The religious imagery conveyed in this scripture aptly describes the strong individuality of the twins born over three decades ago to Ambassador Greg Mbadiwe. While they are identical, certain physical attributes and character traits mark a clear distinction between them.
To some, Ozuomba and Oseloka Mbadiwe need no introduction. They come from a family with a rich political, business and social heritage. Their grandfather, the late Hon. Kingsley Ozuomba Mbadiwe, was a respected politician in the first and second republics. He was an impressive wordsmith who gave the Mbadiwe name a larger-than-life status.
Their father, Greg, is no exception. Like his father, Greg who is a lawyer is deeply interested in social engineering. He also has a copious penchant for photography. This is clearly displayed on the walls of King Celia Hotel, which he opened last year to honour the memory of his dear parents-Kingsley and Cecilia. The vibrant life and times of his father are vividly captured in images-some of them in black and white, others coloured- adorning the walls of the hotel. More than a personal reflection on the life journey of the late Mbadiwe, the photos capture a good chunk of colonial and post-independence history of Nigeria, as Mbadiwe was in the thick of it all. The building that is now King Celia Hotel has an interesting record as the headquarters of the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the second republic.
Interestingly, Ambassador Mbadiwe has ensured all his six children attended the same secondary school he graduated from in London, St Edmund's College. At a time he could easily afford sending the children to other private schools in Nigeria, he threw all in the ring to ensure that his children got the quality of education he received from his alma mater. But that is not all he has bequeathed to them. Along with his wife who is also a lawyer, Greg may have unwittingly scored a Guinness World Records double hat-trick by raising an all-lawyer family.
"We are a legal family," said Ocee in a display of wonderful repartee.
Speaking with the twins was a cheerful session filled with amusement as they kept a string of clever retorts coming. Named after their paternal and maternal grandfathers Ozuomba Mbadiwe and Oseloka, they are better known as Ozee and Ocee. The twins left Nigeria when they were 12 years old to further their secondary school education in the UK.
Ozee and Ocee strike a lot of similarities. They are of the same height and almost of the same build, though Ozee, the older one (even if by a few minutes) is slimmer. He is also the outspoken one. Like most twins, they share a peculiar bond. They understand each other and have only been separated once in their lives during their secondary school days, before the move to London. Now in their adulthood, they are still doing things together. It's like one cannot work without the other. Does this mean, they will wed the same day or perhaps get married to a set of twins?
"No, we wouldn't. Why would I want to wait for him to find a wife before I marry mine?" asked Ocee.
"We tried it once and I received the short end of the stick. There is no way we are doing that," said Ozee.
Looking back now, the twins believe that sending them to study in the UK was a huge sacrifice on their father's part.
It was while studying in London that the twins were approached to feature in the famous UK documentary about young Nigerians who are flourishing in London. Titled: 'From Lagos to London: Britain's New Super Rich', the documentary captured the luxury lifestyle of the twins and other children of the Nigerian elites in the UK.
In the documentary, the twins visited St Edmund's College and showed the crew their dorms. Back in Lagos, the crew visited the Mbadiwe home in Victoria Island where the twins displayed their father's large collection of cars, photographs of their father and grandfather, as well as took the crew on a ride to the opulent Banana Island neighbourhood in Ikoyi. Evidently, they were proud of their heritage and acknowledged the responsibility it foists on them to work harder in order to maintain the family legacy.
However, the controversial documentary drew equal dose of ire, envy and admiration from the Nigerian audience. Some believed that the twins should have contributed to poverty alleviation in Nigeria than showing off their cars. And yet others showed admiration to the twins for being successful in their own right.
Ozee and Ocee who were back in Nigeria when the documentary aired in 2016, said they were not happy with the title because that wasn't what the producers offered them when they were approached.
Regardless of the controversial headline, the documentary cast the spotlight on them afresh. Suddenly, people were reading about them, writing heroic letters to them, as well as waving at them when they drive by. They also had the opportunity to walk the runway for Mai Atafo at the Lagos Fashion and Design Week.
With the new fame, came added responsibility.
"People walk up to us on the streets, they say they are proud of us and we should keep representing Nigeria well. They easily recognise us. There are others who see us as their role model and we try as much as we can to tell them they have to work hard to be successful," said Ocee.
Unfortunately, the new celebrity status also came with scandals. A Kenyan lady, who identified herself as Sheila Wetangula, claimed that she was swindled by the twins.
According to Ozee, Sheila had walked up to them at a gig and got talking with his brother. After a while, they exchanged numbers out of courtesy. That act of modesty would later led to an invasion of his privacy, as she bombarded him with calls when they returned to London. Along the line, Sheila who claimed to be in Nigeria for business wanted to introduce a brother of hers who was into some equipment business in Sweden to Ocee. She went as far as setting up an all-expense paid business meeting in Sweden which he attended. However, Sheila apparently wanted more from him. When it became obvious that Ocee wasn't ready to give in to her demands, she decided to play dirty by paying a blogger to write defamatory stories about the twins. Luckily for the twins, her first contact was a friend of theirs who hinted them on her devious plans.
Now, the third generation of Mbadiwes, Ozee and Ocee are faced with the responsibility to continue the legacy of their family. They are not relying on their family name to be successful. In fact, according to the twins, the name often shut doors at them. They sometimes see the name as a disadvantage.
The twins who are graduates of law are towing a different path, which is tilting towards entertainment and tourism.
They currently run a tourism company called 'Enjoy Africa' with the main objective to promote tourism in every city in Africa, but first from their home country, Nigeria. Initially, the concept was limited to promoting tourism in Lagos but a chance encounter with the former Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs. Sally Mbanefo expanded their vision.
With this new idea, the twins took a step further by making the concept a continental one, thus the birth of 'Enjoy Africa,' which they registered as a company with N10 million shares.
In order to bring their vision into fruition, they needed partners who also bought into the idea. At the time they started the project, they had nothing but an idea on paper. They relied on their various skills acquired from their different citadels of learning for successful negotiations The 'Enjoy Lagos' project was launched at a time when Nigeria was feeling the pangs of recession.
From that humble beginning, 'Enjoy Lagos' has taken a life of its own. It is now the official partner for Africa Fashion Week, and also part of the organising team of the Global Management Challenge. They also intend to use the platform to encourage people to get their voters card.
Since their return to Nigeria, they have joined their father's latest business, hospitality where they fucntion as non-executive directors. This requires them to take part in the board meetings of KingCelia Hotel every Monday and Thursday with other siblings who are executive directors. Usually after the meetings, they stay back or return to their office in Lekki. It is a sure sight to see them having lunch with their mother (who can pass for a woman half her age and nothing close to one who has six grown-ups), siblings or guests on either of these days.
On this particular Thursday afternoon, the meeting was already over when we arrived. They had just finished lunch and were having a conversation with their younger brother at the restaurant when their father walked in with these reporters in tow.
Courteously, they greeted us as their father beckoned on them to sit.
"Ozee and Ocee, these are gentlemen of the press. They will like to speak with you guys," said the former Nigerian Ambassador to Congo, Greg Mbadiwe.
The curious expression on their faces disolved into a clear excitement. The Ambassador had earlier mentioned that they barely grant interviews to the media.


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Here's Why You Should Retain Glaukos (GKOS) in Your Portfolio
Glaukos Corporation GKOS is well-poised for growth, backed by favorable clinical trial results and a robust product pipeline. However, stiff competition remains a concern.Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) have gained 6.3% against the industry's decline of 29.2% on a year-to-date basis. The S&P 500 Index has fallen 18.3% in the same time frame.Glaukos — with a market capitalization of $2.25 billion — is a leading ophthalmic medical technology and pharmaceutical company. It projects earnings growth of 16.3% for 2023 and expects to sustain its strong performance. The company has a trailing negative four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.6%, on average.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchKey CatalystsClinical trials are the primary means to evaluate the efficacy and safety of new medical technologies.Glaukos launched iPrime — a new disco elastic delivery device — in the latter part of the second quarter. In the latter part of the first quarter, the company had launched the iAccess device for go anatomy procedures. The addition of these new devices will provide unique solutions designed to grow and improve treatment options for surgeons, customers and patients. The company's iAccess device received positive market feedback.In August, Glaukos received clearance from the FDA for the commercialization of iStent infinite as an implantable device intended to reduce the intraocular pressure (IOP) of the eye in adult patients with primary open-angle glaucoma in whom previous medical and surgical treatment failed. The company plans to launch the product during the fourth quarter.In September, Glaukos announced that its targeted injectable implant candidate — iDose TR — for glaucoma patients achieved excellent tolerability and a favorable safety profile, per top-line data from two pivotal studies. The candidate achieved non-inferior reductions in IOP in three months from baseline compared to the timolol ophthalmic solution. Based on these data, the company is planning to file a new drug application (NDA), seeking approval for iDose TR from the FDA by the end of 2023. A potential approval for the candidate will substantially boost revenues for Glaukos.The company is also developing three other candidates — GLK-301, GLK-302 and third-generation iLink therapy — in separate phase II studies as a potential treatment for Dry Eye Disease, presbyopia and keratoconus, respectively.These positive developments raise our optimism about the stock.Glaukos's better-than-expected revenues and earnings in the third quarter were also encouraging.Factor Hurting the StockGlaukos' competitors include medical companies, academic and research institutions, and others that develop new drugs, therapies, medical devices or surgical procedures to treat glaucoma. Thus, intense competition continues to weigh on the company's overall performance.Estimates TrendFor 2023, the consensus mark for the bottom line is pegged at a loss of $1.84 per share, estimated to be 16.3% narrower than the anticipated loss of $2.20 per share in 2022. The same for 2023 revenues stands at $306.56 million, suggesting growth of 9.8% from the anticipated 2022 number.Glaukos Corporation Price Glaukos Corporation price | Glaukos Corporation QuoteStocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are AMN Healthcare Services AMN, McKesson MCK and Lantheus LNTH, all currently carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Estimates for AMN Healthcare Services have improved from earnings of $11.26 to $11.43 for 2022 and $8.30 to $8.39 for 2023 in the past 60 days. AMN stock has declined 1.2% so far this year.AMN Healthcare Services delivered an earnings surprise of 10.96%, on average, in the last four quarters.McKesson's earnings per share estimates have increased from $24.42 to $24.76 for fiscal 2023 and $26.04 to $26.34 for fiscal 2024 in the past 60 days. MCK has gained 48.4% so far this year.McKesson delivered an earnings surprise of 4.79%, on average, in the last four quarters.Estimates for Lantheus' earnings per share have increased from $3.57 to $3.82 for 2022 and $4.01 to $4.21 for 2023 in the past 60 days. LNTH has gained 98.7% so far this year.Lantheus has an earnings yield of 6.6% against a negative yield for the industry.Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.It's a little-known chemical company that's up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report McKesson Corporation (MCK): Free Stock Analysis Report AMN Healthcare Services Inc (AMN): Free Stock Analysis Report Glaukos Corporation (GKOS): Free Stock Analysis Report Lantheus Holdings, Inc. (LNTH): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Many of the most exciting artists and writers working today are taking their inspiration from stories, concepts and forms now thousands of years old. This festival celebrates the legacy of the ancient Greeks and Romans by connecting it with innovative work being created today.
A stellar array of architects, artists, poets, novelists, theatre-makers, performers and critical thinkers will be appearing across two stages in the Great Hall of Inigo Jones's Queen's House – the earliest classical building in Britain - and the adjacent Old Royal Naval College, which includes work by Christopher Wren, John Vanburgh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. They'll use music, visual arts and the spoken word to demonstrate how creatively the ancients shape our modern world.


