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Lake Taupo
Huka Falls - Roadside Stories
Huka Falls Rd, Taupo
Manatū Taonga's YouTube channel
A Manatū Taonga audio guide to the rushing waters of Huka Falls. Check out the Ministry for Culture and Heritage's audio guide in the image carousel above.
At Huka Falls, up to 220,000 litres of water rush through a narrow gorge on the Waikato River each second. Just a handful of thrill-seeking kayakers have navigated the foaming turquoise waters of the falls, which were also the site of a 1989 murder investigation.
Huka Falls,
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/volcanic-plateau-places/9
Kayaking the Huka Falls,
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/volcanic-plateau-places/9/3
Waterfalls,
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/waterfalls
Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number C89020-7D).
Roadside Stories are a series of audio guides to places of interest on major road trips in New Zealand. Each guide tells the story of an attraction along the way -- its people, its history, its cultural and natural significance. For more information about Roadside Stories visit http://www.mch.govt.nz/roadside/
Speed Works Events - Round Four
Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park, Taupo, Lake Taupo
Hydro Thunder GP Hydroplane NZ Championship Series
Lake Taupo, Taupo, Lake Taupo
Fri 28 Jan – more dates
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac & Stevie Nicks Tribute Show
Finn's Bistro and Beer Garden, Taupo, Lake Taupo
Wairakei Resort, Taupo, Lake Taupo
Dinner At The Lake
Taupo Lakefront, Taupo, Lake Taupo
World Famous (in Taupo) Dinosaur Hunt
Taupo Museum, Taupo, Lake Taupo
Market Central Taupō
Northcroft Reserve, Taupo, Lake Taupo
Sun 23 Jan – more dates
Speed Works Events - Round Seven
Sat 26 Mar – more dates

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Americas Cardroom Site Details
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Punta Cana Details
Ranked Online Poker Rooms
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana to reopen 1 June
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana releases 2020 entertainment lineup
Foxwoods reports April 2018 slot revenue
14 players secure Punta Cana Poker Classic package at Americas Cardroom
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Someone might want to tell the spa at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana to hire more masseuses. Another 14 online poker players from Americas Cardroom are heading to the 5-star resort in Dominican Republic after securing their $5,000 all-inclusive package on Sunday through the online poker site's 12-package guaranteed tournament.
"We crowned another 14 winners on Sunday in our 12-package guarantee that attracted way more players than we anticipated," stated Michael Harris, spokesperson for Americas Cardroom. "We can't wait to see each one of them this October, and we look forward to crowning another four winners this Sunday."
An online poker player named Cousy finished first in the tournament, but he wasn't the only winner. Another 13 players won the same $5,000 package, including: Fat Stacks, KepDog1, 9QUE, mmouse28, jgarret3221, theSaucerMakr, COCOANUTSCRUB, GMPx3, gunther1962, H3adbanD, YandySavage, stepntime1 and Pabloco.
Another notable player, NOTATRADER, bubbled the tournament in 15th place. He missed the package, instead winning $2,250. But with a fourth-place finish in last night's $50,000 that earned him $3,875, he won enough cash in yesterday's tourney to purchase a $5,000 all-inclusive package for the Punta Cana Poker Classic.
Each package includes one Main Event buy-in, six-night hotel accommodations for two, all-you-can-handle food and drinks (alcohol included) for two, airfare up to $800, a $1,500 resort credit, 24-hour premium room service for two, a welcome gift bag, ground transportation in Punta Cana and more.
Entering its third year, the Punta Cana Poker Classic tournament takes place at the Vegas-style Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Dominican Republic October 12-18 with a guaranteed prize pool of $500,000.
Unlike previous Caribbean tournaments hosted by other poker networks where online poker players had to purchase expensive food and alcohol, the Punta Cana Poker Classic awards Americas Cardroom winners with a bracelet that gives them access to unlimited food and beverages 24/7. Hotel rooms are well stocked with beer and liquor, room service is available whenever poker players crave it, and over a dozen restaurants and delis are ready to cater to package winners.
Online poker players who missed to boat to Punta Cana on Sunday can play for a package this Sunday at 7:30pm ET. Americas Cardroom hosts a four-package guarantee on Sunday, August 19 at 7:30pm ET. It costs just $250+$15 to get into, and qualifiers start at just $0.50.
14 players secure Punta Cana Poker Classic package at Americas Cardroom is republished from Online.CasinoCity.com.


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Q: Changing cell size of raster in QGIS during extraction (clip) I want to be able to tweak a raster to be exactly 1mtr cell size during export to bmp or tif. at the moment it's approx 1.19
In Global Mapper the process is clear -
I would just simply change the 'Sample spacing' to '1' on X and Y axis:

I can see QGIS reference it as Pixel Size:

I've looked at 'Align Raster' - but that seems to require resampling the current raster to a new raster layer and for some reason it seemed to mess with the output raster more than i'd like (darkened).

Is there any way to change cell size within a gdalwarp (clip) process?

A: I don't think you want the "Align Rasters" function. (And gdalwarp is not clip) Your question mentions resampling, and in order to change the pixel size you have to do resampling; No way around that. It does "mess" with the data, but that's the consequence of resampling.
gdalwarp is indeed the right tool for the job. You can both resample and clip to some defined extent in one go. The resample resolution is set with the -tr 1.0 1.0 command line option. In the GUI window you set the "Output file resolution" parameter.
It's not clear what you meant by "(darkening)". The display colors of the raster are totally separate from the resampling procedure.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
import { callApi } from '../api';

export function fetchErrorLog(reactor) {
  return callApi(reactor, 'GET', 'error_log');
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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← Dissecting the Knicks' Offseason
Bold Predictions →
Are the US Men' Basketball Team Vulnerable?
For those of you that are into the breakdown of basketball games, players, and teams, I highly suggest you guys check out the BBALLBREAKDOWN channel on YouTube. With the Olympics under way, they recently released a video of how the team has failed to execute and I've decided to a write up of the video to summarize what the problem has been for this year's team. Now granted that they are 5-0 and have still won each game by an average of over 20 points, the last three games have been very close. The United States men's team still has a very dominant +117 point differential and are doing so without some of their best players. But they are no longer dominating teams the way people are used to seeing them do so and there are people wondering if they could possibly lose and why?
remove photo
Prior to the games, there were even a few discussion of which team was better, the 2008 team, the 2012 team, or this year's team. From what I have seen and heard, that comparison should be put to rest and the main reason is because of the difference in the level of defense between the last two teams to represent the United States and this year's team. On paper, this team looks to be a solid defense team with Draymond Green, DeAndre Jordan, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Kyle Lowry and Paul George. All of them are known as good defensive players and one would think that they would be able to stop or at least contain players who do not play in the NBA. But Green and Lowry only combine to play 24mpg, and Butler and Thompson only play a combined 30mpg and neither Paul George or DeAndre Jordan play 20mpg. And even when they are playing, you have to remember that one good defensive player cannot stop an entire team.
What other teams have done, is isolate and attack DeMarcus Cousins in the pick and roll. Cousins is one of the best offensive threats in the game and is leading the team in rebounds but he also leads the team in fouls. Serbia especially, brought Cousins out of the paint and made him defense the pick and roll which saw him often out of position. DeAndre Jordan is not free of blame either as he has been out of position at times as well. While many of the teams are exposing the United States' big men's defense, the guards have not necessarily held their end of the deal either. Many of the guards are often caught watching or reaching in and this is one of the reasons that the big men have been caught in bad situations.
The troubling thing about all of this is that it is all due to a lack of effort and discipline. Kevin Durant, who isn't exactly a shut down defender, but solid enough most of the time, has been caught watching the ball, DeMar Derozan, known to be a solid defender was seen reaching, and Paul George has even been seen reaching in and gambling. These players often do a good job of not reaching and staying disciplined during an NBA season but the fact that they are doing this now suggests that they still believe that they can just go out there and win with their athleticism, size, and skill. While that may be true as team USA is 5-0 so far, it is obvious that other teams are finding ways to keep the game close and give themselves a shot. With the sport becoming more global over the last decade and more international players gaining experience in the NBA, it is time for the US players to realize that they cannot go on like this for long.
That same lack of focus and discipline has also been seen on the other side of the ball. This team has had a lot of trouble getting into their sets and if it weren't for the team's superior skill, their offensive execution, or lack thereof, would have cost them a game already. Some of their offensive troubles have also come because of their defense. If you watch videos of the 2008 "Redeem" Team, you can see that they were able to force a lot of misses and turnover, which led to run outs and fast breaks, which ultimately led to them being able to use their superior athleticism. As coach Nick of BBALLBREAKDOWN points out, many of the offensive sets for team USA lacks movement and passing and the players are often looking confused. There are plays in which all 5 players are on the same side, or players resort to isolation or pick and roll at the end of games.
My explanation for a lot of this is the lack of leadership. Carmelo Anthony is playing in his 4th Olympics and Kevin Durant is playing in his 2nd but nobody else has any Olympics experience and while the roster is filled with great players, they do lack a vocal leader and players with international experience. The only 2 players to be looked at as the elder's statesmen have no championships between them and neither are known to be lockdown defenders or floor generals. The 2008 team had Jason Kidd, LeBron James, and Chris Paul who are all known to be good leaders in their own way and they still had a very experienced Kobe Bryant as well. The 2012 team also had Tyson Chandler, and Andre Iguodala to go along with Chris Paul, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant. That veteran leadership goes a long way in setting up an offense and holding guys accountable and disciplined on defense as well. While some of this responsibility is on the coaches, they have remained pretty constant throughout the years leaving the players to be the variables. Also, with it being a tournament without much preparation time, having a leader on the court becomes a whole lot more important.
Obviously this team is still expected to win the gold and will be the favorites in every game going forward. But if they are to keep up their uninspired, undisciplined play, they could be caught off guard. With other teams seeing ways to exploit the United States' defense and lack of offensive cohesiveness, and gaining confidence, Coach Krzyzewski's team will need to find a way to clean up some mistakes if they want to win and do so convincingly like so many of their past teams have.
If anyone is interested in the aforementioned YouTube channel, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpvjDk06HLxBaw8sZw7SkA
Posted in NBA, Olympics
Tagged Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Coach Krzyzewski, DeAndre Jordan, DeMar Derozan, Draymond Green, Jason Kidd, Jimmy Butler, Kento Kato, Klay Thompson, Kobe Bryant, Kyle Lowry, LeBron James, NBA, Olympics, Paul George, Serbia, Tyson Chandler, United States


