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Our Bicycling Journal
Albania to Greece
Belgium to Luxembourg
Croatia Coast
Perpignan To London
The River Saar
Venice And The Lakes
North to South
Traverse the Pyrenees
The Gotthard Pass
Gloucester to Plymouth
Gretna Green to Liverpool
Inverness to Gretna Green
Liverpool to Gloucester
Southern Hebrides
Genoa to Melbourne
Sydney to Genoa
Arthurs Pass
Whanganui River
The West Coast of New Zealand
West to East
East West Highway
Kuantan to Kota Bharu
Singapore to Kuantan
Cycling in Myanmar
Lake Inle
Taunggyi Balloon Festival
Lake-Inle to Bagan Bike Ride
Bagan Temples
Bago to Mawlamyine
Introduction to the Visayas
The Western Visayas
The Central Visayas
Romblon And Masbate
Bangkok to Cambodia
Ranong to Bangkok
The West Coast
Cycling the Mekong
Cycling The Vietnam Highlands
Seoul to Yeonghae
Yeonghae to Busan
Taiwan Mountains
Argentina - Lakes
Chile - Islands, Lakes & Volcanoes
Carretera Austral
Plan It
Lubrin
Share Your Tips
Share Your Laughter
A Bicycle Ride From Inverness to Gretna Green
Our ride from Inverness to Gretna Green formed the first leg of our ride down to Plymouth on England's south coast. In our case it was the culmination of years of planning and the start of our round the World bicycling dream.
But there are other good reasons for wanting to make the ride. Of course most people will want to do the full end to end cycle ride all the way from John o' Groats to Lands End. In the vast majority of cases, they rarely spend time to enjoy the scenery or the towns they pass through. Being intent on completing the journey in the shortest possible time, they take the well defined shortest route. Many of these folk raise thousands of pounds for well deserving causes and we take our hats off to them.
However, if you want to enjoy the journey, take in the scenery, visit new towns and meet new people you can take an altogether more relaxing approach. You don't need to go by the fastest route. There are too many lovely places to see and experience to rush the journey.
Riding our route from Inverness to Plymouth you will pass through some of the most beautiful parts of Scotland, England and Wales and visit some spectacular cities and towns.
The easiest and most enjoyable way to get to Inverness with your bike is by train. Which you can do from most areas of the country. We took our bikes just on the local train from Aberdeen up to Inverness. Scotrail do a really good sleeper service that leaves London Euston at 21.15 and gets in the following morning at 8-31. If you chose your dates and book in advance you can get tickets for as little as £19 single. If two of you travel together you get a private 2 berth sleeping cabin in that price, plus a cup of tea in the morning. This sounds like a very civilised way to travel to us.
The return journey from Plymouth to London Paddington takes just 3 hours and we have seen fares as low as £26.
The rail companies in the UK have now really got their act together with regard to taking accompanied bikes on trains. There is no charge, but you do have to reserve them in advance so it is best to book early. Some companies do have some restrictions particularly at peak times so check the individual companies web sites to be sure.
Other options are flying if you want to risk your bike or driving. Neither options meet our environmentally friendly credentials so we don't consider them unless we really have to.
Inverness to Daviot East
Daviot East to Aviemore
Aviemore to Glen Garry
Glen Garry to Killin
Killin to Callander
Callander to Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond to Glasgow
Glasgow to Strathclyde
Strathclyde to Abington
Abington to Kirkpatrick-Fleming
Kirkpatrick-Fleming to Dalston
Our ride descriptions give an account of the ride that we completed. As part of the description we also provide links to Wikiloc or Google maps and elevation profiles based on mapping data available through the internet. The ride profiles are smoothed to give what in our opinion is a more beneficial view of the profile. We use paper maps, GPS and on line data to plan and conduct our rides. We are happy for you to use our descriptions, but be aware that we do not guarantee the accuracy of the information provided as situations surrounding any ride change over time.
Inverness to Gretna Green - Day 1 - Inverness to Daviot East
View Route Map In New Window
Max Elevation 250m
Inverness to Gretna Green - Inverness to Daviot East Ride Profile
Ride Description
We arrived by train from Aberdeen, at about 6pm ready to start our Inverness to Gretna ride. We made our way to the supermarket, purchased our provisions for the night and set off on Sustrans route 1 / 7 to our first camp site at Auchnahillin Camp Site, Daviot East. It was only a short distance up and down a couple of fairly steep hills. We were thankful for the energy bars that we had packed before we set
We had to stop at Cullodon Moore to put on our water proofs.
Along the road from Carra to Daviot a car pulled alongside Karen. "We are completely lost can you tell us how to get to so and so?" Truth be known, we did not know where were either. We passed them later still trying to find their way.
We arrived at the site and pitched the tent in the pouring rain. After a hearty meal we felt much better and settled down in our cosy sleeping bags, falling asleep listening to the rain.
Whilst we did not get the lovely evening we had wished for our first night under canvas had passed without event. Our Inverness to Gretna journey and round the World trip had begun!
Inverness to Gretna Green - Day 2 - Daviot East to Aviemore
Gretna Green to Liverpool - Daviot East to Aviemore Ride Profile
Awoke to rain so stayed in bed late. Decided to wait for the tent to dry before leaving and see to some of our admin work. Several heavy showers during the morning meant the tent never dried so after lunch we decided to pack up anyway. Set off on our Inverness to Gretna ride at 14-00 and the route was generally uphill on quite roads and bike tracks following the A9 to eventually reach Slochd Summit at 405m high.
From there it was down hill most of the way to Carr-bridge where we stopped to take photos of the ancient, stone arched bridge.
The Inverness to Gretna route from there was flatter, but busier with traffic. We reached Aviemore at about 18-00.
Carr Bridge
There was a motor bike rally with crowds of born again bikers on Harleys, some of whom were incapable of getting of their bikes unaided! Lots of great rock music and beer in the town, but we decided to look for somewhere to stay out of town that was a little quieter.
Whilst we eat fish and chips in a cafe we laughed as we watched two Harley's draw up. The riders and their female passengers were at least in their early sixties. The guys got off as did one of the women. But the other one had to be lifted off by the two guys.
We headed off on our Inverness to Gretna route up the road towards Kincraig, past the beautiful Loch Alvie and stayed the night at Dalraddy Holiday Park. More expensive, but clean and free hot showers!
Inverness to Gretna Green - Day 3 - Aviemore to Glen Garry
Gretna Green to Liverpool - Aviemore to Glen Garry Ride Profile
The Inverness to Gretna route took us down the main road to Kincraig then turned left to pick up the C7 again. The first part was very scenic through forest and the RSPB nature reserve. Approaching Kingussie we passed the ruin of Ruthven Barracks. The Barracks was built in 1719 to discourage further rebellion following the Jacobite Rising in 1715. It was used by General Wade as a center for troop movements and was finally destroyed by dispersing troops following the Battle of Culloden around 1745.
Arriving at Kingussie we again encountered the motorbikes that had ridden in convoy from Aviemore and were being greeted by a pipe and drum band. Escaping from the bikes we took cover in the nearest cafe and feasted on bacon and egg butties, cake and coffee. We bought our provisions for the next two days of our Inverness to Gretna ride as we knew that we would be wild camping that night.
Ruthven Barracks
The next part of the Inverness to Gretna ride was hard going. A continuous slow ascent mostly following the old A9, now replaced with a dual carriageway. No shelter and a strong head wind all the way to the top. The final part was on a small gravel path at the side of the A9. Cold grey and raining. Eventually we made it to Drumochter summit at 462m, the highest trunk road pass in Britain. Met a group of four lads and a girl driving north to John O' Groats to start the End to End cycle ride in aid of the Anthony Nolan Trust.
Thankfully, from there our Inverness to Gretna ride was downhill all the way along the old road, between the dual carriageway and the railway track. We were tired and it was getting late, so we found a small clearing by the side of the road and set up our tent. We were inundated with midges so we quickly had supper and retreated to our beds.
We spent a noisy and disturbed night due to the continuous traffic all night on the A9.
Inverness to Gretna Green - Day 4 - Glen Garry to Killin
Gretna Green to Liverpool - Glen Garry to Killin Ride Profile
We couldn't sleep so got an early start and were on the Inverness to Gretna route by 9-00am. The first 18km was downhill on the old A9 all the way to Blair Atholl, where we stopped for coffee at the Old Mill and where they still baked lovely bread in the traditional way. Delicious.
Good progress on quite flat roads, but were deflected from our track at the sight of some random guy drinking a pint of Guinness at a road side cafe in Kenmore. We just had to stop. We soon regretted this temptation when the last part of our ride developed into a grueling roller coaster ride along the side of Loch Tay, for 16 miles, mostly in pouring rain. We had to top up with our energy drinks several times along the way.
We finally arrived in Killin and fell into a local hostelry soaked to the skin. We dried out in front of their roaring log fire, while we sipped hot coffee laced with whisky.
We then had to ride a further three miles to find our camp site, High Creagan, which was decidedly seedy and at the top of a steep hill. There was nowhere flat to pitch the tent. We had to pay 10 pounds and everything was extra, even hot water.
Too exhausted and wet to complain we put up the tent in the pouring rain again, ate and fell into bed. Another bad night due to the roaring waterfall, coffee and aching limbs.
Inverness to Gretna Green - Day 5 - Killin to Callander
Gretna Green to Liverpool - Killin to Callander Ride Profile
Today would prove to be the best bit of the Inverness to Gretna C7 ride that we would cover. If you fancy trying just a small section of this ride then this is the one to do.
The Inverness to Gretna route starts with a steep uphill section out of Killin, first along an old railway track and then onto forest tracks, the steeper parts of which have been tarmacked. After about 2 miles the track crosses the road at the summit, 288m and from there it is downhill through Glen Ogle and on nearly all the way to Callander, on the old railway track and along woodland paths with no roads at all and fantastic views across Loch Earn and the village of Lochearnhead.
Our Inverness to Gretna ride today started late. We took ages to get packed and didn't set off until almost 11-00am. We made our way back into Killin, bought delicious meat pies for lunch, and saw the impressive Falls of Dochart. The ride up the hill out of Killin was quite hard but the steeper sections had smooth tarmac.
Dochart Falls
Our Inverness to Gretna route reached the top of the pass at 288m. The ride down the other side was beautiful, along the old railway track on the opposite side of the valley to the road with overhanging trees and beautiful views.
We stopped to eat our pies overlooking Loch Earn and were suddenly joined by a rather strange gentleman who needed to borrow a spanner to mend his bike. Steve willingly produced his best spanner and mended the bike for him.
After lunch we enjoyed a lovely ride along back road, forest track and path into Callander. As we followed the Inverness to Gretna route through Callander village park Steve started to ride through what appeared to be a slight flood, he was beyond the point of no return, with Karen in quick pursuit, as the water went up to his axles. Continuing through stoically we both emerged through with soaking feet, but the panniers remained dry.
Loch Earn
We shopped and headed off to find our camp site at Keltie Bridge. Classed as a four start site we were counting on washing our stuff and drying everything off. The drier didn't work! We arrived in the pouring rain again and to say we were miserable was an understatement. We sheltered in the toilet block and after the rain had abated we pitched the tent. Everything was damp at best. We seemed to have been wet for the last 4 days.
Steve had done the shopping, but omitted to buy anything to actually put in the curry sauce mix he had brought. So we cycled back into the town where we had earlier seen a two eat for 10 pounds sign. We had beef and Yorkshire pudding carvery, apple pie and cream, beer and felt much better.
Inverness to Gretna Green - Day 6 - Callander to Loch Lomond
Gretna Green to Liverpool - Callander to Loch Lomond Ride Profile
The Inverness to Gretna route started better i.e. it wasn't raining, but everything was still soaking wet. Se we had a wet pack and headed off on the Inverness to Gretna route. In Callander we visited the local post office, packed and shipped 2.5 kg of books and CDs to Simon (no1 son) as we decided that it was just ridiculous to carry them through the UK when we didn't need them until we would arrive in Spain.
The Inverness to Gretna route took us out of Callander on easy back roads, found a wild plum tree and had a brief feast on our way to Aberfeldy.
The Inverness to Gretna route was beautiful, along the shore of Loch Venacher.
After a few miles, the Inverness to Gretna route changed to forest track and as we approached the end of the lock the track started to head up and up and up and up forever. Our legs burned, our breathing labored. The Inverness to Gretna route took us through Queen Elizabeth Forest Park and past Loch Drunkie (although we didn't see any drunkards). We stopped several times and eventually reached the top.
Loch Venacar
There followed a hair raising downhill into Aberfeldy. We arrived just as (yeah, you guessed it) it started to rain. We found Liz McGregor's cafe and ordered Scotch Pie, Chips and beans, followed by tea and cake. Its a hard life.
At was at this point that Karen realized that her helmet, which had been tied to the back of her bike had rattled off on the long downhill. Lost forever!
The food must have fuddled our brains, as we headed out of town on the Inverness to Gretna C7, but in the wrong direction up, a steep hill that almost developed into a push. It was only when we got near the top we realized our error. Back down into Callander we followed confusing signs for the C7 and eventually found the right Inverness to Gretna route.
Loch Lomond Balmaha
The Inverness to Gretna route started off easily enough along nicely tarmacked track and then headed off up a country back road to Drymen. We liked the sound of the place as we had been soaking for the last five days, but the route was a killer. Although it was on tarmac we had to negotiate three long and steep hills over the moor. We stopped for sustenance, along the way and eventually arrived in Drymen.
The next part of the Inverness to Gretna ride took us off the C7 and up the eastern side of Loch Lomond to the Camping Club site at Milarochy bay. The first time we actually arrived in the dry. We pitched in the dry, stayed dry for about an hour and then it started to rain again. At least we had a chance to do our washing, drying and update our blog.
Inverness to Gretna Green - Day 7 - Loch Lomond to Glasgow
Max Elevation 82m
Gretna Green to Liverpool - Loch Lomond to Glasgow Ride Profile
We awoke to continuing rain. It had never stopped all night. There was a little river flowing over the groundsheet in the porch. Luckily we had the bunk house in which to cook breakfast. We then carried all of our baggage into the bunk house to pack.
The rain continued all morning and the ride back to Drymen was slow, because we were feeling low and our legs ached from the hard day before. Today was much flatter, beginning on quite country roads heading down through rolling countryside towards Balloch. We saw no cars at all. We stopped in Balloch for lunch, a busy tourist hotspot at the foot of Loch Lomond.
Afterwards, the Inverness to Gretna route was totally off road and flat. First we rode along the banks of the river Leven and onto the towpath of the Firth of Clyde canal. Then it was along a disused railway track and finally onto the Clyde pathway. Until now, the Sustrans signing had been exemplary and very easy to follow without a map. Entering the suburbs the signing deteriorated. We lost the track a couple of times, but one particular time we were staggered when one guy seeing us looking confused, came out of his house and helped us to find our way again. This sort of thing restores your faith in human nature especially when just a few moments later we felt a bit nervous as we approached a group of teenagers hanging about on the path. We rode hard, through them and they jumped out of the way.
By now it had at last stopped raining and we finished our ride along the banks of the Clyde passing the SECC, BBC Scotland, STV and not to forget the "Squinty Bridge".
We checked into the Euro Hostel which was good, clean with private on suite rooms and free internet access in the bar, (any excuse for a pint). Because it was our wedding anniversary, we blew the budget and went out for an Italian meal, (three course, pre-theatre special at 11.95 each, which was not exactly extravagant, but absolutely delicious.
The overnight stay allowed us to dry out all our belongings and update our blog.
Inverness to Gretna Green - Day 8 - Glasgow to Strathclyde
Gretna Green to Liverpool - Glasgow to Strathclyde Ride Profile
Today we had to find our Inverness to Gretna route through the Glasgow suburbs on the planned, but not yet sign posted C74 route to Carlisle. It was not easy because although we could see the route on the 1 inch to 1 mile OS map on the Sustrans web site, we couldn't print them. So, we ended up printing Google Maps and then hand copying the route onto these from the Sustrans site.
The first part of the Inverness to Gretna route followed the C75 Glasgow to Edinburgh path along the side of the Clyde, which was swollen and brown from all the rain, with tree trunks and debris speeding down the river. Some of it was pleasant and green but still large sections were dismal and derelict. The pathways were covered with painted graffiti and liberally spread with broken glass. It was a good job that our Marathon tyres could cope with this.
At around 12-30 we came to Morrison's Supermarket and decided to buy supplies and also take advantage of their ultra cheap restaurant. Whilst Karen did the job shopping, Steve went off, armed with a twenty pound note, with instructions to obtain the lunch. A simple enough task you would think. However, when Karen joined him, he still had not ordered lunch and had managed to lose the twenty pound note. Not once, but twice. Again due to the honesty of these fine Scots folk, it was returned to us twice.
Our map production was successful and we managed to navigate through housing estates, pathways and foot paths to reach the Strathclyde Country Park.
The camp site there is lovely. Cheap at £4.75 per night with good facilities, BUT it lies right next to the M74 motorway so it is only advisable with ear plugs. It was however conveniently close to a pub from where we are writing our blog!
Inverness to Gretna Green - Day 9 - Strathclyde to Abington
Gretna Green to Liverpool - Strathclyde to Abington Ride Profile
Today's Inverness to Gretna ride was a day of three parts.
The first was finding our way from the camp site to Chatelherault Country Park.
We cycled along the banks of the Strathclyde Loch, which hosts the water sports centre. There were lots of people out running and rowing and it was a pleasant ride, except for the ever present rain. Finding the Inverness to Gretna route was easier than expected as it was being improved with new surfacing and signage.
We had a little bit of a struggle to find our way to Chatelherault, taking a wrong turn up a private driveway, but once put right it wasn't too much of a problem.
Chatelherault was the former shooting lodge of the Hamilton family and had been renovated from a burned out shell in the 1960s. We stopped at the main entrance and one of the park attendants assured us that it was possible to ride the path along the side of the river through the park. We should have trusted our doubt when he said that although he worked here he had not actually walked the path. The path was a great mountain bike track, but was quite muddy, rough and mostly up hill and at one point so steep that we had to get off and push. Not at all recommended for a loaded touring bike.
When we did eventually reach tarmac, we were already wet, muddy and exhausted and it was only 11-00. We still had another 45 km to do.
The second part of todays Inverness to Gretna leg started out quite hilly and when we reached close to the next town, Larkhill, we decided to forsake the C74 proposed route and stick to the main roads. We stopped briefly in Larkhill at "Subway" for an early lunch. We just missed their pre 11-00 breakfast special so ended up spending double what we could have spent. We were mightily pissed off.
The next 20 km on main roads were wet, boring and busy with a fair degree of up hill, but not as much as it would have been had we persisted with the C74 route.
We stopped in Lesmahegow to shop followed by a steep climb out of the town up onto the old and deserted dual carriageway, which used to be the old A74 by pass. Half way along we stopped in a bus shelter for a brew up. Whilst there we spotted a Sustrans sign post and realized that our Inverness to Gretna route was now back on the official C74 route.
Things started to get better as we entered the third part of the ride. The rain stopped and although the Inverness to Gretna route was up hill, it was a gentle gradient on a dedicated cycle path away from the M74 motorway and across open and remote heath land with beautiful views. We arrived at our camp site at Abington, (the highest village in Scotland). It was a bit pricey at £12.50. It was next to the main West Coast rail line and a little way away from the M74 so we were a bit concerned about noise. However our concern proved to be unfounded and we had a good night. For the first time we actually got a dry pitch, but whether or not it was being that bit higher, we noticed it was decidedly colder.
Inverness to Gretna Green - Day 10 - Abington to Kirkpatrick-Fleming
Gretna Green to Liverpool - Abington to Kirkpatrick-Fleming Ride Profile
It was still not raining in the morning and we managed to get a dry pack and were quickly back on the Inverness to Gretna route. We anticipated that today would be a hard day with a long climb up the Clyde valley. It was cloudy but dry and the climb turned out to be an easy gradient with little traffic.
It was a lovely ride to the watershed, but as we started our descent the rain started and the rest of the ride was pretty boring, shadowing the M74. We expected to be able to get lunch at Johnstone Bridge, but there was little there of note and we didn't want to use the motorway services. We carried on and found a lovely pub at the road side, the Horse and Groom ( we think). There was a horse driving event underway, in the most awful weather. We sat in the hotel conservatory and had a delicious Sunday lunch with desert. Fully stuffed, we set off again and after a short interlude in Locherbie to do some shopping headed on expecting to camp in Echelfechan. Although ther name sounds enticing the place itself did not do its name justice. The camp site was wide open and wind swept. There was nobody at reception, just a number to call. The price £15 per night. We told 'em it was too expensive and carried on.
We were glad that we did. We found Bruce's Cave camp site at Kirkpatrick Fleming. As we cycled down towards the camp site over the railway line, at the entrance to the site we spotted Bertie's Burger bar and it was still open (heaven). We rolled into the camp site and the friendly welcome of the lady manager. Included in the very reasonable price was free entry to Bruce's Cave. This is reputedly where Robert the Bruce met his famous spider. Well what can you say. It was a cave with some scribings over the door.
The facilities included a real bath with hot water! Never have we seen a camp site with a bath before, but we made full use of it. Luxury!
Inverness to Gretna Green - Day 11 - Kirkpatrick-Fleming to Dalston
Max Elevation 60 m
Gretna Green to Liverpool - Kirkpatrick-Fleming to Dalston Ride Profile
After a lot of rain overnight, the morning brought the first blue skies that we had seen for 10 days. Despite a leisurely start we were away by 10-00. This proved to be the first day of our Inverness to Gretna trip without any rain.
Before leaving Kirkpatrick Fleming we stopped at the local village garage to test our ability to get our fuel bottle refilled. No problem.
Fully refueled we carried on towards Gretna Green where we stopped at the world famous Old Blacksmiths Forge, the destination of many an eloping couple running north of the border to get hitched.
Even though it was early in the day and late in the season, the place was busy with tourists all wanting to have their photo taken at the Gretna Green sign. One Chinese tourist was very interested in our bikes and what we were doing. He insisted on having his picture taken with Steve, like he was some celebrity or something.
Gretna Green Piper
Karen having a nervous breakdown!...
A short distance out of Gretna, we crossed our first border, into England. Need to buy new flags to replace our Scottish ones. Also for the first time we sat in the midday sunshine and enjoyed a picnic lunch at the side of the road.
England - Scotland Border
After lunch however, both the weather and the Sustrans route signage deteriorated. We ended up riding some of the distance along the busy A7 into Carlisle. We were wet and fed up with the continued checking of direction. With the help of a local cyclist, we did eventually find a good traffic light route into the center.
We followed his directions to a cycle shop where we could get replacement cycle riding glasses for Karen, who had carelessly leaned on them that morning. No luck. They didn't know how we could find the C7 route out of Carlisle, but didn't even know what Sustrans was. We went back into the town centre to buy a map. Even then we spent a frustrating 40 minutes trying to find our route.
Eventually on the right track we had a pleasant ride out of Carlisle on a traffic free path by the side of the River Caldew to the village of Dalston where we decided to stay for the night at the Dalston Hall Caravan Park. This turned out to be a great find. A lovely peaceful site, next to the golf club and Dalston Hall Hotel. The owners were very helpful and prices were reasonable.
That evening we rang Simon and he told us that according the weather forecast there was the tail end of a hurricane on its way and that it would be very windy and rainy tomorrow.
We were in good spirits though and we had successfully completed the Inverness to Gretna leg of our journey, rain and all.
Back to our Tours Page From Inverness to Gretna.
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HomePosts tagged 'animation'
September 4, 2017 displacedstory Movies, Reviews, TV/Movies	animation, film, independent, indie, movie, review, short film, writing
There are films where all it takes it one look at the title and you just know what it is going to be about. For me, this was not one of those films. Before I even pressed play, my mind was filled with ideas and guesses, and I was excited to see if the truth would come anywhere near. Would it be straight forward, or an analogy for something greater? This was almost swept from my mind at the first display of animation. It was breathtaking, even in its apparent simplicity. It didn't detract from the story, however, instead elevating it and bringing it to life.
It is not a good day for that poor kite. With a musical accompaniment but no dialogue, the audience follows the exploits of the title wayward kite. Cut off from the rest, it is hit by a vehicle, electrocuted by power lines, falls into a dumpster, and finds itself among the disgusting refuse at the tip. By this point it is little more than mere tatters clinging desperately to its frame. It breaks free of this too, now unencumbered but further weakening itself. A storm and rain threaten a final defeat, but almost through sheer will the kite perseveres.
The story of the film is simple, but can symbolise much deeper meaning. You find yourself questioning how closely you related to an inanimate object and its harrowing plight.
At this point I usually comment on the acting, which feels strange to do in a film like this. Somehow, the faceless kite was able to emote, and was a great leading man or woman.
Let me get one thing straight: the animation was phenomenal. From the first look at the kites at the beginning, I was brought into the world of the film. That's what you need to do, bring the audience in, and The Wayward Kite certainly did this. Add to this the cityscape and huge advertisement boards, a-mazing!
The transitions were also flawless, seamlessly moving from one scene and setting to another.
Another unmistakably brilliant addition to this film was the emotional classical music accompaniment. It was not what you would expect in a cartoon, but elevated it from a more child-like target audience to those looking for the meaning behind the images.
In the last few years, animated short films have become a hit. Whether this is due to shortened attention spans or some other reason, it bodes well for this work. Already selected to screen internationally at well-respected film festivals, it seems this is only the beginning of success for both this film and its creators.
Not since Toy Story (1995) have I rooted so hard for an inanimate object. It held such personification and emotion. The animation was brilliant and made it an oddly relatable story. I have no idea how they achieved this, and I don't really want to know lest it take away the magic.
Oscars 2016 – Academy Awards
January 14, 2016 January 30, 2016 displacedstory Trending Topics, TV/Movies	2016, academy awards, actor, actress, adapted, america, animation, cinematography, costume, design, directing, documentary, editing, effects, feature, film, foreign language, golden globe awards, hairstyling, makeup, movie, nominations, original, oscar, score, screenplay, song, sound, supporting actor, supporting actress, visual, visual effects
With the Golden Globes done and dusted for the year, we have the Oscars (Academy Awards) to look forward to.
Here is the list of nominees, and my guesses.
Please note, most of these are not the films I want to win, and are merely who I think will win.
Nominees: Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Matt Damon (The Martian), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)
My Prediction: Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)
Nominees: Cate Blanchett (Carol), Brie Larson (Room), Jennifer Lawrence (Joy), Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
My Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
Nominees: Christian Bale (The Big Short), Tom Hardy (The Revenant), Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight), Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies), Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
My Prediction: Tom Hardy (The Revenant)
Nominees: Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight), Rooney Mara (Carol), Rachel McAdams (Spotlight), Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl), Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
My Prediction: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
Nominees: Adam McKay (The Big Short), George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road), Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant), Lenny Abrahamson (Room), Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
My Prediction: Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)
Nominees: The Big Short, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Spotlight
My Prediction: The Revenant
Nominees: Embrace of the Serpent, Mustang, Son of Saul, Theeb, A War
My Prediction: No guess
Nominees: Bridge of Spies, Carol, The Hateful Eight, Sicario, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
My Prediction: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Nominees: The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, Spotlight
My Prediction: The Martian or The Revenant
Nominees: Bridge of Spies, The Danish Girl, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant
My Prediction: Mad Max: Fury Road
Nominees: Ex Machina, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Adapted Screenplay
Nominees: The Big Short, Brooklyn, Carol, The Martian, Room
My Prediction: The Martian
Nominees: Bridge of Spies, Ex Machina, Inside Out, Spotlight, Straight Outta Compton
My Prediction: Straight Outta Compton
Animated Feature Film
Nominees: Anomalisa, Inside Out, Shaun the Sheep, Boy and the Wild, When Marnie Was There
My Prediction: Inside Out
Nominees: Carol, The Hateful Eight, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Sicario
My Prediction: The Hateful Eight or The Revenant
Nominees: Carol, Cinderella, The Danish Girl, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant
My Prediction: Mad Max: Fury Road or The Revenant
Nominees: Amy, Cartel Land, The Look of Silence, What Happened Miss Simone?, Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
Documentary Short Subject
Nominees: Body Team 12, Chau Beyond the Lines, Claude Lanzmann, A Girl in the River, Last Day of Freedom
Makeup and Hairstyling
Nominees: Mad Max: Fury Road, The 100-year-old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, The Revenant
My Prediction: Either Mad Max: Fury Road or The Revenant
Nominees: Earned It (50 Shades of Grey), Til It Happens To You (The Hunting Ground), Writings On The Wall (Spectre), Manta Ray (Racing Extinction), Simple Song 3 (Youth)
My Prediction: Writings On The Wall (Spectre)
Animated Short Film
Nominees: Bear Story, Prologue, Sanjay's Superteam, We Can't Live Without Cosmos, World of Tomorrow
Live Action Short Film
Nominees: Ava Maria, Day One, Everything Will Be Okay, Shok, Stutterer
Sound Editing
Nominees: Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Sicario, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Nominees: Bridge of Spies, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Snow Queen (2012) – Review
January 5, 2016 January 1, 2016 displacedstory Movies, Reviews	2012, 3 out of 5 stars, aladdin, animation, disney, film, frozen, hans christian anderson, monsters inc, movie, review, the snow king, the snow queen, the snow queen 2, trailer
As seen on CinemaParadiso.
With parents taking their children to the cinemas or sitting with them on the couch to watch a film, even children's animation films need to be created with a range of age-groups in mind. When it comes to The Snow Queen, the film does a good job of entertaining the children viewers, while also including some jokes for the adult guardians. The film is interesting, but I am not sure if it can stand among other notable children's films like Aladdin, Monsters Inc., and Frozen (which is another telling of the same tale by Hans Christian Anderson).
The Snow Queen: The only thing preventing the evil Snow Queen from completing her act of covering the whole world in ice, is Master Vegard. When he and his wife disappear, Kai and Gerda (Vegard's son and daughter) find themselves in an orphanage. Before long, they are found by the Snow Queen's servant troll Orm. A fight ensues, and Kai too disappears to the Snow Queen's palace. With Orm and her pet weasel Luta in tow, Gerda ventures off to find her brother, and save the world.
Let me begin by saying: This is not a rip-off of Frozen. The Snow Queen is a Russian computer-animated children's film that was released back in 2012, and is a telling of the Hans Christian Anderson classic tale. As it was originally a Russian film, it has recently been released in English, but the timing is interesting. There have been a lot of films like this that have come out since the massive world-wide popularity of Frozen, and its release does seem to be piggy-backing on that success.
The story is a little hard to follow at times, but, for the most part, it is entertaining. There are some funny moments – especially lines from Orm the troll – so you are sure to give at least a couple of chuckles.
The animation style does differ slightly from other animated films out there, but that isn't a bad thing. The characters still aren't overly life-like, but then again, trolls aren't life-like either.
The film stays quite true to the original story, and that is primarily what these projects are about. It does bug me when the stories are drastically changed, because they could just as easily have created a whole new story and not used a known-name to get their film made.
There have been mostly positive reviews from Russian viewers; but American reviews haven't been as good, being mostly of mixed opinions.
There are two sequels in the works – The Snow Queen 2 and The Snow King – so you are probably going to hear quite a bit more about it if you hadn't already. The film is worth watching if you like the classics, but don't expect it to be as good as some of the earlier 1990s Disney films.
Planes: Fire and Rescue (2014) – Review
December 20, 2015 December 19, 2015 displacedstory Movies, Reviews	2014, 3 out of 5 stars, animation, brad garrett, cars, children, computer-animated, dane cook, disney, dusty crophopper, ed harris, film, julie bowen, kids, movie, planes, planes: fire and rescue, review, teri hatcher
So, it turns out that Disney are not quite done with this franchise. This is a spin-off to Disney's Cars series, and a sequel to Planes, released in 2013. I know this is not targeted towards my demographic – early 20s – but I am really getting sick and tired of these computer-animated kids films that are the same thing over and over again. They might entertain the little kids, but they are a far-cry from the old Disney films that entertained numerous generations and are still enjoyable today.
What began with Dusty Crophopper learning to overcome his fear and racing around the world, is now the famous air racer joining a team of aerial firefighters. Together, they battle massive wildfires and learn about themselves, and what a real hero looks like.
It takes a special actor to bring a character to life with only their voices. They cannot convey anything through body movements or facial expressions, making it a job for a talented selection. Though the children in the audience will not be able to pick-out the names of the actors voicing their loveable onscreen characters, the adults will find a large number of them recognisable. The cast list includes Dane Cook, Ed Harris, Julie Bowen, Brad Garrett, and Teri Hatcher.
For films to be truly successful, they need to be relatable to kids, parents, and grandparents. If it can do that, it has a better chance at having longevity. Planes: Fire and Rescue had a couple of instances that seemed to be targeted to the adults in the audience. These were mostly comedic one-liners, but might not be enough to compensate for them being dragged along by their kids.
The film's story is quite general and not complex, though some of the fire scenes and topic might be a bit intense for the younger children watching.
Especially with some recent animated children's films, it feels more like a marketing opportunity than a film with meaning. It has been pointed out that Planes: Fire and Rescue has a theme reminiscent of 'the little engine that could' and perseverance, but it feels kind of flat. As per usual, the shops will be releasing a plethora of toys, bed sheets, and everything else imaginable. They have already announced a video game based on the film to be released on a number of consoles.
The response from critics and audiences have been mixed. The majority of the reviews agree the little kids will fall in love with the characters and be dazzled by the animation, but also that it is not a film for anyone else.
If you have to take the kids to the cinemas, Planes: Fire and Rescue will keep them entertained, and you can be sure they are not being subjected to coarse language and inappropriate themes.
Overall, not the best film, but not the worst, either.
Crayola Easy Animation Studio – Product Review
December 11, 2015 December 10, 2015 displacedstory Christmas, Products, Reviews	#crayola, #present, actions, all ages, animation, background, birthday, captain hammer, carrel easy animation studio, character, christmas, colouring, crayons, dr. horrible's sing-along blog, easy, gift, joss whedon, mannequin, manny, smart-phone, step-by-step, tablet, tutorial, voice
When you think of animation, you think of hours of hard work to create simple second-long videos.
While wandering through Target the other week, I found the Crayola Easy Animation Studio.
It immediately caught my interest, and with it only costing $29, I figured I would give it a try.
Inside you will find – Manny the Mannequin (with a stand to clip him into), Crayola Twist crayons, a stand for your phone/tablet, and a book full of characters and backgrounds for you to colour-in. You will need to download a program on your smart-phone/tablet, but it's free.
Inside the book –
*Helpful Hint*
I wanted to make something really cool, so I decided to make Captain Hammer from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008). Unfortunately, I used other brand crayons as well, and I think that put-off the system, so always use Crayola crayons.
I'll take you through step-by-step making an easy short animation.
STEP 1 – Character
Either colour your own character, or use one provided on the program.
STEP 2 – Background
You can choose a background from the book, use one on the program, or you can even take a photo of your house and your character can be there with you.
STEP 3 – Actions
There are a bunch of actions you can choose on the program, or you can use Manny to do it yourself. The program works by capturing images of Manny in positions, and filling in the blanks.
It works best if you keep the smart-phone/tablet still, and have Manny facing a window with light.
You'll have to be patient while capturing the positions, as it needs time to figure out where Manny's limbs are (through the symbols on his limbs). Here is what happens when it is having trouble:
To make your character wave, capture Manny in these three positions:
STEP 4 – Voice
You don't have to do this, but you can record some audio. I record "Hello" in my best bear-voice.
STEP 5 – Save
It only takes a second to turn it into a video.
And voilà, here is my video:
The Boxtrolls (2014) – Review
December 5, 2015 December 10, 2015 displacedstory Movies, Reviews	2014, 4 out of 5 stars, alan snow, animated, animation, archibald snatcher, ben kingsley, children, coraline, despicable me, eggs, elle fanning, film, here be monsters, isaac hempstead wright, kids, laika, minion, movie, mr gristle, mr trout, nick frost, paranorman, pocahontas, the boxtrolls, the lego movie, tracy morgan, winnie
From the minds that gave us Coraline (2009) and ParaNorman (2012) comes the fantastic new 3D animation film The Boxtrolls (2014). Based on the children's novel 'Here Be Monsters!' by Alan Snow, the story follows Eggs, an orphaned human boy who is raised by a society of strange and mischievous creatures called the Boxtrolls, and who must find a way to protect his family from the evil Archibald Snatcher.
No longer are animation films just for the enjoyment of children. I am twenty-three years old, and can say that this is my type of movie.
First of all, you cannot go past the brilliance of the animation. Laika, the American animation company founded in 2005, have created a very distinctive animation style. The generated scenery depth and character expressions are astounding, constructing life-like images of unreal creatures. Laika have found their niche, and would be foolish to change.
Of course, behind the animations are the talented voice actors. Rising actors Isaac Hempstead Wright (Eggs) and Elle Fanning (Winnie, Eggs' human comrade), bring life to the characters purely through the emotion of their voices. Veteran actor Ben Kingsley (Archibald Snatcher), Nick Frost (Mr. Trout), Tracy Morgan (Mr. Gristle), and many more experienced actors and actresses breathe life into their characters, making each and every one unique and entertaining.
The animation may attract the audience, but it is the script that will keep them in their seats, and entertained for the full two-hours. The Boxtrolls, with their stubby legs and clad in discarded containers, speak their own gibberish language – perhaps an attempt to mimic the success of Despicable Me's minion-language – and is the only downfall of the film, but it does not detract from the story and underlying moral of the film.
Over the past decade specifically, countries all over the world have focused on the environment and the issue of garbage. Recycling discarded materials into new products is encouraged, and that is where The Boxtrolls comes in. All films have a message within their story, a comment they want to make, and children's films are no exception. This message might be a bit too complex for the younger children in the audience, but it is just another way in which this movie is appealing en masse.
The only issue that parents or guardians might want to look into before taking their child/ren to see this film would be what some reviews have called "grotesque" scenery. This relates to the sewer locations, and the darkness of the films colouring when below ground. It is nothing harmful, but younger viewers might dislike it.
Animation films, despite the complex and lengthy creation process, seem to be always coming out at the cinemas. New technology leads to new techniques, and we can see the change in animation and story complexity from Pocahontas (1995) to The Lego Movie (2014). The Boxtrolls, though not as esteemed as the previous two films listed, shows inspiring animation, engaging characters and story, and is a film that will entertain all ages.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Detroit Red Wings gain much-needed two points with 3-2 OT win over Sharks at home
Helene St. James
Two leads dissipated as the Detroit Red Wings attempted to leave a favorable impression on their last home game for two weeks.
The San Jose Sharks came into Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday with a record that put them among the bottom five teams in the NHL, but they engaged the Wings in a tight game. Andrew Copp secured two points when he scored 25 seconds into overtime to deliver a 3-2 victory.
Dylan Larkin collected his 400th career point when he set up Adam Erne's goal, and Michael Rasmussen also scored in the second period. Ville Husso made one of his best saves late in the game when he denied Kevin Labanc's attempt to get the puck over Husso's left leg.
The Wings next play Thursday at Montreal, then Friday at the New York Islanders, before pausing for a weeklong All-Star break.
Moritz Seider drew oohs from the crowd during the first period when he fronted Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson in the neutral zone and knocked him off the puck and onto the ice. Karlsson was fine – he got right back up – but it was a good tone setter. Husso drew oohs multiple times, like when Marco Sturm's shot took a bounce off Husso and up into the air, and he was able to glove it as it came down in the paint. The Wings had several good looks during a power play earned when Dominik Kubalik drew a hooking call on Tomas Hertl, but David Perron's shot went over the net and James Reimer denied Robby Fabbri's and Filip Hronek's attempts.
Tips and wraps
The Wings took the lead 2:17 into the second period when Larkin carried the puck around San Jose's zone and up high, firing a shot on net that Erne tipped for his sixth goal of the season. The momentum didn't last long. Timo Meier got a hold of the puck around Detroit's net and, when his first shot went wide, he was able to get the puck on his stick again, swing it around the back of the net and wrap it around the other post, at 7:58.
Swings and seconds
The Wings pulled ahead again at 16:29, a few minutes after killing off a slashing penalty to Kubalik. Rasmussen got knocked down as he entered the Sharks' zone, but picked himself up as David Perron chased Nick Cicek behind the goal line to force a turnover. Cicek played the puck along the boards. It ended up getting redirected to the middle, where Rasmussen pounced on the puck, spun around and fired a shot that went in off Reimer's right arm. The Wings were six seconds from taking a lead into intermission when Logan Couture's persistence paid off and led to a 2-2 game.
Contact Helene St. James athstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter@helenestjames. Read more on theDetroit Red Wings and sign up for ourRed Wings newsletter. Her latest book, "On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft," is available from Amazon,Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.


