There's nothing more deliciously naff and borderline appalling than a well-staged send-off. Inspired by Marlon Samuels' latest moment of high comedy, here are some of the very best/ugliest/worst of the rest.
The Samuels/Stokes will-they-won't-they affair added a certain Bogart/Bacall shimmer to the recent Test squabble and provided the moment of the year so far. The flame-haired fireball and the sultry vixen had been at each other for days, until in the dusk of an early Grenadan evening, Stokes bunts a rank long hop straight to deep mid-wicket. As Stokes drags himself off, Samuels stands alone, waiting for his man to pass. And as he does so, Samuels bows his head, like a serviceman by a graveside, and clasps his sunhat close to his chest. As his fallen soldier passes, Samuels raises his right hand in sombre salute. Stokesy, bless him, calls him a c**t. And they say love is dead.
'Rod Tucker'. Stage name, right? Like 'Chopper Reid' and 'Dame Edna'? Must be. He's meant to be an umpire, but he's really a lab-produced Australian essence congealed into human form, never better exemplified than when Tucker squints down the pitch at the snivelling little weed at the other end and gives him the 'on yer bike' thumb gesture when the finger's not quite enough. It's got a Gene Hackman quality to it – our sheriff throwing open the saloon doors and with one thumby movement ridding the bar of unwanted failures. When the umpire sends you off with a sneer, you have to wonder for cricket's soul. Watch it here.
Sure, you've heard this one before, but it deserves many an airing. Merv Hughes, bushy of 'tache and generous of girth, is bowling at Javed Miandad, similarly bushy and girthy. Despite appearances, it ain't exactly a meeting of minds. Hughes, who valued sledging as highly as he did his subscription to Retro Facial Hair Monthly, was told by Mr Miandad that he was nothing but a fat bus conductor. Harsh, but half right. Fast forward a few deliveries and Miandad's been dismissed by Hughes – presumably because he wasn't carrying his railcard. 'Ding, ding, tickets please!' roared a very happy Aussie bowler. An oldie but a goodie.
We had to get some county cricket in here. The preserve of the slow, the quiet, the antiquated; home to ladies pavilions, cake-lovers, deckchair owners and floppy-hat wearers. Not so when Gareth 'really angry' Batty is around. It's 2013 and it's Surrey v Somerset in a T20 quarter-final. Batty's bowling, as he has done for many a year, and he's all bouncy run-up and energetic action. Peter Trego – tattoo-sleeved and bulky – goes for the reverse-sweep and he's bowled. Normal, everyday stuff. Until Batty goes totally crazy. He screams, he swears, he postures. Trego walks towards him – it's the way off – and, while it's not ice hockey, it practically all kicks off. Punches aren't thrown but they look like they're considered – it's all very cricket. Batty's banned for two games and we're all left to wonder why he's so furious.
Australia are good at many things. Surfing, sport, surfing – they're inevitably the life and soul of the hostel. Or hos-tel as they weirdly say. But one thing we reckon us Brits have got over them is a sense of humour. Sure, they can be funny, but there's a weird relationship between blokiness and being Australian that doesn't appear to lend itself to our obviously hilarious self-effacing ways. Cue the first ever T20 international and a different kind of send-off. It's Australia v New Zealand, Billy 'the personality' Bowden is umpiring and the game's in the bag for the Aussies. It's the penultimate ball and Glenn McGrath pretends – he's pretending, you see – to bowl an underarm delivery, à la the Chappells in 1981. Billy's all over it, red card out, contorting his body like a drunk Andy Serkis, cavorting and performing to the crowd. Its unfunniness will have you in hysterics.
Aamir Sohail, languid left-hander from Lahore, with a temper to burn barns. Venkatesh Prasad, a gentle giant by pace-bowling standards, but buoyed by an electric Bangalore crowd (his home) in the 1996 World Cup quarter-final. A barney was in the offing. With Sohail going great guns on 55, he skips down and carves Prasad to the boundary, before wagging his finger at the bowler and pointing to the ball, which had shot through extra-cover – "Go fetch that!" Prasad, continuing around the wicket, cramps Sohail for room as he attempts a similar shot, and takes out his off-stump. Prasad tells him where to go – "home" – while questioning the nature of his parentage – as India go on to win by 39.
Remember that winter, when everything just worked? When the batsmen made the runs, the bowlers took the wickets, Steve Smith was rubbish, Clarke and Punter couldn't buy a run and Mitch Johnson was more Village People than Village of the Damned? It's England's time. Mitch is desperately trying to keep face, and failing. "Why you chirping now, mate? Not getting any wickets?" he blusters, as Anderson walks back to his mark. Next ball, Jimmy cleans up Ryan Harris and turns in his follow-through to Mitch at the non-striker's, giving him the full 'Jim The Redeemer' pose followed by the footballer's favourite – the 'finger-on-the-lips' effort. It's not big, clever, or witty in any conceivable way. But it's still great.
"That's the first one!" cooed Glenn McGrath as he saw off Andrew Strauss at Bristol. The 2005 ODI Tri-series involving England, Australia and Bangladesh was as much a part of the summer's narrative as Blair's back garden or the Edgbaston practice ball – and Pidge knew it would be so. So when he had England's opener bowled early on in the second game of the summer (following the T20 at the Rose Bowl) he waved him goodbye with a reminder: there's plenty more where that came from. As it happened, Strauss would make two centuries in the subsequent Ashes series (the only bloke to do so) and the match at Bristol? That was turned by a 65-ball 91* from some young punk with a streak of blue in his hair.
It was Australia's first trip to South Africa since their readmission, and it was all a bit much for Warnie. During the first Test, Jo'burg, 1994, having bowled Andrew Hudson round his legs the young Shane charged towards him – adrenaline coursing through his ample cheeks – screaming: "F*** off. Go on, Hudson, f*** off out of here!" Even the Aussies hadn't seen anything like it before. Ian Healy – ever the friendly mediator – restrained him. According to Wisden, "Rarely on a cricket field has physical violence seemed so close." Warne apologised and, last time we checked, carried on bowling leg-spin.


