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Billy Crystal he isn't, but Seth MacFarlane did one heckuva job hosting the 85th Annual Oscars. One heckuva job testing the boundaries of just how far he could go without being run right off the stage inside the Dolby Theatre, that is. The Ted director's jokes ran the gamut from hilarious to risky to downright offensive.
MacFarlane has already stated that this was a one-shot deal; he'd never be hosting the Oscars again. And after jokes about domestic violence (in reference to Rihanna and Chris Brown) and a rather racist comment about actor Don Cheadle, he's probably right.
Here are some of his worst "jokes" of the night:
More From The Stir: Oscar Awards 'Boobs' Song Isn't Offensive Unless You Let It Be (VIDEO)
We didn't have to see Chris Brown and Rihanna canoodling at this awards show, but we didn't escape them entirely. Speaking of Django Unchained, the Oscars host dropped a jaw-dropping domestic violence joke:
This is the story of a man fighting to get back his woman, who's been subjected to unthinkable violence. Or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie.
Uncomfortable yet? He wasn't done milking Django to shock:
A lot of controversy over the multiple uses of the n-word in [Django Unchained]. I am told the screenplay is loosely based on Mel Gibson's voicemails.
And then there was the not-so-veiled reference to eating disorders:
For all those women who had the 'flu.' it paid off. Lookin' good.
Or how about the way he described Jessica Chastain's character in Zero Dark Thirty as proof of:
A woman's innate ability to never let anything go.
Who wasn't amazed by 9-year-old Oscar-nominee Quvenzhané Wallis? MacFarlane took the chance to get a little dig in at George Clooney in the middle of all that awe:
To give you an idea of how young she is, it'll be 16 years until she's too old for Clooney.
The jokes about Best Picture nominee Lincoln weren't easy to swallow either. Referring to Best Actor winner Daniel Day-Lewis, MacFarlane had two particularly shocking comments:
I always thought the actor who got most inside Lincoln's head was John Wilkes Booth.
Daniel Day-Lewis, your process fascinates me. You were totally 100 percent in character as Lincoln during the movie ... If you bumped into Don Cheadle on the studio lot, did you try to free him? How deep did your method go?
And then there was MacFarlane's comment on director Ben Affleck's beard:
The first time I saw [Affleck] with all that dark facial hair, I thought, "My God, the Kardashians have made the jump to film."
Did these comments bother you? Which one was the worst?
Image via Getty Images/Kevin Winter

subset: commoncrawl


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Bing Predicts is on a Roll; Looking Ahead to NFL Week 8
Note: This post is for the 2014 season. Click here to see the Week 7 results and Week 8 preview for 2015.
Just a few weeks ago, Bing Predicts looked like it was in trouble. After a pathetic 5-8 record in NFL Week 4, most people were ready to write off the prediction engine as a failed experiment. Since then, Bing has dominated. After a second-straight 11-4 performance in Week 7, Bing has successfully predicted 78% of the NFL games during the past 3 weeks.
Bing is now 69-37 (65.1%) on the season, putting it well above its goal of predicting the majority of games correctly. The prediction engine remains particularly impressive when predicting teams to win with a chance of 70% or higher; Bing is 27-8 (77%) in such games.
Quick Stats Breakdown
Home field advantage was kind to Bing during Week 7. The prediction engine favored the home team in 12 games, and its predictions proved correct in 10 of them. This puts Bing at 49-23 on the season when predicting the home team to win. Bing has typically struggled when predicting the away team to win, going just 1-2 this week.
Bing is on a hot streak when it comes to night games, correctly predicting the past 7 matchups under the lights. However, Bing is just 13-9 after dark on the season.
Is Bing getting better, or are the games just getting more obvious? That's a question I'll explore here next week when we cross the halfway point of the season.
Changes to the Prediction Model
It's almost a certainty that Bing is changing its predictive formula each week, which would explain why the search engine is suddenly on a tear after going just 34-27 during the first four weeks. We have seen frequent mid-week changes in the predicted chances a team has to win, and we've also seen several instances where Bing has switched a pick within a day or two of a game.
Week 8 saw a major change in the way the predictions are presented to us. Prior to this week, Bing posted its predictions early. In fact, after a group of games had been played on a given Sunday, Bing had already begun posting predictions for the following week. Generally, the search engine has always kept between 16 and 18 games in the prediction queue.
This week, Bing's predictions didn't appear on the web until late Tuesday. The search for "NFL predictions" that usually triggered the familiar Bing Predicts graphic of forthcoming NFL games turned up loads of articles, but no sign of Bing's football forecast. For a minute, I was worried they had grown bored with the experiment. However, we now have full predictions for next week (although Bing is not ranking their predictions at the top of the search anymore).
It's also interesting to note that Bing is no longer filling up all 16 spaces with predictions. Whereas Bing used to tell us what was going to happen in the Thursday night game for the following week, this time we only have the 15 picks for this week's games.
Week 8 Predictions
Week 8 could spell trouble for Bing. This is a week of close matchups, especially if you consider the Vegas odds. Over half the games have a spread of fewer than 4 points. Still, I don't foresee the search engine making too many changes before Sunday.
The prediction machine is going with the home team in 9 of 15 games. The only real surprise I see is picking the Saints over the Packers. Although the Saints are a slight Vegas favorite, I figured Bing would go with the Packers here.
Here is a breakdown of the predicted chances for the week:
- 50-59.9%: 7 games
- 60-69.9%: 4 games
- 70-79.9%: 3 games
- 80+%: 1 game
My prediction for Bing was off by one last week (I said the search engine would go 10-5). Using past statistics only (no gut feelings here), Bing has a 44% chance of going 9-6 this week. How did I calculate that? I'll tell you when Bing reveals its own secret formula.


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Looking for tennis partners.I dont know my rank but I would consider myself an intermediate level player and would like to play tennis with people that share the same goal as me, which is to improve my gameplay through practice and most importantly have fun. Moved to Orange about 5 months ago and haven't played since my motorcycle accident in 2015.
Comfortable playing with any person. No matter the age or gender.
Feel free to shoot a text 310-365-2966
Views: 58
© 2019 Created by Mark / The Mayor. Powered by


text:
Oakcrofts provide a bespoke service to suit all customer needs.
We cover all aspects of carpentry work, ranging from small to large projects.
Matthew Massey of Oakcrofts Carpentry has carried out a range of work for myself over the past two years. This work has included replacement windows for the front of the house, a new flat roof, replacement internal doors and the laying of a new wood floor. All of the work he has undertaken has been of a very high standard and carried out in a clean and tidy fashion, causing minimal disruption to the rest of the house. I am happy to recommend him as a carpenter and builder.
Matt Massey has carried out a few jobs for me, including hanging doors, putting up shelving, making and installing a fitted cupboards and designing and making a kitchen. Matt has proved to be hard working, reliable and honest and works in a clean and tidy manner. He can handle unusual tasks that take ingenuity. I can't fault him or the work that he has done.
I called Oakcrofts carpentry to get a quote on supplying and fitting 6 new interior doors with all the fittings. He came round the very next day and gave a very competitive quote, so competitive that I booked him in there and then. They turned up on time and completed the work in a timely and professional manner. Excellent quality of workmanship and left no mess behind! The doors looked great and we're fitted brilliantly. Couldn't recommend this business enough and will definitely be using them again in the future. Thank you for an A* job!


