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I haven't seen a lot of people take note of this--and what with everything else going on, that's hardly surprising--but 2017 is shaping up to be a really good movie year. Specifically, the genre/action/adventure movies this year has served up have been genuinely strong and enjoyable, from envelope-pushing fare like Logan, Get Out, and Colossal, to well-made, thoughtful variations on familiar formulas like Wonder Woman. (This is especially noticeable in comparison to 2016, which in terms of its movie offerings pretty much peaked with Deadpool.) I didn't love all of the movies discussed in this post, but I enjoyed all of them, and more than that, I admired their attempts to do something different, even if in some cases those attempts didn't quite work for me. In a movie scene that seems increasingly governed by formula and last year's successes, it's heartening to see so many idiosyncratic efforts, and hopefully their success bodes well for the future.
Baby Driver - For months, reviewers and filmmakers have been priming us have our socks knocked off by Baby Driver, Edgar Wright's victory lap after being unceremoniously dumped from Ant-Man. The praise for the film was as unanimous and rapturous as it was strangely unspecific--everyone seemed to love Baby Driver, but no one seemed able to say why, beyond some vague gestures towards its soundtrack (and you know, the last film I saw where the soundtrack was a major selling point was the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie, which is hardly an encouraging comparison). So when I went to see Baby Driver, it was less in the spirit of enthusiasm and more out of curiosity--what was it about this movie that made people go so gaga over it? I'm sorry to say that my questions have not been answered. Baby Driver is enjoyable and well-made. There are some extremely fun action and car chase scenes (though on that last front the film peaks in its first ten minutes, and never quite recaptures the same high). But none of this is quite enough to elevate the film past its thoroughly generic story and characters.
The premise of Baby Driver is so familiar that it practically follows from the film's description as a heist movie. A demon-behind-the-wheel getaway driver agrees to do One Last Job for some shady characters in order to protect the lives of his loved ones, including his angelic girlfriend, and then things get complicated. The one twist that Wright offers is that Baby (Ansel Elgort, in a brilliant physical performance that nevertheless feels like little more than a support beam for the film's plot) is obsessed with, constantly listening to, and filtering the world through, music, which he pipes in through the earbuds he hardly ever takes off, ostensibly to ward off the tinnitus that has plagued him since childhood, though like so much else about the film this is a plot element that is introduced and then quickly left by the wayside. This turns Baby Driver into essentially a long sequence of music videos, an approach that is at first exhilarating, but quickly loses its flavor when it turns out that Wright doesn't have a second gear for it. For a little while, it feels as if Baby Driver is trying to be the portrait of slightly different person (perhaps even neuroatypical), who needs a soundtrack to his life to function, and who can only truly express his humanity through movement--whether behind the wheel of a car, or walking down the street, or dancing in his apartment. But as the plot of Baby Driver progresses, this obsession comes to feel less like a character trait and more like a gimmick, a way of establishing the film's coolness credentials--to which end it also gathers actors such as Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, and Jamie Foxx to play the over-the-top criminal types whom Baby squares against. By the film's final act, in which Baby must save his girlfriend Debora (Lily James) while also retrieving the tape containing the last recording of his mother's singing, he comes off as a less engaging version of Guardians's Starlord, and the film's use of music feels just as calculated. (This is also a good place to note how few and uninteresting Baby Driver's female characters are, all of them defined by the love, protectiveness, and vengefulness of men.)
The most obvious point of comparison for Baby Driver is Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive, and the difference between how these two movies handle their protagonist feels extremely telling. Drive's most brilliant touch is the third-act revelation that beneath its angel-faced protagonist's placid exterior, there is a great big nothing. That his coolness is merely a thin veneer for genuine psychopathy, which eventually tarnishes, and sometimes destroys, the lives of everyone he gets close to. Baby Driver feels like the movie for people who found that conclusion too depressing, who wanted to be able to keep rooting for the Driver with no moral qualms or complications. The contortions the film goes through in order to assure us that Baby is a good person, even an innocent--at the same time as he willingly participates in horrific violence--are ultimately more alienating than Drive's condemnation of its hero. The film's ending feels almost like a parody of the way the American justice system bends over backwards to avoid "destroying the life" of photogenic white criminals. This is a problem less from an ethical standpoint (though the film's approach to race is troubling, and deserves a lot more attention from reviewers than it's gotten) than from a storytelling one. If Baby Driver won't give its title character a personality, and won't admit that the absence of a personality is an indication that there is something wrong with him, then all that's left is the film's obsession with coolness, which--for me at least--is not nearly enough to carry it over the finish line.
Spider-Man: Homecoming - If the rapturous reception for Baby Driver left me feeling warily curious, the only reaction I had to similarly positive reviews for the latest Spider-Man film was resigned fatigue. As the sixth (!) Spider-Man movie in fifteen years, Homecoming seemed more like a chore than a pleasure, and the fact that Marvel was clearly only making the movie so that the web-crawler could appear in Infinity War and then become the lynchpin of phase four of the MCU certainly didn't help. For all that Homecoming turned out to be a smart, charming movie, I'm still not convinced that this character needed to be rebooted for the third time. But I am impressed with how Marvel has handled the significant challenges of doing so, with a great deal more wit and care than comparable franchise launches (much less re-launches) from other studios have managed.
It's not surprising that Homecoming steers clear of the over-familiar tropes of the Spider-Man story (in fact some of them, like the burden of guilt Peter carries for the death of Uncle Ben, feel weirdly absent from this story, in which he is far too insouciant and carefree than your standard Peter Parker). What I didn't expect was for the film to face head-on some of the growing problems with the more recent MCU movies, and to swiftly disarm them. Homecoming strikes a compelling middle ground between the overheated bombast of MCU team-up movies, and the by-the-numbers plotting of recent standalones. It tells a story with relatively modest stakes and scope, with a hero who is frequently out of his depth, and villains who are just trying to get paid. But by giving its setting and characters room to breathe, it paradoxically ends up the most involving MCU movie in some time. Tom Holland plays Peter as something between Tobey Maguire's soulful nerd and Andrew Garfield's dimwitted jokester, but most of all he plays the character as young. His Peter is fundamentally decent and heroic, whether he's giving an old lady directions or thoughtlessly stepping up to take a bullet for a street criminal caught in over his head. But he's also immature, playful, unclear on how this whole superhero business works, and star-struck by his recent adventures with Iron Man in Civil War. That looseness in his characterization extends to the rest of the cast. The kids in Peter's school--best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), popular nice girl Liz (Laura Harrier), too-cool-for-school Michelle (Zendaya), asshole Flash (Tony Revolori), and even some of the background players--all get space to be their own, idiosyncratic versions of these types, each a little bit weird in their own way. As a result, Homecoming ends up feeling more grounded than most films in this genre, like a teen movie about a superhero, not a superhero movie just waiting to shake off its teenage hero's ordinary life.
There's a similar heft and humanity in the film's handling of its villains, whether it's a small-time crook played by Donald Glover, or the main bad guys. All feel like people first and plot tokens second, with lives that exist outside of Peter's drama, and limits to their villainy informed by their being part of a community and a family (when Peter convinces Glover's character to give him information, he does it by pointing out that the bad guys have blown up a popular local sandwich shop). The film's villain, Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), breaks the MCU films' villain curse, ending up simultaneously terrifying and sympathetic. He makes the largely convincing argument that people like Tony Stark cause tremendous damage that they never look down and notice, much less face consequences for. Peter's heroism is expressed by recognizing the rightness of this criticism, but also the evil of Toomes's reaction to it--he steals and modifies alien technology, and sells it to criminals. Even then, the true measure of Toomes's villainy comes not when he dons a terrifying flying suit, but through the mundane details of his double life--the hurt that he causes his family, and the damage he does to his community.
Much has been made of Tony Stark's presence in Homecoming, with some critics even calling it half an Iron Man movie. I was actually surprised by how little space Tony takes up in the movie, and more than that, by how Homecoming feels free to subtly criticize him. If, like myself, you thought Tony's decision to recruit Peter in Civil War was reckless and irresponsible, then Homecoming will be the film for you, as it delves into the unintended consequences of that decision--such as Peter retreating from his life in the belief that he will soon be called to join the Avengers. When Tony tries to repair the damage he's caused, he repeatedly overcompensates, either ghosting Peter completely or micro-managing him, in both cases expecting him to follow orders without considering that he is still a child. A major component of Peter's growth into heroism and maturity is the fact that he outgrows Tony, rejecting his worldview and choosing to a be a street-level hero, someone who can address the damage that Tony and the Avengers don't see. (The film also gets in a few jabs at Captain America, who appears as the star of some breathtakingly clueless PSAs screened at Peter's school, even as the teachers admit that he is currently a war criminal.) It's an ending that also brings Homecoming full circle, back in conversation with the previous Spider-Man movies. Whereas those films were driven by Peter's tragic inability to balance his life as a person and a hero, Homecoming concludes that it is essential to Peter's heroism that he maintain his humanity, and not ignore his life for the sake of the excitement of being a hero. It's a little surprising for a Spider-Man movie to end up concluding that its hero should stay "close to the ground" (many of the film's jokes even rely on Peter's inability to find tall buildings and structures to swing from), but for this moment, in both the MCU and this much-rebooted character's existence, that feels like the right decision.
Okja - Bong Joon Ho's follow-up to Snowpiercer (produced by Netflix and available to stream on it) is, like its predecessor, a film that veers somewhat haphazardly between dark social satire and earnest social commentary. Also like Snowpiercer, Okja is a collection of set pieces that vary wildly in tone and even genre, but without the organizing principle of a journey along a train, the result feels even more bitty. That's not necessarily a complaint. Some of Okja's set-pieces--chiefly a truck-heist/prison-break scene in the streets of Seoul that gives Baby Driver a run for its money--are worth the price of admission in their own right. But especially for a film so driven by its message, it can be hard to get a grip on the story Okja is trying to tell.
The title character is a genetically engineered pig hybrid the size of an elephant, bred as a new, environmentally-friendly food alternative. Ten years ago, sample piglets were handed out to farmers all over the world, as a publicity stunt meant to normalize the new protein source. Now, with Korean-raised Okja deemed the "best super-pig" and carted off to the US to be fêted (and then slaughtered), Mija (An Seo Hyun), the granddaughter of the farmer who raised Okja, sets off on a journey to rescue her friend. It's a fairly basic animal-in-peril story, and yet Okja veers into some extremely weird tangents that never quite coalesce into a coherent whole, whether it's the animal rights group that helps Mija (led by a pacifist Paul Dano and a slightly shady Steven Yeun), or the dissipated former animal show host who has been coopted by the corporation to put a smiley face on Okja's looming fate (Jake Gyllenhaal, in what is easily the most deranged performance of his career). Some of these bits work very well--the fact that the corporation's CEOs are twins both played by Tilda Swinton, one a money-obsessed monster, the other an airy wannabe-celebrity desperate to remake her company's image, ends up making a subtly cutting statement--it doesn't matter which of these women takes over the running of the company, because the end result of animal abuse will be the same, whether or not it's sugarcoated with good PR. And even when the film's weirdness doesn't work, it's so expertly done as to be fun to watch. But the constant shift between absurdism and utterly serious animal rights rhetoric--chiefly a long sojourn in a super-pig slaughterhouse that has definite concentration camp associations--can make it hard to know how to react.
Perhaps the most significant way in which Okja holds back from its audience is the title character itself. The CGI for Okja can get a little ropey in the film's action scenes, but it works where it counts, in convincing us that this is a feeling creature whom Mija loves and who is capable of returning that affection, and in making us root for her survival. And yet Okja, as a character, feels curiously absent from the movie that bears her name. In most animal in peril stories, the animal is in many ways in the main character (think, for example, of the way Dawn of the Planet of the Apes spends its middle segment focused almost entire on Caesar). But in Okja, even in scenes in which she is alone (or alone with her abusers), the focus is almost always on the human characters, not on Okja's feelings. (This is particularly strange because there's a strong implication in the film that Okja and the other super-pigs are a lot smarter than suspected, perhaps even self-aware, and yet ultimately nothing is made of this.) Okja only really comes to life when she's paired with Mija, and though that pairing, and the love and devotion the two have for one another, are never less than entirely convincing, it's yet another way in which Okja feels confused about what it wants to be. It's a film that I'm glad exists (not least for how it pushes forward Netflix's willingness to take a shot on strange material and creators from outside of Hollywood) but it's worth watching more for its pieces than its whole.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets - On paper, Luc Besson's latest movie (based on the comic by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières) should be an unmitigated disaster. The plot is predictable and frequently relies on the characters being stupid, or worse, following stupid rules and regulations. The characters are flat, with informed personality traits that never manage to emerge from the actors' performances. In particular, Dane DeHaan is woefully miscast as the title character, a rougeish adventurer with no time for rules (except right at the end of the film, when he suddenly decides that abiding by the rules defines him). It's a role that ends up wearing him, rather than allowing him to make it his own. The film's decision to hang its emotional arc on a putative romance between him and his partner, Laureline (Cara Delevingne), is almost comically misguided--not only is DeHaan completely unconvincing as a lothario whom Laureline desires but can't trust, but the film never gives us any reason, any romantic or sexual spark, to make us root for Valerian and Laureline as a couple. And despite aiming at a message of inclusivity and tolerance, Valerian's character work frequently plumps for thoughtless stereotypes, particularly in an ill-advised sojourn in a red light district, where Valerian befriends a shape-changing prostitute (Rihanna) who can't get away from her hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold type, or the racially insensitive guises her clients favor.
And yet for all these flaws, I found Valerian utterly delightful, for the simple reason that the film's world is so broad, so varied, and so much fun, that it's possible to tune out the leaden dialogue, the annoying characters, and the idiot plotting, and simply enjoy the ride. This isn't simply a matter of visuals--though these are spectacular and constantly evolving throughout the film's run--but of worldbuilding. Valerian mostly takes place on a travelling space station, Alpha, where humans and other species have for centuries mingled freely and peacefully, adding modules and segments as each species joins the journey. The film's opening scene, which shows us Alpha's origins as an international space station orbiting Earth, establishes a theme of tolerance and mutual respect, and though, as noted above, that's something Valerian honors as much in the breach as in the observance, it's still a powerful message that informs how Besson builds his world, and how Valerian and Laureline move through it. This isn't a Guardians of the Galaxy-esque setting, where entire space-faring civilizations exist solely for our heroes to punch their way through. It's a living, functional world, whose rules and values are worth preserving because they allow its inhabitants to live in (relative) peace and prosperity. It's no surprise that the villain of the piece turns out to be someone who thought he had the right to tear through another civilization for his own goals, and that our heroes triumph not just by defeating him, but by bringing him to justice.
All of this is to make Valerian sound a great deal more high-minded than it actually is (not least because, as noted, for all the film's lofty intentions its actual execution is at best awkward, at worst actively working against its message). But the belief that the world he's constructed is interesting and worth exploring informs how Besson constructs his action plot, and as a result Valerian never stops moving, and never stops showing us new corners of its world. The film is made up of several gargantuan, and incredibly fun, set pieces, from a chase through an intergalactic market that exists in several dimensions, to Valerian pursuing aliens who have kidnapped his commander by jumping from one environ in Alpha to another, to an underwater quest for a jellyfish that will help Laureline find a missing Valerian. Perhaps most importantly, the aliens whose dispossession is the film's inciting incident have a society that feels, if not exactly realistic, then sympathetic and interesting. You find yourself rooting for them to have a happy ending, and it almost makes Valerian and Laureline bearable that they clearly see this as a more important goal than obeying orders. None of this is enough to make Valerian into a good movie, but it's one that left me feeling a great deal more hopeful and exuberant than any other recent example of this genre, and that's worth celebrating.
Labels: bong joon ho, luc besson, marvel cinematic universe, recent movie roundups, spider-man


