the winter months This will take the total number of trees planted between London and [...]
Network Rail reaches major milestone on £1.2billion East Coast Upgrade as all tracks into King's Cross are lifted to allow sewer reconstruction
Network Rail reaches major milestone on £1.2billion East Coast Upgrade as all four tracks into King's Cross are lifted for the first time in decades to allow sewer reconstruction. Major [...]
Birmingham's rail history revived as agreement reached to integrate Old Curzon Street Station into new HS2 terminus
One of the world's oldest surviving pieces of monumental railway architecture to be preserved and enhanced in new HS2 Curzon Street Station. Leader of Birmingham City Council: "This is an [...]
Bombardier signs landmark deal to fit digital signalling to ELECTROSTAR trains
Ground-breaking agreement signed with Porterbrook, the UK rolling stock company Major step forward in delivering Digital Railway initiative in the UK, to increase capacity, reduce delays, enhance safety and drive [...]
Alisha Gent2020-12-23T13:20:05+00:00December 23rd, 2020|News|
HS2's world-first emissions retrofit solution cuts emissions and carbon and will save millions of pounds
Successful pilot of world's first retrofit on large construction equipment will have massive impact across the HS2 project, saving millions of pounds Reduced emissions will benefit communities, the environment and [...]
Alisha Gent2020-12-22T13:14:36+00:00December 22nd, 2020|News|
Network Rail workers give up Christmas with their families to work on major East Yorkshire bridge upgrade
Network Rail teams are spending their Christmases working on a £3.3million project to upgrade a road bridge near Gilberdyke station, instead of enjoying the festivities with their families. From [...]
Alisha Gent2020-12-21T10:35:19+00:00December 21st, 2020|News|
Multi-million-pound platform access improvements for Euston passengers
Passenger access is being improved to four of London Euston station's busiest platforms as part of a multi-million-pound improvement programme. The current layout of the ramp to platforms 8-11 acts [...]
Alisha Gent2020-12-18T11:07:21+00:00December 18th, 2020|News|
The Polar Express Gauging Challenge
Sean Symons, Principal Gauging Engineer at DGauge Limited We do get asked some unusual questions sometimes and last week was no exception. "Would The Polar Express run on the UK railway?" doubtful, was my [...]
Scott Parnell Rail
Scott Parnell, a leading Civils Merchant in the UK has a dedicated Rail Team. Our Rail specialists are committed to providing the very best service. Alongside our standard merchant range, [...]
Castleford Railway Station £2.8 million Transformation Now Complete
New station building offers better connections and improved facilities to passengers A project to significantly improve Castleford railway station and provide a more attractive and welcoming gateway to the town [...]
Read the latest issue:
The latest issue of Rail Professional features…
Sam2021-01-19T05:59:33+00:00
Can Covid-19 relieve an employer from its contract obligations?
Caroline Hooton and Darren Fodey explore all the potential scenarios that Covid-19 might bring about Readers will be all-too-aware that [...]
Alisha Gent2020-12-15T15:23:36+00:00
Building Back Better Greener
'Governments everywhere are currently designing their economic recovery packages, they can stick with the status quo, bailing out high carbon, [...]
A greener shade of green for the railway
Eli Rees-King, Director of marketing communications business at ERK Connected, offers her thoughts on recent developments in the rail sector [...]
The Across Rail Property Group
Accounting for around 60 per cent of all mainstream assets and representing more than 3.5 times total global GDP, real [...]
Partnership aims to improve ground engineering accuracy
Koohyar Faizi PhD is on a three-year research project with Nottingham Trent University to look at improving the accuracy of [...]
Cost efficient electrification: research, innovation and a rolling programme
Rail electrification has been rarely out of the news for the past few years, ever since Chris Grayling's cancellation of [...]
Why the West Midlands is on a roll in rail
The region is on track to solve the challenges facing rolling stock, writes David Fisken, rail sector specialist at the [...]
Siemens Mobility's innovation station
Finbarr Dowling, Project Director for Siemens Mobility's new £200 million rail facility in Goole explains how and why the company [...]
Interview with Philippe Vappereau, Chairman at Calypso Networks Association
Sam Sherwood-Hale, spoke to Philippe Vappereau, Chairman at Calypso Networks Association about developments in ticketing across the industry Philippe [...]
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The plant treats sewage using a series of large ponds, called lagoons — the largest of which can hold 600 million litres. These are managed to suit different types of bacteria, which break down different sewage pollutants. The whole process uses very little energy and takes around 35 days.
The first lagoons have large plastic covers about four times the size of the MCG, which are designed to keep out oxygen. This creates an anaerobic (no oxygen) environment where certain bacteria thrive.
As the bacteria decompose organic material in the sewage they produce odours and methane gas, which is captured under the covers. This reduces odour and greenhouse emissions and allows the gas to be used for powering engines that generate electricity.
Sewage then flows into uncovered aerobic ponds. Here, machines pump oxygen in the water to make it suitable for another type of bacteria, which removes nitrogen and clumps together in the process.
These solid clumps are easily separated from the wastewater once the sewage enters settling tanks, called clarifiers. The leftover solids are dried and stored in large piles, or reused as biosolids.
Once water reaches the final pond it has been thoroughly cleaned. It can then be released into Port Phillip Bay under strict conditions set by EPA Victoria to protect the environment.
Some water is further treated to produce recycled water. This is supplied to customers and used to water the plant's pastures and wetlands.
Over the decades we've improved the efficiency of our treatment processes and no longer use all our lagoons. These shallow ponds make great habitat for birds: leftover nutrients provide plenty of insects to eat, and there's water all year round.
The vast site also contains a variety of natural habitats, which together support diverse plant, animal and reptile species — some that are critically endangered.
More than 280 bird species have been recorded at the plant, including migratory shorebirds that travel from Siberia each year. It is therefore recognised at as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, and as one of Australia's best birdwatching sites.
Melbourne Water is working hard to improve our environmental performance in the wastewater treatment field. An Environmental Improvement Plan has been carefully drafted to describe how Melbourne Water uses various processes to provide continuous improvement in environmental management at the Eastern Treatment Plant (ETP) located in Bangholme and the Western Treatment Plant (WTP) located in Werribee.
This plan defines the key high priority actions Melbourne Water is pursuing to achieve its various environmental goals; however, it does not attempt to capture all of the initiatives in place.
If you have any queries on the plan, please contact the Customer Service Centre.
Visiting the plant is a great way to learn how it works and its environmental importance.
Melbourne's first sewage treatment plant has been operating since 1897.
Learn about some of the bird species you can find at the plant.
Highly treated wastewater can be recycled for non-drinking purposes.
We can reuse sewage by-products to enhance liveability and the environment.