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Pirga cryptogena är en fjärilsart som beskrevs av Collenette 1931. Pirga cryptogena ingår i släktet Pirga och familjen tofsspinnare. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Tofsspinnare
cryptogena

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Q: what is the real use of __return_empty_array in wordpress and when should we use it? As I have started learning wordpress plugin developement recently but i can't understand the function  __return_empty_array. It returns an array but when should we really use it.

A: __return_empty_array returns an empty array. It is ued to return empty array to filters. For example consider the case of turning off the link of the authors page. You can add the following code to functions.php to get it done.
add_filter ('author_rewrite_rules', '__return_empty_array');

In this case an empty array is returned and __return_empty_array is used for it. Hope you get me.


An interior design firm dedicated to helping you love where you live.
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With a natural eye for beauty and a problem solver from an early age, Dawn Gibbes is the principal designer behind Details Interior Design based out of Burlington, Ontario.
Dawn has over 30 years of experience in the design industry, with an eclectic background ranging from Graphic Arts to Floral Design. Specializing in Kitchen and Baths for the last 14 years, and building strong working relationships based on integrity, trust and respect. She has been awarded multiple national awards for excellence in customer service, because Kindness Matters.
Details Interior Design collaborates with talented and trusted contractors, trades and vendors to create a classic space that will exceed your expectations!


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Le Team Lagardère était une structure sportive professionnelle privée, créée en 2005 par Arnaud Lagardère au sein du Groupe Lagardère destinée à fédérer et promouvoir des sportifs professionnels de haut niveau. Elle a su en son sein de joueurs français de tennis de premier plan comme Richard Gasquet ou Paul-Henri Mathieu. Cette structure, qui a employé jusqu'à  et était dotée d'un budget annuel de  d'euros, a été dissoute fin .

Historique

Le Team Lagardère est créé en juin 2005 à Paris (Stade Jean-Bouin) et Sophia Antipolis. Orienté initialement vers le tennis, le Team visait à concurrencer les structures fédérales nationales de la Fédération française de tennis (FFT) pour offrir une alternative privée à la formation publique des jeunes champions. Le Team s'est ensuite élargi à l'athlétisme signant un partenariat avec la Fédération française d'athlétisme qui a provoqué quelques polémiques et inquiété quelques officiels de l'INSEP.

Tennis

De nombreux joueurs français ont fait partie du Team Lagardère : Richard Gasquet, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Michaël Llodra, Thierry Ascione, Julien Benneteau, Nicolas Devilder, Nicolas Mahut, Alizé Cornet...

Certains autres joueurs se sont également rapprochés du groupe sans en faire complètement partie, bénéficiant des structures d'entraînement physique comme c'est le cas d'Amélie Mauresmo.

Athlétisme

Parmi les athlètes qui ont fait partie du groupe on peut citer Ayodelé Ikuesan, Teddy Venel ou Christophe Bonnet.

La cadette Anaïs Eudes, en remportant les Championnats du monde de Pentathlon moderne de la catégorie en 2007, permis à la structure Lagardère de remporter son premier titre sur la scène internationale.

Autres

D'autres sportifs ont été accueillis pour bénéficier des structures d'entraînement physique comme l'escrimeuse Laura Flessel, la judokate Lucie Décosse ou le joueur handisport de tennis Michaël Jeremiasz. En 2007, la Team Lagardère s'est ouverte au tennis de table en prenant en charge des joueurs prometteurs tels Abdel-Kader Salifou.

Notes et références

Liens externes

Lagardère
Sport en France


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Moffat County's historic Luttrell Barn turning heads with new renovations
The Luttrell Barn is pictured in 1975, shortly before its relocation from its original Washington Street spot.
What's new at the Luttrell Barn, you ask? Well, the century-old structure itself, in a manner of speaking.
Saturday saw the grand opening of the Luttrell Barn Cultural Center, revamped, refurnished, revitalized and ready to reopen as an event hub for Moffat County.
Crowds were taking tours through the building, which has been standing in multiple locations in Craig for 113 years.
First built in 1904 on Washington Street, the barn was relocated and donated in 1976 by Emilyn Young to the now-defunct Moffat County Arts and Humanities Council, who later sold it to the county in 1984.
Years of disrepair affected the building — the property a total 0.93 acres at 411 Emerson St. near the Moffat County Fairgrounds — leading to it nearly being forgotten altogether and facing potential demolition. After much debate about the fate of the structure, Moffat County Commissioners were able to pass ownership to the Save the Barn committee this March. The committee will pay $100 per year for a 10-year term, which can be renewed twice for a total of 30 years.
Commissioner Ray Beck was on hand to take a look at what had become of the building that had raised much hubbub.
"I'm impressed," he said. "We clearly made the right decision in giving it to these people."
Committee members have put in countless time since taking ownership in restoring the barn, which included fitting it with a new roof, a recurring joke being that one could still stay inside and still glimpse the stars at night due to the many holes overhead.
Updates to the flooring, doors, insulation, outside landscaping and more were also visible as part of the ongoing process.
Committee chairman John Allen estimated that he and his wife have put in 800 man-hours of work at the site.
"That's just us, and there's been numerous other volunteers," he said. "We still need a lot of community support to keep it going."
Besides cookies and ciders for visitors, a silent auction also awaited the crowd, and the many donated items were part of the community-aided fundraising spirit that has defined the Luttrell Barn's return.
The barn is already available for bookings for weddings and other events, and community member Fran Davis said she was in awe of the location, a vast change apparent from the last time she attended a reception there.
"Even then it wasn't as pretty as it is now," she said. "It's a work of art, really."
For more information on Luttrell Barn Cultural Center, visit https://www.facebook.com/LuttrellBarnCulturalCenter/.