Meteoritical Bulletin entry for Camp Wood.
Camp Wood is the largest iron meteorite recovered in the US since Old Woman was found in 1976. It is also one of the few large meteorites found since then that have remained intact. The vast majority of meteorites in this size range are cut and distributed. There is a separate page with images from the trip to bring the iron from Texas to California, here.
The finders removed ~28 grams from the top edge. That sample was used for analysis and the iron remains as shown.
Camp Wood (at right) is now on loan to UCLA and can be seen in the Meteorite Gallery — for museum hours and other information, see here.


The Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics supports research and honors teaching that develop a critical understanding of national and international politics. Its distinguished faculty members seek to instill in their students a theoretical and practical appreciation of the ideas, institutions, and history that shape political life. The Department celebrates methodological pluralism: it seeks to promote an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of different methodologies so that students can evaluate and select the approaches most suited to exploring the research questions in which they are interested. The faculty and students approach these questions through a rich variety of topics, including democratization; liberalism and its critics; race, gender, and ethnicity; political economy; and the role of human rights international affairs.
The Department is comprised of five subfields: American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Methodology, and Political Theory. Although individual faculty members usually specialize in a particular area of research, empirical and theoretical interests are frequently shared across subfields.
Bolstering the Department's standing as a locus of rigorous empirical and theoretical research is its close affiliation with a number of research centers and institutions, including The Miller Center of Public Affairs, the Center for Politics, the Center for Survey Research, the Center for South Asian Studies, the East Asia Center, The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, The Program in Women, Gender & Sexuality (WGS), the Media Studies Program, the Center for Middle-East Studies, the Department of Latin American Studies, and the Center for Russian and East European Studies (CRESS).


Curated mixtapes of the best new music handpicked from LA, New York and London delivered weekly at noon (pacific time).
Each week Noon Pacific curators uncover the best new music, then deliver it to you through our signature mixtapes. Discover new gems while you study, fill your commute with fresh tunes, or impress your guests with an endless stream of hand-picked vibes.
Designed with an obsessive focus on the listening experience, our app is committed to remaining ad-free, and continuous playback will keep your flow going through over 5 years of archives.
Airplay 2 support for multi-speaker setups. Save tracks directly to your Spotify. High definition audio over WiFi. And weekly notifications so you never miss a beat.


Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (do not use non-stick cookie sheet!). Slice tomatoes about 1/3" to 1/4" thick and place on sheet. Drizzle with 2 TBSP. olive oil and salt. Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Cool.
While tomatoes are cooling, place 1 sheet of dough onto lightly floured surface, brush with a little water and top with second layer and roll out until it's a couple of inches larger than a 9" round, 3/4" deep tart pan. Press dough into pan making a slightly thicker crust on the edges and pierce all over with a fork. *(Save remaining dough scraps – see below). Spread dijon on dough and spread cheese on top. Place one layer of tomatoes on top, sprinkle with garlic slices and one half of the basil. Top with remaining tomato slices, basil, black pepper and pepper flakes. Drizzle on remaining olive oil. Brush outer edges of crust with egg wash. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.
While pie is in the oven, mix ingredients for quick aioli. I like this version of the aioli because the freshness of the lemon is the immediate flavor-kick.
Once pie is baked, let cool on rack, for 10-15 minutes as this is best served warm (not hot). Sprinkle with pinenuts, basil and olive oil. Slice pie and spoon 1 tsp. of aioli on each piece or on the side of the plate. Put the rest on the table for those who would like more.
TIPS: This tastes like summer but it is quite rich so, I like to serve it with a simple salad.
*Dough Scraps: I roll out leftover dough and throw in some parmesan, make bread stick twists out of these, bake with the tart and slice for perfect little croutons for your salad or for future use. For company I like this tart version with the chèvre. However this is excellent without the cheese, especially for us true tomato lovers.


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Banksia falcata, commonly known as prickly dryandra, is a species of prickly, column-shaped shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has serrated or pinnatipartite leaves, heads of up to 150 yellow flowers and soft-hairy fruit.

