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The 32GB #Samsung #GalaxyNote5 smartphone can now be snatched up for just $549.99 courtesy of a deal running over at eBay. This is a very reasonable price for a flagship product such as this one, so it makes sense to snatch up the device before the stocks run out. The seller currently has the Black, Silver and Gold options on offer with the White model sold out.
The listing mentions that it comes with an EU charger, so make sure you buy an adapter separately if you intend to use it in the U.S. The Galaxy Note 5 is no doubt one of the most attractive flagships to have hit the markets in recent times. And while deals on the flagship are not exactly rare right now, one more doesn't hurt, especially on Black Friday.
To refresh your memory, the Galaxy Note 5 comes with a 5.7 inch Quad HD AMOLED display, an octa core Exynos 7420 SoC, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 16-megapixel camera on the back, a 5-megapixel front camera, Android 5.1 Lollipop and a 3,000 mAh battery.
Source: eBay


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20/20 three
20/20 THREE by Jenna G on Mixcloud
You'd think that with only 20 songs to pick and 20mins of mixing to be done i could knock these 20/20 selections together weekly, however you'd be wrong. My time keeping for personal projects as of late is abysmal and so it seems for now 20/20 is a monthly thing, this month im feeling all girly and so my mix will be just that…of the female persuasion.
Enjoy x
new tune out soon….
Artwork by Mark Trashynsky is finished for my feature with Mutated Forms….some people say we look like the Ghostbusters in this pic…just who in the Ghostbusters had an afro, the black guy had a skiffle mate! Anyways the single was written early this year and based on the thought process after an unknown goodbye, 'Last Time' is out very soon on Allsorts, shouts to Crissy Criss for the support and of course the Mutated Lads, cant wait to work with ya'll again

subset: commoncrawl


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** This is part of our Assessment Solution. You will not have this option if you are a free user.
Navigate to the individual assessment or gradebook entry page that you want to grade by clicking on the card or by clicking on the name in the table view.
To begin grading click on a student cell to display the grading options available.
After adding the overall score based on the gradebook entry type (see this article for more information), click the "standards" tab.
This will let you assess the student's standard proficiency for that specific assessment or gradebook entry. By hovering over the standard number, you will see a description of the standard.
You can mark the student as having met the standard, being under-level or not having met the standard.
Once you're done, click the on next student cell to assess their standards proficiency.
When you've completed use the back arrow at the top left of the screen to return to the Markboard home page.


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To be honest, they did taste very good and now have joined my regular dinner list. I am really amazed at myself for trying out stuff. I am a lazy person for whom cooking was a chore. But now, I am inspired by so many to try out different varieties of food.
Let me give you the recipe,
1 cup spaghetti
1 cup of vegetables, fine chopped (carrots,beans,cabbage,celery etc)
1 cup boiled rice OR 1 egg
3 tbsp chili paste
3 chopped green chillies
1 tbspn chopped garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp corn flour
1 large ginger, finely chopped
Oil to fry
1 medium onion
2 tsp pepper powder
Salt to taste
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup spring onions
Add little water and steam the finely chopped minced vegetables in a pan. Steam it for 2 min and drain the vegetables by squeezing and store the water for making the sauce. This water is like vegetable stock so do not throw them away.
In a bowl add the cooked vegetables, salt, few chopped green chillies,pepper powder,ginger,soy sauce,chili paste,corn flour and mix well.
Now you can either use egg or 1 cup of boiled rice to this mixture to make small dumplings.
In a pan, heat the oil and deep fry these dumplings.
Note: If the dumpling breaks, add some more boiled rice to the mixture.
To make sauce:
In a pan, add oil. Add cumin seeds, chopped garlic and ginger.
Add onion and saute them.
Add green chili, pepper powder, soy sauce, a pinch of sugar and chili sauce.
Add the vegetable stock, required amount of salt.
Let it come to a boil.
Now, add the vegetable dumplings and coat them with this sauce.
Meanwhile cook the spaghetti as per the instruction. Serve hot with this vegetable balls and a perfect Thanksgiving Dinner is ready, the vegetarian way!


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One of my favorite designers is finally off the market.
I'm wishing all the best for Jason and Gustavo from the bottom of my heart.
It's really rare to see such a bright couple.
I won't get myself into anybody's private life's discussion cause it's none of my business.
I'd really like to focus on fashion instead.
Look at how stylish this wedding is! And the choice of the venue is really smart: it's Mexico.
Though if I once get married I wish my venue to be the sexiest India. Oh the dreams!
Photo via Bryanboy
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Faithfully yours,


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Thursday, May 10, 2007
Water Pipe Full of Crap
Water Pipe Full of Crap - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.
This is what a water pipe looks like after years of providing drinking water to a neighborhood of Boston.
Before using this type of modern pipe they used hollowed out trees!
"In 1795, private water suppliers developed a delivery system, using wooden pipes made from tree trunks, to carry water from Jamaica Pond to Boston Proper."
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Many people have different definitions of the term search engine marketing (SEM). Even search professionals disagree with each other,
including representatives from the commercial web search engines. I am not surprised that the average shopper for search engine marketing
services is confused with all of the information being reported on this topic, both on- and offline. Which leads me to the question:
I'm confused. What is the difference between search engine optimization and search engine marketing? Aren't they the same thing?
It is quite common for people (including journalists and even search professionals themselves) confuse the terms "search engine marketing"
and "search engine optimization." Search engine optimization is a one type of search engine marketing. Search engine advertising is another
type of search engine marketing.
One of the most widespread beliefs about search engine marketing (SEM) is search engine advertising equals search marketing. If your online
marketing firm runs advertising campaigns on Google, the firm must specialize in SEM, right?
Although this belief is common, it's hardly accurate. As I said previously, search engine advertising is only one component of the search
marketing process. Marketing campaigns involve branding, sales, customer service, distribution, trade shows, radio, TV, direct mail, and so
forth. And advertising, too. So when hiring an SEM company, be sure it provides a variety of services, not only advertising.
Our experience could play an invaluable role in your next business plan. We stand solidly on the axiom that our success is
Only achieved through your success so we work tirelessly to make sure that the solution that we build for you will grow.
A-1/10, Sector-11, Rohini, Delhi-110085
eCreative Web Solutions Pvt. Ltd, All rights reserved


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Search Results
Search results 1-20 of 1,000. There are more results available, please enhance your search parameters.
I know once we thought about having doorhacks and lockpicks being a consumable item. You'd only pay a couple grand instead of the current cost of lockpicks/doorhacks. I know I have been gone for a while, but I do have an idea that could be a nice mod feature just in general...
At some point we need to consider cleaning the gene pool of the retard genes. Permanently...
- Doesn't read rules - Blatantly disregards the rules 20+ times, and still doesn't read the rules - Jokes about ddosing the server when doesn't even have a net to use lmfao - Is fake Russian Can we forum ban as well?
Maybe we need to start up the 'Cold Community Special Needs' program?
Ban Appeal.
Probably banned for being retarded like usual.
Hustler is literally retarded. No admin for him.
im a faggot, thread closed.
He's already had his 10th chance Literally only reason he hasn't been perm banned is because the game barely has players. Ban him and its a 20th of the game population gone.
Lol hustler is always doing this shit. He's a fucking moron.
lmfao I may not have been in game for a long time, but I've lurked the forums. This nigga got his cop stripped for abuse. Why would we give it back?
hello world
no no no no no no no no no no no no no
Quote from Fist of Fury: " * Block length * 12 mo * Blocked by Admin * syle22 Mööööp whatever. He had several chances of being a good cop but he fucked it up and keeps talking trash to our admins. -1 " rekt
New Map
My linesse map had day and night but it didn't transition smoothly. It was just day or night. It didn't work well with the outdoor light mapping.
New Map
If someone was able to give fmc a day and night cycle with actual light transitioning I'd come back to play just for that.
Quote from HAND OF DOOM: "I was talking on mic in my apartment , when he hacked door and shot me. I spawned outside of my house , and when I opened my door , he was leaving through my fence maze. When he saw me aim my gun at his head , he immediately disconnected. He had about 15 k on him from my printer , I guess he wanted to keep it. " How convenient that he forgot to mention that in the appeal.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was more to the story. People who get banned by Doom typically conveniently leave out some very key details that get revealed via a demo and screenshots. If you go to source and then you will see your ban, the ban reason, and maybe even a demo file for evidence. Edit: You were banned for suiciding out of combat. No demo was uploaded. Knowing Doom there's probably more to the story, and like a liberal in a political discussion, you're probably conveniently leaving…
bye fgt luv u
If the pennies are spanwed by the server then they could be regular pennies that anyone picks up, but they could also be flagged so that you receive double if you are a penny picker, but ordinary money drops would act like normal.
My comment remains the same no matter what, as long as I am picking up more than 1x what I dropped.


