text:
Altamira orioles are seasonally monogamous and may be for life. They are almost always seen in pairs. Breeding begins in the spring and continues through the summer (Jaramillo and Burke, 1999)
Altamira orioles start building their nests as early as March. Generally they only produce one brood per season. However, more southerly populations can produce a second brood. In the event that they brood a second time, a second nest is always built. Nests are hanging baskets, which can be up to 65 cm long, and are built entirely by the female. Nests are built in approximately 3 weeks. Often built at the tip of a yielding branch (usually Mimosa) or a power line; the nests are rarely hidden. Built at an average of 9.3 m from the ground, nests are inaccessible by non-avian predators. Altamira orioles seem to prefer the northwest quadrants of trees, as 9 out of 10 nests have been observed to be built there in a tree's canopy. (Brush, 2005; Jaramillo and Burke, 1999)
In Northern Mexico and Texas, breeding begins in April and lasts through July or August. In Oaxaca, Mexico, breeding starts a little later, in May, and goes through July. The average clutch size is 4.9, but decreases as one moves south. The average incubation period is 14 days. Little is known of the time to fledging. However, the offspring and adults become hostile, chasing away other species of birds for approximately one week after the young leave the nest. (Brush, 2005; Jaramillo and Burke, 1999)
Young are fed by both males and females about every six to eight minutes during the day. In the event that a pair broods a second time, males will assume most of the feeding responsibility, while females build a second nest. Usually, fecal sacs are removed only by females. (Brush, 2005)
There is no published longevity data available for Altamira orioles.
Altamira orioles are usually seen in pairs. They rarely have intraspecific conflicts. Nests are solitary, and are not colonial. However, feeding flocks may be formed in the winter. Altamira orioles fly in jerky and swift movements from perch to perch. Altamira orioles are never seen perching or walking on the ground. (Brush, 2005; Jaramillo and Burke, 1999)
At the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, the average distance between nesting sites was 250 m, and individuals were observed to fly 400 m daily, to search for food. (Brush, 2005)
Their singing is described as being "a loud, musical, but hesitant series of whistles, reminiscent of an inexperienced human whistler." Raspy, harsh notes may be used as an alarm call, while a quick, nasal "ike" may be used as a contact call between adults and upon arrival at the nest. (Brush, 2005)
Nestlings have a relatively quiet, low pitched begging call. Interestingly, some nestlings in northern Texas apparently produce no sound, perhaps to avoid predation. Males will sometimes develop adult song before they have fully developed plumage. (Brush, 2005)
Altamira orioles also use their keen vision and hearing as their main modes of perception.
Altamira orioles are predominantly insectivores. However, they will occasionally eat fruit and nectar. It is postulated that they may eat seeds and nuts at some point in the year, due to the formidable size and structure of their bill. Nestlings are mainly fed orthopterans and insect larvae. (Brush, 2005; Jaramillo and Burke, 1999)
Altamira orioles have no known predators. Although it is possible that adults are taken by diurnal raptors and that eggs and nestlings might be taken by arboreal predators such as snakes and Bassariscus species. (Brush, 2005; Jaramillo and Burke, 1999)
As they are occasionally frugivorous, Altamira orioles aid in the dispersal of seeds. They are also important as predators of insects. While bronzed cowbirds (Molothrus aeneus) have been observed attempting to parasitize nests, they are almost never successful.
An attractive bird, Altamira orioles are popular among bird enthusiasts, potentially acting to draw ecotourism to areas they inhabit. As any member of a community within an ecosystem, they are integral to the function of the ecosystem, contributing to its health and beauty.
There are no known negative effects of Altamira orioles on humans.
Altamira orioles are not considered threatened, although local populations may be negatively affected by habitat destruction.
Altamira orioles have been integral to some stimulating research concerning the evolution of plumage in the genus Icterus. Dr. Kevin Omland has found several instances of convergent evolution in a variety of plumage characters within the genus, which can be summarized into two plumage types: Altamira plumage type and Baltimore plumage type. Omland and collegues have found that, while Baltimore orioles Icterus galbula, and Altamira orioles have very different plumage, their DNA characteristics demonstrate that they are quite closely related. Furthermore, plumage characteristics that are strikingly similar to that of Altamira orioles can be found in more distantly related species, such as spot-breasted orioles, Icterus pectoralis. (Omland and Lanyon, 2000)
There is a consistent trend within the genus Icterus for males and females of tropical, non-migratory species to share plumage configurations. However, males of most temperate, migratory species have bright plumage characters and females have dull characters. In addition to his other work, Dr. Omland and his graduate students are trying to understand the function of bright female plumage in these and other tropical orioles. For more details on this research, visit the Omland Lab website at: http://www.umbc.edu/biosci/Faculty/OmlandLabWebpage/NewPages/index.htm (Omland and Lanyon, 2000)
Ryan Ihnacik (author), University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Kevin Omland (editor, instructor), University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
uses sound to communicate
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
an animal that mainly eats meat
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
to jointly display, usually with sounds in a highly coordinated fashion, at the same time as one other individual of the same species, often a mate
humans benefit economically by promoting tourism that focuses on the appreciation of natural areas or animals. Ecotourism implies that there are existing programs that profit from the appreciation of natural areas or animals.
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
Having one mate at a time.
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
breeding is confined to a particular season
remains in the same area
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
a wetland area that may be permanently or intermittently covered in water, often dominated by woody vegetation.
uses touch to communicate
Living on the ground.
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
uses sight to communicate
Brush, T. 2005. "The Birds of North America Online" (On-line). Accessed March 15, 2005 at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Altamira_Oriole/.
Jaramillo, A., P. Burke. 1999. New World Blackbirds: The Icterids. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Omland, K., S. Lanyon. 2000. Reconstructing plumage evolution in Orioles (Icterus): repeated convergence and reversal in patterns. Evolution, 54: 2119-2133.


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Plantwave black friday bundle
PlantWave Black Friday Bundle
- Uses patented sonification technology
- Sleek eco-friendly design
- 24-hour battery life
- Connects with phone via free PlantWave App
- Electrode lead and clip cables included
- 1-Year Warranty
Bonus Gifts - FREE with purchase ($400 value)
- 6-month subscription to the PlantWave Pro App: immerse yourself in a world of plant music. (iOS only. Android coming soon.)
- Our brand-new PlantWave sound design course: Join Joe, our founder, to explore the fascinating world of data sonification and learn how to create enchanting music.
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Expedited shipping available.
Package Includes:
- PlantWave Plant Music Device
- Electrode leads
- 3 pairs of reusable sticky pads for leaves
- Duck beak clips for smaller plants
- USB C cable for charging / data transmission
- Free iOS / Android App (see compatibility)
- Bluetooth to mobile devices and computers
- WIFI to mobile devices and computers
- USB C for charging + wired connection to mobile devices + computers
- ⅛" MIDI for connection to MIDI synthesizers
- Low Power Mode (turns off WIFI and Bluetooth)
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PlantWave requires connection to one of the following to produce sound:
- a mobile device running our free app (see compatibility)
- or a MIDI synthesizer
- or a digital audio workstation
Our Patented Technology
PlantWave uses a patented sonification technology that we built over the last decade to turn plants' biorhythms into music. Here's how it works:
PlantWave detects slight electrical variations in a plant via two electrodes placed on the leaves.
These variations are graphed as a wave, which is translated into pitch messages that play musical instruments.
Other characteristics of the wave change the textural qualities of the sounds.
The result is a continuous stream of pleasing music that gives you a sonic window into the secret life of plants.
PlantWave in the Wild
Flowers, trees, mushrooms – every plant has its own unique melody to play. Just give it the instrument and listen!
10,000+ Are Already Tuning In. Hear About Their Experiences
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is being measured?
PlantWave measures microfluctuations in conductivity between two points on a plant. The amount of conductivity between these two points is largely related to how much water there is between them. That changes as plants photosynthesize and move chloroplasts around.
The variation is graphed over time, which produces a wave. We take that wave and translate it into pitch. Then those pitch messages are routed to control instruments we designed. So, each note you hear is an expression of a change happening within the plant in the moment. The greater the distance between two adjacent notes, the greater change is happening within the plant.
Do different plants make different sounds?
While the sounds and instruments were designed by us for plants to play, different plants will produce different patterns, melodies or "songs". In fact, different leaves within the same plant will produce different patterns. Over time, even those patterns will change. Rather than switching from plant to plant, we recommend spending time with a plant and tuning into its shift in patterns over longer periods of time.
In addition to these changes in patterns, there are some instruments in the PlantWave app that will only be triggered when a plant displays an especially high amount of activity. So, you may listen to a plant playing flute all day and then at some point notice that it's added chimes or bells. This is a sign of a significant shift in activity of yor plant.
We should also mention, this experience is something completely unique to PlantWave and is part of the patented sonification technology we've built over the last decade. These moments are also some of the most special listening experiences we've had in our lives, so we're excited to share them with you!
Can you tell what species a plant is by listening to it?
In our experience, no two plants produce exactly the same patterns. In fact, no two leaves within the same plant produce the same patterns. For that reason, reverse engineering what pattern is produced by what plant is close to impossible. We have experienced more dry plants producing less of a signal and more hardy tropical plants producing more of a signal. Beyond that, getting into specific species and plant type is more challenging.
Can I put this on my cat?
While PlantWave was designed for plants, it could work with hairless cats. If you have a hairless cat and it asks to try your PlantWave, we have good news for you. Your cat talks!
Why listen to plants?
The practice of taking time to listen to plants can help take a person out of the busyness of their day. It becomes a ritual where the focus moves away from the "to-dos" and towards harmony with nature. By slowing down to tune into the subtle changes in plant music, we access a state of heightened presence in the moment. Feelings of increased presence are associated with stress reduction, increased creativity, clarity and openness.
What inspired this idea?
Our inspiration for writing music always came from nature. We used to go out into the woods, record forest sounds and then go back into the studio to listen to the sounds, connect to the feeling of those natural places and write music from there. For us, creating music from plant data was just a natural progression of this practice. Instead of "sampling" the sounds of nature, we started sampling data from nature. Instead of having nature fuel the inspired playing of our instruments, we connected nature directly to the instruments with technology.
Are there proven benefits of listening to plants?
We haven't conducted peer reviewed studies yet. A survey of hundreds of owners of our previous device, MIDI Sprout, showed users feeling more relaxed, connected and inspired after listening to plants. The upgrades we're making with PlantWave will allow us to begin partnering with research institutions to do a more quantitative analysis on the effects of plant music.
More generally, there have been studies done on the effect of stochastic patterns (random, non-linear and non-repeating) on the health of the mammalian brain. If you're trying to envision what that means, just think of laying under a tree where the light from the sun is filtered by leaves and branches blowing in the wind. That phenomena you're experiencing (the seeming randomness of the patterns of light resulting from the tree and sun) is stochastic. In a similar way, plant music is stochastic in that it's taking a set of natural variables and presenting them to you as sound.
Where's the science behind this?
PlantWave makes use of tools that have been around for more than a century and amplifies their power through digital and mobile technology. The circuitry used in PlantWave is the same as that which is used in a lie detector. It's called a psychogalvanometer and it measures galvanic resistance over time. Lie detectors were first applied to plants by an FBI interrogator, Cleve Backster back in the 1960s. He noticed plants seemed to respond to thoughts and emotions. Russian scientists also did similar experiments with similar results. More recent attempts to replicate the same results with similar experiments have been unsuccessful. That, however, doesn't mean plants aren't responding to people. It just means that there isn't sufficient evidence to support they are beyond a doubt responding to people. Let us not forget absence of evidence does not equal evidence of absence.
It seems clear to us that more data is needed in order to have a better understanding of what is occurring with plants. In our experience and in our user's experience, it seems likely that there's a relationship and a connection happening between plants and humans. With better tools and more data, we look to create opportunities to better understand the reasons behind these phenomena.
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You can return the product within 14 days of arrival for a full refund, no questions asked.
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subset: commoncrawl


