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Landscape Architecture in the News Highlights (August 16 – 31)
08/30/2016 08/31/2016 J.R. TaylorLeave a comment
Avenida Atlantica, along Rio's Copacabana Beach / The Los Angeles Times, via Burle Marx Landscape Design Studio / Jewish Museum
A Park Steeped in a Poetic Past – Shanghai Daily, 8/23/16
"Suzhou is famous for its classic Chinese gardens, but one doesn't have to leave home to appreciate the tranquility and grandeur of gardens that once attracted and inspired scholars and artists. This series will visit the most famous classic gardens in Shanghai — a panoply of pavilions, ponds, ancient trees, sculptures, flowers and rockeries right on our doorstep."
What's Next for Hermann Park? – The Houston Chronicle, 8/18/16
"The designer of Hermann Park's next 20-year master plan believes dreaming is as important as doing."
More Images Reveal What James Corner's Underline Project Will Look Like – The Architect's Newspaper, 8/19/16
"A pop-up preview of James Corner Field Operations'(JCFO) 'Brickell Backyard' will be unveiled Tuesday next week. The temporary mini-gym and fitness area has been designed and installed by Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation and will provide a six-month sneak preview of what is to come for the Underline project."
How to Build a Better Skatepark – CityLab, 8/19/16
"'If a landscape architect is designing a space like this, they need to take the time and map land that's accessible, but far enough away from residential areas so as to not disturb local neighborhoods,' Saario says."
Christchurch Dilemmas: How to Rebuild the City's Heart – Stuff, 8/22/16
"Even before the earthquakes of 2011, Christchurch's CBD was struggling. But with up to 70 per cent of the buildings in the center of the city scheduled for full or partial demolition, Christchurch has been left with an even larger hole at its center. Christchurch Dilemmas asks, how can the city rebuild its heart?"
When Parks Were Radical – The Atlantic, August issue
"A century and a half ago, city dwellers in search of fresh air and rural pastures visited graveyards. It was a bad arrangement. The processions of tombstones interfered with athletic activity, the gloom with carefree frolicking. Nor did mourners relish having to contend with the crowds of pleasure-seekers. The phenomenon particularly maddened Frederick Law Olmsted."
Brazil's Modern Look: Why Olympic Viewers Should Know the Name Roberto Burle Marx – The Los Angeles Times, 8/31/16
"The great Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, who died in 1994 at 84, has emerged as a mute and minor star, a compelling bit player, of these Summer Games."
Cities, Landscape Architecture, Public Spaces
How Can Louisiana Build Back Smarter?
08/23/2016 08/09/2019 Jared Green2 Comments
Louisiana flooding / Los Angeles Times
The flooding that hit Louisiana last week affected hundreds of thousands of people over 1,000 square miles. The intense storm claimed 13 lives, and some 30,000 needed to be rescued. Over 60,000 homes have been destroyed, and 100,000 have registered for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance so far. According to the agency, the Louisiana flooding was a 500-year flood event, meaning there was just a 0.2 percent chance of this happening this year. However, this is the 8th 500-year flood event since May, 2015, which beg the questions: With climate change, are flood risk estimates now completely unreliable? And if super-storms are the new normal, what can communities do to build back smarter and make themselves more resilient to the next unexpected, disruptive event?
Wes Michaels, ASLA, a partner with Spackman, Mossop and Michaels, a Louisiana-based landscape architecture firm, said: "More rain fell in 4 days in Louisiana than the last 4 years in Los Angeles. A lot of places considered low-risk areas for flooding got a substantial amount of water, so it's not just about people living in low-lying, flood-prone areas. These super-floods are unpredictable; they flood areas many people consider high and dry."
Flooded homes / Yahoo.com
Super-storms, while unpredictable, are becoming more common with global warming. As David Titley, a meteorology professor and the director of the Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk at Penn State University, told Fast Company: "Warm air holds more water vapor than cold air, and we're warming up both the air temperature and we're warming up the oceans. Welcome to the future."
The Washington Post editorial board in part blames FEMA's out-of-date flood maps, "which determine who needs to buy government-sponsored flood insurance," for the extensive damage. These maps "did not assess large portions of the area hit last week to be at high risk." In reality, this means many of those hit by the storm will "not be able to call on an insurance policy." The government only "presses people who live in so-called 100-year flood zones, areas that annually face a 1 percent chance of being flooded, to purchase government-backed flood insurance."
According to Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, only 12 percent of homes in Baton Rouge and only 14 percent in Lafayette had flood insurance. As Elizabeth "Boo" Thomas, FASLA, President and CEO, Center for Planning Excellence in Baton Rouge, noted in an appeal posted to ASLA's LAND, "though the floods affected people of all incomes, early indications show that a majority of victims are working-class or low-income individuals and families." Many of those hit by the flooding couldn't afford flood insurance, which is expensive, or didn't expect they needed it. If a homeowner is insured, FEMA will pay out up to $250,000 in funds to rebuild. Thomas estimates the estimated value of the affected homes is around $5.7 billion.
Area hit by flooding / The New York Times
FEMA only updates its maps each decade or so. But climate change and sprawl, which creates more impervious surfaces prone to flooding, are more rapidly changing the map of flood risk, particularly for coastal areas. Insurance premiums need to be tied to up-to-date flood risk, with higher premiums for higher risk zones.
According to Wired, communities now need "predictive flood maps: projections of flood risk based on modeling. Right now, pretty much all flood insurance comes from FEMA, which, again, updates its maps infrequently and also allows residents to comment and push back on the boundaries, effectively letting them determine their own flood risk. Insurance companies, which might have the capital to invest in models that incorporate climate change, have largely stayed out of the business since the 1920s—partly because it's too risky, partly because government-subsidized rates are too low for private companies to compete with."
But some firms, like Risk Management Solutions, are now developing their own flood risk modelling tools, because real-time modelling "could lead to better estimates of risk in certain places, which would allow companies to price policies accordingly and residents to really understand how risky their locations are. And as FEMA enacts some much-needed reforms (like phasing out government subsidies, for one), it may become easier for insurance companies to offer up flood policies, too." Expanding the areas of people who are encouraged to buy into flood insurance could also help. Wired writes "if the insurance pool included people from 500-year floodplains, the risk would spread out more thinly," reducing rates.
Beyond making the flood risk insurance system more responsive to a rapidly-changing climate, communities at higher risk of floods also need to rethink the status quo. Thomas believes that "smart, community-driven planning will play a lead role in rebuilding communities designed to thrive against a changing environmental context."
And Michaels called for that planning effort to include a deeper analysis of the implications of car-based patterns of development. "As landscape architects, we need to be more involved in the design of infrastructure. Some of the unpredictability in flooding patterns comes from the storm itself, but some of it comes from how we design our interstates, roads, dams, bridges, canals and their related drainage systems. We need to think about how infrastructure fits into the larger landscape systems. Roads in particular, being long, linear systems, can drastically change how high intensity flood waters move across the landscape. There is an image in the news of a highway median wall backing up water on one side of the interstate near Walker, Louisiana. This wall may or may not have not caused flooding in other adjacent areas, but it certainly altered the flow of the water. These large infrastructural systems are pushing water around in ways that make the flooding less predictable, which makes planning for disasters more difficult. Our infrastructure needs to be designed to be porous to the flow of water (and species) across the landscape, and adaptable to the landscape at a much larger scale."
Flooded highway in Louisiana / Atmosphere Aerial
Flood damage in Denham Springs / Patrick Dennis/The Advocate, via Associated Press
He added that landscapes in high flood risk areas also need to be made more resilient: "Landscape architects should be leading the call to design our landscapes to be resilient to flood and disaster. The amount of energy, resources, and effort that will go into 're-landscaping' Baton Rouge is staggering. Not to mention the carbon footprint of all the dying vegetation that must be cleaned up. We can no longer afford to see these disasters as outlying events, and go back to business as usual after the flood waters recede. We need to design landscapes that can be cleaned up with minimal effort after flooding and will adapt to changing soil and climactic conditions over the coming decades. We need to plant resilient perennials that can be chopped to the ground and come back to life. We need to plant trees that can resist flooding, and use soil technologies that allow trees to be healthy in the first place so they can survive stress."
Michaels concluded: "I don't think we can design systems that will prevent flooding in a 1,000 year storm. But we can think about the larger implications of our systems and how they will function in super storms at the landscape scale. And we can be smarter about how we design our landscapes and cities, so we can recover from these events more quickly and with less use of limited resources."
To help with flood relief, donate to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.
Climate Change, Environment, Green Infrastructure, Resilience, Smart Growth
How the National Park Service Should Evolve
San Gabriel Mountains National Monument / Conservation Alliance
As the National Park Service (NPS) celebrates its centennial, it's time to look ahead and think about how America's national parks should evolve over the next 100 years. A new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) argues that the NPS will need to become far more inclusive to meet the needs of the mostly urban, majority-minority country we'll have by 2043. The NPS will also need to identify areas for conservation amid the rapidly-sprawling cities of Western states before it's too late. Already many poorer Latino and African American communities out west have been under-represented among national parks and have none nearby to enjoy. The key message of the report: put national parks closer to diverse, urban populations, and then further remove barriers preventing these populations from enjoying these places.
A recent poll conducted for CAP found that "77 percent of Americans believe the United States benefits a great deal or a fair amount from national parks. Furthermore, 55 percent of voters believe they personally benefit a great deal or a fair amount from the country's parks and public lands." Research from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, confirms the enormous value of the parks: they are estimated to be worth some $92 billion to the American people.
But the reality is national parks benefit some more than others. The National Park Service is still dealing with the legacy of Jim Crow-era laws that enforced segregation in many parks. "In some cases, these laws made parks entirely off limits to African Americans." While everyone today, by law, has equal access to national parks, "the majority of visitors remain white, aging, and fairly affluent." And, as has been noted, 80 percent of NPS employees are white.
CAP's polling found that 55 percent of all respondents to their survey had visited a national park, monument, or other area in the past three years. But if results are broken out by race, it looks a bit different: 59 percent of whites have visited, while 47 percent of Hispanic respondents, and only 32 percent of African Americans said the same thing. And NPS's own 2009 survey apparently showed similar disparities: 78 percent of park visitors were white, while only 9 percent were Hispanic, and 7 percent, African American.
The report also finds there are differences in visitation among different income groups. "Only 39 percent of Americans with incomes below $40,000 reported visiting the National Park system in the last three years." In comparison: 59 percent of those who made between $40,000 and $75,000 visited, as well as 66 percent of those who made more than $75,000.
While the NPS is now designating more places diverse populations want to go to, there is still more to do. Only 112 of the 460 designated units of the NPS, or 24.3 percent, have a focus on diverse groups. This is not thinking ahead to meet the needs of a mostly-minority country.
Recent steps — like creating the Stonewall Inn National Monument in New York City, which preserves the site of the Stonewall riots that started the LGBT rights movement, and the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, which honors an important Latino civil rights activist — are steps in the right direction, but the report argues more of these protected places need to be created. This is because "parks aimed at preserving traditionally underrepresented histories and stories in fact attract higher visitation rates than the national average from groups that they aim to honor." For example, some 37 percent of visitors to the Nicodemus National Historic Site, a park that preserves a western town established by African Americans, are themselves African American, in comparison with around 9 percent of visitors, on average, for other parks.
The report also makes the case for preserving natural area in the West, where development "disproportionately affects communities of color and low-income communities." Poorer and minority-heavy communities are typically more developed than average, which means these groups grow up in areas with fewer natural resources — and national parks and monuments.
The report argues these communities need both more small neighborhood parks and more preserved large natural areas. "Congress, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the president should create and enhance public lands in accessible places — so-called frontcountry recreation areas. Frontcountry areas offer close-to-home natural settings and outdoor experiences, which allow people to experience nature without needing to travel to a far-off destination. Emphasis should be placed on accessible frontcountry parks near communities of color, low-income communities, and urban areas."
A prime example of what NPS needs more of: the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, which President Obama designated in 2014 and is just a 90-minute drive for the 15 million-strong, diverse, urban population of Los Angeles.
Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture, Policy and Regulation, Public Spaces
15 of the Best Instagram Accounts for Landscape Architects
08/22/2016 08/31/2016 Aaron King1 Comment
📸 by @jcourtial | tag a friend | See original post for more details. #drone #aerial #dji #drones #quadcopter #aerialphotography #djiphantom #aerialview #djiglobal #dronestagram #droneoftheday #phantom3 #dronelife #droneporn #aerialphoto #djicreator #aerialvideo #aerialcinematography #dronevideos #dronesdaily #djiphantom3 #aerialfilming #dronesetc #dronephotography #aerialvideography #dronefootage #instadrone #inspire1 #djiuk @djiglobal
A post shared by Aerial Aesthetics (@aerial_aesthetics) on Jul 22, 2016 at 10:39am PDT
Instagram is a great way to get inspired, but there are over 500 million active accounts, so who should you follow? For landscape architects, fresh ideas can be found from following other landscape architects, but also those outside the field: artists, technologists, illustrators, and designers. Here are a few of my favorite Instagram accounts, which offer unique imagery and perspectives.
Please use the comments section to let us know other Instagram accounts you enjoy.
Aerial Aesthetics
Drone photographers (see above) are just starting to test the medium. Aerial Aesthetics provides a steady stream of some of the best images this technology has to offer.
Beeple
EASY LIFE #c4d #cinema4d #3d #gold
A post shared by beeple (@beeple_crap) on Feb 24, 2016 at 7:24pm PST
The worst thing you can say about Beeple, AKA Mike Winkleman is that some of his work is derivative. But that's inevitable when you've created a new piece of art everyday for the last 3,400 days and counting. Beeple's "every days" have inspired many. Some of his recent work shows a fascination with vast, arid landscapes.
Curiosity Rover
This image of Mount Sharp was taken in the "Kimberly" area back in 2014. It has recently been determined by Mars Science Laboratory #MSL project scientists that billions of years ago Mars was capable of storing water in lakes for extended time periods. This image was color balanced so the rocks and sky would look almost as if they were on Earth.
A post shared by Curiosity Rover (@marscuriosity) on Oct 11, 2015 at 8:20pm PDT
The best Instagram account to follow for photos of the gorgeous Martian landscape is NASA's, whose Curiosity Rover is currently exploring the base of Mt. Sharp, an 18,000 foot peak rising up out of a 96 mile-wide crater.
Like a Hot #InfraMunk Oven 🌈😎🌈
A post shared by Bradley G Munkowitz (@gmunk) on Aug 18, 2016 at 3:57am PDT
Bradley Munkowitz, AKA Gmunk, is a boundary-pushing digital artist, videographer, and photographer. His current series of infrared landscape photos is breathtaking, and he also has a great eye for patterns, textures, and materials.
Inhabitat Design
New York could soon have its own hanging #gardens. The New York State #Pavilion was recently the center of attention for a competition to revive its grandeur from the days of the World's Fair. Architects and designers submitted hundreds of ideas to restore the landmark's standing and function in a modern world. The winning "Hanging Gardens" #design of a suspended greenhouse blew judges away with its plan to repurpose materials from the pavilion and feature plants and greenery native to the Northeast region of the country. #newyorkcity
A post shared by Inhabitat (@inhabitatdesign) on Aug 18, 2016 at 8:46am PDT
This account offers eco-architecture renderings and interior design photos, with some great landscape design mixed in.
A good compilation of images of modern and classic landscape design.
Master Landscapers Association
Sydney Park Reuse Project Wins Top Design Award | @cityofsydney largest environmental projects to date, Sydney Park Water Re-Use Project, has received the annual Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) Design Award, adding to its accolades since its official opening by the Lord Mayor in July 2015. The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences museum showcases excellence and innovation in technology, engineering, design and science. Since 1992, the MAAS Design Award recognises the important role for design in harnessing the challenges of science and technology – the winner selected from all categories of the annual Good Design Awards. The Sydney Park Water Re-Use Project is an intersection of design, art, science and ecology, an outcome achieved by the collaboration landscape architects Turf Design Studio and Environmental Partnership (TDEP), Alluvium (water and environment), Dragonfly Environmental (ecology) Turpin + Crawford Studio (public art) and LNA Member @designlandscapes (landscape construction and storm water harvesting) source credits The Urban Developer @theurbandeveloper #sydney #urbandesign #environmental #sustainability #rainwaterharvesting #reuseproject #landscapedesign #parks #communityparks #landscapearchitecture #gabionwalls #lnamember #awardwinning #turfdesignstudio #tdep
A post shared by The Landscape Association (@the_landscape_association) on Jun 15, 2016 at 12:43am PDT
Master Landscapers Association offers some examples of modern landscape design that most people may not otherwise come across. Plenty of Australian flora and construction process photos, too.
Congratulations Photo: @danyeidphotography — 🎇🔦YOU OWN THE NIGHT🔦🎇 — Location: Dubai 😎🔦 — Selected By: @midnight_photography — #nightphotography _________________________ #np_danyeidphotography #agameoftones #gununkaresi #longexposureoftheday #worldcaptures #amazing_longexpo #ic_longexpo #Hdr_greece #ig_worldclub #earthofficial #earthexperience #hdr_pics #global_hotshotz #hotshotz #world_shotz #big_shotz #special_shots #artofvisuals #main_vision #worldspotz #worldbestshot #worldbestshot_ig #earth_deluxe #beautifuldestinations #jaw_dropping_shots #destination_wow #thegreatoutdoors **********************************
A post shared by nightphotography (@nightphotography) on May 26, 2016 at 9:12am PDT
Nighttime photography is extremely challenging, but offers great creative opportunities. The Night Photography account consolidates the most creative, dramatic nighttime shots into one feed, giving many perspectives on life in the dark.
Oehme van Sweden
#tbt @dcldp getting knee deep in aquatic planting in #Portland. (Photo by @lizzielouie) #landscapearchitecture #lilypond #greenwall #portlandgardens
A post shared by Oehme, van Sweden (@oehmevansweden) on Jun 23, 2016 at 6:48am PDT
Oehme van Sweden is one of the few landscape architecture firms to curate a compelling Instagram account. Vivid photos of plantings, works in progress, life around the office, and a fairly regular output of new content, make this feed stand out.
Katie Orlinsky
Shishmaref wedding. @magnumfoundation @magnumemergencyfund @storytellalaska @akphotoworkshop #Shishmaref #akphotoworkshops #akvillagelife
A post shared by Katie Orlinsky (@katieorlinsky) on Aug 8, 2016 at 8:20pm PDT
Photojournalist Katie Orlinsky captures everyday life, focusing on marginalized communities. Her recent series of photos from Alaska shows how integral the land and sea are to everyday life.
Pangaea Express
Fast sketches #landscapearchitecture #landscapedesign #project #landarch #art #sketch #ARQSKETCH #artschool #artist #archilovers #arquitetura #architecture #architecture #architexture #digital #arquitectura #drawing #modern #ARQUITETAPAGE #architectureporn #marker #plantingdesign #rendering #handmade #render #exterior #gardendesign #garden #designer #design
A post shared by Eric Arneson (@pangeaexpress) on Jun 1, 2016 at 1:40pm PDT
Eric Arneson, who curates Pangaea Express, is a landscape designer who uses Instagram well. A great mix of process photos, drawing details, photos from the field, final renderings, and all with a good dose of experimentation.
Konsta Punkka
~ Good old squirrel hood. Have a good one ✌🏻
A post shared by Konsta Punkka (@kpunkka) on Jul 1, 2016 at 9:57pm PDT
Finnish photographer Konsta Punkka describes himself as the squirrel whisperer. His photos of Scandinavian wildlife are startling because of the close proximity of his subjects. His photos of the landscape are equally striking.
Urban Nation Berlin
It's monster season!! Filthy Lurker knows best …..absolutely stunning every time !! 🙂 Geneva yes indeed :))The invasion has already begun …. #urbanart #urbannation #streetart #graffiti #publicspace #community #publicart #filthylurker #berlin #monster #tentacles #invasion #artattacks #intervention #inflatable #geneva
A post shared by Yasha Young (@yashayoungprojects) on Oct 28, 2015 at 1:10am PDT
There are some great Instagram feeds featuring street art. The Museum for Urban Contemporary Art curates one of the better ones. Edgy, often disturbing murals and installations.
Danielle Villisana
Morning makeup. #wakeup #makeup #window #reflection #women #riseandshine #lima #peru
A post shared by Danielle Villasana (@davillasana) on Oct 26, 2015 at 8:39am PDT
Another photojournalist, Danielle Villisana, offers snapshots of life from global cities.
Tyson Wheatley
A post shared by tyson wheatley (@twheat) on Jun 25, 2016 at 10:53pm PDT
There are plenty of great professional photographers on Instagram. Tyson Wheatley's account stands out for his incredible compositional skills and use of light.
Also, be sure to check out American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)'s account, too.
Check out the #ArtDirectorsCut from the February issue of @landarchmag! Designed by Michael Vergason Landscape Architects Photo credit: Brian Luenser Photography
A post shared by National ASLA (@nationalasla) on Feb 11, 2016 at 7:06am PST
Art, Landscape Architecture
The End of Automobile Dependence
Proposed streetcar for Downtown Brooklyn / Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector
"Cities have been demanding reduced car dependence," said Peter Newman, professor of sustainability at Curtin University and elder statesman of sustainable transportation, at a talk in Washington, D.C. As a result, 2015 saw a 3 percent decline in greenhouse gas emissions globally. And yet Newman's indicators show global wealth rising.
Newman called this decoupling of wealth and fossil fuels, which is the crux of his new book, The End of Automobile Dependence: How Cities are Moving Beyond Car-Based Planning, co-authored with Jeffrey Kenworthy, extraordinary.
"All the economists and transport planning modelers still think that if you get wealthier, you will drive more." According to Newman's data, this is not necessarily true. "We are driving less and still getting wealthier." The book traces the decline of auto-dependence in global cities.
There are four drivers of this momentous change, according to Newman: increased urban density, the transition to the knowledge economy, generational change, and the relative convenience of public transportation.
"Since 1999, cities are becoming denser," Newman said. "The young and the wealthy want to see people face to face. And density of jobs increases productivity."
According to Newman, car use dropped 23 percent from 2001 to 2009 among 16 to 34 year olds. People in their 40s and 50s are driving less, people in their 20s and 30s less still. But those in their 60s or older are still reluctant to relinquish their steering wheels, according to Newman's data.
With regards to the convenience of public transportation, Newman stated, "time dominates transport." Last decade, as people were limiting car use, public transit use increased by 100 percent, biking 122 percent, and walking a respectable 37 percent.
Newman's data elicited several audible gasps during the presentation, one of which was heard when he demonstrated how 240 people could commute in either 1 train, 3 buses, or 177 cars. "Traffic is slowing down because of how many cars there are, and rail is getting fast," Newman said. "The demand now is for walking and transit fabric." To further emphasize the decoupling of wealth and car use, Newman showed how the six most walkable cities in the US enjoy a 38 percent higher GDP, on average.
Europe, which never bought into the cult of the car, and Asia, which has only experienced massive economic growth relatively recently, are leading the way on sustainable transportation, Newman said. His book cites 82 Chinese cities and 51 Indian cities that are currently building metro systems.
As for how to fund urban rail, Newman suggested identifying areas ripe for redevelopment, involving the private sector in unlocking that value, then examining what transit numbers might be achieved. He shared how his city of Perth in Australia has done just that.
"The walkable city is a delight," Newman said while answering attendees' questions, but he admitted that successful density is still an elusive goal for many cities."The cities that are doing it right are doing it with biophilic urbanism."
Newman offered Singapore, the island city-state of 5.4 million people, as an example. Roughly 10 percent of the city is devoted to public parks. Additionally, all new buildings must integrate natural habitat into their designs, replacing the potential habitat lost by their footprint. "You may not want to go out walking in a hot, dense city," Newman suggested. "But if that city is a forest, well…"
Cities, Policy and Regulation, Smart Growth, Sustainable Transportation
The Mesmerizing "Liquid Shard" Brings Pershing Square Back to Life
08/16/2016 08/09/2019 Jared Green1 Comment
The moribund Pershing Square Park in downtown Los Angeles briefly came back to life over the past few weeks, thanks to artist Patrick Hearn's monumental and mesmerizing Liquid Shard, which is made of holographic mylar and monofilament and spans some 15,000 square feet. Riding invisible wind currents, the piece undulates along a span 15 feet high to the top of the park's tower, at 150 feet high.
According to Hearn, "the inspiration comes from observing nature and the feeling that we are only aware on a very surface level of what is really going on around us. Unexpected things are revealed in time-lapse or hyper-spectrum photography that fascinate me. Like fractals recurring progressively, we feel the currents of air on our skin but do not see the larger movements."
The video above also shows the incredible capabilities of video-enabled drones. A technology largely unavailable even a few years ago, video-enabled drones now allow artists and designers of all kinds to tell new stories about the places they have created. The value for landscape architects is clear.
As the temporary installation Liquid Shard comes down, Paris-based landscape architecture firm Agence Ter soon start their work redesigning the unloved park. According to The Architect's Newspaper, "the French landscape firm's approach is notable for the 'town square' approach taken to the site, where a large canopy located at the western edge of the park will house cafés and other amenities that open onto a grassy knoll at the center of the park."
Los Angeles city council officials hope the new park will open by 2019.
Art, Landscape Architecture, Public Spaces
Science Lab Protected by Ingenious Wave Landscape
08/16/2016 08/09/2019 Jared GreenLeave a comment
MAX IV laboratory / Snohetta
In Lund, a city in southern Sweden, the MAX IV Laboratory houses a synchrotron, a giant particle accelerator. Unfortunately, scientists there found the facility was buffeted by ground vibrations from a nearby highway. They discovered even the smallest vibrations could throw off their precise studies. Instead of finding a new site, the lab decided to use smart landscape design to create a solution. Working with Fojab Architects, landscape architects with Danish multidisciplinary design firm Snohetta created a 19-hectare park that absorbs vibrations while creating public space, a constructed meadow land, that also captures stormwater.
On their web site, Snohetta writes that ground vibrations are "commonly created by wavelengths between 10 to 40 meters in height and follow the surface of the ground." If a landscape is flat, their models showed, vibrations could reach the laboratory. But experiments with different types of wave topography found that certain forms could actually absorb the vibrations.
Snohetta used the software program Grasshopper to model the effects of vibrations, defined at 10 to 40 meters at an amplitude of 4.5 meters, on their site. The primary lab building had to be a circle. But they decided to twist and raise it, creating a "dynamic shape based on the Möbius strip," which is a surface with one side and one boundary. And then they went further, creating a sort of Möbius volume. Landscape wave forms radiate out in a pattern that breaks up incoming vibrations. According to Snohetta, "the more chaotic combinations of waves, the better."
Model / Snohetta
To build this intricate landscape, Snohetta uploaded the 3D model directly into to the GPS systems guiding the bulldozers who carved the shapes. For the firm, it was like "having a giant 3D printer producing the project on a 1:1 scale."
MAX IV laboratory / © Mikal Schlosser
On top of blocking the vibrations, the designers also brought a sustainable design approach — soil was cut on site and then filled in elsewhere to create the waves. They argue this will help ensure the site can return to agricultural use if the synchrotron is no longer used.
The waves also help channel stormwater into ponds designed to accommodate both 1-year and 100-year rain events.
And throughout the park, there are native meadow grasses, planted from seeds gathered at a nearby nature reserve. The lab will bring in sheep to help manage the grasses.
Even though the location looks fairly suburban, there is also ample bike parking for lab employees and visitors.
See larger images at DesignBoom.
Green Infrastructure, Landscape Architecture, Public Spaces, Technology
Landscape Architecture in the News Highlights (August 1–15)
Rail Deck Park / City of Toronto, via The Architect's Newspaper
Working to Make Public Space for Everyone in Baltimore – The Baltimore Sun, 8/1/16
"For writer D. Watkins, it's a sense of exclusion from what he called the 'new' Baltimore. For student activist Diamond Sampson, it's a feeling of being unwelcome around the Inner Harbor."
Will Replacing Thirsty Lawns with Drought-Tolerant Plants Make L.A. Hotter? – The Los Angeles Times, 8/2/16
"Last summer, a revolution occurred in Los Angeles landscaping: Across the city, tens of thousands of homeowners tore up their water-thirsty lawns and replaced them with gravel, turf, decomposed granite and a wide range of drought-tolerant plants at a rate never seen before."
How Noted Landscape Architect Jim Burnett Counters Dallas' Concrete Jungle – The Dallas Morning News, 8/2/16
"The 55-year-old is best known worldwide as the landscape architect of Klyde Warren Park. But he's also created visions of greenery throughout Uptown and the Arts District and was part of the team that produced the outdoor master plan for Parkland Memorial Hospital."
Why Landscape Architects Are the Urban Designers of Tomorrow – Curbed, 8/4/16
"For landscape architects, the ground has shifted in serious ways over the last few decades. Earlier this summer in Philadelphia, at a mid-June summit organized by the Landscape Architecture Foundation, members of the profession looked back at the changes the last half-century has brought to their profession."
City of Toronto to Build 21-Acre Park Over Downtown Railroad Tracks – The Architect's Newspaper, 8/8/16
"Toronto Mayor John Tory has announced plans to protect 21 acres of downtown real estate for the future Rail Deck Park."
Ben Bradlee's Mausoleum Sets Off a Gossip-Laden Squabble – The New York Times, 8/11/16
"It lacked the pageantry of the funeral nearly a year before, but when the body of Benjamin C. Bradlee, the longtime editor of The Washington Post, was re-interred in a Georgetown cemetery here last October, it had an air of permanence."
Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture, Public Spaces, Residential Design
Brazilians Use Olympics to Deliver Climate Message
2016 Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony / NBC
The estimated 3.3 billion people who watched the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, saw a beautiful and compelling case for fighting climate change. Brazil, which is to critical to global efforts, given its stewardship of the Amazon rainforest, decided to use its big moment on the stage to make the message clear: climate change will impact us all, and we must all do something, even if it's simply planting a tree.
In the beginning of the ceremony, the Amazon was depicted as the great web of life, a multi-layered network, which is really how a forest functions, according to biomimicry pioneer Janine Benyus (see image at top). We then see dancers from the indigenous tribes of Brazil symbolically managing the forest resources in sustainable ways.
But later, we see the forest come apart, as its colonized by the Portuguese, as their ships slice through the sea of greenery. In the ceremony, dancers dramatized the conflict between the native forest dwellers and the Portuguese, between the stewards of ecology and the forces of extraction and trade.
Rio 2016 Olympics Opening Ceremony / Olympics
We then see dancers representing the millions of slaves brought over from Africa. Then we see how the forest was further broken down, turned into farms, and, finally, urbanized.
As the ceremony progressed, dancers moved off stage and the Brazilian Olympics organizers shifted the focus to educating the world about what the climate models predict, displaying this data showing global temperature increase.
https://media.giphy.com/media/l396Wy7TWwDBsnPJC/giphy.mp4
As the narrator states — "the heat is melting the ice cap; it's disappearing very quickly — an animation displays, showing what a melting North Pole will mean for the world's waterfront cities, including Amsterdam, Dubai, Lagos, Shanghai, Miami, and, finally, the home of the 2016 Olympics.
Great to see climate change science shown in #OpeningCeremony for #Rio2016 Thank you. pic.twitter.com/Qtgs0U99kQ
— Leilani Münter (@LeilaniMunter) August 6, 2016
After the doom and gloom, a child then walks through to the middle of the stage and sits down next to a sapling, which itself glows, spreading the web of life once again. The answer to climate change, according to the Brazilians, is to protect and renew our forests.
Rio 2016 Olympics Opening Ceremony / Olympics.org
The ceremony is a reminder that much of the world is very worried about climate change and has moved way beyond any controversies around the science. According to the Pew Research Center, majorities in 40 leading countries say climate change is a "serious concern," and 54 percent say it's a "very serious concern."
While the ceremony may help educate the world, its message may also be directed at some key local audiences. Environmental officials in Brazil have been fighting a tough battle against cattle ranchers, loggers, and farmers who continue to engage in illegal burning and clearing of the rainforest and must have powerful political backers who protect and enable this. And the message may also be aimed at international donors who can bolster Brazil's fight to save the forest; it's a plea to ask them to do more to help this developing country.
Deforestation in the Amazon just hit the highest levels in 8 years, with 240,000 acres destroyed in June 2016 alone. About 19 percent of the total Amazon rainforest is gone. It's clearly time to geo-engineer the planet in a sustainable way: let's regrow the lost forest and then plant billions more trees.
Climate Change, Forests
New ASLA Headquarters Will Boost Well-Being
08/10/2016 08/12/2016 Aaron KingLeave a comment
ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture / Gensler
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is renovating its outdated headquarters in Chinatown, Washington, D.C. to become a showcase not only for sustainable building and landscape design, but also healthy employee environments. ASLA is pursuing certification through the International WELL Building Institute's WELL standard. In a session organized by the Institute and DC chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), representatives from WELL, ASLA, and ASLA's architects at Gensler explained why they are taking this approach and what well-being will look like in the new headquarters.
WELL, according to its website, is a "performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and well-being, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind."
WELL senior associate Sarah Welton said the standard focuses on the people occupying the building, as opposed to the building itself. The major difference between WELL and LEED is that much of the onus for meeting WELL requirements falls on owner policies.
Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA, executive vice president and CEO of ASLA, argued that "wellness is a huge part of our culture at ASLA. And we, as a profession, have a strong ethic of leading by example. We want the building to show the values of the profession."
She cited other practical reasons for going after WELL Silver certification: It promises to improve productivity and well-being by optimizing light and sound quality; it will help inscribe into the office culture a notion of work-life balance; and it helps make the space more visually inviting.
Also on hand was Joseph Siewers, project manager for Gensler, to discuss how ASLA's vision for the space was implemented. ASLA's old office space was "compact and dark," Siewers noted. One major step Gensler took was to add a skylight to the existing green roof, which will allow light to filter from the roof to the ground floor.
One of the most forward-thinking aspects of WELL is its emphasis on lighting. Gensler sustainability specialist Brynn Kurtzman, who oversaw Gensler's integration of WELL design, described how the lighting in ASLA's new headquarters will sync up with staff's natural circadian rhythm. "WELL encourages cool blue lighting to maximize productivity," Kurtzman said. Blue orbs will illuminate work spaces from overhead at a 45-degree angle, matching the natural progression of the morning sun. The light will work much like camping does to normalize staff members' circadian rhythms.
According to Welton, WELL standards also sometimes raises eyebrows when people learn of its influence on office diet."WELL tries not to ban food, just carcinogens." The standard also asks employers to limit the amount of sugar and hydrogenated fats per serving that offices may provide through catering or the cafeteria.
Welton, who has a background in public health, added that as a WELL ambassador, "I don't want to change your office habit. I want to change your life. It's not to restrict, it's to open your eyes."
Somerville said WELL's food guidelines had definitely started a conversation among staff about the direction of office culture. "It has made people more aware of what they're eating. We now have the comfort of knowing that what we're serving fits healthy guidelines."
Learn how to donate and help build ASLA's new Center for Landscape Architecture.
Green Buildings, Green Roofs, Sustainable Design


Japanese police have arrested a man trying to take genetic material that could have been used to breed Japan's renowned Wagyu cattle to China, causing consternation in an industry that guards its reputation jealously.
Police in Osaka searched the home of the man, who has not been named but is understood to be in his 60s, after he attempted to export the fertilised eggs and sperm of Wagyu cattle to China last year. The man took a ferry from Osaka to Shanghai in July with a metal container filled with liquid nitrogen and hundreds of samples of frozen eggs and sperm, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.
He was stopped by Chinese customs, however, as he had not obtained a quarantine inspection certificate before leaving Japan. After returning to Osaka, the man applied for appropriate paperwork from Japanese customs officials, prompting an investigation.
Authorities subsequently charged the man with violating the Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control Law, which carries a maximum penalty of up to three years in prison or a fine of 1 million yen (US$9,000). The man told investigators he did not know it was illegal to take genetic material abroad and he had been asked by "an acquaintance" to deliver the frozen samples to a Chinese who would meet him in Shanghai.
An official of the agriculture ministry in Tokyo told the South China Morning Post it was the first time the law had been applied to an attempt to illegally take genetic materials out of the country.
"The breeds of cattle that are recognised as Wagyu are unique to Japan and we need to protect our genetic resources and keep them inside Japan," said the official, who declined to be named.
"The worry is that if these materials are used to breed cattle in China, then that country will develop a Wagyu industry and they can sell their products anywhere in the world, bearing the Wagyu name.
Demand for Wagyu, known as the "Rolls-Royce of beef", is surging and Japanese producers have reported a sharp rise in exports, which have helped to lift prices to record highs.
Japan's beef exports surpassed 20 billion yen in 2018, nearly double the 2015 figure, and the government has set an ambitious target of 25 billion yen in exports in 2020 as an important component of the drive to record 1 trillion yen in agriculture, fishery and food exports.
One of the biggest export markets for Japanese beef is Hong Kong, where restaurants prefer beef that has a reputation for melting in the mouth. Key to the perfect steak, aficionados say, is the perfect marbling – the intramuscular fat that gives Wagyu its silky texture and high price tag. A small steak in an average teppanyaki restaurant in Japan will typically cost 8,000 yen but prices rise dramatically for anything more than a basic set.
Will Hong Kong buy US$102 wagyu beef sandwich, one of world's priciest?
Japanese Wagyu comes from one of four unique domestic breeds: Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Shorthorn and Japanese Polled. Calves are registered by breed and about 400,000 Japanese Black – the commonest of the four breeds – are born every year. Cattle are raised for 900 days – fully 10 months longer than most beef cattle.
In the 1970s, before Japanese beef farmers realised the potential of their herds, a limited number of Wagyu cattle were sold to Australia and the US, where ranchers have cross-bred them with local cattle to produce a variant, although a ban was introduced on exports in 1991 to protect the domestic industry.
"We have to protect our industry and we cannot afford to export the genetic material that would allow other countries to produce Wagyu," said Kazuhiro Tanaka, director of the Livestock Division of Kagoshima Prefecture, which has a large Wagyu sector.


Finally, a Linux distribution gets proprietary drivers right.
For those of you that aren't fully versed on GPLv2 vs GPLv3 wars, and all the other open source wars… the Linux community has been having trouble with graphics drivers and various other device drivers. Specifically, they refuse to include drivers made by NVIDIA and ATI, due to their status as closed-source drivers.
Both the driver makers say that they need to keep these drivers proprietary, because they contain code that could be exploited by the competition (in competitor's products). So, until now, Linux has been devoid of real 3D hardware acceleration.
Ubuntu 8.04 ends that. The first time software updates are checked, a user is prompted with an offer to "Install Proprietary Device Drivers" which then installs the drivers as part of a system software update. Was that so hard?
Now if we could just start work on that packaging problem. Well, maybe not.
DId you miss Gutsy. They offered this feature in the 7.10 release and were starting to implement into 7.04.
I used both… the notification never appeared on any of my systems. Granted, I was virtualizing it much more (painless dual boot removed that need), but even when native I never saw it.
I'm sure this has been in-the-works for awhile, but this is the first version it actually worked for me.
Yeah, I know exactly the bubble you're talking about. Never saw it in native on 7.10.
Once you enable the restricted-license drivers, they will update/manage themselves inside of Update Manager… that's why I was referencing the update part.


The following are templates that can be used, in whole or in part, to provide licensees with a guide to what might be included in a personal statement of principles. In whatever approach you take in developing your individual statement of principles, ensure that it reflects the obligations in the recommendation.
The templates below are organized from simple to more complex and reflect a range of types of ideas that you might adopt in your individual statement of principles.
Note: the templates have been updated to include principles of reconciliation. Additional resources on reconciliation have been added to the Resource page.
3-1. Require every licensee to adopt and to abide by a statement of principles acknowledging their obligation to promote equality, diversity and inclusion generally, and in their behaviour towards colleagues, employees, clients and the public.
*Section 2.03, Paralegal Rules of Conduct; ss. 6.3 and 6.3.1, Rules of Professional Conduct.
I acknowledge that the right to be free from discrimination and harassment applies to everyone at my legal workplace: clients, partners, associates, students, paralegals, legal assistants or other employees.


Early on in Irrational Man, Joaquin Phoenix cynically declares that there is a significant difference between the worlds discussed by philosophers and the world that those philosophers actually live in. This sentiment provides the driving force behind the latest effort from renowned director, Woody Allen; which follows Phoenix's jaded philosophy lecturer, Abe Lucas as he attempts to find satisfaction in life by taking the life of a complete stranger.
Throughout the film, Abe seeks justification for the murderous actions he is committing through the works of Kant, Kierkegaard et al, despite his awareness that this justification has very little real world standing, hence the irrationality suggested by the title. The film clearly attempts to satirize the practicality of academic thinking by branding it inherently irrational. It's a shame then that despite these efforts, Irrational Man remains incredibly, well, rational; at least within the mind of the director.
Irrational Man screams Woody Allen and is filled to the brim with his usual tropes. Black and white title sequence, check. Casual Jazz soundtrack, check. Romantic sub-plot in which a guy going through a mid-life crisis becomes the lust object of a bright-eyed female student, check. Allen is clearly comfortable with a particular style, and as such makes no attempt to do anything new (that would be far too irrational). Whilst not necessarily a bad thing, this means the film feels very safe and thus is something of a let-down, especially considering the film so heavily concerns itself with irrational side of man.
Despite rehashing Allen's favourite tropes and failing to reach the satirical levels to which it aspires, Irrational Man remains a relatively interesting thriller; that is when it's being one, which isn't for at least the first forty minutes. When it does begin to embrace its genre, Phoenix comes alive, galvanised in the same way is character does as he breaks his downward slump. Until then, he just lulls around providing the 'verbal masturbation' his character claims that philosophy is, occasionally swigging from a hip-flask.
This means that for a long time, there is very little to really like, especially as a result of an awkward script, resulting in somewhat lack-lustre performances from the supporting cast. That being said, the film does manage to stick the landing, and provides a rather electrifying finale. Sadly the other eighty minutes doesn't quite build up in the same way one would hope.


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Game of Games is an Australian TV game show hosted by Grant Denyer based on the American game show Ellen's Game of Games. It premiered on Network Ten on Sunday, 7 October 2018 at 7:30pm and on 24 November 2018 Channel Ten changed its timeslot to 7:00pm every Saturday. The first season concluded on 15 December 2018.

Series overview

Format
Game of Games has a similar format to its US counterpart, Ellen's Game of Games. The show consists of a number of preliminary games, a game of 'Know or Go' (with the four preliminary game winners competing in it) and then 'Hot Hands' (with the winner of 'Know or Go' competing for $50,000). In some episodes, 'Blindfolded Musical Chairs' acts as an extra semifinal round before 'Know or Go'. If 'Blindfolded Musical Chairs' is played, there are 5 preliminary rounds so that there are 5 players, so that the last player, who doesn't get a seat, is eliminated from playing in 'Know or Go'.

Every show begins with a short intro showing the games that would be played in the episode and the $50,000 prize available. It then introduces Grant Denyer by saying "It's game time!".

Preliminary games
 Aw Snap!: Contestants are joined by a bungee cord. The first contestant to move five apples into a basket using only their teeth advances.
 Danger Word: Two teams of two members each play this game. Similar to the game show Password, one person on each team is shown a "winning word" and must give clues to help their partner guess it. The two teams alternate giving clues; a correct guess earns a strike for the opposing team, whose guesser is then sprayed in the face with the contents of one of three cannons. Each round also features a secret "danger word" that is related to the winning word; if a guesser says the danger word, he/she is sprayed and his/her team earns a strike. The first team to earn three strikes is eliminated, and one member of the winning team advances to "Blindfolded Musical Chairs."
 Dizzy Dash: The game starts with Grant reading aloud a trivia question to the contestants. Before contestants can answer, they are spun around in order to disorient them. To answer the question, the contestants must run to a nearby podium and grab the ball on top of it. The first contestant to answer three questions correctly advances to the next round.
 Don't Leave Me Hanging: In this game, three contestants are suspended in the air from harnesses. The contestants take turns to guess answers that fit a given category, such as "How Many Island Countries Can You Name?". A category ends when one contestant gives an incorrect answer, repeats a previous answer, or takes too long to respond; when that happens, the contestant gets a strike. A contestant who gets three strikes is eliminated and launched to the top of the studio. The winner would then advance to "Blindfolded Musical Chairs" or the next round.
 Make It Rain: For this game, two contestants answer trivia questions asked by Grant for turns at pulling down one of several umbrellas. One of the umbrellas contains a cash prize of $10,000, in addition to a chance at playing "Blindfolded Musical Chairs." The rest of the umbrellas are filled with water.
 Master Blaster: This game involves three contestants attached to bungee cords. The contestants then compete to solve a jigsaw-style puzzle. The losing contestants are "blasted" into the air and do not proceed to the next round.
 Mr. Big Stuff: Two contestants are strapped in big outfits. Everytime a dance appears on the screen, the big man must impersonate it while the other is guessing. After the original round, the other round gives the teams double points. The winning team chooses a person to move onto the next round.
 One-Eyed Monster: This game uses a set of giant prop monster jaws with removable teeth, one of which will cause the jaws to close and eliminate the contestant who pulls it. The contestants took turns answering questions from Grant which have an answer that's between 0 and 5. Depending on how far away they were from the answer, they would have to pull out that amount teeth (i.e., the distance between their incorrect answer and the correct answer). If they got it right, they didn't have to pull any teeth.
 The Laundry Game: The game involves two teams of two joined together in a giant, coloured 'jumper' and must work together to get five gigantic balls into a 'washing machine'. The teams must watch out for the soap, bubbles and giant, hanging t-shirts. The winning team, who gets all of their balls through the hole in the washing machine, get to choose one contestant to play in the next round, "Blindfolded Musical Chairs" or "Know or Go".
 Tomb of Doom: Two teams of two must race to the top of a giant pyramid to answer a question from Grant, although the steps are slippery & covered in soap and massive boulders are pushed down to stop contestants. The team who reaches the top of the 'pyramid' and pushes the buzzer gets to answer Grant's question. If they answer incorrectly, the turn goes to the other team. At the end of the game, the team with 3 correct answers or the most points moves on to the next round.
 Tuba Toothpaste: Contestants sit at separate banks of 10 buttons that resemble the valves on a tuba. Grant asks a series of trivia questions, one to each contestant in turn. If a contestant answers incorrectly, Grant spins a wheel to determine how many buttons (one, two, or three) they must press. One button triggers a blast of toothpaste into the contestant's face and eliminates them from the game.
 You Bet Your Wife: In this game, two teams of spouses or fiancés compete against each other. One partner from each couple is suspended from the ceiling in a harness. The other two partners do an auction-style bid on how many answers their partners can give in a given category (e.g., "national brands of toothpaste") within the 30-second time frame. When one of the partners on the ground issues a challenge, the other team's suspended partner must give the required number of responses. There is no penalty for incorrect answers. Giving the required number of responses earns that team one point, while the opposing team's suspended partner gets dropped. If the challenged team fails, the corresponding spouse is dropped. The first team to earn three points wins and chooses one member of the pair to advance to the next round.

Semifinal games
Blindfolded Musical Chairs: Five contestants, who won the preliminary games, play this game and are blindfolded. The contestants dance around until the music stops and must find a randomly placed stool to sit on to stay in the game. Grant will press a button to determine where the chairs will appear on the dancefloor. The last contestant to not find a seat is eliminated, and others move on to Know or Go.

Know or Go: The winners of the four preliminary games stand on a row of trap doors, and take turns answering questions. An incorrect answer results in the contestant being eliminated from the game and dropped through the trap door, sliding down a chute that empties below the stage. The last contestant standing advances to the Hot Hands game.

Final games
Hot Hands: The contestant has 30 seconds to identify the faces of ten celebrities that fit a certain category. After identifying a celebrity, the contestant must press a button to move on to the next face. Contestants may pass if they are unsure but will need to wait three seconds until the next face appears. Contestants earn an escalating amount of money based on the number of faces they correctly identify, as shown in the table below. Correctly identifying ten celebrities earns the grand prize of $50,000.

Episodes

Season 1 (2018)

References

Network 10 original programming
2018 Australian television series debuts
2018 Australian television series endings
2010s Australian game shows
English-language television shows
Australian television series based on American television series
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Praise As Angling Is Given The Go Ahead During Lockdown
Published 2:09 PM, Saturday January 09 2021 GMT
Fishermen and women are celebrating after they were given the go ahead to continue angling during the current national lockdown.
The UK government has confirmed that the sport is a permitted form of exercise, though people would still have to adhere to the rules.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that people were to stay at home until at least the middle of February.
It comes as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise sharply across the country, with yesterday (8 January) seeing a record number of new cases (68,053) and deaths (1,325).
John Ellis, national fisheries and angling manager for the Canal and Rivers Trust, told the BBC that he has noticed a huge uptake in angling over recent months, and that it can easily be done under the current restrictions.
He said: "It is certainly one of few things people can do legally, can do locally."
Angling has been classed as a form of exercise. Credit: PA
Adding: "When you are focussing on fishing, it is very hard to think about anything else, it clears the mind of other worries, at least temporarily."
These feelings were backed up by Headway Birmingham & Solihull, a charity that supports people who have suffered brain injuries, which runs fishing sessions for its users.
It said: "It encourages them to be more active and get some fresh air out in the countryside," she said.
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"It also helps their motivation and mental wellbeing, giving them something to look forward to each week, something to talk about and a chance to form friendships with others who enjoy fishing too."
And Spencer Moore, a bailiff for Blackfords Progressive Angling Society, based in South Staffordshire, said it had helped him wind down and relax.
Alcohol Takeaway And Click And Collects Banned In Third Lockdown
"There are people furloughed, sitting in their house or working from home, but at least they can fish and can get out and wind down," he said.
"Being a fisherman, you are on your own on your peg. Someone might be on another peg, but they can be 20 to 30ft away, so you are nowhere near anyone else."
Angling is said to be good for the mind. Credit: PA
Under the current restrictions, people must limit their movements as much as possible, and have been told they are only to leave their home for a limited number of reasons, such as to exercise, to carry out voluntary work, to do the shopping, and for medical reasons.
Mr Johnson said during his address to the nation that if people were able to work from home, it was important they do so.
He also confirmed recently that 1.3 million people in the UKhave so far received their coronavirus vaccine.
However, he announced that data from the Office for National Statistics estimates that as many as one in every 50 people in England could currently have the deadly disease, with some experts claiming it is as many as 1 in 15 in some parts of London.
Mr Johnson also said that his government would be using 'every second' of the lockdown to create an 'invisible shield' around the elderly and vulnerable in society through the vaccination programme, and promised to have everyone in the highest risk categories offered a vaccine by 15 February.
Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: covid, Science, Fish, UK politics, Coronavirus, Animals, Boris Johnson, Politics, Health, Covid-19

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Twitter disables Trump tweet over copyright complaint
Jul 19, 2020 by Camillus, posted in News
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – Twitter disabled a campaign-style video that President Donald Trump retweeted on Saturday (July 18), citing a copyright complaint.
The video, which included music from American rock band Linkin Park, disappeared from the president's Twitter feed late Saturday with the notification: "This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner."
Twitter began challenging Donald Trump's tweets in May and has repeatedly clashed with him since.PHOTO: REUTERS
Twitter removed the video, which Trump had retweeted from White House social media director Dan Scavino, after it received a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice from Machine Shop Entertainment, according to a notice posted on the Lumen Database which collects requests for removal of online materials.
Machine Shop is a management company owned by the rock band Linkin Park, according to its LinkedIn page.
"We respond to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorised representatives," a Twitter representative said in an email statement.
Twitter began challenging Trump's tweets in May and has repeatedly clashed with him since.
The social media company has several times disabled or commented on tweets by the president because of what it said were copyright complaints or violations of a policy against threatening violence.
Twitter removed an image the president tweeted on June 30, which included a picture of Trump, because of a complaint from the New York Times, whose photographer had shot the image.
The company also put a tweet from the president behind a warning label in late May, saying that he had violated its rules against "glorifying violence" when he advocated that Minneapolis authorities be tough in responding to protests over the death of George Floyd.
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Dealing with any kind of real estate comes with a lot of fine print that the current or potential owner will have to navigate. But one particular area that can be overlooked when designing a new home or building or purchasing a new piece of property is making sure that the home or building in question meets local municipal standards. Truthfully, the average real estate buyer may not even be aware of what the local codes state is required for a given piece of property. This is where building code consultants can come to the rescue. Here are 3 situations where it may be a good idea to hire a consultant to inspect a piece of property.
If you own a piece of land and intend to build a new home from the ground up, a building code consultant could be key. The consultant can work with the architect or construction company that you hire to make sure that your entire design stays within the boundaries of local laws and codes. You don't want to finish building your home and then get hit with building code violation that will cost you money on top of the amount it will be to actually fix the problem.
A building code consultant can also be useful to someone looking to acquire new property. If the home or building you are buying is especially old, it may have fallen out of line with local regulations and the current owner might not even be aware. If the building code consultant finds the problem before the sale is closed, you can actually ask the current owner to fix the problem or to take some money off of the asking price to address the issue.
If you own a building where the public can freely come and go, you will of course want to make sure the building is safe and sound not just when you purchase it but for many years to come. A company that specializes in building codes will be able to not just keep you on the right side of the law, they will also likely be able to spot any potential areas that could lead to trouble in the future.
Building code consultants can be used to make sure that your new home or other purchased property stays on the right side of the law. A good consultant will work with your architect to ensure that your new home is built correctly the first time around. A consultant could even potentially save you money when buying a piece of property if the problems are found before the sale is closed. Building consultants can also make sure that a building open to the public remains not just legal but safe for a long time to come.


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Canadian Teams & Leagues
BC Soccer: 24% of Annual Expenditure goes on Accommodations & Meals and Travel!
By CoachRich,
January 28, 2011 in Canadian Teams & Leagues
CoachRich
I could buy a decent house in Vancouver on $1,168,900 this!!!!
posted at www.bcsoccerweb.com
The Association recently published on their website a Statement of Operation for All Divisions For the Eight Months Ending November 30, 2010. This document reveals that 24% ($1,168,900) of their $4.8 million 2010-11 annual expenditure budget is spent on Accommodations & Travels and Meals. This represents approximately $9 per registered player in BC. One has to wonder who is going where, how often and for what reason?
Here's the paperwork as the BCSA site is down.......wonder why
bcsa_2011Jan22_Finance CommitteeDetailedReports.pdf
The financial report is now available off the BC Soccer Web server via the headline "BC Soccer: 24% of Annual Expenditure goes on Accommodation & Meals and Travel"
That is $146,000 per month! Would love to see a breakdown by director and staff member.
kj52
[ATTACH]315[/ATTACH]
As a comparison ASA's 2008 Budget had about 36% of budget for player development ($1.2 mil) which consisted for the most part of travel, meals and accommodation for the various select teams and those traveling with them. It also included equipment, staff expense allocations, etc. About half the funding came from the general membership player fees and a good part of the rest was player funded. Although the totals for the rest of Board travel expenses for other events and meetings aren't totaled up separately, a quick look showed that they weren't particularly large in comparison.
That's why we need some transparency on this from BC Soccer because as it stands it looks very bad.
My first guess was the provincial teams too Karl, but if it's like here in Ontario the kids pay for everything (including the costs of all the OSA staff that go with them) so that wouldn't amount to anything near that.
A lot of people think accounting is forensic but it's actually more of a play set. You could take these costs (meals, accommodations, transportation) and put them under travel, teams, employee benefits, program costs, operating expenses, etc. Published financials are a 10,000 foot view. To find where money is actually spent you need to look at a full set of books.
I'll give the BCSA one thing, they are to be commended for their transparency as a publicly-funded organization. They don't hide everything in broad general categories. That takes a lot of guts and courage.
For example, the CSA breaks down their expenses like this:
2.8 Senior teams
1.4 Youth teams
1.8 Office of the Technical Director
1.6 Technical
0.4 Events
1.9 Competitions
1.6 Admin & Meetings
The OSA is even more vague:
3.3 Programs
2.6 CSA Fees
1.6 Membership Services
0.9 Corporate
0.4 Organization & Projects
0.3 Play Soccer
0.1 Amortization
As with the BC travel/meals - transparency definitely makes you accountable for your actions. You may pay the price for that a few times but it keeps you on the straight and narrow and makes you a lot better candidate for self-governance.
The quote that comes to mind is "craft loves to wear clothes but truth loves to go naked."
Sorry to somewhat disagree with you Vic regarding "accounting being a play set". As a Accountant myself I need to defend my profession. Accounting is a system of recording transactions according a series of principles and doing so consistently for the purpose of providing the necessary information to manage activities and inform others.
Ah yes, the GAAP. How you record your expenditures on a financial statement is a good example of the term 'creative accounting'. Here we have three different organizations essentially performing the same function with three entirely different methodologies for reporting how they spend money.
Many of the details for ASA expenses are normally not available, the year that I'm citing was a result of the Financial Director (Innes) not being able to produce an acceptable budget so several of the accounting worksheets (except those with confidential information) were supplied to the membership so they could see a more detailed breakdown which did aid in the members approving a budget, albeit several months late. Transparency can work wonders.
peterv
Would you care to elaborate? Overall costs are down and revenue is up. If the 24% percent is the problem, then what would you say if BCSA cut its admin costs and the travel money spent on youth and adult soccer team travel increased to 35% of the total.
BCSA does spend money sending staff and Directors to Ottawa for CSA, one is on the Board and some are on CSA Committees. BCSA also spends a lot servicing members all over BC, ( there are 9 District Development Centres outside the lower mainland) and there are ongoing coaching and referee courses around the province. There are BCSA Board Directors who live in the north and on Vancouver iIsland who have a right to travel to Vancouver for Board meetings. This is part of the cost of democracy.
The biggest travel expense (flights, hotels and meals) is for 120 players on the Provincial all-star teams. The parents of those players pay several thousand extra for that experience, and all that money is part of the 24%.
^ Fair enough, but what you're doing is informally providing some of the kind of transparency I am looking for. BCSA should include a breakdown of such a major expense in an addendum to the financials. Without it that $1,168,900 number is staggering. It's probably staggering even with a breakdown, especially when you see that it represents approximately 39% of player registration fees and levies which went up last year or the year before and are going up again next year - hence the revenue increase to which you refer! Let's have a list of all the trips taken, what is the per diem for these people doing all the travelling that accounts for this expense, what hotels are they staying in? This is a non-profit organisation we're talking about here, every penny should be accounted for to members.
I have to ask also, why does BC Soccer need a Director of Operations when they already have an Executive Director? Just how much directing is really necessary at the administration level for a $4.8 million per year operation?
Paul Mullen Named Director of Operations
This is part of the cost of democracy.
If you asked the parents of kids who play soccer if they would like to pay extra for our national teams and 70 full-time jobs in Ontario (30 CSA, 40 OSA) you would get a 98% negative response.
I don't know the answer. But it's certainly not democracy.
Completely agree, plus having sat and listened at different times to Maestracci, Montagliani, Reed and Peter Montpoli all making the case for those parents to pay extra fees to CSA, I have to say that with the exception of Peter's presentation, those parents would be very justified in their negative response. It would be interesting to know how much it cost us to have those 3 CSA Board members fly around the country turning people off.
Richard, the roles of new Director of Operations and the ED will be clarified in the comng months, however one of the new Director's roles is sponsorship revenue raising.
With regard to per diems. BCSA pays $9 for breakfast, $12 for lunch and $19 for dinner, and that includes HST. How do those rates compare to other organizations?
I have no idea how those rates compare but $1.6 million represents one helluva lot of airfares, hotel stays, mileage allowance and meals, especially for an organisation with gross revenues of $4.8 million and that is requiring another substantial increase in player registration fees next year.
If I remember right, last year Claudia was promoted to Director of Business Development of which sponsorship was part of her portfolio. Do we need that much overlap up top when they still haven't replaced the Communications Coordinator and Member Programs Assistant? These vacant positions were 2 very key long term employees. How much is the new DOO Paul Mullen going to cost and how long are these very important member related positions gong to stay vacant?
While I'm asking questions...... How about the member system? It's been, what 3 years and looking at the budget it's probably a good portion of the consultants and office expense. Maybe $150K of that. That's a lot of $ when the BCSA could have got a out of the box system like Bonzi that is used in the soccer community in the USA. FSI to take 3 years is a bit like the Canadian gun registry IMO.
I agree with Richard that the "$1.6 million represents one helluva lot of airfares, hotel stays, mileage allowance and meals, especially for an organisation with gross revenues of $4.8 million". Maybe it's time to write the ED and the President?
Since no-one has suggested the per diems are too high, it may mean they are reasonable. I feel the per diem rates are reasonable.
Last year the delegates at the AGM voted to raise fees by 3% for 2011/12, which is not a substantial increase. Full financial details will be presented at the AGM in June, including details about the approximately $1m which BCSA pays to the CSA..
What players pay to the NSO ($11.00) and PSO ($20.00 excluding NSO fee) is way to high when you consider that a US player pays only $2.00 to the USSF.
Last year the delegates at the AGM voted to raise fees by 3% for 2011/12, which is not a substantial increase. Full financial details will be presented at the AGM in June, including details about the approximately $1m which BCSA pays to the CSA.
The meal allowances you quote are not unreasonable but what is the daily hotel allowance and how much goes on airfares and how much to assist teams going to Nationals? If that too is reasonable then who is going where, how often and what for because then that's even more trips than I had originally calculated. Also, if we remove the approximately $1 million that goes to the CSA from the $4.8 million budget then the percentage of the total expenditure budget spent on travel, accommodation and meals goes even higher relatively which really just further reinforces my argument. And CoachRich makes very valid points about the important positions that have been vacant so long and the player registration system that was promised years ago and is still not functioning. Have to wonder how much money has been spent on it so far, directly and indirectly. We don't see that spelled out in the financial statement either but it must represent a significant amount of money. Come to think of it, maybe the BCSA really does need more help with 'operations management' which prompts more interesting questions?


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The General Lee Jumped its Very First Jump On This Day in 1978
"Straightenin' the curves. Flattenin' the hills. Someday the mountain might get 'em, but the law never will."
By Collin Woodard
If you're a fan of automotive shenanigans, 1980s television, Waylon Jennings songs, and 1969 Dodge Chargers, today is an important day.
According to The History Channel, on this day in 1978 a film crew recorded the General Lee's very first jump, which appeared in the debut Dukes episode, "One-Armed Bandits." The stunt driver was able to get the car 16 feet high and traveled 82 feet before crashing back to earth. Needless to say, it totaled the car.
Recognize that jump? The General's first filmed hang-time didn't just appear in the very first episode—it was the closing scene of the show's opening credit sequence, kicking off every episode of the show's seven seasons.
Thanks to the numerous stunts in most episodes, almost every car that jumped on-screen ended up destroyed. That meant the show's prop masters had use several hundred cars over the course of the show.
To prep cars for stunts, they were outfitted with roll cages, push bars on the nose, and significantly-upgraded suspensions to help the cars survive their landings. Cars used for jumps were also weighed down with concrete or lead in their trunks to keep the noses up.
Despite the upgraded suspension, there's no way landing those jumps was comfortable for any of the stunt drivers—never mind Bo, Luke, Daisy, or especially Uncle Jesse.
via Jalopnik


Audit shows IRS Windows upgrades stalled because computers are missing.
It's hard to muster the strength to talk about Windows XP anymore. In March 2014 it still held 30 percent of operating system marketshare, and now it's down to 12 percent, which shows improvement but is still not zero. Don't forget, XP is 14 years old. Organizations have encountered challenges as they work to eliminate XP from their networks, and (suprising no one) a recent audit shows that the Internal Revenue Service is struggling.
"Inadequate Early Oversight Led to Windows Upgrade Project Delays" is not a confidence-inspiring report title. And the findings of the audit are even more concerning. The IRS has spent $128 million in its attempt to upgrade all computers away from Windows XP and all servers away from Windows Server 2003. But when the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, or TIGTA, conducted the audit between December 2014 and June 2015, about half of the agency's servers and more than 1,000 computers still had not been upgraded.
"At the conclusion of our fieldwork, the IRS had not accounted for the location or migration status of approximately 1,300 workstations and upgraded only about one-half of its Windows servers," the report explains. It's a diplomatic way of saying that a bunch of computers were missing, whether they were hiding in plain sight or in a black-market parts exchange somewhere.
Approximately 3,000 Windows 2003 servers continue to be delayed for upgrade. IRS officials informed us that they are uncertain this number is correct because when many of these servers were deployed, inventory controls were not in place and they are uncertain whether all of these servers are running the Windows 2003 version of the operating system.
TIGTA estimates that the IRS will spend $11 million more in 2015 on the initiative, bringing the project total to $139 million. And keep in mind that upgrading away from Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 just means moving to Windows 7 and Server 2008, operating systems that are themselves woefully outdated. The agency will have to do additional upgrades with a new budget to actually bring its systems into this decade.
Using legacy operating systems is a problem because it makes systems more vulnerable to hacks. And since the IRS stores valuable information about millions of people it's especially important for the agency. Don't forget that the agency disclosed a big data breach in May.
All of this is making the Navy's disastrous upgrade process look a little better. Or maybe it's just making every agency look worse.


From the day Tom Aikens burst on to the restaurant scene he has barely been out of the limelight. Awarded two Michelin stars by the age of 26, he has consistently been tipped as one of the hottest and most talented chefs cooking today. Now comes this stylish and sophisticated book, with 200 mouth-watering recipes, graded according to difficulty. His starting point is everyday ingredients - he believes in buying fresh, seasonal produce, and gives guidance on how to choose the best and make the most of them. Organising the book by type of food - vegetable, meat, fish, fruit, bread, dairy - he creates a variety of imaginative, dazzling recipes, some very easy and achievable in minutes; others more sophisticated, ideal for special occasions or when you are feeling more adventurous. He shows how to take one basic ingredient and produce a host of different dishes. The humble carrot, for example, can be roasted with honey and cumin or pickled to form the basis of a delicious salad, or pureed with tarragon to supply a wonderful sauce for roast cod. Sole can be baked in minutes on a sizzling hot baking tray in the oven, or pan-fried and served with balsamic glazed vegetables and pea puree. From gorgeous grilled fennel with goat's cheese and black olive oil, buttered peas with spring onions to lamb shank with tomato confit and beans, there is something here for everyone who loves good food. Inspiration, talent and flashes of sheer genius shine off every page in this book, destined to become a firm favourite with keen cooks and food lovers everywhere.


Positive market share achievements in all regions and strong cash flow.
Organic net revenue up by 1% to DKK 32,459m (Q2: +2%). Price/mix of 3% (total beverages).
towards the first six months across all regions.
Europe and Eastern Europe offset by growth in Asia.
Net profit up by 47% to DKK 3,279m.


Contains references to violence. Suitable for 8 years and over.
Use our reminder system to get a e-mail when Milford Graves Full Mantis is next showing in a UK cinema near you.
Milford Graves Full Mantis is a portrait of renowned percussionist Milford Graves, exploring his kaleidoscopic creativity and relentless curiosity. "Milford Graves engages with our universe through contemplation and meditation where we coexist in a garden of timeless nature. Since the early 1960s he has struck a mythic figure in the lineage of New Thing/Free Jazz music and art. A theorist on rhythm defined by inherent emotional impulse (as opposed to a mechanism of strict repetition) he has consistently championed the idea that music is more than an art form to be mastered. In his world, sound is a life force to be in tune with, through regard and respect. With patience and a clear devotion to the beauty of the practice and performance of music, both spirit and earth-conscious, Milford Graves Full Mantis as directed by Jake Meginsky, and co-directed by Neil Young, both experimental musicians from Western Massachusetts, is a portrait of one of the most fascinating lights in the lineage.
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UK records a 16% increase in new tech startups
RSM credits the growth to an increase in demand for technology to support remote working
by: Sabina Weston
The number of new UK tech startups increased by almost 16% in the third quarter of 2020, according to Companies House data analysed by consulting firm RSM.
The three-month period saw the incorporation of 3,641 tech startups, a 15.5% rise compared to the first quarter of 2020 when 3,150 new startups were recorded.
Scotland saw the strongest growth in the number of new tech startups (a 57% increase since Q1), followed by the West Midlands (48%), Northern Ireland (44%), the East Midlands (36%), and north-east England (29%).
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Despite most areas of the UK experiencing growth in the number of tech startups, areas such as Wales, the east of England, and Yorkshire and the Humber saw declines of 6%, 1.4%, and 0.8%, respectively.
Commenting on the findings, RSM's head of the technology, media and telecoms team, David Blacher, said that "at a time when many sectors are feeling crippled by the impact of the pandemic, it is encouraging to see the tech industry experiencing growth".
"This can be attributed in part to the lockdown, which drove an increase in demand for technology to support remote working. The huge increase in working from home, as well as leisure time spent at home, has meant far greater need for digital technology and a growing demand for digital entertainment," he added.
The news comes as research from Tech Nation and Dealroom found that investment into UK startups addressing one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals increased almost ten-fold between 2014 and 2019.
In 2020 so far, the UK's impact startups have managed to raise €1.4 billion (£1.27 billion) in capital, with the largest rounds going to Octopus Energy and Cambridge-based FiveAI.
Other significant UK impact startups include Arrival, Connexin, Tokamak Energy, Compass Pathways, Cera, Highview Power, and The Meatless Farm Company (Leeds), which have a combined 390 job vacancies in the UK, according to database lists from Impact & Innovation.
Tech Nation head of insights George Windsor said that UK tech must continue to play a key part in tackling some of the world's toughest challenges, including climate change".
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"UK impact tech firms have come on leaps and bounds over the last six years - with nearly 10x more investment made into groundbreaking companies in 2020 than 2014," he added.
"This revolution is happening right across the country. Tech Nation is pleased to work with some of the leading companies in this space through our world-first Net Zero programme - ensuring that companies working in this sector can scale to have the greatest impact."
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