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Comparative Law and International Organisations
Weitere Formate des Titels
Titellisten zum Thema
As international organizations consist of member states with different legal orders and are generally active in many different legal systems, it seems obvious that comparative law is of relevance. Furthermore, with the growing importance of international organizations, analyzing the interrelationship between the two is therefore of utmost importance.
It was for this reason that in fall 2010, the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law organized a symposium dedicated to different aspects of the application of comparative law to international organizations. The symposium brought together academic scholars, including international organization and comparative law experts, and participants from the European Court of Human Rights, European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice, Hague Conference on Private International Law, ICC Commission on Arbitration, International Criminal Court, and the UND.
Éditrice / éditeurs scientifiques :
Colin Picker
Lukas Heckendorn Urscheler
Daria Solenik


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Most days, the Postlethwaite offices abound with conversation: banter between colleagues, discussion of technical points, knowledge sharing, phone calls with clients. So when Claire James of Pivotal Moment suggested writing a guest blog about the importance of conversations in the workplace, we were intrigued. And being employee ownership fans (and an employee owned business ourselves), we wanted to understand how the conversations in organisations where employees are also co-owners might differ from those in other workplaces. Read on to find out….
Have you ever had a conversation that's left you feeling frustrated and unable to respond appropriately and then spent hours ruminating on what you might have said differently to get your point across, or 'fight your corner'?
Or maybe you've spent a meeting feeling 'less than', judged or excluded due to the conversations around the table…and therefore felt unable to make a valuable contribution to a project or an important decision?
If so, you are not alone. So what is happening in our brains to rob us of our faculties in the moment, and plunge us into introspection or a sense of 'unworthiness' for some time thereafter?
Well, we're discovering that our conversations are chemical…And that the chemical cocktail produced in our brains effects our ability to think effectively, make decisions, connect with others, and to be creative, productive and resilient. This chemical 'soup' is also integral to how we perceive our personal and positional power; our sense of autonomy and our place in the 'hierarchy'.
At its worst, new evidence shows that the effects of a prolonged 'high stress, low trust, cocktail', not only incapacitate our best thinking, but can alter how our genes behave. These altered genes may then even pass to the next generation, negatively impacting our as-yet-unborn children's resilience to stress and anxiety.
This is a salutary consideration for an employer as it begs questions in relation to an organisation's 'Vicarious Liability' for employees; can a 'dysfunctional' manager/leader negatively impact the lives of the unborn children of those whom she or he leads? That's what the science seems to be indicating. And if you allow this to happen, how might you and/ or your organisation be considered liable?
Our conversations therefore have enormous importance. They are at the heart of who we are, how we connect and how we perform. They determine whether our neural resources are available to do the work we're being paid to do and they form the very fabric of the leadership and ownership culture of an organisation.
According to Judith F. Glaser, author of several books on Conversational Intelligence™, a body of work dedicated to moving organisations from 'Power-over' to 'Power-with' cultures; "Getting to the next level of greatness depends on the quality of our cultures, which depends on the quality of our relationships, which depends on the quality of our conversations. Everything begins with conversations."
Judith has identified 7 kinds of conversation and behaviours that move an organisation's culture from 'I-Centric' to 'We-centric', from 'Power-over' to 'Power-with', whatever the ownership and/or hierarchical structure in place. For the employee-owned business, where a team ethos tends to be more prevalent, this cultural style is a natural fit, so we would expect such organisations to experience more of these conversations and behaviours than the average business. This is what Judith identified:
How is the conversation different?
What are the results?
From 'Excluding' to 'Including'
Establishing a 'We-centric', 'Power-with' Workplace
From 'Judging' to 'Appreciating'
Building partnerships
From 'Limiting Aspiration' to 'Expanding Aspiration'
Focusing on aspiration
From 'Withholding' to 'Sharing'
Harvesting Wisdom
From 'Knowing Mindset' to 'Discovery Mindset'
Fostering Innovation
From 'Dictating' to 'Developing'
Developing a leadership voice in all
From 'Criticising' to 'Celebrating'
Releasing positive energy and neural resources
Why not take a few moments to run through this list, and consider how the conversations in your own organisation either foster, or inhibit these approaches and practices and what kind of culture they are therefore creating for you. Conversations cost little, but their impact will determine both how productive you are and the quality of everything that you and your organisation do.
Claire James is Managing Director of Pivotal Moment, which specialises in 'Interactional Intelligence' for leaders and organisations. She is accredited to bring the highly practical and accessible frameworks and tools of Conversational Intelligence™ into organisations. If you'd like to know more, please contact Claire on 0203 239 1334 or by email at
firstname.lastname@example.com http://www.pivotal-moment.co.uk/


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2017's cinema has felt like a wholesale reboot of the 1990s. In fact, this isn't even the first 90s reboot starring The Rock I've reviewed. Fortunately, I can report The Rock's reimagining of the classic family comedy Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) really honors the memory of the late Robin Williams. I think it's safe to say that if Robin were alive today, he would gladly perform a cameo role in Mrs. Doubtfire (2017).
If you're familiar with the original Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), you'll recognize the plot of Mrs. Doubtfire but with a few tweaks to suit The Rock's unique talents. Daniel Hillard (The Rock) is a freelance bodybuilder in Phoenix, Arizona. Though a devoted father to his children Lydia, Chris, and Natalie, his wife considers him unreliable. One day, while having mo-cap sensors attached to his body for use in a video game, Daniel learns that the video game encourages kids to play football for recreation. Realizing that his body is being used to introduce kids to a dangerous sport that causes head trauma, Daniel quits in a fit of rage.
Daniel drives home to throw a lavish birthday party for his large son Chris (Rico Rodriguez) despite his wife's objections. The neighbors complain about all the noise from the party. Daniel responds by throwing his body through their living room window and tackling the neighbors to the ground, creating a situation with the police. Daniel's wife files for divorce, and the judge gives sole custody of the children to her due to Daniel's pending charges for assault, but tells Daniel if he can reform his ways joint custody may be a possibility in the future.
Daniel hires a great lawyer to get his neighbors' assault charges dismissed, and learns that his ex-wife is seeking a nanny to watch over the children. Daniel gets help from his bodybuilding buddies to create the Mrs. Doubtfire persona, injecting him with hormones to make him more feminine. Daniel also has his brother use his hacker skills to see who else is applying for the job, and then physically intimidates all the other applicants to prevent them from showing up for the interview.
Mrs. Doubtfire is the only applicant to show up for the nanny interview, and though Daniel's ex-wife is uncomfortable, she pipes down when Mrs. Doubtfire threatens to sue her for discriminating against intersex people. Once he becomes the nanny for his own kids, all kinds of hijinx ensue, culminating in a crazy scene at a restaurant where his ex-wife is out on a date with Daniel Craig.
I loved Mrs. Doubtfire (2017) for the laughs and the humor and the heart. While the movie isn't perfect, I admired The Rock for daring to take on a role that's more complicated than his usual he-man action hero wheelhouse. In a way, it's a throwback to earlier The Rock classics like Tooth Fairy (2010) but with more complex emotionality. As they inject themselves with more and more hormones, Mrs. Doubtfire's gender and sexuality becomes increasingly ambiguous and mercurial. For a movie star of The Rock's stature to tackle such strange and controversial subject matter in 2017 means he deserves an Oscar nomination in my opinion.
TL;DR – Mrs. Doubtfire (2017) uses its energetic lead and a bizarre twist to offer an emotionally demanding yet highly entertaining update on its classic source material.
What the rest of the critics are saying:
"The Rock is back, baby, and he's better than ever!" – Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
"The first, but hopefully not the last time The Rock will star in a cinematic grotesque." – Mother Waddles, Daily Mirror
"Why?" – Muhammad Rizky Chaniago, Film Racket
"Todd Solondz does what he can to turn The Rock's usual charms into something disturbing and corrupt while transforming an appealing family entertainment into a much darker story." – Nutdanai Nilchai, ScreenAnarchy
"The Rock's soft – but not comically squeaky – voice gives Mrs. Doubtfire the soul she lacked in hot girl form, back when all the screenwriters could think of to have her do was take selfies." – Amy Nicholson, Uproxx
Melonmeter® Score:
80% liquid & seed retention – CERTIFIED JUICY™


text:
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Your feet are an important part of you. They carry you around for a lifetime, run a marathon, take a stroll at the beach, get you to your desired destination - they help you carry out just about all of your daily activities. In fact, your feet have 4 times more sweat glands than elsewhere on your body; at times they can become sweaty and emanate an unpleasant odour.
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text:
100 is like miles away to me.I just started so what can you expect haha.
i bet no one is going to read this because i drew it in pencil and took the photos on my phone. im such an average artist
I have only 2 subs haha.
Thanks for reading and subscribing if you do:
Had 2 weeks off due to a bug and a circumstance. Summary of my comic? Parody of all things nerdy and real issues that happen to me and us all personified.
Hey! If you guys enjoy a fair amount of Dark humor this is your thingHere's the link of the latest episode: https://tapas.io/series/Bled-City/ep10
Hi there! I recently joined as a creator and began posting my comic "My Aspie Way". I would greatly appreciate any support and am more than happy to support in return. Please feel fre to suggest your work to me!
My comic^^
here's my comic, I'm super new to tapas!
Burn My Shadow for FREE!
The first episode - Face in the Sand - has been released in both English and Italian on Patreon, Tapas, and Webtoons!
Our Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/BurnMyShadowCB/
We'll deliver a new chapter every 6 weeks.
Burn My Shadow is a dystopian comic book created and written by Lanza Sebastiano, pencilled by Conti Fabio, inked by Bert and Miriam Scaringella.
The year is 2113. Global political and economic stability has been upset by extreme weather conditions, as well as an ever-growing population. Tharmas is an outcast in search of his long-lost sister. In spite of his objections, he begrudgingly accept K's company, a child journeying alongside him.
The search leads Tharmas and K through the megalopolis speckling a predominantly arid wasteland. Cauldrons to diverse cultures, the urban complexes, shielded from extreme weather events by gargantuan domes, house the better portion of the world population. Food and water reserves are scant; electronic masks, serving as IDs and credit chips, are provided amongst the wealthy.
The journey will bring Tharmas face to face with the new world's leading figures; he will avail himself of violence as he investigates his sister's whereabouts, whilst his relationship with K will delve deeper into his individuality.
My webcomic collab with Ana GrolMy webcomic collab with Maya MiauuMy webcomic collab with Clay Draw
Hi everyone! My name is Imani and I'm trying to become a professional mangaka.
I'm incredibly close to 100. Currently at 91 readers. Can I get to 100 by the end of August? I'm about to start a slightly different part of the story too.
Hey everybody!For those of you who have been following my novel "Love is a Long Road," I'm sorry for the hiatus! Work has been incredibly busy and draining for me, which hasn't left me (unfortunately) with much time or energy to dedicate to working on the chapters. I do have over 2000 words written for Chapter 11 though, so it hopefully won't be too much longer before it's finished and I can start releasing it. The entire story itself is at over 46k words, which I feel is a really big accomplishment for me, and it's also nearing the 50k word milestone where I was wanting to draw people's favorite characters from the story which I'm definitely looking forward to doing!
In terms of my comic "City of Gray," I am going to try to update more frequently when I have the chance. I'm definitely looking forward to being able to share more of both stories with you guys, so don't forget to stay subscribed to keep updated on any new releases! And here's a little sneak preview of the chapter 1 cover for "City of Gray"!
I hope everyone enjoys, and thanks again for your continued support!
Mostow's Mnemula is a Sci-fi about an e-sports captain, set in the year 2079. If you like sci-fi, fantasy and gaming then this could be for you! Lemme know if you have any favourite sci-fi series you like.
I tried to chamge the concept of the dark king that kidnap princesses and the heroe who tries to save them
Action, and Super Powers