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Harry Redknapp expects Frank Lampard to get Chelsea job
Lampard enjoyed a successful playing career at Stamford Bridge and his uncle says it would be a 'major surprise' if he did not get the manager's job.
Frank Lampard enjoyed a hugely successful career as a Chelsea player (John Walton/PA)
By Press Association Sport staff
June 17 2019 10:26 AM
Harry Redknapp has revealed it would be a "major surprise" if Frank Lampard did not take over as Chelsea manager after Maurizio Sarri's move to Juventus.
https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/harry-redknapp-expects-frank-lampard-to-get-chelsea-job-38225618.html
https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/article38225612.ece/58ced/AUTOCROP/h342/ipanews_5ed29d1c-ca16-4749-854c-838e4aedc478_1
Lampard, who turns 41 on June 20, enjoyed a hugely successful spell as a player for the Blues, becoming the club's record goalscorer and winning three Premier League titles as well as the Champions League.
The former England midfielder impressed during his first campaign in management at Derby, guiding the Rams to sixth place in the Sky Bet Championship and then onto the play-off final at Wembley.
On this day in 2001...
Frank Lampard became a Blue! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/ssmlONsoAt
Despite Derby looking to tie down Lampard's future, he remains the overwhelming favourite to take over at Stamford Bridge.
Former Chelsea bosses Rafael Benitez and Jose Mourinho have also been touted as potential replacements for Sarri, who guided the London club to Europa League success last season.
Redknapp, though, suggested it appeared only a matter of time before his nephew was set for the Chelsea dugout.
He's absolutely idolised at Chelsea – a genuine legend there. Harry Redknapp
"I think it would be a major surprise if he doesn't get the job. It looks to me as though it will happen," Redknapp said on talkSPORT's Sports Breakfast.
"It would be brilliant for him. A shame for Derby as (owner) Mel Morris gave him the opportunity there and he's done a great job. But it's a great move; he's absolutely idolised at Chelsea – a genuine legend there.
"He knows the game, he knows what it's about, he's got a touch of class… it will be great."
Frank Lampard helped Chelsea to win the 2012 Champions League (Owen Humphreys/PA)
Moving for such a rookie coach would be a bold appointment by Chelsea and a big step for Lampard, but it would be a hugely popular move with supporters.
Chelsea saw playmaker Eden Hazard depart for Real Madrid and have appealed against their two-window transfer ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Whatever team the new Blues boss is able to assemble for next season, Redknapp believes they can compete.
Midfielder Mason Mount impressed while on loan at Derby last season (Mike Egerton/PA)
"He (Lampard) has a squad there that for sure will finish top six," said Redknapp, who also had spells at Portsmouth, Tottenham and QPR.
"I see them next season finishing, at best, third, probably fourth; around where they were last season.
"But it's going to be tougher as they've lost their best player, but it might be a great opportunity to give these kids a game.
"Tammy Abraham has been out on loan at Aston Villa and did fantastic in the Championship. The boy (Mason) Mount (who) Frank had at Derby – let's see them play."
Maurizio Sarri's side beat Arsenal to win the Europa League final in Baku (Adam Davy/PA)
Sarri's successor will be the 14th different manager employed at Chelsea since owner Roman Abramovich took over in 2003.
The 60-year-old Italian was in the position for just one year after succeeding countryman Antonio Conte last summer. He guided the team to Europa League success, third place in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup final.
But the former investment banker failed to win over all Chelsea fans, with frustration at his regimented tactics and an apparent reluctance to play homegrown talents Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
OFFICIAL | Maurizio Sarri is the new Juventus coach #WelcomeSarri
A post shared by Juventus Football Club (@juventus) on Jun 16, 2019 at 6:03am PDT
Form was also inconsistent at times and, with Sarri hankering after a return to Italy, the club decided not to stand in his way when Juventus expressed an interest.
A compensation package understood to be in excess of £5million was agreed with the Serie A champions.
In a statement confirming his departure, Chelsea added a message to congratulate Sarri "on securing the role as big as any in Serie A and to wish him the best of luck for the future".
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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THE GREAT TRANSITION CELEBRATION THE GREAT TRANSITION IS HERE! LESTER BROWN RETIRING ON HEELS OF NEW BOOK BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION 5: COLLEAGUES AND THE MEDIA THE WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE: Excerpt from Breaking New Ground BREAKING NEWS…Environmental Prizes OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL: Excerpt from Breaking New Ground LAUNCHED! WHO WILL FEED CHINA? BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION 4: FARMERS, NONPROFITS, AND UNIVERSITIES A NOT-SO-LAZY SUMMER THE PITFALLS AND JOYS OF GROWING TOMATOES: Excerpt from Breaking New Ground DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION 3: WITH A SONG TO SING BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION 2: HONORING OUR PUBLISHERS
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Lester Brown, EPI's intrepid president, has just completed 80 cycles around the sun. As part of our celebration, we're inviting you to add your comments or stories you might have about Lester, how his writings may have influenced you, to a special birthday blog we have set up.
And even if you don't have a comment, you might find some of the postings of interest. For instance, when Lester was 22 years old and sailed across the Atlantic on his way to India to live in farm villages for several months with the International Farm Youth Exchange, he met Maya Khankhoje. Here's part of her recollection:
I met Lester Brown in 1956 on board the SS Victoria sailing from Genoa to Bombay. Lester was part of a 4-H agricultural exchange group heading for an internship on Indian soil. My mother, my sister and myself were on our way from Mexico to India to join our Indian father there. As luck would have it, Lester became my square dancing tutor and partner for our amateur entertainment evening. My 14-year old self saw 22-year old Lester as somebody who "would go far."
I was sad when we parted company in Bombay but very happy many weeks later when Lester showed up at our doorstep in Nagpur. He had been billeted with Jawahar, an Indian farmer who lived not far from our house. Jawahar had taken him to meet my father, an agronomist who had participated in the agrarian reform and green revolution in Mexico during the 1920's and 30's. I have since learned that Lester's sojourn in India was pivotal in shaping his environmental vocation and vision.
As a septuagenarian I am gratified to see that my teenage intuition was spot on: Lester Brown has indeed gone far. He has more than fulfilled the 4-H pledge of clearer thinking, greater loyalty, larger service and better living not only for the benefit of his community but for that of our planet at large.
And there are comments from people who were inspired to publish his books, like Doris and Lars Almstrom of Sweden:
Everybody can contribute to the realization of Plan B. Pick an issue! Take on a leader role! These were the words that rang in our ears and hearts.
Greatly encouraged by the examples of EPI-supporters on the website and in the long lists of thanks in Plan B 2.0, Lars had an idea... and soon we dreamed up a personal plan: to translate Plan B 2.0 into Swedish, our mother-tongue. We'd work on it chapter by chapter, in our spare time, and then make it available for free on a website that we'd manage. … When we started to see the light in the tunnel, Reah Janise wrote in June that in the autumn of 2007 Lester would be out with a new version, Plan B 3.0.
Wouldn't we be keen to translate and publish that one, too? Hm, hm, preferably as a book, and indeed … perfect for university-courses and all...
No small potatoes for the likes of us. Then Lars had an idea again. Let's take early retirement and be free to translate and promote Plan B full-time! We flexed our schedules, took that retirement.
A year later, as in a dream, we took the train out to Arlanda, Stockholm's airport, to welcome Lester, in September 2008. Could it really be us, two quite ordinary people, who had translated the second book, found it a publisher in Stockholm, 700 kilometres from our home-village, arranged a three-day launch far from home with the help of new acquaintances? And who at first hardly could get our tongues to cooperate in expressing ourselves in spoken English! Here we were to meet one of the most influential Americans in history!
But Lester was so friendly, relaxed and experienced, that at the end of his visit we felt we had become great friends. … What an inspiration! …
By now we've also translated and published World on the Edge (as Civilisationens väg) and Full Planet, Empty Plates (as Hungerns planet) and are working on getting Breaking New Ground ready as soon as possible.
Thank you for giving us hope and food for thought to share with your readers and admirers in Sweden.
And from Howard Youth who worked with Lester at Worldwatch Institute:
The man with the silver curls and piercing blue eyes scrutinized me, fingers stroking his slightly downturned chin. The silence weighed heavily upon me. This was my third or fourth interview for this editing job. Winnowed down from more than 100 applicants, I felt proud and excited. But now I was bargaining for my starting salary.
"I'd like that number boosted a bit because I just had an accident and need to buy a new car," I said.
More chin rubbing. And silence. Then speech from the man in the open-collared blue shirt: "Why do you need a car?"
This question shocked me, but would never surprise me again. My Lester-led Worldwatch training had begun. It was not just going to be a job but an outlook-changing experience.
"I live in Rockville and the office is at Dupont Circle," I said, trying not to sound incredulous.
"Why not take the Metro?"
"Well, I will take the Metro, but I still need something to get me around on weekends, during evenings, and so on." Was this thoughtful man trying to de-rail my request for more pay? Or was there more to it?
It turns o ut there was much more to it. My world view began to expand in that last interview. During my years helping edit and produce World Watch magazine, from the late 1980s to 1992, I would read and edit, edit and read about alternative energy, conservation, food scarcity, climate change, empowerment of women, and new initiatives and inventions that would make our way of life more sustainable. I realized that these ideas in the late 1980s mainly bounced around the corridors of academia and NGOs, but I also knew they were starting to mainstream. I was always impressed by the research team Lester assembled and the diversity of issues we covered in the magazine.
Today, the ideas we presented in World Watch are mainstreamed. And Lester's dogged telling of cautionary tales is part of world dialogues now on auto pilot. When I hear about food scarcity, I often think of Lester. Water scarcity, Sandra Postel. Nuclear issues and alternative energy options, Chris Flavin and Nicholas Lensson. Swords into plough shares, Michael Renner. Women's issues Jodi Jacobson and Mary Gustavson. And so on. Lester's vision extended to other ways to present Worldwatch issues. He hired Jim Gorman to start the magazine, which became another effective tool subscribed to by organizations and libraries the world over.
I left Worldwatch in 1992, moving to India to join my wife on her first overseas tour. … My view of the planet changed since those first interviews with Lester. And the world has changed since then, too. I now see a planet stressed in many ways, yet better in ways thanks to the efforts of Les and other environmental visionaries.
Thanks, Lester! Here's to 80 more years of world vision.
Go to the birthday guestbook to read more of these inspirational comments … and add your own!
Reah Janise Kauffman
Posted by Reah Janise on 04/04 at 11:04 AM


Okay, you would normally see that title around the winter holidays as we celebrate the end of the calendar year. For my purpose, though, I thought I would recap some of the highlights for the 2016 academic year that comes to a close on May 14.
As in typical LCCC fashion, the year was full of challenges, change, and impressive progress. Probably none is more noticeable than the transformation of the Cheyenne campus as our two new buildings exploded onto the scene. The Flex Tech building is scheduled for completion in late July with classes planned for fall. The new Student Services and University building, recently named Pathfinder Building, will be finished later next fall around November. In addition, we'll see the new campus Wayfinding Program installed all across campus and anticipate all of our signage will be in place before Frontier Days.
We have also had some noteworthy outcomes from our academic programming. LCCC continues to lead the state in our articulation work, primarily with UW. LCCC boasts the most articulated program pathways of any other community college in Wyoming. Other highlights include celebrating the largest incoming class of students in our Agriculture programs, the reinstatement of Women's Basketball after more than 20 years, LCCC being named first place for Tech Savvy Community Colleges, LCCC being ranked in the top 5 percent of public two-year colleges by the financial technology company SmartAsset, and so many more notable accomplishments.
If you get the chance, please join me in thanking these individuals for their years of service and all they contributed to building LCCC into the institution it is today. Thank you all for another great Academic Year. We are blessed to work for LCCC, and LCCC is blessed to have people like you working for it.
The Compensation Study Working group conducted on-site interviews with four firms last week. We are in the process of scoring the presentations and hope to start negotiations in the next couple weeks. We are on track to make the contract award and start work on July 1, 2016. As a reminder, the Working Group consists of Tammy Maas, Dorothy Moen, Tara Rood, Mindy Layson, Bobby Baker, Meghan Kelly, Jonathan Carrier, Jeri Griego, Pam DeMartin and Dave Vinatieri. Also, Dr. Joe Schaffer, Tara Nethercott, Jamie Spezzano, and Janet Webb are serving as advisors.
Employee Satisfaction Survey…Results Are In!
Thanks to all who responded! This spring, LCCC participated in the Ruffalo Noel Levitz College Employee Satisfaction Survey for the second time. We implemented the survey in Fall 2014 to collect employees' opinions about a variety of aspects about the college and as part of our KPI system. The survey administration was moved to the spring semester at the recommendation of the cross-functional analysis team established by College Council. A total of 293 employees (of 899) responded to the survey, for a response rate of approximately 33 percent. For full-time employees, the response rate was 73 percent (265 of 362).
This year, HR and IR are partnering to facilitate the analysis, which will again be done by a cross-functional team charged with recommending action items. Because the survey window was extended to allow more time for employees to respond, the action plans will be developed and ready for implementation in the fall. In the meantime, click this link to view the College Employee Satisfaction Survey summary results. Those interested in a more detailed look can find the delivered reports at the IR EaglesEye site, on the Surveys tab.
Thank you to everyone who is IN FOR 5 and participating in the new LCCC employee giving campaign. We have reached a participation level of 35 percent of employees — which is up 15 percent from last year's figures — and look forward to seeing this number grow. Your generous gifts have helped students in a variety of areas across campus. If you haven't had a chance to be IN FOR 5, stop by the Foundation Office (FA 198), and we can get you a contribution form for a simple one-year commitment. Are you IN FOR 5? You still have a chance to win an overnight stay at a 5-Star Hotel (The Brown Palace, Denver) if your contribution form is returned by May 1.
A tornado watch is issued by the National Weather Service when tornadoes are possible in your area. Stay weather aware and alert for approaching storms. This is the time to remind students, staff and visitors of the identified safest places within the campus and prepare these locations to serve as storm shelters.
A tornado warning is issued when a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. It is time to move students, staff and visitors to a tornado shelter location immediately.
Click this link for the full construction update.
Please remember to complete Separation PAFs for your student workers. It is important that our database reflect current employees. Thank you for your cooperation.
For assistance in completing performance appraisals, contact Bobby Baker at #1685.
Anyone interested in attending an iCiMS Workshop or Scoring Rubrics Workshop, please email Tara Rood at TRood@lccc.wy.edu. A training session will be scheduled in the near future based on participant demand.
"It starts here..................It starts with you!"
Employee Picnic – June 3rd.
The annual LCCC employee picnic is June 3 at the Holliday Park Shelter beginning at noon. LCCC employees are encouraged to bring their families and a side dish to share. There will be games for the kids, so employees are encouraged to bring them along.
This month we want to shine the spotlight on an employee who brightens our workplace!
Pete Oswald was hired as a Grounds Assistant, starting at the College on August 29, 2014. Pete says, of the fresh flowers he distributed to some lucky employees, "I am truly blessed to have been hired. All the grounds maintenance people love what we do, and we work as hard as we can every day to keep the campus running as smoothly as we can.
I did the flowers as a thank you to people. I think it brightens their day. The cool part about it was that the Friday I cut them, I cut them because I didn't want them to be destroyed by the snow coming in. I thought it was really cool that the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were really cold and dreary and people had flowers on their desks."
He planted 1800 bulbs last year, and he hopes to be able to plant 2000 a year for the next four or five years. His hope is that one day we will have enough flowers that all of campus will get to enjoy them on their desks. When asked why he did it, he said, "Because it's the right thing to do."