Never Run Out of ENO Again!
Cricket is big in India and a tournament is an opportunity to garner great visibility for any brand. During the World T20 World Championship (2016), we found a way to push awareness for ENO's new 4 Dose Value Pack using cricket as the background.


One year on…Xcel Darlington is definitely alive and kicking.
The journey has been exciting, full of adventure, loads of new experiences.
I am still a novice Pastor. Learning fast.
Love God, love people, love life. That is the Xcel way.
Today was fantastic. Atmosphere was great. Really good to see people coming early, ready to connect – with God and with others. Plus someone made a commitment. Never gets old people becoming Christians. Bring it on.
What are your hopes for the next 12 months?
Have Your Spiritual Disciplines Changed Recently?


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Richard Avedon Biography
Richard Avedon was an acclaimed American portrait and fashion photographer. Read this biography to learn more about his childhood, profile, life and timeline.
Famous: American Men Columbia University
Died At Age: 81
Sun Sign: Taurus
Also Known As: Richard Avedon
Born in: New York City
Spouse/Ex-: Doe Avedon (m. 1944–1949), Evelyn Franklin (m. 1951–2004)
father: Jacob Israel Avedon
mother: Anna
siblings: Louise
children: John
Died on: October 1, 2004
place of death: San Antonio
City: New York City
U.S. State: New Yorkers
Diseases & Disabilities: Schizophrenia
Founder/Co-Founder: The Richard Avedon Foundation
education: The New School, DeWitt Clinton High School, Columbia University
awards: 1989 - Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America
1993 - The International Center of Photography Master of Photography Award
1994 - Prix Nadar for his photobook Evidence
2003 - National Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement
2003 - The Royal Photographic Society 150th Anniversary Medal
2010 - Record price of £719
000 for a unique seven foot high print of model Dovima
Fadi Fawaz
Dan Estabrook
Robert Clarence...
Till date, Richard Avedon is remembered as the photographer who shaped and defined America's sense of fashion and style in the late 20th century, captivating energy, freedom and excitement through his clicks. Best known for his minimalistic and probing portraits, Avedon acted as the driving force who added a sense of vibrancy into the realm of fashion photography. His breath-taking and awe-inspiring photographs have filled the pages of numerous prestigious magazines in the United States of America. One of the most renowned photographers in the world, Avedon was endowed with a brilliant sense of imagery and insight. He delved deep into the subjects he shot and created some of the most intensive and creative photographs for the world to behold. He gave photographers around the world a new vision in portrait photography, something that was quintessentially seen in his works. Avedon's large gamut of work has been exhibited at various prestigious exhibitions all over the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Museum of Modern Art, National Museum of American History, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris and the like. To learn more interesting and intriguing facts about his childhood, personal life and achievements in the field of photography and fashion, scroll down and continue to read this biography.
http://www.davidevanmcdowell.com/blog/photographer-of-the-day-richard-avedon
https://www.pinterest.com/courel/richard-avedon/
https://pleasurephotoroom.wordpress.com/tag/richard-avedon/page/6/
American Photographers
Taurus Men
Richard Avedon was born in New York City to a retail businessman, Jacob Israel Avedon and Anna Avedon. It is believed that it was his mother who inculcated in him a love for art and fashion.
By the time he turned 12, his interest in photography grew by leaps and in order to pursue his interest, he became a member of the Young Men's Hebrew Association Camera Club. Soon, he began taking photographs using a Kodak Box Brownie. His first muse was his younger sister, Louise.
Academically, he attained his basic education from DeWitt Clinton High School in Bedford Park, Bronx. It was at high school that he developed a fancy for poetry and started penning some. In 1941, he was named, 'Poet Laureate of New York City High Schools'.
He enrolled at the Columbia University in 1941. However, his growing passion for photography and fashion led him to drop out of the university after his first year.
Quotes: Think, I
In 1942, he began his career as a photographer with Merchant Marines. He was appointed to take photographs of crewmen for the purpose of identification.
In 1944, he was employed as an advertisement photographer for a department store. However, impressed by his work, Alexey Brodovitch, who was serving as the art director for the fashion magazine 'Harper's Bazaar', recruited him.
From 1944 until 1950, he studied the technique and detail of photography from Brodovitch, at the latter's Design Laboratory at the New School for Social Research.
In 1946, he founded his own studio and began to work with various magazines including 'Vogue' and 'Life'. Soon he was appointed as the chief photographer for 'Harper's Bazaar'.
In 1952, he was appointed as the staff editor and chief photographer of the 'Theatre Arts Magazine'. The following year he took a famous picture of Italian socialite, Marella Agnelli.
What made his work different from the rest was unlike others, he captured his models while in action, like laughing, smiling and even moving. Also, he mostly shot them at outdoor locations, a concept which was revolutionary at those times. However, at the beginning of the 60s decade, he switched to strobe lighting of the studio than outdoors.
In 1962, he worked as a staff photographer with 'Vogue' and he subsequently became the magazine's lead photographer. As a lead photographer, he photographed most of the magazine's cover pages.
Later on in the 1960s, he began to make studio portraits for cultural dissidents, politicians and other civil rights workers. He also took pictures Vietnam War protesters and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In the 1960's he also created two sets of well-known portraits for the English rock band, 'The Beatles'. One of the portraits consisted of psychedelic portraits of the band members.
In 1979, he worked on the 'In The American West', which was a project that focused on the lives of the working class people. It took him five years to complete this project.
In 1982, he created a set of creative and light-heartedly innovative films for the still advertisement campaigns for the fashion label, 'Christian Dior'. The advertisement included a series of colourful photographs.
In 1992, at the age of 69 he was appointed as the first ever staff photographer with the 'The New Yorker'.
In 1995, his project titled, 'In Memory of the Late Mr. and Mrs. Comfort' was published. It was during this time that he came up with some of his most controversial photographs.
In 1999, he captured the cover photo for the Japanese-American singer Hikaru Utada's 'Addicted To You'
Quotes: Time, Like
His magnum opus project, 'In The American West' was a collection of photographs of the working class people. This project was a turning point in his career.
The famous 'Versace' campaign 'Pile of Beautiful People', photographed by him, brought him immense fame and recognition in the fashion world.
In 1989, he was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award which was conferred to him by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
In 1993, he was awarded the Master of Photography Award from the International Center of Photography.
He was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.
In 2003, he was the recipient of the National Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement. Same year, he won The Royal Photographic Society's Special 150th Anniversary Medal and Honorary Fellowship for his contribution in the field of photography.
He received honorary graduate degrees from various institutions including the Royal College of Art, Kenyon College, and Parsons School of Design.
Personal Life & Legacy
During his teenage years he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, for which he received psychiatric treatment.
In 1944, he married Dorcas Marie Nowel. The couple did not have any children and divorced in 1949.
In 1951, he married Evelyn Franklin, with whom he had a son.
In 1974, his work was greatly affected after he was diagnosed with heart inflammations.
In October 2004, he died at the age of 81 in San Antonio, Texas due to brain haemorrhage.
In 2009, his collection of political portraits titled, 'Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power', were posthumously exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
A famous fashion and portrait American photographer of the 20th century, he is best remembered for his work, 'In The American West' which was a collection of photographs of the working class people.
See the events in life of Richard Avedon in Chronological Order
Richard Avedon Bio As PDF
- Richard Avedon Biography
- https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/richard-avedon-4086.php
(Australian, Lebanese)
Robert Clarence Irwin
(Australian)
Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon
Brendan North
(Chinese)
20th Century | Celebrity Names With Letter R | Male Celebrity Names With Letter R | 20th Century Photographers