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HomeInterview with Festival Director Jayson Simba (KEW GARDENS FESTIVAL OF CINEMA)
Interview with Festival Director Jayson Simba (KEW GARDENS FESTIVAL OF CINEMA)
April 25, 2017 festreviews Festival Interview, film festival, film festival reviews, Interview, interviews, Uncategorizedfestival director, festival reviews, interview, Jayson Simba, KEW GARDENS FESTIVAL OF CINEMA, matthew toffolo wildsound
Already being hailed by The Wall Street Journal as New York City's next major film event, and as mentioned on The Huffington Post, Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema is a non-profit organization established to support the development of and help expand the audiences for independent cinema from around the globe. The inaugural festival will take place Aug. 4-13, 2017.
http://www.kewgardensfestivalofcinema.com/
Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?
Jayson Simba: Simply, our festival is succeeding in getting filmmakers films in front of the right people at the right location. We wanted to make sure we were able to present films in an actual theater, giving them the proper environment in addition to optimal sound and visuals. We are also working extremely hard to have audiences attend and have a very active campaign on social media as well as various print outlets. Finally, we want to assure that filmmakers are comfortable and confident with their submissions, so along with obtaining great sponsors that are offering amazing opportunities, we guarantee that every film is watched by a board member in its entirety.
What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?
Attendees and participants can expect to experience an event, not just a film festival. We are not only concentrating on the Films, but we want to offer filmmakers and attendees a great time, so you can expect Movie Trivia Night, Happy Hours Specials at various Bars and Restaurants throughout the area. We also will be having an outdoor screening in Flushing Meadow Park under the famous Unisphere presented by The Queens Museum!
What are the qualifications for the selected films?
The ONLY qualification is that the film isn't backed by a major studio. Other than that, anything and everything goes! We have already received over 350 amazing films which include subjects and genres such as Horror, Drama, Fantasy, Noir, Thriller, Action, LGBT, Docs, Animation and Experimentation.
Do you think that some films really don't get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?
Absolutely without question. With the rise in popularity in 'independent film' A lot of major studios have developed divisions that fund and produce these films, usually with a budget of $10 million plus. It's become unfortunate that film festivals which have gone on to become some of the biggest in the world, seem to have forgotten the true purpose of a film festival and generally seem to cater to films with multimillion dollar budgets and A list actors – something that the truly independent film rarely if at all has access to. There are some amazing films out there (as our festival is setting out to prove) that do an amazing job without the large budget and A list celebrities.
What motivates you and your team to do this festival?
Honestly it's the love of film. Our festival was formed by filmmakers who have the experience of creating content that has been rejected by major festivals for the very same reasons as others. Knowing at the end of the day that we are providing an great service, presenting great material and allowing everyone to fully enjoy this festival as an event, makes it all worth doing.
How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?
Filmfreeway is only one of the five platforms where we are accepting films. But FilmFreeway is #1. Alone we have surpassed 200 submissions!
Where do you see the festival by 2020?
My personal vision is to have this event become a NYC staple. An event that people plan and book in advance because its "THE" place to be in August.
What film have you seen the most times in your life?
Oh wow. That's tough. I'm a huge cinephile and have been since as long as I can remember! (As a kid, my mom and I would go to the local videostore and rent 5 movies at time!) …..But If I must claim ONE – I'd say its probably the original Clash of the Titans and/or Star Wars – I knew both films VERBATIM.
In one sentence, what makes a great film?
How is the film scene in your city?
In our CITY – the film scene is intense. Besides all the multiplexes and over 200 film festivals, I'd say NYC has one of, if not the largest film going population in the world….Now if you ask me about the film scene in QUEENS? That's another story – and we are about to change that!
Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 2 times a month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.
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← Interview with Festival Director Warren Workman (Family Film Festival)
Interview with Festival Director William Strang-Moya (OCEAN CITY FILM FESTIVAL) →
2 thoughts on "Interview with Festival Director Jayson Simba (KEW GARDENS FESTIVAL OF CINEMA)"
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Home » Executive changes made at Winn-Dixie
Executive changes made at Winn-Dixie
By Bryan Salvage
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Laurence Appel, who joined Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. in 2002 and formerly served as general counsel, corporate secretary and senior vice president of human resources, has been named senior vice president of retail operations. Effective Jan. 5, Appel replaces Frank Eckstein, who has retired from his current role but will continue to serve in an advisory capacity until the end of fiscal year 2011. Appel reports to Peter Lynch, chairman, CEO and president.
"Larry has tremendous experience with Winn-Dixie and in retail in general, having worked at Winn-Dixie for nearly a decade and at Home Depot prior to that," Lynch said. "I am confident he will make a very positive impact on the management of our stores as we continue to execute our strategic initiatives and lay the foundation for our future growth."
Appel will be succeeded as general counsel by Timothy Williams, who joined Winn-Dixie in 2003 and formerly served as assistant general counsel; and as senior vice president of human resources by Anita Dahlstrom-Gutel, who joined the company almost two years ago and formerly served as vice president of corporate human resources and talent acquisition/management. Both report to Lynch.
Dan Portnoy, senior vice president and chief merchandising and marketing officer, has resigned from the company. His duties will be performed by Mary Kellmanson, group vice president of marketing; Matt Gutermuth, group vice president, non-perishables, pricing and corporate brands; James Smits, group vice president of perishables; and John Fegan, vice president of pharmacy. All four will report directly to Lynch.
Top executive changes made at Luby's
Executive changes made at Brinker
Winn-Dixie closing 30 stores, cutting staff


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Eine Futterwertleistungsprüfung ist ein Warentest, der in der Regel von öffentlich-rechtlichen Institutionen, zum Beispiel von Lehr- und Versuchsanstalten, im Landwirtschaftsbereich durchgeführt wird.

Gegenstand der Prüfung sind Futtermittel (Allein- oder Kombinationsfutter), die von verschiedenen privaten Anbietern auf dem freien Markt für die landwirtschaftliche Nutztierproduktion oder -haltung angeboten werden. Methodik und Auswertung sind an wissenschaftlichen Grundsätzen ausgerichtet. Im Vordergrund der Untersuchungen steht der Wirkungsgrad im Verhältnis von Preis und Leistung. Dabei ist zwischen Mastfutter, Futter für die Tierhaltung (zum Beispiel für Milchkühe und Legehennen) und Futter für Tierzuchten (zum Beispiel Pferdefutter) zu unterscheiden.

Unabhängig davon werden bei allen Futterwertleistungsprüfungen die Inhaltsstoffe analysiert. Die Ergebnisse der regelmäßig über einen jeweils längeren Testzeitraum stattfindenden Futterwertleistungsprüfungen werden sowohl von den öffentlich-rechtlichen Institutionen, als auch von der landwirtschaftlichen Fachpresse veröffentlicht.

Einzelnachweise

Futtermittelanalytik
Prüftechnik


FRASERBURGH HARBOUR BOARD CHAIRMAN MICHAEL MURRAY (CENTRE) WITH SISTER ACT PRODUCER STEPHEN SUMMER AND PRINCIPAL LYNNE MCPHERSON.MR MURRAY HANDED OVER �500 FROM THE PRODUCERS OF THE RECENT MOVIE SHOT IN THE BROCH TO FRASERBURGH JUNIOR ARTS GROUP.
Three fantastic Fraserburgh causes have benefited from film monies paid to the town's Harbour Commissioners.
It follows the recent filming of 'We Don't Talk About Love' which took in areas of the port with the Harbour Commissioners opting to support local community groups with the £1,500 received.
Collecting £500 each from Commisioners' convener Michael Murray earlier this week were Fraserburgh Mission, Junior Arts Society and the Broch Drama Group.
Broch Drama Group is currently rehearsing for its performance of Grease from September 10-15, while the Junior Arts Society are preparing for a production of Sister Act from June 19-23 at the Dalrymple Hall and Arts Centre.
One of the Drama Group's youn stars - Scott Murray - actually plays the character Stevie in the upcoming movie which follows the tale of a father who takes his teenage son's souped-up car on joy rides around Aberdeenshire.


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Watch The Scary New Video For Radar State's 'Strays'
October 26, 2018 (October 26, 2018) // Riot Fest
When it comes to the Kansas City/Lawrence indie rock torch, it's safe to say that The Get Up Kids and The Anniversary helped to light it and have been running four minute miles with it ever since (sorry, couldn't help it). It only makes sense that eventually they'd come together for forces of good, which brings us to Radar State.
Radar State formed about 18 months ago and is made up of The Anniversary's guitarist-vocalist Josh Berwanger, The Get Up Kids' guitarist-vocalists Matt Pryor and Jim Suptic, as well as Architects/Gadjits drummer Adam Phillips to keep it loud and local.
Radar State's debut, Strays, isn't scheduled for release until January 11, 2019 on Wiretap Records, but you can check out the first song off their debut album below. And if you like it, you can see them in Chicago on February 2nd at Cobra Lounge. Tickets are on sale now.
Posted in New MusicTagged Architects, cobra lounge, Gadjits, Radar State, strays, The Anniversary, The Get Up Kids


1074 views by visitorsVisitors include only non-authenticated site users, excluding known robots that crawl Art Limited site for automatic indexing purposes.
Common feed 25 November 2014 at 06:50pmThe common feed displays chronologically all the artworks added by the artists.
Jacques Hervé thank you so much!


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John Gabor resigns from city manager position…
John Gabor resigns from city manager position in Marine City
John Gabor (File Photo)
By Jeri Packer |
PUBLISHED: December 18, 2014 at 10:00 p.m. | UPDATED: June 17, 2021 at 2:56 a.m.
Marine City Manager John Gabor is resigning from his position as the lead administrator of the riverside town. He will have to switch gears at his new job in Hamtramck.
"It's a big switch, but I'm familiar with the area," he said. "I grew up around City Airport."
His new title will by deputy city manager/treasurer.
Gabor shared the news with the commission in a closed session after the regular Marine City Commission meeting Thursday night. He recommended the commission be looking for someone with a strong financial background to take on the fiscal challenges of the city, including pensions. Gabor suggested that they create a new position of city manager/police chief. It would be a cost-savings to combine the two jobs, possibly saving as much as $50,000 a year.
His last day in office will be Jan. 31.
Gabor said he thinks it's a perfect time for the transition, with the strong leadership from the department heads and the city commission, and the cooperation between them.
"They are working well together," he said. "It will be a smooth transition."
As far as the new job in the city, it's in his nature, he said. Coming from the auto industry, he said he is ready to meet a new challenge head on.
Mayor Ray Skotarczyk said Gabor's suggestion of combining the two positions was received favorably by the commission.
"I think it's a possibility and could be a win-win for us," he said. "We would be losing a good administrator and consolidating two positions to save us money."
Skotarczyk said he has seen the two positions combined by other communities and it has been successful.
"The fact that he is looking out for us by making plans for us just shows how he can take a negative and make it a positive," he said.
Skotarczyk said that Gabor has managed to make improvements with declining revenues and handled a budget that would have crippled most cities.
Commissioner Dianne Lovett said Marine City was a better place partly because of his strong leadership.
"He has consistently worked to see that Marine City is both fiscally sound and on the right track to improvement," she said. "Under his guidance the city has continued to grow and become the destination point that it is today."
Contact Jeri Packer at (586) 273-6197; jeri.packer@voicenews.com, Facebook.com/jeripackersroughdraft on Facebook or on Twitter @JeriPacker.
Jeri Packer


