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Release Date: Feb 7, 2012
Record label: Zedtone
Genre(s): Electronic, Rap, Pop/Rock, Club/Dance, Alternative Rap, Underground Rap
On their 2010 debut, these South African weirdos occasionally struck a sly balance between Ninja's deranged rhymes, Yo-Landi Vi$$er's evil-sexpot coos and DJ Hi-Tek's slippery rave-rap beats. The novelty runs dry on Die Antwoord's second album, a marathon of overwrought beats and clunky horn-dog-rebel boasts. Ninja's idea of an anti-hip-hop rant involves quoting Vanilla Ice ("I do not want to stop, collaborate or listen," he whines on "Fatty Boom Boom"), and Yo-Landi brags, "Fuck you, Jimmy, I'm-a never give it back," of the million-dollar advance Die Antwoord reportedly got from their ex-boss, Interscope's Jimmy Iovine, who's on to sounder investments these days.
Die AntwoordTen$ion[Zef Recordz; 2012]By Ad Mehta; February 17, 2012Purchase at: Insound (Vinyl) | Amazon (MP3 & CD) | iTunes | MOGTweetOn their sophomore effort Ten$ion, Die Antwoord thrust forward with an unprecedented heaviness. Cinematic strings draw ears in, whereupon a South African chant heralds listeners' return to the Zef Side. Ninja declares "I'm indestructible" with an intonation and meter fit for the first line of an epic arena-rock chorus.
What do you do when the joke's over? In the case of South African satirical rap group/shock artists/walking internet memes/"zef" pioneers the only way to go is the really (really) weird. Witness the video to Ten$ion's lead single (and grammar/spell check nightmare) I Fink U Freeky, a hideous, yet oddly exciting, melange of writhing beds of rats, deformities and children in blackface and elephant masks. Although, the other big innovation that strikes when listening to Ten$ion is that they've actually got some tunes this time; other than Rich Bitch - the most catchy bit of dead-eyed glamour this side of Lana Del Rey (yes, she's started invading other reviews now) - their debut was hardly the most entertaining of listens.
When you are granted the privilege of gallivanting across the globe in your Dark Side of the Moon underpants -- flown to and fro at the record company's expense -- it must be a big fat shot of freak adrenaline that leaves an artist ecstatic over ambitious. This actually happened to the unsettlingly eccentric South African rave-rap crew called Die Antwoord, and that's with Diplo, Jimmy Kimmel, and Interscope all in the mix, although that last name has been jettisoned for this sophomore effort due to an argument over the leadoff single (the band wanted "Fok Julle Naaiers," where the DJ threatens to make love to the listener in the most unholy of places). With Interscope out of the picture, the aptly named, aptly misspelled TenSion arrives via the group's own Zef Records, which in America means they move distribution from one wing of Universal to another, so don't think this polished monster emerged from some South African record-printing rebel hut.
In 2010, this filthy-mouthed South African rap trio pulled a Lana Del Rey, garnering magazine covers and arguments over authenticity, when the video for their single "Enter the Ninja" went viral. There's no shock of the new this time and the cheap thrills of their fairground synths have palled now they represent the ubiquitous David Guetta-endorsed sound of commercial rap. But vocalists Ninja and Yolandi's double act still sounds weird and abrasive in the best possible way, his guttural, Afrikaans-accented rasp clashing compellingly with her helium-voiced flow, particularly on "So What?" and the needling "Hey Sexy".
I have to confess that until recently, I had no idea what a Die Antwoord was. But I learned. Oh, how I learned. I learned about them via YouTube, and I learned about them from message boards. I heard endless discussions of Ninja's flow and Yo-Landi's grating high-pitched whine. And here's the ….
Ten$ion is not a bad name for a Die Antwoord album. The appeal of the Cape Town hip-hop duo (trio if you count their perpetually identity-shifting beatmaker DJ Hi-Tek) has stemmed from a sort of cultural dissonance, a subversive slant that the internet intelligentsia quickly couched in terms of "performance art" or even Dada. This particular tension boils down to a question of "realness" vs.
If you're unfamiliar, Die Antwoord operate on the principle of "zef," a philosophy of intentional ignorance and crassness. It's the latest in series of personas for rapper Ninja, né Watkin Tudor Jones, but even with that conceptual bent in mind, it's still hard to process Die Antwoord as an idea, especially on Ten$ion where they replace what made them sometimes intriguing and slightly subversive with tired and tropes and lazy lyrics. In some ways it's the worst of both worlds: We've seen and heard it all before, and now it's dumbed-down even further.
When the announcement arrived that South Africa's rave-rap collective Die Antwoord were leaving Interscope Records, due to conflicts in creative control, it was an early indicator that their sophomore full-length, Ten$ion, would have all the same vulgarity, filth, and Zef-side as the trio's successful debut, $o$. The move also reinforced Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er's "Full Flex" mentality, but after multiple listens to the 36-minute Zef experiment, it seems the album could have benefited from some artistic restraint. Tracks like "I Fink You Freeky" and "Hey Sexy" each showcase DJ Hi-Tek's electro-glitch production skills and Yo-Landi's piercing vocal delivery, but they're bogged down by rogue choruses and abrupt tempo changes.
Comedy rap act or conceptual art project? Whatever your opinion on rave-rappers Die Antwoord, their new album is a rare treat - South African pop music. But if a cultural insight into the country is intriguing enough, Ten$ion's depiction of modern South Africa is nothing less than thrilling. Though not explicitly, nor necessarily the intentions of its creators, it's hard to shake the image of a future dystopia.
Long weird, South African rave-hop duo Die Antwoord's gone weirder. So weird, in fact, that the tag team of Ninja and otherwise inconceivable Yo-Landi Vi$$er ran out on their freshly minted deal with Interscope Records so that they could weird out all they wanted on their independent label Zef Recordz. Meaning that the whack business on sophomore album Ten$ion unravels not exactly accessibly, nor does it maintain any innate sense of congruency.


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Over the past few weeks, numerous sexual misconduct allegations have come out against members of Congress. One of the most shocking revelations to come from this is that many congressmen have been using taxpayer funds to pay off their accusers. Now, a plan has been launched to stop this practice for good.
Momentum is building fast in Congress to ban the use of taxpayer money to settle sexual harassment cases — particularly after news that a total of well over $100,000 has been paid in recent cases against lawmakers.
Prohibiting such settlements is proving to be a popular idea among fiscal conservatives and liberal Democrats alike as Congress grapples with how to reform its complicated workplace policies.
Taxpayers were revealed to be responsible for thousands of dollars' worth of settlements in cases involving sexual harassment allegations against Reps. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), as well as ex-Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.). Still more cases could emerge.
BuzzFeed reported that Conyers settled a wrongful dismissal suit for more than $27,000 in 2015 with a female former aide who said she was fired because she wouldn't succumb to his sexual advances. Conyers denied wrongdoing and said he settled the case to avoid protracted litigation.
Taxpayer money also funded a $84,000 settlement between Farenthold, who was accused of harassment by a female former aide in 2014, according to Politico. The Office of Congressional Ethics investigated the staffer's allegations, but informed the House Ethics Committee that there was "not substantial reason to believe" the accusations.
ABC News further revealed that nearly $100,000 was paid to settle sexual harassment claims from at least two young male aides to Massa, who resigned in 2010 amid an ethics investigation of allegations that he groped and sexually harassed his staff.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) first introduced legislation last month that includes a provision requiring lawmakers accused of harassment to reimburse taxpayers for settlements. The Office of Compliance, which handles the harassment reporting process, would have to publish the names of offices involved in cases with settlements and the monetary amounts on its website.
It is ironic that Democrats are now hyper-concerned about sexual predators after spending decades supporting and defending Bill Clinton. When Republicans tried to point out at the time how perverted the former president was, Democrats pooh-poohed their concerns.
Regardless of the irony, however, it is heartening to see that members of Congress are cracking down on this issue once and, hopefully, for all. There's absolutely no reason that American taxpayers should be forced to spend their hard-earned money dealing with politicians' perversions.
The Left constantly pushes for an increase taxes, yet Americans' tax dollars are then used for ridiculous reasons like this.

subset: commoncrawl


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|On College Football 2019: Week 3 Preview
Dan* said:
|Hey Ken. Glad you are back for another year of college football! As always, I appreciate the insight...
|On College Football 2018: The End
Dan* said:
|I cant believe the regular season is over already.
I love your remarks on fandom. Whenever I can, ...
|On College Football 2018 Week 11 Preview
Dan* said:
|Hey Ken, thank you for the Penn State coverage this year! I tried to comment earlier but the captcha...
|On New CBS Show Scorpion Riddled with Errors
e.* said:
|also, 7a: disk-based backup targets don't work that way. you don't back up anything to one single so...
|On New CBS Show Scorpion Riddled with Errors
Stephen J* said:
|Wasn't planning on watching, now definitely won't.
19a: if the whole Ethernet cord to sportscar th...
|September 28 Frozen Meal: Lean Pockets Garlic Chicken White Pizza
|Wednesday, 2010 October 13 - 12:54 pm
|"Grilled white meat chicken, mozzarella, parmesan & fontina cheeses with creamy garlic sauce in a crust."
So Amy bought these for me just for the irony of the label "culinary creations" on a box of freakin' Lean Pockets. Yes, I can just imagine Auguste Escoffier cooking up a batch of Lean Pockets. Oh, the box also says "Unique flavor combinations like those found on a chef's menu." Srsly? Since when do chefs' menus feature the combination of chicken, cheese, and pockets?
Taste: Not very crisp despite the crisping sleeves. They're chewy and cheesy. There's not much garlic flavor, or any other flavor, for that matter; it's a white, bland lump of exactly what you'd expect from a Lean Pocket. The serving size is one pocket, which is too small; two pockets is pretty filling, though, what with all the dough and cheese. Score: 2.0/5.0
Nutrition: Two servings in the box, but at 127 grams apiece, it seems unlikely you'd just eat one. So for the both of them:
Yikes. It does has fiber, calcium, and vitamin C, but 8 grams of saturated fat! 1080 mg of sodium! Score: 0.5/3.0
Packaging: Not awful, but it's bit fiddly having to put the things into the crisping sleeves. Score: 1.5/2.0
Total Score: 4.0/10.0. Dismal.
Posted by Ken in: food
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Altar Servers
For a printable version click here.
For more information, please contact:
Jesse Martinez
Altar Server Registration (printable)
Online Altar Server Registration
All servers 5th – 8th grade are to wear the white alb (robe). All servers in 9th grade and above are to wear black cassock and white surplice. Servers grades 5 – 8 are "junior" servers. All other servers are "senior" servers.