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Free Books / People / Life Of Cesare Borgia /
The Renunciation Of The Purple. Part 4
This section is from the book "The Life Of Cesare Borgia", by Rafael Sabatini. Also available from Amazon: The Life of Cesare Borgia.
Although the proposal was politically sound, it constituted at the same time an act of flagrant nepotism. But let us bear in mind that Alexander did not lack a precedent for this particular act. When Louis XI had surrendered Valentinois to Sixtus IV, this Pope had bestowed it upon his nephew Girolamo, thereby vitiating any claim that the Holy See might subsequently have upon the territory. We judge it under the circumstances that Louis XI had surrendered it to the Church to be a far more flagrant piece of nepotism than was Alexander's now.
Louis XII, nothing behind the Pope in opportunism, saw in the concession asked of him the chance of acquiring Alexander's good will. He consented, accompanying his consent by a request for a cardinal's hat for Georges d'Amboise, Bishop of Rouen, who had been his devoted friend in less prosperous times, and the sharer of his misfortunes under the previous reign, and was now his chief counsellor and minister. In addition he besought dependent, of course, upon the granting of the solicited divorce a dispensation to marry Anne of Brittany, the beautiful widow of Charles VIII. This was Louis's way of raising the price, as it were, of the concession and services asked of him ; yet, that there might be no semblance of bargaining, his consent to Cesare's being created Duke of Valentinois was simultaneous with his request for further favours.
With the Royal Patents conferring that duchy upon the Pope's son, Louis de Villeneuve reached Rome on August 7, 1498. On the same day the young cardinal came before the Sacred College, assembled in Consistory, to crave permission to doff the purple.
After the act of adoration of the Pope's Holiness, he humbly submitted to his brother cardinals that his inclinations had ever been in opposition to his embracing the ecclesiastical dignity, and that, if he had entered upon it at all, this had been solely at the instances of his Holiness, just as he had persevered in it to gratify him; but that, his inclinations and desires for the secular estate persisting, he implored the Holy Father, of his clemency, to permit him to put off his habit and ecclesiastical rank, to restore his hat and benefices to the Church, and to grant him dispensation to return to the world and be free to contract marriage. And he prayed the very reverend cardinals to use their good offices on his behalf, adding to his own their intercessions to the Pope's Holiness to accord him the grace he sought.
The cardinals relegated the decision of the matter to the Pope. Cardinal Ximenes alone as the representative of Spain stood out against the granting of the solicited dispensation, and threw obstacles in the way of it. In this, no doubt, he obeyed his instructions from Ferdinand and Isabella, who saw to the bottom of the intrigue with France that was toward, and of the alliance that impended between Louis XII and the Holy See an alliance not at all to the interests of Spain.
The Pope made a speedy rout of the cardinal's objections with the most apostolic and irresistible of all weapons. He pointed out that it was not for him to hinder the Cardinal of Valencia's renunciation of the purple, since that renunciation was clearly become necessary for the salvation of his soul " Pro salutae animae suae " to which, of course, Ximenes had no answer.
But, with the object of conciliating Spain, this ever politic Pope indicated that, if Cesare was about to become a prince of France, his many ecclesiastical benefices, yielding some 35,000 gold florins yearly, being mostly in Spain, would be bestowed upon Spanish churchmen, and he further begged Ximenes to remember that he already had a " nephew " at the Court of Spain in the person of the heir of Gandia, whom he particularly commended to the favour of Ferdinand and Isabella.
Thus was Cesare Borgia's petition granted, and his return to the world accomplished. And, by a strange chance of homonymy, his title remained unchanged despite his change of estate. The Cardinal of Valencia, in Spain, became the Duke of Valence or Valentinois in France and in Italy Valentino remained Valentino.
prev: The Renunciation Of The Purple. Part 3
next: Chapter I. The Duchess Of Valentinois
cesare, pope, duke, borgia, rome, cardinal, church, borgias


