Do you have a hiker on your gift list, but you are not sure what to get them? Here are 25 gift ideas for hikers to choose from. Surely after reading this list you will know what to buy as a gift for that hiker in your life.
Most of these gifts idea below will be good for any type of hiker whether they be day hikers or backpackers who hit the trails for more than one day at a time and camp along the path as they go.
This idea is only going to be good for those just starting as chances are more experienced hikers already have a daypack for day hikes that they love. My husband and I use this bag for our day hikes and love it. It has just enough room for everything we need. If we are going to eat lunch on the trail, we both take one but if not, then one is fine for the two of us.
If the hiker you love already has a backpack like this, you could buy them attachments for it such as this water bottle pouch or this small pouch that would be big enough for their smartphone.
There are so many reusable water bottles to choose from. For hiking, the best ones are lightweight and leak proof. Depending on the style of backpack your hiker uses it can also be nice if they have a loop so that you can clip them to your bag. I put this collapsible travel bottle on my Christmas list as I like how once I am done with a weekend of hiking I can store it away for next time and it will take up very little space.
This Bearz outdoor waterproof ground cover can fit up to four people and packs up small. Perfect for your hiker to spread out on the ground and sit on while enjoying the view or eating their lunch. No more wet or dirt covered bottoms!
Help the hiker on your gift list to find a new dream destination or hiking gear with a subscription to BackPackers Magazine. This gift doesn't have to cost you a dime if you become a member of RecycleBank and earn points learning about how to help the environment. Cash in your points for a one-year subscription to BackPackers magazine and make sure to fill out the redemption card in your hiker's name so the magazine goes straight to their home.
Socks can make or break a good hike. If they are not warm enough, you are more aware of your cold toes as you hike than the scenery. If they move and shift in your shoe, you get blisters. If they don't wick away moisture, you get blisters. If they bunch up–you guessed it–you get blisters. Give your hiker the gift of happy feet by purchasing them some socks made specifically for hiking.
Nothing is worse than being surrounded by other hikers and realizing you stink! Don't let this happen to your hiker: treat them to merino wool layers that wick away odor without getting smelly.
Even if the hiker you are buying a gift for doesn't do overnight hikes, they will still probably like a portable hammock as a gift. What hiker wouldn't want to take an afternoon nap in a hammock in the woods before pressing on to hike a few more miles before sundown?
This gift is a little on the TMI side, but every hiker has to go and sometimes the urge can strike miles before the next port-a-potty. A shovel makes it easier to make sure that future hikers will not stumble on a surprise they didn't want. So if your hiker is starting to go for longer hikes, a portable shovel will make a needed practical gift.
Sometimes hikers want a closer look at the wildlife and binoculars can help them do that. Look for a pair that is lightweight and compact.
If there are bears in the area that the hiker on your gift list hikes, then they should be carrying bear spray. If they don't have any, buy them some.
Know a hiker that loves to keep track of who, what, when and where? Buy them a hiking journal that will allow them to log all the information about each hike they take.
A merino wool buff can be used in several different ways. It can keep your hiker's neck or head or both warm. It can also keep their camping hair under control if they are doing multiple days of hiking.
A classic safari style hat that will cover a hikers ears, neck and face from the sun or rain is a good choice for a gift. However, some hikers prefer a baseball cap so it helps to know what style of hat the person you are buying for likes. If they hike in cooler weather, a winter hat that is long enough to cover the ears will be a useful gift.
Sometimes there is a great stream to wade in just along the trail or a swimming hole begging you to jump in. That is when the hiker you bought a quick-dry travel towel for will think of you as he or she pulls it out of their day pack and dries off.
I have been taking some smartphone photography courses over at Skillshare (use my referral link get two months free) and many of the teachers recommend smartphone lenses for better nature photography. I put this smartphone lens kit on my Christmas list as it has good reviews and is relatively affordable.
Hikers who love using their smartphones for pictures and trail maps will love getting a small, portable charger as a gift. Our family has three of these small Anker smartphone chargers. We have had them five years and they still charge our smartphones one and a half times before they need to be recharged just like they did when we first bought them.
Sometimes a river needs to be crossed to continue your hike or you decided to give canoeing a try instead of hitting the trails. When that happens, a waterproof phone pouch can come in handy.
A StrapPack or strap pack (depending on the brand) is a pack for the strap of your backpack. This can be handy for keeping your smartphone in or other small items that you use frequently as you hike. A lot of hikers don't know about these backpack add-ons so it makes a great gift for a hiker that you want to buy something unique for.
Sometimes us hikers go out on a trail in the afternoon thinking we have allowed plenty of time to get back before dark and the trail turns out to be more difficult than we thought and therefore takes longer to complete and we get stuck hiking in the dark. To make sure this doesn't happen to your hiker, get them a headlamp as a gift. Headlamps are small, making them perfect for daypacks and they don't require you to use your hands, which are sometimes needed to help you climb a difficult trail. I have owned an Energizer brand headlamp for years and it keeps on going.
If you were a teenager in the late '80s like I was, you probably remember pack-n-go rain jackets. The type with a big zipper pocket in the middle of them when you wore them and then when you didn't need them anymore the whole jacket fit in that big pocket and you could zip them in. If you had a more expensive one, your's probably even had a waist belt so that when it was in the pocket you could wear it around your waist.
While this style of jacket is not trendy with the general population anymore, they do come in handy for hiking. You can easily stuff one in your daypack in case it starts raining or a cold wind starts up and you need another layer. Plus, they are fairly inexpensive so if you rip one on a tree branch, no biggie, you can replace it for not much out of pocket.
Are you reading this list and thinking, "But they have that," Well then, how about some fun hiking slogan merchandise like t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, and more?
Here is a sweatshirt for the hiker who is always a little lost.
Here is a t-shirt for the hiker who loves mountain trails.
Want something that fits in a Christmas stocking? This hiking themed Christmas ornament would fit.
Here is a twist on the traditional gift basket: grab a quick-dry shower caddy bag and fill it with hiking essentials.
Here is a list of items you might want to include in your hiking gift basket erm…shower caddy gift bag.
Another gift basket style idea for hikers is to grab a mini insulated lunch bag and fill it with their favorite trail snacks. Why mini and not regular sized? Because hikers don't want things that take up too much space and a mini lunch bag fits just the essentials for a trail lunch and no more.
Whether your hiker hikes alone or with friends, sometimes having a lightweight smartphone tripod is nice since it allows you to get more of the scenery in the shot with you–after all, your arm is only so long. A tripod can also be used as a selfie stick.
I hope this list helps you find that perfect gift for the hiker in your life.
Join us on Instagram to see pictures of our latest adventures!