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text:
A flaming-hot end to the first half and an unbelievably efficient night on the offensive end led the Drexel men's basketball team to an 85-76 win over the UNCW Seahawks on Jan. 31.
The Dragons' 83 points were the most they scored all season long. They shot 60.4 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from behind the arc, and 75.9 percent from the free throw line.
Junior guard Damion Lee scored 32 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the year, setting a career-high in rebounds. Lee scored 19 of his points in the second half. In Drexel's loss at UNCW earlier in the year, Lee also scored 32.
Sophomore guard Sammy Mojica added 17 points on six-of-eight shooting, and sophomore forward Rodney Williams contributed 13 points of his own in his second game back from injury.
The Seahawks pushed hard in the latter half of the second period, breaking out a 15-2 run to cut the deficit to 76-70 with 1:49 to play.
First half
Drexel played its best half of offensive basketball all season in the first half against the Seahawks. Despite being out-rebounded by UNCW, 21-12, the Dragons countered the inequality by knocking down their shots. The Dragons knocked down 16 of their 27 field goal attempts, good for 59.3 percent, and ended the half on an 18-4 run.
Lee led all Drexel scorers with 13 points on four-of-seven shooting, while Mojica poured in 11 points on four-of-five shooting, including two-of-three from deep.
They broke UNCW's press with a reasonable effectiveness, committing just five turnovers in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Drexel's ability to break the Seahawks' patented press defense opened up a number of high-percentage looks for the Dragons' fastbreak offense. The Dragons scored 10 points on the fastbreak in the first half and knocked down eight of 12 free throw attempts.
Performance of the night
Junior guard Damion Lee led the Dragons in scoring once again with a transcendent performance, notching 32 points on 10-of-14 shooting. He added a career-high 13 rebounds, and tacked on three assists, playing all 40 minutes.
Lee made 10 of his 11 free throw attempts, meaning he's converted 52 of his last 54 free throw attempts.
Inside the box score
Drexel spread the ball around far more judiciously than UNCW, dishing out 20 assists to the Seahawks' eight.
The Dragons countered UNCW's pace with tempo of their own, scoring 14 fastbreak points.
Both teams had significant contributions from their respective benches. Drexel's bench scored 32 points; UNCW's scored 27.
UNCW capitalized on a 16-5 offensive rebounding advantage and scored 20 second-chance points to Drexel's five.
What's next?
Drexel (7-14, 5-5) hits the road for a pair of games, starting Feb. 5 at Elon University (11-11, 3-6) at 7:00 pm.
UNCW (12-9, 7-3) keeps its road trip going rolling, heading to James Madison University (13-10, 6-4) Feb. 4 at 7:00 pm.


text:
June 15, 2020, Premier Doug Ford announced that seven more of Ontario's public heath regions will be permitted to move from stage one to stage two of reopening this Friday, June 19.
As of Friday, Toronto, Peel, and Windsor-Essex will be the only public health regions in the province to remain in stage one.
Premier Ford was joined by Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott; Minister of Finance, Rod Phillips; Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Vic Fedeli; and Minister of Heritage, Tourism, Culture and Sport Industries, Lisa MacLeod.
Over the weekend, the Ontario government also announced the easing of restrictions on wedding and funeral ceremonies.
Further Details
More Regions to Enter Stage Two
The decision to reopen additional regions was the result of observing positive trends in key public health indicators at the local level, including lower transmission of COVID-19, sufficient hospital health system capacity, local public health capacity to assist with rapid case and contact management, and a significant increase in testing provincially.
As of Friday, June 19, at 12:01 a.m., the following public health regions will be permitted to move to stage two:
- Durham Region Health Department;
- Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit;
- Halton Region Health Department;
- Hamilton Public Health Services;
- Lambton Health Unit;
- Niagara Region Public Health Department; and,
- York Region Public Health Services.
Toronto Public Health, Peel Public Health, and Windsor-Essex County Health Unit will remain in stage one under ongoing assessment.
Premier Ford asked Ontarians living in the regions which will remain in stage one to be patient and urged all Ontarians to continue to follow public health advice regarding practicing physical distancing, wearing a face covering, and frequent hand washing.
Some Restrictions on Weddings and Funerals Lifted
Over the weekend, the Ontario government also announced the easing of restrictions on weddings and funerals.
Indoor weddings and funerals may now have as many attendees as 30 per cent of the capacity of the ceremony venue. Outdoor weddings and funerals will be limited to 50 attendees.
Anyone attending a wedding or funeral must continue to follow health and safety guidelines, including practicing physical distancing from people who are not from the same household or 10-person social circle.


text:
Hockey, John C ORCID: 0000-0002-5826-8005 (2019) Everyday Routines as Transformative Processes: A Sporting Case. Sociological Research Online, 24 (2). pp. 219-234. doi:10.1177/1360780418790273
Text (Peer reviewed version)
5753 Hockey (2018) Everyday routines.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License All Rights Reserved.
Download (536kB) | Preview
Currently there is scant sociological research on everyday routines within sport and also upon other routines which make sporting routines themselves possible. This paper adds to that very small literature, illustrating how movement between the contexts of paid employment, sport and home is habitually accomplished. Utilising qualitative data from a collaborative auto-ethnography on distance running, a case study of the routines of getting ready for, doing, and leaving daily training sessions is portrayed. The ensuing narrative depicts the cognitive and corporeal routines, which effect the transformations necessary to accomplish daily distance running.
|Item Type:
|Article Type:
|Uncontrolled Keywords:
|Autoethnography; Every-day routines; Processes; Running; Sport; Transformation; REF2021
|G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV557 Sports > GV1060 Track and field athletics
|Schools and Research Institutes > School of Business
|Research Priority Areas:
|Place, Environment and Community
|Depositing User:
|Susan Turner
|Date Deposited:
|02 Jul 2018 15:35
|Last Modified:
|31 Aug 2023 08:24
University Staff: Request a correction | Repository Editors: Update this record


text:
Vintage computer fair for the UK announced
Antiques Roadshow for geeks coming to Bletchley Park
The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park will host the first-ever British vintage computing festival on 19-20 June this year.
The event began 10 years ago in, where else, Silicon Valley in California, but this festival will be a celebration of the way the British have contributed to the development of computing.
There will be demonstrations of old machines, performances of electronic music, a full lecture programme, exhibition stands featuring Amiga, Atari. Sinclair and more, and a bring-and-buy sale.
Private exhibitors will be welcome and it will be open to the public.
Much enthusiasm
According to Kevin Murrell, a trustee of the museum and co-ordinator of the festival: "The enthusiasm for this festival is already remarkable and we have only just started to publicise the event.
"The historic and spacious setting of Bletchley Park is perfect for the event – and with The National Museum of Computing on the same site, it will surely draw visitors from overseas as well as from across Britain. With visitor numbers expected to exceed one thousand, the Festival offers a great opportunity for potential sponsors."
Techno anthropologist Pixelh8 will perform, and organisers have promised an appearance by some as-yet unnamed synthpop pioneers.
There is no word as to whether the Antiques Roadshow crew will turn up.
For more details, go to www.tnmoc.org.
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By Alex Blake