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Recession or depression? There's a case for both
As the nation struggles to name our ongoing economic pain, we may be settling on The Great Recession.
Friday's jobs report — that U.S. employers cut 651,000 jobs and the unemployment rate leaped from 7.6 percent to 8.1 percent in February — did nothing to spark hope for an imminent end to the recession that began in December 2007.
Unemployment now stands at its highest rate since 1983, and February was the third straight month that payroll job losses exceeded 600,000.
All expectations are for April Fools' Day to mark the longest recessionary period since the Great Depression. For now, though, we don't know for sure if we're in a depression, headed for a depression, or simply in the longest, deepest recession since the 1930s.
"We're probably in a depression now, but it's not going to be acknowledged until years go by," said Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland.
Unlike "recession" — defined either as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction or a statement from the National Bureau of Economic Research based on detailed monthly data — "depression" isn't as easily defined.
Some economists say a depression occurs when there is a 10 percent per-person decline in consumption or gross domestic product. Others say a decline must last for three years to be a true depression.
Even in the wake of a startling 6.2 economic contraction in the fourth quarter, the 15 months of employment losses don't yet qualify.
Other economists say it's a depression when a "sustained recession" causes people to sell off assets to pay daily expenses.
By that definition, we're in a recession for some and a depression for others, particularly the long-term unemployed. About 2.9 million workers have been job hunting for 27 weeks or more.
February job losses were widespread. The goods-producing sector cut an estimated 276,000 jobs since January, while service sector payrolls were slashed by 375,000.
No matter where we are in the economic cycle, the grim numbers have sent economists digging into their bag of semantics. In addition to "recession" and "depression," some are harking back to the "panic" word used in the 19th century.
Some note that "recession" wasn't commonly used until "depression" became the reference point in the 1930s.
"When the economy collapsed again in 1937, they didn't want to call that a new depression, and that's when recession was first used," said Robert McElvaine, a history professor at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss.
Semantics aside, our economic malaise reflects the sad state of consumer confidence. As measured by the Conference Board, it fell last month to an all-time low for the survey, which dates to 1967.
Job losses, cratering stock prices and plunging home prices have combined to cause consumers to rein in spending. In turn, that caused business revenues to decline and more job losses, which perpetuates the "negative feedback loop."
Perhaps the brightest glimmer of hope Friday was that job cuts declined slightly from what may have been a peak in December — from 681,000 then to 655,000 in January to 651,000 in February.
Other modest positives were found in the education and health services sector, which gained 26,000 jobs last month, and government, up 9,000.
Nonetheless, payroll employment has plummeted by 2.6 million in the last four months, and the number of job hunters increased by an estimated 851,000 to 12.5 million. About 4.4 million payroll jobs have been lost since December 2007.
"We're more than 6 million jobs short of where we should be," said economist Larry Mishel at the Economic Policy Institute. "Since December 2007, we needed to have created 1.8 million jobs to just keep pace with new entrants in the labor force."
Part of the challenge lies in addressing the "hidden" unemployed. The number of people working part time — because they couldn't find a full-time job — soared by 787,000 to 8.6 million last month.
And the bureau's highest alternative measure of unemployment jumped to 14.8 percent, a record for the statistical series. That measure includes involuntary part-timers and discouraged workers.
Historically, the labor market bottoms out after recessions end, sometimes long after. After the brief 2001 recession, employment did not rebound until 2003.
One way to search for turnaround signals is to watch contingency, contract and temporary hiring. That's a harbinger of payroll action because employers hire temps when business begins to increase instead of immediately adding employees.
Unfortunately, the American Staffing Association charted a sharp decline in temporary-help hiring. Fourth-quarter staffing company employment was down 19.5 percent from the same quarter a year earlier.
When "the bottom fell out of the economy," said the staffing association's president, Richard Wahlquist, "demand for temporary and contract employees shrank at an unprecedented rated."
Dave McDowell, president of Mid-America Personnel and Staffing Services, noted that regional demand for hourly industrial placements is off as much as 40 percent from this time last year.
Another job market indicator, the Society for Human Resource Management's Leading Indicators of National Employment report, also issued Friday, was "bleak" for March.
More than twice as many human resource managers told the survey that they will cut payrolls in March (34.9 percent) than hire (15.3 percent).
So, how certain are we that the economy will get worse before it gets better?
Robert Barro, a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and an economics professor at Harvard University, researched 209 worldwide stock market crashes and 59 depressions and concluded that the United States has a 20 percent chance of depression.
How to keep the recession from being a depression is one point of the Obama administration's recovery package.
"So far, monetary policy has been stimulative. Now we hope, by midyear, that fiscal policy will make a difference," said Charles Krider, a business professor at the University of Kansas. "The real key is making a difference in consumer confidence. We need confidence along with correct policies."
But few expect any sign of a turnaround before the end of this year.
And Anirvan Banerji, with the Economic Cycle Research Institute, said there's always a possibility that cures from the past won't work in today's "fast-moving, highly leveraged, highly networked economy."
Like Morici, Banerji said we'll need to wait and see what to ultimately call this economic cycle.
"The Great Depression didn't start out as a depression," Banerji said. "It started out as a recession."


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Melt Into You
by Roni Loren
Blurb: Her first love has returned, and he's brought a friend...
After running away from home and the boy who broke her heart, Evan Kennedy has kick-started the perfect new life with her celebrity fiancé. So what if said fiancé prefers guys? She knew the deal. And with her ticket to The Ranch, an exclusive resort where any fantasy can be satisfied, she knows she can find someone to fulfill her less-than-traditional desires on the side.
She just never expected that man to be Jace Austin, her old heart-breaker—all grown up, hard-bodied, and holding out a collar. She knows it's probably a world-class bad idea—especially since Jace has brought along his buddy Andre, who's every bit as irresistible. But if they can stick to the no-strings rules, so can she.
Too bad Jace has never been so good with rules. Evan is convinced "forever" is a word used only in greeting cards, but Jace and Andre have one last fantasy of hers left to fulfill. It's time to go big or go home. And neither man has ever been a fan of going home.
"Thanks." She took her shirt and towel from him, pulled the first over her head, then got to her feet and knotted the beach towel around her hips. She tilted her head up to smile at him. "So, Mr. Humble Hero, you have a name?"
He stuck out his hand. "It's Jace."
Her body froze, the world seeming to tip off balance for a moment. Had she heard right? She stared at him for a moment, taking in every nuance of his face, the earlier whispers of déjà vu now becoming shouts.
Was it really him? His hair was longer, his body harder and more mature, the green in his eyes more wary, but the resemblance was there. It'd been years—twelve actually. The nineteen-year-old boy she'd known had become a man. "Jace Austin?"
Oh, shit. The recognition that flashed in the woman's blue eyes had Jace dropping his hand. This chick knew him? He frantically flipped through his mental Rolodex, starting with the girls-I've-slept-with file.
When they'd locked gazes earlier, he'd felt a nudge of familiarity but had dismissed it. Surely, he'd remember this dark-haired beauty, especially if he had gotten the privilege of touching that lush little body. But something about her was poking at the recesses of his mind.
He rubbed the back of his neck and offered an apologetic smile. "Uh, yeah. Jace Austin. I'm sorry, have we met?"
She flinched a bit—the move subtle, but not lost on him. Damn, well now he felt like a jackass. Had they slept together?
She recovered quickly, the corner of her mouth tilting up. "Don't worry. I'm sure I look a little different than I did at sixteen. Especially without that god-awful bottle red hair and eyebrow piercing."
Sixteen? Red hair? The flashing list of names in his head suddenly flipped back over a decade and landed on one he hadn't thought about in years. One he'd purposely tried to block out. No, couldn't be. "Evangeline?"
She shrugged and looked out at the water, the wind whipping her hair around and disguising her expression. "It's Evan now. I stopped using my full name a long time ago."
"Wow, I don't even know what to say," he said, shaking his head. "You look great. I'm so glad to see that you're . . ." Okay. Alive. "Here."
She turned back toward him and smiled, though it didn't light her face the way the earlier smiles had. "It's good to see you, too. But, if you don't mind, before we go down memory lane, how 'bout that vinegar?"
"Oh, right," he said, his mind still whirling. "Follow me."
And she needn't worry. The last thing he was going to do was initiate any reminiscing. No, some things were better left buried. And how he'd destroyed the girl he'd sworn to look out for was A-number-one on that list.
Author links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Roni will award an eBook copy of "Still Into You" to one randomly drawn commenter at every stop and a Book Grab Bag - Autographed copy of CRASH INTO YOU along with these books: Raziel by Kristina Douglas, Blood Stains by Sharon Sala, The Summer Garden by Paullina Simons, and Deadly Valentine by Justine Davis and Cindy Dees to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour (US/Canada only). The host with the most comments (US/Canada only) will win an Erotic Book Grab Bag - containing Explosive by Beth Kery, Tease Me by Tracy Wolff, Strip Search by Shayla Black, and Forbidden Heat by Opal Carew.
Make sure to follow the tour and comment. The tour dates can be found here.


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Free 1-Year ShopRunner Membership
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ShopRunner's members save time and money with benefits including free 2-day shipping with no minimum order, free and easy return shipping, exclusive member offers, and easy 2-click check out. Participating stores include Toys"R"Us, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, GNC, American Eagle Outfitters, Drugstore.com, Blue Nile, and hundreds of others.
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This offer is only valid for residents of:
- United States


text:
January 2018 Gig Feedback
The Ranelagh
The Lighthouse
Bricklayers Arms
Bluesnews Magazine - September 2016
'"Blues Business has a fine no-nonsense approach to the Blues!"
BLUES MATTERS February 2016 magazine CD Reviews: Who's been talkin' ?
"…this band, Road Dogs one and all, and bloody good… too.'
Radio COTEAUX, France:
Blues in Britain November 2015 magazine - CD Reviews: Who's been talkin' ?
Reviewer - 'Loved the CD'
Swanage Blues Festival 2015
BluesFest 2013 WRC Promotions
Skipper's Smokehouse - Florida - U.S.A.
Live Music - FRANCE
Blues Matters!
Himalayan Blues Festival - Kathmandu - Nepal - October 2009
Blues Is The Truth - UK Jazz Radio
Music on Broadway - Haywards Heath
Blues Radio UK
Blues In Britain Magazine
Paul Jones (JAZZ FM)


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I have submited a Fedora 24 update with 3 new themes for MkDocs (the static site generators than build beatifull documentation from MarkDown source files).
Availables theme are:
I will push the Fedora 23 update soon this week, also I will open the review-request for the mkdocs-psinder new theme.
Upstream I am working in have a setup-command available in mkdocs similar at the provided from the sphinx project.
With this I hope Fedora will ofert the most complete and up to date stack of mkdocs tools and themes than will help you to make aweme docs with minimal effort.