text:
You Must Be Talking to Me, Since I'm The Only One Here.
The Lone Ranger, Star Wars and An Open Letter to Disney
Like the vast majority of North Americans, I didn't go to see The Lone Ranger last weekend.
That's the Johnny Depp/Gore Verbinski/Jerry Bruckheimer/Dinsey venture that grossed an embarrassing $25 million dollars at the domestic box office against a $250 million budget plus probably another $100-$150 million in advertising on the biggest box office weekend of the year. Ouch
Even more embarrassing is that it was beat out by yellow things in overalls that have around the same mental capacity as my betta fish Marcello who eats four pieces of food a day and goes into fight mode every time I walk by him. Double ouch.
Depp, Verbinski and Bruckheimer will, of course, bounce back. Star Armie Hammer however, is probably just about fucked.
Instead I watched The Empire Strikes Back, which, shame on me, I had never seen before in it's entirety. In case the geeks are wondering, it was the letterboxed original theatrical cut of the film that comes as a bonus feature with purchase of any modern version that has been skull fucked to death by this man:
Something cosmic is going on here says Kevin Bacon:
1) George Lucas makes Star Wars, killing the auteur driven film movement of the 70s, ushering in (alongside Jaws) the new era of the Hollywood blockbuster.
2) In the summer of 2012, Disney's big live action tentpole John Carter didn't even manage to gross $100 million domestic against a $250 million budget plus overhead.
3) In an act that should probably signal the need for some Anti-Trust Law reviews, Disney buys Lucasfilm Ltd in 2013 for four billion and change. They also purchase Marvel, ushering in their new business model of expensive franchise movies designed to rake in the cash. A powerful message to Hollywood is sent by the Mouse House:
4) Disney announces that they will be making a brand new Star Wars trilogy alongside two more stand alone features.
5) The Lone Ranger is destroyed Memorial Day weekend 2013 at the box office.
6) My contribution to it bombing: I stayed home to watch The Empire Strikes Back instead.
This calls for some action.
Dear Disney,
Love what you're doing with the place. Buying up both Marvel and Lucasfilm. You now own the market share of comic book flicks, toys, t-shirts, DVDs, posters, and whatever other useless shit that will populate basements, attics and summer yard sales in ten years? You also have ever geek on the continent by the short and curlies. Brilliant. Let Spielberg rewrite American history, you've going to pick the pocket of the nation at least, if I had to take a wild guess, seven separate times in probably as many years. And this doesn't even include what you'll make off Pixar!
You're current strategy of expensive franchise films with a guaranteed built in box office is genius. It worked for Star Wars after all.
But come on, footing a $250 million bill in hopes of launching a franchise based a a Western character that used to be on the radio?
Especially after the same fucking thing happened last year.
Let's throw some numbers around shall we? Star Wars, a film based on an original concept, cost $11 million is 1979. It grossed $461 million. The Empire Strikes Back, the sequel, cost somewhere between $25 and $35 million in 1980. It grossed around the same. Star Wars grossed $775 worldwide (a billion and a quarter with inflation). Assuming, just for laughs, that Star Wars doubled it's budget in advertising, pushing the break even point up to $25 million, the profit is still over a billion with inflation.
No wonder George Lucas now has so many chins
He's eating fucking well.
Fast forward to 2013. With a budget of $250 million, a movie in this day and age needs to gross over half a billion just to hit the break even point before profit starts. Out of the 50 highest grossing American films of all time, forty three of them have been from the past 15 years, with the 50th grossing almost $750 million. Of those forty three, Inception, Finding Nemo and 2012 were not adaptations or sequels. In other words, not many films achieve these numbers, let alone ones that don't have test driven content propelling them.
Maybe The Lone Ranger needed a talking fish?
Moral of the story: Tighten the fucking purse strings.
Your friend and pal,
The Taxi Driver
Posted by The Taxi Driver at 8:04 PM 1 comment:
Labels: Disney, George Lucas, Jerry Bruckheimer, John Carter, Johnny Depp, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, Steven Spielberg, The Empire Strikes Back, The Lone Ranger
Finding Inspiration: Alexander Payne
I'm writing a TV series with a friend and former colleague. It's going to be great. It's actually going to be Canada's next great series.
Only one problem: I have no idea what I'm doing.
I was tasked with writing the first draft of the first episode. Oh god. How do I structure? How many pages is each act? What are my plot points? How do you communicate anything in 23 pages? How do you write dialogue. Someone fucking help!
And with that desperate plea, someone did: Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor.
Not psychically. I don't personally know Payne or Taylor. But watching their entire body of work (save for Citizen Ruth) starting with Election and on down through The Descendants (which Payne wrote and directed and Taylor executive produced) was all the inspiration anyone could need.
While watching, laid up on the couch for the majority of last week with an ear infection, I paid close attention to the writing of the characters. I imagined the work, not as finished films, but as scripts that had been acted out and photographed. It was like having the curtain pulled back. These guys know how to write great fucking characters.
Payne is often tagged with being a great satirist, a reputation he got off his first two high concept comedies Citizen Ruth and Election. The description fits. At the end of Election when we come to the conclusion that asshole Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) and raging cunt Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) very rightfully deserve one another, you can almost picture the shit eating grin Payne sports while taking a steaming dump on these horrible people.
But then Payne went on to reveal a great humanist lurking below the razor sharp satire and has started making thoughtful films about flawed American everymen just trying to get by with doing the right thing, whatever the fuck that is.
In About Schmidt which is, let's face it, a loose remake of Bergman's Wild Strawberries, the title character retires only to find he hasn't really done anything meaningful with his life; spent every day in an office only to be instantly replaced; hasn't seen anything; has a daughter that doesn't like him and a wife that he shares nothing but a marriage with.
Finding out that his wife was having an affair after she suddenly dies, Schmidt has the urge to break out of the confines of his monotonous existence and takes a road trip towards his daughter's wedding, which he hopes to break up. She's getting married to a man he personally thinks she could do a lot better than. He's probably right.
Along the way he writes his life story to a young boy who he is sponsoring. He comes into contact with the opportunity to seduce a woman, meets his son-in-law-to-be's eccentric family (including a priceless Kathy Bates as the mother), and, in one of the film's best scenes, has a conversation with his late wife under the stars. All of this leads towards that final fatal moment in which Schmidt is faced with an important life decision. He must determine whether or not his daughter's happiness is more important than his own. In the end he fears he's done the wrong thing and his journey has all been in vain. But Payne the humanist let's his light shine down on Schmidt, even if the final scene feels a little contrite.
In Sideways Payne sends a McAllister type and a Schmidt type on a road trip the weekend before one of them is to be married. It sees Payne maturing as a dramatist. Writer Miles (Paul Giamatti) is awkward, horribly insecure, on the verge of alcoholism and knows everything about wine but nothing about people. He's constantly standing outside the world, looking in on it. Actor Jack (Thomas Haden Church) is shallow and vain but a people person. He's the kind of guy that hasn't met a challenge he couldn't talk his way into or out of. He wants to get laid one last time before tying the knot. He has a hard time stopping at just one. He thinks it wouldn't hurt if Miles got a little bit of the same.
As per the basic rule of drama, if you put two opposite personalities in a room together for a conversation, they will end up learning something from one another. Jack realizes Miles is a pussy, Miles realizes Jack is a douchebag and neither have the insight or goodness inside themselves to tell the other the truth.
The heart of Sideways is Miles. We feel for him because, despite his incessant drinking, his failed attempts at getting a book published, the way he obsesses over his ex, and his uptight academic approach to wine, he's a lover at heart. If only he could channel that love away from wine and towards Maya, the angel that's been sent to save him.
This leads to the famous wine monologue which single-handedly won Virginia Madsen an Oscar nomination. He asks her why she likes wine and she looks him right in the eye and delivers a response that must be the single most poetic thing he's ever heard a woman say on the subject before adding, for good measure, "Plus, it tastes so fucking good." Amen. That he doesn't ask her to marry him right there is unfortunate. That he excuses himself instead of making the move she so clearly wants him to is his personal tragedy. But Payne is not cruel and steers Miles down the same path to redemption as Schmidt. Not before he hits rock bottom though.
The Descendants beautifully weaves a tale of not one or two, but several broken people, all trying to deal with their trials and tribulations under the Hawaiian sun. The first image is the only one we see of Elizabeth King conscious before a boating accident leaves her in a coma that she will never wake up from. It's the only one we need of her. Her smile beams as she cuts through the water. She is, in the only instance we'll ever get to know her, happy.
Her husband is Matt King (George Clooney, better than he's ever been) who ponders, in typical Payne voice-over, what it is that makes all the women in his life go a little crazy? The sad irony is that it's probably, in part at least, him. He's a lawyer, travels a lot for work, pinches all his pennies and, as the descendant of one of the first white land owners in Hawaii, is the sole trustee for a large piece of property that, if sold, will make him and his numerous cousins rich men. Talk about pressure.
Together they had two daughters. The oldest is Alex (Shailene Woodley). She is sprung from a boarding school by Matt after he receives the news that her mother will never wake up. She was sent there so that she wouldn't be able to get into drugs and alcohol or fight with her mother who she harbors resentment for. The younger one, Scottie, is acting out at school. With an absent father that doesn't know how to talk to her and a thrill seeking mother, can you blame her? They're not bad kids, just the product of what one can only imagine was a troubled upbringing.
Alex has a secret. The reason she didn't like Elizabeth was because she was having an affair. When Matt finds out it leads to one of those great Payne scenes that skirt a thin line between comedy and pathos. He runs. Not valiantly or with dignity, but desperately, down the street, around the bend and to the neighbor's house. He wants answers. They, quite rightly, don't know how many they should give him.
Also in the picture, before a subplot that finds the Kings taking a trip to track down the man Elizabeth was having an affair with adds another bitter and ironic twist to the tale, is Elizabeth's father. He only has two scenes but is played by Robert Forester with such subtly and depth that one gets to seeing how Payne could have easily fashioned the entire film around him. He's a stubborn man. He's his own kind of man. He thinks the world of his daughter; that she would never hurt anyone; didn't have a selfish bone in her body. If only Matt had maybe just been a little more attentive, given her maybe just a bit more money, and if Alex and Scottie had maybe just been better daughters, than maybe his little girl would still be alive. Payne leads Matt to the same kind of moral decision that he led Schmidt to. In a hospital room with Forester, Matt, finally starting to realize the man he needs to be, does what he thinks is, quite simply, the right thing, even when the wrong thing would have been much easier and more instantly satisfying.
The Descendants is, for me, Payne's most inspiring film. It dismisses almost all hints of the still present satirist that was lurking below the surface of About Schmidt and Sideways and instead focuses solely on the heavy morale decisions that a man must face and how they effect all those surrounding him.
Payne graciously gives every character their due. All are flawed but sympathetic. Even when he has a chance to reduce someone to mere punching bag, he doesn't. Look at Sid, Alex's stoned, moron of a boyfriend. Yes, he looks dumb and has a tendency to say things in moments where he'd be better served to just keep his mouth shut. But then he's given a beautiful moment in which King asks him, if the tables were turned, what he would do and Payne gives the kid the kind of monologue that got Virginia Madsen her Oscar nod. At the end of the day, this kid isn't without pain and heavy decisions as well. The bond between them during this moment is never spoken but you can see, Matt is, whether he realizes it or not, a changed man because of it. In a way, aren't we all?
Posted by The Taxi Driver at 7:09 PM No comments:
Labels: About Schmidt, Alexander Payne, Election, George Clooney, Jim Taylor, Matthew Broderick, Paul Giamatti, Reese Witherspoon, Sideways, The Descendants, Thomas Hayden Church, Virginia Madsen
Pre-Predicting Gold: Naomi Watts in Diana
Naomi Watts has been trying to get an Oscar since forever. And you have to admit, she's come a long way.
And as an actress, she's gone through a lot on her quest to the top:
But based on the trailer for Diana, unless the film throws a huge left turn to reveal that Diana was actually suffering from a debilitating heroin addiction and days away from death anyway when she was run off the road by paparazzi on the fateful eve of her passing, there's nothing to believe that it will be anything more than another generic biopic with a hyped performance to prop it up.
Then again, that didn't get in Meryl's way.
But considering that the film has no other discernible stars or director, no mention of the Prince Charles or The Queen side of Diana (if the cast list on IMDB is correct), and not a single fucking bar of Candle in the Wind in the trailer; Watts is going to either need to be flawless or it's going to need to be a pretty bad year for female performances to walk away with a win for this one.
But who knows, anything's possible right?
Posted by The Taxi Driver at 9:07 AM No comments:
Labels: 21 Grams, Academy Awards, Candle in the Wind, Diana, Ellie Parker, Meryl Streep, Mulholland Drive, Naomi Watts, Oscar, Princess Diana, Tank Girl, The Impossible, The Iron Lady
Coming to a Theatre Near You: The Wolf of Wall Street
November 15th is marked on my calendar.
That's the day Martin Scorsese's newest Leonard DiCaprio colab The Wolf of Wall Street hits theatres.
The film is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by bad boy turned writer and executive producer of not one, but two Hulk Hogan masterpieces, Jordan Belfort.
IMDB just posted the trailer:
And it looks...kind of... okay...no?
My initial excitement, besides that of knowing a new Scorsese movie is coming, is because I read the script for coverage earlier in the year. I thought it jumped off the page with the same sort of insider-knowledge-of-dirty-people-getting-away-with-their-dirty-deeds-excitement as Goodfellas.
I imagined cameras flying down tracks. I imagined shots crashing into one another. I expected Roman Catholic guilt. I expected redemption. I expected The Stones. I expected the brilliant work of a brilliant man.
So I praised the script, said it lept off the page with electricity and whatever other adjective of praise that came to mind. I said it kept my eyes glued on it right until the last page.
And between you and me, my script coverage usually doesn't miss the mark by too much. Want samples?
But is it just me, or does this trailer seem all a little to...meh? And why play up a lot of comedy aspects instead of the core drama? What's with Matthew McCanaughey making weird noises?
But whatever, even in the absence of great material, Scrosese always manages to deliver something worth seeing. Can anyone think of a better movie with a terrible ending than Shutter Island or a more thoroughly entertaining cops and robbers saga than The Departed?
So what do you think: is The Wolf on Wall Street going to be Scorsese entertaining us or are the trailers misleading us into thinking we're going to see a different movie than the less funny and more brilliant one I hope I'll be paying for? I'm still holding out hope for the latter.
Labels: Casino, Goodfellas, Henry Miller, Hulk Hogan, Jordan Belfort, Martin Scorsese, Nicholas Pileggi, Shit Coming to a Theatre Near You, Shutter Island, Terence Winter, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street
Big Friday News: Arnold Schwarzenegger to Return for Terminator 5
Whether you like it or not, Terminator 5 is coming.
And whether you want it or not, Empire Online is reporting that Arnold Schwarzenegger will reprise his iconic role as the title character of the franchise that made him into a superstar.
Excellent News! I was worried after all, since Terminator Salvation essentially just reinforced that robots blowing shit up isn't nearly as entertaining in the absence of an Austrian accent.
And really, doesn't a little piece in us all pine for the glory days of 2003 when Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines elevated the franchise to the pantheons of American Art?
Of course Schwarzenegger will be back as The Terminator. The Last Stand, his first starring role since returning to acting several years ago, didn't even manage to gross back half of it's thirty million dollar budget.
And besides, Schwarzenegger has:
Love children to support,
Oopps; wrong picture....
Private jets to maintain,
And, Hummers with tanks that need to be filled.
In other Didn't See it Coming From A Mile Away News, Schwarenegger will also be returning as Conan in 2014's The Legend of Conan.
AAAAAAAANNNNDDDD...
The sequel to his 80s smash hit Twins, titled, brilliantly: Triplets.
Based on how the cast is shaping up so far, Schwarzenegger's involvement will only be the second most desperate attempt at a career revival:
Also, today /Film reported that James Cameron, due to changes in copywrite law, will regain the rights to the Terminator franchise in 2019.
Labels: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Conan, Eddie Murphy, James Cameron, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator 5, Terminator Salvation, The Last Stand, The Legend of Conan, Triplets, Twins
A year ago, six months ago, I thought that I was a Blogger. I no longer think about it, I am. Everything that was literature has fallen from me. There are no more posts to be written, thank God. This then? This is not a blog. This is libel, slander, defamation of character. This is not a blog, in the ordinary sense of the word. No, this is a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of Art, a kick in the pants to God, Man, Destiny, Time, Love, Beauty ... what you will.
1001: A FILM ODYSSEY
THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015), ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019)
Radiator Heaven
This Island Rod
Stalag 17 (1953)
UPSTAIRS/DOWNSTAIRS: THE FILMS OF 2019
The Rest Is Waiting
Afore Ye Go, 2019: Essential Tributes (Elsaesser, Wollen, Lindner) Plus Favourite-of-the-Year Open Access Resources
The Incredible Suit
The Incredible Suit's Top 10 Films Of 2019
Atlanta's Plaza Theatre Presents Nine Days of Tarantino
Reel Artsy
The Afrofilmviewer
Recent Pieces.
SOLEDAD (Volume One) Now Available
Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies
TIFF 2018: My Picks
Retro Movie Love Podcast Episodes 40, 41, 42 now available
Skeins of Thought
SCOTT EYMAN to Discuss "HANK & JIM" at the SSO on 12/16 & 12/17
Burning Reels
Alex in Movieland
Antagony & Ecstasy
THE DEATH OF ANTAGONY & ECSTASY
The 1001 Movies You Must See - A Movie Review Club
3D Power Architectural Visualization Company
Day Of The Woman
"To die, to be really dead, that must be glorious!"
Gore Gore Dancer Movie Reviews
Red Summer
DEMOLITION (#TIFF15 Review)
Kid In The Front Row
What Was This Place?
The Criterion Contraption
The Gag Man: Clyde Bruckman and the Birth of Film Comedy: Now Available!
Encore's World of Film & TV
Poor Joe: on Angels in America's lost character
themoviesnob
Blindspot - "A Night At The Opera" and "The Navigator"
Film for the Soul
Beyond The Light 2015 Subtitle Indonesia
The Intermittent Sprocket
Noah: Bible Boating
A Life in Equinox
You Know in a Year I'm Gonna Be Happy
The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World
Hello, I Must Be Going...But Not That Far
"Let's Not Talk About Movies"
Nic Cage as Everyone
Nic Cage as the "Maggot Brain" Cover Model
One Chapter Ends...Another One Begins
Journalistic Skepticism
where best animated feature stands
The Movie Encyclopedia
You gonna die, I'm gonna die, we all gonna die. Just not today...
Wild Celtic
Student blog: 'A guide to UK slang'
The Predictability of Stupidity: Movie Reviews
Prometheus (2012)
Trash, Art, And The Movies Podcast #12: The Good, The Bad, And The Uggie
That awkward moment where your DVD player breaks and Netflix becomes a bitch to maintain.
Oh, great. You get the girl, I get the coroner?
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
Termite Art
And now, it's time for another episode of Bad Body Double Theater!
TRACTOR FACTS
Projectiling on CARNAGE (2011)
Celluloid Moon
All My Blogs Come Home to Roost*
Beauty, Heaven and Grace Combined
beautyheavenandgrace
Closing Time (The Matinee Turns Four, and Gets a New Home)
bo_doo
Blog Cabins: Movie Commentary and Reviews Made Fun
Screen Insight
This blog is changing...
LAZY EYE THEATRE
Here's The Problem With What Happened Last Night At The Oscars
/moviemongrel/
Top 10 Films of the Year: The Rest Of It!
And All That Film
Oh Goodness
Films From the Supermassive Black Hole
Who is Romy Schneider
Big Mike's Movie Blog
Dr. Slumdog or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Blog Again
short shorts & sunshine
life. or something like it.
Lost in the Movies
This blog is no longer active.
Z Channeling Jerry Harvey
Movie Reviews by Tom Clift can now be found at http://reviewsbytom.blogspot.com
The Movie Case
scanners (jim emerson)
Misplaced Movies
M o v i e M a n i a
Rachel's Reel Reviews
The Lone Ranger, Star Wars and An Open Letter to D...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Sudan's Islamist opposition leader, Hassan al-Turabi, has been prevented from travelling to Paris for medical treatment, an aide says.
Mr Turabi had a travel permit from the interior ministry but was stopped at Khartoum airport, the aide said.
The leader of the Popular Congress Party was released from prison in March after two months in custody.
He was held after calling on President Omar al-Bashir to surrender to face charges of war crimes in Darfur.
Mr Turabi, 77, a proponent of Sharia law, was once a close colleague of Mr Bashir but he lost out in a power struggle between the two in 1999.
"Turabi had obtained permission to travel from the interior ministry and a boarding pass, but several security men came and took his passport... and returned to tell him that he was not permitted to leave," Mr Turabi's office manager, Awad Abu Bakr, told AFP news agency.
He did not specify any details of Mr Turabi's planned medical tests.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's president in March.


