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Q: mysql large number of opened tables -- what does this mean and how can I reduce? I have 300 databases with a maximum of 59 tables each. My hosting provider says I have a lot of opened tables. I am not having any performance issues; but it is causing issues with backup (I use rackspace's cloud databases which uses Percona XtraBackup)
What can cause a lot of open tables and how can I decrease this? I don't get too much traffic and performance is good. I am not sure I understand exactly what opened tables is either.
I do have table_definition_cache set to 4096 as I wasn't able to run queries on views until I increased it.
mysql> SHOW GLOBAL STATUS LIKE 'Open_%';
mysql> +--------------------------+----------+
    -> | Variable_name            | Value    |
    -> +--------------------------+----------+
    -> | Open_files               | 7        |
    -> | Open_streams             | 0        |
    -> | Open_table_definitions   | 4102     |
    -> | Open_tables              | 4096     |
    -> | Opened_files             | 44025318 |
    -> | Opened_table_definitions | 1660409  |
    -> | Opened_tables            | 1857375  |
    -> +--------------------------+----------+

Here are the commands requested:
https://gist.github.com/blasto333/aa4241a4e37447961188356719ea6984

A: table_open_cache is the setting that is most likely to get the host off your back.
SHOW VARIABLES LIKE '%open%';  And how long had the system been up when the STATUS was captured?  (Need "per second", not absolute counts.)
Provide me with ram size, SHOW VARIABLES and SHOW GLOBAL STATUS; I will critique dozens of things.
Are any of the tables PARTITIONed?  (Each 'partition' is effectively a separate 'table'.)
Also, rethink your 300x59; those are moderately large numbers.
VARIABLES & STATUS Analysis
Observations:
Version: 5.6.17-log;
4 GB of RAM;
Uptime = 145d 22:45:14;
You are not running on Windows;
Running 64-bit version;
You appear to be running entirely (or mostly) InnoDB.
The More Important Issues
key_buffer_size -- lower to 20M; your 400M is wasting RAM.
table_open_cache seems to be doing fine.  So, I don't see the need in increasing open file limit.  (Nor is there any harm.)
A lot of table scans, etc.  Suggest you lower long_query_time to 1 and turn on the slow_query_log.  Then we can look in the slowlog for which queries need improvement -- either via composite indexes or other techniques.
expire_logs_days is currently 1.  That gie you only one day to discover that something is broken in replication and/or binlogs before you lose info.
Remove most or all OPTIMIZE TABLE calls.
Details and other observations
( Opened_tables ) = 0.15/second -- This is a reasonably low and quite respectable rate.  After all, you have been up for 20 weeks, and this is a 'counter'.  Point out the 20 weeks to the Hosting provider.  table_open_cache is number of entries in a cache for "Opened" tables.  Perhaps there is a flurry of opening during backup, but no opening the rest of the time?  As for "I do have table_definition_cache set to 4096 as I wasn't able to run queries on views until I increased it." -- Do your VIEWs touch hundreds or thousands of tables?  (Yikes!)
( (key_buffer_size - 1.2 * Key_blocks_used * 1024) / _ram ) = (400M - 1.2 * 4180 * 1024) / 4096M = 9.6% -- Percent of RAM wasted in key_buffer.
-- Decrease key_buffer_size.
( Key_blocks_used * 1024 / key_buffer_size ) = 4,180 * 1024 / 400M = 1.0% -- Percent of key_buffer used. High-water-mark.
-- Lower key_buffer_size to avoid unnecessary memory usage.
( innodb_buffer_pool_size / _ram ) = 2,306,867,200 / 4096M = 53.7% -- % of RAM used for InnoDB buffer_pool -- For only 4GB of RAM, this is probably OK, unless you have other applications in the same server.
( table_open_cache ) = 4,096 -- Number of table descriptors to cache
-- Several hundred is usually good.  However, you have a lot of tables, so, this may be OK, or even too small.
( table_open_cache_instances ) = 1 -- Suggest changing to 8.
Table_open_cache_overflows and _misses are each less than 0.1/sec. -- the table_open_cache is big enough.
( Open_tables / table_open_cache ) = 100% -- But, since you have been Up for several months, this is not necessarily bad.
( (Com_show_create_table + Com_show_fields) / Questions ) = (153314 + 9291657) / 543294681 = 1.7% -- Naughty framework -- spending a lot of effort rediscovering the schema.
-- Complain to the 3rd party vendor.
Query cache -- various STATUS values indicate that it is pretty good as it stands.
( Created_tmp_disk_tables / (Created_tmp_disk_tables + Created_tmp_tables) ) = 10,616,310 / (10616310 + 13112655) = 44.7% -- Percent of temp tables that spilled to disk
-- maybe increase tmp_table_size and max_heap_table_size; avoid blobs, etc.
( Com_rollback / Com_commit ) = 646,634 / 1329015 = 48.7% -- Rollback : Commit ratio
-- Rollbacks are costly; change app logic
( Select_scan ) = 16,557,535 / 12609914 = 1.3 /sec -- full table scans
-- Add indexes / optimize queries (unless they are tiny tables)
( Select_scan / Com_select ) = 16,557,535 / 57256550 = 28.9% -- % of selects doing full table scan. (May be fooled by Stored Routines.)
-- Add indexes / optimize queries
( ( Com_stmt_prepare - Com_stmt_close ) / ( Com_stmt_prepare + Com_stmt_close ) ) = ( 1587 - 1526 ) / ( 1587 + 1526 ) = 2.0% -- Are you closing your prepared statements?
-- Add Closes.
( binlog_format ) = MIXED -- STATEMENT/ROW/MIXED. ROW is preferred; it may become the default.
( expire_logs_days ) = 1 -- How soon to automatically purge binlog (after this many days)
-- Too large (or zero) = consumes disk space; too small = need to respond quickly to network/machine crash.
( slow_query_log ) = OFF -- Whether to log slow queries. (5.1.12)
( long_query_time ) = 10.000000 = 10 -- Cutoff (Seconds) for defining a "slow" query.
-- Suggest 2
( max_connect_errors ) = 10,000 -- A small protection against hackers.
-- Perhaps no more than 200.
( Connections ) = 28,367,185 / 12609914 = 2.2 /sec -- Connections
-- Increase wait_timeout; use pooling?
( Max_used_connections / max_connections ) = 167 / 410 = 41% -- Suggest lowering max_connections to, say, 200.
( innodb_io_capacity_max ) = 800 -- This is rather low, but perhaps OK.
( report_port ) = 1 -- This is probably bad, but I have no experience to be more specific.  Most people leave it at 3306.
Com_create_db every 4 minutes and Com_drop_db every 2 minutes -- Very high; what's going on?
Com_optimize = 4.9/hour -- OPTIMIZE is virtually useless, especially on InnoDB.

A: If you're using MyISAM, convert to InnoDB and you might see some drop in this counts. There is no other way to reduce this unless you stop querying them.
Increase the table_open_cache and table_definition_cache & observe the stats...Raise this as much as you can! May be you need to increase system file handlers too and that is a way to go.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Boozman thrashes Cruz over Obamacare tactics.
Sen. John Boozman lit into Sen. Ted Cruz during a closed-door meeting this week, underscoring the mounting tension within the Senate Republican Conference over the Texas freshman's hardball tactics on Obamacare. Boozman is usually quiet and reserved in private sessions, but on Tuesday he could no longer keep his anger reserved, according to four people who witnessed the exchange.