Illinois State University is proud to announce a conference to mark the 150th anniversary of Ex parte Milligan (1866), sponsored by Illinois State University and the David Davis Mansion on September 22-24, 2016 at the Marriot Hotel, Normal Illinois.
Written here in Bloomington, Illinois, Davis's decision held that trial by military commissions was acceptable only where there was a real war and where civilian courts were impaired. Long dormant, Milligan has assumed new centrality in our political and constitutional debates arising out of the so-called "war on terror." We invite established scholars, practicing professionals, or graduate students from all fields to submit proposals on historical, legal, constitutional or political subtopics related to the Milligan decision itself, its antecedents, or its legacy. All accepted papers will be considered for inclusion in a projected edited volume of essays. If accepted, the deadline for the full revised and extended papers will be February 1, 2017.
The conference will feature break out panels, plenary sessions and key notes by Michael Les Benedict, Louis Fisher, and Jonathan Hafetz. The goal is to explore both historical and contemporary implications of this understudied landmark decision. The decision is rich in significance for the study of civil liberties in wartime, Civil War politics, Reconstruction, the emergence of the Bill of Rights, the rise of legal liberalism, as well as recent questions surrounding detainees at Guantanamo Bay and the use of military commissions.
The full CFP can be accessed [here]. Individual proposals should include a 500 to 1000 word proposal, and one-page CV. Panel proposals should include individual proposals for each paper, one-page CVs for all participants (including commenters), and a 250-word panel abstract and title. Proposals are due August 15 2016.


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Bottini Funeral Home
Michael A. Bottini
Luigi J. Bottini
Celebrating 104 Years of our family serving yours
Delores Angela (Pettinelli) Lyons
In loving memory of Delores Angela (Pettinelli) Lyons, 88 of Rome and Dover NH. She passed away on Saturday, September 3, 2016 in Dover closely surrounded by her family.
She was born in Rome on October 16, 1927 a daughter of Louis and Josephine Trino Pettinelli. She left Rome in 1966 to travel the world with her husband who was a member of the US Air Force. They lived in Europe and on the West Coast before coming to New Hampshire in 1972. She was fearless and did everything she wanted to do and tried to instill that love of adventure in her kids and grandkids.
What she loved most in the world was cooking for family and friends and being surrounded by her family.
Delores is survived by her beloved family, her husband of 55 years, TSGT (Ret) Herbert; two daughters and sons-in-law, Maria and Steven Reynolds and Carol and Brian Manning of NH; a son and daughter-in-law, Alfred and Trina Lyons of Nottingham of NH; cherished grandchildren, Kristen (Woody), Maegan (Justin), Michael, Meghan (Jason), Breanna, Bailey, Lindsay, Timothy and Emily; great-grandchildren, Ellie, Olivia, Grady and Lawson; a sister Eleanor Clements; two brothers, Anthony (Carol) and Donald; a sister, Carol Pettinelli; sisters-in-law, Kay and Nancy; and many beloved nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by two brothers, Patrick Pettinelli and Louis Pettinelli Jr., a sister Marie Veschusio and a brother-in-law, Col. Phillip Clements.
Delores was deeply loved by her family and everyone who knew her.
A small private service was held for the immediate family. Local arrangements are under the direction of the Bottini Funeral Home, 120 W. Embargo St.
You may view the obituary and send a message of sympathy online at: www.bottinifuneralhome.com. or www.purdyfuneralservice.com.
Contributions may be made in Delores's memory to a charity of your choice.
Leave an online condolence:
2020 Bottini Funeral Home


*SPRING SAVINGS! NOW 50% OFF THE ORIGINAL LISTING PRICE AND OFFERED FOR WELL BELOW THE COUNTY APPRAISAL!* Beautiful and affordable mostly wooded lot in Whispering Heights! This lot is over 1/2 an acre with plenty of tall mature oak trees and is just minutes away from Table Rock Lake, Silver Dollar City and Indian Point. This property is one of the few lots left here to build on and there are many nice and expensive houses in the nearby area. The rocks are talking and they're saying 'take advantage of this great opportunity to build your dream home near the lake!' The house directly across the street sits on over 10 acres and has a county appraised value of over $276,000! This lot is a great buy for the area!


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The one where they all get back together: Friends cast to reunite for unscripted special
The cast of Friends have finally confirmed they are reuniting for a special episode of the show, 15 years after it ended.Matthew Perry recently hinted there was "big news coming", but now he and Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer have all announced their involvement on social media. Schwimmer dodges Friends reunion lie detector test Each of the stars of the hit '90s si...
Feb92020 by adminNo Comments
Young people may copy friends' eating habits from social media, study finds
Feb. 7 (UPI) -- "Liking" healthy foods on social media platforms like Facebook may encourage others to eat a balanced diet, new research has found. In a study published Thursday in the journal Appetite, scientists from the School of Life and Health Sciences at Ashton University in England observed that participants ate an extra fifth of a portion of fruit and vegetables themselves for every portion they thought their social media peers ate. Conversely, social media users are also more likely to snack on junk food if they think their friends are doing the same. "This study suggests we may be influenced by our social peers more than we realize when choosing certain foods," study co-author and Ashton doctoral student Lily Hawkins said in a press release. "We seem to be subconsciously acco...
Dec262019 by adminNo Comments
Climber's friends slip and die while attached to his rope
Two climbers were left dangling from another man's rope after they fell and died in Italy.The men slipped on snow and died on Thursday morning while trying to climb Gran Sasso mountain in the central Abruzzo region. Rescue squads were called in by a third climber who was connected to the victims with a rope, according to local media.Their bodies were recovered from a valley in the early afternoon.An Italian woman, aged 49, died on Christmas Day on the mountain in similar circumstances, with her body being recovered at dawn on Boxing Day after her relatives alerted authorities. Advertisement It comes as a major search operation was launched for skiers buried by four avalanches in Austria and Switzerland. In ...
Jul312017 by adminNo Comments
Princess Diana's friends urge Channel 4 not to show 'private' tapes
Friends of Princess Diana have urged Channel 4 not to broadcast controversial video tapes of her talking about her troubled marriage.The documentary, Diana: In Her Own Words, is due to be aired ahead of the 20th anniversary of her death. The tapes, recorded by her speech coach, have never been seen in the UK.Channel 4 said they "provide a unique insight" - but Diana's close friend Rosa Monckton said they were a betrayal of the late princess's privacy.Mrs Monckton is writing to the broadcaster to ask them not to air the tapes. She told The Guardian: "This doesn't belong in the public domain. "It is a betrayal of her privacy and of the family's privacy." Media playback is unsupported on your deviceFormer royal spokesman Dickie Arbiter told Sky News: "It is absolutely shameful that these tap...


Over the past few years there have been many plans for the improvement and redevelopment of the City Centre. The Society has been supportive of many of these, including removal of the canopy in Broadgate, the improvements made for the Olympics, the traffic calming measures, the redesign of Broadgate, the Friargate scheme and City Centre South. However we have been opponents of some plans, for instance the infamous Jerde Plan.
At the present time the framework for planning in the City Centre is the City Centre Area Action Plan which we broadly support.


