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Posts Tagged 'sharks'
チャイナ・シャークスGMとのインタビュー
Posted by japanstats on 2009 October 6日 Tuesday
サンノゼ・シャークスのファンサイト、Sharks Site によるチャイナ・シャークスのChris Collins 元GMとのインタビューです。シャークスの長期的目標はチームとリーグをもっとプロ化させる事で、各連盟の影響を無くしてビジネスモデルとしてアジアリーグとシャークスを成功させる事だったそうです(現状から考えると夢物語みたいですね)。その為には、短期的にはシャークスは外国人選手に頼り(今季のチーム構成は中国人7人、元NHL選手5人-エンディコットとパーピック含む-と残りは日本人選手になる予定だったそうです)、中国人選手育成の為のファームチームを作り年間75-95試合を韓国、日本と北朝鮮のアマチュアチームと試合を組ませる予定だったそうです(合理的に見えますが、スポーツ省の権力者は自分の選手をトップチームに入れたかったそうです、ボロ負けする事になっても)。あとリーグの為にはオフィシャルの質の向上も欠かせなかったと言っています、今はレベルが低すぎると。NYアイランダーズのオーナーCharles Wang 氏が中国北部で行っている、ユース・プレーヤー向けのProject Hope との連携は全く無かったのは残念です。Collins 氏はまた条件が揃えばシャークスは中国へ戻れると語っていますが、スポーツ省の現状を読む限り、両者の思惑が一致するのは難しそうです。アムールとバイキングスに続き、アジアリーグはまた残念なパートナーを無くしました。
[Q] Can you tell me about the San Jose Sharks ending their affiliation with the China Sharks this summer, a team which has been renamed the China Dragons?
[CC] In China, nothing is as it ever seems! We proposed a plan for total Chinese solvency financially and on the ice at the development and Asian League level. The Chinese ice hockey Association and its Jr. ministers in charge wanted things to remain 'status quo' which we deemed unacceptable. In the end I gave Greg Jamison and Mike Lehr, my two supervisors and partners, the opinion that we should not go forward in the Asian League with the Chinese until the Chinese Ice Hockey Association and its operatives were removed from our partnership. The (China Sharks) and the Asian League were asked by us NOT to use any of our "marks".
[Q] Is there still a relationship between the Sharks and the Chinese Ice Hockey Association, and moving forward does the San Jose Sharks organization have future plans for China in general or the ALIH specifically?
[CC] There is a fabulous relationship between the Sr. Director of the CIHA, Mr. Zhou and SVSE as we look forward to working with them in the future. Our main goals now are developing coaches, players and on/off ice officials with Sr. officials in the Minister of Sports office in China. This level is going to affect change in China and help our work and expertise reach the people as opposed to any game playing at the lower levels we've tried to avoid.
[Q] I have read hockey is historically popular in certain regions of China. In what parts of the country was hockey already played? How did the Sharks work to increase the development of new players? How quickly did Chinese fans or the Chinese media adapt to a new team and a new sport being played in such an urban location? How was that reception compared to other teams in Japan or Korea?
[CC] Hockey in China is well known despite the results under the current regime of the CIHA. Hockey is mainly popular in the North mostly because of the influence of the Russian border. The sport with the influx of rinks nationwide is growing in unconventional areas weather-wise as the South and West will see rapid growth in the game in the near future. This is vital to the games survival if for no other reason than to get the game away from the grips of the same old "dinosaurs" in the north of China who have taken the game the wrong direction while using it as a game where development of coaches, players and officials (was non-professional).
The Chinese media covered our team and results because the team is incorrectly classified and created as the official 'National Team' of China for financial reasons that has no benefit for people like us or those who play the sport. Because the players level was so poor due to bad development and bad coaching and training, the Chinese media were and are 'brutal' towards the sport, especially the Men's team.
This season we were only going forward in the Asian League in a commercially run team where the Jr. ministers and their local (associates) would have no say or affect on any players we picked, trained, paid and developed. Of course the CIHA was vehemently against this proposal as it basically boxed and blocked any influence they would have, so our investment in China of developing coaches, players and officials would be expedited two-fold.
You must understand that the rules in creating the team are set for Jr. ministers and their buddies to keep everyone happy by selecting teams that their (associates) ask them to pick. Of course for one season we did not allow this and the team was more successful than it had ever been. This created chaos for the very few 'obstructionist' in the local northern region, as the game was changed and those responsible for the destruction of the Chinese so called 'product' were left out in the cold. Their players of choice who have led China to the B division of group 2 at the WC, and have led the country to be the laughing stock of international hockey were all told by me and my coaches 'thanks but no thanks' as we were rebuilding the team from top to bottom.
The crowds in Songjiang where we played last season (about 35 minutes outside Shanghai with no traffic) were good as we averaged just over 3000 per game. Mostly college kids and young families as they were loyal and vocal about the Sharks! Sadly this season they've lost their first 6 games in a hapless situation where on average 350 people have been let in free to watch this… collection of kids being led down a path of more failure.
Chinese (fans) are obviously not very kind to the Japanese teams as a whole and maybe like the South Koreans a bit more. Other sports mainly feed this rivalry like soccer, table tennis, badminton, volleyball and basketball.
[Q] In an interview, Claude Lemieux mentioned a few thousand fans in attendance during one of the games in China. How was the turnout and the atmosphere during the China Sharks first season? Which was the toughest building to play in?
[CC] Atmosphere in the building was great. There are plenty of YouTube clips from fans at home games last season in Songjiang as we enjoyed our time there and the community.
God Bless Claude and his family for letting him come over as he was and is great. He is one of the best people I've ever known as he is the consummate professional, and like Mac and Flats gave our team and league a sense of being. I will forever be indebted to my friend Claude as should all hockey people as the game needs more talent and character like Claude.
The toughest building for the China Sharks to play in was Anyang, home of the Halla team in South Korea. They seemed to be the only team who prepared as if the NHL Sharks were on the ice (laugh). We liked our partners in the AL as we hope to be back soon under a completely separate structure than what is currently in place and unacceptable to us an ownership group.
[Q] The San Jose Sharks brought a few China Sharks forwards to Oakland Ice for an offseason hockey clinic. San Jose also brought several foreign-born players to China to help solidify the lineup, including player/coach and former San Jose goaltender Wade Flaherty, and 6-foot-7 defenseman/coach Steve McKenna. How difficult was the process of bringing in foreign-born imports to China and the ALIH? Flaherty was named the best goaltender in the league last year, former Stockton Thunder forward Brock Radunske lead the league in goals (29) and points (57), and Jason Beeman lead the China Sharks with 15 goals. How much of an impact of did foreign-born players have on the ice and in the development of the ALIH players elsewhere and in China? Were there any other players that you contacted, or that contacted you, about playing in China or the ALIH?
[CC] Many ex-NHLers I know want to come to China as the numbers this past off season were very high as we would have been a favorite to win the AL had we gone forward. My plan was two stage: One was to field a development team playing 75-95 games while playing exhibition schedules all season against AL teams and Asian hockey colleges in Japan and South and North Korea. This team would have been 99% Chinese. The AL team would have been 7 Chinese tops with the other 13 players half import and half Japanese. Because of the Sharks name, and because of the exoticness of China, acquiring players was not a problem.
Import players are China right now which is what is wrong with the current people running Chinese men's hockey. They do not understand the concept of 3 steps back in the long run equals 15 steps forward. Whether its because of financial interests or ignorance is not important, the Chinese men will never grow until a proven researched national strategy, like what we invested millions in, is fully implemented and the troublemakers are pushed aside.
This season we would have had 5 former NHL players on the China Sharks roster had we proceeded.
[Q] Steve McKenna might have the most interesting post-NHL career story of any hockey player to date, going from England to Australia to Italy to Korea. Can you describe how he came to the China Sharks? He also mentioned a persepctive shift when he and Flaherty were riding bikes through the University campus on the way to work. Is an open minded and adventurous mindset needed for former North American or European players to enjoy themselves in the ALIH? What are one or two things that a player might have to deal with playing in China that he would not expect prior to coming over?
[CC] The minute we were announced as taking over the AL franchise, which by the way was never our goal as we came to China to develop players, coaches and officials and still see this as our mission, I targeted Mac as I knew him well. After our first season when we realized how dysfunctional the system currently in place was I called him and said 'Mac, you must be in China next season'… I think we agreed to a contract on that phone call. The fact Mac is the national team coach of Australia and has won a World Championship at the helm there also fit our needs of playing and assisting Derek.
YES, players must be open minded and adventurous to live and play in China… (laugh). The bicycles were my idea as I thought it would be great to have these big guys in their suits riding to and from the arena daily in front of hundreds of thousands of college students.
Communism and its effects on people in a society that is quickly changing into a full fledged democracy in some ways is a major eye opener. It seemed to me that the players got it very well while the Jr. ministers did, but wanted no part of it and its affect on the average person… (laugh). The absolute lack of understanding of the team game is another. How the game of hockey is really coached and taught is another. How people eat team meals and travel and what is socially acceptable and what is not is another major eye opener. If you factor in what communism's principals are and add them to these equations you get some very entertaining and interesting results. I am saving the juiciest stories for my book that I am writing on China and team sports.
Posted in 01_日本語, 02_English, Asia League Ice Hockey, ECHL, hockey, information, NHL, opinion | Tagged: アイスホッケー, インタビュー, サンノゼ, シャークス, チャイナ, china, chris collins, san jose, sharks, 中国 | Leave a Comment »
Asia League 2009-10 Preview
The ever changing Asia League of Ice Hockey had another paradigm shift this past off season. They're easier to sum up in point form, so here we go:
Seibu Prince Rabbits are no more. The club has folded after finding no takers for its 5-oku yen (~$5m) annual team budget. With this, the league and Japanese hockey has lost their most powerful backer in the Seibu Group. The fallout from this catastrophic event saw former Seibu players becoming Seibu group employees, picked up by other Asia League teams, or moving to teams abroad.
Tohoku Free Blades are born! In the place of Seibu, a new team based in the Tohoku region (north east part of the main Honshu island) has joined the league. This is something to be celebrated as times are tough for the entire corporate sports scene in Japan with various company teams folding, disbanding, and suspending operations and hockey being no exception. The Blades are backed by major sports equipment retailer Xebio.
China Sharks are now the China Dragon. The Chinese entry in the Asia league has severed its ties with the NHL San Jose Sharks after only one season. The Sharks had provided coaching and players who were crucial to the Chinese team avoiding the league basement for the first time in the league's short history. But the team is heading in a new direction with its Belarusian coach and fewer imports in order to train their domestic players (the Dragon are essentially the Chinese national team). It is unclear what the financial arrangements were when the San Jose Sharks were affiliated with the China Sharks and what brought about this change in direction.
The league is shortening the playoffs to a best of 5 format instead of a best of 7 format that produced so much drama last season (bad move). Top 4 teams will make the playoffs instead of the top 5 (I liked the best of 3 play-in round between 4th and 5th place teams). It is also adopting IIHF rule changes that does not permit line changes for teams that committed icing, and also initial faceoffs on powerplays will take place in the offensive zone.
Now, let's take a team by team look at the upcoming season in more detail:
Nippon Paper Cranes (21-4-11, Playoff Champions)
The defending champions from the 2008-09 season returns with a team largely unchanged. The Cranes have reduced the number of imports from two (Brad Tiley, Kelly Fairchild) to one (Pierre-Olivier Beaulieu) in order to save costs (Beaulieu has only ECHL and German 2nd division experience, thus should be considerably cheaper than the more experienced Tiley and Fairchild, but whether he'll be able to contribute as much remains a question to be answered), and have also picked up national team member Daisuku Obara from Seibu. The amazing playoff run last season that capped off with the championship trophy was largely due to the outstanding goaltending of Hisashi Ishikawa who absolutely stood on his head in many postseason games. More of the same will be needed for the team to repeat as champions as the top of the league could be a logjam.
Anyang Halla (23-4-9, lost in semifinals)
In 2008-09 Halla became the first non-Japanese team to claim the regular season title. However, the team was unable to overcome the eventual champions Cranes despite having the home ice advantage in a tough 7 game series that went the distance (4 of the 7 games were 1 goal games). The core of the team is intact as Halla has done the previously unthinkable in the AL by inking their successful imports to multiyear deals (3 years for leading scorer Brock Radunske, 2 years each for Jon Awe and Brad Fast). With sniper Song Dong-Hwan back having a successful season (35GP 45P) after missing 2 seasons to military service, the team looks poised to avenge their playoff disappointment from the previous season.
Oji Eagles (22-4-10, lost in semifinals)
The Eagles have decided to really save on expenses by doing away entirely with imports for the upcoming season. Instead the team has added national team forwards and former Seibu players Sho Sato and Yosuke Kon (the AL and Team Japan pest, in the Esa Tikkanen mould, it's a compliment). The production from veteran imports Ricard Persson and Shane Endicott will be missed, but with the parent company Oji Paper's finances on shakier grounds with the economic downturn, the team will ice an all-Japanese squad this season (though the team still has a "ringer" in Japanese passport holding Japanese-Canadian Aaron Keller who is also a national team defenceman). It's still a good team, especially with the addition of Sato and Kon, but it's tough to see this team taking either the regular season title or the playoff trophy home with them.
High1 (13-4-19, lost in first round)
The High1 club had a disappointing 2008-09 season being unceremoniously swept out of the play-in first round of the playoffs against the eventual champs Cranes after a 5th place finish in the regular season where they were not in contention with the top 4 teams. The team looks to rebound to 2007-08 form when they finished 2nd in the regular season. The team has brought back Tim Smith who had a successful run from 2006-08 (63GP 106P) and has also brought in new imports D Jeremy Van Hoof and F Trevor Gallant. Along with their Korean rookies, the team has also added Japanese rookie Hiroki Ueno who scored 30 points in 24 games for Waseda University in the Kanto University League (top university league in Japan).
China Dragon (6-4-26, did not make the playoffs)
The ever changing Chinese entry in the Asia League will play as the China Dragon this season. The former China Sharks became the first team to send a non-Chinese team to the bottom of the standings last season largely in part to the excellent goaltending by NHL and AHL veterans Wade Flaherty (who won AL goalie of the year last season) and big, tough defenceman Steve McKenna, and the team showed the most discipline of any Chinese team in AL history by staying close in many games where they were blown out in the past (well, it may have been mostly due to Flaherty who played every game making 40+ saves per game with a 91.7% save percentage). The Dragon are allowed to have 7 imports on their roster, but intend on entering the season with only 3 or 4 imports in order to be less reliant on imports to better develop domestic players. The team is under the stewardship of experienced Belarusian Andrei Kovalev, and its imports haven't been announced as of yet. Unless the team can sign a Flaherty-class goalie, look for China to sink back to the bottom of the league standings in the coming season. Oh yeah, and the new Dragon logo is totally underwhelming and uninspiring piece of bureaucratic art(?), don't they have snazzy designers in Shanghai these days?
Nikko Ice Bucks (6-2-28, did not make the playoffs)
The Bucks had their worst season since AL begun by becoming the first non-Chinese team to finish the season at the bottom of the table. The interesting choice of using unproven import forwards Eric Lafreniere (34GP 10P) and Mickey Gilchrist (36GP 19P) did not quite work out, but this is the team that has experienced the most changes during the offseason. Firstly, the Bucks have brought in 6 former Seibu players including national team captain Takahito Suzuki and NT goalie Naoya Kikuchi, the addition of 3 quality defencemen is sure to bolster their game in the defensive zone, and the addition of Bud Smith gives the team flexibility with its top 6 forwards. With such a significant upgrade to their team, the Bucks are the wildcard in the 2009-10 season. If the team gels well, it could finish high in the standings and fight their way through the playoffs. Though a 2 year plan is probably more realistic.
Tohoku Free Blades (expansion team)
The unproven Blades take the place of powerhouse Seibu in the league. The team was created last year based on 14 players who made the cut in team tryouts. Then once the team was officially approved to join the league, the Blades went out and reinforced their lineup with Asia Leaguers and imports. It was a coup obtaining Bin Ishioka (36GP 18P) from Seibu and D Steve Munn and LW Bruce Mulherin have a good trackrecord in the English league the past couple of seasons and have proved to be solid additions to the team so far in the preseason. The goaltending duties will fall on homegrown Michio Hashimoto who got bumped from the Bucks when they acquired Kikuchi, but Hashimoto is capable of stealing some games and will keep the team in games where they have no business being in. The Blades will play most of their games in Hachinohe, Aomori, but will also play a series in Koriyama, Fukushima, another city in the Tohoku region.