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The shots, taken by World Car Fans photographer Hans Lehmann, show the heavily concealed test car during testing in the Austrian mountains. WCF claims that the new Mondeo platform will come in a variety of body shapes, including sedan, station wagon, sportback, and convertible.
Though there's still no confirmation on the rumors that this Mondeo will share styling cues with the hot Iosis concept (pictured below) but we're crossing our fingers.
[Source: World Car Fans]


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This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar
All the latest kit reviewed and rated
The start of 2012 was absolutely dominated by the new iPad. Rumours, leaks, announcements, reviews – the iPad 3 fed and watered tech and mainstream media writers and readers alike for months.
But since then, it's been the Samsung Galaxy S3 that's been getting all the attention – it's probably the most hotly-anticipated Android smartphone ever, and we've been testing it all week. That's not all, either...
With the latest version of Android, a whopping 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD screen and a whole suite of Apple-beating features, is the new Samsung Galaxy SIII the greatest phone ever? Samsung has made a big deal about this new phone, not only choosing to launch it at a big and glitzy standalone event in London but also claiming nearly 10 million pre-orders before it's even launched.
The price is pretty palatable for a top-end phone – the likes of Three are already offering it for just £34 a month with oodles of minutes and data, which is already much, much cheaper than any iPhone would ever launch for. But let's get down to the main question – is this the phone you should be spending your hard-earned cash on before it's even launched?
Panasonic's most concerted attempt to show that it gets LCD TV just as much as it gets plasma TV is, overall, a major success. For starters, the brand has gone back to the design drawing board and made the Panasonic TX-L42WT50 easily the most attractive TV it's ever produced. The feature count is high too, thanks to the inclusion of 3D, online functionality and all manner of picture tweaks.
Plus Panasonic has also done a kitchen sink job where the TV's picture quality is concerned, integrating dual core processing and Panasonic's most advanced picture processing engine to date. The overall result is a slick, flexible and mostly high-performance TV, only let down by some minor backlight issues and one or two operational flaws.
Beneath the stylish exterior of the five-star Asus N56V, there lies a sleeping beast; a beast with a roar loader than any others that have come before it. That beast is a brand new Intel Core i7-3720QM 2.6GHz processor, one of the chip giant's third generation Ivy Bridge CPUs. Codenamed Ivy Bridge, Intel's latest offering uses 22nm technology, resulting in around 20 per cent more processor performance, while at the same time using 20 per cent less average power than its Sandy Bridge (the second-generation) equivalent. Intel has described the generation jump as its "fastest ramp ever". And, after living with the Asus N56V, we're not going to disagree.
The Toshiba 32DL933B is a fine idea, poorly executed. Toshiba's Blu-ray players are on sale for less than £80 (around $125), with 3D-ness only garnering a £40 (around $60)-or-so premium, so we don't think it's too unreasonable to expect something along those lines in place of what we have: a bog-standard DVD player.
Of course, the presence of Blu-ray would highlight the Toshiba 32DL933B's other misfire - its HD-ready screen - although even that ought to be enough to host Freeview HD programmes.
As you might expect at the price, the Leica X2 looks and feels like a lovely piece of kit. The faster autofocusing means it is more responsive and suited for use out and about.
If Leica has managed to maintain, if not better, the image quality standard of the Leica X1, then it could be a very rewarding purchase.
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By Matt Hanson


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Principal Welcome
Welcome to the Solon High School Home Page! As one of the top ranked schools both in Ohio and the nation, we believe one of our greatest strengths lies in the relationships we build with our parents, our students and the greater Solon Community.
It is my hope that this site will provide you with all of the information you need in regards to not only our exemplary academic programs, but also our outstanding art, drama, music and athletic programs.
I certainly hope you find this site and its links informative and easy to navigate. If at any time you are unable to find the information you need, please contact the high school main office at (440)-349-6230.
Erin Short,
Erin Short,
Carla Rodenbucher
Assistant Principal
Josh Frazier,
Assistant Principal
Erica Kosiorek,
Assistant Principal


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Drizzle the Sloth
Inside the Kit:
– NEW! Collectable Trading Card
– Pre-Cut Felt Pieces
– Thread & Needle
– Illustrated Instructions
– Stuffing
– Display Loop
– Birth Certificate
– Wish Heart
NEW KITS EACH MONTH – Collect them all.
TubbyWubby Kits are a great way to:
– Learn how to sew.
– Host a craft party.
– No internet activity.
– Gifts for loved ones.
Completed critter aprox. 3×4 inches
Out of stock


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9 Pet Friendly Holiday Destinations In India
Photo Credit: Rohin Raj
Travelling in India can be a tad bit worrisome for pet parents. It's always a struggle between enjoying the vacation and feeling guilty about leaving their child back home in the care of acquaintances or at pet hostels. But, the scene is slowly changing in India in terms of pet friendly hotels, cafes and destinations. A relief for pet parents, more and more places in India are now becoming pet friendly and pet accommodating thus ensuring that the travellers won't have to leave their four legged friends back home.
Here's a list of top 9 pet friendly places in India:
Image Source: wikimedia
The capital of Karnataka, Bangalore is a pet heaven, what with plenty of pet friendly accommodations, restaurants and spaces. Toit, Sunny's and French Loaf Cafe are some eateries where you can grab a bite along with your pet.
Pet Friendly accommodations: Casa Cottage, Vivanta By Taj Whitefield, Springs Hotel & Spa are a few of the most luxurious pet friendly resorts in India
Image Source: wikimedia
The seat of the Maratha Empire back in the day, Pune's laid back attitude charms every visitor, be it human or animal! Home to a few pet friendly cafes and restaurants, there are plenty of things one can do in Pune. Pet friendly eateries include Wholly Crepes and Prem's.
Pet Friendly accommodations: Oakwood Premier, Marriott Suites Mundhwa
Planning a trip to Pune? Hope this itinerary planner comes in handy.
Image Source: wikimedia
The national capital of India, it goes without saying that Delhi welcomes everybody with warm open arms be it pet parents or the pets themselves. Places where you can have a yummy meal while your pets can just chill include Cafe Canine and New Delhi Cafe.
Pet Friendly accommodations: Ibis Aerocity, Vivanta By Taj-Ambassador New Delhi
Image Source: wikimedia
The City of Dreams is a must visit for every pet family. Always bustling with a vivacious energy, Mumbai is pet friendly to the core with plenty of restaurants, accommodations and dedicated pet friendly zones. Mutt Mutt, Alibaba, Gostana, Bagel Shop, and Harley's Corner are eateries that welcome pets of all shapes and sizes. If you want to go camping with your pet dog, Mumbai based Crazy K9 Campers will help you with organizing just that.
Pet Friendly accommodations: Four Seasons, Lakeside Chalet are one of the most fabulous per friendly hotels in India!
Image Source: wikimedia
The charming state of Goa is a coveted vacation spot in India. The best pet friendly destination in the nation, Goa's pristine sands, vivid sun and delicious seafood are sure to make your vacation with your pet a memorable one.
Pet Friendly accommodations: Presa di Goa Country House, Arco Iris Homestay, Montego Bay Morjim, Castle House Calangute, Marbela Beach Resort are one of the best perfriendly places to stay!
Want to explore the entire state of Goa? This journey planning guide might be able to help you with it.
Image Source: wikimedia
Situated in God's Own Country, Kochi/ Cochin is a gorgeous coastal city. Surrounded by the lush green Western Ghats on one side and the never-ending Arabian Sea on the other, your pet will thank you for taking it on a vacation to this little piece of heaven.
Pet Friendly accommodations: Vivanta By Taj Malabar, Rossitta Wood Castle, Fort Garden Residency, Sea Hut Homestay
Image Source: wikimedia
Surrounded by natural beauty on all sides, the mesmerizing city of Nainital in Uttarakhand is still developing in terms of being a pet friendly destination. However, it is getting there and now would be the right time to exploit its serene charm with your pet.
Pet Friendly accommodations: The White Peaks, Hotel Anamika
Image Source: wikimedia
The regal state of Rajasthan is on almost every traveller's wishlist. And which better city to go to start exploring the state than its capital Jaipur? Like Nainital, this Pink City is slowly developing into a pet friendly destination. Hence, although the pet friendly accommodations are few, they are good enough to make your pet yelp in joy.
Pet Friendly accommodations: Krishnam Palace, Tree of Life Resorts, Hotel Sagun
Image Source: wikimedia
An ex French colonial settlement, the stunning coastal Union Territory of Pondicherry (Puducherry) will leave you and your pet in a happy state of mind. With charming cottages, quaint lanes and an unspoilt shore, you can head over to the Cafe des Arts along with your pet to have a scrumptious meal while in Pondicherry.
Pet Friendly accommodations: Villa Helena, Shri Perumal Inn, Dune Eco Village
Ready to explore these pet friendly destinations in India? We are sure your pets will thank you for taking them out on a vacation with you. And your holiday portraits will finally be complete. Do let us know which pet friendly places in India you took your furry friends to in the comments below!
Cover Image Source: pexels
You might also like reading:
Destinations For Animal Lovers


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As we expected earlier today, eBay has confirmed an all cash $75 million acquisition of social discovery service StumbleUpon. eBay says StumbleUpon fits will with their "goal of pioneering new communities based on commerce and sustained by trust" and helps them learn more about newly emerging community based businesses.
Although you can imagine "StumbleUpon Shopping" coming soon, eBay is leaving the company alone and taking a wait-and-see approach. The corporation will remain completely intact, except for the addition of eBay's Michael Buhr, who will serve as general manager for the product.
Throughout 2007, StumbleUpon has seen tremendous growth. They currently have over 2.3 million registered users, serve 5 million daily recommendations, and are experiencing a 150% year over year growth rate. Here's a quick look at their latest stats from comScore:
More crunch: click here for the StumbleUpon fact sheet.