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Jan Gandy: She Took Life's Lemons and Made Something Sweet
By Doni Chamberlain March 28, 2019 16
I winced a bit when I started writing this piece because I'm pretty sure my friend Jan Gandy would not approve of what I'm about to say about her; a humble, hard-working, unselfish, behind-the-scenes woman.
I'm going to write it anyway. She died last weekend, so she's not here to stop me.
Please forgive me, Jan.
Jan Gandy in happy times. Photo courtesy of Mary Forbes.
Jan and I first met more than 30 years ago when she and I were volunteers for the then-Carter House Auction committee. We had the responsibility, along with some other writer-types, to create the auction catalog, and to adhere to a theme. Whether it was Hollywood or a safari, every donated item had to fit within the theme.
This was before I went to college, got my degree and became a journalist. Back then, I was just a young mother who liked to write.
Jan was a gifted wordsmith who effortlessly slammed out one witty description after another without breaking a sweat, while I sat there, stumped, pen poised, waiting for inspiration.
She was naturally curious, and also a wealth of information with keen interests in art, museums, history, cooking, gardening, theater, travel, books and movies. But most of all, her favorite interests were family and friends, and figuring out ways to make others' lives happier.
I was just one of Jan's many women friends, but I was pretty sure I was her favorite. At least that's the impression she gave me. Yes, I knew she had other friends in a Monday craft group (who had their own identical gecko pins), and other friends in a quarterly book club, and other friends in the Horseless Carriage group, and other friends with whom she and her husband Tom would share Christmas dinner, and probably lots of friends I knew nothing about. Typically, all we random other friends didn't co-mingle, except for big things, like a major birthday or anniversary.
I don't know how she kept us all straight, but I'm fairly certain that like me, they also received birthday cards and Christmas cards from her. Nothing fancy inside, just, "Love, Jan" and "Love, Jan and Tom". I knew that no matter what else ever happened in my world, in July and December, I could count on a card from Jan.
Last night I went to my friend Mary's house to look at her photo albums in search of some photographs to accompany today's piece about Jan. This was not an easy task because even on her best day, Jan was not a fan of being photographed. The last thing in the world I'd want to do is embarrass Jan with some unflattering photos. Mary had stacks of albums open on her kitchen table ready for me. The open pages contained many photos of Jan, well, none of just Jan, but all shots of Jan with other people in various places near and far. Cruises, road trips, trips to the coast, trips to Hawaii, and even trips as far away as New York and Ireland.
Clearly, these were Jan's favorite friends. Or at least that's the impression Jan gave them.
One photo made me laugh as I recalled going to the Gandy get-away, a place that's been in the family for generations; a beautiful piece of mountain property by a pristine lake, with a focal point of one large cabin and a few smaller sleeping cabins. This is a gorgeous retreat, and the primary cooking is done outside. But the biggest adjustment for me was that there were no toilets or showers inside the cabins. Rather, there was one fancy outhouse and a little out-building that contained a shower.
Jan Gandy in the center (brown jacket, black pants) flanked by a variety of friends at the Gandy get-away. Photo courtesy of Mary Forbes.
That night, when Jan showed us where all we women friends would sleep, she introduced us to the concept of chamber pots (large coffee cans), unless, of course, we'd rather leave the warmth of the cabin in the middle of the night and walk through the cold dark to the outhouse. Hello, chamber pot my old friend.
Jan was a talented cook, and one of my most cherished recipes is the one she shared with me many years ago for lemon curd and scones. Last week I made a batch of Jan's lemon curd. How could I have known that a few days later, Jan would be gone?
I never made these recipes without smiling as I read them, because they're just SO Jan, especially the scone recipe.
Jan's recipes for lemon curd and scones are among Doni's favorites.
… Knead twice (any more will make the dough tough) … With a serrated knife, cut dough into 8 wedges (BUT DO NOT SEPARATE). … Use real butter…. Scones are like biscuits – best eaten right away.
Jan and I agreed on almost everything, except who had the better carrot cake recipe. I liked mine better, because it's more chunky, and she liked hers better, because the ingredients were more finely chopped.
About 10 years ago Jan and I decided that our lives were so busy that if we didn't schedule a date each month to catch up, we'd never see each other. That's when we started our monthly breakfast meetings at the Country Waffles restaurant on Athens Avenue in Redding. For the record, we never had waffles, but usually ordered the same thing: scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast, sausage and coffee. We also had a booth to ourselves for about two hours, where we'd bring each other up to speed about what was new.
She was so proud of her family, and was absolutely smitten with her grandchildren. She spoke about them so much and in such glowing detail that, without sounding too stalkerish here, I feel that I know them well.
From right, Tom, Todd, Jan and Joel Gandy. Photo courtesy of Todd Gandy.
I don't recall exactly when things started going badly for Jan, health-wise, but it's been within the last 10 years, maybe eight. Little by little, the vibrant, energetic Jan began to fade away, though when we got together, whether for a movie, a play or breakfast, she did her best to remain cheerful and upbeat. She was loathe to talk long about what was ailing her, and I suspect she was like that with her other favorite friends, too.
She developed a bizarre medical condition that remained a miserable mystery as she went from doctor to doctor, medication to medication and treatment to treatment on her quest to find a cure and ultimate relief. Nothing worked, and to make matters worse, sometimes the treatments and medications delivered terrible side effects of their own, worse than the original condition.
I don't want to get into the details of her illness, because Jan was a private person, and I'm already in eternal hot water for writing about her today. But suffice to say that with each day, week, month and year, she felt worse. On the day I learned of Jan's death, as I cried, it dawned upon me that I truly could not remember the last time I heard Jan say she felt great.
The end of her life also brought an end to her profound suffering.
The spark remained, but the illness took its toll. Photo courtesy of Todd Gandy.
The truth was, although Jan was the master at putting on a happy face to put others at ease in the presence of her dis-ease, she felt like crap for years and years. Yet through it all she continued to carry on, arrange family gatherings, meet with friends, even attend holiday parties, and, one of her favorite things of all, she took her grandchildren to their music lessons, something she made sure happened, because it was important. Last year, even while feeling horrible, Jan made sure she was part of a family trip to Hawaii.
The Gandy family in Hawaii, April, 2018.
She took life's lemons and squeezed them dry and strained out the bitter parts and added great amounts of Jan's natural optimism with every ounce of energy she had left, until her body betrayed her completely, and her illness finally claimed her.
Jan Gandy was just 71.
How can someone like that, so good, so full of life, so wise, so kind, so funny, so self-deprecating, so sure she had the best carrot cake recipe, be gone? I do not know. But I do know that my life, and the lives of so many, will not be the same without Jan Gandy.
When I think of Jan Gandy I will remember her cute laugh, and her beautiful smile, and the way her eyes accordioned at the edges when she was happy. I will remember Jan bringing her home-grown pumpkins to my house at Halloween. I will remember her advising me to choose my grandmother name quickly, before the first grandbaby, so the name wasn't chosen for me, as her grandmothers' were: "Big Grandma" and "Little Grandma". I will remember how she showed up for so many things in my life, whether it was as an audience member when I had a bit part in a play, or as a guest at my second wedding, or as a shoulder to cry on when that marriage crashed and burned.
When I think of Jan Gandy, I will remember that besides her friends, she leaves behind the true favorites: her husband Tom, sons Todd and Joel, her daughter-in-laws, and, of course, she leaves her greatest pride and joy, her four cherished grandchildren. To them, she was Nana.
To me, she was my friend Jan, someone who had the ability to convince us all that we were her absolute favorites.
When the sadness of losing Jan overcomes me, I will seek comfort in her recipes, like these two I'll share with you today for lemon curd and scones.
And if that doesn't work, I may have to see if I can find her carrot cake recipe and give it a try. Who knows, I may decide I like hers best after all.
Jan would have liked that.
Jan Gandy's Lemon Curd
1 cube (1/4 lb) butter
Finely grated rind and juice of three lemons (2 T. rind & 2/3 cup lemon juice)
In double boiler, combine sugar, lemon juice, then butter cube. When mixture is hot add beaten eggs and cook, stirring, until thickened. Pour into sterilized jars. Keeps refrigerated up to 6 weeks.
Jan Gandy's Buttermilk Scones
2 c. all purpose flour
1/3 sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
6 T. unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. currents or raisins (optional)
Preheat oven to 400. In large bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Cut butter into 1/2 inch cubes and distribute over flour mixture. With a pastry blender or two knives (scissor fashion) cut the butter into the mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl combine buttermilk, egg and vanilla — add this mix to the flour mixture and stir. Add currents.
Knead twice (any more will make the dough tough). With floured hands, pat dough into an 8-inch circle on an ungreased cookie sheet. With a serrated knife, cut dough into 8 wedges, BUT DO NOT SEPARATE.
Bake 18-20 minutes, until top is light brown and a toothpick comes out clean with inserted into the middle of one wedge. Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet. Serve warm or place in an air-tight container.
Basic scone-making hints: Use fresh baking power and soda. Use real butter and be sure it's unsalted. Don't over-knead or scones will be tough. Scones are like biscuits – best eaten right away. I have frozen them, but they must be tightly wrapped so no air gets to them. For variation try different dried fruits besides currents and raisins – craisins, dried cherries and chopped dried apricots or peaches are great.
Independent online journalist Doni Chamberlain founded what's now known as anewscafe.com in 2007 with her son, Joe Domke of the Czech Republic. Chamberlain is an award-winning newspaper opinion columnist, feature and food writer recognized by the Associated Press, the California Newspaper Publishers Association and E.W. Scripps. She lives in Redding, California.
Eleanor Townsend says:
Dear Doni, your love for your amazing friend shines through in this beautiful tribute. I didn't know Jan (except now I feel I do, a little) but I have to feel she would be happy to be so kindly remembered. And to have her recipes shared. You were both lucky to have such a wonderful friendship in life, and I am so sorry for the loss of your great friend.
Doni Chamberlain says:
Oh, thank you, Eleanor. I think the reason I wanted to write this is that Jan never drew attention to herself; never bragged, and did so much for others. She deserved to be focus.
Adrienne Jacoby says:
I'll let you continue to believe you were her favorite because, after all, you've had many more years to practice being Jan's favorite. Although I've known about Jan for many years, it wasn't until her grandson, Max, began piano lessons with me that I actually got to know Jan. As a result, we bonded over:
#1. Her grandchildren (eventually three of them)
#2. Her love of music,
#3. Her love of her grandchildren loving music.
What a beautiful environment in which to grow a friendship.
Her demonstration of love and support of her grandchildren came in the form of driving them to and from lessons . . . . week in . . . . week out (sometimes to my Cottonwood studio) and sitting through those lessons. This, folks, is REAL boots-on-the-ground,'they'll never forget it; kind of support that will live with those grandkids their entire lives. . . . and the best part? She LOVED every minute and made sure those kids knew she loved every minute.
I never realized that she was my best friend until she wasn't there anymore. When I learned that we had lost Jan, the following lyrics kept running through my heart.
The book of life is brief
And once a page is read,
All but love is dead.
That is my belief.
AJ, I think that's my point: You WERE her best friend. And I was, and so many were.
Jan talked a lot about you and the kids and your music lessons. She loved you so much.
Thank you for the song. I Googled and bawled like a baby.
Hal Johnson says:
I'm sorry for your loss, Doni, and when I read about Jan, I'm sorry for the world's loss.
Thank you, Hal.
Barbara Stone says:
I'm sorry to hear of her passing…I, too, first met Jan while volunteering for the Carter House Auction way back before husband, child, and two jobs.I can't say I was a friend but I was always glad to see her.
"… I can't say I was a friend, but I was always glad to see her." We'd all be lucky to have that said about us.
Beautiful tribute, Doni. I only knew Jan through Align and YES – a wonderful, sweet smile always!
Candace C says:
I didn't know Jan personally but I heard her name fondly mentioned in conversations with my mother. She was someone who I think was probably very kind to my mother in her later years. Very lovely tribute, Doni.
Beverly Stafford says:
I'm saddened yet elated to read your tribute to Jan. The big, unanswerable WHY? comes to mind. For some reason, Mother Teresa's quip entered my brain: "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." There are times when God IS wrong; Jan's pain and much-too-early death is one of them.
She was good people!
This is a great piece that you wrote about her…
Joanne Snyder says:
This is such a moving, heart-felt tribute to your friend Jan Gandy. Thank you, and thank you to Adrienne and others who also shared stories about Jan. My thoughts are with her family and friends.
Steve DuBois says:
You make me wish I'd known Jan, Doni. She sure was a beautiful woman. And your wonderful tribute makes her sound incredibly beautiful within. I can't help but think she'd love what you wrote and be moved by it. It's so hard to lose a good friend. And that she was. I am so sorry for your loss.
Hollyn Chase says:
Jan was a class act. I "knew" her for years before we really knew each other in a writing group with Sharon Owen. I mourn.
Richard & Tammy Douse says:
A loving tribute to a tremendous friendship. Thanks for sharing. I did not know here but I did recognize several of the women in the retreat picture. I know you will treasure her memory and miss her greatly.
Tags: best lemon curdJan GandyJoel Gandylemon curdTodd GandyTom Gandy


