Freight rate opened the week on weaker market fundamentals with concern over the China's economic slowdown and the softening Panamax market. These left the Capesize market with little trading activities and saw a standoff as ship owners offering high, while the charterers bidding low.
Besides, the market sentiment has not been on its best with trade concerns over poor economic data from China, as the country's GDP registered a low 6.6% growth for 2018, its lowest since 1990.
The Chinese government has since reacted to the lacklustre trade indicator with easing of loans as the People Bank of China (PBOC) slashed its cash reserves holdings or reserve requirement ratios (RRR), freeing up to $116bn for new lending.
Infrastructure wise, the Chinese government has provided a stimulus package of urban rail project worth RMB 860 billion since December 2018 in a bid to reverse the country's failing economy.
Despite the best effort from China's policymakers, the market participants were less confident over the macro-economic outlook which lead to a Capesize paper selloff early this week.
Thus, this prompted the C5 fixtures of 6.10 to circulate on Tuesday afternoon session with little signs of an immediate recovery in physical market. Later, the market did find some support as the Capesize 5 time charter average recorded at $14,608, down $998 day-on-day.
By Wednesday, the Capesize 5 time charter average failed to recover and dropped further to $13,823, down $785 day-on-day, following the slide of Panamax rates.
The Panamax rates came under pressure this week from the spreading of African swine fever. By mid-January, China was reportedly to cull more than 900,000 pigs due to the deadly virus from the 100 outbreak areas dotted across the country.
Apparently, the culling has a domino effect in the reduction of soybean shipments to China as animal feeds for poultry market. This bearish undertone clouded the Panamax market and resulted sharp decline of Panamax freight rates during the week. Thus, the Panamax time charter average slipped by $457 day-on-day to $7,187 on Wednesday.
Following the bigger ships' falling rates, the freight rate of Supramax came under pressures on its prompt months.
On Wednesday, the Feb 10 TC was trading $7,500-$7,800 range and March at $8,650-9,000, while Q2 10TC continued to trade throughout the day $10,250, as further out the Q3 10TC and Q4 10TC continued to see some bid support with limited activity.
Thus, the Supramax time charter average traded at a spot price of $6,829, down $274 day-on-day at Wednesday, while Handysize traded at $6,137, down $130 day-on-day basis.


text:
Google Is Missing Out On Its Biggest Social Media Opportunity
By Andreas Goeldi | 03.20.12 |
Google is waging a war against Facebook and it's losing. Ironically, it's not even using its most important secret weapon in this crucial fight so far.
Google+, Google's third attempt at building a social network, is now almost 9 months old. It's safe to say that it's not a runaway success, despite all the money and talent invested in this project. Although Google+ has 100 million users, that number is likely driven by default registrations from new Android users. Anybody who still uses Google+ can probably confirm that almost all people left on it are web professionals and social media consultants. The statistics tell the same story.
"Normals" don't seem to see a reason to switch from Facebook, and it's not hard to see why. Google+ is just trying too hard to be Facebook, and its few innovations (such as Circles) are all fairly incremental, easily copied by Facebook.
Gaining a strong position in social media is crucial for Google. Plain old search marketing has likely reached a plateau and users' time and attention is captured more and more by social media. And the ad dollars are starting to follow.
Google is now trying to leverage its dominance in search to entice people to use Google+, but so far all these attempts seem to be failing. And that's not a surprise: Google won the search war by providing the objectively best search results, based on what all Internet users think the most relevant content is. And now we're suddenly supposed to care what our (still somewhat random) Google+ contacts think about a certain topic?
Given all these difficulties, it's very surprising that Google seems to be ignoring its most promising social opportunity: YouTube.
Here are a few facts about YouTube:
It reaches almost as many U.S. visitors as Facebook (152 million for Facebook vs. 147 million for YouTube)
It's ubiquitous: YouTube is strong on the web, on mobile, on tablets, on game consoles and now even on smart TVs. Facebook is nowhere near this device penetration.
According to comScore, users spend a similar amount of time per month on YouTube and Facebook. If you count the YouTube-hosted VEVO music video site, YouTube wins hands down.
While Facebook is still struggling with the monetization of its huge user base (relatively speaking) and keeps experimenting with complicated ad schemes, YouTube offers a proven and effective lineup of attractive ad formats that appeal to all sizes of advertisers, from the biggest brands to niche marketers. In case you were wondering: yes, video ads work and have more impact than Facebook's slightly annoying sidebar ads.
YouTube is already a social network, although not a very well designed one. You can subscribe to channels, message people, "Like" videos and, of course, comment. In other words, YouTube has many of the social mechanisms that Facebook offers, but they're nowhere nearly as widely used. Most people probably don't perceive YouTube as a social site because real social activity happens only in small sub communities.
Why is that? Even though YouTube has improved social features in its recent total site redesign, there are still some glaring holes in its social ecosystem: profile (channel) pages still seem like an afterthought and don't offer enough ways to differentiate between businesses and individuals. YouTube doesn't have a concept of real user identity, which is why so many comment threads are full of spam and profanity. Strangely enough, YouTube recently removed crucial social features, such as the ability to display the list of people who subscribe to a channel.
More surprisingly, YouTube's ubiquitous embedded player doesn't emphasize social engagement at all. There are millions and millions of YouTube videos embedded right on Facebook walls and Twitter streams and none of them encourages viewers to do anything on YouTube itself. Need proof? Play a YouTube that's embedded on any website. Do you see a "Like" button on the video? No? That's because it will show up only at the very end when you have already moved on. What's there instead? A constantly visible button that lets you change the video resolution (come on, who ever does that?).
YouTube's strategy seems to be all about keeping people watching more and more videos. Of course that's perfectly fine because that's what YouTube's business model is all about. Unfortunately, this focus on content instead of social interaction could cost Google its only real chance at playing catch-up in social media.
Look, it's simple: once a particular company has really won a category on the web, it's almost impossible to beat them. Was Microsoft successful at becoming a search engine? How about Alta Vista (remember them?) trying to be a Yahoo-style portal? Or Amazon going into auctions? Anybody remember iTunes Ping?
Beating Facebook at its own game is hopeless, even for a giant full of hyper-smart people like Google. The only way is to win is by innovating in a new domain and providing something fresh that users can't easily do on the dominant sites. That gives them a reason to spend time elsewhere.
Witness Pinterest's success. Why is this site growing like crazy? Why is it on its way to rival Facebook in terms of usage time in some demographic segments? Because Pinterest actually does something really new. It focuses fully on visual content, on pictures. It's highly social too and provides all the social mechanisms that made Facebook so successful: one-click sharing, easy social gestures such as "Likes" and "Repins", rich profile pages, and a viral invite system. All of this is bundled in a user interface that looks fresh, light and beautiful. YouTube lacks most of these things.
Google sits on a gold mine of video content and related user data. Online video is growing like crazy. You don't have to be a visionary to see that video is going to overtake text-oriented web content fairly soon in terms of usage time. And Google with YouTube basically owns this space. None of the other successful video sites (Netflix, Hulu etc.) are even remotely social.
YouTube is in a unique position to be the next big social site, concentrating on video content and the social interaction around it. But instead, Google is trying to push its Facebook copycat, Google+. Time to revisit this strategy. The search giant should put YouTube into the position it deserves at the heart of Google's social strategy.
AndroidFacebookGoogle strategyGoogle+online videoPinterestsocial mediasocial strategyYouTube strategy
Don't Read This Post

