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The Familiar: A Novel (Hardcover)
April 2024 Indie Next List
"Luzia and Santángel, a duo for the ages! A scullion and an immortal familiar team up to win the king's competition in the Spanish Golden Age as the Inquisition looms. The Familiar will lead you down new paths you won't ever forget."
— Coco Zephir, Phoenix Books Essex, Essex Junction, VT
"An immersive, sensual experience." —The New York Times
"Essential." —The Washington Post
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age.
In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position.
What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.
Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.
"Reading Bardugo is an immersive, sensual experience... One can't help sinking into Luzia and Santángel's world and wishing never to leave."
—The New York Times
"The Familiar feels distinct from similar tales — including Bardugo's own — because it explores a brutal and shameful real-life history... Bardugo brilliantly explores the wavy line between the supernatural and the divine: Magic is forbidden, but miracles come from God."
—The Washington Post
"Full of hidden perils and twisting machinations, The Familiar is Bardugo's most assured and mature work yet, a remarkable portrait of the magic of exiles and the traumatic echoes of the Spanish Inquisition."
—BookPage (starred review)
"The sharp realism mixes with a genuine feeling of enchantment to create a top tier historical fantasy."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The Familiar highlights all of the things that make Bardugo so well loved: a romance with maddening chemistry, an artfully built world, side characters with their own deep backstories, and a plot full of dark twists and spiderweb connections."
—Booklist (starred review)
"Lush, gorgeous, precise language and propulsive plotting sweep readers into a story as intelligent as it is atmospheric."
—Kirkus (starred review)
"Bardugo masterfully weaves magical realism with historical fiction and romance, which makes this book impossible to put down."
—Library Journal (starred review)
"At this point it seems fair to wonder—is there anything Leigh Bardugo can't do?"
—Paste Magazine
"If you appreciate rich historical fantasy with gorgeous descriptions and powerful displays of magic, check out The Familiar."
—Geek Girl Authority
"A richly imagined, intricate tale... I loved every word of this novel, and it's a must-read for those who are seeking a little magic in their lives."
—Deborah Harkness, #1 bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches
"Riveting... Leigh Bardugo's characters are so three-dimensional you want to reach through the page."
—Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outlander
"A wonderful, transporting ride through a moment in history, where you can see the height of Spanish power but also sense the rot underneath. I really enjoyed it, it definitely made me think, and, of course, it's deeply romantic."
—Katherine Arden, author of The Warm Hands of Ghosts


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This filter will turn your image into a jigsaw puzzle. The edges are not anti-aliased, so a little bit of smoothing often makes them look better (i. e., Gaussian blur with radius 1.0).
Suggeriment | |
If you want to be able to easily select individual puzzle-piece areas, render the jigsaw pattern on a separate layer filled with solid white, and set the layer mode to Multiply. You can then select puzzle pieces using the magic wand (fuzzy select) tool on the new jigsaw layer. |
How many tiles across the image is, horizontally and vertically.
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The Bevel width slider controls the slope of the edges of the puzzle pieces (a hard wooden puzzle would require a low Bevel width value, and a soft cardboard puzzle would require a higher value).
The Highlight slider controls the strength of the highlight that will appear on the edges of each piece. You may compare it to the "glossiness" of the material the puzzle is made of. Highlight width is relative to the Bevel width. As a rule of thumb, the more pieces you add to the puzzle, the lower Bevel and Highlight values you should use, and vice versa. The default values are suitable for a 500x500 pixel image.
Estil d'enllaç
You can choose between two types of puzzle:
Then you get pieces made with straight lines.
Then you get pieces made with curves.

subset: commoncrawl


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Sacramento personal injury attorney at Sette Law Office believes that most people know motorcycles present inherent dangers. We are also aware that the incidence of motorcycle and car accidents injuries is steadily rising. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) traces a portion of this increase to older clientele purchasing big bikes. Our Sacramento accident attorneys point out that these heavy bikes are harder to handle, prone to tipping and often "invisible" to other motorists in Sacramento . Personal injury attorney at Sette Law Office knows that it's the motorcycle rider who consistently receives the most severe Sacramento car crash injury. Our personal injury attorney has observed that threats from motorists have increased, largely because of drivers distracted by cell phone use in Sacramento . Accident attorneys say this contemporary threat only adds to the dangers that motorcycle riders face on the roadways of Sacramento . Car accident injuries have risen due to distracted driving, and public safety policy is scrambling to address the issue. According to Sacramento personal injury attorneys, nationwide studies show that over two-thirds of motorcycle fatalities involve other vehicles. Riders are extremely vulnerable because motorcycles have no shell to reduce the impact of a Sacramento car crash injury. California motorcycle fatalities show a correlation to the state's economy, our Sacramento accident attorneys report. Sales of touring motorcycles rose with our improved economic picture. Our Sacramento personal injury attorney consults Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) for additional data. There was an increase in motorcycle accident injuries and fatalities of 23 percent between 2003 and 2012, following a 16 percent decrease prior to 2008. Our Sacramento accident attorneys add that NHTSA date shows that riders over 40 suffered 56 percent of fatal motorcycle accidents in 2012 – a 63 percent increase over 2003. This data supports the observations of our Sacramento accident attorneys regarding the higher risk taken by older riders.
Personal injury attorneys say that, unfair as it may seem, motorcyclists must always drive defensively. Although motorists may be liable for Sacramento accident injuries, personal injury attorneys say the motorcyclist clearly has the most to lose. Always wearing a helmet is a critical safety element that can prevent a motorcycle death in Sacramento . Accident attorneys report that fatalities are dramatically higher for riders not wearing helmets. Click here for statewide helmet laws. In addition, personal injury attorneys say bike riders are more vulnerable to other Sacramento accidents. Attorneys say that debris on roadways may not affect other vehicles but may be fatal to motorcyclists in Sacramento . Personal injury attorneys emphasize the importance of conscientious riding. Constant awareness of a rider's environment is essential to avoiding a Sacramento motorcycle accident. Attorneys say that watching side mirrors and surrounding traffic helps keep riders safe from a serious Sacramento accident. Our attorneys know that the foothills and alluring river delta are great for riders to savor the motorcycle experience around Sacramento . Personal injury attorneys point out that excessive speeds on open roads can be deadly to riders in the County of Sacramento . Personal injury attorneys know from experience, that survivors of high-speed accidents may suffer for a lifetime.
Attorneys at Sette Law Office have been representing the victims of motorcycle accidents for more than two decades. Our personal injury attorney understands what it takes to gather the evidence needed and aggressively advocate for motorcycle accident injury victims in Sacramento . Our accident attorneys are also aware that, more often than not, the motorcyclist is not at fault in the accident. To compensate the victims of such accidents for their substantial medical costs and losses, our Sacramento personal injury attorneys leverage our experience and our dedication to each client as an individual. No matter what the size of a proposed claim, Sette Law Office motorcycle accident attorneys represent the best and highest interests of clients injured in a Sacramento accident. Attorneys at Sette Law Office understand the exhilarating experience of riding a motorcycle. However, to safeguard against a Sacramento accident, our attorneys advise riders to take it upon themselves to be hyper-aware and adopt a strict practice of driving defensively. But if you or a loved one should have the misfortune of a motorcycle accident, our injury attorneys will listen intently, advocate on your behalf and help you move forward to a better future in Sacramento . Personal injury attorney at Sette Law Office has been delivering quality representation for over more than 30 years.
Sacramento personal injury attorneys say CHP data shows a significant increase in motorcycle accidents. Sette Law Office motorcycle accident attorneys say motorcyclists are responsible for over 50 percent of accidents. Along with motorcyclists riding more responsibly, our Sacramento personal injury attorneys say that motorists also must improve their awareness of motorcycles in several ways:


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Alison's Authorial August
As I have always suspected, being an Author is not the same as being a Writer. It might even be something like the opposite. I'm beginning to see how one can be so busy being an Author that one has no time to be a Writer. In some weird convergence ("Worlds are colliding, Gerry!), this August I am all over the place being an Author.
On the performance side, on August 21 and 22, the excellent folk at North Melbourne Arts House are hosting the Melbourne debut of The Villainelles, which features poems by Jordie Albiston, Kathleen Mary Fallon and myself set to music by Andree Greenwell. It's "cabaret-folk electronica layered with shades of opera". And I'm pleased, because I'll finally get to see it after missing its premiere in Sydney a couple of months ago.
I'm also doing some Melbourne Writers Festival appearances on August 28 and 29. Of interest to TNers will be a panel I'm chairing with theatre historians Julian Meyrick and Gabrielle Wolf which will discuss the ongoing influence of the theatre of the 1970s. Another couple of sessions are around poetry, including the delightful chance to discuss Anna Akhmatova with Russian historian Orlando Figes.
Simultaneously, the first book of my fantasy series, The Gift, has been chosen as part of the 50 Books You can't Put Down promotion being launched at the Australian public under the giant Books Alive program. This is of course very cool, even if Australian commentator Beth Driscoll thinks that books being promoted as a "thumping great read" undermines the intellectual seriousness with which one ought to approach Literature. (Well, as you all know, I am ever happy to be a crass populist...) So I have a fairly heavy schedule of appearances for this - closet Pellinor fans can find the dates here.
I really don't know why this is all happening at once, but que sera sera. Perversely, perhaps, after months and months of writing nothing at all, I have started a new novel. I guess all this stuff is pretty meaningless if I'm not actually writing. I'll of course be reviewing and blogging as I go, but this might be rather sternly minimal at times. In the interests of health and sanity, you understand...