Description
Banksia falcata is a column-shaped shrub that typically grows to a height of  but does not form a lignotuber. It has undulating, serrated to pinnatipartite leaves that are wedge-shaped in outline,  long and  wide on a petiole  long, with between seven and thirteen sharply-pointed teeth on each side. The flowers are borne on a head containing between 110 and 150 flowers in each head. There are linear to narrow lance-shaped involucral bracts  long covered with rusty, woolly hairs at the base of the head. The flowers have a bright yellow perianth  long and a yellow pistil  long. Flowering occurs from September to November or January and the follicles are oval,  long and covered with soft hairs.

Taxonomy and naming
This banksia was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in the journal Transactions of the Linnean Society of London and given the name Dryandra falcata. In 2007, Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele transferred all the dryandras to the genus Banksia and this species became Banksia falcata. The specific epithet (falcata) is a Latin word meaning "falcate" or "shaped like a scythe or sickle".

Distribution and habitat
Banksia falcata grows in kwongan between the Stirling Range and Esperance in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Mallee biogeographic regions.

References

falcata
Endemic flora of Western Australia
Plants described in 1810
Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)
Taxa named by Kevin Thiele

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Samantha is an experienced Brazilian Berlin-based hair & makeup artist with a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design.
Samantha started her career in the fashion industry assisting some great names of beauty artistry in São Paulo, doing makeup for several brands in SPFW and also working in editorials for fashion magazines.
For the past few years she has been working as a freelancer hair & makeup artist for fashion, beauty and also doing commercial shoots.
Samantha is currently facilitating makeup training and workshops, and she focuses on print, runway, films and television.


too small for you or your children.
to you and the shaped metal you rode.
Today you know you were not.
I keep more than a few things around my house that remind me of my life. Not all of them are of good things. It's been an interesting life, mistakes, abuse, horror, brokenness, resurrection, joy and love and all.
All of it is worth remembering. .
The photograph was taken at the Skeine Manor in Whitehall, New York.


You are on page # 32 in the Furniture category of our website. There are 180 items in this category. Click one of the pages below to view more items in this category.
Country pumpkin pine hand made hand hewed and pinned dining table made from antique pine.This wonderful hand made hand hewed farm house table was made from two wide 18th century pine boards straight tapered legs, bread board ends and wooden pin construction by a local master craftsman that has agreed to painstakingly make hand made tables in the early American 18th century manner. These are tables who's size and quality and design we can just not find in our daily searches for fine antiques. They are made by hand with antique block planes which give that lovely hand hewed look. Each tables size is determined by the size of the 18th century board we find, no two will be the same. Early boards have the most beautiful deep rich patina which simply can not be duplicated with new boards. The top board retains all its original wear and old pot mark which gives it the true period look that is the most desirable. This table measures 51.5 inches long, 36 inches deep,and 29.25 inches high. This table would be just perfect in a country kitchen or dining room. If you wish to browse our entire available inventory please go to OneofaKindAntiques.com. We also offer a consultation service AntiquesConsultant.com, ... as well as an online price guide at TheBestAntiquesPriceGuide.com. Connecticut residents and buyers picking up in Connecticut please add the CT state sales tax. Buyers outside the USA are responsible for any taxes, tariffs or customs that might apply.
William IV or early Victorian mahogany foot stool. Turned legs on original brass casters with inset cushion. Circa 1830-50. 18" L x 11.5" D x 18" H. If you wish to browse our entire available inventory please go to OneofaKindAntiques.com. We also offer a consultation service AntiquesConsultant.com, ... as well as an online price guide at TheBestAntiquesPriceGuide.com. Connecticut residents and buyers picking up in Connecticut please add the CT state sales tax. Buyers outside the USA are responsible for any taxes, tariffs or customs that might apply.
American Federal mahogany sever or stand c 1825. Measures 32 inches wide by 17.5 inches deep, 35 inches to the top of its back splash and 29.75 inches to the surface. Excellent condition. Note the wide hand cut dovetails on the back splash and single drawer. If you wish to browse our entire available inventory please go to OneofaKindAntiques.com. We also offer a consultation service AntiquesConsultant.com, ... as well as an online price guide at TheBestAntiquesPriceGuide.com.


text:
Lipmann Walton & Co Ltd - Minor Metals Trading Company
lipmann@lipmann.co.uk
Metals traded
Metal Science
Dual Use
Mufulira
This is Amos's story and how he played his part in the removal of sulphur pollution from the town of Mufulira.
At the time of this photo in 2009, Amos was 13 years old and a member of the Eco Group at Mine Basic school in the town of Mufulira in Zambia.
When I visited his school, in sight of the Glencore Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) mine/smelter/refinery complex, it was plain to see the effects of pollution. The land was bleached, plants grown for food were stunted and sulphur emissions caused breathing difficulties in the local populace on a daily basis.
On the day of my visit, I had just passed through an invisible sulphurous gas emission that caused choking even through the closed windows of the taxi in which I was travelling. [I should explain for the benefit of those who have not experienced inhalation of sulphurous gases, that it is not what you expect. There is no smell, you become hard of breathing, and have the irrational feeling of being strangled. For those already suffering from Aids, TB, or silicosis, it is life-threatening.]
Amos and his school friends, supported by a tiny British Council grant of T-shirts, pencils and notebooks, had formed themselves into a Climate Change Group. Led by their charismatic teacher, Godfridah Mwimbe, the children had collected data from the Mufulira area and asked questions of their elders such as 'Why must our community suffer the daily effects of pollution?'
It seemed to me that this issue was of relevance to us all. Why should we in the developed world enjoy the vast benefits that copper brings, when it was being produced at so high a cost to local communities involved with its extraction?
So, upon entering the classroom, I wrote the name of the mine's owner on the blackboard and asked them each to write a letter in their best hand-writing to communicate what it was like to live with the daily effects of sulphur. This they did, and it was the beginning of a campaign which resulted, in 2014, at a cost of $150 mln, with the opening of a modern gas capture plant now removing 98% of all gas emissions.
The Mufulira mine remains the oldest and deepest (1480m) Copper mine in Africa and in 2010 the complex was responsible for the processing and export of a quarter of all Zambia's Copper (200,000mt). Today, in 2016, with prices half what they were, Glencore remains fully committed both to the town and its copper production. In fact, Glencore have built a new training school to develop the best possible local mining skills which is world class.
Glencore engaged with us, and put into action the remedial measures that are now alleviating airborne pollution. The job is not over, the land will take time to recover, and communities in Africa do not see enough of the benefit that metals can bring; but the attitude that what takes place many thousands of miles away from the capitals of Europe may take place at lower standards than we would expect in the EU is being challenged.
The MMTA continues to work in partnership with the Cary Mufulira Community Partnership Trust who have been exchanging pupils and teachers with Mufulira for almost 25 years.
Mufulira has become a symbol for all communities from which metals come and for this reason the MMTA supports UK-Zambia links with the schools of Mufulira, an ongoing water project at Kamuchanga District Hospital and a UK-Zambia medical elective bursary.
If you would like to donate to these causes or be more closely involved with the UK-Zambia link, please contact me or Maria Cox at the MMTA.
Anthony Lipmann
For further information please contact the MMTA. »
Zambian Matters
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Palace Gate,
Hampton Court Road,
Surrey, KT8 9BN
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Metal Matters
Farnborough – a place where aviation's past is alloyed to its future
The Capital of Metal
A Not Very Expert Witness
Metal Life
Lehman Brothers – a Family Business
Why be a Politician when you can be a Metal Trader?
A Minor Metal Merchant's Diary
© 2016 Lipmann Walton & Co Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


At least two people died while another was injured in a land mine blast in Dera Bughti on Tuesday.
According to reports, two passersby lost their lives in the incident, while the injured man was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital. The bodies of the deceased were handed over to their family members after completing medico-legal formalities. The local administration cordoned off the area and started a search operation.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced medal for a martyred official of the bomb disposal squad – Commander Abdul Razzaq. Razzaq had embraced martyrdom while defusing a bomb planted under the Sariab overhead bridge some days ago.


This paper gives a short introduction to two research streams in embankment dam engineering underway at Imperial College London. The first is the modelling of embankment dam behaviour during earthquakes and the second is an investigation into the susceptibility of granular filters to internal erosion. The research motivation, methods and expected outcomes of each stream are discussed.
Shire, T., Pelecanos, L., Bo, H., and Taylor, H.


The first phase of the project entitled "Train My Generation: Gabon 5000", the result of a partnership between UNESCO and the mobile phone company Airtel Gabon, was launched this Monday, May 4, 2015 at the African Institute of Informatics (IAI) in Libreville (Gabon). This project aims to train more than 5,000 young Gabonese men and women in the use of information and communications technologies over a period of 3 years.
Among those present at the launch were Ida Reteno Assonouet, Minister of National Education, Higher and Technical Education and Vocational Training, President of the Gabonese National Commission for UNESCO, Felix Loïteohin Ye, Director of UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Yaoundé and UNESCO Representative to Central African Republic, and Hervé Olivier Njapoum, CEO of Airtel Gabon SA.
The mobile phone company Airtel Gabon signed a partnership agreement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on October 17, 2014. The project called "Train My Generation: Gabon 5000″ aims to train more than 5000 young Gabonese men and women in the use of information and communications technologies over a period of 3 years. This initiative will help to achieve the vision of the President of the Gabonese Republic to provide the African youth with skills training in the framework of the project"Train My Generation", launched in April 2013 at the end of the 2nd edition of New York Forum Africa.
Airtel Gabon has invested 2.4 billion CFA francs to finance the initiative, which will last 3 years. The program is organized around four major themes: introduction to computers, tutoring via distance-learning (e-learning), career guidance for youth entrepreneurship, and assistance for finding scholarships in specialized fields.
At least 4,400 young people, between 17 to 35 years old, stand to benefit from this program, which aims to ease their transition to the world of work. It will be offered in training centers created in selected schools, in all nine provinces of Gabon. The training has been accredited by the African Institute of Informatics (l'Institut Africain d'Informatique, or IAI), which will deliver various levels of certification in fields relevant to youth needs as well as the world of work.