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Riverview Manor of Underberg, South Africa is an upscale residential treatment program for adult men and women who are dealing with a number of addictions and behavioral health concerns. Choose Life is the extended care program associated with Riverview that provides short term transitional housing for adults, along with outpatient treatment and aftercare planning for adolescents and adults. Treatment in this stage includes 12-step facilitation along with various evidence-based therapy.
The housing option for those who are participating in Choose Life is a nine bed, upscale home that overlooks the coastal city of Durban. The bedrooms are set up into suites, with three clients per room, each with a private bathroom. The facility is beautifully decorated and elegant, with spacious common areas and new appliances throughout the home. There are several lounges and sitting areas, a bright dining room and modern kitchen. In addition to the comfort indoors, clients also have the option of enjoying the beautiful pool in the back, or checking out the city from the many balconies.
The meals are provided by the facility, though clients have to prepare their own food.
The continued care program runs around four weeks or so and is offered to those who have completed the residential program at Riverview Manor. This program begins with an assessment period and an individualized treatment plan being designed. The outpatient track is comprised of an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for both the adolescents and adults that is based on the Matrix Model. There are at least nine hours of programming during the week that includes group and individual therapy along with relapse prevention, life skills training and holistic modalities.
The continued care program is client driven and the groups can decide what topics they'd like to discuss within the group settings. Within the month long program each client works on an aftercare plan and attend AA meetings on site. There are also a number of guest lecturers who come to the facility to offer psychoeducational classes and activities. The continuing care program is broken down into phases, and after the first week or so clients can start to look for work or school opportunities while still attending treatment.
The staff of the Choose Life program includes LPCs, psychologists, addiction specialists and psychiatrists. For those who started a medication management regime in the residential track will continue along that same path.
There are various family support options throughout this stage of treatment including counseling and psychoeducation.
The Choose Life track of Riverview Manor is a great step-down treatment, as it uses the same approaches and philosophies as the residential program in a slightly less structured environment. Early sobriety can be tricky to navigate so there is a lot to be said for continuing after primary care in a safe, sober environment rooted in the principles of residential treatment. It's a great resource for someone who found success through the initial program here.
Do you have a complaint or review of Riverview Manor: Choose Life Extended Care to add? Use the comments area below to add your Riverview Manor: Choose Life Extended Care review.


text:
Een feedreader is een computerprogramma dat of website die kan worden gebruikt om de webfeeds waarop men zich wil abonneren te verzamelen en te lezen. Grofweg zijn er twee soorten feedreaders: online feedreaders en feedreaders die zijn ingebouwd in de e-mailclient of webbrowser.

Mogelijke functies
Een feedreader heeft doorgaans ondersteuning voor de webfeedformaten RSS en Atom. Ondersteuning voor JSON Feed kan ook aanwezig zijn.

Een feedreader leest het feedbestand uit en vergelijkt met de vorige poging om te zien of er nieuwe artikels of nieuwsitems (nieuwe inhoud) beschikbaar zijn. Het interval waarin dit gebeurt bepaalt hoe snel een lezer (gebruiker) nieuwe items te zien krijgt. Dit verversen van feeds dient soms manueel te gebeuren.

Feedreaders bieden vaak de mogelijkheid om artikels of nieuwsitems te delen via integraties zoals e-mail, Facebook en Google+.

Feedreaders
 Akregator
 Feedly
 Icedove
 RSSOwl
 Mozilla Thunderbird

Online feedreaders
 Feedly
 Inoreader
 The Old Reader

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


LAMBS WOOL DUSTER 35 inch Extends to 48 inch, Safe for all surfaces - will not scratch or mar. Genuine lambswool duster quickly lifts dust particles and retains them until shaken. Washable. Plastic handle with hang-up hole. Assorted colors.


text:
Q: Autocorrelation to estimate periodicity with numpy I have a large set of time series (> 500), I'd like to select only the ones that are periodic. I did a bit of literature research and I found out that I should look for autocorrelation. Using numpy I calculate the autocorrelation as:
def autocorr(x):
    norm = x - np.mean(x)
    result = np.correlate(norm, norm, mode='full')
    acorr = result[result.size/2:]
    acorr /= ( x.var() * np.arange(x.size, 0, -1) )
    return acorr

This returns a set of coefficients (r?) that when plot should tell me if the time series is periodic or not.
I generated two toy examples:
#random signal
s1 = np.random.randint(5, size=80)
#periodic signal
s2 = np.array([5,2,3,1] * 20)

When I generate the autocorrelation plots I obtain:

The second autocorrelation vector clearly indicates some periodicity:
Autocorr1 =  [1, 0.28, -0.06,  0.19, -0.22, -0.13,  0.07 ..]
Autocorr2 =  [1, -0.50, -0.49,  1, -0.50, -0.49,  1 ..]

My question is, how can I automatically determine, from the autocorrelation vector, if a time series is periodic? Is there a way to summarise the values into a single coefficient, e.g. if = 1 perfect periodicity, if = 0 no periodicity at all. I tried to calculate the mean but it is not meaningful. Should I look at the number of 1?