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- Charles Brackett ca. 1945: Billy Wilder screenwriting partner (1936–1949), producer (1945–1949) and Hollywood diarist.
Q&A with 'Charles Brackett Diaries' editor Anthony Slide: Billy Wilder's screenwriter-producer partner in his own words
Six-time Academy Award winner Billy Wilder is a film legend. He is renowned for classics such as The Major and the Minor, Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd., Witness for the Prosecution, Some Like It Hot, and The Apartment.
The fact that Wilder was not the sole creator of these movies is all but irrelevant to graduates from the Auteur School of Film History. Wilder directed, co-wrote, and at times produced his films. That should suffice.
For auteurists, perhaps. But not for those interested in the whole story.
That's one key reason why the Charles Brackett diaries are such a great read. Through Brackett's vantage point, they offer a welcome – and unique – glimpse into the collaborative efforts that resulted in some of the most memorable Hollywood movies of the 1930s and 1940s.
Now, Charles who?
Charles Brackett: From playwright-wannabe to president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Charles Brackett (1892–1969) just happens to be the – largely forgotten – guy who co-wrote with Billy Wilder (and, at times, with a third partner) classics such as the aforementioned The Major and the Minor and Sunset Blvd., in addition to, among others, Ninotchka, Midnight, The Lost Weekend, and A Foreign Affair.
In fact, Brackett was not only Wilder's screenwriting partner, but in the second half of the 1940s he was also the producer of their movies. One such collaboration, the 1945 psychological drama The Lost Weekend, won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Multifaceted writer-producer
Just as important for film historians and film lovers alike, besides working as a Paramount screenwriter-producer and later as a top 20th Century Fox producer (and sometime screenwriter), Charles Brackett was also a writer-producer of his own personal diaries. For decades, they were kept by Brackett's heirs, waiting for the chance to have them published.
Thankfully, the first half or so of the Charles Brackett diaries (1932–1949) is currently available for all to read. Edited by film historian Anthony Slide and with an introduction by Brackett's grandson Jim Moore, earlier this year Columbia University Press released them as It's the Pictures That Got Small: Charles Brackett on Billy Wilder and Hollywood's Golden Age.
The Charles Brackett Diaries
Simply put, the Charles Brackett diaries are fascinating.
Brackett began writing them in mid-1932. The topic of the moment was the death (murder?) of torch singer Libby Holman's husband and tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds heir Zachary Smith Reynolds.
At that time, Brackett also gets to visit Broadway playwright and producer George S. Kaufman's house in Manhasset (F. Scott Fitzgerald's East Egg in The Great Gatsby), where Kaufman's wife, Beatrice Bakrow, and Edna Ferber get into a nasty to-do.[1]
Long-lasting, fruitful 'mistake'
And in a curious – though not at all prescient – tone, Brackett records an invitation to work in Hollywood.
"I'd enjoy the trip," the essayist, novelist, The New Yorker drama critic,[2] and playwright-wannabe noted on August 3, 1932. "But [I] feel that excursions into the cinema are departures from my regular career and probably a mistake."
The "mistake" would last all the way to the 1960s. During that time, Charles Brackett would take home three Academy Awards,[3] and would preside over both the Screen Writers Guild (1938–1939) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1949–1955). In 1957, he received an Honorary Oscar "for outstanding service to the Academy."
Reactionary political views, lots of gossip
Many of the diary entries pertaining to the SWG (later the Writers Guild of America, WGA) were edited out because they were deemed too cryptic and too lengthy to be of interest. But the ones left in the book show the Republican Charles Brackett as a walking dichotomy: an elitist reactionary with, if not exactly progressive views, then at least enough sense to be leery of the major studios' intentions toward the guild.
Brackett's right-wing credentials become more obvious after World War II. For instance, when screenwriter John Howard Lawson (Bachelor Apartment, Blockade, Algiers) – eventually one of the Hollywood Ten – was called to testify at a House Un-American Activities hearing, Brackett remarked that Lawson "used all the communist tricks of attack rather than defense." (Admittedly, the Hollywood diarist parenthetically added, "Well, maybe some of them were from Howard Hughes's book.")
Politics and social issues aside, equally engrossing are Brackett's thoughts on numerous people with whom he worked (or wanted to work) and/or socialized.
Among them were Miriam Hopkins (who intensely disliked Mickey Rooney), Jean Arthur, Aldous Huxley, Teresa Wright, Olivia de Havilland, Gloria Swanson, Jane Wyman, Constance Bennett, Myrna Loy, Marlene Dietrich, Mary Pickford, Theda Bara, Gail Russell (woefully inexperienced during the making of The Uninvited), Greta Garbo (whom Brackett wanted for The Emperor Waltz), Joan Fontaine (who got the role in The Emperor Waltz), and John Lund (whom Brackett initially didn't want for To Each His Own).
A few more names: Ray Milland, Claudette Colbert, Simone Simon (who made life hell for all involved while testing for the female lead in Five Graves to Cairo), Anne Baxter (who got the role in Five Graves to Cairo), Ginger Rogers (whom Brackett and Wilder wanted for Ball of Fire), Barbara Stanwyck (who got the role in Ball of Fire), George Cukor, Howard Hawks, Dorothy Parker, Monty Woolley (who comes across as an obnoxious bully), Alexander Woollcott (a fictionalized version of whom Woolley brought to life in The Man Who Came to Dinner), Samuel Goldwyn, Arthur Hornblow, and many, many more.
Most of Charles Brackett's comments are negative – Ernst Lubitsch, whom Brackett admired, was a glaring exception to this particular rule. In fact, the diarist doesn't come across as a very happy person. He certainly wasn't too happy with partner Billy Wilder, with whom Brackett enjoyed/endured a dozen-year-plus love-hate professional relationship, as can be attested by a series of revealing remarks found in his diary entries.
Libby Holman makes a comeback
This edition of the Charles Brackett diaries comes to a close at the end of 1949. Hopefully, Brackett's 1950–1962 entries, which mostly covers his stint as a 20th Century Fox producer-screenwriter, will be published in the near future.[4]
I should add that Libby Holman, long past her torch singing days, makes a comeback of sorts near the end of the diary entries, now as the older companion of rising star Montgomery Clift – who turns down the male lead in Sunset Blvd. William Holden ultimately played minor screenwriter Joe Gillis, the employee-companion of the older, former silent screen star Norma Desmond.
Diaries' editor and film historian Anthony Slide
Those who generally skip book introductions should make an exception in the case of the Charles Brackett diaries. Regarding Norma Desmond's classic line in Sunset Blvd., "It's the pictures that got small," Anthony Slide writes:
Yet, while it is so iconic, it is often misidentified as being from Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd. It is not. It is from Charles Brackett's and Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd. The authorship of the line was a collaborative effort and, even though Wilder may have directed the film … It was Brackett who went over that and other lines with [Gloria] Swanson, and it was Brackett who insisted on retakes of that specific line, delivered by Swanson to William Holden.
Tony – he opened lots of doors for me while I was working on the Ramon Novarro biography Beyond Paradise – goes on to dismiss the widely disseminated stories about Charles Brackett being not only gay but also the lover of his troubled son-in-law, James Larmore Jr.
If any evidence is ever uncovered showing that Brackett was indeed a deeply closeted gay man, then any similarity to these stories will be a mere coincidence.
Tony has kindly agreed to answer (via email) a few questions about the Charles Brackett diaries for Alt Film Guide. Here's the link: "Charles Brackett Diaries: Q&A with Anthony Slide."
And for the record, previous Q&As I've conducted with Tony include the following:
- Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins. From the Noah's Ark on-set disaster and the downfall of Mae Clarke (The Public Enemy, Frankenstein) to Uggie's stand-in Dash.
- D.W. Griffith Interviews, which is focused on the Father of American Cinema and director of The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, and Broken Blossoms.
- The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville. From Gracie Allen and George Burns to Rudy Vallee and female impersonator Bert Savoy.
- Incorrect Entertainment or Trash from the Past: A history of political incorrectness and bad taste in American popular culture of the 20th century.
- Now Playing, featuring hand-painted poster art from the 1910s through the 1950s.
- Frank Lloyd: Master of Screen Melodrama, about the Oscar-winning director of The Divine Lady and Cavalcade, in addition to Berkeley Square, The Sea Hawk, Mutiny on the Bounty, and If I Were King.
Second half of Charles Brackett diaries needs 'translation'
[1] The author of sprawling, "great American novels" such as So Big, Show Boat, Cimarron, and Giant, Edna Ferber also collaborated with George S. Kaufman on The Royal Family (adapted as The Royal Family of Broadway for the big screen), Dinner at Eight, and Stage Door.
[2] Charles Brackett had replaced future Citizen Kane co-screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, brother of writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (A Letter to Three Wives, All About Eve, Sleuth).
[3] Charles Brackett's three Oscars, all in the screenwriting categories and shared with his partners, were for The Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Blvd. (1950), and Titanic (1953).
Somewhat ironically, James Cameron's Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, was nominated for 14 Academy Awards – but its widely ridiculed screenplay was bypassed.
[4] First, however, the Charles Brackett diaries need to be "translated." According to Anthony Slide, Brackett's secretary, who transcribed the first half of the diaries, was the only person able to read his scrawls.
See also: Billy Wilder & Charles Brackett screenwriting credits, in addition to Brackett's solo credits as a producer.
Charles Brackett publicity photo: Paramount Pictures.
The Charles Brackett diaries / It's the Pictures That Got Small: Charles Brackett on Billy Wilder and Hollywood's Golden Age book cover: Columbia University Press.
William Holden and Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd. trailer: Paramount Pictures.
Ray Milland and Ginger Rogers in The Major and the Minor: Paramount Pictures.


