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About artistBiographyGallery
2 July 1943, Saratov—24 May 1976, Leningrad
Rukhin was born to a family of geologists living in evacuation during the war. He took up painting while studying geology at Leningrad State University, in 1963. Rukhin traveled to Moscow, where he was influenced by the circle of nonconformist artists, particularly Vladimir Nemukhin and Oskar Rabin.
Rukhin was fluent in two other languages, which was important to him for he was socially active and thus was able to communicate with foreigners. In 1965 he found the mailing address of James Rosenquist on a reproduction of one of his paintings, and Rukhin wrote him a letter. Rosenquist replied and even dedicated a work to the beginning artist in the USSR. In 1970, Rukhin took part in the "open air" exhibition in the courtyard of the Moscow house belonging to the journalist and Sovietologist Edmund Stevens. The American collector Norton Dodge played a special role in his creative life, acquiring many of his works. In 1967, the Betty Parsons Gallery gave him a show in New York. Like Oskar Rabin, Rukhin fought the authorities to get permission for shows of nonconformist art. In 1974 he was arrested for being one of the initiators of the Bulldozer Exhibition; despite that, he immediately went back to organizing unofficial shows in houses of culture in Leningrad (1974-1975). He performed an unusual action to draw the attention of Western media to the plight of artists in the USSR: he floated twenty canvases down the Neva River. This took place not long before his tragic death in a fire in his studio.
Although he lived in Leningrad, in his manner Rukhin belongs to the Moscow school. He developed his style in constant communication with Vladimir Nemukhin. From him he learned the abstract-expressionist method, and then the methods of assemblages placed on the painting surface and understood to be a table or wall, and also painterly imitations. The watershed year for him as an artist was 1968, when he began incorporating objects of daily life into his assemblage paintings, preferring to use crude mundane materials, which brought him closer to American Pop Art. In the last six months of his life, Rukhin used the "conveyor system" he invented, simultaneously working on several paintings, rushing to complete as many as possible, as if he had a foreboding of his early demise.


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Weekend Box Office Wrap-up: July 9, 2017
by Chris Agar
The return of a certain Friendly Neighborhood gave the summer box office the shot in the arm it needed and awoke the marketplace from the recent summer doldrums.
Opening in first, as expected, is Spider-Man: Homecoming (read our review), which earned $117 million in its first three days. That is the second-highest debut for a Spider-Man solo film, trailing only the gigantic $151.1 million Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 posted back in 2007. It is also the third-highest start for any movie in 2017, trailing only fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe installment Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Beauty and the Beast. Homecoming arrived at just the right time, helping satisfy the demand for a rousingly entertaining tentpole after weeks of underwhelming offerings like The Mummy and Transformers: The Last Knight. Every Marvel movie is going to do well commercially these days, but Spider-Man got a strong boost from the enthusiastic word-of-mouth and longstanding popularity of the title character. People were excited to see the web head lead a great standalone movie again after so many years of divisive and poor outings.
With a global gross of $257 million, Homecoming is in excellent shape as it begins its run. It will be interesting to see how strong its legs are, however. Next weekend sees the release of War of the Planet of the Apes, another franchise sequel that's riding tremendous buzz and is anticipated by many. Theoretically, there should be room for both to succeed at the box office. Spider-Man is far more light-hearted and fun than Apes, which has been praised for its bleak and unrelenting tone. Conceivably, Apes will appeal to older moviegoers while Homecoming draws in a more family-orientated crowd. Point is, Spider-Man should do well over the next few weeks even with its competition.
In second is last week's champ, Despicable Me 3. Illumination Entertainment's latest film brought in $33.9 million in its second weekend to raise its domestic total to $149.1 million. It is well behind predecessors Minions and Despicable Me 2 at the same point in their respective runs, a byproduct of going up against an acclaimed Marvel movie. Still, all is not lost for the studio, since Despicable Me 3 has made a stellar $447.5 million worldwide on an $80 million budget. It's another hit for them.
In third is Baby Driver, which held very well (38 percent drop) in its second weekend and earned $12.7 million. Edgar Wright's universally-praised heist film is now up to $56.8 million domestically, already becoming the auteur's most successful film of his career.
In fourth is Wonder Woman with $10.1 million. One of DC's biggest hits only keeps adding to its record-breaking totals, which now stands at $368.7 million Stateside six weeks into its run.
Rounding out the top five is Transformers: The Last Knight with $6.3 million. Though the Michael Bay film has done well internationally, it's largely been a non-starter in the U.S. Its domestic total is a measly (for this franchise's standards) $118.9 million. For comparison's sake, Homecoming brought in $117 million in three days.
Cars 3 comes in sixth with $5.6 million. Pixar's latest is now up to $133.7 million.
The #7 movie is The House. Will Ferrell's newest comedy earned $4.8 million in its second weekend, increasing its Stateside gross to $18.6 million.
After expanding to 326 locations, romantic-comedy The Big Sick earned $3.6 million in its third weekend of release. Bolstered by positive reviews, the film has now made $6.9 million in the U.S.
Shark attack movie 47 Meters Down grossed $2.8 million over the weekend to come in ninth. The film is now up to $38.5 million domestically.
Capping off the top 10 is The Beguiled with $2 million. The drama raised its domestic total to $7.4 million.
[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates -- based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Monday, July 10 -- at which time we'll update this post with any changes.]
Tags: wonder woman, baby driver, box office, transformers 5, despicable me 3, cars 3, spider-man homecoming, the beguiled, the house, 47 meters down, the big sick
Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead Rounds Out Cast As It Starts Filming

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The story behind how the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers planned smart technology for every section of its new UCLA Health Training Center.
When the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers began planning its recently-unveiled 120,000 square-foot training facility, the UCLA Health Training Center, nearly two years ago, the goal was to create a logical, clean and simple-to-use audio and video solution including smart technology.
The Lakers were referred by a longtime service provider to the Lakers, Robert Nishida of HDDS, to work with AVAD, a leading distributor of premium solutions, to create a centrally controlled solution with each system integrated with one another.
Working with a unique client that was very interested in the smart technology going in and spent a lot of time doing their own research, AVAD completed a needs analysis with key stakeholders, including ownership, IT, marketing and coaching, to plan and to propose an all-encompassed solution to meet the current requirements as well as future goals.
Throughout the project's lifespan, from the identification of the initial needs analysis and consulting to the final proposal creation and management, AVAD worked closely with the Lakers to complete the breathtaking new practice facility, which debuted in Summer 2017.
AVAD, having access to the industry's leading audio and video brands, invited its most recognized and reliable vendors, including AMX, JBL, Sharp, Denon and more, to meet with the Lakers, to provide demonstrations of features, explain benefits and offer recommendations on a strategic approach.
Once an overall direction was determined, AVAD worked closely with the Los Angeles Lakers to engineer systems for each space in the facility, including training rooms, hospitality suites, conference and huddle rooms, a film room, an indoor-outdoor lounge and offices for Lakers and South Bay Lakers coaching, scouting and administrative staff.
Throughout the coordination of drawings and project management support, AVAD ensured the Lakers needs were met.
"From our initial introduction to the Lakers in January 2016 to the completion of the project in August 2017, we worked with the Lakers to perform a needs analysis, technology consulting, systems engineering and documentation, project coordination and management, proposal creation and management and, lastly, production specification," says Phillip Parrish, manager of professional AV for AVAD LLC.
AVAD provided specification documents to allow the Los Angeles Lakers to interview integrators for the installation. After thorough evaluation, the Lakers selected Black Tiger, a Los Angeles based integration company with previous experience with the organization.
"We were thrilled to work with Black Tiger, a customer of ours since 2009. They shared our commitment to providing a quality system and project for the Lakers and were a pleasure to collaborate with," shared Parrish.
As a valued AVAD dealer, Black Tiger partnered with AVAD for their largest project to date. "We were pleased to be selected by such a recognized and accomplished team, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, and we always appreciate the opportunity to work with AVAD," says Stacy Cook of Black Tiger.
"We've been an AVAD dealer for over 10 years and, often, we choose AVAD over many other distributors because of their commitment to the industry through competitive dealer pricing, product availability and quality brands, which are becoming more and more scarce.
"AVAD provides their dealers with superior customer service and support, which we greatly experienced throughout this installation, and we feel that they're a part of our company because of their investment in us, as well as in other dealers.
It was imperative for Black Tiger and AVAD to work together seamlessly, as the Lakers had a short deadline for the completion of their new training facility. "Being based in Orange County, we have built a relationship with Jeff Rosza, account manager for AVAD Van Nuys, and he has worked tirelessly to provide us with unparalleled customer service," says Cook.
"Jeff was proactive in ensuring that we received each of our products in a timely manner. Phillip's team created an intricately detailed system in AutoCAD, which provided us with the information we needed to efficiently complete the installation.
"Both Phillip and Jeff were always available at our disposal to answer any questions, ensure we had the products we needed and fulfill any requests.
Both the lounge and break room feature a 4×2 video will wall with audio support from an integrated overhead speaker system with subwoofers.
The video room, used for coaching sessions involving game playback and running plays, features two 85-inch touch display and a 3×4 video wall with a wall-mounted touch panel and table-top touch panel.
The largest areas in the facility, the practice court, which is utilized by the Los Angeles Lakers for general practice, and the exhibition court, used for the South Bay Lakers exhibition games, feature a full-range high-powered overhead public-address audio system made up of 36 horn-loaded two-way speaker cabinets and dual 15-inch subwoofers.
The headquarters suite overlooking the South Bay Lakers exhibition court boasts four 65-inch wall mounted displays with overhead audio and in-room wireless microphones.
AVAD has created a personalized freight program to assure products arrive on time to their designated location, which further allowed Black Tiger to expedite their installation turnaround. "AVAD's shipping policy was most-useful for us during this project because we were at a race against the clock," says Cook.
"AVAD invested their time and effort into ensuring we received our products on time. For us, their shipping and return policy was the most beneficial aspect during the project because of the vast number of products that were specified but, due to buildout changes, were not needed at the time of the installation.
Unique to the custom installation industry, AVAD's end-to-end solutions, from the initial design and planning process to the final product delivery, played a significant role in the Los Angeles Lakers UCLA Health Training Center.
By incorporating value-added services, such as System Design Group, Tech Support and AVAD University, AVAD provides dealers like Black Tiger with the tools necessary to complete innovative, ground-breaking projects of any size.
markets, is the reason many dealers, organizations and technical directors alike choose AVAD as their hub for industry-leading smart technology.
AVAD played an integral role in the UCLA Health Training Center, with key members remaining hands-on during the entire project to ensure the Lakers needs were met.
"Throughout the last two years, we've worked closely with the Los Angeles Lakers, meanwhile we've also expanded our line of services, vendor partners and internal personnel to continue to meet market demands," says Parrish.
"We're invested in our customers, whether they're recognized brands, such as the Lakers, or dealers, such as Black Tiger, and we've committed to providing unparalleled customer experience with our award-winning services.
For more information on AVAD please visit http://www.avad.com in the U.S. Connect with AVAD on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for news on the latest promotions and news.


Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2018 is conducted by The Royal Common Wealth Society in partnership with Cambridge University Press since 1883. This Essay Contest is the world's oldest and largest school's International Writing Competition. In 2016, Approximately 13,500 entries from nearly every Commonwealth countries were received. The last day to submit the online entry for Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition is 1 June 2018 and 1 May 2018 is for offline submission.
We are asking young writers to explore how the Commonwealth can address global challenges and work to create a better future for all citizens through sub-themes of sustainability, safety, prosperity, and fairness, in line with the theme of the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London.
1. What does a 'safer future' mean to you and your community?
1. The road to a safer future.
2. Write a recipe for a common future: what ingredients will you need? What is the best method for making it? What will it look like?
2. How does education contribute to a fairer future?
3. 'A Day in the Life'. Imagine you are your country's Head of Government for the day: how will you build a better future for young people? 3. 'Healthy, Wealthy, Happy, and Free': is one more important than the others?
4. Our Common Earth. 4. Future generations have rights too, which must be defended. Discuss.
Students can submit a poem, letter, article, story, essay or even a short play.
One winner and One runner-up each from Junior and Senior category will be flown to London for a week of cultural and educational visits culminating in a special award event.
All four top entries will be published by the RCS.
Certificate of Participation: All Certificates for the 2018 Competition will be only generated online by entering the reference number.
Reference Number would be given to the students on submission of their entry.
All the entries for Queens Commonwealth Essay writing program can be submitted through both online and offline mode. The applicants can click on the following link to submit their entries online or download the entry form.
Answers can be submitted in some formats, for example, poem, letter, folktale, script or essay.
Entries can only be uploaded in either word doc. Or pdf format.
Once an essay is submitted, the applicant will not have the opportunity to revise it, so they must be careful in their submission.
Entrants are encouraged to be creative in their response.
Language: All essays must be in English.
Illustrations are welcomed, particularly in Junior entries, but they must enhance the written text and add to the overall quality of the entry.
Only one essay per entrant is allowed.
The Length of the Submission: The maximum word-counts are 1500 words for Senior entries and 750 words for Junior entries. Exceeding the word-count will result in automatic disqualification.
The Essay can be submitted in Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF format (.pdf) format online.
Applicants can also submit their entries offline also i.e. via Post, and it is recommended to submit your entries before 1 June 2018 for safe submission before the deadline. Applicants have to send the offline entry form at the following address.
The result of Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2018 will be announced in August 2018 (Tentatively). Participants are expected to show originality and flair, linked to sound academic standards and competent use of English as a written language. This includes a good standard of spelling and punctuation, neat presentation, and clear hand-writing or word-processing.
It was founded in 1868, is a network of individuals and organizations committed to improving the lives and prospects of Commonwealth citizens across the world.


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A Resale Boutique Mystery
What Not to Wear to a Graveyard
by Debra Sennefelder
Published by: Lyrical Press
FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
After trading her Manhattan digs for her upstate hometown, fashionista Kelly Quinn has big plans for her grandmother's consignment shop. But this All Hallow's Eve someone is already dressed to kill . . .
A socialite's missing dog has made front page news in Lucky Cove—complete with a hefty reward. But between renovating the consignment shop, planning her costume for a 1970s themed Halloween party, and scouting a location for a fashion shoot, Kelly doesn't have time to search. Yet a visit to the local colonial-era cemetery—ideal for the moody atmosphere she's after—soon turns up the precious pooch. Kelly's looking forward to collecting the check—until she makes a gruesome discovery in an abandoned farmhouse: The dog's owner, stabbed through the heart.
Kelly can't help wondering why Constance Lane was traipsing around the farmhouse in stilettos. But as Kelly gets decked out in a vintage disco caftan, that isn't the only fashion misstatement spooking her. Hidden in the dead woman's past is a secret that could be the motive for the murder. And as the Halloween party gets started, even a menacing clown and a threatening bearded lady can't keep Kelly from trick or treating for the truth—even if it means her last dance . . .
Debra Sennefelder is an avid reader who reads across a range of genres, but mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery. When she's not reading, she enjoys cooking and baking and as a former food blogger, she is constantly taking photographs of her food. Yeah, she's that person. Born and raised in New York City, where she majored in her hobby of fashion buying, she now lives and writes in Connecticut with her family. She's worked in retail and publishing before becoming a full-time author. Her writing companion is her adorable and slightly spoiled Shih-Tzu, Connie.
Fashion Tips for Sleuthing
Books, Cozy Mystery Read More


Let's solve poverty in the USA.
Despite the growing wealth in the United States, 32 million Americans are caught in developing world level poverty. TDI focuses on solving six killer conditions that trap the poorest Americans, separating them from a healthy quality of life.
The goal of TDI is to eradicate chronic, generational poverty in the United States through National Service supporting community-based leadership which builds access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
TDI engages well trained, paid, community coaches to help dismantle the severe impact of each of the killer areas through multiple, weekly home visits. These visits build productive solutions with the families to address the challenges they face. Our TDI coaches track and report outcomes to a data center as progress is made.
Approximately 100,000 babies are born in NYC each year.
10,000 are born to the 10% of families in the lowest income level in the city.
TDI shares personal stories with you to encourage comprehensive, focused efforts in your own communities in order to bring dramatic improvements to the lives of our poorest, fellow Americans.
What will be the next steps in your community?
Founder Claire Gauidiani lays down her case for the Declaration Initiative and defends the rights all men and women must have in this free country.
Claire Gaudiani is an idealist and an engaged American. Her writing and speaking call on fellow citizens to leave the world a better place. Her work life - volunteer, trustee, corporate director, community developer, teacher, writer, college president - puts this aspiration into practice.
Gaudiani is currently a Professor at The George H. Heyman, Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising at New York University. From 2001 to 2004, Dr. Gaudiani was a Senior Research Scholar at the Yale Law School. While at Yale, she wrote The Greater Good: How Philanthropy Drives the American Economy and Can Save Capitalism (Henry Holt/New York Times Books). This widely-cited book argues that Americans are not generous because we are rich, but rich because we are generous. Gaudiani asserts that citizen generosity is the defining American value, and warns that this tradition is weakening, despite the greatest accumulation of wealth in our nation's history.
Today, she speaks nationally and internationally about the synergy between capitalism and philanthropy and encourages fundraisers, financial advisors, corporate leaders, and politicians to harness our tradition of moral entrepreneurship to solve today's continuing problems of inequality.
Gaudiani served for 13 years as President of Connecticut College. Under her leadership from 1988-2001, Connecticut College quintupled its endowment and rose in the influential U.S. News and World Report survey from No. 41 to the top 25 Liberal Arts Colleges list.
She also served from 1997 to 2001 as volunteer president of the non-profit New London Development Corporation, dedicated to building the tax base, creating jobs and improving the quality of life for all citizens of New London,CT. During her tenure, NLDC managed $75 million in state infrastructure funding and attracted $300 million in private investment to New London, bringing 2100 new jobs to the City.
Gaudiani is an active director of numerous for-profit and not-for-profit enterprises specializing in corporate governance issues. Current directorships include The Henry Luce Foundation, MBIA Inc., and The National Council for Economic Education. She is a trustee of Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Honors include election as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as a fellow of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and the Rosso Medal for Distinguished Service to Philanthropy from Indiana University. She has received ten honorary doctorates.
Dr. Gaudiani holds a Ph.D. and master's degree in French literature from Indiana University and a bachelor's degree from Connecticut College. Recent publications include "Values-Centered Financial Planning' in the Journal of Practical Estate Planning, and "The Transformative Power of Women's Philanthropy" in Women and Giving (Jossey Bass).


