text:
Gold Grabbers
Weta Taps Former Disney Exec Ann Le Cam as Production SVP
Sneak Peek: 'Cleopatra in Space' S3 Makes Peacock Premiere Jan. 14
The Major Studio Animated Movies of 2021: Your Don't-Miss List!
A deep range of features contends for honors, kudos and statuettes in one of the most competitive years for animation in Oscars history.
There's never been a year as robust for animated features as 2016, making this year's Oscars race one of the most competitive in the category's 15 years of existence.
And that's great news for animation fans. The diversity of subject matter and technique is as deep as ever, ranging from beautiful handcrafted international features to a subversive R-rated CG-animated hit, to some of the year's biggest box office blockbusters.
Here is Animation Magazine's annual run down of the contenders for this year's animated feature awards race.
The Frontrunners
Animation Magazine #261
Studio: Pixar
Distributor: Buena Vista
Release Date: June 17
Box Office: $1 billion worldwide ($485 million U.S. domestic)
Director: Andrew Stanton
Cast: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O'Neill
Rotten Tomatoes: 94 percent fresh
Critics' View: "In the end, the real value of Finding Dory lies in its goofy effervescence. Although DeGeneres' Dory, with her breathless stream-of-consciousness patter, is unavoidably likable, the cast of supporting characters here may be even better. Ed O'Neill supplies the voice of Hank, a selfish, irascible octopus who uses his gift for camouflage in some outlandish ways—when we first see him, he's masquerading as the dangling kitten in the classic Hang in there! poster, a juxtaposition of weird visual ideas that shouldn't go together at all but qualifies as a small flash of genius." — Stephanie Zacharek, Time.
Behind the Scenes: Stanton says he always knew Dory's backstory, even though he had never revealed it even to people who worked on Nemo. "I knew she had traveled the ocean many, many, many years, didn't remember a thing and, because of her short-term memory loss, had probably lost anyone she had ever connected with or they ditched her because she drove them crazy," he says. "And she probably had this massive sense of abandonment without any ability to place it. It's sort of why she always apologizes."
But building a story that worked with Dory at its core was extremely difficult given that she was created to be the ultimate sidekick in Nemo. Stanton says it took a year and half for the Dory team to figure out that the biggest problem with the character was that without the ability to self-reflect there was no way to track her growth through the story.
Having identified the problem, the solution turned out to be many small adjustments to the story, which finally began to come together in the last eight months of its four-year journey — much like Nemo did, Stanton says.
Awards Chances: Pixar is always a threat when it comes to awards — though as a sequel Finding Dory is less of a lock than its original features. For every Toy Story 3, which handily won Best Animated Feature in 2011, or Finding Nemo, which won in 2003, there's a Monsters University to show that Pixar can be passed over. The technical achievement of creating Hank the septopus is sure to impress animation insiders, as is Pixar's ability to use story to evoke tears from even the most jaded moviegoer. Earning an Oscars nomination is likely more than half the battle for Dory. If it can make it past the large field of competitors to the final five, its popularity — plus that of Ellen DeGeneres, again delivering a knock out voice over performance — gives it a strong shot with the wider, actor-heavy voting body of the Academy.
Studio: LAIKA
Release Date: Aug. 12
Box Office: $63 million worldwide ($47 million U.S. domestic)
Director: Travis Knight
Cast: Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey
Reaction: "Folks familiar with the Oregon-based studio LAIKA — the people responsible for the Freudian waking nightmare Coraline (2009) and the tender I-see-dead-people parable ParaNorman (2011) — know that the company has more or less set the standard for modern stop-motion animation. But with Kubo and the Two Strings, LAIKA doesn't so much surpass its own previously set bar so much as demolish it. Watching Kubo turn flat pieces of paper into tiny warriors or an undulating origami swarm of birds, or an underwater swimmer surrounded by floating eyeballs, or a climactic stand-off between our hero and a giant, serpent-like spirit, you forget you're essentially watching things being painstakingly, microscopically manipulated. And then you remember that this is indeed the product of artists working with small figures on a grand scale, and you find yourself staring at the onscreen sound and fury in awe. The work here is fluid and near-flawless — which is as an apt description for the entire film as any." — David Fear, Rolling Stone.
Behind the Scenes: The non-human puppets posed unusual challenges. Beetle looks like an origami samurai, and was the first LAIKA character built with an exoskeleton. "We had to allow the internal hard parts to ride over the internal skeleton," says Georgina Hayns, creative supervisor of puppet fabrication. "There's a soft foam core that sits around the armature and then all of these breast plates slide over the top of the material."
Beetle's armor itself is made of Tyvek, which looks like paper but can't be torn. Those properties, however, made it difficult to paint, requiring a number of techniques including roughing up the surface, dying and spray paint to color it.
Monkey was another difficult character, as LAIKA's first fully furred puppet, Hayns says. "We approached it more like a live-action body suit," she says. "We built her armature and we built on top of it a muscle suit … and then we covered the muscle suit with a fur fabric suit."
As with human hair, the fur-like coat was combed through with silicone to create a stylized effect that was easy to animate and avoided chatter.
The sisters — since they're twins, they are portrayed with identical puppets differentiated by their choice of weapon — were all about the cape. Hayns says her team designed a cape that could transform into wings as the story called for and be used in every shot (save one) needed for the movie.
Awards Chances: Each of LAIKA's previous films has been nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar — though none have taken home the statuette. Kubo is the strongest film LAIKA has made to date, as well as one of the year's best films of any type. If critical praise were the defining criterion, it would have the gold locked up, but the film's box office has not — to date — performed as well as its predecessors and earned a mere fraction of its billion-dollar-grossing competitors. The Oscars like to pretend those factors don't matter, but they clearly do factor in — if not enough voters have even seen the film, its chance of victory is slim. But the quality is there, as is a bit of celebrity factor with the rising star of the highly likable Travis Knight — a strong campaign that gets Knight out there and makes sure people see the movie could complement the creative aspects well enough to put Kubo over the top.
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Release Date: March 4
Director: Byron Howard and Rich Moore; Jared Bush, co-director
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba
Reaction: "The film that unfolds from these beginnings is in many ways a conventional one, but it unfolds with so much wit, panache, and visual ingenuity that it outstrips many a more high-concept movie. Its lessons about tolerance, diversity, and racial profiling may be familiar, but they are delivered with a conviction that is never cloying and frequently a touch subversive. (As when Judy describes Nick as 'articulate,' or patiently explains, 'A bunny can call another bunny "cute," but when someone who's not a bunny …')
"Visually, the film is a giddy delight, bright and inventive. Given the wildly varying sizes of their mammalian cast — from hamster to rhino — the directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore and the co-director Jared Bush have particular fun with scale and perspective. One moment Judy is too small for her world, unable to reach the rim of the police department toilet without leaping; the next she is too large, rampaging through the Habitrails of Zootopia's 'Little Rodentia' neighborhood. And don't get me started on the movie's joyously wicked sendup of The Godfather, in which Mr. Big, a tiny arctic shrew, attends his daughter's wedding surrounded by gargantuan polar-bear heavies." — Christopher Orr, The Atlantic.
Behind the Scenes: The story itself went through multiple iterations, starting out as a spy story, then becoming a detective yarn before settling into shape as a tale about Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, an idealistic young bunny who leaves Bunny Burroughs for the big city and a job as Zootopia's first bunny police officer. She meets up with sly fox Nick Wilde, played by Jason Bateman, and winds up needing his help to solve a crime in a couple of days before she has to return home a failure.
While earlier versions focused on the Nick character, it became clear in the fall of 2014 — a scant 18 months or so before the movie was to be released — that the story was about Judy.
"A lot of studios would say, we can't do anything about it," says Rich Moore, who joined the production around this time as director, bringing along crewmembers like his Wreck-it Ralph head of story Jim Reardon. "But we are so lucky to have a boss in John Lasseter, who is not afraid to — when the right idea presents itself — say that's what the story wants to be, that's the right way to go, let's make that change."
Reworking the story at that point was less about a complete revamp than being creative with the work that had already been done, Moore says. "The city itself didn't change and the characters, for the most part, were rooted in who they always were," says Moore. "But it was a mechanical change of how do we service our themes and our tone and pit these characters against one another the best way possible."
Awards Chances: Mentioned last here by virtue of alphabetical conventions, Zootopia has all the earmarks of a front-runner that could win the race walking backwards with 50-pound weights attached to its feet. Aside from being a huge hit, visually stunning and the best-looking CG picture Disney has ever made, Zootopia works on a story level that's on par with anything Disney (or any other studio or filmmaker) has pulled off in many a year. A veteran of The Simpsons, Moore brings to Disney that show's knack for nailing topical issues with laugh-out-loud comedy. But it's the depth that it's taken to in Zootopia — all wrapped up in an incredibly fun, appealing and satisfying story — that really sets this apart as the film to beat.
The Serious Contenders
Studio: Kaibou Productions, LPPTV, M6 Films, On Animation Studios, Onyx Films, Orange Studio, TouTenKartoon
Distributor: Netflix
Release Date: Aug. 5 (U.S.)
Box Office: $98 million worldwide ($1.4 million U.S. domestic)
Cast: Mackenzie Foy, Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams
Behind the Scenes: How to make a film that effectively moves from CG to stop-motion and back again was the first big challenge for the show. "It was a compelling idea conceptually but very complicated to work out, and to be honest it was a notion that only became real once (stop-motion creative director) Jamie Caliri joined the project," says director Mark Osborne.
The most distinctive element of the stop-motion is that all the elements look like they are made of paper. "I wanted to link the two worlds by having the paper that the little girl is reading the story on inspiring her, and that imaginary world that she created," Osborne says.
Puppets were built with a ball-and-socket armature and covered in all kinds of paper. "Everything that you see on screen in the stop-motion world, almost everything, is made out of paper," says Osborne.
Awards Chances: A very strong contender that succeeded all over the world before U.S. distribution plans were set, then canceled, and then were re-set via Netflix. That delay may make the film look less current to some, but to overlook it would be a shame because it's a truly touching and heartfelt movie. It's also a great example of a true global independent, made completely outside the traditional American studio system, and an ideal example of how animation has become a harbinger of the future of film production. Despite all that, The Little Prince is still charming enough and delightful enough to overcome its obstacles and make a solid run for an Oscar nom.
Long Way North
Studio: Sacrebleu Productions, Maybe Movies, 2 Minutes, France 3 Cinema and Nørlum
Distributor: Shout! Factory
Release Date: Sept. 30
Director: Rémi Chayé
Cast: Chloe Dunn, Viviene Vermes, Peter Hudson
Rotten Tomatoes: 100 percent fresh
Behind the Scenes: Production on the movie was very collaborative, with Chayé open to input and contributions from everyone. Henri Magalon says the producers and crew were all involved in working on the script, the animate and on finishing the financing. "We worked together jointly on all the decisions of the line production: Where to locate the studios, what team to hire, how to accompany Remi the best," he says.
The look of the movie came slowly to Chayé, whose experience is mostly with narrative elements like storyboards and layout instead of design. "I had no personal style to work with and I had to define it," he says. "I looked at the influence of the people I was working for, like Tomm Moore on Brendan and the Secret of Kells and Jean-Francois Laguionie on Le Tableau. … Finally, at one point, I discovered that if I remove the line of my drawings, the result was somehow interesting, so I decided to go along with that idea."
With the story problems solved and the animatic working, animation was a relatively smooth 18-month process for the feature. "Liane-cho Han was the supervisor of the whole thing, animation wise," says Chayé. "The main thing for me was to make sure they caught the emotion and Han made a very beautiful job on that part."
Awards Chances: Cartoon Saloon proved European indies can earn Oscar nominations, as it did for The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea. That gives Long Way North a road map to follow for awards season, one also blazed by such films as that will surely be aided by the engrossing tale of a young girl's search for her explorer grandfather and the delightfully colorful and expressive 2D animation Chayé and his team deliver.
Studio: Production I.G.
Distributor: GKIDS
Release Date: Oct. 14
Director: Keiichi Hara
Cast: Anne Watanabe, Yutaka Matsushige, Shion Shimizu
Rotten Tomatoes: 100 percent
Behind the Scenes: Hara, who is already at work on his next film, sees only a tenuous link between the Hokusai's graphic visions and contemporary animation. But he finds that for the artists who make those films, little has changed in the two centuries since Hokusai created "The Great Wave" and other seminal woodblock prints.
"Printmaking of the Edo period is strikingly similar to the production process of hand-drawn animation," he says. "They are both the result of tight teamwork among very specialized craftsmen aimed at mass audiences; no original art survives, only reproductions. Publishers in the Edo era would decide on the project, select the staff, do the marketing — exactly like today's animation producers. And like animators, Edo period printmakers, including Hokusai, were considered 'artisans' rather than 'artists.' I certainly don't command Hokusai's creative powers, but I like to consider myself an artisan, striving to make my way through an endless wilderness of white paper, holding nothing but my pencil."
Awards Chances: Oscar has a soft spot for art-house style Japanese animation, as shown by the nominations it has bestowed upon the likes of The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, The Wind Also Rises and When Marnie Was There. Miss Hokusai, unlike those features, is not a Studio Ghibli production, even though it has a similar style. But given the high acclaim the feature has received, that may matter little to the nominating committee, given the depth of emotion, the historical context and the excellent craft on display in this movie.
Release Date: Nov. 23
Director: John Musker and Ron Clements
Cast: Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Jermaine Clements
Rotten Tomatoes: 98 percent want to see
Awards Chances: There's little doubt Moana is beautifully animated. What remains to be seen, with its release still a month off, is how well the story holds up. Musker and Clements are beloved by animation and Disney fans as the directors of The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules. But the duo's films since the mid-1990s have struggled to find the same level of success and Disney has not made another 2D animated theatrical feature since the duo's disappointing 2009 movie Princess and the Frog. For Moana, Musker and Clements enter into CGI for the first time — and whether the result inspires audiences to the level of a nomination remains to be seen. Remember, the last Disney movie that came out at the holidays with little advance word was a little thing called Frozen …
The Red Turtle
Studio: Why Not Productions, Wild Bunch, Studio Ghibli, CN4 Productions, Arte France Cinéma, Belvision, Prima Linea Productions
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: Jan. 20
Director: Michael Dudok de Wit
Behind the Scenes: "When I decided to present a castaway, alone in nature on a deserted tropical island, I immediately decided not to have him talk to himself, as Tom Hanks does so beautifully in Castaway," says Dudok de wit. "But I thought the story needed some dialogue, especially when the man and the woman meet. I imagined the woman would be silent because she is from nature, but the man would say something.
"We have no idea where the protagonist is from; which century, which culture, which background, which place in society," he says. "We know nothing about him, but if he opens his mouth and says something, it makes us jump, 'Oh, he speaks English?' 'Oh, he's French?' It didn't feel natural."
The lack of words put more emphasis on the animation than the project would have otherwise demanded. "To compensate for the absence of dialogue, the acting had to be beautiful and clear at the crucial moments," Dudok De Wit says. "When the man and woman meet — when anyone else would speak — the body language had to be eloquent enough to compensate for the absence of dialogue."
Awards Chances:
Distributor: Universal
Release Date: Dec. 21
Director: Garth Jennings
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson
Rotten Tomatoes: 88 percent
Reaction: "For the first half of the movie, the stories come fast and furious, and so do the snippets of dozens of pop songs. It's not frantic in the overly adrenalized manner of many animated films, but it's something of a jumble nonetheless.
"But when the characters hit rock bottom, the movie quietly gets more emotional and more sure-handed. It's not easy to make us feel for animated characters who we've been laughing at, but we do. … Sure, a couple of those songs are pretty overused — but as a post-screening performance by Jennifer Hudson and Tori Kelly showed, the darn things also work.
"And so does Sing. In an extremely strong year for animation, Illumination has taken a big step up." — Steve Pond, The Wrap.com.
Awards Chances: This late-year entry will be closely watched as Illumination chief Chris Meledandri is now also overseeing DreamWorks Animation now that it's been acquired by Universal. The big question for this movie — and for Illumination — is whether they can go beyond the financial success of the Minions to also achieve the critical success that Pixar exemplifies in this industry. Early word is strong, but in a year full of strong competitors that alone may not be enough to stand out from the crowd.
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
Distributor: Fox
Release Date: Nov. 4
Director: Mike Mitchell, Walt Dorhn
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Jeffrey Tambor
Behind the Scenes: "CGI technology is so sophisticated now and so realistic, you can make anything look super real," says Mitchell. "So for this, we wanted to take that technology and go a different way. We made these creatures they're like Gummi Bears that have been flocked in velvet. Instead of making a realistic tree … we wanted to cover that tree in felt, and every leaf in felt and maybe the ground is carpet and even the rocks are felted and even the dust and all the effects kind of follow this kind of handmade natural fiber material look that is basically just surfacing, but it's surfacing I haven't really seen explored."
Awards Chances: Cute, fun and beautiful to look at, Trolls is DreamWorks' top push this year. The movie looks gorgeous and is filled with entertaining songs — both original and classic — that are sure to charm young and old audiences. What remains to be seen is how much depth the movie has and its ability to draw in adults without children — and it's unlikely to expect gold without that.
Don't Count Them Out
Ma vie de courgette (My Life as a Zucchini)
Release Date: TBD
Director: Claude Barras
Cast: Michel Vuillermoz, Paulin Jaccoud, Natacha Koutchoumov
Awards Chances: This film took the top feature honor at Annecy, is based on a popular book and delves unflinchingly into some serious childhood issues. Its late release and low profile at this point look pretty difficutl to overcome.
Studio: Nitrogen Studios
Distributor: Sony
Box Office: $129 million worldwide ($97 million U.S. Domestic)
Director: Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan
Cast: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill
Awards Chances: A fun, subversive movie that's also a surprise box office and critical hit, Sausage Party would have to overcome its adults-only sense of humor — what clip from the movie could they show at the ceremony if it were nominated? — and the troubling claims of labor violations to earn a nomination.
Release Date: July 8
Box Office: $849 million worldwide ($365 million U.S. Domestic)
Director: Chris Renaud
Cast: Louis C.K., Kevin Hart, Eric Stonestreet
Awards Chances: A global hit and an appealingly fresh look would in many years be more than enough to earn this amiable movie a serious shot at a nom. But in 2016, with no shortage of box office titans and critical darlings — and combinations of the two — there's likely little room for Pets to squeak through
Studio: Warner Bros.
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Director: Nick Stoller, Doug Sweetland
Cast: Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer
Awards Chances: A sweet movie, with some terrific animation, fun characters (Pigeon Toady, brah!) and a solid story, it nonetheless seemed a little lost in the crowd when it was released. Also, if Warner's couldn't get a nomination for The LEGO Movie, Storks is likely out of luck in so competitive a year.
The Long Shots
Studio: Rovio Entertainment
Release Date: May 20
Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride
Studio: Je Suis Bien Content and StudioCanal
Release Date: March 25
Box Office: $295,000 U.S. domestic
Director: Christian Desmares, Franck Ekinci
Cast: Angela Galuppo, Tony Hale, Tony Robinow
Ice Age: Collision Course
Studio: Blue Sky Studios
Release Date: July 22
Director: Mike Thurmeier
Cast: Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo
Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Alessandro Carloni
Cast: Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman
Nerdland
Studio: Titmouse
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn
Release Date: December
Director: Chris Prynoski
Cast: Paul Rudd, Patton Oswalt, Kate Micucci
Studio: Rainmaker Entertainment
Box Office: $8.8 million worldwide
Director: Kevin Munroe
Cast: James Arnold Taylor, David Kaye, Bella Thorne
Snowtime!
Studio: Carpe Diem
Release Date: Feb. 19
Director: Jean-Francois Pouliot, Francois Brisson
Cast: Angela Gallupo, Lucinda Davis, Sandra Oh
Related Topics:April and the Extraordinary World, Finding Dory, Ice Age: Collision Course, Kubo and the Two Strings, Kung Fu Panda 3, Long Way North, Ma vie de courgette (My Life as a Zucchini), Miss Hokusai, Moana, Nerdland, Sausage Party, Sing, Snowtime!, Storks, The Angry Birds Movie, The Little Prince, The Red Turtle, The Secret Life of Pets, Trolls, Zootopia
Dreams, Made Real


