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CBS News May 19, 2013, 12:19 PM
Gardens in the sky
The view from a rooftop garden high above New York's Central Park.
Norman McGrath
(CBS News) Well-designed gardens need not be confined to ground level. Erin Moriarty of "48 Hours" lifts our sights:
In cities like New York, where skyscrapers dominate the landscape, people have to go to great lengths -- or great HEIGHTS -- to create gardens.
Architect Carlos Aparicio designed what is believed to be the loftiest outdoor space in Manhattan -- on the 76th floor of the Time Warner Center.
"Have you ever designed a garden like this, this high?" asked Moriarty.
"No," he replied. "Initially when I saw it, I realized that it was a balcony to the city of New York, one of the most extraordinary spaces, open space, that I've seen in the city. . . . You can see the sun rise, and then you can see the sun setting on the other direction."
But to turn it into a garden, Aparicio needed help.
"When it came down to planting, I had no idea," he said. "And that's when Gresham came into place."
Gresham Lang may not be the landscape architect TO the stars, but he works right under them, creating unique gardens high in the sky.
"The greenery is what softens the architecture; without it, it's just a roof," he told Moriarty.
Lang says at more than 600 feet above the ground, he ran into obstacles he had never encountered, such as finding plants hardy enough to survive the harsh climate.
The view from a rooftop garden high above New York City, on the 76th floor of the Time Warner Center. Norman McGrath
He compared it to planting on the side of a mountain.
"This is like the unprotected side of the mountain, so that's why a lot of things don't grow, because they get desiccated. The wind just hits them and they dry out," he said.
And Lang discovered spring arrives much later way up here than it does on the streets below.
"When we planted bulbs, there was one inch of ice," Lang said. "We had to actually cut through with our trowels in one inch of ice to plant the bulbs. And down below, the bulbs were in bloom."
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Top Technology Advanced countries in the world
sdzameer
Technology is discovering our day-to-day life. The step of technological difference provides several livelihood actions and the skills they need ancient. It is now quite exceptionally impossible to survive without advanced technology, especially the Internet, mobile communication, and such different great technology. In some vocabulary, technology is too running the economic development of countries. In this geography of continuous disruption, corporations and governments struggle to confirm they retain the capacities to continue competing. We are humans living in the 21stCENTURY where communication and information technology are widely utilized to help humanity. These communication innovations expand the market grades as conventions are brought from throughout the Internet. We use technology for about everything we execute, and you would possibly deal with something tech-related in practically every house you attend.
Top Technology Advanced countries in the world 10
Some of the Best Technology Advanced Countries in the World
Japan is widely analyzed as the world's most technologically advanced country. Japan has developed quickly after the Second World War, which retains represented the advancement of robots from super-fast bullet trains to impressive vending machines and intelligent toilets. Japan created robotic controls to improve productivity for companies. One Japanese business has developed personal mobility that will give various services, helping people strengthen voluntarily within a one-mile radius. It is with no concern that Japan is one of the countries that can expand technology. It oversees the world in robotics creation and design, and tech is also everywhere in daily life.
South Korea's position as one of the world's most creative nations is an outstanding success evaluating that for the initial half of the twentieth century, it survived an agrarian-based Japanese colony similarly a battleground. With its cutting-edge ICT infrastructure showing off the world's rapid internet speeds, the country is high house to important international electronics and I.T. companies such as Samsung Electronics, L.G. Electronics, SK Hynix, and Naver. South Korea maintained the biggest lot of experimenters who moved from enterprise to academia from 2017 to 2019 among 71 countries data from educational recruitment company League of Scholars event.
The technology and industrial title of the United States describe the United States' emergence as one of the most technologically advanced countries globally. House of the world's most giant technology corporations, especially Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft, the United States is a self-starter in universal technology. Advanced technology is increasingly apparent in several aspects of U.S. institutes assisting in creating knowing entertainment exciting and richly rewarding. Silicon Valley motivated and developed a whole production of software engineers and technology advanced firms and is nowadays residence to some of the world's largest tech companies. Also, the United States keeps the most comprehensive private sector available to generate advances in the technological world on its own which creates extraordinary technological breakthroughs.
Russia has significantly earned observable technological advancements in hypersonic technology and independent techniques in the last years. Russia keeps maintaining the growth of A.I. with an increasing significance of urgency. The defense enterprise of Russia is a strategically valuable category and a significant employer. The highly well-known varieties of weaponry got from Russia are Sukhoi and MiG fighters, air defense systems, helicopters, tanks, and infantry fighting automobiles. One of the industry's modern technological creations was the maiden flight of the fifth-period fighter Sukhoi Su-57 which cracked the United States' finished combination on growth and presentation of fifth-generation jets. Russia stands among the world's most giant satellite launchers and has achieved the GLONASS satellite navigation network.
Singapore is one of the great wired countries and technologically advanced ICT demands globally. Singaporeans are highly associated with avid users of technology and insatiable data consumers. Singapore administration retains a Digital Government Blueprint that spells out its objective to decent influence data and equipment modern technologies to direct its steps to create a digital economy and digital nation in assistance of its Smart Nation vision. The region also retains the fastest Internet in the whole world. Singapore is among some of the areas containing the most advanced architecture.
The United Kingdom stands as the considerably technologically advanced country in the world. Due to the discovery of hydrogen, the United Kingdom evolved into the world's first-ever industrialized country. The benefit city London exists a main worldwide economic center and one of the greatly toured cities in the world. The banking and tourism enterprises are parts of a more extensive employment sector that considerably powers the world's financial development. The industrial uprising started in the U.K., and production directed by the automobile and aerospace manufacturers is decreasing through a substantial portion of the world's economy. The country has since developed international honor after inaugurating the World Wide Web, jet engine, electric motor, locomotive engine, commercial electrical telegraph, and incandescent light bulbs. The BAE Systems Taranis and the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle exist among U.K.'s exceptionally new inventions.
Germany has existed as an academic powerhouse for a long time. And as extremely education is the backbone of Germany's technological advances. Germany's sharp output of scientific study consistently ranks among the world's best countries. Germany has alleged to be the most creative country in the world. Germany has moreover arisen as a global leader in medical, service technology, and infrastructure. Germany is recognized for its engineering colleges, which generate some of the top architects in the world. German scientists retain worked in professions such as space analysis and nanotechnology. Its exchange has long existed as a proponent of the country's scientific study. Germany is home to several automotive demons.
Switzerland benefits from an excellent, if costly, ICT infrastructure and a great education system that furnishes the crucial skills to develop a knowledge-based, technology-rich frugality. This possession, associated with a solid political and regulatory atmosphere and outstanding qualities for creation and entrepreneurship, has arisen in companies' phenomenal digital uptake and use. In addition, Switzerland has a standard healthcare system while conserving an exceptional marketplace.
France is one of the incredibly advanced countries in the world. And the country is conditional on technology for everything. France moreover has advanced engineering technology. By which the government is performing various study works by establishing many technologies. It exists as a long-established technology center in the world expected to record automotive creation and its willingness to improve nuclear energy. France exited the third nation to bring satellites along with America and Russia
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The aggregate amount refers to the amount that can be remitted as one item. In Nebraska, properties totaling less than $25 may be remitted as one entry with no owner specific information required. The Unclaimed Property Division, however, prefers to receive full detail for each property remitted in order to facilitate the return of property to rightful owners. Please make every effort to remit full detail for each property included in your report.
The period of time, beginning when you have lost contact with the owner of a property, after which the property must be turned over to the State of Nebraska. Generally, the dormancy period is five years with exceptions ranging from one year to 15 years. You can find the specific dormancy period of each type of property under Dormancy Periods & Property Codes.
The deadline for most holder reports and remittance is November 1 for the fiscal year ending the preceding June 30. The deadline for life insurance corporations is May 1 for the year ending the previous December 31.
Steps taken by a holder to locate the owner of the property, including sending a notice to the last known address at least 60 days and not more than 120 days before the reporting deadline.
Reversion of property to the state, e.g., the reversion of the property of a deceased person to the state when there are no legal heirs.
An encrypted file using the HRS Pro Digital Envelope (HDE) encryption standard. This file can be created by holders using HRS Pro software or the UPExchange software to create their holder reports. The encrypted file is decrypted and read by Unclaimed Property specialists. Holder reports must be submitted in this file type or created on our website by logging in.
Any person in possession of property subject to the act belonging to another, or who is trustee in case of a trust, or is indebted to another on an obligation subject to the act. You are a holder if you possess intangible property belonging to another person, or, if you are a bank, and you possess tangible property in the form of the content of safe deposit boxes that have been abandoned.
National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. NAUPA is a non-profit organization made up of state officials charged with the responsibility of collecting and reuniting owners with their lost unclaimed property. Every state has an unclaimed property program that actively and continuously looks for owners of lost and forgotten assets. Unclaimed property programs also exist in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Canadian provinces of Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta.
A depositor, a beneficiary, a creditor, a claimant, a payee, or any person having a legal interest in the unclaimed property or his or her legal representative.
This term refers to the item being remitted. In most cases property refers to an uncashed check or account, but it can also mean unclaimed stock, mutual funds, or items abandoned in a safe deposit box.
Unclaimed property consists of cash and other intangible assets that are considered lost or abandoned after an owner cannot be located for a specified period of time. Common types of unclaimed property are commissions, court deposits, dividends, dormant accounts, escrow funds, gift certificates, insurance payments, lost IRAs, matured CDs, money orders, payroll wages, rebates, refunds, royalties, stock and mutual funds, traveler's checks, and utility deposits. The contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes are also considered unclaimed property.