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Lawyers walked us through the FTX bankruptcy filing. It's really, really bad.
Sindhu Sundar and Samantha Delouya
Sindhu Sundar|Samantha Delouya
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FTX's bankruptcy filing shed new light on potential legal trouble for the crypto exchange and its former execs.
New CEO John J. Ray III delivered a blistering assessment, calling FTX's implosion "a complete failure of corporate controls."
Read some of the most incendiary parts of the bankruptcy filing and what experts say it all might mean.
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FTX's explosive new bankruptcy court filing revealed new potential legal landmines for former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his associates.
The crypto exchange's new CEO, John J. Ray III delivered a blistering assessment in a filing with the bankruptcy court of the chaos that led to FTX's implosion; financial documents may have been altered, corporate funds were allegedly used to purchase homes for employees and advisors, and workers had expenses approved via personalized emojis.
Michael K. Lowman, who served as senior counsel of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said that while there is no crypto-specific regulatory framework in the US, Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX may have a lot of legal trouble on their hands, "both potentially from an SEC perspective and from a federal criminal perspective," he said.
J.W. Verret, chairman of the SEC subcommittee of the American Bar Association, echoed that sentiment.
"If all the statements on Twitter that have been attributed to Sam are true, then there's quite a bit there to be used in a fraud case against him," he said.
Here are some of the most incendiary parts of the filing by Ray and what experts say it might mean:
"Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here... this situation is unprecedented."
Matthew Gold, a bankruptcy partner at Kleinberg Kaplan, said that this statement, beyond offering a severe rebuke of the management at FTX, also serves as a note of caution to the public about the original bankruptcy filing's reliability.
"This is uncharacteristically blunt in a filing of this type," he said. "These things tend to be more caged, lawyerly discussions of things."
"Unacceptable management practices included… the use of software to conceal the misuse of customer funds, the secret exemption of Alameda from certain aspects of FTX.com's auto-liquidation protocol, and the absence of independent governance..."
Lowman said that if the SEC can successfully argue that crypto assets are securities, then FTX misusing customer funds opens up the possibility for a securities fraud case.
FTX would be "subject to SEC regulation about customer handling of assets and safeguarding. Not only would they deal with securities fraud, but just a straight up regulatory violation that could obligate them to recover all that money," he said.
"In the Bahamas, I understand that corporate funds of the FTX Group were used to purchase homes and other personal items for employees and advisors..."
While this detail in the filing may seem irresponsible, Verret said US regulators likely couldn't go after Sam Bankman-Fried for this practice.
"That activity occurred in the Bahamas so that it would be subject to Bahamian law, not US law," he said.
"Those are things that a publicly traded company in the United States would not be allowed to do, but this isn't a publicly traded company," he added.
"...because this balance sheet was produced while the Debtors were controlled by Mr. Bankman-Fried, I do not have confidence in it, and the information therein may not be correct as of the date stated."
This line also suggests the haste with which the bankruptcy was filed. Traditionally, large bankruptcy cases are the result of weeks or months of planning and start with detailed proposals about how the company plans to reorganize. This shows the opposite, according to Gold.
"There's a continuum between very well-organized bankruptcy petitions and those that are less organized — this one is all the way on the end of the scale of not prepared," he said.
"The appointment of the Directors will provide the FTX Group with appropriate corporate governance for the first time."
Ray indicated that the company has brought on five independent members of the board, which had been apparently primarily controlled by Bankman-Fried without the sort of typical CEO-board accountability, said Vincent Indelicato, a partner at Proskauer Rose.
"The appointment of independent directors may very well help the debtors maintain credibility with the bankruptcy court and their creditors in these early days of the case," he said.
Check out: Personal Finance Insider's picks for best cryptocurrency exchanges
ftx Sam Bankman-Fried crypto
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If You Bought A Ticket To Justin Bieber's Tour, Here's How To Get Your Money Back
by Laura Rizzo
Getty Images/Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester
On July 24, Justin Bieber announced he canceled the remaining 15 shows of his Purpose World Tour. If you bought a ticket to one of these canceled shows, you're probably wondering, how do I get my money back from Justin Bieber's canceled Purpose tour?
A rep from Justin Bieber's team sent the following statement to Elite Daily,
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Justin Bieber will cancel the remainder of the Purpose World Tour concerts. Justin loves his fans and hates to disappoint them. He thanks his fans for the incredible experience of the Purpose World Tour over last 18 months. He is grateful and honored to have shared that experience with his cast and crew for over 150 successful shows across 6 continents during this run. However, after careful consideration he has decided he will not be performing any further dates. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase.
Basically, wherever you bought the ticket will return your money. Different venues and websites have different policies on how they go about returning money.
If you ordered off Ticketmaster, you do not need to do anything. According to their website,
If you bought tickets online or over the phone, you won't need to do a thing. We'll let you know the event is canceled and automatically refund your order (except UPS fees) to the same card used to purchase. All refunds should be received with 7-10 days after we learn the event is canceled.
Easy, right? However, if you ordered through the venue, you may have a few more steps.
For example, Sports Authority Field in Denver said that tickets purchased at the stadium box office can be refunded at the box office. Unfortunately, the stadium is "unable to refund any tickets other than those purchased in person at the box office."
Check the policy of where you bought the tickets for full steps, and be sure to have the credit card you used to purchase the tickets on hand.
Fans are still reeling about Justin Bieber's tour dates being canceled.
It's OK to not be OK.
However, fans are rallying for Bieber and showing their support.
Whatever is going on with Justin Bieber, I hope he gets some much needed rest. After performing over 150 shows all over the world, anyone would need a break.
Britney Clarified Her New Tattoo Has Nothing To Do With Justin Timberlake
By Dylan Kickham
TXT's 'Act: Sweet Mirage' World Tour Includes 9 US Stops
By Michele Mendez
I'll Say It: The 'Gossip Girl' Reboot Ended At The Perfect Time