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Welcome to the World of Playing Cards
Playing cards do not suggest to most people a subject of historical importance. We rarely question their design and they have become a part of our social life.
Yet the development of playing cards since the 15th century closely parallels the history of printing. The images printed on the faces of the cards often reflect social events and the customs of the times.
Collectors of cards may focus on a variety of subjects that include the military, theater, art, history and polities. Other specialties include souvenir decks, transformation packs, advertising cards, tobacco inserts, railroad issues, fortune telling, magic and novelty decks.
The subject matter associated with playing cards is so broad there are many by-paths in which the collector also may become involved. Related subjects include game boxes and compendiums, French P.O.W. bone and straw work boxes, sterling silver card holders, trump indicators for whist and bridge, poker chips, tallies, cribbage boards, dominoes, ephemera and card games. Theories abound as to the origin of playing cards. The earliest prohibition against cards appears in 1367 in Bern, Switzerland. Similar prohibitions appeared in Spain, Italy, France, and Germany.
As printing developed, the production of playing cards became more readily available to all classes, and suit signs varied in some countries.
Important playing card collections are housed at the Bibloth


Russian-German record producer and DJ Zedd has treated himself to a $16 million mansion in Los Angeles.
Zedd has splashed out $16 million on a lavish Los Angeles mansion.
The Russian-German record producer and DJ has treated himself to the palatial pad in Benedict Canyon, beside Beverly Hills, four years after he paid $4 million for a home in the Hollywood Hills.
TMZ reports that the 9,341 sq ft home includes an infinity pool and a private outdoor terrace with visitors having to cross a moat to reach the house.
It features five bedrooms and eight bathrooms and has striking views of the city.
Meanwhile, DJ Zedd, 28, recently admitted his brief relationship with Selena Gomez ''changed [his] life''.
He enjoyed a short but ''nice'' relationship with the 'Fetish' hitmaker in 2015, and has said that when news of the romance got out, he was ''p***ed'' to find out his family were being hounded for details of the couple.
Meanwhile, has previously confessed he finds EDM, the music that first brought him success in the charts, to be uninspiring and boring.
The DJ collaborated with singer Foxes to create chart-topping EDM single 'Clarity in 2013 but insists he prefers to listen to bands such as Beatles to give him direction for his future music.
When quizzed about what influences his writing style, he revealed: ''I'm way more inspired listening to, song-structure-wise, the Beatles. The Beatles have never stretched things unnecessarily if it didn't help the song.
''[In] dance music, you will sometimes find those structure of, like, a one-minute intro. And, like, why do you need a one-minute intro? That's not necessary at all. I kind of went about it in a very Beatles way. Or Queen is a huge influence for me. Bands like Silverchair and Radiohead. Feeder, Queens of the Stone Age.


text:
void grove_accelerometer_init(I2C_T *i2c, int pinsda, int pinscl);
bool grove_accelerometer_write_setup(I2C_T *i2c);
bool grove_accelerometer_getacceleration(I2C_T *i2c, float *ax,float *ay,float *az);

#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Equality Ring - Emeralds International LLC.
Make a statement and shine at the same time with this fabulous and unique halo style design combination named "Equality"! Featuring an incredibly rare pear shape red beryl partnered with fabulous brilliant white diamonds set in platinum, this ring delivers and more! Free sizing and 2 day shipping!


Ok, one more for tonight. When I delete a thought (shift, r-click, delete) the thought sometimes doesn't disappear immidiately from the plex. It does not immediately dissappear from the past thought list either. When I click on the thought in the past thought list ist dissappears then. Seems like a display bug.
It is a consistant occurance in the past thought list but not so in the plex.
Yes, this is a known issue for the past thought list. For the plex, the thought should be disappearing immediately.
Your are right, it seems that it disappears everytime. But I was sure it didn't for me once or twice. Can't get it to repeat so it was either a clitch or I was watching something else. And the new release appears to have it fixed.
Yup, 4.0.3.0 fixes the past thought list issue also.
Just tried it and noticed that in expanded view, thoughts that are deleted to not disappear immediately - after the delete command some slight reorgansation and refloating occurs as links discoonect. However, the thought only disappears after the view is changed to standard.
In standard view the thought is immediately removed correctly so looks like an issue with expanded view.
This seems to happen only on thoughts that are linked two clicks or more away from the active thought. We will fix this shortly. Thanks.
Still seeing this problem: delete doesn't.
Tim, I couldn't replicate this issue... Can you describe what steps you are taking to make it happen? Thanks.
Well, it was when I was setting up that screen shot yesterday. I created a redundant thought,in extended view, that was three links away from the active thought. I would delete (shift-right click --> delete) the thought. It would disappear. If I then went to the thought that the deleted thought had been linked to and clicked its(+), the "deleted" thought would re-appear.
I have just reproduced the bug now.
Although the thought re-appears, it is more of a ghost thought than a real one. Although I can see it, it does not appear as an entry when I do a quick search for it. Nor does it remain if I close and re-open the file.
Ahah! Here is the key thing. I said it was a redundant thought. This means a new thought with the same name as an existing thought. Specifically, I created the new thought "Location" linked to the existing thought "Tokanoma". "Tokanoma" already had a linked to the pre-existing "Location". This original thought "Location" had a second link back from the active thought to the thought "Tokanoma" If I click on the phantom thought "Location", it quickly jumped around and merges into the original "Location" thought. It seems the plex is confused by the continued existence of a link to a thought named the same as one it had just deleted. ? ?
OK. We'll investigate this further. Thanks.


Enter for a chance to win the all-new Amazon Echo. Thirty (30) winners will each receive one (1) all-new Echo (2nd Generation). By submitting an entry, I agree to the Official Rules, and I satisfy all eligibility requirements. Find out more at Amazon.
Scrooge and family reunite and the adventure begins. Find out more at Amazon.