It is unfair to judge autistic kids and categorize them as abnormal or retards. It is best not to rush, in terms of judging them because there is a lot of untapped potential that they have in store. It is important for parents and teachers to identify those and nurture them. As the famous saying goes, "Never judge people if you haven't walked in their shoes." So it is best to give them a fair chance to prove their merit and to leave them alone in their comfort zone. Giving them the freedom of space helps them to become confident grown-ups.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has proved to be one of the most effective solutions for autism. This medical treatment does not guarantee to uproot the cause of autism completely from your system. But, it does play a crucial role in keeping the symptoms and the effects of autism under control. In spite of the clinical success of this medical procedure, it is important for people to remember a few important facts before they prepare themselves for the hyperbaric oxygen therapy. So let us take a look at those relevant facts.
Say 'No' to Smoking – We all know that smoking kills. But, what is all the more important for you to know in this case is the fact that nicotine narrows down the blood vessels limiting the flow of blood and oxygen. Since your hyperbaric therapy session is a prolonged process and continuous sittings are needed. Therefore, doctors prescribe till all the sessions are over, the patient is not allowed to smoke.
Medications that You are Currently Undergoing – Not all types of medicine react to the flow of oxygen in your body in the same way. There are certain medicines that do not compliment well with oxygen. Due to such situations, it is always advised to inform your doctor about the drugs that you are currently consuming. In case of any changes that needs to be made, the needful will be done before you start your therapy.
Patient Suffers from Claustrophobia – There are several cases where the patient suffers from claustrophobia. During such instances, your doctor needs to be informed from beforehand so that he can delay the schedule. For such patients, meditation is very important since it helps them to calm down. This calming effect helps in letting them slip inside the chamber without the fear of getting claustrophobic.
Any Kind of Illness – Signs of illness like flu, cough and cold, fever, nausea are some of the popular types of illness that needs to be informed to your doctor and his team well in advance. The chances are high that these minor health hazards will delay the therapy. However, this decision entirely rests with the doctor and his team whether they should delay the sessions or not. It also depends on the health conditions of the patient.
Duration of the Session – On an average, each of the hyperbaric oxygen therapy session goes on for a span of 90 minutes for 5 to 6 days a week. The patients are required to have a total of 30 to 40 sessions to cure the problems that they were facing.
These points are important and patients are expected not to forget these at any cost before getting ready for the therapy.


On behalf of Law Offices of Stephen Santucci, PC posted in Family Immigration on Tuesday, May 21, 2013.
The U.S. Senate is in the process of amending the immigration reform bill, and some amendments are designed to protect and extend immigrants' rights, while other amendments would effectively limit or eliminate those rights. For families on Staten Island and throughout New York, family immigration law is a key aspect of the proposed reforms, and some carefully designed amendments will be necessary to keep families together.
For example, the bill currently before the Senate actually takes away a sibling's right to sponsor his or her brother or sister from another country. The bill also greatly hinders some parents' ability to bring their kids to the U.S.
Fortunately, it is possible that amendments to the bill will fix these problems, but if lawmakers fail to deal with these issues in a positive way that protects families, then the toll on some aspiring Americans and their naturalized loved ones could be crushing.
Say a person with a developmentally disabled brother immigrates to the U.S., begins working, becomes a citizen and petitions for her parents to join her. All of that is possible, but under the current version of the reform bill, she would not be able to petition for her brother to legally immigrate.
Should the naturalized citizen in this case be prevented from looking out for the best interests of her disabled sibling?
To keep this particular family and many others together, lawmakers will have to amend the immigration bill so that a wide variety of family structures are protected. Different families have different needs and goals, and people who aspire to become U.S. citizens should be aware of how immigration law fits their particular situations.


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The Pales
For those who who value peace, solitude and natural beauty.
Friends of the Pales
Enjoy a day at the Pales
Other forms of Support
Burials at the Pales
Transport Links
Threshing Minute – October 2015
A Brief History of The Pales
A Detailed History of the Pales
The Burial Ground
Burials List
Llandrindod Local Meeting Site
SMQ Area Meeting
Britain Yearly Meeting
Friends in Wales
The Pales Peace Choir
Explore Churches
Small Pilgrim Places
Wyeside Writers' Group
The Radnorshire Society
Bleddfa Centre
The Thomas Shop
Penybont & District Local History
Penybont History Group Notes
International Links.
Mid – Wales Buddhists
The Pales Meeting House Slideshow
Beetle Day – June 2019
Geology Day – October 2018
QVA Weekend
Es & Os Quiet Day
Green Art Day
The Pales Burial Ground, Llandegley.
Written and Edited by Martin Williams
Historical Origins
The Burial Ground at the Pales is one of the oldest Quaker graveyards in Wales, and certainly the oldest still in use. The exact date of the first burial is not known, but its use goes back to the early 1670s, yet it has had, at the time of writing, two burials in the 21st century.
George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, first visited Radnorshire in 1657, following earlier visits by Thomas Holmes, and small Quaker communities soon began to spring up, at Llananno, Cregrina, Nantmel and Llanfihangel Helygen, and Llandegley. Early Quakers were very much at odds with the established church and suffered much persecution. The use of church graveyards was not open to them and inevitably, the need for a Quaker burial ground soon became imperative.
In 1673, a "parcel of land" was donated for a period of 999 years to Friends, by David Powell the Elder and David Powell the Younger, of Llandegley and Nantmel. The original deed (see transcript, below) says it is to "remain in use" as a burial ground, so its exact beginning is not known. It is also referred to as a "roundabout"! This is clarified in the second deed, however, which describes it as "fenced in roundabout" – in other words, it was "paled", or surrounded by wooden posts, hence the name "The Pales".
A subsequent deed of 1717 bequeathed more land, sufficient for the building of a Meeting House and the establishment of a field area.
The original records of burials are found in a variety of places, such as Local Authority Public Record Offices (Powys, Hereford, and Glamorgan), but the earliest are found, in digest form, at the National Archives at Kew. The earliest burial record so far located is from 1692, that of Roger Hughes, the infant son of Roger and Catherine Hughes, of Llanfihangel Rhydithon.
Early burials were not marked by a headstone, as this was not the practice of early Friends. The oldest headstone at the Pales is dated 1838, and belongs to John Jones, of Little Park. John Jones left a legacy for "the relief of the Poor in Radnorshire"; although now very small, this legacy is still in use today to support Friends of limited means to attend Quaker events.
Visitors to the Pales often remark on the uniformity of the headstones, which is quite unlike the variety found in the graveyards of most denominations. This is quite intentional, and is an aspect of the Quaker Testimony to Simplicity; ostentation in headstones, as in other matters, is to be avoided. Traditionally, a Quaker headstone is of plain design, and contains only the name, the date of death and the age at death. A glance at the Pales headstones will reveal the extent to which deviations from this creep in! One of the most interesting features is the tendency to include the deceased's farm name, as well as personal name. This surely echoes the Welsh tendency to refer to farming people by their farm name as an adjunct to their forename or surname.
The vast majority of those buried at the Pales are Quakers, but not all. In addition to some non-Quakers buried alongside their Quaker spouses, there are one or two other exceptions, such as the Prince family, who were non-Quaker caretakers of the Pales during the first half of the 20th century. Generally speaking, however, it is a burial ground reserved for Quakers wishing to be buried there (or have their ashes scattered there), from within the regional group, currently called Southern Marches Area Quaker Meeting.
If you wish to arrange a burial at the Pales please contact us – click here.
Pales Management Group are occasionally asked for permission to place an object or to plant something in memory of a Ffriend or loved one.
The Group will consider each application to place a commemorative object but as a rule will only accept the following –
• Garden benches
• Garden seats
• Suitable nesting boxes or other structures intended for the benefit of wildlife
• Request for the planting of trees or shrubs will usually be refused.
In all instances please contact the Friend in Residence. click here.
The Pales News
Hope at the Pales – a virtual Meeting for Worship Sharing.
Pales Annual Talk now available on-line.
Beginnings – Pales Poetry Day 18th March.
Copyright © 2021 The Pales. All rights reserved.


The floor is one gigantic chess board and there are at least four dark corners where you can hide (the perfect spot for your first kiss). Often the music is so great that everyone spontaneously starts to dance. The bar staff are jovial, you want to stay and drink. The brick walls are authentic, you're instantly in the groove. Ah, this is simply the perfect place! At regular intervals the beurscafé is the setting for great parties, profound bar conversations, record fairs, fascinating wall paintings and that's only a start. We welcome you all.