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Symphurus ocellaris är en fiskart som beskrevs av Munroe och Robertson 2005. Symphurus ocellaris ingår i släktet Symphurus och familjen Cynoglossidae. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Book Review — Shuttler's Flick: Making Every Match Count by Pullela Gopichand & Priya Kumar
Badminton coach and former world champion Pullela Gopichand's autobiography is not only about what it takes to get to the top, but also how to stay there
Updated: January 2, 2022 6:44:31 am
The prestigious event was considered the unofficial world championship of the sport until 1977, when the International Badminton Federation launched its official championships.
By Kunal Doley
Everyone has falls and failures. In Pullela Gopichand's case, the biggest one came, quite literally, when he had to undergo extensive surgery for his knee after he crashed while playing a winning game at the 1995 Pune National Games. Stakeholders of the game were sceptical, and the badminton committee was convinced that the devastating injury would bring an end to Gopichand's career.
However, that was not to be. Gopichand undertook his journey of healing and recovery and got back to the game in nine months. In 1998, he won the bronze in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. Eventually, in 2001, he bagged the All England Open Badminton Championships, the world's oldest badminton tournament held annually in England. The prestigious event was considered the unofficial world championship of the sport until 1977, when the International Badminton Federation launched its official championships.
This is the story that we have all heard about Gopichand. But winning the title of a world champion alone hasn't defined Gopichand in his illustrious career as a badminton player and now, as a world-class coach. He set up his badminton academy in 2008 and nurtured players like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu into becoming world champions themselves.
So, what does it take to become a champion? In Shuttler's Flick: Making Every Match Count, Gopichand tells his story—and through the voices of his students, parents and wife—the journey that was worth taking. "It was not just about physical strength, skill or talent. It was the fact that he took the power from winning one game and used it to drive him further in the next one… Having a deep restlessness to perform better, to improve each time," writes motivational speaker-writer Priya Kumar, who is also the co-author of the book.
The book starts with the crucial match against Chinese shuttler Chen Hong, then World No. 3 and a clear favourite for the title, and the final moments leading up to Gopichand's 2001 All England victory. It then takes readers back to his childhood and how he earned his passion and support for the game that he was playing not to spend the day away from home and studies, but to win. All along, he had the support from his family—especially his father Subhash—who knew that Gopichand would "become a world champion one day".
The book then talks about his sports training in his initial years and his 'national exposure' when his vision changed from just playing to beat his friends to rise to the level of a national champion. But for that vision to become a reality was not easy. He had to find the right professional ecosystem and the right attitude. Gopichand struggled every day but worked out his weaknesses and fears, nevertheless.
In 2003, Gopichand retired from badminton, but not from his association with the sport. His decision was firm—he was going to be the best coach the Indian badminton circuit had ever seen. And the rest, as well know, is history. The latter part of the book delves into this beginning of a new journey.
Gopichand and Priya Kumar integrate a lot of self-help elements with personal anecdotes to make the book relevant to a wider audience. Towards the end of every chapter, they break down the key takeaways into lists that can be used as pointers not just by players or coaches in badminton courts but also by others in their everyday lives.
In a few 'bonus chapters', Gopichand highlights the need for physical literacy, about teaching one to stay physically active in life, and the role of parents in grooming their children, "getting them physically, mentally and emotionally ready for the sport, whether they take it up professionally later on in life or not".
Shuttler's Flick is more than an autobiography because it doesn't just talk about winning titles but to achieve one's dreams. It gives an insight not only into the world of badminton but also into the real world. It not only shows what it takes to get to the top, but also, and more importantly, how to stay there. In that, it is a winner.
Shuttler's Flick: Making Every Match Count
Pullela Gopichand & Priya Kumar
Pp 365, Rs 475
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Soothe Healthcare witnesses 2X growth in FY21-22 with rapid expansion in untapped geographies