Unit Keys - Chicago Condo Management & Maintenance Co.
Unit owners are generally required to provide unit keys to the Association to facilitate both routine maintenance and emergency access.
Notice is always provided to unit owners well in advance of any scheduled maintenance. Unit owners must communicate with other residents of their units.
In the event of an emergency requiring unscheduled unit entry, we will attempt to contact the owner by telephone prior to entry.
Our staff is required to leave a written notice of unit entry (or note on the back of a business card) on the flat surface closest to the entry door.
Unit keys will not be provided to a third party contractor without immediate supervision by our staff unless authorized by the unit owner.
The Association does not provide emergency lockout service. Owners may borrow their on-file keys during office hours. An item of collateral will be required to ensure the prompt return of the key.


It is possible to add your own videos directly to your WordPress site. However this isn't recommended as videos can take up a significant amount of bandwidth. It is better to use a cloud storage solution.
Using object storage is advisable, to help you save your website's bandwidth. One example of this is Amazon S3. Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) allows you to store any type of data in its native format, all in one place.
Once you have uploaded your videos to your storage, you will be able to add the URLs to the Video Importer in FooGallery. This will pull in the videos you want to use in your gallery, without using up additional space on your website.
Note: self-hosted video files cannot extract thumbnails, so you need to load an image for this before importing the video. Once your video has been imported, click on the Select button for the Thumbnail field. You can browse your library and select the image you would like.
The URL field will populate automatically, or you can paste the URL into the appropriate input. Take note that .mp4 videos offer the best cross browser compatibility. As you enter URLs a compatibility list below this field will update, giving you an idea of which browsers will be able to play your video.
Once you have completed this, click on the Import button to add your video to your gallery.
If you decide to upload videos directly to your WordPress site, then you can do so by first uploading the file to your Media Library. This is not always advisable, but if your video file is small and you only have a limited number of videos, then it should not use up an excessive amount of your website space.
To add a video directly to your WordPress site, go to the Media Library in your dashboard. Click on Add New. You'll be directed to choose the file/s you want to add. Once you've selected your video file, click on Upload. The video file will open in a window, where you'll be able to adjust the title, caption and other metadata. The top field in this window is the file's URL.
You can now Import the video by pasting the video's URL into the Import Video field. Complete the Title and Description field.


