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Saks E-Commerce Business Pairs Robots With Workers
Saks Fifth Avenue said it is using technology to support its growth strategy.
WSJ | CIO Journal
Seven months after launching its stand-alone e-commerce unit, Saks Fifth Avenue said Tuesday it has started shipping online orders from a high-tech Pennsylvania warehouse, deploying dozens of autonomous robots programmed to help workers find Giambattista Valli gowns and Christian Louboutin pumps.
With its new team of robots and the advanced facility, both operated by
GXO Logistics Inc.,
Saks is aiming to keep up with skyrocketing online sales.
Over the past year, the luxury department-store chain joined a growing list of traditional retailers that ramped up e-commerce services and other digital capabilities during the Covid-19 pandemic, and have since been flooded by stay-at-home shoppers.
The 400,000-square-foot Middletown, Pa., facility, located roughly 10 miles southeast of Harrisburg, Pa., already serves multiple businesses. Saks is something of an anchor tenant, taking up more than half of the working space, GXO's Chief Information Officer
Sandeep Sakharkar
said. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
"Advances in robotics, coupled with fast evolving AI and machine learning capabilities, have created exciting possibilities in automated warehouse design," Mr. Sakharkar said. Among other benefits, many of these advances enable fulfillment-center operators to boost efficiency and speed up deliveries, he said.
Mr. Sakharkar said robots being used by Saks—known as cobots, because they collaborate with human workers—stand roughly 4 feet tall and move about the warehouse on wheels. The robots are equipped with large computer screens, which are used to display images of items that workers need to gather for an order. By tapping software trained on the store's catalog of products, the robots can rapidly cross-reference incoming orders with a map of product locations in the warehouse and quickly guide workers to the items. From there, workers pick up the items and route them to the appropriate delivery bay, he said.
The system helps move goods through the fulfillment process on average twice as fast as manual processes alone, according to Mr. Sakharkar. "It's very efficient," he said.
That kind of speed will be crucial for online retailers, like Saks, as they gird for what is expected to be a busy holiday shopping season.
"The decision to accelerate the expansion of our fulfillment network with the Middletown facility enables us to support our growing customer demand into the peak holiday season and beyond," said Na Li, Saks's senior vice president of e-commerce shipping and logistics.
Saks has leveraged automated fulfillment tools in the past, Ms. Li said. The move to the new high-tech facility is part of a broader plan to boost the retailer's use of advanced digital technology to support an aggressive growth strategy, she said. "We are focused on innovating and elevating the entire experience," she said, "from how customers discover our offering, to how they engage with us, to how the product arrives at their home and beyond."
In March, Saks owner HBC split off the store's e-commerce business into a separate entity, selling a minority stake to venture-capital firm Insight Partners. The online unit at the time had about $1 billion in annual sales.
Over the past two years—from the second quarter of 2019 to the same period this year—the e-commerce unit's gross merchandise value, a measure of sales, increased 82%, Ms. Li said.
The rapid growth of e-commerce is also getting a push from Covid-19, which sparked a jump in online sales at department stores across the industry. Even as vaccines make it safer to return to physical stores, many customers across the retail industry are sticking to online shopping habits picked up during pandemic lockdowns and other restrictions.
The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team.
The National Retail Federation expects U.S. online and non-store sales this year to grow as much as 23% from 2020, to roughly $1.13 trillion, the trade group said in June.
In another sign of its own booming online sales, Saks is planning to take its e-commerce unit public, targeting a valuation of roughly $6 billion, triple what it was pegged at earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reported last week citing people familiar with the matter.
The volume of orders handled at the Middletown facility alone is expected to surge in the months ahead, Ms. Li said.
"We've managed holiday peaks for decades," said GXO's Mr. Sakharkar. "Advancements in technology are enabling greater precision in inventory management," he said. Pairing workers with robots is "a winning combination," he added.
Write to Angus Loten at [email protected]
https://www.wsj.com/articles/saks-e-commerce-business-pairs-robots-with-workers-11635292990
Posted in E-commerceTagged #business #ECommerce #Pairs #Robots #Saks #Workers
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The Rain Break for Chennai should extend till Christmas possibly, with only occasional isolated rains on the cards for extreme North TN. As things stand the rains would be restricted to around Pondy / Villupuram Latitude in the days to come. The earliest decent chance of some good rains for Chennai is when possibly a potential disturbance in the Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify and move in a NW direction towards Peninsular India around Christmas time. This aside the rain prospects are going to be far and few.
It would be prudent for the Government of Tamil Nadu to keep in mind North TN is going to face a firm deficit proposition for the third year in a row and plan accordingly for the summer. As one would see in the map below and the table the deficit for the districts of Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, Tiruvannamalai & Vellore have no firm prospects of reducing in what ever remaining days to manageable levels.
The lake levels around Chennai are not any better compared to last year and is bound to be under stress for the coming summer. We hope for the sake of Chennai the expected disturbance around Christmas time indeed happens and possibly moves closer to North TN coast as models predict.


Today marked the final day of the 3rd quarter, always one of the best milestones in the school year. In addition, as though on cue, the weather seems to have finally turned a corner leading to what looks to be a string of unbroken 50 degree days on the horizon. The seniors toiled well in their penultimate library visit as they attempted to finish their notecards by the deadline while the juniors enjoyed some time reading the classic tale of growing up that unites us all (aka To Kill a Mockingbird).
While the time has flown by, it's always interesting to see how much the students have grown over the year. Not in size or in quality of work, but rather in dynamic, in culture, in maturity, and in sufficiency. Because the research project is a required element of the class, the seniors are leaving nothing to chance and pouring themselves into making sure this final hurdle is done right. These are the same students who couldn't figure out how to sign in to Google Drive back in August, and now they're cross referencing their notes with online databases to synthesize original arguments augmented by literary criticism.
So while it's still only Thursday, and still only March, and still only 50 degrees, and still 4 days away from Opening Day, there is hope in the air. The fourth quarter is upon us at midnight. Between you and me, I've been waiting all year for this.


When Amazon announced that it is searching for a city to host a second headquarters, cities across the country lunged at the opportunity. Media releases, slick marketing pieces, and even some goofy social media stunts were soon rolling out of cities from Boston to Los Angeles, including a few communities here in North Carolina. Lost in the initial rush to lure a potentially multi-billion dollar project, is the very real risk that the deal could deepen existing economic problems, not fix them, and could create even more distance between affluent white color workers and the rest of the Research Triangle.
While many workers and retirees in Raleigh would see little or no direct benefit from Amazon locating here, the costs could be very real. A new analysis by the real estate search company Zillow estimates that the median rent could increase by more than $300 a year if Amazon locates in the Raleigh. With gentrification and increasing housing costs already driving families from their homes in many parts of Raleigh, this new hit could be devastating. According to the NC Housing Coalition, over 105,000 households (28 percent of all households) in Wake County already struggle to afford a roof over their heads, so accelerating the rise of housing prices could force even more families, working people, and retirees to move out of their neighborhoods.
Amazon often touts the highly-paid jobs that it will create, but history shows that a huge share of those positions would go to people who don't yet live in North Carolina. Amazon fills its best and most lucrative jobs with talent from around the world, so there's no guarantee that it will create many opportunities for communities and families where the need is greatest. That means that most working and retired people in Raleigh could face escalating housing costs but incomes that are not growing apace, eventually squeezing them out of communities they may have known for decades, or generations.
Wherever Amazon lands, that community better be ready to counteract this economic pressure that can transform working communities into exclusive affluent enclaves. The process has already played out in San Francisco and Seattle and is starting to happen in a few places in North Carolina, the Research Triangle being the most advanced case. If Amazon partners with local communities to create inclusive and sustainable development, great, but if the company is just looking for a hand-out while fueling the winds of gentrification, we can do better.


Size: 36 x 48.25 in.
With her figuratives, Magdalena focusses on the representation of the feminine form. These works are not intended to be self-portraits, yet are more an expression of her own internal states of being. As each work develops somewhat akin to participating in a film where she is both the subject and the director, the figures grow, move and develop. Until they reach a point where Magdalena feels the composition has captured something fundamental about her perceived reality.
The end results may be highly dynamic and playful, concentrating more on the representation of motion. Or they can be far more static and thoughtful, with more focus on the use of colour and texture. Magdalena tends to stick to the abstract form for the majority of each painting, with one or two areas that become more life-like.
Would you like to know more about Magdalena Morey, what drives and inspires her as an artist? Consider reading our Blog about our meeting with her in Aranjuez, Spain. Perhaps you are also interested in reading about some of our other artists, like expressionist artist Bea Garding Schubert, or Canadian artist, Donna Winn. Enjoy!
Like Magdalena's style but can't find what you are looking for? Contact us for a commissioned work by this very talented artist. Alternatively, you can browse her website. Please contact us if you see something you like and let us do the work for you. The works will be shipped straight from the artist and you'll receive a 10% discount off her listed price if you purchase through us.


...speaking of media. never thought you'd hear me say this but take a look at the front page of today's times. expose on jean shepherd getting inducted into the national radio hall of fame. shepherd of jean shepherd center fame in hammond actually got his start here at wjob in good old hohman, er, hammond, indiana.
...not one word of this 80-year-old radio station anywhere in that 1000-word article.
...if you gotta ask why, then you wouldn't understand anyhows. i used to write for those guys and hang out in the sports department and i know how it works over there. think about it. the times has had the calumet region to itself for more than a decade. here we come last year with this big plan to give you guys a true local media.
...sit back and enjoy the entertainment. it hasn't even started to get interesting.
...cal bellamy put his name in for the rda appointment from the county. you'd think he'd be a shoe-in because he is after all one of the most trusted people in lake county.
...but cal hears there's gonna be another name thrown into the hat today or tomorow and that person might even be more qualified.


kourtney kardashian and scott disick kiss together in beverly hills. That time reporters and photographers cover the kiss from hiding place. Help them to kiss without taking any photograph. Click photographer to avoid taking photos .If they took photos you will loss a life. Fill the kiss loader within the time limit to move further level.
Kourtney Kardashian And Scott Disick Kisses is a free online boy, girl, girls, love game. Here you can play online games and find a lot of boy, girl, girls, love, kisses games in different category like games and more.
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Q: Conditionally do a partial refresh on an XPage I have an application that runs a timer script that does a click on an action button when it times out. The action button is hidden by display:none. on the action button I do a partial refresh on panelButtonBar from the onClick event. This all works great except part of what the onClick event does is sets a viewScope variable based on the condition of the document. The viewScope variable is vsIsLocked and can be either true or false. If the value is true I don't want the panelButtonBar refreshed. I created a field that does nothing called dummyField and added the following to the definition of the partial refresh:
(viewScope.get("vsIsLocked")) ? "dummyField" : "panelButtonBar"

by putting dBar.info statements in the code that is by the onClick of the action Button I know that it is running on schedule, I also know that the value of vsIsLocked has changed from true to false, but the panelButtonBar does not refresh. As I said if I take the conditional statement out and just do a partial refresh of panelButtonBar the refresh works, the conditional partial refresh does not. I believe my js correct. I tried:
(viewScope.get("vsIsLocked")) ? "" : "panelButtonBar"

but then the partial refresh seems to run as a total refresh.

