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- Text by Ed Andrews
"I love surfing but I definitely didn't want to make a surf film where it's just about performance," says first-time filmmaker Adam Pesce whose documentary, Splinters, unfolds in the isolated village of Vanimo, Papua New Guinea. "I wanted to tell a story that could be more universal, mixing in a surf competition with anthropological elements."
Sitting in the northwest corner of the country, Vanimo is blessed with tropical beaches, rainforests and world-class surf breaks, but due to its remote location, it has few amenities, economic prospects and is relatively untouched by the outside world. It's a traditionally patriarchal society, a place where women are very much second-class citizens and a strong social hierarchy is enforced through domestic violence and intimidation. But since an Australian pilot left a surfboard in the village in the 1980s, surfing's popularity has exploded – aided by a long-standing tradition of bellyboarding. Bit by bit, Western culture has started to infiltrate village life, thanks to glossy surf mags, visiting surfers and the surf industry's promises of fame and riches.
Despite no formal training in filmmaking, Pesce decided he needed to capture this tale. After a few recce trips to the village, this one-man film crew went all in, gathering up camera and surfboards and settling in the village for months at a time, learning the local language and recording daily life as it unfolded. "I had a vow that I wasn't going to come back until I had a movie," says Pesce. "My goal was to have an intimate approach, immersing myself in life as much as possible, building relationships and then getting the camera out when something significant was happening."
Splinters documents Vanimo in the run up to Papua New Guinea's very first national surf competition, a contest that locals hope will either improve their own wealth and status or provide jobs through tourism. But beyond the anticipation lies tension – a village divided as two rival surf clubs compete not just for glory but the potential economic spoils of victory. Among the villagers hoping for success is brash, long-time hero Angelus and naive but talented upstart Ezekiel, both of whom have their sights set on the prize of a trip to Australia and the chance to make a living out of their sport. But most striking is Susan and Lesley, two local women who have challenged the natural order of their society by simply paddling out. For them, winning the competition will vindicate their struggle and, they hope, improve their status among the men of the village. "Surfing for the women was especially powerful and important. It's actually bringing in these Western, egalitarian values," says Pesce.
"I wanted to explore the flipside of surfing. Whether the expectations [the villagers have] will work out for them," he adds. "I was very conflicted while I was out there. I saw some kids bellyboarding without a care in the world, engrossed in this beautiful pastime. But there were also older guys who were jaded by the whole thing. I think the jury is still out as to how this surfing experiment will unfold."
London Surf/Film Festival is hosting a special screening of Splinters followed by a Q&A with Andy Able, president of Surfing Association PNG and Chris Hines MBE, former director of Surfers Against Sewage, on Wednesday, May 28 at 7.30pm, Riverside Studios, London. Proceeds will be donated to SAPNG.


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"My name is Olivia, but my family calls me Liv, and boy do I have
This is a book review of I Move A Lot and Thats Okay! by Shermaine
This is a round-up of 15 of the best Multicultural Picture Books for Kids. One
This is a book review of Mommy Can I Ride the Big White Bus? by
This is a children's book review of Twenty-One Steps by Jeff Gottesfeld. Keeping vigil at
This is a book review of On My Way: A Love Letter From Your New
All mothers dream of the best for their unborn children, but what happens when life
This is a book review of Pawtriot Dogs: Save the Sanctuary by Samuel P. Fortsch.
Sammy and the Magical Wand is a delightful story of how a little girl's discovery
A groundbreaking new book series to help parents better prepare their kids with comprehensive sex

subset: commoncrawl


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I was involved in the D365 Saturday event in Philadelphia, PA just a few weeks ago. This was a great full-day event with amazing speakers from across the country and keynote by Julie Strauss.
Here are some takeaways from sessions I attended plus a few pictures from the festivities.
Julie Strauss
We are in a time of Digital Transformation as business has fundamentally changed in many industries. We need to find ways to bring our data together and map out more efficient processes.
This is where the Power Platform comes in. Anywhere there is data you can use Flow to grab it and work with it. The Common Data Service is the physical storage where all this data ans business logic sits (compared to the Common Data Model which is the logical data representation). We can build our PowerApps on top of CDS or other systems to bridge the data between these systems. The tools already understand the CDS data relationships so you do not have to build.
Remember there is a PowerApps Community plan so you can build and learn PowerApps for free as long as you do not need to share with anyone.
We also discussed the focus and features in the April release.
Microsoft is also investing a lot on Application Lifecycle Management to make it easier to follow best practices with steps happening automatically. This includes better solution awareness for Canvas Apps, Flows, etc. In the future, features should not be released without being solution aware. Plus improvements to the Admin Centers to merge separate admin centers for better enterprise-grade governance.
The release of Power Platform Checkers allow for static analysis to scan solutions and look for potential improvements. This runs in the background so you can keep working as checks are done.
Several improvements to allow the building of custom components and making reusable components.
You can also now embed Canvas Apps in Model Driven Apps or in Microsoft Teams.
PowerApps – Building Over and Under D365
Steve Mordue
This session talked about the myths and caveats when working with the Power Platform. There are Platform only licenses available for (as of presentation) $40/user/month. This allows for the PowerApp on the Common Data Service but you cannot use the First Party Apps. This could be the first step before moving to the full solution.
Core items are available: Account, Activity, Contact, Goal, Letter, Note, Phone Call, Task. These can be used without having a First Party D365 for Sales License. You cannot use Opportunity or Case on this license.
Additionally there is a P1 $7 license that allows for only the use of Canvas Apps but cannot have advanced functionality.
There are licensing options for your project, make sure you review what is really needed and dive down to determine a solution that will meet your budge.
Managing a D365 CE Project
Jennyfer Hogeland
Jennyfer shared how RSM runs successful projects using a Water-SCRUM-Fall methodology. This combines some of the unconditional elements of waterfall with the ideals of agile to promote a flexible development process while using waterfall for planning and deployment.
See a few of the slides in the gallery below for more information.
Smart City
Mihir Shah
In line with the Digital Transformation theme, Mihir shared how city management is changing due to residents expecting higher levels of service. There are many challenges due to regulations/compliance, necessity of multi-language support and integrations with many different technologies and systems across departments. Most cities have over 150 agencies (for one city!).
The desired solution would have customer and employee portals, a type of self-service knowledge base, a way to create service requests, chatbots and more.
We saw a demo using a D365 Portal where citizens could enter information to create a case. This can all be pulled into PowerBI or AI products to review trends related to these cases.
We also discussed the impact of IoT devices and what this could mean in the future.
15 Fantastic User Adoption Tips for Your Organization
Heidi Neuhauser
Heidi is a user adoption specialist and packed the 1 hour session with lots of great tips to keep your users engaged. These are just a few of my favorites.
Form a group of end users – include various skill levels, geographies, etc. Involve these users from the start and help them become advocates for the tool. Involve them even in the requirements phase.
Keep things simple – de-clutter your forms, add business process flows (streamline these too), minimize required fields and use appropriate field types that help them enter the right data. Add tool tips or validation to help with this too. Clean data will encourage the users to keep using. Model Driven Apps can further streamline what users see to only the bare necessities.
Training – remember people all learn differently. Your training need to include pieces to help everyone learn effectively. Learning should be customized based on job role. Then on-going learning should be available to continually encourage users to keep improving.
User Adoption Dashboard – new admin portal feature with these details available. These can be provided to managers to review and coach. Also can give a view of areas that need more work.
Next Steps
The resources from the sessions are available for download. Enjoy the Photos below. Photo credit for most photos I am in goes to Bill Tsai. Thank you for taking so many amazing pictures of our events!
If you have enjoyed this content, be on the lookout for other D365 Saturday events in your area and the Washington, DC event coming up in September 2019.