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A new series of updates about emerging trends in learning technology and digital literacy
Playful and Creative Learning in HE
Next Tuesday LTI will be hosting a presentation by Chrissi Nerantzi (Principal Lecturer in Academic CPD, expert in creative, innovative learning, teaching and assessment from Manchester Metropolitan University) on Playful and Creative Learning. A good opportunity to reflect on what playfulness and creativity mean in an educational context and explore ways in which we can promote it in our practice.
Definition: What is playful learning?
In a blog post by JISC titled "Learning to play, playing to learn: the rise of playful learning in higher education", Chrissi gives an explanation of what playful leraning means to her:
"Playful learning is using play activities to immerse ourselves and learn, either on our own or with others in a space we feel safe. In playful learning it's ok to make mistakes when experimenting with new ideas, when challenging ourselves and others and doing things we normally wouldn't do – which can lead us to surprising discoveries.
Playful learning can happen anywhere."
Play and Its Connection to Creativity
The "Creativity for Learning in Higher Education" open course, based on the Manchester Metropolitan University's PgCert and MA in Higher Education in which Chrissi is involved, offers colleagues with an interest in creative teaching and learning to explore three areas that foster more creativity in their practice and their students' learning experience. One of which is play and games.
As Resnick (2017) puts it,
"Creativity doesn't come from laughter and fun: It comes from experimenting, taking risks, and testing the boundaries."
When it comes to experimenting, games are a very powerful learning tool. Games are by definition a space where the rule of the real world do not apply, thus providing a safe space to take risks and experiment with various choices, strategies and outcomes.
Moseley and Whitton (2015) define games as"a safe space in which participants have freedom to make mistakes, learn from failure, play with fantasy and identity, have control over decisions and outcomes"
Interested in finding out more?
Check out Chrissi's various projects around playful and creative learning:
- #creativeHE Google + community site
- Creativity for Learning in Higher Education open course from MMU
At LSE
- Head to our dedicated web pages to find out more about Game-Based Learning and related projects run and supported at the LSE.
- Apply for our IGNITE and SPARK grants to support your game-based learning project for your own course or at programme and departmental level.
- Join Chrissi's session on Tuesday 6th February or LTI's practical session on Designing Games for Learning on 26th February
Resnick, M. (2017). Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passions, Peers, and Play. MIT Press.
Moseley, A. and Whitton, N. (2015). Using Games to Enhance the Student Experience. Higher Education Academy
An evaluation of LSE's new informal learning spaces
In the 2016-2017 academic year, staff at LTI undertook an evaluation of the use of new LSE informal learning spaces. The findings and lessons learnt can be found in our final report. Here are the highlights.
As part of a School-wide objective to provide students with more informal learning spaces across campus, "forgotten" spaces were redeveloped and opened for the 2016-17 academic year. Staff at LTI led the design of 6 spaces – one at each landing of Clement House's back stairwell- along with Estates, the Teaching and Learning Centre and AV services.
While each space was designed to fulfil a specific function, such as collaborative work or quiet study, they were also intended to be flexible so that students could own and shape them.
This work was also an opportunity for LTI to experiment with new configurations and technology to apply a variety of modular spaces for LSE's future buildings. LTI's report investigates the effective use made by students of the six spaces, and whether they match the design intentions. It also provided a context to understand how they fit into the overall experience of students with informal learning spaces at the School.
Click the picture for a description of the spaces
In spite of the fact that the effective use of the spaces did not always match the original design intentions, the spaces were welcomed by both students and staff and saw high levels of occupancy.
As far as use is concerned, students seemed to favour individual use of the spaces, even on those floors fitted with collaborative furniture. This was found to align with the most common approach to teaching and learning adopted at the School and also reflected in assessment, namely quiet study and individual working. It would be interesting to reassess the use of those and similar spaces once other modes of teaching and assessment are adopted as a result of the School-wide initiative to diversify assessment from next year.
With regards to the spaces themselves. students appreciated the calm and relaxed feel to the spaces and the range of equipment available to them. Areas for improvement include noise levels (especially between classes) and a lack of work space (such as tables or chairs).
More information about the spaces, findings and our analysis can be found in the full report: An Evaluation of Clement House Informal Learning Spaces.
LTI is currently working on the redevelopment of other informal spaces, as well as three rooms in various areas of the campus (more details to follow soon)
Findings from this evaluation and our previous new teaching spaces evaluation will inform the design of these spaces and the future ones.
We would love to hear your feedback, please use the comments below or email LTI to share your thoughts!
Blogging as a Method of Assessment
The past couple of years an increasing number of LSE academics started integrating blogging in their courses. This took various forms, from using the blog feature on Moodle as an added activity to creating individual blogs for students as part of a course summative assessment. One thing that all these projects shared is the rationale for using blogs in an educational context: encouraging student engagement, making learning more student-centred and diversifying assessment with the view to making it more relevant to the course and developing students' transferable skills.
A good example of such initiative is Anthropology's Dr Walker AN300 student blogs project. Dr Walker applied for a SPARK Grant last year in order to support his project to "develop the use of student blogs as one component of the summative assessment for AN300 Advanced Theory of Social Anthropology".
Below is a summary of the project and its outcomes, with quotes form Dr Walker's application and project report, whose full version can be found on his project page.
What was done
AN300 is an intensive reading course focusing on full-length books rather than journal articles. There are three 'cycles' per term, each devoted to a different book […] Each student was required to produce his/her own blog. […]Students were expected to make one post each week for the first two weeks of each book cycle (12 posts for the course overall). Every third week was dedicated to commenting on the posts of others. The final mark consisted of the average of each student's best eight posts.[…]The posts were assessed weekly by a GTA who was also in charge of providing feedback.
Students also attended a session on writing for blog run by LTI at the beginning of their course.
Developing students' academic and life skills
The aim of this project was to encourage students to develop their own original ideas and critical responses to key texts in social anthropology, as well as to cultivate their capacity to respond thoughtfully and diplomatically to the ideas of others. Making regular blog entries was also meant to encourage students to keep abreast of the required readings for each week, partly in order to positively impact the overall quality of class discussions. The project was also intended to cultivate students' digital literacy, providing them with training in an increasingly widespread form of disseminating information.
Diversifying assessment
[The course format] is sometimes described as an advanced reading group. This makes it ill suited to exams as a mode of assessment. The blogs, by contrast, allowed students to develop their own ideas about the books they were reading as they went along.
Students appreciated the opportunity the blogs provided […] to work in a medium other than an essay or exam.
In general, the trial can be considered a success. […] The posts that resulted were often highly original and creative. Students appreciated the opportunity the blogs provided to be more experimental with their ideas and arguments, and less formal in their writing. […] Having to write a post prior to class gave students an opportunity to critically reflect on the readings, and to bring to the class ideas they had developed in their blogs
Lessons learnt
Clarity was identified as a key area for improvement in the project, as its absence seems to have caused some frustration among students. The main aspects that were identified as critical were clear guidance and expectations, grading criteria and feedback on the blog posts.
It is also worth noting that it was the first year blogs were tried in the department. The fact that students were not (yet) familiar with this type of activity made it even more important to provide them with extra guidance.
You can find a detailed evaluation report on the project's dedicated web pages. The report includes guidance given to students at the start of term along with marking criteria, and examples of student posts and comments.
If you are interested in using blogging as a teaching tool, check out our and TLC's resources or get in touch to discuss your ideas.
This project was funded by LTI's SPARK Grant. More info on similar teaching innovation projects and how to apply on our website.
Using Powerpoint to create engaging simulations
Last academic year, two PhD students teaching in the Department of International Relations embarked on a journey to make their course more engaging to students. They applied for an LTI SPARK! Grant to support the development of Powerpoint-based simulation games.
Here are the highlights of the project following its completion and evaluation. Quotes are from the two recipients of the grant, Gustav Meibauer and Andreas Aagaard Nohr.
Related outcomes and resources on our website
The rationale
Issues addressed
Currently available IR simulations for teaching purposes are often high-cost/high-tech and especially time-intensive: even if they do not require custom-made software packages with difficult interfaces and expensive licensing fees, they are almost without exception targeted at course-long or at least day-long activities that demand extensive preparation of both teachers and students, with book-length manuals, intricate rules, integrated assessment tools, and specific secondary literature. This is irrelevant for most of the undergraduate teaching practice, especially in introductory courses that often treat specific concepts only once in a 50-minutes class. But this should not mean that undergraduate students simply never get the chance to profit from interactive gaming and simulations.
Why simulations? The pedagogy behind the technology
The project is based in the pedagogy of experiential learning, student ownership and self-directed learning, and the use of gaming activities and simulations in the classroom.
Simulations and interactive gaming solutions have long been known to enhance understanding both of specific empirical examples as well as, more importantly, theoretical linkages because they make students experience, rather than only hear about, factors and variables involved in such different topics as foreign policy decision-making, diplomacy, great power dynamics or identity formation.
Students do not simply passively receive the PowerPoint (as in a standard presentation), but play it, change its outcome (within given options), determine what the next slide will show, and are thus actively involved in what they learn. This is thought to encourage deeper learning.
It is not the outcome of the simulation that matters, but the process of its coming-about. Just as in real-world foreign policy or diplomacy, there is not necessarily a correct path to take or a right decision to find – instead, by playing the simulation, students engage in discussion and compromise, take into account a multitude of different factors, realize own mistakes, and get a feeling for the complexity of decision-making in multiple settings.
Why Powerpoint?
There is no need to change the course design, overhaul the entire teaching approach, or experiment wildly outside what is currently known and available. Instead, our project aims at diversifying teaching where possible to integrate student-centered, activity-based teaching and learning. It does so by bringing out the true potential of already available teacher skills and learning technologies.
We do this by employing PowerPoint, specifically in-built features such as hyperlinks, interactive pathways, or audio or video integration that can be used interactively rather than passively.
Integration into the course
By necessity, simulations do not stand alone: they are accompanied by a set of theoretical structures and debates in which students talk and theorize about their experiences during the gaming activity
Each of our simulation classes consisted of an introductory stage of about 5 minutes, a simulation stage with multiple discussion periods interspersed (moderated variously by the class teacher or by the students themselves, depending on class dynamics) of about 20-30 minutes, and a discussion stage to tease out theoretical insights of about 20-30 minutes.
Take Aways
"Andreas and Gustav came up with a formula that gave students ownership of their own decisions and helped them to apply their knowledge to difficult real world dilemmas. Students were able to experience the consequences of both the cautious and risk taking approach and the many nuances and customs that apply to foreign policy decisions."
Sarah Leach, Senior Learning Technologist on the project
Students experience
Overall, results indicate a positive impact on student learning: students on average perceived simulations were enjoyable, allowed for stimulating discussion in the classroom and an experience of expertise and immersion into the topic of the class.
Not only did the simulations add an important additional method to diversify the learning experience and complement more "traditional" instruction styles, they also led to greater overall participation rates in class (compared to more conventional class types, as assessed by teachers, observers, and the students themselves), allowed students to bring in own previous experience and learn from their peers, and try out learned theoretical concepts in class.
They gave students a language to talk about new and often highly abstract concepts, and allowed for smooth and often in-depth reflection and discussion. The simulations also proved entertaining and supported positive group dynamics in class, such as self-moderated discussion and quick exchanges between students without teacher interference.