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Visualizing the Enduring Impact of Art Collectors
At the National Gallery of Art Datathon, held on October 25, a team of CMU researchers used computer vision to bring several related, but scattered, collections together in order to visualize the artistic preferences of two major art collectors and the resulting impact on our nation's premier public art museum.
The Datathon marked the first time an American art museum had invited teams of data scientists and art historians to analyze, contextualize, and visualize its permanent collection data. The Gallery released its full permanent collection data to six teams of researchers, with instructions to pursue whichever avenues of inquiry they found most compelling.
Participating researchers came from universities including Bennington College, Carnegie Mellon University, Duke University, George Mason University, Macalester College, New College of Florida, University of California, Los Angeles, and Williams College.
The joint team from CMU and the University of Pittsburgh included Digital Humanities Developer Matt Lincoln, Golan Levin and Lingdong Huang of the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, as well as Sarah Reiff Conell of the University of Pittsburgh Department of History of Art and Architecture.
Understanding provenance, or the history of how an artwork has moved between owners since it was created, is vital for art historians to paint a complete picture of the history of an artwork's impact on the world. Collectors may choose to acquire an artwork for many different reasons. While some have a very specific visual taste, others may be driven by interest in a specific period or artist, caring much less about whether an artwork uses a certain palette or style. With the technical know-how of Golan and Lingdong, and the art historical expertise of Matt and Sarah, the team had the opportunity to compare historic collectors' choices to the visual traits of tens of thousands of artworks, and visualize the impact of those choices on the National Gallery's collections.
In the early twentieth century, philanthropists Samuel H. Kress and Lessing J. Rosenwald each bequeathed major portions of their collections to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Kress' paintings formed the backbone of the National Gallery's European paintings, and Rosenwald's enormous graphic arts collection became the foundation of the Gallery's Old Master prints and drawings department.
However, only portions of their collections went to the Gallery. The rest were disseminated across other American institutions, with much of Rosenwald's going to the Library of Congress, and Kress' collections to nearly 100 regional and university museums across the country.
By running images of over 90,000 artworks through a neural network, the CMU team created visualizations of the entire collection that grouped artworks based on their visual similarity. For example, landscapes tended to sort with other landscapes and portraits were sorted with other portraits.
By overlaying curatorial metadata onto these visuals, using their computer vision pipeline, the team revealed, at scale, the artistic preferences of Kress and Rosenwald, and how those preferences shaped the art historical narrative that the National Gallery of Art presents to its visitors.
"For example, visualizing Kress' collecting patterns, we could see that even though Kress's larger collection was strongly inclined towards religious works and portrait paintings from Italian Renaissance, his bequest to the National Gallery was quite diverse," said Lincoln. "It included not only figurative works, but also a large portion of the few landscapes and still lifes he'd collected."
The Datathon project is an example of using cultural heritage collections as data, allowing the researchers to ask questions that would be difficult or impossible to answer by looking at one object at a time. These data science methods are also critical to bringing together curatorial data from collections that are otherwise siloed in different institutions.
"Computer vision combined with good curatorial metadata creates new opportunities for making serendipitous connections between works that might not traditionally get displayed together in an exhibition," said Lincoln. "As a result, enthusiasts can get a chance to virtually stumble across artworks rarely exhibited to the public, while scholarly researchers gain more tools for searching vast image collections and finding previously-unknown visual links."
A Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon held at the Gallery on Saturday, November 16, 2019, extended these efforts—encouraging participants to focus on prints and drawings and make use of the images of more than 22,000 works on paper from the Gallery's collection that will be donated to Wikimedia Commons. With these efforts, the Gallery continues its commitment to encouraging public engagement with its collection through open cultural heritage efforts.
Top and bottom image: Visualizations presenting the paintings from the Kress Collection and the National Gallery of Art. Learn more about these images and view more visualizations from this project.
News category: Data & Publishing