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I love the pull forward that spring represents. It prompts us to spring clean and rid ourselves of what no longer serves us.
It's also a great time to plant seeds, not just in gardens, but also in our work and lives. Spring is the ideal time to start seeding new projects, adventures and relationships by expanding our professional and personal networks.
In the light of the new season, here are seven questions that may help you spring forward:
1. What do you need to let go?
Much like the unseasonably chilly weather these past few weeks, we need to recognize what else we can't control. What do you need to let go of? What frustrations are sapping your energy that need to be parked? Instead, focus on areas you can control.
While some people might think surrender is a weakness, like giving up, it can also be a strength. The funny thing is, when we do let go of what we can't control, things often tend to work out. Like the client who let go of her frustration after not being chosen for a promotion. Shortly after, she was offered another opportunity that was even better.
2. What will your spring cleaning be about?
What have you held on to these past few months that no longer serves you? Perhaps you feel guilt from not following through on a New Year's resolution that wasn't really meaningful. How about some bad habits that are preventing you from bringing your best to your work and life? What about the physical stuff that is cluttering your space – such as your desk or office? Can you let go of it?
3. How will you clear your mind?
Bogged down with too many things on your mind? Perhaps it's time to revisit your organizing and prioritizing habits. Write a list to get it out of your head but keep it top of mind. Are you taking enough breaks to recharge? Look for simple strategies to lighten the load and shift from a "mind-full" state to a more productive, mindful way of being.
4. What will pull you forward?
Hope, excitement and optimism are powerful drivers to move forward in your work and life. What are you looking forward to? Remember, it's not only about actual events that make the difference but rather our awareness and appreciation of all good things – large and small. Do you need to refresh or create some new goals? Focus on the good things to come and start planning now.
5. What seeds will you plant?
If you are thinking of a career shift, life change or a big personal goal, chances are you need to start planting seeds and doing the work now. For instance, it's never too early to ramp up your network, begin some research, take a course, refresh your skills and take time to assess your career and life goals, needs and preparedness. If you have big goals, are you breaking up your mountainous goals into milestones and smaller chunks? How about making a few tiny goals along the way?
6. What's your fertilizer?
Just as plants need fertilizer to thrive, humans do too. Whether we are supporting big goals or just trying to feel and do our best in the regular routine of work and life, we need to pay attention to what nourishes us. Support systems, personal connections, good habits, and a regular dose of positivity – these are just a few examples of what can fuel a more productive, meaningful and satisfying life career and life.
7. How are you embracing positivity in your life?
Not feeling the lift of spring just yet? Perhaps you need a positivity boost. What makes you happy? What are you grateful for? What micromoments of positivity can you create – with yourself, your peers, your team – and how will you savour them so you can replay them in your mind later?
Eileen Chadnick (@Chadnick) is a work-life and leadership coach and principal of Big Cheese Coaching in Toronto. She is also the author of Ease, a book offering strategies to cope when you're 'crazy busy.'


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Natural House, making your house clean the probiotic way, review/giveaway
Natural House probiotic cleaning products brings you a revolutionary, new method of cleaning the most dirty areas of your home. Utilizing non-toxic, probiotic cleaning agents, Natural House products are strong enough for commercial clean-up, yet safe and gentile for all of the members of your Natural House.
Natural House offers three products in their line: Trashy, Trash Can Deodorizer and Scrubber, Sinky, Disposal Scrubber and Drain Maintenance, and Flushy, Toilet Bowl Cleaner and Septic Treatment.
For the past two weeks I've been using Natural House. I really put it to the test with our big annual party this past weekend. I have to say that the Natural House products have been pulling their weight, especially Trashy.
The Natural House products can be purchased online at http://natural-house.webstorepowered.com/. They retail for $4.99 each.
Would Natural House products be a good fit in your household? I have a set of the three products to giveaway to my readers.
This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Please fill out the form. If there are any questions or problems regarding the form, please contact me.
One entry (plus bonus entries) per person, per email address. This giveaway is open to residents of the United States who are 18 years old or older. This giveaway will end on October 7, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. E.S.T. One winner will be chosen by random.org from all valid entries. The winner will be contacted via email. Please leave a valid email address if your email is not available in your profile. The potential winners will have 48 hours to respond by email or another potential winner will be chosen.
Disclosure:Natural House provided me with a set of products to try and to giveaway. I was not compensated for this post.The sponsor will fulfill the prize and More 4 Mom's Buck is not responsible for the prize fulfillment. All opinions are 100% mine and are not influenced by any person or entity. For my complete disclosure policy, please see www.more4momsbuck.com/disclosure.
16 comments:
I would love to try these products. I am especially interested in the Trashy cleaner. There's just something scary about trying to remove the gunk from a trash can. :)ReplyDelete
I would like to try flushy.ReplyDelete
Trashy, because our garbage can is known for giving off some funky odors.ReplyDelete
hookedonafeline999 at yahoo dot com
- AnonymousOctober 1, 2011 at 1:05 AM
I am interested in the Trashy= Trash Can Deodorizer and ScrubberReplyDelete
I'd like to try the trashy.ReplyDelete
frugalmommieof2 at gmail.com
I would love to try the Trashy cleaner.ReplyDelete
I would love to try Sinky!ReplyDelete
toilet bowl cleanerReplyDelete
mtmomo09 at gmail dot com
The Trashy: Trash Can Deodorizer and ScrubberReplyDelete
Jennifer, jennem22 at yahoo dot com
I would like to try the Trash Can Deodorizer and ScrubberReplyDelete
Diane Baum
- Jennifer PaigeOctober 7, 2011 at 12:05 AM
I'm most interested in the toilet bowl cleaner :)ReplyDelete
paige1sme at aol dot com
I'd like to try FlushyReplyDelete
Thanks for the giveaway...we are interested in the Sinky Probiotic Cleaning packets !ReplyDelete
senorpiero [at] yahoo [dot] com
Sinky sounds perfect for cleaning smelly drain pipes. :-) Thank you.ReplyDelete
jaquerichards at yahoo dot com


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So, about last week. Between plant and Day Job obligations, a big smiling reminder of my old writing days arrived last Tuesday in the form of Australian author Stephen Dedman, and poor Stephen got the barest beginnings of a Dallas tour. That is, he got a firsthand experience with the insane sprawl of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, as with how our roadways were inspiration for those in R'lyeh. Even worse, he had to deal with my babbling about minutiae on Dallas, from the geology and palaeontology (we drove within spitting distance of the Arlington Archosaur Site) to the backhistory of the Fair Park area to our current surreal impending celebration of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. That's when Stephen inspired a particular bit of japery for the end of November.
For the last fifty years, anything involving John Kennedy in Dallas has been a circus. There's the actual assassination, of course, as well as the tourist industry that built up around it. Then there's the backstory, which entities such as the Dallas Morning News want to bury and pretend didn't happen. Then there's the current effort for a massive panegyric the weekend before American Thanksgiving, simply entitled "The 50th", which intends to "celebrate the life of Kennedy" without, you know, actually saying what happened to end it. Complete with efforts to make sure that nobody "extreme" gets anywhere near it. If there's one thing any good circus needs, because it already has plenty of clowns, it's costumes.
So here's the idea. It's a dangerous vision, but one that should be the maraschino cherry atop this gigantic, indigestion-inducing banana split of an event. It's open to everybody who wants to participate, and it won't cost a thing.
The idea: on November 22 of this year, Dallas gets a flood of time travelers. Famed travelers from fiction alongside ones brand new to the continuum, with outfits to match. Before you know it, the streets of Dallas are full of temporal explorers, cartographers, and marauders of all sorts, all asking the same question: "Which way to Dealey Plaza?"
At this point, half of the fun will be the responses. After all, if time travel is possible, then (barring the Morphail Effect, of course) an event as big as the Kennedy assassination should be so flooded with time travelers that they should outnumber the temporally static by a thousand to one. There's no reason to believe that you wouldn't have visitors planning to change the time line, keep it static, or take out anybody trying to do either. That's why, when asked by reporters or passersby as to what's happening, just hinting "I'm here to see history" is a good start.
The punchline comes around 12:20 Central Time, as the streets continue to flood with the Displaced. By this point, there should be more Daleks on the streets of Dallas than on those of London in 2100, and I won't even start with the Yithians. At that point, everyone looks down the road where Kennedy's motorcade drove a half-century ago, pulls out watches, clocks, sundials, chronometers, and hourglasses, and all exclaim at once "Right time, but WRONG YEAR!" before evacuating downtown.
And the best part? We can do this every November 22. We can even retire from the field of ostentation to hang out at the best party in town that weekend afterwards. What say you?