A: I would use mode='same' instead of mode='full' because with mode='full' we get covariances for extreme shifts, where just 1 array element overlaps self, the rest being zeros. Those are not going to be interesting. With mode='same' at least half of the shifted array overlaps the original one.
Also, to have the true correlation coefficient (r) you need to divide by the size of the overlap, not by the size of the original x. (in my code these are np.arange(n-1, n//2, -1)). Then each of the outputs will be between -1 and 1.
A glance at Durbin–Watson statistic, which is similar to 2(1-r), suggests that people consider its values below 1 to be a significant indication of autocorrelation, which corresponds to r > 0.5. So this is what I use below. For a statistically sound treatment of the significance of autocorrelation refer to statistics literature; a starting point would be to have a model for your time series.
def autocorr(x):
    n = x.size
    norm = (x - np.mean(x))
    result = np.correlate(norm, norm, mode='same')
    acorr = result[n//2 + 1:] / (x.var() * np.arange(n-1, n//2, -1))
    lag = np.abs(acorr).argmax() + 1
    r = acorr[lag-1]
    if np.abs(r) > 0.5:
      print('Appears to be autocorrelated with r = {}, lag = {}'. format(r, lag))
    else:
      print('Appears to be not autocorrelated')
    return r, lag

Output for your two toy examples:

Appears to be not autocorrelated
  Appears to be autocorrelated with r = 1.0, lag = 4

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Good morning, picked up another PS4 original (4th or 5th to be exact) to repair and sell. So this isn't my first rodeo in repairing these.
The unit I picked up looks flawless, never even opened all stickers intact, the guy claimed that after 3-4hours the unit shuts off. Got it home, looked quite dusty so I opened it up and blew all the dust out. Turned it on last night and all seemed fine, was rather late so I left it running overnight with just the home screen and this morning the unit was still running.
I don't have 3-4hours to sit and play a game on it lol is there anything like a stress test that I can do to see what actually happens when and if the unit shuts down? Would playing netflix with a movie do it? I looked at the error log history cause the guy didnt even wipe the PS4 and none of the errors there seem important just DNS errors etc.
I'm guessing it could be the thermal paste, but I figured if I can spare myself from having to tear this open I rather wouldn't.
Sounds exactly like a thermal issue. I'd grab some good thermal paste, like Arctic Silver, and tear it open and give it a very deep cleaning. I had an issue like this with an Xbox One, and cleaning it out did the trick. Hope that helps, good luck!
Edit: If you need to stress test, try playing a very demanding game, like Battlefield or maybe PlayerUnknown's BATTLEGROUNDS. If anything is a stress test, PUBG sure is.
@Jeepo23 I didn't think about the unmanned thing. You could just play the Battlefield Campaign to a place that's somewhat intense and leave it idle for a bit.
@Jeepo23 Yep! I got it for $50, then turned it around for $125.
Yah I picked up a XBOX One that wouldn't power on. Well altering examining the PSU and thinking it was at fault which it wasn't looks like i bought a dud XBOX one. Appears every time I plug the console to the PSU brick it turns the little PSU led light off.


For an experienced locksmith in Geelong, you can't go past more than 50 years' expertise. Stan Wootton Locksmiths offer friendly, reliable and prompt service at an affordable price.
Our fully mobile locksmith service means you'll never have to worry about being stranded outside your house or car – our domestic and automotive locksmiths will be on the scene in no time, and can install and repair any hardware or accessories on the spot for added peace of mind.
In the case of a break-in at your business, our service includes a 24-hour emergency locksmith, who can quickly repair any damaged commercial lock systems.
Please contact us for more information on how our Geelong locksmiths can help your home or business.