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William Hjortsberg obituary
Genre-defying novelist and screenwriter whose book Falling Angel became the cult film Angel Heart
Lisa Bonet and Mickey Rourke in the 1987 film Angel Heart, based on the novel Falling Angel, by William Hjortsberg. Photograph: Allstar/Tristar Pictures
Michael Carlson
Sun 7 May 2017 06.34 EDT Last modified on Thu 22 Feb 2018 15.13 EST
William Hjortsberg, who has died aged 76, was a brilliantly inventive writer whose books fell into a category sometimes called "slipstream", a creative mix of genres often characterised by darkness lightened with playful humour. His best-known novel, Falling Angel (1978), is a mix of hard-boiled detective fiction and horror, a metaphysical noir that became Alan Parker's classic movie Angel Heart (1987). Two years earlier, Hjortsberg had written the screenplay for another dark fantasy by a British director, Ridley Scott's cult movie Legend (1985).
There was a haphazard karma to Hjortsberg's career, much of it linked to his friend and fellow writer Thomas McGuane, whom he met at Yale drama school. Hjortsberg was born in New York City, where his father, Helge, a Swedish merchant sailor who had jumped ship there, ran a successful Swedish restaurant. When he was 10, his father died, and the family lost everything. His Swiss-born mother, Ida, worked as a maid to support the family. Hjortsberg took a degree in English at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and worked nights in a pizza parlour.
William Hjortsberg with his daughter, Lorca, in 1969. Photograph: Bob Peterson/The Life Images Collection/Getty Images
He started at Yale in 1962, but then he and McGuane both won fellowships at Stanford University; before starting the programme Hjortsberg and his wife, Marian, travelled round Europe and central America. Hjortsberg wrote two novels, which were rejected widely, and was working as a shelf-stacker in Bolinas, California, when McGuane stepped in to help. He paid the copying and postage costs to send one of Hjortsberg's manuscripts to his own editor at Simon & Schuster. A comedy set in a fairytale Switzerland, it was published as Alp in 1969, and followed by Gray Matters (1971), a brilliant piece of what was becoming known as speculative fiction, set in a post-apocalyptic world where only the brains of a select few had survived.
He wrote for magazines including Sports Illustrated and sold stories to Playboy, from which he won a "best new writer" prize. Symbiography, rejected by Playboy, was eventually published in Penthouse and in 1973 became a small-press novel and then an unproduced screenplay, Nomad. His fourth novel, Toro! Toro! Toro! (1974), was a comic take on bullfighting.
By now Hjortsberg had followed McGuane to live in Livingston, Montana, where he became the centre of the so-called Montana Gang, which included the writers Jim Harrison, Tim Cahill and Richard Brautigan, as well as the musician Jimmy Buffett and the actors Peter Fonda and Warren Oates. McGuane was by now an in-demand screenwriter, and advised Hjortsberg to try it.
When Hjortsberg pitched him an idea inspired by Stephen Vincent Benét's short story The Devil and Daniel Webster, McGuane said: "That's too good for Hollywood, write it as a novel." Before publication, Falling Angel was serialised in Playboy and won the magazine's annual best major work award. In the novel, set in 1959, New York private eye Harry Angel is hired by the mysterious Louis Cyphre to find Johnny Favorite, who disappeared after being wounded in a Nazi air raid in Tunisia in 1943. What starts as a Raymond Chandler-like detective story soon melds tropes of supernatural horror into a feverish tale of murder, voodoo and incest.
Hjortsberg would not publish another novel for many years. His only film credits came on screenplays for the B-movie king Roger Corman, but when Ridley Scott had the idea for a movie version of Tristan and Isolde, which became Legend, and came across some of Hjortsberg's unproduced low-budget fare, he sought him out for the job.
Tom Cruise and Mia Sara in the 1985 Ridley Scott film Legend, for which Hjortsberg wrote the screenplay. Photograph: Allstar/20th Century Fox
In 1994 Hjortsberg published Nevermore, a mystery starring Harry Houdini, Arthur Conan Doyle and the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe. By then he had begun work on a biography of Brautigan, which would take 20 years to research and write; Hjortsberg joked that Brautigan was laughing at him from beyond: "that poor old Hjortsberg spent years chasing me down". Jubilee Hitchhiker was finally published in 2012.
A new novel, Mañana (2015), drawing on his experiences in Mexico in the 60s, is a tale of hippies, drugs and murder. He finished a long-awaited sequel to Falling Angel, which is due to be published later this year.
Hjortsberg's first marriage, and a brief second marriage, ended in divorce. He is survived by his third wife, the painter Janie Camp, whom he married in 2007, and a daughter, Lorca, and son, Max, from his first marriage.
William Reinhold Hjortsberg, writer, born 23 February 1941; died 22 April 2017


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Today, I submitted a letter opposing the current draft of a "right of publicity" bill being rushed through the New York legislature before it closes up shop for the summer. Since my earlier post about the bill SAG-AFTRA has proposed adding language that would eviscerate the exemptions in the bill making it even more urgent to stop this bill from being adopted without debate and significant revisions. It is not clear that New York needs such a right of publicity law, but if it adopts one it needs much more thought.
I continue to be confounded by SAG-AFTRA's missing the downsides of this bill for its own members from the dangers of transferability to estate taxes to disadvantaging the less successful of its members.


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Crown Prince meets Pentagon chiefs
His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, visited government institutions in Washington DC and met with senior officials of the United States' government on the second day of his official visit to Washington DC.
According to a press release from the Prime Minister's Office, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince visited the Pentagon where he was greeted by Admiral James A Winnefeld Jr, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, United States Armed Forces, and senior officials of the United States Armed Forces.
Both sides expressed satisfaction at the military relations between Brunei Darussalam and the United States and discussed ways to enhance this relationship, the press release stated. Among the issues discussed were cooperation in military education and training. At the moment, there are a few Bruneian students studying in the United States' military academies under the scholarship of the Ministry of Defence.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince then toured the Pentagon.
At the Pentagon, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also had a meeting with Mr William J Lynn III, Deputy Secretary of Defense, to discuss bilateral relations between Brunei Darussalam and the United States, particularly regarding cooperation in defence, and exchanged views on regional and international matters.
According to the press release, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince then went to the Department of Homeland Security to meet with Ms Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, to discuss bilateral relations between Brunei Darussalam and the United States, particularly regarding cooperation in security and disaster management.
Accompanying His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were Prince Abdul Qawi, Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa Dato Seri Setia Awang Lim Jock Seng, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II, and Dato Paduka Haji Yusoff bin Haji Abdul Hamid, Brunei Darussalam's Ambassador to the United States, the press release stated. - Borneo Bulletin (21st September 2011)


Lot 44 566th Avenue is a $55,000 property on a 3.00 acre lot located in Prescott, WI.
Welcome to Aspen Creek. Set on a rolling plateau high above Big River, woods, and valleys. So convenient to Mpls/StPaul, yet you live an everyday vacation within 30 minutes of airport. Wildlife and serenity, yet set among neighbors. Fantastic financing offered for the Buyer who wants in now, and maybe build later. Only 10 lots remain from $47,000- $160,000. All lots range from 2-5 acres - Electricity, phone and hi-speed internet service in place.
I am interested in Lot 44 566th Avenue, Prescott, WI 54021.


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Briefing Technology
Peloton Sent Plummeting as Demand for Exercise Equipment Flatlines
November 5, 2021 9:56 AM November 5, 2021 9:14 AM Hermina Paull 0 Comments Peloton Interactive
Shares of Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) were sent plummeting on Thursday in after-hours trading, after the exercise equipment maker posted less-than-dismal sales growth and a downgraded outlook as demand for its treadmill with an iPad glued to it continues to wane.
According to its fiscal first quarter earnings, Peloton suffered a significant deceleration in sales growth and a worse-than-expected loss, which prompted the exercise equipment maker to slash its full year outlook. Revenue came in at $805.2 million, marking an increase of 6% from a year earlier, but still shy of Refinitiv expectations calling for $810.7 million.
In the three months ending on September 30, the company suffered a net loss of $376 million following a net income of $69.3 million a year earlier, which translates to a loss per share of $1.25— substantially worse than forecasts calling for a loss of $1.07. Although Peloton reported that subscription revenue jumped 94% to $304.1 million, its sales of connected fitness products were down 17% to $501 million.
But, there was more bad news: Peloton's annual sales growth for the quarter came in at a paltry 6% against a jump of 230% in the first quarter of last year, while operating expenses skyrocketed 140% year-over-year, and sales and marketing expenses soared 148%. As a result of the unsustainable figures, Peloton was forced to cut its forecast and update its outlook in ranges rather than single estimates.
The exercise equipment maker now expects revenue to fall between $4.4 billion and $4.8 billion, which is substantially lower than analysts' forecasts calling for an average of $5.4 billion. Peloton also anticipates its connected fitness subscriber count will be anywhere between 3.35 million and 3.45 million, falling short of the previous outlook calling for 3.63 million. "The primary drivers of our reduced forecast are a more pronounced tapering of demand related to the ongoing opening of the economy, and a richer than anticipated mix of sales to our original Bike," Peloton said in a statement.
Indeed, Peloton is right: the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions has prompted more consumers to turn their overpriced exercise equipment into clothes hangers and head outdoors instead, tossing out with them shares of Peloton, which have fallen more than 40% since the beginning of the year.
Information for this briefing was found via Peloton and Refinitiv. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
← Enbridge Ends Q3 2021 With $11.5 Billion In Revenue
DraftKings Reports Q3 2021 Results: US$212.8 Million In Revenue, US$545.0 Million Net Loss →
Peloton: BMO Remains As The Bear Following Q4 Results
September 4, 2021 1:10 PM Justin Young 0
Peloton Interactive Bucks COVID Variant-Inspired Sharp Market Decline
November 28, 2021 9:00 AM Jim McFadden 0
Anecdotal Evidence Points to Continued Downside Risk for Peloton Interactive
December 28, 2021 9:00 AM Jim McFadden 0