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23Then Job answered:
2 Today also my complaint is bitter;*
his* hand is heavy despite my groaning.
3 O that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come even to his dwelling!
4 I would lay my case before him,
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would learn what he would answer me,
and understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
No; but he would give heed to me.
7 There an upright person could reason with him,
and I should be acquitted for ever by my judge.
8 If I go forward, he is not there;
or backward, I cannot perceive him;
9 on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him;
I turn* to the right, but I cannot see him.
16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty* has terrified me;
17 If only I could vanish in darkness,
and thick darkness would cover my face!*
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New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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30 June 2021


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Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, says he and his wife "could not be happier" after the duchess gave birth to a baby boy, at 16:30 UK time at St Mary's Hospital, west London.
William was present at St Mary's for the birth. The young parents spent time with their son before telling the news to their families and the world. (Continued)


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17 Dec 2015 Advent reflection on GMMP 2015
Scripture Luke 1: 39-56
This timeless story of the role of women in the Christmas event is also a story on communication as mission. This is a story about God becoming Word and moving into our midst. "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood" (John 1: 14The Message). There is something incredible about the speed in which Mary, the embodied bearer of the message, runs to her older cousin Elizabeth's house. Mary runs alone in haste to deliver the message that Angel Gabriel has announced to her that she will bear Jesus, the messiah. Mary has already said "yes" to be the bodily bearer of this message: Birthing the Word and bearing the message.
In the grip of a fearless vision
Being the birther and bearer of the embodied word is an incredible vocation. A key image in this story is Mary running alone in hasteto Elizabeth's house in order to deliver this message. Another key image is Mary breaking forth into a song, a vision of an alternative world, a world of justice and peace, restoration and human flourishing. Metaphorically, Mary is standing on the shoulders of her spiritual foremothers, especially Miriam and Hannah, while singing aloud this vision, over and against the ground-realities of her times: an oppressed womanhood in an oppressing political system. A world where God brings down the powerful from their thrones and lifts up the lowly; where the hungry are filled with good things, and the rich sent are sent away empty (Luke 51-53). Miriam, the sister of Moses, sings of a similar vision of redemption and dances to its tune leading others as well (Exodus 15: 20-21). Hannah, too, lifts up the in-breaking of a new world in I Samuel 2:1-10. The sung vision of Mary, built on that of her forebears, is a witness to God's reign on earth.
It is imperative that we reclaim this vision, foretold and foresung by fearless women.
Conversation on God's story
The scripture passage says that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months. Mary has said "yes" to be an agent of God-initiated alternative world of shalom. So has Elizabeth, the bearer of John the Baptizer, who is the forerunner and announcer of the in-breaking of the kingdom of God in Jesus. What an amount of conversation must have taken place between these two women! Words wrought with fear as well as laughter. The original meaning of the word "homily" is "conversation," "affable" conversation. That is what these two women do. For three months or so, they remain talking about God's story.
Global Media Monitoring 2015
Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) is a social movement which imagines an alternative world, in alignment with God's kingdom values such as a world of equity, peace, and human flourishing. Gender equity is the main goal of GMMP. Its key objective is to address the complexity of power in gender construction. GMMP serves as a tool that provides data and a big picture of the patterns that shape gender constructs. Men and women committed to this project dare to imagine that an alternative world is possible, if media, one of the key forces that shape reality, are held accountable.
The results of the 2015 Global Media Monitoring Project show that in the media constructed world, the overall presence of women as subjects in print, radio, and television is 24% globally. The North American region shows the narrowest gender gap at 39%. However, North America shows only 9% increase in the presence of women in the traditional media the last 20 years, only 2% increase above the global average increase over the last 20 years. In Canada, women as news subjects are 27% in print, radio, and television, and 30% in digital media (internet and twitter). In the U.S. women's overall presence in print, radio, and television news is 38%, and in digital news it is 40%.
The gender inequality is more evident in the sex of the reporters globally. Though the decade 1995-2005 has shown some slow increase, from 2005-2015, there has been stagnation. Since 2005, the percentage of stories reported by women has stayed the same at 37%. The current global average is a return to 2000, and 2% points below the 1995 findings. Female presenters slightly outnumber men in Asia (58%), the Middle East (57%) and the Pacific regions (52%), while in the rest of the regions the numbers are at or just below parity, apart from North America. In the U.S. overall, the sex of reporters in print, radio, and television is 39% female and 61% male.
Globally, younger presenters on the screen are predominantly female, but the number changes dramatically at 50 years old, when men begin to dominate the news anchor setting. There was near-evenness of presenters in each age bracket documented in 2010, and it has been replaced by an overrepresentation of younger women as anchors, under representation in the 50-64-age category, and complete disappearance of women at 65 years!
Addressing gender inequality means addressing the current unequal systems with a prophetic imagination of an alternative world, and taking daily vigilant efforts in order to translate this vision into an every reality. Mary and Elizabeth, a younger woman and an older woman, pondered anew a new world, and their respective roles in birthing this new order. Advent is a time to ponder anew our roles in replacing the lens that distorts reality and blocks the light that dispels the darkness in our midst, and set out to be agents of change for the flourishing of human lives, full humanity of both men and women, in the name of the one who came to give life in its fullness, even Jesus the Christ.
GMMP USA report available here.
GMMP Canada report available here.
Glory E. Dharmaraj, Ph.D.
U.S. Coordinator, GMMP


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Veteran shredder Dave Mustaine is headlining a mindblowing line-up at this year's GuitarFest at Birmingham's NEC on Friday 7th November.
Mustaine is even allowing punters to create his setlist for the show by voting for their favourite Megadeth songs!
By e-mailing firstname.lastname@example.com with the title of your desired 'Deth track in the subject box of the email (ie, not in the body), you can cast your vote.
He will be in attendance throughout the show for signing sessions on the Marshall amplification stand as well.
As part of Music Live 2008, UK music retailer Professional Music Technology (PMT) and Marshall Amplification sponsor the event, boasting virtuoso performances from some the greatest guitarists in the world.
As well as thrash pioneer Mustaine and heavy metal shred legend Vinnie Moore, huge UK rock acts Thunder and The Quireboys will also be performing, as well as renowned session guitarist Søren Anderson.
Tickets are £10 each and are available now at www.GuitarFest.net or by calling
PMT Birmingham on 0121 359 5056.
Tickets will also be made available on the doors, which open at 5.30pm with the first performance at 6pm.


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When you are new to Yoga you are probably going to be uncertain as to what to expect when you first enter a beginner Yoga Class on your first day. Most people are uncertain about what they should even be looking for in a beginner Yoga class, so this article will let you in on the four secrets to finding the right class for you.
Secret Number One: Decide on what you want to achieve before choosing a style.
The number of different reasons for taking up Yoga is usually at least as high as the number of new people in a Yoga class. Broadly people will be looking for one of three things – physical health, mental health, or spiritual health. All three are important and all three are realistic goals in a Yoga class. Whatever it is you are trying to achieve through Yoga there will be a class and style that is suitable for you. You can research in a library, online, or even by asking various Yogi and this will help you find the Yoga that will get the best result for you.
It's worth actually setting some solid goals and many newcomers are surprised at how willing a Yoga instructor is to talk over these goals with them and discuss whether they are realistic or an alternative may be better suited.
Secret Number Two: Join a class-by-class program
These are sometimes referred to as drop-in classes, or pay as you go. These are a good way of getting a feel for Yoga. There will be a regular turnover of other students in the classes and the contrasting level will mean the instructor will keep the classes at a relatively mild level and give everyone a taste of many different aspects of Yoga.
The advantage of this method is of course that you are not committed to an expensive series of classes and you can get a taster for Yoga and see what types of Yoga interest you. You will also quickly learn whether the goals you set earlier are realistic for you, or even too low and need expanding upon.
Your next step will be to choose a series of classes in the areas that you found most suitable from the drop-in classes. These classes will build on each other from week to week and you may find yourself behind if you miss a week.
Secret Number Three: Ensure that you are being taught by someone who knows what they are doing.
Surprisingly enough considering the relatively low intensity and the many physical benefits, Yoga has begun to regularly show up on the statistics for sports injuries. Two key causes are identified. Firstly students push themselves too fast too soon, and secondly instructors with inadequate training or appreciation of the individual level of their students(large classes are sometimes to blame for this).
When you are considering a new class don't be embarrassed to ask your Yoga instructor what their qualifications and background are. Many 'instructors have nothing more than a three-day training course in 'gym yoga' and many people put this in the 'enough knowledge to be dangerous category'. Traditionally a student would train for many years under a guru before they would be considered fit to pass on even the simplest of Yoga techniques to another novice.
The Yoga Alliance is a United States organization that features a register of teachers who have completed 'appropriate' training. This means having completed courses that meet a certain standard. A nice rule to work by is that less than 200 hours of instruction would mean a part-time Yoga education.
Secret Number Four: Be aware of hidden costs.
An unpleasant surprise that can put people right off Yoga is turning up to the first class and finding that there are expenses that they haven't allowed for. Some studios require each student to have their own mat, a special strap, or other props. Some classes will work through a book which you are obliged to buy and some classes will have a dress code ranging from specific colors to specific articles of clothing. Being unaware of any of these things and being refused your first class because of them can be very off-putting.