text:
Rashida Kathawalla would love your feedback! Got a few minutes to write a review?
Neapolitan City
Rashida Kathawalla 1 story
Chapter 59: Step to Amends
"What?" asked Ranveer in a shocked voice. Ishaani had a decisive look on her face, yet her voice remained gentle.
"I want to meet Maa. It's been four years since I'll seen her, far less heard her voice. I want to see her." Ranveer looked worried and Ishaani could sense his discomfort with her wish. He replied lamely.
"But you're pregnant." Ishaani cocked up her eyebrows in skeptical confusion and Ranveer shook his head, knowing that the conversation was clearly not going the way he expected it to go. Ishaani stared at him keenly before speaking in a blank voice.
"So?" Ranveer sighed before speaking carefully.
"Look, you and Falguni Maa haven't left things on a proper note. I don't want you to stress. It's not good for the baby as well. I don't want anything that distresses you or the baby." Ishaani nodded her head, but her tone remained resolute.
"I understand your concern. I do. But trust me, it's about time we both did this. We both have a lot of amends to make to our families," said Ishaani, while Ranveer looked more distressed by the minute.
"Ishaani..." Ishaani looked up at him and looked at him beseechingly. Ranveer tore his gaze away from her and Ishaani spoke honestly.
"I know. You are scared. Even I am. But we need to do this. We have been pushing this behind for far too long. It's about time we faced this and set things right." Ranveer remained lost in thought for a few minutes before he replied with the only thing he could fathom.
"I don't know what to say." Ishaani knew that Ranveer was now pondering over her request and rubbed the back of his palm soothingly.
"Just give this a thought. It's all I'm saying. Our families need to know about what's happening in our lives as well and they need to be a part of it."
"If that's the case, why haven't you spoken to Falguni Maa after you resolved things with me?" Ishaani shut her eyes painfully before she spoke with regret.
"I have never denied what I've done four years back. I did it to save you and I was ready to go to all lengths. But in that process, I sacrificed the reputation of our families as well. I jeopardized their wellbeing, state of mind, everything. They are bound to be upset with me. But now that our baby is on the way, I don't want to deprive our child from the love of their family. I don't want our families to be insignificant in its life. This is important to me, to all of us."
"Ishaani, why don't you see it? This may very well undo everything that we have worked towards so far. And yes, I admit that you screwed up several lives with what you did. You have hurt Baa and Falguni Maa, they have full right to remain upset, but I expected better from your brothers. When you revealed the truth to them, I expected them to behave better than that." Ishaani could see the hurt and anger in Ranveer's expression. She sighed hopelessly.
"Ranveer, let it go. Our lives have all separated by the fork we came across four years back. It doesn't matter now. I just want to set things right with our families." Ranveer gave her an irritated look, hoping that his next point would make Ishaani reconsider her decision.
"What about your father?" Ishaani's hopeful look now changed into a frown.
"What about him?"
"Ishaani, are you ready to face him?" Ishaani looked at him curiously, before she posed a question of her own.
"Why does that matter?"
"Because he has been living with Falguni Maa and Baa. So if you are to meet them, you will have to meet him as well." Ishaani looked at him uncertainly for a moment, before she smiled at him.
"So be it. Now that he has married my mother, I would especially like to have a conversation with him." Ranveer let out a shocked gasp, his face turning a flustered red. Ishaani's smile broadened.
"Wait, who said they married?" Ishaani rolled her eyes at him, and Ranveer coughed awkwardly.
"Ranveer, just because you were smart enough to avoid speaking it out loud, it doesn't mean that I'm stupid enough to not understand it. Maa would never live with a stranger like that, even though it meant her being homeless. I figured out as much. Besides, Maa and he shared a certain rapport, much more like companionship, even when she refused to see eye to eye with him." Ranveer scowled, disappointed that his gimmick was a failure. He spoke in exasperation.
"Yes, they bonded well in the months after you came over her, or after your sentence, as Maa told me." Ishaani noticed the bitterness in Ranveer's tone at the last part of the statement and sighed.
"Admit it, you just don't want to go home because you resent what happened four years back."
"Don't we all?" Ishaani gave him a deadpan look and Ranveer flinched under her gaze.
"I meant that you resent our families for making it so difficult for us."
"So what if I do?" Ishaani stared at Ranveer intently, noticing some other emotion lurking through his eyes apart from hurt. Realizing what it was a few moments later, she gave him a sympathetic look.
"Wait a minute. That's not just it now, is it?" Ranveer looked confused at the sudden turn of the conversation.
"What do you mean?"
"You are guilty to go back home." Ranveer's eyes widened at being caught so off-guard. He stuttered for a few moments before all come-backs failed him. Finally finding the correct set of words, he spoke defensively.
"Did you just hear yourself? You are contradicting what you said a minute ago." Ishaani shook her head, a meaningful smile on her face.
"No. A minute ago, I spoke half the truth. Now, I spoke the whole truth." Ranveer twitched under her gaze and spoke at his hands angrily.
"How can I resent and be guilty at the same time?"
"You resent it because the circumstances back then were partly so difficult because of our families and you resent the fact that they weren't more supportive. But you are guilty on walking out on your family and leaving them the way you did."
"I didn't-"
"Not financially. Emotionally." Ranveer stared at her helplessly, trying to end the argument, irritated that all of his attempts were going futile. Finally having had enough of it, Ranveer spoke plainly, hoping Ishaani got the cue now.
"This argument isn't going anywhere." Ishaani scrutinized his disturbed features and knew that the conversation had killed his mood. She let out a deep breath and nodded her head.
"It isn't. Look, it's completely upon you. Whatever you decide, I'll be fine with it." Ranveer nodded him head and both of them sat silently for the next fifteen minutes. Both of them sat deep in thought, contemplating what the other had spoken, before an ice-cream van crossed their view. Ranveer looked at Ishaani and asked her gently.
"Ice-cream?" Ishaani smiled, looking at the van happily, thankful for a pleasant intervention to cut the silence.
"Yep." Ranveer smiled back again, his features now relaxing smoothly, while asking gently.
"What flavor?"
"Surprise me."
Ranveer smiled and ran behind the ice-cream truck halting it successfully after a few moments. Ishaani stared at the sky as dusk sat across the horizon beautifully, still enough time for the sun to linger around for an hour. Ranveer returned back five minutes later, two cups of ice-cream in his hand. He handed over one to Ishaani while he swiftly took a spoon from his own cup. Ishaani took a spoonful of her own ice-cream before she gave out an appreciative sigh.
"My! This ice-cream is delicious! What flavor is this?" Ranveer smiled at he took another spoonful from the cup, before speaking delightfully.
"It's a mixture of lemon and orange." Ishaani smiled broadly, wondering how Ranveer knew what flavor she wanted to have, while speaking appreciatively.
"It's yum." Ranveer gave her a broad smile, speaking cheekily.
"I know."
Evening fell quickly after and found Ishaani and Claudine chatting over some news on the TV, while Ranveer was working in the study room. Martin came home soon after, his expression a little pale, but otherwise fine. Claudine and Ishaani looked at him inquisitively as he plopped on the sofa tiredly, his briefcase falling beside him limply. He however, snapped his eyes open a moment later and sprang up from the sofa, as though shocked.
Ishaani rolled her eyes at him and caught Martin's mortified expression, before laughing. Claudine looked confused for a moment before it struck her and she shook her head in exasperation. Martin gave Ishaani a highly embarrassed and hopeless look, and Ishaani sobered down quickly.