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7 Snacks for #HungerPains
Do you ever find yourself absolutely starving or feeling famished around
3:00 - 4:00 in the afternoon with dreadful #HungerPains?
If you're hungry in the afternoon, but feeling like you should wait to eat at dinner, don't put it off! It's your body telling you that you need a little something to get you through the afternoon, and I don't mean a soda or candy bar from the vending machine, but some real food!
Know this: Your body likes to eat at least every 3-4 hours.
So, if you're thinking dinner is just around the corner at 5 or 6 pm, but you ate at 12 or 1 pm, you could be going 5, 6 or even 7 hours without real food. That's a LONG time…Plus, if you plan to exercise after work, you'll definitely need some energy to get you through your workout. If you're prone to munch while cooking dinner, these 7 snacks can help control that intense hunger when you walk through the door.
A snack should be like a mini-meal with "good carbohydrates" (aka Fiber) along with a little protein and/or healthy fat. Anywhere from 100-400 Calories, depending on what you're doing after you eat, and how much you need to eat throughout the day.
Helpful Tip:
Bring snacks to work each day, or keep some there so you're always prepared!
*I help personalize this for clients. Together we discover and decide on appropriate snacks for their body and day, and then personalize shopping lists.
Here are 7 snack ideas to get you started:
1) 2-4 tbsp of Hummus, or Toby's Lite Tofu Pate (tastes like egg salad, really!)
Toby's can be found in the natural food section of most Oregon grocery stores.
Try it with baked whole grain crackers or vegetables.
2) A piece of fruit with 10-30 of your favorite nuts
Nuts are so good for you, just buy them without added oil & buy organic fruit when possible.
3) Water packed tuna with vegetables or whole grain crackers
4) Nonfat/low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese, w/ fruit, and/or 15 almonds, or 2 Tbs avocado + salsa. (Trust me on the salsa part!)
5) Small bowl of whole grain cereal with fruit, chia & hemp seeds
(Chia adds fiber, hemp adds protein. Options = flaxseed meal and/or your favorite alternative milk).
6) ½ Sandwich with fruit
Try peanut butter and honey, turkey and avocado, or vegetable and hummus.
7) A smoothie with fruit, protein powder, and SuperFoods
(Just be sure to keep it snack size).
Bottom Line:
Think "real" food when it comes to snacks and plan ahead for the day to successfully curb those afternoon #HungerPains!!
I look forward to working TOGETHER, toward your optimum health!
Provided by Lila Ojeda, MS, RDN, CSCS, RYT, CLT Registered Dietitian Nutritionist * Personal Trainer * Yoga/Pilates Contact: 503.789.9707 * www.LO-Solutions.com LO Solutions: Improving Lives Since 2000!


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Spirit Guardian
Game Description:
\"As the shadows gather, your fight is just beginning…\"
In an era long ago, the Lord of Discord invaded our world with his dark legions and spread war and destruction across the land. The Spirits, protectors of our world, rose up to stand against the raiders. An epic conflict between the Spirits and the army of Chaos erupted. It lasted for decades until finally, during a critical moment in the war, the Spirits managed to seal the Lord of Discord within an eternal dream.
Peace returned and the tragedy became a distant memory. But something has been amiss on the frontiers recently. A sinister evil stirred in the shadows, until suddenly, the chaotic power awoke and the Lord of Discord unleashed his full wrath upon the world. Seeking to eliminate the Spirits before they could mount a defense, the Lord of Discord plotted to bind them in their own dreams. Separated and overwhelmed, the Spirits quickly fell one by one. All hope seemed lost…
You, my champion, are this world\'s last beacon of light. Rush into the Eternal Dream, free the mighty Spirits and save our world!
First-ever 3D real-time Action RPG mobile game for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Free to download from the App Store. Assemble and customize your squad with your favorite heroes to fight against the chaotic raiders! How you play is entirely up to you! Join now and play with your friends!
Innovative and cool features include:
– High-paced real-time 3D ARPG with stunning visuals and gorgeous animations and effects
– More than 70 distinct Heroes to collect and customize
– More than 300 unique skills at your disposal to unleash devastating combos on your foes
– Beautifully crafted fantasy story line will grab you from the start
– Endless strategy with the Elemental Affinity and Hero Karma system
– It\'s dangerous to go alone! Play online with friends in numerous multiplayer modes
– Assert your dominance in local and epic cross-server PvP Arena wars
– With daily events and constant content updates, you\'ll never run out of things to do
Note: This game requires a data connection to play.
To Download Spirit Guardian For PC,users need to install an Android Emulator like MuMu player.With MuMu player,you can Download Spirit Guardian for PC version on your Windows 7,8,10 and Laptop.
How to Play Spirit Guardian on PC,Laptop,Windows
1.Download and Install MuMu Player Android Emulator.Click "Download Mumu Player" to download.
2.Run MuMu Player Android Emulator and login Google Play Store.
3.Open Google Play Store and search Spirit Guardian and Download,Or Import the apk file from your PC Into Mumu Player to install it.
4.Install Spirit Guardian for PC.Now you can play Spirit Guardian on PC.Have fun!


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"The Climb" stars Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin as two lifelong friends, and glimpses into their lives over several year. Covino and Marvin also wrote the script, as Covino directs and Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt, and Judith Godrèche also star.
I hadn't heard much about this film until recently (it premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, and May 2019 seems like a lifetime ago), but my friend described it as "'Sideways' with bikes." A decent endorsement ("Sideways" is one of the better films of the 2000s), and upon seeing "The Climb" I can attest that this blend of exaggerated farce and intimate human interactions, while not as good as "Sideways," is part of the Two Best Friends Argue Over Women & Wine Cinematic Universe.
Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin are real-life best friends, and that connection is felt on-screen. Both of their characters go through waves of being the rock in the relationship, and even when one should hate the other their mutual admiration shines through. Covino is a bit better and more believable with his comedic timing than Marvin, but thanks to the script the two penned together there are a lot of deadpan chuckles to go around.
More impressive than the performances is the cinematography by Zach Kuperstein. The film is told in vignettes, each lasting about 10 minutes or so, and they are almost exclusively done in one long take. Sometimes the scenes feature characters moving through a house or riding bikes along twisting roads, which makes it all the more impressive from a technical perspective, but it also makes you appreciate the work being done by the actors, too. Much like in "Birdman" the pressure is on them to get their lines right, or risk having to start a 10-minute-long scene over from scratch. It helps create a sense of authenticity to the story and each scene, and as a fan of oners I never felt like it reached the levels of simply being a gimmick.
There are a few abstract and fourth wall-breaking moments that may be awkward for some viewers, and the simple storytelling may not gel for everyone. But just like "Nomadland" I think sometimes simple direction is the best way to handle a film, and "The Climb" gets enough laughs and heart out of its two characters to be worth the trip.
Critics Rating: 8/10