The teacher's views
They allowed us as teachers to transition more easily towards roles of moderator and facilitator, as students interact with the simulation and with each other without input or instruction from the teacher.
Students worry that the simulations somehow divert from the "actual" material they are supposed to learn from the course, which means additional effort has to be put into developing desired learning outcomes and appropriate theoretical teaching materials.
"Andreas and Gustav have demonstrated that engaging students with technology doesn't have to be daunting or cutting edge, a simple tweak can dramatically change the learning experience for students. To make this step even easier, they have written a 'how to' guide for any teachers who want to create simulations for small class teaching. The guide covers every aspect from defining the learning objectives and creating the slides through to teaching plans and evaluation. It's a great resource."
Sarah Leach
If you are interested in using technology to support teaching, learning and assessment like Andreas and Gustav, then please get in touch with LTI to discuss your ideas. Take a look at LTI's SPARK! Grants for more information.
Playful learning
In February I was lucky enough to attend the 'RemixPlay' event at Coventry University. Hosted in the amazing 'Disruptive Media Lab' the day featured some really interesting speakers (Ian Livingstone (CBE), Bernie DeKoven, Professor Nicola Whitton and Dr Sebastian Deterding). There are already some great write-ups about the event which I won't replicate here, instead see the blog post by Daryl Peel from University of Southampton and The Flying Raccon's write up of Remix Play.
For me the conference highlighted the positive aspects of play and I left thinking that we should do more to invite 'Playfulness' in Higher Education. Creating a playful environment/community encourages exploration, collaboration, creativity and gives people agency to try things out and have the freedom to fail, all key conditions for learning. There is an abundance of literature on learning through play and it's importance see 'Play, Playfulness, Creativity and Innovation' by Patrick Bateson, Bernard Suits book 'The Grasshopper – Games, life and Utopia' and the 'How We Get To Next' reading list on the Power of Play especially the video's at the end.
Some nice examples of a playful environment given by speakers at the event:
As Jordan Shapiro et. al. note in Mind/Shift Guide to Digital Games + Learning (Joan Ganz Cooney Center/KQED, 2014)
"Play is exploration. It involves imagination. It means investigating the world of the game and feeling the frustration, flow, and excitement that goes along with playing it."
Games designed to enable learning are becoming more popular in Higher Education. Games are a more structured version of 'play' and allow players to problem-solve and often involve collaboration and peer learning. Although they often involve rules and winners, games give autonomy to the players and provide a safe environment to fail and to try and test things out. They are often about making decisions and then seeing the consequences and receiving feedback on your actions. As Professor Nicola Whitton stressed, students need low-impact opportunities to experience failure (micro failures); it's how they get feedback, learn and improve.
Games at LSE
As part of an LTI grant, I have been working with colleagues in LTI on the LSE100 course to create a board game which was played in classes this term. One of the key difficulties when designing the game was to get the balance between play and content right. Too much content, and it's not a game anymore, it's a lecture and it's not fun. Too much concentration on the game, and the learning outcomes are not as obvious and it's harder for students to make the links between the concepts that you are trying to illustrate. We are now evaluating the game collecting and collating feedback from students and staff, so look out for updates on this shortly.
LTI has awarded several grants to projects involving games, including 'Capture the Market' board game mentioned above and an Ethnographic point and click video game, more info and resources can be found on our website.
Game workshop
If you are interested in exploring the use of games in education, we are running a workshop on 'Designing quick and effective games for learning' with Alex Moseley on Wednesday 26 April. Alex has been involved with games in education for 8 years and has lots of experience with designing games for learning. You can read an interview with Alex on this blog and you can book a place on the workshop on Eventbrite.
Spark grants
Applications for LTI spark grants are now open http://lti.lse.ac.uk/lti-grants/ with the deadline of Friday 5 May. If you are interested in finding out more, check out the LTI website and contact us to discuss your idea.
NMC Horizon Report 2017: Key trends and challenges of technology in the global HE Sector
The 2017 (Higher Education) horizon report was released a week ago by the New Media Consortium (nmc). It reflects on what the global HE sector is doing with and about (educational) technologies, how it deals with key trends and how it faces critical challenges. Most interestingly, it reflects on these trends and challenges and forecasts which technologies will be taken up by the sector in the short, medium and long term.
It is one report to which it really pays to pay attention, and is short enough to be read in a lunch hour. For a shorter read you might look at their summary 10 talking points. Or you can stay with this blog post and have a look at my summary of this year's trends, challenges and technologies below. I explain some of the terminology used in my summary of the 2015 Horizon report. Technology concepts are explained or linked to below.
Trends, challenges, technologies:
Key trends in the sector drive technology adoption, and in the short term these are: Blended Learning Designs and Collaborative Learning.
In the mid-term, the sector is driven by Growing focus on measuring learning and Redesigning Learning Spaces.
In the long term, the sector is driven by Advancing Cultures of Innovation and Deeper Learning Approaches.
The sector faces plenty challenges, some that we know, understand and are able to meet 'easily', because we have been facing them for a while now: Improving Digital Literacy and Integrating Formal and Informal Learning.
The Achievement Gap, which "reflects a disparity in the enrollment and academic performance between student groups, defined by socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or gender", and its 'complement' challenge to Advance Digital Equity present more of a headache and are a difficult demand on the sector as a whole.
The report suggests as wicked challenges, those that are "complex to even define, much less address": Managing Knowledge Obsolescence, and Rethinking the Roles of Educators.
The former refers to the rapid rate of technologies cropping up and (possibly) vanishing again, while the latter refers to how teachers are to cope with that and the shift towards proper student-centred learning. The latter was mentioned as a key trend for the first time in the 2010 report and continued to appear until 2013, after which it was dropped, presumably as something that had happened. That this year it is highlighted as a wicked challenge suggests that a) it has become a much more pressing issue and b) educators continue to struggle with adapting to the changes in the Higher Education sector, and/ or the 21st Century as such.
Technologies take-up projection:
In about one year: Adaptive Learning Technologies (Think of it as mimicking the luxury of personal tutoring which reacts to individual students' progress through their learning as it happens); Mobile Learning (harnessing the awesome computing power that almost all of us have in our phones these days).
In about 2 to 3 years: The Internet of Things (your fridge tells your phone to tell you to buy milk; moodle tells your students' Applewatch to remind them to eat porridge and finish their dissertation); Next-Generation LMS (Moodle, but a bit slicker? So Moodle with a make-over…).
In about 4 to 5 years: Artificial Intelligence (intuitive computer tutors; HAL); Natural User Interfaces ("speech recognition, touchscreen interfaces, gesture recognition, eye-tracking, haptics, and brain computer interface").
How good at predicting are Horizon reports? In a follow-up post I will offer an overview of ten years of Horizon report predictions.
'What is the place of technology in delivering an outstanding student experience?'
LTI are pleased to host Professor Robert Allison Vice-Chancellor & President of Loughborough University for our first NetworkED of 2017. Professor Allison will be discussing the role that technology and innovation have played in the success of Loughborough in becoming one of the leading universities in the UK, and the challenges he sees in the 'uncertain futures' for HE over the next 5 years.
The talk will be held on Wednesday March 1st at 2.30pm and will be held in KSW G.01. Book your free ticket for this event here http://bit.ly/2lgAlSy
Ahead of his NetworkED seminar next week we had a quick Q&A with Professor Allison.
Q. You have been the Vice-Chancellor and President of Loughborough University since September 2012, how has Loughborough responded to the significant changes that have occurred in Higher Education during that time?
Loughborough has responded by maintaining a degree of agility, allowing us to respond promptly to the expectations of our students and through working in partnership with them as stakeholders in the University, not as customers or consumers.
Q. Loughborough University has been successful in numerous university rankings during this time including being awarded 1st for student experience in the TES 2016 survey, what are the key principles at the heart of that success?
The most important factor in our success has been seeing our students as co-creators of their education and wider student experience and, through this, giving them a tangible link to the success and future of the University.
Q. What role have technology and innovation played in the enhancing the student learning and teaching experience at Loughborough?
In some areas the role of technology has been significant, in others not relevant at all.
Q. The theme of the 2017 NetworkED seminars is 'Uncertain Futures', what do you feel will be the most potentially disruptive (or transformative) issue facing Higher Education institutions in the next 5 years?
Disruptive: competition.
Transformative: marketisation.
For those that cannot attend the seminar will be recorded and added to the LTI Youtube channel.
You may also be interested in attending our upcoming NetworkED seminars:
Liz Sprout from Google education on Wednesday 10th May
Andy Moss from Pearson Education on Wednesday 14th June.
Mahara, Blogging and Peer Review
Edgar Whitley from the department of Management tells us about using Mahara as a tool for blogging and peer assessment and its benefits to teaching, learning and assessment.
LTI in the spotlight
Last week staff from LTI attended the Association for Learning Technology's annual conference (ALT-C 2016). It was an eventful three days at the University of Warwick for the team, with five of us presenting a total of 4 papers and one keynote. And oh, we also won the Learning Technologist of the Year Awards!
Learning experiences and virtual learning environments: It's all about design!
A design for learning; Learning Experiences for the Post-Digital World – Peter Bryant
In the first part of his presentation, Peter described his new approach to teaching and learning whereby seven learning experiences (found, making, identity, play, discontinuity, authenticity and community) can "shape, influence and enhance the opportunities for students to learn, to share learning and to teach others in a post-digital world". Participants then discussed how existing learning technology tools could be used to create such learning experiences.
You can find a summary, reflections and slides from Peter's presentation on his blog
Good post: we're not using technology to its full potential. We're using it to do old things in new ways. https://t.co/PO4vgXe831
— Tony Burke (@TonyBurke1) September 9, 2016
Innovating from the Outside In: a Creative Hub to Change eLearning Practice- Sonja Grussendorf
Sonja introduced the audience to LTI's "creative hub", a project bringing together film makers, artists and designers, and how it is being used to design a VLE that can "accentuate communication between participants; support independent learning, collaboration and student creativity; facilitate peer learning and peer assessment and deliver ongoing, two-way feedback opportunities."
very well thought out and presented session from @authenticdasein #altc
— Sheila MacNeill (@sheilmcn) September 8, 2016
Physical teaching and learning spaces
Learning Spaces: Roles and Responsibilities of the Learning Technologist – Kris Roger and Sarah Ney
While Sonja was presenting on virtual spaces, Kris and myself discussed physical teaching and learning spaces. More specifically, we reflected on a recent project to develop new active learning spaces at the LSE that made us wonder about what our roles and responsibilities as learning technologists were in the design of learning spaces.
Thought-provoking presentation by @KrisEdTech & @SarahNeyLTI#WhatIsSpace#WhereDoWeLearn#altc
— Elaine Brown (@ElaineBrownARU) September 8, 2016
Copyright and eLearning: who else but Jane Secker?
Jane presented a paper AND a keynote at ALT-C this year!
Lecture Capture: Risky Business or Evolving Open Practice? co-presented with Chris Morrisson, Copyright Licensing and Compliance Officer at the University of Kent.
Jane and Chris presented the findings from a recent survey on institutional attitudes towards intellectual property issues in relation to lecture capture and contents used in lectures. They also reflected on the relation between good policy and good practice and how to support staff in implementing and encouraging it.
Keynote: Copyright and eLearning: Understanding our Privileges and Freedoms
Jane presented an entertaining, fun, moving and very interesting keynote on how a better understanding of copyright can empower copyright users and educators.
You can view Jane's full keynote on youtube:
Last But Not Least: We won!
LTI was presented with the prestigious Team Learning Technologist of the Year Award last Wednesday for their work around Students as Producers. The award recognises "outstanding achievements in the learning technology field and the promotion of intelligent use of Learning Technology on a national scale".
"LSE are proud to be selected as the Learning Technology team of the year, especially in its 10th year. This recognition by our peers is a celebration of the innovative work being done by academic and LTI staff to better the student experience and provide more opportunities for engaging, positive and transformational education with technology." Peter Bryant, Head of LTI
Here are a few pictures from the evening:


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text: Pineywoods Supper Club hosted a FriendsGiving "Farm-to-table" dinner for the Foundation. Amazing food prepared by Chef Cory Bahr was enjoyed by all. Thanks to Evan McCommon, Derek & Holly Schreiber, all the folks at Sainte Terre, Gabrielle Balderas, Red River Brewing Company, Wallace McKeel and the Red River Valley Band for all you did to make it a spectacular evening. Funds raised went to the RLCF to support our programming of Cultivating Compassion and Giving Back!


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What the best home ellipticals have
- A heavy flywheel. In general the heavier the flywheel, the smoother the motion. Look for one that weighs 25 pounds or more.
- Enough resistance levels. To maximize your training, the elliptical must progress with you as you get more fit. Most ellipticals have at least 16 levels of resistance; higher-end models have 20 or 22 levels to choose from.
- Quiet magnetic braking. Almost every full-sized modern elliptical uses magnetic braking for resistance. The mechanism should adjust smoothly and quietly between resistance levels, with no clunking or jerking.
- Appropriate stride length. The actual feel of any given stride length can vary between brands and models but, as a general rule, the longer the better, especially if you're tall.
- Adjustable stride length. You can get by without this feature but if several people of different sizes are going to use the elliptical, it can make everyone's workout more comfortable.
- Adjustable incline. Changing the incline serves two purposes at once: altering your stride length and shifting the workout focus to different muscle groups, lending more variety to your workout.
- Comfortable handlebars. Make sure the handlebars, moving or stationary, feel comfortable when you hold onto them and pedal; it's hard to exercise when you feel awkward. This is a common complaint with elliptical users who end up unhappy with their machines.
- Easy-to-use controls. Resistance and incline should be easy to control from the center console or moving handlebars. Ideally, you shouldn't have to stop the workout to make adjustments.
- Strong warranty and solid customer service. The warranty should cover parts for at least five years and labor for at least one. The manufacturer should be easy to reach, and quick to respond to consumer complaints.
Know Before You Go
Does it fit my available space? A typical full-sized elliptical is about 79 inches long by 30 inches wide by 63 inches tall, and many front-drive ellipticals require additional clearance to the rear when in use. Don't forget to measure your ceiling height, too; most ellipticals will add an extra 1.5 feet to your own height. If you have less space, you may want to consider a compact or portable elliptical.
Does it fit me? If you're especially tall or short, look for an elliptical with a longer or shorter stride length. That said, the only way to know how well any stride length suits you is to get on the machine and exercise for a few minutes. Is the motion comfortable? Do you have plenty of room for your limbs (knees and elbows especially) within the elliptical trainer's frame? If not, look elsewhere. Comfort is key.
Who will use it? If more than one person is going to use the elliptical, everybody should try it out. If the users are of very different sizes, you may need an elliptical trainer with an adjustable stride length to comfortably accommodate all of them.
Should I have it delivered or assembled? When you pick up or receive your elliptical, it will arrive in one or more large, heavy boxes. Often the shippers will deliver boxes to the curb, but won't bring them into your house unless you pay an extra fee for "inside" delivery. If you're handy, patient, and able to get the elliptical into your home on your own (even if that means carrying it piece-by-piece), DIY assembly can be a viable, but time-consuming, option. If you don't have the time or patience to mess with it, consider paying for a professional delivery and assembly service (typically about $100 to $200).
How often will I use the elliptical trainer? If you're committed to long, frequent workout sessions, it pays to invest in a machine with the highest build quality and the most durable parts.
Do I want movable handlebars? Although movable handlebars provide a moderate upper-body cardio workout, many exercisers prefer holding onto the stationary handlebars instead. If you're in the latter group, you can sometimes save money by opting for an elliptical that comes without moving handlebars.
Buying tactics and strategies
Shop around for the best deal. Online retailers often offer the best price, but reliable customer service can be a gamble. We saw some reports of customers who successfully asked their local retailer to match the price of an online site -- and got the local service, to boot.
Double-check the website. Don't depend on specifications or warranty details from retail websites; these may be inaccurate or out of date. Double-check on the manufacturer's website for more accurate information. If you still have questions, call them for clarification.