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Why Sealy & Company
Our Commitment/ESG
Acquisition & Development
Asset, Property & Construction Management
SRES.com
Thursday|Nov 1, 2018
New Opportunity Zones Regulations Released
On Friday, October 19th, The U.S. Treasury Department, with assistance from the IRS, released some much-anticipated regulatory guidelines and clarifications regarding the Opportunity Zones Program. The 74-page document offered supplemental clarification to the tax break laws passed late in 2017 which incentivized investors to deploy money in underdeveloped areas.
The original bill left much to question, and investors have already begun launching opportunity funds in these underdeveloped areas to capitalize on potential gains. While there is no deadline for finalization of the addendum guidelines, administration has opened its doors to suggestions to expedite the process.
Among the most notable takeaways from the supplemental guide, according to Bisnow, are possible exceptions to the six-month window for investors to elect to defer capital gains. Once funds have been placed in an opportunity fund, they can remain in that fund for 30 months, if a plan for investment exists and can be audited by the IRS.
Other explored topics included the substantial improvement test which clarifies investor improvements to buildings. The guidelines explain that improvements are based on the value of such buildings instead of requiring investors to match the purchase value of a building. Additionally, the document explains deferred gain, which clarifies that investors may hold qualified assets up to 2047 as opposed to previously stated 2028.
For more information regarding the recent updates to the Opportunity Zones Program, visit www.irs.gov.
For more news and information regarding Sealy & Company, please visit the company's website at www.Sealynet.com.
About Sealy & Company
Sealy & Company, a fully-integrated commercial real estate investment, and operating company, is a recognized leader in acquiring, developing, and redeveloping regional distribution warehouse, industrial/flex, and other commercial properties. Sealy provides a full-service platform for high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors through our development, management, and brokerage divisions.Sealy & Company has an exceptional team of over 100 employees, located in five offices, with corporate offices in Dallas, TX and Shreveport, LA.
I'm interested in...InvestmentsAcquisitionsDevelopmentsAsset ManagementProperty ManagementConstruction Management
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FM Technical Profile: WBNB
The Life FM
[map] In the absolute middle of nowhere, east of AL-259 on CR-20.
[Wikipedia] For The Life FM network
[Facebook] Page for The Life FM network
// WUBK, Enoree, SC
The Power Foundation
This station's license to cover came around in early December 2012, but it dates back to a construction permit issued back in July of 2008. Benny Newton (the calls probably stood for Benny Newton Broadcasting) had won the original construction permit, but wound up selling the permit just before it expired to The Power Foundation for $1. Newton had planned the station as "The Equality Broadcasting Network", which he later put on an LPFM in Montgomery.
Under The Power Foundation's ownership, the station debuted with southern gospel under the nickname "The Life FM". In late April 2014 the station received a construction permit for a considerable power increase from the original 750 watts at 180 feet HAAT. That permit was built out and put on the air, with a license to cover filed in early February 2015.


An exciting new development, stemming from an entirely new line in breeding. It has an overall character that is very different from any other rose we know, having its own very special beauty yet retaining the classic full-petalled flowers of an English Rose.
The young flower is deep pink, almost red, gradually fading to a pure deep pink as the bloom matures. The undersides of the petals have a pleasing hint of yellow. The petals are rather narrow and unusually substantial.
The growth is upright and the foliage is rather thick, succulent and highly polished. Remarkably resistant to disease. It flowers over a long period and in large clusters; the individual blooms opening in succession.
There is a Tea Rose fragrance of medium strength. The compact, bushy growth makes this rose ideal for borders or it would be a great choice for hedging.


Wagner, J.-P. ; Frossard, P.
This paper addresses the problem of optimizing the playback delay experienced by a population of heterogeneous clients, in video streaming applications. We consider a typical broadcast scenario, where clients subscribe to different portions of a scalable video stream, depending on their capabilities. Clients share common network resources, whose limited rate directly drives the playback delays imposed to the different groups of receivers. We derive an optimization problem, that targets a fair distribution of the playback delays among heterogeneous clients, as well as minimal buffer usage. A server-based scheduling strategy is then proposed, that takes into account the properties of the targeted clients, the channel status, and the structure of the media encoding. A polynomial-time algorithm providing close to optimal results is introduced and it is shown to offer significantly reduced playback delays per client population, as compared to traditional scheduling strategies. In the same time, PSNR performance is not affected, which altogether leads to an overall improvement of the quality of service.