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Tragedy at 'The Dark Knight Rises' Screening As Gunman Kills 12, Injures at Least 50 [VIDEO]
At least 12 people were killed and 50 injured when a man went into an Aurora, Colorado movie theater during a midnight screening of 'The Dark Knight Rises' Friday morning, fired tear gas and began shooting.
Ten people reportedly died in the theater near the Aurora Mall and two more passed away in local hospitals. Initially, police said 14 people had died, but only 12 have been confirmed. In addition to injuries sustained from gunshots, a mortician said several people were hurt by a scrap metal pepper bomb.
Gunshots were fired in one theater, but bullets pierced the walls of an adjoining theater and injured people there as well.
More than 250 officers were called onto the scene in response to the violent episode. One of the injured is reportedly three months old.
Authorities say they have arrested a 24-year-old suspect who was apprehended with a pair of weapons on him, including a rifle and a handgun. The man has been identified as James Holmes. Police also said they discovered another weapon, but would not disclose what it was.
Holmes mentioned having bombs in his home, and when authorities investigated, they discovered his apartment was booby-trapped. "We are trying to determine how to disarm the flammable or explosive material," said Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates. "We could be here for hours or days. The pictures are fairly disturbing. It looks very sophisticated, how it's booby-trapped. It could be a very long wait."
Holmes reportedly wore a bulletproof vest and a mask during his rampage. Meanwhile, a San Diego woman who says she is Holmes' mother expressed little surprise with his behavior. "You have the right person," she said, apparently speaking on gut instinct. "I need to call the police… I need to fly out to Colorado."
Upon learning about the incident, President Obama said he was "shocked and saddened."
The incident has also raised new questions about security in theaters around the country, with New York City already announcing it will beef up personnel to protect patrons this weekend for 'The Dark Knight Rises' showings.


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St. Paul, MN – The National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance (NAFA) released the 2024 edition of its popular "Alfalfa Variety Ratings – Winter Survival, Fall Dormancy & Pest Resistant Ratings for Alfalfa Varieties" – a useful tool for hay and livestock farmers, extension specialists, agri-business personnel or anyone involved in the production of alfalfa.
NAFA's Alfalfa Variety Ratings is a publication unlike any other in providing an extensive listing of alfalfa varieties and their corresponding ratings for fall dormancy, winter survival, bacterial wilt, aphanomyces, leafhopper, and a host of other pests. The publication also includes other ratings such as grazing tolerance and standability to provide you the information you need to make educated decisions about the alfalfa varieties which will perform best in a given environment. All varieties listed in the Alfalfa Variety Ratings publication can be purchased in the United States for the 2024 production year.
The 2024 edition of NAFA's Alfalfa Variety Ratings features 161 alfalfa varieties from 15 marketers that have been verified with the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) and the National Alfalfa Variety Review Board (NAVRB).
If you'd prefer an electronic option, try NAFA's searchable, online Alfalfa Variety Ratings database where you can make the process of narrowing alfalfa varietal choices even easier. Available at alfalfa.org/varietyratings.php, NAFA's searchable database allows you to search for varieties using up to 23 different parameters like variety name, marketer, fall dormancy, winter survival, disease resistance, and insect resistance. NAFA has made finding the perfect variety as effortless as possible.
NAFA's Alfalfa Variety Ratings publication is available in the November issue of Hay & Forage Grower magazine or by visiting NAFA's website at alfalfa.org.
NAFA's Alfalfa Variety Ratings is a must-have for anyone involved in the production of alfalfa – be sure to get yours today!


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Dungeons and Dragons RPG: Starter Set
$19.99Explore subterranean labyrinths! Plunder hoards of treasure! Battle legendary monsters! The Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set is your gateway to action-packed stories of the imagination. This box contains the essential rules of the game plus everything you need to play heroic characters on perilous adventures in worlds of fantasy. Ideal for a group of 4 to 6 players, the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set includes a 64-page adventure book, a 32-page rulebook for playing characters level 1-5, five pre-generated characters with character sheets and supporting reference material, and six dice.


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Eyes Ears Skin
Home » Interactive Animal » Feline » Eyes Ears Skin
Your pet's eyes allow perception of colors, forms, and depth. What you see from the outside represents a fraction of what the eye beholds. A dog and cat's eye is a complex organ that offers a window into the rest of the body. When looking inside the eye with specialized equipment, your veterinarian sees blood vessels, nerves, and lymphoid tissue that cannot be seen in other areas of the body from the outside.
The structures within the eye comprise 3 basic layers: 1) the protective, enveloping layer that you see from the outside-the white sclera and clear cornea; 2) the blood vessel layer, known as the uvea, and 3) the neurologic layer or retina. Inflammation in any of these layers of the eye results in a red eye. Careful examination of these three layers by your veterinarian determines if the cause of the red eye indicates a local problem, such as conjunctivitis or glaucoma; or a systemic problem, such as retinal bleeding caused by an elevated systemic blood pressure.
The skin is the largest organ in the body; it acts like a glove over your pet's body providing warmth and protection. Secretions from the skin keep germs and water outside the body and bodily fluids inside the body. Breakdowns in this protective barrier lead to many conditions, such as, hair loss, infections, and fluid losses.
The appearance of your pet's skin provides insight to the overall health of your pet. Common conditions affecting your pet's skin include: allergies, bacterial and yeast infections, ringworm, and external parasites, such as fleas and mites. Systemic conditions, such as autoimmune disorders, hormonal imbalances, or nutritional deficiencies, display characteristic patterns in the skin.
Your pet's ears are an extension of your pet's skin. The ears are divided into 3 sections: 1) the external ear canal extends from the outside to the ear drum, 2) behind the ear drum lays the middle ear (tympanic cavity), and lastly, 3) the inner ear. In contrast to people, the majority of ear problems in dogs and cats occur in the external ear canal. Inflammation of the external ear canal often results in bacterial and/or yeast infections. Left untreated, these infections will extend into the middle and inner ear cavity, causing diminished hearing and loss of balance.
The eyes, ears, and skin of your pet can be a gateway to the inside of your pet's body. While the eyes, ears, and skin display their own pathologies separately, they can also be indicators of a more systemic process.


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tom southard & the nuns
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Episode 32 congratulates new first-time dad Tom Southard, Director of the Wolfington Center at Cabrini College. We talk about birthdays and zodiac signs, but on a more interesting note, about civic engagement and social justice on campus. Cabrini College has a unique program for all students, encouraging them to become involved throughout their time in undergrad. Although a lot of in includes lobbying (oh, yeah, Tom was a lawyer at one point), we talk about the potential that students have when it comes to the surrounding community, and the world. Naturally, our conversation devolves from a large higher education topic to a random discussion of Serial, from the eyes of a Baltimore native and lawyer.
Links to Cool Stuff:


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The Old Blue Line
A Joanna Brady Novella
Butch Dixon has been taken for a ride …
Not a jump in the car, see the sights kind of ride. He's been taken for everything he has. He's lost his house, his restaurant business, his savings, his car, his best friend, his faith—all to his conniving ex-wife. But that was seven years ago. He picked himself up, left Chicago, and started over in Peoria, Arizona, running the Roundhouse Bar and Grill. He doesn't look back on those bad years; there's no point. Not until two curious cops show up at the Roundhouse.
Faith, Butch's ex-wife, has been murdered, and the evidence points to him. Stunned, Butch quickly realizes that the black-hearted woman is going to ruin him again, from her grave. Lucky for Butch, the Old Blue Line, a group of retired—but still sharp and tenacious—former legal and law enforcement coots, have taken it upon themselves, as a favor, to make sure he doesn't cross that thin line. After the dust settles, Butch's life is again upended—when a little red-haired ball of fire, Sheriff Joanna Brady, takes a seat at his bar.


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Preserving biodiversity at school
What is SEM'AIL?
The Biodôme developed SEM'AIL—a wild leek awareness and restoration program—in 1999. We estimate that this program has led to the creation of over 500 new colonies of wild leek in the regions most affected by over-harvesting: Montérégie, Lanaudière, Outaouais, the Laurentians and the Eastern Townships. However, despite our best efforts, the species is still widely harvested!
Why SEM'AILjr?
In spring of 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity, the Biodôme developed a new kind of educational program: SEM'AILjr. The secret mission of the agents of our F.B.Ail squad: to get hands-on experience preserving biodiversity by creating a viable population of wild leek in their area.
Why do we want to stimulate young people's interest? First of all, they are growing up in a world of technology that leaves very little room for nature. Secondly, having a positive experience with nature at a young age tends to create a bond with the environment.
The wild leek needs you!
The wild leek (Allium tricoccum) is a small springtime plant that is typical of our maple forests. Its bulbs are edible and much sought-after. In 1995, it became the first officially designated vulnerable species in Québec. Selling it is now illegal, and harvesting for personal purposes is limited to 50 bulbs per year. As a well-known species, it has become emblematic of conservation in Québec.
The SEM'AILjr experience
Since 2010, 13 schools in the regions most affected by the decline have accepted the challenge to create a new viable colony of wild leek in their community. The youngsters' in-class training begins in April with a workshop led by an educator from the Biodôme, covering the topics of biodiversity and wild leek, its biology and its habitat. A month later, the whole class goes into the woods to plant the wild leek. Each student sows 100 seeds, for a total of 2,500 to 3,000 per class. The students—mostly fourth-graders—can then follow up on their mission the next spring by counting how many plants have sprouted from the seeds and bulbs. To expand the project's reach, a network of educator groups has been under development since 2013. Last year, eight environmental education and conservation organizations in the target regions went out to sow seeds with students from local schools, thus creating more new colonies of wild leek. 550 young people are already involved in SEM'AILjr—true agents of conservation in Québec!