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ANDRIA GARCIA
Andria Garcia is the founder and owner of KomBlu Kombucha. She is an energetic mother of four even more energetic kids. She takes pride in the service she has given to our country as a veteran of Special Operations of the United States Air Force. Andria has applied the same level of commitment and devotion to our country as she has in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. To Andria, each day is an opportunity to enhance her life and the lives of those around her.
Andria has spent years perfecting her unique blends and techniques, generously sharing her kombucha with friends helping them improve their health while feeding their "booch" addiction. After receiving such high praise and recognizing the demand for her product, Andria realized it was time for the rest of the world to experience the KomBlu difference.
In her early twenties is when Andria proudly served in the military in the Special Operations of the United States Air Force. During this time her first born daughter of 4 children, Sequoia, was two-years-old. At this age Sequoia was diagnosed with chronic eczema and asthma. She was covered from head to toe with cracks of open skin sores and wounds. Sequoia's skin never seemed to heal without the use of steroids. This method of treating her appeared to help on the surface, but the relief was always short lived. This did not sit right with Andria, she wanted to cure her daughter.
Time passed with a collection of research and information leading to a lot of dead ends. It was when Andria was deployed to Kuwait that her quest for more safe and natural options for her daughter began. Her time spent in Kuwait gave new ways of thinking, with opportunities during her days off for her ongoing research. Soon the fog on her research finally started to clear, she had started making connections on the importance of the digestive system, to the overall health of the body, to Sequoia's disease. This forever changed her daughter's and her own life as a spark of passion for health and wellness ignited and never extinguished.
Her major discovery during this era of disciplined research on the gut was a probiotic drink that we all love, kombucha. Upon receiving her first kombucha culture, she began playing with ideas and combining health techniques that she had learned over the years to create a kombucha that not only tasted exquisite, but most importantly excelled in its health benefits.
The heart behind starting KomBlu Kombucha goes beyond just having a cool blue bottle with tasty "booch." KomBlu represents a community of people that want something greater for themselves than what a surrender flag has to offer. So, stay strong. Sequoia strong. From our journey to yours... Thank you for joining us in a continuous quest for health and delicious kombucha.
CREATOR OF KOMBLU KOMBUCHA