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General Chapter <231> Heavy Metals and Affected Monographs and General Chapters
Type of Posting: Revision Bulletin
Posting Date: 27–Mar–2015; updated 29–Apr–2015*; updated 12–May–2015**
Official Date: 01–Apr–2015 (Implementation Date: 01–Jan–2018)
Expert Committee: General Chapters—Chemical Analysis
In accordance with the 2010–2015 Rules and Procedures of the Council of Experts, the General Chapters—Chemical Analysis Expert Committee, has revised the omission date of General Chapter <231> Heavy Metals, concurrent with the Revision Bulletin for General Notices Section 5.60.30 Elemental Impurities in USP Drug Products and Dietary Supplements approved by Council of Experts—Executive Committee. Congruently, all references to General Chapter <231> in USP–NF monographs and general chapters are also being revised to align with the new omission date of this General Chapter.
A list of the referenced monographs and General Chapters can be found here.
The intent of this revision is to delay in omission of General Chapter <231> Heavy Metals until January 1, 2018 to align with the applicability of General Chapters <232> Elemental Impurities–Limits and <2232> Elemental Contaminants in Dietary Supplements. These changes are being made to more closely align the implementation date of USP's Elemental Impurities standards with the ICH Q3D Guideline for Elemental Impurities.
Beginning with USP 38–NF 33, for certain monographs and general chapters that previously referenced General Chapter <231>, the reference to <231>, or "Heavy Metals," will only be indicated by (Official 01-Jan-2018) and the actual reference to <231> will not be present in future revisions of these standards. In these cases the reference to General Chapter <231> will still be considered official until January 1, 2018 (when the omission of General Chapter <231> becomes official), even though this reference does not appear. A list of the monographs that USP has identified that will be missing the "to be deleted" <231> requirement can be found here.
The General Chapter <231> Revision Bulletin and the associated reference changes to the monograph listed below supersedes the currently official monograph, but will not be implemented until January 1, 2018. The Revision Bulletin and the associated reference changes will be incorporated in the USP 39–NF 34.
Please also see the Compendial Notice: New Revision Markup for Reference Changes in USP–NF for details on the revision markup used to identify the reference updates.
Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Kahkashan Zaidi, Ph.D., Principal Scientific Liaison (301-816-8269 or kxz@usp.org).
Download the General Chapter <231> Heavy Metals Revision Bulletin
*The notice was updated on April 29, 2015 to remove the reference to section 7.05(c) of the 2010-2015 Rules and Procedures of the Council of Experts in the opening sentence, because this section applies to Notices of Intent to Revise.
** The notice was updated on May 12, 2015 to include information on the monographs that will be missing the reference to General Chapter <231> beginning in USP 38–NF 33, even though this requirement will still be applicable to these monographs until January 1, 2018. This information was originally included in the Notice of Intent to Revise for this revision that was posted on July 26, 2014. The associated list of monographs and General Chapters that are missing the reference to <231> was also updated.


Two performances of Catalyst Global's original, popular group drumming workshop, Beatswork facilitated by Asia Ability rocked the Singapore Formula One night race for the F1 crowds. It was a "public" event in that the 80 participants were rounded up right there and then from the thousands of F1 fans.
We were in good company as the performers lined up that weekend in Singapore included the Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, ZZ Top, Back Street Boys and Chakka Khan… not bad support bands for our BEATSWORK! It was a huge hit with the crowd, created good press publicity in Singapore and a fun weekend for the Asia Ability team (with the added benefit of performer passes to the F1 race!!).
Not only is Beatswork the ultimate corporate teambuilding experience it also proved itself as a highly interactive and engaging crowd entertainment.