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Louisiana Shrimp Puffs
3 pounds raw shrimp, peeled
1 cup white wine
1 cup butter
1 cup shallots, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, finely chopped
1 pint whipping cream
8 ounces cream cheese
4 large eggs, boiled and finely chopped
1 cup black olives, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Romano, for garnish
Parsley, for garnish
24 small pastry shells
Poach the shrimp in the white wine in a heavy 12-inch aluminum skillet until they turn pink and tender (this should take about 4 minutes over medium-high heat).
Scoop the shrimp from the poaching wine (save the wine). Separate them into 2 portions, and place each portion in a bowl to cool. At this point, leave half the shrimp whole and shred the other half into small slivers using the cutting blade of your food processor.
In the same skillet you used to poach the shrimp, melt the butter and gently saut? the green onions, celery and bell pepper until they soften. Then pour in the whipping cream and the poaching wine and stir everything together until well blended. Now over high heat, reduce the cream-wine sauce to one-half of its original volume, STIRRING CONSTANTLY.
Drop the shredded shrimp into the skillet and simmer it gently into the sauce for about a minute or two. Then, little by little, start adding the cream cheese, stirring constantly. When all is well blended, season the mixture with the salt and pepper and remove the skillet from the heat. Toss in chopped eggs and black olives and fold them into the mix thoroughly.
Taste for salt and pepper once more.
Stuff the mixture into the pastry shells, top each one with a whole shrimp, sprinkle with parsley and Romano, and bake at 375 degrees F until bubbly.


text:
grow old
with me, you said.
pressed a vial into
my palm. this will help.
blue-crystal liquid sparkled –
you caught my wrist when i
tried to bring it to
the light.
light exposure harms it,
you said.
so you watched me drink;
doubtless, enraptured.
and we never stopped
to put roots down.
no – we roamed aimlessly,
centuries trailing us in the dust.
we put down roots
you said.
then it wore off,
filtering away from you.
your bloodstream ran
so i remained on.
time to lay down my
own history.
(see here;
this preview of
what's yet to come)


text:
Synergy Theatre Project
Charity information
Synergy Theatre Project
Creating groundbreaking work across theatre and the criminal justice system.
Founded 2000
Mission statement
Established in 2000, Synergy Theatre Project works towards the rehabilitation of prisoners, ex-offenders and youths at risk, through theatre and related activities, whilst placing the wider issues surrounding imprisonment in the public arena. The company's work comprises the following strands of activity: theatre productions, new writing, an education programme and Synergy Studio (free theatre-based training for ex-prisoners).
Established: January 2000
Registered Charity Number: 1088692
Phone number: 020 3668 6730
Address: 8 St. Thomas Street London SE1 9RRView charity accounts on the Charity Commission website


text:
Automated database deployments is a critical aspect of any continuous integration pipeline. The tooling today has made it very easy to get that added, especially if you use Octopus Deploy and Redgate DLM Automation. It is very easy to add the necessary step templates into Octopus Deploy to get Redgate
Tag: DLM Automation Suite
The time had finally come. It was time to run the Redgate automated database deployment process in production for the first time. All we had to do was click the deploy button in Octopus Deploy, and we would be on our way. The button was pressed, and we were on
The tooling necessary to incorporate DevOps practices is already out there. There are many different flavors of build tools, Jenkins, TeamCity, VSTS, AppVeyor, and Bamboo. Release management is covered by Octopus Deploy, Release Management, and Bamboo. And finally, database automation tooling provided by Redgate SQL Toolbelt and Microsoft SSDT. The
Back in the article How Redgate Helped Define our Process, there was this small blurb about SSDT:
Microsoft SSDT Tooling Considered - the increased cost of licenses forced us to take a hard look at Microsoft's SSDT tooling. Could it do what Redgate did? Could we build additional functionality around
One of the less common known facts about Redgate's DLM Automation suite is purchasing license grants the purchaser the right to use to command line versions of SQL Data Compare and SQL Compare. Seems strange, right? Well when you really boil it down to the basic parts, the new DLM
Everything written on this site is how to get a database change automatically pushed up through the environments. But that was for the entire database. There are some parts of the database where they shouldn't be put under source control or shouldn't be promoted. Now you are probably thinking, "
Rolling back a database deployment is one the most complicated topics with Automated Database Deployments. The code is rather easy to rollback, just deploy the previous version of the code package and call it good. It is just as easy to rollback database schema changes using Redgate's Database Lifecycle Management
One of the key reasons to use Redgate's Tooling is to deliver value faster to the business. In order to do that, it is important to have a branching policy in place.
This is only possible with a local database and Redgate's tools. Prior to implementing their tools, all developers
Redgate has built a fantastic Database Lifecycle Management (DLM) suite to help with automated database deployments. Their tools cover 95% of the scenarios most people will encounter day in and day out. But...it cannot cover 100% of the scenarios. The other 5% of the scenarios are what this post


text:
Under the Dome
Environmentalists criticize proposed disposal method as 'garbage juice in a snowblower'
A bill that allows what the Southern Environmental Law Center calls "garbage juice in a snowblower" is moving through the legislature.
The Senate Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved House Bill 576 on Wednesday. The bill allows for the Department of Environmental Quality to approve the use of aerosolization – essentially the spraying of liquid – for the disposal of leachate wastewater from certain landfills. Leachate is the liquid that is drained from landfills.
Rep. Jimmy Dixon, a Duplin County Republican, said the bill was the work of five different divisions of DEQ coming together to help write the bill.
Dixon didn't go into details about the bill on Wednesday, but in a previous committee hearing, he said it would save money by reducing the amount of wastewater that must be transported and treated, WRAL News reported at the time.
"You've got nasty water. You stick a hose in it, you pump it out. It goes through a system that aerosolizes the water. The bad stuff will not aerosolize. It falls back into the holding pond," Dixon said, according to WRAL, adding that 80 percent of the leachate is vaporized "in a very clean state with no contaminants whatsoever."
Brooks Rainey Pearson, staff attorney with the environmental law center, told the committee that the group cannot find any data to back up claims about the safety of the technology.
"You have heard that it is safe, and maybe it is, but we don't know (that)," she said. "They claim that the toxic particles (in the spray) will not stay airborne, but will fall back into the landfill. But we cannot find any data to confirm this."
Pearson said materials given to lawmakers in the House – where the bill passed 75-45 – didn't address the "environmental and public health concerns of snow blowing garbage juice."
She suggested allowing DEQ – which has already permitted the use of aerosolization at some landfills – to gather data from those permits and then decide.
Dixon, responding to Pearson, said her claims were "the personification of" false information, but did not point out any specific falsehoods. The bill cleared the committee on a voice vote – with some audible "no" votes from Democrats.
Lauren Horsch: 919-836-2801, @LaurenHorsch


text:
November 13, 2019, 04:20:31 am
Tweaking or Holepunching is a glitch in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver; in which specific fast movements can create an abyss on the map or otherwise have the game improperly load a map connection. It can also be used for tasks such as removing the Snorlax in Vermilion City in HeartGold and SoulSilver.
When tweaking, the game unsuccessfully loads nearby map data which was previously not present on the screen. Within these games maps are broken up into 32x32 squares which are only visible at any one time. When players move out of this region, the next 32x32-tile square is loaded in order to replace the tiles two areas behind them. However, when a player is moving at relatively higher speeds and in specific patterns in between the points at which extra map data is loaded, the game will fail to load the map data properly.
See Void
Tweaking and Void Exploring are often regarded as two completely different glitches because of the fact that graphics and collision data has to be activated after exploring the void for a player to access an area as it would appear in normal gameplay. Void Exploring by itself (if performed wisely) is safer than a complete tweaking run, as it is easier to ensure that the player does not trap his or herself so that he or she cannot escape and it is easier to ensure that the player does not save in an invalid map location or a map with no location data (such as the tentative Jubilife Gym), thus crashing the game with a black screen. When Void Exploring, crashes from invalid map data, called BSoDs (Black Screen of Death) are still possible by testing and using the Explorer Kit (this is not to be confused with a Blackout or Freeze, as a Freeze occurs when an unexecutable script is attempted to be executed, and a Blackout is a temporary absence of graphical data, caused by any number of things). If any flag is activated in-game via Tweaking, for example by first recieving the Pal Pad in a downstairs Pokémon Center area, this will also affect the player's relative map location in some way.
This glitch is very similar to the Elite Four door glitch which only existed in Japanese versions of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, and was known by many fans as the "Darkrai and Shiemi glitch", as a slight bug in the map of Elite Four Aaron's room allowed the player to surf through the door and run across the blank spaces which occupy other in-game maps.
As a result of this, players could not only get to nearby areas, such as the Hall of Fame room, but with meticulous planning, they could also access Fullmoon Island and Flower Paradise in order to catch Darkrai and Shaymin (whose name was at that time not officially translated into English and was simply romanized by fans as 'Shiemi'). However, after the release of later versions of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Nintendo had fixed the Elite Four door glitch after many players complained about becoming stuck in "the void."
After a fairly long time period of disappointment from some fans of the Surf through Elite Four door glitch, a few months after English versions of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the Tweaking glitch was first discovered in areas such as Jubilife City and the route below Solaceon Town by performing the method described above.
When the Tweaking glitch has been performed successfully, the player will hopefully be able to travel through a black "abyss" (invisible abyss) when he/she enters a building from behind, so that he or she can access a desirable location. However, sometimes the player cannot access the correct abyss and occassionally the game may freeze. If the player wants to escape the void, however, they can use the moves Fly, Dig or Teleport if possible, enter a building or other warp.
In January 2016, a method for discovering Arceus through a trick known as the "RETIRE glitch" (named after a menu option that was only intended to be used in Pal Park) was discovered.
This trick works by running Hall of Origin's script 3 upon choosing to retire.
Additionally segments of the Hall of Origin were originally available through the use of tweaking (without the retire trick) in the past, although none allowed the player to encounter Arceus.
Note: If you are in the void and want to save, but you can't open the menu, don't use the Explorer Kit. If you can't open the menu, it's probably a bad idea to save.
Easy Poketch Co. tweak:
Arceus (via 'Retire glitch'):
Hall of Fame:


text:
"think indie"
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text:
|created by George Asencio
And yet at the same time there has already been so much written and spoken about the many tragic and burning issues surrounding it, I wondered if there was anything new to say.....
But then it occurred to me that there were some special people I did want to reflect on and they were the school staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
That fateful Friday morning, before getting into their cars to go to work, they, like the children in their care also said goodbye to their families. They hugged their spouses, their children, their siblings and parents, and went off to school as dedicated educators, as consummate professionals BUT also as family members.
And today their families are also mourning the loss of their daughters, their mothers, their wives, fiancees and siblings.
On this blog, you have learned a lot about my husband and his battle with trigeminal neuralgia and fleetingly I have mentioned that he is a Head of School. He has been the head of two schools over the past 17 years and I have lived and breathed these jobs with him, living in the community fish bowl 24/7.
Whenever there has been a crisis or a situation in his school that has needed time sensitive handling: the responsiveness, communication responsibility, difficult decisions and backlash have rested on Jonny's shoulders. Each time Jonny has led the school through a crisis as Head Of School, he has also been a husband, a parent of three children in that school (our 3 boys), a member of the neighborhood community and an educator.
So when this unspeakable tragedy happened on Friday, he did not have the chance to imagine "what if?"
just as a parent
and nor did I.
He needed to, once again respond as a leader, a Head Of School and an educator to reach out and communicate with our school community and to provide resources for the school families.
He worked with his senior staff over the weekend to decide how best to talk with their students on Monday and how best to structure assemblies and emotional support for his students and his staff. He fielded calls, texts and emails from parents, board members and staff carrying his phone in one hand and his ipad in another. I have seen him do this many times very early in the morning and late into the night, weekdays and weekends for a variety of urgent reasons.
Even though the situation that happened in Connecticut is very rare, Jonny and his staff carry that responsibility with them every minute of every day. These are not merely jobs, these are vocations.
And I am sure Heads Of School and Principals around the country and around the world have been doing the exact same thing.
And I imagine that teachers in their schools, have been reflecting on how much they care about their students and would unhesitatingly do what ever it might take to keep their students safe, including putting their lives on the line, much as the staff heroes in Newtown did.
So what can you do?
Well, as you give your children or grandchildren extra hugs, please take a moment, some time in the next few days, to thank your (grand)children's teachers and school administrators and their families for choosing this devoted vocation.
For caring deeply about your children's welfare.
For treating them like their own.
For going into school every day to help educate your children in a myriad of ways and for knowing that if it came to it
they would also risk their lives for them, because it would not occur to them not to........
May the memories of those who have died be for a blessing and I pray the families of all those who have been affected, find some strength, hope and comfort at this most challenging time.
Please share this to your Facebook page in honor of the Educators you appreciate.


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No sooner did it get past Sunday, I blinked and here we are again...I really need to get to grips with this blogging lark and post more frequently!
* This weekend I've started reading a new book and finished this one.
* Made some delicious spicy parsnip soup, (Recipe to follow...)
* Played with my new 50mm - I managed to break the last one :(
* Bought a new pair of boots and a pair of black skinny jeans
* Visited a camera shop and held the lovely Canon 7D and 5D as I was curious to their weight *swoon*
* Took Sparky on a snowy dog walk
How about you?
Sunday, 24 January 2010
in the blink of an eye...
Posted by Jac at 12:43
Labels: books, new year, photography
3 comments:
- Char said...
cute boots!!!! i babysat my nieces all weekend....so it was pretty much a wash with nothing else going on.
- 24 January 2010 at 23:19
- ELK said...
love the browns & whites in this series...especially the pup in the snow!!weekend go by so fasT!
- 25 January 2010 at 01:14
- Catherine said...
I love your boots! they are gorgeous, I hate when weekends go so fast! How nice is the 5D, a friend of mine has one and I love it, they are heavy though!
- 26 January 2010 at 00:18
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Grey's Anatomy Season 9 Episode 14: "The Face of Change" Quotes
It's not a horse, it's a pegasus. And it wants to hold your hand.Callie
Alex: You think this kid makes you look good.
Jackson: I always look good.
How am I supposed to train to be a trauma surgeon with no ER? No trauma.April
Whatever happened to good old fashioned romance?April
For the millionth time, Jo and I are not into each other.Alex
Displaying all 5 quotes


text: The best time to dig crapemyrtles is when they begin to grow in the spring. They dig exceptionally well "in leaf". Crapemyrtles cannot be dug reliably in dormancy. Natchez & Miami are among the most risky. In winter, we suggest using either container crapemyrtles or B & B trees that were dug in summer, hardened off, and stored in mulch.


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*I was sent these products for review but all opinions are my own.
Trosani contacted me on Instagram and kindly offered to send me some of their products to review, which included the Ziplac Starter Kit as well as a couple of regular nail polishes, a top coat, nail file/buffer, hand cream and some nail oil. I have never done or had gel nails before and I was excited to try the peel off approach because let's face it… I have no time or patience for the soak off method!
Product description from the Trosani website:
This Ziplac range has helped open up new dimensions of nail polish products. The wide range of colours available ensures that there is a colour to suit everyone. It's a step up from your single nail polish, helping create a chip free long lasting polish for up to 14 days. It sets under an LED lamp and cures within 60 seconds, so gone are the days when you needed to wait around for your nails to dry!
The ziplac products will help strengthen the natural nail by up to 10%.
The beauty of this product is that when you are ready to change your colour simply apply our Zipoff formula and peel away, no acetone required, leaving your nails damage free and ready for the next application.
The ziplac system is simple to use, and the products have been created with a smaller brush to help with a neater application.
As you can see, the kit includes everything you need for the application and removal of the gel nail polish, and has instructions for use too. Before applying anything to my nails, I pushed back my cuticles using the hoof stick and my Sally Hansen Cuticle Remover and made sure there was no cuticle remants on my nails, as this can cause the polish to lift after application. I then filed and buffed my nails to prep them for the gel application. By doing this it gives the gel a surface to 'cling' to and helps the mani last longer. Before applying the base coat, I wiped my nails with the Zip Clean and pads provided in the kit to dehydrate them, which also helps the gel polish last longer.
I applied one even coat of the Base & Top coat and cured it under the LED UV lamp for 60 seconds. The light turns itself off after 1 minute, so you don't need to worry about timing it yourself! Once the 60 seconds was up I went ahead and applied the first coat of the Ziplac gel polish in Fire Red, making sure not to touch my nails or remove the sticky layer before hand. Again, I cured this for 60 seconds and repeated with a second layer. I applied a second application of the Base & Top Coat straight on top of this and cured for 60 seconds and then removed the sticky layer with the Zip Clean. My nails were instantly dry and I had a perfect manicure! Any polish I got on my skin I just removed with the corrector pen from the kit before curing, to make sure my mani lasted and didnt peel!
Following the application I used the nail oil and hand cream that Trosani also sent me (pictured below) to rehydrate my nails. Between the time of applicaion and removal (about 4 days) I saw no wear at all. I would've liked to have tried this polish for longer as it's meant to last up to two weeks but I wanted to try peeling it off! Stupidly, I forgot to take a photo of the peel off process but I simply applied the Zip Off around the egdes of my nails and used the hoof stick to peel the polish off after 5 minutes of the product sitting on my nails. It peeled away really easily and I can only imagine that it's a much simpler, shorter process than soaking off.
As I mentioned earlier, Trosani sent me some other products for me to try. These were a 12ml Nail Care Oil £6.20, which I believe is in the scent grapefruit as it smells lovely and sweet and a Hand Creme, again in grapefruit. These two products are available in other scents too if grapefruit isn't your thing. They also sent me a 17ml Nail Whitener Top Coat £4.15 (which I have yet to try), a 17ml Topshine Polish in Pearl Onyx £4.15 and a 5ml Topshine Polish in Lady Lilac £3.84.
Pearl Onyx – a gorgeous dark metallic blue, 2 coats.
Lady Lilac – a pretty soft lilac with a subtle shimmer, 2 coats.
Overall, I'm very impressed with these products and I'm surprised at how much they sent me to review, considering the Ziplac Starter Kit costs £60 alone! I do have a discount code for this, TIPPEDOFF, which gives you 10% off. Also, the prices above are for when you have an account with Trosani, if you dont have one the prices are higher so make sure you sign up before you make any purchases!
I just purchased two more colours, Pebble Gray and Ocean Wave, in the Ziplac range as red isn't my favourite colour and I look forward to trying these too. They cost £8.50 each, when you have an account (£12.69 when you don't!).
Make sure you check out their website, especially if you haven't tried gel nail polish before. I feel like this is a good starting place as the kit includes everything you need to get you started, including the UV lamp. Don't forget to use the code TIPPEDOFF if you end up buying the Starter Kit!
C x


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A simplistic way to explain a bloated gut is that it's a feeling of having gas that has built up in the digestive system. It makes the stomach hard and protruding uncomfortably. Having a bloated gut is not a pleasant experience because of the accompanying discomfort. It isn't confined to a certain age or gender since it's a common occurrence among both young and old. There are several reasons why a person may have a bloated gut.
Here are five common gut bloating causes.
1. Indigestion
Nearly everyone has dealt with issues of indigestion at some point in their lives. This can be caused by eating habits or severe digestive complications. When one overeats or does not properly chew food, indigestion can occur. Consuming greasy, spicy, and fatty food can cause indigestion too. It's also not advisable to lie down immediately after eating because that makes it much harder to digest food and increases the risk of abdominal discomfort. Diseases such as gastritis and stomach ulcer may also cause indigestion.
2. Dehydration
Dehydration is one of the most common gut bloating causes. It makes digestion difficult and results in electrolyte imbalance. It's, therefore, advisable to drink sufficient amount of water throughout the day to prevent this from happening. The more water you drink, the less likely you are to suffer from a bloated gut.
3. Fluid Retention
There are instances when bodily fluids are stored around the pelvic area or abdomen, and this typically leads to bloating. When this happens, you'll notice that some clothes become tighter and the stomach painful. Liver disease is a common cause of this and in some very rare cases, cancer.
4. Food allergies and sensitivities
In many cases, food sensitivities, allergies, and intolerance to certain types of products such as dairy, cause gut bloating. People who are lactose intolerant experience serious cases of bloated guts when they consume milk products. The same goes for those who are intolerant to gluten-containing foods such as bread, cereals, and pasta.
5. Gas and flatulence
Flatulence is the medical term used to refer to the process of releasing gas through the anus from the digestive tract. In common terms, it's called passing wind or farting. This happens when gas accumulates inside the digestive system. If one fails to pass the wind, this gas will cause bloating in the gut.
Other common gut bloating causes
These include constipation, bowel obstruction, pregnancy, hookworm infection and premenstrual syndrome among others. Gut bloating causes great discomfort, but it can be avoided all the same by mitigating the causative factors.