text:
The Mountain Culture
Life in the early 1800's was brutally hard, for men and women, both in the settlements and in the wilderness. On average, the life expectancy of a woman was 25-30 years old. For men, it was 35 years old.
Women of European descent were known as "Tender Exotics" and were almost unknown in the fur trade, with many developing mental health issues and returning to the motherland or eastern cities. Most of the problems encountered by these women had their roots in the class-conscious nature of British society of the time. The wife of a fur company manager was expected to associate only with other women of her class. In the remote posts, there would be no-one else at that level, and it wasn't proper or allowable for her to associate with Indian or mixed-heritage women, even if, by some remote chance, there wasn't a language barrier. As a manager's wife, servants took care of the domestic tasks about the house. Thus, she felt very little purpose, with the exception of being there for her husband, who was gone, sometimes, for several months at a time. Wilderness conditions and societal demands created a "rock and a hard place" environment in which "Tender Exotics" lost their will.
On the northern plains and Rocky Mountain regions, the role of the Indian women, in the affairs of the tribe, was as the authority in domestic matters, with primary responsibilities for housekeeping. From the European perspective this role, in many ways, had a greater resemblance to slave than partner. The women were responsible for child rearing, cooking, butchering, preparing hides, skins, and robes, gathering firewood, preserving foods, all aspects of agriculture (if any) making and mending clothing and moccasins, constructing the lodge and most aspects of establishing and raising camp. Tanning and preparing buffalo robes was very labor intensive, and an ambitious man wishing to increase his wealth might have multiple wives to increase robe production.
Women were often treated as property. A suitor for marriage would have to provide the woman's father (or oldest brother in the event that the father was deceased) with a horse, guns, blankets, kettles, etc., in exchange for the woman. The bride's price was determined, in part, on the value placed by the father on the loss of the woman's productivity and work around the lodge.
To become the wife of a fur trader, the Indian woman was offered the prospect of an alternate way of life that was often easier physically and richer in material ways. Such an alliance did require some sacrifice in personal autonomy as the Indian woman was forced to make some adjustments to the traders patriarchal views of home and family. One Nor'Wester noted that Cree women considered it an honor to be selected as wives by the voyageurs.
An Indian woman, who married a trapper/trader, might remain with her village where he would visit her periodically, or she might live at the fort/post with her trader husband, or accompany the nomadic wanderings of her trapper husband. It is said that the only authority that the Free Trapper would acknowledge was that of his Indian spouse. This authority was asserted as much with a white spouse as well as with a man of her own tribe. The household was effectively the property of the woman, and to a certain extent the products of her labor were hers to dispose of as she wished. In some aspects the Indian woman enjoyed considerably more autonomy than her European counterpart, at times leading to considerable confusion amongst the patriarchal trader/trappers.
If she remained with the village or accompanied her trapper husband, her life probably didn't change much from village life, except that she would have first access to many luxury items not available to other women. Indian wives expected and received lavish gifts, for their husbands strove to exhibit them as the most brilliantly clothed and ornamented of the women whether at the village, post or rendezvous.
Because there were no clergy in the mountains, marriages were "after the custom of the country" or an indigenous marriage which met both the needs of the trader and the natives. The Indians initially encouraged the marriage alliances between their women and the European and European descent traders. The Indian viewed the marriage in an integrated social and economic context, whereby the marriage created a social bond which served to consolidate economic relationships with the traders. In return for giving the traders sexual and domestic rights to their women, the Indians expected reciprocal privileges such as access to posts, provisions and trade goods. Among the Cree Indians it became customary to reserve one or more daughters specifically to offer as wives for the traders.
The benefits of marriage also accrued to the traders. It didn't take traders long to realize that marriage to a daughter of a leading hunter or respected chief not only secured the furs of the father-in-law, but of all his relations as well. Marriage to an Indian woman furthermore provided the trapper/trader with a translator and cultural liaison/ambassador within her tribe. The domestic chores performed by the Indian woman greatly assisted the trapper/trader and greatly enhanced his ability to successfully prosecute his end of the fur trade.
Trappers, who chose to raise mixed blood families, often found themselves acting as mediators between the two cultures, interpreting each to the other and many would even find themselves aligned with their adopted people in times of conflict. Women and children often traveled with the trapping brigades. If it was not possible to travel with their husbands, the women might return to their tribal families, or might camp near the trading post until their husbands returned from the hunt.
Marriage was not always viewed as a long-term commitment by either the trapper/traders or by the women. A fur company man might also have multiple Indian wives, with one or more tribes in the mountains, and a European descended city wife as well. Under these circumstance care was exercised so that the city wife would never meet the "country" wife (wives) or children in the event she should travel to the remote post where he was stationed.
Although the stereotype of the trapper would suggest that he had many wives, often at the same time, statistical analysis of marriage data suggests otherwise. Marriage data shows that most trappers had only one wife, and that marriage lasted on average for 15 years with the majority of these marriages terminated by the death of one of the partners. Second marriages also lasted on average for 15 years. Only 10 percent of marriages are documented to have been terminated by separation or divorce. Nearly half of all marriages were with Indian or mixed heritage women. Anglo-American and French-American women constitute about one-quarter of marriages. In most of these cases, the wedding took place prior to the man leaving for the mountains. About 17 percent of women were Spanish or Spanish-American, particularly with those men that frequented Taos or Santa Fe.
Of those men with women that remained behind in the settlements, it is unlikely that they remained celibate while in the mountains trapping. Unrecorded temporary liaisons with Indian women of very short duration for purposes of relieving sexual tension were probably frequent.
In some cases, when a trader or trapper retired from the mountains to return to civilization he would "turn off" his country wife, that is simply leave her behind, and, if generous, would return her to her village before leaving. A woman who was "turned off" would return to her father's lodge (or brother's lodge should the father be deceased) where she would work for the household until another suitor purchased her hand. The Indian women didn't anticipate that such relations would be permanent.
A woman could initiate divorce just as simply as the man. If an Indian woman decided to divorce her husband, she would simply put his things outside the door of the lodge. When the man returned, he had two choices. He could try to talk his way back in, or he could simply pick up his belongings and move on.
The trapper would often "turn off" his Indian wife on retiring from the mountains. Although some of the men, particularly officers in the Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company, would provide an annuity for their women and dependents, far too many simply disappeared from the lives of their native families.
In other cases, if the relation wasn't working for the trader or trapper, he would directly attempt to sell his wife and recover some of the bride's price. Dr. Wislizenus, a traveler in the mountain west in 1839 writes of meeting a party of trappers including one Fleming: "He had a squaw with him, of the tribe of the Eutaws, whom he had bought at one time for $500.00, but was disposed to sell for half the purchase price. She was a little, unshapen bundle of fat; but otherwise seemed to have very good qualities, for he recommended her to us in the following terms, characteristic of the cardinal virtues of a squaw: 'She is young, gentle, easy, and in first rate order." Wislizenus does not mention if the trapper successfully sold the woman to anyone in his party.
The woman would certainly be exposed to the same dangers and hardships as her husband. If she accompanied her trader husband back to a fort or post, she would still have been occupied with many of the same domestic tasks that would have been hers in her village, but she wouldn't have had to work as brutally hard and the quality of her life would have improved. The following entry from David Adams journals December 26, 1841 illustrates this: "The 26 Sunday this morning the sun ris clear and worm and thawing to day thar nothing strang and we hav had but one visitr today and he did dow his damdost to git my squaw to run of with him but I discuvrd it and did throw a curs on his head and you ort to sean this poor Indian how he did run fur fear that I wold kill him and I expet that he is running yet thow the squaw says that she had now noshon of going with him to the vilig to liv a mesarable life she says when you throw me on the porary [prairie] and I cant dow now betr then I will hav to gow to my vilig and liv with my pepl and lead a dog life but I shant dow until I cant dow now betr." To paraphrase the woman, she is saying that there is no way she will willingly leave David Adams to return to a woman's life in her peoples' village, which she describes both as "a miserable life" and as "a dog's life."
Perhaps even more so than the native men, the Indian women welcomed the introduction of European technology. Items such as kettles, knives, awls and woolen and cotton fabrics greatly eased the domestic burdens of the women. In many instances it was the Indian women who acted as an ally or peace-maker to advance the cause of the fur trader, suggesting that it was in the woman's interest to do so. There are documented cases where Indian women actively interfered in attacks by their warrior-husbands on fur traders. Furthermore, because of her gender, the Indian woman could be absorbed into fur-trade society in a way not open to the Indian man.
Tagged august, Bear Lake Rendezvous, camping, event, fur trade, Fur Trade and Mountain Man, Mountain man, native americans, rendezvous, utah
Typical Tools of the Fur Trapper
The equipment of the Mountain Man was, by necessity, rugged, durable and given the technology and materials of the times, generally heavy.
Awls and needles, used in Europe were made of iron. They were brought by the fur traders to North America and were quickly seized upon, by the Indians, as a superior implement to the sinew or rawhide thongs they used to sew, lace or bind rawhide. French trade awls generally appear to be straight, whereas English awls might be either straight or offset.