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This isn't the first time Seed has sacrificed editorial independence. A worrying article about scienceblogs' parent company, Seed, and how they restricted the publication of a column on the basis of it being critical of Dow Chemical — someone they were seeking an advertising contract with. As Gaia Vince points out in an email she received from Seed:
We're not running the bhopal piece, and we're passing on the Maldive shark ban (a bit late now… Too bad it got caught up in prod week… ). As for Bhopal, it's a cautionary call on our part as we're in the midst of advertising negotiations with Dow (who have been inspired by Seed's photography in their own brand campaigns). RE: the payment, as you're on a scheduled direct-payment, the bhopal fee covers the Kerry/Carbon trading news piece fee that was outstanding. Let me know if that's clear.
It's a great article that's not only revealing about Seed, but the underlying motivations of the journalism industry in general. I never thought I'd find myself linking to Chomsky's politics, yet, given the nature of this article, maybe it's time I dug out my copy of Manufacturing Consent.
Scientific Certainty Argumentation Methods (SCAMs): Science and the politics of doubt. H/T: Ben Goldacre. A good paper looking at what happens when science and politics mix, and how the two have different expectations of what science is. Here's the abstract:
At least since the time of Popper, scientists have understood that science provides falsification, but not "proof." In the world of environmental and technological controversies, however, many observers continue to call precisely for "proof," often under the guise of "scientific certainty." Closer examination of real-world disputes suggests that such calls may reflect not just a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of science, but a clever and surprisingly effective political-economic tactic—"Scientific Certainty" Argumentation Methods, or SCAMs. Given that most scientific findings are inherently probabilistic and ambiguous, if agencies can be prevented from imposing any regulations until they are unambiguously "justified," most regulations can be defeated or postponed, often for decades, allowing profitable but potentially risky activities to continue unabated. An exploratory examination of previously documented controversies suggests that SCAMs are more widespread than has been recognized in the past, and that they deserve greater attention in the future.
The secret history of X and Z. An excellent article from Ed Yong on Chromosome evolution in humans and birds. Key paragraph:
Why the similarities? It's possible that both X and Z evolved from autosomes with features that made them more likely to become sex chromosomes. Perhaps, for example, their genes were already sparsely distributed. But Bellott ruled out this idea. He compared X to its closest counterpart in chicken, and Z to its equivalents in humans – none of these relatives had any structural features that made them stand out among other autosomes. There's nothing that singles them out as ideal candidates for the role of sex chromosome.
You are not authorized to see these pictures of the oil spill, citizen… Do not look. Washington's Blog has some fairly harrowing photos of the recent gulf oil spill and the damage it's doing to wildlife. Here's one example:


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NASA has proclaimed nowadays that its Inquisitiveness Rover has found an unmistakable communication from Creator written on tablets in a Martian cave. By the opinion of the official media announcement two huge pebble slabs the size of small monsters were situated deep inside a cave adjoining Aeolis Mons, a large mountain. We all know that NASA is a technological researcher organization. It always research on the planets and sun world. They first send human to the moon. Mow they are researching in many planets among them the Mars is highly notable. People always want to know the updated news from the NASA. So here is the recent news of NASA. By the opinion of the top experts who have calculated the discovery lengthily, these answers may have ultimately recognized as the one factual religion. Syms Covington is an Australian researcher and he works for NASA's Mars Examination Program.
According to his mind as he expressed that is they had gone in to the cave viewing for water, and they found immune of Creator's presence instead. This is not only his opinion but also the another major scientists of the NASA. If you want to know the fact about it then it will be unbelievable to you. NASA's Inquisitiveness nomad reached on Mars in August of previous year with an assignment to travel the Martian climate and geology. The main reason of these is for searching for the ciphers for habitability. After a long research they had found the as such sings that proved that a long long ago here lived people. Although there is possible meaning, Covington doubts that the Globe-shattering detection may not brand the influence it should. He told that it was really unfortunate. He also explained that the normal media is so anti-religionist, they might not even take up this story.


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Need help? Advice?
10-6 EST, m-f
We're constantly singing the praises of all the new modern doodads that make feeding and caring for your child easier (partly because we use them, and partly because we sell them): marvelous spillproof sippy cups, colic-reducing baby feeding bottles, and more. But these cool items have one drawback: lots of tiny, easily-misplaced parts.
Fortunately, Boon is constantly coming up with new doodads to help you keep track of your doodads, and the Boon Clutch Dishwasher Basket is a brilliant one! This clever little clamshell keeps baby bottle and sippy cup parts organized, safe, and correctly positioned in the dishwasher, with slots that are perfectly designed to keep baby bottle nipples, sippy cup spouts, and valve straws firmly in place. Nipples pop into the slots and stay in place as you load and close the Clutch Dishwasher Basket, and valve straws can be threaded through to stand upright.
Use the Boon Clutch Dishwasher Basket on the top shelf of your dishwasher; it contains no BPA, PVC, or phthalates. Holds 6 large or 14 small bottle nipples, plus additional parts for up to 8 bottles.
Sturdy, good design for nipples
Not easy to position some parts for optimal cleaning
After several months of washing bottles by hand every night we had the realization that we could get a dishwasher basket for bottle parts and run them through the dishwasher. This has saved a lot of time. We use Dr. Brown's 4 oz bottles currently. The basket is great for all the parts, but is a little tricky to position blue tubes so that they get cleaned properly (but it's do-able). Holds everything well and despite reviews I read on Amazon, no issues with it breaking from repeated opening/closing and there do not seem to be any parts that look faulty/ too delicate in the hinge/lock mechanism that would make it likely to break. This is after 1 month of almost daily use.
4 beans instead of 5 just because it would be nice if you could more easily position the parts inside the basket so they stay how you want them during the wash cycle. Otherwise, it's great.