text:
Success in Africa depends on having advisors that understand Africa as well as they understand your business.
Bold initiatives and insights for one of the toughest jobs in the world
With continued uncertainty on global markets companies, the role of the Non-Executive Director on the board has become increasingly important
Leadership perspectives from across the globe.
Learn how this new reality is coming together and what it will mean for you and your industry.
Leading organisations take calculated risks—new products, new markets, acquisitions. At the same time, disruptors can threaten even the greatest business strategy as well as your brand. Do you have best insights for managing strategic & reputation risk to power performance?
Click here to send a query
Risk Advisory helps organisations make risk-informed strategic choices and respond to disruptions to grow their business and protect their reputation. C-suite and boards need the right insights, best-in-class corporate governance, and a risk culture aimed at driving value.
+27 11 209 8598


text:
Imagine having a bento picnic with friends and family under one of thousands flowering cherry blossom trees in the city park or countryside, gazing its beauty and colour that will forever etched in your memory, a rare pleasure like this exist only in the Far East. Want to experience something like this in real life? Read on.
A spot of afternoon lunch at a pop up cherry blossom secret garden at 'Sakura at Sake no Hana' on St Jame's Street to celebrate the arrival of spring and Japanese cherry blossom season, renowned florist Veevers Carter has done a good job in transforming the the bar area with faux cherry blossoms from floor to ceiling, enveloping and entwining above while guests can enjoy limited-edition cocktails and tea, bento boxes, and desserts. I have to say it look deeply romantic and fairytale-like mini version of indoor avenue of cherry blossom trees, I had the opportunity to sample the limited-edition lunch menu which consist of:
- Sakura Tea – pot of tea made from the leaves of cherry blossom trees (£4.50)
- Sakura Crystal Double-Layer Bento Box – served with a miso soup starter, the first layer of the box contains seven-spice chicken kuwayaki and spring salad with sesame dressing. The second sushi layer comprises salmon avocado, spicy tuna and California rolls, and chu-toro and salmon sashimi (£28)
- Sakura Palet D'or – cherry-chocolate dessert with fresh cherries, nashi pear, almonds and ginger, and cherry blossom tea ice-cream made from the leaves of cherry blossom trees (£8)
- Cherry blossom macarons – vanilla macarons with cherry blossom tea ganache (£1.60 each, 5 for £7)
The pop-up garden runs until the 19th of May, book now to reserve a table before you miss the spectacular display!
Sake no Hana – 23 St Jame's Street, London, SW1A 1HA.
Kit Lee of Style Slicker was a guest of Sake no Hana, thank you Alix!


text:
"IRTO" JSC – is a dynamic and growing candle manufacturing company located on the outskirts of Vilnius. Currently, the company produces a variety of specialized candles in glass, plastic and cans. The main assortments are cemetery candles and candles anti mosquitoes. We are using waxes, paraffins and natural oils in the production.
About us
Modern production technology, continuously carried out research, improvement of the candle and accessories production processes, innovative and experienced team ensures the highest quality of production. We are flexible in production, so accept orders of different quantities.
We care
Your comments, suggestions and requests for product quality, assortments is very important for us. Please send to the following address: Rasos 18, Kalviškės, Vilniaus rajonas LT-14106, Lithuania or email email@example.com.
Product catalog
Have any questions? Contact us!
Code: 302454976
Adress: Rasos g. 18, Kalviškių k., Vilniaus r.
Phone: +37069851770
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Martin Bencher Group sponsors a wide range of community programs and organizations. The three main corporate sponsorships are WWF Denmark, Danish Cancer Society and Børnefonden (Member of ChildFund Alliance).
Local Martin Bencher offices are encouraged to support the local community in which they operate.
Below is an overview of the community programs and organizations that Martin Bencher Group sponsors, supports and are active participants in.


text:
The small East Texas town of Coreyville is shaken by brutal murders and kidnappings, striking too close to home for Greg Tenorly. And the only witness is a mentally ill neighbor whose remarks are rejected by the police as gibberish. But Greg listens carefully to the man's seemingly incoherent statements, and later realizes that they just might contain enough clues to point him in the direction of the killer.
But his investigation leads him into a hornet's nest of dark secrets, old grudges, jealousy, and greed. Now, caught in the crossfire between two families, Greg's life is in serious jeopardy.
By morning, more bodies will be headed for the morgue. The only question is whether Greg Tenorly will be among them.


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This War of Mine is an electronic video game developed by the 11 bit studios. The game's background is inspired by the Yugoslav civil war and the siege of Sarajevo, which lasted four years in which approximately 5,000 mainly civilian civilians were killed (Kirkpatrick & Schiltz, 2016).
What makes it special is that, unlike the other games that put the user in the position of warrior, this game puts him in the position of a citizen and the way he experiences a warring conflict having survival as his main concern (Noack, 2014). The player is called upon to manage the survival of a group of citizens through organizing the distribution of available resources such as fuel, food, water and medicine in particularly difficult situations that affect the mood and vitality of each member until a ceasefire is declared.
The interaction required by the player does not stop only in pure survival and in finding resources, as he is asked to explore his / her own moral framework, being in charge of decisions and moves that affect the psychological situation and consequently the needs of the group handled. For example, he may decide to rob a couple of elderly people to save a member of his own team, but some of its members are so negatively affected by this choice to the point that the group can not function properly, leading some of up to suicide. The player is asked to walk in a stretched rope of balance and survival, experiencing horror, despair and the needs of people in war conditions.
Pedagogical background of the game:
the player is called upon to develop his / her ability to make decisions in the light of the ethical issues that arise. It creates practices interacting with the environment of the game and learns through its own actions by remodeling its choices according to the mistakes it makes (Auberger, n.d.). This War of Mine promotes reflection through the impact of achieving the goal of surviving, creating a sense of despair as the player's choices don't affect the outcome of the war, as he is only tasked with the wellbeing of his team, a feeling experienced by any civilian who finds himself in the midst of a war (Toma, 2015). No matter what he does, people will lose their lives, and he is called upon to explore the point where the need for survival overlaps his moral and psyche.
The game is available for personal Computers, IOS and Android devices.
Auberger. (n.d.) This War of Mine. Retrieved November 7, 2017, by http://www.playful-pedagogy.org/this-war-of-mine.html
Kirkpatrick, J. & amp; Schiltz, S. (2016). Review - this War of Mine. Retrieved November 7, 2017, by http://www.e-ir.info/2016/02/07/review-this-war-of-mine/
Noack, R. (2014) This war video game is not about the shooters. It's about the victims.Washington Post. November 21.
Toma, E. (2015) Self-reflection and morality in critical games. Who is to be blamed for war? Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology. 6 (1), 209-224.


text:
More than 90 % of users recommend this product
The average rating includes all reviews since the product launch.
Users think this product is suitable for e-merchants who are:
What this product does for you
Conversion rate Help manage your promotions
Good deal: save $65!
This module is part of the bundle "Promotion Pack Premium ":
Prestashop Product label module allows you to add Image & text labels on your product photos. Add rules to show label & stickers on specific products. Position labels anywhere on product images. Automatically remove them after specific time
PrestaShop Popup notification module allows you to display custom messages like sales, latest deals, special offers, etc. To your customers in an attractive popup. Customize popup settings such where & when to display.
Double your sales by using Prestashop Flash sales module. Create multiple promotional offers with discounts and display them on your store. Add countdown timer to create urgency in customers' mind.
What your customers will like
Support and updates
You automatically get 3 months of support for this product.
For 90 days after your purchase, you can enjoy technical and feature support, as well as access to updates available for this product.
Make sure this product runs well on your store for 12 months with Option Zen!
With Option Zen, you get access to ALL updates for the product for one year following purchase. Support from the product developer is available by email to answer all your technical and feature-related questions.
What is Option Zen?
Option Zen includes two services:
Option Zen is available at a discount when purchasing this product, but, if you miss out, you can also buy it via your customer account later. It is valid up to one year following the date of purchase of your product. The earlier you buy it, the longer you can enjoy it!
What does it include?
The following are included in Option Zen:
The following services are not included in Option Zen:
Customer reviews
Excellent module with professional and fast support
Francesco P. - 07/17/2017
After a few problems setting up the module it works well. Very quick customer service. Thanks
Steven O. - 02/16/2018
Very good and nice module. I had a question and the developer helped me out very fast. Thank you !!
Nancy L. - 09/18/2018
The reviews were selected by the developer of this product according to the satisfaction expressed by the customers.
What's New in Version 2.0.0(11/29/2018)
About the developer, FME Modules
FME Modules is comprised of dedicated PrestaShop Developers and Designers. FME developers strive for creativeness, excellence and result oriented PrestaShop solutions. We consider the practice of developing PrestaShop Themes and Modules as our life's endeavor and not a business.
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Pretty URLs - Remove IDs & Numbers for SEO Friendly URL
PrestaShop Advanced URLs Module makes your store URLs SEO friendly by removing auto generated IDs / numbers from URLs of your products, categories, manufacturer & other pages. Automatically 301 redirects old URLs to new URLs to avoid 404 errors.