text:
Durham Public Schools superintendent to recommend year-round schools operate on traditional schedule; Cumberland County year-round schools delayed
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- As conversations on how the next school year should be handled continue, two school systems are planning to have their year-round schools operate on a traditional calendar during the 2020-21 school year.
The Durham Public Schools (DPS) superintendent plans to recommend that year-round schools make the transition to the traditional calendar for the 2020-21 school year.
"We need more time to ensure that all of the logistics are in place for a great school year," said DPS Superintendent Dr. Pascal Mubenga wrote in a news release. "Temporarily having almost all of our schools on the same calendar will also help us make the most of our resources, which are stretched due to COVID-19."
Durham School plans to continue with its 'Plan B' reopening. Plan B operates on 50 percent or less occupancy as well as a mandatory social distancing movement restriction.
RELATED: Durham Public Schools plans to send K-8 students back for in-person instruction, keep high school students home
Mubenga and senior administrators will bring the recommendation during a specially called school board meeting on Thursday, July 16 at 6:30 p.m.
Cumberland County Schools
Four year-round schools within the Cumberland County School district will be following a traditional calendar starting with the 2020-21 school year on August 17.
The announcement comes after district officials were informed that the recently adopted Senate Bill 113 prohibits year-round schools from beginning the new school year remotely, according to a news release.
Read Senate Bill 113 here
"Throughout this process, we have followed the guidance of state officials and associations, which has now changed to align with the legal opinion released by the General Assembly," CCS Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr. wrote in a news release. "We regret the inconvenience this change will cause our students, families and employees."
Previously, CCS announced that its year-round schools would begin the 20-21 school year remotely on Thursday, 7/ 9. However, based on a recent legal opinion from the NC General Assembly, they will follow the traditional calendar, beginning on August 17. https://t.co/o7ci2guPtb pic.twitter.com/d13jJNDQCg
— Cumberland County Schools (@CumberlandCoSch) July 8, 2020
Cumberland County year-round schools will begin Aug. 17.
Under the new guidelines, meal sites at year-round schools will not operate.
The district's year-round schools include Anne Chesnutt Middle, E.E. Miller Elementary, Reid Ross Classical Middle and Reid Ross Classical High.
The video used in this article is from a previous story, stay tuned for updated footage.
educationdurhamdurham countyfayettevillecumberland countydurham public schoolscoronavirusfayetteville newscumberland county newsreopening nccumberland county schoolsdurham county news
Winter storm moves out, refreeze possible overnight
Why do we get freezing rain instead of snow or sleet?
How to drive on snow, ice and get out of a skid


I wish Topliners was responsive.
Much of my Topliners engagement is done on the train to and from work. That means the iPad or MacBook Pro. It would be would awesome and would probably increase user engagement. Just submitting this Dream it request on my iPhone is clumsy.


Dollar Item Direct has everything you could ever ask for to celebrate Valentines Day. We carry a wide variety of wholesale Valentines items and Valentines products for you. Purchase wholesale Valentines products in bulk from Wholesale dollar Store. We offer thousands of products to our customers, making sure that you have a wide array of Valentines products to choose from, all at a price that you can afford.
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text:
title: Plain Jane Crab Cakes
author: The Lagasse Girls
excerpt: |
  We love how crab cakes mix the feel of upscale seafood with the full-bodied pleasure of down-home comfort food. It's no wonder they're among the first to go every time we throw a party! You can make the patties well in advance and fry them up ten to fifteen minutes before everyone arrives.

  Some people like to complement the taste of crab cakes with a sauce or dip, but we think that serving them plain really brings out the taste of the crabmeat. The formula below makes crab cakes that hit the sweet spot in terms of consistency: moist but crumbly, not too wet and not too dry. Feel free to dress them up, though, if you prefer.
layout: post
permalink: /recipes/plain-jane-crab-cakes/
dsq_thread_id:
  - 805773757
  - 805773757
categories:
  - 'Recipes & More'
---
*Makes 8 cakes*

We love how crab cakes mix the feel of upscale seafood with the full-bodied pleasure of down-home comfort food. It's no wonder they're among the first to go every time we throw a party! You can make the patties well in advance and fry them up ten to fifteen minutes before everyone arrives.

Some people like to complement the taste of crab cakes with a sauce or dip, but we think that serving them plain really brings out the taste of the crabmeat. The formula below makes crab cakes that hit the sweet spot in terms of consistency: moist but crumbly, not too wet and not too dry. Feel free to dress them up, though, if you prefer.

  * **Ingredients**
  * 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus additional oil for frying
  * 4 slices gluten-free bread
  * ¼ cup chopped chives
  * ¼ cup minced celery
  * ¼ cup minced yellow onion
  * 3 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
  * 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley
  * ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  * ½ teaspoon salt
  * ½ teaspoon dry mustard
  * 1 large egg
  * ¼ cup mayonnaise
  * ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  * 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked through for shells
  * Tapioca flour for dusting

**Steps**

  1. Using a food processor, grind the bread pieces into fine crumbs. You should have approximately 2 cups of bread crumbs for this recipe. Set aside.
  2. In a small skillet over medium heat, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Add the chives, celery, onion, and red bell pepper until tender, about 3 minutes.
  3. In a medium-size bowl, toss the bread crumbs with the sautéed vegetables, the cayenne, salt, and mustard until evenly incorporated. Set aside.
  4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with a wire whisk. Next, whisk in the mayonnaise and lemon juice.
  5. Gently fold the mayonnaise mixture into the bread crumb mixture. Add the crabmeat and mix gently, making sure the crab is evenly distributed throughout.
  6. Divide the mixture into 8 portions and shape each portion into a patty. Lightly coat each patty with the tapioca flour. This will help bind the patties for frying. Place the patties on a cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  7. In a large skillet and using as much or as little oil as necessary, fry the crab cakes over medium heat for 2 to 4 minutes on each side. The outside of the cakes should brown and become crispy. Serve alone or with your choice of sauce.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Fetch data from a complex JSON I'm new to javascript and JSON and I've been given a task to complete. Please find the JSON in the following link,
http://pastebin.com/0BY3eptF
According to me the above is a very complex JSON.
I'm trying to fetch the out from a WSDL via ajax
success: function(api) {
    console.log(api.SearchResult); // trying to fetch information on SearchResult object
}

This doesn't work. I would like to learn how to iterate each JSON string loop. I also see an array which is WSResult[]. A neat javascript with explanation will help me a lot. Thank you.

A: success: function(api) {}, here, api is still a string, you have to parse it to JSON first:
success: function(api) {
    var api = JSON.parse(api);
    console.log(api.SearchResult); // trying to fetch information on SearchResult object
}

A: Some web services return content type as plain text instead of json, you have to manually convert into json. below code will help you do the same.

success: function(api) {
    if (api.constructor === String) {
        api = JSON.parse(api);
    }
    console.log(api.SearchResult);
}

To loop through api.SearchResult.Result.WSResult array, please find below code

$(api.SearchResult.Result.WSResult).each(function (index, val) {
    // here val is single object of WSResult array
});

A: Not a complete answer, but some useful pointers:
$ajax({
    url: 'http://myURL',
    // specify the datatype; I think it overrides inferring it from the document MIME type
    dataType: 'json',
    success: function (api) {
        // provided your data does come back as a JSON document
        // you should be able to access api.SearchResult
    },
    error: function( jsXHR, textStatus, errorThrown) {
        // always have an error handler, so you can see how it went wrong.
    }
);

Read the section on dataType here, as it may solve your problem

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


How can we apply The lessons of Internet To our capital?
What do you mean by "absolutely true"?
I had several options. Nobody seemed to like my favourite.
When all is said and done, Welcome Desk is the most populated forum, so we should keep it personal. Nobody needs to know that they are part of a calculation.
Suggest other pages from the welcome desk. Moderators should point people to OoC or D&D.
Which, I now notice you have already done. I'm still 10 steps behind you.
Maybe as a preliminary test of method, we could make a subreddit for roleplaygateway. Or, at least, describe it in terms that a redditer would understand.
I'll need to read through that more carefully. I know there's a barrier to my understanding.
Is there any way for a group to gain control and censor a user's posts?
How would the forums run without a moderator? I argued that it needs to be structured like FB, with an OP, like/dislike; and comments. Would https://converse.fm substitute?


It's almost Halloween which means it's time for a new spooky slot. Trick 'o' Treat is themed around All Hallows Eve so expect to find pumpkins, candy and haunted houses. The sultry witch character could help you win by triggering Free Spins and acting as a Wild symbol during the bonus. The epic Trick 'o' Treat feature is the game's namesake for a reason as it could result in a prize of up to 500x your stake.
Trick 'o' Treat slot is a Halloween themed game containing twenty paylines. The design and backdrop won't disappoint if it's a spooky slot you're after, as you'll come across haunted houses, pumpkins and full moons. The attractive witch character is the main focus of Trick 'o' Treat slot and could lead you to some big wins in Unlimited Wild Free Spins and the Trick 'o' Treat Bonus. There's also two other epic bonus features available to trigger - the Trick or Treat Bonus and the Big Mystery Card Symbol Bonus.
Play Trick 'o' Treat slot on mobile, desktop or tablet.
Use the (+) and (-) buttons on either side of the Total Stake display panel to increase and decrease your bet. Make sure you are satisfied with this value before you play Trick 'o' Treat slot.
Trick 'o' Treat slot can be played in auto mode. Select the Autoplay button then choose a number of rounds to be played out automatically.
Press the start button to play Trick 'o' Treat slot. The reels will spin for one round at the current bet.
Follow the trail and you could win up to 500x your stake. Five out of six haunted houses move you along the trail. Pumpkins may offer random boosts which push you forward by up to ten houses. The highest available prize in the Trick 'o' Treat Bonus is 1000x your bet.
If the Free Spins symbol appears on the fifth reel, it may turn Wild and expand. Play with unlimited free spins and collect candies for as long as Wild symbols are on the reels. Each piece of candy collected pays 1x your total stake.
See if you hold all the right cards in this feature. The Big Mystery Card Symbol may turn to reveal a symbol at random.
Everyone loves a Halloween slot around this time of year (or any time of year) and Trick 'o' Treat is a great choice for those wanting to get into the spooky spirit. The best part about Trick 'o' Treat slot is the three bonus features, the highlight of which has to be the Trick 'o' Treat feature which offers big multipliers. If you enjoyed this game then check out some other Cayetano titles, such as Wild Egypt and Tumble Dwarf.