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If you haven't heard about Skittles vodka, you've been missing out. There are a couple of different ways to make it. This recipe – or, really, it's more of a method – takes you step by step through the process of making five flasks of Skittles vodka.
Over the years since this was originally published, we've found better ways to do some of it. Most importantly, a better way to strain it.
And we've tested it with rum, as requested by a lot of people who wrote in. In fact, the green one in this batch is rum. More on that at the end.
Skittles Vodka Recipe
Time to complete: 24 hours at most. That's about 30 minutes of prep; 15 minutes altogether for the occasional shaking; a good 14 hours to just let it do its thing; and an hour or two for straining.
Need something quicker and easier than Skittles Vodka? Jolly Ranchers Vodka doesn't need any straining or shaking, and infuses in about half the time.
Note: you can also infuse vodka or rum with Starbursts.
For this project, you'll need:
- One 1.75 liter bottle of vodka (we like Absolut or Svedka for this – you don't need the most expensive vodka, but do avoid the cheap ones)
- One 1 pound bag of Skittles.
- Five 8.5 ounce flasks or bottles (we highly recommend these beautiful Bormioli Rocco flasks we used, which you can order from Amazon via that link. For a Halloween party, serve these neon-colored concoctions in test tube shooter glasses.)
- And some supplies you probably already have: five empty plastic water bottles, a funnel (we used the OXO Good Grips Funnel Set), some bowls for separating the Skittles into flavors, a measuring cup, cheesecloth, and coffee filters.
- You'll also probably want to cover your workspace with newspaper or freezer paper – the Skittles Vodka infusion can get messy.
If you're making a different sized batch, here's the formula you need to know: I used 70 Skittles to 7 ounces of vodka, which yields about 7-8 ounces of infused vodka. If you want to make 1.5 times that, or 3 times that, just multiply your amounts.
Step 1: Separate Skittles into Flavors
Start by simply separating the Skittles into flavors. You want 70 of each.
Step 2: Put Skittles in bottles
Now put your separated Skittles into 5 bottles, one flavor per bottle. You can use old water bottles, mason jars, thoroughly cleaned condiment jars, old vodka bottles – any container with a secure lid – plastic or glass.
Mason jars work very well because they're easy to wash out. And whatever bottle you use is going to get a lot of sticky gunk in the bottom that will need to be cleaned.
Step 3: Add the vodka to the Skittles
Now add the 7 ounces (or whatever measurement you're using) of vodka to each bottle. When this is done, all five bottles will have a pile of Skittles soaking in the vodka.
Step 4: Shake the Skittles and vodka
Now your infusion bottles all have Skittles in the bottom. Give each bottle a good shake – the more, the better.
The candy coating will start to rub off and color the vodka, but the white insides of the Skittles still have a lot of dissolving to do. After shaking them, set them aside for a few hours.
We found that shaking them every few hours, up to maybe 4 times altogether, helps them dissolve faster – especially if you're making a bigger batch.
These Skittles all dissolved overnight, but some people have had it take longer, so be sure to do this a full day in advance of when you want to serve them.
See the white stuff at the bottom? That's the gunk we've been talking about. Once they're all dissolved, you'll notice a lot of layer of this white muck floating at the top of your Skittles Vodka. We'll take care of this in Step 6.
Skittles Vodka makes a great gift! And we've got more ideas for cocktail gifts, too.
Step 5: Strain your Skittles Vodka
Through a lot of experimentation, we've found that the quickest and most thorough way to strain these is through 2 layers of cheese cloth inside a coffee filter.
This combination of filters strained out everything in one pass, and didn't take too long. But it might vary for you, depending on everything from the brand of coffee filters to the brand of vodka to how humid it is where you're working. It's hard to predict.
If you want suggestions on how to arrange all the pieces of your filter, here's what seems to work best. First, put the funnel inside the measuring cup.
If you're wondering why it needs a funnel at all, that's because it directs the flow of the liquid toward the bottom, which seemed to speed up the whole process a little.
Next put the coffee filter inside the funnel, and then the two layers of cheesecloth inside the coffee filters.
Then pour one of the infusions into your strainer setup. You may find you can only pour a portion of it, and then wait for some of it to soak through, then pour another quarter in, and so on until you're done.
If after a while you find the cheesecloth and coffee filter keep sinking down into the filter, you can use clothespins or sturdy plastic clamp clips to hold it all in place.
Looks kind of bizarre, but it works. If the strainer clogs with white gunk, you can use a spoon to scrape the gunk out of the way.
By the way, if you're wondering whether it's going to slowly, this is about the stream you should expect if it's filtering everything out like it should. It's thin, but consistent:
In the end, you'll have about 8 ounces of Skittles Vodka. The coffee filters and cheesecloth will be soaking wet, so you may want to dump them into a bowl to carry over to the sink.
Now you're ready to pour the liquid from the measuring cup into a flask. Repeat this process for each flavor.
Step 6: Chill and Serve
Now you've got five flasks or bottles of Skittles infused vodka, each one a different flavor and vibrant color:
Stick them in the freezer for several hours – overnight is ideal – and they're ready to serve:
Now, these are pretty strong on their own – nearly pure vodka. They are also very sweet. You can drink them straight, served up in a chilled martini glass, or you can use them in a cocktail:
- Mix them with ginger ale, 7-up or Sprite to taste
- Mix them with cola to taste (diet cola cuts the sweetness a little)
- Serve them on the rocks to water it down a little
- Mix them with fruit juice.
- Spike beer with them. A good pale ale will taste great with most Skittles flavors.
- Everyone's taste varies – there are so many directions you can take this drink in, you really should try anything that sounds good to you!
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will this keep? We're not scientists, but we have kept these for about a month with no problem. Strangely, the purple color can fade to pink, but that was the only "issue". Everything tasted just like it always does and no one got ill. To be on the safe side, you should make these no more than 2 weeks ahead.
Can you do it with rum? Absolutely! The green one in this batch is rum – it takes the same amount of time, strains the same way, etc. But the rum will add its own flavor. If you've ever had rum balls or butter rum candy, that's the flavor it adds, and it's delicious. The rum is actually really tasty. Both ways are terrific.
Can you strain it with [insert alternative here]? You can strain it with many methods, but the one outlined here is the one we've found to be the quickest without letting through gunk and needing a second pass.
Skittles Vodka Recipe
Vodka infused with Skittles candies tastes exactly like the candies, but with a kick. It's a fun, delicious way for people of legal drinking age to enjoy a childhood treat in a grown-up way.
- 1 1.75 liter bottle of vodka (Absolut or Svedka)
- 1 lb bag of Skittles
- Separate Skittles by flavor.
- Put 60 in each 8-oz flask, and fill with vodka.
- Shake periodically for a day or two.
- Strain out the white gunk at the top, and serve.