text:
by Mary Sanchez
Arizona has never needed Sen. John McCain more -- the "maverick" version of years gone by, that is. The man who understood the inherent evil of demonizing groups of people. The McCain who stood up to strident voices, understanding that fear-based, reactionary sentiments must never be codified into punitive laws.
His state is poised to enact just such a law, a harsh immigration-enforcement measure that basically equates Latinos with illegal immigrants. Under the legislation now awaiting Gov. Jan Brewer's signature, police would be required "when practicable" to detain anybody about whom there is "reasonable suspicion" that they are in this country illegally. Immigrants would be required to carry documents showing they are in this country legally; those who do not produce such documents could be charged with a misdemeanor. Finally, if the police in any jurisdiction choose not to enforce the law with sufficient zeal -- and many law enforcement authorities in Arizona are loath to do so -- they could be sued.
Arizona -- the nation, really -- needs a Republican leader of the kind McCain used to be. The kind of man who once cosponsored a sensible set of reforms for the nation's immigration laws.
Here's how McCain once gracefully silenced a political opponent's demonization of Hispanic immigrants: "So let's from time to time remember that these are God's children. They must come into the country legally, but they have enriched our culture and our nation as every generation of immigrants before them."
That was 2007, as McCain was campaigning in the Republican presidential primary. Today, McCain is a skittish U.S. senator desperately trying to hang onto his seat -- so desperately that he is willing to look the other way as civil rights protections are eroded for a large number of his constituents.
Arizona is 30 percent Latino, so this law is sure to wreak havoc. It will impose on police the duty to sift the legal Latino population -- the vast majority -- from the illegal. Imagine how this will affect Latino's willingness to cooperate with police.
Note that police already routinely check the immigration status of those they arrest for other crimes. This law directs police to stop people merely on the suspicion that they're illegal immigrants.
U.S. Representative Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.), termed the coming storm "open season on the Latino community in Arizona," and rightly pointed out law enforcement's less than stellar record of restraint when encouraged to profile whomever they please. In a statement, Gutierrez raised the real-world consequences of such a misguided law: "I am Puerto Rican, I was born in Chicago, and my family has been U.S. citizens for generations, but look at my face, listen to my voice: I could get picked up. Is this what we want in America?"
McCain's assessment: "I think it's a good tool."
Some moderate Republicans have misgivings about the law. "We are going to look like Alabama in the '60s," Arizona State Rep. Bill Konopnicki admitted to the
McCain has acknowledged as much too. He concedes the punitive law stems from frustration in this border state that was rocked last month when a rancher was shot and killed, possibly by an illegal immigrant with ties to drug cartels.
McCain's problem is that he is running neck-and-neck in the Republican primary with J.D. Hayworth, a right-wing demagogue who has never been afraid to make hay out of popular fears about Hispanic immigrants. In 2005, Hayworth called for banning even legal immigration from Mexico, and he is given to tirades about maintaining the culture of the U.S. against invasions of people he's certain won't assimilate.
Rather than sticking to his principles, his vast broad knowledge of the complicated nature of immigration law, McCain appears content to step into the swill with Hayworth. What a contrast McCain presents to the Southern politicians who stood up for segregation in the 1950s and '60s but then, pricked by their consciences, lamented being on the wrong side. McCain, a politician known for principle and courage, seems headed in the other direction.
And for this he is expecting the good people in Arizona to vote for him?
Open Season on Latinos in Arizona
© iHaveNet


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Be sure to click over to Pixel Perfect and check out the rest of the Before and After fun!
Last night I went to league bowling night with Mr. Claus and took my camera so I could play around, since I wasn't bowling. Out of the 400 shots I took, mostly trying to time the shot when the ball hits the pins to get a strike, a few of them were okay. Here's one I really like, hope you do too. I'll try to post some more bowling fun shots this weekend, but the real world is calling.
AFTER (LR-beta)
High contrast b&w preset and a little sharpening, but not much. Cropped in a bit, but I think it's a pretty cool shot. Hope you do too!


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These are the remarks I offered to the 2014 graduating class of the Marlboro College Graduate School on Commencement Day, August 23rd. Celebrating with my beloved peers and sharing the stage with Rha Goddess of Move The Crowd was a dream come true! Watch the speeches here.
The very first thing we did in business school was hike a mountain. In total silence. In the middle of January. We were told to turn off our phones, left to retrieve some primordial skill of gauging the passing of time to know when to return to the parking lot. We were without maps, or compass, and even though the terrain was new to all of us, our professor was not the least bit concerned. Instead, she turned to us and grinned while she whispered the final words we'd hear all afternoon: "get lost".
At which point I kind of freaked out. My family is here today and can attest to the fact that us Wheelers are experts at indecision. So I did what I do best – I immediately went into strategy mode. If I left now and didn't look back, could I make it to the top of the mountain and back again, fitting in a workout without being stranded? Which path was going to bring me the best possible existential experience? Wait, where is he going? Why is he going that way? Does he know something I don't know? It was a requisite stall - time for my inner pragmatist to resist our teacher's instruction so that I could swiftly move through the first test of mindfulness practice, which is always all about watching how needlessly crazy we make ourselves.
After that, I was quickly carried away by the sound of the crust on the snow under my boot, the shadows cast by the few diehard leaves still dancing effortlessly in the breeze, the smell of distant wood stove fires. I stared for what felt like hours at a stream making its way to the river, noticing water flowing through and underneath ice, and wondered how it is that molecules come to the decision to freeze still or flow ahead. Precisely because no one was watching, I channeled my inner four year old and raced myself to the top of a hill.
And so, the joy and grace of getting lost is the very first, and very best, lesson I learned at Marlboro.
By being willing to get lost, we give our practical minds a much needed repose. By surrendering to the unknown, concerns about efficiency, productivity, or what path makes the best logical sense are released in exchange for our senses – all of them, all at once. Smartphone GPS applications are replaced with internal compasses – our intuition or our curiosity – that bring us to unforeseen heights and unknowable experiences.
By being willing to get lost, to let go of what we know, we find ourselves.
By venturing into the unknown, possibilities emerge that we never could have seen if we had stuck only with what we already know. The unknown is where true change happens.
One of our best science minds, Einstein, professed that "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."
I think one of our greatest challenges in being human today is learning how to not over think it, to not forget the gift of the intuitive mind.
Because even when we know we need to change, we resist and revert to good old rationale. Despite our highest aspirations to change the world, we settle for a steady job and good retirement benefits. Even though there is irrefutable evidence that our economic system is broken, we invent economic models to justify carrying on business as usual. And as sea levels rise, income inequality expands, and corporations assume personhood in order to enact anti-people policies, there is one essential piece of the puzzle that is all to easy to overlook: our ability to change.
At Marlboro, we learn how to change the world by seeing two things that are seemingly opposed as two parts of the same whole.
Building community through distance-learning.
Sustainability and business.
Getting lost to find your way.
This education is about becoming whole ourselves in order to create a world that is more whole.
I'm sure we all have an idea about what comes next. Life after grad school. We've given it thought, we've mapped out the various routes we can take, we've assessed the most practical path forward.
But the truth is: here we are again, on the edge of the unknown.
We've learned an immense amount in our studies. We've managed projects, created business plans, and become experts in our fields. All of this essential to be effective, to feel successful, to make an impact.
And, I encourage us to be willing to go beyond what we know. To not simply follow the next logical step, to not over think. I ask us to step away from what makes the most sense in order to return to our senses – the sound of the snow, the dance of that leaf, the smell of winter. To follow our intuition and our curiosity into what we don't know, into what is possible.
In Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote about the unknown: "I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."
Or, as Beverly, our professor at the base of that mountain on that day in January would say: Get Lost.


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For more information on Brewer & Barlow PLC, please click here.


text: As a photographer represented by Melia of Wedspring, San Francisco, I was honored that Melia asked me to photograph her lovely shop. Love the chalkboard painted walls, gorgeous invitation displays and shabby chic furnishings. Melia is such a great talent from interior decorating to floral and invitation design she can plan a wedding from start to finish. She's even certified to plan your honeymoon a a travel agent! Such a gorgeous space set in a classic Russian Hill, Julia Morgan designed storefront!