Seibu Prince Rabbits aftermath: 6 players including Suzuki and Kikuchi have signed with the Bucks, Kon and Sho Sato have signed with Oji, the Cranes acquired Obara, Kashino and Ishioka went to Tohoku, Yuya Yamada to High1, and G Inoue who was to become the first Seibu player from the Seibu junior team has joined China. Players going overseas are Go Tanaka to German 2nd division team ESV Kaufbeuren, Ryuichi Kawai (along with his younger brother Takuma who is the first Japanese player to appear in the Memorial Cup) are training in Alberta in now-retired Ryan Fujita's hometown of Taber, Alberta (also Devin Setoguchi's hometown) and will be trying out for minor league teams, long time ALer Joel Prpic has signed with Medveščak, the Croatian entry in the EBEL (Austrian based international league), and is waiting for his Croatian passport (his parents are Croatian) to be processed and should start playing with them in October.
To say the least, this should be a very interesting Asia League season with so many changes to the league. I expect Halla to be the team to beat in the 2009-10 season, but the top of the standings could get very congested with the Cranes, Eagles, High1, and the Bucks all having a crack at it. Unless China can bring in a quality goalie, I expect the Dragon to be doormats once again, and the expansion Blades should finish ahead of them with Hashimoto in nets. And since the teams have only been playing preseason games in their respective regions (Hokkaido, Honshu, Korea, and China) probably to cut costs, so we are even more in the dark than usual regarding team strength and chemistry.
The season opens on 19 September with the Hokkaido teams hosting the Honshu teams and the Korean derby in Anyang. Let's drop the puck!
PS This is exactly the 600th post on this blog, yay!
Posted in 02_English, Asia League Ice Hockey, hockey, information, Japan, NHL, opinion | Tagged: anyang, bud, china, cranes, dragon, eagles, Flaherty, free blades, go tanaka, halla, High1, Ice Bucks, ishikawa, joel prpic, kawai, korea, McKenna, nikko, nippon paper, Oji, prince rabbits, radunske, ryuichi, san jose, seibu, sharks, smith, song dong-hwan, takuma, tim, tohoku | 5 Comments »
China Dragon colours
Posted by japanstats on 2009 September 11日 Friday
No pics of uniforms yet, but here's the logo of the renamed Chinese entry into the Asia League of Ice Hockey, the China Dragon:
The team will wear reds at home and whites away.
Posted in 02_English, Asia League Ice Hockey, hockey, information | Tagged: china, dragon, logo, sharks, uniform | 2 Comments »
パーピック、クロアチアへ
Posted by japanstats on 2009 September 8日 Tuesday
チャイナ・シャークス入りする予定だった石岡敏選手は結局東北へ行きましたが、同じく元西武でシャークスへ移籍する予定だったジョエル・パーピック選手はなんとEBEL (オーストリア主体の国際リーグ)のクロアチアのチームMedveščak へ移籍だそうです。EBEL はアジアリーグよりレベルが高いであろうし(代表チームの力の差から見て)、また年を重ねた上、体格のアドバンテージはアジアリーグ程ではないので、AL時代の成績は期待できないでしょうが、そこそこ活躍するんじゃないでしょうか。そして日本より格下のクロアチアのチームだから、主力助っ人として補強されたのでしょう。シャークスからの提携が切られドラゴンへなった波紋ですね。
追記:両親がクロアチア人なので、現在クロアチアパスポート待ち(外国人選手枠に入らなくなる)だそうで、プレーを始められるのは10月になるみたいです。
Posted in 01_日本語, Asia League Ice Hockey, hockey, information, opinion | Tagged: アイスホッケー, クロアチア, サンノゼ, シャークス, チャイナ, ドラゴン, パーピック, フリーブレイズ, china, 石岡敏, EBEL, Medveščak, prpic, san jose, sharks, 東北 | Leave a Comment »
China Dragon?
Posted by japanstats on 2009 August 31日 Monday
It's almost certain that the San Jose Sharks have pulled out of their venture in China with the China Sharks, the only Chinese entry in the Asia Legue. First, in a recent IIHF article, it was announced that China has hired Belarussian Andrei Kovalev to coach both the national team and the Chinese Asia League team (doesn't say Sharks).
China hired former Belarusian national player Andrei Kovalev as its new head coach. He signed a contract through April 2010.
The 43-year-old has plenty of international experience as a player. Kovalev played in eight World Championships and two Olympics with Belarus. He also won U20 gold with the Soviets. He played for Dynamo Minsk and Dynamo Moscow in the Russian and Soviet league before a two-year stint in North America in the AHL and other minor leagues, and 13 years in Germany. He ended his playing career in 2007 with Yunost Minsk.
After retiring, he worked with Yunost before becoming the assistant coach of HK Vitebsk.
Kovalev will be assisted by Chinese coaches and he will also be the head coach of the Chinese team in the Asian League. The club is located in a new 8,000-seat arena in Shanghai and it's the strongest club team in the country.
Then in the Blades-Bucks preseason games over the weekend, apparently people were given pamphlets for the upcoming Asia League season with a team named "China Dragon".
Removal of Sharks personnel (especially coach) from the Chinese team, and the addition of Kovalev definitely indicates a change in direction away from the Sharks, but with the China team's opening game quickly approaching on 24 September, they'll have to get their act together in a hurry. And it looks like yet another year where top level Chinese hockey is changing directions with no clear long term plan.
Posted in 02_English, Asia League Ice Hockey, hockey, information, International, opinion | Tagged: china, dragon, free blades, Ice Bucks, IIHF, nikko, san jose, sharks, tohoku | 22 Comments »
チャイナ・シャークス?
Posted by japanstats on 2009 August 28日 Friday
シャークス行きだったはずの元西武の石岡敏が結局東北フリーブレイズと契約しました。
そしてシャークスの公式HPでもアジアリーグの公式HPでも全く音沙汰が無い。2ちゃんではサンノゼ・シャークスとの提携が終わっていて、今シーズンはアジアリーグ不参加との噂も…真相はいかに?
でもIIHFのニュース記事では、中国代表とチャイナ・シャークスの新ヘッドコーチは、国際経験豊富なベラルーシ人のAndrei Kovalev 氏に決定したそうだとか。てか、ベラルーシ人を新ヘッドとして採用してる時点で、もうなんかサンノゼとは離れていってる感じもする。
Posted in 01_日本語, Asia League Ice Hockey, hockey, information, NHL, opinion | Tagged: 2009-10, アイスホッケー, アジアリーグ, コバレフ, サンノゼ, シャークス, チャイナ, ベラルーシ, china, 石岡敏, IIHF, Kovalev, san jose, sharks, 中国 | Leave a Comment »
Asia League Update
Posted by japanstats on 2009 July 4日 Saturday
Asia League Ice Hockey office has announced the tentative 2009-10 season schedule (pending Tohoku Free Blades approval into the league in the September general counsel, which seems backwards). The Blades basically take the place of the now defunct Seibu Prince Rabbits, and the league will operate just like last year with 4 Japanese teams, 2 Korean teams, and 1 Chinese team as a 7 team league. The teams will play 6 games against each other for a 36 game regular season that opens on 19 September in Korea and Hokkaido.
Due to (cost cutting? and) to avoid clashing with the Vancouver Olympics, the playoffs have been shortened from 2008-09 and will only feature 4 teams playing two rounds of best of 5 series to determine the champion (last season included a best of 3 play-in round between 4th and 5th place teams, then best of 7 series).
The expansion Tohoku Free Blades will open the season against the defending champion Nippon Paper Cranes in Kushiro. And the Greater Tokyo area will host a few games as the four Japanese teams will play doubleheaders in Shin-Yokohama on 14-15 November, in Sapporo on 19-20 December, and in Nishi-Tokyo (Higashifushimi) on 6-7 February.
The Tohoku Free Blades will play half its home games at the Tohoku hockey hotbed of Hachinohe, Aomori, and will play the rest of the games in various cities around Tohoku including Koriyama, Fukushima.
In addition to the officially announced player transfers, China Sharks have acquired tall scoring pest Joel Prpic (Seibu 35GP 43P 174PIM, he managed to score and draw a penalty simultaneously twice in one game I went to see) and Bin Ishioka (Seibu 36GP 8G+10A=18P). Though this alone won't keep the Sharks up with the newly powerful Bucks, it is a step in the right direction (Prpic is a Japan/Asia vet that knows the league well with a long and successful career, and Ishioka won't count as an import because Japan/Korea/China nationals do not count against imports in this league). (Thanks Martin!)
Posted in 02_English, Asia League Ice Hockey, hockey, information, opinion, tokyo | Tagged: china, cranes, free blades, hachinohe, higashifushimi, hokkaido, ishioka, kushiro, nippon paper, prince rabbits, prpic, seibu, sharks, tohoku, Vancouver, yokohama | 4 Comments »
2008-09 AL Season Review
Posted by japanstats on 2009 April 9日 Thursday
I'm currently lacking both the brain cells and the time to do this properly, so the 2008-09 Asia League Ice Hockey season will be reviewed in bullet point style.
Nippon Paper Cranes reign supreme again! Asia League power house returns to the top after fighting through 3 rounds of playoffs, and going the full 7 in both the semi and finals. The Cranes last won the trophy 2 seasons ago, so it was a short absence from the top.
Seibu Prince Rabbits fold. The tin foil hat says that this is part of Seibu Group's attempt to rid of Tsutsumi colours (including the baseball team's uniform colour, literally). There's hope of the team being resurrected as an independent pro club team as seen in an earlier post on this blog.
Anyang Halla is back, but High1 falls back. Anyang Halla added quality imports, got its sniper Song Dong-Hwan back from 2 years of military service (he didn't miss a beat, being 4th in league scoring 3 seasons ago as well as this past season), and rookies who immediately contributed by finishing top 10 in scoring (Kim Ki-Sung and Park Woo-Sang who were just from universities drafted in the offseason). High1 was 2nd in the 2007-08 regular season, but fell down to 5th place and immediately got swept in the first round play in against the Cranes. 1st to 4th this year was a complete toss up, but then there was a big gap to High1 in 4th. High1 will be looking to climb back up to the top half of the table next season, and especially not to finish the season below their Korean rivals Halla.
The bottom of the table was occupied by the usual suspects, the Nikko Ice Bucks and the Chinese entry, the China Sharks. But things were upside down this past season with the Sharks crawling out of the basement thanks in large part to Wade Flaherty's Herculian efforts (he won the Best Goalie Award) and kicked the troubled Bucks down into the basement.
Since there were no double digit blowouts like in previous seasons when teams could run up the score on Chinese teams, finally for the first time, stats in the Asia League is actually quite credible (no need to sift through strength of schedule, opponents, and run a query). So let's take a look at the scoring board:
High powered offence of Halla has 5 players ranked in the top 11, including a rookie in Kim Ki-Sung, and sniper Song Dong-Hwan who returned to the league after missing the last 2 seasons due to mandatory military service for all Korean adult males (except big time celebrities and sports figures it seems, if they can win exemptions or wiggle their way out). There are many of the usual suspects on the list including Suzuki and Prpic of Seibu, but who knows what their future holds for now. And Chris Yule showed his former team that he was still an offensive force.
Additionally, defenceman Jon Awe (AHL 12+17=29) finished on top of scoring for defencemen ahead of Asia League and national team vet Aaron Keller (OJI 5+19=24) and AL sophomore Richard Rochefort (SPR 7+17=24), and Halla's other import Brad Fast (7+27 = 34) ranked high in league scoring, prompting an unprecedented move by an AL team when Anyang Halla re-signed all their imports to multi-year deals with scoring leader Brock Radunski signing a 3-year contract and the others to 2-years.
This was in part prompted by Halla's awesome offence as they became the first non-Japanese team to win the regular season (and were one win away from becoming the first non-Japanese team in the playoff finals). The awesome Halla offence racked up 150 goals in 36 games for a very impressive 4.17 G/G with and converted astonishing 38% of their power play chances for 54 goals. I'm sure Halla is glad to have their offence intact for next season, as they were only a win away from reaching the finals.
While all other teams allowed 95 goals or more, the finally nicknamed Oji Eagles impressively only let in 77 goals, and were also 2nd in the league in both the power play and the penalty kill.
Finally, since Deanna brought her big camera with her to game 7 of the finals, we have some good pictures of the final game for the Seibu Prince Rabbits.
(Photos courtesy of Deanna)
Cranes celebrate first goal of the game by Darcy Mitani.
Seibu Prince Rabbits and Japan national team captain Takahito Suzuki who almost singlehandedly won the championship for Seibu, scoring the game winner with 45 seconds left in game 6, then both of Seibu's goals in game 7.
Cranes goalie Hisashi Ishikawa, the playoff MVP, who unbelievably stopped 54 of 56 shots for the game 7 victory.
Cranes with the Asia League trophy, congratulations!! (and let's hope there are at least 7 teams in the league again next season..)
more photos after this break:
Posted in 02_English, Asia League Ice Hockey, hockey, information, opinion, statistics, tokyo | Tagged: 2008-09, 2009, anyang, awe, bucks, china, cranes, eagles, fast, Flaherty, fujita, halla, higashifushimi, High1, Ice Bucks, kim ki-sung, nikko, nippon paper, nishiwaki, Oji, park woo-sang, playoffs, prince rabbits, prpic, review, seibu, sharks, song dong-hwan, suzuki, yule | Leave a Comment »
Seibu oldtimers game and AL's future
Posted by japanstats on 2009 April 3日 Friday
On 28 March 2009, as part of the Seibu Prince Rabbits fan appreciation day, there was a Seibu Railways (Polar Bears) – Kokudo (Bunnies) oldtimers game (Seibu Prince Rabbits are a result of the merger between Seibu Railways and Kokudo teams, both owned by the Seibu Group, in 2003. In fact, the Seibu Railway team split into Kokudo in 1972, shortly after the club was formed in 1966, a now jailed Tsutsumi CEO project, he was a huge hockey fan who even took Daisuke Matsuzaka to a Seibu hockey game shortly after he was drafted to the Lions).
Here are some great photos and story (Japanese) from the oldtimers game. The advert-less unis look wonderful, as the old rivals squared off for one last time. There were 44 Seibu oldtimers and 29 Kokudo seniors. Seibu had a ringer in current Nikko IceBuck Hideji Tsuchida (sorta like Mark Messier in the Canadiens v Oilers oldtimers superstars match while he was still an active Ranger). The oldtimers game ended in a fitting 5-5 tie.
Apparently more than 20 companies made inquiries about taking the Rabbits off Seibu's hands, but the 5-oku (~$5m) operating cost and average attendance of 1,000 was the deal breaker (in the 70s(?) hockey was able to draw crowds of 10,000 at Yoyogi Arena). Though I doubt that any of the discussions went too deep, because it's possible to run an Asia League hockey club on less than half that budget, like the Nikko IceBucks are doing. Something tells me that Seibu wanted to get rid of its hockey arm, as part of eliminating the Tsutsumi colours, what with the former group president being convicted for large scale fraud. (And I suspect that's the similar reasoning behind the Saitama Seibu Lions moving away from the sky blue and Osamu Tezuka Leo logo towards almost-black navy and the weird lion palm and baseball logo, though the faux-Detroit Tigers unis are classy.)
Here's the official statement from the AL Chairman about Seibu folding. The one positive is that he mentions that the league is rather positive about accepting new teams into the now 6 team league (same size as the old Japanese Ice Hockey League). This is good news for the Tohoku Free Blades who have an exhibition game against the Oji Eagles on 5 April at 13:00 at the Bandai Atami Ice Arena in Koriyama, Fukushima (one of the Blades' home towns). The Blades have already played an exhibition match against the AL last place team Nikko, so the increasing involvement with AL teams is positive development for the Blades to join the AL. (I'm also hoping that the western Japan powerhouse Surpass Kagawa will eventually join the AL as well, but there are no current rumours.)
So, there's a decent chance that the AL will still be a 7 team league next season, despite being weakened by the loss of Seibu (though this opens the door for the Korean and Chinese teams, which is a welcome change). Apparently 12-15 Seibu players have a chance of catching on with another team in Asia or Europe next seasons, others are likely to become regular Seibu Group employees. Though with the lack of funding for the Blades, they look unlikely to be taking on the expensive Seibu players.
A short Q&A was held with the Seibu hockey club owner (president) Koyama on 31 March when the official team folding was announced. Here's the abridged version (full version in Japanese here).
Q: What was the reasoning behind the timing of this press conference?
A: Each team must submit player transfer/release list by mid-April, hence the timing.
Q: How will the players be treated going forward?
A: Individual interviews will be conducted with each player during April. The key question is whether players want to keep on playing hockey or joing the company (Seibu) full-time and start working on regular jobs. We will support the players as much as possible.
Q: What are the specific plans to support the players?
A: Players will be able to stay in the team dorm until July. Request has been made to the company so that the (semi-pro) players will be given a 2 year sabbatical from the company to pursue their hockey careers if that is their wish.
Q: What will happen to company referees and coaches who contribute to the AL?
A: Immediately pulling them out will cause trouble for the league, so we are in discussion with officials such as the federation for their future. The rink (Higashifushimi) will continue to operate as usual (as the home of the women's Princess Rabbits team, figure skating, and public skating.)
Q: What were the reactions inside the company regarding the hockey team folding?
A: The company itself is undergoing major restructuring, so this issue went rather unnoticed compared to the past.
Q: How did the discussions go with prospective buyers of the team?
A: 20 to 25 companies from Tokyo and outside Tokyo expressed interest. They were interested in hockey as a sport, but the average attendance of 1000+ made serious discussion difficult, and ultimately ended in failure.
Incidentally, 2008-09 average attendance:
1: Oji Eagles 1498 (all games over 1000)
2: Seibu Prince Rabbits (attendance boosted after team folding announcement)
3: Nippon Paper Cranes 1211
4: Anyang Halla 1052
5: Nikko IceBucks 1013 (used to have over 4000 supporters when the club first formed 10 years ago)
6: High1 488 (all tickets are free, but no advertising, sponsor must be loaded)
7: China Sharks (many comp tickets given out, attracting thousands of fans at some games, hopefully they gained some traction in the Shanghai student town.)
Posted in 02_English, 03_Translations (英訳ポートフォリオ), Asia League Ice Hockey, hockey, information, Japan, opinion, press releases, tokyo | Tagged: AL, Anyang Halla, budget, bunnies, business, china, cranes, eagles, economy, finance, free blades, High1, icebucks, Kokudo, korea, nikko, nippon paper, Oji, polar bears, prince rabbits, seibu, seibu railway, sharks, tohoku | Leave a Comment »