A: You might be a little caught in "what gets refreshed when". The (viewScope.get("vsIsLocked")) ? "dummyField" : "panelButtonBar" sits in your hidden button and gets computed when that button refreshes. When you "press" the button however you either refresh the dummyField or the panelButtonBar, but not the button itself. So your condition doesn't get evaluated.
You can try put your hidden button into the panelButtonBar or target your refresh at something that includes both.
Update
The target property is only evaluated on page load, so you would need to have one button each for your refresh targets hard wired and compute the rendered property. So when it refreshes a different button is sent to the browser each time. You could use a custom control with a parameter array for the targets, so you only have one control in your UI

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Heralded as one of the most innovative Realtors in the Chicagoland area, John Oertel's career is one laden with accomplishments. In 2009, after stepping away from a seven-year stint in the mortgage industry, Oertel made a name for himself early on, standing out as the Chicago Association of Realtors' Rookie of the Year. He's been recognized as one of the association's top producers every year since, and is certified as a continuing education instructor.
Oertel is quick to attribute his success to a long-established penchant for working until the job is done – something apparent if you've ever heard his motto, "Hard work pays off!" – but his record tells a story not just of dedication to his clients, but also compassion.
When Oertel first stepped away from mortgages, joining Compass and forming The Oertel Group, he vowed to "tackle the distressed market head-on," and co-founded Home Solutions as a means to an end. After five years, the organization has helped hundreds of families avoid foreclosure.
Early success helped elevate Oertel's career and ultimately led to the expansion of his client base, which now includes luxury and international buyers and sellers, as well as investors and developers.
Oertel said that the amount of business in Chicago lets him focus on challenging himself, rather than his fellow agents, adding, "thinking creatively, working hard and being innovative have been the keys to my success."
The challenges Oertel faces today are the unique ones hidden in the minutiae of individual listings.
"No matter what the situation is, I always find a way to give my client what they want," he says. "Regardless of the transaction, whether representing a buyer or seller, you can bet I'm going to get my client exactly what they are looking for."


After the fog lifted this morning it was a really nice day.
I am thinking – The children went to bed remarkably easy tonight.
From the learning rooms – The ant farm is neat.
I am thankful for- Fun friends. I enjoy having some really interesting ladies to talk to, with, at… depending on my mood.
From the kitchen – Comes the sounds of the dishwasher, very quiet thrumming.
I am wearing – My plum sweater and brown pants.
I am reading – Something new.
I am hoping – That the children cooperate tomorrow for pictures.
I am creating – Christmas cards.
I am hearing – Ash getting out of the shower.
Around the house – All is quiet and calm.
One of my favorite things – A glass of red wine.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week – Picture time for the younger children, daddy getting home on Saturday, hopefully the butterflies come in this week.
Josh got the "Good Brush" award at the dentist.
So we went to pick up his gift card and get his picture taken.
You are currently reading The Simple Woman's Daybook – November 17, 2008 at Simply Catholic.


A backcountry skier's dream, the Flat Mountain Yurt offers access to exceptional terrain that includes a 2500-3000' drop off into the Chama River Basin. Extended touring intermingled with amazing turns provides for plenty of variety as you cut fresh tracks through the powder. If a steadier pace is your bag, the exhilarating views are also accessible to snowshoers.
The yurt lies below the ridge that separates the upper Wolf Creek drainage and the Chama River basins. Yurt to Yurt skiing is an option, as the Flat Mountain and Trujillo Meadows Yurts share the same trailhead. From Flat Mountain Yurt you can even do a tour to the Neff Mountain and Trujillo Meadows Yurts.
Winter: 4.5 mile ski in with 1000' elevation gain tour to the Yurt. The route gains steadily from Cumbres Pass. The route is along well marked trails with no avalanche danger.
If adrenaline is your thing, ascend the ridge above the yurts and drop into the Chama River Basin. The ridge also offers a pleasant route to Flat Mountain with spectacular views into the Chama River Basin. Or, do a yurt to yurt trip between Flat Mountain Yurt and the Neff Mountain or Trujillo Meadows Yurts. Better yet, hit all three!
On Colorado 17, 0.2 miles north of Cumbres Pass or 7.2 miles south of La Manga Pass, at the junction with FR 118, the Trujillo Meadows Reservoir Road.
The route follows the north ridge of Wolf Creek Drainage then on through meadows and woods along a well-marked trail.


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The end is close; the best digital initiatives will outlive the pandemic
After more than 12 months of uncertainty, the opportunity for businesses to regain a bit of control over what comes next is a welcome one. As an extrovert, I won't lie, I have found the snakes and ladders of lockdown iterations enormously frustrating.
For some, it's been a year of disruption and adaptation. Others have discovered fresh opportunities in the situations thrown up by the pandemic.
A recent report from Twilio makes it clear that digital communications have taken on new importance for all businesses.
As many as 87% of those enterprise decision makers surveyed for the 2021 State of Customer Engagement report said that digital comms have been critical to their survival over the course of the pandemic; while almost everyone (96%) admit that not digitising would have negatively impacted their business.
Furthermore, when it came to the build, 46% of respondents said it look LESS time to implement during the pandemic.
Pivoting in the pandemic
When pubs were shut last year, BrewDog – which has steadily grown its network of franchise branches since purchasing its first bar in 2009 – was faced with a huge problem.
The brewer could still sell in supermarkets and off-licenses, and it had already established a fledgling online direct-to-consumer (D2C) operation in 2018, but these relatively small parts of the business were now responsible for supporting the entire company.
So, while the beer brand used its distilleries to produce hand sanitiser at the beginning of the pandemic (and later offered its pub spaces to serve as vaccination clinics), it also ramped up its D2C operation to compensate for losing 70% of its business overnight.
Having been a relatively small part of the business' offering, the ecommerce arm has grown exponentially – with hundreds of thousands of new customers opting for the service in 2020.
Key to this expansion has been BrewDog's efforts to make the online purchase process as easy and accessible as possible. The positive customer reception opened up more direct sales opportunities, with the brewer opening drive-thru collection points.
Now, having weathered the worst and with the reopening of bars in sight, BrewDog is in the enviable position of emerging from the pandemic with a strong, growing multi-channel sales offering to go with its established brick and mortar bars.
Building on unforeseen successes
Closer to home, specialist motorcycle insurance provider Bennetts found itself in an urgent position after being sold by Saga in 2020.
The sale meant the company would need to migrate its entire customer service operation (a vital part of the business) onto a new digital platform – and fast.
Starting in October 2020, Zing was able to migrate the insurer's 100-strong agent team in time for the new year. But that was just the beginning.
The beauty of a custom build solution is that it's possible to keep developing new complementary additions.
That's a trend that bears out in Twilio's research too.
Nearly all (94%) of the EMEA respondents to Twilio's Customer Engagement survey say they plan to increase, or at least maintain, their investment in customer engagement after the pandemic.
Businesses plan to add an average of three new channels in the next year, with live chat the most popular option (closely followed by video, in-app chat, and interactive voice response).
Maintaining a digital-first approach post-pandemic
However, further research reveals that even those businesses embracing the digital challenges and opportunities thrown up by the pandemic aren't always utilising developer teams to their full potential.
Fewer than half (47%) of the respondents in a separate Twilio-commissioned survey said that they involve developers from the beginning stages of a project.
This approach limits opportunities to build on your existing digital communications offering, or anything that you've newly created (whether as a result of disruption or not).
With more clarity about what the future holds, it's important that businesses continue to prioritise the digital-first approach that's seen so many able to survive – and in some cases thrive – during an unusually challenging 12 months.
At Zing, we have not had the year we expected, but like many of our customers, we've moved forwards despite everything that's thrown at us. If you asked us pre-pandemic if a discovery workshop could be done remotely, we'd have scoffed. But that's exactly what we're now able to do, and actually for some situations now believe it's actually a preferable way of working.
If you would like to learn more about how we help businesses large and small to digitise their communications and move to the cloud, get in touch with me at julian.hucker@zing.dev

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Nigerian midfielder Stephen Sunday has announced his departure from Major Soccer League club Real Salt Lake.
Sunday joined Real Salt Lake in 2016 and has spent the past three seasons playing in the North American top flight.
The 30-year-old also told the Salt Lake Tribune that the club did not take up an option on his contract.
Known as 'Sunny', the Nigerian made 25 appearances and contributed with one assist as Real Salt Lake reached the 2018 MLS Cup playoffs, where they were beaten 5-3 on aggregate by Sporting Kansas City.
A box-to-box midfielder, Sunday played for eight different clubs before joining Real Salt Lake, including Polideportivo Ejido, Valencia, Osasuna, Betis, Numancia, Bnei Sakhnin, CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria and Alanyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig.
He has not played for Nigeria's senior national team since making his international debut against Guinea in October 2010.


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Norrbo och Västansjö är en av SCB avgränsad och namnsatt tätort i Ludvika kommun Tätortens centrala del utgörs av en utdragen by i Grangärde socken  belägen vid västra stranden av Bysjön, bestående av bebyggelse i Södra Västansjö, Järnsta och Norra Västansjö. Till tätorten hör sedan även byn Norrbo.

Västansjö hytta

I byn finns resterna av en mulltimmerhytta. Den första hyttan byggdes här i början av 1630-talet, troligen 1631, enligt en inventering från 1694 över "Hyttor i Grängies socken" Då hyttan var ny beräknades järnproduktionen ha legat omkring 4 skeppund per blåsning, c:a 800 kg.