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I am thrilled to be here on Writers' Rumpus today interviewing my friend K.R. Conway. For those who don't know her, Kate (who publishes under the name K.R. Conway) has been instrumental in helping me independently publish my YA novels FALLING FOR WONDER BOY and ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT.
I am so thankful to be a part of the Wicked Whale family and so excited for people to know another side of Kate.
Most people know Kate from her wildly popular UNDERTOW series, the bestselling, snark-ridden, Urban Fantasy YA, which follows 17-year-old Eila Walker, last in a brutal race of supernatural humans, and her outrageous allies, including a soulless hottie who becomes her bodyguard. But what people might not know, is that Kate is also the brain behind Wicked Whale Publishing.
Kris: Hi Kate—thanks so much for agreeing to sit down with me (virtually) and talk about Wicked Whale and your path to publication. Can you tell us how that came about and why?
Kate: First of all, thanks for virtually having me, Kris! Wicked Whale was born because I was being approached by other Indie / self-published authors who were interested in joining forces for tours and book events. I knew their work and some had hired me as a graphic artist for their covers, logos, etc. I knew that many traditionally published authors are grouped by publisher / release year and by doing so, the group pulls more publicity than going solo. So I formed Wicked Whale Publishing, which is a boutique imprint of talented writers (mainly YA and MG).
Kris: That sounds amazing—you're so good at it, and I'm always in awe of your knowledge! How hard was it to learn all you needed to know about independent publishing?
Kate: Not hard, just time consuming. I'd basically track the evolution of a particular trade novel and learn where the publishing house was putting their marketing dollars. I also learned to read a market – to understand what the reader really wants. Because in Indie publishing, you don't sell to the industry – you sell to the reader. If you are lucky, your readership will grow and strengthen to the point that the industry will take notice and your books will end up on high school reading lists and get nominated for national awards. Never underestimate the power of fans.
Kris: We're all hoping for lucky (and fans!)—it's nice to be a part of a community of like-minded souls. What made you decide to help other writers publish their work?
Kate: Well, some people just had it—that raw talent as a wordsmith and storyteller—but they were floundering in query Hell. They were loosing confidence with each rejection when I knew their books had the ability to sell into the hands of readers. Not wanting them to just run into self-pubbing without knowing what they were really doing, I offered to help. I'd say about 80% of my clients and Wicked Whale authors go on to rank as a #1 bestseller on Amazon in their category, and that says something about the endless potential of self-publishing when done well.
I think the traditional industry is seen as the gatekeepers of excellence. I think that it is assumed that you must have an agent or a large publishing house behind you to be worthwhile, but it's simply not true. There are great and terrible books on both sides of the publishing wall.
And, quite honestly, there are many terrible self-published books, and there is no excuse for it – especially when you control every aspect of your publishing journey. A badly done self-published book tells me that the writer didn't have the patience or respect for those of us who see this industry as a legitimate business. That tells me they didn't honor the art of storytelling and marketing and readership.
At the end of the day, I choose to help other writers publish their work because I want them to publish with an exceptional eye to detail, so that all of us in the Self-Pub category can be taken seriously.
Kris: I love that advice—and agree 100%. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. What was the inspiration behind the name Wicked Whale?
Kate: Wicked Whale is a nod to Cape Cod (where I live) and Boston slang, but I also have a habit of playing with words. Officially, I am Wicked Whale Publishing – Great Storytelling isn't a Fluke. I know, I know . . . so cheesy, but I love that it is kinda ridiculous.
Kris: What is your favorite part of working with other authors on their projects?
Kate: Probably when they finally get to see their cover, or hold their book in their hands for the first time. I tell everyone to video record their unboxing. The other day I was on the phone with one client and happened to see that another client had hit #1 in his category on Amazon and had snagged a coveted orange bestseller tag. I called him – he was so excited. To me, that makes all the long hours in front of a computer worth it.
Kris: It's so great to be able to share good news like that! Are you open for submissions? If not, how do you choose who to help publish? If someone wanted to learn from your experience, is there a place they could find you to take advantage of your knowledge (like any classes or workshops you might be teaching in the near future)?
Kate: There are two sides to Wicked Whale Publishing. One side is for any author who wishes to publish – a for-hire book artist, basically, which is me. In this vein, I don't edit your story and I probably won't read it, but I will make it look amazing. These clients have their own imprints and won't be [listed] under Wicked Whale, but I will set them up to do the best possible job of marketing.
The other side of Wicked Whale is the imprint, which is by invite only right now, though I may open a submission window during the NESCBWI's Spring Conference. Some of these people started off as clients, but their story and writing was so strong, that I invited them to be part of our boutique imprint. When I'm laying out a book for someone, I often DO have to read pieces of it as I work, however, and it doesn't take long to see greatness in a manuscript. Those writers will often be offered a spot on Wicked Whale's roster if I think their story is a good fit for us. A perfect example of this is Julia Tannenbaum's book, CHANGING WAYS.
Julia is a senior at Hall High School in Hartford Connecticut. She had she had seen me speak at her school and, a year later, she reached out to me and asked if I'd take a look at her first chapter. She'd been querying the book but was getting nowhere and wanted to know if it just wasn't that good. She sent it through to me and by the second page, I knew she had it. Strong story, beautiful writing, real characters. I called her back and offered her a spot on Wicked Whale the same day. Her book came out in September of 2018 and she's done fabulous ever since.
My goal with the Wicked Whale imprint is to bring great stories together and enable our self-published authors to network online and in person so they may all sell better and reach a larger audience. We currently have many bestselling authors including one USA Today Bestseller. We also have authors who were traditionally published and who asked for their rights back so they could join us. Wicked Whale, the imprint, takes no money at all from the authors' profits, but we share tips and tidbits on marketing between one another and join forces on occasion.
As for where to find me, I will be teaching at the Cape Cod Young Writers Workshop in Osterville, MA in February, the NESCBWI Spring Conference in Springfield, MA in May, and The Cape Cod Writers Center Conference and the 2019 Cape Cod Teen Writers Conference, both in August on Cape Cod.
Kris: I'm so glad you'll be at NESCBWI this year! What would you like people to know about Wicked Whale?
Kate: Wicked Whale seeks great characters who live off the page. Vivid realms that put reality to shame. Scattered words that transform into poetry. And brilliant stories that become unforgettable legends.
Kris: That sounds awesome…LOVE it. Tell us a bit about what you're working on now.
Kate: Oh snap . . . Well, now that the UNDERTOW series is finished (at six books), I've decided to step away from Urban Fantasy for a smidge (JUST a smidge) and work on a time-spanning novel which is basically two books in one, with a common thread that revolves around the idea of former lives. It's proving to be a bugger to write, but once it's done, I do intend to query it to agents. I think it is always smart to straddle the line in publishing and I strongly advise all authors to do so.
Kris: You can find out more about Kate (aka K.R. Conway) at her website, Cape Cod Scribe.
My new YA novel, FALLING FOR WONDER BOY, was designed and formatted by Kate, and I think it's beautiful! It will be available at online outlets on February 14, 2019.
Thank God for an advocate like Kate Conway for other authors!
Interesting interview, Ladies. And good luck with your new title, Kris. Cover looks fabulous!
Kris and Kate: this is a terrific interview! Kris – congratulations on your new book and Kate – I love your philosophy and passion.
Thanks for doing this interview. It sounds as though in addition to all the other good things about Wicked Whale, you are also giving a leg up to talented young writers. I hope you and they will prosper!
Great interview Kris and Kate! I love learning about other people's writing and publishing journeys!