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Whisky and Soda ManThomas Jones
Vol. 30 No. 7 · 10 April 2008
Whisky and Soda Man
Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton – An Autobiography
by J.G. Ballard.
Fourth Estate, 278 pp., £14.99, February 2008, 978 0 00 727072 9Show More
When I was 12, I read a story by J.G. Ballard about a boy who has lived all his life in a vast city. One day, he decides to take a train out of the metropolis, to find a wide open space where he can fly a kite. But after many days on the train, he starts to recognise landmarks from the window that he has seen earlier in the journey: he has travelled all the way around the world without leaving the city. There are no wide open spaces left.
When J.G. Ballard was 12, he was interned by the Imperial Japanese Army in an abandoned teacher training college on the outskirts of Shanghai. 'The camp lay over a substantial area,' he writes in his autobiography, Miracles of Life, 'ringed by a barbed-wire fence through which I often climbed to retrieve a ball or kite. Japanese soldiers patrolled the wire in a rather casual way, and once I had to hide in the long grass outside the fence when I was searching for a lost baseball and the other children warned me that the guards were approaching.' His general account of life in Lunghua Camp, and many of the particular details, will be recognisable to anyone who's read Empire of the Sun, Ballard's best-selling (and most conventional) novel, or for that matter to anyone who's seen Steven Spielberg's adaptation of it: the cramped and crowded living quarters, the lack of food, the cold, the squalor, the disease; but also the freedom that the camp gave to a teenage boy, the stripping away of the hierarchies and restrictions of expat life. He had long conversations over games of chess with adults who under other circumstances would have completely ignored him, begged old copies of Life and Popular Mechanics from American merchant seamen, flirted with teenage English girls, fenced against teenage Japanese guards with wooden swords.
There are also, of course, many significant differences between Ballard's own experience and that of the hero of his novel. Well, I say 'of course', though as the fall of Shanghai approached in Miracles of Life, I found myself waiting for the moment when Ballard would be separated from his parents, as Jim is in Empire of the Sun. It never came. On the contrary: 'For me,' Ballard writes, 'the most important consequence of internment was that for the first time in my life I was extremely close to my parents. I slept, ate, read, dressed and undressed within a few feet of them in the same small room.' Yet with this physical proximity came the beginning of a 'gradual estrangement'. Ballard 'thought hard' about the decision 'to make "Jim" effectively a war orphan' in his novel, but in the end 'felt' that it was 'closer to the psychological and emotional truth of events'. And there's no question that it was the right choice for the novel: separating Jim from his parents is a neat way to convey to more cosseted readers the strange combination of deprivations and freedoms that life in the camp consisted of.
There were many children who were interned in Lunghua without their parents. Ballard describes one of them, Bobby Henderson, in Miracles of Life:
Bobby was a close friend, though I never really liked him, and found something threatening about his tough and self-reliant mind … He allowed me to tag along with him, but regarded my endless curiosity and roaming around the camp as a waste of time and energy … His parents were interned in Peking, but he never spoke about them, which baffled me at the time, and I suspect that he had forgotten what they were like. Thinking of him now, I realise that part of him had died, and I hope that he never went on to have children of his own.
This is a contradictory and confusing summing-up of a person and a relationship, though perhaps that's only to be expected when the person and the relationship were themselves contradictory and confusing. A much clearer sense of both emerges a few pages later, when Ballard abandons analysis for storytelling.
One night, he and Bobby steal some coal from the storehouse behind the kitchen. Using a broken and discarded Chinese bayonet he had found and gradually sharpened to a point, Ballard scraped away enough mortar to remove two bricks from the coalhouse wall and 'drew out several handfuls of coal, which I divided between us'. Ballard used his share to light a makeshift stove and brew some hot tea for his mother, who was ill in bed. 'As the glowing coals warmed my hands, I wondered what Henderson would do with his share of the coal. Later I saw him in the darkness, hurling the pieces into the deep pond beyond the perimeter fence.' The difference and the distance between the boy in the camp with his parents and the boy without are perfectly compressed into this anecdote.
Fiction is by definition writing about what is not in order to describe what is. For Empire of the Sun to work – to tell 'the psychological and emotional truth' – it was necessary for Jim to be temporarily orphaned. But the truth that the novel tells is at one remove from the truth it purports to tell. As the story of Bobby Henderson shows, 'Jim' is not a true portrait of a boy in Lunghua without his parents. In his memoir, Ballard is telling a different, and in some ways a simpler kind of truth. Time travel, in various guises, crops up again and again in Ballard's fiction. And the way that his writing has, over the years, travelled backwards towards the events of his childhood can be seen as one more instance of it: an unwinding, first through Empire of the Sun and now in Miracles of Life, of the processes that transformed those events into the science fiction of the 1960s and 1970s.
It seems likely that Miracles of Life will be Ballard's last book. In the brief concluding chapter, little more than a page long, he says that in June 2006 he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. He made the decision to write his autobiography early in 2007, and finished the book in September. He has always worked quickly, and the pace sometimes shows here, but that's no bad thing. There is an off-the-cuff, unadorned, mellow tone to the book, which is occasionally repetitive but never dull. The raconteur always has a few more stories in him to tell.
This story begins at the beginning ('I was born in Shanghai General Hospital on 15 November 1930'), goes on until it reaches the present, and then stops. Ballard's father ran the Chinese division of the Manchester-based Calico Printers Association. The family lived in a large Western-style detached house in the International Settlement, with a bathroom for every bedroom and ten servants. James and Edna's social life seems to have consisted of the grim expat cliché of endless rounds of bridge and too much gin. Their lives hardly intersected with those of Shanghai's millions of Chinese inhabitants. Ballard's attempts to befriend the son of the cook, a boy his age, got nowhere.
But still, he could gaze out of the window of his parents' big American car as the chauffeur drove him and his nanny through the city, marvelling at the 'bright but bloody kaleidoscope' outside: 'the prosperous Chinese businessmen pausing in the Bubbling Well Road to savour a thimble of blood tapped from the neck of a vicious goose tethered to a telephone pole; young Chinese gangsters in American suits beating up a shopkeeper; beggars fighting over their pitches; beautiful White Russian bar-girls smiling at passers-by'. It struck him as 'a magical place, a self-generating fantasy that left my own little mind far behind'. Later, after the Japanese invasion of 1937 but before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the internment of American and European civilians in 1943, he would ride his bike for hours around the city. 'Even as a ten-year-old who had known nothing else, the extreme poverty of the Chinese, the deaths and disease and orphans left to starve in doorways, unsettled me as it must have unsettled my parents.' It is almost too obvious to need saying that the seeds of Ballard's science fiction, of all his dystopian futures, were planted during his childhood in Shanghai. When Empire of the Sun was published in 1984, 'sympathetic readers of my earlier novels and short stories were quick to spot echoes … the drained swimming pools, abandoned hotels and nightclubs, deserted runways and flooded rivers.'
After the war, Ballard took a boat to Southampton with his mother and younger sister. In 1947, Edna and Margaret rejoined Ballard's father in Shanghai, while he remained in England, boarding at The Leys School in Cambridge and spending the holidays with his maternal grandparents in West Bromwich. He hated it. 'England seemed derelict, dark and half-ruined … Looking at the English people around me, it was impossible to believe that they had won the war. They behaved like a defeated population … The only hope came from Hollywood films, and long queues, often four abreast, formed outside the immense Odeons and Gaumonts that had survived the bombing.' Ballard joined those queues, going to see every European arthouse film and Hollywood B-movie that was showing. Meanwhile, amid the grimness of 'home' and the fantasies of abroad, he was reading Freud and writing short stories. The seeds of his science fiction may have been sown in wartime Shanghai, but they germinated in postwar England.
His early adult life could almost be a blueprint for the struggling young writer of the mid-20th century: two years of reading medicine at Cambridge before dropping out and going to London to study English literature at Queen Mary College, before dropping out of there, too, to become an advertising copywriter. He enjoyed London, inevitably, 'particularly the Chelsea area, with its lesbian pubs and rich friends of friends who took me to expensive nightclubs'. He also went to art galleries, where he was especially entranced by the paintings of the Surrealists. It's hard to miss the teleology in this part of the story: the artist as a young man absorbs his major influences – Shanghai, London, psychoanalysis, Surrealism – and all he needs now is a form that will enable him to channel them into his writing.
Tiring of the 'grey and overcrowded' capital, he signed up for a short service commission in the RAF. The flight training was in Canada, at an isolated airbase in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. In his spare time – and he had a lot of it – he wrote stories, and read. Reading matter at Moose Jaw was limited to what was available on the magazine racks at one of the two filling stations or the bus depot: either local newspapers that contained nothing but reports of ice hockey matches, or magazines like Astounding Science Fiction, Galaxy and Fantasy & Science Fiction. 'These I seized on and began to devour. Here was a form of fiction that was actually about the present day, and often as elliptical and ambiguous as Kafka … I decided that this was a field I should enter.' He has said elsewhere that his stories aren't set in the future so much as in 'a kind of visionary present'. This insight – that good science fiction is an urgent way of writing about the present – shouldn't need repeating, though there's a lingering literary prejudice which means that it does. Another way of putting it would be to say that good science fiction tells a number of particular untruths in order to reveal a more general truth, which is to say that it is in essence no different from any other kind of good fiction.
Ballard writes interestingly about the genre, but has a few blindspots. He says, for instance, that 'science fiction went into a steep decline in the United States' after the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, 'from which it didn't recover until the advent of Star Wars decades later.' This is, bizarrely, to dismiss or ignore most of the career of Philip K. Dick; perhaps Ballard's dystopian fictions have too much in common with Dick's for him to be able to look him in the eye. He doesn't think there's much around now that's any good, either, which is to overlook not only the work of such writers as William Gibson and Jonathan Lethem, but also Ronald Moore's remake of Battlestar Galactica, a TV series that's as intelligent, nuanced and unflinching an examination of the United States' post-9/11 militarism, foreign policy and relation to the un-American other as you are likely to find.
Having had his SF epiphany, 'staring at the silent airfield, with its empty runways that stretched into a snow-blanched infinity', Ballard resigned his commission and returned to London, to the hotel in Notting Hill where he'd been living before he went to Canada. Notting Hill in the 1950s was 'a warren of shabby boarding houses and one-room flats occupied by jobless ex-servicemen, part-time prostitutes, divorcees with small children living on handouts from their relatives', though 'young professionals' like Ballard 'were already beginning to infiltrate the area', attracted by its 'general raffishness and unexpected delights'. Another of the residents at the Stanley Crescent Hotel was Mary Matthews, a secretary at the Daily Express, whom Ballard had met and fallen in love with shortly before joining the RAF.