Järnproduktionen hade vid 1750-talet ytterligare förbättrats till omkring 20 skeppund per blåsning. Före hyttans ombyggnad, då även vattentillförseln utvidgades och dämningar byggdes om och till, synes driftstiderna varit korta och anpassade till vatten och koltillgång. Enligt 1737 års Bergmästarrelation anpassad enligt: "Hwartill egne skogar och vattendräkten någorlunda förslå". Så småningom räckte kol från de egna skogarna inte till längre utan måste inköpas till höga kostnader. År 1885 skedde den sista blåsningen i denna hytta. Idag anses Västansjö hytta vara den äldsta bevarade mulltimmerhyttan i Västerbergslagen.

Befolkningsutveckling

Referenser

Externa länkar

Västansjö Hytta

Orter i Ludvika kommun
Tätorter i Sverige
Svenska järnbruk

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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'The Family' Premiere Wish List
Dianna Agron fell off the red carpet circuit for a while but reappeared recently during the Giffoni Film Festival wearing a cute Prada printed frock to promote 'The Family' at the festival. If there is a big premiere anywhere in the world, one is not slated in LA or London to my knowledge at this moment, I think that this navy blue Carolina Herrera Resort 2014 strapless cocktail dress with a large lace hem would be the perfect look on her. The dress is simple yet lady like which is the kind of look that Dianna wears best. Complete the look with a pair of white sandals and a simple hairstyle and Dianna will definitely have a winning look on her hands.
Michelle Pfeiffer is one of those women like Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren who just seem to get better and better with age and not resort the the stereotypical old lady frocks and still know how to exude sex appeal in their fifties and sixties. For a premiere of 'The Family' I think that this black and gold Donna Karan Resort 2014 top and skirt are perfect for the 55 year old actress with out being too matronly and still keeping a hint of sex appeal. Finish the look with a pair of black pumps and a black and gold clutch and Michelle will have all eyes on her as she walks the red carpet.
Author Thomas James MonksPosted on August 29, 2013 March 11, 2016 Categories Movie Premiere, Red Carpet Wish List, UncategorizedTags Carolina Herrera, Dianna Agron, Donna Karan, Michelle PfeifferLeave a comment on 'The Family' Premiere Wish List
'Insidious Chapter 2' Premiere Wish List
If anyone could bring some glamour to the premiere of a horror film Rose Byrne is it. I am hoping that if 'Insidious Chapter 2' gets a red carpet premiere that the stunning Australian beauty will rock the red carpet in a stunning design that would make me swoon. This white Altuzarra Resort 2014 long sleeved cocktail dress with a split up to there this dress is elegant and sexy all at the same time. I would not pair this dress with the fur stole on the red carpet, but I would pair this with a white and gold Bulgari clutch, a pair of gold Diane von Furstenberg mesh sandals, and simple gold jewels would be the way that I would finish this look for Rose for this premiere.
Author Thomas James MonksPosted on August 28, 2013 March 10, 2016 Categories Movie Premiere, Red Carpet Wish List, UncategorizedTags Altuzarra, Rose ByrneLeave a comment on 'Insidious Chapter 2' Premiere Wish List
'Rush' London Premiere Wish List
Recently former 'House' star Olivia Wilde has been experimenting with a lot of bold patterns on the red carpet, which is a welcome change from the all black looks that she was rocking on the red carpet for the longest time. While I do love the bold prints for the premiere of her newest film 'Rush' in London on September 2nd, I think that this black and white Alexandre Vauthier Fall 2013 Couture cowel neck cocktail dress would be the perfect choice for her. I think that this is classy with a whole lot of sexy. On the wrong person this dress would go the wrong way into tacky-ville, but on Olivia I think that this dress would be sexy and sophisticated. Finish the look with a black and gold Kotur art deco clutch and a pair of black and gold Versace sandals and Olivia will definitely have a perfect look for this premiere in London.
Author Thomas James MonksPosted on August 27, 2013 March 10, 2016 Categories Movie Premiere, Red Carpet Wish List, UncategorizedTags Alexandre Vauthier, Olivia WildeLeave a comment on 'Rush' London Premiere Wish List
'Diana' Premieres Wish List
Naomi Watts will start her journey to the 2014 Academy Awards soon as she starts to premiere her biopic 'Diana' based upon the life of the famed Princess Diana. From the promotional images that have come from this film the resemblance between the two is absolutely undeniable but I do not believe that Naomi will go down the imitation path during the promo tour for this film. I know for sure that 'Diana' will have a gala premiere in London on September 5th and I am guessing that it will also premiere in New York. For the New York premiere I would dress the blonde beauty in this structured ZAC Zac Posen Resort 2014 ink blue peplum dress. Naomi and Zac Posen are actually good friends and she wears his designs all the time so it will come a surprise to me if she doesn't pull out a look from him during the promotional tour for this film. Finish this look with a matching blue Judith Leiber clutch, a pair of black sandals, and some stunning Chopard diamonds would complete this perfect look for the New York premiere. For London, where I am expecting a huge fan turnout, I think that this cream draped Chanel Resort 2014 gown would be the perfect choice. I am absolutely in love with this absolutely stunning ensemble and I can't believe that it hasn't been snatched up but that may just be because it is on reserve for Naomi for this promotional tour. A Kotur white lace and gold 'Margo' clutch, a pair of gold Chanel sandals, a pair of pearl stud earrings, and a pearl wrist cuff and Naomi will have herself another stunning look for the 'Diana' peremieres.
Author Thomas James MonksPosted on August 26, 2013 March 10, 2016 Categories Movie Premiere, Red Carpet Wish List, UncategorizedTags Chanel, Naomi Watts, ZAC Zac PosenLeave a comment on 'Diana' Premieres Wish List
2013 Emmy Awards: E! Live From The Red Carpet Team Wish List
At any of the major red carpets, be it the Golden Globe, SAG, Grammy, Academy, or Emmy Awards, the E! Live from the Red Carpet team usually dons two looks one for the Countdown to the Red Carpet and one for the actual red carpet. Guliana Rancic is the lead lady on the red carpet with Ryan Seacrest during the actual red carpet and is front and center with her 'Fashion Police' co-stars Kelly Osbourne and George Kotsiopoulos during the pre-show. During the pre-show we get to see more of what Guliana is wearing so I chose to put the skinny Italian beauty in this Zuhair Murad Resort 2014 flowing chiffon gown. I think that this dress is absolutely amazing and I think that it would be the perfect look for the pre-show. For the red carpet where you usually just see G from about the bust line up I think that this red Andrew Gn Resort 2014 strapless gown with an elegant embellished bust would be perfect yet simple as to not totally steal the show from the celebrities that she is interviewing. As Guliana only has like 3 minuites to completely change I think that pairing both dresses with a pair of gold Jimmy Choo embellished sandals and a few select yellow gold and diamond jewels and she will have her perfect looks for the 2013 Emmy Awards.
Guliana's 'Fashion Police' co-star Kelly Osbourne will also be seen at the 2013 Emmy Awards during the live E! coverage with the pre-show and the live red carpet. For the pre-show I think that this amazing grey Pamella Roland Fall 2013 RTW one shoulder mermaid gown would be perfect for the purple haired star. While I am not a supporter of her massive purple growth that she sports growing out of her head but I do not see it changing any time soon. And for the live red carpet event where we will most likely see Kelly sitting on a balcony over looking the red carpet commenting on the red carpet looks of all of the celebrities I would love to see her wear this watercolor purple Dennis Basso Resort 2014 ballgown. This dress would look really pretty puffed out while she is sitting in her directors chair. Again, like Guliana, she doesn't have that much time to change so I am going to recomend that Kelly wear a pair of silver Giuseppe Zanotti sandals and some simple diamond accessories in her ears and wrist and Kelly will have her winning looks for the event.
Author Thomas James MonksPosted on August 25, 2013 March 10, 2016 Categories Emmy Awards, Red Carpet Wish List, UncategorizedTags Andrew Gn, Dennis Basso, Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne, Pamella Roland, Zuhair MuradLeave a comment on 2013 Emmy Awards: E! Live From The Red Carpet Team Wish List
2013 Emmy Awards: Oustanding Host in a Reality Series Wish List
Cat Deeley has been a regular on the Emmy Awards red carpet and here, like most of her red carpet appearances, she almost exclusively wears Monique Lhuillier. I am going to be surprised if she chooses another brand to wear for this years ceremony where she is nominated for Outstanding Host in a Reality Series for her position on 'So You Think You Can Dance.' I think that this navy blue embellished Monique Lhuillier Resort 2014 gown is perfect for the blonde British actress. This is a sexy yet elegant gown that Cat would just look perfect on the red carpet with a black Edie Parker clutch, a pair of black embellished sandals, and some simple diamond accessories.
Last year Heidi Klum took to the red carpet at the 2012 Emmy Awards wearing an aqua blue Alexandre Vauthier gown with head to toe accessories that matched perfectly. She looked like German sex-pot Barbie and at 40 that just doesn't work anymore. Heidi can still be sexy but doesn't need to dress like she is 25 anymore. I think that this white Alexandre Vauthier Fall 2013 Couture gown with a deep v, broad shoulders, long sleeves, and a thigh high slit would be the perfect choice to still be sexy yet sophisticated. Complete this look with a pair of silver Christian Louboutin sandals, some stunning Lorraine Schwartz earrings, and a statement Lorraine Schwartz cocktail ring and I believe that Heidi will redeem herself on the red carpet.
Author Thomas James MonksPosted on August 23, 2013 March 10, 2016 Categories Emmy Awards, Red Carpet Wish List, UncategorizedTags Alexandre Vauthier, Cat Deeley, Heidi Klum, Monique LhuillierLeave a comment on 2013 Emmy Awards: Oustanding Host in a Reality Series Wish List
2013 Emmy Awards: Oustanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Wish List
This is the first time I have featured Anna Chlumsky on If I Was A Stylist and she earned a spot by having been on the red carpet in the past and garnering herself a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her HBO Series 'VEEP.' I am going into this pick blind basically as she has never really had any major red carpet spots. For the 2013 Emmy Awards I think that this simple red Pamella Roland Fall 2013 RTW gown would be the perfect choice. It's a simple dress that would look at place on any awards show red carpet. Keep the look simple with a black clutch and black pumps like I am sure that she will do and Anna will have a very pretty look for the 2013 Emmy Awards red carpet.
Jane Lynch is a hysterical actress but has a very boxy build that a lot of the time she tries to over compensate on the red carpet with very girly gowns which just do not suit her. For the 2013 Emmy Awards, 'Glee's' Sue Sylvester, nominated for the role for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, should grab up this dove-y lavender Rami Al Ali Fall 2013 Couture gown. Jane has snatched up a few gowns by the designer in the past and usually had a good result. I think that this gown is the perfect mix of Jane's laid back style and a glamorous gown. Keep the look simple by just adding a pair of silver satin pumps and maybe a matching clutch but that is is to keep this look as simple as possible as Jane looks her best when she keeps things simple.
'Modern Family' star Julie Bowen is one of my favorite television stars to see on the red carpet because she really tries to keep up with the hard hitting Hollywood stars. For the 2013 Emmy Awards where she is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her hit television comedy I would love to see her wear this Andrew Gn Resort 2014 ballgown. I think that this gown with its green and yellow bustier and black skirt is perfect for the event and for Julie. Finish the look with a yellow clutch, a pair of black sandals, and some stunning diamond jewelry and Julie will have an absolutely amazing red carpet ensemble for the 2013 Emmy Awards.
Author Thomas James MonksPosted on August 22, 2013 March 10, 2016 Categories Emmy Awards, Red Carpet Wish List, UncategorizedTags Andrew Gn, Anna Chlumsky, Jane Lynch, Julie Bowen, Pamella Roland, Rami Al AliLeave a comment on 2013 Emmy Awards: Oustanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Wish List
2013 Emmy Awards: Oustanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Wish List
Christina Hendricks has not had a good few years on the red carpet. As a voluptuous woman with large breasts and stunning nonconformist curves, she has had a hard time finding designs that compliment her body shape and when the do they usually do not compliment her pink complexion. For the 2013 Emmy Awards where Christina is nominated yet again for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role in the hit AMC television show 'Mad Men' I would love to see her take to the red carpet in this wine red Romona Kevesa Fall 2013 RTW gown that would hug her in all the right places and not make her look like she is over exposing or dumpy. Finish this look with matching satin pumps and a matching Judith Leiber crystal encrusted clutch would be the way that I would complete this look to send Christina back to the best dressed lists.
In the past two years Christine Baranski, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for 'The Good Wife,' has brought two very different looks to the red carpet. In 2011 Christine wore a navy blue Zac Posen structured gown and in 2012 she wore a sparkling gold sequined mini dress. And I just think that for this type of an event a gown is a requirement. For this years ceremony I would love to see her wear this magenta Marchesa Fall 2013 RTW gown, which did not appear on the runway but was sold with the collection in pre-order from ModaOperandi.com. I think that this sophisticated design is perfect for Christine who has an elegant look about her. I would have this made to hit the floor removing the slight fishtail hem as originally presented so that Christine would look tall and statuesque, like she is at 5'10", and not short and stumpy. Gold sandals, a gold clutch, and some simple H. Stern jewelry would complete this amazing look for the 2013 Emmy Awards.
Emilia Clarke is one of the nominated actress that I am most looking forward to seeing take to the red carpet. This year Emilia has really gown in her red carpet looks wowing me on several occasions in a bevy of different designers like ZAC Zac Posen, Victoria Beckham, Altuzarra, and Christopher Kane. But for the 2013 Emmy Awards where she is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for 'Game of Thrones' I would like to see Emilia return to the brand that put her on the fashion map, Chanel. Emilia rocked Chanel for the 2012 Screen Actors Guild and Emmy Awards and I am hoping that now that she has quite a bit of red carpet time on her hands that she will finally don a couture design for the 2013 Emmy Awards. While this navy blue Chanel Spring 2012 Couture might be a few seasons back I would still like to see Emilia wear it as it was a favorite look from this collection that never got snatched up to be donned for the red carpet. A simple satin minaudiere in navy, a pair of navy peep toe pumps, as well as simple Chanel Fine Jewelery diamonds in her ears and on her wrist will complete this amazing red carpet ensemble.
'Homeland' star Morena Baccarin, who is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for 'Homeland', really made her mark on the red carpet when she stepped out on the red carpet at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards wearing a stunning Valentino Couture gown and I am hoping that she keeps up the best dressed looks. For this years Emmy Awards I would love to see Morena wear this silver Zuhair Murad Fall 2013 Couture strapless corseted mermaid gown. On most this gown would look like a tacky pageant ensemble but on Morena Baccarin I think that this would end up looking like a modern nod to old Hollywood. Simple hair, makeup, and jewelry along with a pair of matching Jimmy Choo sandals would be the way that I would complete this look for Morena and definitely secure a place on the best dressed lists around the world.
Author Thomas James MonksPosted on August 21, 2013 March 10, 2016 Categories Emmy Awards, Red Carpet Wish List, UncategorizedTags Chanel, Christina Hendricks, Christine Baranski, Emilia Clarke, Marchesa, Morena Baccarin, Romona Keveza, Zuhair MuradLeave a comment on 2013 Emmy Awards: Oustanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Wish List
2013 Emmy Awards: Oustanding Lead Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie Wish List
After faltering from red carpet looks that I love Helen Mirren worked the red carpet and promotional trail for her film 'RED 2' last month and I am hoping that she keeps it up coming next month at the 2013 Emmy Awards. As an Academy Award winning actress Helen is one of our hopefuls to bring couture to the red carpet at this event as she is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie for her HBO film 'Phil Spector.' I think that this dove grey Elie Saab Fall 2013 Couture gown would look fantastic on the 68 year old actress. This year Helen has really decided to have fun on the red carpet. At the 2013 BAFTA Awards Helen debuted her pixie cut in a bold way with sugary sweet bubblegum pink hair and at the LA premiere of 'RED 2' under her teal Elie Saab gown she wore plexi platform stripper pumps. The youthfulness of this look comes courtesy of an open back that many actress over the age of 45 or 50 would run the other way from but I do not think that this would be the case with Helen. A silver Edie Parker clutch and who knows what shoe could be anything from her plexi stripper shoes to a pair of elegant silver sandals we would just have to wait and see what she pulls out of her hat at the Emmy Awards next month.
Jessica Lange has never been a person that I really look forward to seeing on the red carpet because she usually leaves me indifferent to her looks but I am still going to shoot out a wish for her for the 2013 Emmy Awards where she is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie for he role in the FX mini series 'American Horror Story: Asylum.' This series keeps reinventing itself every season with a whole new story line and characters with just a few members of the cast transferring from season to season. Jessica has been one of those stars that has been with the series from the start. For the 2013 Emmy Awards I would love to see Jessica wear this sapphire blue Georges Hobeika Fall 2013 RTW long sleeved gown. Unlike Helen Mirren, at 64 Jessica likes to cover up on the red carpet and she tends to look pretty just not anything spectacular. A black clutch and a pair of black pumps would be the way that I finish this look off for Jessica for the 2013 Emmy Awards late next month.
The USA series 'Political Animals' ended up being a Mini-Series but it has still garnered star Sigourney Weaver a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie for her role in the series. For this red carpet I would love to see Mrs Weaver wear this Zac Posen Fall 2013 RTW burgundy gown. I think that this is just a simple and sophisticated look for the 63 year old actress. I do not know whether or not I would pair this dress with the cape or not just because I am not sure if its too gimmicky for Sigourney. Many of my long time readers will know that I LOVE a cape on a dress but I am leaning more towards removing it for this look. A dark metallic grey clutch and a pair of matching burgundy pumps would be the way to finish this look with maybe a few select Fred Leighton jewels around the wrist and maybe in the ear.
Author Thomas James MonksPosted on August 20, 2013 March 10, 2016 Categories Emmy Awards, Red Carpet Wish List, UncategorizedTags Elie Saab, Georges Hobeika, Helen Mirren, Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Zac PosenLeave a comment on 2013 Emmy Awards: Oustanding Lead Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie Wish List
2013 Emmy Awards: Oustanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Wish List
Sometimes Amy Poehler isn't the most glamorous woman on the red carpet but she has had her moments and I am hoping that she has one of those moments on the red carpet at the 2013 Emmy Awards. Amy is once again nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in 'Parks & Recreation.' I think that this bubblegum pick Badgley Mischka Resort 2014 simple gown with waist ruching and an embellished waist band. I think Amy is at her best when she wears something that isn't overworked and just a classic design. I think that this color would be the perfect way to infuse some modernity into the ensemble. A simple silver clutch and silver sandals as well as some select simple diamonds for her ears and wrist would complete this look for her for this years Emmy Awards.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus took home the 2012 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her HBO comedy 'VEEP' and is nominated again this year in the same category. At last years ceremony Julia wore a stunning maroon Vera Wang gown and looked the best that she ever had so I am wishing for the partnership to follow onto this years event. I think that this Vera Wang Spring 2014 Bridal mermaid gown with a floral pattern embroidery would be perfect for this event. I would change the gown from ivory to be a blue color so that the look doesn't come off as bridal but I love the shape for Julia. A black clutch, black sandals, and some simple diamond dazzlers would be the way to finish off this custom look.
Oh Lena Dunham what to do with you? I am NOT a fan of her style because she hasn't learned how to dress her body shape and its sad because I think if she could get it right that she would look beautiful. I think this blue ZAC Zac Posen Resort 2014 gown with a nipped waist and a hip peplum would look really elegant on Lena for the 2013 Emmy Awards. Keep the look simple with a black clutch, black pumps, and very simple jewelry and let Lena take some baby steps to making her way feeling more and more comfortable on the red carpet.
This year will be Tina Fey's sixth and final nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Liz Lemon in the hit NBC comedy '30 Rock,' which ended its run earlier this year. I think that for this years awards show that this black rise fall Marchesa Resort 2014 gown would be perfect for Tina. With newer shows like 'Girls' and 'VEEP' I think that Tina isn't in the main line to win unless they give her the award because of the shows finale. A simple black clutch and black sandals will give Tina an awards show worthy look but one that isn't the most visually interesting. I hope that the comedy ladies don't let me down and work the Emmy's red carpet.
Author Thomas James MonksPosted on August 19, 2013 March 18, 2016 Categories Emmy Awards, Red Carpet Wish List, UncategorizedTags Amy Poehler, Badgley Mischka, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lena Dunham, Marchesa, Tina Fey, Vera Wang, ZAC Zac PosenLeave a comment on 2013 Emmy Awards: Oustanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Wish List


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This is a list of the number-one compilation albums in New Zealand for the decade of the 2010s from the Official New Zealand Music Chart, compiled by Recorded Music NZ, starting from 4 January 2010.