There is one summary for H.R.3882. Bill summaries are authored by CRS.
Mid-Atlantic Energy and Jobs Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to include: (1) Lease Sale 220 off the coast of Virginia in the proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas leasing program for the 2012-2017 period, and (2) the OCS off the coast of Virginia in the leasing program for each 5-year period after the 2012-2017 period.
Directs the Secretary to implement within one year after enactment of this Act: (1) Lease Sale 220; and (2) lease sales for any other OCS areas in the Mid-Atlantic planning area as a result of the map revision specified in this Act.
Prohibits oil or natural gas exploration, development, or production off the coast of Virginia that would conflict with any military operation.
Prescribes revenue sharing procedures that require the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit 50% of qualified revenues in: (1) the general fund of the Treasury, and (2) 50% of qualified revenues in a special Treasury account.
Requires disbursement of: (1) 75% of such qualified revenues to the Mid-Atlantic state from the administrative planning area that generated the qualified revenues; and (2) 25% at the discretion of the governor of such state for environmental cleanup, restoration, and enhanced public access to public lands.
Instructs the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, to revise a specified map to make the best effort to ensure that the northern and southern boundaries of the OCS administrative planning area of each Mid-Atlantic state extends from the coastal shoreline at the northern and southern borders, respectively, of the state to the outer boundary of the Exclusive Economic Zone.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) require that any applicant seeking to conduct an offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project on the OCS obtain a permit and right-of-way; (2) determine whether to issue such a permit and right-of-way within 30 days after receiving an application; (3) provide an opportunity for submission of comments by the public; (4) consult with the Secretary of Defense (DOD), the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the heads of other federal, state, and local agencies affected by issuance of the permit; and (5) provide an applicant the opportunity to remedy deficiencies in a permit application that was denied.
Exempts projects determined by the Secretary to be an offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project from environmental impact statement requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
Defines an "offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project" as a project administered by the Department of the Interior and carried out on or in the waters of the OCS to test or monitor weather (including wind, tidal, current, and solar energy) using towers, buoys, or other temporary ocean infrastructure and that: (1) causes less than one acre of surface or seafloor disruption at the location of each meteorological tower or other device and no more than five acres of surface or seafloor disruption within the proposed area affected by for the project (including hazards to navigation); (2) is decommissioned within five years of its commencement; and (3) provides meteorological information to the Secretary.