The Axe, Hatchet and Tomahawk have always been an important tool whether made of stone, bronze or iron. The axe was indispensable to the security, comfort and general morale of every person, both white and Native American, living on or beyond the frontier.
Blankets (at least 2)
A Boat (Bull Canoe, Flat, Keel or Pirogues) was used to move the Mountain Man and his gear.
Pack horses or Mules were used to move the Mountain Man and his gear
Bullet Mold
Bullet molds, Gun Powder and Lead, in the 1800s, were the tools used to create the implements for putting meat on the table. If the resulting creation would go in a cartridge and ultimately out a barrel it would do that job. Today, we have become too caught up with technology and ballistics to appreciate the simplicity of the basic skill of bullet making. The February 1, 1806 entry in Captain Lewis' journal (Lewis and Clark) said, "…today we opened and examined all our ammunition, which had been secured in leaden canesters (sic). We found twenty-seven of the best rifle powder, 4 of common rifle, three of glaized (sic) and one of the musqut (sic) powder in good order, [9] perfectly as dry as when first put in the canesters, (sic) altho' (sic) the whole of it from various accedents (sic) has been for hours under the water. these cannesters (sic) contain four lbds. (sic) of powder each and 8 of lead. had it not have been for that happy expedient which I devised of securing the powder by means of the lead, we should not have had a single charge of powder at this time. three of the canesters (sic) which had been accedentally (sic) bruized (sic) and cracked, one which was carelessly stoped, (sic) and a fifth that had been penetrated with a nail, were a little dammaged; (sic) these we gave to the men stock to last us back; and we always take care to put a proportion of it in each canoe, to the end that should one canoe or more be lost we should still not be entirely bereft of ammunition…
Flint and Steel The ability to start a fire could be the difference between a comfortable or miserable existence and even survival. A fire-steel and flint was an integral part of every Mountain Man's equipment. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the lightweight steel retailed for a cent or two, and was often given, without charge, to Native Americans as a token of good will. A fort or post without a resident blacksmith to manufacture fire-steels would, by necessity, import this essential item. Huge quantities of fire-steels were shipped to the mountains for trade at the rendezvous.
Flour (at least seven pounds)
Smooth Bore
Rifle The gun was a mountain man's constant companion. Many different types of firearms went to the western wilderness, including both percussion and flintlock rifles. Smoothbore weapons were also common especially as a trade item because of their relative low cost and because they could also be used as a shot-gun for small game. Smoothbores were especially popular because they could be reloaded on the fly while on a galloping horse.
Knives were indispensable to living and surviving in the mountains. A knife was so personal and intimate to the mountain man that, if lost or stolen, a very determined effort would be made to recover the knife. This sometimes involved days of back-tracking or even risking mortal combat. The knife was essential to the trapper and valued no less by the Indian. When the Indians, who had murdered Hugh Glass and his companions, joined Johnson Gardner and his party one evening around a campfire, Glass's knife was immediately recognized. Gardner's party seized the Indians, demanding to know how they came by Glass's property.
Lucifers were used more as a novelty item than as serious fire starting equipment. They were not available until 1836.
6-7 Beaver and Muskrat traps were all important tools. It usually took a full day to prepare the "sets," to make the rounds of the traps, to skin the captured animals, and to flesh the pelts. Under favorable conditions a skilled trapper could be certain of taking a beaver at each set. Under very favorable conditions, certain traps could be visited twice a day, thus improving the average of six pelts per day. Prior to the coming of the white man and his steel traps, Native Americans had devised numerous types of deadfalls, underwater pens, snares, and other devices for drowning beaver. Almost, without exception, these devices were designed to quickly kill the beaver in a manner that would cause no breaks in the skin and no soaking of the fur with blood. It is reported that in some places beaver were so abundant that they could be taken by clubbing.
Tagged august, Bear Lake, Bear Lake Rendezvous, camping, event, fur trade, Fur Trade and Mountain Man, idaho, Recreation, rendezvous, utah, wyoming
Marcus Whitman, Surgeon to the Mountain Man
In 1835, two Protestant missionaries traveling to the Oregon Country stopped at the Green River Rendezvous. Before volunteering for missionary service, Marcus Whitman had been a doctor who had practiced medicine in Canada. His training came in handy at the rendezvous.
Whitman and Parker met in St. Louis in early April 1835 and traveled together via steamboat to Liberty, Missouri, where they joined the American Fur Company's caravan to the annual Rocky Mountain rendezvous in western Wyoming. The caravan included about 50 rough-edged, hard-drinking, unchurched fur traders and voyageurs. The missionaries disapproved of their intemperate habits, and the men, in turn, resented the presence of the missionaries. "Very evident tokens gave us to understand that our company was not agreeable, such as the throwing of rotten eggs at me," Whitman wrote to David Greene (May 10, 1839, ABCFM Collection).
Whitman gained a measure of respect after an outbreak of cholera forced the caravan to halt for about three weeks near present-day Council Bluffs, Iowa. More than a dozen men, including the caravan's commander, were sickened, and three eventually died. Whitman had had no direct experience treating the disease — a severe infection of the intestines, spread by contaminated food or water — but he had learned enough to associate it with lack of cleanliness. He recommended that the men be moved from a camp in a low-lying area adjacent to the Missouri River to "a clean and healthy situation" on a nearby bluff. In a letter to Narcissa, his wife, he attributed the outbreak to the traders' consumption of alcohol and dirty water. "It is not strange that they should have the cholera, because of their intemperance, their sunken and filthy situation," he wrote (June 21, 1835, cited in Mowry, 60).
Jim Bridger asked Whitman if he would extract an arrowhead lodged in his back. Three years earlier, Bridger and Thomas 'Broken Hand" Fitzpatrick had led a party of trappers to the Madison River. Here, they encountered a band of Blackfeet Indians and, in the skirmish that followed, Bridger received two arrows in his back. After the battle Fitzpatrick dug one arrowhead out with his knife, but could not remove the second.
The report on Dr. Whitman's removal of the arrowhead explains why Fitzpatrick could not pull it out. "It was a difficult operation, because the arrowhead was hooked at the point by striking a large bone." The three years following the injury, a "cartilaginous substance had grown around it. The Doctor pursued the operation with great self-possession and perseverance; and his patient manifested equal firmness." A large audience, including many Indians, looked on in awe as Whitman successfully extracted an iron arrowhead three inches in length from Bridger's back. Afterwards, another trapper asked Whitman to remove an arrowhead that had been stuck in his shoulder for two and a half years.
The caravan reached the rendezvous site on August 12, 1835. News that a doctor had arrived spread quickly. "Calls for medical and surgical aid were almost incessant," Parker wrote (Journal, 80) as Whitman's reputation as a surgeon quickly spread throughout the camps at the rendezvous. Both Jim Bridger and another mountain man, Joseph L. Meek (1810-1875) would later send their young, mixed-race daughters to school at the Whitman Mission.
Whitman and Parker were encouraged by the reception received at the rendezvous. They decided that Whitman would return with the fur company to the East, to organize a missionary party to travel to Oregon Country the next year, while Parker would continue westward with Nez Perce guides to locate mission sites.
Tagged august, Bear Lake, Bear Lake Rendezvous, camping, event, fur trade, Fur Trade and Mountain Man, idaho, Mountain man, Recreation, rendezvous, utah, www.bearlakerendezvous.com, wyoming
Mountain Medicine
In the early 1800's it was generally believed that illness and disease were caused by an accumulation of "poisons" in the body, and that if these poisons could be eliminated, the patient would recover their health.
There were three main therapeutic principles for treatment of disease:
1. Bleeding by opening a vein or use of leeches
2. Purging the gastrointestinal system with laxatives, emetics (agents which cause vomiting) and enemas
3. Sweating or blistering
Gastric and intestinal disorders were an everyday occurrence in these times because of poor sanitation, and poor food handling practices.
People who lived in the 18th and early 19th Centuries were largely helpless in the matter of health. They lived in constant dread of sudden death from disease, plague, epidemic, pneumonia, or accident.
Their letters always began and usually ended with assurances of the good health of the letter writer, a query about the health of the recipient, and a wish for continuing good health for all.
Most doctors during this period learned their trade through apprenticeship and started as young as 15 years of age. Since, at the time, this was considered "middle age" it puts things in perspective. Most physicians opened their practices without the benefits of any degree or advanced training. Licensing of physicians was sporadic and medical practices were never inspected.
Quacks and charlatans practiced virtually unchecked. Distrust of physicians ran high during these times, and often those afflicted with illness would attempt their own treatments through folk medicine or Indian remedies before resorting to "professional care."
The Mountain Men, although experiencing all manner of wounds, lacerations, hypothermia and the like, may have had more successful recoveries from some illnesses, precisely because they lacked access to "professional" medical care.
The list below provides the content of The Lewis and Clark Expedition's medicine chest:
Assafoetida,
Basilicum Ointment, Benzoin,
Calamine, Cinnamon, Cloves, Copaiboe, Cream of Tarter,
Emplast, Epispastric,
Glauber Salts, Gum Camphor, Gum Elastic,
Ipecac,
Jalap,
Laudanum, Lead Acetate,
Magnesia, Mercury Ointment,
Nutmeg,
Opium,
Peruvian bark,
Root Colombo, Rhubarb, Rush Pills (Thunderbolts),
Saltpeter, Sulfate, Sulfuric Acid,
Tarter Emetic, Tragacanth,
White vitriol, Wintergreen
Tagged 501c3, august, Bear Lake, Bear Lake Rendezvous, camping, event, Fur Trade and Mountain Man, Kash Johnson, Mountain man, native americans, Recreation, utah, www.bearlakerendezvous.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Bucks County fire rescue crews responded to the scene of an accident in Bensalem.
BENSALEM, Pa. (WPVI) -- Bucks County fire rescue crews responded to the scene of an accident in Bensalem.
Chopper 6 was over State Road and Tennis Avenue Thursday afternoon.
There around 4:30 p.m, police say the driver of a small car lost control, left the roadway and rolled on its side.
There was also a report of a person trapped, but that person has been freed.
No word yet on that person's condition.
State Road is closed in the immediate area for an investigation.