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How rich is Jack Charles in 2020?
Jack Charles Net Worth
How rich is Jack Charles? For this question we spent 22 hours on research (Wikipedia, Youtube, we read books in libraries, etc) to review the post.
Jack Charles information Birth date: September 5, 1943 Birth place: Cummeragunja, Australia Height:5 1 (1.55 m) Profession:Actor
:How tall is Jack Charles – 1,84m.
How much weight is Jack Charles – 77kg
Jack Charles (born 5 September 1943) is an Australian Aboriginal actor, musician, potter, and Aboriginal elder.Born at Cummeragunja Mission on the Murray River, Charles was raised in a boys home in Box Hill, suburban Melbourne, where he was the only Indigenous child.Charles was involved in establishing Indigenous theatre in Australia. In 1971 he co-founded with Bob Maza Nindethana (place for a corroboree) at The Pram Factory in Melbourne, Australias first Indigenous theatre group. Their first hit play was called Jack Charles is Up and Fighting. In 2010, Ilbijerri Theatre staged his one-man show called Jack Charles v The Crown, at the Melbourne Festival.In 1972 Charles auditioned for the role of the Australian Indigenous title character in the television show Boney but was knocked back because they were looking for an actor with blue eyes. The job went to New Zealand-born James Laurenson, an actor of Sri Lankan descent.In 1974 Jack played Bennelong in the stage production of Cradle of Hercules which was presented at the Sydney Opera House as part of its opening season. Also in the cast was a very young David Gulpilil. In 2012 Charles performed in the Sydney Festival production I am Eora.Stage work includes Jack Davis play No Sugar for the Black Swan Theatre Company in Perth.His screen credits include the landmark Australian film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978), Bedevil (1993), Blackfellas (1993), Tom White (2004) and the upcoming Pan (2015), among others.Jack Charles was the subject of Amiel Courtin-Wilsons 2008 documentary Bastardy which followed him for seven years. The films tagline describes him as: Addict. Homosexual. Cat burglar. Actor. Aboriginal. The film was in the official selection for Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney and Sheffield Doc/Fest film festivals.
Wikipedia Source: Jack Charles


Web Summit is one of the largest and top technology conferences attended by more than 70,000 people from all over the world. In 2018 Web Summit welcomes its guests and participants in Lisbon on November 5-8. Busy conference agenda and exhibition are enriched by PITCH competition among startups that have received under €3 million in funding.
PublBox has been selected to the top 160 startups that will present their ideas and apps in front of an international panel of judges and investors gaining a chance to win PITCH at Web Summit 2018.
«Our team gears up for PITCH since Web Summit is one of the most important events in the IT industry and it is the best marketplace to present startups! We have made great progress over the past year in developing our product, we have worked hard, and we are very encouraged to be on the shortlist at such a global and significant event represented by almost all segments of the IT market».
At Web Summit PublBox is about to present its new positioning and advanced features of the automated social media management software. See you at stand B431 on Day 1 of the exhibition and on PITCH Stage 3 (November 6, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm).
PublBox is the software behind better social media marketing when you want results without hiring freelancers or an outside agency. PublBox combines scheduled posting on major social platforms with other advanced features such as Post Advisor, Graphic Designer and more.
Web Summit is Europe's largest tech conference with over 70,000 attendees and an important meeting place for leading hi-tech companies that shape the future of business and our lives.


The Rival Mini Chopper MC-67BL is a small food chopper with a 1.5 cup bowl and a black outer case.
Where can I find replacement blade shaft?
The Rival Mini Chopper MC-67BL is a small food processor released in 2010. The model number can be found printed on the bottom of the base as well as outside the original packaging box.
This particular model comes with a black base featuring a grey pulse button. It is a cheaper version of the Rival 1.5-cup Mini Chopper FPRVMC3002, released in 2010. The MC-67BL features a slightly different base design and a less powerful 35-watt motor compared to the 70-watt motor of the FPRVMC3002 model.
Main removable parts are the clear plastic locking lid, the container, and the stainless steel blade. The base of the chopper and the pulse button are also made out of plastic. These are all dishwasher-safe.
To find and solve problems related to the chopper, check out the Rival Mini Chopper Troubleshooting Page.


Author George Sossenko who as a young man of 16 literally ran away from home to fight Fascism and Nazism. He's now in his 90's and still actively demonstrates, and speaks for peace.
Recounting extraordinary experiences, George began writing his life story in Spanish at 82. Chapters covering the prelude to the Spanish civil war through the defeat of the axis have been published in Spain by the prestigious de Castilla-La Mancha University Press.
The complete version "The Idealistic Adventurer" is now available in English.
Readers interested in social, political, and military history including true adventure will be well satisfied with the fast reading 530 pages of "The Idealistic Adventurer".
George was born in Odessa, Russia and lived his childhood years in Paris. At 16, he literally ran away from home to Spain to join the fight against Fascist Franco. He was so young that only the anarchist forces would have him. As Hitler threatened France, his family moved to Argentina to escape European militarism.
He survived battles as a brigadista in Spain and then joined Free French forces in north Africa. In Tunisia he was deeply burned in a tank battle by a German shell. He recovered in a military hospital in Tunis, and then George was reassigned with the Free French Infantry attached to the U.S. 5th Army that was advancing east.
Although heavily scarred, he had sufficiently healed to be in the landing forces that entered Italy south of Naples. Later George entered Rome with the first units of the 5th Army and was selected to meet with the pope.
The military chapters are extensive and detailed, yet they are only a part of this exciting life story.
George took to arms only to fight Fascists and Nazis and committed his life to antimilitarism and pro-peace.
After WWII, he joined his family in Argentina. In one adventure described in the book, on the day Dictator Juan Peron's wife Eva Peron died, he and several other men were arrested, roughed up and put in prison for laughing and singing to celebrate.
After his release from prison, George moved to Brazil and led a large mining expedition into the Amazon jungle. The chapters recounting this ghost and superstition filled struggle are true to life adventure. After months in remote Amazon territory, he returned to Rio de Janeiro literally penniless and was taken in by a friend.
George joined the Michelin tire company as a development engineer for heavy machine, truck, and bus tires. He moved to the U.S. where he led work to introduce the Michelin brand for passenger cars. A chapter tells of bringing French test drivers to Nevada, where there were no highway speed limits, to run the tires very fast on American cars! In recent years George consulted worldwide, developing tire production and several large tire retreading plants.
There is much much more in George's fast reading book. If you want to charge up your own sense of commitment to live your life with commitment you will find it in reading about George's amazing, exciting, and inspiring life!
A life burning for dignity and freedom.


Charles Sterling, who spent most of this decade in Australia as a developer evangelist, recently moved back to Redmond. He's now on the Team System team working full-time on the kinds of things I did in my spare time when I was there. As he rapidly ramps up his activity in the Team System area, I'm officially passing the "Team System Blogfather" title over to him. He has a ton of energy and enthusiasm for Team System. He'll also be the driving force behind the Team System developer centers on MSDN. Since he's working on this stuff as his day job, I'm certain he'll eclipse my efforts in short order.


text:
Q: Swift - Detect the user drawing through defined points/areas. My app already has the drawing enabled for the user on the screen. How can I define certain points in the screen and detect when the user draws through that point? Read about a few swift methods but can't quite grasp if they are applicable for what I need, also I can't find any "collision" methods.