Whether you're watching a DVD or playing a video game, you have control over the progression of the experience. You may hold a remote or you may hold a controller, but the action on the screen will start, stop, pause, and continue, in response to the buttons you press.
The fundamental difference is the degree of choice you hold. With a movie, you can only choose whether to proceed. With a game, you choose how to proceed. Even subtle or trivial decisions, such as on what path to move your character, or which weapon to use on enemies, or where to position the camera, engage you in the creation of your own experience.
Yet few would argue that Super Mario Galaxy tells a story about the player, rather than one about Mario. It presents the player with choices, but this is not enough to make it a metanarrative - a story about its own audience - any more than crossing out a character's name in a book and writing in the reader's name instead will cause the book to be a metanarrative about the reader.
So what does make a metanarrative? What must the decisions be like in order to confer narrative power, responsibility, and focus to the player? What do they have to do?
A small handful of specific things, it turns out - which is not the same as easy things. Metanarrative is hard, more so because we're still figuring out what we can do with it. But that's exactly why it's so exciting.
1. Choices must be free.
Sometimes it is obvious that a choice is no choice at all, as in the Dragon Quest example pictured below. It is impossible to advance the story or even exit the dialog until you tell the princess that yes, you do in fact love her.
A closely-related tactic is to simply ignore the player's choice - perhaps with a line of chiding dialog from another character if the player has chosen "incorrectly" - and press on the same way regardless. This method crops up in too many RPGs to count, often when presenting the player with the choice to accept or reject accept a plot-relevant quest or new party member.
More insidiously, choices can be made to look free while actually leading the player to a particular outcome, by way of a connection to game mechanics. Choosing one option leaves the player noticeably better off in terms of the game's goals than choosing another. Many choices in Indigo Prophecy take this form. For example, when Lucas Kane seeks help from his brother Markus, a Catholic priest, Markus offers Lucas a crucifix, over the latter's protestations that he doesn't really believe in "that stuff". The player then decides whether Lucas takes the crucifix - and if taken, it confers the rough equivalent of an extra life.
For a choice to be free, the player must not be forced or bribed into the "correct" option.
2. Choices must be affirmed.
In the first few Warcraft games, players can play either side of the Orc versus Human war. The campaigns are simultaneous, however, and thus contradictory. (It's similar to many fighting games - the player can lead any competitor to victory, but clearly they cannot all win the tournament.) The tide of the early battles changes the circumstances of the later ones, until the final conflict ends with the player's chosen side decisively winning the war. But then when the sequel comes along, there is a problem: how can a game continue a story whose previous chapter has been told two opposite ways?
The solution used in Warcraft is to simply pick one of the two branches and continue it, ignoring the other. Thus a canonical history is developed. The Orc campaign of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans was revealed to be the correct one by Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness , which in turn was revealed to have been won by the Humans in the subsequent expansion, Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal .
The problem with this solution is that it completely invalidates the player's choice. Regardless of the player's actions, one of the campaigns is what really occurs, and the other is a non-canon fantasy. Interactive fan fiction.
By contrast, the Mass Effect franchise takes great pains to respect the player's choices. The first game's hero is Commander Shephard - but most of the details beyond this name and rank are up to the player. Gender, appearance, and first name are all customizable, and the player may select between a variety of backgrounds and skill sets. Throughout the game, Shephard is confronted with decision after decision - some minor, some life-and-death, some galaxy-shaking. Individuals can be killed or rescued; colonies can be saved or destroyed. Each player's Shephard and the universe he or she lives in are unique.
And the sequel will respect every iota of customization and choice from the first game. Players will be able to import their save files and carry forward with their Commander Shephard, in their universe.
Even the tie-in novels respect the player's choices - the first is set twenty years before the first game, but the second is set after the first game, and is quite careful not to refer to any details that would invalidate any possible Shephard.
The overall message, strongly broadcast, is that there is no one true Shephard - and therefore all Shephards are true. Every Shephard is just as real and genuine as every other. The franchise affirms the player's choices by placing them on equal footing with canon, rather than subservient to it.
For a choice to be affirmed, every option must be treated as a legitimate part of the game's universe.
3. Choices must be expressive.
Decisions pervade the modern gaming experience. The exact actions performed in their exact order and with their exact timing (walk this direction for two seconds, turn a bit to the left, and jump - or select a fire spell, select a target, and cast - or go north, look, and take ye flask) are up to the player, but the vast majority of these decisions are perfunctory and not very interesting.
Even a more concrete, deliberate decision such as which fork of a dungeon shall be explored first is not very compelling. It's an arbitrary, meaningless decision. There is nothing of the player's voice in it.
However, consider the moment in Bioshock when the player first finds a Little Sister separated from her Big Daddy guardian. Two other characters play the part of shoulder angel and devil - one begs you to have mercy on this poor little girl, promising to find a way to reward you for doing so, while the other implores you to kill the creepy child for the precious Adam she carries, promising that it is very important to your continued survival.
At least they call it "harvest" and not "slaughter."
This is a much more interesting decision! The player must choose between selflessness and pragmatism. Which is more important - the life of an innocent, or the safety of one whose actions may save many more lives? Such a decision unavoidably reveals something about the player (or at least the persona the player is adopting, which in itself still says something about the player). The more the player reveals, the more the player character becomes patterned on the player, and the more the game is about the player.
Expressive choices allow the player to define the player character the way they want to, and to tell the story the way they want to.
For a choice to be expressive, it must allow the player to say something about their personality or priorities.
4. Choices must be consequential.
Final Fantasy VI features fourteen recruitable party members. Each and every one is presented to the player to be named. A default name is provided, but the player may choose any name of up to six letters. The game's text and dialog will always refer to the characters by the names the player has chosen, but it's essentially just a search-and-replace operation. The story, the people, the events, the world, remain unchanged.
A Terra, by any other name, would be just as emo.
These scenes are often amusing and fun in their own right, showing sides of the characters you don't normally see during battles or exploration. But they also carry in-game consequences.
Certain scenes will only occur if the characters involved like (or sometimes dislike) each other enough. If two characters become close friends, and one sees the other fall in battle, the one is likely to call out the other's name and enter a berserk rage. And once the final boss has been felled, the endings the player sees are determined by which allies like each other how much - any two can pair off and set out together, and each pairing that occurs prompts the display of a scene of what they get up to after the game ends.
These consequences lend weight to the player's actions. The player has a genuine effect on the people of the game's world. What the player does matters.
For a choice to be consequential, it must have a nontrivial effect on the game's plot, characters, or world.
Thus we have our four criteria, our four rules for metanarrative choices. When a choice is both free and affirmed, it is a valid choice. Valid choices make a game's story interactive. When a choice is both expressive and consequential, it is a meaningful choice. Meaningful choices make a game's story dynamic. Only an interactive story can be dynamic, and only a dynamic story can be about the player.
Not every game needs to have a metanarrative. There is value across the narrative spectrum, just as there is room for the summer blockbuster movie and the independent art film, the trashy romance novel and the experimental literary epic. And developing a customizable, player-tailored experience can be quite an expensive process, often involving the creation of content that some or most players will never see.
But consider Tom Francis's experience with Oblivion . In Francis's game, a peculiar bug caused an NPC named Thedret to develop the quirk of always standing with his arms outstretched in an amusing pose. This simple fact caused Francis to develop a strong emotional connection to this NPC.
The allure of a unique, personal experience is powerful, and the ability to deliver one is what sets video games apart from all other narrative media.
Put another way, we like stories we can see ourselves in. We enjoy the chance to be the star. It's a lot easier to love a game when the game so clearly loves us right back.


Before traveling to Nepal in June 2015, the Letters in Motion team gathered over 3,000 handwritten letters of encouragement for the orphans in Nepal. These letters were written by people of all ages, from different countries, universities, and churches, who came to together for one common goal: to bring hope to orphans.
In June of 2015, we took a team of nine college students from different universities including: UT Martin, Bethel University, and Union University, to hand-deliver letters of hope and encouragement to orphans in Nepal. The team of college students stayed for three weeks working and traveling throughout Nepal.
We now have 45 spots available for travel to Nepal in Summer of 2016.
In May of 2015, we were able to fund a well to be build in Kothagudem, India and bring clean water for a village. If you are interested in submitting a project to Venture For Change, click HERE.