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Thousands of fans pack Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday's for game day. The stadium, which is known for it's noise has received accolades from players, coaches, and ESPN announcers. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo told ESPN that Washington-Grizzly Stadium was the loudest environment he had ever played in. So, what does it feel like to play for the Griz and run out of the tunnel into one of the best atmospheres college football has to offer? Watch this 360° video to find out!
Have a VR headset? Use it to feel like you are running out with the team!
*Watch on a desktop or the YouTube App for the 360° effect!
Thanks for watching!


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Half a century before the first Disneyland in the world built (1955), Gaudi had already envisioned a themed park experience – Park Guell.
Designed by Antoni Gaudi, Park Güell was a project that took 14 years to be constructed, beginning in 1900. Which means, more than 100 years ago from now, Gaudi already had this park's vision, for Barcelona visitors.
The difference is, Park Guell was originally intended to be private property for rich people. That didn't take off according to plans, somehow. In 1922, the City Council purchased Park Güell and opened it as a municipal park in 1926.
Park Güell is such an artistic park!
A colorful, creative and artistic place, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Park Güell offers impressive vantage points with splendid views of the sea and the Plain of Barcelona. You need to see it!
Park Güell was designed to feature four broad themes.
Did you know that? I didn't! The 4 themes were meant to be experienced progressively. If only I knew it before visiting! It would have made the visit much more dimensional!
Theme #1: Fairytales
Official websites refer to the two pavilions at the entrance as the porter's lodge. All I could think of was gingerbread houses, yummy! According to an article posted by Viewport Magazine, Gaudi had watched Hansel and Gretel recently when he was designing the park. You can see it definitely had an influence on him!
Trencadis – a significant decorative element of Park Guell.
Both structures have stunning roofs, built with traditional clay tiles that were covered with trencadis. Trencadis refers to a decorative kind of mosaic made using tile shards, which you will see is a significant decorative element of Park Güell.
Theme #2: Greek mythology
From the main entrance, you'll climb up the grand stairway. Near the top of the stairs, a dragon / salamander mosaic statue – just like the dragon python from Greek mythology – stands guard over a fountain. This statue here is extremely popular. Good luck trying to get a photo with it without other tourists appearing inside your photo! You'll also see this figure being featured in postcards and paintings at souvenir shops in Barcelona.
The Hypostyle Room
At the top of the stairs is a designed space (temple) with almost a hundred Doric columns.
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"Hypostyle Room supports half of the Placa de la Natura (Nature Park) on eighty-six columns made from site rubble. Each of the columns coincides with one of the intersections of the sferical domes that allow rain water to be collected from the upper square and carried inside the columns to the reservoir located under the room.
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Gaudi removed four columns, two consecutive ones along the central axis and another two to the left and right. At the points where the columns were removed, four prefabricated medallions of 2.4 metres diameter each were placed. They span the entire space between the four adjacent domes, are clad with trencadis and were made by the architect Josep Maria Jujol."
(above quoted information was from a banner at Park Guell)
The Hypostyle Room was meant to be the market for the private estate. Look upwards when you're there because you will discover surprises of art that Gaudi had incorporated into the ceiling!
Placa de la Natura / Nature Square / The Greek Theatre
Partly dug into the mountain and partly held up by the Hypostyle Room, this open plaza once held all kinds of celebrations. Surrounding the edge of this open area is a continuous bench that is world-famous. Salvador Dalí had referred to the bench as the precursor of surrealism.
This continuous bench is decorated with beautiful trencadis – sometimes arranged purposefully, sometimes what appears to be random patterns. True to Gaudi's thoughtfulness, the bench is ergonomic – he had a workman sit in soft plaster so he could recreate the anatomical curve accurately. It was very comfortable sitting on the bench!
It was also at this plaza where we noticed a guy walking around with very 'unique' jeans – the jeans were cut off where the buttcheeks were at 😂. He was escorted off by the police lololl.
Theme #3: Nature
The next area you'll explore consists of whimsical pathways, porticos, and columns that appear to be growing out of the earth. Play spaces were created from the creative blending of architectural features as well as the area's natural aspects.
The final theme: Spirituality
Unfortunately, I cannot write on the last theme as I have no memory of this area of the park at all?!? The landscape is supposed to be more rugged, the incline turns steeper. I probably left through a different exit as there're different entry & exit points at Park Güell.
For the last theme of Park Guell, Gaudi had intended the path's visitor to feel as if one is on a religious pilgrimage. What an experience it would be!
Do you feel like seeing Gaudi's Park Guell with your own eyes?
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Visiting Spain? Check out these posts!
• Why You Need to Step Inside Sagrada Familia
• Gaudi's Casa Batllo – The House with No Straight Lines
Visited: Nov 2013
Information credits & additional sources: Park Guell's website | Viewport Magazine (the best article I found about Park Guell)
Image credits: Ceiling mosaic photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, and belongs to Wikipedia user Delialendeczki. 'Gumdrop' window photo was taken by Flickr user Librarygroover, image licensed under Creative Commons BY-ND 2.0.
All other photos featured in this post belong to me.
Follow my footsteps on social media!
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Though many of us take the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for granted, it adds immeasurably to the fabric of the city. Not only has it been home to the most spirited of recent First Amendment incidents, it has also produced a roster of accomplished and renowned alumni. On the occasion of SAIC's 125th anniversary–the school traces its lineage to the Chicago Academy of Design, founded in 1867–it has mounted two exhibitions heralding the work of its living alumni. And if the exhibits are a little self-congratulatory, they have a right to be. "From America's Studio: Drawing New Conclusions," at the Betty Rymer Gallery at the School of the Art Institute, and "From America's Studio: Twelve Contemporary Masters," in the Rice Building at the Art Institute, include work by some of the most important artists in the nation, most of it from rarely seen private collections or created especially for these shows.
The concept for the exhibits does raise a few questions. With such distinguished dead alums as Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, Georgia O'Keeffe, John Steuart Curry, Ivan Albright, Mark Tobey, and Walt Disney, why did they limit themselves to works by living alumni? Should a school that considers itself strong in film and video, performance, interior design, photography, fashion design, metalworking, and jewelry mount exhibitions that feature only painting, sculpture, and works on paper? And why are there two different shows?
James Yood, the visiting assistant professor who curated "Drawing New Conclusions," explains that he and Neal Benezra, curator of "Twelve Contemporary Masters" (and chief curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden), were aware of several past exhibitions that had surveyed the work of all alums, and thought that doing so again would be redundant.
Yood says there's a perception that the Rice Building show constitutes an A list, the Rymer Gallery show a B list, but he insists the distinction is far more straightforward. The size and configuration of the spaces dictated the character and content of each show. "Neal consciously chose works that were either on a monumental scale or that were sculpture," he says. "I looked for works on paper."
Determining the types of work was trickier but largely a matter of logistics, Yood says. Featuring all the disciplines taught at the school in one exhibit would have been unwieldy, and the exhibit difficult to assemble. But it's probably not unreasonable to assume that these media were chosen because they represent the "right" products of a traditional art education.
The limitations on form have meant that the exhibitions appear rather conservative; the shows emphasize the representational, the figurative, and the abstract. Neither one features much work related to such contemporary approaches as conceptualism. Although the piece by Tony Tasset (MFA '85) is a real head scratcher–a sheet of drawing paper rolled up and leaning against the wall–most of the works in both shows are extremely accessible. And many of the artists will be familiar even to those with only a passing interest in contemporary art.
"Twelve Contemporary Masters" offers major works by some leading lights in painting and sculpture. 3 Way Plug, Scale B, Soft by Claes Oldenburg (attended '51-'54) is a six-foot-high droopy electric plug hanging from a 30-yard cord–a conceptual first cousin to Batcolumn and perfectly representative of his 1970s oeuvre. There are two vividly colored and haunting paintings by Ed Paschke (BFA '61, MFA '70), a sinister, disturbing canvas by Leon Golub (BFA '49, MFA '50), a heroic bronze abstract sculpture by Richard Hunt (BAE '57) that Yood likens to the Nike of Samothrace in the Louvre, and three characteristically eccentric portraits in acrylic on Masonite by Jim Nutt (BFA '67).
Because "Drawing New Conclusions" includes many more pieces and artists, it better represents the full range of SAIC-alum talents. And while the works in the "Masters" show may be from any era in the artist's career, the works on paper are all quite recent. Some, like Big School Picture: Little Paper Mural by Gladys Nilsson (diploma '62), were made especially for the current show. Others were not, but all are typically from 1990 or later. As a result, Yood suggests, they offer a good indication of what these artists are doing today.
If SAIC is associated with any one movement in art, it would be Imagism–post-World War II figurative, representational art, at a time when the mainstream in American painting and drawing was abstract expressionism. Imagists Roger Brown (BFA '68, MFA '70), Paschke, and Nutt are three of the "Contemporary Masters," while "Drawing New Conclusions" features recent works by several other Imagists, among them Ray Yoshida (BAE '53), Karl Wirsum (BFA '61), Suellen Rocca (BFA '64), and Barbara Rossi (MFA '70).
The exhibits also showcase the work of some of the school's other, equally distinguished graduates. Among the standouts in "Drawing New Conclusions": a small, delicately rendered pen-and-ink drawing by David Klamen (MFA '85), a radical depature from the powerful, dark, varnished canvases that have brought him so much attention; a typically whimsical drawing, Muscle Beach Party, by Red Grooms (attended '55); a study for an elegant mural at Rockefeller Center by Robert Natkin (diploma '52); and distinctive pastels by Phyllis Bramson (MFA '74) and Hollis Sigler (MFA '73).
There's even a piece by LeRoy Neiman ('47-'50 and '54-'55). Yood says he knew he'd take some abuse by inviting a submission from Neiman, familiar to most for his garishly colored contributions to Playboy, but since he's "probably the most commercially successful graduate of the school," they felt it was important to include one of his pieces. One can almost hear Yood's sigh of relief as he opened the package from Neiman containing his 1992 The Maulers, a well-wrought charcoal drawing of boxers in the ring.
"Drawing New Conclusions," in the Betty Rymer Gallery, Columbus Drive and Jackson, will be open through June 10; "Twelve Contemporary Masters," at the Rice Building, Michigan at Adams, through June 14. Admission to the Rymer exhibit is free; hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 to 5. There is no additional charge for "Twelve Contemporary Masters"; suggested admission to the museum is $6 for adults, $3 for students, seniors, and children, but Tuesdays are free. Museum hours are 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday; 10:30 AM to 8 PM Tuesday; 10 AM to 5 PM Saturday; and noon to 5 PM Sunday. Call 443-3703 for more information.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photos/William H. Bengtson.


