text:
Front Page Health Politics U.S.WND
Clinton 'sex victim' lashes into Oprah Winfrey
'Funny I've never heard you mention my name. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?'
By Bob Unruh
Oprah Winfrey's rant at the Golden Globes award ceremony about how women who are victims of assault should stand up, speak out and fight back has gotten a lot of attention.
It raised speculation that she will run for president in 2020, and a quick poll showed her ahead of President Trump.
But it also exposed her to a broadside from victims of Oprah's friend Bill Clinton.
Oprah was quoted at the awards saying: "You get a voice. You get a voice. Everybody gets a voice."
TRENDING: Impeach!
But Juanita Broaddrick, who has stated that Bill Clinton, when he was attorney general in Arkansas, the state's top law-enforcement officer, raped her, went to Twitter to chastise Oprah and her followers.
Hey @Oprah #Goldenglobes. Funny I've never heard you mention my name. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?Guess not. My rapist was/is your friend, Bill Clinton https://t.co/zBSPnrqRzk
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) January 8, 2018
"Hey @Oprah #Goldenglobes. Funny I've never heard you mention my name. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?Guess not. My rapist was/is your friend, Bill Clinton," she charged.
"Their Lives: The Women Targeted by the Clinton Machine" – available at the WND Superstore – is a wake-up call to Americans to re-evaluate this ruthless power couple and prevent Hillary Clinton from returning to the White House.
Twitchy monitored the flow of support for Broaddrick.
"According to Oprah on the Golden Globes, everybody has their own truth (and voice). Just not Weinstein's accusers … oh yeah, and Juantia Broaddrick doesn't get a voice either," the site said.
"Otherwise, EVERYBODY else gets a voice. And their own truth, apparently. Hey, we don't make up the rules."
One Twitter user posted an image of Oprah with Bill Clinton.
pic.twitter.com/9LfN5HLLUY
— Daniel (@DdDaanniieeLlLl) January 8, 2018
Commented Twitchy: "Awww, look at Oprah with her good buddy, Bill. This is just pathetic. Look up at that picture. That's why."
Broaddrick later added: "Remember this @Oprah. You've had so many opportunities to bring up my allegations, which have never been discredited. Why??"
Remember this @Oprah You've had so many opportunities to bring up my allegations, which have never been discredited. Why?? https://t.co/C7Iaqn0kOp
Broaddrick began commenting on politics in 2016 when Hillary Clinton, whom she charges has been Bill Clinton's enabler for years, ran for president.
Just last month, Broaddrick poked a hole in Time magazine's claim to be honoring women who have spoken up about harassment or assault.
Time gave its Person of the Year award to the "Silence Breakers," women who have come forward to claim they were sexually harassed or assaulted by prominent men in politics, entertainment, media or sports.
Time praised the women for giving voice to their "secrets" and for moving the "whisper networks onto social networks."
Portrayed on the cover are Ashley Judd, Taylor Swift and others.
Broaddrick, who came forward with the rape claim against Bill Clinton in 1999, was interviewed by Time, but her comments were not included in the cover story.
Time magazine asked to interview me re: #metoo movement. The comments I gave were deemed of no value. I'd like to know why. Could it be I didn't fit in their liberal victim mold. @TIME
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) December 7, 2017
She tweeted at the time: "Time magazine asked to interview me re: #metoo movement. The comments I gave were deemed of no value. I'd like to know why. Could it be I didn't fit I their liberal victim mold."
Juanita Broaddrick
Broaddrick spoke with WND at the conclusion of a news conference in November in which she and other women who claim to have been assaulted by Bill Clinton called for the resignations of two Democrats in Congress, John Conyers and Al Franken, who have been accused of sexual misconduct. They both eventually resigned.
Broaddrick said she didn't report the attack at the time because Bill Clinton was the attorney general.
"In my particular case, you are looking at Bill Clinton – that was the attorney general – and you say, 'Why didn't you report this to the police?' He was the police. And then he became governor. I own nursing homes, and my business was directly under the governor and the attorney general. I could have been closed down. My livelihood could have been gone forever. We could have been surveyed. There could have been false complaints coming in, and I could have been closed," she said.
Thank President Trump for all his accomplishments during his first year in office. Send him a FREE card of your choice. Go to ThankTrump.us
Even her faith was impacted, she said.
"I had to change my church service. In the prayers of the Episcopal church, they pray for the president and they would say, 'We pray for the President Bill Clinton' – and I couldn't take that anymore," she said.
"So I moved to the eight o'clock service because they only said 'president.' When the priest would go through the prayers and not say the president, my husband would squeeze my hand. It like one little battle won."
Broaddrick explained in detail how Hillary Clinton threatened her two weeks after Bill allegedly raped her.
"I had gotten to a fundraiser early. Hillary Clinton caught me before I was able to get out," she explained. "[Clinton] came to me with a gracious smile and said, 'I want to thank you for everything that you do for Bill.' I just wanted to get out of there.
"I started to leave and get out of there, and all of a sudden she grabbed hold of my arm – she pulls me back to her. There's no smile on that face now, it's strictly a scowl, a horrible scowl and [she] said, 'Do you understand, everything you do?' I jerked my arm from that woman and I left immediately."
Broaddrick returned to the news during the 2016 presidential election when she responded to a tweet from CNN's Jake Tapper, who wrote: "Hillary talks about her pending book & subjects therein: Comey, Putin & misogyny."
Hillary Clinton talks about her pending book & subjects therein: Comey, Putin & misogyny: https://t.co/NLUV2HCmDN
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 9, 2017
Broaddrick responded: "I was 35 years old when Bill Clinton, Ark. Attorney General raped me and Hillary tried to silence me. I am now 73 … it never goes away."
Broaddrick appeared in a campaign ad last year in which she said: "He starts to bite on my top lip and I try to pull away from him."
The ad:
Her response to Tapper was, "In the chapter on misogyny does Hillary discuss her attempts to destroy victims of Bill Clinton?????"
In the chapter on misogyny does Hillary discuss her attempts to destroy victims of Bill Clinton????? https://t.co/Ozdoni5b74
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) April 9, 2017
Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially.
Social worker sues to be allowed to help special-needs kids
Prison chaplain banned for 10 years for exposing Islamic extremism
Hundreds of Christians flee after Muslims threaten to torch neighborhood
Democrat who accused GOP of giving rioters 'reconnaissance' tours backs off
WND Comics January 13, 2021 at 6:52pm
Impeach!
Big Tech's purge of conservatives changes speech debate


Additions to Section " 3.3.1 Abstract Data Model"
targets are listed in random order.
Additions to Section "3.3.5.3   Receiving a DC Referral Request"
Additions to Section "3.3.5.4   Receiving a sysvol Referral Request"
Modification to Section " 3.2.5.5 Receiving a Root Referral Request or Link Referral Request"
" If DFS referral site costing is enabled, sort the targets into target sets of increasing site cost from the target to the client."
" If DFS referral site costing is enabled, sort the targets into target sets as specified in section 3.3.1.2."
I'll answer your questions in Q&A format for clarity.
Q. Also where those parameters (same-site target, least-expensive, ...) are stored (in the DS or somewhere else).
A. The information about sites and cost is stored in Active Directory. For information related to sites (and cost), please refer to section " 7.1.1.2.2 Sites Container" of MS-ADTS.
Q. The next paragraph sates: "From the IP address of the client, determine the site of the client" what should happen is the client is not in a site (for instance if it has a static ip and the admin forgot to declare this subnet in one site)?
A. Please see section 3.3.1.1, above.
> The paragraph "2.2.1.3    Domain Name"
>     name (FQDN), as specified in [MS-ADTS]."
> So when we have in "3.3.5.3    Receiving a DC Referral Request"
>     STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER (0xC000000D) return code."
> We expect the client to request either FOOBAR (netbios domain) or foobar.demo.com (fqdn).
> Also in the same paragraph "The SpecialNameOffset field MUST be set to the offset in bytes from the beginning of the referral entry to the string that contains the domain name for the referral response."
> It let me think that this field should contain FOOBAR or foobar.demo.com but it turns out that it's \FOOBAR or \foobar.demo.com that is returned (the example in the mails out dfs questions from Bill Wesse was also showing this).
> The same remark apply the ExpandedName that also present a '\'.
> "The ExpandedNameOffset field MUST be set to the offset in bytes from the beginning of the referral entry to the first null-terminated DC Unicode string. Each DC name immediately follows its null-terminated predecessor without any padding. An implementation MUST use the value in the NumberOfExpandedNames field to determine how many names are present in the list at ExpandedNameOffset.
> "The client checks its domain cache for an existing domain controller referral for the Contoso.com domain. If this referral is in the cache, the client proceeds to step 5. If no domain controller referral is in the domain cache, the client connects to the IPC$ shared folder of the active domain controller in the context of the LocalSystem account and sends a domain controller referral request containing the appropriate domain name (Contoso.com). The domain controller returns the list of domain controllers in the Contoso.com domain. The domain controllers in the clients site are at the top of the list. If least-expensive target selection is enabled, domain controllers outside of the targets site are sorted by lowest cost. If same-site target selection is enabled, DFS ignores this setting and lists the remaining domain controllers in random order."
> Tells us that the same-site target or other parameters have an influence.
> Maybe the MS-DFSC needs to be updated ? Also where those parameters (same-site target, least-expensive, ...) are stored (in the DS or somewhere else).
> The next paragraph sates: "From the IP address of the client, determine the site of the client" what should happen is the client is not in a site (for instance if it has a static ip and the admin forgot to declare this subnet in one site) ?


text:
Properties for Sale in Ross-on-wye, Ross-on-wye, Herefordshire
Home - For Sale - Ross-on-wye - Herefordshire
Showing 1-15 of 274 properties in Ross-on-wye, Herefordshire
£2,600,000 Guide Price
6 Bedrooms Property for sale
Bridstow, The Old Vicarage, South Herefordshire
An exquisitely refurbished georgian country house occupying a dominant location in the centre of its approx. seven acres and commanding a glorious outlook to three aspects. magnificent…
Residential Development Commercial for sale
Leys Hill, Ross-on-Wye
This superb rural site is located high on the side of the wye valley in an area of outstanding natural beauty offering 30,000 sq ft of prime residential development. for those with…
Upton Bishop, Ross On Wye, Herefordshire, HR9
An elegant 8 bedroom house for sale in upton bishop, hr9 with swimming pool beeches stands prominently overlooking its mature garden. the house has an annex and a small cottage. the…
Baysham, Ross-on-Wye, HR9
An impressive country house with wonderful views, five excellent reception rooms and six bedrooms, with accommodation totalling around 5,525 sq. ft.this outstanding property is situated…
Walford, Ross On Wye
Land totally approximately 2.4 acres, stables, 5 double bedroom house (3 en-suites) plus 3 bedroom detached cottage. family bathroom, open-plan breakfast kitchen and through lounge,…
Phocle Green, Ross-On-Wye - Approx 5 Acres
One of the most handsome period homes in the area, rudhall mill is an exceptional conversion of a former corn mill dating back to the 1800s, set within stunning grounds of around 5…
Swagwater Lane, Gorsley
An impressive and substantial family home having been lovingly restored by its current owners enjoying an abundance of character features believed to date back to the turn of the century.…
Ryeford, Ross-On-Wye
Tucked away in a village location of ryeford with far reaching views over beautiful countryside, a newly refurbished and extended bespoke home thoughtfully designed to make the most…
Langstone Stable, Ross On Wye
Originally forming part of a c16th elizabethan manor house and set in a group of beautifully restored and remodelled grade ii listed buildings in an attractive rural location within…
7 Bedrooms Country House Character Property for sale
Whitfield Court, Ross-On-Wye
An outstanding historic grade ii country house together with two partially renovated stone barns and approximately five acres of gardens and grounds. the substantial 7 bedroom house…
£950,000 Guide Price
4 Bedrooms Equestrian Facility Character Property for sale
Marstow, Ross-On-Wye
Stunning contemporary residential equestrian smallholding 16 acres.
Coughton, Ross-On-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9
For those seeking complete seclusion and privacy, this beautifully presented four bedroom detached country residence will certainly be of interest. with a one bedroom detached annex,…
5 Bedrooms Barn Conversion Character Property for sale
Phocle Green, Long Meadow Barn, Ross-on-Wye
Nestling in a sheltered valley and standing in approx 8.4 acres of land, a beautifully proportioned stone barn with exceptionally light ground floor accommodation. excellent range…
11 Bedrooms Hotel Commercial for sale
Wilton Court Hotel, Historic Eleven Bedroom Hotel, Ross-on-Wye
A stunning listed grade ii boutique hotel occupying an enviable location above the banks of the glorious river wye over which it commands beautiful views towards the picturesque town…
7 Bedrooms Guest House Commercial for sale
Situated in the delightful village of whitchurch, equidistant between the market towns of ross on wye and monmouth, norton house is a grand, grade ii listed character property full…
Properties For rent in Ross-on-wye, Herefordshire
4 Bedrooms Barn Conversion Character Property
Weston Under Penyard
Whitchurch, Ross-On-Wye
Ivy House Estate, Gorsley…
Wye Rapids Cottages, Symo…
1 Bedroom Detached Bungalow
Detached bungalow Ross-on…
Useful Links for ROSS-ON-WYE, Herefordshire
Property For Sale in ROSS-ON-WYE, Herefordshire
Property To Rent in ROSS-ON-WYE, Herefordshire
Sold House Prices in ROSS-ON-WYE, Herefordshire
Local Agents in ROSS-ON-WYE, Herefordshire
Areas around ROSS-ON-WYE
LONGHOPE, Gloucestershire
COLEFORD, Gloucestershire
NEWENT, Gloucestershire
WESTBURY-ON-SEVERN, Gloucestershire
MONMOUTH, Gwent
MALVERN HOUSE, BROMSASH,… £319,250 - 2019-05-24
WYESIDE COTTAGE, SYMONDS… £395,000 - 2019-05-17
BADGERS HOLT, BROMSASH, HR9… £595,000 - 2019-05-13

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Does almost sure convergence imply uniform boundedness Let $(X_{n})_{n},X$ be random variables and assume $P(X_{n}\to X)=1$
Until now I have always assumed that the sequence is uniformly bounded, i.e.
there exists $k > 0$ so that $P(\sup\limits_{n}\vert X_{n}-X\vert<k)=1(*)$
but in a solution, $P(X_{n}\to X)=1$ was mentioned as an additional assumption to $(*)$. Does this mean almost sure convergence does not imply uniform boundedness?
and what about $P(\sup\limits_{n}\vert X_{n}\vert<k)$? Is it implied that it is  almost surely uniformly bounded from almost sure boundedness?

A: Hint: Consider $(0,1)$ with Lebesgue measure and $$X_n := n 1_{(0,1/n)}.$$

A: Let the statements
$$
\tag{S1} \mbox{there exists a constant } K \mbox{ such that}\sup_n\left\lvert X_n-X\right\rvert\leq K\mbox{ a.s.}
$$
$$\tag{S2}
 X_n\to X\mbox{ a.s.}
$$
Then there exists

*

*a sequence $(X_n)$ satisfying (S1) but not (S2), namely, $X_n=(-1)^n$,

*a sequence $(X_n)$ satisfying (S2) but not (S1), namely, a sequence $(X_n)$ such that $P(X_n=n)=2^{-n}$ and $P(X_n=0)=1-2^{-n}$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


How do you like the course 'Music as Biology: What We Like to Hear and Why'?
This online course explores intercultural communication by teaching the concepts of culture and interculturality.
This online course is to listen and learn about the artists, eras, and musical methods that make jazz a great original art form.


text:
Baton Rouge Teen Missing After Being Caught in Rip Current at Orange Beach
Jude Walker Published: May 24, 2022
WBRZ
A Baton Rouge teenager is still missing after getting swept in rough waters while on a trip to Orange Beach, Alabama this past weekend.
14-year-old Tyreke Walker was celebrating his birthday with his family when he disappeared this past Saturday. Walker's family said this was their first time in Orange Beach and they planned to stay just one day to celebrate his birthday, which was three days earlier.
Officials in Alabama say the incident happened right after flags at the beach were changed to double red to reflect the dangerous conditions.
The teen's father, Clint Walker, tried to rescue his son but nearly drowned in the attempt. He was later rushed to the emergency room due to excessive water inhalation.
"He's like 'I'm sorry, I can't come back,'" said Clint Walker. "I grabbed him, and I had him, but the water was just pulling us and pulling us. Honestly, I didn't think I was going to make it. I lost his grip. I kept getting thrown to the bottom of the water, and somehow, I made it to shore, and he didn't. I just wish I would've held on longer."
The search for the boy remains ongoing.
"Right now, our efforts are wanting to bring closure to the family as much as possible, but it's really a waiting game at this point trying to recover the child," said Bruce Nelson with Orange Beach Fire Rescue.
Canhtam Nguyen, the mother of Tyreke Walker, said she is appreciative of everyone who has helped their family while in Orange Beach. She said that random people have been paying for their hotel room so they could remain in Orange Beach for free while they are looking for their son.
A GoFundMe page has been set up on behalf of the Walker-Nguyen family.
On Sunday, another tragedy affected a family from the capital area as a two-year-old from Port Allen drowned in a pool at the Margaritaville Resort in Biloxi.
LOOK: See America's 50 Best Beach Towns
Source: Baton Rouge Teen Missing After Being Caught in Rip Current at Orange Beach
Filed Under: drowning, orange beach
Louisiana Toddler Reportedly Drowns in Bathtub
Body of Abbeville Man Pulled From Canal in Vermilion Parish After Apparent Drowning
10-Foot Hammerhead Shark Approaches Shore On Florida Beach
How Much Louisiana Fun Could You Have with $1 Billion Dollars?
Update: No Active Shooter Found After Orange Beach Police Respond to Calls Over Facebook Post
Bodies of Three Men Recovered From Lake Maurepas
2 Louisiana Juveniles Die After Vehicle Went into Pond Near Bayou, Trapping Them Underwater
Body of Shreveport City Marshal Found in Destin
Louisiana Man Drowns in Gulf Shores While Trying to Rescue Son in Rip Current


text:
Q: How can I create OracleMembershipProvider users from Oracle? I'm using the OracleMembershipProvider with Oracle11g and ASP.NET 4.0. Creating users from the ASP.NET side is easy, but I'm not quite sure how to do it from an Oracle stored procedure.
I've found the ora_aspnet_Mem_CreateUser function. However, it's wrapped and I can't find any documentation for it, so I'm not sure what all the parameters take. Also, when you call CreateUser from ASP.NET, there's an out parameter with a "MembershipCreateStatus enumeration value indicating whether or not the user was created successfully." The only out parameter for ora_aspnet_Mem_CreateUser is userid, so can I even get access to the status value?
I did find this answer, which is mostly what I'm trying to do, but in T-SQL. I need to do it in PL-SQL, and if possible I need to determine if the user was successfully created.

A: Using Reflector I discovered that the MembershipCreateStatus out parameter is part of the ASP.NET function, so if you want something similar in an Oracle function, you have to write it yourself.
I got everything to work in PL-SQL except the hashing, so a co-worker wrote the hashing function in Java:
create or replace and compile java source named javasha1
as
import sun.misc.BASE64Decoder;
import sun.misc.BASE64Encoder;
import java.security.*;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
public class javasha1 {
    public static java.lang.String EncodePassword(java.lang.String passPlain, java.lang.String saltBase64)
        throws NoSuchAlgorithmException, UnsupportedEncodingException, IOException
    {
        BASE64Decoder decoder = new BASE64Decoder();
        BASE64Encoder encoder = new BASE64Encoder();

        byte[] pass = passPlain.getBytes("UTF-16LE");
        byte[] salt = decoder.decodeBuffer(saltBase64);
        byte[] joined = new byte[salt.length + pass.length];
        System.arraycopy(salt, 0, joined, 0, salt.length);
        System.arraycopy(pass, 0, joined, salt.length, pass.length);

        MessageDigest sha = MessageDigest.getInstance("SHA-1");
        return encoder.encodeBuffer(sha.digest(joined)).replaceAll("\r|\n", "");
    }
}

FUNCTION EncodePassword
(
  p_Password VARCHAR2,
  p_Salt     VARCHAR2
)
RETURN VARCHAR2
AS LANGUAGE java Name 'javasha1.EncodePassword(java.lang.String, java.lang.String) return java.lang.String';

PROCEDURE CreateUser
(
  p_UserName          VARCHAR2,
  p_ClearTextPassword VARCHAR2,
  p_Email             VARCHAR2
)
AS
  v_ApplicationName VARCHAR2(256);
  v_EncodedPassword NVARCHAR2(128);
  v_Now             DATE;
  v_ReturnValue     NUMBER;
  v_Salt            NVARCHAR2(128);
  v_UserID          RAW(16);

  FUNCTION Base64Encode
  (
    p_Raw RAW
  ) RETURN VARCHAR2
  AS
  BEGIN
    RETURN utl_raw.cast_to_varchar2(utl_encode.base64_encode(p_Raw));
  END Base64Encode;

BEGIN
  v_ApplicationName := 'YOUR_APPLICATION_NAME';
  v_Now             := sys_extract_utc(Systimestamp);
  v_Salt            := Base64Encode(sys_guid());
  v_EncodedPassword := EncodePassword(p_Password => p_ClearTextPassword, p_Salt => v_Salt);

  v_ReturnValue := ora_aspnet.ora_aspnet_mem_createuser(
    applicationname_  => v_ApplicationName,
    username_         => p_UserName,
    password_         => v_EncodedPassword,
    passwordsalt_     => v_Salt,
    email_            => p_Email,
    passwordquestion_ => null,
    passwordanswer_   => null,
    isapproved_       => 1, -- true
    currenttimeutc    => v_Now,
    createdate_       => v_Now,
    uniqueemail       => 1, -- true
    passwordformat_   => 1, -- 0 = 'Clear', 1 = 'Hashed', 2 = 'Encrypted'
    userid_           => v_UserID -- out parameter
  );

END CreateUser;


text:
> Home > Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
∞ https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c87m08hx/
Military and Political Leaders, United States, Nineteenth Century
Contact Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Descriptive Summary
Title: Military and Political Leaders, United States, Nineteenth Century
Collection Number: GC 1195
Creator/Collector:
Extent: (Boxes: 2 volumes in 1 letter)
Repository: Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Abstract: Typescript with index; pages contain biographical sketches of participants from the Civil War with original lithographs, photographs, letters, autographs, and calling cards tipped in.
Language of Material: English
Research is by appointment only
Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder
Military and Political Leaders, United States, Nineteenth Century. Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Typescript with index; pages contain biographical sketches of participants from the Civil War with original lithographs, photographs, letters, autographs, and calling cards tipped in. A laborious compilation with an unknown creation date therefore the acquisition date of 1975 is used. Noteworthy in Volume 1 is an autograph and lithograph of Major General Edward O.C. Ord.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.


text:
John O'Brien
The Royal National Theatre
This production of Pericles demonstrates the power of art to transform lives. Over a 120 performers packed the stage. They ranged in age from 4 to 84. They were multicultural and multi-racial. Men and women, young and old. Some in wheelchairs, others on crutches. They were brought together by the company Public Acts to put on Pericles by Shakespeare. Public Acts is a visionary outreach organisation that aims to bring hard to reach individuals and communities into the Arts. They are currently working with the Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, Havering Asian Social Welfare Association, Bromley by Bow Centre and others. It was a triumph for the struggle to democratise the arts, reach new audiences, bring under-represented communities to The National Theatre and shows yet again that Shakespeare is for all time and for everyone. I can't think of a more important development, not just in the arts, but in our evolution as an open and democratic society.
This production of Pericles has been creatively adapted by Chris Bush. She has a clear narrative which both retells the play written in 1608 and makes it live for us in 2018. The director Emily Lim has produced a show which has everything. Dancing (superbly choreographed by Robby Graham), singing, acrobatics, a nightclub cabaret, a May pole, Indian Drummers, a Gospel Choir, a Ska Band, a Bulgarian Choir and much more. It's like nothing you've ever seen on stage before. All of life is here. The energy and joy is infectious. The love and warmth flows back and forth from stage to audience in waves of laughter, clapping and empathy.
Jim Fortune has integrated the music seamlessly into the play so that it always furthers the action and deepens our feelings and emotions. The use of sets and props is highly imaginative and playful. I particularly enjoyed the backdrop of Botticelli's Birth of Venus to frame Marina's (the wonderful Audrey Brisson) performance in Boult's brothel-cum-nightclub. Meanwhile, Kevin Harvey's take on Boult, a sort of pimp, was absolutely hilarious as a cross between Liberace and Paul O'Grady.
The play made the connections between the Mediterranean of 2,500 years ago and today. Pericles (the superb Ashley Zhangazha) and his wife Thaisa (the wonderful Naana Agyei-Ampadu) are shipwrecked as they cross the Med and Thaisa dies leaving Pericles holding the baby. The death of the migrants who drown attempting to cross to Europe everyday was clearly alluded to.
This production of Pericles invited us to think about the big questions : Where is our Home? Do we belong there? What would happen to us if we had to leave? What would it be like to depend on the kindness of strangers? The tragedy of our times is that we are all trapped in nation-states and yet we want to create a global cosmopolitan community. How we get from here to there is the big challenge of our time. This inspirational production of Pericles provides us with some stepping stones for that journey.
By William Shakespeare, adapted by Chris Bush
Directed by Emily Lim
Choreography by Robby Graham
Music by Jim Fortune and Tarek Merchant
Cast includes: Ashley Zhangazha, Naana Agyei-Ampadu, Audrey Brisson, Kevin Harvey
ohn O'Brien is a Londoner born and bred, sadly not within the sound of Bow bells so not technically a cockney. Although he was born within touching distance of The Lambeth Walk, as his mother gave birth to him at nearby St Thomas' Hospital. He studied English at Birkbeck College. He has worked as a teacher, tutor, and researcher. He leads bespoke guided tours of London's history and architecture He enjoys the Theatre in all its glory: opera, ballet, musicals, comedies, tragedies, and contemporary drama. He lives in Richmond
Latest UK Reviews
Hampstead Theatre management and staff deserve full marks for securing a safe auditorium in the current Covid-19 pandemi...
Not replacing live theatre, but reinventing it! The Theatre Channel undoubtedly fills the void that has been ever-growin...
Since lockdown, many parents have asked me whether I'd recommend online theatre to stream for their children. Until now...
It's True, It's True, It's True
In 1612 the young artist Artemisia Gentileschi took the highly unusual step of making an accusation of rape against Agos...
Midnight Your Time
Donmar online
Whatever your love-hate relationship with Zoom looks like at this point of the pandemic, perhaps some part of you is nur...
We need sponsors in order to expand our network of contributors and our connections with theatres and cultural organisations around the world.
We are now able to accept credit/debit card donations directly from this site, with the security of PayPal. No sum is too small.


boat auctions norfolk broads - summer on the norfolk broads by edward seago on artnet .
boat auctions norfolk broads - norfolk broads wooden broads boats from the 1950s .
boat auctions norfolk broads - 98 best beautiful broads images on pinterest norfolk .
boat auctions norfolk broads - william leslie rackham sailing boats on the norfolk .
boat auctions norfolk broads - gay lady yacht auction the official norfolk broads forum .
boat auctions norfolk broads - emerson s norfolk broads book will highlight keys auction .
boat auctions norfolk broads - 1973 pu norfolk broads holiday cruise boats on ebid .
boat auctions norfolk broads - derelict boats the official norfolk broads forum .
boat auctions norfolk broads - cara boat the official norfolk broads forum .
boat auctions norfolk broads - cyril turner art auction results .
boat auctions norfolk broads - prices and estimates of works jack cox .
boat auctions norfolk broads - 60 best anglia auctions images on pinterest apartments .
boat auctions norfolk broads - broads cruiser for sale in uk 44 used broads cruisers .
boat auctions norfolk broads - norfolk broads sailing boats windmill 1950 old postcard .
boat auctions norfolk broads - cottages norfolk broads for sale small house interior .
boat auctions norfolk broads - cheap barge holidays norfolk broads vacationxstyle org .
boat auctions norfolk broads - bbc news in pictures week in pictures east of england .
boat auctions norfolk broads - boatyard on the norfolk broads by edward seago kunst .
boat auctions norfolk broads - wesson edward boats on the norfolk broads mutualart .
boat auctions norfolk broads - repo boats for sale repo used boats repossessed boats html .
boat auctions norfolk broads - william edward mayes acle 1913 mutualart .
boat auctions norfolk broads - charles mayes wigg auctions results artnet .
boat auctions norfolk broads - stephen john batchelder 1849 1932 watercolour .


text:
An Interview With The NY Rapper, SAINT HILL On His Brand New EP, 'The Essence,' Staying Busy At Home These Days and More!
Tag: All Access, All Access Music Group, Artist Interview, Players Republik, Saint Hill, The Essence
On March 13th, the New York rapper Saint Hill unveiled his honest new EP The Essence via Players Republik.
A six-track release showcasing Saint Hill's head turning flow, The Essence opens with recent single 'Ain't Got Time', an infectious slice of modern hip-hop produced by LO and strung together by the pitch-perfect vocals of Kansas singer-songwriter Matthew Grant.
Check out the EP Here: https://ffm.to/the-essence
Grant appears again on the EP's title track, with his soaring vocals proving the perfect match for Saint Hill's high-energy rapping. Next up, 'Absent' is the EP's most hard-hitting track, with Saint Hill delivering an uncompromising dose of social realism over a menacing beat. Closing things out, 'Deliverance' sees him at his brilliant best while Varnell Hill is on chorus duties.
"Creating The Essence EP was definitely a fun experience," Saint Hill recalls. "I wanted to embody a little bit of everything that I think is 'essential' to rap and hip-hop."
He continues: "I wanted to show lyrical versatility and skills through the bars and different flows, like on 'Hallelujah' and 'Deliverance', but also tell stories and make the listeners feel different emotions, like on 'Last Breath'. Overall, together you get a variety of things that bring out "The Essence" of what rap is all about, and that's something I felt has been missing lately."
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Saint Hill is an artist heavily influenced by Jay Z, Notorious B.I.G and the 'golden age' of hip-hop, while also drawing comparisons to the masterful Big L due to his clever wordplay, technical skill and incredible breath control.
A pitch perfect sonic representation of his personality, The Essence is the release destined to propel Saint Hill to the hip-hop A-leagues.
Connect With Saint Hill Online Here:
Instagram | Spotify
Learn more about Saint Hill in the following All Access interview:
Thanks for your time today! So how are you keeping busy and musical these days during this crazy Covid-19 pandemic?!
I've been doing just about anything to keep myself from going insane! Haha! I've been working out, listening to beats and just continuing to write new content. You know, just taking advantage of this time stuck in the house!
Can you recall the moment when you thought you could be a musician?
When I actually thought I could become a musician was in high school. I used to play around rapping from when I was way younger, but I think it was when I got to high school when I really thought to myself, "Hmm…I think I can really do this!" Thinking back, I probably was super wack at that point, but in my head, I thought I was the nicest!
What do you think motivates you day in and day out? How has that changed over the years?
Originally I was motivated because I wanted to prove myself to everyone, and show my skills in a pool where many can now wake up and simply declare themselves a rapper. My motivation has changed over the years because now I'm not looking to "prove" anything. I know what I'm capable of, and while I'll continue to put my all into my music 100%, now my motivation is simply the fun and passion I have for the creative process. I love watching everything come together, from the beats, to the hooks, to the bars, and the adlibs, everything! Then finally seeing how its received by the listeners, its definitely a thrilling process, and that's what I do it for now.
How do you think your hometown has influenced the kind of music that you make? If not, why is that?
I think my hometown has influenced the way I write music. A lot of artist from New York are big on lyrics and word play, which I love. To me it adds an additional layer to the music and its something I always aim to include in my own. I'm not saying everything has to be overly complex, but bars still matter!
Growing up, how important was music in your life? Was your family and friends supportive of this career choice?
Music was important in my life because it always helped me get through anything. Whether it was tough times dealing with family issues, or relationship problems, or happy times with family, friends, and loved ones, music always played a huge part. I love how music associates itself with specific points in your life. It's like hearing a song could take you back to a particular moment and all of the feelings can come rushing back, its dope!
If you weren't a musician today, could you see yourself doing anything else?
If I wasn't a musician today, I'd probably be doing something in computers, or video editing.
What has been the biggest surprise so far about making music your career?
The biggest surprise so far has been the amount of strangers who reach out to show love and support. When I first started making music, of course the people who would originally hear the stuff I made were close family and friends, but to my surprise, it wasn't the "family and friends" who showed the most support.
What has been an unexpected or welcome challenge to it all?
A welcomed challenge would be finding the time to make music. Aside from this current time I have stuck at home due to COVID-19, I would literally have to write music everywhere just to make time and get certain things done. I come up with new flows and bars while driving, flying, taking a shower, riding the train, you name it! It's not always the easiest, but I love it either way.
What has been the best part?
The best part would be creating and recording. I love the process and watching everything come together. Challenging myself, re-recording to get certain parts just right, and making sure everything is enunciated correctly. It's tough, and sometimes overwhelming, but always worth it to see it through to the finished product.
Let's talk about your brand new EP, "The Essence." What was the inspiration for these songs?
The inspiration behind the tracks on "The Essence" was literally just to give the listeners a piece of me, while also giving them a piece of everything I think makes Hip Hop, Hip Hop.
What was it like working with your producer LO and singer, Matthew Grant?
It was dope because both are extremely talented! So the music comes together and speaks for itself!
How did you go about choosing them to work with on it?
With LO, I had the chance to listen to the beat for "Ain't Got Time", and immediately after hearing it, I already knew I had to write to it! For me personally, sometimes hearing the right beat is all it takes to inspire me to write. It may not happen all the time, but in this case, it did, and everything flowed naturally! As for Matthew, I had the chance to work with him in studio out in Cali, and we vibed together on a few tracks. The chemistry was so authentic, so our talents both shine through on our collaborations!
What was it like working with Players Republik to release it?
Working with Players Republik has been great! It's always convenient when people genuinely share a vision because it makes for smoother process!
Why do you think they are the right place for you and your music today?
While anyone can listen to "The Essence EP" and vibe to it, Players Republik creates a direct link to a community that I hold dear to my heart, and that's the gaming community! As a gamer, I know how important music is whether its playing through with in-game music, or just listening to a soundtrack as you tackle some levels in a new release you just picked up! Music plays a huge role, and I love how they bridge that community together.
Did anything surprise you about the process of putting the it together?
I was pleasantly surprised as to how responsive everybody involved was, especially when dealing with the distances between each party.
What were the challenges?
The challenges faced would probably just be the deadlines at which things needed to be taken care of, but that's typical in most scenarios. I wouldn't consider it anything out of the ordinary.
Since I first started making music, I think my range of content as well as how I approach writing has greatly expanded, and so in turn my sound has changed. I welcomed that sort of change though, because I think it makes me far more versatile as an artist, one that cant simply be placed in a box and labeled.
How do you feel about social media?
I love social media. I spend a lot of time browsing social media for the jokes and the memes, but I definitely need to put more time into sharing more of myself.
What do you think social media has done for your career so far?
I think social media has helped me tremendously in my career so far simply by creating links with people who believe in me, and support me on a daily basis. When people have the opportunity to see my talent through clips on social media, it allows them to directly interact with me, something that would be extremely hard otherwise.
What is it like keeping up with all your different accounts?
Keeping up with all of the accounts is definitely a challenge, especially when something new is popping up every other week! I like to stay involved though, so I'm definitely on all of the major platforms.
What is your favorite way to connect with fans?
My favorite way to connect with fans would be through Instagram.
What musicians would you absolutely love to work with in the future?
In the future I would love to work with Jhene Aiko, Fabolous, Chris Brown, Joey Badass, & A Boogie.
Who has been inspiring you and the music that you make?
I wouldn't say a person in particular because I get a lot of inspiration from things I personally experience in life, the people around me, or the things I see that are going on in the community.
I would love to hear a song of mine played in a movie or a TV show. I think that would be dope and something I could cross off my bucket-list!
I hope people take away how authentic the music is, the amount of passion that goes in to the craft, and just genuinely enjoy it to the fullest!
An Interview With The Duo KTJ & CARLY On Their Latest Music, Biggest Inspirations, Working Together and More!
Alt-Pop Duo THE GRAHAMS Discuss Their New 3rd Album, Coping With The Corona Virus and More!


Uncle Maddio's is a fast casual create your own pizza concept serving handcrafted pizzas, calzones & gourmet salads. Homemade dough & sauce freshly prepared daily topped with your choice of over 40 quality cheeses, meats or fresh hand-cut veggies!
Uncle Maddio's is the next generation pizza joint. One step inside this neighborhood pizza joint and guests will be tempted by mouth-watering homemade pizzas, gourmet salads and toasted paninis.
Fresh options all day every day!
Spring for a fresh meal at Maddio's!
Let Maddio's make your Monday complete!
If your craving pizza this Pi Day, give us a thumbs up!
You got me at FREE PIZZA - join Maddio's Rewards for special offers and exclusive deals!
Special offers just a few clicks away - join Maddio's Rewards today!
Have you met the Big Max? Perfect way to celebrate National Meatball Day if you ask us!
Proudly serving fresh hand chopped salads with over 45 toppings to customize it just how you like!
How are you celebrating Mardi Gras?
Get your oven baked wings tossed in bbq, buffalo or hot!!
Margherita Pizza for the win!
Fresh options for lunch or dinner!
Have you joined Maddio's Rewards yet?!
Thumbs up if you like the view!
Chef Created pizza anyone? Happy National Pizza Day!
Pizza with a side salad, best of both worlds!
Hungry for a game day deal?! Stop in or call Uncle Maddio's for a super deal for the Big Game, tomorrow February 3!
Score with Maddio's for the Big Game! On Sunday, February 3, stop in or call ahead for a deal on XL Pizzas and Wings!
Fresh ingredients make for a fresh meal!
Come get a Maddio Meal for lunch! 6" 3-topping pizza, side salad and a drink!
Attention all cheese lovers: we've got you covered!
Create your own veggie packed salad!
We take pride in our opportunity to provide our gluten sensitive guests a delicious pizza!
Don't forget to grab our oven baked and crispy hot wings before the game!
Make it a Maddio's game day!
Are you still celebrating the New Year, we are!
Maddio's wants to help you keep up with your New Year Resolutions. Come in for a fresh hand chopped salad!
Here's to a FRESH 2019, Happy New Year!
Time to get your New Years Resolutions in order!
Appetizer or main course the choice is yours!
Let Maddio's do the cooking!
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Uncle Maddio's Pizza posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Did you know we make our #fresh dough in house everyday with #real ingredients like flour, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and a secret spice blend?!


Circle Time is a time for children to learn to pay attention, to make connections with each other, and to have fun. This nature based circle time activity is fun for kids of all ages for summer camp, but is ideal for preschool circle time .
Didi from Duck Duck Octopus (She's no longer blogging) shared this awesome nature sensory game for circle time.
We learn about the world through our senses. The tart burst of flavor from a fresh-picked blackberry is a tell-tale sign of summer; watching leaves swirl around the sky shows us it's windy; and pitter-patter sounds of rain tells us to put on our wellies for jumping in freshly made puddles. Our bodies absorb a constant stream of information that we assimilate into experience, but we seldom intentionally acknowledge the senses that deliver the information; the information is "just there".
and play Nature's Treasure in circle time.
The Nature's Treasures mystery game is an activity that facilitates a hands-on exploration of the senses and nature. Kids get to experience how their perception of the world is altered when their senses are limited. The use of natural objects connects kids to their environment, and allows them to experience things they encounter every day in a new way.
Gather an assortment of familiar natural objects (e.g. a dandelion, rock, shell, lobster claw, stick, cattail fluff, maple leaf, an animal bone, feather, dirt, etc.). Collect enough items, so each child participating has an item. Make sure your collection is gathered and stored out of sight of your kids. You don't want to spoil the mystery!
Place one mystery object in an opaque bag; brown lunch bags are great. Seal the bag with ribbon or a piece of tape.
Place the bags in a "treasure chest" (a decorated cardboard box), and bring the treasure chest out for the kids.
Introduce the activity by talking about the incredible diversity that may be found in nature. Have your kids offer examples of colors, textures and shapes they may find in nature (e.g. tiny snails; red, orange, and yellow autumn leaves; prickly porcupines; furry raccoons; bumpy shells, etc.).
Using the examples provided by the kids, make connections to how people use their senses to experience the world.
Explain that each mystery bag contains one object found in nature. They must try to guess what is in their bag without using their sense of sight, sound, or taste.
Each child gets a turn to fully explore their object with their sense of touch and smell. If they go to smell the bag, they have to keep their eyes shut, or use a blindfold to help keep the mystery object hidden.
The child exploring the item may tell the group about the object based on their sensory observations.
For example, if the object is a dandelion, a child may describe it as follows: There is a fluffy, soft part on one end. It is round. The round, soft part is stuck to something that is long and skinny. It smells like grass.
Ask the child doing the direct sensory exploration to identify their mystery object.
Then open the inquiry to the group. Does anyone think the object is something else?
Reveal the mystery object. Hopefully, when the object is revealed most of the kids will know what it is right away. If they didn't guess correctly, this is a great opportunity to ask the kids how their sense of sight, sound or taste would have helped them solve the mystery.
This activity works well with a large group of kids in a circle time setting, and is also fun to do at home as a family. Sometimes, I'll deliberately put a gag item in the bag I explore, just to add a big laugh at the end (think rubber chicken).
What is the most interesting object you found to include in your Nature's Treasures mystery game?
Didi is a fun mom who likes to make mud pies, stomp in puddles, and fingerpaint. She is also the founder of duckduckoctopus.com, a blog about play-based learning, outdoor adventures, and mindful-parenting.
Be sure to follow Didi on Pinterest. Learn some fun facts about the mind behind Duck, Duck, Octopus at Play Dr. Hutch.


Wheaton Montessori School's Jr. High program opened fall 2014. Dr. John-Marc Bilezikian is the director. This lecture was given in the spring of 2014 as an introduction to Montessori's unique approach in addressing the developmental needs and characteristics of teens.


text:
VIDEO: State lawmaker revives 'Mickey Mouse' argument to defend new elections rules
Wednesday on MSNBC's Politics Nation with Rev. Al Sharpton, state Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, revived his defense of the controversial voting law he sponsored last session by saying that the new law was a way of ensuring that Floridians do not register fictitious characters such as Mickey Mouse to vote, among other sorts of electoral "mischief."
Reports have surfaced from several nonpartisan groups suggesting that Florida actively suppressed the voting rights of minorities, young people, the disabled and low-income voters by passing a restrictive elections law last session. These demographics typically vote for Democrats.
Federal policymakers have also criticized the Florida law — as well as other states that have similarly passed restrictive voting laws before the upcoming 2012 election. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., even pressed for congressional field hearing into laws he says were possibly passed for partisan gain.
However, Baxley argues these claims are untrue. He says the law was written to have a "secure election process that works," he told Sharpton.
Sharpton repeatedly pointed out to Baxley that there were only 31 cases of alleged election fraud reported to state officials in the past three years, which he says is evidence of politically motivation for the new restrictions.
Baxley said the law was meant to prevent electoral "mischief," not to necessarily respond to a problem in the state's voting laws.
Baxley did say, however, that in the last election there were instances of people registering the name "Mickey Mouse" to vote in Florida. Baxley said it was that type of "mishap and mischief" that he was aiming to prevent in the 2012 election.
However, Sharpton quickly dismissed the argument.
"If you've got to get Mickey Mouse to make your case … then believe me you're trying to take all of us to Disney World for a ride," he told Baxley.
Baxley's argument is not new. In fact, while the bill was being debated in the Legislature, Baxley tied the need for new voting laws to allegations that a group called ACORN was registering fictitious characters such as "Mickey Mouse" and "Mary Poppins" in exchange for cash.
As The Florida Independent reported in Aptril, though, legislators never successfully explained how these fictitious characters would ever make it to the polls, cast a ballot and affect the outcome of an election.
Sharpton also interviewed the president of the nonpartison League of Women Voters. For decades, before the new restrictions were placed on third-party voter registration, the group registered people to vote in the state. During his interview, Baxley said the group should "get over their angst" concerning the voting law.
Baxley has also said publicly that the law is not "going to limit anybody's participation."
The state is still awaiting a court's approval of some of the more controversial aspects of the law, which includes new restrictions on third-party voter registration drives, a shorter "shelf life" for signatures collected for ballot initiatives, a restriction that makes it more difficult for voters to change their registered addresses on election day and a reduction of the number of early voting days.
You can watch Baxley's interview, as well as Sharpton's interview with the League of Women Voters here:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Keith Fitzgerald officially announces he's challenging Vern Buchanan
'Taj Mahal' courthouse audit finds 17 violations of Florida statutes (Updated)
Proposed law would remove rules for how 'Choose Life' license plate revenue is spent: News. Politics. Media
New legislation proposed by state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, could drastically affect oversight of how money collected through sales of Florida's Choose Life license plate is distributed — gutting rules that ensure that a majority of the revenue be used to assist the physical needs of pregnant women.
Mack, Buchanan among legislators who sold BP and Transocean stocks following spill
A recent report by OpenSecrets shows that several high-profile lawmakers (including GOP Reps. Vern Buchanan and Connie Mack of Florida) dumped their stock in BP and Transocean following last year's massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Both Republicans and Democrats gave up significant portions of their holdings in the companies, according to the analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.


Durable plastic allows for frequent reference. Customize entire divider using ballpoint pen or pencil. To reuse, just erase and write again. Dividers are multicolored. Tabs have a stylish shape and are larger, providing 50% more writing space. 03163 and 03164 have a durable plastic pocket on every divider for extra storage.


text:
Microgaster sulcata är en stekelart som beskrevs av De Saeger 1944. Microgaster sulcata ingår i släktet Microgaster och familjen bracksteklar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Bracksteklar
sulcata

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Casting Call for Actors
Since today the casting call for The next Platform in November 2012 is available on Casting Call Pro.
We are looking for a wide range of actors, both male and female as well as of all ages, for our second night of new writing in Clapham.
Actors, please apply through the link and feel free to spread the word and share with other actors. The casting call closes on Thursday night, so make sure to apply asap.
Casting Call for The Platform
New Writing Submission Deadline
Last night the submission deadline for new short plays for The next Platform was up!
Many thanks to all the writers who have submitted their work to us; once more we are absolutely amazed by the wealth of talent out there.
We have had an huge amount of submissions, so we will be looking at scripts over the next few days and will announce the selection for The next Platform as soon as possible!
First Show was a Success!
We are still buzzing from the thrill of the last few days which have seen three performances of our first show ever:
The Platform - A Page to Stage Workshop for New Writing
First of all, we would like to say a massive thanks to all the writers, directors, actors as well as technical crew without whom none of this would have been possible! All your hard work, creativity and generosity has been fantastic.
Secondly a big thanks to the many that came to watch and support us. And finally last, but definitely not least, a great cheers to the Bread & Roses pub for being so supportive of our work!
Stay tuned for news and dates of The next Platform!
Looking for New Writing!
With our first show going up later this week and the quick sell out of our first two performances, we are now already looking for new writing submissions for The next Platform!
We would love to hear from writers with new pieces of theatre and you can submit directly through our website.
Submission Deadline in order for your play to be considered for The next Platform: Wednesday, 17th October 2012.
Please feel free to spread the word!
Submit New Writing
Saturday Matinée added
We were amazed how quickly BRTC's first two performances of The Platform - A Page to Stage Workshop for New Writing on 12th and 13th October sold out.
Therefore, with the support of our amazing cast and crew, we have been able to add a matinée performance on Saturday 13th October at 2:30pm!
Book Tickets for Saturday Matinée


The problem with story ideas is – sometimes there can be too damn many of them. Add to that, characters, each vying for your attention, screaming, "Pay attention to me."
I was writing the second part of the series of the young reluctant queen. The title, This Time Tomorrow. I was going gang buster on the story, about three quarters through the first draft, when suddenly a character, Lucy Donovan popped up and demanded, quite strongly, that I tell her story – A Shadow of Doubt.
I couldn't resist, so I left This Time Tomorrow for a journey into A Shadow of Doubt. Every once in a while a niggling plea from This Time Tomorrow would surface, asking me to return, but Lucy would just push them away. She was a very demanding and determined character.
I was weeding my way through a Shadow of Doubt, when an idea popped up for the Skagit Valley Writers League anthology. A Shadow of Doubt was shelved while I worked on The Cracked Cookie. Luckily The Cracked Cookie was a short story, so it didn't take long to tell.
I am now on Chapter 8 of A Shadow of Doubt. Sometime I ignore Lucy and work my way back into This Time Tomorrow, but I always return. Then last night happened, more specifically 5:30 this morning happened - A Dream. A dream so vivid that it woke me up and insisted I write it down. So, now I have to add He's A Prince to my story ideas.
She was waiting deep in the woods. He told her to wait here ,to stay hidden in the darkness, he would return for her shortly. Suddenly she heard the pounding hooves of a horse approaching her. In a blur, he was there. The horse was heaving heavily from the exertion and she noticed the panic on his face.
Before she had a chance to ask what the matter was, he reached down for hand and said, "Hurry get on." She didn't hesitate. He pulled her up behind him and held on as he clicked the reins, almost jarring her off her seat. Then she heard it, the thundering noise of men on horses closing in on them. They were being chased.
"What did you do?" she screamed to be heard over the pounding noise.
"I took something that belongs to me," he yelled back.
– And so it begins. Another story idea. Another character demanding I PAY ATTENTION to them.
Well, my first draft is always fairly rough. Think of it like the first day of practice. I know the game and how it works, but there's still polishing to do. That's where the editing comes in. It's where I refine my form and practice the more difficult plays. As I get better, I get closer and closer to game day—the finish date.
When I start in on the editing, I usually have a handful of notes from the first draft. These can be as simple as "Make sure such-and-such a character's eyes are the same color all throughout the book," to as complicated as adding and cutting chapters and redefining character motivations. Normally, when I'm done with the first draft, I organize my notes chronologically. That way, I can read the book from the beginning and edit as I go. I suppose that's my play-by-play method, simple as it is. I also look to the coach—my editor—for guidance as well. He always has suggestions to help me better my game.
The rest of it is instinct. I listen to my teammates—the characters—and figure out where the storyline feels unnatural. Then I make changes as I go. It's a pretty organic process, but that's what I love most about the game. You never know what's going to happen when you get started, you just try your hardest to make sure that you're prepared for even the most unexpected plays, so that when it comes time for game day, you've got it down.
Where did the idea for My Undoing come from? Believe it or not, it started with a dream. Heavily installed into dreamland, something woke me at 1:00 am. The dream, still vivid in my mind, intrigued me. It was the young girl and the dialogue that captivated me. Too tired to do anything about it then, I went back to sleep forcing my mind to replay the dream over and over and over.
When I woke the next morning, I quickly scribbled down all that I could remember. It felt like the beginning of a story, the birth of a character and a idea for a series.
The dream started with a young girl chasing a man, dressed in a yellow hazmat-looking suit, through an old abandoned military base building. He disappears. She then encounters a man who turns out to be a not-so-good guy. While running away from this not-so-good guy, she runs smack dab into another man, Thuron, who saves her life. But it was the dialogue in the dream that intrigued me, most of which ended up in the beginning of the story.
I then sat down one day and her story unfolded as I typed. She took us both on a journey, one that I think neither she, nor I, was expecting. Her voice, her character, took over as she told me more about herself. At first, I tried to tell the story in third person but it didn't feel right. The story, needed to be told from her point of view.
She told me her name, Janee (spelled like Jane but with an extra e and pronounced JAH-NEE). She introduced me to Mr. Wong, her life-long friend and teacher. It was when she bumped into Thuron, and he saved her life, that the story took a turn and added a twist, for both of us. What he unveiled shocked us both, neither of us expected the story to go in that direction.
I envisioned how the story would end, but that was not how it ended. I typed a line of dialogue, from Janee, and knew that we had reached the end of My UNDOING. But, no worry, her story continues in short story #2 - This Time Tomorrow, hopefully it will be out by November.
Why is he running? How can such an old guy run so fast. And what's with the yellow hazmat-looking suit?
I rounded the corner and came to a screeching halt. Stretched out before me was a long depressing gray hall with only one door at the far end. And Mr. Wong had disappeared. The building, located on an old military base outside of old Las Vegas, like everything else after the war, was abandoned. The only inhabitants now were small creatures that scurried into hidden corners afraid of their own shadow.
"How'd he do that?" my voice ricocheted off the walls, startling me.
I crept down the hall, hesitating before turning the knob. My instincts warning me to use caution. I slowly opened the door to a cavernous room, a graveyard of standard issued, gun-metal gray old desks, chairs and file cabinets, long forgotten. The room smelled of dust and mold, making my nose twitch. Small windows, high up on the exterior cement wall, allowed enough daylight into the room so I didn't bump into things. A grunting sound, followed by a clanging metal noise in the far corner, caught my attention.
A man dressed in old army fatigues was tossing a large metal case onto a cart. He stopped and turned towards me, his menacing look caused me to take a step back.
"Sorry, I must have taken a wrong turn," I said as I slowly backed out of the room. Not wanting to stick around, I scurried back down the hall, which now seemed like the length of a football field.
Behind me the door opened and I turned around to look. The army-fatigue man stood just outside the door, tense and alert. The closing of the door behind him echoed down the hall like thunder, making me flinch.
"You didn't happen to see a yellow guy?" I asked, wanting to break some of the tension.
I slammed into a solid wall, a wall which sprouted arms and reached out and slung me behind it. As I peeked around the corner, a loud noise went off and the army-fatigue guy exploded, green gel-like gunk splattered all over the walls and floor.
I took one last glance before I turned to follow.
"Where are we going?" The wall, my savior, was actually a man. He stood a good foot taller than me, making him a little over six feet. And man was he packing - not just muscles, he was loaded with a mini armory, some weapons I didn't recognize.
"Ok. Well yeah. But only sometimes. Sometimes the trouble is already there, so it isn't always technically following me." I tried to explain, at the same time wondering why I was following a complete stranger. Was it because he just saved my life?
Shaking his head he continued on.
"What was that green guy?" I asked.
"What was he doing in that room?" he asked, not answering my question.
"That means he is not alone. We should hurry." His long strides made it difficult to keep up.
"A guy, he is wearing a yellow suit." I started to giggle like a little school girl.
"I asked the green guy if he saw my yellow guy. Do you think he noticed and thought that was ironic?" My giggling turned a bit hysterical.
For almost thirty years, I have wanted to write stories. The desire started after reading the tenth, or maybe thirtieth, romance book. I procrastinated using life as an excuse - children, husband, jobs, the publishing industry.
Then I joined a writers group this year. I joined after speaking to them about Armchair ePublishing and how we help writers get their stories ready for self-publishing. I couldn't resist them. They beckoned me into their world and in I went. Attending the meetings, hanging out with them, reading their stories, all started to rub off and pushed the need to write back up to the surface. No longer buried, it screamed at me to try. Another factor pushing me to start - the ability to self-publish. The fear of rejection, of having to wait for years to find out if you would be published or not, was no longer a deterrent, nor an excuse.
I took a writing class from a local published author, Kathleen Kaska. In class, she had us do a writing exercise. The exercise - write a quirky character's name and something about that character. At first I was stumped. I just sat there like a dead log. Then a name popped into my head and off the pen went. I could no longer control it, words flowed from the ink to the paper. Before I knew it, a character was born. She had friends, family, a boyfriend and a career. What? Where did she come from? I was stunned by the whole experience. Kathleen encouraged me to continue writing about her. I started to, but writer's block hit. Where to go? What to do? HUH?
That's when we started our writing critique group. The encouragement, feedback and constant push forced me to stop procrastinating. Kathleen, our group leader, a retired teacher, has the knack and the skills, to keep us marching forward. The experience - a return to grade school. Memories I thought long faded, surfaced. When we started I dreaded the RED PENCIL. I would laugh when I would see pages filled with RED markings. What I found though, the red marks were actually one of the best parts of the experience. An 'educational' experience, teaching me to do better as the story progressed.
As my writing improved, as well as the story, I started to receive stars next to lines on the paper, then the word 'good' and 'excellent' started showing up on pages, the appearance of the dreaded RED PENCIL less frequent now. And just like in grade school, whenever the teacher gave you a gold star or wrote "GOOD" on your paper, the sense of pride bubbled up and made me want to achieve even more.
To Kathleen Kaska, and Denise Morrow - Thank you! Wishing you gold stars and "GOOD" always.
You can't do it all, so why try. A writer's job is to - WRITE! And to market their writing. So, why try to do it all? Why try to learn to be an editor? Why try to learn how to format for all of the different types of self-publishing venues? Why design your own cover?
That's the problem, especially with new writers, they think they can just figure it out and do it themselves, even if it is just good enough. Traditional publishers use to do all of this for authors - they did the editing, the formatting, the cover, but now it's up to the Indie Authors to do it all, but where and how to start?
For some, the different stages of a book may come easy, for others they struggle and it takes time away from what they need to do - WRITE! Then there are the handful that think - THIS IS GOOD ENOUGH! Instead of writing, authors now spend hours, or days, doing everything the publisher use to do. But at what cost? Time? Money? Poor Quality?
Small businesses learned this lesson a long time ago - DELEGATE! There is a reason small business owners do not do everything. When you try to do it all the business suffers. The products, or the service, becomes sub-standard, the business owner suffers from major burn-out and the customers leave that business with a sour taste in their mouth. But when they DELEGATE, hire others to do what they don't know how to do, or don't have the time to do, the business grows and expands. The owner spends time doing what they love to do and what they were meant to do. Everyone is happy!
Bottom Line - DON'T DO IT ALL. Hire the professionals to do it. What you will have is a finished product/book that you can be proud of. A book that will be enjoyed by your readers. Other small businesses will thrive because you hired them to do what they do best. This will leave you more time to WRITE and to market. This is where your true success will come from.


text:
Start11 continues to solve Windows 11's taskbar issues before Sun Valley 2 arrives
Stardock has updated its Start menu for Windows 11, which brings more options to help manage the Taskbar.
Since the release of Windows 11 in November 2021, reception to the new Start menu has been mixed at best. The centered icons and the fewer features of the Start menu have frustrated some, and while feature updates from Microsoft have refined the Taskbar, users are still wanting more customization.
The recent 1.2 version of Start11 brings the ability to group multiple icons into one on the taskbar, alongside bringing drag and drop to the taskbar from today (March 17), instead of waiting for a future Windows 11 update, most likely Sun Valley 2.
The app is available as a free download for 30 days, after which you can buy a license for $ 4.99 / £5.99 / AU$ 5.99 for your PC.
Analysis: Take note, Microsoft
(Image credit: Stardock)
The impressive aspect of Start11 isn't that you can use features that were removed in Windows 11. Rather, it's how you can customize it to levels that Microsoft wouldn't consider including.
From the color scheme of the Taskbar, to changing the design to better mimic the Start menus of Windows XP and Windows 8, Start11 offers that level of curation that Microsoft seemingly hasn't thought of.
In our review of Windows 11 we noted that it was the first step of a reboot to Windows as a whole. We're already seeing the results of this with Windows Media Player returning, and other apps that are finally seeing a design refresh.
But the Start menu is an iconic feature of Windows, ever since it debuted in Windows 95, so any change was bound to spark some debate between users. However, Start11 looks set to ease those concerns, regardless of what Microsoft may have planned for the Start menu in the future.
Our pick of the best Windows laptops in 2022 so far
11's, arrives, before, Continues, Issues, solve, Start11, taskbar, Valley, Windows


Deborah H. Doolittle, born in Hartford, Connecticut, has lived in lots of different places before finally settling on Jacksonville, North Carolina, as home. She has an MA in Women's Studies and an MFA in Creative Writing and teaches at Coastal Carolina Community College. Two chapbooks, No Crazy Notions and That Echo, won the Mary Belle Campbell and Longleaf Press Poetry Awards, respectively. She shares a house with her husband and their rescued cats, the exact number of them is constantly changing.
could I best trim your symmetry?
and make a gift for Mrs. Blake?
see what I see: Flora's own fauna?
now dare I trim your symmetry!
being slender and infinitely thin.
tree, when he was neither young nor old.
a snow flurry outside his window.
that made him feel neither young nor old.
barely shook him, groaning by his window.
having grown for some time by his window.
the air thick with bitterness and sweat.
heads, hard knobs on mangled sticks.
to the wind like pinwheels, like bubbles.
the trees, others would aim for them.
both roar and bite, a rustic oracle.
the lawn like a thousand suns?
he could not send all these to oblivion.


text:
Home Timeline: The history of Apple since 1976
Timeline: The history of Apple since 1976
(as of July 2020)
This timeline details Apple's history – from the company's founding on April 1, 1976, to Steve Jobs' departure in 1985, his return in 1997, his triumphant product presentations, his death in October 2001, and his continuation at Apple under his successor, Tim Cook.
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, with the help of venture capitalist Armas Clifford "Mike" Markkula found Apple Computer to market the Apple I. Wayne drops out after a few weeks because he doesn't want to take the risk as a family man.
1976: Apple I in the Smithsonian Museum, Photo: Ed Uthman (Creative Commons-Lizenz via Wikipedia)
In May 1976 "Woz" presents the Apple I at the meeting of the Homebrew Computer Club. The computer costs later $666.66. Paul Terell, head of the chain Byte Shop places 50 orders alone. In total, about 200 devices are sold.
In April 1977, Apple launches the Apple II. The Apple II series was an open system, which means that all essential construction details were published. This construction principle was later copied by IBM and marketed as the IBM PC. The Apple II became the first microcomputer to be widely distributed. It cost $1,295 at launch.
Jef Raskin (34) starts at Apple Computer. He is employee number 31.
Jef Raskin (front) and Steve Jobs
A research project for a new low-cost computer is started under the direction of Jef Raskin. This would later become the Macintosh project. Raskin leaves Apple in 1982, even before the Mac was launched, because he would not accept Steve Jobs' meddling.
In June 1979, the Apple II+ is launched for $1,195.
In July 1979, the project for the Apple Lisa is started. The computer was supposed to be ready in March 1981. In fact, it took until January 1983.
Steve Jobs and his team at Apple visit the legendary research institute Xerox PARC, where they see several novel technologies. These include the Xerox Alto, the first personal computer with a graphical user interface, the computer mouse, and object-oriented programming.
Steve Jobs talks about his visit to Xerox PARC.
Specifications for the Apple Lisa are developed. It includes several features that Apple employees have seen at Xerox PARC.
On December 12, 1980, Apple goes public, floating 4.6 million shares of stock at $22 per share. The Apple IPO makes some rich, others mad.
Steve Jobs takes over the Macintosh project.
IBM introduces its PC. Apple "welcomes" IBM to the PC market in an ad.
Apple ad
Steve Wozniak crashes a private plane and partially retires from Apple.
Jef Raskin quits after being pushed out of the Macintosh project by Steve Jobs.
Apple Lisa (1983)
The Apple Lisa hits the market on January 22, 1983 for $9,995. As sales falter, the price drops to $6,995 by the end of the year.
At Apple, the previously competing Lisa and Mac divisions are merged.
In April, Steve Jobs convinced Pepsico president John Sculley to join Apple. "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to take a chance and change the world?" was Jobs' legendary question, which ultimately won Sculley over as Apple CEO.
In order to qualify for the Cannes Advertising Film Festival, Apple had the famous Big Brother commercial for the Mac in December 1983 on TV station KMVT in Twin Apple Lisa (1983) Falls (Idaho). On January 22, 1984, six weeks later, the commercial then aired during a commercial break in SuperBowl XVIII. The ad not only cleared Cannes, but was repeatedly aired by TV stations in the news. The Chiat/Day agency calculated that the "1984" spot generated over five million dollars worth of free publicity.
January 24, 1984: The Mac is launched for $2,495. The Apple Lisa 2 retails for $3,495.
Apple launches the "Test a Mac" promotional program. Prospective customers can take a Mac home from a retailer for 24 hours to try it out, free of charge. Although the promotion was unique and innovative up to that point, the program does not show the desired success. For one thing, too few Macs are initially available. And many customers do not bring the computers back to the stores in perfect condition, incurring significant repair costs.
April 24, 1984: The Apple IIc is introduced. With the different Apple II series, Apple does the main part of its business.
Apple Macintosh (1984)
Sales of the Mac falter because too few applications are available. After a power struggle with then Apple CEO John Sculley, Steve Jobs is relieved of his operational duties. Jobs leaves Apple and founds the computer company NeXT Inc. and uses the proceeds from stock sales to buy Lucas Film's animation division, creating Pixar.
Steve Jobs on the cover of Time Magazine
"As you know, the company's recent reorganization left me with no work to do and no access even to regular management reports. I am but 30 and want still to contribute and achieve."
— Steven P. Jobs in a letter to Mike Markkula
The Apple Lisa is discontinued. Some models are converted and sold as the Mac XL.
Microsoft licenses some of the Mac technologies to develop its Office package for the Mac. At the end of 1985 Microsoft publishes its first Windows version 1.01.
Apple builds the Mac II, the first Mac that does not rely on an all-in-one design. The Mac II can also support color displays. At the same time, Apple launches the Mac SE with the classic all-in-one design. Both machines allow expansion slots to be added to Macs for the first time.
The installed base of Mac users grows to 1 million users.
Ross Perot invests $20 million in NeXT, Inc.
In August 1987, Microsoft releases its first version of Windows, but it is virtually unusable.
The greatly improved Windows 2.03 is released.
Apple sues Microsoft over various similarities between Windows and Mac OS. Microsoft counters the counterclaim and refers to the license agreement from the year 1985. A protracted legal battle ensues, with Apple unable to stop the further development of Windows. Apple is unable to stop the further development of Windows.
Microsoft prevails in court in 1992 and also wins the appeal two years later. In 1995, the US Supreme Court confirms the rejection of the appeal.
Xerox sues Apple over the user interface of the Mac and the Apple Lisa. The suit is dismissed a year later.
Apple Computer is also sued by Apple Corps Ltd, the Beatles' record label, for trademark infringement. In 2006, the Beatles initially lose. In 2010, the adversaries come to an agreement. The agreement stipulates that in the future, California-based Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer Inc.) will own all rights to the "Apple" trademark and the apple logo and will license some usage rights from the Beatles' record company Apple Corps Ltd. in return.
Apple disposes of unsold models of the Lisa in a landfill in Logan, Utah.
Apple introduces the Macintosh Portable. The device weighs about seven kilograms and was initially shipped without a backlight on the screen. As a result, the Portable barely lived up to its name and did not sell well.
Macintosh Portable (1989)
Steve Jobs launches the NeXTstation for 4,995, a year after introducing the NeXTstep OS operating system
Apple draws conclusions from the portable debacle and launches the much lighter and more compact PowerBook 100, the first true Mac notebook.
Apple sets new standards with the subnote family PowerBook Duo. A docking station ensures that several interfaces do not have to be present in the PowerBook Duo itself in order to save weight and space.
Apple and Novell launch the "Star Trek" project, which aims to get the Macintosh operating system running on Intel hardware. A first proof of concept is created. However, the project is abandoned in 1993.
Microsoft launches Windows 3.1 and increasingly competes with Apple.
Michael Spindler
Apple delivers the first Power Macintosh models. These computers no longer contain a 680×0 processor from Motorola, but the more modern PowerPC chips produced by Motorola and IBM.
Apple launches the Apple Newton PDA at the Macworld Expo in Boston in August 1983. The futuristic device proves to be little success in business because important features such as handwriting recognition work only moderately. The Newton flop also undermined Apple CEO John Sculley's position of power.
Doonesbury comic strip on Newton – Source: Computer History Museum
Michael Spindler, who is called "The Diesel" at Apple, replaces Sculley as Apple's chief executive. Sculley remains chairman for now.
The first "DOS-compatible" Mac, the Quadra 610, is introduced. It contains a second motherboard and other components to run DOS and early Windows versions in parallel to the Mac OS. This is followed by a handful of Macs that are also "DOS compatible".
Apple licenses its operating system Mac OS to selected Mac clone manufacturers like Power Computing or Umax, with Apple retaining control over key components of the hardware design used by the licensees.
Code-named "Copland", this is Apple's first attempt to replace its aging operating system.
Betriebssystem Copland
In the operating system version, Mac OS 7.5 Apple introduces the tools Mac Easy Open and PC Exchange. They allow the exchange of floppy disks and files with PCs running DOS or Windows.
Power Computing ships the first Mac clones: Power, PowerWave and PowerCurve.
August 24th, 1995: Microsoft launches Windows 95 with a huge publicity show.
Apple jabs at Microsoft
The PowerBook 1400 becomes the first Mac notebook to ship with an internal optical drive.
Apple freezes development of Copland and begins searching for companies that can provide a technological foundation for the next generation of an operating system. The company Be Inc., which had been founded by former Apple manager Jean-Louis Gassée, is shortlisted. The company had developed the BeOS.
Apple CEO Michael Spindler is replaced by Gil Amelio.
Apple introduces the Power Mac G3. It is the first Mac with the PowerPC G3 processor.
To mark the twentieth anniversary of Apple's founding, the Twentieth Anniversary Mac is released. In an all-in-one design, Apple installs an LCD flat-panel display for desktop Macs for the first time. The anniversary Mac costs a whopping $7,500. For that, customers get a setup through a concierge service. Later, the price of the "Spartacus" drops significantly.
Apple surprisingly decides against BeOS and takes over NeXT in order to use the NeXT operating system OpenStep as a basis for its own new operating system. This deal also brings Steve Jobs back to Apple, initially as a consultant.
Apple announces Rhapsody, the code name for the new Mac OS based on NeXT OpenStep, for developers.
Apple releases Mac OS 8, the name it originally intended to use for the Copland system. Since the clone license agreements are tied to Mac OS 7.x, this move marks the beginning of the end of the Mac clone era.
Gil Amelio resigns as Apple CEO and makes room for Steve Jobs at the top of the company.
Steve Jobs transforms Apple's offerings, saying goodbye to products like the Apple Newton and introducing the iMac as the cornerstone of Apple's product line. It is the first Mac with a USB and SCSI port.
Umax discontinues the last Mac clone, the SuperMac.
Der erste iMac (1997)
The Power Mac G3 Blue & White is introduced. The clever tower design with an easy-open latch, the Mac as easy as upgrade or repair.
The first iBook picks up the colorful design of the iMac and is designed to strengthen Apple's position in the market.
The first iMac (1997) in the education market again.
The Macintosh hardware comes with a multimedia software package: iMovie was first introduced in October 1999, which made it convenient to edit home videos. Later came iDVD for semi-professional DVD productions. With iPhoto, Garage Band and iWeb, the iLife package was then put together: The Mac thus evolved into the "hub" of the digital life.
Timeline – The history of Apple (2000 – 2009)


text:
Q: Is there any way in which a chrome extension can access a local file? I've tried many things to read a local file from an extension's background script. Adding file://* (and even *://*) to the permissions list didn't work because XMLHttpRequest refuses to work with anything but http.
So, is there a way to access local files without resorting to native client or a small proxy server?
edit: Just to be clear, the file I want to access is located outside the extension's directory.


text:
Home News Apple could launch its car in 2024
Apple could launch its car in 2024
'Project Titan' will be equipped with LiDAR technology for a 3D view.
Saurabh Jadhav
Image source: Gizmochina
Apple could start production of its Car by 2024, as reported by Reuters. It will feature new technology with cheaper batteries with a 'mono cell' design that could enhance the vehicle's range. The batteries would enable the vehicle to save more energy in a given space "by eliminating pouches and modules that hold battery materials," the Reuters' source quoted.
The rumors go back to 2015, but the project was reduced in size remarkably the next year. Apple's team put a pin to the car's planning and started focusing on producing software that could be licensed out to car manufacturers. Moreover, some 200 people were laid off from the car team last year.
Known as Project Titan, Apple has advanced enough that it now strives to develop a vehicle for consumers, one of the sources said. Alphabet Inc's Waymo, Apple's rival, has built Robo-taxis that carry customers for a driverless ride-hailing service. A person who worked on Project Titan said, "If there is one company on the planet that has the resources to do that, it's probably Apple. But at the same time, it's not a cellphone."
Trip Miller, a managing partner at Apple investor Gullane Capital Partners, added, "It would seem to me that if Apple develops some advanced operating system or battery technology, it would be best utilized in a partnership with an existing manufacturer under license. As we see with Tesla and the legacy auto companies, having a very complex manufacturing network around the globe doesn't happen overnight."
Two people in the know of the project suggested that pandemic-related obstacles could push the production into 2025. Moreover, the shares of Tesla ended 6.5% lower on Monday after their debut in the S&P 500, whereas Apple shares ended 1.24% higher after the announcement.
I am an ambivert, an avid reader, a movie buff, a tea connoisseur, and a staunch fan of Priyanka Chopra Jonas. I like to give my insights through words, which come naturally to me. They also help me to express the myriads of emotions I go through. When not working, I'm either watching the latest tech videos or flipping through pages.
Facebook has removed verified badge from Apple's official page
Microsoft could ditch Intel chips as their own ARM-based chips design is underway
Apple talks about the its controversial AirPods Max Smart Case design


If you're ever on the lookout for a versatile cake recipe, one that is just as comfortable at afternoon tea as it is following your mom's famous roast beef, then look no further than this lovely ginger-almond number. It is moist and fulfilling, offering a good bit of protein from a healthy dose of almonds and a touch of spicy mystery thanks to the addition of ginger. It's a delightfully rich cake with a tender crumb, one that keeps well for up to four days in an airtight container.
This almond cake is simple to throw together, involving very few dishes almost no elbow grease. The key to its texture is to not overmix the batter once you've added the flour, which will cause the sticky gluten within the wheat to tighten up and become overly dense.
Adapted from David Lebovitz, who adapted it from the Chez Panisse Desserts cookbook.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a deep 9-inch cake pan.
In a small bowl, combine 3/4 cup of the flour along with the baking powder and salt. Stir well and set aside.
Place the almond paste and ginger in a food processor and pulse four or five times. Add sugar, cinnamon, and the remaining 1/4 cup of flour, pulsing until the mixture is a sandy texture.
To the food processor add the butter, almond butter, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Process until the batter is fully combined, with a light, smooth texture.
Add the sour cream and pulse a few times, then add the eggs one at a time, pulsing six or seven times after each one. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the food processor, if necessary. Add half of the flour mixture and pulse four or five times. Add the rest of the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Do not overmix.
Pour the batter into a cake pan and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with sliced almonds and bake for about 1 hour, or until the top is a nice golden brown and feels firm in the center. Slide a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake, then allow the cake to cool in the pan.
Once the cake is cool, remove it from the pan and discard the parchment bottom. Serve sprinkled with more almonds, if you like.


Oh look, cold and flu season has begun! It's the time of year that every mother and teacher dreads. Just as the kids are back in school and daycare (and exposed to all the other kids there), bacteria and viruses explode. Here, strep is already making the rounds, along with a virus that sure looks like strep, but isn't. The remedies, both OTC and otherwise, are coming out of the cupboard: vitamin C, elderberry gummies and tinctures, zinc cough drops, all the oils . . . you name it, someone has it. But one of the best ways to keep the immune system in tip-top shape is the hardest to obtain this time of year. It's the elusive good-night's-sleep.
It's common knowledge that sleep is good for us. Plenty of people experience the phenomenon of feeling something "coming on" that disappears after 10 hours of shut-eye. Small children are exceptional at sleeping off colds (their parents are less good at this). Every one of us moms knows how it feels to care around the clock for sick spouse and kids until, exhausted and sleep-deprived, we come down with a double dose of the crud. Maybe it's the multiple exposures. Maybe it's the sleep debt.
Sleep debt comes in two forms. Short-term sleep debt happens when we usually get enough sleep but go short for a few days. Chronic sleep debt occurs when we lack enough sleep night after night over the long term. Neither one is good for us. In addition to foggy thinking, low performance on testing, and difficulty focusing, sleep deprivation, especially chronic sleep debt, increases our risk for numerous chronic diseases. Chronic sleep debt can contribute to diabetes and heart disease risks, among others. It also affects our mental health. However, even short-term sleep debt can increase our risks of catching the next virus making its way through our community.
Losing sleep doesn't just make up tired and cranky, it actually prevents our immune system from working properly.
Even when we sleep, our immune system doesn't (thankfully). Sleep time is the peak time for the immune system to produce cytokines. Although cytokines have many roles in the body, not all of which are completely understood, we know they help protect the body from infection and disease. Without cytokines, our immune system doesn't function correctly. When we don't get enough sleep, even for a night, our protective cytokine production goes down. Going short on sleep also increases inflammatory markers in the body–and inflammation is the driver for numerous chronic illnesses while leaving us vulnerable to colds and flu.
All of us mommas of littles can sit down and laugh at the irony. Or cry. The same goes for shift workers. Getting more sleep and getting better sleep is not as simple as it sounds. Even those who carefully guard their bedtimes can experience sleep interruptions from family, neighborhood noises, or nighttime wakefulness with no apparent reason. Often, even when we try to choose better sleep, it eludes us.
Avoid caffeine late in the day. Most advice says to avoid any caffeine for 4-6 hours before bed (and that includes dark chocolate.) Many people have built up quite a resistance to caffeine, but even if you think it doesn't affect you, it's a good idea to start stepping it back before bedtime.
Create a quiet, dark sleep environment. Use minimal or no night lights and keep clock lights low or turned to the wall. Some suggest curtailing electronic screens for an hour or two before bed to ensure the most relaxing sleep. If you live in a noisy part of town or building, a white noise machine or soft music may help muffle outside noises. For many years, I slept with earplugs in, because my neighbor on the other side of the wall would fight with her husband then vacuum at 1 am.
Keep dinnertime earlier and don't snack afterwards. A full stomach can make sleeping more difficult. Bonus, not snacking after dinner can be good for the waistline, too.
Think about how you wake up, too. Letting natural light in first thing in the morning helps set your circadian rhythm. So does keeping a set time for waking, even on weekends. Although we are often admonished not to let clocks rule our lives, keeping the same bedtime and rising time from day to day is healthy, so long as we get enough sleep in between.
But what if you've done all these, and they haven't helped? Worse, what if you're in a life situation where some of the typical advice isn't doable? People who work rotating shifts can't keep the habit of sleeping and waking at the same time from day to day. Parents of babies and toddlers will need to nighttime parent (and so will the parents of teens). Sometimes we are woken by outside noises no matter what we try, or our partner snores and keeps us up. It may be necessary to rise before the sun in the winter, and not everyone has the luxury of planning an early dinner.
Some people turn to OTC sleep aids, which can help with occasional sleeplessness. While many are advertised as non-habit forming, meaning they shouldn't affect your ability to sleep without them, humans are creatures of habit. We often find ourselves relying on things because we think we need them, more than because we need them. Other people have turned to naturally occuring sleep aids, like melatonin.
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain. Its production responds to cycles of light and darkness. Darkness signals our pineal gland to produce more melatonin, hence the advice to keep a very dark sleeping area and turn off lights and screens as bedtime approaches. It's also why some devices have bluescreen options that change the light tone to one that is more bedtime-friendly. For people who need a sleep habit reset, supplementing with melatonin can be helpful. A reset might be needed by people suddenly struggling with insomnia, but it's also helpful for all of us when the bi-annual time change occurs, if we are travelling to a different time zone, or if life events have disrupted our sleeping schedule and we can't seem to get it back.
Help melatonin production and sleep quality by keeping your sleep environment dark.
Melatonin can be helpful for shift workers whose sleep schedules don't line up with natural cycles of light and dark. Some people work nights exclusively, others, like my husband, change from days to nights and back again, causing significant sleep disruption, sleep debt, and and depressed immunity. A melatonin supplement can help either of these categories. My husband takes Young Living's ImmunePro supplement, which is intended to support the immune system and also contains melatonin. However, melatonin is best for helping people get to sleep. It doesn't show much efficacy in helping people stay asleep–and for some of us, that's the issue.
Magnesium is a popular supplement for helping sleep. Magnesium seems to help melatonin levels and is an essential mineral. You absorb it through the skin more readily than through the digestive system, so a warm bath with epsom salts works as a relaxing magnesium supplement. Anecdotally, many pregnant women report less nausea and easing of restless leg symptoms when they increase their magnesium.
Sleep is vital for students, parents, and teachers. No one has a great day if they're short on sleep every night. This help ease everyone down and helps keep them settled through the night.
Our society still tends to minimize the importance of sleep. We short ourselves on sleep in favor of entertainment, work, and non-sleep relaxation, but by doing so, we set ourselves up to be less functional, less effective, and sick. The connection between sleep and the immune system should be enough to drive us to our beds, minus a phone, Kindle, or other distraction. For those of use who don't have a choice in our sleep hours or interruptions, we have to do what we can to increase the quality of sleep we do get. The alternative is both short and long-term illness risk.
Previous Post Curly-Top's Birth: Finally Going as Planned!