School shootings have become a tragic epidemic in recent years. For this reason, school districts have been prioritizing school security like never before in history, and a real focus has been placed on security cameras and surveillance systems. These security systems aren't only good for putting a stop to the threat of school shootings, but for keeping schools overall safe as well.
When times of crisis occur, school surveillance systems provide a live feed that law enforcement officials can log into and view in real time. This means that perpetrators or suspects can not only be easily identified, but the police will be able to locate any threats quickly within the school building.
From elementary all the way to high school, school bullying is a major problem throughout all areas of the United States. With security camera systems in place, school administrators will be able to identify and properly dole out consequences to bullies using the camera footage of proof, and the existence of the cameras themselves can act as a deterrent for potential bullying behavior.
Vandalism can be an expensive problem in just about any school. With camera systems located in and around the school, vandals can be identified and the problem squashed with proof. The presence of the cameras in and around the school may even deter vandals before they can act, simply by showing that proof of the crime will be recorded.
Theft can occur within the school from student to student, from student to the school, and even through break ins by those who do not attend the school or perhaps never did. Like vandalism, theft can cost schools hundreds to thousands of dollars, taking money away from an already strained budget. The presence of security cameras can deter thieves, or record and help to identify them.
School security cameras and surveillance systems are perhaps best at simply providing peace of mind. For parents, to teachers and faculty, and to students alike, the presence of the camera system lets everyone know that the school is being watched over and measures have been taken to keep everyone inside as safe as possible.
Safety in schools is invaluable, but fewer children and adults are truly feeling safe in school in this day and age. The installation of a surveillance or security camera system can help to bring that feeling of trust and safety back, and show all school occupants that they're being looked out for while they spend their day in school. An investment in school safety is an investment in peace of mind. To learn more about the installation of surveillance and camera systems in schools, contact Supercircuits today.


Although this is just a "dream pick" for now, it's not entirely out of the question. Cable has been persistently rumored for Deadpool 2 (which we all know is going to happen, right?), and clearly, Jon Hamm would be a great pick that would satisfy critics who love Mad Men and fans who value fidelity.
"The deals that they make you do are so Draconian. And, of course, you are signed on for not only the movie … but at least two more that you haven't read, and you have no idea what they are going to be and all the crossover ones you are going to have to do," he said.
"For me to sign on now to do a superhero movie would mean I would be working until I am 50 as that particular superhero. It's a lot of work at one thing, which is not necessarily the reason I got into the business, which is to do many things. If you want to spend all day pressing the same key, that … seems an odd choice."
That being said, Cable (or another supervillain) might be the perfect role for him. Playing a villain rather than a hero would allow him to sign on for only one movie, presumably, and would allow him to enter the wildly popular and increasingly prestigious superhero world. It's not like Robert Downey Jr., Ben Affleck, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, or Elizabeth Olsen are lacking in serious acting cred.


Utilizes client history, various assessments and objective findings to formulate a comprehensive treatment plan.
Strategizes quantifiable goals to enhance performance, optimize movement and improve overall health.
Emphasizes a four pillared approach to identify dysfunctional patterns and how they are stored in the brain and body.
Maintains awareness of the causative effects of the limbic system.
Achieves optimal movement through progressive treatments exposing truest potential.
FASCIAL SYSTEM | Understanding the role of fascia in movement and its ability to respond to manual therapy. How the fascia is influenced by movement and manipulation and its relationship with the nervous system, muscular system, digestive system and respiratory system.
NERVOUS SYSTEM | As resilient as the nervous system is, maintaining a superior environment, stimuli and information will produce a greater opportunity to thrive. Understanding how the brain stores movement patterns, not individual muscle movements and facilitating desired change in addition to how the nervous system communicates with the endocrine system ultimately reshapes how we can optimize our life experience.
LIMBIC SYSTEM | Chronic pain and dysfunctional movement patterns are often recognized in the brain as a potential norm and 80% of perceived pain has an emotional component. Understanding how our emotional selves impact how me move or emote leads us towards a more favorable environment. The effects of our emotional patterning are essential in recognizing its relevancy in treatment approach and findings revealing truest expression.
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF MASSAGE THERAPY | Increased frequency of manual therapy will produce a more effective result than individual sessions and create change at a cellular level. Progressive rather than aggressive treatments yield optimal change. Healing takes endurance and stamina and with this desired commitment to change, one can discover their optimal selves.