A: You can use the .containspoint method. However I would recommend you to use a rectangle and not a point. It`s very difficult to draw over one certain point. So  you could use CGRect for a rectangle and then again  .containspoint(from the user touched point).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Pixel Scroll 7/17/21 Part Pixel. Part Scroll. All File 770
Posted on July 17, 2021 by Mike Glyer
(1) DRAGON AWARDS DEADLINE. Red Panda Fraction reminds everyone that July 19 the deadline to nominate for the Dragon Awards. The award has a unique eligibility period – the works must be released between 7/1/2020 and 6/30/2021 – and to help deal with it RPF has created an eligible works spreadsheet compiled by volunteers (inspired by Renay's Hugo Awards spreadsheet) in a Google Doc located here. Dragon Awards nominations can be submitted here.
(2) A TOMORROW WAR MAKEOVER. Camestros Felapton wasn't content to "Review: The Tomorrow War (Amazon)" – now he's come up with a plan for "Fixing The Tomorrow War" – BEWARE SPOILERS as they say.
Sorry, it's just that this daft film is bugging me. If you are going to have a time travel plot then do something with it. Terminator 1 and 2 managed to be exciting, daft movies and still have some interesting things to say about determinism and time travel. The Tomorrow War pulled one emotional beat out of the set-up but otherwise the time travel aspect just lead to an absurd situation in which Chris Pratt and only Chris Pratt could work out what to do in the past to help the future. It didn't help that Pratt is not good at conveying the idea that his character is a particularly insightful thinker….
(3) BIG BUCKS. Somebody got paid: "'Walking Dead' Lawsuit Settled For $200M Between Frank Darabont, CAA & AMC" reports Deadline.
Less than a month before The Walking Dead kicks off its 11th and final season, the long and bitter legal war between former showrunner Frank Darabont, CAA and AMC is over.
In the dictionary definition of a strategic whimper not a bang, the cabler just filed paperwork with the SEC declaring that they have paid out $200 million to the Shawshank Redemption director and the uberagency to end the dispute.
"The Settlement Agreement provides for a cash payment of $200 million (the "Settlement Payment") to the plaintiffs and future revenue sharing related to certain future streaming exhibition of The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead," says the understated filing (read it here).
"With regard to the Settlement Payment, the Company has taken a charge of approximately $143 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2021 in consideration for the extinguishment of Plaintiffs' rights to any compensation in connection with The Walking Dead and any related programs and the dismissal of the actions with prejudice, which amount is net of
approximately $57 million of ordinary course accrued participations," the 3-page document continues.
… All of which means almost 10 years since TWD's Halloween 2011 premiere under Darabont's tutorage, this legal saga is done like a walker with a knife through the head.
(4) LEVAR BURTON READS HIS OWN BOOK. Entertainment Weekly invites everyone to "Hear LeVar Burton read his novel Aftermath for the first time". Audio at the link.
Book aficionado, actor, director, and novelist LeVar Burton is doing something new with one of his old projects.
He's taking Aftermath, his speculative fiction novel from 1997, and turning it into a new audiobook — and EW has your first listen.
When Burton released the book in the late '90s, it was set in the future — 2019. It followed a group of people that just might be able to save humanity following catastrophic events, including a destructive earthquake, racial strife (the fictional Black president was assassinated in 2012), and war.
EW's sneak peek from Aftermath is Burton's new author's note, where he comments on some of the themes and offers reflection on recent historical events. Looking back on his novel, Burton said he was "astonished by similarities between" his "timeline and unfolding events." He also notes he wrote the book as "a cautionary tale."…
(5) A DIM VIEW. Gavia Baker-Whitelaw critiques the cinematography of Marvel movies in "Why the MCU's Lighting Sucks—Including 'Loki' and 'Avengers: Endgame'" at Daily Dot.
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fandom is a fount of strong opinions, some of which I find wholly understandable (Tilda Swinton's role was a fiasco; Sebastian Stan is an underrated gem) while others are a little more… puzzling. In the latter category, it's always bizarre to see people praise the MCU's lighting. Unlike the artistic vigor of the comics, Disney's Marvel franchise delivers film after film that can best be described as "murky." And that includes the popular technique of just blasting a scene with a single color.
This week saw the release of Black Widow and the Loki finale, both involving a similarly lackluster lighting strategy. Black Widow's final sequence includes flashes of red to break up the grey undertones of a traditional Marvel battle, while Loki concludes in a purple castle—after fighting a purple CGI behemoth in episode 5. In both examples, the result is deceptively monotonous. While Loki's purple color scheme is initially eye-catching, the low-contrast lighting makes it hard to make out the characters' facial expressions. The same goes for many other scenes in the show, as evidenced by this official promo image…
There's nothing wrong with filming in monochrome, of course. The film industry did it for the first forty years of its existence. But Marvel's "paint it all purple" (or brown, or red) technique ignores the shadows, reflections, and highlights utilized in traditional black-and-white films. So we're neither benefiting from evocative lighting choices or from the vibrant color palette in blockbusters like Superman (1978). (For a classic superhero movie that probably would work in black and white, Tim Burton's Batman is full of stark, noir-style contrasts.)…
(6) GOT TO BE HERE SOMEWHERE. Austin Gilkeson examines "The Fellowship of the Ring and the Memes of Middle-earth" at Tor.com, including a famous one that doesn't come from Tolkien's books.
The other day, I opened Facebook and saw a Boromir meme. You know the one. Fingers and thumb forming a circle, golden light about him, the words "One does not simply [something something]" embossed over the image. This one has the Center for Disease Control logo below that, with the PR announcement, "Fully vaccinated people may now simply walk into Mordor." Below that, Boromir rubs his temple in frustration. Twenty years on from the debut of The Fellowship of the Ring, and that line from Sean Bean's Boromir, and I think we can safely say that the "One does not simply" meme is, like the Eldar, immortal….
(7) JOE MCKINNEY (1968-2021). Author Joe McKinney, writer of 13 novels in many genres, including horror, ghost stories, virus thrillers, crime and science fiction, died July 13. He was an 8-time Bram Stoker Award nominee, winning twice, for his novel The Flesh Eaters (2012) and his young adult novel Dog Days (2014).
In addition, he was a sergeant with the San Antonio Police Department, Patrol Supervisor, and before that a homicide detective, disaster mitigation specialist, and he'd helped run the city's 911 Dispatch Center.
The San Antonio Current paid tribute here, and quotes two writers connected with the Horror Writers Association who eulogized McKinney on Facebook.
"I am terribly saddened to hear that a good friend and great writer, Joe McKinney, has passed away suddenly," horror author and HWA board member JG Faherty posted on Facebook Thursday. "I will miss the chats we used to have every few months. He was always there to help me when I needed some factual assistance with police procedure, or to just bullshit about things."
On Thursday, horror author Lisa Morton, a six-time Bram Stoker Award winner, posted a Facebook remembrance of McKinney. She met the San Antonio author in 2006 after being asked to write a blurb for Dead City.
"I became both a fan of Joe's work and a friend," Morton wrote. "At some point we both wound up serving as HWA officers and trustees, and Joe was always a trusted voice of wisdom. Even after he left office (he served lastly as HWA's secretary), we stayed in touch, talking about an amazing crime novel he wanted to write, based on some uncomfortable truths he'd learned while serving within the San Antonio Police Department."
(8) MEMORY LANE.
1996 – Twenty-five years ago the Deadly Games series ended its run on UPN after just one season. So why am I bringing it to your attention? Because Leonard Nimoy was one of the executive producers (along with Jim Charleston, Christopher Hibler and Christian I. Nyby II), along with being a creative consultant and he directed the pilot for the series. He was not one of the creators as that was Paul Bernbaum, S.S. Schweitzer and Anthony Spinner. (Only the latter with work on The Invaders and The Man from U.N.C.LE. had any extensive genre work. Well, and he wrote for The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.) Its principal cast was James Calvert, Christopher Lloyd, Cynthia Gibb and Stephen T. Kay. The plot? Evil VR characters escape into reality. Really, would I kid you? The network contracted for an initial thirteen episodes and cancelled it before all of them even aired due to really poor ratings. There's no audience rating at Rotten Tomatoes but the aggregate critical rating there is fifty percent.
(9) TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS.
[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]
Born July 17, 1889 — Erle Stanley Gardner. Though best remembered for the Perry Mason detective stories, he did write a handful of SF stories, all of which are collected in The Human Zero: The Science Fiction Stories of Erle Stanley Gardner. It is not available from the usual digital suspects but Amazon has copies of the original hardcover edition at reasonable prices. (Died 1970.)
Born July 17, 1954 — J. Michael Straczynski, 67. Best known rather obviously for creating and writing most of Babylon 5 and its all too short-lived sequel Crusade. He's also responsible for as well as the Jeremiah and Sense8 series. On the comics sides, he's written The Amazing Spider-Man, Thor and Fantastic Four. Over at DC, he did the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and has also written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen titles. I wonder how his Dangerous Visions anthology project is coming along.
Born July 17, 1956 — Timothy D. Rose, 65. Puppeteer and actor. He was the Head Operator of Howard the Duck in that film, but also was in The Dark Crystal, Return to Ewok, Return of The Jedi, Return to Oz, The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. He voiced Admiral Ackbar in the latter two and in The Return of The Jedi as well.
Born July 17, 1965 — Alex Winter, 56. Bill in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and its sequels Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey and Bill & Ted Face the Music. And though I didn't realise it, he was Marko in The Lost Boys. He directed two Ben 10 films, Ben 10: Race Against Time and Ben 10: Alien Swarm. He also directed Quantum Is Calling, a short film that has cast members Keanu Reeves, Simon Pegg, John Cho, and Paul Rudd.
Born July 17, 1967 — Kelly Robson, 54. She finally has a collection out, nearly five hundred pages of fiction, Alias Space and Other Stories. It's available at the usual suspects for four dollars and ninety-nine cents. Bliss! It contains "A Human Stain" for which she won a Nebula, and two Aurora winners, "Waters of Versailles" and "Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach".
Born July 17, 1976 — Brian K. Vaughan, 45. Wow. Author of Ex Machina, Pride of Baghdad, Runaways, Saga (which has won a BFA and a Dragon), Y: The Last Man, and his newest undertaking, Paper Girls. And he's won a Hugo Award at LoneStarCon 3 for Saga, Volume One. You could spend an entire summer just reading those series. In his spare time, he was a writer, story editor and producer of Lost during seasons three through five, and he was the showrunner and executive producer of the Under the Dome series.
Born July 17, 1992 — Billie Lourd, 29. Lourd is the only child of actress Carrie Fisher. She appeared as Lieutenant Connix in the Star Wars sequel trilogy as Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix. She also has been a regular cast member on American Horror Story for the five seasons.
(10) COMICS SECTION.
Prickly City has the passive-aggressive UFO take on Earth people.
Lio's lost pet poster leaves out one important fact.
(11) BIG PRICE TAGS. The New York Times includes photos of several of these unique items in "Toymakers Create Their Dream Projects (but Ask for Money Upfront)".
… Other collectors are opening their wallets to buy exclusive products like a $575 Transformers action figure from Hasbro, a $350 Star Wars gunship from Lego, a $75 Magic 8 Ball from Mattel and a $250 Bear Walker skateboard from Pokémon.
The strategy is part of an effort by toy companies to form stronger bonds with fans by offering them once-in-a-lifetime toys. Many companies have beefed up their e-commerce presence to sell limited-edition items that are not found at Walmart or Target.
After slipping 4 percent in 2019, U.S. toy sales roared back last year, rising 16 percent to $25.1 billion, according to the NPD Group, a research firm. "2020 was an unprecedented year for the U.S. toy industry," Juli Lennett, vice president and industry adviser for NPD's U.S. toy division, said in a statement.
Much of the expansion was driven by pandemic-induced lockdowns that led consumers to shop online for entertainment options. In the first three quarters of 2020, overall online toy sales jumped 75 percent from a year earlier, NPD said.
Taking advantage of the online growth, executives at big toymakers like Hasbro and Mattel are ramping up their efforts to create dream projects. And digital strategies like crowdfunding allow smaller companies to bypass the hurdles of selling a concept to established retailers, which might balk at giving valuable shelf space to a large, expensive toy or an untested product.
Hoping to form stronger bonds with their fans, companies like Hasbro and Lego are making once-in-a-lifetime toys — from Transformers action figures to Star Wars gunships — through crowdfunding and other online strategies. https://t.co/WeVqMKrUMx
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 16, 2021
(12) SCHMIGADOON. I don't think I could actually stand to watch this show, but in small doses it's morbidly fascinating. Consider the Carousel-esque "You Can't Tame Me" clip. Which can't be embedded here.
The six-part series follows a couple, played by Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key, who stumble on a magical town that lives in a 1940s musical. From there, the pair have to try and find true love.
(13) DON'T SPARE THE ROD. "Submitted for your approval, the ten episodes that broke the bank…in the Twilight Zone."The Richest calls these "The Ten Most Expensive Twilight Zone Episodes".
8/10 Once Upon A Time, $67,250.76
The expensive budget behind this no-dialogue episode was in part due to the appearance of silent-film star Buster Keaton. The episode was written as an homage to some of Keaton's most iconic performances and still retains the Twilight Zone's iconic twist.
Centered around two men who are unhappy with their current existence, a time traveling helmet provides both a glimpse into how true satisfaction comes from acknowledging that the grass on the other side of the fence is not actually greener.
(14) WOMEN IN SPACE. "What does it take to do a spacewalk? Skill, courage, and being able to wear a men's size medium" says The Conversation.
On June 25, astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet successfully completed an almost seven-hour EVA (extravehicular activity, or spacewalk) to install solar panels on the International Space Station. What does it take to don a spacesuit and venture out on such a technical and dangerous mission? Surprisingly, one of the main criteria (besides the years of astronaut training) is body size.
EVA capabilities blossomed during the era of NASA's space shuttle. Astronauts rode robotic arms, floated tetherless through the void using jetpacks to steer, corralled satellites by hand, and built the International Space Station (ISS). They've done it all while wearing spacesuits based on the design first developed for the Apollo missions in the 1960s.
Each suit is a human-shaped spacecraft, featuring a backpack that houses a primary life support system; a layered, pressurised outer garment to protect astronauts from the space environment; and a "long john" undergarment that circulates chilled water via tubes over the body to stop the astronauts getting too hot inside their suit.
When designing these "next-gen" spacesuits in 1974, NASA opted for a modular "tuxedo" approach, in which the various components (upper torso, lower torso, helmet, arms and gloves) could be mixed and matched to fit individual astronauts. The suits came in five sizes, from extra small to extra large, and were based primarily on male body shapes — females were not eligible for NASA's astronaut program until 1978….
… This means that to be selected for an ISS spacewalk, an astronaut must fit one of the two remaining available sizes: men's medium, or men's large. The first all-female EVA, planned for March 2019, had to be postponed because only one medium-sized suit was available. Another medium suit was eventually cobbled together from spares, and astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir successfully performed their groundbreaking spacewalk on October 18 2019.
(15) INCOMING. This dragon-killing movie is coming to Netflix next month: Monster Hunter: Legends of the Guild
(16) VIDEO OF THE DAY. [Item by Martin Morse Wooster.] In this video, the Royal Ocean Film Society celebrates the work of director Joe Johnston and his film The Rocketeer, and says Johnston's films are "cheesy, but the best kind of cheese." He notes that Johnston's films are small, efficient tributes to the American dream, and says that fans of Johnston's Captain America: The First Avenger will like Johnston's earlier film.
[Thanks to Andrew Porter, Martin Morse Wooster, JJ, Red Panda Fraction, Michael Toman, John King Tarpinian, Cat Eldridge, and Mike Kennedy for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to contributing editor of the day Jon Meltzer.]
This entry was posted in Pixel Scroll and tagged Austin Gilkeson, Camestros Felapton, Dragon Awards, Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, J.R.R. Tolkien, JG Faherty, Joe McKinney, LeVar Burton, Lisa Morton, litigation, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Red Panda Fraction, Twilight Zone, Walking Dead by Mike Glyer. Bookmark the permalink.
48 thoughts on "Pixel Scroll 7/17/21 Part Pixel. Part Scroll. All File 770"
Cat Eldridge on July 17, 2021 at 5:08 pm said:
I'm going skip voting in the Dragon Awards as I'm still reading my way through all of the Hugo packet. One set of Awards at a time is quite enough.
Still listening to Gareth Powell's Macaque Attack
Paul Weimer on July 17, 2021 at 5:13 pm said:
Listening to L E Modesitt's EMPRESS OF ETERNITY.
I saw Tomorrow War and it's got its issues for sure., even here in 6835.
Red Panda Fraction on July 17, 2021 at 5:14 pm said:
Lis Carey on July 17, 2021 at 5:23 pm said:
Clickity
Paul Weimer says Listening to L E Modesitt's EMPRESS OF ETERNITY.
So how is it? Not an author that I've read much of, so I'm interested in what you think of both the novel and the narrator.
Acoustic Rob on July 17, 2021 at 5:49 pm said:
Second fifth!
I'm not sure The Rocketeer is a good movie, but it's sure as hell a fun movie.
I do like his work,. he's far better known for his fantasy (e.g. Recluce) than his science fiction. I am enjoying it thus far, but at this point I can recognize some "Modesitt touches" which sometimes can be a bit mannered.
StephenfromOttawa on July 17, 2021 at 6:09 pm said:
9) I really liked Kelly Robson's "Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach". I must get hold of a copy and read it again. Interesting story.
Acoustic Rob says I'm not sure The Rocketeer is a good movie, but it's sure as hell a fun movie.
I actually think that it is both but that's based in large part because I think that they did an absolutely amazing job of staying true to what Steven's did in his graphic story. And it is always extremely hard to translate a story successfully from one medium to another.
StephenfromOttawa says I really liked Kelly Robson's "Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach". I must get hold of a copy and read it again. Interesting story.
As I said, it's in Alias Space and Other Stories. And I agree with you that's an interesting story, one of the best I've ever read.
Jamoche on July 17, 2021 at 6:22 pm said:
"murky"? Even the night scenes had brightly lit neon so we could see what was going on, and there was lots of daylight. Far too many shows never turn the lights on at all – looking at you, DCU and The Expanse. Or rather giving up on looking at you because I can't tell what's going on.
lurkertype on July 17, 2021 at 6:49 pm said:
Yeah, whining about Marvel being murky instead of comic book bright and not mentioning the DCCU is a whole lot of "pay no attention to the pachyderm occupying the sofa".
Also, he's expecting fluorescent light in a citadel carved out of an asteroid at the end of time by a guy who is alone and literally too old for this shit?
Roger on July 17, 2021 at 8:39 pm said:
Regarding Kelly Robson's Alias Space, neither Amazon, the Subterranean Press listing or ISFDB list Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach as included in the Alias Space collection.
rochrist on July 17, 2021 at 9:17 pm said:
14) Would it kill them to, I don't know, make up a few new sets of parts?
Xtifr on July 17, 2021 at 10:49 pm said:
Went to memorial services for long-time fan Miriam "Rebelgirl" Lloyd today. (Miriam has appeared on the birthday lists here before.) Anyway, as a result, I'm feeling a bit verklempt. Also, it was my first public gathering since the Before Times, so I'm also feeling a bit overwhelmed, albeit in a mostly good way. All of which is why I can't really think of anything relevant to say right now. But I may try again later. At least the box is ticked. Or will be if I remember to tick it before posting. 🙂
Cat Eldridge on July 17, 2021 at 11:30 pm said:
Roger says Regarding Kelly Robson's Alias Space, neither Amazon, the Subterranean Press listing or ISFDB list Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach as included in the Alias Space collection.
You're right. My bad. It is available as a stand alone purchase.
steve davidson on July 18, 2021 at 12:51 am said:
16) I STILL want one of Howard Hughe's rocket packs, statue of Lindberg not withstanding.
Andrew (not Werdna) on July 18, 2021 at 2:16 am said:
(8) Was just thinking about Deadly Gsmes the other day. I think I watched all 13 episodes.
Camestros Felapton on July 18, 2021 at 2:51 am said:
As always, I shall be voting for Declan Finn in the dragon awards in the hope of immanentizing the eschaton
JJ on July 18, 2021 at 2:53 am said:
*snort*
Christian Brunschen on July 18, 2021 at 5:18 am said:
(8) July 17, 2006 – Twenty five years ago on this date
Unless we've skipped a decade, I think 2006 was fifteen years ago, not twenty-five …?
Cat Eldridge on July 18, 2021 at 5:33 am said:
Christian Brunschen says (8) July 17, 2006 – Twenty five years ago on this date
You would be, but it came out in 1996. One of us missed this when proofing last night and I'll have Mike fix it. Thanks for pointing it out.
Cliff on July 18, 2021 at 7:08 am said:
5) Bad writing and bad arguments.
"a similarly lackluster lighting strategy." This would be quite a clever phrase if it were written on purpose, but I'm pretty sure it's not.
"but the overall tone is dark and murky" murky means either 'dark' or 'obscured due to dirt or fog etc'. The first meaning is redundant, the second meaning doesn't apply to any of the examples cited, which are pin-sharp.
"the result is deceptively monotonous" I have no idea how monotonous can be deceptive.
"And that includes the popular technique of just blasting a scene with a single color." And yet when you watch the link clip, it's pretty apparent there are three key colours involved.
"Loki concludes in a purple castle—after fighting a purple CGI behemoth in episode 5." Maybe the echoing of purple between the guard and castle is not a coincidence?
"But Marvel's "paint it all purple" (or brown, or red) technique ignores the shadows, reflections, and highlights utilized in traditional black-and-white films." First, a highlight is a reflection. Second: you can see both highlights and shadows in the clip the author links to:
"but the overall tone is dark and murky. This makes it easier to edit the color scheme in post-production—and incorporate CG elements." Maybe the author is forgetting what she is seeing is actually the result of post-production colour editing, not the input? A restricted palette doesn't make colour manipulation or CGI element blending any easier. Witness the brightly-coloured Transformers movies, or even MCU's SpiderMan: A Long Way From Home or the first Avengers movie. Also, it's simply not true that directors/lighters/DPs choose colour schemes to help CGI artists. If anything, CGI artists and technicians scramble to keep up with the artistic visions of the director and DP. The palettes of each sequence are chosen well in advance to convey particular meanings.
"A lot of blockbusters farm out their VFX work to underpaid contractors". Pretty much every movie production involves farming out all sorts of work to contractors. The only vfx exception that comes to mind is Lucasfilm, which owns ILM.
"Overseas contractors also pose a temptingly cheap option for studios, circumventing the need for unionized labor back home." London and Vancouver have been offering tax breaks for movies made there for some time now, which has indeed led to the demise of California's pre-eminince in the field. And it's also true that vfx studios further afield are becoming more heavily used. But the vfx industry is decidedly not unionised in the US.
"The greatest trick Marvel ever pulled was convincing its fanbase that this is 'good lighting.'". I'd be amazed if the vast majority of MCU fans care at all about "good lighting", which diminishes the grandeur of this particular Marvel trick.
It seems like the author wishes the movies were more informed by the colour choices of the comics. I'd speculate that the differences are quite intentional, and intended to make the the movies have a broader appeal.
Red Panda Fraction on July 18, 2021 at 7:26 am said:
Camestros: Well naturally.
Cliff says It seems like the author wishes the movies were more informed by the colour choices of the comics. I'd speculate that the differences are quite intentional, and intended to make the the movies have a broader appeal.
The color palette of comics is not the color palette of video. It just can't be. One is a one dimensional visual reality on paper versus an electronic reality that is equally one dimensional but in a different manner as the brain perceives it quite differently. And so we see the colors, the shadings differently as well.
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DB on July 18, 2021 at 12:35 pm said:
6) Not only is the movie's line about not simply walking into Mordor not in the book (although the point it makes is in the book), the other movie meme line most emphasized in the article, "You shall not pass," isn't what the book says either. It's "You cannot pass."
David Shallcross on July 18, 2021 at 3:03 pm said:
6) I notice that the animated Lord of the Rings used the original line. (Yes, I pulled out the DVD to check.)
David Goldfarb on July 18, 2021 at 3:20 pm said:
There was an episode of Legends of Tomorrow where the Legends traveled to the battle of the Somme and encountered Tolkien. As often happens in episodes where they encounter a historical figure, dialogue and events happen that show up in the figure's work (meet George Lucas, get trapped in a trash compactor…). But nearly all the dialogue was dialogue that was in the movies and not in the book.
I think I get the one line confused with the Monty Python and the Holy Grail's "NONE SHALL PASS" bit. I've seen MPatHG more times than any individual Lord of the Rings movie.
David Shallcross says
Well that makes two of us. I watched the first Lord of the Rings film, wasn't that impressed by it and decided not to bother watching the next two. I love the novels and am looking forward to the Serkis audiobook versions.
Don't get me wrong — I liked them well enough to watch them as they came out in the theaters, just not enough to make an effort to re-watch. Each had bits I liked, and bits I didn't. Maybe someday I'll pick up copies on the latest distribution medium, and watch the good parts.
And the world could do with multiple fan-made videos of the Old Forest episode — Bombadil and all.
David Shallcross says Don't get me wrong — I liked them well enough to watch them as they came out in the theaters, just not enough to make an effort to re-watch. Each had bits I liked, and bits I didn't. Maybe someday I'll pick up copies on the latest distribution medium, and watch the good parts.
It wasn't that The Fellowship of The Ring as a film was bad per se as it wasn't but by the time I saw the film I'd read the novel at least a half dozen times, more than any more novel save Dune. My brain had indelible images of almost everything in the novel and I couldn't get ride of them when watching the film. (Dune will pose the same problem. It's why I like audiobooks.) So that's why I didn't bother to watch the next two trilogy films, or watch the later Hobbit films.
Meredith on July 18, 2021 at 6:39 pm said:
I don't enjoy the heavy blue-and-orange-and-muted-everything-else colour grading that was flippin' everywhere in blockbusters during the main body of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, but since they really weren't the only films doing it I'm not going to single out their participation.
Rose Embolism on July 18, 2021 at 6:54 pm said:
@David Shallcross: And the world could do with multiple fan-made videos of the Old Forest episode — Bombadil and all.
The only way I could stand that would be if Tom Bombadill was played be PeeWee Herman. Not Paul Reubens, but PeeWee playing Bombadill
As I understand it, Tom Bombadill and Jar Jar Binks have parallel origins in that they were both inspired by a young relative. That probably is why they seem so similarly annoying to me.
DB on July 18, 2021 at 9:21 pm said:
" I've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail more times than any individual Lord of the Rings movie."
Well, I've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail more times than I've seen every single Tolkien-based movie put together. That includes all 6 Jackson flicks, Bakshi, Rankin-Bass, and the recent biopic. And I like it better than all those put together too.
I've also read Tolkien's book more times than I've seen all of those movies put together, too.
Xtifr on July 18, 2021 at 9:21 pm said:
I know this is a minority opinion, but I actually think that LoTR is one of the very rare cases where the movies are better than the books. Though both are good, and neither is perfect or flawless.
rochrist on July 18, 2021 at 10:46 pm said:
Definitely minority. If you filed off the serial numbers, they made decent generic fantasy movies. As recreations of LotR, they were abysmal.
@rochrist: Yes, but that's not the only reason the movies were better. :p 😉
Xtifr says I know this is a minority opinion, but I actually think that LoTR is one of the very rare cases where the movies are better than the books. Though both are good, and neither is perfect or flawless.
I'm puzzled. The trilogy does exactly what it sets out to do — tell Tolkien's story in the way he wants it told. The films are Jackson's badly done takes upon that work including altering dialogue and whole chunks of the story as he saw fit. I really don't see how they can be better.
Cat Eldridge: I'm puzzled. The trilogy does exactly what it sets out to do — tell Tolkien's story in the way he wants it told. The films are Jackson's badly done takes upon that work including altering dialogue and whole chunks of the story as he saw fit. I really don't see how they can be better.
If you consider the Tolkien books to be supremely perfect, sure. But a lot of people like me find the Tolkien books overblown and flawed, and in some ways, the movies correct for those flaws (and in other ways, the movies have their own flaws). I agree with Xtifr; both the books and the movies have their positive and negative aspects, and neither is flawless.
I read the books once. I saw the movies once. I feel absolutely no need to experience either again, neither of them were that good for me.
Mike Glyer on July 19, 2021 at 8:51 am said:
Seeing anyone say reading Tolkien once was enough reminds me of a saying attributed to Elizabeth I: "I've had a bath once in my life and I don't see what good it did me."
bill on July 19, 2021 at 9:29 am said:
@Cat Eldridge
The films are Jackson's badly done takes upon that work including altering dialogue and whole chunks of the story as he saw fit. I really don't see how they can be better.
The fact that the films have differences from the novels is not necessarily evidence that the films are worse. Film is a different storytelling medium. It doesn't follow the same rules.
Nicole J. LeBoeuf-Little on July 19, 2021 at 8:02 pm said:
JJ:
I'm glad I'm not the only one. I liked both the movies and the books well enough at the time I was experiencing them, and I just have felt no need to reread / rewatch them since. Tolkien just doesn't speak to me the way his works speak to so many others; I can't explain why. Sometimes it makes me feel very much like a misfit among genre fans.
JJ on July 19, 2021 at 8:12 pm said:
Nicole J. LeBoeuf-Little: Tolkien just doesn't speak to me the way his works speak to so many others; I can't explain why. Sometimes it makes me feel very much like a misfit among genre fans.
Exactly! They just don't speak to me. For many years my compulsive re-reads were a series about the descendents of a lost space colony, which really did speak to me, but which I am sadly no longer able to read. 🙁
Patrick Morris Miller on July 19, 2021 at 10:40 pm said:
@JJ: I take it red-haired psychic Celt lords wielding blue gems were involved?
JJ on July 19, 2021 at 10:49 pm said:
Aye, that it would.
Cassy B. on July 20, 2021 at 5:10 am said:
@JJ it sucks when talented creators turn out to be truly horrible people, doesn't it? sigh