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Category: Industry Awards
Louisville Tile Distributors receive recognition at TSP
December 4, 2019 Tileletter
The National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) recognized long-time supporter Louisville Tile Distributors at Total Solutions Plus (TSP), held at the end of October in Nashville, Tenn.
During the TSP award ceremony, NTCA Executive Director Bart Bettiga presented Robert DeAngelis, President of Louisville Tile, with an award recognizing the distributor's support of tile industry training and education programs.
Robert DeAngelis (l) with Bart Bettiga at the Total Solutions Plus award ceremony.
Louisville Tile, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a leading distributor of tile installation products and sundry items for tile installers. Currently, the distributor has 13 showrooms, located in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan.
"NTCA realizes that without the support of distributors and manufacturers we would be limited in what we do to positively impact the industry," Bettiga said. "It's because of this reason we decided to thank and honor the leaders at Louisville Tile Distributors for their continued support of our programs."
For several years, Louisville Tile has hosted and sponsored NTCA workshops at all of its locations. At many of these events, the distributor goes a step further by purchasing copies of the NTCA Reference Manual and the TCNA Handbook for Ceramic, Glass, and Stone Tile Installation and the offering them to attendees. DeAngelis said he felt it was important that attendees left with these resources saying, "That puts the power of first-hand knowledge in their hands."
DeAngelis said while it was nice to be recognized for Louisville Tile's efforts support NTCA, he felt in reality it was NTCA that was supporting Louisville Tile in its education efforts. Two years ago, Louisville Tile leaders decided that in addition to being a workshop sponsor, they would also sponsor and host NTCA Regional Training Programs in effort to expand the ways they provided specialized training to local installers and their customers. Louisville Tile even added an additional member to its team in order to be able to offer more training. "By adding Marc Mularoni –our Director of Technical Sales– as a full time technical person, we added a person with the dedicated ability to step up our educational offerings in partnership with NTCA, CTEF, and other industry resources," DeAngelis said.
Bettiga offered the distributor his sincere thanks for its support and efforts over the years and hopes its example will encourage other distributors to do the same. "Louisville Tile offers us an example of the difference an independent distributor can make in the industry through its support of installer certification, training and education," he remarked.
DeAngelis also commented about the importance of being an industry education sponsor. "Our business is driven by the tile installation trade and businesses," DeAngelis noted. "It is more than a contribution to our industry; it is a necessity for continued health, growth and improvement of the tile trades that support our industry."
CERAMICS OF ITALY ANNOUNCES 2019 TILE COMPETITION WINNERS
May 1, 2019 Tileletter
(Orlando, FL—April 2019) Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics) and the Italian Trade Agency are proud to announce the winners of the 2019 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition. An international jury of design experts selected eight outstanding projects that demonstrate creative use of Italian ceramic and porcelain tile by North America based architecture and design firms and students. With a record number of high-quality submissions in three built categories – residential, commercial, institutional – and one student category, the jury ultimately selected five winners and three honorable mentions.
As the longest-running awards program of its kind, the Tile Competition has attracted submissions from some of the world's most prestigious design firms over 26 years, including Gensler, Studio Libeskind and Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Joining these winners, the 2019 recipients were announced at Coverings – the largest international tile and stone exhibition in North America, taking place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., last month. The prize package for built project winners includes $3,000 cash and an expenses-paid CEU-accredited trip to Bologna, Italy to attend Cersaie – the world's largest exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings – with a VIP delegation of North American specifiers and journalists. Contractor and distributor teams involved with each winning project were awarded a cash prize for their valued contribution.
COMMERCIAL WINNER
Firm: tvsdesign
Project: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Tiles: La Faenza; Casalgrande Padana; Marca Corona; Coem; Tagina
Distributor: Ceramic Technics; Walker Zanger; Associated Imports
Contractor: Spectra Flooring
With a goal to re-invent the guest experience and create a progressive, contemporary sporting environment, Mercedes-Benz called on tvsdesign to build an iconic sports stadium. The firm designed 100,000 square feet of space and specified high-performance Italian tile collections for the floors and walls throughout the building. Marca Corona's Deluxe collection covers the floors in the Suntrust Club Exhibition Kitchen, while La Faenza's Neoclassica tiles create a bold statement wall. Floors throughout the building are outfitted with Casalgrande Padana tiles from the Basaltina, Pietra di Sardegna and Metallica collections, and the Mercedes-Benz Club features Marca Corona's Work floor tiles. Tagina's DeTails collection adds a decorative element to the Delta Sky 360 club, and Coem's Sequoie wood-look tiles are featured in the AMG Lounge.
COMMERCIAL HONORABLE MENTION
Firm: Dubbeldam Architecture + Design; Jill Greaves Design; Dialogue 38
Project: Walper Hotel
Location: Kitchener, Canada
Tiles: Casalgrande Padana; Edimax Astor; Atlas Concorde
Distributor: Stone Tile International
Contractor: Trisect Construction Corporation
Since 1893, the Walper Hotel has played a pivotal role in Kitchener's social and cultural scene. Dubbeldam Architecture + Design, Jill Greaves Design and Dialogue 38 set out to transform the Walper Hotel into a modern boutique hotel while preserving its historical details. The scale and nature of the project required high quality, resilient and uniform finishes, so Italian tile was chosen to provide a durable yet beautiful flooring solution in high traffic areas throughout the hotel. Dialogue 38 redesigned the hotel lobby using Atlas Concorde's Marvel PRO mosaic decor. DA+D and Jill Greaves Design collaborated on a full refurbishment of the guest floors, introducing Edimax Astor's Marmocer mosaics on the bathroom and shower floors, and Casalgrande Padana's white Architecture tiles on the walls.
RESIDENTIAL WINNER
Firm: SWA Architecture
Project: 132-136 West Houston St.
Tile Manufacturer: Florim
Distributor: Porcelain Source
Contractor: Ideal Tile of Brooklyn
SWA Architecture completed this eight story mixed-use residential building with six apartments in the heart of Soho. Furnished nearly floor to ceiling in Florim, this project demonstrates the true versatility of Italian tile. The building's façade matches the neighborhood's eclectic style, with ventilated porcelain slabs from Florim's Matrice and B&W collections. Inside the lobby, Florim's I Classici marble-look tiles cover the walkways. This collection is also featured on the floors and walls in the apartment bathrooms and showers. Florim's Wooden Tile gives the impression of natural hardwood flooring, carried throughout the kitchens, bedrooms, halls and living spaces. Finally, the terraces are outfitted with Florim's Industrial porcelain pavers for a durable outdoor flooring solution.
Firm: DI Group, INC.
Project: Valley Vista
Location: Encino, CA
Tiles: Supergres; Refin
Distributor: DI Group, INC.
DI Group, INC. was challenged with designing a residence that merged luxury and practicality in the affluent San Fernando Valley region. Dubbed Valley Vista, the home is illuminated by natural light, calling attention to the large open spaces covered in Italian tile. The bathrooms are clad almost entirely in tiles from Supergres' Art collection and Ceramiche Refin's Graffiti, Design Industry, Arte Pura and Plant collections, resulting in a consistent design aesthetic throughout the entire house. The kitchen, dining room, foyer and living room maintain this industrial-chic aesthetic with Ceramiche Refin's Wide floor tiles. Supergres's Travel and Stoneworks collections complete the design, serving as ventilated façades on the home's exterior.
RESIDENTIAL HONORABLE MENTION
Firm: Ajay Manthripragada
Project: Page House
Tile Manufacturer: Nuovocorso
Distributor: Import Tile
Contractor: Heritage Marble and Tile, a NTCA Five-Star Contractor
Ajay Manthripragada designed this modern cube-shaped residence in a mixed-use, industrial neighborhood in Berkeley, California. While the Page House is relatively small in footprint, measuring just 150 square meters, it is designed with maximum efficiency, taking full advantage of the outdoors as an extension of the living area. The exterior façade is a striking achievement, with seven stacked tiles from Nuovocorso's Inimitabile collection covering three inhabitable levels: the ground floor, upper level and rooftop deck. The exterior tiles also absorb and retain heat energy for the house. The floors and walls in the interior bathroom are clad in Nuovocorso's Inimitabile tiles in a smaller format, beautifully tying the design together with the home's exterior.
INSTITUTIONAL WINNER
Firm: Snøhetta
Project: Central Public Library
Tile: Casalgrande Padana
Distributor: Pro Tile Distributors
Contractor: Tate Raised Floor Inc.
Providing 240,000 sq. ft. of functional, flexible and beautifully-designed space, Snøhetta designed the Central Public Library for the Calgary community. As home to a physical collection of 450,000 books, more than 30 free community meeting areas, a performance hall, café, outdoor plazas and more, the Central Public Library required specific color, texture and exacting manufacturing standards for interior surfaces. Casalgrande Padana's Cemento tiles met and exceeded all requirements for this project, adding a beautiful, minimalistic design for the floors throughout the building.
INSTITUTIONAL HONORABLE MENTION
Firm: RDG Planning & Design
Project: Wake Forest University – Reynolds Gymnasium
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Tile: Ceramiche Caesar
Distributor: Virginia Tile
Contractor: Shields, Inc.
RDG Planning & Design transformed the 60-year-old Reynold's gymnasium at Wake Forest University into a new building with expanded and renovated facilities for Student Recreation and Wellness, Student Health Services, and Women's Volleyball. Ceramiche Caesar's Verse tiles were a major design element, offering several color, size and décor options for a dynamic design, as well as incredible durability in high-traffic areas.
STUDENT WINNER
Entrant: Aylin Askarihosseini
University: Visual College of Art and Design (VCAD)
Declared Major: Interior Design
Project: The Sweet Pastel Caffe
Tiles: Marca Corona; Ermes-Aurelia; Abitare La Ceramica
The Sweet Pastel Caffe is a warm, colorful spot in the heart of rainy Vancouver, utilizing ceramic tiles with bold colors and varied designs to achieve the student's inspired vision. Aylin Askarihosseini of VCAD specified Marca Corona's Bold tiles in yellow, Ermes-Aurelia's cement-look Soho tiles, and Abitare La Ceramica's Novecento patchwork tiles for this vibrant cafe.
Dale Kempster: 2019 NTCA Tile Person of the Year
April 15, 2019 Tileletter
ORLANDO, Fla. — Dale Kempster of Schluter Systems has been recognized as the NTCA Tile Person of The Year during the NTCA Night Awards ceremony last week at Coverings '19, held here. This award is given annually to a contractor, distributor or manufacturer member who has demonstrated a strong commitment to the tile industry and has supported the mission and goals of the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA).
"I can't think of a better person to receive this recognition," said Marco Ludwig, CEO and President of Schluter Systems. "It's truly a reflection of a lifetime's dedication to the tile industry, and a unique passion that Dale has consistently brought to the industry every single day for over three decades. We're extremely proud to have him on the Schluter team."
One of the NTCA's strategic initiatives is to create a stronger collaboration between international tile contractor associations in an effort to share and learn common best practices related to the proper installation of ceramic tile and natural stone. Bart Bettiga, Executive Director of the NTCA said, "In addition to being a member of the NTCA Technical Committee for many years, Dale has worked closely with NTCA Executive Committee members in our efforts to communicate with international tile contractor associations. He was instrumental in having Schluter representatives in Germany take part in NTCA sessions presented at Qualicer 2018, an international technical conference held every two years in Castellon, Spain. In addition, Dale has participated in two ground breaking international labor summits held the past two years at Cersaie in Bologna, Italy."
Dale has also been instrumental in bringing NTCA and TTMAC (Terrazzo, Tile, Marble Association of Canada) representatives together to collaborate on the development of a Canadian version of the NTCA Reference Manual. This collaboration has provided valuable information to the Canadian market on the prevention of tile installation job site failures and helped bring the standards for the two countries closer together.
Dale joined Schluter Systems 32 years ago as the company's first full time employee in North America. His early responsibilities with the company included receiving, shipping, answering phones, making sales calls, organizing and attending trade shows, working with architects and setting up new distributors. Over the years he has gravitated toward his passion for the technical side of the business and has been active in industry associations for over 25 years, including being on the Board of Directors for TTMAC for more than 15 years. He is currently Director of International Technical Network of North America where he contributes to industry standards and methods, and ensures that the interests of the tile industry are considered and represented appropriately in numerous associations and standards setting bodies.
Industry News and Information
COVERINGS INSTALLATION & DESIGN AWARDS ANNOUNCE 2019 WINNERS
April 12, 2019 Tricia
Coverings, the largest international tile and stone exhibition in North America, today announced the 10 projects that received the coveted Coverings Installation & Design (CID) Awards. The CID Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in the design and installation of tile and stone in both residential and commercial projects. Projects were evaluated on their execution, original usage and overall design and purpose by a panel of industry experts, prominent editors and designers.
"We were amazed at the extraordinary project submissions the CID Awards garner, which truly demonstrates the versatility of tile and stone," said Jennifer Hoff, president of Taffy Events, the management company for Coverings. "As North America's largest industry show, Coverings is honored to offer these annual awards to recognize the range of creative ingenuity and sophisticated applications that showcase the latest industry advancements."
Winning projects were honored on April 10, in an award ceremony and reception at Coverings 2019 in Orlando Sponsored by TileLetter, Contemporary Stone & Tile Design and Tile Magazine, grand prize winners were awarded $3,000, while eight category winners received a $2,000 prize. All winners were provided with a one-night stay in Orlando to attend Coverings 2019, where their projects were featured on display.
2019 CID winners and special recognition honorees are as follows:
Special recognition awards included 55+ TLC Interior Design, LLC in Scottsdale for New Aging in Place shower; Ironstone Strong Ltd., of San Antonio for 12 x 12 porcelain tiles used as roofing shingles in the Innovation in Tile Category; Trish Metzner and Oscar Sosa of Philadelphia for the Fractured Fantasies Mosaic that involved creative professionals on both sides of the US/Mexico border; LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL for the Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital Stanford in the Institutional category; and Andru Eron and N.Y. Tilemakers for a mosaic mural for P.S. 19 in Brooklyn that included many elements from the 1964 World's Fair that was held nearby.
Special Recognition: Aging in Place – 55+ TLC Interior Design, LLC
Special Recognition – Innovation in Tile, Ironstone Strong, Ltd.
Special Recognition Mosaic: Trish Metzner and Oscar Sosa for "Fractured Fantasties."
Special Recognition, Education: Andru Eron and N.Y. Tilemakers
Special Recognition Institutional to LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL for the mosaics at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford
The 2019 CID Awards judging panel included Metropolis Managing Editor, Lila Allen; Stone World Managing Editor, Jennifer Richinelli; Tile Council of North America Executive Director, Eric Astrachan; Heritage Tile and Marble Owner and Founder, Martin Brookes; Chris Abbate and Kristin Coleman of Novità Communications, representing Ceramics of Italy; Lori Dolnick of Frank Advertising, representing Tile of Spain; Tile Council of North America Director of Marketing, Kathy Meyer; Artcraft Granite Marble and Tile Vice President James Woelfel; Natural Stone Institute Architect & Design Community Liaison, Dacia Woodworth and Designology Co*Operative Founder, Kadie Yale. Together, they selected winning projects demonstrating outstanding tile and stone applications.
To learn more about the latest in the tile and stone industry, visit coverings.com.
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About Coverings
Coverings is the largest and most important ceramic tile and natural stone trade fair and expo in the United States. It features exhibitors from over 40 countries and is the stage for introducing some of the most innovative tile and stone products in the world.
The exposition serves as a valuable resource for continuing education for all segments of the industry, with more than 45 informative, accredited seminars and live demonstration sessions throughout the show, all free of charge. Coverings attracts thousands of distributors, retailers, fabricators, contractors, specifies, architectural and design professionals, builders and real estate developers, as well as journalists and bloggers who cover this vital and dynamic industry.
Sponsors of the show are The Ceramic Tile Distributor Association (CTDA), Tile of Spain/Spanish Ceramic Tile Manufacturer's Association (ASCER), Ceramics of Italy/Confindustria Ceramica, National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) and the Tile Council of North America (TCNA). The show is managed by Taffy Event Strategies, LLC.
Coverings 2019 takes place April 9-12 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. For more information, visit coverings.com or contact Taffy Events, Coverings Show Management, 703-539-5504.
Natural Stone Institute Announces Call for Entries for 2018 Industry Recognition Awards and Pinnacle Awards
May 16, 2018 Lesley Goddin
Oberlin, OH, May 16, 2018— The Natural Stone Institute is pleased to announce that the call for entries for the 2018 Industry Recognition Awards is now open. Submissions for all awards are due Friday, July 20.
Natural Stone Institute members are invited to nominate colleagues for the following awards:
Migliore Award for Lifetime Achievement. This award pays tribute to an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the natural stone industry.
Women in Stone Pioneer Award. Sponsored by TexaStone Quarries, this award recognizes a trailblazer within the stone industry for their role in recruiting, retaining, and advancing women. The recipient's performance in promoting women should be exemplary, honorable, and inspirational.
Natural Stone Craftsman of the Year Award. Sponsored by Polycor and Custom Building Products, this award was established to honor an individual whose craftsmanship in the natural stone industry stands out above all else.
Natural Stone Scholarship. Sponsored by Coldspring, Delaware Quarries, and the Natural Stone Foundation, this scholarship provides educational opportunities for aspiring stone professionals interested in furthering their careers within the natural stone industry.
Women in Stone Empowerment Scholarship. Sponsored by the Natural Stone Foundation, this scholarship provides a guided educational experience to one of three industry events to a woman showing a strong passion to grow their career within the stone industry.
For more information about these awards, including nomination forms and submission requirements, please visit www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/awards.
In addition, the call for entries for the 2018 Pinnacle Awards is now open. Submissions are due by Friday, July 20.
The Pinnacle Awards honor projects where beauty, creativity, ingenuity, and craftsmanship exemplify professional mastery in the use of natural stone for commercial and residential applications.
Four new categories have been introduced this year, allowing for a broader range of natural stone craftsmanship to be showcased and honored. Pinnacle Awards will be given in the following seven categories:
Commercial Exterior
Renovation/Restoration
Residential Interior/Exterior—Single Family (New category)
Residential Interior/Exterior—Multi-Family (New category)
Architectural Carving/Lettering/Sculpture (New category)
Public Landscapes/Parks/Memorials (New category)
A Grande Pinnacle Award (sponsored by Marmomac) will be presented to the best overall project. An award for the best use of Brazilian stone (sponsored by Vitoria Stone Fair) will also be available within each category. The Natural Stone Institute would like to thank the following companies for sponsoring the Pinnacle Awards: MAPEI (Commercial Awards), GranQuartz (Residential Awards), and Coldspring (Renovation/Restoration Awards).
David Castellucci, Pinnacle Jury Committee Chair, commented: "I am pleased to announce the changes to the Pinnacle Award categories for 2018. Separating the residential awards into 'single family' and 'multi-family' extends the opportunity to participate both to small and medium sized shops and those who cater to larger volume clients. The new Public Landscapes an Architectural Carving categories open up the awards program to members who have not previously participated."
The Pinnacle Awards are open to all Natural Stone Institute member companies, and will be recognized during the Natural Stone Institute Awards Celebration at TISE 2019. The winning projects will be displayed at TISE 2019 and promoted at other trade shows and in industry publications throughout the year.
For more information, including submission forms and a list of requirements, please visit www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/pinnacleawards.
Kathy Spanier Receives 2018 Women in Stone Pioneer Award
February 21, 2018 Lesley Goddin
Oberlin, OH, February 20, 2018—Kathy Spanier, Director of Marketing for Coldspring in Cold Spring, MN, is the recipient of the 2018 Women in Stone Pioneer Award.
For more than a decade, Spanier has made a powerful impact on the natural stone industry with her tireless efforts to position natural stone as a sustainable product within the building industry. She has been active in the Women in Stone initiative since its inception, and her vision and leadership were instrumental in creating the Women in Stone Mentorship Program. Getting involved is not a new concept to Spanier. Over the course of her 35 year marketing career she has continually assumed leadership roles in a number of industry associations.
Brenda Edwards (TexaStone Quarries), recipient of the 2017 Women in Stone Pioneer Award, shares this about Spanier's most recent accomplishments: "She has chaired the Sustainability Committee for the NSC 373 standard and gone far beyond the call of duty for that. She has also chaired the mentorship program for Women in Stone—she's absolutely wonderful." 2017 BSI President Daniel Wood (Lurvey Supply) commented: "Kathy has been a champion with sustainability efforts with stone and getting it positioned within all the green rating programs. We truly could not be where we are with our NSC 3737 standard without Kathy and her efforts." Jane Bennett, Natural Stone Institute Executive Vice President, agrees: "She just took charge. That in itself is being a pioneer for the industry. Her leadership efforts were critical in advancing the NSC 373 standard."
Reflecting on this award, Spanier said: "It is a tremendous honor and privilege to receive this award! It's an even greater honor to be placed in such a distinguished rank as last year's honoree, Brenda Edwards, who has made a significant impact on the stone industry and Women in Stone. I would like to acknowledge the contributions and support given to me by my loving family, my remarkable friends in the stone industry, and my employer, Coldspring, that allowed me the opportunity to lead the efforts for the industry that led to this recognition."
About the Natural Stone Institute
The Natural Stone Institute is a trade association representing every aspect of the natural stone industry. The current membership exceeds 2,000 members in over 50 countries. The association offers a wide array of technical and training resources, professional development opportunities, regulatory advocacy, and networking events. Two prominent publications—the Dimension Stone Design Manual and Building Stone Magazine—raise awareness within the natural stone industry and in the design community for best practices and uses of natural stone. Learn more at www.naturalstoneinstitute.org.