text:
Q: How to change color of matplotlib (zoom) crosshair? Almost all of the images, that I am ploting are gray. Therefore I have problems while finding the "crosshair" in the plots. Please see the attached image.
How can I change the color of the crosshair?
I am just executing the commands
self.fig = Figure(figsize=(width, height), dpi=dpi)
self.ax = self.fig.add_subplot(111)
imshow(image)

Edit:
I am talking about the crosshair after pressing the "zoom" button in the matplotlib toolbar:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Willow has stitched up her first horse toy pattern, on the whole it is fairly good, however the middle piece is slightly too wide. So the new version, of the pattern is narrower. Also we found the edging, of the fabric(for sewing up) was too narrow, so the new pattern is wider. Here's the horse starting to take shape.
We've just started reading "King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table" by Roger Lancellyn Green, which of course everyone is loving. Gabriel came up with this picture, after listening to the first chapter.
We've been progressing through Willow's physics block with great success. Robert Trostli's book is excellent, and everyone's loved the experiments. Some of the highlights would be making wine glasses sing, by using rubbing a wet finger around the rim; generating the colours red and yellow by covering a torch with many layers of thin paper; mixing paints in water- to see the way the colours interact, mixing coloured lights, and casting coloured penumbras using a white torch and a coloured torch; burning alcohol; a hot water 'volcano'; observing incense inside a glass jar; and cracking marble.
Anyway this week, we're meant to be moving onto magnetism, but so far I'm having no luck finding magnetite or a lodestone, and I still haven't got a horseshoe magnet or bar magnets. And really it would be better to do the magnetism prior to electricity, so I hope I can sort that out in the next couple of days.
Also these are Willow's and my latest forms.
I love the way, that we both drew pentagons (using the same method) and that due to our decoration, one could think that they were totally different objects. Yet all the difference is, is that Willow's is a pentagrams and mine is a series of pentagons. Then she has coloured her stars, and I've coloured a single section of pentagon, heading internally, to create a spiral.


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 » książki  » Computers - Cybernetics
Kategoria BISAC: Computers >> Cybernetics
Chiński (1)
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Handling Bad: Inside a Cyber Era Private Investigation Firm
Daniel Robert Weiss
You wake up and find out that you re being targeted for blackmail by a one night stand you met online, that your child has been abducted by your ex-wife, or that your accountant has been embezzling from you. You don t know how to solve such problems or even where to begin. You might even be too embarrassed to seek help. These are the calls Private Investigator Daniel Weiss receives. Handling bad takes skill skill that combines the classic methods of private investigation with modern, cutting-edge developments in digital forensics. In HANDLING BAD, Weiss delves into the flourishing digital...
You wake up and find out that you re being targeted for blackmail by a one night stand you met online, that your child has been abducted by your ex-wi...
From Newspeak to Cyberspeak: A History of Soviet Cybernetics
Slava Gerovitch
In this book Slava Gerovitch argues that Soviet cybernetics was not just an intellectual trend but a social movement for radical reform in science and in society as a whole. Followers of cybernetics viewed computer simulation as a universal method of problem solving and the language of cybernetics as a language of objectivity and truth. With the new objectivity, they challenged the existing order of things in economics and politics as well as in science. Soviet cybernetics followed a curious arc. In the 1950s it was labelled a reactionary pseudo-science and a weapon of imperialist...
In this book Slava Gerovitch argues that Soviet cybernetics was not just an intellectual trend but a social movement for radical reform in science and...
The Cyborg Handbook
Heidi J. Figueroa-Sarriera; Chris H. Gray; Steven Mentor
Are you a cyborg? Is your neighbour? Do cyborgs live forever? These are only a few of the thought-provoking questions the authors address in The Cyborg Handbook. The cyborg - short for cybernetic organism - is an entity that mixes the mechanic and the organic, such as a creature that is part human and part machine. Today's technology is transforming and even transcending the human. People who have implanted pacemakers or attached prostheses are certainly cyborgs. Even the millions of people whose immune systems have been reprogrammed to resist disease can be considered cyborgs. Cyborgs are...
Are you a cyborg? Is your neighbour? Do cyborgs live forever? These are only a few of the thought-provoking questions the authors address in The Cybor...
Multistage Fuzzy Control : A Model-Based Approach to Fuzzy Control and Decision Making
Janusz Kacprzyk
There is increased awareness of the potential benefits of the prescriptive approach to fuzzy control. This text explains its principles; and describes the research advances which have furthered its development. It goes on to identify some trends in the development of fuzzy sets and their direct application to decision-making processes.
There is increased awareness of the potential benefits of the prescriptive approach to fuzzy control. This text explains its principles; and describes...
cena: 1041,69 zł
Cybernetics and Applied Systems
Negoita; C. V. Negoita
In light of the enormous interest in building intelligent systems, this volume blends theory, applications, and methodology of cybernetics taking it out of the realm of the abstract and explaining how cybernetics can contribute to an improved understanding of intelligence. Among the topics of the 17
In light of the enormous interest in building intelligent systems, this volume blends theory, applications, and methodology of cybernetics taking it o...
Sensitivity & Uncertainty Analysis, Volume 1 : Theory
D. G. Cacuci; Dan G. Cacuci; Cacuci G. Cacuci
Presents a rigorous yet accessible treatment of the ASAP and FSAP methods of sensitivity analysis, including discussion of their relative advantages and disadvantages Includes three introductory chapters that review the relevant mathematical concepts of matrix and operator theory, probability and statistics, and the theory and practice of measurements and errors Explores local sensitivity and uncertainty analysis for both linear and nonlinear systems Describes a computational algorithm for global sensitivity analysis and illustrates its use with an application to the dynamic behavior of a...
Presents a rigorous yet accessible treatment of the ASAP and FSAP methods of sensitivity analysis, including discussion of their relative advantages a...
Computing Reality
Masudul Alam Choudhury; Mohammed Shahadat Hossain
>Computing Reality is a rare and challenging research output in the area of cybernetic and system theory explaining the meaning behind the understanding, interpretation and application of scientific methodology for knowing scientific truth. The fundamental goal of Computing Reality is to explain how knowledge in scientific investigation can be derived, organized and deciphered in the light of unity of knowledge as the episteme. The book uses these foundational socio-scientific ideas in areas of philosophy of science, economics, society and science and computer modeling to explain specific...
>Computing Reality is a rare and challenging research output in the area of cybernetic and system theory explaining the meaning behind the understandi...
Masudul Alam Choudhury; Mohammad Shahadat Hossain
Computing Reality is a rare and challenging research output in the area of cybernetic and system theory explaining the meaning behind the understanding, interpretation and application of scientific methodology for knowing scientific truth. The fundamental goal of Computing Reality is to explain how knowledge in scientific investigation can be derived, organized and deciphered in the light of unity of knowledge as the episteme. The book uses these foundational socio-scientific ideas in areas of philosophy of science, economics, society and science and computer modeling to explain specific...
Computing Reality is a rare and challenging research output in the area of cybernetic and system theory explaining the meaning behind the understandin...
Singular Solutions and Perturbations in Control Systems
V. Gurman; B. Miller; M. Dmitriev
This volume contains the proceedings of the IFAC Workshop on Singular Solutions and Perturbations in Control Systems (SSPCS-97) held at Pereslavl-Zalessky, Russia on 7-11 July 1997. The Workshop was sponsored by IFAC and organized jointly by the Russian National Committee of Automatic Control, the Program Systems Institute and the Institute for Information Transmission Problems at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the University of Pereslavl.
The objective of this workshop was to provide an international forum for the discussion of recent developments and advances in the fields of...
This volume contains the proceedings of the IFAC Workshop on Singular Solutions and Perturbations in Control Systems (SSPCS-97) held at Peresla...
Sensitivity Analysis in Practice : A Guide to Assessing Scientific Models
A. Saltelli; Stefano Tarantola
Sensitivity analysis should be considered a pre-requisite for statistical model building in any scientific discipline where modelling takes place. For a non-expert, choosing the method of analysis for their model is complex, and depends on a number of factors. This book guides the non-expert through their problem in order to enable them to choose and apply the most appropriate method. It offers a review of the state-of-the-art in sensitivity analysis, and is suitable for a wide range of practitioners. It is focussed on the use of SIMLAB - a widely distributed freely-available sensitivity...
Sensitivity analysis should be considered a pre-requisite for statistical model building in any scientific discipline where modelling takes place. For...
Classical Homogeneous Structures. Cellular Automata
ISBN: 9781596821378 / Rosyjski / Miękka / 536 str.
ISBN: 9781596821378/Rosyjski/Miękka/536 str.
V. Z. Aladjev
In the monograph we present certain results of the work we have done in mathematical theory of the classical homogeneous structures (HS; English synonym "Cellular Automata (CA)") during 1968 - 2008. At present, the HS theory forms an original part of the modern mathematical cybernetics.
In the monograph we present certain results of the work we have done in mathematical theory of the classical homogeneous structures (HS; English synon...
Cybernetics and Systems Theory in Management : Tools, Views, and Advancements
Steven Wallis
Cybernetics and Systems Theory in Management: Tools, Views, and Advancements provides new models and insights into how to develop, test, and apply more effective decision-making and ethical practices in an organizational setting.
Cybernetics and Systems Theory in Management: Tools, Views, and Advancements provides new models and insights into how to develop, test, and apply mor...
Aggregation and Fusion of Imperfect Information
Bernadette Bouchon-Meunier; J. Kacprzyk; Bernadette Bouchon-Meunier
This text presents the main tools for aggregation of information given by several members of a group or expressed in multiple criteria, and for fusion of data provided by several sources. It focuses on the case where the availability of knowledge is imperfect.
This text presents the main tools for aggregation of information given by several members of a group or expressed in multiple criteria, and for fusion...
Classical Cellular Automata. Homogeneous Structures
Book on cellular automata (CA) considers such questions as nonconstructible configurations, extremal possibilities of CA, complexity of finite configurations and global transition functions, modeling in CA, decomposition of global transition functions, appendices of CA, etc.
Book on cellular automata (CA) considers such questions as nonconstructible configurations, extremal possibilities of CA, complexity of finite configu...
Robust Stability and Convexity: An Introduction
Jacob Kogan
A fundamental problem in control theory is concerned with the stability of a given linear system. The design of a control system is generally based on a simplified model. The true values of the physical parameters may differ from the assumed values.
Robust Stability and Convexity addresses stability problems for linear systems with parametric uncertainty. The application of convexity techniques leads to new computationally tractable stability criteria for families of characteristic functions with nonlinear dependence on the parameters. Stability results as well as stability...
A fundamental problem in control theory is concerned with the stability of a given linear system. The design of a control system is generally based on...
The Cybernetic Brain : Sketches of Another Future
Andrew Pickering
Cybernetics is often thought of as a grim military or industrial science of control. But as Andrew Pickering reveals in this beguiling book, a much more lively and experimental strain of cybernetics can be traced from the 1940s to the present.
"The Cybernetic Brain" explores a largely forgotten group of British thinkers, including Grey Walter, Ross Ashby, Gregory Bateson, R. D. Laing, Stafford Beer, and Gordon Pask, and their singular work in a dazzling array of fields. Psychiatry, engineering, management, politics, music, architecture, education, tantric yoga, the Beats, and the sixties...
Cybernetics is often thought of as a grim military or industrial science of control. But as Andrew Pickering reveals in this beguiling book, a much mo...
Modular Programming: Maple Vs Mathematica, and Vice Versa
V. Z. Aladjev; V. a. Vaganov
The book considers certain comparative aspects of the famous computer algebra systems such as Maple and Mathematica for providing of modular programming.
The book considers certain comparative aspects of the famous computer algebra systems such as Maple and Mathematica for providing of modular programmi...
Cybernetics, Second Edition: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine
"CYBERNETICS," in its authoritative and final Second Edition, and available in a modern and highly legible presentation - not a "facsimile edition" (photocopy) of the printing as are cheap recreations. Instead, the Quid Pro Books edition allows the reader to experience the best version of the work in a contemporary but affordable printing, not just as a facsimile or reprint. NOTE: Only the Quid Pro edition offers these features, even if this description erroneously appears under other press's versions or older, "used" copies of the work.] A quality, affordable ebook version of this...
"CYBERNETICS," in its authoritative and final Second Edition, and available in a modern and highly legible presentation - not a "facsimile edition"...
Social and Professional Applications of Actor-Network Theory for Technology Development
Arthur Tatnall
The latest advances in technology development have been particularly useful to actor-network theory as a structure for much of its research. With a socio-technical approach to the understanding of information systems and applications, the actor-network theory aims to bring support for social influence on technological innovations. Social and Professional Applications of Actor-Network Theory for Technology Development presents a platform for the approaches and implementations on the actor-network theory and its relationship with technology development. This book provides researchers and...
The latest advances in technology development have been particularly useful to actor-network theory as a structure for much of its research. With a so...
FRAM: The Functional Resonance Analysis Method : Modelling Complex Socio-technical Systems
Erik Hollnagel
Resilience engineering has consistently argued that safety is more than the absence of failures. Since the first book was published in 2006, several book chapters and papers have demonstrated the advantage in going behind 'human error' and beyond the failure concept, just as a number of serious accidents have accentuated the need for it. But there has not yet been a comprehensive method for doing so; the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) fulfils that need. Whereas commonly used methods explain events by interpreting them in terms of an already existing model, the FRAM is used to...
Resilience engineering has consistently argued that safety is more than the absence of failures. Since the first book was published in 2006, several b...