While the runways of fashion shows are almost guaranteed to take your breath away with designers' stunning creations, there is just as much magic that goes into makeup and hair — and that goes double when flower crowns are involved. The flower embellishments that adorn the models of the runways and stars at premieres and awards shows are no basic Coachella arrangement, though. These romantic, bold blooms are an art form themselves.
Rodarte's Spring 2019 show at New York Fashion Week brought flower hair back in a major way, joining names like Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone and Evan Rachel Wood to make it official: Wearing fresh flowers in your hair will never really go out of style.


text:
#include "stdafx.h"

#ifdef _DEEP_DEBUG_
#	define new DEBUG_NEW
#endif

/*
 *	Battle Member
 */
iBattleMember::iBattleMember(Type type, Side side, const iFurtSkills& furtSkills)
: m_Type(type), m_Side(side), m_furtSkills(furtSkills), m_Experience(0), m_bCastFlag(false)
{}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
iBattleMember_Hero::iBattleMember_Hero(iHero* pHero, Side side)
: iBattleMember(Hero, side, pHero->GetFullFurtSkills()), m_pHero(pHero)
{}

void iBattleMember_Hero::OnWin(iBattleResult br)
{
	// transfer artifacts from loser
	if (br.m_defCause == DC_DEFEAT) {
		iHero* pHero = NULL;
		if (iBattleMember_Hero* pHeroMember = DynamicCast<iBattleMember_Hero*>(br.m_pLoser)) pHero = pHeroMember->GetHero();
		else if (iBattleMember_Castle* pCastleMember = DynamicCast<iBattleMember_Castle*>(br.m_pLoser)) pHero = pCastleMember->GetVisitor();
		if (pHero) {
			iArtList artList;
			pHero->Artifacts().PopAll(artList);
			if (artList.GetSize()) m_pHero->CaptureArtifacts(artList);
		}
	}

	// Raise skeletons
	m_pHero->RiseSkeletons(br.m_losCas);

	// receive experience
	if (br.m_experience) m_pHero->ReceiveExperience(br.m_experience);

	m_pHero->OnEndBattle(true);
}

void iBattleMember_Hero::OnLose(iBattleResult br)
{
	m_pHero->OnEndBattle(false);
	iPlayer* pOwner = m_pHero->Owner();
	if (br.m_defCause == DC_SURRENDER || br.m_defCause == DC_RETREAT) {
		// Check destination castle
		check(br.m_pDest && !br.m_pDest->Visitor());
		iPoint oldPos = m_pHero->Pos();
		if (br.m_defCause == DC_RETREAT) {
			// Reset army
			m_pHero->Army().ResetArmy();
			m_pHero->Army().AddGroup((CREATURE_TYPE)INITIAL_HERO_ARMY[m_pHero->Proto()->m_hType][0][0],1);
		} else {
			// Transfer surrender fee
			check(br.m_cost && m_pHero->Owner()->Mineral(MINERAL_GOLD) >= br.m_cost);
			iBattleMember_Hero* pEnemyHero = DynamicCast<iBattleMember_Hero*>(br.m_pWinner);
			check(pEnemyHero);
			m_pHero->Owner()->Minerals().quant[MINERAL_GOLD] -= br.m_cost;
			pEnemyHero->GetHero()->Owner()->Minerals().quant[MINERAL_GOLD] += br.m_cost;
		}
		// Move hero in specified castle
		gGame.Map().MoveHero(m_pHero->Pos(), br.m_pDest->Pos());
		m_pHero->SetPos(br.m_pDest->Pos());
		m_pHero->Angle() = HERO_ORIENT[br.m_pDest->Proto()->Orient()];
		m_pHero->ResetPath();
		//m_pHero->Init(pOwner, br.m_pDest->Pos(), HERO_ORIENT[br.m_pDest->Proto()->Orient()]);
		//gGame.Map().MoveHero(oldPos, br.m_pDest->Pos());
		if (m_Side == Assaulter) gGame.OnHeroChanged(m_pHero);
	} else {
		// Reset army
		gGame.Map().RemoveHero(m_pHero, true);
	}
}

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
#define SAFE_CALL(pObj, func, defVal) (pObj)?pObj->func():defVal

iBattleMember_Castle::iBattleMember_Castle(iCastle* pCastle)
: iBattleMember(Castle, Defender, SAFE_CALL(pCastle->Visitor(), GetFullFurtSkills, iFurtSkills())), m_pCastle(pCastle)
{}

void iBattleMember_Castle::OnPrepare(iBattleMember* pEnemy)
{
	if (m_pCastle->Visitor() && !m_pCastle->Garrison().Empty()) {
		// Combine hero army and castle's garrison
		TossArmies(m_pCastle->Visitor()->Army(), m_pCastle->Garrison(), ATF_TYPE_SPEED|ATF_TYPE_POWER, 0);
	}
}

void iBattleMember_Castle::OnWin(iBattleResult br)
{
	iBattleMember_Hero* pHeroMember = DynamicCast<iBattleMember_Hero*>(br.m_pLoser);
	check(pHeroMember);

	if (iHero* pVisitor = GetVisitor()) {
		// transfer artifacts from loser
		if (br.m_defCause == DC_DEFEAT) {
			iArtList artList;
			pHeroMember->GetHero()->Artifacts().PopAll(artList);
			if (artList.GetSize()) pVisitor->CaptureArtifacts(artList);
		}

		// Raise skeletons
		pVisitor->RiseSkeletons(br.m_losCas);

		// receive experience
		if (br.m_experience) pVisitor->ReceiveExperience(br.m_experience);

		pVisitor->OnEndBattle(true);
	}
}

void iBattleMember_Castle::OnLose(iBattleResult br)
{
	check(br.m_defCause == DC_DEFEAT);
	iBattleMember_Hero* pHeroMember = DynamicCast<iBattleMember_Hero*>(br.m_pWinner);
	check(pHeroMember);

	if (iHero* pVisitor = GetVisitor()) {
		pVisitor->OnEndBattle(false);
		gGame.Map().RemoveHero(pVisitor, true);
		// Reset castle's garrison
		m_pCastle->Garrison().ResetArmy();
	}

	iHero* pHero = pHeroMember->GetHero();
	// flag the castle with winner's playerId
	pHero->CaptureCastle(GetCastle(), false);
}

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
iBattleMember_OwnCnst::iBattleMember_OwnCnst(iOwnCnst* pOwnCnst)
: iBattleMember(OwnCnst, Defender, iFurtSkills()), m_pOwnCnst(pOwnCnst)
{}

void iBattleMember_OwnCnst::OnLose(iBattleResult br)
{
	iBattleMember_Hero* pHeroMember = DynamicCast<iBattleMember_Hero*>(br.m_pWinner);
	check(pHeroMember);
	iHero* pHero = pHeroMember->GetHero();
	// flag the ownerable construction with winner's playerId
	pHero->ActivateConstruction(GetOwnCnst());
}