April 9-10, I'll be in Boulder, Colorado for the Exchange of Midwest Collegiate Composers at the CU-Boulder campus. My piano sonata, What is this Black Magick?, will be performed by my good friend and fellow composer Josiah Sprankle.
April 13th, my friend Jacob Frisbie and I are curating a concert showcasing electronic music composers at UMKC and others from the Kansas City Area, entitled With the Lights Out. The concert is at Grant Hall on the UMKC campus at 7:30.
May 6th, the freshman composition class will be holding a recital at Central United Methodist off of the UMKC campus at 7:00. I will be premiering two new pieces, Piano Quartet No.1 and Dances a piece for sax quartet, bass clarinet, and flute.
June 13th, I will be in New York City for the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival. My electronic piece Crystal Ball will be played at the Experimental Theatre as part of the festival.
July 19th-25th, I will be in Thailand at the Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand for the Thailand International Composition Festival. I'm excited to have been accepted to go and have this opprotunity! Beyond words excited! More details soon!
Since jazz has shifted from the cultural mainstream, articles like this appear every so often. Probably ever since the late 60's and early 70's, this has been an assumption made by many cultural critics and musicians alike. This belief that the music is dead or dying comes up ever so often and everyone makes the same arguments to why it is or isn't dead. In the last year alone, there has definitely been an onslaught of these types of articles; almost likening jazz musicians to Civil War reenactors. Many jazz musicians seem to feel the need to justify him/herself to the culture as a whole. Sure, the music isn't at the center of American culture anymore, the Record of the Year at the Grammy doesn't go to a jazz artist, Rolling Stone doesn't put jazz musicians on the cover, sure some condescend, disregard, and say that Jazz is nonsense and just "noise," but that doesn't mean the music isn't relevant or that jazz musicians don't have a place in the culture. It's just that they have to function outside of the mainstream, possibly on the fringe.
As an aspiring jazz musician and composer, and obsessive music listener, I believe for jazz to continue to grow and evolve, the music and its musicians must be part of a living and growing tradition. Artists have to use the times they live in. They can't be solely bound to the past. They can learn from it, but can't stay within its walls; they have to be true to their own time and place. Part of the problem, in my opinion, is the heightened struggle to define, canonize, and put jazz on a cultural pedestal, in many cultural and academic settings.
In the last 30 years, there has been a strong push for this push to fossilize jazz in the broad culture. Ken Burn's 10-part documentary series, Jazz at Lincoln Center brought together by Wynton Marsalis, as well as other programs and historical explorations have pushed this philosophy forward. While these are important and have been beneficial to shedding light on the historical and cultural importance of jazz, some (not all) have overshadowed innovations in jazz music since 1970. For example, Ken Burn's documentary series, while it is informative and brings historical context to the music, it is wildly fragmented. It ignores many groundbreaking musicians (Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Eric Dolphy, Anthony Braxton, etc.) to the point of biased historical revisionism. In the last part of the series, Branford Marsalis basically says after Duke Ellington's death "Jazz just kinda died. It just kinda went away for awhile". The documentary has no coverage of jazz into the 70's and onward – no free jazz movement, no 70's New York loft scene, no AACM, no fusion. Much of this is due to the involvement of Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Crouch. Wynton Marsalis is famous for his disregard for jazz after 1965, most notably free jazz and fusion; he served as co-producer and the artistic director of the series. Stanley Crouch, music and cultural critic, has a famous disregard for free jazz and the fusion movement. Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Crouch have been on a mission, to define and canonize jazz for the general public. While this is a noble pursuit, Marsalis is asking the culture to define jazz the way he sees' it; simply swing and blues. No cross-polinization. He has the loudest voice and the most visible public presence as basically a self-defined world ambassador of jazz. He's won a Pulitzer Prize; he's head of Jazz at Lincoln Center, the most successful educational institution for jazz in recent years. In Icons Among Us: Jazz in the Present Tense, Marsalis states that he believes the music must be defined, just like The Odyssey or Beethoven's 5th.
Like the quote at the top of this post, maybe we don't get to define it. Trying to define something as broad and widespread as jazz, and squeeze it into a neatly wrapped cultural box is controlling a language and suffocates a living organism. It stifles evolution, creativity and makes the music a museum piece instead of a moving, living tradition. Canonizing and defining language, in a bias way, is a form of cultural control, and as Matthew Shipp, a jazz musician and composer, says of this movements push to define jazz, "That's fascism". In the end, controlling language is fairly absurd.
For example, many countries have language "regulators" or academies, which create and edit dictionaries of that countries native language. One that is very conservative in nature is the French Academy. They are very well known for their tight rules and regulations on what words are added to the canon of the language. They believe in keeping the French language pure. Which is kind of unrealistic. Languages over time change radically. Your ability to talk to someone even 50 years ago would be a challenge. The languages we speak today are radically different and have encountered immense forms of cross-polinization over time. The structure of our sentences of simple daily talk would seem fragmented and disjointed to a person a few hundred years ago. These kinds of regulations are actually quite ridiculous because, you can't fully stop the general public from speaking because of the natural current of change, interaction and movement of people. Deciding how people get to express ideas and themselves, through any form, is wrong. This is how unrealistic it is to define and freeze the language of jazz in time.
"A complex interaction between notions of literature, orature, tradition, canonization, personality, and innovation is seen by jazz improvisers as being directly linked to the nature of music learning. This interaction, more over, considers the articulation of music meaning, as an integral part of the dissemination of culture. Thus, expressed as an uneasy relationship between "clichés" and "creativity", what is at stake in this debate is nothing less than the concept of originality itself. Thus, "improvisations" which appear to consist of mainly of unquestioning, rote regurgitation of prepared patterns are viewed by many improvisers as failing to display the kind of independent creative investigation and spontaneous invention that can lead to the discovery of what jazz musicians often call "one's own sound", or the original creations of one's own musical material and lexicon".
In the beginning these things can be tools as which to learn from, but moving forward, one's own voice must come out and that persons personal vision of what there music is must step forward. Whether that's the combination of hip-hop and jazz, spectral composition and jazz improv, free-improv bound by no harmonic logic, fusion, etc. it doesn't make it non-jazz, and that kind of forward thinking creativity and boundary pushing is what keeps the music relevant and alive. Simply because it isn't filled with turnarounds, ii-V-I's, 12-bar blues structures, or modal scales doesn't make it outside of jazz. Just because someone refuses to play standards and wishes to create original material, doesn't make them a non-jazz player and spitting in the face of tradition, its simply how they wish to express themselves in there chosen idiom.
Has jazz in some ways become a museum piece? Of course. Can that be changed? Most definitely. Is it important for academic and educational institutions to exist to continue to educate and foster the next generation of musicians? Of course. But creativity and independent thinking must be encouraged. If we all want the music to continue.
In 2013, Lou Reed wrote an article for The Talkhouse Music website about Kanye West's just recently released album, Yeezus, praising the record and saying Kanye West was breaking new ground. At the time my initial thought when I saw this was maybe Lou Reed had lost his mind. I don't think I was alone in that assumption. Many rock fans, as well fans of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, were shocked. Here was Lou Reed, a rock legend, a man with incredible artistic integrity, saying Kanye West, a man who the culture has basically summed up as an arrogant, ego menachial, douchebag, a literal self-parody in the flesh, was basically a genius. Now granted, at the time I hadn't listened to Yeezus. Really the only thing I had listened to was his song "Gold Digger" and "All of The Lights", which I thought were pretty good but the veil of his public acts of douchebaggery had made me stay away from his music.
Back up a few years: this is a man who was on the cover of Rolling Stone with a thorny crown in the likeness of Jesus, a man who said publicly, "I am standing up and I'm telling you. I. Am. Warhol. I am the number one most impactful artist of our generation, in the flesh. I am Shakespeare, Walt Disney. Nike. Google". A man who makes a spectacle of himself at every awards show, making it all about him. (We all remember the MTV awards and the incident with Taylor Swift, and then again this year at the Grammy's with Beck). His public persona is almost summed up as someone who everyone is waiting to hear what's going to fly out his mouth and will leave us standing with our mouths gaped. Not to mention his marriage to Kim Kardashian. Is it a wonder people are so hesitant to give this guy a chance?
After reading the Lou Reed article, I decided I would at least check out some of the tunes off the record. And after listening to "Hold My Liquor", I can honestly say my mind was truly blown. I loved it. Sincerely. Not ironically. Lou Reed was right. No one was doing this in popular music, especially not in hip-hop. I had to get a copy, so I got one and listened to the album in its entirety. And from track to track it is a cohesive artistic statement. It has minimal architecture translating to maximal listening effect. It's funny, it's ridiculous, it's heartbreaking, it's angry. I was hooked. I played the album on repeat for about a month and began to dig through his past discography and I have to say, that Kanye West truly is: a hip-hop genius.
Let's take a moment to put this into context before everyone loses his or her mind. Now genius is definitely a word that is thrown out there A LOT, especially in Western culture. Now let me put this in context, the man has his own genius in music. He is clearly himself and taking his own path. He is going where no one is willing to go and is telling everyone about it as he's going. The man has balls. His production value, his use of sampling, the composition of his songs is like no one else. His reference points for sampling in his songs jumps from lush string sections, Nina Simone, Bon Iver, 70's Hungarian rock group Omega, Ponderosa Twins Plus One, Aphex Twin, King Crimson and so on. Sometimes in the same song and playing at the same time. On Yeezus, his minimalist and industrial sound is a complete change in direction from his previous album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which had a maximal orchestrated arena sound, and his previous records were mostly inspired by his love of R&B and early hip-hop. Kanye can create different worlds and can jump through them, smoothly and with ease. He is a hip-hop auteur.
In my opinion where his music falls a little short is the lyrical content and his rapping. The College Dropout, Graduation, and Late Registration do deal with growing up and moving forward and trying to be successful, sometimes the regular hip-hop clichéd talk of money and booty do somewhat come across as well as the ego-stroke of building himself up. While Kanye does ego-stroke himself in his music and does talk about money and booties the size of the golden arches, he does deal with his own fame and his own self consciousness along with some hints of social commentary, especially on My Beautful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Yeezus. While Kanye can rap, and well, he doesn't have the virtuosic talent of Eminem, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, or the RZA but it still works and he has the chops to pull it off, of course. Where Kanye's genius comes truly into play is in the production, the big picture, and the composition of his music.
His early music was his version of the collage element of hip-hop: sampling, sometimes juxtaposing the samples, jump-cuts, sequencing beats and other background sounds on top of that, and building things up over a track, pop-culture references, same elements of verse-chorus movement and so on. This was part of his music even into My Beauitful Dark Twisted Fantasy and his use of the elements listed above were far beyond what anyone else was doing in hip-hop, except maybe Jay-Z. And then in 2013 with Yeezus, he truly broke new ground.
Yeezus is very much like the Kid A of hip-hop, creating new ground in the genre and warping old elements of the genre. His heavy use of synthesizers and drum machines, on top of sampling still retain some of the collage element, but the sound and the use of those factors creates a being that sounds like an entire synthesized orchestra. Some of the tracks don't even have beats in parts; the other instruments drive the song, sometimes the horn parts or the voices. The songs unfold moment by moment, and sometimes radically change by the end. Sounds sputter and transform and the beginning and end may have nothing to do with each other, but it works effectively and cohesively. Traditional songwriting goes out the window, and it's refreshing from start to finish.
So I would suggest to many music fans to forget the public displays of douchebaggery, the comparisons of himself to great people of history, the ego stroking, and so on. Just listen to the music. You may be surprised.
In Alex Ross's book, The Rest is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century, there is a story of a lecture John Cage gave at Black Mountain College. During the lecture, Cage talked about how Ludwig van Beethoven, the predominate idol of western music, had "misled a generation of composers by structuring music in goal-oriented harmonic narratives instead of letting unfold moment by moment" (Ross, 483). In later years, Cage would declare time and time again that Beethoven was wrong.
When Cage proclaimed this in the 1940's and 50's it was a rather radical claim to make. Experimenters and the avant-garde composers like John Cage, Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Harry Partch, were alive and well, but the ideas they presented and their style weren't as widely accepted, and still aren't, as the technique and style of Beethoven and the other classical era composers. These composers rejected many parts of the European model that were forced on young composers in conservatories around the world. They went in search of a unique sound for the time and place.
Now nearly 60 or so years later, Cage and other members of the avant garde have made there mark on music and they created their own canon of work that defined a part of the 20th century and music, and what it was to be avant garde. Most people are fairly used to that level of abstraction in music. Sometimes their methods worked and sometimes they didn't. But the same can be said of Beethoven and his contemporaries. History paints Beethoven as a man who every time he put a pen a piece of paper, he produced a golden egg. While he created a lot of treasures that changed the way we perceive art and life in general, not everything Beethoven was amazing, and some of his work, following the "structuring harmonic goals", didn't always fall perfectly into place.
So questions arise. Does music always need to follow some sort of structure where things flow from Point A and end at Point Z? Without harmonic structure, what makes a piece of music fit together? Should composers be willing to change, alter, or abandon tried and true methods depending on the piece? If a structure is put in place, what element of the music, other than harmony, keep the piece flowing and moving? Some of these questions may be redundant and ridiculous, but they are ones well worth considering. As well, was Beethoven wrong?
Maybe yes. Maybe no. Listeners enjoy music that has some form of structure to it, and it is mostly harmonically consonant music that draws the most attention. Pop songs and musicals are all written with harmonic-oriented goals brought together in discernable and recognizable form which people and easily hold on to. In essence, it is a tried and true method; to a degree that harmonic goal-oriented music is a way to go. But does it always have to be this way? When a structure becomes so overused, what does it take for new creativity and new ideas to come to life? Can we abandon the old modes of thinking? Deviation from norms, within reason and with sincerity, can be just as effective as the believed old models. Things that were once abstractions and "out there" to some are now the norm. In the case of music, Cage's chance operations and John Zorn's game piece are now regarded in many places having just as much coherent logic as many highly regarded famous classical pieces.
Why start a blog? It's 2015 and the Internet has been around for nearly 20 years. It seems like everyone has a blog or website. At least, everyone has some type of social media account where they post thoughts, photos, and adorable animal videos, which sometimes seems a bit narcissistic and self-interested. At the same time, as someone who wants to share his work and share ideas, there is no better platform in the history of mankind, to connect with people who don't know about me and what I'm all about.
Why start a blog? As an artist in the 21st century, I can't just stick to the old modes of communication – television, radio and magazines. Blogs, social media, and websites are the best way to promote and create an image for people to see and judge for themselves. A more personal touch and intimate look at artists and their work is what I believe new media can provide. I suppose for someone who originally looked down on blogging; this is kind of a big step.
What will this site be about? Part will be to post my music, scores, and projects for people to see and explore if they want. I hope to not only share my process, works in progress, and thoughts on art and creativity, but to keep up a running dialogue where readers, musicians, composers, and artists can actively participate and share their own thoughts and ideas.
Seth Andrew Davis on Was Beethoven Wrong?
Tyler Johnson on Was Beethoven Wrong?