Political and social change has swept the Arab world in the past year, and in some of these countries the first democratic elections ever in their history have been held. In Russia, after the December 2011 parliamentary elections, protest movements demanding political pluralism have taken to the streets, although here the outcome is yet open-ended. In the West these political aspirations for a change over status quo in Russia and in various Arab countries have invariably been labelled 'democratic revolutions' and, perhaps as a consequence, raised our expectations that liberal thought, truly competitive elections and certain individual freedoms should naturally take root in these countries once past the initial revolutionary stage. However, it should be kept in mind that the reform movements in Russia and in Arab countries have risen in traditionally highly non-liberal contexts, where Western-inspired liberal voices play a subordinate and/or even a negative role. This fact inevitably conditions the type of regime that will develop in post-election Tunisia and/or Egypt. The dominant non-liberal streak in Russian politics could also condition any potential Russian political alteration, whether through government-tutored reform or through regime-change.
The current presentation will focus on the role that liberal sectors have played in these countries in recent years and explore why they have not been able to make a more profound impact on their respective societies.


text:
Q: Android: enable temporary touch/click for all views but one I have a set of buttons and views displayed on the screen. At some point, I would like to be able to interact only with one of them and block all the others.
And I need to retain all the listeners to restore theirs behaviors later.
Any ideas?
Thanks!

A: For disabling buttons, when you clicking on a specific button/view, disable other buttons/views in the specific onClickListener like
//button1 onClickListener
        button1.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {

            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {

                button2.setClickable(false); //disable button2
                view1.setClickable(false); //disable view1
            }
        });

likewise for all other buttons and views, then you may enable those by calling
button2.setClickable(true);
view1.setClickable(true);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


This handcrafted Meenakari Painted Peacock is made of Metal and decorated with painting. The painting is hand made. The gift piece has been prepared by the creative artisans of Jaipur. Use for Decorative Showpiece.Our range of showpieces are designed to spruce up the look of your room. These curios are perfectly styled with care and detailing, in interesting colours and shapes that are sure to keep you coming back for more. A one stop-shop for home decor and handicraft.


Realtree or Mossy Oak Pink Baby Blanket - bring or her -- home in camo, this super soft camo baby blanket. Carstens quality baby blanket has a soft plush back and microfiber front with faux shearling trim. They may outgrow a newborn baby outfit, so give the gift that will grow with them. Starts as a newborn blanket, becomes a toddler lovie.


text:
Bloodhound supersonic car's land speed record bid hit by 'funding' setback
The Bloodhound supersonic car is designed to eventually reach 1,000mph in a bid to set a land speed record
The next phase of tests on a British car designed to reach 1,000mph and break the world land speed record have been delayed due to a funding "setback".
In October thousands of people descended on Cornwall Airport Newquay as the Bloodhound supersonic car (SSC) was tested in public for the first time.
The Bloodhound, which has taken almost ten years to develop, was driven at 200mph by ex-RAF fighter pilot Andy Green in an exercise used to prove the vehicle's steering, brakes, suspension, data systems and other functions.
The team had planned to ship the car to its specially prepared 11-mile track in South Africa in October 2018 for tests runs above 500mph, before trying to break the world land speed record a year later.
How Bloodhound's 200mph test run became one of Cornwall's biggest ever media events
But those tests have now been delayed until May 2019, although the timing of the record attempt will not change.
Availability of funding is part of the reason, but engineers also want a more complete car when they test it.
The vehicle accelerated from 0-200mph in eight seconds during tests at Newquay in October
The Bloodhound will remain in South Africa over the summer of 2019, saving on transport costs, before the record attempt is made in November 2019 as originally planned.
Newquay Town Council hits back at claims it has used a homeless man's death to place a memorial to stop rough sleepers
"While intense fund-raising activity has been ongoing, the project has suffered a setback in the form of two important suppliers going into receivership before they were able to complete their work on Bloodhound," the Bloodhound team said in a statement.
More than 200 members of the press descended on Newquay in October for what became one of the biggest media events in Cornwall in recent memory (Image: Elliot Caunce)
"In light of this, but with the very real prospect that our ability to raise funds is about to be transformed, the team has re-evaluated plans for running the car.
"The opportunity now exists to reduce the time delay between conducting the high-speed tests (known as 'BH500') and the first record attempt."
Land speed record holder Wing Commander Andy Green
With more than 3,500 parts, the Bloodhound is one of the most technologically complex cars ever manufactured.
The car is a combination of a fighter jet, a Formula One car and a spaceship and is fitted with an EJ200 jet engine, sourced from a Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.
The Bloodhound team is hoping to break the existing land speed record of 763mph, which was set back in 1997.
The project has turned out to be far more complex and difficult to pull off than anyone thought at the beginning.
It was launched in 2008 and the early hope was that a new record bid could be made in 2011 - but this was pushed back once the sheer scale of the project and costs involved became apparent.
"There have been many false dawns over the life of the project and we have, regrettably but unavoidably, tested the patience of our friends, supporters and team," the statement added.
"The Bloodhound leadership team firmly believes this development will be a game changer, but we want to prove this, not merely hope for it."
St AustellFury as council removes play equipment from two parks in the same villageCornwall Council says it won't be replaced
Gordon RamsayGordon Ramsay's son joins the Royal Marines in Devon
Jack will hear plenty of F-words now


text:
Q: php submit returning source code? I am having an issue where after pressing submit, I am taken to a page that is all source code rather than getting logged in like I expected.
Can anyone tell me where my issue is that would be great, I'm really confused i want it working as a local page for now as I am in very early stages of development I am new to the world of coding but am trying to learn.
Source of Index.html:
<?php

session_start();
echo 'Connected successfully';
mysql_close($link);

if ($_POST['username']) {

$dbUsername = "james";
$dbPassword = "";
$uid = "1111";

$username = strip_tags($_POST["username"]);
$paswd = strip_tags ($_POST["password"]);

if (username == $dbusername && $paswd == $dbPassword){
    $_SESSION['username'] = $username;
    $_SESSION['id'] = $uid;

    header("location: index.html");

} else {
    echo "username and password not registered";
}
}

?>
<!DOCTYPE html>

<title>Rank Landlord</title>
<meta charset="utf-8" />

<link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css" type="text/css" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">

<form id="form" action="index.php" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-     data">
Username: <input type="text" name="username" />
Password: <input type="password" name="password" />
<input type="submit" value="Login" name="Submit" />

</form>

Home

XXX

XXXX

XXXXXXt

Registration

XX

Who are we?

                    <p class="xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx

                <content>

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

                </content>

Registration

Register as a free user using social media

                <content>

social media logos to go here, with links

                </content>

quick search

     <form class="searchform cf">
 <input type="text" placeholder="Find a Landlord to RANK!">
 <button type="submit">Search</button>

 </form>

Area Search

                <form class="searchform cf">
  <input type="text" placeholder="Postcode...">

                <form class="searchform cf">
  <input type="text" placeholder="City...">

                <form class="searchform cf">
  <input type="text" placeholder="County...">

<form action="">
                <select name="Within...">
                <option value="01">0-1 Miles</option>
                <option value="25">2-5 Miles</option>
                <option value="5-10">5-10 Miles</option>
                <option value="10plus">10+ Miles</option>
   </select>

  <button type="submit">Search</button>

  </form>

A: Change the filename from index.html to index.php otherwise it won't get parsed and executed by PHP.
Also ensure that you are executing the file from a webserver with PHP installed.


How do I get new ink cartridges? Will other ink cartridges work?
> Knowledge base> Article: How do I get new ink cartridges? Will other ink cartridges work?
Ink cartridges are sold throughout the world by our resellers, distributors and hundreds of WWW sites. Our online store at www.primerastore.com is also a handy place for customers in the USA. Original Primera Bravo ink cartridges are required in order for the ink-level monitoring features to properly function. This is a very important feature for unattended disc duplication! Our patented ink-level software tells you not only the percentage of ink remaining before you start a job, but also the actual number of discs that are possible based upon the graphic image(s) you're sending to the printer.


Did you see any broken plastic laying by your feet? There is a little plastic pad that clips into the brake pedal lever. It's a stop and designed to push the brake switch plunger. Most the time they rot and fall out, so the brake lamps stay on.
Is there even wiring or a plug there that would be for brake lights? Have you been without operational brake lights for how ever long you've owned this?
You do mean brake lights not plain "running'' lights or some folks call them "parking" lights don't you?


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  jcp
  Wandering post-grad
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Flinn Ferguson recently completed the renewal negotiation for Key Bank's regional headquarters in Bellevue CBD. As part of the evaluation process, Flinn Ferguson worked with Key Bank to identify all viable alternatives in Bellevue and Seattle. Even though viable alternatives for a regional office for a bank of Key Bank's size and stature were very limited, Flinn Ferguson was successful in negotiating an early contraction of over 30% and above market improvement allowance to renew in Key Center for 70,000 SF.