"Seriously, Martin? I can't believe you still have this habit of being electrocuted." Martin noticed the sarcasm in Ishaani's tone and shook his head shamefully.
"Madame, you mock me." Ishaani now gave him a stern look, speaking not unkindly.
"No, I'm just telling you that if you sit on the sofa after a tired day because it feels at home, there is no need to get stunned as though you have committed a sin. You are now a part of our family and an economic analyst, not a butler, if that's any consolation."
"But Madame, that's doesn't-"
"Oh Martin, drop it. Your Monsieur is stubborn enough without you joining him." Martin smiled at the mention of Ranveer and knew that Ishaani didn't want to pursue the topic any further. He was about to speak when a voice cut through from within the study room.
"Did someone mention me?" Ishaani looked in the direction of the room and yelled back in response.
"Oh yeah, we did. But don't fret, it's nothing important."
"Alright, I'll join you all in a minute." Ishaani rolled her eyes in his direction and both Martin and Claudine smiled, enjoying the better of Ishaani's hormonal changes. Ishaani looked at Martin suddenly, that caused the latter's smile to falter quickly, replacing it with a sober look. She signaled her hands in the direction of the seat he had occupied.
"Yeah. So Martin, relax and sit." Martin took a seat and smiled awkwardly, that made both Claudine and Ishaani smile at Martin's manners. The two women let him relax for a minute or two before Claudine spoke gently.
"As I was about to ask before this whole scene happened, why do you look so worried, mon cher? Is everything alright?" Martin looked at her deeply, replying dispiritedly.
"Yes... I mean no. The economy is getting from bad to worse daily. Then there were the riots that broke out in northern Athens today. Things look bad for business and the economy as the whole." Ishaani and Claudine both nodded their heads somberly, before Ishaani took a lead in the conversation.
"Claud and I just saw it on the news. We are talking about it when you came. How is your company doing?" Martin shrugged his shoulders, speaking truthfully.
"It's trying to sail through this, but the suction of the recession is very strong. If things continue the same way for the next three months, the company will have to close its branch over here." Ishaani clasped her hand over her mouth while Claudine stared at him anxiously.
"Good Lord! This is horrible!" Ishaani gave Martin a worried look while the latter smiled at her sadly.
"I'm just hoping for the best now."
"Yeah." Ishaani and Claudine gave Martin a reassuring smile and he nodded at them positively. Martin looked around the place before asking quizzically.
"Where's Timmy?"
"He's with Ranveer."
"And the kids?"
"Napping."
"I'll go meet them and come." Ishaani and Claudine smiled at them happily before Martin made his way upstairs. The two women stared at each other in concern before Ranveer entered the living, Timmy following him happily. Timmy saw Ishaani sitting on the sofa and leapt happily into her lap, while Ranveer took a seat beside Ishaani.
"What was the din about?" Ishaani smiled, while stroking Timmy's back.
"Nothing much... Martin still hasn't overcome his 'springing up from the couch' fear." Ranveer slapped his hand on his forehead, and Ishaani and Claudine both chuckled.
"Oh boy, I was really hoping that he would have stopped doing this once he got the job." Claudine narrowed her eyes in his decision, her tone now taking on a mock-threatening demeanor.
"Ranveer-" began Claudine threateningly, while Ranveer raised his hands up in surrender. Claudine smiled.
"Alright, alright. Calm down. But on a serious note, you three were sounding worried. Is everything alright?" Both the women now had a worried look on their face, before Claudine spoke in a perturbed tone.
"Yeah, Martin was talking about the market conditions these days. I didn't know that things had become this bad," said Ishaani in a worried tone. Ranveer's expressions faltered, leaving behind a similarly troubled look.
"Trust me... you have no idea." Ishaani looked at Ranveer concerned, while she questioned him optimistically.
"Will things get alright?" Ranveer shrugged his shoulders, his expression weary.
"I don't know." Ishaani gave him a tensed look and Ranveer eased up considerably. He took her hand in his own before giving her a determined look. "Don't worry, I promise you that we'll get through this unscathed." Ishaani nodded her head reassuringly and Ranveer smiled. Ishaani set Timmy on the floor and let Ranveer envelope her, while Timmy sought refuge over Claudine's lap now.
"If you say so." Claudine smiled at the couple before she slowly made her way away from the hall, Timmy following her eagerly. Ranveer and Ishaani remained in the same position for some time before the two of them broke apart. Ranveer smiled at her, looking at her keenly.
"By the way, I haven't given you your gift for today." Ishaani gave him a guilty look as she spoke sincerely.
"Ranveer, you have got to stop pampering me like this." Ranveer pretended like he didn't hear her and Ishaani sighed. Seeing that she was ready for her gift, Ranveer smiled gleefully.
"Well, this gift is a little unusual. But I'm sure that you'll love it." Ishaani gave him a curious look that Ranveer shrugged off nonchalantly.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes." Ishaani looked bewildered, while Ranveer now smiled from ear to ear.
"Well, what is it?" Ranveer smiled and placed an envelope in her hand. Ishaani emptied the contents of the envelope inquisitively and gasped. Out came two tickets and their passports.
"I'm taking you back home tomorrow."
60. Chapter 59: Step to Amends
2 Chapter 1: When My Heart Missed a Beat
3 Chapter 2: A Wave of New Tidings
4 Chapter 3: When I Set My Eyes upon You Again
5 Chapter 4: The Ghosts of the Past
6 Chapter 5: A Surge of Anxiety
7 Chapter 6: The Tale of Mr. Martin
8 Chapter 7: The Triumph of Hope
9 Chapter 8: Hangovers of Drunken Love
10 Chapter 9: The Battle of Wills
11 Chapter 10: When the Lord Almighty Cried
12 Chapter 11: Rekindling a New Friendship
13 Chapter 12: A Coffee at Balzac
14 Chapter 13: The Magic of Aura
15 Chapter 14: Insight Comes At a Heavy Cost
16 Chapter 15: The Creaminess of a Soupy Afternoon
17 Chapter 16: The Promise Rings
18 Chapter 17: Landlord Troubles
19 Chapter 18: A New Way Back Home
20 Chapter 19: A Smile worth Living For
21 Chapter 20: The Beauty of a Bleeding Heart
22 Chapter 21: The Aubergine Book Fair
23 Chapter 22: Love Is Indeed a Crazy Business
24 Chapter 23: The Evening Tour
25 Chapter 24: The 10-Second Challenge
26 Chapter 25: Did We Or Did We Not?
27 Chapter 26: The Sensations of Breathtaking Fireworks
28 Chapter 27: More Birthday Surprises
29 Chapter 28: Adventure Thrills
30 Chapter 29: Aerial Pop-Ups
31 Chapter 30: The Resurfacing of the Past
32 Chapter 31: Home Sweet Home
33 Chapter 32: Sticky Conversations
34 Chapter 33: Swept Away, I'm Stolen
35 Chapter 34: Hell Hath No Fury like A Woman Scorned
36 Chapter 35: The Plight of a Broken Heart
37 Chapter 36: The Glint of Someday
38 Chapter 37: The Real Picture
39 Chapter 38: Glowing Glory
40 Chapter 39: Grooving Up
41 Chapter 40: The Falling of the Veil
42 Chapter 41: Calling Your Name in the Midnight Hour
43 Chapter 42: The Secrets of a Snowy Christmas
44 Chapter 43: Traditions of Modern Christmas
45 Chapter 44: Le Joie de Vivre
46 Chapter 45: Caught in the Riptide
47 Chapter 46: Arrival of the Newborns
48 Chapter 47: The Glimpse of a New Beginning
49 Chapter 48: The Days of Our Lives
50 Chapter 49: The Valentine Fever
51 Chapter 50: The Key to the Truth
52 Chapter 51: Love Me Like You Do
53 Chapter 52: Till Death Do Us Apart
54 Chapter 53: Conflicting Souls
55 Chapter 54: The Stars of our Heaven
56 Chapter 55: Cheers to Timothy!
57 Chapter 56: Mystery of Blackouts
58 Chapter 57: Blooms and Blossoms
59 Chapter 58: The Circle of Life
60 Chapter 59: Step to Amends
61 Chapter 60: The Dawn of Graceful Age
62 Chapter 61: The Return of Goddess Laxmi
63 Chapter 62: Temple of Refuge
64 Chapter 63: The Love of a Father
65 Chapter 64: Complexities of Knotted Ties
66 Chapter 65: Harmonious Acceptances
67 Chapter 66: The Beginning of the End
68 Chapter 67: When Calamity Strikes
69 Chapter 68: The Enchantment of Love
70 Chapter 69: Sticking Together
71 Chapter 70: The Perfect Baby Shower
72 Chapter 71: The Dawn of a New Era
73 Chapter 72: The Closing Call
75 Dedications
Books Similar to 'Eat, Pray, Love'
Books Similar to 'Room'
Books Similar to 'Hackshaw Ridge'
Marvel Fanfiction
Books Similar to 'Doctor Who'
Books About Space Travel
Books About Demons
Books About Twins
Books About Flying