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Summary of Rembrandt van Rijn
An intense psychological study of people, objects, and their surroundings coupled with an earnest Christian devotion fueled Rembrandt's life and work. Incredibly gifted as an artist from a very young age, he became a master of portraits of all types, historical, biblical, and mythological scenes, as well as simple, charming but dramatic landscapes. He used many types of materials and techniques with unusual sensitivity and spontaneity to develop his message. His approaches to composition, color usage, and shadow were everchanging to produce the most powerfully moving but most natural moments of human existence. His supreme mastery of light and texture to emphasize emotional depth weaved a common theme through all of his creations, cementing his status as one of art's greatest, innovative masters. These qualities are evident from his large, ambitious early history paintings to his more intimate and glowing later style. The iconic genius is generally regarded as the most important artist in Dutch art history as his work epitomized the great period of wealth and cultural achievement known as the Dutch Golden Age.
Key Ideas
Rembrandt van Rijn was the eighth of nine or more children born to Harmen van Rijn, a corn miller, and Cornelia van Zuijtbrouck, a baker's daughter. The prosperous family lived in Leiden near the Rhine River, originally called the Van Rijn River, and dedicated themselves to religion and education. Cornelia often read the Scriptures to her children, which provided a strong sense of God, man, and nature for the young and profoundly Christian Rembrandt. Rembrandt's parents recognized his talents as a young child so they sent him, from age 7 to 14, to the Latin School in Leiden for a classical education. He received the best education that an academic city in Holland could provide for a child with a deep interest in literature and scripture. He was duly prepared for admission to the University of Leiden, a fine institution. He entered the University as Rembrandus Hermanni Leydenis and signed early paintings as RHL, but after a few months he withdrew to dedicate himself to art.
Most Important Art
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicholas Tulp (1632)
The work depicts the important annual January anatomy lesson, which was an eagerly anticipated event for all the local senators, burgomasters, and aldermen of the city. The curators and rectors from the university also attended with crowds of professors and students while the general public purchased tickets to sit on benches in the back row. In The Body Emblazoned, Jonathan Sawday noted that, "...anatomization takes place so that, in lieu of a formerly complete 'body,' a new 'body' of knowledge and understanding can be created. As the physical body is fragmented, so the body of understanding is held to be shaped and formed."
This type of group portrait was a purely Dutch institution; a unique and long established tradition that helped document and honor the officers of a guild or other organization. Usually six to twenty individuals shared the cost and composition equally. In this piece, Rembrandt's carefully rendered and illuminated faces stare at the corpse or glance out at the viewer to establish their sense of importance and inclusion. The scene is highly staged and dramatic with the esteemed physician wearing his hat to denote his status for the rapt audience. Rembrandt ensures that the viewer understands the narrative without distraction by limiting the colors to simply dark or brightly lit except for the bloody left forearm being dissected near the center of the composition. The brightest areas: the prone body, the faces, and Dr. Tulp's hands, which are meticulously drawn and subtly rendered, are meant to capture the viewer's attention. Rembrandt earned the highest esteem with this brilliant group portrait and received many similar commissions of this type.
Man in Oriental Costume (1632)
During the 1630s Rembrandt depicted many figures wearing Middle Eastern garments in his paintings, drawings, and etchings. The commercial enterprises of the Dutch Republic had reached the Middle East by the early seventeenth century and Levantines were to be seen in the streets and marketplaces of Amsterdam. Portraits of imaginary Persian, Ottoman, or other "Oriental" princes became popular in the bustling city. But Rembrandt's images are not mere portraits of those people. Rather, they are imaginative representations of a distant culture that feature Dutch models, including Rembrandt himself, dressed in exotic attire.
The piece shows Rembrandt's mastery as a painter of light, as well as figures, which explains his use of a limited, muted palette to create endless depth. He used deep shadows that disappeared into obscurity with uneven golden illumination and highlights brushed in with bold, dashing strokes. Sometimes he used an abundance of paint, sometimes very little and sometimes he scratched the canvas with the handle of his brush; he worked to create the exact effect he desired. Curator Walter Liedtke voiced his opinion: "I think Rembrandt satisfies a need for modern tastes...He's so contemplative...It's also brilliantly preserved...on a polished oak board here with oil paint, and wonderful textures...the linen, rough, you can actually...feel it."
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633)
The extremely detailed depiction of the scene and story, the figures' varied expressions, the polished brushstrokes, and bright colors characterize Rembrandt's early style. 18th century critics, especially Arnold Houbraken, a biographer of Dutch artists, preferred this style to his later less specifically detailed manner. As in most Baroque art, the viewer is invited to share an emotional experience, to become involved rather than passively observe.
Belshazzar's Feast (1635)
Rembrandt painted this canvas to establish himself as a master of large-scale Baroque history paintings, as Rubens did in the European courts. He painted the concentrated shock of physical force, as the scene is a study of action, fear, and surprise; each figure is shown in a dramatic, recoiling posture within a composition of illusionistic effects and compositional arrangements to involve the viewer. Belshazzar's solid triangular form and stance determines the compositional arrangement: three areas are established with shocked guests to the left, a bending, lushly attired servant to the right and the ghostly image on the wall above. Rembrandt's mastery of chiaroscuro makes the forms seem to gently emerge or disappear back into the darker areas.
As a young art dealer in the 19th century, Vincent Van Gogh visited museums and galleries to study the master works. Rembrandt especially influenced his subject matter and drawing style. He called Rembrandt the "...magician of magicians..." and the "...great universal master portrait painter of the Dutch Republic."
Danae (1636)
Mythological stories are often complex but in this painting, Danae has been described as welcoming. In the foreground, an elaborate sparkling gold bed support, a thick rug with Danae's bejeweled slippers, and a velvety draped form bring the viewer into the composition. A majestic celestial shower of golden light pours in from the left to warmly illuminate Danae's face and body. The effect creates softness and sensuality in all the bedding, draperies, and shining metalwork that surround the alluring woman. The female figure, adorned only with floral bracelets and other jewelry, is the subject but the golden light truly occupies this space and is the heart of the story. Hovering above Danae in the life size painting is a golden Cherub with bound hands, symbol of chastity.
Rembrandt did not paint many mythological scenes but this one is possibly his most masterful due to the tender beauty of the young nude, perhaps influenced by Titian, and the genius handling of the light.
The painting influenced other artists such as Correggio, Titian, and Tintoretto due to its erotic nature. Upon studying this Danae, the German Impressionist Max Leiberman remarked, "Whenever I see a Franz Hals...I feel the desire to paint; but when I see a Rembrandt, I want to give it up..."
The Night Watch (1642)
The painting is also known as The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, which are the names of the men who are brightly illuminated and stepping forward in the center foreground. There was no set standard for dress in the militia, so the outfits could be quite elaborate. Captain Cocq, a law school-educated and prosperous by marriage citizen, is elegantly dressed in black with a large lacy collar and deep red sash trimmed with gold around his chest. Captain van Ruytenburch, from a family of grocers, has a more dazzling costume: a stunning golden coat made of yellow leather ornamented with fancy French bows and rich patterns, complimented by gloves and Cavalier riding boots with spurs. It is believed that this painting was hung low and the two central, almost life-sized figures would have seemed to step out of the composition while the other participants assembled to follow.
As with other group paintings, Rembrandt incorporated details that defined the identity and purpose of its members. For example, to the viewer's left behind the men is a small female figure, also highly illuminated. She is identified as a mascot, carrying the main symbols of the group: the claws of a dead chicken which represent a defeated enemy, a pistol representing the klover, their main weapon, and one golden drinking horn. In the rear a group of men, armed with an array of weapons, wearing various bits of armor and helmets assemble before a massive, but imaginary archway that represented the city gate to be defended. On the left, the standard bearer, dressed in blue, raises the troop banner while on the far right the men hold their pikes high. A drummer hired for the occasion, shown in partial view on our right, taps out a cadence while a dog barks enthusiastically at his feet. Various other participants, included to heighten the activity and drama, are in the background with their faces obscured or partly visible. However, one figure wearing a beret and peering up from behind a helmeted figure near the standard bearer has been identified as Rembrandt himself.
Rembrandt was at the height of his career when he painted this ambitious painting, which was a success at the time and is still regarded as one of his most celebrated works. Critic Clement Greenberg once defined the pre-Modernist painting as the struggle against confinement to two dimensions. The Night Watch certainly seems to burst forth from the canvas, a virtuoso of Baroque vigor, dramatic intensity, and powerful lighting.
Bathsheba at Her Bath (1654)
Earlier artists had painted the scene of King David spying on Bathsheba but Rembrandt's depiction brings a tighter pictorial focus and more erotic vitality, achieved through broad, thick brushstrokes and vibrant coloration. The model was probably Rembrandt's mistress Hendrickje Stoffels, and here the nude young woman is sitting on delicate white drapery; an opulent body caressed with delicate shadowing and finely worked jewelry amid fine fabrics. The warm harmony of the cream, gold and copper tones, inspired by Titian and Veronese, create a luminous setting for the pensive Bathsheba. The mellow chiaroscuro, chromatic richness, and psychological subtlety made the painting one of the artist's most popular; a study of innocence and seductiveness.
For the art historian Kenneth Clark, this canvas was "...Rembrandt's greatest painting of the nude..." For its insight into Bathsheba's moral dilemma, it has been described as "...one of the great achievements of western painting." The idea of the nude itself being the subject of the painting was still unusual, especially in presenting a non-idealized body. For Rembrandt, the boundary between art and daily life was not so strict; in his portraits of the 1650s, he adapted his painting technique to express his perception of the sitter.
Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph (1656)
The dark draperies are shown drawn aside to permit the viewer to observe the intimate scene, illuminated from the left in golden cream tones. Joseph's right hand and the children mark the center of the composition but our eyes are also guided by the diagonals of the red blanket, the golden fur shawl, and the faces which are all focused upon the central action. The paint is applied quickly, thickly, or thinly depending upon how much is needed to attract the light and the viewer.
Rembrandt's signature can be seen in the lower left of the painting with the date 1656. His practice of signing his work with his first name, later followed by Vincent van Gogh, was probably inspired by Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo who then, as now, were referred to by their first names only.
Rembrandt's Biblical paintings from this mature period are often cited as his most masterful works but they were not truly known by artists and critics until nearly the end of the 19th century. Rembrandt believed that human emotions were more important than any other aspects of life and two centuries earlier, he began expressing those beliefs in his art. His subjects' feelings and experiences are what he wanted to depict more than history, religion, or society. As explained in the NYU School of Medicine's Literature Arts Medicine Database, he had the "...ability to capture the human drama of a religious theme (which) earned him the appellation, the Shakespeare of painting..." This painting was created the year that Rembrandt experienced bankruptcy; it was a melancholy period of time when he sought peace of mind through his work.
Self-Portrait with Two Circles (1660)
The flat, pale background with circular designs was atypical for Rembrandt and the meaning has been speculated upon greatly over the years. The favored explanation, which has historical precedents, is that a perfect circle symbolizes artistic skill. The early Italian Renaissance artist Giotto was once summoned by the pope to demonstrate his mastery so he drew a perfect circle in one single motion. An older story describes how Apelles, court painter to Alexander the Great, engaged in drawing perfect lines to prove his superior talents. It is possible that Rembrandt's intent was to create an honest image of himself for posterity, more profoundly concerned with his personal character than a conventional self-portrait. Titian's unfinished self-portrait, which contains two circles, may have been an influence. Joshua Reynolds remarked about the "...very unfinished manner..." but found the painting "...admirable for its color and effect..." and Jean-Honore Fragonard painted his own copy of this work. In the 19th century Édouard Manet repeated Rembrandt's technique of the quick brushstroke with a painter's restless, alive, and hurried hand. Rembrandt may not have considered the work complete, which is suggested by the omission of his signature and date, which was unusual for a self-portrait by the artist.
The Jewish Bride (1667)
This is a perfect example of the portrait historie, which was common during the 17th century Dutch Golden Age. It gave patrons an opportunity to dress as biblical or mythological figures to stress their fidelity, piety, and virtue.
Also characteristic of Rembrandt's later paintings, the paint is as much the subject of the composition as the figures. Rembrandt surpassed the inventiveness of Titian and Velazquez in that he was leaving the paint loose or as rough brushwork. The surface of the canvas might be smooth and creamy as it is on the glistening forehead of Rebekah or Isaac's brow. But in the garments he used a palette knife to apply layers of pigment to represent textures such as rich brocades, delicate lace, glistening jewelry, and intricate folds. He experimented with different effects according to the different rates of drying.
In 1885, Vincent Van Gogh sat in front of this painting in the Rijksmuseum and stared at it as if he was in a trance. He later told a friend "...I should be happy to give ten years of my life if I could go on sitting in front of this picture for ten days with only a crust of bread..." And according to the Rembrandt biographer Christopher White, the composition is "...one of the greatest expressions of the tender fusion of spiritual and and physical love in the history of painting..."