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A nuclear blast is an explosion with intense light and heat, a damaging pressure wave, and widespread radioactive material that can contaminate the air, water, and ground surfaces for miles around. A nuclear device can range from a weapon carried by an intercontinental missile launched by a hostile nation or terrorist organization, to a small portable nuclear device transported by an individual. All nuclear devices cause deadly effects when exploded, including blinding light, intense heat (thermal radiation), initial nuclear radiation, blast, fires started by the heat pulse and secondary fires caused by the destruction.
The nuclear threat present during the Cold War has NOT diminished. The danger of a massive strategic nuclear attack on the United States is predicted by experts to be much more likely today. Under the prevailing geo-political climate, it is a virtual certainity. The possibility also remains that a terrorist could obtain access to a nuclear weapon. Called improvised nuclear devices (IND), these are generally smaller, less powerful weapons than we traditionally envision. While experts may predict that a nuclear attack is less likely than other types of disasters, it is still important to know the simple steps that can save your life and the life of your family.
Hazards of Nuclear Devices
Prepare yourself, your family and your property for the hazards of nuclear devices.
If there were threat of an attack, people living near potential targets could be advised to evacuate or they could decide on their own to evacuate to an area not considered a likely target. Protection from radioactive fallout would require taking shelter in an underground area or in the middle of a large building.
In general, potential targets include
Strategic missile sites and military bases.
Centers of government such as Washington, DC, and state capitals.
Important transportation and communication centers.
Manufacturing, industrial, technology, and financial centers.
Petroleum refineries, electrical power plants, and chemical plants.
Major ports and airfields.
The three factors for protecting oneself from radiation and fallout are distance, shielding and time.
Distance - the more distance between you and the fallout particles, the better. An underground area such as a home or office building basement offers more protection than the first floor of a building. A floor near the middle of a high-rise may be better, depending on what is nearby at that level on which significant fallout particles would collect. Flat roofs collect fallout particles so the top floor is not a good choice, nor is a floor adjacent to a neighboring flat roof.
Shielding - the heavier and denser the materials - thick walls, concrete, bricks, books and earth - between you and the fallout particles, the better.
Time - fallout radiation loses its intensity fairly rapidly. In time, you will be able to leave the fallout shelter. Radioactive fallout poses the greatest threat to people during the first two weeks, by which time it has declined to about 1 percent of its initial radiation level.
Remember that any protection, however temporary, is better than none at all, and the more shielding, distance and time you can take advantage of, the better.
The extent, nature and arrival time of these hazards are difficult to predict. The geographical dispersion of hazard effects will be defined by the following:
Size of the device. A more powerful bomb will produce more distant effects.
Height above the ground the device was detonated. This will determine the extent of blast effects.
Nature of the surface beneath the explosion. Some materials are more likely to become radioactive and airborne than others. Flat areas are more susceptible to blast effects.
Existing meteorological conditions. Wind speed and direction will affect arrival time of fallout; precipitation may wash fallout from the atmosphere.
In addition to other effects, a nuclear weapon detonated in or above the earth's atmosphere can create an electromagnetic pulse (EMP), a high-density electrical field. An EMP acts like a stroke of lightning but is stronger, faster, and shorter. An EMP can seriously damage electronic devices connected to power sources or antennas. This includes communication systems, computers, electrical appliances, and automobile or aircraft ignition systems. The damage could range from a minor interruption to actual burnout of components. Most electronic equipment within 1,000 miles of a high-altitude nuclear detonation could be affected. Battery-powered radios with short antennas generally would not be affected. Although an EMP is unlikely to harm most people, it could harm those with pacemakers or other implanted electronic devices.
Even if individuals are not close enough to the nuclear blast to be affected by the direct impacts, they may be affected by radioactive fallout. Any nuclear blast results in some fallout. Blasts that occur near the earth's surface create much greater amounts of fallout than blasts that occur at higher altitudes. This is because the tremendous heat produced from a nuclear blast causes an up-draft of air that forms the familiar mushroom cloud. When a blast occurs near the earth's surface, millions of vaporized dirt particles also are drawn into the cloud. As the heat diminishes, radioactive materials that have vaporized condense on the particles and fall back to Earth. The phenomenon is called radioactive fallout. This fallout material decays over a long period of time, and is the main source of residual nuclear radiation.
Fallout from a nuclear explosion may be carried by wind currents for hundreds of miles if the right conditions exist. Effects from even a small portable device exploded at ground level can be potentially deadly.
Nuclear radiation cannot be seen, smelled, or otherwise detected by normal senses. Radiation can only be detected by radiation monitoring devices. This makes radiological emergencies different from other types of emergencies, such as floods or hurricanes. Monitoring can project the fallout arrival times, which will be announced through official warning channels. However, any increase in surface build-up of gritty dust and dirt should be a warning for taking protective measures.
10 Ways To Survive A Nuclear Apocalypse
Before a Nuclear Blast
The following are things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your property in the event of a nuclear blast.
Build an Emergency Supply Kit, which includes items like non-perishable food, water, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, extra flashlights and batteries. You may want to prepare a kit for your workplace and a portable kit to keep in your car in case you are told to evacuate.
Make a Family Emergency Plan. Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to know how you will contact one another, how you will get back together and what you will do in case of an emergency.Find out from officials if any public buildings in your community have been designated as fallout shelters. If none have been designated, make your own list of potential shelters near your home, workplace and school. These places would include basements or the windowless center area of middle floors in high-rise buildings, as well as subways and tunnels.
Plan places where your family will meet, both within and outside of your immediate neighborhood.
Knowing your community's warning systems and disaster plans, including evacuation routes.
If you live in an apartment building or high-rise, talk to the manager about the safest place in the building for sheltering and about providing for building occupants until it is safe to go out.
During periods of heightened threat increase your disaster supplies to be adequate for up to two weeks.
Taking shelter during a nuclear blast is absolutely necessary. There are two kinds of shelters - blast and fallout. The following describes the two kinds of shelters:
Blast shelters are specifically constructed to offer some protection against blast pressure, initial radiation, heat and fire. But even a blast shelter cannot withstand a direct hit from a nuclear explosion.
Fallout shelters do not need to be specially constructed for protecting against fallout. They can be any protected space, provided that the walls and roof are thick and dense enough to absorb the radiation given off by fallout particles.
During a Nuclear Blast
The following are guidelines for what to do in the event of a nuclear explosion.
Listen for official information and follow the instructions provided by emergency response personnel. Based on what is known about the threat, you may be asked to take shelter, go to a specific location or evacuate the area.
If an attack warning is issued, take cover as quickly as you can, below ground if possible, and stay there until instructed to do otherwise.
Find the nearest building, preferably built of brick or concrete, and go inside to avoid any radioactive material outside.
If better shelter, such as a multi-story building or basement can be reached within a few minutes, go there immediately.
Go as far below ground as possible or in the center of a tall building. The goal is to put as many walls and as much concrete, brick and soil between you and the radioactive material outside.
Stay where you are, even if you are separated from your family. Inside is the safest place for all people in the impacted area. It can save your life.
During the time with the highest radiation levels it is safest to stay inside, sheltered away from the radioactive material outside.
Radiation levels are extremely dangerous after a nuclear detonation but the levels reduce rapidly.
Expect to stay inside for at least 24 hours unless told otherwise by authorities.
When evacuating is in your best interest, you will be instructed to do so. All available methods of communication will be used to provide news and / or instructions.
People in the path of the radioactive material - downwind from the detonation - may also be asked to take protective measures.
If you are caught outside and unable to get inside immediately:
Do not look at the flash or fireball - it can blind you.
Take cover behind anything that might offer protection.
Lie flat on the ground and cover your head. If the explosion is some distance away, it could take 30 seconds or more for the blast wave to hit.
Take shelter as soon as you can, even if you are many miles from ground zero where the attack occurred - radioactive fallout can be carried by the winds for hundreds of miles. Remember the three protective factors: Distance, shielding and time.
If you were outside during or after the blast, get clean as soon as possible, to remove radioactive material that may have settled on your body.
Remove your clothing to keep radioactive material from spreading. Removing the outer layer of clothing can remove up to 90% of radioactive material.
If practical, place your contaminated clothing in a plastic bag and seal or tie the bag. Place the bag as far away as possible from humans and animals so that the radiation it gives off does not affect others.
When possible, take a shower with lots of soap and water to help remove radioactive contamination. Do not scrub or scratch the skin.
Wash your hair with shampoo or soap and water. Do not use conditioner in your hair because it will bind radioactive material to your hair, keeping it from rinsing out easily.
Gently blow your nose and wipe your eyelids and eyelashes with a clean wet cloth. Gently wipe your ears.
If you cannot shower, use a wipe or clean wet cloth to wipe your skin that was not covered by clothing.
Building as Shielding
Numbers in this graphic stand for a 'dose reduction factor.' A dose reduction factor of 10 means that a person in that area would get 1/10th of the dose of a person in the open. A dose reduction factor of 200 means that a person in that area would receive 1/200th of the dose of a person out in the open.
After a Nuclear Blast
Decay rates of the radioactive fallout are the same for any size nuclear device. However, the amount of fallout will vary based on the size of the device and its proximity to the ground. Therefore, it might be necessary for those in the areas with highest radiation levels to shelter for up to a month.
The heaviest fallout would be limited to the area at or downwind from the explosion and 80 percent of the fallout would occur during the first 24 hours.
People in most of the areas that would be affected could be allowed to come out of shelter within a few days and, if necessary, evacuate to unaffected areas.
Remember the following when returning home:
Keep listening to the radio and television for news about what to do, where to go and places to avoid.
Stay away from damaged areas. Stay away from areas marked "radiation hazard" or "HAZMAT." Remember that radiation cannot be seen, smelled or otherwise detected by human senses.
Additional guidelines for recovering from disaster.
Further Reading
- Nuclear Attack. Document providing preparation guidance for a nuclear threat.
- Consequences of Nuclear War
- The Lethality of Nuclear Weapons
- Climate Scientist Michael Mills Describes the Devastation of a Nuclear Detonation
- Is Nuclear War Survivable?
- Nuclear War Survival Skills
- Nuclear War, Nuclear Winter, and Human Extinction
Related Websites
Find additional information on how to plan and prepare for a nuclear blast and learn about available resources by visiting the following websites:
- Nuclear War Survival Skills
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- American Red Cross
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention - Radiation Emergencies
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention - Mass Casualty Events
- Environmental Protection Agency
- National Radiation Map
Listen to Local Officials
Learn about the emergency plans that have been established in your area by your state and local government. In any emergency, always listen to the instructions given by local emergency management officials.
Could You Survive a Fallout
What if the World Ended? Nuclear Winter