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text:
Belk offering discounts to benefit schools and charities
By Neal Wagner
Published 1:55 pm Monday, November 1, 2010
By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor
Alabaster's Belk store will be looking to give shoppers a deal while helping a plethora of Shelby County schools and non-profit organizations during its Fall Charity Sale Nov. 6.
The sale will take place at the store in the Colonial Promenade shopping center from 6-10 a.m. for those who purchase a $5 ticket either before the sale or at the event.
Because Belk usually does not open its doors before 10 a.m. on Saturdays, the store will hold a private sale for those who purchase a ticket for the event, said store Department Manager Kimberly O'Farril. During the sale, the store will offer 20-70 percent off items throughout the store.
The sale will offer savings on many rarely discounted designer brands, an additional 25 percent off on handbags, kids' items and shoes, up to 60 percent off fine jewelry and 30 percent off dresses.
"Because the store doesn't actually open from 6 to 10 a.m. on Saturday, it will be a private sale," O'Farril said. "That allows us to offer a big savings on some items we don't usually discount."
Everyone who attends the sale must purchase a $5 ticket, and all ticket proceeds will benefit the Alabaster Arts Council, the Alabama Wildlife Center, the Buck Creek Civitans, Hope for Gabe, the Girl Scouts of America, Family Connection, Pelham Church of God, Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, People to People, Present Truth Church, New Rising Scholars, Daisy Troop No. 119, Living Word Church and the Master's Commission.
Calera Elementary School, the Montevallo High School football team, Hope Christian School, the Maplesville High School cheerleaders, the Hope Christian School cheerleaders and Creek View Elementary School will also benefit from the donations.
Tickets are available at each of the schools and non-profits, at the store and at the doors the day of the event, O'Farril said.
Belk holds the Charity Sale every spring and fall, but with the holiday season looming, the fall sale usually draws a bigger crowd and raises more money for charity, she said.
"The schools and organizations can also volunteer at the store that day, which will help them raise more money above and beyond the ticket sales," O'Farril said.
During the sale, customers will receive $5 off their first purchase of $5 or more. The first 100 customers in the store will receive a free Belk gift card, and three customers nationwide will receive a $1,000 gift card.
All participating schools and non-profit organizations will be entered to win one of three $1,000 donations.
Hot Wheels collectors flock to Calera
Chad Whisnant searches for Ford Mustang Hot Wheels cars in the bins of other collectors during the convention on Oct.... read more