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In this day and age, we are all shitheads. Just by living and breathing in the toxic shit our beloved dogs leave on sidewalks makes us literal shitheads and us not picking it up makes us social shitheads. Using the ever so popular social media platform Snapchat,we plan to create a story and a filter to showcase the shitheads of New York.
Piare Encina (Design/Art Direction)
Paris Michele (Copywriter)


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Multi-factor Authentication is definitely the latest cyber security method used by most online apps and services. Unfortunately, not all services offer this capability yet. We have therefore come up with a handy list of apps and other internet accounts that allow multi-factor authentication and are compatible with SAASPASS software.
Social Media Apps
Studies from 2017 have shown that the average adult spends over two hours a day on social media. Due to all this time we spend and all the information we share on these platforms, it has become paramount that they all have the most innovative cyber security available. If a social media platform does not have multi-factor authentication capabilities, you should not be on it.
Thankfully the most popular social media platforms have multi-factor authentication available. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and Wordpress are a few big social media and blogging platforms that can be supported by SAASPASS.
To link your social media account to SAASPASS you need to go to your account security settings and set up multi-factor authentication. In Facebook your looking for an option called "Code Generator". In Twitter you have to select "Mobile Security App". Take a picture of the QR codes through the SAASPASS app and then enter the 30 second 6-digit code generated by the authenticator.
This might take an extra step to set-up but the result is worth it. This method of authenticating your login is much more secure than text-based generated codes and the risk of being hacked is minimised 10 fold.
Web Browser Apps
These days we all instinctively turn to search engines to answer our questions like "how to make paper origami?" or "who was that actress in that TV show?". Our search history is recorded and stored for years, and can reveal an alarming amount about our personal lives. Whether you use Chrome, Firefox or Safari for your googling, it's more important than ever to keep your browsers secure and protected by the latest online security.
To enable multi-factor authentication you must download and install the free browser extension from SAASPASS. It's as simple and easy as that. The extensions allow for autofill and auto-login for websites that support SAASPASS, a much more secure way than checking the "always keep me logged in" or "remember this password".
A important factor to note, Window Explorer does not support the SAASPASS extension. As the default Windows web browser, Windows Explorer is riddled with bugs, slow speed and security holes. In fact there's a dozen or so reasons why Windows Explorer is flawed. YMtech does not suggest you use the web browser as your main browser and that you install any of the leading and most recognised web browsers out today.
Email Accounts
Checking and replying to emails are a daily and often hourly reality of our busy work routine and schedules. It's also become very common for many of us to have multiple email accounts, for some of us even more than 5 different email accounts. That's why it's more important than ever to make sure your email accounts are protected with secure protocols. SAASPASS enables you to store all your emails and passwords in an organised and detailed way, and securely manage your accounts.
Many email platforms, like gmail and outlook, come with multi-factor authentication and we would recommend choosing a service that allows for this security. Setting up a multi-factor security process is similar to any other service and can be found in the security settings tab.
Working with SAASPASS
SAASPASS enables your mobile phone to be the backup key to your main computer, and the apps you regularly use. The security it brings adds another level of privacy and safety to your work and life on the internet, and staying organised is the best defense against a cyber security breach of any kind.
If you get locked out of any of your accounts or devices, the key is to stay calm, double check the data stored in your SAASPASS password manager, and activate your recovery account if need be. This recovery account could be another email account or mobile phone linked to your account. With these precautions in place, you'll be able to do all your internet work safely and securely with peace of mind.


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You've been hearing about ransomware attacks where people and companies are paying hackers real money to get access to their locked computer systems. Recently, a Kentucky critical care facility and a California hospital were victims of the Locky ransomware attack.
That California hospital, for instance, paid hackers $17,000 in untraceable bitcoins. The hackers had locked up their computer system for 10 days using encryption.
Ransomware is so difficult for companies to fix that the FBI has said that victims should just pay up. Their reasoning is that the damage caused by the ransomware attack can be far more costly than the ransom itself.
Now, a new study backs that up, in frightening detail. The bottom line: If you're a victim, you'll likely end up paying the ransom. However, the damage done while your system is down could cost even more than that. For a large company, that cost could be far more than the ransom because it could take days just accessing backed-up files.
"If you've got a large number of users and downtime runs into multiple days, then the cost of that downtime adds up pretty quickly," according to the authors of the Intermedia study. The company surveyed 300 IT professionals.
The amount of damage caused by ransomware hackers is mind-boggling. More than 42% of survey respondents said they worked for companies that had been victims of ransomware attacks.
Some 72% of companies that were victimized could not access their computer systems, including patients' medical records, for two or more days; 32% could not access their system for at least five days.
Don't be the next victim of a ransomware attack. It's critical that you have a strong Internet security system on all your devices.