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Sometimes things can get to be more than you can handle. I know this from my own personal experience. I suffered a great loss and after a year of trying to cope with that loss on my own, I knew that it was time for me to reach out for some help. I was missing work, didn't want to do much of anything and just didn't feel like myself. I started seeing a counselor each week, and it has helped. If you are struggling to recover after a loss, this blog may be able to help you find the help you need to get past it.
Signs You Should Seek Help For Your Anxiety 23 November 2021
Feeling anxious is quite normal for everybody. However, anxiety can get to a point where it becomes a deb
Why Should You Seek Professional Counseling Service? 23 September 2021
Counseling can help people find inner peace whether they are young or old. No matter what's happening in
Which Treatment Is Best For Your Troubled Teen? 14 June 2021
If you have a teenager in your home who is troubled, you may find yourself in a position where treatment
Myths And Misconceptions About Parent Coaching 12 April 2021
Are you having trouble parenting? Maybe you just wonder if you're really doing the best job possible with
Tips For New Counseling Patients 25 January 2021
Mental health needs can be challenging for a person to meet. Often, this will be a result of a person bei
counseling to get past a great loss
Myths And Misconceptions About Parent Coaching
12 April 2021 by Jessica Mason
Are you having trouble parenting? Maybe you just wonder if you're really doing the best job possible with your little ones. First of all, the fact that you're asking these questions at all means you're an excellent parent. And as an excellent parent, something you may want to look into is parent coaching. This is a form of counseling. You work directly with a psychologist who teaches you new parenting skills and philosophies that you can use to improve your parenting over time.
Parent coaching works well for many people, but there are a few myths and misconceptions floating around about the practice. It's important to clear these up to ensure you're able to make an informed decision as to whether parent coaching is right for you.
Myth: Parent coaching is just for people who are failing as parents.
If you do feel like an abject failure as a parent, then you should certainly seek parent coaching. But here's the thing: it's best to seek coaching before you feel like a failure! Also, as long as you're willing to seek help and improve, you're not a failure at all. You're a parent who is experiencing a normal bump on the road.
You can also enroll in parent coaching even if you think you are an excellent parent already. Even the best parents do not know everything, and you are almost certain to benefit from learning more about parenting from a trained psychologist.
Myth: Parent coaching has to involve both parents.
Some parents avoid coaching because they cannot get the child's other parent on board. It is always nice if both parents can come to coaching sessions and learn together. However, if your co-parent is not interested in coaching, you can still attend yourself. You may even learn some skills to help you communicate with your co-parent about the importance of things like coaching and improving as a parent.
Myth: Parent coaching will force you to change the way you're doing everything.
Are you a little afraid to change the way you're parenting? Don't worry — parent coaches won't typically aim to have you throw out everything you've been doing and start over. They're very understanding of the fact that each family is unique, and each parent is different. Rather than overhauling your parenting style, they'll typically work with you to identify the areas where you're excelling and the areas where you're not excelling — and then slowly make small changes to improve where you can. It's a gradual process, not an overnight overhaul.
Hopefully this article has taught you a little more about parent coaching and its importance. Children do not come with handbooks, but you can learn to parent them better by meeting with a coach.
2021 counseling to get past a great loss