'In due course Mary became pregnant,' and they got married in September 1955. Not long afterwards, Ballard's first stories were published. 'Prima Belladonna' and 'Escapement' appeared in the December 1956 issues of Science Fantasy and New Worlds respectively, both of which were edited by E.J. Carnell, 'a thoughtful and likeable man who worked in a pleasant basement office near the Strand'. But writing for the pulps didn't earn Ballard enough to pay the rent and support his wife and son, so Carnell got him a job on a trade journal in the same publishing stable. Six months later he moved to Chemistry & Industry, where he remained until The Drowned World was published by Victor Gollancz in 1962.
Mary had two more children, daughters, in 1957 and 1959. They lived in a series of flats in south-west London before settling in a small house with a garden in Shepperton in 1960. Ballard still lives there, on the face of it a remarkable commitment to sedentariness after the restlessness of his early years. It seems less remarkable when you learn that Mary died of pneumonia in the middle of a family holiday to Spain in the summer of 1964: some stability was necessary. He may also have felt by then that he had done enough wandering about the world for one lifetime.
The next few years were mostly taken up with childcare, writing and drinking. 'A short story, or a chapter of a novel, would be written in the time between ironing a school tie, serving up the sausage and mash, and watching Blue Peter.' Still, he also found time to go to a few parties, try LSD once ('a disastrous blunder that opened a vent of hell, and confirmed me as a long-standing whisky drinker') and get involved in various avant-garde art projects. The book, perhaps inevitably, loses much of its momentum in these sections. His attempt to persuade the Arts Council to pay for him to place advertisements for abstract ideas in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar still holds a certain mischievous appeal. But it's difficult now, in the era of Peter Stringfellow, to get excited about such interventions as arranging for a woman – her nom de guerre was Euphoria Bliss – to 'perform a striptease to the reading of a scientific paper' at the ICA. 'The 1960s were a far more revolutionary time than younger people now realise,' Ballard says in his pre-emptive defence. (It's difficult, too, to follow with much enthusiasm the stories of literary camaraderie or infighting. Ballard must have his reasons for dismissing Ian Hamilton, without deigning to name him, as a 'self-important Soho idler' who didn't deserve Arts Council funding for the New Review, but the book would be more attractive without such spasms of sourness.)
Ballard describes himself as an anti-establishment outsider – how many people think of themselves as comfortably entrenched insiders? – but this doesn't entirely square with his being published by Gollancz, then Jonathan Cape and now Fourth Estate; his friendship with Kingsley Amis; or the quotes on the inside back flap describing him as 'Britain's number one living novelist', 'the most important contemporary British writer' and a 'national treasure'. He may not be a member of the establishment, quite, but he has without doubt for many years now been a very well established writer.
Miracles of Life is full of such contradictions: Ballard's simultaneous love of and scorn for England, which is at once his home and still a foreign country; his artistic radicalism and political 'middle-of-the-roadism', as he calls it, which often veers off towards the kerb of conservativism. He says at one point that marriage is 'part of the huge price we pay to control the male sex'. Admittedly, this is a throwaway remark made in the course of defending his decision to bring up his three children as a single father – rare now, even rarer in the 1960s. But you don't need to be Andrea Dworkin to see that, anthropologically, historically, sociologically and – why not – objectively speaking, there's a syllable missing from that sentence. On the one hand he calls himself 'a writer devoted to predicting and, if possible, provoking change'; on the other, he is a lifelong 'whisky and soda man', who like his father and grandfather before him called his first-born 'James', and has lived for fifty years in the same house in the suburbs of south-west London – all of which implies a fairly deep-seated commitment to continuity. The tension between these competing instincts is surely one of the sources of the power of his fiction.
It may also go some way to explaining why Ballard's considerable creative intelligence isn't always matched by his powers of analysis, a kind of thinking with which he anyway shows a certain amount of impatience: he's proudly anti-academic. But he is also unquestionably a novelist of ideas – one implication of which is that he would rather explore ideas through narrative than through argument. Before stealing the coal from the storehouse behind the kitchen in Lunghua, he scavenged for unburnt scraps of charcoal. 'I squatted on the still-warm ash-tips, poking with a bent piece of wire through the dust and clinkers, and thinking of the Chinese beggar boys who picked over the Avenue Joffre ash-tips. I remember reflecting on this without comment, and I make no comment now.' Even better not to comment on his lack of comment.
Crash, Ballard's most controversial and second most famous book, explores the idea that there is 'a strong connection between sexuality and the car crash, a fusion largely driven by the cult of celebrity': just think of James Dean, Grace Kelly, Mark Bolan, President Kennedy ('a special kind of car crash') or Princess Diana. In 1970, shortly before he began writing the novel, Ballard decided to 'test my hypothesis about the unconscious links between sex and the car crash by putting on an exhibition of crashed cars'. On the opening night 'there was a huge tension in the air, as if everyone felt threatened by some inner alarm that had started to ring.' People got drunk and behaved badly, and over the following weeks further acts of vandalism were inflicted on the exhibits. Ballard's 'suspicions had been confirmed about the unconscious links that my novel would explore'. The hostile responses that the book provoked when it was published, and which David Cronenberg's film version reanimated 25 years later, are on this view further evidence of its deep 'psychological and emotional truth'. The only possible explanation for such fiercely negative reactions, Ballard says, is denial: it's the classic Freudian 'no means yes' defence.
There is an altogether more superficial problem with Crash, however. It's not all that hard to accept that in the postmodern world there is a strong and complex connection between cars, sex and death, if only because cars are forever being both advertised and interpreted as extensions and expressions of their owners' libidos; car accidents are by far the most common cause of injury and violent death in the West; and we don't need Freud to tell us that we're all deeply confused about sex, death and whatever it is that they may or may not have in common. It's not the general truth of Crash that's the problem, then, so much as the particular untruths; not the tenor of the metaphor, but – sorry – the vehicle. Before Ballard introduced readers in Miracles of Life to Bobby Henderson, few would have thought to doubt the authenticity of Jim's parentlessness in Empire of the Sun. But Crash doesn't even seem to have persuaded the novel's own characters that car accidents could be a turn-on. Despite all the bodily fluids spurted and smeared onto wrecked dashboards, the problem isn't that it's too pornographic but that it isn't pornographic enough: the novel is too conscious of the deeper meaning of the sex and violence for the sex and violence to work as elements in themselves. As Baudrillard put it in his celebrated 1976 essay on the novel (translated into English by Arthur Evans in 1991), 'gone are the "erogenous zones": everything becomes a hole for reflex discharges.'
For Baudrillard, however, this wasn't a problem but one of many reasons to admire the novel. Summing up his enthusiasm for it, he writes:
This mutating and commutating world of simulation and death, this violently sexualised world totally lacking in desire, full of violent and violated bodies but curiously neutered, this chromatic and intensely metallic world empty of the sensorial, a world of hyper-technology without finality – is it good or bad? We can't say. It is simply fascinating, without this fascination implying any kind of value judgment whatsoever. And this is the miracle of Crash. The moral gaze – the critical judgmentalism that is still a part of the old world's functionality – cannot touch it. Crash is hypercritical, in the sense of being beyond the critical.
Ballard disagrees with Baudrillard's reading, as do many other critics, who insist, for example, on the novel's moral dimension. But 'Ballard's Crash' is altogether more provocative, persuasive and fascinating than Ballard's Crash. The fragments quoted in Baudrillard's essay sparkle with promise; as a whole, the novel is tedious and overblown. It's terrific material for iridescent criticism, but dull in the raw: a heap of unsmelted iron ore to Baudrillard's glistening steel.
A similar difficulty dogs some of the later novels, too, of which the clearest example is probably Cocaine Nights (1996). It's hard to argue with the novel's thesis that capitalism depends on violence and violent crime to sustain itself and thrive; it's harder to accept that the thesis still holds when the society it applies to is reduced to an exclusive expat retirement community on the Spanish riviera. Perhaps the problem is that the books are novels rather than short stories. In a story, you can fire an outrageous proposition into the air – car crashes are sexy! – and then scarper while the audience is still dazzled by the bright explosive audacity of it, whereas a novel gives readers time to poke around in the undergrowth and catch you fiddling away trying to light the next fuse.
Such (very short) stories as 'The Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy Considered as a Downhill Motor Race' (1966) or 'Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan' (1968), both of which can be seen as among the preparatory sketches for Crash (along with the chapter of The Atrocity Exhibition called 'Crash!'), have a casual, insouciant brilliance that's lacking in the more ponderous novels. In 'The 60 Minute Zoom' (1976), a man makes a film of his wife committing adultery in their hotel room on the Costa Brava from a rented apartment 300 yards away along the beach. As the hour passes and the camera steadily zooms in from maximum field to extreme close-up, the narrator's role shifts disconcertingly between those of film-maker, audience and actor in his perverted drama. Cocaine Nights explores similar terrain more fully, but less intensely.
The other day, after an interval of twenty years, I reread 'The Concentration City'. The details of the story are not quite as I remembered them: the hero is a student, not a schoolboy; he wants to find a wide open space not in order to fly a kite but so that he can test a 'flying machine' he's invented in a world where flight isn't considered possible; he travels not merely all the way around the world without leaving the city, but far enough for his journey to be affected by the curvature of space-time, so he ends up not only where he started but when, too. The sense of claustrophobia, however, the hero's yearning and over-reaching and disappointment – that is to say, 'the psychological and emotional truth' of the story – were instantly, unforgettably the same.
Thomas Jones edits the LRB Blog from Orvieto. His novel, Game Theory, is published by John Murray.
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Home Uncategorized Hamilton: It's good to be back
Hamilton: It's good to be back
Date published: February 9 2012
Lewis Hamilton was delighted to return to the Formula One action on Thursday as he made his 2012 bow at Jerez…
Lewis Hamilton was delighted to return to the Formula One action on Thursday as he made his 2012 bow at Jerez.
The 2008 World Champion took over from team-mate Jenson Button on day three of pre-season testing and completed 80 laps.
Although his best effort of 1:19.464 saw him finish the day fourth place, Hamilton was happy to get some much-need mileage in the MP4-27 under his belt.
"It felt pretty good to be out there first time, to get back out on track after such a long winter. My initial thoughts were pretty good," he said.
"Every year you arrive and you never know what to expect, but you always hope for a good platform to start from and something that the team can build from.
"I think that after today I feel quite positive about where the car is at the moment and I'm confident that the guys can push it forward."
He added: "Today you've got to remember that everyone is just focusing on their own programmes. It's not a contest for who's the fastest at the moment.
"We're just trying to get lots of running, testing the items. The Ferrari's not really showing anything just yet; of course, the Red Bull looks fast – as it usually does – and we're there I think.
"But over the coming weeks we'll get a better indication of where everyone is."
Hamilton was happy with his pace, but admits the rear end of the car felt a little different due to the outlawing of the exhaust blown diffusers.
"The car is different…last year we had so much support and stability, particularly in the high-speed corners, but now we're having to find that grip," he said.
"We'll take grip off the front and try to offload it to the rear somehow. But I think the baseline that we have is something we can really work with."
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