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
iBattleMember_VisCnst::iBattleMember_VisCnst(iVisCnst* pVisCnst)
: iBattleMember(VisCnst, Defender, iFurtSkills()), m_pVisCnst(pVisCnst)
{}

void iBattleMember_VisCnst::OnLose(iBattleResult br)
{
	iBattleMember_Hero* pHeroMember = DynamicCast<iBattleMember_Hero*>(br.m_pWinner);
	check(pHeroMember);
	iHero* pHero = pHeroMember->GetHero();
	// Activate visitable construction
	pHero->ActivateConstruction(GetVisCnst());
}

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
iBattleMember_MapItem::iBattleMember_MapItem(iMapItem* pMapItem)
: iBattleMember(MapItem, Defender, iFurtSkills()), m_pMapItem(pMapItem)
{}

void iBattleMember_MapItem::OnLose(iBattleResult br)
{
	iBattleMember_Hero* pHeroMember = DynamicCast<iBattleMember_Hero*>(br.m_pWinner);
	check(pHeroMember);
	iHero* pHero = pHeroMember->GetHero();
	//
	pHero->TouchMapItem(GetMapItem(), true);
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
iBattleMember_MapEvent::iBattleMember_MapEvent(iMapEvent* pMapEvent)
: iBattleMember(MapEvent, Defender, iFurtSkills()), m_pMapEvent(pMapEvent)
{}

void iBattleMember_MapEvent::OnLose(iBattleResult br)
{
	iBattleMember_Hero* pHeroMember = DynamicCast<iBattleMember_Hero*>(br.m_pWinner);
	check(pHeroMember);
	iHero* pHero = pHeroMember->GetHero();
	//
	if (m_pMapEvent->Activate(pHero, pHero->Owner()->PlayerType() == PT_HUMAN, false)) {
		gGame.Map().RemoveMapEvent(m_pMapEvent);
	}
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
iBattleMember_MapGuard::iBattleMember_MapGuard(iMapGuard* pMapGuard)
: iBattleMember(MapGuard, Defender, iFurtSkills()), m_pMapGuard(pMapGuard)
{
	m_Army.At(0) = pMapGuard->Creatures();
}

void iBattleMember_MapGuard::OnPrepare(iBattleMember* pEnemy)
{
	// can make a trick here - multiply army here at random
	iCreatGroup cg = m_Army.At(0);
	m_Army.ResetArmy();
	check(cg.IsValid());
	sint32 ePwr = pEnemy->Army().ArmyPower();
	sint32 fPwr = cg.GroupPower();
	// Distribute creatures group
	uint32 gcnt = iMIN<uint32>(cg.Count(), iCLAMP<sint32>(1,6,(fPwr*4)/ePwr));
	uint32 gqnt = cg.Count() / gcnt;
	uint32 ovr = cg.Count() % gcnt;
	for (uint32 xx=0; xx<gcnt; ++xx) {
		m_Army.At(xx).Type() = cg.Type();
		m_Army.At(xx).Count() = (sint32)gqnt;
		if (xx<ovr) m_Army.At(xx).Count()++;
	}
}

void iBattleMember_MapGuard::OnWin(iBattleResult br)
{
	// Combine creatures
	sint32 ncnt = 0;
	for (uint32 xx=0; xx<7; ++xx) if (m_Army.At(xx).IsValid()) ncnt += m_Army.At(xx).Count();
	check(ncnt > 0);
	m_pMapGuard->Creatures().Count() = ncnt;
}

void iBattleMember_MapGuard::OnLose(iBattleResult br)
{
	iBattleMember_Hero* pHeroMember = DynamicCast<iBattleMember_Hero*>(br.m_pWinner);
	check(pHeroMember);
	iHero* pHero = pHeroMember->GetHero();
	pHero->TouchMapGuard(GetMapGuard(), true);
}

/*
 *	Battle Info
 */
iBattleInfo::iBattleInfo()
: m_pAssaulter(NULL), m_pDefender(NULL)
{}

iBattleInfo::iBattleInfo(iHero* pAssaulter, iHero* pDefender)
{
	m_pAssaulter = new iBattleMember_Hero(pAssaulter, iBattleMember::Assaulter);
	m_pDefender = new iBattleMember_Hero(pDefender, iBattleMember::Defender);
	m_pAssaulter->OnPrepare(m_pDefender);
	m_pDefender->OnPrepare(m_pAssaulter);
}

iBattleInfo::iBattleInfo(iHero* pAssaulter, iCastle* pDefender)
{
	m_pAssaulter = new iBattleMember_Hero(pAssaulter, iBattleMember::Assaulter);
	m_pDefender = new iBattleMember_Castle(pDefender);
	m_pAssaulter->OnPrepare(m_pDefender);
	m_pDefender->OnPrepare(m_pAssaulter);
}

iBattleInfo::iBattleInfo(iHero* pAssaulter, iOwnCnst* pDefender)
{
	m_pAssaulter = new iBattleMember_Hero(pAssaulter, iBattleMember::Assaulter);
	m_pDefender = new iBattleMember_OwnCnst(pDefender);
	m_pAssaulter->OnPrepare(m_pDefender);
	m_pDefender->OnPrepare(m_pAssaulter);
}

iBattleInfo::iBattleInfo(iHero* pAssaulter, iVisCnst* pDefender)
{
	m_pAssaulter = new iBattleMember_Hero(pAssaulter, iBattleMember::Assaulter);
	m_pDefender = new iBattleMember_VisCnst(pDefender);
	m_pAssaulter->OnPrepare(m_pDefender);
	m_pDefender->OnPrepare(m_pAssaulter);
}

iBattleInfo::iBattleInfo(iHero* pAssaulter, iMapItem* pDefender)
{
	m_pAssaulter = new iBattleMember_Hero(pAssaulter, iBattleMember::Assaulter);
	m_pDefender = new iBattleMember_MapItem(pDefender);
	m_pAssaulter->OnPrepare(m_pDefender);
	m_pDefender->OnPrepare(m_pAssaulter);
}