We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who held an event or supported Get Online Week 2018.
Over 750 events were held across the country - a fantastic result for the very first Australian Get Online Week!
In 2018, Get Online Week helped more than 12,000 people in Australia take their first steps to do more online.
Over 750 events were held by community organisations across the country.
Partners in Government, business and the community sector help to make Get Online Week the world's biggest digital skills campaign.


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WATCH: Bobby Lavery remembered as 'a friend to so many' during funeral
Conor McParland
FUNERAL: Bobby Lavery
A FORMER republican prisoner and Sinn Féin councillor will be remembered as "a friend to so many".
The funeral of Bobby Lavery (74) took place on Thursday morning at St Patrick's Church in Donegall Street in Belfast. Bobby died on December 26 in San Francisco, California.
A Carrick Hill native who left his native city to join the British Army, Bobby returned to Belfast in 1970 to join the IRA. He went on to serve a sentence in the Long Kesh prison camp for possession of weapons and on his release in the mid-seventies threw himself into political activism in the New Lodge area.
He was among the first Sinn Féin councillors to enter City Hall in over 60 years when elected, alongside Gerard McGuigan, for the Oldpark in 1985. He served a four-year term before standing unsuccessfully for the Castle electoral area in May 1989. However, in 1993, he was returned once more for the Oldpark and retained his seat on the first count in 1997.
In August 1993, after the first successful nationalist parade into Belfast city centre, his house was targeted by loyalist gunmen and his 21-year-old son Sean shot dead. The Ulster University student was hit several times as he ran from the living room amidst a fusillade of bullets and died in his father's arm. Less than a year later, the house was attacked again by loyalists, the occupants escaped unscathed.
The previous December, Bobby's 40-year-old brother Martin had been shot dead by loyalists as he was wrapping Christmas presents in his North Belfast home.
Bobby stepped down from politics at the 2001 election and began to spend his time between San Francisco and Belfast.
Bobby's wife, Susan said: "Bobby spent his life dedicated to advancing social justice and equality not only in Belfast, but also with an eye to working class struggles around the world.
"He was a political prisoner, a Sinn Féin councillor and a labourer and lecturer in California and was loved by so many.
"He truly believed in the quote by Bobby Sands, that 'our revenge will be the laughter of our children'.
"To his family, he was a devoted father who always tried to provide for his kids a better life than he himself had as a child.
"He used humour often to lift their spirits, protect his kids from the outside world and help them feel safe. He taught his kids to appreciate differences and to respect diversity and all ways of life.
"He could be silly and serious, wrote poetry and loved laughter, deep debates and spreading the word about the one per cent. He was humble.
"As a husband, he was deeply loved as a soulmate and best friend. He was giving, thoughtful and loving and the true love of my life.
"Bobby lives deep in our hearts and always will."
The funeral procession made its way to the New Lodge Memorial Garden in Donore Court for a republican tribute, led by Gerry Adams.
Bobby is survived by his beloved wife, Susana, his children, Treasa, Neill, Siobhan and Roibeard, grandchildren and great grandchild. He is predeceased by his first son Sean and first wife Valerie.
Challenge in memory of brother will raise funds for mental health charity
Dr Éamon Phoenix remembered in new series of talks
Air Ambulance lifts off with help of Translink staff


warriors. They also have a burning racial hatred for the Ranks of the Fit.
ninja and samauri movies, as well as instructional videos in martial arts).
He was instantly enamoured by them and saw their value.
high-quality weapons in the shapes of katanas, wakizashi, and nunchaku.
versions of these venerable weapons, Kenku arms are nonetheless excellent.
and quality of life for more than two centuries.
reproductive rates) in comparison to the animal wave of the Ranks.
enemies whom they must fight for survival.
to fear the lightning katana.


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Popov je malá vesnice, část obce Kostelec v okrese Tachov. Nachází se 4 km na severovýchod od Kostelce. Prochází zde silnice II/203. Je zde evidováno 13 adres. V roce 2011 zde trvale žilo 19 obyvatel.

Popov leží v katastrálním území Popov u Stříbra o rozloze 1,81 km2.

Historie
První písemná zmínka o vesnici pochází z roku 1272.

Další fotografie

Reference

Externí odkazy

Vesnice v okrese Tachov
Kostelec (okres Tachov)
Sídla v Plaské pahorkatině

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Feds deny second request to intervene in Bradford Bypass project
By Jessica McDiarmid | News, Politics | February 10th 2022
The proposed Bradford Bypass project north of Toronto would cut through protected Greenbelt, including the Holland Marsh. Photo by Joe Mabel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The Trudeau government will not require a federal environmental assessment of the proposed Bradford Bypass highway, removing a potential hurdle to Ontario's plans for the 16.2-kilometre freeway.
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault's press secretary, Kaitlin Power, confirmed the decision Thursday afternoon.
Environmentalists concerned the highway would pave over a protected Greenbelt area called the Holland Marsh requested late last year that Guilbeault review an earlier decision by the previous minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, not to designate the project for a federal environmental assessment.
A designation could slow down the project by years and would fly in the face of the Ford government's efforts to get highways built quickly, a key part of Doug Ford's re-election pitch. Another provincial highway project, the 413, was designated for federal environmental review in May.
While the Ford government is staunchly behind the project, both the provincial NDP and the Green Party have indicated they would nix it, while the Liberals have said it requires further review, setting the stage for the contentious project to become a major provincial election issue.
The Ford government scored a victory over Bradford Bypass opponents on Thursday when federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault declined to reconsider intervening in the project. Photo by Transportfan70 / Wikimedia Commons
Power said in an email that designation "is an authority that is typically exercised under exceptional circumstances, such as when a project has the potential to cause adverse effects in areas of federal jurisdiction and where there are no other regulatory processes to address these effects."
The minister can reconsider whether designation is warranted if "important new information" becomes available or there is a change to the project.
"In the case of the Bradford Bypass … the project has not changed since last considered for designation and no new important information has been submitted," said Power. "As such, there is no basis to revisit the former minister's response to the project."
The Bradford Bypass would connect Highway 404 and Highway 400 south of Lake Simcoe. Proponents say it's necessary to relieve heavy congestion on commuter highways that, among other concerns, contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
The Ford government scored a victory over #BradfordBypass opponents on Thursday when federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault declined to reconsider intervening in the freeway project. #Greenbelt
Opponents counter that the highway would pave over ecologically sensitive areas, add pollution to the Holland Marsh and Lake Simcoe, and lead to more vehicles on the area's roads. The Ford government has stripped back many environmental regulations since it was elected, adding to worries that environmental concerns associated with the project won't be addressed.
In a statement, Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner expressed disappointment at the news that "the federal government again gave Doug Ford the green light to pave over the Greenbelt."
The project, he said, will "pump millions of kilograms of climate pollution into the air each year, tear up protected wetlands and endangered species habitat and pollute Lake Simcoe."
"It seems no level of government cares enough about the known impacts — water contamination, loss of endangered species habitat, loss of fisheries, destruction of ancient heritage sites, increased carbon emissions — to do what they were elected to do," said Bill Foster, founding director of the group Forbid Roads Over Green Spaces that has opposed the long-discussed project since the early 1990s.
"This will only embolden the speculators who are already buying up huge amounts of farmland around the bypass to convert into sprawl."
In a statement, Margaret Prophet, executive director of the Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition, criticized the federal government for failing to "make good on its global climate commitments and interest in Lake Simcoe. Today's announcement shows that status quo highway building that pollutes our air and water will continue unabated by the federal government or the province."
Jessica McDiarmid
The police are defunding themselves
By Max Fawcett | Opinion, Politics | February 9th 2022
Your veggies (and other plants) are under attack
By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson | News, Food Insider | January 27th 2022
Break the Silos
Explainer, Podcast | December 22nd 2021
tragic game playing by the
valerie losell | Sat, 02/12/2022 - 05:55
tragic game playing by the feds. maybe hoping to rile up locals to vote out Ford in June, then libs back in power ( they assume of course) will cancel it.?? same crass politics as going on now over f/trucker insurrection, no one wants to wear actual cost of governance for citizens if it goes pear-shaped. disgraceful short term thinking of power alone.