text:
Home»Celebs»Robert De Niro
Actor/Producer/Director
Born : 17 Aug 1943
Birth Place : New York City, New York
Robert De Niro Biography
Robert Mario De Niro, Jr., is an American actor, director, and producer.
Robert De Niro is well known for portrayals of conflicted, troubled characters and for his enduring collaboration with director Martin Scorsese. De Niro gained critical acclaim in the early 1970s, culminating in his first Academy Award as best Supporting Actor for The Godfather Part II (1974), followed by a Best Actor Academy Award win for Raging Bull (1980).
His film roles include the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, cabbie Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, soldier Michael Vronsky in The Deer Hunter, boxer Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, mobster David Aaronson Once Upon A Time in America, plumber/terrorist Harry Tuttle in Brazil, mobster Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas, Al Capone in The Untouchables, Louis Gara in Jackie Brown, Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, Max Cady in Cape Fear, Cop. Moe Tilden in Cop Land, Neil McCauley in Heat and Sam Rothstein in Casino.
Robert De Niro was born in New York City, New York, the son of Virginia Admiral, a painter, and Robert De Niro, Sr., an abstract expressionist painter and sculptor. De Niro's father was of Italian and Irish descent, and his mother was of German, French, and Dutch descent.
His Italian great-grandparents, Giovanni De Niro and Angelina Mercurio, immigrated from Ferrazzano, in the province of Campobasso, Molise, and his paternal grandmother, Helen O' Reilly, was the granddaughter of Edward O'Reilly, an immigrant from Ireland.
De Niro's parents, who had met at the painting classes of Hans Hofmann in Provincetown, Massachusetts, divorced when he was two years old. De Niro grew up in the Little Italy area of Manhattan. He was raised in New York's Greenwich Village by his mother. Nicknamed "Bobby Milk" for his pallor.
The youthful De Niro joined a Little Italy street gang, but the direction of his future had already been determined by his stage debut at age ten playing the Cowardly Lion in his school's production of The Wizard of Oz. Along with finding relief from shyness through performing, De Niro was also entranced by the movies, and he quit high school at age 16 to pursue acting.
Studying under Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg, De Niro first attended the Little Red School House and was then enrolled by his mother at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art in New York, a division of which (officially named The School of Performing Arts: A Division of the Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and the Arts) was attended by fellow Godfather II actor Al Pacino.
De Niro attended the Stella Adler Conservatory as well as Lee Strasberg's Actor's Studio, and used his membership there mostly as a professional advantage. He is considered, by many fans and critics alike, to be one of the greatest film dancers of all time.
Early Film Career
De Niro's first film role in collaboration with Brian De Palma was in 1963 at the age of 20, when he appeared in The Wedding Party; however, the film was not released until 1969. He spent much of the 1960s working in theater workshops and off-Broadway productions. He was an extra in the French film Three Rooms in Manhattan (1965) and made his official film debut after he reunited with De Palma in Greetings (1968). He later reprised his Greetings role in Hi, Mom (1970).
He gained popular attention with his role as a dying Major League baseball player in Bang the Drum Slowly (1973). The same year, he began his fruitful collaboration with Scorsese when he played a memorable role as the smalltime hood "Johnny Boy" alongside Harvey Keitel's "Charlie" in Mean Streets (1973).
In 1974, De Niro played a pivotal role in Francis Coppola's The Godfather, Part II, playing young Don Vito Corleone, having previously auditioned for the roles of Sonny Corleone, Michael Corleone, Carlo Rizzi and Paulie Gatto in The Godfather.
His performance earned him his first Academy Award, for Best Supporting Actor, although Coppola accepted the award, as De Niro was not present at the Oscar ceremony. He became the first actor to win an Academy Award speaking mainly a foreign language, in this case, multiple Sicilian dialects (although he delivered a few lines in English). De Niro and Marlon Brando, who played the older Vito Corleone in the first film, are the only actors to have won leading-role Oscars portraying the same fictional character.
After working with Scorsese in Mean Streets, he had a very successful working relationship with the director in films such as Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1983), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), and Casino (1995). They also acted together in Guilty by Suspicion and provided their voices for the animated feature Shark Tale.
In many of his films, De Niro has played likable or sympathetic sociopaths. Taxi Driver is particularly important to De Niro's career; his iconic performance as Travis Bickle shot him to stardom and forever linked De Niro's name with Bickle's famous "You talkin' to me?" monologue, which De Niro largely improvised. In 1976, De Niro appeared (along with Gérard Depardieu and Donald Sutherland) in Bernardo Bertolucci's epic biographical exploration of life in Italy before World War II, Novecento (1900), seen through the eyes of two Italian childhood friends at the opposite sides of society's hierarchy.
In 1978, De Niro played "Michael Vronsky" in the acclaimed Vietnam War film The Deer Hunter, for which he was nominated Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Later Film Career
Praised for his commitment to roles (stemming from his background in method acting), De Niro gained 60 pounds (27 kg) and learned how to box for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull; ground his teeth for Cape Fear; lived in Sicily for The Godfather, Part II; worked as a cab driver for three months for Taxi Driver; and learned to play the saxophone for New York, New York. He also put on weight and shaved his hairline to play Al Capone in The Untouchables.
De Niro's brand of method acting includes employing whatever extreme tactic he feels is necessary to elicit the best performance from those he is acting with. During the filming of The King of Comedy, for example, he directed a slew of anti-Semitic epithets at costar Jerry Lewis in order to enhance and authenticate the anger demonstrated by his onscreen character. According to People magazine, the technique was successful. Lewis recalled, "I forgot the cameras were there... I was going for Bobby's throat."
Fearing he had become typecast in mob roles, De Niro began expanding into occasional comedic roles in the mid-1980s and has had much success there as well, with films such as Brazil (1985); the hit action-comedy Midnight Run (1988), Showtime (2002), opposite Eddie Murphy; the film-and-sequel pairs Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That (2002), both opposite actor/comedian Billy Crystal, Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers (2004), both opposite Ben Stiller.
Other films include Falling in Love (1984), The Mission (1986), Angel Heart (1987), The Untouchables (1987), Goodfellas (1990), Awakenings (1990), Heat (1995), The Fan (1996), Sleepers (1996), Wag the Dog (1997), Jackie Brown and Ronin (1998). In 1997, he reteamed with Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta along with Sylvester Stallone in the crime drama Cop Land. De Niro played a supporting role, taking a back seat to Stallone, Keitel, and Liotta.
In 1993, he also starred in This Boy's Life, featuring then-rising child actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. Around this time, he was offered the role of Mitch Leary in In the Line of Fire opposite Clint Eastwood, but he turned the role down in favor of John Malkovich (who received an Academy Award nomination for the role) due to scheduling conflicts with A Bronx Tale. De Niro would later reference In the Line of Fire (along with Dirty Harry and Magnum Force, two more of Eastwood's films) in Righteous Kill.