As we usher in these last few months of the year, have you thought about what you'll be doing during Christmas? If you are planning to hold a party with a few friends or family members, consider hiring a party bus Toronto. Party buses are still a relatively new concept.
Many people don't know how much fun they can have in a party bus and the endless choices they have when choosing a suitable bus. The only thing you'll have to worry about when it comes to a party bus is the activities you and your friends will engage in. Here are a number of ways you can make a Christmas party fun using a party bus.
During Christmas season, there's nothing more amazing than spending time dining with the most important people in your life. Imagine hiring a party bus Toronto and having it take you to some of the best restaurants in town? This is a great idea if you are taking the trip with a group that appreciates a good meal.
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Party buses can offer a great transport option to some of the best clubs in Toronto. If you are looking for something different this Christmas season, request the rental company to organize a theme for you that is centered on dancing. You'll cover the most entertaining joints in town and have the time of your life. You can book a standard bus or something more luxurious. You can even choose to enjoy some good food at the party.
What will people enjoy most?
Before you begin planning for your Christmas party, think about the kind of event that your friends or colleagues will enjoy the most. Not everyone will want to go for a sit down dinner. There are those who will prefer to go dancing whereas others would rather enjoy some good food and drinks. The idea is to try and strike a balance by offering a little bit of both. For instance, you can choose to book a party bus that has a dance floor and great entertainment to give people an opportunity to dance. Discuss with the party bus company the kind of Christmas themes they have on offer before you make a booking.