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Email marketing's possibilities are a mindset we choose
An email client is our canvas, HTML and CSS are our paints and the tools we use for our content act as our paintbrush.
A screen grab from Riven, the sequel to Myst.
When the Myst video game originally came out, it quickly became the top selling video game of all time and held that record nearly a decade. Besides its accessible story and setting, it's approach to the technology it used made it very intuitive for players to interact with and allowed reaching an audience beyond just gamers.
The creators used a program called HyperCard which allowed them to add hotspots to an image or 'card' that the player can click on to bring up a new card, giving them the impression that they are moving around in the rich mysterious world it portrayed. So simple, yet so powerful.
The web and email
The web is built on a similar platform, made of hyperlinks that go from one 'page' to another. Its code is built on HTML, used for a page's structured content, and CSS for how that content looks. This framework has been around since the web's early days and is still used today. Custom-designed emails also use the same framework.
Some years into the web going mainstream, a web standards movement pushed it forward by essentially giving us a common language to use for the type of content we interact with. Email development hasn't really embraced this approach, probably because it's not necessary for it to do so. The web has a series of more complex, dynamic pages while an email is a stand-alone static page.
The language of email
There is however, a common language around email content that has developed throughout the years. Mainly based on the reason that an email is sent out: transactional, promotional, behavioral, etc. When we built Blocks Edit's capabilities, we based them on the language we were using around an email's content structure: header, footer, sections, regions, components, images, text, etc.
Email is all about communication and content. And its platform and approach stand the test of time. It works because it's based on a model that is intuitive and accessible for us to use.
Limitations and possibilities
While some view this underlying technology for email as limited and behind on capabilities, it still works for its intended purpose. Some people see limitations, others see opportunity to be creative. There is no such thing as a completely blank canvas, there are always limits. Even a blank canvas has a certain material it needs to be made of that is a specific size and allows for only certain things to be used on it. An email client is our canvas, HTML and CSS are our paints and the tools we use for our content act as our paintbrush.
Having a limited set of variables:
Keeps things simple and more efficient
Makes it easier to focus development work and tools around it
Allows for developing a template system to do more with our current assets
Allows making processes more efficient
Reminds us to pay attention to the content
"An email client is our canvas, HTML and CSS are our paints and the tools we use for our content act as our paintbrush."
There's a reason why email is still one of the most effective digital marketing strategies today. And for those that embrace its limits instead of fighting them, it can also be very impactful. The way Myst used basic interaction to push what video games can be and create a piece of immersive art, a well-crafted email can be built in an artful way to reach beyond its medium.
Start crafting your next email using the intuitive Blocks Edit interface. Sign up to try it free, see some examples of it in action, or request a demo to see how it can work for your company.
Originally published June 12th, 2018
← Efficiency and quality are both possible with some design thinking
Analyzing your email marketing workflow and tools →


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Onthotrupes nebularum är en skalbaggsart som beskrevs av Henry Fuller Howden 1964. Onthotrupes nebularum ingår i släktet Onthotrupes och familjen tordyvlar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Tordyvlar
nebularum


Following a promise made by Theresa May, the government intend to announce a review into student finance.
UNIVERSITY lecturers have called on radical review into education funding and Tuition Fees in England. The call comes after theresa May has promised a Review and is set to be announced in the next few days, according to the BBC. Leader of the UCU Lecturers Union, Sally Hunt, said this should be more than "tinkering" on the edges and that the review must go deep.
The tuition fees review, expected to be announced by the prime minister and Education Secretary Damian Hinds, will consider cutting or freezing £9,250 fees and lowering interest rates of up to 6.1% for repayments.
They have also said that there will be a review over funding for vocational courses and apprenticeships to help deal with the challenges of skills shortages. Something that is likely to increase post-Brexit. The review will focus on funding and tuition fees but doesn't highlight the issue of part-time fees and students' cost of living, as pointed out by the director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, Nick Hillman.
There has also been call on the restoration of maintenance grants by former education minister, Justine Greening and others.
The Institute of Fiscal Studies has shown that the average student will incur a debt of £50,000, this is directly from the £9,250 fees and 6.1% interest rates. Education is vital for the economy and society, it provides over £100 billion for the economy and helps create better communities, contributing to social cohesion.
The review into funding is necessary step and positive one because currently it saddles people with huge amounts of debt that they probably won't end up paying off anyway, leaving the government to foot the bill (including all the interest payments).
Whether or not something will be done after the review is something that will remain to be seen, but with Labour waiting in the wing with a radical overhaul to education funding, Theresa May should be cautious as to how she plays this and not just try to appease the far-right in her party.
But further to the review in funding, a complete overhaul to our education system should be reviewed. The current system is archaic and doesn't serve the creative purposes for people in the wider world. The current system rewards on a purely academic basis from specific age, if you don't show promise from that point, you get deemed not good enough to be with the smarter children despite every child develops at a different pace.


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Map 1050 Clearlake Rd #8
$5 Menu
Dinner Sides
Apparel & Gift Certificates
Shrimp Alfredo $13.95
Cajun Chicken Alfredo $12.95
Shrimp & Grits $12.95 add cheese $1.00
Chicken & Waffles $10.95
••• Monday & Tuesday Closed •••
••• Wednesday - Friday 11am - 8pm •••
••• Saturday & Sunday 12pm - 8pm •••
Mouth Watering
Let Us Cater Your
History of From Scratch
From Scratch Restaurant was built on Owner, David Williams', vision which included, "A Kitchen producing the best soul food and seafood around." David came from humble beginnings where he and his brothers, Tarrence Williams and Michael Blackwell, learned to cook growing up, the same food we serve today. He burgeoned into the business world armed with this vision, prayer and a lot of hard work from family and friends, and opened From Scratch Restaurants on September 16, 2012.
David and his wife, Zechra Williams, started this restaurant together with help from brothers and lifelong friend Miyoshi Johnson. David worked and saved for years so that he could accomplish his goal of becoming a business owner. Together, they created the menu that our customers enjoy today. Tarrence has become the manager and the face of From Scratch, as he has created quite a rapport with our customers.
It is named From Scratch for the food, desserts and drinks that are all made, of course, from scratch. We are famous for our Chicken & Waffles and Shrimp & Grits. We also offer a variety of soul food and seafood dishes, including Chitterlings, Oxtails, Smothered Pork Chops, Meatloaf, Fish, Shrimp and Turkey Wings, just to name a few. Not to mention, the side dishes are cooked low and to perfection. Let's not forget the desserts that people come from miles around to sample.
We pride ourselves on quality food served by friendly people in an awesome atmosphere. From Scratch is the trusted choice for memorable soul food, seafood, and desserts. Come give us a try. We guarantee you will leave with a full stomach and a smile on your face!
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Copyright © 2020 From Scratch - Cocoa, Florida Built by Green Man Creations


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My name is JP Cormier and I have been playing for 42 years. I've been teaching other people how to play for almost as long. I took my first students on when I was around 17 and never really stopped teaching. Whether it was private students, workshops, bigger schools and camps, I have been in the professor's chair in front of hundreds of people. In all that time I have discovered a very important issue. Of all the methods available to learn how to play a stringed instrument, almost all lack an incredibly important component. They teach people how to "play" but don't teach people how to LEARN. There is a huge difference. You can definitely learn to play from almost any private teacher, DVD, or online service, but if you don't learn WHY things work the way they do, learn the subtle tactile and auditory signals that exist on your instrument, learn to question every possibility for each note played, learn how to watch and listen to other players in such a way that you see all the key points of their style and technique immediately, you're not really learning. Anything outside this method is just committing to memory a bunch of jumbled facts and theories that can enable you to mimic playing. I'm talking about getting deep inside the craft of playing and discovering that you can actually perform, create, and enjoy learning because you not only retaining information better, but you understand ALL the mechanics of what you're doing. The greatest players I've ever seen all had the same history. They were basically self taught and unlocked the secrets to interpreting what better players and their heroes were doing. This happened early in their lives, often as children. They unlocked a secret door they could look through to see exactly how to do something they heard or saw firsthand and make it part of their own musical vocabulary.


Lakrids liquorice number 4 combines the finest Danish liquorice root with Mexican habanero chilli, for a sweet-savoury treat with a kick. Anyone who tries this habanero chilli liquorice should prepare for a 'hot yet harmonious bite', making Lakrids liquorice number 4 the perfect choice for liquorice lovers on the lookout for something different.
Lakrids liquorice comes all the way from one of the finest liquorice producers in Denmark, the home of liquorice. In 2007, Lakrids started as the dream of Johan Bülow, who didn't understand why liquorice was so rarely blended with other flavours. Nor why liquorice had traditionally been made using wheat flour, instead of a gluten free flour. It turns out that both are very difficult! But with much trial and error, Johan Bülow started to produce some of the finest liquorice in the world. Lakrids liquorice is only made with gluten free rice flour, and he treats liquorice as a spice – one which enhances and perfectly complements other flavours.
Ingredients: rice flour, invert sugar, sugar, treacle, 6.3% raw liquorice, glucose, rapeseed oil, salt, 0.4% habanero chilli, anise oil, glazing agent: coconut oil. Gluten free.