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Use the Search function for your questions and find your answer here
Frequently Asked Questions
|Delivery requirements for mastering
|The Mixdown should be exported at 24bit or 32bit 44.1khz .wav or .aiff
and i the mixdown export may not be clipping.
Take all effects on the master bus off, unless you use it as an creative effects.
Allow atleast 3dB atleast of headroom (with your limiter turned off)
|Export all seperate tracks at full song-lenght in44100, 24 bit in .wav or .aiff format.
– Name your filles correctly. e.g. Kick, Bassline, Snare, Lead, Stab, Percussion, etc.
– Provide me a preview of your OWN mixdown in .mp3 for reference.
– Provide me your wishes for the result of the mix.
|Can you send me some tracks or samples you mastered?
|I am not allowed to send mastered work from others unfortunately.
Because the rights are not on my side.
But when you look at my site in my portefolio
Most of those titels you can find and listen at the download portals like www.beatport.com etc.
If you have any questions regarding this, let me know.
|Can you master a snippet of my track before i decide?
|Yes, I will make a snippet of the master for you, no problem.
Contact me by mail for this at [email protected]
Keep in mind Mp3 is NOT a good format for a quality master and will not be accepted.
Export about 1 minute of your mixdown as .wav of .aiff format in 24bit 44.1 khz, with not (to much) limiting on it.
|What is mastering?
|Mastering is the process of taking the final stereo mixes produced by a recording-studio,
and creating an album (or single) master ready for duplication.
It is the final creative stage in the music recording-process.
During this process, extra sound processing is usually applied in order to get the sound just right, and to fix any problems from the recording/producing stage.
|Mastering VS Mixing – what's the difference?
|Sometimes we receive poor-mixed tracks or tracks which we can mix better.
In this case we may offer you both mixing and mastering, so you could get even better sound.
Even if you're sure that your mixing is good, we may mix it better!
|Why should I have my material professionally mastered?
|To put it simple, than it sounds as good as possible.
Professional mastering engineers have years or decades of experience.
They have mastered hundreds, perhaps thousands, of projects.
They work in proper sounding rooms with proper professional equipment.
And they know exactly what to do to make your music sound better.
It's not just making your tracks louder by using maximizers before proceeding with the copies.
It's a process that gets the best possible sound out of your music.
|What mastering cannot do?
|Rude mistakes in the instruments balance, nonlinear distortions on instruments or whole mix, overcompression of the instruments or the whole mix, excessive reverbs or delays, imperfect preformance.
It's not possible to get a fat and driving mix from a bad arrangement.
|How do I upload my music to AudiobyRay Mastering?
|Just upload it via this link http://www.audiobyray.com/mastering/
Or contact me at [email protected] for a dropbox account
|What exactly should I upload to AudiobyRay Mastering?
|Most of our clients send us their mixes as WAV files at 44.1kHz, 24 bits.
Please don't put any processing on the mix bus.
Do not normalise! Do not finalize! Do not maximize!
Do not apply any other overall processing to the entire mix as it should be carried out at the mastering stage.
|How do I pay for the mastering?
|With Paypal of via Banktransfer.
Contact me for the details.
|How long will it take for my music to be mastered and/or mixed?
|We will always do our best to get your order done promptly.
And have normaly a turn around of 1 or 2 days
You're on a deadline, let me know
|In which format will I receive my mastered tracks?
|We deliver your mastered tracks as WAV files. 44.1 KHz, 16 bits and as a MP3 320kbps CBR
|What should I do if i'm not happy with how it sounds now?
|If you are not satisfied with the sound of the mastered material, please contact me..
If there is a problem due to an error on our part, then naturally we will correct it free of charge.
If you require changes or amendments to the work, please contact me.
|Plug-ins on the Master Output
|If you are using plug-ins on the master output during mixing, then export two versions: A) one version with plug-ins enabled on the master output, and B) one version with plug-ins bypassed on the master output. Limiting or clipping should be avoided on mixdowns for mastering.
Having two mix versions gives me a choice in case you over-processed the mix. Check that your mix does not exceed the headroom when bypassing the plug-ins. If the master bus is overloading after bypassing the plug-ins, simply lower the master fader. Do not bypass plug-ins on individual channels in the mix.
|Your 24 bit mix should have its highest peak between -12 dBFS and -3 dBFS. This translates to between 12 and 3 dB of headroom before exceeding the digital ceiling of 0 dBFS. If you are recording an analog mix into your DAW follow example B below.
|Headroom is the amount of dB before your mix clips and the overload indicator lights up on your master output. If your mix is too loud then simply lower the output fader until the highest peak is within the recommended range. Sound quality will not be affected when you lower the fader. With 24 bits you can go as low as -48 dBFS and still have full CD quality (16 bit). However, once you exceed the digital ceiling, distortion will occur, and it will not be possible to restore the original quality. There is no reason to maximize the volume during mixdown. I will make sure your song reaches its maximum loudness potential later in the mastering process.
|Tips for Mixing – From a Mastering Point of View
|he following issues can be fixed with greater success in the mixing process than in the mastering process. Make sure you pay extra attention to these points:
|With analog recordings (guitar, drums, etc.) or completely analog mixes, use the mute automation function in your sequencer or on your mixer to eliminate hiss noise. Mute individual channels or groups when they are not active. This is particularly important in the intro, breakdown, and outro since it will reduce the level of noise in the parts of the song where it is most audible.
|Phase and polarity
|Check to see if recorded drums are out of phase. Other common problems are synthesizer sounds with too much anti-phase and applying a fake stereo spreader. Check your mix in mono playback to see if sounds almost or entirely disappear because of inverted polarity.
|Phase and polarity
|Most professional sequencers include a correlation meter to check for phase problems. When the meter is indicating a value towards +1 the sound is in phase. When the meter value is towards -1 the sound is out of phase. A value of exactly -1 means you have inverted the polarity, which will make it disappear completely in mono playback.
|Sub frequencies
|Loud or unnecessary sub frequencies (below 40 Hz) in individual tracks can cause problems with the sound quality and the final volume of the master. Make sure you low cut all tracks that do not contain meaningful sound in the sub frequencies. For instance, a vocal can be cut at around 80 Hz to avoid pops or rumble. Using a gentle 12 dB/Octave slope will sound more natural than a steep filter. Do not cut the entire mix though as this could lead to a thin sounding mix if you are not careful.
|Sibilants and other sharp sounds
|Sibilants and other sharp whistling or clicking sounds from the mouth or string instruments are a serious challenge when mastering. Make sure the vocalist controls his or her sibilants. Use a de-esser if necessary, preferably a broadband de-esser to avoid lisping artifacts. Use volume automation on very loud sibilants, plosives, or click sounds. Also pay attention to other sharp sounds that stick out, i.e. crash cymbals and hi-hats.
|Vocal levels
|An uneven vocal is difficult to fix in the mastering process. Sometimes two compressors with a low ratio is better than one compressor with a high ratio. Even with correct vocal compression you often still need to do volume automation. Turn individual passages or words up or down until everything is smooth and clearly audible. Try listening at a low volume while adjusting the volume automation on the vocal track.
|Alternative Versions
|It is common practice to provide alternative versions of the mix with vocals up (or down), e.g. +0.6 dB and +1.4 dB, as well as an instrumental and a capella version. Sometimes you make a version with a louder kick and/or snare drum. You do not have to send these right away, but make sure you have them ready or are able to recall your mix.
|Alternative Versions
|Clearly write the difference in the file name itself and in the notes. Everything else in the file should be 100% identical to the normal version, so do not adjust the master fader. If necessary I can choose from the alternative versions or splice parts later. If you ask me for a mix check before delivering the final mix then alternative versions are rarely needed. Many record companies insist on having the alternative versions, so be prepared.
Most professional sequencers have an easy way of offsetting automation. This makes bouncing alternative versions a breeze. In Logic Pro you hold down the Command key while dragging the vertical yellow automation bar up or down. For other sequencers please refer to your manual.
Alternatively, you can use the output gain in the last plug-in on the track channel to raise or lower the output level. If you are outputting or sending the channel to a bus with dynamic processing or if your are using the channel for sidechaining, you can not use this alternative method.
|Export your mix at least one bar before it actually starts. Include a couple of extra bars at the end to ensure reverbs, delays, and instrument decays have tapered off completely.
|Do not fade out the end of the mix. Instead, tell me where the fade should begin and end. Write down the fade times in absolute or relative terms, i.e. "fade out from 3:15 to 3:30" or "fade the last 15 seconds of the song".
|File Format
|WAV or AIFF is preferred.
|Stereo Format
|Choose interleaved stereo and not split stereo when bouncing or exporting your mixdown for mastering.
|Stereo Format
|If your sequencer does not give you a choice of stereo format then it is most likely using interleaved stereo. Interleaved stereo uses one single stereo file. Split stereo uses two individual mono files, something that does not suit the mastering workflow.
|Bit Resolution
|24 bit.
|Bit Resolution
|16 bit files are only used whenever it is not possible to get a 24 bit file of the same mix. All professional sequencers are able to export in 24 bit, but some hard disk recorders only burn audio CDs (which are always 16 bit). 32 bit floating point is not used for mixdowns for mastering. The actual sound contents of a 32 bit float file is identical to that of the 24 bit fixed format, it takes up more space, and is slower to data transfer.
|Sample Rate
|44.1 kHz or higher.
Only export in higher sample rates than 44.1 kHz if your project is actually recorded and processed at that rate. The advantages and disadvantages of using higher sample rates are debatable. If your project contains different sample rates then do not convert sample rates yourself, let the me do it. If you need to put your master in a movie or you require a different target sample rate than 44.1 kHz, then tell me in advance.
|Dithering and Noise Shaping
|o not use noise shaping or colored dither, e.g. UV22 or POW-r when exporting your mixdown for mastering.
In very rare cases noise shaping can cause high frequency artifacts during the mastering process. You can use flat dither during the mixdown, referred to as TPDF. In all circumstances dithering and noise shaping on a 24 bit file has very little effect on the sound, so leave if off if you are uncertain. The final bit reduction to 16 bit (audio CD format) is performed by me as the last step of the mastering process.
|Do not use any kind of normalizing on your mixdown.
Normalizing raises the signal level in an unnecessary fashion, and it will change the amount of headroom left in the mix. The final volume level of the mix will be optimized by me.
|Realtime or Offline Bouncing
|In theory a realtime and offline bounce are identical. However, sometimes track automation and unsynchronized LFO's are not identical due to small timing differences. If you decide to do an offline bounce then listen through the bounce before sending it to me.
|Listen to Your Mixdown
|Always listen to the exported file from the beginning to the end before sending. Make sure everything is playing correctly, that the beginning and end are intact, and that no artifacts or click sounds occur.
|The mix is overloading/clipping
|Your master output is too loud. Simply turn down the master fader. There will be no loss of quality as long as you follow the advice given in this document.
|Plug-ins are active on the master output
|Make one mix with plug-ins and one without plug-ins on the master output.
|The intro has a click or overlapping reverb/delay tails
|This is caused by a missing reset buffer command in the sequencer or 3rd party plug-in. Add a small piece of dummy audio at the beginning of problematic tracks. This will trigger the buffer error before the actual song starts. Make sure there is at least one empty bar before the music starts.
|The reverb, delay or instrument tail is missing at the end of the song
|Export your song with at least one extra bar at the end.
|Clicks or other artifacts in the mix
|Clicks are often caused by bad edits, imprecise mute automation or automation errors. Using headphones, solo each track in the mix until you find the culprit. Random clicks are often caused by using a sound card buffer size that is too low. Use a higher buffer size and try again.
|White noise in the exported audio file
|Loud white noise is usually caused by a computer error or file transfer error. Restart your computer and sequencer and export again. Always pack WAV files as a ZIP file before transferring over the Internet.
|Sending Files Over the Internet
|Before sending a file on the Internet you should pack it as a ZIP file to maintain data integrity.