text:
PEEL - The Futurama Message Board › General Futurama Forum Category › Melllvar's Erotic Friend Fiction › Venus crawls out from under her rock « previous next »
: Venus crawls out from under her rock (Read 25292 times)
: 1 ... 4 5 6 [7] 8 9 10 ... 21
Ol´coot
Wonderful chapter Venus! The scenes with Munda and Morris are outstanding - they make the characters seem so real-life. I really could feel what they both were going through I am looking forward to putting this fic in my hardcopy collection
Now, don´t pay to much attention to me, but... it felt sort of... blunt, at times.
Still good though, so no crawling in under rocks for you.
NIC2001
That was great Venus. (A bit too emotional maybe but still great)
Originally posted by *Venus*:
*"Ohh right, I forgot, reason number forty-seven humans are inferior to robots: mammals are made of flammable materials." AND "And I'll steal it from 'er again, thus the cycle of thievery continues!"*
LOL! Those lines were really great!
Keep it up Venus
Hey! I don't pay you guys to be vague! You can't just tell me parts were blunt, or too emotional or whatever without telling me which parts! Otherwise i'll just end up taking out the solid bits and leaving in all the questionable stuff!
I'm not surprised i overdid bits though. I am soo a misery chick.
@Spacedal: The birth scene is so ...uh...graphic for 3 reasons.
1. To illustrate that Leela's life has sucked pretty much from day 1. Had she been a twin the other baby would have spent the whole pregnancy just kicking her in the head.
2. To make the emotional impact on Munda greater since almost having lost Leela to death before she kinda knows how much it would hurt to have to go through it all again thus making the decision to pull Leela's life support even harder. The whole me being a misery chick thing kinda comes into play here too.
3. I want every part of this story, even the small details to be able to fit seamlessly into canon. And in Leela's Homeworld we see that when Morris and Munda see and get to hold Leela for the first time they were standing in the middle of the living room. Which really doesn't make sense when you think about it. Usually the parent first holds their baby immediately after birth, while they're still lying down and the baby is naked and wet. In Luck of The Fryrish Fry was handed to his mother while he still had his umbilical cord attached. But Munda was on her feet and Leela was in a diaper and blanket and both parents were talking like this was their first real glimpse of their daugther. So obviously there was some kind of gap between the birth and their actually getting to see her. If Leela had been healthy and fine she would have been handed to Munda right off, which she evidently wasn't, so i came up with the best reason i could to account for that gap.
Spacedal11
Hey, misery is my middle name. Nothing more fun then torturing people in a story. All good reasons. All make sense. No I had never noticed the thing about Leela's Homeworld before. It just never occured to me. Keep up the good work. And I'm glad I wasn't vague on you.
Aawww my thread died. Help me fix this chapter! Earn your invisable beta dollars this week!
JBERGES
Well Venus, I do like beta-dollars... why else would I be working for Layla? Sounds like a good deal... I'll give you my two-cents for a dollar.
Firstly, I agree that Bender's enunciation is a bit over-emphasized. As I said during the Zoidberg discussion, "it's best to forgo the accent and let the reader's imagination put the inflection where they think it should go."
I find the description of Leela's pictures on the Turanga's wall as a 'wall museum' a bit odd. Though... I can't quite place why. Additionally, I cannot think of anything better; it's not exactly a shrine, nor is it a memorial or cenotaph seeing as Leela's alive. It really depends on what specific reasons you project onto Morris and Munda for maintaining such a collection.
As for going overboard... well, there was a disclaimer at the beginning. We expect this level of drama. What I think the problem may be is that recently, this has been is quite a ways for a story to go with minimal action. Luckily, this section seemed to imply some changes and plot progression in the upcoming parts. If that is truly the case, then things are pretty much fine the way they are. Just be weary of letting your plot level off into a formula. This last piece moved very slowly, and that's allowed, as long as something offsets that soon. Hills and valleys, yin and yang, and all that jazz. In that vein, it's a bit hard to say whether this piece is overboard without seeing what's next. I will say that some of Leela's history seemed a bit unnecessary and even rehashed for people who know the show well. You might consider trimming that section a bit.
Petty complaints aside, the style and effort put into every section hasn't wavered one bit. Keep up the excellent work, I hope to see another update soon. If I was too vague here, feel free to ask other questions via whatever media you deem acceptable.
What??? We're supposed to get paid for reading this??? Did I miss something??
No really Venus, the birth scene was ok. I don't know what the others are talking about but the only that I can think of about your last update was maybe the length of Munda emotional state. You maybe gave to much detail about her sadness and I think that peoples are expecting to see action and not seeing the characters crying all the time.
I for myself like your story so far Venus. I think that this is your vision of what happened during those 2 weeks and I'm with you all the way. I won't tell you to change anything about it. It is a sad story after all. We all know the ending but I still think that people are tired to see everyone so sad. Being a Father, I can understand how Leela's parents are feeling. But not everyone understand that.
Anyway, Venus, I find you fic very good so far.
Keep up the good stuff.
Bye for now.
edit: Damn, Jberges beat me to it.
@JBERGES which parts speciffically do you think i should trim?
DrThunder88
Originally posted by JBERGES:
I find the description of Leela's pictures on the Turanga's wall as a 'wall museum' a bit odd. Though... I can't quite place why. Additionally, I cannot think of anything better; it's not exactly a shrine, nor is it a memorial or cenotaph seeing as Leela's alive.
"Gallery" maybe?
Thunder: Yeah, that's better than any idea I've had. It's like a vicarious tangible personal highlight reel or something... but that's the worst combination of words ever.
Venus: On multiple rereads, I'm thinking more like the progression through Leela's life is acceptable, seeing as you're using it as a device to build onto a single idea in Munda's mind. I may have jumped to a conclusion there. If you'd actually like to trim something, I'd still consider cutting out a few of Munda's hypothetical questions you've peppered said history with, but that's just a judgment call and not too important.
I don't know what, if anything i want to change. I just want the story to be good. I don't want to have anything over or under done.
If there's one thing i've learned from paging through the fanfics on the TLZ message board is that even the most horrid fics will get great reviews, so basically i've made myself all paranoid that even if i were to slip into sucksville no one would have the heart to tell me.
fryismyhero
I've been lurking around you thread for a while Venus and you definitely are NOT headed for sucksville! This is a very well written piece, very emotional (that last update just about broke my heart )
Oh hi, by the way
I've been lurking around TLZ a bit too (I'm a bit of an overexcited newbie to the world of Fan Fiction) and I noticed the same. Dunno why they have the rating thingy, it doesn't seem to be terribly accurate and just about anyone can rate fics, including the authors which I reckon defeats the purpose really.
I'm not talking about the actual TLZ website itself, i meant their message board. There are some young teenage girls posting their stories a chapter at a time like i am and they get rave reviews (from the other young teenagers) even though most of those stories are horrible. Once they go and actually post the story to the site itself it rates very lowly, but if you read the reviews in their story threads you'd think they were writing the best story ever.
Originally posted by Venus:
Oh, yeah. I have seen the same thing in every other fandom. It's like a tradition...one board I was on, we called them the "Nancy Drewbies" in private (though that's kind of an insult to the real Nancy Drew, who I understand was quite plucky and not at all like the hyperactive preteens on stimulants of which we speak).
Okay, kiddo, I'm working on a detailed analysis of the last section...but, because it's me, it'll take a little bit to complete. I'll be as specific as possible (and since I have four planets in Virgo, that's pretty specific. Yeah, I'd definitely be a Bureaucrat in the Futuramaverse). I believe it's mostly solid and just a little sanding is needed.
*cowers* Be gentle!
EDIT: Hey wait, kiddo???? I'm older than you!
EDIT^2: Aren't i older than you? I could have sworn you said something at some point about taking classes but now i can't find that post to verify. You are younger than 21 right?
Yeah I don't like the TLZ boards. And it annoys the hell out of me how fake the posters are there. Like you said, I've seen a lot of fan fics posted and I hardly see any actual reviews other than "OMG! That was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooo awesome!" It's sickening.
Aah I see what you're getting at now. Didn't realise TLZ had a message board! (the joys of being a newbie)
I wouldn't worry about that happening too much, you seem to be getting some very honest and constructive comments.
Shippy Mandy
Originally posted by Shiny:
hyperactive preteens on stimulants
I shall now set out to prove that we are not all like that. :P
Meh...I hate the TLZ boards too. I miss Treehouse of the Future, dammit!
About the chapter--it was quite good, but I agree that the slang got annoying. Also, you forgot a few question marks. Otherwise, very good.
Okay, I've been trying to post this all day from this laptop that has been loaned to me, with no success. I'm going to try posting something short and then editing in the rest. Here goes.
Edit: Blerg! I hate my life... it's not working. Apparently, I can now get online anytime I want, but I can only post really short things.
I'll try again tomorrow. Sorry, Venus, you'll have to wait some more....
I'm inclined to agree with Bergey here. You're just going through Leela's life from a mother's perspective, and I think that being overly analytical about every (more or less) major event in her daughter's life is just Munda's way of coming to a nearly impossible-to-make decision. You captured that aspect well, so it's okay by me.
My only real complaint is your use of Bender's slang. Like that whole 'v' vs. 'w' thing with Zoidberg, it definitely better to leave the character's accents to the reader's imagination. Otherwise, it gets too distracting.
So, all-in-all, this was definitely a solid update. A bit lacking in the action department, but the introspective writing was top-notch. Me likey.
Slightly edited the Fry/Bender scene so hopefully it's more in character now.
So is slang a no-no all of the time or is the problem i'm just using too much of it?
EDIT: a couple people have mentioned that the last few chapters were lacking in action. Uh..what kind of 'action' are you guys expecting? *nervous*
There were no explosions and car chases dammit!
No seriously, you're freaking out like Gorky does in our thread. She's always afraid that she'll upset me and that won't happen. You need to relax. If no one liked your story then no one would have posted and you wouldn't have 7 pages of stuff. Relax dammit!
I think that there's just a lot of explination and not so much interaction. (Did that make sense?)
Now for your re-write for the Fry/Bender scene, I really hate Bender always saying , 'er constantly. But that's just me. Carry on.
I didn't rewrite any of the slang yet cause i'm still not sure what i'm going to do with it, i just rewrote the interaction that Dr T said wasn't quite in character for Fry.
Yeah i get what you mean about more introspection then interaction.
Okay. Apparently the reason I can't post something long isn't the fault of this laptop; my roommate says the posting is being blocked from PEEL's end. I don't know if there is a length limit or something (but we tried cutting it into sections and it still didn't work); I'm going to inquire & stuff; but I give up. I'm just gonna email the comments to you, Venus. I guess the rest of you are spared my pontificating...
Oh, but one thing...
Ahh...not quite But thanks for saying so. (Now, if you were talking mentally and emotionally, then the answer is yes. Is that what you meant?)
I demand to know how old you are! I DEMAND!!
Quotes taken from Shiny's email:
Lowering his hand to her face he tenderly began
caressing her cheek.
BZZZT! Stalker alert! That sentence bothered me a little -
not what he did, but the wording. I think "tenderly" and
"caressing" are the culprits, used together they have more
than a little sexual connotation to me...your mileage may
vary, of course, but you probably want to err on the side
of caution in this case.
Yikes! Ya'll agree? Did i stalkerfy Fry?
It was clear that she had given up.
This seems a little off to me (though characterization is a
subjective matter, so take all this with a grain of salt).
Leela in the show doesn't appear to have given up,
she seems to have learned to fight back instead.
Which can be just as distancing and hard on the heart, but
is more active. I think it would fit cannon better if
Munda noticed Leela's expression getting harder, more
suspicious, more defensive - Leela becoming a warrior in
response to the daily battles she faced.
I didn't really mean for it to come off like teenage Leela had lost the will to live or whatever, what she's actually 'given up' is the hope that she might someday belong to someone. She realizes that once your age hits the double digits you can pretty much count on being an orphan for life. She's also come to realize that nothing she can ever do will get her peers to like her so she's given up trying. She still fights back when provoked, i'm not trying to indicate that she's in any way broken, but her hopes for any kind of acceptance from anyone died pretty hard in her teenage years. It would have been nice to be able to be a little clearer on that in that chapter, but as kind of an outsider looking in Munda doesn't know why Leela looks the way she does.
I think "living hell" is a bit strong...living
purgatory, constant struggle, hard row to hoe - that seems
more like what we've seen of Leela's childhood.
I used 'living hell' to descibe it because the thought of being as isolated as Leela was, completely alone, hated by everyone, harrased with no means of escape, for 18 years, plus the possibilty that my adulthood would just be more of the same scares the living shit out of me. I can't think of any worse way to live. Humans by nature are herd animals. We don't do so well when forced from the herd. It's a pretty big deal, people have commited suicide for less.
Re-edited the last chapter again, toned down the slang a bit.
I cannot divulge that information. I have to preserve my air of mystery. (Besides, I don't wanna hear the Geritol and Depends jokes. Now excuse me, I have to go tell some kids to stay off of my lawn... )
Shiny's old? Aww my space time continuum just warped.
Don't worry - I may be forced to age, but I still refuse to grow up.
Ralph Snart
Near Death Star Inhabitant
Venus had these words of wisdom...
Damned! You just describe my view of Leela perfectly! She had so much rejection in her life that even though she fights back, she has an inate need to be accepted, yet when she is accepted, her defenses jump in. That is one reason that she dates jerks: Subconsciously she knows how it's going to end, so there is a sick comfort to being rejected. She also knows in her heart that Fry, Amy, Bender and the Professor have accepted her as she is - these people have become the family that she never had. In my estimation, one reason that she doesn't want to date Fry seriously is because with her history of failure in affairs of the heart, she knows that the relationship would fail and she may end up losing the only true friends that she has ever had.
As strong as Leela is, I don't think that she could handle not having the Planet Express gang in her life.
A little synopsis of the characters:
Fry: Out of place arrested-development guy; has a big heart; was never accepted by his family and had few friends growing up. He started out just being Leela's friend, but her strenghts are the reason that he developed romantic feeling for her. She is everything that he isn't - self-assured, smart, witty, able to fight her way out of any situation.
Amy: Rich kid who could never please her parents. Became very sexually promiscuous in college to be accepted; likes the PlanEx crew because they don't see a wealthy kid but a competent engineer.
The Professor: Very old, wise and a bit senile - he too was a nerd growing up; now that he has amassed a fortune, he could be hanging with 'the elite', yet he prefers to run a small business and invent in his spare time. He has never given Leela a second glance about being a cyclops (and I think that she secretly admires and respects the Professor for this) - he even offered her a job and made her captain of his ship upon first meeting her - events that she had never encountered before in her life.
Bender: Our resident degenerate - Fry's friend - accepts Leela because of a deep respect for her being a tough broad. Bender knows that any affront to Leela will be dealt with quickly and harshly (she has cresent-kicked Bender, hit him hard enough to knock his eyes out, etc). Even though he grumbles, he follows her orders due to his deep respect for her. After having to endure her emotions via the 'Emotion Chip', Bender has become 'One-Eye's' strongest and fiercest allies - something that Leela deeply appreciated.
And to Shiny and the age thing - I am probably the OLDEST person on this board - I may not be as old and senile as The Professor (yet), but I was one of the ORIGINAL Trekkies.
Getting older does not exempt you from being able to enjoy great science fiction and being a sci-fi geek! (No, I don't live in my parents basement!)
Ralph Snart is one of the original Trekkies… Wow!!!
And I thought I was old... I'm a Dad! I must be old no?
I know some original Trekkies....
I've solved the mystery! Shiny is 34 and has 4 kids, all girls, all named Jim Bob. It's all so clear to me now! Balance to the universe has been restored!
Close! They're named Jimmy Bob, Bobby Jim, JimBob James, and Bobbalina Jaime. Named after my husband Bubba-Jimbo, of course.
I do feel less decrepit knowing I'm not the oldest PEELer, though.
And on a more serious note - when you put it that way, I guess "living hell" isn't too strong a term. Especially since this is Munda's POV, and she no doubt feels the pain she sees in Leela's eye multiplied by ten or so.
Not by a long shot. (Professor's old voice) I remember attending a Trekcon in Atlanta in 1976 at the Peachtree Plaza getting an autograph from Jimmy Doohan and George Takai. I also remember watching the space shuttle Enterprise taking off on a 747 and flying (coasting?) back to Earth.
I doubt if there are too many PEELers that can remeber THAT!
Originally posted by Ralph Snart:
I also remember watching the space shuttle Enterprise taking off on a 747 and flying (coasting?) back to Earth.
Hah! Got ya beat Ralph! I was a wee nipper but I remember watching Alan Shepard's Mercury launch!! So there!
Coot the eldest
Originally posted by Ol'coot:
Yeah, ya got me beat by just a few years (I'm a VERY early 1960's model) - I still can remember begging my parents to let me stay up late to watch 'Star Trek' during its initial network run...
Now that the 'Trek' francise has ended with a merciful death (more like a mercy killing - Enterprise sucked big time), I have found Futurama. Futurama was a great series (just a handful of not-too-good eps) and it lives through the great (and some not-so-great) fanfics.
Unfortunately, my hard drive croaked 2 days ago - and took almost everything that I had d/l'ed over the past year (it's probably now in computer-hell, with the Hard Drive Devil) - it actually was smoking when I took it out of the case! Well, the original 80 gig HD is now replaced with a 120 gig HD - more space to put Futurama stories, framegrabs and artwork!
To quote Bender: 'I'm back, baby!'
btyrie
May I make a suggestion? Well two actually.
One: (Common sense) Make multiple back up copies of all your data frequently, you can never have too many back up copies. The hard drive on my laptop was playing up resently and had to be replaced... twice! Luckily nothing was lost because I had about 3 or 4 back up copies, which is just as well because two of them didn't work.
Two: If you have enough mony buy an exteranl hard-drive, and use that to back everything up onto it as well as doing it onto the disks, you can pick up a 160GB external hard drive for as little as £80 nowadays, actually it's probably less now.
I miss Layla, JBERGES, and Shiny. I wish they would come back. Or to be more accurate, i wish their writing would come back. Not that i have any right to complain, considering it's been almost a month since my last update.
Taco Bellevue Hospital, room 413
Awakening from his midmorning nap Fry stretched stiffly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He was still exhausted, he always was, but he pushed himself out of his slouch and cheerfully greeted Leela.
"Hi Leela! I'm just gonna keep talking, even if you can't hear me. Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah…aww come on Leela. I'm trying to be annoying here, the least you could do is wake up and get annoyed. No? Fine, how 'bout I go back to bein' romantic? You're a girl, so that means you like hearing about stuff like that right?"
He ran his fingertips lightly across her palm.
"How about, when you wake up, I take you dancing in a Venusian garden? Then what if we shared a midnight sleigh ride across the ice fields of Hyperion?"
He was about to continue when the door opened and Amy came in holding a takeout bag in one hand and a pair of coffees in the other.
"I went to that Deli place that opened up down the street. They're supposed to have these really awesome breakfast sandwich things. So do you want the sausage wrap or the bacon?"
Fry shrugged. "Whichever."
After having been kicked from Leela's room Fry had made a deal with Amy that he would eat whatever she brought up to the room without argument as long as he was never kicked out again. She had readily agreed.
She handed him the bacon wrap and a plain coffee before pulling up another chair and starting in on her cinnamon latte.
"I see Leela's points went down again. When did that happen?"
Fry jerked. "She what?!" He whirled around to check her reading. Once again it was at a 4. Fry sighed. "Man Leela, you gotta stop doing that." He whispered, then raising his voice to normal level he glanced at Amy. "It musta happened while I was sleeping."
"You actually slept? I'm impressed."
"Only for like an hour."
She shrugged. "Better than nothing."
They ate in companionable silence for a while until the room was suddenly filled with the first few strings of 'Candyshop' as Amy's phone went off. Fry gave her a cringed look.
"What? I like that song!"
Deciding not to comment Fry pulled the phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. He jerked to attention when he saw who it was.
"Mr. Leela's dad! Hi! D-do you wanna see Leela some more?"
"We've made our decision." Morris stated softly.
"Oh! Okay, um wh-what is it?"
Morris looked away, breaking eye contact. "We've decided to let her go."
Fry and Amy gasped. "What?! You...you can't be serious?" Fry pleaded.
"It's what she would want." Morris responded sadly.
"You don't know that! You...she...I know she's not ready yet."
"Fry, please don't make this harder."
"She just needs more time! You can't do this!" Fry insisted angry tears welling up.
Amy headed towards the door. "I'll go tell the doctor." She said quietly.
Fry whirled around. "Amy! No! Wait..." But she was already gone.
Panicked, Fry ran his hand roughly through his hair. "Oh man, oh man…"
"Fry?" The subdued sound of Morris' voice grabbed his attention and he turned back to the phone. "Will you stay with her when they do it?" He begged pleadingly. "Will you hold her hand so she knows she's not alone?"
"Oooh man. This can't be happening."
"Fry please?"
Fry slumped in his chair, his world shattering around him as what was happening sank in.
"Yeah," he promised faintly. "I'll stay with her. I won't let her be alone."
Morris nodded slightly. "Will you call us after?"
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Fry asked desperately. "Can't we give her just a few more days?"
"The longer we wait the harder it will be. Let's just get this done."
What seemed like an instant but was actually a half hour later Fry found himself surrounded by the rest of the crew, Dr. Marsters, and a few nurses. He had had to move to Leela's opposite side so that the doctor could access her life support equipment. He squeezed Leela's hand as he listened numbly to Dr. Marsters as he explained what was about to happen.
"And after we remove her respirator her heart will probably keep beating for roughly a minute or so, but then it will slow down, and stop, and then we'll call time of death."
Fry's face paled. "Wa-wait, hold on, you mean…she's gonna suffocate to death?"
The doctor hesitated before answering. "Essentially."
Fry opened his mouth to object but the doctor continued. "It's not as bad as it sounds. It will be very peaceful, she won't feel anything."
"But how do you know she won't feel it?! What if she's completely aware of everything that's going on, just she can't move or anything to let us know?"
"If she were aware and simply couldn't communicate that to us, the knowledge that we are about to pull her respirator would cause her to become alarmed. And that would cause her brain to release a stress hormone into her bloodstream, which we would be able to pick up. But according to her current readings she is completely relaxed. I assure you, she is unaware."
Fry bit his lip. "This isn't right. It's like holding a pillow over her face or something."
"No it isn't," The doctor assured gently. "We're just letting nature take its course. It's for the best."
Resigned, Fry moved from his chair to the edge of Leela's bed. Gazing into her still face he was struck by a sudden impulse. He turned so that he was sitting cross-legged beside her and before anyone could react he pulled her completely into his lap.
"Sweet kitten o' Brittan!" Hermes exclaimed, "Fry mon, what do you think you're doing?"
"If Leela's gonna die now," Fry stated as he gently positioned Leela's head on his shoulder. "I'm gonna make damn sure she dies in the arms of someone who loves her. She deserves that much at least."
The startled nurses looked to Dr. Marsters. He shrugged. "It's not like he's going to hurt her."
The doctor powered down the machine after which the nurses removed the tubing from Leela's throat. This allowed Fry to position her a little more comfortably on his shoulder. He held her tight and buried his face in her hair.
True to the doctor's word, her heart kept beating, but she didn't breathe. The crew waited silently, some in tears, some fidgeting, some simply staring at the floor, for it to be over. With his head buried no one could see Fry's tears, but his quivering shoulders gave him away.
"I'm so sorry Leela," He whispered quietly so only she could hear. "I'm sorry I let you down. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I tried, you gotta believe I tried."
Her heart rate began to slow. The nurses readied their paperwork, waiting for when the death certificate would be signed.
Which meant everyone was surprised when Leela's body gave a light shudder and she shallowly inhaled. Everyone froze and stared intently, to see if she would do it again.
For a moment there was nothing.
"Come on, Leela." Fry whispered desperately to her. "Please oh please oh please oh please."
She took another breath. After a pause she took another. And after a shorter pause, another. Her heart rate began to even out.
"Well, I'll be." Dr. Marsters said as his astonishment turned into a wry smile, "I guess she wasn't ready to go yet."
Around him the crew shrieked and celebrated, Bender even passed out beers from his personal stash. Fry ignored them all though. For all he cared he and Leela were the only ones in the room. Giggling like a maniac he pressed grateful kisses into her hairline.
Dr. Marsters gave the crew a few moments for their celebration to die down, then he turned to Fry. "You should probably put her down now."
Fry didn't even remove his gaze from Leela's face when he responded. "Do I have to this second? Can't I have a coupla minutes alone with her first?"
The doctor nodded. "I see no harm in that." He ushered everyone towards the door. When the room was clear and they were alone Fry smiled down at her. Gently, making sure he didn't jostle her too much, he shrugged out of his jacket. "Here," He said as he draped it across her shoulders. "Take my jacket. You look a little cold." After he had her wrapped up securely he ran a tender hand through her hair.
"I am so proud of you." He told her sincerely. "They all thought you were gonna give up, but you showed them. You're stronger than all of this. I know you'll be okay." He stared at her intently. "If you really wanna show them, you can. All you hafta do is wake up."
He waited hopefully for a moment. After all he'd had one miracle today, maybe it was the beginning of a streak. Or maybe not. She didn't stir. Fry hugged her anyway. "I guess I should stop griping at you and just be happy you're still breathing. That probably took a lot outta you, you're probably exhausted. You don't hafta wake up now. You deserve a rest."
He gently maneuvered himself out from under her and carefully laid her back down. He re-wrapped his jacket around her and pulled her blanket up to make sure she kept warm. Then, on another sudden impulse he bent down and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
"You're gonna get through this. I know it."
Residence of Turanga Morris & Munda
The silence in the Turanga household was stifling. Not a word had been spoken since Morris' earlier call to Fry. What more was there to be said? Morris was a ball of nervous energy. He had spent pretty much the whole wait pacing back and forth while Munda sat still as a statue on the couch. She was staring at the wall with a glassy look that indicated that she was a million miles away. Morris only wished he could put his mind elsewhere. He was hyper-aware of every second that passed wondering whether it, or the next one, had been his daughter's last.
When the phone finally did ring they both jumped. Other than that initial reaction neither could bring themselves to answer it. They knew perfectly well who it was and what the message would be. It was over. It had been done. But stalling wouldn't change anything, so Morris gathered himself together and trudged over to the phone's large video screen. Before he switched it on he turned to look at Munda, to see if she was ready. Her face was drawn and pale, but she was looking at him rather than through him indicating that she was aware.
Fry's face filled the screen as Morris finally answered the phone.
"They did it." Fry announced coldly, not even bothering to hide his anger.
Morris nodded softly. "Was it quick?"
"Not really."
"Was it peaceful at least?" He asked, stricken.
"If you call suffocating peaceful."
Morris looked like he might be sick. Behind him Munda dissolved into broken sobs.
"She's alive though." Fry stated after a pause.
Munda gasped and Morris jerked his head up, believing for a second that he had misheard.
"She's what?"
"She's alive. No thanks to you guys." Fry growled bitterly.
Morris ignored the hostility, too focused on what Fry was trying to tell him.
"How? What happened?"
"She started breathing on her own at like the last possible second."
"So, does that improve her chances? Could she possibly wake up?" Morris asked hopefully.
"Her doctor still thinks she'll be a vegetable forever. He also thought she'd die when they pulled her support. But he was wrong about that so I bet he's wrong about this too."
"So what happens now?"
"I keep sitting with her. So she knows at least someone hasn't given up on her." Fry answered curtly.
"We did not gi-"
"Yeah I bet." Fry interrupted gruffly. "Suffocating to death is exactly what she would have wanted, right?" He shook his head in disgust. "I gotta go. Leela needs me."
The screen went black before the thunderstruck Morris could respond. He turned to face Munda, who was equally stunned.
"I get the feeling he's not too fond of us anymore." He understated.
"He's right." Munda whispered, her face ashen. "We pulled her life-support and she wasn't ready to die." Her eye widened. "My God… I could have killed her…Needlessly."
Morris knelt down somewhat so he was at eye level with her. "We made that decision together."
"But I had final say. You said you would agree with whatever I decided." Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, and her expression seemed dazed, as if she were slowly coming to some horrible conclusion that she just couldn't bear to face.
"Sweetheart…" He took her by the shoulders.
"I made the wrong decision."
"We did the best we could."
"She needed me to be right. Her life depended on it. And I made the wrong decision." She looked as if she were about to pass out. "I-I can't deal with this right now… I'm gonna go lie down for a while." she stood up, pulling away from her husbands comforting arms and headed for the stairs.
Morris ran a hand through his hair. He had never seen that look on Munda's face before. And it scared him.
To: Venus
From: Ralph
Message: Bravo! Well done! Well worth the wait.
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and I'll get back to you within a weeks' time.