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Langston Hughes' poetry celebrates Black culture, addresses racism in America
Langston Hughes was born 120 years ago. He's best known for writing powerful poetry and prose. Less known is that he was also a librettist.
At a 1957 visit to the University of Illinois, he gave a poetry reading and attended the premiere of the opera "Esther."
Jim Meadows of WILL in Illinois has the story.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Mac Studio
The Mac Studio is the next evolution of Apple's desktop platform that takes full advantage of the powerful M1 Ultra processor in a compact package. It is roughly the size of two Mac minis stacked on each other with a ton of ports and output capabilities. It is the top-end of the Apple Silicon Mac lineup.
● M1 Max or M1 Ultra processor
● Up to six Thunderbolt 4 ports
● HDMI, 10GB Ethernet, 2x USB-A, SDXC
● 3.7-inch tall aluminum chassis
● Find great Mac Studio deals
● Discounted prices start at $1,899
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The Mac Studio was announced during the March 2022 "Peek Performance" Apple event. It is Apple's most powerful desktop running Apple Silicon to date while remaining compact.
Apple places the new desktop firmly between the Mac mini and Mac Pro despite it outperforming the Intel Mac Pro in some metrics. The company hinted that the Mac Pro was the next, and final, Mac expected to transition to Apple Silicon.
Apple never revealed the Mac Pro in 2022, despite hints and rumors that suggested otherwise. There is a chance Apple could update the Mac Studio with M2 processors before a new high-end desktop replaces Apple's final Intel machine.
Mac Studio Features
Apple described the Mac Studio as a modular platform, which is true when compared to the rigidity of other devices like a MacBook Pro. Customers can choose the mouse, keyboard, monitor, and various peripherals for the compact desktop, while a laptop is stuck with what it was manufactured with. However, that's where modularity ends because, unlike the Mac Pro, the components are not user-replaceable or upgradable. In fact, the case appears to lack any point of entry for customers.
The Mac Studio has a 7.7-inch square base that is 3.7 inches tall. The enclosure is machined from a single aluminum block with over 2,000 perforations in the rear for exhaust airflow.
The base is a circular plate with more perforations that act as an air intake for cooling. Two fans take up a large portion of the internal structure and move large volumes of air through the structure, but Apple says the fans will be whisper-quiet except under the most extreme loads.
The bottom plate appears to be removable, but this is likely only for specialist access and repair. The solid-state and integrated nature of the internal components likely prevents users from upgrading RAM or storage after purchase.
The design had been rumored since early 2021, which was described by Jon Prosser as a G4 Cube-like design with the compute unit on the bottom and heat sink on top. The machine's high performance seems to earn it the "small Mac Pro" description even if Apple gave it the Mac Studio moniker.
The Mac Studio can be configured with Apple's top-end M-series processors: the M1 Max and M1 Ultra. These high-performance processors make this the most powerful Apple desktop running Apple Silicon. The most expensive configuration runs about $8,000, which is much more powerful than the Intel Mac Pro at the same price. However, the Mac Pro has an even higher ceiling since it can use more RAM and have multiple graphics cards.
The M1 Max has a 10-core CPU and can be configured with up to a 32-core GPU and 64GB of RAM. It was originally introduced in the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro as the top processor option for those machines.
The M1 Ultra has a 20-core CPU and can be configured with up to a 64-core GPU and 128GB of RAM. It is the first desktop-only Apple Silicon processor, and it was built by essentially combining two M1 Max processors with an UltraFusion connector.
The M1 Max is a somewhat known entity thanks to it existing previously in the MacBook Pros. This new form factor allows for better peak performance thanks to the better cooling system.
Apple says the M1 Max is up to 2.2x faster at processing well-threaded filters in Adobe Photoshop than the 10-core Intel i9. It is up to 3.5x faster than a Radeon Pro 5700 XT graphics card at rendering 8K footage in Final Cut Pro.
The M1 Ultra is a new processor that needs real-world testing to be believed. Apple says the 20-core processor can outperform a 28-core Xeon-powered Mac Pro by 60% during normal operations. Early benchmarks are divisive because the benchmarking tools are not optimized for Apple Silicon and aren't delivering the numbers that Apple promised at the event.
Even with all of this performance, the M1 Ultra consumes 1000KWh less power per year than competing high-end PCs.
The back of the Mac Studio has four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10GB Ethernet port, power in, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and a headphone jack. Connect up to four Pro Display XDR and a 4K television all at once using these ports.
The front has an SDXC card slot and two ports that change based on configurations. Customers get two Thunderbolt 4 ports with M1 Ultra or two USB-C ports with M1 Max. Even when configured with the two additional Thunderbolt ports, the external display limit remains the same.
Mac Studio Review
While we don't believe the Mac Studio is for everyone, it does make us excited for what it means for the future of the Mac. Apple surprised everyone with the M1 Ultra and the phenomenal power it brings in such a small enclosure.
Instead of Apple just shoving faster chips in the Mac mini, it created an enclosure almost three times its size to make space for the high-end M1 Ultra. Almost as impressive, the rumor mill didn't catch this until the Friday before launch.
This review summary covers top-level discussions around the design and use cases of the Mac Studio. Read more about benchmarks and specs in the comparison sections below or via our full review.
The Mac Studio bears a strong resemblance to the Mac mini with its rounded-square shape, flat top, and black Apple logo. It is more than twice as tall but has the same width and depth as the Mac mini.
The M1 Max model weighs 5.9 pounds, but our M1 Ultra is much heavier at 7.9 pounds thanks to the copper heat sink. Copper is a much better heat sink thanks to its higher density, but it is also more expensive.
Apple departed from its usual minimalistic approach in design and allowed the front of the Mac Studio to have ports. There are two Thunderbolt 4 ports on our model thanks to the M1 Ultra configuration — M1 Max models get standard USB-C.
There is also an SDXC Class II card reader on the front, a welcome return after losing the SD card reader on the M1 Mac mini. And, since it is front-facing, the user doesn't need to struggle to insert the SD card sight unseen.
Fan noise and cooling
The rear ports are arranged at the bottom half of the enclosure with 4,000 holes perforating the top for cooling. The heat sink and fans take up most of the case.
This isn't a "silent" Mac desktop, but you'll struggle to hear it unless the room is absolutely quiet. With a baseline ambient sound of 36 dBa, the M1 Max model hit 39 dBa idle and 42 dBa under load. That's opposed to the M1 Mac mini being virtually silent when idle and 40 dBa under load.
Anyone who's worked around Macs for years will know what Mac fans sound like, with a specific tone and character. We found that the tone is slightly different and may take a period of adjustment.
Not quite modular
We're not sure why Apple called the Mac Studio "modular" during the reveal event. There isn't any modularity in this desktop unless you count adding peripherals or stacking multiple together on your desk.
This Mac isn't upgradeable, so don't make a purchase based on what some inaccurate and irresponsible video said. There are multiple SSD slots, but those exist for high-end configurations with 8TB of storage and service repair, not users. Everything else is soldered down and serialized to the motherboard.
We recommend buying what you need right out of the gate and don't count on an upgrade path later. While this may be more expensive, it will serve you better in the long run.
Not for everyone
The Mac Studio fits in the middle of the lineup and acts as a promise of what's to come in the future Mac Pro. Its configurations from the $2,000 starting model to the top-end M1 Ultra powerhouse should be enough options for most users.
Photographers, videographers, and developers will gain a lot from the power available in the M1 Ultra and Apple's new desktop class. This power will eventually trickle down to Apple's other gear, but not for some time.
There are a few, however, who would benefit from real modularity and higher RAM configurations than what exists at this level. If that's the case, you may be waiting a while for a Mac Pro running Apple Silicon, so stick to your five-figure Intel Mac Pros or get a Mac Studio to hold you over until then.
- Incredible speed
- G4 Cube or Mac mini desk footprint
- Front-mounted ports
- Quieter than alternatives under load
- Not silent when idle
- RAM and SSD prices are borderline extortionate
- Apple has a funny definition of modular
Mac Studio compared
M1 Ultra vs. M1 Max
The Mac Studio straddles the line between the 14-inch MacBook Pro and mid-range Mac Pro, thanks to the two processors available for the product. The M1 Max and M1 Ultra versions of the Mac Studio may look the same, but they are very different machines.
The model running the M1 Max starts at $1,999, while the M1 Ultra starts at $4,999. The price isn't the only thing that's doubled between the models, as available RAM, base storage, and processing cores are doubled too.
Spec to spec comparisons
|Mac Studio with M1 Max
|Mac Studio with M1 Ultra
|Base price
|32GB, expandable to 64GB
|64GB, expandable to 128GB
|Neural Engine
|Front ports
|2 x USB-C, 1 x SDXC
|2 x Thunderbolt 4, 1 x SDXC
|Back ports
|4 x Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2 x USB-A, 1 x HDMI, 1 x 10GB Ethernet, 1 x 3.5mm headphone
|4 x Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2 x USB-A, 1 x HDMI, 1 x 10GB Ethernet, 1 x 3.5mm headphone
If you want to configure the base M1 Max to be more similar to the base M1 Ultra model, then increase the RAM to 64GB for $400 and upgrade the storage to 1TB for $200. This raises the price to $2,599, still $1,400 lower than the model running M1 Ultra, but you're missing the additional processor performance.
Even when users configure the M1 Max model with more RAM and Storage, one factor can't be changed: the ports. The six Thunderbolt port arrangement is limited to the M1 Ultra Mac Studio, but both models still only support four Thunderbolt displays and one HDMI display total.
While benchmarking tools may not be the most accurate depiction of how these processors compare, the raw numbers give an idea of what to expect. The single-core operations were near identical for both chips since they essentially use the same processor cores. However, multi-core is where performance becomes clearly differentiated.
The Geekbench 5 scores for the M1 Max are 1798 single-core and 12822 multi-core. M1 Ultra showed a similar single-core and 23778 multi-core, basically doubling the number as expected.
The Metal scores from Geekbench 5 show 60,629 for the 24-core M1 Max GPU and 91,938 for the 48-core M1 Ultra GPU. That's roughly a 50% increase in performance for M1 Ultra graphics.
Exporting 4K video appeared to not tax either processor since both showed near-identical results for the same process. A one-hour 4K video exported as "Apple compatible" in Final Cut Pro took both machines about 18 minutes to finish. Increasing export resolution and complexity widened the gap, however.
Even 8K video appeared not to need the M1 Ultra for leaps and bounds in gains. While the M1 Max took five minutes and five seconds for export, the M1 Ultra took four minutes and 42 seconds. Which shows the M1 Max may have peaked out, but the M1 Ultra didn't add much to the workflow.
Ultimately, the choice between which Mac Studio model to get comes down to price and user needs. Taxing the M1 Ultra takes a great deal of effort, so most customers may be served by the M1 Max, however, the RAM limitations may be a determining factor.
Read the full comparison between the Mac Studio with M1 Max vs. Mac Studio with M1 Ultra.
Mac Studio vs. Mac Pro
The Mac Studio exists between the consumer-focused Mac mini and the ultra-professional Mac Pro. However, there are a variety of metrics where the newer, Apple Silicon-driven Mac Studio outperforms the large desktop tower.
The Mac Pro is still the best option for those seeking out maximum configurability and modularity, but that comes at a price. The base-model Mac Pro starts at $5,999 while the most expensive Mac Studio you can configure is $7,999.
Those who need the Mac Pro won't flinch at its price structure, however, even when spending up to $45,000. This is because at that level, every minute shaved off a render pays for itself in the long run.
One of the largest differentiators between these products is the amount of RAM that can be shoved into each machine. The Mac Studio is configured at sale and cannot be modified by the user after the fact, and it has a maximum of 128GB of RAM.
The Mac Pro has twelve DIMM slots available for user-upgradable RAM. The base model has 32GB of RAM, but for $25,000 more it can have up to 1.5TB of RAM.
CPU and graphics performance tests show that the Mac Studio can hold its own, if not outperform the Mac Pro at its lower configurations. The key here is that users can add more RAM, more graphics cards, and even use external GPUs with the Mac Pro.
Most use cases can be covered by a Mac Studio at a fraction of the Mac Pro cost, but there are a select few use cases that will benefit from the larger machine. Those users already know who they are, so for everyone else, it is easy to recommend the Mac Studio.
We break down the multiple configuration options and how they compare in the full article: Mac Studio vs. Mac Pro.
Mac Studio vs. Mac mini
The cheapest Mac in Apple's lineup starts at $699 and can be maxed out for just $1,799. That's still $200 under the Mac Studio, but there are some tradeoffs.
The Mac mini has the M1 processor no matter what configuration you purchase and tops out at 16GB or RAM, half of the base model Mac Studio. The maxed-out Mac mini may be the cheapest way to get 2TB of integrated SSD storage in a Mac, but you're trading price for performance.
Most users considering a $1,799 Mac mini would be better off getting the base Mac Studio with an external drive. That $200 price jump gets you the M1 Max with better CPU and GPU performance with double the RAM.
If budget is your primary concern then the Mac mini is an obvious choice, but you'll still need a display, keyboard, and mouse. If you aim for modestly priced accessories and a mid-tier Mac mini, you can still come well under the $1,999 price of a Mac Studio.
Choosing the cheaper Mac also means losing a few key features, like the Media Engine found in the M1 Max. Video processing is much faster thanks to this dedicated engine only available in higher-end Macs.
There are also fewer ports on the Mac mini, since it only has two Thunderbolt, two USB-A, an HDMI port, and an Ethernet port. Also, the Mac mini can only drive one Thunderbolt display and one via HDMI at once, which may be a deal-breaker for some creatives.
Read the entire comparison and spec breakdown in the full article: Mac Studio vs. Mac mini.
Bring your own experience
Apple positions the Mac Studio similar to the Mac mini as a headless desktop computer where users bring all the needed peripherals. Of course, users will be able to add a mouse, keyboard, and monitor at checkout, but it may not be necessary for most buyers.
Desktop users coming from docked MacBooks or a Mac mini will already have everything they need to get started with a new Mac desktop, which saves the buyer some cash. However, Apple did release some new accessories to tempt customers.
The Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad were all updated with tweaked designs and color schemes when the 24-inch iMac was launched. But, Apple hadn't made these accessories available for purchase beyond the basic white color palette until now.
The Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse are available with a two-tone color scheme with black tops and a silver chassis. The Magic Keyboard uses the same silver body but has black keys instead of white and a Touch ID button.
Studio Display
One of the biggest "finally" moments of the 2022 March event was the Studio Display. It is a new pro display that doesn't break the bank, starting at $1,599 and configurable with a better stand or nano-texture display.
It is a 27-inch 5K panel with P3 color and 600 nits of brightness. Thanks to the direct Thunderbolt connection, it supports macOS features like True Tone.
There is a Thunderbolt 3 port and three USB-C ports in the back of the display for connections. Also, it has a 12MP ultra-wide webcam with Center Stage support and a six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio.
Mac Studio Price
Apple Mac Studio
The 2022 Mac Studio can be configured with the M1 Max chip -- or the brand-new, high-end M1 Ultra chip. The latter supports up to 128GB of RAM.
Use coupon code APINSIDER with this pricing link in the same browsing session.
Customers can get the Mac Studio starting at $1,999 with a base configuration of M1 Max, 512GB of storage, and 32GB of RAM. The model with an M1 Ultra, 1TB of storage, and 64GB of RAM starts at $3,999.