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Our riders, on your favorite Kink Model Complete Bikes!
Take a look through our video playlist from the release of the 2016 Kink Complete Bike Line! Your favorite Kink riders put the bikes to the test themselves. The whole line is available now at your local BMX shop, or preferred BMX mail-order!
With each a style of their own, while sharing great taste in spot and trick use…the Darryl/Jake section from "Intervention" is a must watch!
Shurva – Kiev LocalPoint Jam Video!
?????| ???? ????? | LocalPoint.JAM from AGON_OBOLON on Vimeo.
"Shurva's part from the jam in Kiev LocalPoint skate park. Big words can not be compared with the fact that this guy got up that day. He was not forced to miss any single figure, he was everywhere and always took concluding tricks. His riding betrayed special mood this event. Meat.
Check out the introduction and opening section from our Kink "Intervention" release!
The Full Factory Lunch Money Series, has concluded with Travis Hughes taking the honors for most ridiculous BMX rider on the trip! Travis Hughes, Jacob Cable and the rest of the crew are re-writing the game right now…pay attention! Shouts to these guys and Full Factory Distro for the unique series, and insane level of riding.
We printed a small run of these Limited Edition Intervention Tees…AVAILABLE HERE at the Kink Store!


Mozilla Firefox is a free and open-source web browser developed by The Mozilla Foundation.
Is Firefox better than Google?
Firefox Is Better for Battery Life. A lot of people say that Chrome is faster than Firefox — and that's actually true. But the main reason for this is that Chrome uses more CPU than Firefox. With greater CPU usage comes faster processing and smoother performance.
Mozilla Firefox (or simply Firefox) is a free and open-source web browser developed by The Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, Mozilla Corporation. Firefox is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, illumosand Solaris operating systems. Its sibling, Firefox for Android, is also available. Firefox uses the Gecko layout engine to render web pages, which implements current and anticipated web standards.
In 2017, Firefox began incorporating new technology under the code name Quantum to promote parallelism and a more intuitive user interface. An additional version, Firefox for iOS, was released on November 12, 2015. Due to platform restrictions, it uses the WebKit layout engine instead of Gecko, as with all other iOS web browsers.
Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google.
Google Chrome (commonly known simply as Chrome) is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows and was later ported to Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android. The browser is also the main component of Chrome OS, where it serves as the platform for web apps.
Most of Chrome's source code comes from Google's open-source Chromium project, but Chrome is licensed as proprietary freeware. WebKit was the original rendering engine, but Google eventually forked it to create the Blink engine; all Chrome variants except iOS now use Blink.
As of 2018, StatCounter estimates that Chrome has a 61% worldwide browser market share across all platforms. Because of this success, Google has expanded the "Chrome" brand name to other products: Chrome OS, Chromecast, Chromebook, Chrome bit, Chromebox and Chromebase.
Opera is a web browser for Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. An underrated browser that's a great choice for slow connections.
Opera is a web browser for Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. Opera Ltd. is publicly listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Opera is a Chromium-based browser using the Blink layout engine. It differentiates itself with a distinct user interface and other features.
Opera was conceived at Telenor as a research project in 1994 and was bought by Opera Software in 1995. It was commercial software for the first ten years and had its own proprietary Presto layout engine. The Presto versions of Opera received many awards, but Presto development ended after the big transition to Chromium in 2013.
There are also three mobile versions called Opera Mobile, Opera Touch, and Opera Mini.
Microsoft Edge is a web browser developed by Microsoft.
Microsoft Edge (codename "Spartan") is a web browser developed by Microsoft. It was first released for Windows 10 and Xbox One in 2015, then for Android and iOS in 2017.
Edge includes integration with Cortana and has extensions hosted on the Microsoft Store. Unlike Internet Explorer, Edge does not support the legacy ActiveX and BHO technologies.
Safari is a graphical web browser developed by Apple. The best browser for your Mac is the one that comes with your Mac. Safari is faster and more energy efficient than other browsers. Handy tools help you save, find, and share your favorite sites. Built-in privacy features help keep your browsing your business. Apple Pay in Safari lets you shop safely and simply. And Safari works with iCloud to let you browse seamlessly across all your devices.
Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft.
Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly referred to as Explorer and abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included in the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year. Later versions were available as free downloads, or in service packs, and included in the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) service releases of Windows 95 and later versions of Windows. The browser is discontinued but still maintained.
Internet Explorer was once the most widely used web browser, attaining a peak of about 95% usage share by 2003. This came after Microsoft used bundling to win the first browser war against Netscape, which was the dominant browser in the 1990s. Its usage share has since declined with the launch of Firefox (2004) and Google Chrome (2008), and with the growing popularity of operating systems such as Android and iOS that do not run Internet Explorer. Estimates for Internet Explorer's market share are about 2.7% across all platforms or by StatCounter's numbers ranked 7th, while on desktop, the only platform it's ever had significant share (e.g. excluding mobile and Xbox) it's ranked 3rd at 5.74%, just after Firefox (others place IE 2nd with 9.48% just ahead of), as of January 2019 (browser market share is notoriously difficult to calculate). Microsoft spent over US$100 million per year on Internet Explorer in the late 1990s, with over 1,000 people involved in the project by 1999.
Vivaldi is a freeware, cross-platform web browser developed by Vivaldi Technologies, a company founded by Opera Software co-founder and former CEO Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Tatsuki Tomita. It was officially launched on April 6, 2016.
Vivaldi is intended for staunch technologists and former Opera browser users disgruntled by its transition from the Presto layout engine to a Chromium-based browser. However, Vivaldi is also Chromium-based, so it aims to revive features of Presto-based Opera with its own proprietary modifications.
As of January 2017, Vivaldi had 1 million users.
Tor aims to conceal its users' identities and their online activity from surveillance and traffic analysis by separating identification and routing. It is an implementation of onion routing, which encrypts and then randomly bounces communications through a network of relays run by volunteers around the globe.
What is Tor browser used for?
Tor is software that allows users to browse the Web anonymously. Developed by the Tor Project, a nonprofit organization that advocates for anonymity on the internet, Tor was originally called The Onion Router because it uses a technique called onion routing to conceal information about user activity.
Is it illegal to use the Tor browser?
Thus they operate inside the dark web. These websites have the suffix of .onion and can only be accessed by special browsers like TOR. ... Now to answer your question, no; using TOR is not illegal, but visiting dark websites engaging in activities that are illegal in your country will be illegal.
Is it safe to use the Tor Browser?
Tor itself is perfectly safe, it is an anonymity network but it also does have it's own firefox based browser bundle that lets you download it and set it up in a simple way. Tor is a safe download but checks the sha hashes and such, make sure it is the download the tor website actually meant you to get.


Welcome to another round of my cooking and baking round-up! Today I'm bringing to you – bread. Spelt wholewheat bread, to be exact. I made it myself! As you can see, I'm insanely pleased with myself because of this.
It isn't a difficult recipe by any means, but it takes patience. All in all, you need 24 hours to make this bread! At first you need to let the swollen pieces from whole grains rest for ten hours. Then you add yeast and let the dough rise for an hour, after which you put it in the refrigerator and let it rise for 12 hours. Only then can you bake the bread in the oven! It's worth it, though. It's so delicious I basically only want to eat bread all day! You can find the recipe here, but it's in German.
Phil made Malaysian Curry. Well, he made it several times in the past weeks actually because we can't get enough of it! He found the recipe on a website about Asian Street Food (in German, unfortunately). He puts in a punishing amount of chili peppers we grew on our terrace. It hurts, but in the best way!
Inspired by my breadmaking success, I decided to try the "Super Amazing Easiest Bread Recipe Ever" by Jenna Clair at Making Things Is Awesome. It's a really simple, or rather super amazingly easy, recipe you can adapt to your liking. I added pumpkin seeds and, because I was feeling naughty, four jalapenos. Phil said "oh, that's really hot" … revenge is a dish best served with four jalapenos, my darling!
During winter I like my Austrian sweet dishes. Palatschinken have been a favourite ever since my time in Hungary! I could eat them by the dozen. One of my preferred toppings is plum jam, which is even better right now because I made the plum jam myself! We also eat them with sugar and cinnamon and a mixture of apple slices, raisins and maple syrup.
I got a new casserole dish for Christmas as well, because I needed something larger than our tiny Ikea dish for my lasagna. Well, it's actually not "my" lasagna, it's my Dad's recipe. It's sort of difficult to take an appetizing picture of this meal, but believe me, it's mouthwateringly DELICIOUS. It just takes about three, four hours to make because of the bolognese so it isn't an everyday occurrence.


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SXSW 2012 Review - "The Raid: Redemption" (Indonesian Actioner Delivers Relentless Bloody Brutality)
A film that's already developing a cult following, even though it's only commercial exhibits have been on the film festival circuit, starting with a 2011 Toronto Film Festival debut (it's now a Sony Pictures property, scheduled for a US and Indonesia release in March of this year), The Raid: Redemption turned out to be exactly as others who'd already seen it, universally described it: a relentless, bloody, brutal action movie, with successive scene after scene of balls-to-the-wall-style choreographed violence that made even this writer flinch in a few instances.
I'd heard about the violence, but I wasn't prepared for just how *real* it looks and feels. It's not that cartoonish kind of violence; and unlike some other similar films that shield you from crucial deathblow/fatalities, the camera doesn't turn away in this one. It shows you everything, and often in close-up: pistols blowing up skulls, knives and other sharp objects rammed into necks, or dicing up torsos, with the red stuff definitely not in short supply, and more.
The story in short: an elite SWAT team is tasked with raiding a slum building in Jarkarta, Indonesia, that has become a sanctuary to killers, gangs, rapists and thieves seeking accommodation in the one place they know they can't be touched by the police, and removing its owner, a notorious drug lord. But when a spotter blows their cover, and news of their arrival reaches the drug lord, who manages the entire building from the top floor with video cameras eyeing every hallway, the hunters become the hunted, as the team must fight their way through every floor and room not just to complete their mission, but to survive their bloody ordeal, and just make it out of the building.
And there's your setup; Indonesian police storming a drug lord's apartment fortress. It's a rather simple plot, and all very predictable, but it's also quite exhilarating. Director Gareth Evans is able to squeeze as much life out of that premise as possible, and I'd say he succeeds for the most part, without hammering the audience to death with all those action set pieces.
Although I'd also add that I found it all very exhausting after about 90 minutes or so, especially as the sequences began to lose that initial realism I mentioned, and started to veer into cartoon territory. I started to laugh more than I flinched.
It's really just one action set piece after another, as both sides of this fight try to stay one-step ahead of the other, the action moving north, from floor to floor, bodies disposed of on each (the SWAT team's as well as the baddies), with the drug lord's operation station at the top of the building the eventual goal. Obviously, most of them won't make it; and by the end of the film, after an expected showdown of will and skill, a fraction of the number of characters the film started with, remain.
But there are moments of quiet scattered about, giving the audience, and the cast, some respite to balance all that bedlam – although a mostly well-choreographed, paced, stylish, visceral kind of bedlam.
Production values are high, and the film moves along quite briskly, and energetically, thanks in part to director Evans' active camera, rapid-fire editing and dialogue. And while that kind of persistent clamor could quickly become tiring (as it did for me, but during the last act), Evans demonstrates just enough restraint to prevent the film from going into Michael Bay-style excess territory.
The Raid: Redemption is a relentless, bone-crunching, stylish piece of *performance art*, if I can call it that, that delivers for the most part, in terms of maximum thrills, and its target audience will most certainly appreciate the bloody rounds of pandemonium it delivers.
Word is that an American remake is planned; no surprise there.
Trailer below:


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Customs (Home-Brewing of Fermented Liquors) (Exemption) Order 2008
Please check the legislation timeline to ensure that you are viewing the correct legislation version. See also FAQ B3.
find current version as at
2009 RevEd
SL 194/2008
2 Exemption
Published in Subsidiary Legislation Supplement on 03 Apr 2008
Authorising Act
or find current version as at
(Chapter 70)
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 13(1) of the Customs Act, the Minister for Finance hereby makes the following Order:
1. This Order may be cited as the Customs (Home-Brewing of Fermented Liquors) (Exemption) Order 2008 and shall come into operation on 4th April 2008.
2. Sections 63(1) and 64(1) of the Act shall not apply to any person, being an individual, in respect of the manufacture of liquor by that person at his home, subject to the following conditions:
(a) the person shall be 18 years old and above;
(b) the manufacture of liquor shall be by fermentation and not by distillation;
(c) the amount of liquor manufactured shall not exceed —
(i) in relation to beer, 30 litres per household of the person per month; and
(ii) in relation to any other fermented liquor, 30 litres in total for all such liquors per household of the person per month;
(d) the liquor manufactured shall be for personal use and not for sale; and
(e) the manufacturing activities shall not create any nuisance to the public or degrade the environment.
Made this 31st day of March 2008.
TEO MING KIAN
Ministry of Finance,
[Customs 0102/71/V27; MF(R) R017.002.0001 Vol. 5; AG/LEG/SL/70/2005/1 Vol. 2]
(To be presented to Parliament under section 143(2) of the Customs Act).