Rolex Datejust 69173. Stainless Steel & Gold on a jubilee bracelet and with a white dial. 26mm 1995 with a full set and in great original condition.
Rolex Datejust 16018. Solid 18crt gold on a Rolex leather strap and with a gold dial dial. 36mm 1987 with a full set and in great original condition.
Rolex Datejust 69174. Stainless Steel on a jubilee bracelet and with a blue dial dial. 26mm 1998 with a full set and in great original condition.
Rolex Precision 6694. Stainless Steel on a stainless steel bracelet and with a silver/champagne dial. 36mm, dated 1979 with its original box and a certificate of authenticity. In great original condition.
Rolex Datejust 1803. Solid 18crt gold on a Hirsch leather strap and with a gold deployment clasp. 36mm 1974 with a full set and in A1 original condition.
Rolex Datejust 16233. Gold & Steel on a jubilee bracelet. 36mm 2001 with a full set and in A1 condition.
Rolex Submariner Date 16610. Stainless Steel with a Stainless Steel Bracelet and a black dial. 40mm 2002 and in great original condition.
Rolex Deepsea 116660. 44mm 2011 Full Stainless with a classic Black Dial. Complete set.
Rolex Datejust 16018. Solid 18crt gold on a jubilee bracelet and with a light champagne dial. 36mm 1983 with a full set and in great original condition.
Rolex Explorer II in Stainless Steel. 2006 40mm with a white dial. Mint condition.
Rolex Datejust Stainless Steel & Gold 36mm with a gold dial. 2006 full set in A1 mint condition.


Looking for Memphis Grizzlies vs. Utah Jazz free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the Grizzlies taking on the Jazz on Friday November 2, 2018 at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this Grizzlies Jazz matchup.
The Grizzlies have been a surprising in the outset of this season. Memphis finished October 4–2 after handling Washington before embarking on a three-game road trip, which starts in Salt Lake City.
The Grizz have wins at home over Atlanta, Phoenix and Washington, which is a trio of fairly terrible teams. The one real surprising win Memphis has is a road win at Utah.
A second trip to SLC in the first seven games of the season means Memphis won't have to worry about going back to Vivint Arena until next season.
The Grizzlies kept the pace snail-like in that game on the 22nd of October and won, 92–84. Jae Crowder led the Jazz with just fifteen points and only three players from Utah even reached double-digits. The Grizzlies got twenty-three from Mike Conley and eighteen and thirteen from Marc Gasol.
Gasol is clearly way healthier right now than he was at any point last season. Will it persist for eighty-two games? I'm betting not but for the time being, he's back to being an above-average big, who might even still be capable of reaching his all-star form.
Jaren Jackson Jr. didn't turn twenty years old until September but he's shown way more polished than most anybody in Memphis expected out of him in his rookie season.
Triple-J scored twenty-nine points against the Hawks two weeks ago and looks like a winning pick in the way-too-early going for Memphis, which needed to hit on that pick.
The Timberwolves got eight bench points in their 128–125 win over Utah on Halloween night. They did get a career-high 50 from Derrick Rose, who was the story on that night, not just in Minnesota, but in all of the NBA.
Minnesota was at home in that game but also without Jimmy Butler who missed the game due to "general soreness," according to the injury report.
Utah scored the ball efficiently against a porous Minnesota defense sans Butler but too many turnovers from Ricky Rubio, especially early, hurt them. That, and a complete inability to stop Rose from getting to the rim.
The Jazz has already lost to Memphis once and I would be something just less than shocked if it happened again on this night. Utah has lost both of its home games and this is a team that always thrives at home.
Utah is going to come out determined to win this game. It's at home and it's one of the best teams in the entire NBA; it will handle the Grizzlies in this game, however well Memphis playing with a rejuvenated Gasol.
MEM are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 vs. NBA Northwest.
Under is 13-3 in MEM last 16 Fri. games.
Over is 29-14 in UTA last 43 vs. NBA Southwest.
Head to Head: Under is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings.
Free Memphis Grizzlies vs. Utah Jazz NBA Prediction: Utah.
You know, I really do believe Utah wins this game, for sure. I'm having reservations about by how many points, though. The Grizzlies look solid, at least, early so I don't know if I'm willing to lay more than five or six in this one, which probably means it won't be a play.


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Are there cannibals in Louisiana?
May 18, 2021 By Author Useful tips
All of the tribes of Louisiana would be interesting to study in depth; but, because of their gruesome habit of eating people, one tribe occupies a particular position of interest-the Atakapa of Southwestern Louisiana.
What crops did the Atakapa grow?
They grew corn, beans and other crops. They also hunted when they could for meat. The area they lived in was on the southern edge of the East Texas Piney Woods.
What was the cause of the decline of the Atakapa?
By 1908 there were only nine known descendants. Their demise was primarily caused by the invasion of European diseases rather than through direct confrontations with European settlers.
What kind of weapons did the Atakapa Indians use?
What were Atakapa weapons and tools like in the past? Atakapa hunters used bows and arrows. Fishermen used nets, traps, or hooks made of bone. An Atakapa warrior fired his bow or fought with a hand-to-hand weapon like a club.
What kind of language do the Atakapa Indians speak?
Most Atakapa people speak English today. Some Atakapas, especially older people, speak a Cajun French dialect. In the past, Atakapa Indians spoke their own Atakapa language. The Atakapa Indian language has not been spoken since the early 1900's, but some Atakapa people are trying to learn their ancestral language again.
When was the first European contact with the Atakapa?
Atakapa oral history says that they originated from the sea. An ancestral prophet laid out the rules of conduct. The first European contact with the Atakapa may have been in 1528 by survivors of the Spanish Pánfilo de Narváez expedition.
What did the Europeans do to the Atakapa Indians?
The Europeans never fought the Atakapas directly, but European diseases like smallpox devastated the Atakapa population and their villages disbanded. Some survivors joined neighboring tribes like the Caddo, while others intermarried with local Cajun and African-American communities.
What hurricane was in August 2008?