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Binding pre-nups – sensible planning or an attack on the foundations of marriage?
Burges Salmon LLP
The Law Commission's draft legislation, published today, would allow Pre-Nups to be made into binding contracts. It is a socially radical proposal and it will no doubt be greeted with a range of extreme responses. Some will see it as positive, supporting marriage by allowing people to plan their lives, others as contrary to the vows that are made in the marriage ceremony.
Historically the courts showed their disapproval by finding that these agreements were not just unenforceable, but against public policy and therefore absolutely void. This legal disapproval no doubt reflected a wider uneasiness in society about planning for divorce at the time of planning a marriage.
But legal and social attitudes have changed; Pre-Marital Deeds are the norm in Europe, and the courts will now be strongly influenced by Pre-Nups. Many people see them as a way of controlling the wide discretion and unpredictability of the English divorce system, or as a means of protecting family money against claims.
The Law Commission has now gone a step further by preparing legislation for "Qualifying Nuptial Agreements" which the courts would have to follow, and enforce. Some will still see this as an assault on the institution of marriage, but analysis of the detail shows that there is greater subtlety in the proposal than the headlines may suggest.
What is a Qualifying Nuptial Agreement?
These enforceable contracts (which could be entered into before or during a marriage or a Civil Partnership) would only be strictly enforceable on divorce for some people. That is because the "Qualifying Nuptial Agreement" (QNA) will in practice only be a binding contract where there is an excess of assets over what is required to meet needs.
The QNA can therefore:
""set out the proportions in which assets, pensions and/or income should be divided;
""state which assets or classes of assets should be shared or excluded from sharing;
""isolate specific assets which should not be sold or shared.
At the time of the divorce this agreed division would be a binding contract, but crucially the court would have power to vary the provisions in the QNA if that was necessary to meet needs, or otherwise if it was in the interests of a child of the family. So the party in the weaker financial position would still be able to ask the court for financial provision, if their needs were not met by the terms of the QNA.
It would be possible to have hybrid agreements, part of which would be a QNA (contractually enforceable) and part of which would propose and agree how needs should be met. The latter part could strongly influence the court, even if it was not a binding contract.
The Law Commission is also recommending a stricter definition of needs, and has asked that the Family Justice Council should prepare guidelines about the level at which housing and income needs should be met. The expectation is that disputes in the courts about needs will be diminished by that guidance.
To achieve binding status, certain preconditions must be met before the document would be a QNA:
""it must be made no less than 28 days before the marriage or civil partnership (or after the marriage);
""there must be disclosure of all material financial and other facts;
""there must be no coercion or pressure (and disparity in bargaining position will not in itself be deemed to be coercion or pressure); and
""both parties must have independent legal advice.
Who will want them, and who won't?
QNAs would be most suitable for:
"""second time round" couples who want to protect assets for their children from their first marriage;
""Those who have substantial assets now which will comfortably meet needs, or who expect to acquire substantial assets in future, and who want to avoid the unpredictabilities of the court system and have certainty;
""Couples with international connections, who want to replicate the marriage contracts that are commonplace in many other countries, particularly in continental Europe;
""Those with a special inherited asset to protect, often influenced by parents who will not hand the assets down without the protection of an agreement.
Those with more modest resources could still set out a financial agreement in a document that could be influential, even if it did not have the status of a QNA.
Pre-Nups are not for everyone, and many people starting their married life will still take the view that they do not want to be thinking about what will happen if things go wrong.
Will it become law, and if so when?
The Law Commission is making a recommendation to Parliament for legislation to be made; it believes that it will create greater certainty in an area of the law that is currently rife with uncertainty, and that there is cross-party support for this initiative to clarify the law.
It seems unlikely that it will make it to the statute book in this Parliament. And would either a future Conservative or Labour government want to introduce legislation that gives the impression of protecting inherited wealth?
Even if it does not make it to the statute book yet, the courts often take account of Law Commission proposals, and are already (since the ground-breaking case of Radmacher/Granatino in 2010) treating them as strongly influential.
Love them or not, Pre-Nups are here to stay.
Burges Salmon LLP - Catherine Hallam, Sarah Woodsford and Thomas Boyce
Law Commission (England and Wales)
Does your city use AI? If so, how? The growing role and use of algorithmic transparency registers *
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Can Machine Learning and black box systems properly exercise contractual discretion? *
Artificial Intelligence regulation horizon scanning: key events to look forward to in the UK, EU and US *
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Law, Regulation and Policy Glossary *
How-to guide How-to guide: How to draft and negotiate limitation of liability clauses (USA)