Tom Friedman, New York Times columnist and master of the completely incomprehensible metaphor is sad. Very sad. On his travels around the world, Friedman doesn't like what he is hearing from his important friends about his country. The problem is, the America Friedman doesn't like is the America he spent a career arguing for.
Tom Friedman, New York Times columnist and master of the completely incomprehensible metaphor is sad. Very sad. On his travels around the world, Friedman gets to see America from other people's perspective, and he doesn't like what he is hearing.
He writes, "Singapore is not a full-fledged democracy. What it does have is a government that wakes up each day asking: What world are we living in and how do we best use the resources we have to enable more of our citizens to thrive in this world?"
"Little things here catch my eye," he goes on. "Like the E.R.P.: the electronic road pricing system that greets you when you drive into the center city and tells you every minute, via an electronic billboard, how much it will automatically charge you when you drive into the downtown. It constantly adjusts the price based on the number of cars that can comfortably fit the roads."
(Remember, in Friedman's version of a perfect world, if you can't do everything via your smartphone, you may as well be in North Korea).
"The Bush team tried to fund a similar system to reduce congestion and pollution for Manhattan," he goes on, "but it was killed by other boroughs and lawmakers in Albany. And that is what bothers me most today. It's not just that we can no longer pull together to put a man on the moon. It's that we can't even implement proven common-sense solutions that others have long mastered — some form of national health care, gun control, road pricing, a gasoline tax to escape our budget and carbon bind."
Friedman makes a good point - the US really is in a terrible state and its government a virtually worthless institution that can barely pass a budget let alone tackle issues like chronic child poverty, rampant financial malfeasance, and almost weekly gun massacres.
The problem is, this is the America (and world) Tom Friedman spend most of the late 90's and early 2000's arguing for. Friedman made a career cheer leading deregulation and the expansion of markets, writing several books extolling the virtues of globalization and American style capitalism. Why can't America pay for all the things Friedman wants? Because it went broke after the free market went bust and the bills for the wars Friedman argued for came in. Why is the government unable to pass anything? Because the oligarchs who gamed the system Friedman loves have made sure the government does nothing that would harm their interests, like creating a national health care system or passing a gasoline tax.
Friedman loves to make connections between things. In a column he wrote last year, he wondered out loud whether there was "a political corollary to Moore's Law: The quality of political leadership declines with every 100 million new users of Facebook and Twitter."
If Friedman can see a relationship between the amount of teenage girls signing up to facebook and the eroding capabilities of the global political class, surely he can see the connection between widening economic inequality, the epic hole in the economy Wall St left, and the immensely popular books he has published about the wonders of the digital free market and the marketization of every aspect of human life?
But as Friedman once famously stated on Meet the Press, "I was speaking out in Minnesota — my hometown, in fact — and a guy stood up in the audience, said, "Mr. Friedman, is there any free trade agreement you'd oppose?" I said, "No, absolutely not." I said, "You know what, sir? I wrote a column supporting the CAFTA, the Caribbean Free Trade initiative. I didn't even know what was in it. I just knew two words: free trade."


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Hybrid BMW 5 Series Touring spotted at the Nurburgring
On the eve of the official premiere of the executive station wagon, photo spies spotted the 5 Series Touring during trials at the Nurburgring.
Previously, photos were published of the BMW 5 Series 2021 sedan model year, but Touring models still managed to hide. Now this model is also seen on the famous sports track, and judging by the sticker on the rear bumper, a "hybrid test car" has come out for testing. If you look closely, you can see the charging port on the front left wing, which means we have the updated 530e PHEV or 545e xDrive, which is rumored to get a power plant from the larger 745e.
The last option gets 388 hp. power and torque of 600 Nm from a gasoline engine and electric motor. The first 5 Series PHEV in the current version combines a 2.0-liter turbo engine and an electric engine with a total capacity of 248 hp. and 420 Nm. Diesel particulate filters are added to the regular gasoline range to reduce CO2 emissions. It is possible that the 5 Series engine range will be diluted with other powertrains. It is known that a fully electric version will appear with a change of generation in 2 to 3 years.
The model will receive light external improvements, including new headlights and taillights, updated bumpers and, possibly, a slightly modified radiator grille, which, fortunately, will not be too big. Inside, everything will be simple, and the only changes should concern the infotainment system software and the new buttons added to the steering wheel. If BMW adheres to its original plan, then the 5 Series 2021 model year will appear in showrooms by the end of this year.
Nissan will limit its presence in Europe
Genesis G70 Demonstrates Updates


A man had to be rescued in an eight hour operation after he was hit by a falling rock while climbing.
At 4.30pm on Saturday, October 22, the Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation were called to rescue the injured caver who was climbing an 80 metre deep underground shaft in the James Hall Mine near Castleton.
The man had suffered head injuries but was able to complete his climb with the assistance of a companion who then went to the surface to summon help.
A very difficult eight hour operation then followed involving more than 50 cave rescue volunteers. A team of a dozen descended shafts from the surface and made their way to the cavern where the injured man lay.
First aid was administered and he was then insulated against the cold and wet and strapped into a special stretcher while team members set up a rope system to safely lower him back down the 80 metre shaft.
They then manoeuvred him down through constrictions among boulders to where a further team of 20 volunteers supported by Ambulance Service Hazardous Area Response Team paramedics were waiting to take him out to the surface along over a kilometre of partly flooded cave and mine passages.


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Henrich Becker (* 4. August 1747 in Dornum; † 10. Juli 1819 in Neufunnixsiel) war ein ostfriesischer Kunstmaler, der vor allem durch seine Porträtmalerei Bekanntheit und Anerkennung gefunden hat.

Henrich Becker war der älteste Sohn des Dornumer Organisten und Schulmeisters Johann Laurentz Becker und seiner Frau Sophia Charlotte Röling. Über die Kindheit und Jugend (ab 1760 in Loquard bei Emden) ist wenig bekannt, ebenso über den Beginn seiner künstlerischen Tätigkeit. Da Henrich Becker offenbar über seine Arbeit genau Buch führte, und ab einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt seine Porträts rückseitig signierte und nummerierte, ist der Gesamtumfang seines Schaffens ungefähr abschätzbar: Becker schuf wohl etwa 500 Porträts. Heute sind davon etwa 50 Bildnisse noch vorhanden; meist befinden sie sich in Privatbesitz, einige im Landesmuseum in Emden. In Orten wie Emden, Pewsum, Arle, Norden, Esens und Wittmund lebten seine Auftraggeber aus dem Bürgertum der Zeit nach der französischen Revolution. Es sind wohlhabende Personen von Stand wie Richter, Pastoren, Apotheker, Holzhändler, Tabakfabrikanten, Chirurgen, Bürgermeister, Deichrentmeister und begüterte Bauern mit ihren Frauen und Kindern, die Becker porträtierte.

Literatur
 Martin Stolzenau: Ein Autodidakt wurde zum Porträtisten wohlhabender Ostfriesen, In: Ostfriesen-Zeitung, Jahrgang 74, Nr. 139, 18. Juni 2019, S. 13.

Porträtmaler
Deutscher
Geboren 1747
Gestorben 1819
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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[A belated entry. I swear I had an article queued up for this date, but it didn't get posted. A sketchy reconstruction, almost certainly incomplete, from my memory and browser history follows.]
Jonah Goldberg's G-file from last week was apparently addressed to Senate Judiciary Committee members: None of You Idiots Is Spartacus
For those of you who don't know, Cory Booker heroically® (according to his P.R. operation) defied Senate rules and risked expulsion from that chamber in order to release confidential documents that the American people desperately needed to see. The people needed to understand what the dangerous bigot whom Trump nominated to the Court had written in an email about racial profiling while working in the Bush White House after 9/11.
There were only a couple of problems: The email in question was already cleared for public release (and Booker knew it), and the substance of the email revealed that the Monster Kavanaugh opposed racial profiling. It was as if Cory Booker — once a famous, if choreographed, good Samaritan — saw a mugging, leapt out of his car, tire-iron in hand, to save the day only to stop 20 feet from the assailant in front of some TV cameras, and proceed to smash the makeshift weapon into his own crotch. "I am Spartacus! Ow! I am Spartacus — Ooof!"
Our Amazon Product du Jour is … self-explanatory.
If you can read this, thank a teacher. Or your parents. Or your own good sense at an early age in realizing that literacy was a good skill to acquire.
But, as Reason's Ronald Bailey suggests, If You Hate Ice Ages, Thank a Farmer.
University of Virginia climatologist William Ruddiman has spent a good bit of his career studying the Pleistocene cycle of ice ages that began about 2.6 million years ago. Periods of large-scale glaciation and deglaciation are governed by the Milankovitch cycle, in which shifts of the Earth's orbit and its inclination toward the sun change how much sunlight reaches the northern hemipsphere to warm the surface. Based on solely these orbital cycles, global average temperatures of our current interglacial period—the Holcene—should be dropping, with the result that glaciers should now be growing in northern Canada and Siberia. That is not happening. Why?
Puzzled by these anomalies, Ruddiman hypothesized nearly two decades ago that an increase in greenhouse gases that began about 8,000 years ago was keeping the onset of a new ice age at bay. Specifically, he noted that the atmospheric concentrations of the two chief greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) were not following the downward trends observed at similar stages in previous interglacial periods. Fuddiman noted that the ice core data showed no case during past ice ages in which carbon dioxide concentrations rose after peaking at the point of maximum deglaciation.
Yup, not enough greenhouse gas can also be hazardous to your imaginary ideal climate. I'm sure the eco-warriors have taken that into account, right? Because they f'ing love science?
I missed this Michael Ramirez cartoon when it came out in April, but it's still appplicable:
As always, click through for a big uncropped version.
Last Modified 2019-06-14 5:30 AM EDT