text:
While I was in Palermo to work on my performance as part of the minifestival at the Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, I was also photographing the other shows that took place. One of those, Rest in (Dove's) Piss, was collectively created by Claudia di Gangi, Alexandra Draghici, Lesley Ewen, Dario lo Cicero and Josephine Were. This was a site-specific piece that used a lot of strong visual images as well as instruments created from objects found in the space. Photographed is Claudia pouring water on Alexandra.
The setup was such that the audience looked at the room most of the performers were in through a window from a fixed distance. All of the images were framed for them by the window. However, as a photographer, they suggested that I place myself inside the room out of sight of the audience but with the best view of everything taking place inside. It was a unique and interesting position to be in, and resulted in some great images that would have otherwise been impossible. I'm not entirely sure about the optics of this, but I think that by looking through a window at something framed you see much more than a camera can from the same distance - because of course you have two eyes. So it's very hard to capture what the audience actually sees in this situation, unless you go and stand a few feet in front of them, directly in the middle of the frame. Of course, if you do that then they don't actually see it at all, so you defeat the whole point unless you're shooting the dress rehearsal. Anyway, in this situation it was fine to be in the room and stay there, because there were a couple of other photographers outside to capture the bits I'd miss.
I really liked this set turned black and white. I shoot everything in colour and raw, and very rarely convert to black and white except for acting headshots. However, these look fantastic converted to black and white, and it's been nice to practice working on them in this way. My process for black and white is generally to start by lowering the contrast and getting quite a flat image before painting in the contrast manually with dodge, burn and clarity in lightroom.
Dario is here playing a flute made from a metal oar - extremely well I have to say, it's not just for the look of it. He was also playing roof tiles on a clothes rack which sounded like they were tuned to quarter tones, although I have no idea how he'd done it if that was the case. He also had a glass flute which Josie played in the performance.


text:
Facing the internationalization challenge, EXPORTBRU seeks to curb the competitive disadvantage of Brussels SMEs, due to their limited financial resources and therefore, to contribute to their international development process.
Exportbru is a subsidiary of the S.R.I.B. (Brussels Regional Society of Investment). It offers funding to Brussels exporting SMEs as well as Brussels SMEs looking for starting an export business or establishing abroad.
Which kind of enterprises Exportbru can help?
Exportbru can provide funding to :
- SMEs established in the Brussels-Capital Region : a SME is a enterprise which hire less than 250 people, which turnover is inferior to EUR 50 million or which the balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 43 million and which more than 25% of the capital cannot be held by a large enterprise (European definition);
- Enterprises which has been incorporated for more than two years and which hire at least three people;
- Exporting enterprises or enterprises which are looking for starting an export business or establishing abroad;
- Enterprises which are not related to the following sectors/ activities: import-export, agriculture, unethical activity.
What kind of funding does Exportbru can provide you with?
Exportbru offers three forms of incentives:
- Prospection funding to SMEs which want to start an export business or to spread to a foreign market. Exportbru will provide them with a loan for 2 to 5 years and can fund a prospection budget up to 80%, between €10 000 to €50 000.
- International expansion funding to exporting SMEs facing with a need of financial resources for export, for example to increase their production capacity or to increase their working capital. That kind of incentive can vary from 50.000 to 500.000 € through a loan or even through a participation in the capital of the enterprise.
- International establishment funding: Exportbru can fund up to 50% of Brussels SME investments abroad, to establish a subsidiary or a joint-venture or to buy a foreign company. This incentive can vary from 50.000 to 500.000 € through a loan or even through a participation in the capital of the enterprise.
The enterprise can apply for incentives via the following address: email@example.com. *
For the Prospection funding, a standard application form is available to the following address: firstname.lastname@example.com. *
For the International expansion funding or the International establishment funding, the application must be supported by the following elements:
- Introduction of the enterprise (review, management and team, products and services, customers and markets, other establishments…)
- Financial data (review of turnovers and gross margins, the recent accounting situation)
- Description of the export activity or of the expansion/establishment project
- Financial plan
An interview with one of our analysts will be organized after the reception of the application.
For a loan application, you will probably have to wait for 30 days (15 days for a prospection funding if the enterprise meets certain criteria) and you will probably have to wait for three months for a participation in the enterprise's capital.
Exportbru – Subsidiary of the S.R.I.B.
Rue de Stassart 32
1050 Brussels
Sandrine Evrard
Investment Manager


text:
PostgreSQL 10.1, 9.6.6, 9.5.10, 9.4.15, 9.3.20, and 9.2.24 released!
Corrective updates are available for all supported PostgreSQL branches: 10.1, 9.6.6, 9.5.10, 9.4.15, 9.3.20 and 9.2.24, which contain a batch of bug fixes, including fixes for problems that could lead to data corruption.
The release of updates for the 9.3 branch will last until September 2018, 9.4 until December 2019, 9.5 until January 2021, 9.6 until September 2021, and 10 until October 2020. PostgreSQL version 9.2 is now End-of-Life (EOL).
From the fixes, we can highlight serious problems with BRIN indexes (some rows to not be included in the indexing), several fixes for logical replication and crash when logical decoding is invoked from a PL language function, low-probability crash in processing of nested trigger firings, fixes for parallel query execution and fix some json(b) functions.
In addition to fixing errors in new releases, three security vulnerabilities have also been fixed:
- CVE-2017-12172: Start scripts permit database administrator to modify root-owned files
- CVE-2017-15098: Memory disclosure in JSON functions
- CVE-2017-15099: INSERT … ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE fails to enforce SELECT privileges