Image. : Frieza Drawing at GetDrawings, Frieza DB Final Bout Lineart by kingvegito on DeviantArt? Goku vs Freezer lineart by goku? Goku and Frieza. dbz drawing frieza! a lonely man sleeping on a double bed! ALONE by Haruee on DeviantArt, Untitled Drawing by Alone? Live Alone, Alone: Forever Alone Drawing at GetDrawings, Ant Drawing at GetDrawings.


Series 79P/PA pneumatic actuators have an aluminum housing with cataphoresis and Rilsan coating for chemical resistance. Air to spring models feature pre-loaded springs that safely avoid potential hazards during maintenance. The actuator functions using a double piston rack and pinion arrangement for a smooth torque profile throughout the actuator stroke. Air to spring models feature pre-loaded springs that safely avoid potential hazards during maintenance. The base of the actuator has an ISO output drive and bolt circle for easy mounting to quarter turn valves. The top of the actuator has a visual position indicator and a NAMUR mounting pad to accommodate mounting accessories. The air ports are ¼" NPT and have a NAMUR bolt pattern to accommodate flush mount solenoids.


My first trip out of Shanghai was to Huangshan, or Yellow Mountain, in Anhui province. Some friends of mine – Mike, Sam, Kent and Rob – and I took the overnight train to Tunxi from Shanghai. The train was pretty comfortable and we had a few beers which helped me sleep but left me a little weary when we finally arrived. From Tunxi we had to catch a minibus to Tangkou at the foot of the mountain where we had a quick breakfast. We then took a bus some way up the mountain to the cable which would take us to the top. The cable car was spectacular. It was a misty day and the clouds swirled around the granite peaks and the pines. It was the very beginning of spring so the first magnolias were beginning to flower too. There were obviously lots of them and in a few weeks there would have been great banks of white flowers, but in early April it was just the occasional splash of white against the mountainside. Once had the top, we had to wander a little along the network of paths before we found our hostel. Everything on the mountain had to be hauled up on foot so food and accommodation was much pricier than down below but it was still worth it to be at the top. I went for a walk on my own in the afternoon but could hardly see anything through the mist. The next morning we all got up early to see the sunrise. As it was still dark and clearly very misty when we got outside I almost went back to bed, but Rob and Kent were enthusiastic so with some reluctance I followed them on sometimes precipitous paths to the highest point on the mountain. At the top a cold wind was howling, but after a while the mist lifted to reveal a wonderful view. I couldn't believe I had almost missed it. The weather continued to improve and later Mike and I walked the same path I had done the day before, but this time with amazing views of a canyon and the mountains.
Mike had return that evening so he, Sam and I headed back down that afternoon. Mike caught the train but Sam and I were staying another day so found a cheap hotel at the foot of the mountain. I was vaguely aware that there were some historic towns in the area but I hadn't done my homework – I know now that in fact there are two World Heritage Sites – Hongcun and Xidi. Sam and I were unable to find these. We went to the bus station not knowing where to go, got on a random bus on the recommendation of another tourist, and were dropped off at a roadside fuel station which seemed to have no access to the surrounding countryside. Eventually though a security guard let us through a gate in the wall and we started walking through the rapeseed fields to Chengkan. Chengkan turned out be one of the less popular, less extensively restored and less crowded of the old villages in the area, and absolutely charming. It was one of the first warm days I had experienced in China and with the flowering rapeseed in the fields and wisteria in the village it really felt as if spring had come at last. Sam and I wandered through the quiet lanes of the town and even had a rest on the grass by the water. Thank Sam for taking this great photo!
After a few hours we caught a bus to take us back to Tunxi, and the train. In fact we had to take several buses and I was beginning to get frustrated by the end. But driving through rural Anhui in spring was actually one of the most enjoyable moments of the trip – it was a great contrast to the grey, urban jungle of Shanghai. We had a fairly horrible meal and caught our train back where we still had the rest of the day to recover before heading back to work. The countryside was lovely and it was exciting to finally venture beyond Shanghai.
Hey Rich, awesome post! How cool to stay on top of a mountain! I never got to see rural China, it looks beautiful.


So is python3-gobject (not python3-gobject2) installed, if not install that and test your virtual manager.
Also, your using zypper dup for your system and not zypper up?
Last edited by malcolmlewis; 16-Dec-2018 at 14:08.
No update candidate for 'python3-gobject-3.30.4-1.1.x86_64'. The highest available version is already installed.
I do zypper dup quite often.
When you install Anaconda, you no longer use python from the OS (applies to install on all distros), Anaconda installs its own entire ecosystem including python and gives it priority over native OS libraries by prepending its PATH (so any application will find the Anaconda files before it can search for a similar file in the main OS).
You can uninstall or disable Anaconda by removing the PATH to Anaconda or removing/deleting the entire Anaconda tree of files... or doing both.
Keep in mind though that you'll probably find the Anaconda folks uninterested in your problem, like others similar to Anaconda they are primarily interested in distributing their own entire ecology to support their included applications and don't prioritize outside apps.
The problem you ran into is one of many possible similar scenarios, if you had instead installed your Anaconda in a Guest, then you would have isolated the system re-configuration in the Guest, you wouldn't have seen this in your HostOS machine or any other guests.
Thank you a lot. I've uninstalled the Anaconda and it virt-manager works like a charm.