At only 28-years-old Kasper Raglus has a well-developed minimalist style. Most likely because he has enjoyed making art since his early schooldays. The son of famed Mambo illustrator Jeff Raglus he grew up in a creative family, but consciously developed an artistic style that stood apart from his father.
A keen surfer and long-term resident of Victoria's Surf Coast, the local landscape is a huge inspiration for Kasper. He explores this through colour, spending a lot of time mixing them to reflect his surroundings. Importantly however, Kasper wants his paintings to be open to interpretation, to offer some visual respite in our busy, technology filled lives.
His pared back compositions are indeed, very restful. Geometric forms with detailed line-work are depicted in generous volumes of space. We caught up with the young man himself to find out what we can expect from his upcoming SILENT SKY show.
It's hard to avoid the obvious in that my father is an artist so growing up around art and going to exhibitions was just a normal thing for my family, the main initial challenge for me was separating my style from my dads.
I was doing some small graphic art jobs for people but was always slightly frustrated doing work that was someone else's idea in the end. So I started making small paintings that were influenced by a geometric style and I eventually showed those to a local gallery and got a chance to hang them on their wall. I started to take things more seriously and then eventually more shows and sales started to happen which gave me the confidence to take more risks with my work.
In school I was always drawing and getting in trouble for drawing on the tables and my books etc, I knew I had to make art because its all I had done growing up.
It's hard to beat the feeling of finishing a painting I am happy with and sitting back with a glass of red wine and admiring it from the other side of the studio. Each time I finish a painting it feels like a little chapter in my life finished and then it's time for the work to go out into the world.
I also love mixing colours (oil paints) and spending the time on getting them just right, it's very satisfying. Sometimes coming up with the initial ideas for the work can be daunting but once I get on a roll with a series of paintings the ideas start coming easier.
Where I live has a big influence on my work, I think mostly the space around me. The ocean and the cliffs on the beach. I want my paintings to feel like they give people space to have their own thoughts whilst looking at the individual pieces.
I am also influenced by early minimalist artist such as Ellsworth Kelly and Carmen Herrera.
Music always plays a part in the works, a song will change your mood so easily and I want the colours in my work to do that.
4. How does your minimalist style help you communicate meaning?
I always want people to be thinking of their own life when they look at my work, so painting in this way is perfect for me. An abstract painting can add to what someone is already feeling, rather than making them think of something in particular.
I love when people tell me what they think my painting is "about" because there is no real answer to this it can mean whatever the person is feeling at that time. For me all of these things add infinite possibilities to my practise.
5. What is the theme for your show at Koskela?
Whilst painting for SILENT SKY I was thinking about finding space and appreciating quiet times when you can just breathe and think about where you are right then and there, for me that is when I am surfing, for some people it's when they go for a walk, swim or yoga perhaps.
I think my work in this show is more stripped down to only the essential shapes and colours needed to convey this. A moment of time to turn off your mind from today's online life.