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By Winn Collier
In our first year, my wife Miska described All Souls as a "three-legged dog." She meant it an endearing way. Miska has always been drawn to those of us who hop along in life; and she's always eschewed the pretensions many of us so easily take on. Somehow, All Souls became a refuge for burnt, weary, broken people. Most people had some measure of church experience (we are in Virginia after all). Some weren't sure what they thought of God. Some felt beat up. Most all of us wanted a space where we could know love.
Into our second year, we've actually seen a little community form. For me, the beautiful things are when I see that glimmer of hope or joy return to someone's eyes or when someone joins us at Jesus' Table for the first time. Just the other day, one woman told me. "You know, for the first time, I don't feel like running away from church. I feel like I've been allowed to be a person here." Another woman told me simply, "I think that now I know God is real."
Our community is about as simple as they come. We read the Scriptures each Sunday. We pray prayers and gather around the gospel. We always pass Jesus' peace to one another. Sometime someone will have a reading or a piece of art or a story to share. We gather around the Scripture, either through a pastor teaching or through (and these are fun moments) a guided text conversation. Once a month, we have a shared meal. We meet in smaller communities in various nooks and crannies around the city, asking what it means to live as Jesus' disciples in our world. Most who are with us believe. Some are beginning to believe. Some don't care much but think there might be something here worth hanging around.
Soon, we'll turn from Lent to Easter, and on Easter morning we'll have our second Easter Party downtown. We'll have music and give away hot organic apple-spiced donuts from our local donut artisan, Carpe Donut. We'll be out in our city, among neighbors and friends and soon-to-be friends, celebrating that Jesus rose from the dead. We'll be out there, hopping along.
Winn Collier is the pastor at All Souls Charlottesville and blogs at http://winncollier.com/ and is pretty much a great guy. You can follow him on Twitter here.


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MATEC Web Conf.
Volume 67, 2016International Symposium on Materials Application and Engineering (SMAE 2016)
|Article Number
|Number of page(s)
|Chapter 6 Materials Science
|Published online
|29 July 2016
Urea Enhanced Aquathermolysis of Heavy Oil Catalyzed by Hydroxamic Acid-Co(II) Complex at Low Temperature
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an, 710065, China
a firstname.lastname@example.com
b firstname.lastname@example.com
c firstname.lastname@example.com
d 110189 firstname.lastname@example.com
e email@example.com
* Corresponding author: email@example.com
To develop effective water-soluble catalyst for aquathermolysis, a phenyl hydroxamic acid-Co( II ) complex was synthesized using hydroxamic acid and CoCl2. The effects of water content and catalyst concentration on aquathermolysis were investigated. The effect of adding urea as fortifiers was investigated. The crude oil samples before and after aquathermolysis were fully characterized by SARA and elemental analysis. With the catalyst and urea, the viscosity of the product was also substantially reduced from 470000 mPa•s to 120000 mPa•s at 15°C. Finally improved the flow properties better and upgrade the quality of heavy oil.
Key words: heavy oil / catalyst / viscosity reducing / catalytic aquathermolysis
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2016
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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All NRE reports represent a moment in time. For the most accurate data, please search on the Detailed View page. The website is updated daily, frequently with exonerations that occurred in the past.
On June 12, 2009, police in Houston, Texas arrested 38-year-old Earl Amory after they seized a substance from him that field-tested positive for the presence of cocaine.
On June 15, 2009, Amory pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to four months in the Harris County Jail.
On May 9, 2011, the Houston Police crime laboratory tested the substance seized from Amory and detected no controlled substances. The laboratory test report was forwarded to the Harris County District Attorney's Office where it was not discovered until 2014.
In 2016, the Harris County District Attorney's Office conviction integrity unit informed Amory's defense attorney of the test results and joined in a state law petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
On November 4, 2016, the Texas Court of Criminal appeals granted the writ and vacated the conviction. On December 20, 2016, the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989—cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989.
We welcome new information from any source about exonerations already on our list and about cases not in the Registry that might be exonerations.
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July 4, 2001 - August 21, 2013
Mama Samantha crossed the rainbow bridge this afternoon. She was born on the 4th of July, 2001, and came from Texas to live with us here in Tucson 2 years ago. Though she was a brood momma who never saw the track, she could outrun all of our retired career hounds and flaunted her spunky agility regularly. She loved taking her human girl to and from school - creating toofyless drool snart on the window and down the car door. Her favorite things to eat were chiggen, peanut butter, and anything her daddy was making for a sandwich. She had been battling kidney disease for over a year, and it finally took her body away from us. Her life, heart, and soul will remain with us forever. We love you, Mama Sam!! Thank you GALT for giving us the opportunity in adopting this most gracious, sweet senior greyhound gal.