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BSD Leezus GripTeal
Leezy was cutting the inner flange off his Paley Slims so that the mushroom part of the grip went right to the end. His reason being that that it was comfier to catch barspins on.
BSD designed the new Leezus Handles around that idea, coupled with their new softer stickier compound these slim grips feel as good as they look.
- Liam Zinbergs signature
- Flangeless distressed mushroom design
- 160mm long
- Bar ends included - 29mm diameter
- New softer stickier compound


text: Comet Goldfish Large Carassius auratus The goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus) is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish. A relatively small member of the carp family (which also includes the koi carp and the crucian carp), the goldfish is a domesticated version of a less-colorful carp (Carassius auratus) native to east Asia. It was first domesticated in China more than a thousand years ago, and several distinct breeds have since been developed. Goldfish breeds vary greatly in size, body shape, fin configuration and coloration (various combinations of white, yellow, orange, red, brown, and black are known). Selective breeding over centuries has produced several color variations, some of them far removed from the "golden" color of the originally domesticated fish. There are also different body shapes, fin and eye configurations. Some extreme versions of the goldfish live only in aquariums—they are much less hardy than varieties closer to the "wild" original. With the many variations to this fish and it has a reputation of being easy to keep. As with any fish, they require optimum water conditions. The comet or comet-tailed goldfish is the most common variety of fancy goldfish in the United States. It is similar to the common goldfish, except slightly smaller and slimmer, and is mainly distinguished by its long deeply forked tail. The food for this fish needs to be low in protein but high in carbo-hydrates, this is why it is often best to use specialist goldfish flakes or pellets to feed this fish. It is a voracious eater so the feeds should be kept down to what the fish can eat in two minutes. This should be done twice daily. Shelled peas, some blanched leaf vegetables and bloodworms should also be included in the diet. It is often easier to breed these fish in ponds rather than aquariums but both are possible. The female will lay her sticky eggs on plants and they should hatch in 48-72 hours. The fry are very small when newly hatched but will grow in size rapidly. Their coloration will remain brown like their ancestors, but after 12 months the adult coloration should show through. Goldfish are peaceful fish. Comets should not be combined with fancy goldfish, as the fancy goldfish will have trouble competing for food. If goldfish are combined with other freshwater tropical fish, it is best to limit this to catfish. Fancy Goldfish can also be combined with danios, ottos, white clouds, barbs, kuhli loaches and weather loaches.


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Before its recent aspirations to become a design city, Singapore's intellectual property system was relatively undeveloped like many developing nations, allowing piracy to thrive. Don't be Silly! is a 4-page insert examining a 1982 legal case between two manufacturers of polypropylene chairs — the British Hille International and the local Tiong Hin Engineering — and the role of language in piracy.
This was specially created for the Singapore Art Book Fair 2016, and it builds upon the Design Piracy Institute project I launched at D-Crit as part of my MFA thesis. Risograph printers Push—Press were commissioned to print a special edition of my thesis with this insert. Limited copies are still available for sale and shipping is free worldwide.


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In Slate, Stanford law professor Richard Thompson Ford is trumpeting:
Sure enough, last week, just as New Haven prepared to promote a group consisting almost entirely of white fire captains and lieutenants based on the exam results, a black New Haven firefighter, Michael Briscoe, filed a disparate-impact lawsuit against the city. Like Frank Ricci, Briscoe is a sympathetic plaintiff. He received the highest score of any candidate on the oral portion of the lieutenant's promotion exam. But he isn't eligible for promotion because the city based 60 percent of each candidate's score on the written exam. On this part of the test, Briscoe–like most black candidates for promotion–did comparatively badly. ...
UPDATED: Fortunately, the test scores were posted by Adversity.net, and we can figure out who Briscoe is pretty easily.
Actually, Briscoe did very badly on the written test in any sense. Although he scored a 92.08 on the oral test, he only scored a 59 on the blind-graded written test, putting him 66th out of the 77 test-takers on that test. He scored 13th out of 19 blacks on the written-exam. Overall, counting both the oral and written exams, Briscoe finished 24th, with five blacks ahead of him. Why is Briscoe more deserving than the five blacks who did better under the rules?
Briscoe had the largest divergence in scores between the two tests of any of the 77 test-takers, implying his high score on the oral part could well be a fluke. Oral tests are more likely to produce unreliable scores because the sample size of questions per hour of testing is smaller due to the lower bandwidth of oral vs. written communication.
Or, perhaps Briscoe is a smooth talker who can impress outsiders in the short run, but lacks the job knowledge to maintain the confidence of underlings in even the medium run.
This is a classic example of why Disparate Impact is worse than plain old racial quotas. There are five black guys who are better under the rules than Briscoe, but now we're supposed to rip up the rules and use a different system that will promote Briscoe ahead of the five more competent blacks, as well as push a lot of less qualified whites and Hispanics ahead of more qualified whites and Hispanics.
Moreover, if you changed the weighting on the Lieutenant's test to favor the Oral component over the Written component, that would have Disparate Impact on Hispanics!
Briscoe's claim is a perfect example. Why didn't black candidates do as well as whites on the written exam? Black firefighters argue that because whites are more likely to come from families where firefighting is a legacy (for instance, one New Haven captain's father and grandfather both served as fire chief in New Haven), they are more likely to get help from a network of friends and relatives in studying for the written exam. Few blacks have such family connections–in large part because blacks were deliberately shut out of firefighting jobs until the 1970s, when black firefighters won discrimination suits in New Haven and in many other cities nationwide. ... So heavy reliance on a written exam, if it gives an advantage to legacy candidates, could perpetuate the evils of past discrimination.
Damn white fire geeks always studying how to save people's lives!
Kind of like how Slate's other Ricci expert, Emily Bazelon got her job writing about the law by being the second cousin of Betty Friedan and the granddaughter of the most powerful non-Supreme Court judge in America, David Bazelon. Except she didn't have to pass a written exam to get the cushy Truman Capote Fellowship in Creative Writing and the Law at New Haven's Yale Law School.
That violates Title VII, unless the exam is job related and there are no less discriminatory alternatives. New Haven's written exam may be as good as any written exam could have been: The Supreme Court in its ruling in favor of the white firefighters in Ricci pointed out that the city's written test was carefully developed by a professional company to be job-related and to avoid racial disparities. But Briscoe argues that the written exam did not, in fact, test for the skills that fire captains and lieutenants need on the ground; instead, it rewarded rote memorization. As for alternatives, Briscoe says that the city could have relied more heavily on the oral exam, which required candidates to respond to real-life firefighting and training scenarios. Neither the city nor the company that designed the exam defended making it worth 60 percent of the promotion score. Briscoe also points out that New Haven could have used an assessment-center model, which tests candidates through simulations of real-life job challenges. Many other cities use assessment centers successfully.Although Ricci was often described as a challenge to affirmative action, getting rid of a flawed exam isn't affirmative action and doesn't push diversity at the expense of merit.
Yes, it is affirmative action. The reason Professor Ford wants more weight given to the oral test is because the oral test is inherently flawed.
The key difference between the oral and written test is that the written test was blind-graded while the grading of the oral test was racially rigged from the outset by making almost two-thirds of the judges minorities, which is highly unrepresentative of the distribution of senior firefighting leadership expertise.
The whole point of civil service examinations is to eliminate favoritism, which is why the union insisted on a 60% weighting in favor of the blind-graded test over the easily-rigged oral test.
I would strongly recommend that the Supreme Court fast-track Briscoe's case. I'd look forward to reading Justice Alito's opinion.


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Benedict Anderson
This "sparkling" and world-famous work examines what drives people to live, die, and kill in the name of nations—revealing the surprising origins and development of nationalism (The Guardian) The full magnitude of Benedict Anderson's intellectual achievement is still being appreciated and debated. Imagined Communities remains the most influential book on the origins of nationalism, filling the vacuum that previously existed in the traditions of Western thought. Cited more often than any other single English-language work in the human sciences, it is read around the world in more than thirty translations. Written with exemplary clarity, this illuminating study traces the emergence of community as an idea to South America, rather than to nineteenth-century Europe. Later, this sense of belonging was formed and reformulated at every level, from high politics to popular culture, through print, literature, maps and museums. Following the rise and conflict of nations and the decline of empires, Anderson draws on examples from South East Asia, Latin America and Europe's recent past to show how nationalism shaped the modern world.