As I mentioned - it was not a comment on the validity or otherwise of those actions - rather a comment simply in relation to the quote.
People are entitled to their views as to the right or wrong of things, but they should bear some resemblance to the known facts / known facts should be acknowledged.
...and apologists, while doing the above, criticise those who criticise the above.
We shouldn't engage in behaviours we criticise others for. If we ask others to critically evaluate something we have an issue with, we should also critically evaluate our own beliefs.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for twin bombings that killed at least 20 people during a Catholic Church service in the Philippines, the militant group's news agency Amaq says.
In an incredibly sad day, the below happened. I never thought I would see it in either Australia or NZ, though the lack of conversation around this subject has long been worrying.
Hopefully police find and charge every person who contributed to this disgraceful act of terror.
As a note, though the below article calls it an act of terror, many sources, including NZ's Prime Minister have called it an act of violence, which is quite racist (as were it a muslim who perpetrated it on a church, they would by now be calling it an act of terror).
A man in his late 20s has been charged with murder after an Australian terrorist opened fire at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, killing at least 49 and injuring 48 others.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush has now confirmed that 49 people had been killed.
Until more details are known, it seems like a revenge killing coupled to the desire for recognition using shock value. Knowledge is replacing faith, planetwide.
New Zealand is not Muslim nation. An attack like this should be expected when governments coddle Islam. People grow inpatient and angry, some of them are bound to act. I am not condoning any terror attack, but wanting revenge is human nature. Remember we are dealing with a faith that inspires mass murders to advance that faith. Until Muslims are called out and challenged about their deadly belief system things like this will happen. Only God knows who this guy inspired to do the same.
» Are there any peaceful muslim nations?


text:
Q: How can I deploy DLL files created by a Fortran function and call them from Mathematica This is my Fortran function, established by Intel visual Fortran 11.1
FUNCTION MYADD(X,Y)
 !DEC$ ATTRIBUTES DLLEXPORT::MYADD
 REAL(8) X,Y,MYADD
 MYADD=X+Y
end FUNCTION

A corresponding .dll file is created,MDLL.dll (64bit version) and I put this file in the $Path directory.
In a Mathematica notebook, I input:
Needs["NETLink`"]
fun=DefineDLLFunction["MYADD", "MDLL.dll", "double", {"double", "double"}]
fun[1.0,2.0]

But it gives me an error:
 NET::netexcptn: A .NET exception occurred: System.DllNotFoundException:
     unable to load DLL"MDLL.dll": can not find corresponding module
     (error form HRESULT:0x8007007E).
     in Wolfram.NETLink.DynamicDLLNamespace.DLLWrapper1.MYADD(Double , Double).

A: Even the path is corrected, it still cannot run, since the argument type should {"double*", "double*"}.
Here is my memo on calling dll created by gfortran using NETLink:

Advantages of NETLink as compared to Mathlink:

*

*Fortran functions and subroutines can be called using NETLink without writing an additional C wrapper which is necessary in Mathlink.

*NETLink can access all the functions and subroutines in the fortran code by calling the dll file, not only one.

*And it seems to me NETLink is faster than Mathlink.

*

*Calling a fortran function

Suppose we have a fortran code testfunction.f90
REAL(8) FUNCTION testfunction(x,y)
  REAL(8), DIMENSION(2) :: x
  REAL(8) :: y
  testfunction = (x(1)+x(2)) * y
END FUNCTION

We can compile it and build a dll
gfortran -c testfunction.f90
gfortran -shared -mrtd -o testfunction.dll testfunction.o

Now the function testfunction(x,y) in testfunction.dll can be called after loading the .NET/Link package
Needs["NETLink`"]
ReinstallNET["Force32Bit" -> True]; (* or InstallNET["Force32Bit"->True] *)

(* set to the directory of the notebook, and the dll file is in the same dir *)
SetDirectory[NotebookDirectory[]];
path = FileNameJoin[{Directory[], "testfunction.dll"}];
TestFunction = DefineDLLFunction["testfunction_", path, "double", {"double[]", "double*"}];

TestFunction[{1.0, 2.0}, 3.0] gives the correct result 9.0.
Explanations:
DefineDLLFunction: the first argument is the function name to be called. It has changed from testfunction to testfunction_, and might be TESTFUNCTION or other depending on the fortran compiler. path is the complete path to the dll file. "double" is the return type. The last argument contains the types of the arguments. Note the presence of [] for an array and * for others.
If * is missing, there will be an error message saying
NET::netexcptn: A .NET exception occurred:
System.AccessViolationException: Attempted to read or write protected memory.
This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt.
at Wolfram.NETLink.DynamicDLLNamespace.DLLWrapper...testfunction_(Double[],Double).

If [] is missing or written as * by mistake, the error message is
NET::methodargs: Improper arguments supplied for method named testfunction_."

Before making revisions to the dll file, one should use ReinstallNET["Force32Bit" -> True] to quit and restart the .NET runtime

*

*Calling a fortran subroutine

see also the post here
testsubroutine.f90
SUBROUTINE testsubroutine(x,y,z)
  REAL(8), DIMENSION(2), INTENT(in) :: x
  REAL(8), INTENT(in) :: y
  REAL(8), DIMENSION(2), INTENT(out) :: z
  z(1) = x(1) * y
  z(2) = x(2) * y
  RETURN
END SUBROUTINE

testsubroutine.dll can be built as before. In Mathematica, after loading NETLink and ReinstallNET["Force32Bit" -> True],
path2 = FileNameJoin[{Directory[], "testsubroutine.dll"}]
TestSubroutine = DefineDLLFunction["testsubroutine_", path2, "void",
{"Double[]", "Double*", "Double[]"}]

Now we should create a .NET object, which is to be sent to testsubroutine_ at the place of z to store the results
(* Any real or integer numbers can be put in the list.
"System.Double[]" is necessary if any of the numbers is an integer. *)
res = MakeNETObject[{0, 0.}, "System.Double[]"]

Now let's test a case:
TestSubroutine[{1., 2.}, 3., res] (* res receives the calculated results *)

(* translate the .NET object results into a Mathematica expression  *)
NETObjectToExpression[res]

The results are the desired {3., 6.}.

A: Using Mono 6.12.0.122 this works in Linux, with Mathematica 13.0.1 :
SetEnvironment["LD_LIBRARY_PATH" -> FileNameJoin[{$InstallationDirectory, "SystemFiles", "Libraries", $SystemID}]];
    SetEnvironment["DISPLAY" -> ":0"];
    Needs["NETLink`"];
    NETLink`InstallNET[];
    path2 = FileNameJoin[{Directory[], "testsubroutine.dll"}];
    TestSubroutine = DefineDLLFunction["testsubroutine_", path2,  "void", {"Double[]", "Double*", "Double[]"}];
    res = MakeNETObject[{0, 0.}, "System.Double[]"];
    TestSubroutine[{1.0, 2.0}, 3.0, res];
    NETObjectToExpression[res]


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text:
We are introduced to Cameron Post (Chloë Grace Moretz) as a teen in a Christian school in a secret relationship with her classmate Coley (Quinn Shephard, who has shown great promise as an actress and director with her film Blame). When the two are caught making out in the back of a car on prom night, Cameron is taken to God's Promise, a gay conversion center, hidden in the woods. In these opening scenes, director Desiree Akhavan (Appropriate Behavior) establishes her film as tender and rueful. John Gallagher Jr. (of the similarly toned Short Term 12) as the mustached, "successfully converted" Reverend Rick, Cameron's mistfit cohorts--sharp-humored ex-commune teen Jane Fonda (American Honey's Sasha Lane) and deadpan Adam Red Eagle (Forrest Goodluck)--and the rest of the teen group, are all sharply defined, harboring a purveying sense of loneliness in their physically close quarters. But once I saw Jennifer Ehle enter the picture as "Dr." Lydia Marsh, the master of God's Promise, I felt the electricity of the set-up. Lydia could have been another savagely strict, monstrous Doubt / Cuckoo's Nest-archetype but the skilled Ehle plays her without exaggeration and with deep control. Once in a while, there is something searching in her eyes, as if she is regretting the pain she's inflicting upon her "disciples." Like most zealots, Lydia is a character who seems aware of the character she's playing, who grips icily to her power within her sham existence. It makes her manipulation all the more acidic. Set in 1993, the movie has a nostalgic softness for cassette tape thievery and letter writing. The film is adapted from a sliver within the epic YA tome by Emily Danforth and has a real sense of the teendom of the times, with a humorously wry edge. I felt the movie dissapate a bit in the latter half with a heavily weighted tragedy. More subtedly would have made a searing impact. But it's a quibble in such a well-wrought, moving tale, strongly directed and well-acted by its likable cast. ***1/2
-Jeffery Berg
Labels: chloë grace moretz, desiree akhavan, Film, film reviews, forrest goodluck, jeffery berg, john gallagher jr, quinn shephard, the miseducation of cameron post
art by danny heller
neutron dance
turn up the radio
art by luís alves
other people's flowers on youtube
get ur tequila on
f13 with meep!