Why should people learn the Spanish language?
The first report of Berlitz done in 2005 about the Spanish language in the world, said that English, French, Spanish and German are the most studied languages around the world in the order mentioned. Although there is no an exhaustive data comparing the number of students of the different languages in the world, it is estimated that, after English, Spanish is disputing with French and Mandarin the second place in the classification of languages more studied as a second language.
According to Instituto Cervantes (a public institution created in Spain in 1991 to promote universally the teaching, the study and the use of the Spanish), this language is the second one more talked around the world as a native language after the Mandarin. In 2016 more than 472 million people speak Spanish a native language, adding the apprentices the number grows to almost 567 million people. At the present, there are 21 million who are learning Spanish as a foreign language. These learners come from 106 countries where China is included with an approximated number of 31.154 students of Spanish language distributed in learners of primary, secondary and professional formation with 8.874, university students 22.280, and Cervantes Institute Centers with an estimation of 2.875 students.
Those numbers and estimations say that the Spanish language should be learned because it is a big population in a continent full of opportunities to do business. As china is going to be, or is the first power around the world, it is important to know the people who you are going to do business, and the best way is through the language and the culture. 472 million people mean 472 million people to exchange goods and services, as China process and sell, Latin America is rich in natural resources, that means a supplier of raw material.
How to learn the Spanish language effectively and what are your teaching methods?


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Family owned business, well established and forward thinking.
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Excellent reputation as an Employer of Choice.
Significant investment to ensure continuing success and business growth over many years.
Exciting time to join with many recent successes and exciting plans for the future.
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Up to 5 years experience of digital and PR communications in branded business (ideally FMCG).
Experience of packaging development and execution / launch into market.
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Experience and competency of using IRI / Nielsen and Kantar database (and possibly some qualitative research experience).
Agile, flexible thinker with an ability to juggle multiple needs from the business, prioritise and adapt as necessary to win the mission together.
Experience of working in a challenger brand business would be advantageous (where brand is no.2, 3 or 4 in the market).
Some experience of broader communication channels such as TV and radio would be an advantage.
Some experience of e-commerce and next gen routes to market would be an advantage.
Provide input, support and direction to the Advertising and Communications program for the company Brand that challenges the market and competitors and delivers the company mission.
To provide support to the Insight Manager to achieve the right level and mix of insight to deliver the mission to win.
To lead Portfolio activities for the company Brand, including strategic Innovation input, to ensure maximized Revenue and profitability across all portfolio SKU's.
Development and execution of Packaging changes.
Bring the company Brand to life for all company employees through internal branding and launch events.
To apply for the role, please send your CV and salary details to Expion Search & Selection using the 'Apply Now' button. All direct and third party applications with be forwarded to Andrew Jagger at Expion Search and Selection.


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