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Love Love Love Print
- Regular price
£45.00 - Regular price
- Sale price
A high-quality giclee print of two amorous Flamingoes.
Reproduced from an original artwork by Anna. Hand-drawn and painted with Indian ink, watercolour and acrylic paint and embellished with gold pigment.
Unmounted: 30 x 20cm
Mounted: 40 x 30cm
Specification & Care
- A high quality digital print, printed onto heavy-weight FSC textured watercolour paper
- Available:
double mounted in an acid-free, lightly textured, white mount board
or in a choice of frames - painted black or white wood, solid oak or gold anodised aluminum
- Our framed prints use Clarity+ acrylic rather than glass as this better protects the artwork from UV rays and aids with safe postage
-Made in the UK
-Keep dry and hang in a position away from strong sources of light and heat.
-Use an anti-static cloth to clean the acrylic
Delivery & Return
Please note that we currently only deliver to addresses within the United Kingdom. We hope to ship to the rest of the world again soon.
Delivery Costs
UK mainland orders under £45 are sent Royal Mail Tracked 48 at a cost of £4.50.
Free delivery for UK mainland orders over £45.
Delivery Times
Our Prints are printed, mounted and framed to order and will be sent to you directly from our printers. They aim to dispatch all orders via a courier within 8 working days.
Thus, your order will typically arrive within ten to eleven working days. However, this may take a little longer just prior to Christmas and during our sale periods.
Please contact us on email@example.com if you need an order quickly or for a specific date and we will see if this is possible.
Your Order Receipt
A receipt will be emailed to you when you place your order.
Mixed orders of products and prints will be sent as two separate packages, the products from our studio and the prints from our printers.
We use envelopes, boxes and packing materials made from recycled paper and card and use paper labels and paper tape. These are all responsibly sourced and recyclable through standard home recycling schemes. Please reuse your packaging if possible.
Returning Products
Please note that our Prints are non-returnable as they are made to order.
Print, Sale and Seconds products are not eligible for exchange, return or refund.
Faulty or Damaged Products
We thoroughly check all our products and carefully pack them for delivery, however, please do contact us if something isn't quite right.
Please use firstname.lastname@example.com to contact us regarding returning products or to report faulty or damaged products.
Love Love Love Print
- Regular price
£45.00 - Regular price
- Sale price
Framing Options
A gold, brushed finish, aluminium frame.
A black, matt finish, painted wood frame.
A white, matt finish, painted wood frame.
A solid oak frame.


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SHANGHAI (AP) — A man investigating working conditions at a Chinese company that produces Ivanka Trump-brand shoes has been arrested and two others are missing, the arrested man's wife and an advocacy group said Tuesday.
Hua Haifeng was accused of illegal surveillance, according to his wife, Deng Guilian, who said the police called her Tuesday afternoon. Deng said the caller told her she didn't need to know the details, only that she would not be able to see, speak with or receive money from her husband, the family's breadwinner.
China Labor Watch Executive Director Li Qiang said he lost contact with Hua Haifeng and the other two men, Li Zhao and Su Heng, over the weekend. By Tuesday, after dozens of unanswered calls, he had concluded: "They must be held either by the factory or the police to be unreachable."
China Labor Watch, a New York-based nonprofit, was planning to publish a report next month alleging low pay, excessive overtime and the possible misuse of student interns. It is unclear whether the undercover investigative methods used by the advocacy group are legal in China.
For 17 years, China Labor Watch has investigated working conditions at suppliers to some of the world's best-known companies, but Li said his work has never before attracted this level of scrutiny from China's state security apparatus.
"Our plan was to investigate the factory to improve the labor situation," Li said. "But now it has become more political."
Walt Disney Co. stopped working with a toy maker in Shenzhen last year after the group exposed labor violations. China Labor Watch has also published reports on child labor at Samsung suppliers and spent years investigating Apple Inc.'s China factories. In the past, the worst thing Li feared was having investigators kicked out of a factory or face a short police detention.
That has changed.
The arrest and disappearances come amid a crackdown on perceived threats to the stability of China's ruling Communist Party, particularly from sources with foreign ties such as China Labor Watch. Faced with rising labor unrest and a slowing economy, Beijing has also taken a stern approach to activism in southern China's manufacturing belt and to human rights advocates generally, sparking a wave of critical reports about disappearances, public confessions, forced repatriation and torture in custody.
Another difference is the target of China Labor Watch's investigation: a brand owned by the daughter of the president of the United States.
White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks referred questions to Ivanka Trump's brand. The Ivanka Trump brand declined to comment for this story.
Abigail Klem, who took over day-to-day management when the first daughter took on a White House role as presidential adviser, has said that the brand requires licensees and their manufacturers to "comply with all applicable laws and to maintain acceptable working conditions."
Li said China Labor Watch asked police about the three missing investigators on Monday but received no reply. Li added that a friend had tried to file a missing person report on Li Zhao in Jiangxi, where the factory is located, but was told he had to do so in the man's hometown.
AP was unable to reach the other investigators' families. China's Ministry of Public Security and police in Ganzhou city and Jiangxi province could not be reached for comment Tuesday, which was a national holiday in China.
All three men were investigating Ganzhou Huajian International Shoe City Co.'s factory in Jiangxi province, just north of Guangdong province. Su Heng had been working undercover at the factory since April, Li said. The parent company is known as Huajian Group.
In January, Liu Shiyuan, then spokesman for the Huajian Group, told AP the company makes 10,000 to 20,000 pairs of shoes a year for Ivanka Trump's brand — a fraction of the 20 million pairs the company produces a year. A current spokeswoman for the company, Long Shan, did not reply to questions Tuesday. "I told you I could not check until tomorrow," she said. "If your official letter contains a stamp and signature, we can confirm whether the media is real or not."
Li said investigators had seen Ivanka Trump-brand shoes in the factory, as well as production orders for Ivanka Trump, Marc Fisher, Nine West and Easy Spirit merchandise.
"We were unaware of the allegations and will look into them immediately," a spokeswoman for Marc Fisher, which manufactures Ivanka Trump, Easy Spirit and its own branded shoes, said in an email. Nine West did not respond to requests for comment.
Li Zhao and Hua Haifeng were blocked from leaving mainland China for Hong Kong in April and May — something that had never happened to his colleagues before, Li said. Hua Haifeng was stopped at the border May 25 and later questioned by police, Li said. During their final phone conversation on Saturday, Hua told Li that police had asked him to stop investigating the Huajian factory — another turn of events that Li said was unprecedented.
Li said the men had documented excessive overtime, with working days sometimes stretching longer than 18 hours, and a base salary below minimum wage. They were working to confirm evidence suggesting that student interns — some of whom allegedly quit in protest — were putting in excessive hours on work unrelated to their field of study, in violation of Chinese law, Li said. The use of student workers in China is legal, but meant to be strictly regulated. Rights groups and journalists have documented widespread abuse of the system over the years.
"It is the role of the police to prevent that kind of independent investigation," said Nicholas Bequelin, East Asia director for Amnesty International. "The threshold is much lower today than it was one year ago, two years ago, and if this is something that has a foreign diplomacy dimension, that would make national security personnel even more willing to stop it."
Hua's wife, Deng, meanwhile, has yet to tell the couple's children, ages 3 and 7, about their father's plight. But they seem to know anyway, she said.
"My son suddenly burst into tears. He said he missed Papa," Deng said by phone from her home in central China's Hubei province. "I said Papa would come home soon and buy you toys."
She said the child looked at her and answered: "Papa was taken away by a monster."
Associated Press researcher Fu Ting contributed from Shanghai.
Follow Kinetz on Twitter at twitter.com/ekinetz


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Ultimate sports jacket. Lightweight comfort fit with maximum protection. Quick drying. 2 zip closing side pockets. Keeps skin cool and comfortable. Fold-away into belt pocket. Zip closing back pocket. Waterproof 5,000mm. Breathable 2,000g. Windproof. Extremely lightweight. Reflective Spiro print logo. Wind protect longer back panel. Easy open Spiro zip pullers.Decoration Guidelines:Decorating methods: Embroidery, Direct print Transfer print. Decorators access point: Open
Washing Instructions
40 degrees. Do not bleach. Iron on medium heat. No dry clean. No tumble dry


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You can print these titles, along with all our other year-end picks, using this master list.
Nothing makes you appreciate good books more than not being able to read them. That's the fix I found myself in for a few weeks this past summer, as I was recovering from eye surgery and mostly had to stay still with one eye closed.
Of course, I listened to public radio round the clock, but loved ones also brought me books on tape. "Nothing complicated," I pleaded in my weakened state. "I just want good stories."
So in came the recordings of overly cozy mysteries and Maeve Binchy novels read by actors with too much blarney in their voices. What saved me was a droll recording of Allegra Goodman's first novel, Kaaterskill Falls. My husband brought it home from the library because a few months before misfortune struck, I'd been raving about Goodman's second novel Intuition, one of my candidates for one of the best novels of 2006.
Intuition takes place in a cancer research laboratory in Cambridge, Mass. Goodman likes to delve into the intricate relationships among people in close communities; Kaaterskill Falls was set in a summer vacation bungalow colony of Orthodox Jews.
The big idea Intuition explores is, how do we discern the truth? To mull over that question, Goodman, like her scientist characters, takes up a microscope. She's a miniaturist who, like Barbara Pym and Jane Austen, finds wit as well as wisdom in small details.
Another superb novel that also kept its focus trained on a few complex characters was Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children. The children of the title are three friends nearing 30 who live in New York and have the kind of jobs -- documentary filmmaker, editor, book critic -- that look great on paper, but don't always cover the rent on their Manhattan apartments.
Messud deliciously exposes and slowly unwinds the illusions that wrap her characters in a sense of their own superiority. The climatic scene of The Emperor's Children takes place on Sept. 11, 2001. (Excerpt of 'The Emperor's Children')
Two other works of fiction that came out this year also successfully tackled that tough subject. The title story of Deborah Eisenberg's fine short story collection, Twilight of the Superheroes, describes the attack on the World Trade Center, while most of the five stories that follow take place in what we've now come to call the "post-9/11" world.
Politically charged, these short stories aren't just mausoleums for finely wrought feelings. Ditto for Ken Kalfus' extraordinary novel, A Disorder Peculiar to the Country. A political satire, it links the private nightmare of a marriage gone sour to the public nightmare of Sept. 11.
Finally, Katherine Weber's terrific novel, Triangle, deserves mention in this Gotham lineup. The tragedy at its center is not Sept. 11, but rather the infamous triangle shirtwaist fire of 1911. I lazily thought the subject had been all but exhausted, especially after Washington Post reporter David Von Drehle's excellent nonfiction book on the subject, also called Triangle, that came out in 2003. Nope.
At the center of Weber's clever and moving tale is the last survivor of the fire, a woman now over 100, who remembers far more than she lets on to those eager to capture her recollections for their oral history projects.
Two Alices also makes the best fiction list this year: Alice Munro, whose autobiographical stories in The View from Castle Rock begin with imaginative reconstructions of her ancestors' immigration from their bleak farms in Scotland; and Alice McDermott, whose novel After This is a haunting account of how the sweeping social changes of the 1960s affected one lower middle-class Irish Catholic family on Long Island.
Speaking of families, Ernestine Gilbreth Carey died in November at the age of 98. Who, you might ask? Well, Mrs. Carey was the author, with her brother Frank Gilbreth Jr., of the beloved 1948 best seller, Cheaper by the Dozen. The story of the Gilbreth brood and their parents still fascinates, as evidenced by the recent movie remake of the book.
Last, but certainly not least this year, Richard Ford's novel The Lay of the Land also explores the complexities of family, especially after divorce and remarriage. The Lay of the Land is the final volume in Ford's Frank Bascombe trilogy, succeeding The Sportswriter in 1986 and Independence Day in 1995.
Some of my most recent blissful moments were spent listening to Frank's musings on everything from the Bush presidency to the chummy atmosphere of a lesbian bar to the teeth gnashing familial conviviality of Thanksgiving. If there were ever a reason this year to be especially grateful for the gift of clear sight, Ford's as the author and mine as the lucky reader, it's embodied in The Lay of the Land.
Copyright 2023 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.