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Barbara Harris, the actress known for her role in the original Freaky Friday, died on Tuesday, August 21, 2018. Barbara was 83 at the time of her life.
The Chicago Sun was the first to report the news of Barbara's death. She passed away in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she has resided for years. The cause of death has been reported to be cancer. According to The Chicago Sun, Barbara's friend Charna Halpern, co-founder of Chicago's iO Theater, said the cause was lung cancer.
Barbara Harris was born July 25, 1935, in Evanston, Illinois. As a teenager, she first got into show business when she joined the Playwrights Theatre in Chicago. Some famous fellow players that went there at the same time as Barbara were Edward Asner, Elaine May, and Mike Nichols.
She launched her career in the '60s in the theater. Her Broadway debut in the original musical revue production of From the Second City earned her a Tony Award. She earned another Best Actress nod for her work as Daisy Gamble in 1965's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. She then won again for her three roles in The Apple Tree.
Aside from her work on the stage, Barbara Harris had a lengthy career on TV and in film between 1961 and 1997. Some of her most notable work was playing Jodie Foster's mother in the original Freaky Friday. In the film, the fighting mother-daughter duo switches bodies and come to the realization that they do love each other. Some of her other notable work was in Family Plot, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Nashville.
The last film that Barbara Harris acted in was back in 1997's Grosse Pointe Blank. She was once married to actor and improv pioneer Paul Sills. Later in her life, Barbara taught acting after she moved to Arizona.
When she was asked if she would ever return to acting, she said:
"Well, if someone handed me something fantastic for 10 million dollars, I'd work again. But I haven't worked in a long time as an actor. I don't miss it. I think the only thing that drew me to acting in the first place was the group of people I was working with: Ed Asner, Paul Sills, Mike Nichols, Elaine May. And all I really wanted to do back then was rehearsal. I was in it for the process, and I really resented having to go out and do a performance for an audience, because the process stopped; it had to freeze and be the same every night. It wasn't as interesting."
She had a very brief return to performing in 2005, where she guest starred as "The Queen" and "Spunky Brandburn" on the Radio Repertory Company of America audio drama, Anne Manx on Amazonia, which aired on XM Satellite Radio.
Please SHARE this news with your friends and family to honor Barabara Harris' memory. May she rest in peace!