Why is POM the best choice when it is about organs and organparts?
For us organ building is not only a job, but a profession we chose in 1992 and we deeply believe in since then. We work day by day in our workshops in Pécs, to be able to provide quality products and services to our customers.
Our quarter of a century working experience and the professional knowledge of our team make us able to cover all fields of organ building.
For us it is essential to have the trust of our partners and customers and keep a really good relationship with them.
We are a reliable company, we always keep promises and warranties. The company has a stable financial background without any overdue liabilities or debts neither towards our partners nor towards our suppliers.
Our professional reputation makes it possible for us to teach what we do. At our company we teach trainees for many years, who study carpentry and organ building in our workshop.
All parts of our organs are produced in our workshops. That is how we are able to guarantee the perfect harmony of even the smallest details. The materials built in the organs and the quality of its components are also very important for us. We take care of every particulars to provide the perfect solution.
We always keep deadlines and never change the rates that are laid in the contract. You are never required to pay any supplementary fees for any reason and we never modify deadlines.
... knows that building and renovating a church organ or a concert organ require approximately 1-1.5 years from the time of signing the contract. Until the contract is signed, a client spends usually 3-6 months outlining the plan and finding the right manufacturer. If you wish to have the organ completed in two years' time and installed in a space that is still empty at the moment, you should find the right manufacturers in due course.
... outlines a plan in time in order to finance and maintain the organ. The annual cost of maintenance is approximately 0.5 % of the cost of building/renovating the organ. Using the example of a car, people usually start looking for the right car to be purchased only if they have the adequate amount of money needed or they already know who they are going to borrow it from. There is a big difference between building an organ and purchasing a car. The difference lies in the fact that building an organ cannot be financed by bank loans. The only solution is to have the right amount in cash or apply for funding.
... chooses a team of professionals (organ experts, structural engineers, acousticians, accountants) who are excellent in their own fields and are also able to identify with the customer's specifications and requests.
... knows that organ building is craftwork and it is not part of the building industry.
... tries to share as many ideas, thoughts and concerns as possible with the manufacturers in the course of preliminary discussions in order to take such issues into consideration at an early stage of the manufacturing process. Modifications that are required to be made too late result in either too much extra cost or postponing deadlines, in some cases they are not even possible to accomplish.
... accepts that it is in fact the available financial resources that determine the possibilities.
... asks the contractor written notifications about each discussion and phone call, in which all the details discussed in the conversation are put down as well as the next stages of the manufacturing process that have been agreed on. How easy it is when you do not have to figure out who you talked to on phone about the material of the facade pipes and whether that person still works for the company or not.
... keeps himself to all the agreements set in the contract. He knows that if his specifications and requests are modified as compared to the original agreement, such modifications may result in changes regarding the cost and the deadline of work. If you consider that the company orders the wooden material according to the contract that has been set up and you later wish to make some changes e.g. you want cherry tree wood to be used instead of walnut tree wood, it is not certain that the vendor will buy the materials back. Purchasing new materials will also last 2-4 weeks, which may result in 6-8 weeks of delay in the manufacturing process. It is therefore recommended to consider well what type of organ you need.
... considers that working on site, that is outside our firm, has its own costs, including the costs of fuel and the hourly wage of our professionals, as well as the costs of all the materials needed to complete the work on site. Fees for on-site work are also applicable when only a site survey is needed in order to make a request for quotation. Washing machine technicians and television mechanics also charge fees for their work on site.