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Southwest Ohio Gamblers Are Spending More In-State Than Indiana
< < Back toGamblers in the Cincinnati area are now spending more money in Ohio than Indiana.
An analysis by The Cincinnati Enquirer found that gamblers for the first time are spending more at the Cincinnati casino and two racinos in the region than in neighboring southeast Indiana.
Ohio casino revenue reports show the $33.9 million spent in May at the casino and racinos accounted for nearly 54 percent of the money played in the southwest Ohio region. The three southeast Indiana riverboats took the rest, or 46 percent of local gambling dollars.
The riverboats took in 64.3 percent of all gambling dollars in the region in May 2013, before the new racinos opened.
The shift means more tax revenue funding for Ohio schools, counties and municipalities – and less in Indiana.


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China has committed to investing $360 billion to vastly expand its showcase network of high-speed trains, which already carry passengers at more than 200 miles per hour between some of the country's largest cities.
Spain, despite its economic woes, is investing $170 billion to extend its acclaimed high-speed rail system, which now makes the 386-mile Madrid-Barcelona run in just 2 hours, 38 minutes — compared to six hours by car. A similar boom in high-speed rail construction is taking place throughout Europe, from the boot of Italy to the Baltic Sea.
Worldwide, nations not normally associated with the bullet train revolution — India, Brazil, Argentina, and Morocco, among others — are making plans to build high-speed rail networks. They understand that rapid, inter-city rail systems will be essential to developing competitive 21st-century economies as oil supplies dwindle, highways and airports face increasing congestion, and pressure to reduce carbon emissions rises.
The actions of the three governors undermine the job creation that they tout as central to their administrations.
And the United States? For the past several months the news on the high-speed rail front has been dominated by several governors, swept into power by the Tea Party movement, proudly proclaiming that they will have nothing to do with high-speed rail projects, which they contend are boondoggles. Indeed, the governors of Florida, Wisconsin, and Ohio have collectively rejected $3.6 billion in federal funds that would have covered nearly all of the cost of building rail lines on such routes as Orlando to Tampa, Milwaukee to Madison, and Cleveland to Columbus.
Fortunately, the foresight of the Obama administration and various states will ensure that the foundation of a national high-speed rail network will be laid in the coming years, with $8 billion in federal stimulus funds going to construct the first links in a high-speed rail network that is envisioned to stretch 17,000 miles by 2030. Bullet trains would eventually whisk people between all major U.S. cities — Los Angeles to Seattle, Dallas to Albuquerque, and Boston to Washington, at 220 miles per hour. The cost of such a network would be significant — $600 billion — but a combination of public and private funds would build the system, which would eventually yield benefits that far exceed the original investment.
For now, the U.S. funds rejected by governors Rick Scott of Florida, Scott Walker of Wisconsin, and John Kasich of Ohio, will be distributed to other states such as California and Illinois, which will benefit for years to come from the job creation and economic stimulus that will accompany the establishment of high-speed rail networks. In the future, the actions by these three governors will be viewed as folly, decisions that were made on ideological rather than rational grounds and that undermine the job creation that the three governors tout as central to their administrations.
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The decisions of the three Republican governors were not isolated acts, but rather a coordinated effort by the Tea Party and its allies to attempt to kill high-speed rail across America. Fortunately, 35 other governors — Republicans and Democrats alike — whose states were eligible for federal high-speed rail funding did accept U.S. grants for rail projects.
Last month's decision by Governor Scott of Florida to reject federal funding for high-speed rail reflects the combination of bad information and partisan thinking that motivated all three governors to turn their backs on the future. In making his decision, Scott says he relied heavily on a January report by the libertarian Reason Foundation, which is funded by major conservative organizations, oil companies, and companies involved in highway construction.
The Reason Foundation report was riddled with inaccuracies, exaggerations, and distortions, such as a claim that the construction of the Orlando-Tampa line could cost Florida taxpayers $3 billion in capital cost overruns. That figure was arrived at by comparing the project in Florida to California, which faces far tougher right-of-way and land-use issues. The Tampa-Orlando line already has a long-established right of way on the Interstate 4 median, making it much cheaper to build. In addition, the eight international rail consortia seeking to construct the Florida line have guaranteed that they will cover operation, maintenance, and subsidy costs for 30 years.
The Florida line would connect Tampa and Orlando with Walt Disney World, one of the world's top tourist attractions.
After rejecting the federal funds, Scott's office issued a statement that he "is now focused on moving forward with infrastructure projects that create long-term jobs and turn Florida's economy around." Those new projects will require far more Florida tax dollars than would ever have been spent on the Tampa to Orlando line, prompting former Republican Governor Jeb Bush to express surprise at Scott's decision. Fifteen Republican and 11 Democratic state senators in Florida also signed a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asking him to ignore Scott and allow the legislature to work with the consortia to revive the Tampa to Orlando project.
In addition, a group of Florida mayors is speaking with LaHood about bypassing the governor and allowing an organization formed by the mayors to receive the federal funds and oversee the building of the Tampa-Orlando line. This effort underscores the broad, bipartisan backing for the project, as evidenced by the fact that eight business associations from 11 counties in central Florida are staunch supporters of the proposed rail line. One key reason: The line would connect Tampa and Orlando with Walt Disney World, one of the world's top tourist attractions.
The reasons that so many disparate interests support the creation of a national high-speed rail network are glaringly obvious, and are becoming more so by the day. The United States has become far too dependent on foreign oil, with Americans consuming six times more oil per capita than Europeans, who enjoy better, faster, and cheaper mobility. The U.S now spends up to $700 billion a year to import foreign oil, 70 percent of which is consumed by cars, trucks, and airplanes.
Now, for the second time in less than three years, the price of oil has shot up past $100 a barrel, threatening the fragile economic recovery. And most experts agree that the world has passed the point of peak oil, which means that as demand soars and supplies dwindle, oil prices could hit $300 per barrel this decade.
Enhancing U.S. energy security is just one reason the country needs a state-of-the-art high-speed rail system, which by 2030 could transport millions of people each day between America's cities. A national high-speed rail system would generate millions of jobs; help revive the country's manufacturing sector by creating a new industry producing the trains, steel, and related components; alleviate pressure on a crumbling transportation infrastructure; and lessen the ever-worsening congestion on America's highways and at its airports, where delays cause an estimated $156 billion in losses to the U.S. economy annually. And then there is climate change and the large-scale reduction of CO2 emissions that would result from the creation of an interstate high-speed rail system and the expansion of regional commuter rail systems.
As a high-speed rail network spreads across the U.S. in the coming decades, the costs of operating the national transportation system will decline each year to the point where the savings will eventually exceed the estimated $600 billion cost of building the rail system. Although public funds will be used to cover much of the construction costs, the network will perform best if operated by private companies.
The U.S. must build a national high-speed rail network if it hopes to maintain its competitiveness in the world economy. China and Europe are now moving ahead with their high-speed rail networks at breakneck speed, which means that in a decade or two they will have significantly reduced their dependence on imported oil, created tens of millions of new jobs, and saved their countries trillions of dollars by vastly improving the productivity of their economies thanks to a low-carbon transportation sector that moves people and goods at speeds that could one day hit 300 miles per hour, or more.
The U.S. can be part of that future. But if more states follow the example of Florida, Wisconsin, and Ohio, the country will remain shackled by 19th- and 20th-century forms of transportation in a 21st-century world. Contemplate this image: China, Europe, Russia, South America, and other parts of the globe are streaking by at 250 miles per hour while the likes of Governor Scott are stuck in a traffic jam on an interstate, watching the trains whiz past.