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|Contests and Forum Games Create, Participate, or Vote in a contest or Forum game here
|View Poll Results: Vote for the map(s) that are the best
|The Jabberwock
|Off the Beaten Path
|Cedrus Drift
|Peace Unknown
|Frosty Lake
|Forest Fire
|Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 29. You may not vote on this poll
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Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
This is the second of two brackets for the ScapeCon Map Contest. If you don't know what ScapeCon is check of this subform.
The goal of this contest was to create tournament quality maps that utilize a slit starting zone. There was a total 17 maps submitted. This bracket has nine maps and the other has eight. The top 3 from each bracket will advance to the final round. You may vote for multiple maps. Link to the other bracket.
Polls close Friday 5/14 at 11:59 PM Central.
Trade Thread: Updated 8/28/2023
Louisville Monthly Tournaments
Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
Do any of the Tundra maps (Chronicles, Cedrus Drift, Frosty Lake) have Heavy Snow or Slippery Ice rules in place? IMHO Chronicles and Frosty Lake should have heavy snow, I will especially not vote for Frosty Lake if it does not have Heavy Snow, as has too fast movement to height without IMHO.
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Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
superfrog's unqualified map thoughts:
Why use the road set if you aren't going to have any sections of road long enough to use the road bonus? I also feel like there should be a bit more level 4 somewhere.
Off the Beaten Path:
Similar to Mine's Rift, I don't feel like there's much interesting happening here. Basically just stepping up from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 with a road down the side. Not much by way of pathing.
Cedrus Drift:
Not a huge fan of roads that don't interact with the height. Choosing to take the road on this map makes it hard to get back towards the center.
Peace Unknown:
I appreciate the very interesting splits but this feels like Capuan Arena 2.0 in some ways, and like "how the heck do I attack my opponent" in other ways.
Somehow I got very hung up on the water in the back of the start zones, which messes with the map's aesthetics imo. Similar to Chronicles I feel that it could use a bit more level 4. Nearly got my vote.
Frosty Lake:
I like the road pathing and the SZ splits. I also appreciate the variety of height in and around the road. Got my vote.
I like the shape of this map and how the road plays through it. I think this map is a good execution of SZs being split by height as well. And center-ish glyphs? Super fun. Got my vote.
Forest Fire:
Lovely mix of terrain sets here, and great execution. Start zones really feel split, I love how the road fades up into the lava high ground as well. Got my vote.
Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
Most maps here are very exploitable for or against 2-3 height figures and very accommodating to Dragons with relative height 2-hexes just outside of Start Zones. (EDIT: This goes for both brackets.)
Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
The Jabberwock: The glyph placements are a little wide for my tastes, but overall, really nice work. I think I might also push the back dungeon three-hexes up one, so you can attack up into them from the shadow pools. Looking forward to trying this one. Got my vote.
Chronicles: I'm with SF here. The road could be used to better effect, and the center is a bit too static. Overall, a solid first draft, and it could be quite good with some revisions.
Off the Beaten Path: Not a fan. It's too long, the height isn't dynamic, the road isn't used to great effect. Carrying over from the other thread, I'd love to see what you can do by scrapping this map and bringing SOME of those tiles over to Mausoleum Ruins.
Cedrus Drift: I voted for this one because I really like the dynamic height shifts in the center! However, I don't like the roads along the side. This could be a great map with revisions!
Peace Unknown: A really cool concept, but it's wider than it needs to be, and I'm not sure it's really suited for tournament play. However, visually, it's a really cool map.
Desolation: A nice start, but way too big. It's too wide, and it's too long. However, I do really like the center (word of the day: dynamic height). Remove some of the tiles, but I think you're onto something!
Frosty Lake: Honestly, this would have gotten my vote had it been in the other bracket, but I limited myself to four votes here. It just seems a little small, but I'll probably test it this summer regardless.
Fantasy: Only 3 votes for this one so far feels criminal. I'd echo SF's thoughts here; it's one of my favorites. The edges could probably be a hex thinner, but it's not the end of the world. Got my vote.
Forest Fire: Completely agree with SF. I'd also be interested in shortening it by one row of hexes (something I'll probably discuss with UnseenShadowz). A great first competitive map from him; it got my vote.
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Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
Not a map expert but I'll join the fun.
Jabberwock- My intuition is the glyphs are way too wide. I think in practice it will play like a warped to the sides version of the Borogroves, which imo already plays a little too much to the sides. Very pretty board though.
Chronicles- Have to agree that the noncontinuous road is a little weird. I think the board could really benefit from a road down the middle to get some action going there, and in the corners to set things up in the middle.
Off The Beaten Path- I think this map is really cool. The flat road on the side and the hilly top makes for a very split startzone feel to the map even though the map itself is kind of flat. Not sure how balanced it is, but it's very creative.
Cedrus Drift- I like this map a lot. Startzones are strongly split by the Hive/Glacier and water, and has the same road dynamic as Off the Beaten Path but on both sides, with the snowy middle as the safer area. Voted for this one.
Peace Unknown- Not sure it's tournament viable but it embraces the chaotic startzones more than any other map in this pool. I struggle to see the game making it over to the glyphs to be honest, I think the fight will start instantly.
Desolation- Solid map. I think it's a little flat though, with the three 7+ hex flat areas right outside the startzones on level 2.
Frosty Lake- Fun one. Reminds me a lot of Wyrmwalk, but with Ice instead of lava. Voted for this.
Fantasy- Another cool one. I think this one the glyphs are too close together though, especially with the road.
Forest Fire- Solid board. I don't have too much to say; maybe it's a bit too much of a shooting gallery since the big LOS blocking ruins are in the back and the big tree isn't in play, but I like it. Voted for it.
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Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
Jabberwock: Very solid. Hills at opposite ends concern me a little, since you could end up with two camps no one wants to leave, even with some cover between. Also not a fan of the high point being 2 spaces, not leaving enough room a dragon or something that's gotten up there to be challenged from even ground.
Chronicles: I appreciate what this was trying to do, but not a big fan of the road not actually being utilized. Visually, and with the distribution of height, I think it might actually be an OK map. I'd probably just like it better with different terrain.
Off the Beaten Path: I like a concept map, but again the road is probably not very utilized here. To avoid armies just pulling straight toward the height, maybe glyphs could be introduced (one in the middle of the road, one between the height on the other side).
Cedrus Drift: Seems fine. Nothing much to comment on here, just a reasonable map.
Desolation: Same as Cedrus Drift.
Frosty Lake: Really interesting mix of road, shadow, and LoS blockers in the thick of the map. Again, there are good dragon perches, and I do wish the road accessed the outer-most height. But it does look quite interesting to play.
Fantasy: This time the 2-hex height is both accessible by road and not the highest point of the map! The central glyphs are interesting, though I do wonder if that would cause the outer lanes to be neglected.
Forest Fire: And here the 2-hex height again accesible by road, and also lava! Not much else to say on this one. Possibly my favorite of this bracket.
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Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
Second bracket unsolicited thoughts:
The Jabberwock:
Very wide map, but I think what's really hurting it is that it's difficult to navigate from side to side. There's also a lot of fast height changes, which I'm never too excited to see in a map but may just be a pet peeve.
I'm not as bugged by the covered road spaces as others, I think, but I do think it would be nice to have at least a stretch of road available to help development. I do think the concept is fun, though. Pretty good build, but my gut is saying developing left is favored.
Off the Beaten Path:
I'm not really a fan of long and narrow maps. I never find the gameplay exciting, and in this case Raelin can cover all but one line of hexes. (She always covers a lot of real estate, but it always seems especially noticeable on these long and narrow maps.)
Cedrus Drift:
I really like this build. I do think it would be a pain for double-spaced heavy armies with the narrow swaths of height through the middle, which would be my primary suggestion for improvement.
Peace Unknown:
Looks like a lot of fun, though not something I'd play competitively. Would like it even more if the sides were brought in some.
Personal pet peeve: Maps that use two SotM because I only have one. (I'm a filthy casual...) It definitely feels too big and that a lot of time would be spent developing. If the start zones were right at the base of the level 2 height, I think it's much more exciting.
Frosty Lake:
Personal pet peeve: Small maps because they're hard for me to gauge. I feel like there are a lot of ways to restrict movement here which concerns me, but also there are a lot of paths so I may be misjudging it. Love the set combo.
I really like the look of this one. I feel like there are a lot of options available to keep the decisions fresh throughout a game. I'm not 100% sold on all of the height placements, but I'd play it in a heartbeat.
Forest Fire:
I get really concerned when seeing a map this open because range can do a lot. But at the same time, I absolutely love how this map is using the lava and road. So ultimately I could see gameplay going either way, but it gets me excited to try it out!
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Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
Thanks for the input!
Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
Great map analyses, everyone! Had a blast reading them.
Last edited by Typhon2222; May 13th, 2021 at 12:09 AM.
Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
My post from the other bracket.
Trade Thread: Updated 8/28/2023
Louisville Monthly Tournaments
Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
More hot takes from the peanut gallery:
The Jabberwock
Love the start zones, color coded, well split, and really stretching the pathing out to accommodate the wider map
Love the Borogoves feel in the center and I'm really happy with the placement of the other TJ pieces as well.
The map just looks awesome (already built this one IRL)
I voted for this map, likely my favorite so far
I agree that it would be nice if the central outcrops could be brought outward more to allow the shadow pool to contest some of the two hills.
Development seems like it flows well here
Love maps that use the bridge walls and they look great
Don't mind the un-bonused road aesthetically
The split here seems a little arbitrary, not sure how it plays that much differently than an un-split map.
Off the Beaten Path
The bilateral symmetry is very cool and it shows you took some time with it, at least in my experience bilaterally symmetrical maps take some finesse when working within a set amount of tiles.
The center of the map looks especially fun to play
Tiny bit of double-space denial in the SZ (not a huge deal)
As others have said, it's long, and I'm not sure the road will make it worth the slog
Peace Unknown
Certainly the most creative take on the challenge and a very clever idea
Love the way you made playing through the center so difficult, but you're rewarded with Wannok if you do
The straight castle walls that butt up to the RotV ruins may need to be rotated to fit (at least in my test they needed to be flat side facing the RotV ruin tip)
Probably not great for standard tourneys, but I'd run this in a figure draft game for sure
Great theme, liking the dual hive action as always and the name fits what I'm seeing
Don't love the start zones back-lined with water, not sure why it's there except aesthetics maybe
It feels pretty large and the pathing seems odd in places
I do feel like this is maybe only a few tweaks away from being twice as appealing to me
Frosty Lake
The road looks very usable and the terrain combo is gorgeous
Shadow placement seems on point
The two 2-hex perches can't be hopped back and forth on with 6 move dragons
It would be cool if the road could contest the north and south snow hills
Zelrig would have maybe too good a time on this, but no one can afford him anyhow
Really like the long two-hex SZs on this though it's a pretty mild split here
Digging the way you divided the grass and sand between the two sides of the map giving it balance without it being completely aesthetically symmetrical
Not sold on the glyphs being so close to each other, I feel like the faster team could lock down the whole center and have quite the advantage depending on the glyph pool
I think just moving the glyphs would help the outskirts see more action, even though I like the edges play fast and have good LOS blocks.
Forest Fire
Love how the road works its way to the lava height and has a few good pockets of elevation itself without being overpowered
Glad to see the SZ get some good cover from the ruins
A tiny double-space figure denial in the SZ and a little hard for them a couple other places on the map too, but nothing huge
Would almost like seeing the lava and water swap places in the SZ split
High lava dunk potential
This isn't the first map named this for a map building contest, but I don't think Rednax published it on his page, no biggy probably
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Last edited by Ulysses; May 15th, 2021 at 03:45 AM.
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|January 21st, 2012 10:37 AM


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Come, rest your heart and be strengthened by the Divine Mercy
A unique opportunity.
The first retreat in English in the place where St. Faustina met with the Merciful Jesus.
On September 3-6, 2020, for the first time ever, a Divine Mercy preached retreat in English will be held at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki. Retreatants will have an opportunity for a deeper and personal experience of Divine Mercy in the place where St. Faustina encountered the Merciful Jesus.
A full retreat day will include Holy Mass with homily, Eucharistic Adoration, two retreat conferences, Hour of Mercy and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and time for private prayer and meditation. Fr. Jason Jones, rector of the Diocesan Shrine of Divine Mercy in Morriston, Wales, UK and the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy will be giving the retreat conferences.


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Mouse Leave Event
Some information relates to prerelease product that may be substantially modified before it's released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.
Occurs when the mouse pointer leaves the bounds of this element.
virtual event System::Windows::Input::MouseEventHandler ^ MouseLeave;
public event System.Windows.Input.MouseEventHandler MouseLeave;
member this.MouseLeave : System.Windows.Input.MouseEventHandler
Public Custom Event MouseLeave As MouseEventHandler
Event Type
MouseLeave is a routed event that uses the direct event handling routing strategy. Direct routed events are not raised along a route; instead, they are handled in the same element where they are raised. However, they do enable other aspects of routed event behavior, such as event triggers in styles.
Although MouseLeave tracks when the mouse leaves an element, this event more literally reports that the IsMouseOver property value has changed from
true to
false on this element.
This event creates an alias for the Mouse.MouseLeave attached event for this class, so that MouseLeave is part of the class members list when UIElement is inherited as a base element. Event handlers that are attached to the MouseLeave event are attached to the underlying Mouse.MouseLeave attached event and receive the same event data instance.
Routed Event Information
|Identifier field
|Routing strategy
- Override OnMouseLeave to implement class handling for this event in derived classes.