Number ones

Key
 – Number-one compilation album of the year

References

New Zealand compilation albums
2010s
2010s in New Zealand music


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Astronomy Day
Wool Week (2020)
Card It Weil
"Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have this wish I wish tonight."
~ Traditional
For a hearty companion dish made for stargazing for the upcoming Draconids, Orionids, and Leonids meteor showers, why not make a Cornish Stargazy pie (starrey gazey pie) made of baked pilchards or sardines, eggs and potatoes, covered with a pastry crust, out of which poke the heads (and tails) gazing skyward.
There are two designated Astronomy Days in the year, the one in fall occurs on a Saturday between mid-September and mid-October so as to be on or close to the first quarter Moon.
The next six weeks will be wonderful star gazing nights for observing meteor showers ("shooting stars" or "falling stars"), with the Draconids, Orionids, and Leonids being coming into view over the months of October and November.
Some superstitions and traditions relating to shooting stars include:
* Not pointing at the shooting star - bad luck
* Making a wish on a falling star - good luck
* Seeing a falling star on your right, good luck, on the left misfortune (though you can try to quickly adjust)
* Reciting the "Star Light, Star Bright" poem for the first evening star you see
The Draconids can be best seen in early October the Northern Hemisphere from after sunset to midnight, when Draco is at its highest point in the sky. This shower is named after the constellation of Draco, the dragon, where they appear to originate from. The meteors are the debris left over by Comet 21/P Giaconi-Zinner, which orbits the Sun every 6.6 years.
Next will be the Orionids, which come from the constellation of Orion, and can be seen from both hemispheres. They are actually already visible but will peak, like every year, on October 21-22. They are the fragments left over by Halley's comet, which orbits around the Sun every 76 years.
The Orionids will still be visible until the first week of November, when sky-gazers' attention will turn to the Leonids. The peak of this meteor shower, named after the constellation Leo from where they emerge, usually around mid-November. The shower can be seen from both hemispheres.
If you want an armchair view, visit the Virtual Telescope Project for lots of astronomical viewing opportunities year round, including these meteor showers.
And for a companion dish made for stargazing, try a Cornish Stargazy pie (sometimes called starrey gazey pie) made of baked pilchards or sardines, along with eggs and potatoes, and covered with a pastry crust.
Stargazy pie has the fish heads (and sometimes tails) protruding through the crust, so that they appear to be gazing skyward. This allows the oils released during cooking to flow back into the pie. For an elevated recipe of this humble dish, click the ceramic Stargazy pie.


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Estelle Alyce "Stella" Zolla Abbene
Family & friends are invited to attend Visiting Hours on Thursday, December 19th from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., in the Vertuccio & Smith, Home for Funerals, 773 Broadway, REVERE, for Estelle Alyce "Stella" Zolla Abbene, who passed following a brief illness on Monday, December 16 at the Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln, MA. Her funeral will be conducted from the funeral home on Friday, December 20th at 9:30 a.m., followed by a Funeral Mass in the Immaculate Conception Church (Corner of Beach St. & Winthrop Ave.) REVERE at 10:30 a.m. & immediately followed with interment at Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne.
Born & raised in Revere, she attended Revere Schools and was a 1937 Alumna of Revere High School. She continued her education at Bryant & Stratton Business School, then onto Vesper George School of Art & then finally studying at the Museum of Fine Arts. She was a member of the Copley Society of Boston & the Wayland, Marblehead & Swampscott Art Associations. During the Truman administration, she worked for the U.S. Navy Department in Washington, D.C., which won her a Citation for Meritorious Civilian Service, from the U.S. Navy in the early 1950s. "Stella" would have celebrated her 100th birthday on April 8th, 2020. "Stella" was a member of the Zolla Family, one of the first Italian settling families in Revere, along with her late husband, William Abbene whose family enjoyed the same distinction. A woman of grace and charm, she was a devotee of her lifelong Revere parish community (Immaculate Conception Parish of Revere) & was both a frequent communicant & Eucharistic minister at Immaculate Conception until moving to Brooksby Village of Peabody over 16 years ago. Estelle was an avid and competitive golfer & longstanding member of Bellevue Golf Club of Melrose. From 1960, she took on the role as an outstanding homemaker raising her daughter and working most happily on her art.
She was the beloved wife to the late William Abbene for over 46 years until his death on February 2nd, 2006. Estelle reluctantly leaves her devoted daughter Maris Louise Abbene of Medfield, and her cherished grandson, Nathaniel William Thompson & his fiancée Meaghan Hoyt of Framingham. She is the dear sister to Marion Y. Zolla of Chelsea & William R. Zolla of Danvers & the late Louise DeStefano & her husband Joseph, Evelyn Corea & her husband Frank & Frank E. Zolla, James A. Zolla, Jr. & Brother Richard P. Zolla. She is the special aunt to Ronald W. Zolla & his wife Lee, Toni Sicari & her husband Sebastian & Leslie Zolla, their children & many other Abbene family nieces & nephews. She is also lovingly survived by her brother-in-law Atty. Antonio Abbene, Jr. & his wife Florence of Revere. She was also predeceased by her parents James A. Zolla & Louise (Sessa) Zolla & her Abbene family, Dante & Marie Abbene, Benjamin & Mary Abbene & Leo & Anna Pistorino. The family is most grateful to the Care Dimensions Hospice staff, aides & nurses who lovingly cared for her, the entire Brooksby Community in Peabody where she lived for more than 16 years and most especially and eternally grateful to Dr. Anju Nohria, M.D., David Molway, N.P. & their associates at the Brigham & Women's Cardiovascular Center for their decades of extraordinary care.
Thursday, December 19th from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Friday, December 20th at 10:30 a.m. in Immaculate Conception Church, Revere
Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Pl., Memphis, TN 38105-9959
Angela Sohn
I was introduced to Estelle by my sister Nancy Ingemi who has since passed away. Estelle was such a wonderful thoughtful lady she would always ask how Nancy was doing. Regrettably I only knew her for a brief time but I will always remember her great smile and her intellectual mind. I will miss seeing her at Bellevue.
My sincere condolences