How does fourteen miles of pure white sand beaches, turquoise seas and tropical weather sound as the ideal destination for those of you who want to escape from the hum-drum of everyday life? If that's you, then Cancun, on the Yucatan peninsular of eastern Mexico, is your ideal holiday resort. Cancun can fulfil the holiday dream of everyone who has ever longed for sun, sea and sand. In the state of Quintana Roo, this modern holiday destination offers every aspect of a get-away-from-it-all vacation in surroundings of sun-drenched, powdery sanded beaches, state-of-the-art hotels and more amenities than you could possibly try on in one visit.
Although the city centre is built on the mainland, the modern, beachfront hotels are located on a long, thin island shaped like a seven which is connected to the mainland by two bridges. Here you can find something to suit all tastes and expectations. The exotic names Mexican Caribbean and Mayan Riviera can only partly conjure up what you can expect from this all-encompassing paradise. The unique situation of the Gulf of Mexico to the north and the Caribbean Sea to the south have proved to be the ideal conditions for the dream-of-a-lifetime holiday.
The crystal clear waters around Cancun offer you the chance to indulge in those activities you've always longed to try. Never ridden a jet-ski, rowed a kayak, surfed the waves, been scuba-diving or fitted a snorkel and swum with beautiful and varied tropical fish? Here's your chance. In the vast lagoon overlooked by Laguna Nichupte, on the western side of the island, a wide-variety of water-sport equipment is available for hire. Trainers are always on hand to help first-timers. If your interest lays not so much in swimming with the fish, but being the proud fisherman who lands a prize and takes the photo home to show their friends then rowboats for the individual and charter boats for the larger groups are readily available.
If you've ever dreamed of swimming with dolphins or thrilled at the idea of patting a live shark, Cancun offers the chance. Take a jet boat tour into the jungle or visit the beautiful island of Cozumel, Mexico's largest island and famous water sport activity centre. This attractive and heavily-inhabited island is the location of the Chankanaab National Park.
In Laguna Nichupte itself, you can explore shopping malls and marinas, dine at waterfront restaurants, practice your golfing skills and, as the tropical evening draws nigh, enjoy views of the most incredible sunsets. Then take yourself off to downtown Cancun – Cancun Centro – for the nightlife experience of a lifetime and a taste of real Mexico. Bars, nightclubs, and restaurants offer a wide variety of opportunities. Do you fancy a romantic meal for two in a quiet secluded corner, a sport for a quite drink or the all-out light flashing sensation of a glitzy club where you can dance the night away. All these, and more, are on offer in the Party Zone at a price which will more than please your holiday budget.
If you should desire a change from the sea-and-sand based activities and want to explore some of Mexico's history, Chichen Itza is only a bus-ride away or a two and a half hour journey by car. This famous Mayan archaeological site includes the stunning Kukulcan Pyramid and a nearby cenote (a deep, natural well) where you can have a refreshing swim. Alternatively, Tulum, the only Mayan site to overlook the Caribbean is a two hour bus ride. Believed to be an important ceremonial site forthe Mayan people, you can see the impressive El Castillo pyramid as well as over sixty other structures which date back over seven centuries. However, the tallest pyramid on the Yucatan Peninsular can be found at Coba hidden deep in the jungle.
Cancun has already become a popular resort for honeymoon couples, such is the romantic atmosphere which surrounds the location, but many couples are now looking for a complete celebration and arranging their weddings here too. What could be more idyllic than a ceremony in the sun overlooking azure-blue waters with your loved-one by your side?
So, whatever your preferences or desires, your dreams or your plans, Mexico's newest, brightest and best holiday resort will offer everything you've ever wanted. Ask and Cancun, can deliver.
Abu Dhabi Bus Rental is all about the variety of the renting services offered by us in Abu Dhabi for a fascinating tour through the ultra-modern city of Abu Dhabi. There are many bus rental services in Abu Dhabi offered by us. If you want to tour the entire city and if your group consist of a large number of people, then hiring a bus in Abu Dhabi will be the perfect choice. We are equipped with our own bus services that are maintained at their best. You will be surprised to get the perfect backup services from us.
If you are looking for a Abu Dhabi Bus Rental, then you have the choice of getting an ultimate luxury bus that comes with a lot of modern entertainment services. There are buses with different seating capacities. It means that you are lucky enough to get a bus in Abu Dhabi with the number of seats in accordance with the number of people in your group.
Our buses also contain the tools that are required for a long journey. The interior of the buses are built with effective materials that they will give comfort to the passenger. The exterior of the buses are made in such a way that the passengers can have a beautiful view of the towering city. They are also checked often and maintained to ensure the safety of the passengers.
You can enjoy the luxurious buses in Abu Dhabi. You can also visit some of the most popular sites in Abu Dhabi by travelling through these buses. The buses will have public addressing system which will help you to get a clear picture of the sites you are going to visit. Thus the buses can also do the duty of a guide. You can arrange with us to go on a tour with your group in the rented bus.
For a small group of people, you can hire a 14 seater bus. It will come with entertainment services like FM stereos, LCD TVs and DVD Players. So listen to your favorite music and enjoy a ride through the city of Abu Dhabi. The vehicles come with ample leg space. A ride through the city in the rented buses will be comfortable.
If you are a large group, then you can choose a 47 seater luxury bus. It comes with extra entertainment and comfort giving services like climate control, refrigerator and water dispensers. You should choose the type of bus in accordance with your needs.
Costa Rica, one of the most popular tourist destinations of the world is located in Central America. It offers lush green forest, beautiful beaches, volcanoes, and wide varieties of flora and fauna.This place is filled with endless attractions and natural beauty.
All at one place, the rain forest, the beaches, lagoons, mangroves and the coral reefs, you will find all of these at Manuel Antonio National Park. It is one of the most visited park in Costa Rica. The beaches looks amazing surrounded by beautiful lush green rain forest. It is a great spot for snorkeling as well. It is a small national park established in only 628 hectare area but it is home to 109 species of mammals and 184 species of birds. The park attracts around 150,000 visitors per year.
One of the great way to enjoy the park and it's amazing vistas is to take a hike. There are guided tours available. You can book the guided tours from any of hotels you will be staying. The Punta Cathedral on the trail offers one of the most beautiful view. You will also get a chance to see white-faced monkeys and rare squirrel monkeys.
Arenal Volcano National Park is a must see places of Costa Rica. It is one of the world's most active volcanoes. There are hiking trails here on the already hardened fields of lava where you can see the mighty force of nature from so close. There are guided tours available for such hiking trails and hot springs. While other ways people can enjoy the park is by taking the most famous Sky Tram Canopy Tour.
Rincon de La Vieja National Park is the protected National park in Costa Rica with a very diverse ecosystem. It is popularly known for its wide variety of flora and fauna. It is also home to 2 volcanoes namely the Rincon de la Vieja and the Santa Maria. There are 6 different volcanic peaks in the park and 32 rivers and streams. It is a great place for the adventure lovers. There are waterfalls where you can swim around, warm mud pools, spectacular place for nature photography, a fresh water volcanic lagoons, and trails where you can hike all day long and enjoy the park.
The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is a very popular destination in Costa Rica. The unique thing about this place is its cloud canopy after which it has got its name. The Reserve is located just 6 km from town of Santa Elena in the Puntarenas province. It is one of the most breathtaking reserves of the world. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve receives very less rain compared to that of the rain forest, however because of the unique cloud contents, it has very high humidity.
There are several trails available throughout the reserve, you can spend days of hiking with a guide in group or as single. The trails offers amazing views of the spectacular Forest Reserve. Throughout the trail you can enjoy beautiful waterfalls, swamp areas, and other attractions.
Well, the most adventurous thing about the Tortuguero National Park is that it can be reached only through water on boat or by air. The park has a nesting grounds for Hawksbill, leatherback and green sea turtles, etc. The turtles are the main attraction of the Tortuguero National Park. There are several marked trails where you can go for a hike but you have to watch for the nesting grounds on the way. One of the best way to explore the park is by boat. Don't worry, there are many places from where you can rent kayaks and canoes.
Going for a beach vacation? Have you pack everything you need for your stay? It is highly likely that you may forget few things you may need at the beach. Here is the checklist for all essential things you should have for your beach vacation and some packing tips.
1. Extra Swimsuit: Pack extra swimsuit at least two. Swimsuit is the basic requirement when you are in the beach. It is always wise to have extra one. In case something happen to one swim suit then you are good because you have a backup with you.
2. Swimsuit cover ups: Do not forget to carry cover-ups for your swimsuit. There are varieties of cover-ups in the market. A t-shirt goes well with boys and t-shirts- shorts and wrap basically goes well with ladies.
3. Sunscreen: Sunscreen is must for a beach visit. Carry sunscreen with SPF of at least 30. Also make sure its waterproof as you are going to play with water.
4. Sunglasses: Sunglasses is yet another essential item you should not forget. It is very likely to forget it so be sure to mark it in your check list.
5. Beach Sandals: Beach sandals or flip flops is something you should never forget to pack. If you are going with kids make sure you pack flip flops or any beach friendly footwear for them also.
6. Hats: Make sure everyone pack their hats. It is especially needed if someone among you is bald.
7. Bring water and snacks: It's good to keep some snacks and water with you at beach. You don't have to go back to the store to get and waste your precious time in commuting.
8. Beach bags: Keep all the essentials that you need at the beach in the beach bag. You don't have to carry your suitcase with you every day you go to the beach.
9. Extra bags: Carry some extra plastic containers or a zip lock bags with you to the beach. You may need it to keep something that you don't want to keep together in your beach bag with other things.
10. Toiletries: It is advised to keep your own shampoo, soaps, towels, face cream, cleanser, toothpaste and brush, mouth wash, shaving cream and razors. Also pack your perfume or deodorant.


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Lower in the list you can see the relative results of searching, which resembling the inquiring. If there is no necessary name in the results of searching for MX7538TD – look at the relative results.


While sensible sun exposure is necessary for optimal health, overexposure can result in skin damage that could raise your risk of skin cancer. Depending on your skin color, location and time of year, you might be able to get by with as little as 10 to 20 minutes of peak sun exposure per day.
This will help normalize your vitamin D level and provide several other health benefits unrelated to vitamin D as well. The red and near-infrared frequencies will charge your mitochondria, while the mid- and far-infrared will structure the water in your body.
If you're spending the day at the beach or engaging in outdoor activities for hours at a stretch, this means you need to bring some form of protection with you to avoid overexposure once you're reached your ideal exposure time. Clothing is an ideal choice. If you opt for a sunscreen, there are several factors to take into consideration.
"People are spending less time outside and, when they do go out, they're typically wearing sunscreen, which essentially nullifies the body's ability to produce vitamin D. While we want people to protect themselves against skin cancer, there are healthy, moderate levels of unprotected sun exposure that can be very helpful in boosting vitamin D."
Recent research3,4 actually found nonsmokers who avoid sun exposure have a life expectancy similar to smokers, courtesy of diminished vitamin D. A certain amount of unprotected sun exposure is also necessary for optimal mitochondrial health.
The near-, mid- and far-infrared light in sunlight directly adds electrons to these internal power plants, your mitochondria. Infrared light — which is the part that provides warmth — actually changes the structure of the water in your cells, making it more structured, thereby increasing the efficiency of your mitochondria. Groundbreaking science in an area known as photobiomodulation shows the near-infrared range is particularly important for healthy brain function.
Ultraviolet (UV) light is also important for eye health, and has been shown to prevent near-sightedness. This is one of the many reasons why it is best to avoid using sunglasses when outside. I walk the beach nearly every day and the majority of people on the beach are making this biologic mistake. They need reverse sunglasses — amber, or ever better, red, lenses after the sun sets.
So, please remember that unprotected sun exposure is important both for vitamin D production and for reasons unrelated to vitamin D.5 That said, you always want to avoid overexposure — you do not want to get burned — as this is what causes skin damage. That's where the use of sunscreen comes in. You put it on AFTER you've received an optimal amount of unprotected sun exposure.
Unfortunately, most all conventional sunscreens contain toxic ingredients that actually increase your risk of skin cancer6 and other health problems,7 so discernment is required. Nine commonly used sunscreen ingredients approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are known endocrine disruptors,8 so FDA approval is not a conclusive stamp of safety.
• Nanoparticles (microscopic particles measuring less than 100 nanometers).12 Most nanoparticles found in American sunscreens are either titanium dioxide or zinc oxide.13 Inhaled nanoparticles can reach all areas of your respiratory tract, from where they may pass into your bloodstream, thanks to their minuscule size. Some studies have even shown nanoparticles have the ability to cross your blood-brain barrier.
Sunscreen chemicals also pose a serious hazard to the environment, bleaching and altering DNA of coral and disrupting the endocrine systems of marine animals.19 For all of these reasons, it's important to be selective when choosing a sunscreen, especially if you're using it on your children.
Each year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) ranks sunscreens based on their effectiveness and safety of ingredients.20 This year, nearly 1,500 sunscreen products, including beach and sport sunscreens, moisturizers with SPF and SPF-containing lip balms, were reviewed.
If you're using sunscreen to avoid overexposure, it's also important to use it correctly. As a general rule, stick with an SPF between 30 and 50. The additional protection you get from products with SPF ratings above 50 tend to be negligible, providing you with a false sense of security. If you think you're protected when you're really not, you may stay in the sun far too long and end up with a nasty sunburn.
In one study, mice were fed various combinations of astaxanthin, beta-carotene and retinol for four months. Astaxanthin was substantially effective in preventing photoaging of the skin after UV radiation, as measured by markers for skin damage.38 Astaxanthin can also be applied topically, which is why it's now being incorporated into some topical sunscreen products.
As a general rule, I recommend measuring your vitamin D level twice a year, in the middle of the summer and winter, to ascertain your annual high and low. Ideally, you want your serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) to be between 40 and 65 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) year-round.
Anything below 20 ng/mL is considered a serious deficiency state that increases your risk of both acute and chronic ill health. When it comes to optimizing your vitamin D through sensible sun exposure, keep your skin color in mind. African-American are more prone to vitamin D deficiencies as they produce less vitamin D3 than do Caucasians in response to usual levels of sun exposure.
As a general rule, the darker your skin, the more sun exposure you need, and vice versa. Remember the absolute best way to optimize your vitamin D level is by sensible sun exposure. I haven't swallowed oral vitamin D for over 10 years now and my level is rarely below 70 ng/mL, but that is because I made a conscious effort to move down to Florida and walk in the sun for 90 minutes nearly every day.
I realize that not everyone can do this, and if you can't, then taking a vitamin D3 supplement is likely a wise choice. I just want you to recognize it is a significantly inferior alternative as you are also missing out on valuable benefits from the sun, such as the red- and near-infrared benefits mentioned earlier.
4. Consuming a healthy diet full of natural antioxidants is another highly useful strategy to help avoid sun damage. Fresh, raw, unprocessed foods deliver the nutrients that your body needs to maintain a healthy balance of omega-6 and animal-based DHA omega-3 oils in your skin, which are your first lines of defense against sunburn.