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The relationship between smoking and sight loss is as strong as the link between smoking and lung cancer, say charity Eye Health UK. These findings were part of a campaign that took place during No Smoking Week, designed to highlight the risks smokers face.
They estimated that smokers are four times more likely to lose their sight compared with non-smokers. Smoking damages the eyes causing conditions like age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, glaucoma and dry eye syndrome develop.
The links between smoking and heart and lung diseases are well known but many of the UK's seven million smokers are unaware of how their habit damages their sight. Eye Health UK reports that fewer than 10% of smokers are aware that their eye health is at risk, but in comparison 92% know of the link between smoking and lung cancer.
How smoking damages sight
The cocktail of chemicals in tobacco smoke – arsenic, formaldehyde and ammonia – lead to oxidative stress. This increases oxidants in the eye which narrows blood vessels and damages the structure of the macula.
Narrowed blood vessels can cause both diabetic retinopathy and wet AMD. In the case of wet AMD, inadequate oxygen supply to the blood vessels as a result of smoking causes them to become damaged and leak fluid or blood into the macula. This type of AMD can be caused by smoking, is harder to treat and accounts for 90% of severe vision loss from the condition.
The tar in cigarette smoke also contributes to dry AMD, which is the more common form of the condition. The tar triggers the formation of fatty 'drusen deposits' in the retina, which leads to sight impairment and loss if not treated.
Cigarette smoke also causes problems externally, with smokers being twice as likely to suffer dry eye syndrome. The smoke irritates the eyes leading to dry and itchy eyes often accompanied by damaged blood vessels. Dry eye syndrome can be caused by passive smoking too.
Smoking can also be linked to other eye conditions – it is estimated that heavy smokers (15 or more cigarettes per day) are three times more likely to develop cataracts. Smoking also causes high blood pressure and diabetes both of which are risk factors for glaucoma.
The biggest modifiable risk factor
Smoking has a drastic impact on the body, but the message is simple – quit.
Smoking is the single biggest modifiable risk factor for many common eye diseases, as well as cardiovascular disease and lung cancer, but quitting at any age will improve eye health.
Whether a patient is a light or heavy smoker, supporting them to quit will improve their eye health. Just one decade of being smoke-free reduces your risk of sight loss to that of a non-smoker.
Encouraging patients to quit for eye health
As with any eye condition, the key is to raise awareness, as currently many patients are unaware of the risk smoking poses to their sight. Combine this with the limited knowledge of conditions like age-related macular degeneration, and the risk of sight loss is even higher.
How can you educate your patients about smoking and sight loss? There are a number of ways to raise awareness:
- Talk to your patients: ask them about their lifestyle to assess their risks
- Encourage regular screening: read our blog about the benefits of early screening for AMD risk
- Display advice: download this free poster from Vision Matters
- Explain the risks of smoking: distribute this free National Eye Health Week leaflet in your practice
- Promote the benefits of quitting smoking: the NHS Smokefree website gives patients support
The link between smoking and lung cancer was only widely accepted as late as the 1960s, but now the risks are very well-known by both patients and professionals. Our awareness of the risks to eye health are lagging well behind by comparison, so it is now time to bridge that gap. Smoking is a modifiable risk factor and thousands risk going blind without proper education.
To learn more about smoking and AMD read our dedicated infographic.


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'The X-Files' star Gillian Anderson is the latest to sign on to writer/director Richie Mehta's sci-fi horror 'I'll Follow You Down'. Anderson (below) returns to science fiction is this mystery thriller where she'll play the role of Marika, mother of Erol, who'll be played by 'The Sixth Sense' star Haley Joel Osment. Anderson also joins co-stars Rufus Sewell ('Dark City'), who will play the father, as well as Victor Garber ('Titanic'). Osment himself is due to appear next as Victor Franklin in the Frankenstein re-imagining 'Wake the Dead', an adaption of the graphic novel by Steve Niles.
"After the disappearance of a young scientist on a business trip, his son and wife struggle to cope, only to make a bizarre discovery years later - one that may bring him home."The Saucy Gillian Anderson Preps More Sci-Fi


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Theme Author: WordpressThemed
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Introducing WP Merlion City WordPress theme!
Provide a travel blog for Singapore City, especially Merlion City.
Write posts, advice and reviews for travelers to help them research, plan and book their journey.


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CEO, Startupbootcamp MENA
Todd is a passionate entrepreneurial leader with over 20 years of experience in sales & marketing, product management, enterprise hardware & software, services, blockchain and predictive analytics. Todd has worked in very large organisations but launched multiple startups with some successful exits.Todd has been investing in and accelerating startups in North America, Europe and the Middle East. He is a global conference speaker for Fintech, Smart Cities and other tech conferences. Todd has a passion to see great technologies led by incredible teams flourish and shape the next generation of exponential growth.


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I'm not one to make a bunch of resolutions at the New Year. That's not to say that I don't believe in making them. I think that anything you do with good intention is well worth the thought and energy. My personal problem with New Year Resolutions is that I tend to think on a much broader scale and I find it hard to articulate what my resolutions are. But, I'll give it a shot...
Be Kind.
This is something that I have tried my best to put into practice my entire adult life. My mother and grandmother always taught me to be kind before everything else. Sadly, I will admit that there have been times in my life (high school in particular) that I look back and I have to say that I was not kind. I can remember the exact day when it clicked and I realized how unkind I had been to someone that I had once called a friend. It was the day of my senior prom. From that moment on, I realized, I needed to get my act together. I'll spare you the details of that messy story, as my goal is to keep this post moving in a positive direction, but perhaps I'll find a good time to write about that in the future.
Kindness is something that is so essential to human life and absolutely necessary for the harmony of the world. It is not always easy to do, especially when we feel hurt or wronged, but it is so incredibly important. The world needs more kindness and understanding and we all need to keep that in the very front of our minds every day. Kindness is at the top of my list this year, because I feel that at this time in our history, the world is truly in need of it. It will remain on my list of resolutions always as a reminder to be kind to others and to help others realize that kindness can eradicate all evil.
Give Back.
There is so much out there to be done. I've donated time at food kitchens, volunteered at my neighborhood AIDS foundation and involved myself in charity races, but I haven't come close to doing my part for my community. My charitable work has been totally pathetic and I want to change that immediately. I have applied to be a volunteer tutor at a Learning Lab for underprivileged elementary and middle school aged children who are in need of guidance and extra assistance outside of school hours. I urge everyone to carve out what little time you may have in your busy work week/month/year and find an organization that speaks to you. Where can you be of help? What skill do you have to offer? If the mere thought of simply figuring out where you want to volunteer overwhelms you, start with Neighborhood of Good for some ideas. Neighborhood of Good is a program sponsored by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. I am not a State Farm insured, but this program is sure making me consider switching over.
Neighborhood of Good will provide you with numerous options and the website is a simple and easy to navigate. You will be prompted to input your city or zip code and then you will be taken to a long list of charitable organizations in your community that need your help. Organizations range from working to hand out meals at a homeless shelter to installing hand rails in showers and hallways of elderly homeowners in order to allow them to stay safe and independent while living in their own home. I even found an organization called DOOBERT in which you sign up to drive a leg of a journey in effort to save animals by transporting them from hihg-kill shelters to no-kill shelters. So cool!
Get involved. Give back. Pay it forward.
Stay Present.
Simple. Less television, less phone time, less computer time, less distraction. More time with every last person that I love.
Keep Moving.
In every sense of the phrase. Physically move every day. No more sedentary work days where I stare at my computer and edit/type the daylight away. Work Hard, and continue to grow my business. Improve everything I can, one step at a time. Slow progress in a forward direction is my goal and will continue to be my goal until my last day. Move forward in a positive direction and grow in my relationships with my husband, with my family and with my friends who are pretty much family. This is a reminder not to be content or complacent in life. Always. Keep. Moving.
I hope that everyone out there, whether making resolutions this year or not, will take some time for reflection today. Happy 2018, friends! Let's make this the best year yet! And now...I'll leave you with a snap chat of my tall Nebraskan and our teeny Chihuahua, bringing in the New Year at home on the couch. Cheers!!!


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Tesla Inc's shares dropped the most in two years on Friday, rocked by the departure of its accounting chief after just a month and mounting investor concerns about chief executive Elon Musk's behavior after he smoked marijuana on a live webcast.
Investors in the electric carmaker are on edge after a tumultuous August, during which Musk proposed and then abruptly pulled the plug on a go-private deal.
Tesla said chief accounting officer Dave Morton resigned because of discomfort with the public attention and pace of work. Morton, whose departure comes after the US Securities and Exchange Commission opened an inquiry into Musk's aborted plan, joins a list of executives who left Tesla recently.
Bloomberg also reported on Friday that chief people officer Gaby Toledano would not return from a leave of absence just over a year after joining.
Even before Musk's surprise August 7 Twitter disclosure that he had funding "secured" for a go-private deal, Tesla had been under scrutiny from investors, analysts and short-sellers as it works to hit production targets and slow its cash burn.
Morton, who joined Tesla on August 6, was quoted in a company filing on Friday saying he believes "strongly" in Tesla and that he had no disagreements with the company's leadership or its financial reporting.
Tesla's $1.8 billion junk bond maturing in August 2025 plunged as much as 4 cents on the dollar to below 82 cents, a record low, in Friday trading, pushing the yield above 8.8 percent.
The bond had tumbled earlier this week as Musk renewed an attack on a British caver whom he had previously insulted on social media a day after Mercedes-Benz unveiled a challenge to the electric car maker.
Late on Thursday, Musk was filmed smoking marijuana and drinking whiskey in a 2-1/2-hour live web show with comedian Joe Rogan that swiftly spread across Instagram and other social media. Recreational marijuana is legal in California.
Tesla shares plunge nine per cent - wiping $3.1BILLION off the company value - after Elon Musk's wild rambling podcast appearance https://t.co/fXeu6wWK2C pic.twitter.com/WJhXr84KwP— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) September 7, 2018
Tesla shares, down just 1 per cent after Musk's appearance on the Rogan podcast overnight, fell as much as 10 per cent after Morton's resignation and were still down 5.1 per cent at $266.75 in late morning trading.