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Q: Transfer google drive file ownership using google java api I have uploaded some test files to my google drive using their website and my gmail account (x@gmail.com). The files are in "My Drive" and not shared drive. I am then trying to write a google drive java api and oauth authorization code flow based program to transfer the ownership of these files to my another gmail account(y@gmail.com). i.e both the accounts belong to @gmail.com.
I am logged in to my application using x@gmail.com using authorization code workflow and my app is trying to access Google APIs with my access token. I am able to create a new permission on test files to make y@gmail.com a "writer" of the file. But when I try to make "y" an owner, I get error message. This is despite of x being the owner and being the one whose access token is used.
How do I transfer the ownership to another account?
    Message changePerms(@PathVariable(name = "fileId") String fileId, @PathVariable(name = "userEmail") String newOwnerEmail) throws Exception {
        Drive drive = new Drive.Builder(HTTP_TRANSPORT, JSON_FACTORY, getOauthCredentials())
                .setApplicationName("my-app").build();

        Permission newOwnerPermission = new Permission();
        newOwnerPermission.setEmailAddress(newOwnerEmail);
        newOwnerPermission.setType("user");
        newOwnerPermission.setRole("owner"); // Works if this is "writer" so my credentials and auth is working

        drive.permissions().create(fileId,newOwnerPermission).setTransferOwnership(true).execute();
}

Error :
POST https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v3/files/19wvNc4TmXhODJa7Iy3Qq97UAD8fJrVg/permissions?transferOwnership=true
{
  "code": 400,
  "errors": [
    {
      "domain": "global",
      "message": "Bad Request. User message: \"You can't change the owner of this item.\"",
      "reason": "invalidSharingRequest"
    }
  ],

A: I think you can't transfer ownership files if they have been uploaded to your Drive. There was a mention of this on the help page, but that one line was removed earlier this year (though I can't say I know why as it appears that nothing has changed).
The current version of the help page is here, but as you can see using the Wayback Machine that only one month ago the following line was still present:

You can only transfer ownership of Google files and folders.

So I would say that this is probably the reason.


Hooked on coastal cool elements? Discover the allure of textile artist Liora Manne. Her unique "painterly" effect is achieved through a patented Lamontage technique combining hand-crafted art and a cutting-edge sewing process. Given this handmade pillow is designed for indoor and outdoor use…what a sea of possibilities.
The touch, the feel of cotton...never more alluring. Cassbab throw captures that easy as a Sunday morning mood with a fade-out color effect and haphazard patterning for an organic sensibility.
Whether you're going for a beach chic or coastal cottage vibe, you can see how this coral sculpture could fit quite nicely into the seascape. Beautifully structural, it pops especially well against a colorful backdrop.


With over 10 acres of internal and external storage space, dozens of product lines and 1000's of actual products this is no small task but one we feel is both necessary and worthwhile, improving our website, printed and electronic marketing materials whilst also providing our staff with a range of professional images for use throughout the business.
McCoyWynne have been chosen as the photographers to do this work and we hope you like and enjoy the images as much as we do.
Please note, all images on our website are not to reproduced under any circumstances.


Speak your truth, even when uncomfortable.
Course begins March 6th. Dr. Shefali will teach live every Wednesday at 9pm ET for 20 weeks.
Once a month she will have a Free to Be Town Hall where all students will be encouraged to join live for an interactive Zoom call. Includes access to private Facebook group.


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Devil in a Blue Dress – Indicator
Director: Carl Franklin
Screenplay: Carl Franklin
Based on a Novel by: Walter Mosley
Starring: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, Mel Winkler, Albert Hall, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jernard Burks
Carl Franklin began his career as an actor, working initially on stage before moving onto TV and a couple of film roles. After a while though, he developed a taste for directing and, in his late-30s, enrolled in the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles, obtaining his M.F.A. degree in directing in 1986. He jumped straight into work after graduating, directing a few films for Roger Corman before making his big break with the critically acclaimed neo-noir One False Move in 1992.
The film did better business than expected too, after almost going straight to VHS. That success helped Franklin be able to follow up One False Move with Devil in a Blue Dress, another noir, but this time a period piece with a notably higher budget of $22 million and a big star in the shape of Denzel Washington. Based on the first of a series of popular crime fiction novels by Walter Mosley, its producers likely saw the film as the start of a franchise.
Unfortunately, though receiving largely positive reviews, Devil in a Blue Dress was a commercial failure. Over the years, the film has fallen off the map due to this, but it's one I can remember seeing back in the day and enjoying quite a lot. So, I was thrilled to hear Indicator were going to be adding Devil in a Blue Dress to their roster of fine Blu-ray releases. I dove in to see how it held up.
The film is set in 1948 Los Angeles and sees Washington play Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, a proud African-American homeowner that has just been laid off. Struggling to pay the bills, he's forced to take a job for a shady white character, DeWitt Albright (Tom Sizemore) who his barman friend Joppy (Mel Winkler) introduces him to.
Albright asks him to find Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals), the missing girlfriend of mayoral candidate Todd Carter (Terry Kinney). The politician has had to drop out of the mayoral race due to Monet's disappearance, so is keen to find her and hired Albright. Monet reportedly frequents black nightspots, so Albright thinks an African-American like Rawlins would have better luck finding her than him.
Rawlins takes on the job and heads to a local juke joint to find some leads. He finds one from his friend's girlfriend, Coretta (Lisa Nicole Carson), who entices him into bed that night. When she turns up dead the next day, Rawlins lands in hot water and, as the plot thickens, he sinks ever deeper.
Before he's totally swallowed up, however, Rawlins decides to take action and get to the bottom of the mystery he's caught up in. He enlists the help of his dangerously unbalanced friend Mouse (Don Cheadle), who got him in trouble in the past but might be the only one he can now trust.
For the first portion of Devil in a Blue Dress and on the surface, in general, it seems like a straightforward film noir pastiche. The plot has a lot of Raymond Chandler in its complex web of schemes and traps. The idea of a decent man being lured into a dark world he can't escape from through money and sex is a classic noir trope too. Some of the stereotypical stylistic flourishes of the genre also crop up, such as a first-person voiceover and an old-fashioned wobbly transition bringing us into a flashback, early on.
However, Devil in a Blue Dress has an extra layer that is apparent at the start but deepens as the film moves on. By making its noir hero an African-American trying to live out the American Dream, there's a healthy dose of social commentary injected into the film. Rawlins isn't simply seduced by wealth, he's in desperate need for money because the racist system isn't in his favour and he's being manipulated by white criminals (whose strings are being pulled by politicians) to be a fall guy, simply because he's black. One of the film's major twists towards the end adds yet another layer to this too, adding a potent reminder of the state of race relations at the time.
This sad climax to one major thread is followed by a more uplifting and hopeful note though, to end the film. We're shown the happy, close-knit and comfortable suburban black neighbourhood in which Rawlins lives, pointing towards positive changes slowly being made. With the Black Lives Matter movement in force today, there is still a way to go, but films like this remind us that at least some progress has been made over the past 70 years.
The film never overplays its social commentary though. It's always there but we don't get any impassioned speeches or blunt messages, driving it home. The narrative and characters take centre stage instead, as they should.
Away from its subject matter, looking at the film from a technical standpoint, it's polished to perfection. The writing is excellent, delivering an incredibly engrossing story that smoothly rolls along and never loses its way. Franklin's direction is assured too, delivering a thick atmosphere whilst also keeping characters and plot at the forefront. The film is shot beautifully by the great Tak Fujimoto (Silence of the Lambs, Badlands), avoiding noir cliches by often keeping the film bathed in sunlight. Elmer Bernstein provides a classic score too, aided by some wonderful blues and jazz music from the era.
The production and costume design is also first-rate, perfectly capturing the mood and feel of the period. Supposedly, Franklin made the most of his fairly modest budget with a couple of busy street scenes. He used the same street set for 3 such sequences, shooting them all in one day but redressing the set and shooting from a different angle each time to make it look different.
The performances impress more than anything though. Washington is one of the finest actors of his generation and his star power shines through here, portraying the strength, vulnerability and charisma required for the part with ease. Some of the supporting players almost steal the show though, with Sizemore proving a suitably frightening villain and Cheadle offering an unusual, likeable but unhinged take on his key character. Mouse only shows up a little after the mid-point of the film but he makes a big impact.
Overall then, Devil in a Blue Dress is a genuine class act, through and through. It looks great, sounds great, boasts many fine performances and an expertly told story, as well as squeezing in plenty of social commentary without labouring the point. It's a woefully under-appreciated film that I'm glad Indicator has given a new lease of life to. One False Move next please!
Devil in a Blue Dress is out on 14th December on Blu-Ray in the UK, released by Indicator. The picture and audio quality are immaculate. The image is pin sharp and rich with detail. Colours look natural too and the audio is equally faultless.
There are a handful of special features included in the package:
– 2K restoration
– Original 5.1 surround sound and stereo audio tracks
– Audio commentary with writer and director Carl Franklin (1999)
– Dancing with the Devil (2018, 23 mins): archival interview with Franklin, conducted by the Film Noir Foundation's Eddie Muller at a screening of Devil in a Blue Dress
– Don Cheadle Screen Test (1994, 15 mins): videotape footage of the actor auditioning for the role of Mouse, with introduction by Franklin
– Original theatrical trailer
– Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
– New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
– Limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet with a new essay by Keith M Harris, an archival interview with Carl Franklin from Positif magazine, an extract from Walter Mosley's novel, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
– UK premiere on Blu-ray
– Limited edition of 3,000 copies
It's not a great deal of material in comparison to some of Indicator's releases, but what is here is of a high standard. Franklin's commentary is particularly good, with a steady flow of interesting facts about the production, where his inspiration came from and other such nuggets.
The interview with Franklin is a warm and affection chat. It takes place during a film noir festival in which Devil With a Blue Dress is being screened and Franklin seems genuinely honoured to be part of the festival and has plenty to share about his career and a little about Devil in a Blue Dress in particular.
The Don Cheadle screen test is a nice addition too. He had worked with Franklin on one of his student films, so they knew each other from a while back. He does a great job, despite Washington and Franklin almost sabotaging it a few times when they break into laughter.
The booklet is as excellent as ever too, being crammed with essays, interviews, period reviews and even an extract from the original novel.
So, an easy recommendation.
Devil in a Blue Dress - Indicator
90'sCarl FranklinDenzel Washingtonfilm noirindicatorneo-noir
Editor of films and videos as well as of this site. On top of his passion for film, he also has a great love for music and his family.
Scott Gilliland
Night Tide – Indicator
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Truly gripping stuff,
Story was most intriguing,
But wobbly ending
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text:
TV presenter Cerrie Burnell on the teacher that changed her life
TV presenter and writer Cerrie Burnell tells Sally Bailey why diversity is at the heart of everything she does and how one special teacher changed her life
Anyone who has read Cerrie Burnell's first book will know that she sees children like snowflakes, each one completely unique, and every one of them beautiful.
Cerrie is known to millions as a presenter of BBC TV's Cbeebies, a job she took six years ago when her daughter was three months old.
She is also known as the woman who was targeted by a group of parents who campaigned to get her removed from her job as a television presenter because she they didn't like her shorter arm.
Their campaign catapulted her into the public eye and Cerrie found herself doing a parade of interviews for networks and newspapers around the world in which incredulous journalists expected her to be upset.
But Cerrie says as a new, sleep-deprived mum, she had bigger things to worry about and she couldn't have given a hoot what anyone else thought.
She seized the media storm as an opportunity to put inclusion into everyone's mind, turning it into a positive opportunity to be seen as a woman doing a job that had nothing to do with disability, showing the world that it was a greater problem than a bit of mud-slinging and those comments weren't any more personal to her than someone saying they didn't like Martin Luther King because he was black.
"People were desperate for me to collapse but that girl people were looking for didn't exist," she says. "I'm cross that those issues exist for anyone but it's a much bigger issue than the single person."
Since those days Cerrie has become an eloquent spokeswoman for inclusion, patiently explaining her point of view over and over again until people listen.
Before you even scratch the surface of who the former actress is it's clear to see she is a strong role model for children and adults alike; a single mum who has dyslexia, raising her daughter whilst holding down a part-time job on telly, writing for the Huffington Post, penning a play, championing inclusion, oh, and writing enchanting children's books.
At the heart of what she does is diversity. Her fiction includes mixed-race children, a little girl with one hand, and in her new book, Mermaid, a girl who uses a wheelchair and swims like a beautiful sea creature.
Each child, like the ones in her first book, Snowflakes, is celebrated not for their differences but for their individual character.
It is how she would like to see the whole world treat people with any difference, allowing more diversity in public life.
"There has been some progress but there is a long way to go," she says. "We need more diverse role models and it's through television and literature that we can do that. It's about the writing really, creating strong characters. That's definitely happening more though, the journey has begun."
Cerrie's latest book, Mermaid, is due out this month. It is the story of a little girl who teaches a boy to swim. At night he dreams of their underwater adventures and when she starts at his new school and the children crowd round to look at her wheelchair he tells them she is a mermaid.
"Books and stories are so integral to who we are, it is damaging not to represent every child's life," she says. "People ask me if all my books will have diversity in some form. I don't know how to write without diversity. That's the way I'm wired."
Cerrie initially grew up in London before moving to Eastbourne, and says school life was the same for her as for any other child.
She barely noticed she had a disability and saw the prosthetic arm she was encouraged to wear as a cumbersome part of her uniform at Crofton Primary School, Kent. She found it so annoying in fact that she drew on it, stuffed it in cupboards when no one was looking, and tried her hardest to lose it so she wouldn't have to wear it.
At the age of nine she ditched it for good, telling her mum she was more beautiful without it.
"It wasn't a big decision. I just didn't want to wear it in the same way a child might not want a brace or to go to a flute lesson. It was that simple."
She learned to write with her left hand, and did everything she wanted to including gymnastics, horse riding, ballet, and climbing trees. These days she can't recall whether kids made hurtful comments in the playground.
"I think I was teased more for wearing a brace," she says.
Dyslexia was a greater hurdle to overcome than her disability and Cerrie remembers having to stand in front of the class to read and looking down at words that were as illegible as a Japanese menu. Cleverly she used to get her dad to read to her before memorising the words so she could recite them the next day and look as though she was reading.
One special teacher changed her education, showing confidence in Cerrie's ability, listening to her stories and writing them down for her, encouraging her every step of the way.
"She was a really wonderful teacher who was very patient with her and she would give up her lunchtimes to come and sit with me. I had people believing in me who knew I was intelligent. A great teacher can really make you."
Cerrie herself has had a stint working in school, spending two years as a teaching assistant at the former Jack Taylor special educational needs school in Camden. No doubt her 'can-do' attitude provided that same inspiration to some of the pupils.
Today people she doesn't know come and ask her about all sorts – and understandably a percentage of that relates to her arm. Being a well-known face on TV simply adds to their air of entitlement. Although she is open to questions and happy to provide a platform for them, the conversations can be bizarre.
"It's invariably not about me, it's about them. When I was about 17 someone came rushing up to me and said: 'I'm so sorry your mother did drugs.' They just launched in to this lecture about thalidomide. I said: 'It's interesting that you think my mother took drugs, actually she prefers a cream tea."
Cerrie's outlook makes her a great person to bring the subject of disability and difference to the fore in an age where some are still clumsy or nervous of it. And while many people would find it tiresome that strangers don't engage in conversation about her work, being a mum, her opinions on politics or whatever, Cerrie reacts with grace and wisdom.
"People are uninhibited about talking to me about things. I don't know if they're meaning to behave badly, it's just a reaction. It happened so often when I was younger it just felt like normal life. You can't blame people for being curious, it's what drives human existence."
Giving her daughter, now aged six, a diverse and positive environment to grow up in has always been high on Cerrie's agenda, as is trying to shield her from the demands of fame when people forget they don't actually know her just because she's on the screen in their homes several times a week.
"I don't have photos taken when I'm with her because that's not what I want her experience to be."*
Although Cerrie is happy to talk about her own experience whenever journalists make a request she is reluctant to spoon out advice to children who are being picked on or faced with challenging situations today, saying that every situation is different and she is not an expert on disability, just a woman who knows what worked for her.
"With all bullying it's important to remember it's not about you, it's about the bully. There will come a time when these things won't matter.
"You don't need to be held hostage by other people's opinions, you don't need anyone's approval.
"There's not anything you need to do or change. You are absolutely fine as you are. The challenge is accepting yourself and learning to love yourself."
10 of the best dog walks to enjoy in Surrey