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As families continue to rebuild their lives following the devastating tornadoes of Dec. 10, 2021, the Ursuline Sisters and Associates are adapting a project begun by the Knights of Columbus to offer prayers and emotional support. During Christmastide (Dec. 25 to Jan. 6), the Knights of Columbus chapter in Louisville began the "Three Kings Project."…
The end of 2021 also marked another end of an era at Maple Mount with the retirement of farm manager Mark Blandford. When Mark began working on the Mount Saint Joseph farm, Richard Nixon was in trouble over the Watergate scandal, Paul VI was the pope and Joe B. Hall was in his second season…
By Sister Marietta Wethington A short time ago we celebrated the great feast of Christmas. Actually, in our Catholic tradition, it is still Christmas. The season officially ends with the celebration of Epiphany on Jan. 6, the 12th day of Christmas. I once read a striking reflection on Christmas being about giving and forgiving. I…
In November 2021, a disabled parishioner at St. Jerome Parish in the far western Kentucky town of Fancy Farm called the pastoral associate, Ursuline Sister Martha Keller, to volunteer his services. "He couldn't find a job, but he wanted to do something. He said he has organizational skills," Sister Martha said. When a Dec. 10,…
Since 1931, the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph have celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12. Since the feast day fell on a Sunday in 2021, the Sisters celebrated the feast day Mass on Saturday, Dec. 11. In 1531, a man named Juan Diego lived in a small village near…
Reflective Moments with Angela December 2021
By Sister Marietta Wethington Do you like Advent? It is my favorite liturgical season. I like its symbols, rituals and rich vocabulary. Advent comes in December, the darkest month of the year. The word advent means coming. What is coming? Who is coming? The light of the world is coming. Jesus is coming. Why is…
Chix with Stix enjoy another day with each other at Maple Mount
Chix with Stix, a group of knitting enthusiasts, enjoyed another visit to Maple Mount on Nov. 19, 2021. The women gathered in the Mount Saint Joseph Auditorium to share their accomplishments with each other and enjoy each other's company. Here are some photos.
Bishop Medley anoints Sisters and shares the hope of Advent
The Most Rev. William Medley, bishop of the Diocese of Owensboro, came to Maple Mount on Nov. 22, 2021, to anoint the Sisters and then to speak about the coming of Advent. "Advent reminds us we get to start over," Bishop Medley said. "We get a second chance." Advent begins on Nov. 28, the first…
Mount chaplain won't let walnuts go to waste
Father Ray Goetz loves black walnuts. He enjoys walnuts in candy or baked in confections. He even puts them on his oatmeal. As chaplain for the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, Father Ray literally lives among the walnuts in a house that abuts the Mount park. Maple Mount is home to dozens of walnut…
Sisters bless the portrait of Father Paul Joseph Volk that now hangs in Saint Joseph Villa
The Ursuline Sisters held a prayer service and blessing on Nov. 1, 2021, for the portrait of Father Paul Joseph Volk which now hangs in Saint Joseph Villa. Father Volk helped found the community in Maple Mount when he asked Ursuline Sisters of Louisville to send teachers to open Mount Saint Joseph Academy in 1874.…
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Balanced and even exterior lighting that's designed to fill the gap between the property boundary and the hotel entrance is the most important nighttime security feature for lodging facilities. When bathed in light, public areas are both inviting to the guest and a powerful deterrent to crime.
Companies in the lodging industry have realized that environmentally sound practices, such as installing Optec LED luminaires, not only help the environment but can also lead to cost reductions, business expansion and increased profit.
Excluding labor, energy is typically the highest cost that hoteliers face and is the single fastest-growing operating cost in the hospitality industry. According to Flex Your Power™ and Energy Star ® the hospitality industry spends approximately $4 billion a year on energy, with electricity accounting for 60-70 percent of the utility costs.
In the hotel sector, reducing energy costs while continuing to meet the diverse needs of guests, owners and corporate requirements is challenging but by no means impossible. A large portion of a property's energy costs is for lighting, representing almost a quarter of all electricity consumed [in a typical hotel]. But it doesn't have to be that way. Lighting retrofits with LED luminaires can reduce electricity use by 50 percent or more.


Coglin's Raleigh is a real BLAST from the past. Help us relive the glory days of the 80s & 90s with Randy Coglin and his friends. Jam out to your favorite tunes from the 80s & 90s while you sip on a frosty Coglin Cooler or split a Fishbowl with your buds.
We offer a wide selection of delicious craft beer for every palate. Grab a six pack of your favorite brand from our store on your way home from work, or pull up a stool and drink a cold one with us at our tasting bar. Even better, why not enjoy the weather and enjoy a bottle while lounging on our luxurious patio or sitting at our tasting bar?
The city of Raleigh was founded at a bar- the original Isaac Hunter's Tavern. The North Carolina General Assembly loved the tavern so much that in 1788 they passed a law requiring that the capital of the state must be within 10 miles of Isaac Hunter's Tavern.
Owners Zack Medford, Ben Yannessa, and Brad Bowles opened Isaac Hunter's Oak City Tavern in 2009. The tavern was one of the first new businesses to open on the recently redesigned Fayetteville Street and played a major role in the downtown revival of recent years.
With glowing neon light and an avenue view through massive custom windows, Parliament, located at the corner of North & Glenwood, is the classic bar for a unique Raleigh and Glenwood South experience.
For this unparalleled collaboration, Jason Howard , the visionary mind behind The Cardinal and Brooklyn Heights , is teaming up with partners Brad Bowles , Ben Yannessa and Zack Medford of Isaac Hunter's Hospitality . The four close friends began as pioneers in Raleigh's nascent nightlife scene and have grown to become pillars of its flourishing Downtown community. Parliament combines these unique entrepreneurial forces into a singular experience unmatched on Glenwood South.
Jason Howard and Brad Bowles meticulously designed the space to take advantage of its perfectly perched position in the center of Raleigh's Glenwood South district. Howard and his team are excited to host Raleigh's booming population of urbanites as they watch downtown Raleigh come alive through the big bay windows and the Juliet balconies. The view of the action is simply unsurpassed.
Subscribe to Zack's quarterly newsletter to stay up to date with the various events, fundraisers, and causes that Zack is involved with.
We respect your privacy, and promise not to clog your inbox with spam. Zack only emails this list a handful of times per year when he has something important to pass along.


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Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project Statement on First Parliamentary Debate on Motion M-62 Supporting Uyghur Refugees
Canadian Universities Complicit in Atrocity Crimes Against Uyghur Muslims
Uyghur Canadians Speak Out About Persecution in China
Members of the Uyghur community in Canada are speaking out and organizing to raise awareness about the plight of their families in East Turkestan, an autonomous region in China.
Fighting for Chinese Uyghur Rights in Ottawa
Early this month, Rebiya Kadeer, Chinese Uyghur human rights activist and President of the World Uyghur Congress, visited Ottawa to testify before the Parliament Sub-Committee on Human Rights on the situation of Uyghur Muslims in China. While in the city, she also spoke at Carleton University's Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (EURUS) and met with staff at the Canadian Office of Religious Freedom and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Despite her hectic schedule, the Washington D.C. based activist made time to meet with Muslim Link as she hopes that Canadian Muslims will become more aware and more vocal about the plight of the Uyghur. In particular, she hopes to gain more support to address the situation of Huseyin Celil, a Canadian citizen of Uyghur origin who is currently in prison in China.