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Home Opinion We Never Told More Lies Than Our Counterparts
We Never Told More Lies Than Our Counterparts
NPP NDC
I suppose he is a political scientist at the nation's flagship academy, the University of Ghana, Legon, where I partly grew up. And so Prof. Ransford Gyampo perfectly understands the fact that electioneering campaigns are generally and historically about competing narratives of visions and policy agendas. In other words, all things being equal, it is the narrative of the political party that sounds and appears to be more practicable and logically convincing to the electorate that invariably carries the vote. Short of ballot-rigging, of course.
And so it is unforgivably scandalous for Prof. Gyampo to viscerally accuse President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the other key players of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of lying to Ghanaian voters to win power, almost as if to imply that, somehow, it was the inalienable constitutional right of the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) to have been retained in power (See "NPP Lied to Win Power – Ransford Gyampo" Opinions/Features – Modernghana.com 8/10/17).
Indeed, going into Election 2016, even first-time Ghanaian voters were fully aware of the fact that they were not voting for angels or perfect human beings, against the latter's far less perfect counterparts. What mattered most, going into their polling booths, was the very critical question of which party's leadership appeared to be more visionary, less corrupt and more competent and capable of bringing remarkable improvement into the quality of the lives of these voters. We must also bear smack in mind, the fact that the Mahama Posse, first led by the late President John Evans Atta-Mills, with the now-former President John Dramani Mahama as Vice-President, had occupied the seat of governance for 8 years.
And in the last four of those 8 years, Ghanaians were being repeatedly told by an increasingly testy and arrogant President Mahama that they had absolutely no inalienable democratic right to criticize his, at best spotty, job performance because these critics whose mandate had placed Mr. Mahama into the Flagstaff House, had themselves never been voted presidents, therefore they could not so facilely presume to be qualified to criticize him. I suppose even highly schooled political scientists like Prof. Gyampo have so soon and woefully forgotten then-President Mahama telling Ghanaians that the only citizens who qualified to criticize his job performance were former Presidents John Agyekum-Kufuor and Jerry John Rawlings.
And now what is even more risible is to hear the same Mr. Mahama and some of his staunch backers among the front ranks of the National Democratic Congress vitriolically light into the founding-father of their own political party for having driven the NDC onto the gray margins of the political opposition, with his incessant exposure of rank corruption among the key operatives of the Mahama regime. I in no way doubt that President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his government's appointees have been making their relatively fair share of blunders and faux-pas during the last 7 months, as reality has begun to slap them in their faces and on their pates, as it were.
But the fact still remains that within this short space of time, the Akufo-Addo Administration has performed far better than either the Mills Posse or the Mahama Posse within the same period in their tenures. We must also bear in mind the fact that the two parties locked horns with their respective performance track-records in full mnemonic view of the voters. Anyway, what the Akufo-Addo Administration has so far done impressively is to radically reverse the existentially destructive economic culture of Galamsey, or illegal small-scale strip-mining, that only less than a year ago threatened to make at least 60-percent of the country's waterbodies unusable, much less drinkable.
Then also, Nana Akufo-Addo and his ministers have laudably undertaken the renegotiation of a legion contractual agreements recklessly and amateurishly contracted by some key operatives of the Mahama regime, that have mired the country in avoidable indebtedness and are making it next to impossible for the Akufo-Addo Administration to initiate any significant development projects. Prof. Gyampo and his ilk ought to be looking at the proverbial bigger, long-term development picture than desperately and vacuously nitpicking at bread-and-butter problems that will soon be easily solved, once the bigger hurdles have been gotten out of the way.
By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.
English Department, SUNY-Nassau
Garden City, New York
Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe
SUNY-Nassau
Win Power
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The Grand InterContinental Seoul will open a new modern style bar & lounge, 'BLUSH' on April 20, 2007, for trend setters seeking a cutting edge lifestyle. This new bar & lounge will replace Hunter's Tavern—popular for over 18 years among business executives. 'BLUSH' is a place for young professionals and others who enjoy new lifestyles and have a passion for new culture.
The interior design concept is "Contemporary Modern Design." A bar with sophisticated color, dynamic images, and sound effects and trendy music will offer a unique experience. Of note is the interior décor which has been inspired by flowers and trees in their natural settings creating a truly guest-friendly ambiance.
Glamour, extravagance, and luxury assist in describing the design of this stylish bar & lounge, with two separate bars, and five stirring private rooms.
The culinary selection for the BLUSH bar and lounge, as envisioned by Executive Chef Ivan Susanj, will be a selection of very fine dishes created to match, complement or contrast with, the amazing cocktail collection and beverages with like-minded people, where you can appreciate trendy music, where you can experience trendy style, and where interesting events and various social gatherings take place-Welcome to the world of our new bar & lounge!
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Google's new streaming video game service is set to take on PlayStation and Xbox, and it's finally got a release date
Ben Gilbert and Kevin Webb
Google's Stadia gamepad.
Google has a huge new gaming initiative: A Netflix-like video-game streaming platform named Stadia that's set to launch on November 19.
The service is intended to run high-resolution blockbuster games on any device that runs Google's Chrome — from smartphones and tablets to computers and TVs.
When Stadia arrives on November 19, it will only be available as a $129 "Founder's Pack" bundle that comes with a controller, a Chromecast Ultra, one game, and three months of "Stadia Pro" service.
Google plans to launch a free version of Stadia in February 2020.
Google is making a big push into the video game industry with a new streaming platform that will compete with the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Stadia (pronounced "STAY-dee-uh"), will launch on November 19, promising players access to blockbuster games on any device that can run the Chrome web browser — from smartphones and tablets to laptops and TVs.
Google shared the first details on Stadia at the Game Developers Conference in March, and has offered just a handful of updates through out the year. The tech giant finally confirmed Stadia's launch date during its October hardware event in New York City.
Google vice president and general manager Phil Harrison speaks during a Google keynote address at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this past March.
Players who preorder the $129 "Founder's Pack" will get access to Stadia on November 19. The pack includes a Google's freshly designed Stadia controller, a Chromecast Ultra, a copy of "Destiny 2," and a three-month subscription to Stadia Pro, with a second three-month pass to share with a friend.
Google plans to launch a free version of Stadia in February 2020 — the pro subscription gives players access to 4K resolution with HDR support, and Google will add one new game to their collection each month. Whether you're a pro-subscriber or not, Stadia will sell many of the same blockbuster games available on the Xbox and PlayStation.
The pitch is simple: If you've got a Chromecast, just a smartphone, or whatever device you're reading this on, you could potentially run Stadia, and you won't have to shell out $300 for a new video game console. Stadia promises to do for video games what Netflix -like streaming services did for TV and film.
Here's everything we know so far:
Stadia is a cloud-based video-game streaming service. You don't need to buy a game console.
Unlike Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's PlayStation, and Nintendo's Switch, Google is promising no additional hardware is required with Stadia.
"At launch, we'll support being able to play games across desktops, laptops, TV, tablets, and phones. This new generation of gaming is not a box," Phil Harrison, a Google vice president, said in March.
Instead, processing is handled "in the cloud" — by Google's hardware in a data center — and streamed to you instantly. Your inputs are then instantly beamed back to the computer elsewhere.
This is an oversimplification of what is assuredly a deeply complicated process, but it's similar to how Netflix works: instead of having to run physical media, it's simply streamed to wherever you're watching it.
Stadia promises a single ecosystem for gaming across all devices.
Google/YouTube
Google's aim for Stadia is high — the ability to take your games and your game saves with you to any device. Regardless of where you access the service, you'll have access to the same games with the same controller (more on that in a moment).
For now Google says Stadia will work with any computer running the Chrome browser, Chromecasts, and its own Pixel family of smartphones. Support for other mobile devices will likely be added in the future.
The very concept of streaming-based gaming is an ambitious challenge to the blockbuster video-game market, which is dominated by physical game consoles.
Instead, Google is offering a service-based video-game platform that goes where you are — like the music industry, the film industry, and the TV industry have already done.
Games cost the same prices on Stadia that they do on other platforms: anywhere from $1 to $60.
"NBA 2K20," above, is one of the games headed to Stadia this November.
"NBA 2K20"/2K Games
Don't get it twisted though: Google Stadia isn't offering an instant game library for a subscription price. It is an à la carte storefront that charges per game.
Just like buying a game on the PlayStation Store or the Xbox Live store, you pay per title.
Google didn't provide specifics, but a representative told Business Insider: "Pricing will be similar to what you'd expect on other consoles, while of course being title dependent."
There's a Stadia gamepad that's built by Google.
In many ways, the Stadia controller looks an awful lot like a hybrid of the Xbox One gamepad (in shape and design) and the PlayStation 4 gamepad (in thumbstick layout).
Functionally, it more or less is exactly that. But there's one major aspect of the gamepad that sets it apart: it's got WiFi.
This may sound strange, but it connects the controller's inputs directly to the data center running the game. It's a simple solution and enables the controller to be easily swapped between devices.
There are two other buttons on the Stadia controller that stand out: The capture button, which uploads gameplay directly to YouTube, and the Google Assistant button, which activates Google Assistant. Perhaps you want help with a specific part of a game? Or need to suddenly know the weather in Tokyo? Solved!
The controller can also just be used as a basic USB gamepad, and even works on platforms it wasn't built for (like a PC game running on Steam, for instance). And yes, local multiplayer is supported: You can use up to four Stadia controllers at once for the same game.
Google's got some pretty hefty computing power backing up its platform.
Whether the word "teraflops" means anything to you, or you're laughing out loud at this silly new word, all you need to know is this: Stadia promises serious horsepower in the cloud.
Google partnered with AMD to create a system that offers far greater horsepower than the most powerful modern video-game consoles. Moreover, Google is promising that the service will stream games in 4K at 60 frames-per-second, with surround sound.
Again, this is on your phone.
The next "DOOM" game is coming to Stadia, and a handful of other important publishers offered support.
Only a few games were teased during Google's press conference in March, but the one big standout was "DOOM Eternal."
It's the next major game in the classic "DOOM" first-person-shooter series, and it's particularly notable here because it's a pretty demanding game in terms of hardware. It's a series known for being tremendously fast, and its fans demand pixel-perfect control.
In so many words, it's a great test case for what Google is promising: lag-free video games over modern broadband connection speeds.
A ton more games were announced during a stream in June.
"DOOM Eternal" publisher Bethesda Softworks is providing a gaggle of titles for Stadia's launch later this year: "DOOM 2016," "Rage 2," "The Elder Scrolls Online," and "Wolfenstein: Youngblood."
"Assassin's Creed Odyssey" publisher Ubisoft is also on board, and is promising "Just Dance," "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint," "Tom Clancy's The Division 2," "Trials Rising," and "The Crew 2."
Some other major standouts were revealed during the first Stadia stream: "Final Fantasy XV," "Destiny 2," and "Mortal Kombat 11," among others.
Perhaps highest-profile of all, Rockstar Games' "Red Dead Redemption 2" is heading to Stadia this year.
Google launched a first-party game-development division headed by the former Ubisoft executive Jade Raymond.
Beyond just working with various game developers and publishers, Google has created its own game-development division headed by veteran video-game executive Jade Raymond.
It's not clear exactly how large the studio will be, or how many projects it will work on, but Raymond is known for her work on huge franchises, such as "Assassin's Creed."
As of June, Google didn't have anything more to say about first-party games; a rep told us that more information will arrive in 2020.
Google promises "No cheating, no hacking."
Because of the structure of Stadia, Google promises that there's no way for cheaters to cheat and no way for hackers to hack. That's because games will be stored and operated on Google's servers, thus cutting out the ability for players to inject code locally before playing online multiplayer.
Whether this works remains to be seen — to evoke "Jurassic Park," cheaters "find a way."
Google stuck a stake in the ground with cross-play: it's fully allowed, including for game saves.
"As a new-generation game platform, Stadia will of course embrace full cross-platform play," Harrison said in March. "Developers will have the ability to enable cross-platform multiplayer for all players and even bring games saves and progression across as well."
That's an important move: The video-game business has started to move toward the concept of multiplayer video games allowing players to play together across competing platforms. "Fortnite," for example, allows players on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 to play together — something that's essentially never happened before.
With Stadia, Google is supporting cross-platform multiplayer — as well as game saves and progress — right from launch. It's a smart, forward-looking move.
There are two versions of Stadia: a free version, and a paid version named "Stadia Pro." The paid version costs $10 per month.
Though Google Stadia will arrive on November 19, that's more of a soft launch — You'll have to pay to get access for the first few months, and the free "base" tier doesn't arrive until February 2020.
With the base level of Stadia, you pay nothing, but are able to buy games from the Stadia storefront and play them across your devices. Games will max out at 1080p/60 frames-per-second in the base tier.
With the Pro level of Stadia, you pay $10 per month for what is essentially a PlayStation Plus/Xbox Live Gold-esque service. For that monthly fee, you get monthly games that are yours as long as you keep your subscription. You'll also get a discount on game purchases.
Unlike PS Plus and XBL Gold, you don't need to pay for Stadia Pro to get access to online multiplayer — that's free across the board on Stadia.
Of note: Even if you end your paid subscription to Stadia Pro, your saves will continue to exist for games that were unlocked with a Pro account. If you buy the games individually, your save will carry over, and if you re-subscribe to Pro, your saves will also exist there.
When Stadia launches in November, the only way to get in is to buy the $129 "Founder's Pack."
For $129, you'll get everything you see above: a Google Stadia controller (in limited-edition blue) and a Chromecast Ultra.
Additionally, you'll get three months of Stadia Pro service, a copy of "Destiny 2" (the first free game included with Stadia Pro), and early access to a username on the Stadia Pro service. As part of the founder's bundle, you'll also get a three month "Buddy Pass" to Stadia Pro that can be gifted — it's the secret backdoor way in to Stadia this November without having to buy the $129 bundle.
Stadia Pro subscribers can stream games in 4K resolution with HDR support and 5.1 surround sound — in short, Stadia Pro enables games to look better, and it comes with free games every month.
When Stadia arrives this November, it will be a soft launch.
REUTERS/Stephen Lam
Beyond the fact that only "Founder's Bundle" buyers will get in this November, Stadia is only launching in 14 countries: the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain,
Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
Additional countries are scheduled to light up in 2020.
The same could be said for the non-Pro version of Stadia — the free version of Stadia's platform isn't scheduled to launch until 2020.
The same could also be said for the list of game publishers providing games. Though both EA and Rockstar Games are listed (of "FIFA"/"Madden" and "Grand Theft Auto" fame, respectively), neither have committed specific games to the Stadia launch.
Moreover, not all of the games announced for Stadia will be available on November 19 — instead, they're listed as part of the "launch window," which encompasses November and several subsequent months.
There's only one way to buy a Stadia gamepad and the Founder's Bundle: the Google Store online.
You can't walk into a GameStop or Best Buy to pick up the Google Stadia gamepad or the Founder's Bundle — the only way to buy Stadia stuff is to buy it through Google's storefront.
Notably, you don't need the Stadia gamepad, nor do you need a Chromecast Ultra, to use Stadia. The promise of Stadia is that it works across pretty much any device.
Here's the full list of game publishers signed up for Stadia.
Note: Not all games listed here will arrive in November. Some are scheduled to arrive within the "launch window" (the first few months after November 2019).
Stadia is said to work across a variety of internet speeds — here's the full spectrum, according to Google:
Stadia will require a strong and stable internet connection to reach the best possible quality. Streaming Stadia in 4K require an internet speed of at least 35 Mbps; Google's recommended minimum for using Stadia is 10 Mbps, which will deliver 720p video with stereo sound.
As PC Gamer pointed out, using Stadia at 4K for 65 hours would use a full terabyte of data. This means people with Comcast or AT&T internet service could only play for about two hours per day during the month before reaching their data cap. Stadia will likely take a toll on cellular data plans as well, since streaming in 720p at 10 Mbps will still use roughly 4.5GB per hour.
SEE ALSO: 5 major tech companies, from Amazon to Apple, are trying to make the 'Netflix of gaming' — here's how they stack up
More: Features Video Games Mobile Google
Jade Raymond
Take-Two Interactive