text:
The Jihadi Next Door
How ISIS Is Forcing, Defrauding, and Coercing Your Neighbor into Terrorism
By Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco
Foreword by Chris Sampson
The recruitment of ISIS terrorists may have begun as an extremist crusade in Iraq, but it has quickly become a global phenomenon that is taking hold of people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and belief systems. The iconic image of a terrorist as an old, angry, middle-eastern man is long gone. It has since been replaced by young men and women of all races and religious upbringings, in tactical gear and ski masks, carrying heavy artillery. From the outside looking into the Islamic State, most people see these men and women as nothing more than evil terrorists with a psychotic penchant for violence. Internally, they perceive themselves as freedom fighters or mujahedeen, who violate the laws of men to protect their community according to the will of Allah.
Ultimately, neither of these perceptions are based in reality.
While some experts claim that terrorist recruitment is completely random, criminologist Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco has identified clear patterns which can be used to explain how regular people are being conscripted into terrorism. Using interviews with convicted terrorists, in-depth research and analysis of extremist propaganda, and case-specific details, Dr. Mehlman-Orozco provides nuanced theories into the methods of terrorist recruitment—methods which can be used to identify persons at high risk of being targeted.
The Jihadi Next Door provides unprecedented information that can be used to actually combat terrorism. By laying bare the tactics used by ISIS to deceive and exploit new recruits and exposing the veneer these extremists operate under, Dr. Mehlman-Orozco hopes to empower readers with the knowledge needed to prevent future recruitment and thereby preventing acts of terrorism.
Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco
Dr. Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco holds a PhD in Criminology, Law and Society from George Mason University. Her research and writing has been featured in media outlets around the world. The author resides in Montclair, Virginia.
Publisher: Skyhorse (January 15, 2019)
Social Science > Criminology
Political Science > Political Freedom & Security > Terrorism
Book Cover Image (jpg): The Jihadi Next Door
Hardcover 9781510732865