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Marksman Gets A Free Scope After Doing A Hilarious Favor
A marksman walks into a weapons store, looking to buy a new scope for his sniper rifle…
Discovering you've been cheated on by someone you love is a horrible, painful, experience and the process of getting over the betrayal can be just as bad.
Cheating is definitely bad, we don't condone it and we don't promote violence either. The following story is only intended to make you laugh or smile. I can guarantee, no cheaters were harmed in the making of this story.
A marksman walks into a weapons store, looking to buy a new scope for his sniper rifle. The marksman tells the owner he wants the best one available.
The owner shows him a piece and says "This one has a reach of over 1 km. That's so far, you can see crystal clear my apartment from here. Third floor, fourth one from the left."
The marksman grabs the scope and looks in the direction the shop owner was pointing. Then he says "I'm impressed! I really can see it clearly from here! In fact, I can even tell that there's a man and a woman both naked on the balcony."
The shop owner, realising what was going on, says "Tell you what: You can keep this scope free of charge, if you shoot my wife in the head and that guy in the dick."
And as he says it, he hands over two bullets to the marksman.
The marksman replies "Hold your horses old man, give me few seconds here and I should be able to do it with only one bullet!"
What can you say about this joke? Sound off in the comment section below.
Related Topics:cheatingfunnyguns
21 Cheaters Who Got Instant Karma For Being Complete Jerks
Caught red handed.
To be honest, I am not a fan of public shaming. I don't think there is ever a need to air one's dirty laundry.
However, I am also a fan of justice and, man oh man, that is the side of my brain that is winning out right now.
1. When bragging becomes a problem!
Groom Cancels Wedding After Seeing Video of Bride Going Wild in Bachelorette Party
I understand why the groom had to call it off.
Wendy Rimes
A bachelor or bachelorette party is supposed to be a proper send-off for the groom and the bride. Most people celebrate it by having wild and fun nights with their friends as it is considered the last day of freedom for a bride and a groom. One woman, though, took it too far with her bachelorette party that she ended up losing her groom-to-be.
A man who's supposed to get married to the love of his life had to cancel the big day after seeing a video of his wife-to-be screwing another man. Reportedly, the video was hacked and got sent to the groom. In the video, the woman can be seen surrounded by her friends cheering for her as she gets banged hard by a stripper at her bachelorette party.
He Knew His Wife was Cheating. So He Arranged a Birthday Surprise She'll Never Forget.
Love it… she got what she deserved!
This guy knew his wife was cheating on him, but wasn't sure how to handle the situation. After a lot of thought and some clever planning, he figured out just the right way for him to confront her and make sure everyone knew that his wife was "rocking someone else" and that she was the one messing up their marriage. Check out the story to see how he handled the situation.
Check out what he did:
So I had a feeling she was cheating as she set off a lot of red flags. Constantly laughing and smiling when texting, saying it was just her mother when I asked. Needing to stay late every night after work. When I'd call in her co-workers said she left hours ago. When I asked her what was going on she'd laugh it off and say it was just something they did to each other at the office all the time....
Man Catches Girlfriend Cheating In Bed With Another Man. So He Took Selfies With Them!
What a chill guy!
How would you react if you ever caught your girlfriend cheating? Well, men have different ways of dealing with that.
For instance, some of you may remember Neil Pudsey, a guy we've previously featured who planned an elaborate fake proposal with a brutal plot twist. Also, who could forget Nick Lutz, that dude who sent his ex-girlfriend's apology letter back complete with grammatical corrections and a grade of 61/100? That was hilariously savage as heck!
Now another man is getting a lot of internet love after his epic reaction when he caught his girlfriend sleeping in bed with another man. In fact, BoredPanda and many other websites picked up on his story and it has since went viral....
Cheating Wife Who Had an Affair and Got Pregnant Asks for Advice
"One night, I gave in to temptation and we were reckless and didn't use any protection."
Faye Williams
Relationships take a lot of work — more so if you're already married. If you're lucky, the challenges you encounter will be manageable and easily resolved. However, not everyone is that fortunate. There are couples whose marriages are threatened and destroyed by major issues like infidelity. A cheating wife who has shared her story knows this too well.
Infidelity is usually a deal breaker for most marriages and a woman who has cheated on her husband is in an even more complicated situation. In her case, it's not just about her, her husband, and the man she had an affair with. She now has to be responsible for her baby.
So, how did she end up in such a predicament?...
Cheating Man Finds it Difficult to Choose Between Wife and Mistress
He decided to consult a wise man to find an answer to his problem.
I've heard old couples say that there will come a time when your partner will be tempted to cheat on you no matter how great or perfect "you think" your marriage is. It is as if it's bound to happen, and that men, in particular, couldn't help it.
There is no such thing as a marriage that never experienced some rough times. Every marriage has its ups and downs. Even in the best of circumstances, there are going to be difficult times. People change. Circumstances change. Emotions change. But is it enough reason to sleep with someone other than your spouse?
Here's a short story to remind us, not just men but also women, that there's definitely no acceptable reason to cheat on our partner....
Woman Given Permission To Cheat By Boyfriend Claims Affairs Made Her Relationship Better
She only sleeps with married men as they don't expect commitment.
A 29-year-old woman named "Jade," who's been with her 50-year-old partner for eight years has opened up about how cheating has improved her relationship. Four years ago, Jade (real name withheld) received permission from her man to date other guys after having their sex life affected by his medical issues.
In an exclusive interview with FEMAIL, the London-based assistant manager explained that she only sees the positive sides to an affair. Despite acknowledging that there are people who will never agree with her stance, she insists that there's nothing wrong with it. Some people even agree that it's not cheating if your significant other knows and approves.
"Jade" reveals that she has affairs with married men only.
Woman Confessed 'Having A Lover Makes Me A Better Wife'
She said it's a "win-win" for everyone.
Sasa Steck
It takes a super woman to be a good wife. Yes, being a wife is not easy. It means she needs to be a nanny to take care of the kids every hour, be a chef to cook for the kids and husband every day, be a housekeeper to clean the house the whole day, and be a nymph for her husband every night. Being a good wife could also mean there will never be enough time for herself to unwind, travel, have her moment of solitary, or even do simple things like running to the bathroom to pee.
All wives are not perfect. They can also feel weary, exhausted, emotionally and physically drained, and cranky. And taking care of another person's mess sometimes brings out the worst in typical good wives, to the point that their relationship with their husbands may suffer.
This is not the case with Savvanah Whitman, not her real name, whose husband, Austin, is quite supportive. Austin even allowed her to have a lover to recharge in case she starts feeling insane from her life as a mother, wife, and a PhD student....
Guy Protests About Most Mundane Things With Funny Cardboard Signs
Adorable Grandma and Grandson Win The Internet With Their Hilarious Costumes
20 Funny Fake Gift Boxes That Make Gift-Giving Exciting Again
Sneaky Shelter Cat Put On Solitary Confinement For Repeatedly Letting Other Kittens Escape
Woman Pretends To Be A Bush To Witness Sister's Engagement
Romantic Guy Proposes To His Girlfriend By 'Hacking' Her Favorite Disney Movie


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Welcome to Wegmans, Ladies...Now Get Busy
Let's start by saying that, for the first time in twenty-four days, Kate didn't go to work. Which was good because Lydia was thisclose to squaring up on her because Lydia already has someone who leaves everything in her hands so that other person can go be busy elsewhere and let's face it, Kate is neither as good looking nor as equitable with her wallet as the Cap'n is.
Two things happened this week. First, as you know, Lydia has a new addition to her family. In the form of a fuzzball named Brady. He's super adorable and Kate got to meet him yesterday. WOOT! He has those feet that make him look like Emmanuel Lewis met Shaquille O'Neal. Add in the hardwood floors at Lydia's house and Brady just sort of splashes on the floor when he's tired and all four paws go in nine different directions and then he sorta looks like a frog. When I explained that to Lefty, he grabbed himself and said, "Is Brady a boy?" and I said yep, and then he tried to say something else but he just sorta did this inhalation gasping and I think he's finally gotten to the age where he feels vicarious pain. I'm still thinking about telling him that eventually Brady will get fixed, but I fear that Lefty's left hand will never let go of -- well, lefty.
The second thing that happened was unprecedented in MommyLand...after nearly two years together, Kate and Lydia went on a errand together. With no kids. For the first time, it was just us...to be fair, we had a conference call we had to do, which happened over Lydia's terrible cell phone speaker while sitting in the Big White Tampon...then we went grocery shopping.
It's weird running an errand with your friend. I mean, I've been in Lydia's house about eleventy-three thousand times, but it's a whole new level of information to see what she actually buys at the store. OH! And she didn't have a list OR coupons! Not surprisingly, I had a list...BUT I also had coupons. We'll give you a minute to get your head around that. Hey, it was seven dollars off. That's like 1/114th of a pair of shoes. For free.
[Editor's note: Kate is a lying whore. I did have a list. I just didn't USE it. Besides, a 4 lb bag of frozen periogies is always a good idea. - Lydia]
We finally wandered away from each other, but then would run into each other ten aisles later, and pretend to be all surprised and delighted to see each other. At one point, I think I said to Lydia, "I just need to get toothpaste and batteries" and Lydia made that face that makes it clear she's thinking something gross.
OH! And Lydia was in cute jeans and a white t-shirt with no boobstains and Kate was in flip flops, no makeup and had a headband on. Pure trainwreck. Which, coincidentally, is exactly what Lydia wrote about this week over at Parent's Connect. Fortunately, she was talking about herself...
Lydia also wrote about what NOT to say to a stay at home mom, unless you want her to get an eye twitch. And start plotting against you. Intentionally provoking a mommy in a bad day is sort of like poking a badger with a spoon.
As if that wasn't enough, when we were checking out, Lydia imploded into a fit of weirdness and stupidity for no apparent reason...
Lydia: Ohmygod. Did you see that?
Kate: Uhh, no. What?
Lydia: That lady? Coming out of the bathroom? Wearing the super extra very tight yoga pants and boobstain shirt holding a book? The older lady?
Kate: I'm lost.
Lydia: C'mon, Fancy! Pay attention! Am I almost her? Am I close?
Kate: Whu--?
Lydia: She just casually strolled out of the bathroom carrying a book! Like, just admitting that she was going to be there for a while. Shooting a deuce. At Wegman's. And she didn't care who knew it. Is that me? Is that where I'm headed? Oh god. Am I there yet?
Kate: No. Stupid. You're fine. You're close, but I'm never going to let you get that far. Did you happen to notice that I'm wearing a headband. A. head. band.
Lydia: Do you need a book, too?
Kate: Maybe when we get back to your house. Hooker.
It was the most awesome grocery store trip ever. Mostly because Lydia spent more money than Kate did. By fourteen dollars...I'm so gonna tell the Cap'n about this. Right after I rat on her that she didn't use any coupons.
Posted by Kate M. at 12:00 AM
Labels: grocery shopping, kate, lydia, nickelodeon
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Q: How to distinguish formal words from informal words? As an English Learner, how can I distinguish (or recognise) formal words from informal words.
Also, formal sentences from informal sentences.
For example: So/Then/Therefore/Thus
and many others.
Are there any rules?
I wanna learn spoken English (Informal), but I think BBC World News is not spoken English. It is formal. Am I right?

A: I'm not sure what language you speak natively, but it's possible that your mother tongue has a more structured concept of formality that English does.
In English, formality is expressed in a number of ways. Here's a few I could think of (though there are certainly many more):
Contractions
Using contractions such as "can't" or "doesn't" is usually less formal than using their full forms (in this case "cannot" or "does not").
Word origin
Words of Latin origin are typically more formal than words of Germanic origin (for example, "assist" is more formal than "help", though they mean the same thing.
Sentence structure
Some sentences can sound more or less formal depending on where the subordinate clause is placed. For example:

"We couldn't see the mountains because of the fog."
"Because of the fog, we couldn't see the mountains."

The second, in addition to emphasizing the dependent clause more, sounds more formal.
Flourish
Sentences can sometimes be made more formal by adding words which aren't necessary to their meaning. This is common when making polite requests:

"Do you want to dance?"
"Would you be so kind as to do me the honor of dancing with me?"

The second is much more formal -- the request is "softened" by the addition of unnecessary words.
If anyone disagrees with what I've listed above, please leave a comment. One person's opinion is hardly fact.