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Recently, in just the past 2 weeks, I have had two separate friends each embark on their own pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago.
If that sounds familiar, it's because my mom and I did it back in 2018 after her stroke.
But "El Camino" is a walking pilgrimage that follows "The Way" of St. James through the countryside of Portugal and Spain, culminating at the cathedral in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, at the shrine of St. James.
You can do it for as long as you want — my mom and I did 10 days, walking about 14 miles a day. But if you do the entire thing, you can "camino" for over a month! (Which is what one of my friends is doing!)
There's a great movie about it called "The Way," which I highly recommend, but fair warning…it WILL make you want to do it yourself, and in fact, it was after watching that movie that my mother and I booked our tickets!
But it's just wild that, here we are, summer 2021, and I know two different people who are doing the Camino.
Then it dawned on me: we're all seeking life changing experiences.
Post-pandemic, people are looking for a shake up. A wake up. A life changing experience.
Because that's the thing about the Camino…the grueling physical demands on your body, the solitude in nature, the conversations in passing with other pilgrims on "The Way," the exploration and deepening of faith you experience traveling with priests and people of faith from church to church, often staying in monasteries. It is a journey of faith – where, as I realized, it is about the journey, not the destination.
But that's the thing: the Camino changes your life.
And that's what so many people are hungry for — craving — after this year we've had in "The Q:" a life changing experience.
I've had one life changing experience in my life: at inpatient for my anorexia when I was 18 years old.
I flew across the country to a christian treatment facility, and stayed for three months. And I can truly say, it was a life changing experience.
And I kept a journal while I was there. My best friend gave me a beautiful, decorative journal with handwritten quotes about friendship on top of every page.
(It was the inspiration of my book, Bloom).
But today, inspired by those two who embarked on their own life changing journeys, I decided to dust off my journal from inpatient, and read the words that I wrote during that instrumental time. Because, like the Camino, the "grueling physical demands on my body, the solitude [at inpatient], the conversations in passing with other pilgrims on the Way to recovery…" it turns out recovery is also a journey of faith.
And I did a "roulette" style opening of my journal, asking God to open to the page I was supposed to see. And, boy, He didn't disappoint:
Written by little 18-year old me, on Day 32 of inpatient, scared-yet-fighting my hardest to embrace recovery…
"Isaiah 48:17 The Lord, your Redeemer…leads you along the paths you should follow.
Hope is the sunrise of the heart. When you come to the edge of all the light you know and can see, and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen: there will be something solid to stand on, or I will be taught how to fly."
I think at the end of the day, that's where the "life changing-ness" of it all boils down to: are we brave enough to step out into that darkness, or not.
Because, we've all got that something in our lives that not only requires faith, but demands it.
And we feel "stuck" when we remain in our safety bubble. All the while, yearning for something life changing.
Faith will change your life. Because it will allow you to take that step of faith into the darkness of the unknown, and trust that "there will be something solid to stand on, or I'll be taught how to fly."
I am so thankful, every single day, that God gave me the grace and taught me how to fly during that momentous season of renewal at inpatient and beyond.
Recovery is a lifelong road, where, also…like the Camino, I'm realizing that, indeed, it is about the journey and not the destination.
So, there you go. Hopefully the words of a hopeful girl back in 2007 can spark in you the hope that you have the power to change your life right now: all it takes is a "yes" to God, and the courage to step out where He leads.
"This is what the Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life." Ez 37:5
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- Go into the Announcements section by clicking on the title.
- Create a new view based on the existing default. I called mine "All items with Body"
- Make sure the 'body' column is checked, and select "Newsletter" under Style.
- Go back to your main page, and select 'edit shared web part' for the announcements section you're working on.
- Change the view to be the new view you just created and click OK.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
How to get the whole announcement to show up in SharePoint 2007?
Posted by Medhat Elmasry at 11:11 PM
Labels: Sharepoint 2007
6 comments:
- Sanjay ShettyJuly 26, 2010 at 8:39 AM
thanks, this was useful :-)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 10, 2010 at 5:05 AM
Thank you so much!!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 3, 2011 at 6:12 AM
Thank you - works wonderfully:)ReplyDelete
Thank you for this!ReplyDelete
Thank you so much .. made my life easyReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 24, 2016 at 4:23 PM
Thank you so much! you saved my day!ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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With free agency set to kick off at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 12, Elliot Harrison identifies needs for all 32 teams over eight divisional primers. You'll find the outlook for each NFC East team below, but click here to examine other divisions.
Dallas Cowboys
Top priority in free agency: Offensive line.
There are so many mitigating factors here. The Cowboys just got done restructuring the contracts of several players (Brandon Carr, DeMarcus Ware, Miles Austin, Jason Witten) so that they could get under the cap. There are still unsigned free agents-to-be to address on this team. And then there's the possibility that Doug Free will be moved from right tackle to guard. Neither Nate Livings nor Mackenzy Bernadeau played well at guard last season after being acquired in free agency. But whether it's in the marketplace or through the draft, something has to be done to shore up left guard, right guard and right tackle.
Other areas of interest: Safety, defensive end, defensive tackle.
New York Giants
Top priority in free agency: Defensive back.
Like their divisional rivals in Dallas, the Giants don't have a ton of money to play with. They still need to make decisions about tight end Martellus Bennett and guard Kevin Boothe, who are both headed for free agency. There's a slight possibility pass rusher Osi Umenyiora could return, but it's looking doubtful at this point. Beyond these initial concerns, coach Tom Coughlin and Co. must retool the secondary, which was beaten consistently last season. Safety Stevie Brown is a restricted free agent and cornerback Corey Webster has a big cap number. Kenny Phillips played fairly well when he was in the lineup ... but he was barely in the lineup. Terrell Thomas has suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament three times. This group needs a lift.
Other areas of interest: Linebacker, tight end, defensive tackle.
Philadelphia Eagles
Top priority in free agency: Safety.
The Eagles' secondary has been a real problem. The draft is a great tool, but Philly could potentially use three new players in the secondary; in order for it to get better, some work must be done in free agency. Nnamdi Asomugha could be cut. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is a free agent. The safety position is no great shakes, either. Philadelphia's back four made every quarterback -- save for maybe Brandon Weeden -- look like the love child of Aaron Rodgers and Dan Fouts, allowing 33 touchdown passes while picking off just eight. That's unbelievable futility. Philadelphia has more than $30 million in cap space. Perhaps making a push to sign safety Dashon Goldson might be the first, most appropriate move (although signing Ed Reed would be cool, too).
Other areas of interest: Cornerback, nose tackle, outside linebacker.
Washington Redskins
Top priority in free agency: Safety.
Yet another NFC East team that needs help in the back four, and yet another NFC East team that might not have the money to acquire it. The Redskins are dealing with the harsh reality of being slapped on the wrist by the NFL for the way they structured contracts during the uncapped 2010 season (the Cowboys were also hit, but with a lesser penalty). Washington is barely under the cap and has several of its own players to sign. The safety position, where Brandon Meriweather and Reed Doughty are the penciled-in starters, represents a glaring need on this team. Signing the Arizona Cardinals' Rashad Johnson could be an answer on the (somewhat) cheap, but the Redskins might not even be able to afford him, given how tight their money situation is. Tight end is a major priority, as Fred Davis -- coming off a season-ending injury -- is also a free agent. The Washington offense would benefit greatly from having a big target over the middle for Robert Griffin III.
Other areas of interest: Tight end, right tackle, linebacker.