The Star and Garter hotel is based at the heart of Andover and overlooks the hustle and bustle of the fast-paced market square. The Star and Garter's impressive Georgian structure was created in 1770 and has been converted and restored from a coaching inn to a contemporary hotel, boasting 35 newly refurbished bedrooms, breakfast restaurant and bar.
The Star and Garter offers a selection of real ales for all beer lovers, including their own Andover Ale. For history buffs, it's well situated for a visit to the iconic Stonehenge site just a short drive away.
The Star and Garter became part of a larger hotel group in 2013 and after a year of intense refurbishment reopened in January 2014 under a new name and new management. The group owns a collection of hotels in Dorset which appeal to both leisure and corporate guests.
The Star and Garter's placement in the centre of a busy town means the hotel is always on the go. In order to keep up with high demand and pressure from their central location, the Star and Garter chose to utilise Hotel Perfect's Property Management System (PMS). Additionally, the Star and Garter needed to be efficiently run and manage its bar and bedroom tabs with ease -something that can be challenging in a busy town centre environment.
The Star and Garter opted to go to with the latest Hotel Perfect Cloud PMS software as well as an Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS) add-on for their bar and restaurant. As the hotel was now under a group umbrella, an attractive concept for the owners was to be able to report on all of their hotels together. The Hotel Perfect Cloud PMS allows customers to look at all the hotel's calendars simultaneously has made monitoring the progress of a group of hotels much easier.
The Hotel Perfect hardware engineers and trainers visited the Star and Garter in Andover to teach the team the new hotel management system. The Star and Garter staff also needed to be able to manage their bar and restaurant environment with ease and the add-on hospitality management system is a massive asset to them. The Hotel Perfect electronic point of sale (EPoS) module keeps room bills up to date in a much simpler and more reliable fashion.
There was also need for a dynamic pricing module which allows the Star and Garter staff to link all of their online sales channels, including their own website to the Hotel Perfect PMS. This way, prices will be updated automatically on Online Travel Agencies (OTA's) from data collated by the Hotel Perfect Cloud PMS. The hotel wanted to practice advanced Revenue Management and adjust their room prices daily, dependent on the level of demand and have found the features of the Hotel Perfect cloud-based hospitality management system are perfect for this.
The Star and Garter team were concerned about how the daily running of the hotel would be impacted under new ownership and with a new system. However, with some coaching from the Hotel Perfect trainers, they were able to quickly learn the new systems and see how beneficial they were. The team quickly got to grips with the hotel management software and the Star and Garter staff carried out a very successful hotel launch.
One of the great things about the Hotel Perfect Cloud PMS is the ability to access it anywhere. That means if you're ever away from your business you can easily monitor performance, anywhere in the world!


Slimes are awesome to make them for Easter! They can become a nice gift, a part of decor or a nice activity to play with kids. Here are three easy recipes to realize.
In the end add some Borax solution – drop by drop. You are done!
Now put your kid's hands on the sheet of paper and trace them, then cut them out.
Add eyes, a nib and legs of colored paper using the same glue gun. Take some yarn in the matching color, then make a knot and cut off the excessive yarn. Glue the resulting little piece of yarn on top the jar to represent hair.
Add pink food coloring, then mix well using special tools, add shaving cream and cornstarch and in the end add some Borax solution – drop by drop. Put it back into the jar.
Now put your kid's hands on the sheet of paper and trace them, then cut them out. Add white pieces of paper inside these little ears, then make small cut in the base and using a glue stick give the ears a rounded shape.
Cut out some pink paws and add white touches to them using a glue stick. Using a hot glue gun, attach the ears and paws to the jar. Add googly eyes, draw a nose and a mouth with a sharpie. Glue a pink pompom as a tail on the back of the jar.
The supplies are white glue, orange and yellow food coloring, shaving cream and borax solution, colored paper, a glue stick. Pour some white glue into a jar, add orange and then yellow food coloring, then mix well using special tools, add shaving cream and in the end add some Borax solution – drop by drop.
Now put your kid's hands on the sheet of green paper and trace them, then cut them out – you'll need 4. Using a glue stick, attach all the hands into one single piece.
Glue the piece on top the jar, draw some lines with a black sharpie on the jar.


'If you want to change some things in your life, you've got to change some things in your life'. I remember listening to this on an audio tape as a teenager. It was a tape from my dad's collection of motivational speakers. This was just one line from the hour-long talk by the speaker, yet it has stayed with me since, for 30 years.
I'm frequently reminded of that line when committing to change in my own life and working to help others do the same. I believe it uncovers one of the major stumbling blocks most of us share when trying to change our lives for the better. We frequently say that we want change, but then are unwilling to take the steps to make change happen. It's akin to wanting to win the lottery but not bothering to buy a ticket.
Change can feel overwhelming. When we examine an area of life that we wish to change, we can become confused and frustrated by the amount of work that's required. Assaulted by so many variables, we become emotionally exhausted and mentally check out before we even start. When this cycle is repeated over time it can create a resistance to change because of the perceived emotional and mental cost. The cost of making the change seems to far outweigh the benefits of making it.
One way to overcome this negative relationship with change is to be clear about why we want it. Writing about how making a change will positively affect your life and the lives of those around you helps make the emotional benefits of change very clear, and it inspires you to work towards them.
Conversely, stating what will happen if you don't make the change can also be eye-opening. At times, being faced with the prospect of what you don't want can be enough to shift your momentum.
Understanding the process of why we do things also helps. Usually, our actions are triggered by an event, feeling or circumstance. For example, after a stressful event or day we may feel like reaching for food that will give us instant comfort, releasing feel-good hormones in our brain and giving us a temporary release from the stress. In this case, the emotional feeling of stress has triggered a certain behavior.
Event triggers could include meeting with a friend weekly and going for coffee and cake, or visiting a certain fast-food restaurant as you drive past it every day. We are normally unaware of our triggers, so don't appreciate the effect they have on our behaviour.
One key to lasting change is to identify these triggers and then to remove or replace them. For example, take a different route to work so you don't pass by the fast-food restaurant. Meet your friend for a walk instead of a coffee. In these situations, these actions will remove the triggers and disrupt the pattern of unhealthy eating.
Being aware of our triggers also allows us to change the behavior directly. We can begin a five-minute meditation practice whenever we feel stressed. This way, although the emotional trigger still exists (stress), we manage it through changing behaviour.
These strategies can help us embrace change and give us the focus to make a real difference in our lives. Which trigger will you tackle today?


The restaurant is in a quiet but public courtyard area, with ancient walls and buildings surrounding it. Pasta and pizza were homemade and tasty and the salads were good and very big. Friendly staff.
Get quick answers from Le Zanelli staff and past visitors.


Big Daddy's Grill is a neighborhood bar and grill specializing in fresh fish. We have awesome sandwiches and tacos, and are starting to be famous for our boom boom! We are already famous for our margaritas and fish tacos!
Fun place to go, with awesome firepit table in the back. Great fish tacos - varied menu - and best of all - horse friendly, with horse parking right in front.


Keystone has user options that are useful for various PCI-DSS features among other things. We do highlight some of this in the PCI-DSS documentation , but we don't formally document it in the API reference.
This issue was fixed in the openstack/keystone 15.0.0.0rc1 release candidate.


Thread Hangs at split method.
Thread: Thread Hangs at split method.
When i am trying to run the following code in a loop in my application my thread is hanging the server.
* Finds the separator for time string.
* @param timeString time as a string.
* Convert the time in HH:MM to time in minutes.
* @param timeString time string to be converted (HH:MM:SS).
* @return the time in HH:MM to time in minutes.
Assert.isTrue(validateTimeString(timeString, separator), "Invalid Time String ["
[11/23/10 16:58:13:232 CET] 00000027 ThreadMonitor W WSVR0605W: Thread "WebContainer : 1" (00000022) has been active for 720641 milliseconds and may be hung. There is/are 1 thread(s) in total in the server that may be hung.
Last edited by helloworld922; November 25th, 2010 at 09:55 AM.
How to split a text file in no of chunks ?
Re: Thread Hangs at split method.
Does the above code actually compile? I presume you are calling the function toMinutes(String timeString)?
Can i call init() method in destroy method.?
Is thread the best option?