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Politics and International Relations (6)
Business Ethics Quarterly (6)
Business and Politics (4)
PS: Political Science & Politics (1)
Society for Business Ethics (6)
Race, Ethnicity, and Politics section of the American Political Science Association (APSA) (1)
Guest Editors' Introduction:Corporate Sustainability Management and Environmental Ethics
Douglas Schuler, Andreas Rasche, Dror Etzion, Lisa Newton
Journal: Business Ethics Quarterly / Volume 27 / Issue 2 / April 2017
This article reviews four key orientations in environmental ethics that range from an instrumental understanding of sustainability to one that acknowledges the intrinsic value of sustainable behavior (i.e., sustainable resource use, conservation and preservation, rights-based perspectives, and deep ecology). It then shows that the current scholarly discourse around corporate sustainability management—as reflected in environment management (EM), corporate social responsibility (CSR), and corporate political activity (CPA)—mostly favors an instrumental perspective on sustainability. Sustainable business practices are viewed as anthropocentric and are conceptualized as a means to achieve competitive advantage. Based on these observations, we speculate about what corporate sustainability management might look like if it applied ethical orientations that emphasize the intrinsic value of nature. This discussion also includes an introduction to two articles in this special section focused on the role of the environmental manager and sustainability standards, both of which offer paths for incorporating intrinsic valuation of the environment into sustainability management.
SPECIAL ISSUE ON: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND BUSINESS: CRISIS OR OPPORTUNITY?
Lisa Newton, Dror Etzion, Andreas Rasche, Douglas Schuler
Journal: Business Ethics Quarterly / Volume 24 / Issue 3 / July 2014
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 January 2015, pp. 494-496
Journal: Business Ethics Quarterly / Volume 24 / Issue 1 / January 2014
Business Ethics Quarterly Special Issue Environmental Sustainability and Business: Crisis or Opportunity?
Journal: Business Ethics Quarterly / Volume 23 / Issue 4 / October 2013
A club theory approach to voluntary social programs: Multinational companies and the extractive industries transparency initiative
Douglas A. Schuler
Journal: Business and Politics / Volume 14 / Issue 3 / October 2012
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2017, pp. 1-24
This study uses club theory to describe the incentives of extractive industry MNCs to support the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a multi-stakeholder promoted voluntary social program (VSP) aimed at creating national legislation to make the royalty payments received by governments from mining and oil and gas companies more transparent to the public. We characterize the EITI as a VSP that lacks stringent standards and that has a moderate to high level of enforcement through the national governments that have adopted its principles. According to club theory, VSPs with these characteristics produce only a low to medium level of club benefits, in this case "social branding," for member firms. Noting that over 60 MNCs have signed on to the EITI as of April 2012, we argue that VSPs offering low to medium club benefits should be most attractive to MNCs from countries with long arm disclosure laws, to MNCs lacking relationships with NGOs seeking inexpensive CSR, to MNCs relying upon financing from institutional and social investors, to MNCs attempting to differentiate themselves from competitors on social criteria, and to MNCs with broad stakeholder-focused top managers. We also describe the implications for MNCs if the EITI were to include a more stringent set of social requirements.
Determinants of Access to Legislative and Executive Branch Officials: Business Firms and Trade Policymaking in the U.S.
Douglas A. Schuler, Kathleen Rehbein
We examine the characteristics of business firms that gain access to legislative and executive branch officials in the trade policymaking area. Our empirical analysis of over 1200 manufacturers reveals that legislators were most attracted to firms with foreign market expertise, firms which actively participated in politics with outside lobbyists and campaign contributions, and firms with significant employment in the state and/or district. Executive branch officials were responsive to firms with foreign market expertise, firms from industries that had previously received tariff protection, firms using in-house government affairs specialists and outside lobbyists to convey information, and firms making campaign contributions to members of the trade oversight legislative committees. Our results largely support the political market framework and provide insights about the attractiveness of certain demanders to suppliers of trade policies from the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. federal government.
The Effectiveness of Market-Based Social Governance Schemes: The Case of Fair Trade Coffee
Douglas A. Schuler, Petra Christmann
Market-based social governance schemes that establish standards of conduct for producers and traders in international supply chains aim to reduce the negative socio-environmental effects of globalization. While studies have examined how characteristics of social governance schemes promote socially responsible producer behavior, it has not yet been examined how these same characteristics affect consumer behavior. This is a crucial omission, because without consumer demand for socially produced products, the reach of the social benefits is likely to be limited. We develop a comprehensive model that links two characteristics of market-based social governance schemes—(1) stringency and enforcement of requirements, and (2) promotion—to two conditions required for governance schemes to generate significant social benefits: (1) socially responsible behavior of participating firms; and (2) consumer demand for socially produced products which, in turn, expands products produced according to social governance schemes, and thus, the quantity of social benefits. We discuss market-based social governance schemes in the context of fair trade coffee.
A Unique Pedagogical Approach to Voting and Public Goods
Douglas A. Schuler, Matthew Chappell, L. Scott Baggett
Journal: PS: Political Science & Politics / Volume 43 / Issue 4 / October 2010
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 October 2010, pp. 779-783
Fourth grade students at a public elementary school in Houston, Texas, participated in a one-week exercise intended to mimic the process of creating a public good through a democratic process. The exercise involved students in four separate classes designing a class party with different characteristics (theme, music, and food) through a voluntary but personally costly voting procedure. The students then held the party that they had created. A formal assessment of learning objectives and a debriefing were also part of the exercise. Some ideas investigated include the disconnection between the actual party's characteristics and the revealed preferences of the students during the debriefing—a lesson of collective action—and the satisfaction and learning outcomes experienced by a minority of students as the result of being political activists and having their preferences realized in the makeup of their class party.
10 - From the obsolescing bargain to the political bargaining model
By Lorraine Eden, Texas A&M University, Stefanie Lenway, University of Minnesota, Douglas A. Schuler, Rice University
Edited by Robert Grosse, Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona
Book: International Business and Government Relations in the 21st Century
Published online: 22 September 2009
Print publication: 08 September 2005, pp 251-272
View extract
The best-known model of relations between multinational enterprises and host country governments is the obsolescing bargain model (OBM), first developed by Raymond Vernon in Sovereignty at Bay (1971). obsolescing barguin model (OBM) explains the changing nature of bargaining relations between a MNE and host country (HC) government as a function of goals, resources, and constraints on both parties (Vernon, 1971, 1977; Kobrin, 1987; Brewer, 1992; Grosse and Behrman, 1992; Grosse, 1996). In OBM, the initial bargain favors the MNE, but relative bargaining power shifts to the host country government over time as MNE assets are transformed into hostages. Once bargaining power shifts from the MNE to the host country, the government imposes more conditions on the MNE, ranging from higher taxes to complete expropriation of MNE assets. Thus, the original bargain obsolesces, giving OBM its name. Originally applied as an explanation for widespread expropriation and nationalization in the 1970s of MNE natural-resource subsidiaries located in developing countries (Vernon, 1977), OBM was later tested in other situations such as manufacturing MNEs and developed HCs, with much weaker results (Kobrin, 1987).
The now widely held view among IB scholars is that OBM has outlived its usefulness. The many case studies testing the model suggest that MNEs were able to retain relative bargaining power and prevent opportunistic behavior by HC governments so the bargains, in practice, seldom obsolesced.
Much Ado About Nothing? The Economic Impact of US Foreign Trade Mission Participation
Karen E. Schnietz, Douglas A. Schuler
Journal: Business and Politics / Volume 1 / Issue 2 / August 1999
The activist foreign trade missions of the Clinton Administration are intended to open strategically important, but often difficult-to-enter, emerging markets to US foreign investment with government-to-government negotiations. Some research streams suggest that participation in a trade mission should benefit firms, while others suggest that participation should have no discernible benefit. This paper performs several event studies to analyze the stock return of a portfolio of the publicly traded firms participating in trade missions from 1993 to 1996. It finds that participants did not experience positive or significant abnormal stock returns as a result of mission participation, regardless of how the event date is defined or the data segmented.
Corporate Political Action: Rethinking the Economic and Organizational Influences
Journal: Business and Politics / Volume 1 / Issue 1 / April 1999
Although the influence of economic factors has long dominated the analysis of corporate political action, the role of organizational factors is increasingly seen as important in explaining the phenomenon. Building upon a recent study (Martin 1995) that emphasizes the prominence of organizational factors in political decision-making, we revisit a previously used literature, reconceptualize the relationship between economic and organizational factors and corporate political action as one of mediation, and employ new data and methods to test this relationship. Our findings demonstrate emphatically the importance of organizational factors in understanding corporate political action.