Notice any patterns here? They like variety. They like things that are unique. And, did you notice that most of their names begin with K? Hmm. Weird huh? So much for variety.
But I digress. Let's get back to the blog post!
At any given moment in a consignment store you can find such a variety of unique items. The following three pictures were all taken on the same day at Evilena's Red Dresser in Frankfort, IL. A vintage chest, a one-of-a-kind upcycled table, and a super unique bird bath.
An amazing chest will get lots of compliments!
The trunk, for example, it's warm and rustic and it's natural beauty has shone through with age. Love this! And the best thing about adopting a previously loved item like this through a consignment store is that your home will be filled with treasures as unique as you are! And, when all your friends compliment your amazing chest, (don't go there ha ha) and ask you where you got it, you'll be able to say, "I got it at Evilena's Red Dresser." But the whole time, you'll know that you got the only one. Ha.
This one-of-a-kind chest adds character to any room.
What about the upcycled table you ask?
Check out this one-of-a-kind piece for instance. The artist upcycled two tables into one display piece by securing them, mirror-cutting the table top for the bottom to match the top, and then painting the whole project with Farmhouse Paint (a fabulous water-based, no prep and no top coat needed paint that we carry at Evilena's and we offer classes on how to use it too). I love Farmhouse Paint and I don't even like painting. Anyway, after painting her double decker project, she distressed it slightly. It's simply stunning, and can be used as a kitchen island, dining room buffet or server, living room media center, bedroom bookshelf, entry table, or home office display piece.
Beautifully upcycled with Farmhouse Paint and lots of creativity!
Who doesn't love to create fun spaces outside and watch nature interact with them? Place this birdbath in your back yard garden and enjoy lazy summer afternoons watching birds coming and going. Or, why not put it in your front landscaping? This beauty would add a splash of color and fun to your entry.
A simply beautiful birdbath for your garden or landscaping!
What is Evilena's secret for variety?
At Evilena's, our secret for variety is in our designers. We have two wonderful ladies who work their magic weekly. Denise Lough, Interior Designer and founder of www.theroomdesigner.com works two days a week rearranging everything into pleasing vignettes giving shoppers a new experience every time they shop. Denise has been with the store since opening day in 2009. She's available for hire and can help you redesign your interior spaces. Check out her website and you'll find many before and after pics of her work. You can contact her through her website for a design consult!
Maureen Kocsis, Fashion Blogger and Stylist for Baby Boomer Divas is also employed at Evilena's Red Dresser. Her blog deals with all things fashion for Baby Boomer Divas (women over 50). Check her out on Facebook! Maureen works every Friday dressing our mannequins and often times as soon as she gets an outfit together, it sells! She's amazing and you can hire her to freshen up your wardrobe. Contact her through her Facebook page.
We hope you'll visit us weekly for all of your buying and selling needs. Evilena's Red Dresser is an upscale quality consignment store located at 20887 S. LaGrange Road, Frankfort, IL. Consignors may bring up to 15 items daily and no appointment is necessary (except for large furniture items). We need to see photos first and schedule delivery on those. We accept women's clothing size zero through plus, jewelry, purses, shoes, accessories, furniture, lamps, and home decor. We accept items in new or gently used condition that are in style and in season. The store is open M-F 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (open late on Thursdays until 8 p.m.) and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sundays. Connect with us on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook. Call 815-464-2668 for more info.