iBattleInfo::iBattleInfo(iHero* pAssaulter, iMapEvent* pDefender)
{
	m_pAssaulter = new iBattleMember_Hero(pAssaulter, iBattleMember::Assaulter);
	m_pDefender = new iBattleMember_MapEvent(pDefender);
	m_pAssaulter->OnPrepare(m_pDefender);
	m_pDefender->OnPrepare(m_pAssaulter);
}

iBattleInfo::iBattleInfo(iHero* pAssaulter, iMapGuard* pDefender)
{
	m_pAssaulter = new iBattleMember_Hero(pAssaulter, iBattleMember::Assaulter);
	m_pDefender = new iBattleMember_MapGuard(pDefender);
	m_pAssaulter->OnPrepare(m_pDefender);
	m_pDefender->OnPrepare(m_pAssaulter);
}

void iBattleInfo::Cleanup()
{
	delete m_pAssaulter;
	m_pAssaulter = NULL;
	delete m_pDefender;
	m_pDefender = NULL;
}

iBattleMember::Side iBattleInfo::InteractorSide() const
{
	if (m_pAssaulter->Owner() != PID_NEUTRAL && gGame.Map().FindPlayer(m_pAssaulter->Owner())->PlayerType() == PT_HUMAN) return iBattleMember::Assaulter;
	check( m_pDefender->Owner() != PID_NEUTRAL && gGame.Map().FindPlayer(m_pDefender->Owner())->PlayerType() == PT_HUMAN);
	return iBattleMember::Defender;
}

iHero* iBattleInfo::HasArtInBattle(ART_TYPE artt) const
{
	iHero* pAst = m_pAssaulter->SpellCaster();
	iHero* pDef = m_pDefender->SpellCaster();
	if (pAst && pAst->Artifacts().HasArtType(artt)) return pAst;
	if (pDef && pDef->Artifacts().HasArtType(artt)) return pDef;
	return NULL;
}


text:
$Miami Vice$ Florida government pays over $185k USD to hackers, again
A new security incident has just been reported; according to data protection specialists, Collier County, in Florida, was the victim of a phishing campaign deployed in late 2018. Thanks to the little cybersecurity knowledge of public officials, the local government lost about $180k USD, money that was handed over to a hacker group.
This incident, which the FBI classified as a "business email compromising", occurred in December 2018. The attackers focused on money from county reserves, which was transferred electronically to a bank account allegedly controlled by Quality Enterprise USA Inc., a company that has provided various services for the Collier government. In other words, the attackers tricked employees posing as contractors to make them perform electronic transfers.
"We contacted the county Sheriff's Office immediately after we detected the operations, perpetrated by a group of fraudsters," a county statement mentions. "Local authorities are investigating this incident in collaboration with the FBI," the statement adds.
According to early reports released by FBI data protection experts, the attack would have been operated from abroad, although a potential culprit is not explicitly mentioned. In addition, it has been revealed that electronic transfers were recovered thanks to insurance policies hired by the county.
Data protection experts have emphasized that no data breach or security violation occurred in Collier's computer systems; "Attackers did not gain access to our email systems or computer networks, nor was the presence of any variant of malware detected," they said. "We continue to work actively to improve our policies and protocols for security, prevention, detection and containment of cybersecurity incidents," added experts working with local authorities.
The increase in reports of phishing attempts against government organizations has caught the attention of the U.S. president administration, which is already concerned about the potential for success these attacks. As for the county, the local administrators mention that some improvements to their security systems have already been implemented; however, the human factor must remain vigilant for potential threats in the future.
Quality Enterptises is a company that works closely with multiple government entities, so it is relatively understandable that the attackers have selected the image of this company to deceive Collier County employees. As a prevention measure, company executives have advised their clients to follow up on any suspicious-looking bank transfer request; in addition, the company recommends them training their staff in those areas to learn how to distinguish malicious and legitimate content.
Unfortunately this is not the first time a similar incident occurs in a Florida city. A few months ago data protection specialists from the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS) reported a complex phishing campaign that caused nearly $1 million USD losses to the Naples city government. The money would have been sent to an account allegedly operated by Wight Construction Group, a city government contractor, using fraudulent calls and emails.
Octavio Mares
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
In: Incidents
Tagged: cybersecurity, FLORIDA, Hacking, phishing


"Fresh and Earthly Comforting Living Food" is its mantra. Tarot cards are displayed at its cash. The music is appropriately ohm-my, though typically drown out (not so bad) by the whirring of blenders and grinding of nuts and such.
La Belle Verte's Chapitas combine various textures and tastes for a delicious, and healthy, meal . Photo by Anne DesBrisay.
This is an old time veggie and raw food haven, with decor to match. La Belle Verte's floors are tiled and worn, its tables and chairs are an eclectic collection — some from grandma and some the side of the road – its walls are four shades of green. And if anyone out there is turkeyed out, stuffed silly, and looking to start the new year on a greener foot, I recommend you make your way to this little Gatineau restaurant for a "chapita." Wrap Of The Year. And most of last year too. Two green thumbs up.
Building a great wrap is a lot like building a great taco. Attention must be paid to maximum flavour but also to textural contrast. And the bread has to matter.
La Belle Verte is an old school veggie and raw haven. Photo by Anne DesBrisay.
This was called The Gong. It was spicy and smoky, sweet and sour, crunchy and soft. It had cool stuff (grated carrots, cukes, lettuce, tomato), warm stuff (sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onion), bright bits (fresh mint and basil), acidic jolts (pickled red onion) and soft, rich unctuous parts (mashed avocado). It featured smoked and spicey tempeh which is best eaten, in my carnivorous opinion, with a team of other things on its side. The moistening element — the house chipotle mayo and a Thai chili sauce — added some heat, more smoke and and a slightly sweet finish. It was all contained in an Indian chapati and it was damn good.
All on its own, it costs $9.75, but there's an option to combine it with soup or salad. Salad struck me as green overkill. And January struck me as a soup month. So a bowl of dahl soup it was — steaming hot, perfectly seasoned and shot through with ribbons of fresh ginger.


text:
'Warped view of women' continues
Parliament has again proven its inability to pass pro-life legislation in Canada.
At stake was a private member's bill that would have forbidden abortions based on the gender of the preborn child. Diane Watts of REAL Women of Canada says it is a genuine problem in the country.
"Figures show that in some areas of Canada and in some ethnic groups in Canada, their abortions are performed when the parents want a boy," Watts relays. "So if the fetus, if the unborn child is a girl, many choose to abort."
She believes the legislation's defeat can be attributed to the liberal feminist groups that are financed by the government.
"They see abortion as essential to the advancement of women," Watts laments. "When you look at motherhood and the termination of motherhood as essential to the advancement of women, it's a very warped view of women."
The advocate for the values of traditional family and marriage also finds it ironic that the liberal government is so strong on making sure women are considered equal to men in its anti-discrimination laws, yet they will allow discrimination against females by allowing the preborn babies to be aborted.
Friend of the unborn battles away in Madison
Friend of the unborn battles away in MadisonA determined pro-life lawmaker in Wisconsin continues to legislate on behalf of the unborn, in spite of opposition from Democrats and the state's governor.