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text:
Avoid Spoilers! Read from Episode One
[The 5th sign of the zodiac; fixed, hot, positive, masculine and dry]
The night of the full moon
Joanne takes in small breaths, making sure that she doesn't make any noise. Her body is still frozen.
"It will all be over soon, Joanne!" Kyle calls out in the darkness.
In the moonlight, Joanne sees something glisten under the shrubbery. She pushes herself forward and reaches down, grabbing the object. She can feel the cold metal of Thomas' handgun. She holds it firmly in her hands.
Joanne Evans suddenly feels brave.
"It was all a lie!" Joanne calls out, stepping out of her hiding spot.
"You've come to your senses," Kyle remarks, turning in the direction of Joanne's voice.
"I never loved you!"
"You lie," Kyle scoffs. "You needed me."
"You thought I wouldn't remember," Joanne continues, walking towards Kyle, the handgun hidden at her side. "You thought I wouldn't remember that you were the one who attacked me in my own home. You crushed my legs with a cricket bat and left me for dead in that burning house."
"I rescued you from that burning house, Joanne," Kyle argues.
"After deforming me!" Joanne screams. "You thought you would be the hero!"
"I am the hero!" He sees Joanne, illuminated by the moonlight, walking towards him.
"But guess what, Kyle?" Joanne berates him. "I remembered! I've always remembered! I swore to seek vengeance on you because I knew that you had something to do with my husband's death. That's why I never stopped looking for Thomas – to find out the truth. That's why I kept you close to me. That's why I became your lover!"
"You're crazy!"
"Maybe I am," Joanne laughs. "I've had my eye on you from the beginning. And you never suspected a thing!"
"You're just saying that now! You're making this whole thing up!"
"You can't even do basic maths," Joanne laughs again.
"What are you talking about?"
"My pregnancy!" Joanne tries to spell it out. "I became pregnant to make my plan even more believable. You thought the baby was yours, but it's not."
"You're psychotic!" Kyle sniggers.
"It couldn't have been Richard's because I wasn't pregnant when he died," Joanne adds. "So you believed it was yours. But Richard had frozen some sperm a few months back before he died. We did it just in case, and it was one of the best things we ever did. Little Ricky is certainly my little miracle baby – Richard's miracle baby."
"You don't deserve me!" Kyle screams, deciding that he's heard enough.
Joanne Evans steps up face to face with Kyle Cook.
"The perfect illusion." Joanne feels strong.
"You think you're so clever," Kyle snarls.
"This one is for Inspector Manning. This one is for Thomas. This one is for Richard. This one is for my baby, Sylvia. This one is for Ricky. This one is for me!"
Joanne Evans raises the handgun and shoves it into Kyle's chest. The cold barrel clinks on one of his buttons.
The explosion rings in Joanne's ears and she feels her face being splattered with warm, sticky blood. The smell of gun powder is overpowering.
"My final act of revenge." Joanne smiles, looking down at Kyle Cook's crumpled body. "It's been a long time in the making."
Joanne Evans drops the gun. She lets out a deep breath. She cries. She collapses to the ground.
Six months later
The courtroom is packed.
There is not a single seat left in the crowded courtroom, with journalists having to stand against the back wall, their pens scribbling down notes furiously as they listen to the proceeding.
There is silence as Joanne Evans appears and takes her place in the witness stand. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She realises she has to stay strong. She has been so strong up to this point, she tells herself.
"Can you please state your full name for the court," the criminal barrister instructs Joanne after she has been sworn in.
"Joanne Annette Evans," Joanne replies.
"And where is your normal place of residence?"
"Peppercorn Patch," Joanne says, almost inaudibly.
"You'll have to speak up, Joanne," the criminal barrister, Harvey Dennis, tells her.
"Peppercorn Patch," Joanne repeats, louder this time.
"Tell me about your relationship with Thomas Helling," Harvey Dennis inquires.
"Thomas?" Joanne is confused.
"Yes, Thomas Helling. Tell the court about your relationship with Thomas Helling."
"We were childhood friends," Joanne begins. "We grew up together and Thomas was there for me when my father, Benjamin Pickering, died. He helped me through some rough times. I was only 10 years old when my father died."
"Were you ever more than just friends?" Harvey Dennis prods.
"We dated in high school and Thomas finally asked me out before our high school formal," Joanne recounts.
"So you were boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Yes, we were going out."
"Why did you end the relationship?" Harvey Dennis pushes even harder.
Joanne closes her eyes and the vision of the light green Ford Cortina belonging to Thomas' father, Douglas Lawson, careening into the dark river flashes through her mind.
"It was an accident that destroyed our relationship. Thomas was in a coma for months and I no longer loved him the same way." Joanne can hear the beat of her own heart drumming through her head.
"An accident, you say?" Harvey Dennis asks.
"Yes, Thomas swerved to miss a kangaroo and the car crashed into the river. He was lucky to survive. We both were."
"It intrigues me that on that fateful night," Harvey Dennis says, preparing for his king hit, "that the three men in your life were all there."
"I don't follow," Joanne says, almost inaudibly again.
"Who rescued you, Joanne?" Harvey Dennis asks. "Who rescued you and Thomas Helling from that river?
Joanne begins to shake. "Richard Evans and his three friends."
"Richard Evans?" Harvey Dennis almost laughs. "Your future husband?"
Joanne wants to run from the courtroom and cry. "Yes, we became close after the accident."
"What happened to Richard Evans?"
Joanne closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "He was killed."
"Killed by Thomas Helling?"
"Supposedly," Joanne sighs.
"Killed by Thomas Helling in a jealous rage," Harvey Dennis informs the court.
Joanne says nothing. She stares blankly at the crowded courtroom.
"But you weren't finished there, were you?" Harvey Dennis continues.
"I don't understand your question," Joanne says.
"You began a relationship with another one of your rescuers?"
"Yes, Constable Kyle Cook."
"Leading Senior Constable Kyle Cook, is that correct?"
"Yes," Joanne says quietly.
"Who is also now deceased?" Harvey Dennis prepares for his final blow.
Joanne lets out a deep sigh and nods her head.
"We need an answer from you for the record, Joanne," Harvey Dennis informs her.
"Yes, Kyle Cook is deceased."
"This doesn't look good for you, does it Joanne?" Harvey Dennis asks.
"I've had my fair share of misfortune," Joanne says.
"Fair share?" Harvey Dennis laughs. "Joanne, do you seriously believe a jury is going to consider that all of these things were out of your control?"
Joanne shuffles uneasily in her seat. She tries hard to hold back the tears waiting to explode over her face.
"Tell me about your father, Joanne," Harvey Dennis continues.
"Benjamin Pickering?" Joanne asks. "He died when I was 10 years old."
"No," Harvey Dennis stops her. "Your biological father, Peter Smith."
Joanne's face suddenly changes from sadness to anger. "He will never be my father."
"You've accused him of some pretty horrible crimes, Joanne," Harvey Dennis continues to prod.
"He attacked me!" The court can now hear Joanne loud and clear. "He would have killed me given the chance!"
"That's a pretty strong allegation you're making, Joanne," Harvey Dennis says to her.
"It's true! He's a monster!"
"But, you see, Joanne," Harvey Dennis says, preparing for another blow, "all of your stories are hard to believe."
"I swear it's the truth!" Joanne's anger is building.
"It's hard to see where the truth lies and the fantasies begin, Joanne," Harvey Dennis says smugly. "Your life is a colourful drama. You live for the drama. You long for it."
"He's a monster!" Joanne shouts, the tears escaping finally.
The courtroom judge leans towards Joanne and tells her to take a minute to compose herself. Joanne indicates to him that she wants to continue.
"Joanne," Harvey Dennis continues, "this is a very serious offence."
"I know."
"I'm not referring to your accusations, Joanne," Harvey Dennis informs her. "I'm referring to your lies to this court."
"I'm not lying!" Joanne yells.
"Well, I put it to you that you are, Joanne!" Harvey Dennis yells back at her. "You've been lying your whole life! Your whole life has been a lie! You trap people in your web and play the victim!"
"That's not true!"
"This jury will believe it is, Joanne."
"I'm not lying!" Joanne says again, exasperated. "My father, Doctor Peter Smith, is the Poetry Predator, and he should be punished for his crimes!"
Joanne looks over to the courtroom dock. Through the tears in her eyes, she can see the accused sitting handcuffed. Doctor Peter Smith looks back at Joanne and gives her a menacing smile.
Joanne's body shakes as she takes another deep breath.
Next Episode – Monday May 1
Episode Illustration by Grey Alexander @grey418 The Drawn


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The Power of Photography
The Power of Photography
Uploaded 3 years ago
Spear Education's The Power of Photography course highlights the importance of implementing photography in the practice. Photography is perhaps the most powerful tool at your disposal to help your patients see the current conditions in their mouths. Using photography on a regular basis can help your practice in several areas – patient education, evaluation of your work, documentation, and communication with the lab and other dentists.


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CLOSED 2016 – due to fire
I have had some really wonderful times at The Waterfront Tavern in Lewistown. The restaurant and its outdoor deck is situated with a very nice prospect of the Juniata River. Because of the location on 6398 Belle Ave., just off the bridge (Rt 103) that crosses the Juniata, the main approach from Lewistown has you driving past the restaurant and turning left at the light onto Belle Ave. Parking is in front, beside and behind the building.
The deck is only hospitable in the best of warm weather so don't count on it being open at any other time. One weekend, Jim and I visited on a lovely summer's day and there were still only a couple of patrons taking advantage of it. There was a sign directing us to go inside to arrange seating even if we wanted to be on the deck. I assumed so that they would know people were in need of attention.
We once took our mothers to the Waterfront Tavern for a Mother's Day lunch. I wouldn't say the restaurant is "kid friendly" but I frequently see older patrons enjoying meals there. Actually, the 55 and older crowd seems to be more the demographic of The Waterfront than the 30-something crowd, even when there is a game on the 2 televisions at the downstairs bar.
The moms enjoyed the special menu that day and most of us lingered and enjoyed coffee as we watched the full banks of the Spring run off fill the lazy Juniata. We have never felt rushed to leave and are encourage to enjoy dessert and another round of coffee every visit.
Sadly, it's the downstairs bar and its worn floor that keeps the cute interior of the main dining area smelling like stale beer. If the downstairs is starting to get full, make sure to ask to sit upstairs. The view is even better because you don't have to look through the furniture on the deck and it looks down onto the Juniata, quite pleasant in any season.
We rented the entire upstairs for a wedding reception in November 2009. The chef catered it with wonderful appetizers of my suggestion. The bruschetta was a twist from what they have on the menu, he utilized roasted red peppers since tomatoes were not in season. The cheese and fruit platters ended up not including any of my requests and the bar forgot to purchase the champagne for the toast.
Not everything went as planned but, like every time we visit The Waterfront, the company was great and we had a sensational time in spite of the botched moments.
Waterlogged at the Waterfront
Even though we make the best of our times at The Waterfront doesn't mean it is a great place for vegetarians. There are a couple of appetizers, Spinach Artichoke Dip with Pita Chips and Tomato Bruschetta, neither of which are vegan.
The appetizers and the House, Stilton and Spinach Salads are the only vegetarian offerings on the lunch menu. Although they are very good and the entrée sized salads are generous, I really wanted to try the Greek Pasta on the dinner menu. When the river waters rose this past week and threatened to flood my parent's basement, we took advantage of the revised less emergent cresting to have an early supper at The Waterfront.
The website WRONGLY says that Lunch ends and Dinner begins at 4:00 PM. We found out when we went at 4:30 PM that day that, as the waitress smartly put it, "Dinner has started at 5 for as long as I have worked here." Thank goodness they have free Wi-Fi because I called up their own Website as a defense as to why I was expecting to be offered the dinner menu. This was on September 7, 2011, and when I called today they seemed in no hurry to change it even though I told them this blog would be linking to their page.
At the waitress's encouragement, we ordered some appetizers and enjoyed them until the official dinner hour arrived. The hot Spinach Artichoke Dip with Pita Chips was very nice and the potion was quite generous.
It took us quite a while to make our way through the heavy bowl of dip and deep fried pita 1/2 rounds. We munched and watched the swollen river wash unknown debris swiftly by. The skies opened up again to wash more imaginary alligators down river. It was very wet out and we were just finishing our appetizer when the waitress returned to ask if we were interested to know the evening specials. It was three different kinds of pizza (which is usually not on the menu at all) one of which was a White Pizza. The White Pizza was vegetarian, not vegan, and had cheeses and garlic that sounded very nice.
I was still set on the Greek Pasta and got a small Stilton Salad, Jim ordered a large House Salad and Mom ordered a Spinach Salad. The waitress went to clear away our appetizer dishes and spilled my ice water all over my lap. It was fitting that for the cold and flooding day I should sit for most of our meal with wet jeans. She apologized many times but what would it help to get angry? I was glad to be with good company and hope that, for as emotional as I can be, I don't ever come across as irrational when accidents happen.
The Greek Pasta was a bit bland, no real flavor of basil and the tiny bit of garlic I could detect tasted like it was from a powder. The feta cheese added some saltiness and the black olive slices some color contrast but the over cooked linguini made it all a little "bleh." I couldn't get too disappointed but it was, after all, why I was so insistent on waiting to order from the dinner menu. What a waste of effort.
I was grateful for the fine company and conversation with Jim and my parents. All of our salads had very fresh greens. Mom's Spinach salad had a sweet homemade pear vinaigrette that she seemed to enjoy along with the caramelized onions. Jim's House Salad looked very nice with the feta cheese and thumb sized grape tomatoes and pine nuts. My Stilton side salad was my favorite part of the meal, its tangy champagne vinaigrette and almonds were very nice with the blue cheese.
Coffee and conversation were our dessert before we braved the crossing of the rushing Juniata. Not to worry, the river bridge was just fine and not one Lukens had to jump in to save anyone from the raging waters (as my Grandfather had to near Hawstone many years before my father was born). In fact, even my jeans were finally starting to dry out from the ice water mishap at 5 PM.
Hey, it's average! I had to think long and hard to find any place in Mifflin County that I could rate with consistent vegetarian options and stay within my review criteria. If I can offer a review of at least an average place, my hope is that it can empower current and new vegetarians (and hopefully vegans) to find something in whatever area of central PA they are in. Until the local vegetarian group has something more to share (other than educational fliers at Kid Connection) my review of The Waterfront Tavern is the best I can present at this time.
Instead of preaching to the choir, let my 4 decades of local vegetarianism tell you that you have to pick and choose carefully in Lewistown area. I grew up in Lewistown and the restaurants in this region seem to be some of the most at fault for thinking bacon is an herb.
The Waterfront Tavern has never been confused about meat being vegetables but they just don't have a lot to offer. The patrons aren't a sketchy crowd but the waitstaff can be a little lackadaisical. It's another one of those hit or miss places, sometimes they are missing ingredients and other times the chef is bending over backward to make our experience pleasant.
I'll wrap it up by reminding readers that it is a tavern and smells like it on the main floor. It has about as many pluses (free WiFi and a great view) as minuses (very limited menu and nothing vegan). It all equals out to an average vegetarian dining experience. My advice is to surround yourself with people you like being with and the mediocrity of the meal won't matter as much.