text:
Kathy Carr Blog
An important social engagement
More local restaurants this year are mixing in another ingredient to their recipe for social media outreach. Independent establishments such as Taste in Cleveland Heights, The Greenhouse Tavern on East Fourth Street and AMP 150 at the Cleveland Airport Marriott are using Foursquare as a customer loyalty tool that rewards patrons who dine with them. So far, it seems to be paying off and has the potential to exponentially grow their business. "Foursquare clicks," said Chef Ellis Cooley, of AMP 150. "It fosters relationships. And increased conversation leads to an increase in business which translates into more loyal customers built on personal relationships." With Foursquare, users check in to a location using the Foursquare app on their smart phone, which relays their whereabouts to fellow app users along with their Twitter and Facebook followers — a valuable marketing tool indeed for the restaurant. To reward their patrons for checking in, The Greenhouse Tavern, for one, offers a free beer for every 10th visit. AMP 150 is developing a Foursquare menu that assigns certain promotions with the number of customer check-ins. Each restaurant's mayor, or the most frequented customer, gets generous discounts off their bills. To read more about how local restaurants are using Foursquare, as well as insight from local foodies and social media experts, see this week's Crain's Page 1 story. Message to restaurants: Please let me know if you are offering promotions or incentives through Foursquare. I plan later this year to revisit whether the tool has fizzled or sizzled in the restaurant business. Contact me via e-mail or Twitter at the links below.
Speaking of The Greenhouse Tavern, Jonathon Sawyer's Fromage Blanc Raviolini was the winning dish during a Food and Wine best new chefs competition — Mr. Sawyer was given that honor this year by the magazine — over the weekend during Food and Wine Classic in Aspen. The nation's premier culinary event was held June 18-20 and featured wine samplings and cooking demonstrations/food samplings by other critically acclaimed chefs such as Mario Batali and Rick Bayless and, of course, Michael Symon.
I love trying new things and am not afraid to try something that I can't pronounce, but roaches and worms? No thanks. For those of you who don't have eatinginsectophobia, this event tonight at the Velvet Dog is for you. Hosted by Food Warriors and Clear Cut Promotions, the primary goal of Fearless — which begins at 7 p.m. — is to challenge people to overcome their fears by trying "foods" that other restaurants don't serve. Menu items include: superworms, hissing cockroaches, wild boar bacon, antelope superribs and "wacky" cocktails. The Dim and Dem Sum food truck also will be making an appearance. Tickets are $15 at the door.
Morton's The Steakhouse is hosting a free lunch this Tuesday, June 22, for cabbies. As part of the restaurant's Cabbie Appreciation Day tradition, all on-duty drivers are able to pick up a free lunch that comprises a tenderloin steak sandwich, chips, brownie, apple and soda or water. Drivers can pick up their lunches between 3:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. at the corner of West Second Street and Prospect Avenue in Cleveland. No need to park. Morton's will provide curbside service.
The Travel Channel's "Man v. Food" episode on Wednesday, June 23, will feature Melt Bar and Grilled. To celebrate, the grilled cheese eatery will host viewing parties at both its Lakewood and Cleveland Heights locations. Party starts at 7 p.m., with $1 off all drafts.
Brunty Farms in Cuyahoga Valley National Park is hosting a tour of its operation this Sunday, June 27, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at 2470 Martin Road, Akron. Topics include the farm's origination and its partnership with the Countryside Conservancy. The Dim & Dem Sum food truck will serve lunch. Reservation information is available at Slow Food Northern Ohio's web site.
Prog Gastro Lounge opened over Memorial Day weekend in Lakewood, and says it is conveying a "social dining" atmosphere by offering a diverse menu offering with small and shared plates. The gastro pub — which is located in the former 3,000 square-foot Hi-Fi club at 11729 Detroit Road — seats about 50, including the bar, and describes its interior space as SOHO New York meets bordello chic. Chef Shawn Miller prepares fresh global cuisine using local market ingredients. The pub also serves craft beer and cocktails. Hours: 4:30 to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and Sunday; and 4:30 to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
What some of the local chefs and other Northeast Ohio foodies have been saying lately on Twitter: @chefsymon (Michael Symon): sawyer wins!!!...dont mess with cleveland....we've had a struggles in sports..but we dominate in food!! @chefsymon: changed my twitter name to chefsymon.....if anyone is confused...i know i am...friggin fraggin social media...arghh @LuchitasOnW117 (Cleveland Mexican restaurant): Dads always have a smile on their face when there's a cerveza in their hand. @farmerleejones (Huron vegetable farm owner): Its mornings like this that reward you and remind you why you work and toil to stay committed to the small sustainable farm life @west9thphoenix (Phoenix Coffee in Cleveland): My dear French Press I love you so, more than you could ever know. But today I'm sorry to say, I'd rather have an iced latte @brewkettle (Strongsville brewery): Smokehouse Wings only 4.99 tonight for 1.5lbs of these beauties. Choose bbq, teriyaki, Chinese red chili or dry rubbed. @ThirstyDogBeer (Akron brewery): Heinen's Aurora Beer Tasting Friday, Jun 25, 2010 Theme: KEEPIN' IT LOCAL @MeltingPotCleve (fondue restaurant in Legacy Village and Westgate Mall): @LaBellaCupcakes You do great work on Twitter! Your success is well-earned. @MarcsStores: will be accepting WIC very soon. @albatrosCLE (French brasserie L'Albatros): Join us on a balmy summer's eve, Monday July 26 for the L'Albatros Cigar & Cognac Tasting. @ClevelandBeer Beer school at the Great Lakes Brewing Company starts in August! @mmmcleveland (Cleveland food blogger): Malley's has chocolate covered grapes for Father's Day! @chefjjjarrett (Jeff Jarrett, executive chef of North End in Hudson):Its back to the drawing board. Only person who can truly get it done is me.
To submit business news about Northeast Ohio restaurants, breweries or wineries, please e-mail me. You also can follow me on Twitter.


text:
Tunisia's Saied Is in Charge, but for How Long?
Lisa Bryant
FILE - Tunisian President Kais Saied waves to bystanders as he strolls along the Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis, Aug. 1, 2021.
Two years after vaulting to power as a nerdy, conservative outsider, Tunisia's president, Kais Saied, tests another paradox: Can he save the Arab Spring's only democracy through arguably undemocratic means?
There is no immediate answer, more than halfway through a 30-day suspension of parliament that Saied ordered last month — and later hinted at extending — after seizing emergency powers amid Tunisia's many crises.
Since then, the 63-year-old president has moved swiftly to crack down on alleged corruption, lifting parliamentary immunity and arresting officials tied to the phosphate industry, but also targeting lawmakers critical of him. He enlisted the army, which so far appears to support him, for a major COVID-19 vaccination drive to fight a galloping pandemic.
But Saied has yet to replace the government he ousted in late July or offer a comprehensive plan for emerging from the political and economic turmoil gripping the North African country.
Some hoped he might set milestones Friday, which marked an important date for Tunisian women's rights. But instead of making a keynote speech, he visited female artisans.
FILE - Tunisians walk past a military armored personnel carrier at Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis, July 30, 2021. Political turmoil in Tunisia has left its allies in the Middle East and West watching to see if the fragile democracy will survive.
As many Tunisians and some hardline Arab governments root him on, rivals decry a coup. Rights groups and pundits worry about shrinking freedoms and a restrained response thus far from Western governments — although a U.S. delegation visiting Tunis on Friday urged Saied to "urgently" appoint a new prime minister and swiftly restore the country's parliamentary democracy.
"The question is: What will Saied do now?" said Brahim Oumansour, a North Africa analyst for the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, a Paris-based research organization.
"Will he really carry through the big reforms he promised Tunisians, and keep these new powers temporarily to deal with the crisis? Or will he keep them long term?"
Unlikely candidate
A constitutional scholar with no political party backing him and a penchant for long-windedness, Saied seemed an unlikely presidential candidate in 2019, as he bucked Tunisia's establishment politics.
He waged a shoestring campaign on the streets and online.
Seemingly stiff and austere, he earned nicknames like RoboCop and Robespierre, after the French revolutionary, yet rocketed to victory, capturing nearly three-quarters of the runoff vote.
Saied's clean image also earned him the backing of young voters fed up with growing corruption — and despite his conservative stances in areas like homosexuality and gender equality in inheritance.
But he clashed with the country's gridlocked parliament and its most powerful member, the moderate Islamist Ennahdha party that has been a major player in post-revolution Tunisia.
"His conservative stances could have facilitated dialogue with Ennahdha," analyst Oumansour said, comparing Saied unfavorably with his experienced predecessor, Beji Caid Essebsi. "It could have helped him reach a consensual outcome to better steer the country, but he chose to feed divisions within parliament to reinforce his powers."
Popular for now
For now, many ordinary Tunisians see Saied as a savior, not a spoiler. Instead of getting better, life has gotten harder since the euphoric revolutionary days a decade ago, which touched off the wider Arab Spring revolt.
The coronavirus pandemic — driving Tunisia's death rate to the highest in the Middle East and Africa — deepened poverty, unemployment and the country's fiscal crisis. Many blamed the government's shambolic pandemic response on bickering parties, starting with Ennahdha. Saied's power grab followed anti-government demonstrations and attacks on Ennahdha offices.
FILE - Tunisia's President Kais Saied presides at a security meeting with members of the army and police forces in Tunis, July 25, 2021.
"Kais Saied has opened the door on the unknown … and a breath of fresh air," Tunisian writer Emna Belhaj Yahia opined in France's Le Monde newspaper, describing Tunisians as asphyxiated by their myriad woes. "Only this possibility can explain their joy."
"I think the president has a bit of a grace period when it comes to the streets," Fadil Aliriza, editor in chief for Tunisian news website Meshkal, said in a recent forum hosted by London policy research group Chatham House.
But unless Saied brings other political and social actors on board, Aliriza added, "his political capital may diminish very quickly."
The president already has dismissed Ennahdha's call for a national dialogue, which helped Tunisia emerge from an earlier crisis, saying at least when it came to the Islamist party, no discussion was possible with "cancerous cells."
Critics say sidelining Ennahdha, representing a still sizable chunk of Tunisian voters, does not bode well for democracy.
Tougher response?
Rights groups also are alarmed at the closure of news channel Al-Jazeera's Tunis office a day after Saied's power move. And while a number of Western governments, including former colonial power France, have called for restoring democracy and the rule of law, analysts urge a sharper response.
The United States and European nations need to "take tougher lines, even if behind the scenes," said the International Crisis Group research organization, to commit Saied to a detailed road map by October for getting democracy back on track.
Others suggest conditioning Tunisia's receipt of International Monetary Fund assistance, now under negotiation, to adhering to democracy markers like rule of law and accountability.
Yet Western concerns about maintaining stability and security in the Arab world have traditionally outweighed pro-democracy rhetoric, analyst Oumansour noted.
"Western leaders have a key role to play to support Tunisia," he added. "For the moment, Tunisia is a democracy that's succeeded, despite its fragility and uncertainty."
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
Tunisia Puts Ennahda Official Under House Arrest, Colleague Says
Tunisian President, US Officials Discuss Swift Return to 'Democratic Path'
Tunisia's Turmoil is Being Watched Warily Around the Globe
Tunisian Police Detain Lawmaker, Islamist Party Officials