The world's oceans (you may well have heard this before) are fast becoming deluged with endless tons of plastic rubbish. Very little of those massive amounts of plastic waste is biodegradable, meaning most of it will take hundreds, if not thousands, of years to degrade naturally.
In the meantime, it will require herculean efforts from us to clean up larger swathes of plastic-contaminated water, never mind entire seas and oceans. Herculean efforts and plenty of ingenuity, that is.
Two Canadian students have the latter in spades and have devised a simple new solution: bacteria that can metabolize phthalates (a binding agent in plastic products). Phthalates are harmful components that are used in a wide variety of consumer products from packaging to cosmetics to personal-care. They routinely leach into the environment, permeating the food chain up and down, and have been known to cause a large number of health problems for animals and people alike.
Enter Miranda Yang and Jenny Yeo. The two young women were still in high school in Vancouver when they hit on the idea of using bacteria that can break down phthalates. They then set about developing a process that dissolves plastics with a solvent into their base chemicals, which can then be broken down further with enzymes produced by special bacteria.
She and Yeo have set up a company, BioCellection, and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for it. They are planning to field-test a prototype of their invention this summer in China and launch a working device within two years. In a TED Talk presentation, they expound on the specifics of their invention and the vast extent of plastic pollution it is meant to tackle.
Plastic-eating bacteria are becoming widely seen worldwide as a possible solution for tackling the vast amounts of plastic garbage floating around in seas and washing up on shores. Recently, Japanese scientists have isolated a strain of bacteria – Ideonella sakaiensis – that could live on the most common type of polyester, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is widely used in bottles, containers, packages, synthetic clothing and other consumer products.


A host of stunning ingredients are required to create The BIG Cake Show.
We wanted to create the biggest, most extravagant cake event the South West has ever seen, so we took everything we love about baking, decorating and eating cake and mixed, baked and decorated it until we were left with just that.
And voila, The BIG Cake Show is served and waiting for you to tuck in!
Whilst you have a cuppa and enjoy all the show has to offer why not watch the show stars as they bake up countless treats on the main stage.


Our theme this month is Love Heals. Love is Celebrated. If you're grieving the loss of a loved one, one way love heals is by remembering with love. To that end, we hope you join us this Sunday, February 10 for Remembering with Love: A Ceremony Honoring Your Loved One Who Died. At this ceremony, we'll celebrate love with a tribute video of those cared for by Koch Funeral Home in 2018. And even if you don't fit into that category, you are still welcome to attend. Simply submit a digital image of your loved one when you RSVP. We will also have a candle lighting, name reading ceremony and moment of silence. Light refreshments will be served. We hope to see many of you there!


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Qatar Airways launches flights to Bodrum
- A Monitor Report 14 Jun, 2018 | 2486 Views|-+
Doha: Qatar Airways has launched non-stop flights between Doha and Bodrum, Turkey. The flights to Milas-Bodrum Airport mark the airline's sixth gateway in Turkey and third new Turkish route in just nine months.
Qatar Airways' twice-weekly flights to Milas-Bodrum Airport will be operated by an Airbus A320, featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy Class. The seasonal service will be operated every Tuesday and Friday until September 28, 2018.
Qatar Airways now operates flights to six destinations in Turkey, with separate services to Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport (twice a day) and Istanbul Ataturk Airport (10 times a week), Adana Airport (three times a week), Hatay Airport (three times a week) and daily flights to Ankara.
The airline launched direct services to Adana in September 2017 and to Hatay in February 2018.
Singapore Airlines reports 150% jump in profit
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Plane crashes into building in Mumbai, India
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Emirates SkyCargo flies champion horses across the globe
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First Christian airline- Judah 1 takes to the air in Texas
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The Mitten Brewing Co. partnership
Great Lakes By Design Magazine has partnered with The Mitten Brewing Co. of Grand Rapids, Michigan to launch a subscription offer as of April 1, 2020 through April 30, 2020 to help fund the microbrewery and pizzeria's efforts to provide meals for children during the Coronavirus outbreak while schools are closed.
For every one-year subscription at $32, Great Lakes By Design Magazine will donate $22 to The Mitten Brewing Co. foundation to help feed those going hungry in local neighborhoods. Each one-year subscription to the 96-page, design publication highlighting creative professionals throughout the Great Lakes region, includes six issues; with the $10 remaining allocated solely to cost of printing and mailing of the magazine.
Head to subscriptions to purchase a subscription and/or buy one as a gift for someone else.


Amid all of the backlash over the lack of diversity in the Academy Awards this year, it looks like Chris Rock will host the Oscars again, despite calls for him to boycott the show in support of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag campaign. Rock, who has hosted the ceremony once before, doesn't just plan on showing up for the award ceremony — he's rewritten the entire show to address the Academy's diversity problem, giving a nod to peers such as Will Smith, Jada Pinkett, and even rapper 50 Cent, who had encouraged him to skip the whole thing altogether.
Oscars producer Reginald Hudlin told Entertainment Tonight that Rock had prepared the script for the show before the nominations, but after the outcry for him to boycott, Rock went back to the writer's room with his team. Hudlin said that viewers should expect #OscarsSoWhite jokes. "Yes, the Academy is ready for him to do that," Hudlin told ET. In defense of the Academy, Hudlin added that they were "excited about him" taking that position. "They know that's what we need," Hudlin said. "They know that's what the public wants, and we deliver what the people want."
He added that Rock is "just thorough" when it comes to delivering a good show. It sounds like Rock is ready to entertain and educate some viewers.
Rock is going to need to bring it. Hard. But viewers should have faith that he will. Rock has always been a provocative comedian and even off-stage is not shy about sharing his politics on social media. He recently tweeted an Oscar's promo with a joke about it being the "white BET Awards." He also posted an Onion headline about recently deceased Justice Antonin Scalia dying from a "30 year battle with social progress." Scrolling through his social media accounts, it's not hard to see that Rock is informed and and loaded with opinions.
Rock has never hesitated to riff on racial politics, America's political climate, or even political correctness in comedy. Simply put, Rock is all about politics of any kind. He's informed, insightful, and funny. There are lots of reasons to believe his Oscars show could be the most socially conscious event of the year.
It's possible that a good way to enact change, or even protest the lack of diversity at the Oscars, is to do it from inside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Feb. 28. Ricky Gervais, who has also stirred controversy as the host of The Golden Globes, had the same thought, tweeting last month that "if [he] were Chris Rock", he wouldn't be worried about boycotting the show. Gervais noted that since the ceremony was being broadcast live, Rock could potentially "do some serious damage."
Of course, when it comes to establishment Hollywood and a mainstream awards show aired on a basic cable network, things could be, ahem, whitewashed. But there's also a very good chance that Rock will be able to speak his mind. The worst that the Academy can do is just not invite him back next year but that could be more harmful to their ratings than anything else.


Lorraine has been with Newpeople since February 2014 as a Brand & Marketing Specialist. Her responsibilities include branding, (online) marketing, community management, social media, events, partnerships, PR and internal communication. Using her organizational skills she keeps all the marketing plates spinning at Newpeople and gets a lot of enjoyment from her multifaceted job. Lorraine believes in the power of pull marketing and community management, two concepts that form the bedrock of Newpeople's marketing strategy. She developed her passion for marketing and communication during her Communication studies at the Leiden University of Applied Sciences, where she graduated from in 2014.
"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much - Helen Keller"


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Police investigating Thursday's fatal stabbing outside Killip Elementary
November 3rd, 2017 at 10:30 AM
Ethan Watson
FLAGSTAFF, AZ (November 2, 2017): The Flagstaff Police Department is investigating a stabbing homicide at the parking lot of Killip Elementary School. No children were injured during this crime.
On November 2, 2017 at approximately 3:00 PM Officers with the Flagstaff Police Department responded to the 2300 block of East Sixth Ave. in reference to a report of a stabbing. Upon arrival Officers found a male victim severely injured. He was immediately sent to the hospital when medics arrived. He was later pronounced deceased at the hospital. Police have identified him as Mr. Ethan Watson, 25 years of age of Flagstaff, Arizona.
Officers spoke to many witnesses in the area and learned the suspect was a native American male wearing a black hoodie, black pants and a white or grey hat. He was reported to have stabbed the victim and fled the area on foot. Officers canvassed the area and found a subject resembling this description on Dortha Ave. He was later interviewed as a person of interest in this homicide. Investigators located multiple items believed to be evidence on the scene and on the route the suspect is believed to have used when he fled the scene. The name of the person of interest is being withheld, at this time, to protect the investigation and potential prosecution of this case.
To date, Investigators have collected evidence and completed some interviews. They are currently following up and interviewing many other people who may have witnessed this crime, collecting and reviewing video evidence from the area, completing search warrants, and submitting biological evidence to the lab for processing and evaluation.
This crime appears to be an isolated incident unrelated to the operation of the school and there does not appear to be any safety concern for the public at large or the students at the school. This case is in its initial stages of investigation and further details will be released as they become available.
See our original post here.
UPDATE: Fatal stabbing outside Killip Elementary
Arrests made by Flagstaff Police & CCSO on 11/02/2017