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If you love music, then Amazon Music is nothing new to you. Amazon Music or previously known as Amazon Mp3 is an online music store and music locker operated by Amazon.com. Amazon Music can be accessed through Amazon.com web player. It also has a player app which supports almost all types of OS which include IOS, Android, Windows, FireOS, Alexa devices and may another smartphone OS.
Using Amazon Music unlimited, you can stream unlimited songs, but it is not free. You have to pay the standard fee of $9.99 for other music application. Also, Amazon offers few discounts for prime members and student. Prime member has to pay an amount of $7.99 per month over the $99 subscription for prime membership. Students, however, get to pay $4.99 per month. Prime member students on the first member can avail $6 for first six months.
Amazon also has a Prime music for its prime member, but it gets replaced when you go for Amazon Music Unlimited. You cannot download or record any songs from here. Instead, you can either stream the songs and listen as you go or buy the song, in that case, it will be stored on your device to be used offline. There is both web application as well as apps for both Android and IOS platform.
Recently Amazon Music app has integrated Chromecast support. So, now you can play Amazon music through Chromecast enabled device. Let's talk what this Chromecast is for people who are new to it.
Table of Contents
What is Chromecast?
If you are using Chromecast for the first time, then it is a digital media player that is developed by Google. It is similar to a dongle that allows you to stream any music or video on any speaker or Television provided they support Chromecast. Ideal here is to make your dumb Television a smart television by streaming any video using any Android device. It can also be used to mirror your webpage from your personal computer to any Android devices and vice versa. Chromecast supports up to 4K video resolution and high-definition sound.
Few Characteristics of Chromecast:
- Chromecast is not limited to only Google apps as Google released its SDK so as another third-party could modify it and use it with their; as a result, it can be found in a lot of application.
- Chromecast has grown over the year. It comes with an HDMI port which connects to your Television.
- Google Chromecast comes with fast Wi-Fi so you can stream any video streaming less.
- Also, Google Chromecast is way cheaper than any of its competitor. It comes at the cost of only $35, almost $10 less than Amazon stick. (You can also buy the Amazon Stick at discounted price from here: Grab Now)
- Unlike its competitor, Google Chromecast does not come with any remote to control it. It only depends on the app that it is connected to it.
- It might be good as well as bad for some people. As it does not have a remote, you can use any app to control it be it play, pause or stop.
- On the other hand, it will work only with an Android device to control it.
Chromecast in Amazon Music Player Application
Adding Chromecast option to its Music App by Amazon came as a surprise as they were in rival especially when Google pulled out YouTube from Amazon Echo device. Google claimed that it violated its user agreement. Amazon has never implement Chromecast ever due to its rivalry with Google. But recently it was spotted that Amazon has indeed added Chromecast support. Amazon has made it official in its new update release of its Amazon Music player app. The update dated 13th November 2017 has added the Chromecast support.
Amazon Music player did support casting on other Bluetooth enabled devices. The Chromecast support was not the only highlight of the update. The update also stated to have the inclusion of Alexia. You can now tap on the new Alexa button and use a different command which is restricted to the app only. It is available for a user with Android 5.0 and above version. There are many options available to asking Alexa to play a new song, play a song by lyrics, different genre, and much other support.
How to use Chromecast?
Points to remember…
- To use the Chromecast, you might know the cast button.
- If you do not know which one is the cast button on the Amazon music player, then look on the top right corner.
- On the left side of three dots, you will see the cast option.
- Click on the option, here you will see all your Chromecast enabled devices like Google Home, Android TV or any other Chromecast devices.
- Now, touch on them, and you will be able to cast your music.
*Benefits of Chromecast Supports –
- A simple benefit of Chromecast support is one button click to connect to your entire home sound system or stream any video on your television.
- It is a tool to make television smarter and more productive.
- If you use Chromecast the most likely is that you have connected your home sound system and your TV with Chromecast to enable one-click connection of your favorite music and audio.
- Well, with the addition of this and if you are a prime user of Amazon, you can now play it any music or songs on your list with Chromecast support.
- Also with Alexa support, you do not have to type in song's name, just search using voice command.
While a prominent audio player like Amazon Music player incorporating such feature so late in the stage, it was indeed a surprise to see Amazon went ahead with a Google product due to its recent rivalry like Google back out YouTube from Amazon Echo device or with Amazon blocking a listing related to Google Home. Though it affected Amazon more than Google, it is to see how Amazon move forward here to put Google product and services.
On the bright side, you can now listen to songs from Amazon music player application using a Chromecast enabled devices. For those who went back for lack of Chromecast support you now know you can come back and enjoy an unlimited amount of songs.
If you have any queries or want to know more about the Amazon music player app, then feel free to comment down below, and we will get back to you with the answer you have requested.


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Peter Holz
Peter cut his teeth making hundreds of records at Damien Gerard Studios under the mentorship of Russel Pilling (Hoodoo Gurus, Noiseworks, The Church, The Cruel Sea), where he learnt first-hand the art of music production.
Before long, Peter's musicality and production skills found him in high demand. While still calling DGS home, Peter then began working directly with a variety of artists as a writer, producer, engineer and mixer.
In 2010 Peter attended an invitation only music production masterclass in the South of France hosted by legendary producer/engineer David Kahne (Paul McCartney, The Strokes, Lana Del Ray) and revolutionary mixing engineer, Michael Brauer (Coldplay, John Mayer, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones). There he learnt invaluable songwriting, production and mixing techniques from the two iconic industry leaders.
Peter has a second home at Sony Music Australia as an in-house engineer / producer, which has seen him work with major label artists such as Peking Duk, Fifth Harmony, Olly Murs, Delta Goodrem, Gang Of Youths, The Veronicas, Carmada, Pusha T, Jessica Mauboy and many others.
In 2015 Peter was nominated for the 'Engineer Of The Year' ARIA award in recognition of his work on the debut album from Gang Of Youths 'The Positions' and their single 'Radioface'
In 2017 Peter was a part of Gang Of Youths - 'Go Farther In Lightness'' (ARIA #1 album) which went on to win ARIA Album Of The Year and Rock Album Of The Year.
This same year Peter was a part of Peking Duk - 'Stranger'(ARIA certified 3x Platinum, ARIA Aus #1) which won ARIA Song Of The Year
Peter has worked on records such as and Carmada - 'Realise' (ARIA certified Gold), Peking Duk - 'Fake Magic' (ARIA certified platinum) and has had chart success with and the debut record 'She's Rock 'n' Roll' from In Stereo (ARIA Aus #2)
Peter prides himself on musical and engineering excellence and believes in living and breathing music, no matter what.


text: Gorgeous newly redesigned two-bedroom. Tons of closet space. Great light. Decorative Fireplace. new stainless steel appliances including Dishwasher. Hardwood Floors, High Ceilings, and Exposed Brick. Pets are accepted upon approval. Heat and hot water charges are included in rent. **Advertised rent for this apartment reflects net effective pricing on a 18month lease.**