The Wyoming Legislature, in W.S. 9-2-1005(b) and (g), has recognized the need for the Governor to have the authority to modify budgets in the absence of the Legislature. The ability to amend appropriated budgets in Wyoming state government is referred to as the B-11 process. "B-11" refers to a form utilized by the Administration and Information Budget Division that is utilized to record gubernatorially-approved budget adjustments. The Legislature's restricted delegation of appropriation authority to the Governor is enumerated in the following statute.
(g) No federal funds in excess of amounts approved by any legislative appropriations act may be accepted or expended until approved by the governor in writing with a copy to the joint appropriations interim committee. If the governor disapproves the acceptance or expenditure of federal funds under this subsection and the federal funds are accepted or expended, the state auditor shall not draw any warrant nor shall the state treasurer pay any warrant which would result in the disbursement of funds, directly or indirectly through contracts for services, to the public or private entity involved.
Any questions about the B-11 form should be directed to your assigned budget analyst.
Additional funds (unappropriated by the Legislature or Governor) from Federal Government or other sources, may require a New/Adjusted Funds Request Form (NAFR). Approval of a NAFR must occur prior to receiving funds or submitting a B-11 for gubernatorial review.
A completed B-11 form and information packet should be directed to your assigned budget analyst to modify the appropriation. The form should contain specifics on the spending authority requested, position changes, grant periods, NAFR control number reference (if applicable) and a description of the impacts on appropriated budgets versus modified budgets. A copy of grant award letters, if relevant, must be attached. Also attached should be any relevant statutes or legislation, WOLFS documents with relevant budget authority and any current expenditures/revenue, additional page(s) defining the purpose of the funds, how they will be applied and a description of any personnel impact. The B-11 form requires the signature of both the chief fiscal officer and the agency director. Additionally, submitted information must contain a detailed Wyoming On Line Financial System (WOLFS) coding breakdown of anticipated expenditures that directly relate to the appropriation adjustment requested.
This information is necessary for preparation of the Governor's Report on "Flex Authority" for the Legislature and for preparation of the Authorization Column in your next budget.
Following Budget Division review of a request, a B-11 recommendation form is prepared by the Division and forwarded to the Governor's Office for approval or disapproval.
If the approved budget modification (B-11 form) contains a request for a change in the authorized position count, the form is forwarded to the Personnel Division of the Department of Information and Administration for processing.
The approved B-11 form becomes the source document for WOLFS system budget adjustments. WOLFS adjustments (i.e. BGE90's) must be completed by the agency as soon as possible following the approval of the Governor's Office and subsequent to the Auditor's Office modification of the WOLFS appropriation authorization.
B-11 Instructions for when funding for the B-11 comes from another fund.
In order to receive (collect) the revenue that is to fund the additional spending authority granted by a B-11 that is coming from another fund, an IET transaction with an event type of IP5 must be completed. The fund transferring the cash should do the IET-IP5. This will require that the transferring agency have budget capacity for the object class 800 and a valid object code of TXXX. The receiving agency will have to establish a revenue budget with a valid TR revenue code. These codes are generally in the 64XX or 66XX. The last two digits generally represent the transferring agency. The SAO will process the additional spending authority per the B-11 for the receiving agency.
B-11 Instructions for when funding for the B-11 comes from another program either intra-agency or inter-agency.
The transferring program will be required to do BGE90E documents with a decrease, which will free up spending authority to be transferred to the receiving agency/program. The BGE90E decrease documents need to be processed before the SAO can transfer the additional spending authority to the receiving agency. If the BGE90E documents are not processed, the BGE90A document the SAO must complete will not process and the receiving agency cannot receive its additional spending authority nor can it proceed to do BGE90E documents to budget the additional spending authority.
(b) All transfers authorized under this section shall be approved by the governor and reported to the joint appropriations committee through the B-11 process as authorized by W.S. 9-2-1005(b)(ii).
(c) The authority granted under this section is effective for the period beginning July 1, 2012 and ending June 30, 2014.
(d) Any provision of this act or any other legislation enacted which specifies that an appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose, or containing language of like effect, shall prevail over this section and no such funds so appropriated shall be subject to subsection (a) of this section.


For thousands of years, Jewish women have cherished the mitzvah of Mikvah as an opportunity to infuse their lives and their homes with spirituality and holiness. According to tradition, water symbolizes purity, life and the abundance of G-d's blessings. Participation in the mitzvah of Mikvah is a bond between each Jewish woman and the generations who have preceded her, between husband and wife, and between each of us and G-d. The mitzvah of Mikvah affords us an opportunity for introspection and renewal.
Currently we are raising money for this very important project. If you would like to contribute, please click here.
If you would like to join the Mikvah Committee or have any suggestions please email us at info@glenbrookmikvah.org or use the contact form.


Sheraton Saigon is a luxury city hotel enjoying a prime setting in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. The hotel enjoys a setting on the city's most famous street of Dong Khoi within easy access of the cultural and historic attractions, entertainment and shopping venues this eclectic city has to offer. Just a 5 minute drive away guests will find Reunification Palace, the War History Museum and the magnificent Saigon River.This haven of comfort and luxury is the perfect choice for business or leisure travellers visiting the city due to its superb setting and exemplary amenities and facilities. As well as high-quality business and meetings services the hotel provides sumptuous guest accommodation where guests can enjoy relaxing quiescence at the end of the day. Leisure and dining options are many and varied and top off the memorable experience.


At Coty Owens Electric Service, LLC., our goal is to provide a satisfying and rewarding electrical service experience. Satisfying, because our customers receive the best high-end electrical service. And rewarding, because they receive competitive prices for unparalleled workmanship and unsurpassed technical expertise.
We are committed to maintaining our high level of integrity and trust, that has built our strong customer relationships, based on qualities that exemplify the excellence our customers expect.
No job, Residential, Commercial, or Industrial, is too large and no problem is too small for our skilled electricians.
If you have an emergency, we're here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Regardless of the size or scope of your project, we're delighted to provide you with a free estimate.
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"I want to commend Coty Owens Electric for the excellent effort put forth on a recent job for us at Potters Industries. During the bidding process you were very responsive and I want to thank you for your timely attention to my RFQ."
Site Designed By: Creative Magma, Inc.


Long Distance Diaries is a blog run by several long distance couples, dedicated to providing support and the best advice to the long distance community. We are passionate about helping you, so always feel free to reach out to us on any of our social media or on the contact forms on the blog.
There's no denying that long distance relationships are difficult (and expensive!). Our team is here to show you how long distance relationships can be some of the most thrilling, magical, and strong relationships out there. Who doesn't like a little adventure? They do say that distance makes the heart grow fonder, after all.