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King of the Fire Dancers
by S.T. Sterlings
When he's propositioned by a wealthy stranger, it seems Coy Conlin's impoverished life is about to be upgraded. But before he can share the news with his family, he comes home to find his grandmother murdered and his little brother missing. To make matters worse, he's thrown in prison along with every other shifter under the Sovereign's orders.
August Seaton left his laboratory job at the Asuda Registry to become a Registry officer. But after a mission with his partner goes horribly wrong, August ends up with Coy's dead grandmother on his hands, and Coy thinks he's the murderer. Worst of all, his partner discovers his secret.
August is a shifter. And now he's Coy's cellmate. Coy and August must survive each other, abusive guards, and a scientist hell-bent on forcing Coy into a breeding program.
Teamed up, the pair escape prison and journey across the country. With the Registry hot on their trail, they have enough things to worry about. Falling for each other wasn't supposed to be one of them.
King of the Fire Dancers quantity
Categories: _New Releases, Bisexual, Cisgender, Explicit, Gay, Long Novel, MM, Paranormal, Print, Romance, S.T. Sterlings, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Shift Happens Tags: abduction, captivity, enemies to lovers, shifters, slow burn
Author: S.T. Sterlings
Series: Shift Happens
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Warning: Scenes of graphic violence, instances of verbal sexual assault, and dubious consent
S.T. Sterlings © 2017
There were two things that Coy Conlin was exceptionally skilled at. The first was dancing. The second, and more unconventional, was turning into a dragon. Both were in his blood and took years of trial and error to perfect, but the former wasn't a danger to those around him. It wasn't easy maneuvering a dragon body, especially not one as big as his. Dragons had claws, scales, and fangs. He even had the misfortune of retaining his proneness to seasonal allergies, which sure as hell took explosive sneezing to a whole new level. Still, thanks to his grandmother—a dragon shifter like him—he'd mastered shifting and everything that it entailed from a young age.
Like hunting.
His prey was a slender boy with white skin and blue eyes. The boy raced past, auburn hair catching the wind and blowing about his head. He scurried through the dried grass, his pale, gangly legs kicking up dirt as he rushed to hide behind a large tree. Laughter disguised as a growl escaped Coy's mouth. As if a mere tree would provide the boy sanctuary.
Coy hated flying. Dragon or not, he preferred to keep his feet—and claws—securely grounded. But, humans were often smarter than they looked, and he knew that if he continued to creep along the ground, the boy would feel the vibrations caused by his heavy footsteps. And so, he pushed off, sharp talons grazing earth as he hovered above the coarse ground. His wings, as wide as sails on a cutter, pierced the air and sent forward a powerful gust of windblown, dusty dirt. He flapped them again, creating a mini dirt storm between himself and the tree and, most importantly, his prey.
A shower of prickly leaves and thin, brittle branches fell to the ground. Seconds later, the boy emerged from behind the tree, arms up and over his head, shielding himself from the downpour. Amidst the cascading debris, Coy caught the look of determination on the boy's face. Wedged tightly in the boy's grip was a rock, jagged and angled, the tip pointing toward the sky. A rock? Really? A puny, misshapen hunk of slate? What good would that do against a ninety-foot-long dragon with scales as black as onyx and five times as hard?
A rock.
The little idiot.
The boy let out a wail of a battle cry and charged forward, gripping the rock in his hand like a warrior wielding a sword. There were hundreds of ways Coy could have reacted, and most would have ended with the boy dead on his feet. Instead, he stood there, a beacon of massive power and pride, and allowed the boy to attack. He didn't feel the impact of the rock smashing against his leg, though he did see the resulting blood. It wasn't his. It would have taken much more than a rock to puncture his scales.
It was the boy's.
The force behind the thrust of his hand had caused the rock to ricochet off a section of scales and created a shallow cut in the center of his reddened palm.
Coy had been specific with the rules—no blacking out, no crying, and no bloodletting. If any of those happened, the game ended immediately. And, although the human tried to hide it, he was definitely bleeding.
"No, wait. I'm okay. I swear it. I'm fine. Look. It barely—"
The protest fell on deaf ears—literally. Coy couldn't hear—or see—anything during the transformation. It was as if he were alone in a black, soundproof room, nothing but darkness and depth and the feeling of endless falling. His heart rate quickened, slamming against his chest like a musician's calloused hands pounding against a hand drum. He inhaled through his nose, focusing on the rhythm and physically and mentally controlling the pace of his heartbeat. He calmed his mind, grasping at emotions pulsing like lightning, smoothing them out until his vision began to return. First, blurs of colors: reds and browns and a single blob of white standing directly in front of him.
Then, all at once, everything returned.
"It's barely a scratch," the boy muttered, folding his pale arms over his chest.
"Too bad," Coy replied, rubbing at his jaw. It felt good to use his vocal cords again. He was incapable of speech as a dragon, just limited to snarls and hisses…and fire breathing. That last one came in handy. "Rules are rules, Ari."
Ari—Coy's adopted brother—frowned. "You didn't even give me a chance."
"A chance to what?" Coy rolled his shoulders in an attempt to relax some of the tension in his muscles that came from shifting. "Find another rock? What was that supposed to do?"
He trudged away from his younger brother, crushing dead grass beneath his bare soles. He spotted his discarded sarong lying by a fragment of slate, the latter's golden-brown surface highlighted with speckles of fiery red. The color was reminiscent of his own skin, warm brown with red undertones—the exact opposite of Ari's. Even if Ari had somehow managed to slightly injure him with his dumb rock, the bruise would have been difficult to see. One of the many perks of having brown skin was that it didn't display bruises well. Growing up, that played to his advantage with the number of fights he got into.
Ari pouted. "It was the only thing I could think of."
"Yeah, well." Nude, Coy bent down to retrieve his sarong. "That type of thinking is going to get you killed. Or worse, you'll get your ass kicked."
Ari rubbed his bloody hand against his sweat-soaked tunic. "How can getting beat up be worse than dying?"
Coy watched as the blood stained the faded fabric. Ari had already outgrown most of his clothes. What he had left was either tainted or torn. Coy would have to take up private performances at this rate just to make sure he could afford to buy Ari clothes.
"If you're dead, you won't have me around to rub it in." He grinned at Ari and then motioned toward the open wound on his hand. "Better not let Dinina see that. You know how she gets."
He wrapped the thin, cobalt-colored sarong around his waist, securing the two ends into a knot. They'd spent half the morning outside, which meant he'd spent just as long in his dragon form. He'd be exhausted later, but it was worth it. He always had fun hanging out with his little brother. Still, he felt like he was forgetting something.
And then he remembered.
"Shit!" he shouted, the sound so loud and sudden that it startled an unkindness of ravens perched in a nearby tree.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Ari asked, blue eyes wide with concern.
There were several things wrong, and all of them could be summed up with two words.
"The Registry."
The officers were late.
Luck wasn't a guest that visited him often, but today it had, as Coy had nearly been late himself.
The letter he and his grandmother had received lay on the chipped coffee table, its stark pallor contrasting with the wooden surface. The Registry's insignia—AR—stood out on the header, the text below it added as though in afterthought. He hated Registry visits. The tension and anxiety he felt before each one made his stomach ache. He thought he would have grown used to them by now. Then again, how could anyone get used to feeling like a prisoner in their own skin?
Sitting on the couch with his legs tucked beneath him, Ari glanced at the front door and bit at his fingernails.
"Hands out of your mouth. Feet off my couch," Dinina called from her spot in the kitchen, leaning against the countertop.
"How does she always know?" he whispered.
Coy propped his feet up on the scuffed table they'd found tossed away on a dusty sidewalk just a few weeks back. "Old dragons see everything." Dinina sent him an unimpressed look, but he suspected it may have been more to do with his disregard for their furniture, shabby as it was.
Ari continued to stare at the door. "Maybe something happened to them."
"One can only hope," Coy said.
He may not have liked their visits—nor the frustration he felt after each one—but at the very least, they could have cared enough to show up on time, even if he hadn't been.
Bastards.
Maybe something really had happened to them.
It was wishful thinking, of course. Only a moment later, the quiet of their living room was interrupted by a series of knocks on the front door.
"You do know you don't have to be here for these things, right? There are, like, a hundred other things you could be doing right now," Coy told Ari.
The knocking continued.
Ari shrugged. "I want to make sure they don't try anything."
"Two dragons protected by a scrawny, twelve-year-old human with noodle arms and skin like a cloud. That's a relief."
"Shut up. I don't have noodle arms. You have—"
"It's unlocked," Coy called, both interrupting and ignoring his brother.
The door creaked open, and in walked two male Registry officers. They moved like wooden boards, rigid and stiff, dressed from head to toe in black uniforms. They may as well have been on their way to a funeral.
Fate, the senior officer, was the first to speak, his voice like broken glass.
"Coy and Dinina Conlin, the Asuda Registry is here on this day of—"
"Yeah, yeah," Coy interjected. "Can't we just skip all this scripted bullshit? We've heard these same tired lines for years now. Just spare us, do the exam, and get lost."
"Fine," Fate said, interlacing his gloved fingers. "I'll take the female." He turned toward his partner. "Do you think you can handle the male?"
"We have names," Coy muttered, cleaning his teeth with his fingernail.
"Not as far as I'm concerned." Fate's monotone voice was nearly drowned out by the sound of his boots clicking against the linoleum floors. He stopped in front of Coy's grandmother, looked her up and down, and motioned for her to follow him farther into the kitchen. "Come, dragon."
The other officer stood in the middle of the living room, poised and polished. He looked more like a prince than an officer. Still, Coy could tell that he was a rookie. In the many Registry visits he'd been forced to endure over the years, he'd had his fair share of interacting with rookies. They all had a nervous look about them, as if they were trying—and failing—to be intimidating. Those types never lasted long—at least, not when they were assigned to him.
"I do not recall asking for an audience," the officer said, gloved hands on his hips.
Glancing over at his brother, Coy said, "Ari, go to your room."
Shrugging, he turned his attention back to the officer. "You heard the kid." He met the officer's gaze, the intensity of his own mismatched irises working to unnerve the man standing a few feet away from him. To the officer's credit, he didn't look away, though Coy could smell his fear like a subtle perfume.
"So, I'm guessing you're new, huh? Not surprised. Fate can never hold on to partners. Scares them away on the account of him being a piece of shit. Ain't that right, Fate?" He spoke loud enough for Fate to hear him.
"Seaton," Fate called from the kitchen. "If you'd please begin your examination."
"R-Right," Officer Seaton replied. "Coy Conlin, when was the last time you shifted?"
"About half an hour ago."
"But I'm sure you knew that already."
All shifters were monitored on how often they shifted. The chips embedded beneath their skin relayed this information. Unless they were in mortal danger or had the written consent of the Registry, shifters were limited to when and where they could transform. Registry law stated that Coy was only allowed to shift in Hamet, and only on his own land or a vacant lot. If a talon so much as touched property that wasn't his even with the landowner's permission, the Registry could—and would—fine him.