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Joe Schmidt has tipped Rob Kearney to keep extending his Test career after storming back into vintage form as Ireland swept to the Grand Slam.
The 31-year-old full-back starred as Ireland overwhelmed England 24-15 at Twickenham on Saturday to claim just their third-ever Six Nations clean sweep.
Head coach Schmidt told Kearney back in November 2016 that he needed a big game against New Zealand in Chicago to safeguard his Ireland place.
Kearney delivered as Ireland prevailed 40-29, and has not looked back since. He now stands alongside Rory Best as the two men in Irish history to have claimed two Grand Slams.
And Schmidt has backed the 83-cap full-back to continue performing at the top of his powers.
Asked why he continues to stick with Kearney, Schmidt replied: "I don't go back to Rob Kearney, I go forward to Rob Kearney. Rob Kearney goes forward.
"Rob still has a future with us. You don't pick people if you don't think they have a future with you.
"I am not sure what more people want from Rob Kearney, 140 running metres against Scotland in possession."
Kearney's high-ball contest forced Anthony Watson into the spilled ball that allowed Garry Ringrose to claim the opening try on Saturday, as Ireland added a Grand Slam triumph to their 1948 and 2009 successes.
"I thought the kick was a little too far, and that fella Kearney wasn't even going to get into that contest. He gets into that contest when he doesn't have a right to be there," Schmidt said.
"As represented by the four Six Nations titles he has, Rob must have some idea of what he is doing."
Johnny Sexton has revealed, meanwhile, that Ireland - for the first time under Schmidt - targeted a Grand Slam even before the Six Nations kicked off.
British and Irish Lions fly-half Sexton conceded Schmidt's taskmaster methods can drive Ireland's players "demented", but admitted too that without that relentlessness there would have been no clean sweep.
"It's probably the first time we've been allowed speak about the Grand Slam before the campaign," Sexton said.
"It was blatantly obvious to the older guys - Keith Earls, myself, Rob Kearney, Rory Best - that we wanted to win a Grand Slam.
"We have always been very process-driven so we spoke about it at the start and then parked it. And went game by game. Literally. Even this week we didn't speak about a Grand Slam, we just spoke about putting in our best performance. We knew we had to get a result against that side.
"Joe (Schmidt) keeps you on your toes. How do I put this nicely? At times during the week you are driven demented with him but you know he is doing it for a reason - putting pressure on you in training, at meetings to make sure on Saturday every box is ticked, to make sure all the prep is done.
"He is an incredible coach, his record with Irish teams speaks for itself. He was three years with Leinster and got to six finals. Five years with Ireland and we have won three championships and a Grand Slam."


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ERP options have begun gaining popularity in almost all sectors of industries. The circumstances are the identical even today with increasingly more industries choosing in favor of Enterprise resource planning options over others. Industrial processes are inclined in … Read More


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* My per day pricing for wedding photography starts at 1,00,000 INR per day (inclusive of taxes.) for upto 12 hours. It can be customised if your wedding spans multiple days or if it's exceptionally short in duration.
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*I would love to hear from you if you wish to discuss this further with me, you can write to me at email@example.com or just fill up the form in the contact section and we will get in touch with you.


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Changes to BIAV roles/duties
Commencing September there will be slight changes to the roles/duties of both Ben Scullin and Mary Papantoniou at BIAV.
Ben will continue his all-important Advocacy related duties, seeking to influence better outcomes for the boating industry and boaters. Ben will now assume responsibility in the Education area and in particular will work on identifying skills and course shortages, ways to address them, and will help BIAV to play a link role between potential apprentices, employers and TAFEs. This will also include the convenor role for both the Advocacy and Education committees. Ben's adjusted title will be Manager - Advocacy and Industry Skills.
Mary will adopt the Membership development responsibility, including the convenor role for the Membership committee. Member service and support, and building the membership is BIAV's core business and an area of utmost importance. This will add to Mary's multi-faceted role which covers a full suite of administration duties, all financial recording for the external accountant, as well as convening the Finance committee and BIAV AGM. Mary's title will adjust to Manager – Administration and Membership.
Our recent road show program with extensive member 'buy-in', as well as the current strategic planning process, clearly indicated these as major priority areas. They will appear as such in our revised strategic planning document that will be finalised later in the year and I'm pleased that Ben and Mary will be taking them on.


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Proverbs 31:8-10
Ali Johnson shares his recent experience of helping to halt the deportation of a friend.
I have recently been involved in a prominent immigration case of a friend called Opelo Kgari. She is a young lady who despite having lived in Britain for more than half of her life, Opelo and her mother Florence were taken to Heathrow Airport on Saturday night and told they were going to be deported on a flight.
With just moments to spare, their lawyer and several MPs succeeded in halting the deportation. It is understood that immigration minister Caroline Nokes' personal intervention was behind the U-turn, after she was contacted by the mother and daughter's MP Ruth Smeeth.
Opelo's story has been featured in newspapers, radio and on TV. I have played an unexpected role in her story and continue to fight for justice and fairness for Opelo and her mother. Opelo has been involved at our church since the very first day I arrived there. I consider Opelo an extremely close friend. Opelo is a wonderful young lady, caring, intelligent, strong and talented.
I want to tell you a secret, I am by no means a big campaigner or a freedom fighter. I am a reluctant advocate for immigration, but two things were given to me in the early days of this fight. The first comes from Proverbs 31:8-10 'Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.' The second is a quote from Martin Luther King, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
As I started on this journey I realised that God never calls the equipped, but instead he equips the called as we go. I realised no longer could I play my part in a society that fails to be fair and humane to those who come to our country and call it home.
Home is a transient term. That is the question people ask me about Opelo: where is her home? And I find myself saying this is her home; her church, her family and her life is here, this is her home.
Immigration is complicated and I'm by no means getting into a debate on the rights and wrongs of immigration. Instead I am addressing a single case that features a young lady and her mum who have made a home here and are being detained at an immigration centre with no end date.
I spent much of my life ducking the big issues for fear of rejection, fear of sounding stupid and fear of failure, but the Bible speaks clearly to a Church that stands up for those who cannot, and protects the most vulnerable in our society.
If God calls you into a fight that seems bigger than you can face, I trust that He will equip you as you go, as He has for me.The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
Associate Pastor
View all Life Files by Alistair Johnson


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I'm trying to build a script to convert all Files from a Folder to MKV with Hevc codec.
I'm getting a error ""%~a" syntactic not possible"
I copied the code from a if script I created 1 or 2 years ago but I can't the mistake.
Is it also possible to set the inputfolder as outputfolder per variable?
Code: Select all
for %%~a in ("input\*") do (ffmpeg -y -i "%%~a" -map 0 -c:v libx265 -c:a copy -c:s copy
i hope you can help me guys.
found the error the ~ in the source variable, now the script runs but instead of h.265 it uses h.264 :/
is there something wrong with the ffmpeg commands?
Greetings Neo


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Today is my birthday. For the first time ever, my sister Nicola sent me a text to say Happy Birthday. Yay for modern technology, especially international texting of birthday wishes from England.
Her sending me a text wasn't the shock though.
The shock was the previous texts displayed on the timeline: the last time she texted me was when Mum was dying in hospital two years ago.
So yeah, yay for modern technology. Especially the fact that I still have texts from two years ago saved on my phone.
(She died on Sunday, 4 April, 2010. Despite Nicola's last text there, she made it through 1 April, now mostly in a coma, and the prognosis remained dire. On the 2nd, having vacillated the previous day, I booked the first flight to England I could get on, leaving 3 April. I arrived at the hospital at around 4pm on that Sunday. Mum was still alive, still in the coma, and I was able to say goodbye. Nicola had been there the entire time. I like to think Mum was waiting for me to get there: she died at 9pm that evening.)
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September Beauty Box
This month's Beauty Box featured these pretty picks:
Suncoat: Natural, sugar-based mascara with mineral pigments and Vitamin E and without toxic preservatives.
LunatiCK Cosmetic Labs: Talc-free eyeshadow in a high-shine bronze with silver reflective sparkles that add a little drama to your look
Clark's Botanicals: Deluxe Deep Moisture Mask that combines algae, comfrey root, jasmine and green tea to give your skin a natural glow
derma e: Microdermabrasion Scrub with Dead Sea salt and volcanic sand to buff away dull cells for soft and smooth skin
Only Goodness Inside: Long lasting, aluminum-free deodorant with Dead Sea minerals to keep you stink free
September Snack Box
This month's Snack Box featured these tasty treats:
Earth Balance: Delicious, easy-to-make Cheddar Mac & Cheese that cures cravings for a certain childhood favorite
Cobra Corn: Gluten-free, non-GMO popcorn with a savory spice mix and no artificial flavors
Wild Friends Foods: A smooth, natural nut butter that combines chocolate, peanut and coconut for a sweet and savory treat
Bodylogix: GMO-free chocolate protein powder that'll make your next smoothie extra sweet
Barnana: Little bites of dehydrated banana with organic coconut flakes
Vibrant Health: Potently alkalizing, raw green supplement that detoxifies and energizes
One Potato Two Potato: Hawaiian BBQ potato chips that are kettle cooked with sweet and tangy flavors
Ultima: Orange and Grape replenisher powder that provides 8 essential electrolytes
Buddy Fruits: A healthy and delicious strawberry, banana and apple smoothie inside a squeezable pouch
Four Sigma Foods: Instant Shiitake extract and herbal blend powder that nurtures skin and supports liver function
Miss out on September's goods? Oh, man! Learn from your mistake and sign up for the October Snack Box and the October Beauty Box!