A: There are no simple rules for a learner to recognize the various style levels of a foreign language. On the contrary, it needs a long period of reading novels, literature, newspapers, magazines, and other various text sorts. As a learner you can only rely on what your dictionary says. The OALD labels to abide, to purport, to allege as formal, verbs you won't probably find in the first five years of studying English.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Biografia
Ece Uslu è nata il 9 settembre 1974 a Smirne (Turchia), da madre Nazan Uslu ed ha una sorella che si chiama Şehnaz Brooks Uslu.

Carriera
Ece Uslu durante i suoi anni di istruzione ha lavorato come attrice per un anno al Theatre on Duty. Successivamente, ha lavorato come modella fotografica e attrice pubblicitaria presso la Basak Gursoy Modeling Agency. Durante gli anni del liceo ha continuato la sua formazione e le sue esibizioni teatrali nel gruppo Studio Actors fondato da Esat e Şahika Tekand.

Nel 1990 ha iniziato la sua carriera di attrice nella serie İz Peşinde. L'anno successivo, nel 1991, ha recitato nel film Ah.. gardasim diretto da Kadir Inanir. Nello stesso anno ha recitato nella serie Ana. Nel 1993 ha recitato nei film Sari tebessüm diretto da Seçkin Yasar, in Sevgili ortak diretto da Erdogan Tokatli, in Rumuz Sev Beni diretto da Erdogan Tokatli e in Kivilcim diretto da Aykut Düz. Nel 1994 ha recitato nel film Yalanci diretto da Osman Sinav. L'anno successivo, nel 1995, ha recitato nella miniserie Sahte dünyalar.

Nel 1997 ha recitato nel film Diplomat diretto da Dariush Farhang. Nello stesso anno ha recitato nelle serie Kara melek e Firat. Nel 1999 ha recitato nel film televisivo Rüzgâr Gülü. L'anno successivo, nel 2000, ha preso parte al film Güle Güle diretto da Zeki Ökten. Nello stesso anno ha recitato nei film televisivi Üç Kadın 1 e Üç Kadın 1. Nel 2001 ha preso parte al cast della miniserie Benimle evlenir misin, mentre nel 2002 nella miniserie Bana abi de.

Nel 2003 e nel 2004 ha partecipato alla serie Zerda. Nel 2004 ha interpretato il ruolo di Pervin nella serie Askimizda ölüm var. Nello stesso anno ha ricoperto il ruolo di Aydan nel film Büyü diretto da Orhan Oguz. L'anno successivo, nel 2005, ha ricoperto il ruolo di Nina nella serie Ölümüne sevdalar. Nel 2006 ha interpretato il ruolo di Cahide Kutlu nella miniserie Sirça kösk. Nel 2007 e nel 2008 ha ricoperto il ruolo di Lale nella serie Elveda derken. Nel 2008 è entrata a far parte del cast del film Son ders diretto da Iraz Okumus e Mustafa Ugur Yagcioglu, nel ruolo di Soley.

Nel 2010 e nel 2011 ha ricoperto il ruolo di Suna Demiray nella serie Kizim Nerede. Nel 2012 ha recitato nel cortometraggio Erik Zamanı diretto da Sezen Kayhan. Dal 2013 al 2016 è entrata a far parte del cast della serie Karagül, nel ruolo di Ebru Şamverdi. Nel 2017 ha interpretato il ruolo di Feride nel film Vezir Parmagi diretto da Mahsun Kirmizigül. Nello stesso anno ha ricoperto il ruolo di Elvan nella serie Dayan Yuregim.

Nel 2019 è stata scelta per interpretare il ruolo di Cahide Esen Karalar nella serie Come sorelle (Sevgili Geçmiş) e dove ha recitato insieme ad attrici come Sevda Erginci, Melis Sezen, Elifcan Ongurlar e Özge Özacar. Nello stesso anno ha doppiato il personaggio di Ava nel film Klaus - I segreti del Natale (Klaus) diretto da Sergio Pablos e Carlos Martínez López. Nel 2022 ha recitato nel film Sonsuz Bir Ask diretto da Ulas Çobanci.

Vita privata
Ece Uslu è stata sposata fino al 2014 con Özcan Deniz, mentre dal 2019 è sposata con Tamer Bey.

Filmografia

Attrice

Cinema
 Ah.. gardasim, regia di Kadir Inanir (1991)
 Sari tebessüm, regia di Seçkin Yasar (1993)
 Sevgili ortak, regia di Erdogan Tokatli (1993)
 Rumuz Sev Beni, regia di Erdogan Tokatli (1993)
 Kivilcim, regia di Aykut Düz (1993)
 Yalanci, regia di Osman Sinav (1994)
 Diplomat, regia di Dariush Farhang (1997)
 Güle Güle, regia di Zeki Ökten (2000)
 Büyü, regia di Orhan Oguz (2004)
 Son ders, regia di Iraz Okumus e Mustafa Ugur Yagcioglu (2008)
 Vezir Parmagi, regia di Mahsun Kirmizigül (2017)
 Sonsuz Bir Ask, regia di Ulas Çobanci (2022)

Televisione
 İz Peşinde – serie TV (1990)
 Ana – serie TV (1991)
 Sahte dünyalar – miniserie TV, 1 episodio (1995)
 Kara melek – serie TV (1997)
 Firat – serie TV (1997)
 Rüzgâr Gülü – film TV (1999)
 Üç Kadın 1 – film TV (2000)
 Üç Kadın 2 – film TV (2000)
 Benimle evlenir misin – miniserie TV, 3 episodi (2001)
 Bana abi de – miniserie TV, 3 episodi (2002)
 Zerda – serie TV, 32 episodi (2003-2004)
 Askimizda ölüm var – serie TV, 4 episodi (2004)
 Ölümüne sevdalar – serie TV (2005)
 Sirça kösk – miniserie TV, 3 episodi (2006)
 Elveda derken – serie TV, 51 episodi (2007-2008)
 Kizim Nerede – serie TV, 26 episodi (2010-2011)
 Karagül – serie TV, 125 episodi (2013-2016)
 Dayan Yuregim – serie TV, 13 episodi (2017)
 Come sorelle (Sevgili Geçmiş) – serie TV, 8 episodi (2019)

Cortometraggi
 Erik Zamani, regia di Sezen Kayhan (2012)

Doppiatrice

Cinema
 Klaus - I segreti del Natale (Klaus), regia di Sergio Pablos e Carlos Martínez López (2019)

Teatro
 Üçüncü Türden Yakın İlişkiler di Uğur Uludağ, presso il teatro E.S.E.K. (2001)
 Ayıp Ettik di Uğur Yağcıoğlu, presso il teatro R.E.S.T. (2007)
 Medya Maymunları di Joe Penhall, presso il teatro Talimhane (2010)
 Tom,Dick&Harry di Ray Cooney, presso il teatro Akla Kara (2011)
 Patron Kim? di Carlo Goldoni, presso il teatro Akla Kara (2012)

Doppiatrici italiane
Nelle versioni in italiano dei suoi film e delle sue serie TV, Ece Uslu è stata doppiata da:
 Irene Di Valmo in Come sorelle

Riconoscimenti
 Ayakli Gazete TV Stars Awards
 2014: Vincitrice come Miglior attrice dell'anno per la serie Karagül

 Premio Altın Kelebek
 2014: Vincitrice come Miglior attrice in una serie televisiva drammatica per Karagül

 Sadri Alisik Theatre and Cinema Awards
 2017: Candidata come Miglior interpretazione di un'attrice non protagonista in un film per Vezir Parmagi

Note

Collegamenti esterni


It's that time of the year again and temperatures are soaring high. During this time of the year, it is of utmost importance to take proper care of your body as excessive heat can end up making you feel sick. From causing various stomach related issues to excess amount of sweating, hot summer days can take a toll on your health in many possible ways. However, fret not as there is one magical kitchen ingredient that can come to your rescue this summer- lemon! This super-sour summer fruit has a lot of health inducing properties. Here we have got you some refreshing ways in which you can bring lemon to use, that too, without any hassle. Read on to know more about them.
1. Lemon Water After Meal: Drinking lemon water after meals can keep the problem of indigestion at bay. Doing so will eliminate toxins from your body. To enhance the taste of the lemon water, you can add one teaspoon of honey to it.
Drinking lemon water after meals can keep the problem of indigestion at bay.
2. Lemon Scent: Sweating is quite common during this time of the year. With sweat comes body odour which can turn out to be quite embarrassing at times. In order to get rid of the pungent sweat odour, take some lemon juice and add water to it. Apply the mixture on your armpits and other sweat prone areas and leave it for 15 minutes. Once this is done, rinse off with cold water. Doing this everyday will gradually decrease the odour.
3. Lemon For Tanning: In order to protect your face from tanning, take some lemon juice and apply it all over your face. Let it dry for 10 minutes. Wash off your face with cold water and repeat the procedure twice a day to see effective results.
4. Lemon Mouth Freshener: If you happen to be one of those who suffers from the issue of bad breath, then lemon can prove to be quite beneficial for you as it acts as a natural mouth freshener. You can now make your own organic mouth freshener; all you need is 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and half a cup of warm water. Mix these ingredients together, gargle with this mixture and feel the freshness in your breath.
So these were few of the best ways in which you can use lemon for your body this summer! Go ahead and make the most of them.