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The campaign started in 2012 with two main objectives: supporting the endowment of Bucharest Blood Transfusion Center with European standards medical equipment necessary for blood collection and preservation.
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Magic cannot cure CANCER or The race for life must go on is a campaign dedicated to fundraising for helping doctors through high performant technologies diagnose leukemia in children and teenagers, and also the early detection of infection in immunosuppressed or transplanted patients.
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I believe in Romania is about students and young researchers with brilliant ideas who were helped to put them into practice, but also entrepreneurship and people who have the ability to make things happen.
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Posted Sep 9, 2009
By DatabaseJournal.com Staff
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The article continues at
Database News Archives
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March 4th 2001
By most accounts, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States have changed the world.
U.S. public opinion–which has exerted a decisive influence on the course of world events in the 20th century–is leading the country toward, on the one hand, a resurgence of patriotism and displays of comradeship among its compatriots and, on the other hand, interventionism, as opposed to isolationism, in foreign relations.
This is noticeably reflected in U.S. President George W. Bush's Jan. 29 State of the Union address.
Here, one reservation is made by saying "most accounts," because public opinion is by nature unpredictable, and no one can say how long this new U.S. tendency will continue.
Worthy of note in connection with this is that some countries are little affected by changes in the United States. A case in point is China, which has formed a microcosm unto itself throughout history.
The fate of the world this century will depend considerably on the future of China as well as the new posture of the United States.
A week before the terrorist attacks, Newsweek spotlighted China in its Sept. 3 edition, calling it "China Inc." an obvious pun on what Japan was called at one time–"Japan Inc." The two-page illustration depicted China as a huge red octopus spreading its tentacles over the globe.
This was an image that struck a nerve in news centers the world over. The Sept. 11 attacks turned the media's attention away from China for some months. After the war against terrorism passed a critical stage, the Jan. 30 issue of the Japanese-language version of Newsweek put the focus back on China, this time playing up the danger that Chinese economic aggression poses to Japan.
On the cover was a giant blue fire-breathing dragon.
If not for the events triggered by Sept. 11, the glare of the world's media would have been trained on China throughout the autumn as Beijing readied itself to join the World Trade Organization.
Economic Wonder
China's economic growth must surely rank as one of the wonders of the modern world, but the problem is that it has resulted in more harm than benefit to neighboring economies. And its increasing strength threatens to destabilize the power balance in the Asian region in the long run.
Last summer, critics around the world began warning of the menace posed by China after it posted its economic figures for the first half of the year 2001. The data showed that China was the sole winner in trade competition on the international market.
Whether it can keep up the pace is an open question, and predictions abound on the future of the Chinese economy. One school of thought insists that the dragon cannot keep breathing flames for long.
Adherents to this theory point to a range of factors that could work to slow China's high economic growth: internal tension within the socialist economic system; constraints due to environmental pollution; public demand for democratization, which is expected to rise as a result of economic development and a subsequent decline in the central authority of the ruling party.
There may be some substance to these predictions, and they certainly cannot be ruled out. However, it seems that the probabilities of such developments will be more or less lower than the chances of the Chinese economy continuing to expand for the foreseeable future.
Since no one can really predict the future, it is more expedient for us to confine our attention to those things that may directly affect Japan. This is in line with the dictates of "senyu-koraku"–wise men worry ahead of common people and enjoy themselves afterward.
In other words, the risk that China will enter a stagnant phase in both economic and military strength should by rights worry Chinese the most. It is not Japan's business to butt in on things that are not our concern, although we may deal with such problems as and when they affect us.
It would be reckless for us to be complacent, assuming that China's high economic growth is bound to stop in the near future.
I have long been convinced, from a macroeconomic point of view, that the Chinese people have a high potential for achieving sustainable growth.
China has a population of 1.2 billion and a long list of accomplishments that include one of history's most advanced civilizations and a succession of great dynasties.
Each individual member of this highly talented society has been striving to be richer tomorrow than today ever since the launching of the reform policy in 1978. China's economic growth is assured as long as its growth potential, which is based on low labor costs, is retained.
China's 'Multiplier Effect'
For the past 20 years since the open-door policy and reforms began, an army of several hundred thousand Chinese have been graduating from universities every year to join the country's more advanced workforce.
Also, intellectuals who fled in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen incident have acquired business and engineering expertise on the international market and are returning home.
Add to these factors the low cost of labor, and it is evident that few countries can compete successfully with China.
But there is a problem. China's neighbors are concerned about its high economic growth, which they see as damaging, instead of beneficial, to their own interests.
Indeed, for Southeast Asian nations, Chinese manufacturers are their direct competitors. The increase in China's economic might also mean the flight of investment funds away from Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, causing their own industries to suffer.
Of course, no business deal takes place without both parties profiting. But even then, the degree to which a country ultimately benefits from such a deal is governed by the so-called multiplier effect–the degree to which business profits raise gross domestic product.
The multiplier effect varies greatly depending on who receives the initial investment. Moreover, the higher the growth rate of a country, the larger its multiplier effect. Let's say a Japanese company invests in China and both the Japanese and its Chinese partners make 1 million dollars from the venture. While the growth in gross domestic product on the part of the investor's country, Japan, is limited to 1 million dollars in the deal, the GDP of China, with a large multiplier effect, stands to gain much more.
No way of Reversing Trend
If Japanese companies operating in China are obliged by Chinese policy to channel their profits into new investments in China, this will result in a net flow of cash to China. Furthermore, as more Japanese companies shift their production bases to China and close plants in Japan, the multiplier effect in Japan on the firms' profits will be on the minus side. In this way, Japanese industry is becoming hollowed out.
Furthermore, foreign companies in China have encountered an endless list of troubles, such as Chinese authorities' fickle interpretation of economic regulations, arbitrary commissions charged on foreign companies' profits, noncompliance with contract provisions, copyright violations and failure to make payments.
However irrational Chinese business practices may seem to outsiders, I have noticed these irregularities may be fairly rational when seen from the point of view of the Chinese.
China understandably wants to obtain technical know-how from abroad. It is also understandable that, once the Chinese acquire the relevant expertise, they will not want foreign companies continuing to profit from the Chinese market.
This is just what such countries as Japan and South Korea have done in the past.
In the postwar era, Japan imported a wide range of manufacturing technologies from the United States, but hardly any U.S. manufacturing companies are making money in Japan today.
Like many other countries, China strives for independence in all but a handful of specialized fields for which it has to depend on foreign countries.
For example, China may have been fascinated by the Japanese style of running department stores. However, if they became familiar with the system, they may no longer be willing to allow Japanese department store chain operators to continue making profits in China.
There is no way to halt the expansion of the Chinese economy, just as there was no way for the United States to reverse Japan's growing economic strength from the 1960s to the 1980s–a trend the United States accurately anticipated, but could not prevent.
Ensure Balance of power
There can be no doubt that China's military spending will inevitably be boosted. In any country, the allocation of the budget is a hard-fought battle between government organizations, with the spoils going to the most powerful bodies.
In China, this means the military, having an overwhelming say in the government, will continue to receive the lion's share of the budget. Military spending in China will probably double before the next decade, quadruple in the next 15 years, and balloon 10-fold 30 years from now.
It is worth recalling former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's brilliant analysis of the situation in Europe just before World War I.
Kissinger says peace in Europe in the 19th century was maintained by a balance of power between the region's five major nations, none of which had any clear military advantage. However, Germany proceeded to make remarkable gains in economic strength, upsetting the balance of power without changing national boundaries, he notes.
In much the same way, China will continue to make drastic increases in its national strength, and this will gradually but inevitably upset the balance of power in Asia.
Strengthening Japan's alliance with the United States is the only way in which Washington and Tokyo can cope with this situation.
Suppose that Japan resolves the impasse over its right to exercise collective self-defense, allowing itself to fully commit militarily to achieving goals common to Japan and the United States under the bilateral alliance.
This would enable a balance of power effective enough to facilitate peaceful conflict resolution in the Asian region for at least the next 20 to 30 years.
It is, of course, meaningless to try to reverse a predominant economic trend by economic measures. Japan should be gratified to see improvements in the living standards of our neighbor, China, after it suffered miseries for so many years as it lagged behind the mainstream of modernization in the 19th century.
It would therefore be adequate for Japan if it is able to maintain peace in Asia by paying due attention to changes in the regional balance of power that are bound to result from China's economic progress.