text:
Feds kill 4 Mexican gray wolves, days after announcing population gains
By Jessica Myers/Cronkite News
The government said it authorized the "lethal removal" – killing – of four endangered Mexican gray wolves in one week on March only as a last resort, when other measures to control the animals did not work. The action came after several months of wolves preying on cows and calves in the area. (Photo by Gary Kramer/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
PHOENIX – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service authorized the killing of four endangered Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico during one week in late March, a move conservation groups call a significant setback to wolf recovery.
A spokesperson said the agency used "non-lethal management techniques to the maximum extent practicable" to control the wolf population and that "lethal removal" was authorized only as a last resort in response to livestock killed over several months.
But Maggie Howell, executive director of the Wolf Conservation Center, called the killings "heartbreaking," as they came at the same time as "lobo week," which celebrates the reintroduction of Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico. The killings came just days after Fish and Wildlife announced a 24% jump in the wolf population from last year to early this year, when 163 animals were counted.
"To think that while we're here celebrating wolves, talking about successful population survey and how exciting it is to see this population growing in the wild, little did we know that U.S. Fish and Wildlife and also the USDA Wildlife Services were actually fulfilling these removal orders," Howell said.
The wolves, three males and a female, came from two different packs. One was killed on March 23 and the others were killed March 28.
Randell Major, president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, said he understands why people think the wolf is a "great, majestic and beautiful animal," but that ranchers see a different side of them.
"I think that any kind of removal that they do with wolves is necessary," he said. "I mean, whatever's necessary to remove these animals. We never wanted these animals in the first place, and they've been forced on us.
He said ranchers feel helpless as they see livestock lost to wolves.
"You just sit there and watch your livelihood being taken away from you," he said.
Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, accused the government of abandoning the goal of Mexican gray wolf recovery because "it's in the pockets of the livestock industry."
"There's a culture in the agency that's very deferential to the livestock industry as well as other industries and affect other endangered species," Robinson said. "I think it also helps account for these terrible decisions that are at odds with the public interest."
He said the agency "has rejected the advice of scientists" by refusing to impose a handful of measures that could keep wolves from being drawn toward livestock, such as mandatory carcass removal.
"Just like a dog that smells a leftover meal in the garbage and knocks over the garbage can, wolves will go for stinky-smelling stuff," Robinson said.
"What happens over and over is the wolves are drawn to areas where cows died of non-wolf causes. They scavenge on the carrion and then they find themselves close to other vulnerable live cattle," he said.
Major said carcass removal is easier said than done.
"Animals die out there on the range, and always do, and it's not only just our livestock," he said. "As far as a rancher having to remove his cows well, who's going to remove the elk? Who's going to remove those other animals that draw the wolf?"
While the wolves are endangered, section 10J of the Endangered Species Act includes exceptions – what Robinson calls loopholes – that allow experimental populations like the Mexican gray wolf to be trapped, hunted or killed if the federal agency deems it warranted.
Aislinn Maestas, the Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson, said in an email Tuesday that the purpose of animal removal is to attempt to influence or change wolf pack behavior, reducing potential for repeated wolf depredations on livestock, "while continuing to promote wolf recovery."
"It is only after we have exhausted all prior methods to prevent depredations, and the depredations are still occurring that we turn to removal orders," Maestas said.
Robinson said his organization will "push for these kinds of loopholes to be eliminated" during a 60-day public comment period that began last week on the Mexican gray wolf conservation plan. He called last month's killings a "significant setback to Mexican wolf recovery."
Howell said she is "extremely disappointed" with the agency's lethal removal go-ahead and the lack of transparency that led up to that decision. She said the agency "could be doing more" and that "killing the animals should not be a management tool that's used."
Instead, she would hope animals could be sent to facilities like the Wolf Conservation Center, a participant in the species survival plan, where they "can live in a relatively comfortable or similar way that they would live in the wild," but behind a fence.
Jessica Myers
Sustainability Reporter, Washington, D.C.