OLG Casino Brantford has less than 1,000 slot machines and only 55 gaming tables available. Since OLG Casino Brantford is limited in size, the casino does not offer the wide selection of games found in a typical online casino or mobile slots casino.
The OLG Casino Brantford table games include standard casino games, such as blackjack, Let it Ride, Craps and Spanish 21. Some less common games are also available, including Sic Bo, Blackjack Switch and Pai Gow Poker.
The casino does have a poker room and the games offer a progressive jackpot. The room has 14 tables, all of which are dedicated to Texas Hold'Em-style poker. Poker tournaments are offered periodically, in accordance with the casino's current tournament schedule.
Betting ranges for table games at OLG Casino Brantford range from a minimum of $5 to a maximum of $100. Slot machines range from $0.01 to $0.05. Whereby an online casino may offer much higher slot machine betting ranges catering to high rollers in the process, OLG Casino keeps the limits low.
The OLG Casino Brantford features the Getaway Restaurant and the facility closes by 10pm except for on Fridays and Saturdays, when it stays open until midnight. The main Getaway Restaurant offers a combination of causal dining and family-friendly food. The Gateway Express Bar offers quicker fare for those who don't want a sit-down eating experience.
The OLG Casino Brantford does offer free coffee, tea and soft drinks to players, as well as a free coat check. All alcoholic beverages must be purchased. A gift shop, currency exchange and bank machines are available onsite, as well as free parking.
If you are planning a trip to OLG Casino Brantford, you will need to arrange for lodging overnight, as the casino does not have hotel rooms available. Nearby hotel room prices vary, depending on room size, operator and service level.
Ready to move on to the next Canadian gambling hub? Ontario's London Casinos offer gamblers all the usual refineries such as dining lounges, live entertainment and of course, great gaming options.


The 4D Blue Tang Fish Puzzle has 14 museum quality pieces and measures approx. 3" long.
4D puzzles (3 Dimensional + details) exercise logic and improve fine motor skills. The advanced interlocking parts can be put together and pulled back apart over and over again, allowing for hours of enjoyment. The 4D Puzzle Blue Tang Fish includes 14 colorful, museum quality, hand-painted pieces.


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Instagram Hits 200 Million Users: How Brands Succeed on Instagram
With technology these days, you never really know how well a social platform will perform or how far it'll go. Yesterday, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Instagram's user base has now crossed over to 200 million users. Facebook first acquired the photo-sharing platform back in 2012, when it had just 100 million users, increasing to 150 million users this past September. Following yesterday's big announcement, Instagram posted a blog highlighting some additional stats about the app, including that 20 billion photos have been uploaded and shared on Instagram, increasing from 16 billion just nine months ago.
It's also been announced that Instagram is testing out integration with Facebook Places, Facebook's own venue database. Instgram users have always had the option of naming the location of any pictures they upload via Foursquare location services. Now, that might be changing, furthering Instagram's integration with their owner, Facebook.
Since it seems as if Instagram is picking up social success, here's some tips marketers can use to grow their business and increase their brand awareness and referral traffic on this popular platform.
Get to Know the Community
Instagram is similar to Twitter in a way because the app allows you to follow other users to create your own community. Spend some time browsing Instagram to get a feel for what other people and brands are posting. Pay attention to what photos they engage with, who they follow, and what they comment on. This allows you to get to know your audience and to capture new followers and customers.
Stay True to Your Brand
What's your brand's personality and voice? Instagram is great for capturing and visually representing that. And what makes Instagram so infectious is that it's not meant to be staged or serious but to bring out a brand's transparency, quirkiness and interesting qualities.
Inspire Action & Experience
Instagram is all about posting moments, so why not post moments that inspire? Brands can use Instagram to show off products and product benefits, an interesting process, a behind the scenes look, and exclusive previews and releases. Whether it's through a photo or video, use Instagram to show off the world or lifestyle that your brand provides for those who purchase your products and services. Show how your company sees the world and make it meaningful. This is what inspires engagement and action.
Include Hashtags
Hashtags area a great way to expose your content to the right audience, even a wider audience outside uses you follow. You can use hashtags anywhere in the description of any photos you post or in any comments you make. The point is not to place a hashtag before every single word, but make it appropriate and relevant for users to find the photo. A great example would be: Take a look at the new #socialmedia #stats for your digital media #marketing.
Additionally, for special events, conferences, or receptions, brands can take advantage of hashtags by creating their very own and encouraging attendees and guests to include the hashtag when posting photos from the event.
Promote Instagram Posts on Facebook
200 million users is impressive for Instagram to acquire, but don't forget that Instagram is owned by Facebook and that partnership has allows brands to easily share Instagram photos directly on their Facebook business pages to reach a wider audience (818 million to be exact). Make sure your Instagram account is connected to Facebook to distribute posts to world's largest network.


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Ecomnews MED selection #IMF
#MEDITERRANEANEXCHANGES
#EconomicAnalysis
#IMF
#MiddleEast
#PoliticalAnalysis
North Africa and the Middle East still seen as regions…
Countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Caucasus and Central Asia (MOAC region) continued to improve their economic governance. However, surveys show that citizens and businesses continue to view poor governance and corruption as serious problems in the region. The governance indicators broadly corroborate these views.
#TUNISIA
Tunisia must speed up the establishment of a clear economic…
#Election
Tunisia is expected to hold legislative elections by the end…
#ALGERIA
#IRAK
#IRAN
#JORDAN
#LEBANON
#LIBYA
#MOROCCO
#PALESTINE
#SaoudiArabia
#Soudan
#TURKEY
#UnitedArabEmirates
#Company
What is the economic situation in the Middle East? Analysis by Jihad Azour, Director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department
Since the start of the year, the Middle East and Central Asia region has made good progress and the recovery is underway, despite new outbreaks of COVID. This recovery is uneven and incomplete, however, and has not yet fully taken root across the region. In addition, the general environment remains uncertain and new challenges are emerging.
Thursday 4 November 2021
Egypt receives new IMF deal to help fight Covid-19
In June 2020, the country of the Pharaohs had obtained a confirmation agreement from the IMF, backed by funding of $ 5.6 billion. Spanning 12 months, it aims to help the state cope with macroeconomic imbalances caused by the covid-19 pandemic.


Cassidy, our first Vizsla, brought joy and a new purpose to our lives, and we will always miss him. He is immortal - in our hearts, memory, through the legacy of his get left behind, and the human connections he brought to us.
1998 #5 Vizsla All-Breed and #7 Breed in U.S.


My wife and I worked with Kurt and Mike on selling our old house (a west side 1925 stucco 3 bedroom) and buying our new one (a four bedroom on Budd Inlet off of Cooper Point). Kurt and Mike are super knowledgeable about the Olympia real estate scene, both being native Olympians. They know the market and provide solid advice and guidance as you go through the process.
Mike and Kurt are also great people — honest, funny, smart and knowledgeable. They are in this business for the long haul and you make that work by providing good, timely service and outstanding results. The proof is in the pudding for the our family.
After Kurt helped us sell our last house and buy our new one, he and Mike have since then provided the same service to my brother and my daughter (twice). Each transaction has worked out really well and we will, no doubt, work with Kurt and Mike again when we are ready for our next transaction.


Mobile Mini Inc (NASDAQ:MINI) missed earnings estimates in its third quarter after divesting some assets, but growth in its tank and pump solutions segment pushed the company's revenue past analyst estimates.
The portable storage company reported a net loss of $1.18 per share on revenue of $149.7 million compared with $0.25 earnings per share on revenue of $136.6 million in the previous year's third quarter.
The Arizona-based company fell below Wall Street estimates of $0.41 EPS, but surpassed revenue expectations of $148.44 million.
The company realized a net loss of $52.2 million after divesting underperforming assets in July, although the company did not specify which assets.
Mobile Mini offers portable storage solutions in the US and UK as well as tank and pump solutions, including spill containment systems and filtration systems.
Rental revenue from its storage division grew 7.8% year-over-year to $112.6 million compared with $104.5 million last year.
Its tank and pump solutions division saw 21.9% year-over-year growth to $28.3 million compared with $23.2 million in the previous third quarter.
The company's board declared a cash dividend of $0.25 per share, which will be paid on November 28, 2018, to shareholders of record on November 14, 2018.
"The pipeline in North America looks healthy and economic indicators are positive, while activity in the U.K. is stable, with increases in rate offsetting a slight decrease in units on rent," said CEO Erik Olsson in the company's press release.
For the full year, the company is expecting double-digit revenue growth compared with 2017 as well as increases in adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow and a decreased leverage ratio.
Shares of Mobile Mini closed up around 1.4% to $43.43 by Thursday's closing bell.
Mobile Mini, Inc. is a provider of portable storage solutions. The Company offers a range of portable storage products in varying lengths and widths with a differentiated features, such as its locking systems, doors, electrical wiring and shelving. Its customers use its products for a range of storage applications, including retail and manufacturing supplies and inventory, temporary offices, construction materials and equipment, documents and records and household goods.


This article describes techniques for implementing dynamic system message management (SMM), local format storage (LFS) and dynamic virtual communications interface (VCI) management.
This is the abbreviated version, containing approximately 41% of the total text.
and dynamic virtual communications interface (VCI) management.
software that is managing the hardware.
insulated by this approach. The interface remains the same.
1) Set the initial settings in the profile provided.
2) Execute the ISR Interrupt.
Fig. 1 is a memory block diagram of the dynamic SMM.
application program through an API.


Android developers still should care about Gingerbread users. Every month Google publishes platform statistics collected from Play Store.
You can see more details in this document. From the last month the speed of "loosing Gingerbread" was increased from 0.07% to 0.08% per day. With such speed Gingerbread will has less then 10% of users approximately at the 1st June.
So, if you plan to release your app this summer, you need to consider, does it really needed to support Gingerbread? I hope, next month statistics will be much and much better.


The Seasalt Womens Polperro 3 Season Coat is a versatile parka-inspired coat that you can enjoy almost all year round. The contemporary style and design mean you can wear it two ways, the brushed cotton inner section provides warmth during the winter but can be unbuttoned and taken out for spring and autumn. The peaked hood will keep wind and rain off your face, with leather pulls so you can adjust for the best fit.
The Polperro 3 has a simple sophisticated look and can be cinched in at the waist. Finished with a two-way zip, angled pockets, interior phone pocket and ribbed cuffs on inner layer. Designed for all manner of wet and windy weather, the Polperro 3 is an excellent choice for this season and beyond.