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Eat Design
Metro Verlag Wien / www.metroverlag.at
Sonja Stummerer & Martin Hablesreiter
Ulrike Köb / www.koeb.at / Daisuke Akita / www.daisukeakita.com
978-3-99300-152-0 ; € 39,90
Why do we eat with cutlery? Why we are doing that in specially designed dining rooms or restaurants and not in parking spaces, for example? In doing so why we are usually sitting on chairs or benches and why we dress up for dinner?
»eat design« by Sonja Stummerer and Martin Hablesreiter is a design book about eating tools, table utensils, and dress codes. It explores the historical and social background of our eating behavior and shows how design issues about food and eating can determine the lifestyle of entire societies.
The book documents that completely ordinary things like dishes and cutlery not only influence how we eat and with it our common behavior, but also have a deep impact on our life in general. Besides that the book reveals that in designing silverware or dining room furniture unwritten laws of daily routine will be created.
The use of a napkin, a fish knife, or a soup spoon shows who we are and where we come from. When with patient effort we teach our children the perfect way to handle a knife and fork, we are at the same time instilling in them the basic principles of our social order.
224 pages, 24 x 24 cm
four color print


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A political maelstrom uniting Albertans on the right, left and centre in anger at Premier Jason Kenney and his UCP government erupted across the province on New Year's Day. With news that members of his government had travelled internationally during the Christmas break – despite all COVID-19 prohibitions to the contrary – Premier Jason Kenney undertook a solo press conference asserting that he had not been clear about travel rules. Consequently, there would be no sanctions for those who had fled our wintery province for warmer destinations. Province-wide outrage followed, led in no small part by conservative voices.
Alberta has been at the centre of media attention as COVID-19 numbers grew, and the pandemic management was in question. Adding fuel to an inferno, Alberta's elected officials and their senior staff travelled in numbers greater than most provinces combined. As that list came to include Minister of Municipal Affairs Tracy Allard, Parliamentary Secretary Jeremy Nixon, MLAs Tany Yao, Pat Rehn, Jason Stephan, Tanya Fir and the Premier's Chief of Staff Jamie Huckabay, a tipping point was apparent.
Many moons back, some of us were senior staff in a Premier's office during what we can refer to as a dumpster fire (you may remember the Sky Palace). Most of us who lived it remember how the senior team pulled together to support the Premier. Some of us even offered to be the sacrificial offering to quell the media thirst and protect the Premier. An important lesson we learned was that in times of intense attention keep your messaging factual, decisive, concise and timely.
That's why so many public relations and government relations professionals around Alberta and the country are scratching their heads at what came out from Kenney last Thursday. By all accounts, Allard had been doing a very good job as Minister of Municipal Affairs in the few months she was in the job. Up until her decision to go to Hawaii for her traditional family Christmas, that is. Same can be said for the Premier's Chief of Staff Jamie Huckabay, who has been with the Premier since day one.
But for each of these important cogs in the Kenney government machine, one wrong decision spelled the eventual end of their tenures in those positions. As it stands today, there's a noticeable lack of senior advisors surrounding Kenney. Three senior members of his team have departed over the past four months: Katy Merrifield, Director of Communications; David Knight-Legg, Principal Advisor; Howard Anglin, Principal Secretary and now one more added to this list. His most trusted first-team has all left the Premier's office. A leader's core team is the group that helps prevent problems from happening in the first place, and then soundly fixing them if they do. This is not to say that their replacements are not qualified but they either did not equip Kenney with the best advice or that advice was ignored.
Only a day earlier, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, asked for the resignation of his Finance Minister, perhaps his most trusted Minister because of the very same type of decision so the precedent was set for Kenney. Instead, he chose to talk about the value of our tourism economy and safe travel. That point was a knife in the very hearts of the Albertans who elected Kenney, and not what anyone who sacrificed their traditional Christmases were prepared to accept.
When Kenney took the podium on Thursday the tone was defensive, and he put up a lot of justifications before eventually having to take the blame for members of his government not following the restrictions they helped to put in place for all Albertans. You do not often see Premiers, or heads of state make such declarations.
Some Albertans called Premier's admission that he had failed to put in direct orders to legislators not to travel as noble. Most Albertans disagreed. Rarely in Alberta has there been a moment where the right, the centre and the left have been this in sync. A storm of negative opinion erupted in all provincial media outlets.
Those of us who have been lucky enough to have served in these types of jobs were left asking ourselves why? Who was advising the Premier to do this media availability, who helped to craft the messaging, and why was he not decisive in his actions? Four days later we see a Minister resign, his Chief of Staff resign, and others who travelled face sanctions of one kind or another; but why didn't that action happen last week to try and put out the fire earlier.
Kenney clearly has a problem in his office. The kindling of this most recent dumpster fire was set in place months ago when the mass exodus of senior staff left his office for whatever their reasons and it seems as though Kenney governs from his own island in Edmonton. His go-forward challenge will be to find advisors he can trust to help navigate his way out of this and try and regain support from Albertans. He cannot fill his office with people who tell him what he wants to hear. Successful Premiers of days past take the opinions and advice of the senior staff and valued advisors. Premiers whom history fondly remembers gained insight from those outside of the dome and made decisions as to what was best for Alberta. Not all decisions will be popular, like locking down the province for the holiday season, but if we are "all in it together" then we must truly all be in it together.
Governing is a different monster than a traditional business, everyone is a stakeholder. Premier's staff, executive council, and caucus must sing from the same song sheet; that most definitely did not happen here. The Premier now faces the biggest challenge of his administration: finding a team that can effectively help him ensure the morale and cohesion of his caucus and having a group of Ministers that he listens too, and in turn listen and respect him. That, and showing some public respect for Albertans are the only ways to turn this around if he chooses to. Government moves faster than real time with social media reducing a 24-hour news cycle to less than 24 minutes; the only chance you get to do the right thing is the first one. Doubling down on bad decisions in the effort to make them right is not a strategy, it can be a fatal wound. The Premier's actions today will stop the bleeding, but whether they will heal the wound with Albertans is to be determined.
Authored by: Natalie Sigalet, Darren Cunningham, Tim Moro and Jessica Conlin


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While I'm enjoying my short break with beloved ones and also using my creative side to update the layout of my virtual home here… You might want to catch up on some recently posted stuff 😉
Connect to Life, to Others, to Yourself
Last week, I published the first article for my new weekly series. Sort of a weekly newsletter to inspire you to Connect with Life, Others and Yourself. You can find that post HERE (click).
Soul Connection
There are many ways to Connect to Your Soul, to Boost Your Soul, to Connect to Others. Music is a wonderful tool to Connect to Others, to give your own (and that of others) a Boost. Another way to get inspired and Connect to Your Soul are Quotes. There are so many made by our neighbors, famous and less famous people 😉
Find those answers
Don't hesitate to Connect with me in case you can find your answers to your questions. Click the button below for more information, or check my contact page for various options.
Enjoy your weekend and Stay Connected 😉