text:
Scholars and Researchers
Doctoral Fellowship Program
The UNM Center for Social Policy is engaged in multiple projects exploring the short and long-term implications of COVID-19 with a particular focus on the racial and ethnic inequalities associated with this pandemic and public health crisis. We will post research associated with this work as it develops.
New Mexico Statewide Parent Vaccination Messaging Survey and Strategies for Vaccinating Children - NEW
A recent statewide survey asked New Mexican parents their thoughts about vaccinating their children against COVID-19. In particular, the survey focused on those parents with unvaccinated children in their home. Our research and data analysis provides key insights and reasons why some parents remain hesitant to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19, as well as strategies to help overcome these issues. Click the title to read the full report.
NM Statewide Parent Vaccination Messaging Survey & Strategies for Vaccinating Children - Executive Summary
NM Statewide Parent Vaccination Messaging Survey & Strategies for Vaccinating Children - Presentation
American COVID-19 Vaccine Poll
NM COVID-19 Vaccination Research & Messaging Survey: Insights Specific to Young Adults (18-29)
Using the data from the statewide vaccination and messaging survey, our team analyzed the findings to help provide insights specific to young-adult New Mexicans. This short, infographic style report provides key takeaway points regarding vaccination status as well as strategies for targeted outreach to help young-adult New Mexicans get vaccinated against COVID-19. Click the title to read the full report.
New Mexico Statewide Vaccination Messaging Survey Identifies Strategies to Help Achieve Full Vaccination Across the State
The UNM Center for Social Policy along with several national partners worked to survey New Mexican attitudes about COVID-19 vaccines. The survey comes as New Mexico approaches the 60% threshold of fully vaccinated adults, a critical step in the fight against COVID-19. However, research shows that some New Mexicans still remain hesitant to get vaccinated. This report provides data to create evidenced-based strategies to improve outreach to those New Mexicans still hesitant to become vaccinated or who have faced challenges with the process. The report also research with a focus on what the state can do to continue to set the pace for vaccination coverage nationally and remain on track for full re-opening. Click the title to read the full report.
New Mexico Statewide Vaccination Messaging Survey Identifies Strategies To Help Achieve Full Vaccination Across the State - Press Release
National and New Mexico survey results:
National: https://covidvaccinepoll.com/app/aarc/covid-19-vaccine-messaging/#/
New Mexico: https://covidvaccinepoll.com/app/aarc/covid-19-vaccine-messaging/#/?nm=true
American Rescue Plan - Resources for Children and Families
The COVID-19 pandemic has had wide-ranging devastating impacts on families and communities across the nation. It also further exposed longstanding vulnerabilities and inequities. The American Rescue Plan Act provides federal relief to help families and communities recover. These funds also provide additional support for food and rental assistance, unemployment and healthcare benefits to reduce health, education and economic well-being disparities impacting children and families of color. Click here for more info.
The COVID-19 Vaccine in New Mexico
All Immigrants are Eligible for the Vaccine Too: The COVID-19 Vaccine for New Mexico's Immigrant Communities (Infographic) - NEW
Available in both English and Spanish, this infographic highlights findings from our recent brief and provides key information to help ensure New Mexico's immigrant communities get vaccinated. Click the title to view the full infographic.
Para la version español, haz click aqui.
COVID-19 Vaccine Equity: Implications for Unhoused and Sex Worker Populations
While New Mexico continues to lead the nation in COVID-19 vaccination efforts, there are still barriers facing some of New Mexico's most vulnerable populations. New research has shown that the unhoused and sex worker populations are more vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 or becoming seriously ill with it. This makes vaccination efforts for these groups even more critical. However, these efforts are not without their own unique set of challenges. Click the title to learn more about what can be done to ensure an equitable vaccine process for all New Mexicans.
New Mexico's Immigrant Communities Need Reassurance: Being Vaccinated Will Not Make Them Vulnerable to Immigration Officials or Loss of Public Benefits
Currently, New Mexico is a national leader in the COVID-19 vaccination efforts. However, the vaccination roll-out in NM has not been without challenges. For example, at the time of this brief publication, less than half of all New Mexicans have signed up for the vaccine using the state's vaccine portal. There are also significant and unique challenges facing New Mexico's immigrant population including perceptions that their immigration status may draw unwanted attention from immigration officials and jeopardize public benefits. Click the title to read more about the unique challenges and what can be done to address these issues.
American Individualism and Mask Wearing - Brookings Institution
While masks have been showed to slow the spread of coronavirus, a significant portion of the US population is resistant to wearing masks. Previous research by CSP Executive Director, Gabe Sanchez, PhD., and CSP colleague, Edward D. Vargas, PhD. (ASU), has identified important differences in mask usage based on race and partisanship, those findings do not explain the while so many Americans still refuse to wear a mask. Read their latest findings and how American individualism may explain this trend, here.
States Re-Opening
As states grapple with how to re-open amidst public health concerns and economic fallout, many states are now mandating face coverings while in public. However, as new research points out, there is a trend amongst those willing to comply with mask mandates. Read more from the Washington Post Analysis feature from CSP Executive Director Gabe Sanchez and long-time CSP colleague Edward D. Vargas (ASU), here.
COVID-19 Implications on Elections
New Mexico Vote-By-Mail: Matters of the Primary and State Election Laws
The report examines the 2020 New Mexico Primary Election, the process of voting by mail in the state, and policy solutions to ensure that voters are provided equitable access to the ballot box in future elections. Click the title to read the full report.
New Mexico Vote-By-Mail: Matters of the Primary and State Election Laws - Press Release
Debunking the Myth of Voter Fraud in Mail Ballots - Report
Debunking the Myth of Voter Fraud in Mail Ballots - Press Release