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The best chapter in Atul Gawande's short, splendid book is the last one.
He calls it "The Save," and with zero melodrama, the surgeon/author lays bare a case in which he nearly killed a patient, and what saved the middle-aged man from bleeding to death.
The book's title, "The Checklist Manifesto," sounds about as exciting as an errand to the grocery store. And therein lies the punch. Expect to be flabbergasted by what Gawande lays out about a deceptively simple organizational tool.
"Avoidable failures are common and persistent, not to mention demoralizing and frustrating, across many fields -- from medicine to finance, business to government," he writes.
"And the reason is increasingly evident: the volume and complexity of what we know has exceeded our individual ability to deliver its benefits correctly, safely, or reliably. Knowledge has both saved and burdened us."
Consider that a typical American undergoes seven surgical operations over a lifetime. Each year, more than 150,000 die afterward -- three times the number killed in traffic accidents. The best studies indicate that half of these postoperative deaths are avoidable.
Gawande, an expert in surgical safety, led a World Health Organization study of 4,000 cases in eight hospitals to see if a checklist might dent the carnage.
First, though, he did his homework, investigating the science of complexity. The author asked how pilots prep to fly impossibly complex machines and manage the unpredictable in the air. He watched construction engineers put up a Boston skyscraper, then adjust to inevitable glitches. He took notes in a high-end kitchen during the dinner rush.
At the base of all these disparate operations are checklists. Yet Gawande's first try in the operating room flopped. His prototype was so awkward and cumbersome that the patient twisted up from her gurney to ask what was wrong.
Still the author, who grew up in Athens, Ohio, persisted. He cribbed insights from the Enron and Hurricane Katrina meltdowns; he studied what engineers call "the forcing function." Through trial-and-error, Gawande refined the surgical checklist to 19 items, critically designed to weld the operating staff as a team. Execution takes two minutes.
When the results came in from the eight test hospitals, they were so dramatic that the New England Journal of Medicine rushed them to publication last year:
From New Zealand to London to Tanzania, the checklist dropped the rate of major complications by 36 percent, compared with earlier outcomes at the same hospitals without it. Deaths fell 47 percent.
I already know that "The Checklist Manifesto" will be on my list of best books this year. Gawande writes with gusto, humor and clarity. He features his mistakes -- always a good sign in a reporter -- including the one that ends the book.
"The Save" was a checklist item asking about anticipated blood loss. Gawande didn't expect much from the patient in question, but mentioned that the tumor coming out pressed on the man's vena cava. A nurse took this cue to check if four units of blood had been set aside "just in case." They had not. She made sure they were on hand before surgery began.
"From this one step alone, the checklist saved my patient's life," writes Gawande. And the discipline of enacting it was just as important. It readied the OR staff to react as a team in the emergency ahead.
Karen R. Long is the book editor of The Plain Dealer.


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Good morning YA Fantasy fans! You may be really interested in checking out this Book Blitz post, brought to you courtesy of Xpresso Book Tours! And there are two giveaways with this one! Enter to win your very own ebook copy (open Internationally!), and there is a blog wide giveaway for a $25 gift card. Get your entries in, at the end of this post!
Title: Sworn to Raise
Author: Terah Edun
Publisher: Amazon Digital
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Genre: YA Fantasy
Purchase: Amazon
Add to Goodreads
Author: Terah Edun
Publisher: Amazon Digital
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Genre: YA Fantasy
Purchase: Amazon
Add to Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Ciardis has grown up in poverty, a cleaner in a small vale on the outskirts of the kingdom. But beneath her kingdom's seemingly idyllic surface lies a hidden secret. Whispers of an inept crown Prince are growing ever louder—intensified by the five year anniversary of the soulbond initiations.
Amidst scandalous whispers, Ciardis finds herself chosen to train for the Companion's Guild. She leaves her home and sets off on a personal journey to become a Court Companion. A position she'd never thought possible for a lowly servant to obtain, she must prove that she has the skills to attract a Patron.
But she must master those skills quickly. If the legends are true, only Ciardis can harness the power to raise a Prince in an Imperial Court sworn to bring him down.
This sensational series debut melds intricate storylines with remarkable characters and unforgettable magic. Sworn To Raise is ideal for fans of Kristin Cashore, Michelle Sagara, and Maria Snyder.
Ebook Giveaway
Blog Wide Giveaway
AUTHOR BIO:Terah Edun is an international development professional and author/lover of all things Young Adult Fantasy fiction. She is a native Georgian, adoptive Washingtonian, unrepentant expat currently living in South Sudan, brilliant dreamer, lover of dogs and not-so-closet geek. Her first novel, Red Madrassa, was released on November 8th and her second novel, Sworn to Raise, comes out in April 2013.Author Links:Website: http://teedun.com/Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/TerahEdunAuthorTwitter: https://twitter.com/ terahedun


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Cathedral of the Pines (2013–14) was made during three productions in and around the rural town of Becket, Massachusetts. In images that recall nineteenth-century American and European paintings, Crewdson photographed figures in the surrounding forests, including the actual trail from which the series takes its title. Interior scenes charged with ambiguous narratives probe tensions between art, life, connection and separation, intimacy and isolation.
The series comprises thirty-one digital pigment prints, each measuring 45 × 58 inches framed. In Woman at Sink, a woman pauses from her household upkeep, lost in thought. In Pickup Truck, Crewdson portrays a nude couple in the flatbed of a truck in a dense forest—the woman seated, the man turned away in repose.
For more than twenty years, Crewdson has used the streets and interiors of small-town America as settings for photographic incarnations of the uncanny. Working with a crew, he plans his images as meticulously as any movie director, from the nocturnal Twilight series (1998–2002); to the cerebral Beneath the Roses (2003–08); to Sanctuary (2009).
A fully-illustrated book with an essay by art historian Alexander Nemerov has been released by Aperture in conjunction with the exhibition. Gregory Crewdson was born in 1962 in Brooklyn, New York, and lives and works in New York City and Massachusetts.


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As data scientists, the obvious first step in preparation for a friendly Chili Cook-Off is to conduct a survey. Hypothetically, we should be able to optimize the recipe by robustly maximizing an estimator of vote probability.
The feedback from coworkers indicate:
- Meat is generally expected.
- Texas-style meat + gravy isn't enough.
- Spices should be strong, but not hot.
- Veggies and beans are acceptable in modest quantities.
Next, we reviewed previous chili championship recipes:
Competition chili is typically meat and gravy (which isn't enough)... but the flavors are well-proven winners. This will serve as a roadmap for our chili, with a healthy dose of veggies and/or beans.
All recipes begin with 3-4 lbs of beef (ground or finely chopped tri-tip/sirloin). Augment with the appropriate amount of fat to fry the bottom layer.
Brown the meat.
We used ground beef and needed to remove some fat afterwards. The meat should be lightly coated without much on the bottom of the pan.
Our gravy will use a combination of:
- 1 can of tomato sauce (spicy or regular)
- 1/2 box of beef stock
- 6-8 oz of V8 juice
Bring the mixture to a boil and stir.
Next, we develop the flavor package. Here, we used:
- 1 tbsp Mexican chili powder
- 1 tbsp regular chili powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 2 bay leaves
If you want more spice, slice open a jalapeno or two. Drop them in the pot.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 - 2 hours.
After removing the bay leaves and jalapenos, mix in cornstarch until you reach the desired gravy viscosity. With a few minutes of simmering, this is Variant #1: Texas-Style Chili.
Variant #2: Bean Chili
Begin with a can of beans.
Mix in the beef + gravy mixture and simmer for atleast 1 hour. The flavor will transfer to the beans.
Cook down some chopped mushrooms and zucchini. Once the veggies have softened, mix in the beef + gravy mixture and simmer for atleast 30 minutes.
Serve with cornbread, polenta, rice, or as-is.
As predicted, Variant #2 & #3 received positive feedback from the taste-testers. Future experiments might include turkey, bell peppers, and red beans. Since our target is not "true" competition chili, it may be worthwhile to convert the garlic/onion from powder to fresh veggies.