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Dave Chappelle Isn't Going Away
Ditto Joe Rogan and J.K. Rowling. Cancelation attempts are making them wealthier and more popular for one simple reason.
TIFF 2018 Dave Chappelle. (photo: John Bauld)
When comedian Dave Chappelle first shot to super-stardom with his hit comedy series, "Chappelle's Show," his rise to fame and fortune seemed meteoric, overnight.
Like most overnight success stories, Dave Chappelle had already been hard at work honing his craft for many years prior to his sudden success. Doing stand-up in smoke-filled clubs; appearing in comedy specials with other comedians for a pittance; taking small acting and writing parts in small-budget pictures: Dave Chappelle, highest-paid, most popular comedian in America got his start as Dave Chappelle, starving artist.
Actor Judge Reinhold once gave a theater full of aspiring young drama and music students the following advice about show business: "If you can do anything else, if there is ANY other thing you can do, do that thing instead."
He wasn't being mean; Reinhold was explaining a basic universal truth in the simplest way possible: Being an artist is brutally hard, it is perhaps the hardest job there is. There are no guarantees whatsoever, no certain successes and failure is the general default.
Those who do choose art must do so because there is absolutely nothing else they can, will, or want to do with their lives and never will be.
Our society doesn't make it easy. All those positive reinforcements built into our culture, instilled in us over a lifetime, drummed into our dear little ears since childhood- gold stars, grades, GPAs, test scores, awards, raises, salaries, parent-teacher conferences, performance reviews- working artists can expect none of those.
No gold stars. No pats on the head in the form of paychecks, raises, bonuses; only toil, blindly going where no one has gone before, making it up as you go along. Whatever your training as an artist, however many others have come before you- however many books, songs, movies, plays there are- every artist's journey and every new project is the equivalent of sailing right off the edge of the map.
Being an artist means creating something from nothing. Into a world with no Harry Potter, Harry Potter. Into a world that never heard of Dave Chappelle, Chappelle's Show.
It's magic, spiritual. It's lightening in a bottle.
"As profound as this ritual is, celebrating what you've been through and where you're going, what you've accomplished, let's remember what it's really all about," jazz bassist Esperanza Spaulding told music students graduating from the Berklee College of Music in 2018. "It's about the Spirit."
"So now, all of you have been initiated into this role," Spaulding intoned. "You are vessels now to go out into the world and transmit this spirit, that none of us in this room understands. We don't know what we're doing when we play! The only thing that makes it matter, is the one thing we don't understand."
Art is so mysterious, so profound, that within the system of Japanese Aesthetics, the principle of Yugen encompasses both fine art and the majestic beauty of nature.
In Yugen, the highest form of expression in an art form, performed by a master after many years of study, is called, "the art of the flower of peerless charm," and is so mysterious, it can only be understood through koan, if it can be understood at all.
Like nature, art is full of terrible, existential risk.
What activists are really doing with all these attempts to cancel comedians like Dave Chappelle and writers like J.K. Rowling is raising the level of risk involved in making their art, making them better artists.
Since there is no art without risk, cancellation is the perfect growth medium for an artist like Chappelle, Rowling or Joe Rogan: Being a target, everything they do has more risk, and is therefore more poignant and more potent.
Every time these cancelled artists write a joke or a character sketch, they do so knowing thousands of people (on Twitter) will object before they even see it. Far from sending working artists into hiding, this kind of attention is the artist's bread-and-butter.
Chappelle, Rowling and Rogan wouldn't be where they are today if they weren't able to take criticism, disdain, rejection, failure- and mountains of it. They would have given up long ago, like so many other talented would-be artists who, like Judge Reinhold said, find something else they are able to bring themselves to do and do that instead.
If artists like Chappelle and Rowling didn't like risk, they wouldn't make art; they would be doing something easier like rocket science or politics. Risk is the lifeblood of art; the nature of art is taking chances, learning the rules to break them. It's how we get things like jazz music, surrealism, and sci-fi.
Art without risk is why so much of what is coming out of Hollywood feels dead, canned, and flat. Art has become too a valuable commodity, a bet to hedge, an investment in need of a return; not artistic self-expression in need of an audience.
Wanting art without the risk of failure is the reason Disney won't give full artistic control of the next Star Wars movie to George Lucas; and the reason Lucas won't accept the job of directing without it.
By the time corporate gets a look at the project, legal signs off, the advertising people do their revisions and additions, diversity and equity weighs in, and the investors get their say, what is left of the original idea is barely recognizable. Usually, the process goes the other way; various corporate departments creating a Frankenstein's art monster cobbled together from past successes- a new franchise installment, another reboot.
There is just too much money on the line to trust the process of creation to an artist. Artists must take risks. Sometimes those risks pay off and we get great works of art that move us, unforgettable movies that change our lives, books that become classics, genre-busting new musical styles.
Sometimes the risks don't pay off. In fact, most of the time they don't pay off. A wildly successful recording artist takes the record label's money to make another all-platinum Grammy magnet, just like the last one, only to abscond to another country to make an experimental prog-rock album using traditional instruments from around the world.
Which of course, no one buys.
Ditto the ultra-famous country music star who wanted to reinvent himself for a time as a goth-lite singer of complaint rock.
Art means risk; great risk. Making art means taking the greatest risk of all, that eventuality all artists fear more than anything else, which they are guaranteed to experience at least once and probably more like once a day.
The artist risks making something that isn't any good, something no one likes, no one wants to read, listen to, watch or care about. They risk making something that doesn't move a single soul. Even successful artists often worry they will never make anything good ever again.
Dave Chappelle understands the role of risk in art; he has risked rejection, abject humiliation, and cancellation since the moment he told his first joke to a room full of paying strangers.
Stand-up comedians are even tougher than most artists; they risk bombing every single time they go on stage. They live with this fear: "What if I tell these jokes, do this bit, and absolutely no one laughs?"
Most artists would prefer the once-removed rejection of a book that doesn't sell to the in-your-face humiliation the stand-up comedian must endure, delivering jokes into an abyss of unsmiling faces.
Being an artist also means being something of a contrarian. Artists, by their very nature in our culture, are already swimming against the current thing. Getting swept into corporate, workaday America, into a law degree, or a communications major, or a nice comfortable 9–5 is easy; resisting that bandwagon, every time it comes by, is hard.
Dave Chappelle did disappear from the public eye once, and for many years. At the height of the Chappelle Show's popularity, the popular comic just walked away. Chappelle's Show was a golden-egg laying goose and Dave Chappelle left a $50 million dollar contract on the table. He could have hired it out, paid other comedians to do the work and just cashed the checks.
But he didn't.
If Dave Chappelle was into doing what other people expect and want him to do, behaving in socially approved and sanctioned ways; if he was committed to being utterly uncontroversial, he wouldn't be Dave Chappelle.
The harder misguided activists try to send Chappelle weeping into obscurity, the higher they move that bar of artistic risk. In fact, the activists who just convinced a popular theatre venue to move Chappelle's comedy show probably just inspired his best work yet.