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Justice League, Movie Reviews, Zach Snyder
Only in 2021, which is still 2020 but on NG+ mode, would I sit down to write a review of a Zach Snyder movie and not be cooking up a scalding hot pot of snark.
I don't like Zach Snyder. His tendency to go darker instead of going smarter is the hallmark of his artistic vision. His efforts at "empowering" women would be barely passable from a 13-year old, whose lessons on feminism are limited to listening to a smattering of Spice Girls interviews from the 1990s.
Snyder is often so bad at his craft that his movies end up as unintentional parodies of themselves. Consider that General Zod is the actual protagonist of 2013's Man of Steel. Though that might have more to do with Michael Shannon being able to act circles around ol' Hank Cavill – a man so wooden that trees look at him and go, "Hey, dude, loosen up a bit."
The curtain rises on Snyder's four-hour opus with a bold and befuddling statement. The movie announces it will be presented in 4:3 aspect ratio, as to maintain Zach Snyder's creative vision. And in that moment I was ready to punch myself in the face for indulging Snyder's narcissism. Yet that title card heralded exactly what would be happening in this movie: the vision of a man beholden only unto himself. A man freed from the expectations of cookie cutter super hero movies. A man with nothing to lose because everybody with an ounce of taste thought he was trash to begin with. From this, arises something unexpected: apology and understanding.
Where Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman (the case of the missing Martha) fundamentally misunderstood the characters in play – save perhaps Wonder Woman – this movie is an about face from those follies. Snyder reboots Batman as a character seeking atonement for his past failures. Bruce Wayne is now one to operate on faith when it comes to the heroes of the Earth coming together in common cause. The world's greatest detective driven by faith and optimism shouldn't work, but it does. I buy it because there's an awareness to the writing that Snyder's treatment of this character needed to grow. Justice League accepts that what came before was wrong. Thus I afford some benefit of the doubt, which Snyder wisely invests.
There's no greater dedication to growth than Justice League's exploration of Cyborg/Victor Stone. Through the film's seven acts (and credit to Snyder for flashing title cards on screen to show the act breaks, as to allow natural stopping places for those not inclined to marathon through the film in one sitting) Stone makes peace with himself and shows so much growth I am apt to name him the story's protagonist. Beyond that, the purposeful death given to Stone's father is a ready acknowledgment from Snyder that Pa Kent's death in Man of Steel was an entirely stupid affair.
Don't get me wrong, the man vs self conflict driving Cyborg's arc is one of the oldest plays in the writer's handbook, but it's well done in this case. I do not demand innovation when competence is on offer. And if we are going to talk about competence, then we need to spend a few words on Snyder's competence in recognizing that a four-hour runtime is necessary for telling a comic book story.
I know, more words nobody expected from the guy who wrote a 50,000 word takedown of Evangelion.
Comic books are, in my humble estimation, burdened by the necessity of knowledge. I have experienced so many comic book conversations that run along the lines of someone better versed in the subject material telling me that to truly appreciate x, which is usually bland and inchoate, I need to read y volumes from z years ago. Inevitably, I can't be arsed to do that homework. If I wanted to do extra homework, I wouldn't have read a comic book. Now place this dynamic into a broader context. How many critics, ersatz or otherwise bona fides, turn their reviews of super hero films into dick measuring contests on who can evoke the most obscure source material to justify/crucify a cinematic offering?
This is where Zach Snyder's demand for artistic vision understands something that is, at once, fundamentally true to the comic book, and entirely antithetical to the science of selling movies (cough, Marvel, cough). Four hours of backstory and context building make this story better than what it would be at a more bladder-friendly duration.
To be clear, I am not saying it makes Justice League good. Good is a bridge too far. I'm saying that when my chief complaint about superhero movies is that they are as much a product of assembly line production as any automobile, something that utterly disrespects the conventional for a more artisanal (oh god did I really just write that?) approach is better than the bog standard.
It may very well be that Zach Snyder understands why super hero stories tend to work better on television than they do in movies. When you have 13-24 episodes to fill in a season, there is room for flights of indulgence that add context and seasoning to the story without doing much to advance the plot (see the much ignored but entirely well executed Green Lantern Animated Series).
In a two-hour movie that is as concerned with its integration into the broader cinematic universe/character franchise as it is the self-contained story, everything ends up so much blander as compromise to checking both boxes of storytelling and brand integrity. This is why Ant-Man is the only good Marvel movie; Edgar Wright refused to check the brand box and was punished for his insolence.
Amid the utter and absolute tedium of the hyper-saturated MCU and the yawn fest of false starts and Snyder flops that is the balance of the DCU (Birds of Prey notwithstanding) Justice League's ethos of self-indulgence finally seems to understand that super hero stories are not about pacing and plot. Rather, they revel in that which is extraneous and unnecessary. To execute indulgence while owning his past failures is something genuinely unexpected and surprisingly satisfying.
Again, it's not good. There are too many camera shots that lead the eye to Wonder Woman's crotch and slow panning shots across Amazon midriffs/tiddy armour for me to say that this is good. Zach Snyder remains his most-teenage self in how he shoots and frames women.
But when everything else that made Snyder's past movies joyless and bleak – up to and including colour palate – has been left on the cutting room floor, when there is inspiration to be found in the heroic journey of the characters, when there is a sense of menace to the antagonist with a stupid name and his super menace boss, with an equally stupid name, the outcome not something I can bring myself to sneer at – no matter how fashionable it might be to do so.
Even if Snyder has failed to nuke the superhero industrial complex with this movie, he has offered an alternative in telling this story. The meta narrative is still fairly predictable as far as superhero movies go, but that's more to do with superhero stories, like any myth, typically ending with the hero vanquishing the foe and giving us a lesson about ourselves along the way. In this case, Victor embraces his cyborg body and announces to a psychic manifestation of his own insecurities that he is not broken.1
Nobody is going to look at this approach and see a drastic departure from the norm. However, the slow vanity shot over the assembled heroes after their defeating (sigh) Steppenwolf is absolutely Snyder giving a middle finger to the shake-and-bake production of superhero movies that has come to define the last fifteen years.
Was the Snyder Cut necessary? To the extent that it served as a rallying cry for the worst type of internet dudes, no. Will that target demo see this as anything other than a win for their world view? Probably not. Nevertheless, Snyder's victory lap with this movie is one that feels honestly earned. The theatrical cut of Justice League was an unmitigated turd. The Snyder Cut shows that Snyder did have a story to tell and when the cards are down, it is probably one worth watching. Moreover, it shows that Snyder understands the difference between embracing a comic book story and directing a profitable superhero movie. If nothing else, we now have this monument to self-indulgence as a baseline from which other directors may try to innovate this painfully stagnant sub-genre.
Writer and critic, lover of cats.


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ACCEPTED

#### According to
Index Fungorum

#### Published in
Proc. Roy. Soc. Victoria 7: 218 (1894)

#### Original name
Aecidium eburneum McAlpine

### Remarks
null

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Home Locations DC Spine: Love and Wit in 'As You Like It' at the Folger...
Spine: Love and Wit in 'As You Like It' at the Folger Theatre
Robert Michael Oliver
Now playing at the Folger Theatre, a new adaptation of Shakespeare's As You Like It, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch and produced in association with Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, is sure to wet your literary chops.
The cast of As You Like It. Photo by Teresa Wood.
Shakespeare's language rarely sounds this articulate and authentic. You will listen with delight to every word, to every phrase, as its meaning and intent ring clearly in your ears.
There's singing too, plenty of it, with guitars and other noise makers. A piano is even rolled on stage for one number.
And the characters, oh so identifiable! A lively mix of modern archetypes, the urbanites versus the country hicks joust in endless wordplay.
And given the election news of late, city versus middle America couldn't help but come to mind on one occasion or two.
For Shakespeare, city dweller that he be, the forest is always where the craziest love erupts. Among those animals lover can turn-on-a-dime, shifting from jerk or bitch to sweet heart or egalitarian. And in this production, those shifts are on full display.
The pared down storyline (if you aren't familiar with As You Like It reading a synopsis will help) highlights the four sets of lovers: their verbal antics in the name of passion and lust are what this play boasts of.
Wit and wisdom in all matters of love and lovelessness as the heroine Rosalind (a giddy Lindsay Alexandra Carter) is exiled to the forest by a meany Duke (a stern Allen McCullough).
Rosalind (Lindsay Alexandra Carter) is suddenly taken aback at the Duke's masked ball. Photo by Teresa Wood.
Lucky for her, however, the forest is also where her in-lovedness man, Orlando (played exuberantly by Lorenzo Roberts), has also had to flee. He's not been shooed by the Duke but by his brother, the priggish Oliver (and Michael Glenn does an excellent job making him a real, inexplicable jerk).
And we don't really need to know why Rosalind dresses as a man when she ventures into the woods (a woman travelling alone in those parts wouldn't be safe), or why her thin disguise (she wears pants) fools even Orlando, the man who is head-over-heals in love with her, so much so that he literally litters the forest with his foul verse.
Rosalind's friend, Celia (a forthright Antoinette Robinson) follows her into that dangerous forest, dressed like a country woman named Aliena. Again, the fact that she doesn't really change her appearance in any significant way doesn't make a bit of difference.
We don't even mind when Oliver later shows up in the forest as well and suddenly and inexplicably falls in love with Aliena. We should stand up and beg her to see him for the murderer he really is. But we don't care, because this story is but an excuse for lovers doing what lovers do best in Shakespeare's wooded world: turn inside out and top side over.
Then there is Touchstone, the clown (played with true schoolboy prankishness by Aaron Krohn). When he seduces the country girl and goat herder Audrey (if Kimberly Chatterjee made her any simpler in her character Touchstone's seduction would be a crime), we should have sympathy for her, screaming don't fall for his city ways. But we don't, even though he is quite false in his intent and plans to dump the poor girl soon after he has his way with her.
The fact that he ends the play a bit more earnest in his treatment of the lady, redeems him ever so slightly in our eyes.
Corin (Jeff Keogh, left) and Touchstone (Aaron Krohn). Photo by Teresa Wood.
The fourth and final set of lovers is the country couple, Silvius (an eager to please Brian Reisman) and Pheobe (a conniving Dani Stoller). These lovers have always been my favorite, as the uncomfortable lover's triangle that emerges when Pheobe falls for the whippersnapper Ganymede, Rosalind in drag, is one of Shakespeare's best constructions.
With these lover's wit on full display, the other aspects of the tale slip somewhat into the background. We do not concern ourselves with why anything is happening, for what is happening becomes little more than an excuse for a lovers' rendezvous in the wood.
This, of course, leaves melancholic Jaques, (a sassy Tom Story), out in the cold, so to speak.
The rest of the cast includes Cody Wilson as Dennis and William, Daven Ralston as Musician and ensemble member, Will Hayes as the wrestler Charles, and Jeff Keogh as the old servant Adam and Corin.
Tom Story (Jaques). Photo by Teresa Wood.
Each cast member does an excellent job bringing Shakespeare's words to life.
This production is not without its visual moment, however, from a wonderful masked dance to the aforementioned litter. The finest visual highlight for me, however, were the quick scene changes from town to forest: with a flick of eye and a light change, the garb of well dressed city folk hit the stage, leaving only poorly dressed forest dwellers standing in their place.
Now that's the magic of theatre.
Running Time: Two hours and 45 minutes, with a 15-minute intermission.
As You Like It plays through March 5, 2017, at Folger Theatre – 201 East Capitol Street, SE, in Washington, DC. For tickets, call the box office at (202) 544-7077, or purchase them online.
'As You Like It' at Folger Theatre reviewed by Wendi Winters.
In the Moment: 'As You Like It' at Folger Theatre by David Siegel.
Previous articleIn the Moment: Jewish Plays Project at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia
Next articleReview: 'Romeo & Juliet' at The Media Theatre
Poet, Performer, Theatre Artist, Playwright, Educator, Writer--Robert Michael Oliver, Ph.D., has been involved in the DC arts scene since the 1980s, when he co-founded The Sanctuary Theatre in the old sanctuary of Calvary United Methodist Church. Since those fierce days in Columbia Heights, he has earned his doctorate in theatre from University of Maryland, raised two wonderful children, and seen more theatre as a reviewer over the last two years than he saw in the previous thirty. He now co-directs, along with his wife Elizabeth Bruce, the Sanctuary's Performing Knowledge Project, which organizes a host of writing and performance workshops, plus Mementos: Poetry and Performance for Seniors, a yearly literature-in-performance Fringe Festival show, as well as Performetry--a monthly poetry and prose performance event at DC's community arts & culture center BloomBars.