text:
Dented Brick Distillery
Brewing & Distilling Utah
http://dentedbrick.com/
Industry: Brewing & Beverage
Products: Alcohol
After a bumpy start, Marc Christensen is ready to expand Utah's latest distillery as opportunity beckons
Marc Christensen was a successful business owner of a barricade company. It was going along really well, and so Christensen decided it was time to shake things up. "It was a really bad idea," Christensen jokes. But he's having too much fun to turn back now.
"I hired someone to handle my other company so I could start something new," Christensen says. "I grew up in the wine country of Idaho, and I wanted to go into wine, but it's a really difficult market these days. It's too crowded and the margins are tough. I looked into distilling and found that I really enjoy it."
Picking a specialty was just the beginning of Christensen's problems. He planned to make a drink using what is commonly referred to as Mormon Tea, or a twig-like plant in the Ephedra family brewed by early Utah settlers.
"We infused vodka with it and were ready to launch this drink but then found out Mormon Tea was not generally regarded as safe," Christensen says. He found himself before the Food & Drug Administration where they requested a clinical trial.
"It would cost more to do that than what we had," Christensen explains. "So I changed course. Again. And I thought, why I am looking beyond what we have right here in Salt Lake: grain, corn, water. That's all I really need for my distillery."
Christensen hired an employee with significant distillery experience and opened up Dented Brick Distillery in the spring of 2016. Dented Brick Distillery's first product, Antelope Island Rum, is already in 50 different locations. "We are moving to expand even more," Christensen says, and to help him he's brought on Young's Market Company, an alcohol distributor that specializes in the Western United States.
"Young's main focus is this area," Christensen says. "They are home-based but large enough to help us meet our multistate strategy and plan. Because we are brand new, I did not think I would land a contract with them. But I invited them to the distillery, and they were blown away by what we've created here in Salt Lake City."
Dented Brick sources its ingredients as close as possible to its front door, though it does import its organic cane sugar as well as molasses from Paraguay and its malted barley from Idaho. "Whatever we can get that's organic in Utah, that's where we look first," Christensen says.
Using organic ingredients is not a fad for Christensen but rather a founding commitment. "We have to dedicate ourselves to organics as a culture. It's not even an option, in my opinion," he says.
Christensen may also be new to the distillery industry, but he is not looking for new ways or new technology to make his job easier. "We use heirloom technology," Christensen says, "and it makes a difference. When you taste our product, you can taste the grain. You can taste the wheat. Our product has body. And we utilize well water, which adds so much. It's amazing to see our customer's reaction when they taste our products. Some have only tasted a mass-produced drink cranked out by technology. That's not us."
Challenge: Money. "We were lucky to land a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan to build the facility," Christensen says. "But now we need cash for operations. It's hard because we are so young. I find that a lot of my time is spent raising money. It's a cash-intensive thing we are doing, and it has been difficult."
Opportunity: New products. Dented Brick is expanding beyond its rum to add several new products to its brand. "We are going to see a good year," Christensen says.
Need: Sales. "There's a lot of support for the local food and beverage industry in Utah," Christensen says. "But beyond support, we need sales. Sales bring in cash. That's a top need that will never change."
Connect with Dented Brick Distillery on SCoP
How COVID-19 is Impacting Manufacturers, Part II
Consumer & Lifestyle Food & Beverage Colorado
By Bart Taylor | May 21, 2020


I discuss issues concerning poverty and hunger in the last WOW Currents post and include a request for readers to share titles of picture and chapter books in children's literature that explore these issues. Upon my recent return from Haiti, I further explore books that focus on these critical global problems.
Journey through Worlds of Words during our open reading hours: Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Check out our two online journals,WOW Review and WOW Stories, and keep up with WOW's news and events.


There are so many of these to choose from I am not sure where to start..
Beer and money what more could you ask for ??
if you step into one that happens to be a Tardis you might find a phone that looks like this..
I personally like this one.. I think it's very clever.. great for an electrician..
some iPad cases are just as wild... any DJ'S out there.. or maybe someone wh is just plain old school?
For a touch of class..
or maybe you are not into "class"
There are so many I am finding it hard to choose..
but here's a game I like to play now and then.. I thought this was pretty cool.


ROCKFORD — A Rockford man's defense lawyer was removed from the case Wednesday less than seven weeks before his first-degree murder trial was slated to begin.
A Winnebago County judge made that decision after prosecutors argued that Nickles T. Parks' defense attorney, Elder Granger II, had a conflict of interest because of a connection between Parks and a client Granger was representing on an unrelated traffic matter. Parks is one of two men charged in the Dec. 7 fatal shooting of Jamie Stephens, 30, of Rockford, whose body was found Dec. 10 dumped off a rural road near Winnebago.
Granger had been representing Javar Davis-Puckett, 29, of Rockford, until a connection between the two men was discovered during the homicide investigation. Prosecutors say Stephens was shot inside Parks' Chrysler 300, and that vehicle was found in Davis-Puckett's grandmother's garage, said Mike Rock, chief of staff for the Winnebago County State's Attorney's Office.
Granger called prosecutors effort to have him removed from the case "a strategy on their part to delay my client's right to a speedy trial." Parks demanded a speedy trial on March 28, and the trial was slated for May 28. Prosecutors filed their motion to have Granger removed on April 2.
Rock objected to the accusation that the motion was "attempting to defeat" Parks' Sixth Amendment right.
"It's simply not the case," he said.
Granger said prosecutors didn't immediately inform him when they received information that Parks' car had been found in that garage. After learning of that connection, another lawyer in his firm has been representing Davis-Puckett, Granger said.
Rock argued that Granger, as part of his confidential discussions with Davis-Puckett, could have obtained information he could use against Davis-Puckett on the witness stand while cross-examining him in Parks' murder trial. That represents a conflict of interest, Rock said, as does the potential of showing jurors a video recording of Davis-Puckett's one interview with detectives, which Granger attended.
"I haven't gained any confidential information that I can use to my advantage," Granger said.
White said if he didn't grant the motion, he could be accused of erring and the case could come back on appeal.
In Illinois, invoking one's right to a speedy trial means prosecutors must take the case to trial within 120 days of Parks' arrest since he remains jailed. Parks was arrested on Jan. 23.
After the hearing, Granger said the trial now is likely to be delayed. He questioned "who is going to turn around and do a murder trial" in 48 days. Additionally, it could prove difficult to find another defense lawyer in town who hasn't represented any one of the witnesses involved in the homicide case.
"It's Rockford. Clients know clients know clients," Granger said.
Parks and Joshua J. Whittie, 19, of Rockford, are both charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and concealing a homicidal death. Whittie's criminal complaint states he was the one to shoot Stephens.
Parks is due back in court April 17 after White appointed the Public Defender's Office.


Book for 2019 before the end of September '18 and receive 15% off accommodation!
Bookings for 2019 currently receive 15% off accommodation rates if booked before the end of September!
We now have only one New Year's glamping break available. Book now to avoid disappointment!
Our glamping accommodation is now fully booked for Christmas. We have limited accommodations available for New Year's glamping breaks - make your reservation today!
Help others when staying with us! We are delighted to announce that for 2017, £1 of every night booked directly with us will be donated to one of our official charities at the end of the season. Visit our Corporate Responsibility page for more details.


text:
How the World Bank Undermines Its Own Development Goals
Peter Bosshard
People affected by the World Bank's Kariba Dam are still struggling to regain their livelihoods
Karin Retief
The World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) is the most important source of development finance for the world's poorest countries. A new round of finance is supposed to support goals such as inclusive growth, gender equity, and climate resilience. With an ill-devised proposal to increase IDA support for large infrastructure projects, including new mega-dams on the Congo and Zambezi rivers, the World Bank risks undermining these noble goals.
Donor governments will meet this week to start negotiations for the 17th replenishment of the IDA fund. In a background paper, the World Bank proposes to make regional infrastructure projects (or, in Bank jargon, Regional Transformational Initiatives) a special focus of future IDA projects. The Bank claims that such projects could "catalyze very large-scale benefits to improve access to infrastructure services." It lists the Inga 3 Dam on the Congo River (with a total price tag of $10 billion), and two hydropower and transmission schemes on the Zambezi River (with a total price tag of $8-9 billion) as illustrative projects for this approach.
Mega-dams and other complex, centralized infrastructure projects have a bad track record in terms of addressing the water and energy needs of the poor and reducing poverty more generally. In a letter to donor governments, development and environmental groups warn that the new approach would undermine the official IDA goals of inclusive growth, gender equity, and climate resilience.
Inclusive Growth: The infrastructure projects proposed by IDA are not designed to meet the needs of the poor, but to export electricity for mining companies and urban centers particularly in richer countries, with the hope that some of the export revenues will trickle down to the poor. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, development banks have over the past 40 years invested billions of dollars in the Inga 1 and 2 dams and associated transmission lines, yet only 9% of the population has access to electricity. The situation is similar in Zambia and Zimbabwe, where the World Bank has funded the large Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River.
Large, complex projects such as the hydropower schemes on the Congo and Zambezi rivers do not boost local economies. They rely on imported technologies and know-how, and do not create a significant number of domestic jobs. In contrast, decentralized renewable energy projects such as solar, wind, micro hydropower and improved cooking stoves would be more effective at reaching the majority of the people in Africa and South Asia who are not connected to the electric grid. They would also create jobs in manufacturing and maintenance, and in the decentralized industries (in agro-processing and other sectors) that they serve.
Woman and children who would be affected by the Mphanda Nkuwa Dam on the Zambezi
Gender Equality: Centralized infrastructure projects often have massive negative impacts on local livelihoods, and women bear the brunt of these impacts. In the case of the Inga 1 and 2 and Kariba dams, displaced communities are still struggling to regain their standards of living after more than 40 years, and women are particularly affected by the loss of land and access to communal resources. If the benefits of regional mega-projects do trickle down, they typically reach workers in the formal economy, but not women who are least integrated in the cash economy. Women, in other words, are the first to suffer and the last to benefit from large, complex infrastructure projects. Again, decentralized renewable energy projects are more effective at reaching the homes of poor rural families and easing the burden on women, who typically spend many hours each day on gathering firewood and other domestic chores.
Climate Resilience: Reducing climate vulnerability requires flexible, decentralized and diversified energy and water infrastructure. In times of unpredictable rain fall, putting all eggs into the basket of large, centralized reservoirs increases the vulnerability to climate shocks. Already, Sub-Saharan Africa is the world's most hydro-dependent region. World Bank and IMF experts have recommended that this dependence be reduced in the interest of climate resilience.
According to IPCC research, the Zambezi exhibits the "worst" potential effects of climate change among major African river basins. In spite of this, the Mphanda Nkuwa and Batoka Gorge dams, which IDA proposes to fund, have not been evaluated for the risks associated with the reduced annual flows and more extreme floods and droughts that are expected under a changing climate. Such an approach increases the climate vulnerability of poor countries that can least afford it. Again, a mixture of decentralized and diversified renewable energy options would be more effective at strengthening the climate resilience of poor societies.
The World Bank admits that "without careful attention, the benefits of large scale, transformational investments can bypass local communities and the most vulnerable populations." As always it claims that this time will be different. It promises "paying close attention to environmental and social safeguards" and incorporating "livelihood development for riparian communities" into projects. Given the fate of similar promises in the past, this sounds like an effort of putting lipstick on the famous pig.
IDA governments should drop the proposed emphasis on Regional Transformational Initiatives under the replenished fund, and shift resources to decentralized infrastructure solutions that can directly address the needs of the poor. The World Bank cannot afford to waste public resources on approaches that have failed in the past, and campaign groups will be closely watching the IDA negotiations that begin in Paris this week.
Peter Bosshard is Policy Director of International. He blogs at www.internationalrivers.org/blog/227 and tweets at @PeterBosshard.
U.S. Urged to Reject New World Bank Focus on Large Infrastructure
Concerns regarding IDA 17's Proposed Focus on Regional Transformational Initiatives