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|You are in: World: Europe
Friday, 25 February, 2000, 22:58 GMT
Kosovo: What happened to peace?
By BBC News Online's Emma Batha
For three months last year, Nato carried out its largest ever combat operation with the aim of stopping Serb oppression of the majority ethnic Albanian population in Kosovo.
The long and difficult process of restoring peace to the troubled province has already achieved some successes but has also suffered many setbacks.
One of the first tasks for the Nato-led multinational peacekeeping force, K-For, was to oversee the return of Kosovo Albanian refugees.
They were housed in makeshift camps in neighbouring republics, resources stretched to breaking point by the scale of the exodus.
Almost all the refugees who fled are now back home.
The few who remain are frequent targets of retribution and many require round-the-clock protection from K-For.
The main flashpoint has become the divided northern town of Mitrovica. Serbs dominate the northern half of town while south, across the River Ibar the population is now made up almost exclusively of ethnic Albanians.
Mitrovica is seen as the crucial test of whether international community can create the conditions for the two groups to live side by side.
Another priority in the first months after the Serb withdrawal was the disarming of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
The UN insists the corps' duties are restricted to emergency and humanitarian work.
But former KLA members joke that TMK stands for Tomorrow's Masters of Kosovo and consider it the nucleus for a national army for an independent Kosovo. No Serbs have been recruited.
Other KLA figures have meanwhile been incorporated into a new political party and the KLA's former political leader Hashim Thaci has joined Kosovo's UN-led council.
Serb military operations and Nato bombing destroyed thousands of buildings.
Initially, emergency repairs aimed to restore basic communications and utilities and ensure each family had one habitable room before the onset of winter.
But the US says progress is being hampered because many governments which promised money have failed to cough up.
Legal system
Kosovo was supposed to get around 5,000 international police to establish law and order.
But nearly nine months later there are still less than 2,000.
There is confusion over everything from the legal code to property rights, there is no properly functioning judiciary and crime is rampant.
The overwhelming majority of criminal suspects are released after arrest and disappear.
Much of the crime is related to ethnic violence, but there are accusations of bias as police have appeared reluctant to arrest ethnic Albanians and judges will not put them behind bars.
The evidence may be used to prosecute President Milosevic and others who have been indicted for war crimes in Kosovo.
The UN's top administrator in Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner has set up an interim administrative council with four UN and four local representatives, one of whom is supposed to be a Serb.
But the Serbs have boycotted the council and are refusing to take part in the ministries now being established.
There is still no electoral roll and many Kosovo Albanians have no proof of identity because the Serbs confiscated their papers.
Officials also want to persuade Kosovo Serbs who have fled the province to return and participate.
At the moment, the UN is envisaging municipal elections but this has angered Albanians who want parliamentary elections, which they see as a step towards eventual independence.
The war was fought with the aim of building a multi-ethnic Kosovo. But as the violence in Mitrovica shows, hatred between Serbs and Albanians can still flare up.
Regional expert Misha Glenny says he believes antipathy between the two sides runs deeper than between any other communities in the Balkans.
K-For's commander, General Klaus Reinhardt, says little can be done to stop ethnic violence in a land where weapons are plentiful and borders porous.
Some analysts fear that when Kosovo's Albanians realise the UN is not about to hand them independence on a plate, they will turn their firepower on the peacekeepers, perceiving them as the new occupiers.
This has already happened in Mitrovica where American troops were pelted with stones in a recent search for illegal weapons, and two French soldiers were injured in a two hour gun battle on 13 February. One Albanian sniper was killed when the French troops returned fire.
Nato may have won the war last June, but it has by no means won the peace.
Click here to return
See also:
04 Feb 00 | Europe
Analysis: What went wrong?
23 Feb 00 | Europe
UN seeks Mitrovica solution
24 Jun 99 | Europe
Mitrovica: A divided town
09 Jun 99 | Europe
Main points of the draft resolution
12 Nov 99 | Europe
Q & A: Counting Kosovo's dead
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November 18 (Thursday): I Love My Job. So, after yesterday's sticky wicket, I get up for more college/retake courses in King's Cross today off the back of two and a half hours sleep. I wake up and I am insane, not tired but still wired.
When I reach North Station, I actually bump into Jeremy who we play football with (or used to). He asks me where I was last night (for football) and I tell him "I got the sack". Man, he didn't even know. I laugh along with him actually feeling like crying. However I attempt to score one by asking "(ha ha) who played in goal then?" and it was the Chris guy (from the hell night in August), a proper goalie more than likely much better than me. Double fuck. I am absolutely utterly gutted to hear I have already been replaced and SO easily. Such is life.
The ride to London today is pretty swift and eventless, the radio this morning being nothing to write home about. This week, a bit more on the ball, I get to King's Cross with so much time to spare it hurts. For some reason, today I am unable to find the Thameslink exit, so I come out of the main King's Cross station entrance/exit to be surrounded by hobos, drug dealers and hookers (and often not exclusive to one vice or other). I run, not walk, away from their clutches and within seconds I am on Pentonville headed to the safety of accountancy. As I wait at a crossing I see a maniac on a pushbike speeding and screaming "look out, no brakes". The inevitable happens as he ploughs through a commuter and breaks his umbrella, lucky not to have broken Evil Knevil's neck. I walk away from the screaming, welcome to King's Cross.
As I head to BPP, I look up and over and there is the Scala. Oh my, I really am on the map here today. Once more I pass The Poor School (home of Kat Slater), tempted to ditch accountancy and take up soap acting but my head wins/rules over my heart as I step inside BPP for a hell session of taxation.
Today when I see Phoebe, she has had a proper chop haircut and I barely recognise her. This is the expensive ladyboy cut I believe. And, all apologies, I don't really go for it. She's cool as usual though, cool as in cold but friendly. I tell her all about my adventures in unemployment and she sends over good thoughts with good intentions but I don't think that will be enough.
I recognise more faces on this course (as opposed to Audit), so I guess more people (obviously) failed this exam than the other, I am not alone. And today's most memorable recognition turns out to be the guy that looks like Andy Kaufman. This guy sure looks like a character (even if he ain't one).
Today should be marked as my first day of David Brent-esqe delusions, my blind interpretation that I am actually an entertainer instead of an accountant.
By the time the tutor turns up, I have recognised several more faces, almost half of my original course class from the summer. The tutor is frightening looking, old looking but attempting modern. And with a fierce expression of someone who should not be questioned or crossed. However, she is only following a long streak of very poor tax tutors I have endured.
I really find tax a hard subject but I also feel at the same time that I make a meal out of it. I almost defeat myself from the off when I generally fail to find a good starting point on the tax calculations. The basic set up of these tax questions/exams appear to be general deluge of information thrown into a very lengthy scenario question which then requires systematically breaking down. As one tutor once said "girls tend to be better at this subject as they are able to multitask".
When breaktime arrives, I am so relieved to get a break from all this donkey. I sit and suddenly notice this amazing looking girl/lady/woman with the most amazing face and expression. Except of course for when our eyes meet/cross and she turns into frowny girl.
Within the first few questions (on inheritance tax) I find myself drifting and not really attempting, there is a lot of uncertainty ahead of me in the coming months and I really can't concentrate on this stuff today.
Lunch break soon comes around and I find myself once more going to the Italian place for some fantastic spicy chicken. How do they get it to taste so slick and sour?
As I walk back to our class room in the Kings Cross college, I look across the skyline of Kings Cross and see a roof garden on a flat, my idea of heaven, a cosy piece of comfort and solitude above the streets and scum of below.
Late afternoon and I can longer concentrate on studies, one day in of three and it has all gone horribly wrong. I look across at Phoebe and it dawns on me that she could only ever be my Yoko Ono. And then I keep catching myself doubletaking the oriental girl sat behind her who I swear blind that I once saw in a porno film.
At the end of the day, we tackle one last question that the tutor gives us and at the end of our attempts she describes the questions as "impossible" and tells the class that we would never be able to answer. Why the fucking hell did she ask us all to attempt/tackle it for then? Did/does she even research, look at the notes/questions ahead of the class? By the end of the day, I am hyperventilating.
Then there is the bathroom incident (no, me neither).
I ride the train home, reading Hunter S. Thompson in the process and getting dirtiest looks from the dyke looking girl sat opposite me on the train. Upon arriving back in Colchester, I queue for tomorrow's ticket ahead of time and get behind two of the slowest and slow witted couple of people ever to purchase a train ticket in the history of humanity. However, ahead of me is some real eye candy in the form of a beautiful middle aged woman with the most striking brown eyes I think I have ever seen.
Eventually I actually get home, all in time to do the DJ thing this evening at the Arts Centre. Sadly however I come home to a huge O2 mobile phone bill, the bill has finally topped the £70 mark!!! For some reason, the folks that sponsor Arsenal are now choosing to charge me up the arse for my GPRS usage. Nightmare. Before I leave, Dad hits me on MSN and finally we discuss my eventual demise at Globochem, perhaps/probably the conversation that we should have had earlier in the week before the inevitable happened.
Tonight I have decided to ditch my English class after last week's red face incident, mainly to take up the opportunity to DJ (and get in free) at the Arts Centre. And to cause some drama and concern (ho ho).
With it being chills, I head over to the Arts Centre, to be there on time to start on time for once. Oh dear, early doors DJing really isn't very much fun, you're playing tunes to an empty house and an unappreciative audience. So much for my "I Hate Work" set tonight. I kick off with Tom Waits and move onto LONG Tortoise songs while I wait for some friends to turn up and talk to me (people I can bitch about losing my job to). I chuff myself however when I build up the nerve to play "They Reminisce Over You" by Pete Rock and CL Smooth.
Tonight's game at the Arts Centre is Sonic Bingo, where people are supposed to go around sticking stickers on people doing certain acts as laid out in/on their bingo card.
The first band tonight are called Ventura Drive. I don't really understand or get into them at all, in the slight. They appear to be a band dressed up as emo but without any real songs, perhaps caught in slow motion.
During their set Adam (Cats Against The Bomb) and Doug turn up and they report that outside it is actually raining. Oh man, nightmare. It's great to have reinforcements as I resume DJing, a pretty thankless and lonely job/task in earnest. And I reward him with playing a Cats Against The Bomb track (the awesome AKA Lover). Bored also DJing, during tracks I find myself playing a .wav file over the PA of my old manager at my old firm (Stevo) saying "shut up Jason". The real winner DJ track of the night however turns out to be Uzi Lover by Chris Morris/Fur-Q which I play immediately after AKA Lover to complete a duet/brace of fire arm loving irony.
Band two tonight are *Teevo. Tonight they are much improved on the last time that I saw them, really reminded me of the great long lost band Mega City Four. That remark could either be taken as a compliment or an insult, depending on a person's persuasion but I mean good times. And I think the description is much accurate than the really lazy Placebo. Its hard to pinpoint where I think the improvement has come other than the sound is now fuller and somewhat harder/heavier in the process. Their closer still reminds me of the finest moments of Hole however.
Around this point Emma turns up from English class and bumps me, bouncing like a good 'un and passing on good vibes and comments from my English teacher/tutor (a better teacher than that tax one).
Before the third band come on tonight, some guy from their entourage asks me if I'll play one of their CDs. I quake at the suggestion but when it turns out to be Faith No More, no facking worries. I mix it with more plays of my old manager going "shut up Jason" and everyone's a winner.
Around this point, Staff comes over and comments at the low turn out ("I thought this would be the best one") and it really should not have been when Dead Or American (from Scotland) come onstage and really rip it up. Reminding me of Cat On Form, the band appear to stand (up) for all things US post hardcore, having some physical resemblance to Fugazi not only in their demeanour but also their set up. Musically all band members got involved in proceedings (limelight/vocals) as the band reminded me most of Mission Of Burma, Fugazi, part Girls Against Boys and the revitalised stoner rock of Part Chimp. This band should be huge.
Straight after their set, the Sonic Bingo kicked in as the ring leaders sought out the people with most dots on their attire and about their person. I was pleased/satisfied to have only two dots (both earned for "stood looking bored") because the people with most dots found themselves battling it out for a prize whilst being interviewed on camcorder. I'm too shy for all that shit.
When I eventually get around to DJing again, I open with Extreme Noise Terror followed by The Blitters. Good picks considering the promoter but also fantastic songs.
By the time Macrocosmica take the stage, it is getting late and unfortunately the venue appears to be starting to empty. I can't understand this myself, as off the back of only two and a half hours sleep myself, I'm next to passing out. But I really want to see Macrocosmica because (quite) a few years ago I was the biggest fan of their Ad Astra album. Macrocosmica come out the box pounding, tuned down I believe and incredibly hard/loud and all done slowly. The band now really sound like Part Chimp to me after previously sounding lighter, in the area of a Sonic Youth-type band. And with Brendan being ex-Teenage Fanclub and Mogwai, you can understand where he is coming from in wanting a new sound. And he is a very good frontman with plenty of personality often engaging and connecting with the audience/crowd, even to the point that he plays Sonic Bingo with Adam at one point. He also describes one way of playing music as being like "having a rectum but without the jobby" before asking the English audience if they know what "jobby" means (isn't it Sean Connery's favourite word?). And his mockney accent/impression back is to die for. The set however turns out to be a real struggle on a hard/long winter Thursday night. The pace rarely steps up and maintains the dense cloud/clout of noise that Part Chimp etc are renowned for producing. And it turns out disappointing that none of the set selection comes from the Ad Astra record that I like so much. By the end of a very very long set, I find myself suffering, having to take a seat but I promise to myself and the band that I will make it through the whole set as a sign/remark of respect. And when it is over, I find myself thankfully, still around (alive) whereas others have gone home.
I end the night trading my DJ disc with the Fur-Q song on with a guy from Dead Or American for one of their CDs. It's a really good deal, especially when the CD turns out to be really good.
I make my goodbyes and trudge back home, the apparent since long dissolved, and hit my bed for some much need sleep for sanity.
np: Unwound – Corpse Pose