→ Another day, another gene therapy developer. Prevail Therapeutics, which leapt out of stealth mode in 2017 and raised $75 million in a Series A last year for its disease-modifying approach to neurodegenerative diseases, has secured another $5o million in the bank. The New York-based company is run by Columbia University's Asa Abeliovich, who helped co-found Alector, which is going after Alzheimer's.
→ Founded at the University of Basel and spun off in 2014, Swiss autoimmune-focused firm Polyneuron Pharmaceuticals has scored 22.5 million swiss francs (about $22.6 million) in Series A financing, led by Sofinnova Partners and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The injection will be used to conduct the first human trial of its lead drug, PN-1007, for a rare nervous system disease called anti-MAG neuropathy, as well as to shepherd three other programs through preclinical development.
→ With dual expertise in material science and biological engineering, Darrell Irvine of MIT has helped launch the T cell therapy startup Torque Therapeutics. He's now pioneering another tumor fighting approach Elicio Therapeutics, a startup born out of the ashes of a generation of failed cancer vaccines. The Cambridge, MA-based company uses an amphiphile platform to precisely deliver immunogens to the lymphatic system, it says, thereby "orchestrating" an immune response to aggressive cancers. Launching with $30 million in funding, Elicio plans to begin human studies in pancreatic, colorectal and head and neck cancers in the first half of 2020.
→ In another nod to real world data and artificial intelligence — buzzwords that are taking an evident, if vague, hold of the industry — Bristol-Myers Squibb has inked an agreement to integrate a platform created by Concerto HealthAI into its clinical development process. The pact focuses on precision oncology.


text:
Annular Solar Eclipse of 1 Apr, 1764 AD
An annular eclipse of the Sun occurred on Sunday 1 April, 1764 UT (21 Mar, 1764 Old Style), with maximum eclipse at 10:17 UT. A small annular eclipse covered only 93% of the Sun in a very broad path, 361 km wide at maximum, and lasted 6 minutes and 20 seconds.
The annular eclipse lasted for 6 minutes and 20 seconds. Maximum eclipse was at 10:17:00 UT.
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html shows the visibility of the annular solar eclipse. It also shows the broader area in which a partial eclipse was seen. (Click on it for the full-sized version.)
18 Mar, 1764 AD — Partial Lunar Eclipse
1 Apr, 1764 AD — Annular Solar Eclipse (this eclipse)
28 Feb, 1710 AD — Annular Solar Eclipse (previous in the Triple Saros)
10 Mar, 1728 AD — Annular Solar Eclipse
12 Apr, 1782 AD — Annular Solar Eclipse
5 May, 1818 AD — Annular Solar Eclipse (next in the Triple Saros)
7 Apr, 1773 AD — Partial Lunar Eclipse
10:17:00 on 1 Apr UT
10:17:15 on 1 Apr TDT
1509 visits since 2019-08-18. Last modified: 2019-10-01 20:35:19 UTC. 2021-01-20 23:32:33 UTC; proc: 100.84ms hits 0 misses 0


text:
Amjad Nasser on the role of Arab writers in Arab society
Speaking out in societies without words
In the last four years, Arab public intellectuals have come in for much close scrutiny and criticism. Some people complain that Arab thinkers and writers have disappeared from political life, while others argue that most of them are too much in the public eye, having allied themselves with one dictator or another. Marcia Lynx Qualey spoke to Jordanian poet and journalist Amjad Nasser about the role of Arab writers in contemporary Arab society
"How can you be an accomplished poet, or a poet of importance, and not be allied with a despotic, corrupt regime?" asks Amjad Nasser during an e-mail conversation. "This is the state of affairs … it's a bit difficult, especially in the current Arab situation. But it's not impossible."
Nasser is clearly one of the public intellectuals in question. "Amjad Nasser" is the pen name of a Jordanian poet and journalist touted as one of the most important writers working in Arabic today. His debut novel, "Land of No Rain", was listed as one of the "best books of 2011" by Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif. In 2014, "The Guardian" put his 'A Song and Three Questions' on their list of the fifty greatest modern love poems. But Nasser has been in the public spotlight as much for his essays and politics as for his poetry.
Born in northern Jordan in 1955, Nasser joined a pro-Palestinian organisation as a young man and was forced to leave the country when he was just 21. He spent the 1980s reporting in Beirut and Cyprus before moving to London in 1987. He's remained involved in news production ever since, previously at the London-based "al-Quds al-Arabi" and now as managing editor at the new publication "al-Araby al-Jadeed".
Throughout all this, Nasser's opinion about the role of the writer hasn't changed much, he says, although he's become "less optimistic over time".
The importance of words
Amjad Nasser's critically acclaimed debut novel, "Land of No Rain", is set in the fictional Arab country of Hamiya, which is run by military leaders who "treat power as a personal possession to be handed down from one generation to the next".
The thing that he feels sure of is that "words are important, and without them there are no correct actions." This is why it is troubling that "actions in our Arab world today appear devoid of words, whether they are actions of terrifying religious extremism…or are fomented by Arab regimes that have gone back to tyranny after the revolutionary actions of Arab youth failed to trigger profound changes".
Arabs are now, according to Nasser, living in "societies without words". In this situation, the meaning-making role of the public intellectual becomes even more important. Yet "this doesn't mean that the intellectual is a messenger or an angel – certainly not; he's not a superman either," he says. "The process of change takes a long time, especially social and cultural change; this is the most difficult of tasks."
Although some things have not changed since the uprisings of 2011, Nasser does point to a few positives. There has been a "communications revolution," he says, that put citizen journalists at its centre. These new journalists have played an important role in highlighting crimes being committed by despotic regimes.
Other things, he says, have changed for the worse. "We now have a type of poet and writer who stands with the military and tyrannical Arab regimes in opposing the shared enemy, which is extremism and terrorism." These writers – in fear of IS in the Levant, or groups like Ansar Bait al-Maqdis in Egypt – have found themselves making common currency with military leaders.
"The problem is that the Arab regime will in no time oppress these poets and writers, or those like them, after it's finished oppressing the extremists and terrorists. This means that it behoves the accomplished poet, who has a sort of moral authority over an audience, to be independent of authority, even if he faces terrorism and extremism, because his motives are different from those of the ruling authority."
"Keeping the faith" in the face of overwhelming religious discourse
Nasser also puts words at the centre of another problem in Arab-majority societies. Current religious discourse, he says, is overwhelming all other types of language usage.
"We respond to religious and terrorist extremism not with reason and logic, sciences, literature or enlightenment, but with religion itself." In other words, says Nasser, we respond to the problem with more of the problem. "Both extreme and moderate religious camps control all the discourse in the Arab world."
These words matter, he says. "Language isn't simply a vessel to transport meaning; rather, it is a deep expression of existence itself." For that reason, language "is one of the biggest problems faced not only by Arab creative writers today, but also by Arab reality. How can reality change without possessing a language to help it change?"
So what is an Arab writer to do?
"We have to stick to our work and keep the faith, we Arab intellectuals," says Nasser. "Whether we're in our homelands or in the diaspora or in exile, it is necessary that we intervene in the life of our societies, and that we don't limit our roles simply to the technical aspects of the cultural process, as Edward Said said."
Marcia Lynx Qualey
© Qantara.de 2015
Egypt's literati: Shifting sands, choosing sidesInterview with Ahdaf Soueif: Happy to Follow the Tahrir Youth's LeadInterview with Syrian Writer Nihad Sirees: On Literature's Honest SurrenderThe Arabic language: A better understandingThe Arab world: Arabic: the last tie that binds
'Islamic State' | IS, Arab Spring, Arabellion, Arabic language, Arabic literature, Democracy and civil society, Edward Said, Literature
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In recent weeks, Jordan's social media has been awash with photos and videos of demonstrators gathering in cities all over the country, chanting "Long live the teacher" and "we ...More
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Those looking to annex can expect resistance from Jordan
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