Meghan Markle's Girls' Night Out!
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's new serious GF, had a girls' night out while her guy performed diplomatic functions in the Caribbean.
Us Weekly reports Prince Harry is on a two-week official visit to the Caribbean, during which time he will visit seven countries on behalf of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Meanwhile, "Quantico" star Priyanka Chopra, filmmaker Mubina Rattonsey, and Markle were pictured having cocktails in a fun image posted to Chopra's Instagram account that was captioned, "Girls just wanna have fun.."
Markle has made no secret of her desire to travel toward the end of the year, a goal she is free to pursue now that production on her series "Suits" has wrapped for the season. She told the Vancouver Sun, "December is holiday time and I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and traveling."
It would be a good time to hang out in London with Harry — or take off for some more exotic locale. A source has told Us Weekly that Harry plans to spirit Markle away on a romantic trip, but is keeping the location private out of concern for the high-profile couple's security.


I thought I'd take a moment this Friday evening to signal-boost a very important tweet from film producer Keith Calder on the subject of dudes so wrapped up in their own supposed machoness that they can't "poop properly" or, even worse, clean up afterwards.
Alex Jones: The toxic masculinity show?
So this little Alex Jones "greatest hits" video I've pasted in below — more like a greatest fits video, amirite? — got me thinking. Take a minute (and 34 seconds) to watch it and join me below.


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Nine Coalitions to Craft Transformative Outcomes from Climate Summit
Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
The UN Secretary-General has asked several Heads of State and Government to lead in setting up a series of coalitions that will operate with institutional support.
The coalitions will propose meaningful actions during a preparatory meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in June 2019.
This process and other milestones on the way to UNFCCC COP 25 were outlined in a briefing with Luis Alfonso de Alba, Special Envoy for the Climate Summit, and UNGA President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces.
14 February 2019: Nine coalitions are being established as part of preparations for the UN 2019 Climate Summit in order to ensure "transformative outcomes," according to a briefing for Member States. The UN Secretary-General has asked several Heads of State and Government to lead in setting up the coalitions, with support from institutional bodies and the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.
Luis Alfonso de Alba, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the UN 2019 Climate Summit (also called the Climate Action Summit), updated governments on preparations in a briefing on 14 February 2019, in New York, US. UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces shared information about a broader set of events leading to the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the UNFCCC, taking place in Chile in early 2020.
De Alba stressed, above all, the need for a focus on climate action. He said that since the Paris Agreement on climate change was reached, "we have perhaps done a third of the work that we ought to have done." He cited a need for better perspective on failings, shortcomings and places to "plug the ambition gap." He called for sending the global public "an optimistic signal" that it is possible to both counteract climate change and enjoy economic growth, eradicate poverty, and meet social, health care and human rights needs. De Alba also noted the need to overcome the unequal importance that has been accorded to adaptation and mitigation, particularly in financing. He said that in the focus on taking action, partnerships with civil society are needed "first and foremost," as well as with the private sector, "whose behavior needs to change."
Espinosa noted the importance of climate action for meeting the 2020 deadline for several targets under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Overall, she said, two-thirds of the SDG targets depend on "action being taken at the climate and environmental level."
De Alba outlined nine areas of work in preparation for the Climate Action Summit, and listed the countries that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has approached to organize the coalitions:
Increasing Mitigation Ambition (Japan and Chile);
Energy Transition (Denmark);
Infrastructure, Cities and Local Action (Kenya and Turkey);
Industry Transition (India);
Resilience and Adaptation (UK);
Nature-based Solutions (China);
Climate Finance and Carbon Pricing (France and Jamaica);
Social and Political Drivers (Peru); and
Public Mobilization (Marshall Islands).
The topics are described further on the Summit webpage.
Governments will form groupings with fellow governments and members of civil society. All multilateral organizations have a role to play, and are "enthusiastically on board," de Alba said, noting that the World Bank is on board for championing financing for climate action, and the World Economic Forum (WEF) will provide the institutional framework for interaction between coalitions and the private sector, with a particular focus on the industry transition workstream.
Only the most concrete and transformative outcomes will be delivered at the Summit.
De Alba said the coalitions will have the support of his office and an institution that will be responsible for technical support. He introduced Anne-Sophie Cerisola as the Deputy Special Envoy for the Summit. A deadline of 22 February 2019 has been set for each coalition's leader or leaders to submit their programme of work.
According to an Information Note issued in December 2018, the "facilitators" are appointed to ensure the development of transformative outcomes, and will work in coalitions until September 2019 to deliver "the most impactful outcomes" at the Summit. Only the most concrete and transformative outcomes will be "delivered" at the Summit.
While the coalitions begin their work, a series of climate events will take place in 2019, leading up to UNFCCC COP 25. Espinosa outlined these events, and noted that they share two goals: increasing ambition at the national level; and ensuring inclusion in processes of climate action.
First, on 28 March, the UNGA will convene a high-level meeting on "climate and sustainable development for all." She said the meeting aims to build on the success of COP 24, which took place in November 2018, in Katowice, Poland, and make a "major contribution" to the Climate Action Summit. The meeting follows a mandate in UNGA resolution 72/219 calling for a meeting with an intergenerational focus that targets the synergies between climate action and the 2030 Agenda. The High-level Meeting will be a one-day event, and include panels on: synergies between climate action and the SDGs; and means of implementation. Roundtables for leaders will convene to facilitate the coalitions that are being established, directly linking the UNGA meeting to the Climate Action Summit.
From 30 June to 1 July 2019, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host a stocktaking meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE. De Alba said this will serve as a preparatory summit for the Climate Action Summit. The meeting will review the reports of the nine coalitions, in order to identify the actions and partnerships that can be presented at the Summit. To be selected, he indicated that an action must be "meaningful" to different sectors, and to countries at different levels of development.
In July, the HLPF will hold an in-depth review of SDG 13 (climate action), in New York. In September, the Secretary-General will convene the 2019 Climate Summit, and from 24-25 September, the HLPF will meet at the level of Heads of State and Government. De Alba said the Climate Summit needs to identify where there are convergences of opinion and action that can be pursued. This approach will make climate change a central area of UN action.
As for the format of the Summit, de Alba described it as a three-day event beginning with side events and parallel activities on the preceding weekend, from 21-22 September. During the plenary meeting on 23 September, he said the programme does not envision individual statements, but rather proposals for climate action representing the fruit of the coalitions' discussions, being submitted for consideration by everyone.
De Alba concluded by expressing an expectation for clear timelines and responsibilities to result from the Summit. He suggested setting 2020 as the deadline for all Member States to complete their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) process, and 2025 as the "next step in judging national action and ambition." He said the Climate Action Summit could also produce a clear road map for the following 12 years, with a view to keeping the global average temperature rise below the "guardrail" of 1.5°C.
In an interactive discussion with Member States, the UAE took the floor to express her vision that the stocktaking meeting in June-July will represent the "synthesizing and strengthening point for all content" from the UNGA's March meeting, the nine coalitions, and the Special Envoy's steering committee, and will provide "a sounding board" for announcements to be made in September. She observed that climate change is both "the defining threat of our time" and an unprecedented opportunity for innovation, sustainable growth and partnership. She stressed that climate action is "not just about flora and fauna, but about people," and there is a business case for climate action. For example, solar and renewable energy is now cheaper than other options in many countries, and every US dollar spent to reduce high-emission sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) brings savings of over 300% in avoided health costs. "These are the narratives we must bring to the fore," she said.
Among other countries that took the floor, Belize, for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), said the detrimental impacts of climate change on small island developing States (SIDS) significantly increase even with a 1.5°C temperature rise, as outlined in detail by the 2018 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). She encouraged linkages between climate action events and the mid-term review of the SAMOA Pathway, as well as ocean-related processes.
Morocco called for viewing climate change "an opportunity for achieving sustainable development, rather than a threat to humanity." He noted an early February meeting of the UN Group of Friends for Climate, which is co-chaired by France and Morocco, saying the meeting had echoed the need to increase ambition.
The UK said that the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is the institutional partner for the Resilience and Adaptation coalition. Italy reiterated the need for coherence between the events, and supported putting climate at the core of the agenda in 2019.
Mexico said it will contribute to the coalition on cities, and highlighted the need for "a cultural change" in how we consume and live. He expressed hope that "sustainable development for all" will be a lens through which SDG 13 is reviewed at the HLPF meeting in July.
South Africa called for adequate consideration of the role of public sector financing from developed countries in empowering climate action in developing countries. He explained that adaptation, in particular, does not easily lend itself to profit-oriented business models.
Poland said that in 2019 it will further explore the three themes of its COP 24 presidency: just transition; forests; and electromobility. He highlighted the need to give particularly prominent recognition to "just transitions," as social responsibility should be a stronger feature of efforts to save the planet.
In closing remarks, de Alba said he will produce a note on the main objectives of the Summit. Espinosa said three key words from the discussion are coherence, accountability and ambition, noting that the NDCs must be seen as the "floor rather than ceiling."
In addition to the events outlined during this briefing, the UNFCCC and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) will hold the First Global Conference on Synergies between the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement, in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 1-3 April 2019. The conference will serve as the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) in preparation for the HLPF's in-depth review of SDG 13 in July. [UN News Story on Briefing] [2019 Climate Summit Webpage] [Briefing Webcast]
High-level Meeting: Climate Protection for All
First Global Conference on Synergies between the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement
Climate Action Summit 2019
SDG Summit
High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) 2019 Convened by ECOSOC
Santiago Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 25)
7. Affordable & Clean Energy9. Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure11. Sustainable Cities & Communities13. Climate Action15. Life on Land17. Partnerships for the Goals
Renewables, Energy, Governance, Solar, Sustainable Development, Human Settlements & Population, Economics & Investment, Stakeholder Participation, Climate Change, Adaptation, Mitigation
Means of Implementation, Finance, Systemic Issues, Policy & Institutional Coherence, Multi-stakeholder Partnerships
UN Intergovernmental Body, UN Secretariat, National Government
Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Near East, Southwest Pacific, Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, South America, Eastern Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, SIDS, Caribbean, Pacific, Eastern Asia, Southern Asia, Western Asia
UNFCCC COP 25
Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
Report Examines Progress Towards SDG Target 16.2 on Violence against Children
18 July 2019 | Nathalie Risse, Ph.D., SDG Knowledge Hub
Report Examines Progress Towards SDG Target 16.2 o...
SDG 16 Side Event Highlights Linkages with 24 Other SDG Targets
18 July 2019 | Leila Mead, SDG Knowledge Hub
SDG 16 Side Event Highlights Linkages with 24 Othe...
Seven Countries Present Second Voluntary National Review of SDG Implementation
Seven Countries Present Second Voluntary National ...
Moving from Words to Action? HLPF Assesses Progress on Goal 17
Moving from Words to Action? HLPF Assesses Progres...
Civil Society Report Provides Guidance on Crafting "Spotlight Reports"
Civil Society Report Provides Guidance on Crafting...
SIWI Policy Briefs Highlight Water Diplomacy, Water Resource Management in Achieving SDGs
18 July 2019 | Delia Paul, SDG Knowledge Hub
SIWI Policy Briefs Highlight Water Diplomacy, Wate...


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Cambodian union leaders arrested in casino labor dispute — Radio Free Asia
Asian News World
Cambodian police on Tuesday arrested three labor union leaders wanted on charges of leading workers' protests at a casino and hotel in the capital Phnom Penh.
Chhim Sithar, leader of the union at the NagaWorld casino, was taken into custody by police in plain clothes who surrounded her as she got out of a car at the protest site near Cambodia's National Assembly building.
Two other union leaders, Sok Kongkea and Sok Narith, were detained separately on Tuesday. All three had been in hiding after being charged by authorities with inciting unlawful protests, and were sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after their arrest.
The strike at the NagaWorld casino and hotel, now in its 18th day, has drawn hundreds of workers since Dec. 18 and the dismissal by managers of more than a thousand employees. The protesters are demanding that 365 of those laid off be rehired.
Cambodian police on Monday arrested 14 striking workers who called for the release of colleagues detained last week by police. Pregnant women were among those arrested. The workers were taken by truck to the headquarters of Phnom Penh municipal police, sources told RFA.
On Dec. 31, authorities detained nine protesters and a motor-tricycle driver, holding six in custody and charging them on Monday in municipal court with incitement to cause serious social unrest, sources said.
The U.S. Embassy in Cambodia in a statement Tuesday said governmental authorities should respect the workers' right to free speech.
"We are following closely the troubling arrests of NagaWorld union members for their peaceful expression and urge authorities to hear citizens, not silence them. Freedom of speech, assembly and association are guaranteed in the Cambodian Constitution," the embassy said.
Workers are now gathering to demand the release of Chhim Sithor and the other union leaders and NagaWorld employees detained by the authorities, casino worker Chim Ratha told RFA on Tuesday. "We are Cambodian workers working on our own land, and our rights and labor are being violated and exploited by foreign employers," she said.
"We have followed legal procedures by trying to negotiate for more than eight months, and so far we have peacefully protested for more than 10 days. But there has been no solution, and instead we have been arrested, threatened and intimidated," she said.
Reached for comment, Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman Ey Rin told RFA he could not discuss the matter as authorities and the court had just begun to work on the case. But Ny Sokha, president of the Cambodian rights monitoring group Adhoc, said that NagaWorld employees' right to protest is guaranteed by Cambodian laws.
"In a democratic society, the authorities must not take measures restricting the people's right to peacefully protest," Ny Sokha said.
"The authorities always say they are acting in the name of public order, but they are responsible both for maintaining public order and for ensuring the exercise of citizens' legal rights and freedoms at the same time," he said.
Reported by RFA's Cambodian Service. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Richard Finney.
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Movie Review: "Jumanji" Rebootquel is Nostalgic Fun With a Twist
By Patrick Gibbs December 20, 2017
Starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Bobby Cannavale
Based on Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
Screenplay by Chris McKenna, Eric Sommers, Jake Kasdan, Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinkner
Directed by Jake Kasdan
Out of Four
Joe Johnston's 1995 fantasy Jumanji was a pleasant surprise for that holds a great deal of setimental value, so when we heard that a remake was in developement, we weren't excited. Plain and simple, remaking a Robin Williams movie is one of the worst things Hollywood can do this decade, and while he can be fun in the right role, Dwayne Johnson is no Robin Williams. And when we heard the premise: A group of teenagers get sucked into a role-playing video game version in the bodies of their characters, we were torn between disappointment that it would ruin the similar screenplay we wrote 9 years ago for a Dungeons & Dragons based comedy/fantasy, and the fact that clearly we thought it was a solid premise, and a potentially great way to revisit the Jumanji concept. Add to that the fact that it was revealed that this was a Jurassic World style soft reboot style sequel instead of a straight-up remake, and we became much more optimistic. Still, replacing Robin Williams with The Rock? Happily, seeing the movie made us change our minds about that, too.
Image Courtesy Universal Pictures
For the second holiday season in a row, we find ourselves delighted by a Dwayne Johnson performance (after 2016's Moana.). Johnson takes a break from his macho-man persona to wonderfully portray Spencer, the geeky protagnist (played by Alex Wolff in the "real world" wrap around segments.). Spencer is stuck inside the body of Somlder Bravestone, interpid explorer, and it would have been easy enough to just that that character kick in instead of sticking to the gawky teen inside him. It's genuinely surprising how believable and lovable Johnson is playing the nerdy kid, and we've never seen him carry a film this well. Perhaps even more surprisingly, we genuinely enjoyed Kevin Hart (a comic phenomenon we generally don't get) as his diminutive sidekick "Mouse Finbar (a jock named "Fridge" and played by Ser'Darius Blaine.). Doctor Who star Karen Gillan gets her best Hollywood role to date, having a chance to show off what a strong comic talent she is (her young counterpart Morgan Turner is also very likeable.). And Jack Black shines in a role that could have easily just been obnoxious (Bethany, the token popular hot blonde girl every teen comedy seems to need, played by Morgan Iseman.). The character is actually funnier than we expected, and certainly a lot more endearing. And the character relationship between Bethany and Martha, the other girl in the group, is sweet, genuine and very well played by Black and Gillan.
If there is a particularly weak character, it's the antagonist, Van Pelt (Bobby Canavale), who who is completely one note. Then again, he's an NPC video game villain and not meant to be anything more, so that's hard to hold against it. The credited screenwriters include Spider-Man: Homecoming's Chris McKenna and Eric Sommers, and their knack for writing John Hughes style teens is clearly a strength. Director Jake Kasdan handles both the action and the comedy well, and the film movies at a fast pace that consistently entertains, and there are some very successful set-pieces. Kasdan has made a film that brings back happy memories of its predecessor while genuinely doing something new with the material. The movie is light as a feather and aims to be nothing more than popcorn entertainment, but it succeeds well enough on that level that it's hard not to feel satisfied. It has less story than the original, but with that comes arguably less story problems as well. It's not a great film, but it's definitely one of the better blockbusters of the 2017 holiday season, and one Jumanji fans won't want to miss.
dwayne johnson Jack Black Jake Kasdan jumanji Karen Gillan Kevin Hart
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