In 1995, De Niro starred in Michael Mann's police action-thriller Heat, along with fellow actor and long-time friend, Al Pacino. The duo drew much attention from fans, as both have generally been compared throughout their careers. Though both Pacino and De Niro starred in The Godfather, Part II, they shared no screen time. De Niro and Pacino once again appeared in a film together, in the crime thriller Righteous Kill.
In 2004, De Niro provided the voice of Don Lino, the antagonist in the animated film Shark Tale, opposite Will Smith. He also reprised his role as Jack Byrnes in Meet the Fockers, and was featured in Stardust. All films were successful at the box office but received mixed reviews. When promoting Shark Tale, De Niro said that was his first experience with voice acting, which he commented was an enjoyable time.
De Niro had to turn down a role in The Departed (Martin Sheen taking the role instead) due to commitments with preparing The Good Shepherd. He said "I wanted to. I wish I could've been able to, but I was preparing The Good Shepherd so much that I couldn't take the time to. I was trying to figure a way to do it while I was preparing. It just didn't seem possible."
He directed The Good Shepherd (2006), and costarred with Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. The movie also reunited him onscreen with Joe Pesci, with whom De Niro had starred in Raging Bull, Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, Once Upon A Time In America and Casino.
In June 2006, it was announced that De Niro had donated his film archive — including scripts, costumes, and props — to the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. On April 27, 2009, it was announced that the De Niro collection at the Ransom Center was open to researchers and the public. De Niro has said that he is working with Martin Scorsese on a new project. "I'm trying to actually work... [screenwriter] Eric Roth and myself and Marty are working on a script now, trying to get it done."
De Niro has won two Academy Awards: Best Actor for his role in Raging Bull, and Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather, Part II.
De Niro and Marlon Brando are the only actors who won Academy Awards for portraying the same character: Brando won for playing the elderly Don Vito Corleone (though he declined the award) in The Godfather, while De Niro later won the award for playing the young Vito in The Godfather, Part II. Brando and De Niro came together onscreen for the only time in The Score (2001).
De Niro actually auditioned for the role of Sonny in the first Godfather film, but the role was given to James Caan. When The Godfather, Part II was in preproduction, the director, Francis Ford Coppola, remembered De Niro's audition and cast him to play the young Vito Corleone. De Niro is one of only five people to win an Academy Award for working in a foreign language, as he almost exclusively spoke Italian, with very few phrases in English.
De Niro is acting in the role of a mobster in Paramount Pictures' upcoming movie, Frankie Machine. He announced that he would appear in Martin Campbell's film version of the classic BBC crime series Edge of Darkness in 2010 alongside Mel Gibson, but, just after he arrived to begin shooting, De Niro walked from the set due to creative differences. He was then replaced by Ray Winstone.
In 1993, De Niro made his directorial debut with A Bronx Tale. The film, written by Chazz Palminteri, was about Palminteri's turbulent childhood in the Bronx. De Niro agreed to direct the film after seeing Palminteri's one-man off-Broadway play. De Niro also played Lorenzo, the bus driver who struggles to keep his son away from local mobster Sonny, played by Palminteri.
De Niro hadn't directed another film until 2006's The Good Shepherd, which starred Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. The Good Shepherd depicts the origins of the CIA, with Damon portraying one of the top counter-intelligence agents during World War II and the Cold War. De Niro has a small role as General Bill Donovan, who recruits Damon's character into the world of counter-intelligence.
De Niro, who lives in New York City, has been investing in the TriBeCa neighborhood in lower Manhattan since 1989. His capital ventures have included cofounding the film studio TriBeCa Productions; the popular TriBeCa Film Festival; Nobu and TriBeCa Grill, which he co-owns with Paul Wallace and Broadway producer Stewart F. Lane, The Greenwich Hotel, located in Tribeca, and the restaurant inside the hotel, Locanda Verde, formally known as Ago, which is run by executive chef and co-owner, Andrew Carmellini.
In 1997, De Niro married his second wife, Grace Hightower (a former flight attendant), at their estate near Marbletown in upstate New York (De Niro also has residences on the east and west sides of Manhattan). Their son Elliot was born in 1998.
In addition to Elliot, De Niro has a son, Raphael, a former actor who now works in New York real estate with first wife Diahnne Abbott. He also adopted Abbott's daughter (from a previous relationship), Drena. In addition, he has twin sons, Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrick (conceived by in vitro fertilization and delivered by a surrogate mother in 1995), from a long-term live-in relationship with former model Toukie Smith. All of De Niro's partners have been African Americans.
In February 1998, during a film's shoot in France, he was taken in for questioning by French police for nine hours and was then questioned by a magistrate over a prostitution ring. De Niro denied any involvement, saying that he had never paid for sex.
De Niro was due to be granted with Italian citizenship at the Venice Film Festival in September 2004. However, the Sons of Italy lodged a protest with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, claiming De Niro had damaged the image of Italians and Italian-Americans by frequently portraying them in criminal roles.
De Niro is a supporter of the Democratic Party, and vocally supported Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. De Niro publicly supported John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. In 1998, he lobbied Congress against impeaching President Bill Clinton. De Niro also narrated 9/11, a documentary about the September 11, 2001 attacks, shown on CBS and centering on video footage made by Jules and Gedeon Naudet that focused on the role of firefighters following the attacks.
While promoting his movie The Good Shepherd with co-star Matt Damon on the December 8, 2006 episode of Hardball with Chris Matthews at George Mason University, De Niro was asked whom he would like to see as President of the United States. De Niro responded, "Well, I think of two people: Hillary Clinton and Obama." On February 4, 2008, De Niro supported Obama at a rally at the Izod Center in New Jersey before Super Tuesday.
Robert De Niro Filmography
Release Date 04 Oct 2019
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Release Date 01 Nov 2019
Directed by Jonathan Jaku..
Release Date 26 Aug 2016
Directed by David O. Russ..
Release Date 21 Jan 2016
Robert De Niro News
The Godfather Star James Caan Passes Away At The Age Of 82
Deepika Padukone And Amitabh Bachchan Starrer The Intern Remake Will Go On Flo..
Anupam Kher Shares A Beautiful Birthday Wish For Robert De Niro, Says 'You Hav..
Anupam Kher Reveals Wife Kirron's Health Is Improving, Says 'She Is Holding Up..
Robert De Niro Injures Leg On Location Martin Scorsese Film Killers of the Flo..
Anupam Kher Reveals Story Behind Photo With Robert De Niro; Says It's His Mo..
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
These 10 Characters Will Inspire You To Give A Second...
Pathaan OTT Release Date: Here's When And Where To...
Richest Actors in the World 2023: King Khan Ranked 4th...