text:
Editorials, Femina Miss India, Miss Grand International, Miss Supranational, Miss Supranational India, Miss World India, News, Other Pageants
Who is Shining? Who is Fading? : A Post Arrival Review on Femina Miss India 2017
Posted by Vagisha Mishra on June 6, 2017
Femina Miss India 2017: A Post Arrival Review
It has now been a week since Femina Miss India 2017 pageant kicked off and I must say the Organization has earnestly proved its saying "We are Changing". Post the arrival, Femina Miss India contestants have been wonderfully showcased before the pageant aficionados and critics via various live videos, behind the scenes videos, interviews and so forth. So without any further delay let's talk about the coveted Miss India 2017 pageant scrupulously.
The Front-Runners
In my pre-arrival hotpicks, Sana Dua, Maira Chowdhury, Manushi Chhillar and Navpreet Kaur were my definitive picks for the Top 4 titles of Femina Miss India 2017. Rumours have it that this year Femina Miss India will be sending delegates to Miss World, Miss Supranational, Miss Grand International and Miss United Continents. Keeping the four titles in the mind, I believe the formerly mentioned delegates are certainly top notch but can face a run for their money with the tough competition given by Aishwarya Devan and Anukriti Gussain.
Now many may call it a supremacy or prejudice towards the north zone delegates but believe it or not, the north zone is here with a prowess to claim the zenith and I am pretty sure at least two of the winners of Femina Miss India 2017 would come from this zone. Since it is too early to release another hotpick, I would rather choose not to rank the delegates, but instead state the specific features of each of the frontrunners.
Sana Dua is a lawyer by profession, she is tall and has an impeccable styling sense. She looks perfect even with her facial flaws. She is spontaneous and has a constructive social media image. I still have her locked in my Top 4. I won't mind her seeing winning the main crown, and believe she could do very well in any international pageant given her social background. Sana can effectively address the problems of Jammu & Kashmir at Miss World or Miss Grand International considering she has a confident personality and pleasant speaking skills.
Maira Chowdhury has an excellent academic background and having a delegate like her at Femina Miss India is surely a bonus for the Organization. She is not here to be wasted. With that amazing eloquence, I see her doing wonders at any international pageant, especially at Miss Supranational and Miss World. Maira has a bang on body and her congenial aura just adds up to the vibrant personality she owns.
Next I have Anukriti Gussain in my list. Anukriti is more confident and vivacious than before and has surely worked on her flaws. She has a wonderful face to be smitten for, and I do see her winning one of the titles as of now. However, having said that, I still feel that Anukriti has a long way to go if she is eyeing on the Miss World India title as she sounds a little rehearsed while speaking. If she could ease out a bit while communicating, she would do wonders.
Thereafter I have my eyes on Manushi Chhillar. Manushi is a budding doctor and has a subtle yet promising aura. Manushi comes across as a friendly, congenial and wonderful lady, the qualities which are needed to radiate at any international pageant. She is doing great so far, however she needs to come out of her shell a bit if she is aiming for the Miss World India title.
Joining the Top 6 batch of front-runners in this review is Aishwarya Devan. Aishwarya has a flawless face, and it would not be wrong if I say that facially she is one of the most striking candidates in the pageant. She is telegenic and photogenic and stands out effectively. She could be a great representative for Miss United Continents pageant. If she could enhance her communication skills, she can be on the higher plane.
Completing the list of frontrunners is Navpreet Kaur. For anyone who has seen Navpreet perform it should not come as a surprise. She exudes verve and confidence like no one else. She owns the stage like it's her to lose! Having said that, she must tone down a bit in order to appear spontaneous and she is good to go.
The batch is incredibly sporty and competitive and we might get to see many surprise elements in the grand finale of Femina Miss India 2017. So let's find out who are the dark horses of Femina Miss India 2017.
Simran Choudhary is another beautiful contestant in the batch. I love the way she presents herself. She is calm, spontaneous and is being "herself" in the pageant, the fact for which I love her the most. Unlike few contestants who in order to stand out go overboard in videos and pictures, Simran very magnificently sticks to her serene persona, for which I give her ten on ten. She is definitely locked in Top 10 as of now with her rooted aura and talented mind, but she can also be a game changer in the coming days.
Soibam Kanchan is one of the strongest North Eastern candidates at Miss India 2017. She has an appealing aura. Her smile exudes confidence, warmth and poise. I am definitely rooting for her semi-final placement as of now.
Mannat Singh could also pull off surprise as the competition progresses. Mannat is the tallest candidate in the pageant and has a graceful aura to excel. If only she had a toned body and effortless speaking skills, she could be one of the major crown clinchers.
Next I have Shivankita Dixit in my list. This Bong beauty is charming and has an aura which gives an everlasting impression. She has always impressed in her candids and has a personality to change the direction of the game in the days to come.
In addition, Swathi Muppala could be a brilliant dark horse of the pageant. Informed on the eleventh hour to join the pageant, Swathi was not a disappointment at all. She has great stage presence and her composure is evident enough to put her on the list of one of the possible front runners of the game.
Bubbling Up
Now coming to those contestants whose efforts could not be negated as the competition for Femina Miss India crown is heating up.
Vinali Bhatnagar has a lovely face to be smitten for. She looks lovely in candids as well as group shoots and has the charm to enter the semi-finals of the pageant.
Santoshi Ranaut could be another possible semi-finalist in the pageant. She looks charming and has a decent stage presence.
Triveni Barman is also one to watch for. She has effervescent aura and dazzles when she takes up the ramp.
Shrishti Vyakaranam is levelling up her game as the competition is progressing. She could be one to vouch for.
Sherlin Seth is playing her cards well. She has a great body and photogenic face. She has a persona to look for.
The competition of the batch is nerve wrecking and whosoever walks with the title of Femina Miss India 2017 would not only be worthy of the title but also be one of the toughest representatives of India at Miss World, Miss Grand International, Miss Supranational and Miss United Continents. These were my Top 15 picks for the title of Femina Miss India, do not forget to share your opinions on the same in the comment section below. Until next post, see you! 🙂
Vote For Your Favourite Femina Miss India 2017 Contestant Right Here!
Meet The Contestants of Femina Miss India 2017 HERE!
Femina Miss IndiaFemina Miss India 2017IndiaMiss Grand InternationalMiss SupranationalMiss United ContinentsMiss WorldMiss World 2017Miss World India
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Next Post Miss World Trinidad and Tobago 2017: Meet The Contestants


text:
package directory

import (
	"os"
	"path/filepath"
	"syscall"
)

// Size walks a directory tree and returns its total size in bytes.
func Size(dir string) (size int64, err error) {
	data := make(map[uint64]struct{})
	err = filepath.Walk(dir, func(d string, fileInfo os.FileInfo, e error) error {
		// Ignore directory sizes
		if fileInfo == nil {
			return nil
		}

		s := fileInfo.Size()
		if fileInfo.IsDir() || s == 0 {
			return nil
		}

		// Check inode to handle hard links correctly
		inode := fileInfo.Sys().(*syscall.Stat_t).Ino
		// inode is not a uint64 on all platforms. Cast it to avoid issues.
		if _, exists := data[uint64(inode)]; exists {
			return nil
		}
		// inode is not a uint64 on all platforms. Cast it to avoid issues.
		data[uint64(inode)] = struct{}{}

		size += s

		return nil
	})
	return
}


It's been confirmed that EXID's Solji has fully recovered from her hyperthyroidism!
The idol was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism back in 2016, taking a hiatus from promotions to focus on her treatment. On December 15, Solji wrote on Instagram, "Everyone:) Today was such a thankful day. Today was my regular checkup day, and I received word that I am fully recovered from my hyperthyroidism. I was so incredibly thankful and happy. I was informed that hyperthyroidism is difficult to cure, but my doctor says that it is possible. Others suffering from hyperthyroidism, don't lose hope!! If you receive frequent treatment, you can be cured. And again, thank you Doctor Lim. I will sing healthily from now on. Thank you to all those who cheered me on and worried about me. Lego, I love you!"
Meanwhile, Solji plans on continuing promotions through various music and variety activities.