BURR RIDGE, Ill. – (November 16, 2018) – Weil-McLain®, a leading designer and manufacturer of hydronic comfort heating systems for residential, commercial and institutional buildings, announces the appointment of Mike Doorhy as Vice President / General Manager. In this important leadership role, Mike will be responsible for executing Weil-McLain's ongoing product line expansion, channel management and customer support strategies designed to meet the evolving needs of building owners, installers, specifiers and channel partners.
Most recently, Doorhy served as Executive Vice President for the largest business unit within Panduit, a global manufacturer of physical infrastructure equipment supporting power, communications, control and security systems. At Panduit, Doorhy also held leadership positions in engineering, product management, operations and business development.
Doorhy has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Marquette University, a master's in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a MBA from DePaul University.


text:
Q: Keep mesh of triangulation under complex valued transformation I try to make a quick tool for "plotting" complex valued functions. Therefore I generate a Table of complex valued points lying in the complex plane building a filled square.
(* map interval linear onto another *)
Transf[val_, A_, B_, a_, b_] := (val - A)*(b - a)/(B - A) + a;

(* build up realpart *)
U[t_] := Transf[t, 0, numberOfPoints, -Size, Size];

(* build up imaginary art *)
V[t_] := Transf[t, 0, numberOfPoints, -Size, Size];

(* now generate points in the complex plane *)
A = Flatten[
   Table[
     Table[U[u] + I*V[v]      +       CenterX + I*CenterY,
        {u, 0, numberOfPoints}],
     {v, 0, numberOfPoints}
   ]
];

(* the function that is to be plotted *)
f[z_] = z^2;

I put all of this into a Manipulate[] to have control over numberOfPoints,Size which controls how wide the points spread and also the center of the square using CenterX, CenterY.
So far so good. Then I plot those points using
Needs["ComputationalGeometry`"]
PlanarGraphPlot[{Re[#], Im[#]} & /@ A, LabelPoints -> False],

I also use this to plot the points after they get mapped with f[A]. This looks like this:

Obviously Mathematica is recalculating the triangulation for the list f[A]. But I need Mathematica to draw triangles between those points, which shared a triangle before. Then one could get a better imagination on what the complex valued function f[z] = z^2 does to the geometry of the square. How could I do that?

A: numberOfPoints = 5; Size = 2; CenterX = 0; CenterY = 0;

pgp = PlanarGraphPlot[ReIm @ A, LabelPoints -> False];
dg = DiscretizeGraphics[pgp];
prims = MeshCells[dg, All];

You can use prims with MeshRegion:
Quiet @ MeshRegion[ReIm @ f @ A, prims]

or with GraphicsComplex + Graphics:
Graphics[GraphicsComplex[ReIm @ f @ A, prims]]

Alternatively, construct a Graph object from dg and use ReIm @ f @ A as  its VertexCoordinates:
edges = MeshCells[dg, 1] /. Line -> Apply[UndirectedEdge];
vertices = Range[MeshCellCount[dg, 0]];

{g1, g2} = Graph[vertices, edges, VertexCoordinates -> ReIm @ #,
     ImageSize -> Medium] & /@ {A, f @A};

Row[{g1, g2}, Spacer[10]]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


One of the advantages of starting work at 2:30am is that I get to see the sunrise everyday. Today's was particularly special. It was a warm and breezy day down at the Port of Los Angeles. This was shot with my trusty Fuji X100S. It's always with me while on assignment for KTTV. 2 second exposure, f5.6 at ISO 250. Transferred to my iPhone via a Eyefi card and edited using Snapseed. Then watermarked with iwatermark. It's a pretty good work flow to get images ready to post with out going home to my iMac.


Ethnic Hazara make up most of the Shiite population in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province -- the country's largest and poorest region, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies.
The Hazara peoples' Central Asian features make them easily recognisable and they are a soft target for Sunni militants, who consider them heretics.
Dozens of people including women and children belonging to the Hazara community continued a sit in on one of the city's major roads on Saturday, demanding the arrest of those behind the bombing.
Amnesty International, in a statement Friday said the blast was a "painful reminder" of the many attacks suffered by the Hazara community in Quetta over the years.
Violence in Pakistan has dropped significantly since the country's deadliest-ever militant attack -- an assault on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in 2014 that killed more than 150 people, most of them children.


text:
Senator Panel Wants Chinese Institutes to Change or Leave US
Undergraduate student Moe Lewis, left, shows her watercolor painting of peony leaves at a traditional Chinese painting class at the Confucius Institute at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., May 2, 2018.
China has provided more than $158 million to U.S. schools for Confucius Institutes to promote Chinese culture, U.S. Senate investigators said Wednesday, releasing a report saying the centers have acted as tightly controlled propaganda arms for Beijing and should be changed or shut down.
The Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations spent eight months investigating the Confucius Institutes, which were created in 2004 to promote Chinese language and culture at schools and universities around the world.
But the centers have been criticized, particularly in the United States, for promoting the views of the Chinese Communist Party, assertions denied by both the institutes and the government.
China's government said Feb. 24 that it plans to "optimize" the spread of the institutes and they will remain a key part of government policy.
The new Senate report said China's government controls nearly every aspect of the institutes in the United States, including their funding, staff and programming. It also can veto any program or speaker.
The report was released amid a costly trade war between Washington and Beijing, which has seen President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials accuse the Chinese of using students as spies, stealing intellectual property and a range of other dirty tricks.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer testifies before a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on U.S.-China trade on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 27, 2019.
Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a House of Representatives committee that the United States will need to maintain the threat of imposing tariffs on Chinese goods for years even if a deal is struck to end the current dispute.
No evidence of spying
The Senate investigators did not find evidence that staff at the Confucius Institutes were involved in espionage or other activity that would need to be reported to law enforcement. But they did find many staff had obtained the wrong type of visa and that 70 percent of U.S. colleges and universities that received at least $250,000 per year from the Chinese government did not report it as required by the Department of Education.
The report's recommendations included requiring that U.S. schools publish online all contracts with foreign governments, ensure hiring confirms to their rules, not Beijing's, and that the State Department review all visas and demand reciprocal treatment in China.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, center, walks to a meeting with Republican Senate leadership at the offices of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. on Capitol Hill, Feb. 11, 2019, in Washington.
"Absent full transparency regarding how Confucius Institutes operate and full reciprocity for U.S. cultural outreach efforts on U.S. campuses in China, Confucius Institutes should not continue in the United States," Senator Rob Portman, the subcommittee's Republican chairman, said in a statement.
Subcommittee investigators said they were considering legislation to ensure the centers complied with their recommendations. The subcommittee will hold a hearing on China's influence on U.S. education on Thursday.
Officials at the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
High schools, primary schools also funded
Besides Confucius Institutes at 100 U.S. schools, Beijing also funds more than 500 "Confucius Classrooms" that teach Chinese language and culture in primary and high schools.
The investigators said some of the U.S. universities' contracts with the Chinese government include non-disclosure provisions and require adherence to U.S. and Chinese law. They faulted the U.S. Department of Education for doing too little oversight.
Officials at the Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The report also said the U.S. State Department had tried to set up a program in China to promote U.S. culture, but that China had insisted on controlling the program to such an extent that the department stopped funding it in October.
US PoliticsStudent Union
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Blinken to Visit Ukraine, Germany to Discuss Russian Military Buildup
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Bidens Pack Carrots, Apples Into Boxes During Food Bank Stop
Millions Hunker Down As Storm Hits Eastern US


text:
Q: woocommerce order notes in order preview I am trying to add all manual admin notes from order on order preview.
I want to make it with their date & time bellow, with small text and sort by same way as backend.
Code i writed is:
//order note code
add_action( 'woocommerce_admin_order_preview_start', 'woocommerce_admin_order_preview_order_note' );
function woocommerce_admin_order_preview_order_note() {

      ?>

Order Note:

                  {{ data.data.woocommerce_order_notes }}

    <?php
}

But seems this method for data {{ data.data.field_id }} it's not working for it.
If i try global post or $order in function, preview doesnt open.
Any suggestions?

Screenshot for goal:

A: There is no no arguments for woocommerce_admin_order_preview_end action hook. so first you have use woocommerce_admin_order_preview_get_order_details action hook where you can access $order object
For order notes you can use wc_get_order_notes function you can use check their parameter here.
// Add order notes so you can accees in `woocommerce_admin_order_preview_start`
add_filter( 'woocommerce_admin_order_preview_get_order_details', 'admin_order_preview_add_order_notes_data', 10, 2 );
function admin_order_preview_add_order_notes_data( $data, $order ) {

    $notes = wc_get_order_notes([
        'order_id' => $order->get_id(),
    ]);

    ob_start();

    ?>

Order Note:

                <?php
                if ( $notes ) {
                    foreach ( $notes as $note ) {
                        $css_class   = array( 'note' );
                        $css_class[] = $note->customer_note ? 'customer-note' : '';
                        $css_class[] = 'system' === $note->added_by ? 'system-note' : '';
                        $css_class   = apply_filters( 'woocommerce_order_note_class', array_filter( $css_class ), $note );
                        ?>
                        <li rel="<?php echo absint( $note->id ); ?>" class="<?php echo esc_attr( implode( ' ', $css_class ) ); ?>">

                                <?php echo wpautop( wptexturize( wp_kses_post( $note->content ) ) ); // @codingStandardsIgnoreLine ?>

                                <abbr class="exact-date" title="<?php echo esc_attr( $note->date_created->date( 'Y-m-d H:i:s' ) ); ?>">
                                    <?php

                                    echo esc_html( sprintf( __( '%1$s at %2$s', 'woocommerce' ), $note->date_created->date_i18n( wc_date_format() ), $note->date_created->date_i18n( wc_time_format() ) ) );
                                    ?>

                                <?php
                                if ( 'system' !== $note->added_by ) :

                                    echo esc_html( sprintf( ' ' . __( 'by %s', 'woocommerce' ), $note->added_by ) );
                                endif;
                                ?>
                                <?php esc_html_e( 'Delete note', 'woocommerce' ); ?>

                        <?php
                    }
                } else {
                    ?>

<?php esc_html_e( 'There are no notes yet.', 'woocommerce' ); ?>

                    <?php
                }
                ?>

    <?php

    $order_notes = ob_get_clean();

    $data['order_notes'] = $order_notes;

    return $data;

}

//order notes
add_action( 'woocommerce_admin_order_preview_start', 'woocommerce_admin_order_preview_order_notes' );
function woocommerce_admin_order_preview_order_notes() {
    ?> {{{data.order_notes}}} <?php
}

Tested and works.