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By Henry Cooke
Thinking of stealing a smartphone? Aim for an older one.
Our phones and tablets are both highly valuable and highly portable, making them ideal targets for theft. But a simple pocket swipe on the bus isn't quite enough these days.
How to prepare
I won't go through the general "how not to get your stuff stolen" advice – although from personal experience I can recommend not leaving your iPod playing music at a party if you leave the room – but there are some key steps you can take when setting up your phone.
Every smartphone manufacturer offers an extremely useful "find my phone" service now, but it won't help you if it's not turned on.
If you have an iPhone, it will have asked you if you wanted to keep "Find Your iPhone" turned on when you set it up. You probably said yes, but go to Settings> iCloud to check. If you have an Android, its "find" service is also likely to be activated already, but Google "Android Device Manager" and log in with your Google account to make sure – you should be able to see your phone.
Blackberry users should look up "Blackberry protect", which is easy to set up, and Windows Phone users have "Find Phone" on by default.
The other key thing you need to do is leave your data on.
Without a data connection, your stolen phone is truly lost.
Another good tip: take a photo of your phone's IMEI or serial number, and keep it somewhere safe.
What to do immediately
The moment you don't know where your phone is, find a friend who has a smartphone or any internet connected device. Don't bother installing any of the official apps, just open the manufacturer's tracking site on a browser.
A laptop will be fastest.
For an iPhone, iPad, or MacBook – log in to icloud.com with your Apple details, where you can track the location of your device and make it beep really loudly, even if it's on silent. Android users can do the same from the Android Device Manager website (Google it), Blackberry users from the Blackberry Protect website, and Windows Phone users from windowsphone.com.
These services also offer a "Lost Mode", where the phone locks the moment it turns on, asks for a PIN, and notifies you by email. Someone is going to want to turn this phone on at some point, even if they are savvy enough to turn it off the moment they get it.
A thief smart enough might factory reset your phone and get away from all this, but the faster you act the better chance you have of stopping them.
Oh, and call the cops. Give them that IMEI number.
What to do if this doesn't work
If it looks like your phone is lost for good, these services will also let you remotely wipe your phone, clearing it of any personal data you have on there – which could be a lot, given smartphones generally have email access.
If you want to go one step further, Apple and Android allow you to "activation lock" your device, which essentially bricks it, making it entirely useless, and therefore not sellable.
The key thing with these activation locks is that everyone needs to know about them.
The more immediately a phone is locked the less rewarding stealing them becomes.
Henry Cooke believes the internet is mankind's crowning achievement. Read more from him on his blog at rectangles.cc


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The official start date for the tunequest was feb. 11.
I actually started formulating the idea on the 10th, but it took until the next day to fully formulate my methodology. even though the date passed last saturday, i think it's worth noting that, if i had managed to stay awake and do nothing but listen to my iTunes library, i would have finished on march 25. as it stands, i've managed to accomplish 16% of that and my latest projections show me to be on track for my end-of-year completion goal.
- yann tiersen [amelie]
- thievery corporation [abductions & reconstructions]
- tortoise live in san francisco oct 20, 2005
- the offspring [conspiracy of one]
- isao tomita [picture at an exhibition]
- christopher franke [babylon 5: darkness ascending]
- the pizzarellis [bucky and john: contrasts]
- nobukazu takemura [child's view remixes]
- soul coughing [contest 7"]
- basement jaxx [atlantic jaxx]
- wool [box set]
every time i think i've outgrown the offspring, the group's trademark power-punk-pop always manages to pull me back in. i was a big fan in high school, even saw them in concert. since then however, my passion for the group has waned to the point where i've repeatedly considered ditching my collection. in fact, i hadn't listened to conspiracy of one since iTunes gained the ability to track playcounts. it's been so long that that this was like getting a whole new cd, and like the sucker that i am, i fell for it. that's not something to be ashamed of, is it? •
speaking of music that's survived since high school, let's take a quick look at wool. i picked this up, used, at hawsey's book index, the book store i frequented in my teenage years for cheap books and music. i was tipped off, if i remember correctly, by a plug by friend-of-the-band dave grohl on an episode of mtv's alternative nation (or maybe it was 120 minutes) and subsequent airing of the video for 'kill the crow' some time in 1995.
box set is respectable enough, a heavy mix of punk, metal and enough pop-formula songwriting to merit attention. unfortunately for the group, the music industry was turning its attention toward crap-rock in the wake cobain's suicide and this album barely made a splash at all. the fact that i found a copy at the book index is quite astonishing in retrospect. a couple years later though, wool's guitarist joined foo fighters when pat smear left, so i guess it worked out for him. •
two other quick notes: amelie soundtrack will take you away to the streets of paris. And the pizzarellis brand of laid back classical guitar will make you feel like you're on the deck of a beach house, sipping a cool drink and enjoying the ocean breeze.


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Romanesque Sculpture
It is subordinate to architecture, which determines the places and spaces that must be covered with reliefs or statues, the porticoes of the entrance and in the capitals of the cloisters (place of religious retreat).
The pilgrimage that took place using the shrine dedicated to St. James from the 8th century destined to paid tribute to this Saint in the Romanesque Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela; became the most renowned medieval pilgrimage and favors an increase in the production of sculpture. Under the Organization of the order known as "The order of Cluny", were carried out in the places of passage constructions with the purpose of welcoming the pilgrims on their way to the Cathedral and also to display religious relics that contributed to exalt religious fervor.
An increase in the use of applied sculptures with exclusive religious thematic to architectural structures can be seen above the Northern Europe. These images are mostly carried out in wooden polychrome and in some cases covered with metals such as bronze or silver.
Other sculptures carves in the stone to decorate specific spaces in this buildings are; as in the case of the paint very stylized, been a mere idealization of the reality. They have to serve as a religious propaganda vehicle efficiently and for that purpose a forced perspective to fix this figures in the space destined in the building is imperative.
The sculpture although not as outstanding as the Romanesque architecture, applied the same pre-established codes and artistic scheme to provide a clear and educative religious message about the sacred word. The sculpture and the architecture both used the Northern Roman elements.
Were also seen in Romanesque style the presences of the Byzantines and Persians elements as well as some Arabs decorative characteristics. The Romanesque sculpture between the XI and XII centuries mimics artificial models establishing a particular routine of decoration.
General Features of the Romanesque Sculpture
- · Non-artistic didactic purpose; (Catechism and religious instruction).
- · Stylization and disproportion of the figures (not portray of the natural proportions).
- · Wrong perspective, illogical relationship between size of the figure with the depth of the background.
- · In the reliefs, the size difference of the figures means the importance of character.
- · Symmetrical composition; the scenes are made up, observing this principle of proportion.
- · In the eardrums, composition always has the figure of Christ as the axis.
- · Some rigidity of forms.
- · There is lack of expression suitable in figures or sometimes this is very exaggerated.
- · Forget the sculptural muzzle in the human form.
- · Imposed symmetry in the folds of the cloths that resembles the Greek archaic period.
- · Occurs a repetition and monotony in the elements of the scene being rendered.
- · Stiffness and Coarseness can be seen in the execution of the work.
- · They often adopt the theme of flora and represent it stylized.
- · Represent fauna but sometimes as monstrous.
- · The heads represent all at the same height in some figures of sets.
- · Marked polychrome with vivid colors when they take place in materials that allowed it.
Among depictions of biblical scenes that are found in many of these Romanesque buildings sculptures are the one called "Bestiaries" as well as personifications of the signs of the zodiac. There is also a frequent use of peculiar diptychs of ivory, crucifixes made in both ivory and bronze and also statues in which it represents the Virgin Mary.
Decoration of caskets for both jewelry and relic showed great mastery in the finish, careful detailed figures against the background manage to fix very well adapted to the shape of the container.
Fundamental schools in the development of Romanesque sculptures that stand out:
- Irish and Anglo-Saxon school. Since the 7th century. (Interlaced and calligraphic ornaments)Elongated figures.
- German school. From the 9th century. With the momentum of Carlo Magnum. (Works of bronze and Byzantines classical tendency).
- The Italian school. Since the end of the 11th century until the middle of the 12th century (Italic-Byzantine) than is guided by Constantinople models. (Bronze doors with relief in several cathedrals).
- The French school. Since 12th century. With 6 outstanding schools:
– The Isle of France School.
– The School of Normandy.
– The school of Poitou and Saintonge.
– The Auvemia School.
– The School of Toulouse and Languedoc.
– The Provence and Burgundy School.
As well as in the case of the Romanesque paint (that will be explained in a separated post) the use of the" Isocefalia" (disposal at the same height of the heads of a group of characters in a painting or a relief) is portrayed in numerous Romanesque sculptures to decorate capitals, walls, and porticos responding to the ecclesiastic propaganda and their standard codes of decorations pursuing to establish a hierarchy of the character represented.
A derivation occurs in the representation of designs towards the 13th century that can be called as a transitional phase towards the Gothic period. Imitated in a certain way the reality of nature, permeating the sculptures with greater dynamism but in which the artist cannot be complete separated from previous codes of decoration. Some figures made almost as exempt sculptures are the prelude to the next and new period in with these elements of movement, details and perfection rich a high level of execution in some of the artistic work in the late period of the Romanesque sculpture and evolve in accentuated way if they are compared with some of the previous sculptures of the Romanesque period.
The resulting amalgam of this transition produces very good works but others with no artistic value whatsoever even in the same region; since they are a mix between the old rigid style and the new pushing to establishes. In this transitive time some of the rigidity of the figures is loss as was mentioned before; as well as the symmetry and exaggeration of the straight and vertical line; gaining in delicacy and realistic movement. Some new decorative elements in this Romanesque sculptures such as the use of abundant narrow tiny folds in the clothing are incorporate that were not used before with such detail.