Lemon and Poppy Seed Pancakes are a delicious way of changing up your typical pancake recipe. Use flax seeds, instead of eggs for a vegan alternative. Make the batter the night before and cook them in the morning for a special treat.
Between any free time I've had this past weekend, I'm pretty sure I haven't talked to a single soul. I have been tethered to my iPhone and Spotify, shuffling between The Lumineers and the Head and the Heart, on repeat. And I mean, REPEAT. Nothing else but these two bands for the last 48, actually more like, 96 hours. This week was very lyrical. My texts to friends were followed by trumpets, guitars & musical note emojis, both my Thursday and Saturday nights were spent at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley seeing them live, and I've fallen asleep, more nights this week than not, listening to The Lumineers and H&H softly playing through my tiny iPhone speakers, slipping into a glorious lucid dream of myself casually chillin' out with each band.
I wake up I listen, I work I listen, I workout I listen, I cook I listen and as I'm writing this, I am listening. But okay, I think you get just how enamored I am by these guys. So pretty much you should take a peek and see if you're as into them as I am, or maybe it's just me? But it can't be, because, guyyyys, they're SO GOOD. Start with an intense unrequited love story that is Stubborn Love by The Lumineers and then test out an even more melodramatic love note by H&H with Rivers and Roads. Well, actually that's exactly what I'm going to do right...about...now.
Simply mix all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Then slowly whisk in the almond milk, eggs, lemon juice & zest, poppy seeds, and maple syrup until you get the right consistency – we're looking for a thicker batter but if you prefer it runnier, add more almond milk. On medium heat, warm your frying pan with the coconut oil. Add your batter and cook the pancakes on one side until the batter starts to bubble slightly in the center. Then flip the pancake over and cook until golden brown on the other side. Add more coconut oil to the pan once you have a new batch of batter to cook. Then top with anything you'd like! I love coconut yogurt, maple syrup and slices of fruit.
Already in the loop? Than no need to subscribe.


Marc Forster's Christopher Robin is easily one of the most delightful films of 2018, and also contains some of the finest fully-CG animated characters you'll see this year. That work was led by Framestore, which had, of course, sharpened its expertise in integrating CG animated 'stuffed toy' characters with live action in the Paddington movies.
Christopher Robin's production VFX supervisor was Chris Lawrence, and its production animation director was Michael Eames (both hail from Framestore). In addition to Framestore's 727 shots for the film, Method Studios also came on board to deliver several scenes.
To find out more about how Christopher Robin's characters came to life, vfxblog sat down with Framestore animation supervisor Arslan Elver in London. Elver shared details on early animation tests, the on-set stuffies used during filming, and some of the specific details infused into characters such as Pooh, Piglet and Tigger.
Arslan Elver: We started with Pooh, but at that point we hadn't seen the designs, the concept art, or anything else yet. The very first test we did was a yellow Pooh Bear in the form of a more classic Disney style. I did the very first tests with our animation director Michael Eames also getting involved. I did animated tests of him trying to climb stairs, but he fails and tumbles down, and he looks at his tummy and then looks around at an empty honey pot.
One thing immediately our director, Marc Forster, reacted to was that the character had elbows and knees, and he didn't want them. I didn't understand at first but then he showed us some concept art which he was very happy with from Michael Kutsche. It was a teddy bear, it was Pooh Bear walking by holding the hand of Christopher Robin, and looking around, but you could tell there was nothing bending or anthropomorphic about it. We went back to the drawing board, and we did new tests to reflect that.
Marc Forster talked to us about a book called The Tao of Pooh. It's about Taoism philosophy using the Winnie-the-Pooh characters. In the book, it talks about an uncarved block as an idea. The book says Pooh is an uncarved block. He's not carved as a shape or sculpture. He's empty. He's a clean sheet. He doesn't have any prejudice. He doesn't have any expectations. He's just who he is. So we started to dig into those ideas and think about the teddy bear aspect of it.
Piglet, voiced by Nick Mohammed.
When we got all these toys into Framestore, I called all the animators in and I said to them, 'Just play with them,' and we were recording. It's some of the most stupid video footage ever. If you see these, I mean, just like these 35 year old men playing with plush toys, it's ridiculous.
Director Marc Forster on set.
Because of this Zen thing about Pooh, the director didn't want him to blink. Even the eyebrow movements, he wanted to be very minimal. The mouth movements as well. He didn't want it to be very complex. It was quite tricky because to be able to sell his talking, there's a bit of jaw movement for sure, but if it's just that it looks very weird. If you start to put in a lot of movement, it looks very stretchy very quickly, so we had to think, how we can keep it alive? How could we move the corners of the mouth and make some shapes that at least suggest that sound is generated but have enough fall-off on the corners of the mouth so it doesn't feel like it's stretching? It's a very difficult thing to do without stretching.
8. Tigger's tail: should he jump on it a lot, or not?
Tigger, voiced by Jim Cummings.
Eeyore was interesting because the very first test he was walking and just sitting on his bum and depressed. We started to do that but people didn't really respond very well because he was a bit dead, so the note we got back was that we needed to keep him alive but still make him feel very sad. So we kept that same posture of him, but we raised the head up and rotated it up more. I think Marc wanted to see his mouth more because he had such a long muzzle. The other thing was his eyes – because of the fur, the toy is so sweet and cute but as soon as you do a little bit of this pose, the fur covers it so much and the render, it looks like a thin black line almost, so there was a bit of back and forth with that.
Eeyore, voiced by Brad Garrett.
They didn't do anything on the set but, later on, they did carry out some shoots for the honey, for how it looks on the face with the fur. So if Pooh chucks his face into the pot, we had to work out, what kind of lining of honey comes out and how much is it on it? They used more of the grey stuffies without any fur for all the dirty stuff. There was one beautiful scene where there's this big cake and they all jump on it, but they didn't shoot anything for it. What we did was get one of our animators to put his head into it and chomp on it and see how much remained on his face and how the cake breaks up, to help the effects guys. So we sacrificed one of our animators to do that for the effects guys, but at least they got to eat cake.
Pooh digs into some honey.
Christoper Robin is now available on Digital, DVD and Blu-ray.
For Cartoon Brew, I asked Framestore how they completed the CG Colosuss for Deadpool 2.
Over the past few months, I've seen some incredible – incredible – VFX breakdowns posted by the various studios behind the effects in Blade Runner 2049 (overall supervisor John Nelson). So here's a whole bunch of them in one place at vfxblog. I'm sorry if I've missed any of the major work, please let me know.
Some of the most visually startling moments in Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 are the distinctively orange and hazy Las Vegas scenes. The look for these was said to be inspired by a rare Sydney sandstorm (one that I remember living through).
Academy Award nominee Richard R. Hoover was Framestore's visual effects supervisor on Blade Runner 2049. The other nominees for the film in the visual effects category are John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer and Paul Lambert. Here, Hoover discusses how getting that orange tinge proved more difficult than first thought, and how making the city look realistic proved even harder.
I talked to Richard at SIGGRAPH Asia 2017 in Bangkok. The conference is in Tokyo in 2018.


text:
Round the Table
On Being Two-Spirit
The Rev. Evan Noodin Smith writes that, "Within the church there have been very few attempts to start acknowledging Two-Spirit people."
The author, Evan Noodin Smith.
Courtesy of Evan Noodin Smith
Gender identity and sexual orientation don't exist in a vacuum. Both are powerfully shaped by racial privilege and oppression. We asked several LGBTIQ2S+ members of The United Church of Canada to reflect on how race complicates the search for social justice—and on the challenges of finding welcome in the church if you are marginalized in more ways than one.
I identify as Two-Spirit, queer, and trans. There are times when these identities feel like a holistic way of identifying my place on the gender-sexuality spectrum. Yet they are also three distinct identities, and though my queerness is often easily explained, my trans and Two-Spirit identities can feel far more complicated.
There have been great strides in the church around sexual identity, but the complexity of gender identity is something that the church has only begun to explore. And, because of lack of understanding, it has only been in very recent years that I have begun speaking about my trans identity.
It feels even more daunting to try to speak about being Two-Spirit, but it is something that I feel strongly I have to do. The church has caused immeasurable damage to Indigenous communities. When the lack of real understanding of Indigenous culture and teachings is paired with a colonial, conservative, and anti-sexual notion of what and how queer and trans people should be and act, it feels at times impossible to begin explaining what it means to be Two-Spirit.
But as I look around at the suicides of so many LGBTIQ2S+ and Indigenous youth, I see a volatile situation. So, despite the emotional labour it takes for me to explain Two-Spiritedness, I have no choice.
Within the church there have been very few attempts to start acknowledging Two-Spirit people. With only one or two exceptions, I cannot recall a time when I felt like Two-Spirit people were named by the church, let alone lifted up for the gifts we carry.
Being Two-Spirit is not about sexuality, or even gender presentation, but about our spirits. As a Two-Spirit person, my spirit is both male and female. This duality of personhood allows me to understand more about the duality of life. It means that I have a role to play in the community because I am often able to see two different sides of a conflict.
Within the United Church, however, Two-Spirit people are often lumped in with the LGBTQ community, which fails us in at least two different ways. First, it fails to recognize that being Two-Spirit doesn't necessarily make you lesbian, gay, or bisexual. There are many Two-Spirit people who are heterosexual. Second, it fails to recognize not only the spiritual nature of being Two-Spirit, but also the teachings around the role of Two-Spirit people and the unique gifts we could bring to the church.
As the church continues on its path to reconciliation, I believe that Two-Spirit people have an important role to play. Part of the gift of being able to see "both sides" is that many of us have a strong understanding of both settler and Indigenous perspectives. We are gifted in ways that allow us to walk between the two communities and act as spiritual guides to ensure that both sides feel they are being heard and respected.
My hope is that through education and the lifting up of Two-Spirit people, the path of reconciliation will be easier, more fully actualized, and will not leave anyone behind. Miigwetch.
— The Rev. Evan Noodin Smith is a minister with The United Church of Canada at Toronto Urban Native Ministry.
This article was originally published in the Spring 2018 issue of Mandate magazine.
Blog Theme:
IndigenousLGBTQ2+
Pride Celebration
The views contained within these blogs are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of The United Church of Canada.
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