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NEWS / EVENTS / ACTIONS
US Boats to Gaza Newsletters
Presentation by Dir of Gaza Community Mental Health Programme January 25, 2023
Freedom Flotilla Coalition prepares for 2023 Actions November 18, 2022
2022 Houston Palestinian Festival November 11, 2022
Barbara Briggs-Letson August 26, 2022
Remembering Gail Miller April 18, 2022
2020 Freedom Flotilla to Gaza Set For May
Freedom Flotilla Will
Sail in May 2020
Speaking tours in February
Texas and California
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is moving ahead with planning for the 2020 attempt to sail to Gaza in May to break the illegal and inhumane Israeli blockade.
There are many ways to these efforts, including donating financially and, for those in Texas, coming out to hear Herman Reksten, who captained the Al Awda in the 2018 flotilla. Here's a video of the 2018 flotilla.
Al Awda Captain Herman Reksten
Captain Herman will be traveling across the U.S. with speaking events along the way. He will talk about his experience in 2018, when he was beaten and imprisoned by Israeli commandos who illegally boarded the Freedom Flotilla ship attempting to reach Gaza. He will also discuss his work in the Mediterranean rescuing migrants fleeing violence and famine in the Middle East and Africa.
Herman will be speaking in Texas between February 4 and 11. Here is his schedule.
Col. Ann Wright (ret.) will be doing presentations in California later in February. Details will be posted here when they become available.
In 2020, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition will sail again to break the illegal and inhuman blockade of Gaza. During this mission we will be focusing on children and youth struggling to survive in the wreckage of Gaza.
In 2012, the UN declared that Gaza would be uninhabitable by 2020. Over the years, the international community has watched that prediction become truth. Palestinians in Gaza live among bombed-out hospitals, schools, and homes. There are water, food and electricity shortages throughout the beleaguered strip, making basic survival a serious challenge. The desperate economic situation also means that children have taken on adult responsibilities, working to help support their families.
The most vulnerable of the innocent are young people, many of whom have been deliberately targeted by Israeli snipers since the 2018 beginning of the Great March of Return, when Palestinians demand their right to return to the homeland from which their families were expelled by Israel. IOF snipers have murdered at least 256 Palestinians in these protests, and tens of thousands have been wounded, many maimed for life. Please watch and share this award-winning short video about one of them, Dreams in the Crosshairs, created by one of our Palestinian partner organizations in Gaza, We Are Not Numbers, with funding from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
The world expresses outrage and yet the slaughter and deliberate destruction of Gaza continues with impunity. It seems clear that Israel is systematically targeting Gaza's future, its children and youth.
Will you help us sail this year? Together we can help end the blockade!
You have heard about the "Steal of the Century" proposed by President Donald Trump. We remind everyone that without justice, there can be no peace, and so we encourage you to read, share and amplify Palestinian responses in your communities and around the world, including this "Appeal of the Century" from We Are Not Numbers.
A critical way to help our campaign is to contribute financially.
You can donate online or make out checks to our fiscal sponsor, Nonviolence International, and put 2020 Boats to Gaza on the subject line.
Mail checks to:
2020 Boats to Gaza
c/o Nonviolence International
4000 Albemarle Street, NW, Suite 401
Follow our campaigns:
Twitter @GazaFFlotilla
Facebook: Freedom Flotilla Coalition
Instagram: gazafreedomflotilla
usboatstogaza.org
freedomflotilla.org
Email: 2020sailtogaza@gmail.com
Copyright © 2023 US Boats To Gaza | Powered by US Boats To Gaza


Sit start on a sidepull and undercut crimp below the start of Sorcerer's Apprentice. Follow diagonal rising line of undercuts to junction with the Sorceress.
Commonly climbed with the use of knee bars and knee pads now, reducing the original grade of 7C+/8A to a gentle 7C.
Andrew1 4 Apr, 2016 Sent Just 7c+ even with the new beta, just!
Just 7c+ even with the new beta, just!
Beastly Squirrel 3 Oct, 2015 Sent x Defiantly one of the best lines at the crag. Cheers Orrin for the beta and knee pad. Was struggling at first but realized you just have to try hard! 7C+.
Defiantly one of the best lines at the crag. Cheers Orrin for the beta and knee pad. Was struggling at first but realized you just have to try hard! 7C+.
BenNorman ?Jul, 2015 Sent Did this ages ago, dunno why it aint logged, kneebarred the hell out of it!!
Did this ages ago, dunno why it aint logged, kneebarred the hell out of it!!
i_a_coops ??, 2013 - soft for 7C+ with advanced cheating techniques.
soft for 7C+ with advanced cheating techniques.


Home / Collections / Eid/Ramadan Decorations / Ramadan Kareem Stars Wood Cutout.
Ramadan Kareem Stars Wood Cutout.
Decorate for Ramadan with this beautiful intricate wood cut item that reads, Ramadan Kareem in a festive text. Can be hung on the wall with nails or use ribbon or clear fishing wire finishing wire to hang, or simply let it stand free. Please note that this is a delicate item, handle with care. This item can comes unfinished, stained or with a gold or silver glitter finish. Comes in two sizes.


This last passage simply talks about the final judgment of Babylon, which is anyone against God. This will be a time when Christians will witness to many people so they can learn the truth before the second coming. With all of these events, the second coming seems near, but no one can know the exact time.


Classically shaped Jambati with smoky patina. It has a smooth feel through long hand wear. Complex initial soundscape quickly simplifies as one tone after another quiets. Last one is the strike tone. Longevity is just fair while harmony is excellent. Rim play is with leather. The low can be teased out but it is the middle tone that plays best (second 20 seconds of clip 2). That overtone is a wail you can feel in your stomach. With overtones at A4, G#5, F6, B6. Overtone: Perfect A above Middle C (432 Hz Scale) – 432 Hz.


Shape of the World is a procedurally generated game where the world grows around you as you explore the dreamy environments. The object of the game is to deliberately get yourself lost and feel the subsequent delight of eventually finding your way. Brought to you by Canadian-based game developer Hollow Tree Games.
The artwork and environments are colourful, with abstract shapes interspersed throughout. As a testament to the game's stunning beauty, this art print is a screenshot from the actual game itself.


Arriving at my first #MKGO, I wasn't really sure what to expect. For a networking event that already promised to ditch cringey name tags and offer a free bar, I was intrigued. I was surprised to see such a mix of digital marketers from all sorts of backgrounds – SEO, PPC, Content, Copywriting, Digital PR, and digital software developers – alongside smaller businesses looking to pick up some tips and advice from the sessions.
This was Digital PR Consultant Aliyah Loughlan's top PR tip. Aliyah said the best press pitches are those that understand their business' "why" and story, so can resonate with the magazine or website's readers – I 100% agree, it is the same goal as the journalist writing the story!
It's important to slice information in different ways for different audiences, according to TravelSupermarket's Rob Kingdom. Rob's point evolved through a Q&A discussion and explored how a certain degree of customers' recommendations or decision-making conversations will be in encrypted environments like WhatsApp, that brands will not be able to access in the future. Something I hadn't really considered up until this point, it'll be interesting to see how brands tap into those conversations.
There's a psychology of language and persuasion, and this is very apparent in PR, said Aira's Aoife O'Connor. Apparently there are two systems in our brain, one subconscious and impulsive, and one logical and deliberate. Different PR stories – case studies and research or statistics – appeal to different parts of these brains.
Host a session with a group of people (that reflect all demographics) to understand what it is that you're trying to say to press – is it news? Would they care to read about it? If not, don't waste their time or yours. It's not always easy when you work closely in-house or on your own brand to step back and see your proposition from an outside perspective.
Aoife mentioned the power of case studies, and this is so important if you're trying to cut through the noise with your brand or company name. Do you have a story of a customer you have really helped that you can share? Think about how you can illustrate your concept. People are much more likely to read about how a retailer's jeans have transformed someone's body confidence, than a brand saying its jeans are the best yet.
Journalists are human too. If they take the time to write about your brand or company or client, don't just leave it there – thank them. It starts a meaningful relationship. Too many get sidetracked on the success and impact of media coverage before remembering to thank the journalist who helped you get there!
A big thank you and shoutout to the organisers of #MKGO – Aira Digital – for a fantastic and insightful event. It was great to meet so many people from the digital marketing industry under one roof! Consider me signed up to the 6th event in October already.
Let us know if you were at MKGO. What were your top takeaways? Comment below or tweet us at @iThinkMediaUK.


We are in a purposeful and profound passage for our Ascension. The consistent reminder has been to forge ahead with the creation of the New, rather than watch the old realities burn. Remember this, as entanglement in the illusions playing out become challenging for the unawakened (and for some on the path as well).
Many are attaining the goals of their Ascension process, which co-creates new realities to be available to the collective. This is an act of Wayshowership; blazing the paths which others may follow by choice. Our experiences are Divine, and often bizarre, as we expand the parameters for our realties. We continue to expand into new experiences, consistently releasing the grip of the old illusion. The past is disappearing. Time becomes very fluid as the emotional attachment to the past or the future dissolves. All becomes the Now, in order for us to become pure conduits in the Now of absolute Presence.
To prepare for a new experience in the higher realms of consciousness, we apply core Ascension principles in pursuit of Divine Neutrality and Pure Service. This keeps us open and aligned with the New as it presents. Every Soul has an agenda for their Ascension, which often depends on how awakened the lower Self becomes along the journey. Once the Lower Self consciously chooses to participate in an Ascension process, the journey accelerates to accommodate higher and higher levels of consciousness. Willingness and active participation keep us available to the New as the Shift progresses.
The key to every Christic Ascension process is Love; the frequency of pure Light and its application across the multidimensional realms of experience. We are consistently challenged to raise our vibration, the level of photonic light within our cells, fields and Heart center throughout the process. So how do we know if we are accomplishing what our Soul set out to do here?
This classic question challenges us to love one another as a primary function of Divinity, and a key to the Gateway of Higher existence. However it also demonstrates a full comprehension of discernment rather than judgment. Judgment is the dualistic habit of deciding what is right/wrong, good/bad, yes/no. Discernment utilizes wisdom to choose what serves the highest interests of all concerned, including your own Ascension experience. The lesson of Unconditional Love demonstrates whatever is within shall be reflected in your external reality. The Universe of Ascended SourceSelf you are creating revolves around the pure vibration of Unconditional Love.
This is a question for dimensional-shifting preparedness. Many are addicted to the old reality, old beliefs, old fears and use it as their default experience. When you disconnect from old programs, your reality becomes a completely different experience. There is a profound sense of freedom, and a tremendous clearing of cellular structures, which opens us for DNA transmutation. This is the *Walking in this world but not of it* state. Review your remaining entanglements and agreements. Your lifestream is energy – monitor where that energy flows; Do your thoughts, activities, purchases, conversations, relationships flow to the New structures rather than the old?
Divine service activates the Creator Self, pure Love, and releases the old dogma of martyrdom or savior dynamics. This is dedication on a cosmic scale; you experience freedom from the waiting game, engaging with Divine patience, neutrality, highest interests of the collective and Gaia, and an active participation in the creation of new realties. At some point in your journey, Service to others and Source will be the only thing that makes Sense.
The questions are intended to give perspective on what is being accomplished here on Gaia. They are basic to the Ascension process. With the distractions of the current frequency influx and timeline shifts, it is good to realign with the nigher intentions often. We focus on stability to balance the collective angst, we send forth more LoveLight and Unity to raise the collective into the New realities available.