Coy observed Seaton, only half listening as he rambled off a bunch of annoying questions. He was a pretty, little thing. Lithe with perfect posture and eyes the color of maple syrup. His lips were rose petals, plump and pink, but wilted into a frown. His uniform did not blend well with his golden-brown skin, which gleamed like sand beneath sunlight. It muted it and made him look pale, especially when compared to Coy's darker complexion—which was a shame. Brown was his favorite color.
Even as a Registry officer, Seaton was too sleek, too elegant. Unlike his partner, his skin—at least that of his face since everything else was covered—was unmarred by scars or imperfections. Seaton was too beautiful to be an officer and too refined to be Hametian. He must have been from one of the northern provinces.
Other than his initial nervous stutter, he enunciated his words, spoke them slowly so that each one had a sense of finality to them.
"And your age is—"
"Twenty-five," Coy answered, growing aggravated with the endless round of questions. "Look, all of this is in my file, isn't it? You don't have to do everything by the Registry book, you know."
"I will," Seaton snapped, "follow protocol. Is that clear?"
Now they were getting to the fun part.
He'd seen officers just like Seaton come and go over the years. Whether they were rookies or veterans, high-strung or laid-back, they had one thing in common: fear. Coy knew the smell of fear. It lingered in the air around them, pungent and thick as smoke. He enjoyed it, especially when he was the cause of it—and he'd smelled Seaton's fear from the start. Still, there was something else about Seaton. Another smell that seemed familiar, but one he couldn't place. Whatever it was, it wasn't manufactured.
"Your file did not mention you were hard of hearing, so I can only assume that you heard my question. And yet, I am still waiting to receive an answer. Was the question too difficult? Shall I—" Seaton bent slightly at the hip, face the picture of false sincerity. "—dumb it down for you?"
"Oh, it's clear. Crystal clear, Officer," he answered, offering both a grin and a wink.
"Good." Seaton stood upright again. "A bit of advice. It would serve your best interest to not make things difficult."
A soft chuckle fell from Coy's lips. "My best interest? I'm supposed to believe that you have my best interest in mind?"
Seaton didn't reply.
"So, are we done here?" He already knew the answer, but he was quickly finding that he enjoyed getting under Seaton's skin. Maybe he'd make a hobby out of it—see if he could tease him without scaring him off like the others.
"Unfortunately, no," Seaton replied. "Your file states that you are a fire dancer at a circus. Is this correct?"
Seaton had further questions. Coy could tell just by looking at the curious expression on his face. He knew he wasn't going to ask them though. Too much pride.
"Right… If you would be so kind as to stand for the next part of this interview." His polite request sailed in on a sea of detectable resentment.
Coy stood—all six foot four inches of him—tall and broad in the small living room. He towered over Seaton, who was at least six or seven inches shorter, and held back a smirk at the widening of his eyes.
"Something wrong, Officer? Don't tell me a cat snatched that sharp tongue of yours."
Seaton would have to look up at him if he wanted to maintain eye contact as he answered, something that pleased Coy immensely. He couldn't stop his smirk when Seaton tilted his head so that he could stare right back.
"My tongue is exactly where it should be."
Coy's gaze dropped, lingering on his mouth. "I don't know about that. Could probably find a few places where it'd fit in just fine."
Seaton rolled his eyes and then slid a thin flashlight out of his pocket. He raised his hand, positioning the flashlight in front of Coy's lips. "Open your mouth."
"Never had someone say that to me without properly introducing themselves first." Coy spoke into the flashlight as if it were a microphone, the light beaming on his mouth.
"My name is Officer Augustus Seaton. You may refer to me as Officer Seaton."
"No problem, Auggie."
Seaton glared at him. Coy liked it. He found it endearing.
He stood still as Seaton moved closer, ordering him to bend down so that he could peer into his mouth without having to stand on his toes. To anyone else observing them—which was Ari, in this case—Seaton probably looked like a picture of confidence. He didn't fool Coy. He smelled Seaton's anxiety, saw the nervous tremble in his delicate-looking hand.
He waited until Seaton's hand was just an inch or so away from his mouth before exhaling, slow and deep. A small flame burst from his parted lips, red and orange swirling together and flickering.
Startled, Seaton snatched his hand away. The flame had missed him. Naturally. Coy knew better than to injure a Registry officer, but he was sure Seaton had felt the heat against his skin. He bet his fingers still tingled from it.
Coy licked his lips. "Oops. Sorry about that. Reflex." He grinned. "Please continue."
The scowl was back on Seaton's face. Eyes trained on Coy, he pointed the flashlight into his mouth again, briefly regarding his teeth.
"I am surprised."
"Oh, yeah? What about?"
"One would think that cavepeople would not bother with such trivial chores as proper dental care."
Fate must have completed his exam, because he and Dinina stepped into the living room. Fate's birdlike face was set in its permanent scowl, while his grandmother's expression was blank—her typical state whenever the Registry was around.
Fate kept his eyes on Seaton, like a father scrutinizing his son. There was pride behind that cracked, porcelain mask of a face. He must have caught some of the exchange between the two of them and was pleased by the way Seaton had handled himself.
Coy almost felt like laughing. Registry officers were elitist pricks with too much time on their hands, hell-bent on authority and ordering shifters about without so much as an inkling of human decency. Seaton's virulent tongue could spit out as many cutting words as he wanted, but it would not change the facts. Humans were afraid of shifters. They feared and—Coy knew—envied them. Shifters may have looked human, but they weren't. They were better than humans, superior in every aspect, and belonged at the top of the food chain. Intelligent, prideful, and fierce.
Unfortunately, in the Kingdom of Asuda, humans outnumbered shifters.
The humans' advantage in numbers had allowed the creation of the Registry in the first place. No living creature capable of intelligent thought wanted to be tagged and monitored, studied like some form of recently discovered species—especially given the legends. Shifters kept it to themselves, but there were stories, whispers of shifters being around long before humans populated the land. Sometimes, Coy wondered where humans must have come from, given their similarities.
Somewhere down the line, their shifter ancestors had let it get out of hand, had ensured their collective fate.
Chipped, logged, questioned, and observed. Locked in a system wherein they had to comply with rules set for them by people who despised them.
Of course, it hadn't always been this dire. The Registry's initial purpose had started out as protection for both shifters and humans. Throughout the years, the line between protect and punish became blurred. Shifters were no longer treated as equals, and they certainly weren't treated as the gods and goddesses his grandmother had told him about as a kid.
Not that they resembled gods, Coy thought with amusement. No one could identify a shifter in a room full of humans. They looked like everyone else, but most people refused to regard them as even mostly human. Some wouldn't even consider them animals. Humans valued their animals. Pets were treated like family members. Humans cared for them, loved them. Shifters were treated as wild, unwanted creatures, unworthy of love and respect. Yet, humans demanded the same from shifters. Expected them to be grateful for the scrutiny and humiliation. For the hands on the back of their necks.
And Seaton, with his full lips pressed into a thin line and his slender fingers tapping impatiently at his own arm, was no different. Coy never respected any of the officers he'd been forced to interact with, and Seaton's cold words and his bored eyes only guaranteed that.
"Where is the location of your chip?" Seaton asked.
Coy dropped his gaze from Seaton and focused on his fingernails, finding them more interesting than the man standing in front of him.
"You can do better than that. Ask nicely."
"Coy, that's enough. Just do what he says," his grandmother interjected from her spot where the living room bled into the kitchen.
He shot a glare at her, silently asking whose side she was really on. Yet, he knew that as fierce as she could be, she did not like unnecessary trouble. This went double when it had anything to do with the Registry. He loved his grandmother, and although he didn't agree with how easily she gave in to the Registry's foolish demands, she had taken care of him for most of his life. Listening to her every once in a while was the least he could do.
"It would be wise to listen to your grandmother," Seaton echoed. "She seems to be an intelligent woman."
Coy hated to concede in their battle of wills, especially after a comment like that. Unfortunately, one glance at Dinina told him that he'd suffer the consequences if he continued with this never-ending banter between himself and Seaton.
He huffed, smoke fanning out through his nostrils. His fingers, strong and calloused, gripped the hem of his sarong, raising the fabric to expose even more of his muscular thighs. He watched for Seaton's reaction, saw the way Seaton's lips parted just slightly before he retrieved a device from his belt. It was long and shaped like a pencil, except double the width. Its surface, smooth and black, was interrupted by a thin, rectangular screen.
Seaton was all business when he placed the device against Coy's thigh, just above the knee. Smirking down at him, Coy shrugged. He would have to venture farther north to find what he was looking for.
The perplexed expression on Seaton's face was almost worth the annoyance of having to interact with him. Coy felt the others' eyes on them as Seaton ran the device along his thigh, hand creeping toward dangerous territory. He saw the way Seaton gritted his teeth as he moved the device higher, followed by the slight exhale of his breath, shoulders sagging in relief, when the device emitted a series of beeps once it reached midthigh. The screen held a parade of letters and numbers, various codes that meant something to the Registry and nothing at all to Coy. Seemingly satisfied with the information from the device, Seaton attached it back to his belt.
"I have everything I need." He was looking at Coy but speaking to Fate, dark, elegant eyebrows shaped into perfect arches that sat evenly on his face.
"Same here," Fate said.
"Well, then. If there's nothing else we can do for you, let me be the first to invite you both to get the fuck out."
"Coy." Dinina dragged out his name in the same slow drawl all Hametians spoke in.
"Sorry, sorry. Kindly get the fuck out." He grinned at her.
Neither Seaton nor Fate bothered with a response. The two officers walked through the living room, past the shifters—and Ari, who had been seated on the couch, listening to the entire exchange—to the front door. Coy was right behind them, relieved that they were leaving and annoyed that they had shown up in the first place. He and Dinina had never broken a single Registry rule. All the monitoring and random checkups were pointless.
Seaton opened the door and was the first to step out. Fate followed him but paused, hand lingering on the doorframe. He turned around, ending up almost face-to-face with Coy. The shifter stood in the doorway, arms folded, waiting for the two of them to leave with all the patience of a cobra preparing to strike.
"Watch yourself, Conlin," Fate said. "Your mouth will land you in rough waters one day. Maybe much sooner than you think."
"Why should I worry about water when I can fly?" With a snort, he shoved the door with his elbow, receiving instant gratification the second it slammed in Fate's face.
"What do you think he meant?" Ari asked.
Thankfully, he'd been quiet throughout the entire interview. It was best if he didn't say much whenever the Registry came to visit. A human child living with dragon shifters wasn't something that was exactly celebrated in the Registry.
"Nothing," Coy said. "It's just a scare tactic. As long as we don't break the rules, there's nothing they can do to us."
His answer didn't seem to provide much comfort for Ari. "Are you sure?"
"Of course." He flicked away a strand of hair that had fallen into his face. "When am I ever wrong?"
Leaning back against the couch, Ari snorted. "More often than you think."
Coy needed to protect her. He could no longer stand there, hidden behind a sycamore tree, watching as she was beaten by her own husband. He glared at his grandfather's broad back. The man hovered over her, his calloused hand raised in preparation for yet another slap.
If only Coy were bigger, stronger. He could stop him from hurting her.