text:
Dragon Seals.2
Dragon skin
If you're looking for the rest of Dragon Seals go to the table of contents page
"There are no good parts. They're refusing to clear the pastiche for export because they don't like the provenance, not that they ever do. The problem is they've started talking about halting all shipments in transit and ending our Favored Exporter status."
If Italy went, the rest of the EU could follow.
These things were unpredictably slippery laps around chaos that kept her present, living and reacting to whatever "now" threw at her. Heading Conservator was like having three hundred children who depended on her decisions to pay their mortgages and funds their 401Ks. Conner seemed to have been born with a natural gift that told him how to direct his diverse brood of little geniuses and worker bees, but Aubrey's best bet was to listen more than talk when the specifics were being discussed and to ask questions. It had taken the experience of three years to come to that realization. It had been humbling.
"The pastiche?"
"The pastiche. Sorry, the composition vase we're shipping to New York. It's an eighteenth century composition of Roman fragments. This is bullshit, Aubrey. Pure grade A bullshit. It was already cleared for export in Milan, and the seller has a paper trail for the thing back to the artist, who happens to be a nobody. This isn't on Char. I double-checked her work."
That was like a symphony conductor checking a surgeon's work. Audrey smiled, but didn't give him any grief.
Charlotte Tanner was Conservator's provenance researcher, the in house art archeologist, so to speak. The rule of capitalism is caveat emptor and art is no exception. Conservator didn't buy or sell art, but as they began to do as much art conservation and restoration as they did transporting, it had become evident that it was in their best interest to make sure the legitimate owners were the people requesting services. Legitimacy was determined by provenance.
Provenance was one of those things Aubrey learned about early in her experience as the decision maker for Conner's company. She'd incorrectly assumed the standard rules of legal commerce would apply. Someone wanted to sell. Someone else wanted to buy. Money traded hands and there was a proud new owner.
The exchange wasn't as simple when the commodity was a painting, sculpture, or a fertility goddess that bore a notable resemblance to a bulbous rock. Having expressed that thought years ago, Aubrey was shown a stack of documents: letters from the archeologist complete with sketches, a receipt of delivery to the nineteenth century aristocrat who funded the dig, a note of thanks for its generous donation to a British museum and finally, a bill of sale from a financially pinched curator.
Provenance was the paper trail that told the story of an object's life, though most of it was now digitized and organized into large databases. It was proof the object was genuinely what it was proposed to be and that the current owners had the right to pass it to a new owner, the debatable morality of cultural theft notwithstanding.
"And there's nothing in there about where the fragments originated?" Aubrey asked.
"Exactly. The Roman's were a little lax with their paperwork."
"Okay, first of all, does the client know?"
"Good, if we did screw this up, I want to know how and who before we involve them. I have to ask how well they were vetted."
Conner had always insisted on stringent background checks for new clients, but as the company grew, that became more difficult and they had been burned a few times.
"The client is Nick Bardi."
Mr. Nick Bardi had imperious leanings and a wardrobe preference for kilts, which made him a come across as marginally psychotic. He also had history with Aubrey and a thirty-five year tenure as the director of one of New York's most prestigious art galleries, di Gallery. Nick ran a great deal of work though Conservator, so questioning his work would be a diplomatic problem.
"Enough said. What exactly are they taking issue with?" she asked.
"They're attributing it to Piransesi."
"Great, another lost 'Michelangelo.'"
Michelangelo signed one sculpture, the Pieta, in a fit of artistic pique and never gave in to what he saw as his sinful pride again. Every other Michelangelo is attributed to him by well educated guess work, or the written accounts of patrons and his contemporaries. It wasn't an uncommon problem.
Governments occasionally made use of this artistic eccentricity to keep unsigned works by anonymous artists in the country. Regardless of how understandable this practice was, it was arbitrary and subject to the whims of human nature and it was also frustrating, but there was nothing to do except make sure they hadn't missed anything.
"I'm not sure it would surprise me to found out he suspected it was a much more important work." She said.
"Sounds like the greedy little freak. This will send the price through the roof. Are you going to call Shannon? " Alan had a hard spot for Conservator's lawyer Shannon Mayes who was blonde and did do great things for a pencil skirt. She'd be able to clear the sculpture quickly, but she tended to bludgeon first and finesse the scattered pieces as a last resort. Nick and the problem with the Italians weren't one of law, yet.
" God, no. Besides, you're missing the point. Nick would lose the sale. I just meant that I don't put it past him to do shoddy research knowing Char would do his work for him. If it comes to it, I'll do some digging with him. What exactly does the provenance file look like?"
"The provenance 'file' isn't a file. It's a page from a household receipt book and a photo. The entry in the book says "Vaso, Scultura" and it's dated July, fourteenth, seven-teen seventy-three. The photo is of a nineteenth century portrait of a great aunt with the sculpture painted into the scene."
"Who do we have in Rome? I'm assuming." They made sure there was some local on the ground in all the major airport hubs they used. She just couldn't remember which local was where.
"Yeah, Rome. Since Cele got married, one guy, Angelo Brevini but so far, he's as useful as a fart in a sieve, sorry, and wants more money."
"Find out how much more. He's all we've got at the moment."
"I won't be happy about it, but I'll do it."
No matter what the Italians were threatening, sparse documentation could be enhanced with an effective understanding of how to use cultural nuance for purposes of persuasion. In other words, in Italy, the right blonde in a push-up bra had superpowers.
"Such a boy scout. For the long term, I want someone else, Alan, a useful someone, a woman. Think Shannon, but friendly and Italian. In the short term, let's let this settle a while. I'm on my way into the city for dinner, but call Mr. Brevini and see how much it would take make him more effective."
"Now? It's three-thirty in the morning."
"Look at it this way, you get to piss him off."
"I hear and obey."
Aubrey was solidly brunette and ambivalent about push-up bras, but as she walked to the restaurant from the parking garage, she decided to pack a bag when she got home regardless because she had to be better looking in one than Brevini and millions were at risk.
© 2010 Tracy Cartmell
Mountain Flowers Macro Monday
Lisa's Chaos
Posted by Tracy at 7:46 AM
Labels: Dragon Seals, Johnny Aubrey
Nicolette November 29, 2010 at 11:44 AM
Love your brussel sprouts... they look amazingly green and ready to be picked...
Tracy November 29, 2010 at 12:04 PM
Thank you Nikki. They were and they were eaten as well!
Leslie November 29, 2010 at 8:00 PM
I like it. Keep it coming.
I have a magazine home..
The good, the bad, the bubbles, and the poleaxed
Firedrill dinner
Word...
Bonus-family
What passes for recycling around here.
Fever in the morning, fever all through the night....
the juju of good a roux.
"Here, I'll give you a taste."
Wine book that became a life book.
Would you read this? Dragon Seals part 1.
The lesson of the ruby slippers
End optional ( continued )
Meandering as a means. End optional
"Write your book."


RVAR.com - Roanoke Valley Association of REALTORS - "Your Vote is Your Voice!"
Election day for Roanoke City & Salem City council races is Tuesday, May 1st. Are you registered & ready to vote?
Every election is important. Roanoke City residents have a choice between 7 candidates running for 3 council seats. Salem City residents will decide between 6 candidates running for 2 council seats. When REALTORS® vote, our elected leaders notice. Whether a REALTOR® member or a homeowner, make certain your voice is heard.
Registering to vote or updating your address is quick and easy! The deadline for registering / address changes is Monday, April 9th. Click here to check your voting information today! You can even send the link to your clients!
If you live in either of these two localities, remember to VOTE on Tuesday, May 1st!