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Feb. 22, it was West Virginia. April 2, it was Kentucky and Oklahoma. April 26, it was Arizona. April 27, it was Colorado. May 16, it was North Carolina.
In each of these states, striking teachers walked out to protest stagnant wages, continual decreases in per-student spending and other problems in public education. The teachers on strike cite years of budget cuts and deteriorating classroom conditions as reasons for their dissatisfaction. In Arizona, for example, teachers protested to gain more funding and ultimately won a 19 percent pay raise after a five-day walkout.
"A lot of people are finally understanding what's going on," English teacher Charles Berezin said. "What's been happening with [the so-called] attempts to reform schools hasn't been talked about as an attack on teachers, which is what it really is. But, what we're seeing all around the country is that a lot of people are becoming active who haven't been, and I think teachers are leading that charge."
The teacher strikes follow a recent series of activist movements, such as the gun control and #MeToo movements. Unlike gun control and sexual harassment, however, education is primarily a local and state responsibility, which has led to varying requirements and curriculums nationwide. The day-to-day operation of most public schools is controlled by individual school districts.
In each of the states facing teacher strikes, however, there are a few key similarities: most are historically anti-union and all have faced severe budget cuts in the last few decades. In Oklahoma, for example, "right-to-work" legislation restricts the power of unions, and inflation-adjusted per-student funding in the public school system has dropped by almost 30 percent over the last 30 years, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Teachers on strike in the state asked for an additional $200 million of funding.
"[The strikes] are happening, for the most part, in states with Republican governors and legislatures," Berezin said. "What these governments have been up to is making massive tax cuts and promising that this is going to make everything better. School budgets are a major part of any state's budget, and so it's the education that gets affected most by these kinds of cuts. It's all about these budget cuts."
Berezin said he and his students discussed the strikes and why they were happening in one of his classes, AP Language: The Language of Protest. Their discussion centered around the broader trends behind the strikes, Berezin said.
"The teachers have historically always sort of been on the forefront of labor activism," Berezin said. "I'm very cheered to see this sort of revival of labor activism at this time. I think it's terribly important."
Although Harvard-Westlake students have participated in other political movements, such as the "March for Our Lives" movement, the school is uniquely removed from the teacher strikes given its situation as a private school in a state with a pro-union government.
"Along with many other Harvard-Westlake kids, I haven't really heard much about the strikes because the issues that we do focus on tend to be more about national politics, like the political debates about gun control and stuff like that," Leo Kwok '20 said.
Berezin, however, argued that education is a national issue.
"I have friends who teach in the public school system, and what they're going through is just horrifying, even in Los Angeles," Berezin said. "There's an attack on teachers' organizations and on teachers' unions led by what passes for the school reform movement. It's an attempt to introduce for-profit companies into public education. So, this kind of activism is happening even here [in California], where we're not having the massive budget cuts that red states are going through."
Berezin said the lack of awareness about the strikes was just another symptom of students' general political apathy.
"For the most part, I think that Harvard-Westlake students are not that politically-oriented, which I think is unfortunate," Berezin said. "I would like to see more of that, but I just don't think they're that politically concerned, and I would like to see some more concern about that."
On the other hand, Julia MacCary '19 said that she believes most Harvard-Westlake students are interested in current events and drew a connection between the teacher strikes and student activism at the school.
"I find it interesting that the strike in West Virginia was started on Facebook," MacCary said. "We as Harvard-Westlake students use Facebook pretty extensively to communicate with each other, and movements such as 'March for Our Lives' and 'Women's March on Washington' are organized largely with the use of Facebook."
Members of the school community also said they could understand the motives behind the strikes.
"I support the strikes because I believe teachers have a right to collectively bargain for higher wages," Emmanuel Zilber '19 said. "They are one of the most important factors in educating the next generation, and so they ought to be compensated [more], both as a greater incentive for more to join the workforce and because of the necessity of their work."
Conversely, Spanish teacher Sephora Escarpeta-Garcia said that while she generally opposes strikes, she could empathize with her fellow teachers.
"I don't like the strikes, [but] I don't understand why more respect is given to other professions than to us, the teachers who are working to shape and inspire multiple generations to be excellent and passionate in every area of their lives," Escarpeta-Garcia said. "Really, we are here to make positive change, since the students in our classes are the leaders of the future. There always has to be a balance in what we want as teachers, what is fair for not just the students and the community, but also for us teachers who work very hard."
Shirleen Garcia, a special education teacher at Johnson Elementary School in Arizona, however, said that she did not participate in the Arizona strike.
"I wasn't in favor of the strike," Garcia said. "It is for a good reason, but I personally felt like a political pawn. Both sides had agendas under the surface."
Garcia also explained that teachers' strikes are not a simple black-or-white issue, as there are many different factors in play, including the impact of striking on students.
"I was mad as a parent," Garcia said. "Because with such short notice, what was I supposed to have done with my kids if I hadn't been a teacher? I [also] didn't think it made sense to strike near the end of the school year rather than at the beginning when the impact would have been felt more."
Overall, the strikes have had mixed results, with varying degrees of concessions made. In West Virginia, for example, teachers won all five of their major demands, including a five percent pay raise and the elimination of a proposal to create more charter schools. In Oklahoma, teachers received a raise but did not win any significant legislation to increase school funding. However, MacCary expressed hope that voters would ultimately be able to improve the situation.
"I look forward to seeing how those states and others will change in response to [teachers'] complaints," MacCary said. "I hope that voters will consider candidates' views on education and taxes when casting their votes."


text: H.R.226 - Support Assault Firearms Elimination and Reduction for our Streets Act - Bill Text | Congress.gov | Library of Congress `SEC. 25E. ASSAULT WEAPON TURN-IN CREDIT. ``(a) Allowance of Credit.-- ``(1) In general.--In the case of an individual who surrenders a specified assault weapon to the United States or a State or local government (or political subdivision thereof) as part of a Federal, State, or local public safety program to reduce the number of privately owned weapons, on the election of the taxpayer there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter an amount equal to $2,000. ``(2) Year credit allowed.--The amount of the credit under paragraph (1) shall be allowed \1/2\ for the taxable year during which the assault weapon was so surrendered and \1/2\ in the next taxable year. ``(b) Special Rules.-- ``(1) Weapon must be lawfully possessed.--No credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) with respect to any specified assault weapon not lawfully possessed by the taxpayer at the time the weapon is surrendered. ``(2) Substantiation requirement.--No credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) for the surrender of any specified assault weapon unless the taxpayer substantiates the surrender by a contemporaneous written acknowledgment of the surrender by the Federal, State, or local governmental entity to which the weapon is surrendered. ``(3) Denial of double benefit.--The taxpayer may elect the application of this section with respect to only 1 weapon, and if such election is made for any taxable year, no deduction shall be allowed under any other provision of this chapter with respect to the surrender or contribution of the specified assault weapon. ``(c) Assault Weapon.--For purposes of this section-- ``(1) In general.--The term `specified assault weapon' means any of the following: ``(A) The following rifles or copies or duplicates thereof: ``(i) AK, AKM, AKS, AK-47, AK-74, ARM, MAK90, Misr, NHM 90, NHM 91, SA 85, SA 93, VEPR, So, I go and order these. Akm / Akms Receiver Blank - 1003555, Tactical Rifle Acc at Sportsman's Guide drill some holes and dremel out the magwell. At that point, according to the ATF, it's a gun. And mind you, it's an AK .. which is eligble for the credit. And I'd legally own it. Fricken sweet, for less than 30 bucks and 15 minutes I'm getting 2k tax credit. Hmm I wonder.