SIR,—Constance Reaveley's article, in your issue of February 2nd, is very much to the ..point. Education should be for life in the fullest sense. Today it can rightly be said that " man has measured the heavens with a telescope and driven the gods from their thrones." We have an abundance of scientific knowledge but a deficit of balanced wisdom. But not all of this can be taught to children in schools. Sir Richard Living- stone has testified that you don't get very far with classes in philosophy with those who have but a brief experience of the world and the people in it.
And I would add a special plea for more instruction in the arts, music, and architecture. What average adolescent knows the difference between early English and perpendicular? How many are familiar with Piper's picture of burning Coventry?
A week or so ago I played a portion of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony on records to an audience of 15o young people of the 14 to 19 age-group. Not a single one recognised the music. What education is this?—Yours truly, " La Collette," Roundwood Park, Harpenden, Herts.


text:
Q: How to Cross Compile OMXPlayer on Ubuntu 11.10 I am trying to install omxplayer for my raspi, but as it is so slow, I wish to do it on my Ubuntu 11.10 desktop. I have followed the instructions for setting up a cross compiler as described here (note, crosstools did not work for me). It mentions how to run it as such:

Now you should be able to compile you cmake programs as easy as executing you cmake with this extra flag -D CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$HOME/raspberrypi/pi.cmake

But this does not help me as I have never used cmake. If I have a standard installation like so:
./configure
make
make install

Where does -D CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$HOME/raspberrypi/pi.cmake fit into all that? Do I just change both occurrences of make to cmake =P I wish people would consider us noob programmers when answering these questions. This one poster made my blood boil with his response. I have included the omxplayer Makefile.include file, which I presume is where I have to make some serious changes, as well as my cross compilation .cmake file, could somebody describe to me what changes I have to make and how they correspond to each other.
Makefile.include:
USE_BUILDROOT=0
FLOAT=hard

ifeq ($(USE_BUILDROOT), 1)
BUILDROOT   :=/opt/xbmc-bcm/buildroot
SDKSTAGE    :=$(BUILDROOT)/output/staging
TARGETFS    :=$(BUILDROOT)/output/target
TOOLCHAIN   :=$(BUILDROOT)/output/host/usr/
HOST            :=arm-unknown-linux-gnueabi
SYSROOT     :=$(BUILDROOT)/output/host/usr/arm-unknown-linux-gnueabi/sysroot
else
BUILDROOT   :=/opt/bcm-rootfs
SDKSTAGE    :=/opt/bcm-rootfs
TARGETFS    :=/opt/bcm-rootfs
TOOLCHAIN   :=/home/dc4/tools/arm-bcm2708/gcc-linaro-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian/
HOST        :=arm-linux-gnueabihf
#SYSROOT        :=$(TOOLCHAIN)/arm-bcm2708hardfp-linux-gnueabi/sysroot
SYSROOT     :=/opt/bcm-rootfs
endif