ILOILO CITY—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has lifted its cease-and-desist order (CDO) against Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC), less than a month after nine workers died in an accident at the Panian pit on Semirara Island in Antique province.
But mining operations remain suspended pending the separate investigation being conducted by the Department of Energy (DOE).
In a two-page order dated Aug. 12, the Western Visayas office of the DENR's Environmentalal Management Bureau (EMB) lifted the CDO it issued on July 21 against SMPC.
In the order issued by EMB Western Visayas Director Jonathan Bulos, the agency granted the motion of SMPC, which said that the mining firm did not violate its Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).
In a separate three-page order issued on Aug. 10, Assistant Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna, EMB director, also lifted the suspension of the SMPC's ECC.
It granted the motion of SMPC which said that the accident did not cause damage or impact to the environment.
The SMPC was also implementing additional measures that would be included in its ECC. These included a comprehensive monitoring program on slope movements and groundwater conditions, and installation of an automatic weather station.
The DOE also ordered the suspension of operations of the SMPC on the 5,500-hectare Semirara Island in Caluya town after excavated soil and part of the northern Panian pit collapsed on July 17.
The recovery operations had been concluded after no other body parts of the workers were found.
Zenaida Monsada, DOE officer in charge, said the department's investigation committee was still evaluating and validating information that had been gathered.
SMPC officials earlier said that the soil could have loosened due to continuous rain days before the accident.
The accident is the second in 29 months after the collapse of the western wall of the Panian pit on Feb. 13, 2013. Five workers died and five others remained missing and were presumed dead.
Sen. Loren Legarda has asked the Senate to investigate the enforcement of safety and environmental standards in mining sites following the death of the workers in Semirara.
In a resolution filed on July 29, Legarda said it was "imperative that concerned government agencies determine whether sufficient safety precautions were being implemented" at mining sites.
The resolution was referred to the Senate committees on environment and natural resources; and labor, employment and human resources development on Aug. 5.
Church groups, especially in Antique, have also called for the permanent closure of the mining operations, citing environmental and safety hazards.
SMPC is the country's biggest supplier of locally produced coal.


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James Spencer "Jim" Courier, jr. (* 17. August 1970 in Sanford, Florida) ist ein ehemaliger US-amerikanischer Tennisspieler. Er gewann in seiner Karriere vier Grand-Slam-Titel im Einzel, er siegte jeweils zweimal bei den Australian- und French Open.

Karriere
Courier gewann 1986 und 1987 in Miami den Orange Bowl, die inoffizielle Jugend-Weltmeisterschaft im Tennis. An der Seite von Jonathan Stark gewann er 1987 den Doppeltitel des Juniorenturniers der French Open, im Jahr darauf wurde er Tennisprofi. Seinen ersten Einzeltitel errang er 1989 in Basel durch einen Fünfsatzsieg über Stefan Edberg. Seine nächsten Titel holte er im März 1991 bei den direkt nacheinander stattfindenden Masters-Turnieren von Indian Wells und Key Biscayne. Bis 1998 errang er insgesamt 23 Einzeltitel. Zudem konnte er an der Seite von wechselnden Partnern sechs Doppeltitel gewinnen, darunter die Masters-Turniere von Hamburg, Indian Wells und das Kanada Masters. Er führte im Laufe seiner Karriere in Summe 58 Wochen die Weltrangliste an.

Seine besten Resultate bei Grand-Slam-Turnieren waren die Turniersiege bei den French Open 1991 und 1992 sowie bei den Australian Open 1992 und 1993. Bei den US Open und in Wimbledon erreichte er jeweils das Finale. Im Doppel stand er zweimal im Achtelfinale von Wimbledon.

Courier absolvierte zwischen 1991 und 1999 26 Einzel und eine Doppelpartie für die Davis-Cup-Mannschaft der Vereinigten Staaten. Seine Einzelstatistik war 17:10, sein einziges Doppel gewann er an der Seite von Todd Martin bei der Viertelfinalbegegnung gegen Belgien 1998. Seine größten Erfolge mit der Mannschaft waren die Titelgewinne 1992 und 1995, allerdings gab er im Finale 1995 gegen Russland beide Einzel gegen Jewgeni Kafelnikow und Andrei Tschesnokow ab. Dank der Siege von Pete Sampras im Einzel und im Doppel (mit Todd Martin) konnte der Titel errungen werden. Bei den Olympischen Spielen 1992 in Barcelona vertrat Courier die USA im Einzel und im Doppel. Er unterlag in der dritten Runde dem späteren Goldmedaillen-Gewinner Marc Rosset, im Doppel scheiterte er zusammen mit Pete Sampras in der zweiten Runde an Jordi Arrese und Emilio Sánchez.

Courier, dessen Markenzeichen die Baseballcap war, die er bei jedem Match trug, trat im Jahr 2000 vom Profisport zurück. Seitdem ist er als Kommentator für verschiedene Fernsehsender wie NBC Sports und USA Network tätig. 2005 wurde Jim Courier in die International Tennis Hall of Fame aufgenommen.

Turniersiege

Einzel

Doppel

Weblinks

Davis-Cup-Spieler (Vereinigte Staaten)
Weltranglistenerster (Tennis)
Olympiateilnehmer (Vereinigte Staaten)
Teilnehmer der Olympischen Sommerspiele 1992
Mitglied der International Tennis Hall of Fame
US-Amerikaner
Geboren 1970
Mann