This week's free Crudoodle Digital Stamp is The Girl With The Big Hat. This girl is ready for all the hot sunny days of summer with her wide brimmed hat to keep her shaded and cool.
To save The Girl With The Big Hat to your computer, click on the preview above to open the full size image. Right click on the picture, and save to your computer.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged art, artwork, card making, Crudoodle, Crudoodles, Cruzines, digi stamp, digital stamps, doodle, paper crafts, scrapbooking.
Sending you my BIG Aussie Squeezes.
She's lovely. Thank you so much.


text:
36 hours per week (Permanent)
Required as soon as possible
Full time – Term Time plus 10 days (5 of which are INSET days)
Contract Type - Permanent
43.6 weeks per year
Grade 3 – Gross salary £21,968 pa pro-rata - (Actual salary - £18,419)
This is an opportunity for an outstanding teaching assistants, to join a beacon of excellence in girls' education.
They will be a dynamic and innovative practitioner who is passionate about their area of work and the impact it can have on a young person's development and all-round education.
Should you require any further information please contact the School Office on: 0151 652 5777
Closing date for applications: Friday 3rd February 2023 (9.00am)
Interviews will be held on: Friday 10th February 2023
If you have not heard from us by 9th February 2023 you should assume you have not been shortlisted for interview on this occasion.
We are committed to the safeguarding of children and child protection screening will apply to this post.
APPLICATION PACK TA Seniors pdf Download
APPLICATION FORM (Support Staff) doc Download


Super shaped industrial round dining table with massive oak top. This table has a fantastic shape in the manner of Jean Prouve or Willy van der Meeren but the designer is not known. This heavy metal frame comes from France, bought in Lille several years ago but they were in bad rusty shape. The frame was green before but it was nicely powder coated in red, also available in black and grey. Super heavy oak top in the manner of Perriand, wabbes, Prouve is a fantastic combination with the red frame. Super quality all together and in super condition.


Found 14 residential priced between > $400 and < $1000 in 61761.
Our apartments in 61761 vary from student-based living to residential apartments and houses. Whether you're a young professional, a family looking for a cost effective home, or a student at Illinois State, Illinois Wesleyan, or Heartland College, we're confident we can find the right apartment for you! We have almost two dozen apartments in 61761 available to rent! Access to Bloomington School District and Unit 5 Schools, including Normal Community and Normal Community West.


text:
layout: docs_cli
title: "Ionic CLI"
header_title:  Add Icons and Splash Screens
header_sub_title: The powerful command line utility
---

# Icon and Splash Screen Image Generation

[Automatically generate icons and splash screens](http://ionicframework.com/blog/automating-icons-and-splash-screens/) from source images to create each size needed for each platform, in addition to copying each resized and cropped image into each platform's resources directory. Source images can either be a `png`, `psd` __Photoshop__ or `ai` __Illustrator__ file. Images are generated using Ionic's image resizing and cropping server, instead of requiring special libraries and plugins to be installed locally.

Since each platform has different image requirements, it's best to make a source image for the largest size needed, and let the CLI do all the resizing, cropping and copying for you. Newly generated images will be placed in the `resources` directory at the root of the Cordova project. Additionally, the CLI will update and add the correct `<platform>` configs to the project's [config.xml](http://cordova.apache.org/docs/en/edge/config_ref_images.md.html#Icons%20and%20Splash%20Screens) file.

During the build process, Cordova (v3.6 or later) will look through the project's [config.xml](http://cordova.apache.org/docs/en/edge/config_ref_images.md.html#Icons%20and%20Splash%20Screens) file and copy the newly created resource images to the platform's specific resource folder. For example, Android's resource folder can be found in `platforms/android/res`, and iOS uses `platforms/ios/APP_NAME/Resources`.

### Icon Source Image

Save an `icon.png`, `icon.psd` or `icon.ai` file within the `resources` directory at the root of the Cordova project. The icon image's minimum dimensions should be 192x192 px, and should have __no__ rounded corners. Note that each platform will apply it's own mask and effects to the icons. For example, iOS will automatically apply it's custom rounded corners, so the source file should not already come with rounded corners. This [Photoshop icon template](http://code.ionicframework.com/resources/icon.psd) provides the recommended size and guidelines of the artwork's safe zone.

```bash
$ ionic resources --icon
```

- [Photoshop Icon Template](http://code.ionicframework.com/resources/icon.psd)

### Splash Screen Source Image

Save a `splash.png`, `splash.psd` or `splash.ai` file within the `resources` directory at the root of the Cordova project. Splash screen dimensions vary for each platform, device and orientation, so a square source image is required the generate each of various sizes. The source image's minimum dimensions should be 2208x2208 px, and its artwork should be centered within the square, knowning that each generated image will be center cropped into landscape and portait images. The splash screen's artwork should roughly fit within a center square (1200x1200 px). This [Photoshop splash screen template](http://code.ionicframework.com/resources/splash.psd) provides the recommended size and guidelines of the artwork's safe zone. Additionally, when the `Orientation` [preference config](http://cordova.apache.org/docs/en/edge/config_ref_index.md.html#The%20config.xml%20File_global_preferences) is set to either `landscape` or `portrait` mode, then only the necessary images will be generated.

```bash
$ ionic resources --splash
```

- [Photoshop Splash Screen Template](http://code.ionicframework.com/resources/splash.psd)

### Generating Icons and Splash Screens

To generate both icons and splash screens, follow the instructions above and run:

```bash
$ ionic resources
```

### Platform Specific Resource Images

One source image can be used to generate images for each platform by placing the file within the `resources` directory, such as `resources/icon.png`. To use different source images for individual platforms, place the source image in the respective platform's directory. For example, to use a different icon for Android, it should follow this path: `resources/android/icon.png`, and a different image for iOS would use this path: `resources/ios/icon.png`.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


We are pleased to present the Hi-Five Youth Soccer!! Hi-Five has been running youth sports programs for nearly 30 years. When Hi-Five Soccer kicks off our coaching staff will put players through a series of running/soccer drills. We'll then create the teams as evenly as possible. We'll encourage players to develop the proper fundamentals and truly play the game with sportsmanship, teamwork and passion… We will teach kids to win and lose with grace and to have FUN!!


text:
Il professor Cenerentolo è un film del 2015 scritto, diretto ed interpretato da Leonardo Pieraccioni. Le scene del film sono state girate nel Lazio, tra Roma, Formia, Gaeta e Ventotene. Nel cast sono presenti anche Laura Chiatti, Massimo Ceccherini e Flavio Insinna.

Trama
Umberto Massaciuccoli è un ingegnere che ha tentato una rapina in banca per evitare il fallimento della sua impresa; il colpo, tuttavia, fallisce miseramente e Umberto viene così arrestato e condannato ad un periodo di detenzione nel carcere di Ventotene. Giunto in prossimità della fine della pena l'uomo viene ammesso al lavoro diurno fuori dal penitenziario, che lo vede in veste di bibliotecario e di tutor della figlia del direttore della prigione in vista della laurea della ragazza.

Una sera, durante un evento socio-culturale aperto al pubblico, Umberto conosce Morgana, un'affascinante insegnante di ballo; il fatto che venga chiamato dai compagni di prigionia e dal personale del penitenziario con l'appellativo di "professore" fa credere alla ragazza che lui lavori nel carcere come educatore e che non sia un detenuto: approfittando dell'equivoco, Umberto inizia a frequentarla in maniera clandestina invece di recarsi al lavoro in biblioteca, ma ogni giorno entro la mezzanotte deve rientrare nella struttura.

Un giorno Morgana scopre la verità e si allontana da Umberto, il quale però riuscirà a riconquistarla, con l'aiuto e la complicità di amici e compagni e rischiando in prima persona, facendole recuperare una catenina d'oro tramandata da generazioni nella sua famiglia e che il suo violento ex aveva venduto ad un ricettatore romeno. Morgana infine, riflettendo sulle domande di Umberto riguardo all'amore di una figlia per il padre, deciderà di regalare il gioiello della catena a Martina, figlia di Umberto, lasciando all'oscuro quest'ultimo. Tempo dopo Umberto, Morgana ed Arnaldo, proprietario della biblioteca comunale dove lavorava Umberto, aprono una società che si occupa di recuperare oggetti scomparsi, sfruttando il fisico di Arnaldo (affetto da nanismo) per scavare così nei pertugi.

Distribuzione
Il film viene distribuito nelle sale a partire dal 7 dicembre 2015, distribuito da 01 Distribution in collaborazione con Rai Cinema.

Accoglienza

Incassi
Il film al suo week-end d'esordio ha incassato oltre 1.250.000 euro, piazzandosi al 1º posto del botteghino italiano, superando anche Chiamatemi Francesco - Il Papa della gente. Dopo una settimana, al 15 dicembre 2015 il film ha mantenuto la prima posizione arrivando a 2.975.950 euro totali. Con l'arrivo nelle sale di Star Wars: Il risveglio della Forza è sceso in seconda posizione, per poi calare a fine dicembre in sesta posizione, dietro a Natale col boss e Vacanze ai Caraibi. Al 6 gennaio 2016 ha incassato  euro, posizionandosi al terzo posto dei film italiani più visti delle feste.

Curiosità
 È stato il primo film di Pieraccioni non ambientato in Toscana, sua terra natia.

Note

Collegamenti esterni

Film commedia
Film diretti da Leonardo Pieraccioni
Film carcerari

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia