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On its third album Diabolic was seemingly on autopilot. Unable to retain the productional gloss of the preceding record "Vengeance Ascending" is a callback to the debut "Supreme Evil" in a number of ways, while losing much of the songwriting lustre of the previous record. Hampered by a subpar Diet Of Worms production by Juan 'Punchy' Gonzalez and feeling more like a pre-production demo than an actual new album the record is letdown on all fronts. It is bad? Not exactly. Is it good? That is debatable. This is Diabolic after all, never most the impressive unit to begin with.
This time around the band wastes no time with an instrumental intro track, or a segue to introduce the first song. No, 'Darken the Imagination' starts off with a blast and from that point on it is business-as-usual in camp Diabolic. Notable is that the lead/solo work is as good as it has ever been, and the drumming is perhaps at its most feverishly blasting. The problem still is that these tracks are just all groovy, catchy and perfectly functional Florida death metal – but it isn't something that people are going to take notice of. It is too flaccid and simply too unremarkable for that kind of praise. As angry and pissed off as the band sounds here, there still isn't a lot of substance to be found, or instantly memorable and good songs. It all sounds too non-committal, too vanilla and, well, unremarkable in the grand scheme of things. There were and are better Florida bands, with better ideas and more interesting lyrical and thematical concepts.
Just like Paul Ouellette's serpentine barked grunts, the band is only "kinda there" when they play. There isn't anything wrong with what they play, or how they play it – it's just all so very mundane, and tired sounding even. Not deviating an inch from the formula they established on the prior two records, Diabolic limit and shortsell themselves on many fronts. There's one thing being a Morbid Angel clone (something which a lot bands were in the 90s), but Diabolic takes it to a whole new level. Lacking both in vision and instrumentation the band would never reach its lofty goal in trying to be as good as, or better than, their more artistically accomplished Florida contemporaries. If you want to hear the sound Diabolic kicks around here done better on every front, it is safe to look into Malevolent Creation's vast discography. They are more thrashy in what they do, but the core sound is nearly identical to this band. Malevolent Creation is a lot more earthly in its subjects too, which is a step up from the goofy satanic mumbo-jumbo of this outfit.
Diabolic is an average band at its core. The playing is solid, the writing is competent but nothing of it is conceptually or musically ambitious or different sounding. The only truly new thing on "Vengeance Ascending" is the strangely atmospheric interlude 'The Inevitable' which arrives mid album. Then there's also the particularly embarrassing 'Celestial Pleasures' that comes with sampled moanings of Coates' girlfriend to emphasize the inane smut lyrics. At points it is even hard to tell the various songs apart, were it not for the regularly appearing mesmerizing and wailing guitar solos. It is these leads/solos, and the band's signature trade-offs, that give the band much of its strength what it otherwise lacks. If only the riffs and song constructions were as compelling as the shrieking, wailing, crawly leads/solos. Brian Malone is no Chuck Schuldiner, no Trey Azagthoth and certainly no Wojtek Lisicki – but despite his simple and straightforward style and technique these solos are far better than a band of the caliber as Diabolic deserves. One can only imagine what would have become of Malone if he had been surrounded by more talented musicians. His presence is dimished by the mundanity of the rest of the band, with exception of drummer and co-founder Aantar Lee Coates.
The lyrics, much like the band name and the cover art, are a typical example of an underground band that doesn't have anything remotely interesting to say. The lyrics talk in broad strokes about the usual subjects of anti-religion, Satanism, individualism, war and self-empowerment. Much like established institution Morbid Angel and its offshoot Hate Eternal do, but they aren't nearly as verbose or thematically rich, and lack the theological background to which to paint these subjects against. The resulting lyrics are poorly stringed together catchphrases, meaningless evil chatter and overcooked infernal imagery that does little to set the band apart from their contemporaries. The lines are easy rhymes with no narrative to speak of, and there is nothing beyond the superficial. For the most part the song titles are more interesting than the lyrics. That isn't to say that Diabolic aren't trying, they are. They just happened to have adopted a line of subject matter that is expected of them, and not something they as a band feel strong about.
That is the problem that has always characterized Diabolic and most of its classic output. They were as stock as they came. They were standard to a fault. Every single thing you identify with 90s Florida death metal is accounted for. Blasts? Check. Morbid Angel riffs? Solos? Double check. A stylish and sufficiently evil logo? Check. Even the Joe Petagno artwork looks dull and uninspired compared to his best canvasses. Regardless of where Diabolic lifts its material from, it simply does not hold up to the true Florida forces – and no amount of triggered blasts or finger-twisting solos is going to change that.
As reliable as they were in the 2000s the band simply isn't very outstanding, in any department.
Review originally written for Least Worst Option - www.leastworstoption.com
Counter to its feeling 'rushed', Vengeance Ascending was actually the proper Diabolic album of 2001, being released only a few weeks after Subterraneal Magnitude had finally arrived (due to delays). That can't be fun for any band, because which do you promote? Well, if I had been Aantar Coates and company, I would have just run with the sophomore, because Vengeance Ascending is one of those 'rush to the finish line' albums which gestates pure speed and brutality, but not much by way of interesting riffs or compelling songwriting. In fact, the one saving grace this album might possess would be the leads, as in "All Evils Inside", which provide about the only tangible journey up and above the monotonous blasting and double bass.
Certainly, the drums are a lot more incessant than the previous two albums, but there's just not that much else happening to distract your ear away from them. "Darken the Imagination" opens as if it were a long lost runoff from Altars of Madness, sans the quality riffing of Azagthoth, and then it bursts through the next 3-4 songs as if some hellish premature ejaculation. The rhythm guitars are functional enough, yet they never quite achieve the mesmerizing patterns necessary to conjure any real malevolence. In fact, if you were to remove the samples, the album would be a total bore up until the bridge/lead sequence in "Marked for Banishment", which is followed with a dark ambient trip called "The Inevitable", through which the listener can take a break before the tightly coiled thrashing that inaugurates "Possess the Strength". But the remainder of the cuts follow the same mired formula of blasted mediocrity, half-decent dynamics and solos thrust into the compositions too sparsely, like oasis of memory in a desert of forgetfulness.
The mix of the album is also less impressive than Subterraneal Magnitude, because it's just so level that nothing other than the leads ever stands out to the fore. They're still using a similar guitar tone to the previous albums, but it feels less potent somehow, failing to distinguish itself from Coates' abyssal battery. The lyrics also felt a little less interesting than the two before, even if its skirting about the same occult pageantry. Diabolic seemed to be going for an all out death race of aggression which would impress those rabble who care for nothing else than sheer wall of force metal with zero immortal qualities, or at the very least a Morbid Angel knockoff, but they wound up with an album that has no real character beyond its barbarian forcefulness and a few spidery, resonant leads.
I think it's safe to assume that many people reviewing this third offering from Diabolic will make it a point to mention that a) they are from Tampa, and b) Joe Petagno did the cover art. While the band may actually benefit from this sort of exposure, these facts are trivial, at most. In its entirety, "Vengeance Ascending" reveals a much greater picture than these stereotypes provide, and to allow either of them to influence your opinion is to sell yourself short. The most obvious indication that Diabolic are serious about their trade is the crazed drumming of Aantar Coates. Coates mixes equal parts of Richard Christy and Dave Lombardo to create a style that is technically furious, but not to the point of overkill. While I can certainly get a thrill out of inhuman displays of aggressive drumming, I am glad that Coates opted to keep things under control. Otherwise, I might have overlooked the stellar leads of guitarists Brian Malone and Jerry Mortellaro. Before giving "Vengeance Ascending" its first spin, I was beginning to think that the ability to craft strong, memorable solos had become a lost art. In fact, a good number of bands choose to omit them altogether these days. Not so for Diabolic, who prove to be of a truly different breed. I say this not for the mere inclusion of solos, but for their quality. In thinking of comparisons, the maniacally twisted trade-offs of Hanneman and King during Slayer's "Hell Awaits" / "Reign In Blood"- era would be a good place to start.
Picking out highlights is difficult, but the most obvious ones are the off-time riffing of "All Evils Inside", and the old-school death metal leanings of "The Shallowed". The latter also impresses with some chilling background vox from bassist Paul Ouelette, whose raspy black metal-ish snarls work well against his usual delivery (which sounds like late Exodus vocalist Paul Baloff in the midst of a testosterone overdose). Among these gems is a well-placed atmospheric track ("The Inevitable"), which combines an air raid siren with ample guitar noise to provide a bit of calm before the head-spinning assault of "Possess the Strength". The album's conclusion comes in the form of "Majestic Satanic", a minor harmony-drenched blitzkrieg that eventually segues into a grandiose outro melody. It may have taken three studio albums to get the world's attention, but Diabolic are now at the top of their game. I'll be damned if they don't turn some heads this time.
The two reviews of Diabolic's Vengeance Ascending are very good. One shows a positive aspect of the album while the other shows a very negative aspect. I tend to agree with the latter, but I will add on to it of course. This album is no different from all the other death metal albums out there. You know the ones that kind of fall in the category of just doing the same thing. Blast beats, technical riffs, growling vocals, etc. etc.
This album has good songs and really bad songs. The first couple of songs are pretty bad, while the middle ones tend to be better. For the most part the riffs are straight power chord progressions with some very technical soloing. The soloing varies from song to song, while most of the times the solos are very sloppy and unimpressive. Sometimes it is like he is just hitting any fret just to fill the solo; these solos lack a model and enthusiasm. The singing is your typical growled death metal vocals. They are very heavy like Kataklysm or Six Feet Under. Nothing special or over the top about the vocals though.
Another thing that stands out is the drummer. I am not a drummer so I am not for sure on how this goes, but the drummer does these rolls on the snare that sound really awesome; and I have to point out I have never heard this type of sound before. The drumming really helps this album pull the pieces together and save it from being a hideous abortion. Otherwise everything is decent about this album. Production sucks at points of the albums also.
What makes this album over all bad is the poor song structure. It's like they didn't even think of how to piece this album together. Like the band showed up in the studio and started playing. Fans of Diabolic might hold this album in higher regards, but I just see it as your typical death metal release. Not bad, but nothing worth spending to much for unless you are a die hard fan. Some of the good songs are The Shallowed, The Inevitable, and Celestial Pleasures.


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So earlier this month, Benton has provided this product to me for review purposes. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to really test it out solidly for an extended period of time so will have to go with a more...first impression/short use type of review.
I didn't know this but apparently the name "Benton" was inspired by "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; in which I have no watched but get the gist of it where the character gets younger rather than older (?). The philosophy is restoring youth and Benton's skin philosophy is to restore skin back to its original, healthy condition with their ingredients.
I've used 2 products from Benton before, one is their Aloe toner and one is their fermentation eye cream. The toner didn't wow me but their eye cream certainly did, so from then I've been on lookouts to try other Benton products.
This "Dear My Best Friend" bar (aka BF bar) is a natural soap for both body and face. The product is made with vegetable oil base and various botanical ingredients that cleanses and moisturises at the same time (and smells lovely!)
I'm going to start with packaging because I've got the best images for it.
So it comes in a box and in the box is a netted bag and the soap itself, which comes in a packet form. I don't think I can ever thank them enough for having that foaming net because not only does the soap bar fit snugly in it, it's super handy to pack it along for travels and hang to dry when you use it. I don't actually have a lot of space in my bathroom so hanging it up was really my only option. Frankly, before the product came, I was really wondering where I can store it, so huge plus with that foaming net!
The packaging is simple and the design is simple. The design on the soap is so simple that I just wonder if they're for real, only because so many products on the market is really packaged up. But I'm more about the product than the packaging myself (did I mention how much I like the foaming net though?) so this didn't bother me, even though every time I use it, in my head I think that they could do a little better on the packaging.
Because this soap and brand boasts ingredients, of course I should cover it.
This bar is made with vegetable base consisting of 8 vegetable oils, honey, oatmeal, cacao seed powder, calamine, papain, basil and chamaecyparis obtusa oil. Benton's sent me tidbits of info regarding these ingredients and thankfully they did because my skincare routine doesn't carry a lot of these ingredients, or natural ingredients for that matter.
Essentially this bar is rich in antioxidants, helping to manage sebum and dead skin cells, moisturising, calming and soothing. As such, basically the whole family should be able to use this because of its natural properties and suitability for most, if not all, skin types.
This isn't something I normally cover but using bar soaps has always posed a huge question mark on my head. The storing issue has been solved with that awesome foaming net, but how the heck do I use this on my face? I don't even use bar soap on my body either so when I first held it, I was a little stumped. I'm probably the only (stupid) person who doesn't know how to use this, but hey, thought I'd put it out there anyway
Basically, you use it as you would a stick cleanser. Minus the twisting to get the product out. That was it, really. I would recommend having a damp/wet face so this product will get on the skin better, then wet fingers and massage it and it will foam up nicely. There aren't any heavy foams so don't expect anything like bubbles.
I have made these images cooler toned due to the awful lighting I was taking these in
This is what everyone wants to know, right? Well, this bar is great at cleansing - it's a great 2nd step cleanser and even with water it doesn't generate huge amount of bubbles, and that's how you know that it's natural as a lot of products have bubbling chemicals added to them to make them lather better. None of this here.
This bar goes on smooth on wet/damp skin and it smells mildly of lavender - which is a soothing smell. Although personally I would prefer rose. You don't need a huge amount on your face, but I do find that for me to feel like I have the product on, I have to go over my face with this bar several times to get that feeling, especially when you have dry skin so please use on wet skin.
The best thing about this bar is that it makes your skin feel squeaky clean as a second step cleanser, but without stripping moisture - my skin doesn't feel tight after washing/rinsing, which occurs sometimes, and it doesn't feel irritated. There have been a few people who feel this is harsher on their skin, but it seems to have worked just fine with mine, even though I have sensitive, acne prone, and combination (oily) skin type. Perhaps it's the sebum that makes the experience different because there are multiple ingredients in that list that helps with controlling sebum.
With the short period of time I've been using this, I feel like it has helped with brightening, soothing and calming the skin down from a long day of work and polluted air. Has it helped my acne though? I'm genuinely not quite sure. It's hard to pinpoint that this product has improved because I use a lot of other products that I know will help during my break outs.
I'm definitely interested to see how my skin will change through long term use and this bar of soap seems like it will last for a while!
I quite like this bar soap for the face. I'm not gonna lie, I've never been really keen on bar soaps because they seemed like such a hassle, but this one has taught me that it doesn't have to be the case, and I'm already using similar products like stick cleansers.
My favourite thing about this product is how it leaves the skin feeling - no joke, my skin does feel soft and stayed hydrated with makeup removal and double cleansing.
Natural products have not traditionally worked well on my skin (it loves that chemical stuff!) and I'm not an advocate of natural products, but if you are, then this bar is for you. This bar just contains so many natural oils, herbs and fruit extracts that helps the skin. I can't say much about turning back time with this product, but it really is a lovely product to have and use; and the fact that you can double this up as a body soap though is always a plus! In fact I feel that I neglect my body when it comes to skincare, I would consider using this bar soap when my current soap is finished. The danger of leaving this unhung in the shower is the constant dripping of water will erode it.
Unless you put it in the foaming net....!!!
Hope this helped, if you have questions, please comment below or find me on isnta @jaye.hicks, and I shall try my best to answer questions! Do you also have this bar? If so, how do you find it?

subset: commoncrawl


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Earth Hour 2012 Sweeps the World Participation from Chinese Cities Reaches New High
Beijing, March 30th – The world's largest voluntary environmental initiative, Earth Hour, is reaching a new level once again. With one day to go until the Earth Hour, a record 147 countries and territories are preparing to send a united message that now is the time to take action for the planet.
Hundreds of landmarks across more than 5000 cities and towns will go dark on Saturday at 8:30PM local time, with Libya, Algeria, Bhutan and French Guinea among those participating for the first time.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon announced that the UN Headquarters in New York will turn off its lights for an hour, in solidarity with the 20% of the world's population who live without electricity. Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, also announced her official support for Earth Hour and called for all UNESCO World Heritage sites to switch off their lights on March 31st.
But it isn't just the United Nations supporting Earth Hour. The event has also gained the support of former US Vice-President Al Gore, the President of Fiji Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, astronaut Andre Kuipers and the International Space Station, FIFA, UEFA and even Manchester United football club among others.
"Each and every one of us plays an important role in making a difference to the world we live in. As the lights go off around globe tomorrow, celebrate your commitment to the planet and inspire those around you to take action," said Earth Hour co-founder and Executive Director Andy Ridley.
Usually the last country to go dark, Samoa has crossed the International Date Line and this year will kick off the lights-off event as it traverses the globe over a 24-hour period. The last switch off event will wrap up in the Cook Islands.
Famous landmarks including Beijing Badaling Great Wall, New York's Times Square, Paris' Eiffel Tower, Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa, London's Big Ben, the Sydney Opera House and the Tokyo Tower will all go dark for one hour on the evening of the 31st .
The number of Chinese cities taking part in Earth Hour has also reached a new all-time high. As of March 30th , a total of 124 cities all over China had signed up for Earth Hour and publicised their environmental promises:
- Hubei province: 16 cities including Wuhan and Huangshi promise to introduce a pollutant discharge permit system, improve and implement an emissions reduction system, early warning system , as well as a regional restricted approval mechanism, accountability system and one-ballot veto. They will also ensure that total emissions of sulfur dioxide, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen will decrease by 2%, 1.5% and 1.5% respectively compared to 2011 levels.
- Qinghai province: 8 cities and prefectures including Xining and Haidong promise to strengthen environmental protection and pollution prevention, protect biodiversity and guarantee high quality of water in the "three river sources" area.
- Liaoning province: 14 cities including Shenyang and Dalian promise that the main stream and 10 principal tributaries of the Liao River should meet Grade IV national water quality standard, with other tributaries reaching Grade V standard.
- Shanghai city: the city has promised to continue with the creation of 1000 hectares of new green space and continue with a pilot scheme for waste separation in 1000 residential areas and work units.
- Shijiazhuang city: the first Chinese city to register participation will keep the annual average levels of sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter to Grade II standard, notably improving air quality.
- Yangzhou city: the 11th day of every month will be a no driving day for the government (this includes government-owned cars and the private cars of government employees), except when official, special business is involved. Meanwhile, Yangzhou will also carry out a "No Driving Today" campaign to motivate all car owners to drive one day less per week.
Many iconic buildings are also taking part in Earth Hour:
- The Badaling Great Wall, Beijing's tallest building the China World Trade Center Tower 3, and the Olympic Park's Bird's Nest Stadium, Water Cube and Linglong Pagoda will all be turning their lights off for an hour this evening.
- The People's Square area in Shanghai, including Municipal Government building, Shanghai Museum and City Planning Exhibition Hall, along with all the County Government buildings, will all turn off all non-essential lighting for an hour. In addition, the Lujiazui Financial District (including the Oriental Pearl, Jin Mao Tower, World Trade Center and Aurora Plaza), Jing'an District (including Jing'an Temple, the Paramount and Jiuguang Department Store) and the Shanghai Expo site (the Expo Axis, the Expo Centre, the Mercedes-Benz Cultural Centre, the Expo Exhibition Centre and the China National Pavilion) are also taking part in the switch-off.
- From Wuhan's Yellow Crane Tower to the Pavilion of Prince Teng in Nanchang, and from Xi'an's Big Wild Goose Pagoda to Changsha's Tianxin Pavilion, many famous landmarks are turning off their lights for Earth Hour.
Meanwhile, over 1400 companies have registered their participation in Earth Hour, and many businesses, celebrities and media groups are all making their own environmental promises that go beyond Earth Hour:
- Groups within the business community are promising to advance their own sustainable development.
o In 2012, men's clothing firm Marccasne will devote itself to using natural cotton and linen fabrics — at least 60% of its products will contain these natural fabrics; Marccasnewill make 80% of its trousers without severe washing (distressing), and paper-based accessories will be 100% eco-friendly.
o Vanke Group will practice community-based sustainable garbage separation and recycling, involving 300,000 households in 200 communities in over 30 cities.
o Haier will follow a "green strategy," of producing green products, building a green company, and cultivating a green corporate culture. Haier aims to create a healthy and comfortable environment for its customers and achieve a harmonious relationship between enterprise, humanity, and nature through technological innovation, energy conservation and emissions reduction.
o In 2012, Mengniu Dairy Group will package 5 billion containers of milk using FSC-certified packaging; generate 10 million kWh of electricity through biogas and purify 15 million tons of sewage through green production.
- WWF's Earth Hour Ambassadors Li Bingbing, Yu Quan and Li Yuchun have all made their own environmental promises and called on their fans to make their own changes for the planet. International Radio host Ya Jie, Basketball player Stephon Marbury, singer Li Xiaoyun, actors Huang Haibo and actress Zhang Xinyi have also joined up to Earth Hour as celebrity volunteers.
- Earth Hour's strategic media partner The Travel Channel have promised to continue working towards a "zero-carbon" model; at the end of every programme the total emissions caused by the making of the show will be displayed along with a promise to continue working towards "zero carbon."
Earth Hour China Website: http://www.earthhour.org.cn/
WWF Mobile Application: http://www.wwfchina.org/action/app/
Earth Hour Global Website: http://earthhour.org/
Invitation from the Earth Hour Stars: http://www.earthhour.org.cn/downloadFour.html
Earth Hour Ambassador Andre Kuipers' Blog: http://blogs.esa.int/andre-kuipers/?lang=en
For further information:
Zeng Ming, Head of Press, WWF China
Tel:+86 (0)10 65116298, firstname.lastname@example.com


text: NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Stifel Nicolaus & Co. on Monday initiated coverage of one real estate investment trust and resumed coverage on seven others. Analysts initiated coverage with a buy rating on Excel Trust Inc. EXL, -3.80%, which went public in April, citing the fund's "niche shopping center investment strategy" and an expected "high-quality deal flow" over the next few years. They also resumed coverage with buy ratings on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Financial Inc. ARI, +0.33% and Starwood Property Trust Inc. STWD, +0.50%, and diversified REIT Winthrop Realty Trust FUR, -0.79%. Stifel Nicolaus resumed coverage, with a hold rating, on iStar Financial Inc. SFI, +2.70%, Newcastle Investment Corp. NCT, +0.00%, Northstar Realty Finance Corp. nrf, and Caplease Inc. LSE, -7.69%, citing concern over "broad legacy" funds struggling in a weak market and their eventual need to recapitalize.


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Manchester United host Chelsea at Old Trafford Sunday at 2.05 GTM.
Jose Mourinho's team is coming to this match after the goalless match against Sevilla in midweek. A lot of critics went through for him for the way Man United played and starting Pogba from the bench as well. Man United at home have a very good record with 13 matches played 10 wins 2 draws and 1 lost scoring 29 and conceding only 5 goals. Statistically the Reds have only 2 of their last 11 games have seen over 2.5 goals scored and one of those matches was a cup game against lower league Yeovil. They have another good record at home with 77% of the matches keeping a clean sheet.
Chelsea is coming in this games following their draw against Barcelona on Tuesday. Antonio Conte once again showed why he is a very talented tactician as the Blues neutralized Barcelona with only a few chances created and scoring from Chelsea's only mistake on the match. Their Premier league form has not been as good conceding 7 goals against Bournemouth and Watford shows they need to focus more on defense. Chelsea will have to work very hard to get at least a point so they will not fall behind more to Man United and need to focus on keeping things tight at the back.
The last 4 meetings between Man United and Chelsea have all ended in home wins, 3 of which were in Chelsea's favor at Stamford Bridge. Another head to head stats at Old Trafford has seen 4 of the last 6 meetings ending with draws.
Manchester United News
Ander Herrera suffered a hamstring injury in Seville and will miss out. Depending on the fitness of Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo, United may switch to a back three to mirror Chelsea's approach. Paul Pogba is likely to return in midfield having been left out in midweek.
Chelsea News
David Luiz, Ross Barkley and Tiemoué Bakayoko are injury doubts for the visitors. Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud were both left out in midweek with Morata likely to return up top here. Gary Cahill is also hoping for a recall.
We're expecting a tight match investing on Under 2.25 with Pinnacle offering 2.06.


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Chapter History
The Theta Psi chapter of Sigma Chi was founded on March 28, 1987. At the time of it's founding, it became Sigma Chi's 213th chapter and Canada's sixth chapter.
Located at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario, the Theta Psi Chapter is the preeminent collegiate leadership organization on it's campus.
The chapter is active all three terms of the year: Fall, Winter and Spring. We hold numerous social, philanthropic and leadership building events in and around the Waterloo area.
Our house is located at 268 Albert St., right in the heart of Waterloo's student life, between Wilfred Laurier University and the University of Waterloo.
Since the time of it's founding, our chapter has initiated over 500 men into the Sigma Chi Fraternity; a number that continues to increase. Currently, we have approximately 60 undergraduate members of the Theta Psi Chapter.
A bit of history :
Until the winter of 1985, which saw the founding of Delta Omega Chi, there were no fraternities or sororities at the university. In January of that year, however, two students in the school of engineering, Ron Nielsen and John New, each saw something missing in campus life and independently contacted Sigma Chi Headquarters, inquiring about the possibility of starting a new chapter. They were eventually put in touch with each other and soon spread the word to their friends and acquaintances. After gathering a core of good men, a founding "initiation" ceremony was held at the Epsilon Omicron Chapter at the University of Western Ontario.
The group took on several community projects: helping to clean up a summer camp for Big Brothers; packing and unpacking the equipment for the campus blood donor clinics; and providing security and traffic control for the region's Canada Day celebrations. The first Delta Omega Chi Dance-a-thon was also held, raising $1,500 for Big Brothers.
There were many projects that Theta Psi helped establish at UW shortly after their installation. These included safety van; a shuttle service for students who live off campus to return safely home late at night. Also, Sigs helped establish Federation Hall; the largest student-owned nightclub in North America. As well, the early Sigs started Walksafe; a project to provide someone to walk students home late at night, who live on or close to UW's campus. This final project was a response to concerns on campus that the establishment of a fraternity would create an unsafe environment for women to walk home alone at night.


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This page gives information about the Unclamped Color Render Element.
Page Contents
Page Contents ×
The Unclamped Color Render Element is a color image that shows the original colors that were clamped. This render element is useful in the compositing process for enhancing extreme colors (very bright or very dark) or for shading the final image with the unclamped colors.
UI Path:
||Render Setup window|| > Render Elements tab > Add button > VRayUnclampedColor
This render element is enabled through the Render Elements tab of the Render Setup window in 3ds Max and displays its parameters in a rollout at the bottom of the window:
vrayVFB – When enabled, the render element appears in the V-Ray Virtual Frame Buffer.
deep output – Specifies whether to include this render element in deep images.
multiplier – Sets the overall intensity of the render element, where 1.0 is the standard multiplier.
denoise – Specifies whether to denoise this render element.
add background – When enabled, adds the background to the render element.
Unclamped Color Render Element
(with add background disabled)
Beauty Composite Render
Composite using Unclamped Color,
made warmer


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via NYtimes here
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Beautiful Emily....
Posted by caro at 6:06 PM No comments:
Completely in love with Miyazaki. My heart aches with joy. What a loving depiction of this master filmmaker.
Posted by caro at 8:51 AM No comments:
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
We belong here together with the trees and the stones, for we are made manifest together. Rather than being discrete entities, the relation comes first, and the extent to which we are related matters for what we and the stone ultimately are. – Heidegger
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Thursday, April 2, 2015
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Kostas Smoriginas is one of the most promising bass-baritones of today. He made his debut at the Deutsche Staatsoper, Berlin as Escamillo Carmen and has since performed the role with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle (recorded for EMI Classics), the Salzburg Easter Festival, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Santa Fe Music Festival, Dresden Semperoper, and with Beijing's National Centre for Performing Arts.
The coming seasons see some important role debuts for Smoriginas, who will perform his first Jochanaan in Salome as well as singing his first Scarpia in Tosca, and debuting in his first Verdi role.
Highlights of the 2018-19 season include Jochanaan in Salome for Oper Koln as well as his role debut in the title role of Bluebeard's Castle for Lithuanian National Opera and Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon. He will reprise the role of Escamillo for the Bolshoi Theatre and Lithuanian National Opera, and in concert will sing Rachmaninov The Bells for the Oslo Philharmonic. Future seasons include the title role in Eugene Onegin in major European houses, his role debut as Scarpia in Tosca, and returns to the Bregenz Festival and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.
Recent successes include Escamillo in Barrie Kosky's new production of Carmen and Heerrufer in Lohengrin, both for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, his role debut as High Priest in Samson et Dalila in Vilnius; the title role in Don Giovanni at Opera de Lausanne; Figaro Le nozze di Figaro in Dresden; Escamillo in Kasper Holten's new production of Carmen at the Bregenz Festival; the title roles in Eugene Onegin and Le nozze di Figaro for Lithuanian National Opera, as well as Count Le nozze di Figaro in Malmo, title roles in Aleko and The Demon at La Monnaie and Tchelakov in the new production of Boris Godunov at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.
Smoriginas made his US opera debut in 2010 as Figaro Le nozze di Figaro at Washington National Opera, a role he later repeated at San Francisco Opera. He has recorded the role of Pietro Simon Boccanegra alongside Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Ildar Abdrazakov and Barbara Frittoli. In addition to Escamillo and Tchelakov and various other roles, Smoriginas has performed Colline La bohème at Covent Garden. Other operatic engagements have included title role Don Giovanni at Teatro Municipal Santiago, Chile and in Toulouse; Leporello Don Giovanni at Opera de Bordeaux; Tomsky Pique Dame with the New Israeli Opera; title role Eugene Onegin, Guglielmo Cosi fan tutte and Scarpia Tosca at Vilnius City Opera; and Masetto Don Giovanni for his Teatro alla Scala, Milan debut and in a new production by Dmitri Tcherniakov conducted by Marc Minkowski at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.
Smoriginas is in high demand on the concert platform. His repertoire includes Verdi, Brahms, Mozart and Faure's Requiems, Beethoven's Symphony no. 9, Janacek's Glagolitic Mass, Dvorak's Te Deum and Szymanowski's Stabat Mater, which he sang with Edward Gardner and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and with the London Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev. He won rave reviews for his BBC Proms debut in Stravinsky's Les Noces at the Royal Albert Hall. Recent concert engagements include Dvorak's Te Deum with the Orchestre de Paris and Rachmaninov's The Bells with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons. In the 2017 Prague Spring Festival he performed Shostakovich's Symphony no. 13 with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2018 he performed Beethoven 9 with Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Smoriginas studied at the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy before representing his country at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. He spent two years at the Royal College of Music and was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House for two years.
Opera repertoire
Title role Bluebeard's Castle
Riccardo I puritani
Escamillo Carmen
Zurga Les pêcheurs de perles
Golaud Pelleas et Melisande
Malatesta Don Pasquale
Enrico Lucia di Lammermoor
Tonio Pagliacci
Albert Werther
Guglielmo Cosi fan tutte
Title role Don Giovanni
Figaro / Il Conte Le nozze di Figaro
Shchelkalov Boris Godunov
Scarpia Tosca
Sharpless Madama Butterfly
Lescaut Manon Lescaut
Title role Aleko
Title role The Demon
R. Strauss
Oreste Elektra
Jochanaan Salome
Samson et Dalila High Priest
Title role Eugene Onegin
Tomsky Pique Dame
Rodrigo / Posa Don Carlo
Ford Falstaff
Renato Un ballo in maschera
Paolo Simon Boccanegra
Herrufer Lohengrin
Kurwenal Tristan und Isolde
Wotan The Ring Cycle*
*In preparation
Concert repertoire
Symphony No.9
Te Deum
Songs and Dances of Death
The Bells
Symphony No.13
Les noces
Stabat Mater
Season Highlights
*Jochanaan in a new Ted Huffman production of Salome for Oper Koln (role debut).
*Rachmaninov The Bells with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vasily Petrenko.
*Escamillo in Carmen at the Bolshoi Theatre, conducted by Tugan Sokhiev.
Opera Today
Smoriginas swaggered into Lillas Pastia's café as the reigning bullfighter and sang his 'Toreador Song' with resonant, robust sounds. He seemed to be having fun with the role and the part fit him perfectly.
New Orleans Advocate
As Figaro, bass-baritone Kostas Smoriginas sang with power and clarity, at his best when venting righteous anger on learning of Almaviva's designs on Susanna the night before her scheduled marriage to Figaro.
Forum Opera
The real revelation of the evening is the young Lithuanian bass-baritone Kostas Smoriginas... The voice is splendid, powerful and rich in a great variety of colours. But Smoriginas is also a fine musician who manages to give a lot of humanity to his character, and to make him almost sympathetic despite his dark designs.


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Style at Home editor Erin McLaughlin & I drove to Ottawa on a cold snowy day last December on our way to a shoot in Canada's capitol. As we drew closer the snow got worse and worse & the next morning we woke up to sleet and ice. We were determined to make it to the shoot so we drove verrrrrrrry slowly through the streets of Ottawa. And what a lovely surprise it was to have Chip Hamann & Alain Doom welcome us into their cozy and stylish house. We also met the gracious Irene Langlois of Irene Langlois Interiors who helped make this home charming and ready for entertaining.
Alain & Chip prepared the food, lit the candles while Irene hung the last of the holiday decor. And despite the ice & snow, good friends arrived, champagne was opened and the lovely party went on into the evening. . .


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Our Kenya & Tanzania Birds & Big Game safaris are designed to maximize both the big game experience and birding by selecting the very best and most accessible destinations in these two vast lands. In Tanzania, we visit the legendary Ngorongoro Crater and endless plains of the Serengeti. Our excursion to these, the most famous game reserves in the world, is timed for the annual wildebeest migration. We can expect to find tens of thousands of these and other animals in the parks. The Crater itself teems with big game and supports the highest density of large predators on the planet. We will also visit Tarangire, home to a huge diversity and volume of animals attracted to its perennial rivers. In Kenya, we explore key reserves offering a variety of habitats from the game-filled Amboseli lying in the shadows of Kilimanjaro, the montane forests of Mt Kenya, fantastic Shaba in the dry Samburu region and Lake Nakuru that glows pink with millions of flamingos.
With a maximum size of six expertly-guided participants, our small groups score up to 500 bird species, enjoy unparalleled African mammal and cultural experiences and spend time at some truly incredible lodges. It's no wonder that this is one of our most popular tours, and for private groups of family or friends, we cannot give it a higher recommendation.
Some of the special birds we expect to see include the beautiful Golden-winged Sunbird, the gaudy Vulturine Guineafowl, fabulous Golden-breasted Starling, Bar-tailed Trogon and Fischer's Lovebird. If this is your first visit to Africa, you will be delighted by a plethora of typical African birds; Ostrich, Hamerkop, Secretarybird, Bateleur, hornbills, woodhoopoes, weavers and waxbills.
Tour Fact Sheet
chances for millions of flamingos, Secretarybird, Vulturine Guineafowl, Grey-breasted Spurfowl, Fischer's & Yellow-collared Lovebird, Golden-breasted & Ashy Starling, Rufous-tailed Weaver, Kori Bustard, Bar-tailed Trogon, Golden-winged Sunbird
the "Big Five" and typical African megafauna, Cheetah, Striped Hyena, Grevy's Zebra, Reticulated Giraffe, Gerenuk, Lesser Kudu, Serval
lowland & montane forests, Acacia savanna, rivers and wetlands, rocky gorges, grassland, semi-desert
warm to hot, dry conditions, but cool at higher elevations and rain can be expected
undemanding to moderate pace, moderate walking and some long drives
Oldupai Prehistoric site, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Kilimanjaro & Mt Kenya, Maasai and other tribes, African curios
Tour Route
Tour Leader
As a young boy who was raised in Durban, Greg found his passion and interest in all aspects of the natural world. To escape the metropolitan and suburban blur of everyday...


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Keystone Pipeline Operator TransCanada in Takeover Talks
Deal with U.S. natural-gas company Columbia Pipeline could come within weeks
TransCanada Corp., the company behind the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline project, is in takeover talks with Columbia Pipeline Group Inc., a U.S. natural-gas pipeline operator with a market value of about $9 billion.
The companies could reach a deal in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. Details of the possible deal—including the role of Columbia Pipeline Partners LP, a publicly traded affiliate of Columbia Pipeline Group—couldn't be learned. The negotiations could still break down, the...


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This past July, after one of the busiest concert seasons of my life, I got really burned out on being an entrepreneurial violinist/writer. Desperate for some kind of change, I started applying for full-time day jobs.
I was really tired of:
not knowing where my next check was coming from
struggling to birth projects in the jungle of other people's schedules and priorities
fighting for press, attention, attendance, and funding
cramming anxiously for my next gig
getting onstage with too little rehearsal
… did I mention not knowing where my next check was coming from?
Maybe you're familiar with some of the above struggles. Taken together, they paint a picture of how tough it can be to stay in good spirits, good health, and good financial shape as a creative musician in a big city. These are the complaints we hear from our fellow musicians so often, usually followed by a heavy sigh. These are the difficulties that sometimes send us looking for greener pastures.
Well, I found those pastures. After applying for a few positions, I was lucky enough to land a full-time, salaried job with a Chicago arts organization. I had great co-workers, a nice office, and work that played to my strengths I felt like an orphan who had suddenly been offered a place at someone's table.
Six months later, I sing a very different tune. I've transitioned to a part-time role at my office, and my perspective has dramatically shifted. I'm completely reinvested in being a musician, and I have a clear-eyed appreciation for the challenges and privileges of building a musical career. It's not that my complaints weren't valid -- they were -- but now I understand that they are the price of admission for the privilege of living a life in music.
I was thirty years old by the time I took my first full-time "job job," and its lessons have been invaluable. If you've ever longed for the comfort of a steady arts admin paycheck, you should absolutely go for it. Let me give you five reasons why:
1. You will find out very quickly how important your art-making is to you. What happens when forty hours of your life each week are eaten by nonmusical activities? Do yourself a favor and find out. Personally, my "ah-ha" moment was the week that I set my alarm for five-thirty every day so I could hustle to a downtown practice room and squeeze in 40 minutes of playing time before I got to my office. I thought I didn't want to be a player anymore. The evidence suggested otherwise.
2. You will develop a deep appreciation for the people who work behind the scenes to make your gigs possible. At my organization, seven smart, wonderful people work full-time ensuring that rehearsal space gets booked, tickets get bought, seasons get planned, taxes get paid, and paychecks get mailed on time. They work tirelessly behind the scenes, and do not receive the standing ovations that the musicians do. If you watch a great admin team at work for any length of time, you'll never see your gigs the same way again. Many musicians -- myself included -- could use a dose of gratitude and humility towards the people who enable their work to take place.
3. You may realize that "easy" isn't what you want. Trying to assemble a rewarding, financially solvent living as a musician takes tremendous ingenuity, skill, and persistence. It's totally natural to be exhausted, or need a break, or want to throw in the towel and do something easier. So go ahead, take a job that feels "easy" to you and see how long you can go before you brain starts asking for the old challenges again.
4. The freedom-versus-security question will become crystal clear to you. There is a reason that full-time jobs pay you a reasonable salary. It's because they take all of your time. The ability to choose gigs and projects, take unpaid time off for passion projects, and decide how your day is going to go, is a privilege that has both costs and benefits.
5. You'll either get your ass in gear, or you won't. I thought I might be someone who made a permanent, meaningful career move away from performance and into something different. Turns out, the hunger is still there for me. But the other outcome -- realizing that I'm happier in an office -- would've been okay, too. There's only one way to find out.


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0-60V/0-2A Variable adjustable dc power supply
Q:What the certifications do you have for the bench power supply?
A:We usually have CE and ROHS.
Q: I don't know how to operation the bench power supply, where should i get a help?
A:You can contact us directly, then we will take a video to you to help you.
Q:Could i visit your factory when i come to China?
A:Yes, of course. we will always welcome to you to visit our factory.
Q:What about the advantage of the linear mode dc power supply?
A:The most obvious advantage is less ripple and low noise then the switching power supply.


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Fully Licensed & Bonded
Simple Apartments, centrally located and with walking distance to the beach. The Europa Apartments are located in the center of Playa del Ingles, 300 m from Jumbo shopping centre and 500 m from the beach. The facilities include pool, children's pool, luggage room and currency exchange. The apartments are equipped with bathroom (shower), kitchenette, safe (extra charge) and terrace/balcony. **Apartments with 1 bedroom: Sofa Bed for the 3rd person** Address: Av Alfereces Provinsionales 21, 35100 Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria, Spain


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Centennial Towers
Centennial Towers, Phase I, is a signature shaped tower in South San Francisco. Housing a retail concourse, 100-child day care facility, 200-seat performing arts center, office and administrative space, and a parking structure, the 12-story building sits on 48" diameter drilled piers on a hillside above the Bayshore Freeway. The façade features a steel and full unitized glass curtainwall, and a floating fin 6° off the rest of the building, which defines the dramatic form of the structure.
Centennial Towers, Phase I, won the California Construction Best Office Award of 2009.
PROJECT SIZE340,000 sqft
ARCHITECTSkidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
LOCATIONSouth San Francisco, CA
CLIENTMyers Development Company


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Daily photos of the city of Kyle, Texas. Photos are by Sean Claes (SeanclaesDOTcom).
Past contributor: Anna Downing (hobbledog)
Cool! Is this at the HEB Plus shopping center? That is an interesting logo.
Yes it is... opening soon.I dunno.. the cherry Mootopia shakes at HEB Plus! is going to be hard to beat.Believe me... order one.
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Tiny Gladiators Best Fighting App For Android
Tiny Gladiators Best Fighting App For Android
Up grade your abilities and weapons to overcome the roughest of all opponents easily.
Very small Gladiators can be really a dazzling battling game in that you play with a character of an gladiator avenging his fathes passing by beating all of the gladiators coming his manner. The game contains player versus player style aswell letting you examine your mettle against gamers from all around the globe.
You may begin the game by picking any of those four personalities given while in this game. Select the ideal hair colour and skin tone to your own personality and provide your gladiator a sturdy name which produces the enemies shake with dread.
The controllers of this game are quite simple to find a hang of all. All you've got to do is tap on the onscreen buttons to manually go your gladiator right or left. It's possible to even utilize the hop controller to prevent enemy strikes and also could exploit on the capability buttons to establish an ability movement as a way to overcome the roughest of opponents readily.
Very small Gladiators has really a fantastic effort manner in that you simply are going to need to conquer the gladiators one by one and soon you ultimately develop contrary to the one which conquered your own father. Just about every gladiator should become unlocked that is often done by beating the prior one. The game also has really a trendy player versus player manner from that you are able to struggle against gamers from all around the world at a knock-out battle.
Now you own an opportunity to get paid a three star ranking in every gladiator struggle throughout the effort manner. Conquer the enemy using just as modest H-P reduction as you Tiny Gladiators Hack are able to as a way to obtain the ideal evaluation. More evaluation will help you get significantly more gold celebrities, coins and gems after just about every struggle.
The sole thing that you want to keep an eye out to get can be your own endurance. Each struggle fees a particular quantity of endurance factors. You really do receive yourself a complete of fifty endurance points which have re-generated right after a specific moment. What's more, it is also possible to purchase them out of your game retail store with all the tools which you deserve. The game also has monthly bonuses which won't ever allow you to use up all your endurance which readily.
Whilst the opponents become rougher, you'll need to up grade too. Stop by the store to buy life-threatening armory and promotes such as try now special blades to assist to bring down the roughest opponent. You may get those with tools made after every fight you're playingwith.
Very small Gladiators includes some definitely astonishing pictures. The personalities certainly are quite delightfully step by step and also the visuals are absolutely vibrant. More overthe sound results and vocals make this game a more comprehensive deal of amusement.
Avenge your own fathes departure by beating each and every gladiator approaching your path in a epic effort manner. Fight arbitrary gamers from all around the world at a adorned participant versus player style. Utilize upgrades and boosts to overcome the very best of their very best. Take to out Very Small Gladiators now.…


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Armor All Extreme Tyre Shine - 500mLby
Armor All
Item No. 9183
Additional Information
Is this product for you?
Armor All Extreme Tyre Shine is Armor All's most extreme shine yet! It's formulated with a blend of gloss enhancers which give it that breathtaking wet look shine. When used regularly, Armor All Extreme Tyre Shine helps preserve your tyres by protecting them from harmful elements that cause cracking and fading. The convenient 500ml is convenient and easy to use saving you time and money.
How easy is it to apply?
It's simple! The one step application means all you have to do is spray it on and walk away, no wiping is required. For best results apply an even coat and let it stand for 15 mins before adding another coat. This will provide ultimate shine and protection.
- 500mL
- Easy one-step application
- Provides brilliant shine & protection


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That $100 million Chinese investment in Myrtle Beach? 'We're working on it'
One year after local officials announced a $100 million investment in the Myrtle Beach area, there's been no movement by Chinese investors.
The investment would have brought a Chinese cultural village — an amusement park including attractions like a building built in the image of a giant silk lantern — to an area west of the Intracoastal Waterway, Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes and Horry County Council Chair Mark Lazarus told The Sun News last March.
Lazarus could not be reached by phone Monday. Rhodes said he had not heard anything from the group of investors that he said last year pledged millions to the project.
"I would love to hear from them very soon, but as of right now, I have not," Rhodes said. "I think they were talking about coming back around the first of — well, hell, it is March."
Ming Wu, a representative of Hongyang Lantern Inc., the group that was slated to invest, said that an investor named "Mr. Chang" was planning on coming to the U.S. this month. But The Sun News reported last year that the investors had been planning on coming in April 2016 to make a decision about how to spend their money.
"So far, we have nothing to announce right this moment, because we're still working on it," Wu said. "We're still waiting (on the) Chinese side, the investors to make the final decision."
Last year, documents received after a Freedom of Information request suggested that the group had expressed interest in the former Hard Rock amusement park property, which opened for a few months in 2008. The park changed hands and then opened as the Freestyle Music Park in 2009 closing shortly after. It now sits unused.
Wu said that his group has not begun purchasing land for the deal and declined to identify an area where they might.
Chinese developers and investors have turned their eye on the Myrtle Beach area over the past few years, with many investing in golf courses.
Rhodes also has traveled to China several times on economic development and tourism trips. The announcement of the $100 million investment came after a February 2016 trip. He most recently traveled there in September to a tourism summit, in a trip funded by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber President Brad Dean said in an email Monday that his organization's international strategy is focused on recruiting more air travel to the region, so that Myrtle Beach becomes a part of foreign traveler's trips around the southeast.
"On a few occasions, we have met with foreign investors interested in our community, but I am not aware of any recent activity related to the cultural village concept," Dean wrote in the email.
And Rhodes said he may not travel to China again in the near future.
"I'm sorry, I am not taking time out to go over there any more until y'all have decided to put money in the project and get it going," he said.
Chloe Johnson: 843-626-0381, @_ChloeAJ


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Good morning :) Any plans for the weekend? We went for a simple brunch yesterday. Since it was a chilled occasion, I wore a simple chambray looking dress with nude heels. To match the silver detailing on my shoes, I went for silver hoop earrings. Leopard watch and bag was just to spice up the oh-so-plain outfit. Please excuse my dirty soles <3
Dress - TQ
Shoes - Zara
Bag - Christmas Gift
Watch - Michael Kors


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Frederike Top Design for Zuiver
www.frederiketop.nl / www.zuiver.com
About Frederike Top
Frederike Top has her own studio in product design which is based in Amsterdam. She studied Product Design at the University of the Arts Utrecht and graduated in February 2007. Her designs consist mainly of interior products, but she also designs for the public space. Except designing under her own name, Frederike designs for the interior label Zuiver.
A recurring theme in her work is light. Seized by the elusive nature of light she plays endlessly with the experience of it. From the source of light, shadow, light colour and light strength she tries to create a site-specific atmosphere in the spaces she designs for, often through small interventions which have a major impact.
Flown Up lamp (7)*
Flown Up is a series of lamps which makes your mind wonder. Due to the lamps shapes and silhouettes they look as if they are blowing in the wind. The perfect amount of atmospheric light gives you a feeling of mystery that strengthens the feeling of enchantment from these lamps.
Material: steel and fabric
Prices Zuiver: (floor lamp) €99,00 / €169,00 / €279,00 (pendant) € 56,00 / €84,00 / €139,00
Prices hand-made (limited edition): (floor lamp) €590,00 / €950,00 / €1150,00
Workshop Licht (8)*
You can do a lot of nice things with a white wall and an overhead projector. With the Workshop Light you can create your own surroundings, you pose with whom you want or you transform yourself into a superhero. By thinking about what you really want you create your ideal image.
Always wanted to be a smart guy? Want to have more persuasiveness? Or just long hair or a muscular body?
By cutting out figures and project them on the wall, you literally add your own wishes to your portrait. A whole new world opens up!
Do you want to know more about this lightning workshop? Do not hesitate to contact Frederike. www.frederiketop.nl or 06 20 683 687
About ZUIVER:
ZUIVER, which is Dutch for pure, is founded in 1998. The company is an allround and dynamic enterprise, focused on development, import and wholesale of lighting, furniture, and home accessories.
The ZUIVER success is based on the progressive and balanced collection. This can be selected items from all over the world, exclusively developed items by our own designers, or well-established Dutch designers like Frederike Top.
It is the diversity of the products that create an inspiring and powerful collection in a playful and modern style.
'Our collection is an ongoing process and constantly updated, so keep checking our website www.zuiver.com for the latest news and developments.'


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UW-Green Bay's Language Learning Lab is once again looking for local parents interested in having their children ages 18 months through 4 years participate in a major study of toddlers' skill and language development. Prof. Jennifer Lanter of Human Development is asking alumni, University employees and returning adult students with young children to consider volunteering for a visit. Participation is easy, with only a single 30- to 45-minute session in which the parent gently guides his or her child through a few simple play exercises. Participants (the children, anyway) get a free book or toy as a parting gift. Lanter and/or one of her student research assistants will observe. If you have a child between the ages of 1 and 4 and a willingness to play games for science, contact Lanter at MAC Hall C322; email email@example.com, or sign up online at the project website, http://www.uwgb.edu/learnlab.
Inside UW-Green Bay News
The official site for UW-Green Bay News and Features
- You are here:
- UWGB Home
- News
- Newsroom
- Announcements
- Wanted: New batch of talkative toddlers for language lab
- Marketing and University Communication, CL 820
UW-Green Bay, 2420 Nicolet Drive
Green Bay, WI 54311-7001
- (920) 465-5502
Department Info
- University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
2420 Nicolet Drive
Green Bay, WI 54311, USA
- UW-Green Bay Mission
- Connect with UWGB: facebook twitter flickr youtube
- General Contact:
(920) 465-2000 or email@example.com
- Report a website issue
- Privacy Policy
- Emergency Information: emergency.uwgb.edu


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Learning all about the testimonies of NSA whistle-blowers featured in "A Good American" is vital in reaching an understanding of what occurred at the highest levels of the NSA which actually led to the 9/11 attacks. This topic of study is necessarily followed by study of their experiences, the decisions made in implementing surveillance programs, and efforts on both sides of Section 702 of FISA. Here are several articles and videos which will inform you.
Congress's Absurd Quest to Curb the Surveillance State
How Your Member of the House of Representatives Voted on Sec. 702
(Wikipedia) Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008
Section 702: What It Is & How It Works (Center for Democracy & Technology)
How the government can read your email (Politico)
Hayden, NSA, and the Road to 9/11 (by Patrick Eddington, Cato Institute)
Warrantless Surveillance Can Continue Even if Law Expires, Officials Say (NY TImes)
Interview with William Binney on WhoWhatWhy.com
PBS Frontline Interviews
Watch "A Good American"
The film "A Good American" is available on Netflix. In case you're not a subscriber, there are pay-per-view options. It's well worth the few dollars to view it. There are other options, as well.


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Isobel actually calls this activity "mud cook" but for the sake of grammar we'll officially call it mud cooking. For us, what sets this activity apart from other types of digging the dirt and mud is that I took items from her thrifted toy kitchen and brought them outside to be permanently a part of the mud-cooking chef's batterie de cuisine. Eventually I bought her specific kitchen equipment just for the backyard. I may have mentioned Isobel's obsession with turning any toy or play situation into an arena for her to bake happy birthday cakes and cokies, and try as I might I was never able to pique her interest in building sandcastles. She only wanted to bake and cook, so taking kitchen toys outside was a logical step.
Like I mentioned, with the exception of the new thrifted toys I bought for mud cook everything here was once and indoor cooking toy, but after its first trip outside I made them outdoor only toys permanently. It's just not worth the trouble to scrub them every time and you certainly aren't going to want to clean up the bits of dirt and sand they track in.
I always fill a tub with fresh water whenever we play mud cook and it comes in handy for several purposes: 1.) Isobel likes to add her own water to her "dishes" as part of the cooking process. 2.) It's handy for sticking your kid's hands or feet in when they feel they are too muddy to continue. 3.) It's fun for them to sit in, according to Isobel. 4.) and, finally, you can teach your child the most important step in cooking, which is washing your dishes when you are done. (Or at least just toss them in to soak so they are ready for next time, which is generally what we do.)
Things that come in handy for mud cook:
- tub for water and a tub for dirt
- a pretend cooking surface (in this case, a kneeling pad for gardening)
- pots, pans, utensils
- an active imagination or a really strange appetite


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If your child is nearsighted there's finally something you can do besides just getting stronger glasses every year.
Treehouse Eyes is a new kind of vision care center. We treat kids with myopia (nearsightedness). We don't sell glasses. Much like an orthodontist focuses on braces working with your dentist, we focus on treating childhood myopia in partnership with your regular eye doctor.
When you visit one of our DC-Metro locations, we'll perform a comprehensive assessment and recommend a customized treatment plan for your child. Our doctors use proven methods, such as customized contact lenses and prescription eye drops, to slow or stop your child's vision from getting worse. This is important because increasing myopia significantly increases your child's risk of serious eye diseases.
We have two DC-Metro locations in Bethesda and Tysons Corner and we invite you to make an appointment here.
If you would like to talk with one of our myopia counselors or optometrists for more information, please contact us here.
Learn more about the Myopia Epidemic here.


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Chamaedorea radicalis repotting.
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- Location: Arthog, Gwynedd, North West Wales.
Chamaedorea radicalis repotting.
Anyone tried repotting these? I have two in very narrow deep pots that are going to be a pig to get out. Will they stand a bit of root disturbance or shall I split the pots. I've had them too long to want to kill them.
Ignorance is bliss. What I don't know, wont worry me!
jungle jas
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The box jellyfish is one of the most venomous animals on the planet-- not just in Australia, and the deadliest marine animal known to man. These powerfully venomous jellies are characterized by long, transparent tentacles that have millions of venom-carrying, harpoon like darts. Active mostly during the period from October through May (a time known as 'stinger season' in northern Australian coastal areas), the box jelly can be difficult to detect in the water due to its transparency.
The vast majority of human deaths caused by jellyfish are caused by the box jellyfish, and though fewer than 100 people have died as a result of jellyfish stings since 1883, the box jellyfish's venom quickly shuts down vital organs such as the heart and nervous system. This capacity to quickly dispatch a human victim is what makes the box jelly so deadly, and a sting from this animal can cause human death within minutes. However, certain precautions can be taken to protect oneself from a box jellyfish sting, including wearing a protective sting suit and heeding any posted warnings on beaches in affected regions.


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Following a series of tantalizing tweets from @HiddenCash spanning late Saturday night to late Monday morning, Chicago residents with admirable modern-day pirate skills scoured Millennium Park, Oz Parks, and North Avenue Beach for concealed envelopes filled with cash. California millionaire Jason Buzi, the human behind the Twitter handle @HiddenCash, chose Chicago as the lucky site of his latest escapade after previously hiding money-filled envelopes in New York City, Houston, and around California.
Initial tweets indicated that the cash was hidden in Millennium Park. A total of $2,000 was stuffed into twenty envelopes in fourteen varied locations within this downtown landmark. Hiding places included a trash bin south of the famous Bean, a stone picnic table east of the Bean, a bush just north of the Bean, and a banister by the stairs north of the Bean (notice a pattern?). Find a complete list of Millennium Park's Bean-oriented hiding places on http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/06/15/chicagoans-search-for-hiddencash-envelopes/.
Josh and Meredith Highmark discovered one of the first envelopes in Millennium Park on Sunday morning. After grabbing a coffee, Josh heard from his father about the hidden cash near the Bean. Immediately after joining the city-wide reenactment of Treasure Island (albeit without the mutiny or talking parrot), Josh and Meredith found a cash-stuffed envelope behind a garbage can. Perhaps Josh and Meredith shared some of their randomly discovered cash with Josh's father as an impromptu Father's Day gift. See their story and accompanying adorable picture at http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/06/15/chicagoans-search-for-hiddencash-envelopes/.
Future tweets added big red X's to Oz Park in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and North Avenue Beach as potential treasure sites. Just after 11am this morning and again a few minutes before noon, @HiddenCash tweeted clues about stashed money at the North Side Beach. These new clues instructed treasure hunters to find envelopes just north of Castaways, near the lifeguard tower, under a door, between recycling bins, under a beach chair, and inside a welcome sign.
Within minutes, about twenty envelope seekers were spotted scouring the North Avenue Beach. Lucky searchers who discovered free cash tweeted pictures of their booty. Pictures of these winners (who presumably are not die-hard soccer fans who spent their early afternoons glued to the Germany v. Portugal World Cup match) can be found at http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/HiddenCash-Stashes-More-Money-Around-Chicago-263313711.html and http://abc7chicago.com/news/search-for-hidden-cash-is-on-in-chicago/116449/.
It appears as if the treasure hunt is over for now, but who knows for sure? Jason Buzi has stated that he hopes lucky winners will share their prizes for a good cause, and he must think that Chicagoans have a particular proclivity to pay it forward if he continues to tweet additional @HiddenCash locations in the city. Keep your eyes on your Twitter accounts for any possible updates and practice your searching skills with some rousing games of Hide and Seek. If you can tear yourself away from the US v. Ghana match, that is.


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Digital culture editor and founder of Designcollector Network Arseny Vesnin, has been exploring and curating the best of visual media arts and design since 2003. DCN quickly became a leading online media that keeps an eye on the rapidly changing world of new media art, design and other creative disciplines. The idea to run standalone collaboration came after we celebrated 10th Anniversary of Designcollector blog.
Each year we have different partners, sponsors, jury members and just friends helping us to build the final annual show that already ran in Barcelona, Saint Petersburg and London.
Digital Decade 5, 2017 - London
Artists at Event
Digital Decade 5 x Ello Competition Jury Panel


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|Compact Travel Umbrellas
|Wind Resistant Umbrellas
|Travel Sun Umbrellas
|Contact Us
Welcome to TravelUmbrellas.org
As more and more people travel for business and leisure, umbrellas have had to become more portable and easier to carry. Travel umbrellas are excellent for those who are on the go often. Whether your favorite means of travel is car, bus, plane or train, you'll love the convenience and portability of bringing your rain umbrella with you in a smaller, travel form.
There are different types of travel umbrellas to consider. For instance, you can choose between compact, windproof and sun protection umbrellas. These features may often supplement each other, especially the first two ones. You'll want to make the choice based on your needs and the specific features that will benefit you the most.
Many of these umbrellas are so small, they can fold up neatly and store inside a suitcase, briefcase, carry on bag or even a medium-sized purse. What's most appealing about them is the fact that you have them at your fingertips whenever you need them. For instance, if you're taking a train from one area to another, you might encounter rain when you reach your destination. That being the case, your mini umbrella is right there for you to use.
Another appealing aspect of such umbrellas is that even though they are compact when stored, the vast majority of them open up to full size. This is great for people who need full weather protection from precipitation during their travels. Even though you're in the market for an umbrella that travels with you, that doesn't mean you want one that doesn't cover you completely and offers minimal protection from the elements. On the contrary, you're going to want to look for one that can offer complete coverage.
In addition, many of these travel rain umbrellas are actually windproof or will easily turn back in if a strong gust of wind pulls them inside-out. Many people have experienced damage or breakage to their umbrellas by a very strong gust of wind, perhaps during a particularly violent storm. With this type of rain protection, you will no longer have to be concerned with this. You'll be able to rest assured knowing that it is either resistant to wind, or will turn right back in if the wind rips it inside-out.
In terms of style, there are many patterns and colors to choose from when shopping for a travel umbrella. Many come in traditional black, but you don't have to settle for that if you're looking for something with a little more pizzazz. For instance, you can find umbrellas in neon colors or wild prints, such as jaguar or geometric shapes.
Whatever your preference, you'll love the portability and convenience of your new travel umbrella. It's great having it stow away so easily and be available for you whenever the need should arise.


text: Why Hire A DJ? For your event, you are assembling a team of people to work with to assure a great celebration! Your DJ is one of the most important people to ensure a successful event. You need a DJ you trust to play the right music, make announcements and keep your event flowing. Unlike a band, your DJ will play music in its original form the way you like it and will have a wide range of music available. With DJ Ivan, you can relax and enjoy yourself while you and your guests have a great time dancing! One of the most important parts of the process is meeting with you beforehand to find out what atmosphere you hope to create and what music will please you and your guests. Let's work together to make yours an occasion to remember!


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I Want To Be Right/
I texted my friend this morning kind of a weird request. I asked her to do a favor for me that I knew was a little bit controlling, a little bit weird. I wanted her to just say, "Sure, Sarah, no problem. I'll do whatever you're asking." But she actually kind of hesitated about my request...and said, "Actually, I'm going to have to talk to you about this a little bit later."
And the anxiety started rising up in me.
'What does she think about me?'
'She's going to think that I'm doing something wrong.'
I started imagining what her hesitation was...and if I was wrong or right in my request. Analyzing if I could defend myself...or if I just should feel down on myself, that I'm bad, a bad person, that I did something bad.
After awhile of mulling all this over ('Am I good? Am I bad?') I tuned in to the anxiety churning around inside of me, and I turned on some music that would help turn my 'spiritual' eyes back up to God. I started remembering some of the things that I know are now true about me because of the Good News of what Jesus did for me by dying on the cross and rising again:
I don't have to be right anymore.
I don't have to justify myself by being right all the time, by never making a mistake, by being more together than other people, or always having the right answer.
I don't have to prove that I'm good enough; I don't have to have to impress anyone or gain anyone approval.
God is gracious. He made a way for me to be me: broken, a mess, often controlling and confused. And His way is that He sent Jesus to pay the price for my sin and He has given me Jesus' righteousness...so He can now be gracious to me. He is happy with me right where I am, and where He's taking me, who He's forming me into.
As I contemplated what the Gospel frees me up to not have to do anymore (be right all the time) and what it lets me be (just be enjoyed and loved and cherished by God as the mess that I am), I started realizing I think that when I'm corrected, it's a shameful thing. When I'm not right, it means I'm bad. I'm shamed. I should hide that part of me.
That's one of the biggest things that bothers me, that scares me, that angers me, that even enrages me, about how our culture deals with children.
And, as a result, we teach them that making a mistake is shameful. Being in process is bad. Not being perfect is to be hidden. And we are a culture that collectively wishes we could eradicate our imperfections. You can see it everywhere, from our hatred of any fat on our bodies, to self-mutilation, to rampant perfectionism and hiding who we really are.
That's what I learned growing up. When I did something wrong, it was a shameful experience. I see it when my children are around other adults. It doesn't have to be a volatile or aggressive situation. My daughter was riding a little toy car the other day and she, on mistake, ran over a little toddler's toe with the car and several adults, without even thinking, even in tiny comments to her, spoke shame over her. It happens every single day, in every day interactions.
But the Father, GOD, isn't like that. He doesn't interact with us like that. He doesn't shame us for our messiness, for our sin. He is gracious. His discipline, His correction, is kind, is compassionate, is gentle, is good. His parenting is completely different than our culture's. His embrace is shame-free. We never have to prove we are good enough, or hide that we aren't. We can just be who we fully are, and know that we will be embraced and delighted in.
That's the true Father's love...and that is what will give me rest as I wait to hear what made my friend hesitate about my request.


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C D I – Patient Care Technician Educational Courses
Based in Washington, C D I is a educational facility that could provide you with the required degree to become a licensed patient care technician. The occupation as a patient care technician has started to become a continuously increasing need as the population of The United States grows. If you need more information on this rewarding profession, please get in touch with the program office by dialing 202-775-2183 or touring the campus at the address listed below.See below for Complete location information is below.
School Information
1808 I St Nw
Washington,Washington DC 20006
Phone: 202-775-2183


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Behind the Line is a video series produced by Teton Gravity Research that takes you into the minds of skiers. In each episode, the athletes will look back on a line, a jump or a session, and discuss the moment.
Deep in the Neacola Mountains of Alaska, professional skiers Todd Ligare, Ian McIntosh, and Angel Collinson discover a technical line that requires jumping two bergschrunds. Formed near the head of a glacier, these crevasses provide both challenging terrain and tremendous danger.
After a helicopter drops the Teton Gravity Research athletes above their lines, they watch each another navigate the steep mountain face and the bergschrunds in their path. At more than 3,000 vertical feet, this towering face offers ample challenge — even before factoring in its crevasses. And for Ligare, a fall during his descent presents even more danger.


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8 Strategies to Bring Out the Best In Your Staff | Chris Wejr
An area that I continue to see having a large impact on organizational culture in school is strength-based leadership. The idea is rather simple: encourage staff members in areas of strength as much as possible and watch them flourish. Educators are often highly criticized by the public (you will see that many governments do not follow the research referenced below when working with educators) so a strength-based lens really helps to create a more positive organizational culture that focuses primarily on what we CAN do rather than all the things we CANNOT do (yet).
Great ideas here that seem like they are obvious, and yet, they aren't, or else we all would do them.