JOBS=7

CFLAGS          := -isystem$(PREFIX)/include
CXXFLAGS        := $(CFLAGS)
CPPFLAGS        := $(CFLAGS)
LDFLAGS         := -L$(BUILDROOT)/lib
LD                  := $(TOOLCHAIN)/bin/$(HOST)-ld --sysroot=$(SYSROOT)
CC                  := $(TOOLCHAIN)/bin/$(HOST)-gcc --sysroot=$(SYSROOT)
CXX         := $(TOOLCHAIN)/bin/$(HOST)-g++ --sysroot=$(SYSROOT)
OBJDUMP         := $(TOOLCHAIN)/bin/$(HOST)-objdump
RANLIB          := $(TOOLCHAIN)/bin/$(HOST)-ranlib
STRIP               := $(TOOLCHAIN)/bin/$(HOST)-strip
AR                  := $(TOOLCHAIN)/bin/$(HOST)-ar
CXXCP           := $(CXX) -E
PATH                := $(PREFIX)/bin:$(BUILDROOT)/output/host/usr/bin:$(PATH)

CFLAGS          += -pipe -mfloat-abi=$(FLOAT) -mcpu=arm1176jzf-s -fomit-frame-pointer -mabi=aapcs-linux -mtune=arm1176jzf-s -mfpu=vfp -Wno-psabi -mno-apcs-stack-check -g -mstructure-size-boundary=32 -mno-sched-prolog
LDFLAGS         += -L$(SDKSTAGE)/lib -L$(SDKSTAGE)/usr/lib -L$(SDKSTAGE)/opt/vc/lib/ -Lpcre/build
#INCLUDES       += -isystem$(SDKSTAGE)/usr/include -isystem$(SDKSTAGE)/opt/vc/include -isystem$(SYSROOT)/usr/include -isystem$(SDKSTAGE)/opt/vc/include/interface/vcos/pthreads -isystem$(SDKSTAGE)/usr/include/freetype2
INCLUDES        += -isystem$(SDKSTAGE)/opt/vc/include -isystem$(SYSROOT)/usr/include -isystem$(SDKSTAGE)/opt/vc/include/interface/vcos/pthreads -Ipcre/build -Iboost-trunk -Ifreetype2/include

raspi.cmake:
SET(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME Linux)
SET(CMAKE_SYSTEM_VERSION 1)
SET(CMAKE_C_COMPILER /mnt/UEF/tools/arm-bcm2708/gcc-linaro-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc)
SET(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER /mnt/UEF/tools/arm-bcm2708/gcc-linaro-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-g++)
SET(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH /mnt/UEF/rootfs)
SET(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_PROGRAM NEVER)
SET(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_LIBRARY ONLY)
SET(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_INCLUDE ONLY)

A: Use Openembedded for OMXPlayer to compile, it's the easiest way to get things compiled without worrying too much on flag setting .
meta-raspberrypi is available here https://github.com/martiert/meta-raspberrypi.
Learn some basics of OE  Then begin your work.
To be simple in my existing project, I tried it and I'm successful.
After setting the configuration, run the make called "omxplayer."
Otherwise, if you're not good enough in "OE," just try to understand BB file called "OMXPlayer."
http://git.yoctoproject.org/cgit/cgit.cgi/meta-raspberrypi/tree/recipes-multimedia/omxplayer/omxplayer_git.bb?h=master
And try to cross-compile individually by checking dependencies.
ADDITION
If you're unfamiliar with open-embedded Go for BUildroot  Its an more easy then OE.
git clone https://github.com/nezticle/RaspberryPi-BuildRoot.git
cd RaspberryPi-BuildRoot
make raspberrypi_defconfig
make menuconfig
here Location:                                                                                │
│     -> Package Selection for the target                                                          │
│       -> Raspberry Pi
Here, OMXPlayer will be enabled.
Finally:
make
The resulting package will be in output folder.

A: Does omxplayer have a CMakeLists.txt?
Then run this:
cd omxplayer
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$HOME/raspberrypi/pi.cmake
make
make install

No configure, no Makefile hackery.


text:
Amazing Evolution
The latest addition to the continuing renaissance that is Miami's Midtown District is Hyde Midtown Suites & Residences. This unique development will offer a genuine immersive guest experience as it becomes the neighborhood's premier luxury hotel-condominium.
Text by Sandy Lindsey Photos courtesy of The Related Group | May 23, 2018 | Design & Real Estate
Hyde Midtown Suites & Residences is the brainchild of a dream team that blends the innovative design approach of the Rockwell Group with the modern attitude of the Hyde brand in a joint venture with The Related Group and Dezer Development. The result is an amenity-laden upscale development that captures the spirit of Miami's Midtown District's urban chic. "Hyde Midtown is uniquely positioned within Miami's Design District, Wynwood and Midtown: three emerging neighborhoods that are burgeoning centers of art, design and culture," says David Rockwell, Founder & President of Rockwell Group. "We felt it was important that Hyde Midtown's public spaces and guestrooms reflect their unique local surroundings. As a result, our design concept is based on the notion of the new luxury — an eclectic, edgy mix of raw and finished materials, contrasting colors and handcrafted design elements."
If the name Rockwell Group sounds familiar, it should. Their credits are heavy-duty, including the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, the Architectural Digest Greenroom at the 2014 Oscars, and the design of Nobu restaurants worldwide. For Hyde Midtown, they are designing the lobby, amenity floors, elevator corridors and the 60 designer suites. Inspired by the bold, irreverent style of art galleries, and the hyper-luxurious retail shops that surround the new project, the Rockwell Group team chose a palette of neutral materials with small pops of color to achieve an unfussy yet luxurious and sophisticated ambiance.
The lobby interior is based on an art hotel concept, with dramatic concrete flooring and exposed concrete ceilings, as well as blackened metalwork throughout. A condo reception desk clad in American white oak, a white grand piano and an interactive geometric pattern projected onto the ceiling call back to Miami's Art Deco architecture. On the lobby walls will be custom-designed metal mesh and blackened steel display ledges to showcase contemporary artworks from the collection of Related's Chairman & CEO, Jorge Pérez. These include carefully curated artwork by world-class artists. Mexican artist Omar Barquet and Danish artist Malene Landgreen were chosen to complement Rockwell's modern interior with their striking colors, hard edges and contemporary abstractions that echo the light, energy and dynamism of the city. Other artists include Bayrol Jimenez, a Mexican artist renowned for his amazing drawings, which at first seem to be random, even contradictory images, but are in fact a cohesive narrative; and Alexandre Farto, the Portuguese street artist known as Vihls. The idea behind these pieces and other commissioned works is to create a tribute to Miami's rapidly developing and thriving art scene.
Similarly, the rooftop areas will also place an emphasis on controlled, neutral finishes. Blackened metal pergolas on the rooftop amenity floor will include succulent-filled garden beds and built-in bird bath-style drinks tables. Top-mounted plantings will grow across a blackened steel canopy above the outdoor island bar, stretching down toward the teak bar top with its blue-glazed Portuguese tile accents.
The 60 guestrooms are positioned across 6 floors, featuring split living and sleeping areas separated by a barn door clad in American white oak. Custom headboards upholstered in black cotton with yellow leather accents highlight the bedrooms. Concrete flooring and exposed concrete ceilings extend throughout, finished with custom carpets and archival prints by Brooklyn artist Samantha French. Brooklyn-based designer Uhuru will outfit the custom kitchen areas with an island for eating and working.
Rising above the hotel will be 24 floors with 400 fashionable residential condo units featuring contemporary finishes and state-of-the-art amenities, as well as a limited collection of penthouse residences on the top floors that will boast panoramic views of the Miami skyline, ocean and bay. Building amenities include a 7th Floor pool terrace and tennis court with views of Biscayne Bay and Miami's skyline, access to Hyde Beach Club, a full-service spa, a well-appointed fitness center with private yoga studio, a high-tech business center, premier hotel-style concierge services, a children's playroom and a private screening center. "Rockwell Group's designs, the incredible amenities and Midtown's proximity to the cultural epicenter of Miami come together to make Hyde Midtown a project befitting of Miami's new status as a global metropolis," says Gil Dezer, President of Dezer Development.
What's more, Hyde Midtown's setting in the city's edgiest urban-hip neighborhood means it will be walking distance to excellent restaurants with the hippest chefs, chic shops from Armani/Casa to Mandolina and Christian Louboutin, art galleries and a wide selection of nightlife. All this makes the neighborhood itself one of Hyde's best amenities. And let's not forget everything that nearby Downtown Miami has to offer with its top museums, parks, American Airlines Arena, and Adrienne Arsht Center. Additionally, Miami Beach is 10 minutes to the east, while Miami International Airport is a mere 10 minutes west. There is no doubt that Hyde Midtown meets the prime real estate requirement of "location, location, location."
Even better, Hyde will give back to the neighborhood as well, with ground floor retail, restaurants and live entertainment at the Hyde Piano Lounge. "The architecture of Hyde Midtown puts a new icon in the sky and offers residents and guests some of the most exciting outdoor dining and entertainment spaces Miami has seen to date," says Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Founding Principal of Arquitectonica.
With completion slated for the 2nd quarter of 2018, Carlos Rosso, President of Condominium Development at The Related Group, concludes that much like the boroughs of NYC, each of Miami's neighborhoods is developing their own unique personality. "Rockwell's striking designs and appreciation for the surrounding cityscape are not only giving the district its signature vibe, but they are also making the Hyde brand synonymous with the Midtown district," he says.
For more information on Hyde Midtown Suites & Residences, 3401 NE 1st Ave., call 305.521.1699 or visit HydeMidtownMia.com.
Penthouse Perfection
Wonder Hue