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In grade 3, my class had to memorise a poem to recite to the school at our morning assembly, I must have been 9 at the time and even though my memory fails me at the best of times it managed to hold on to these words.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I never realised it at the young age of 9, but these words would, in fact, shape my destiny.
My mother grew up in Newlands, it was cold and Calvinistic and she never felt like she fitted in. She spent her breaks at school staring at the Holiday Inn Hotel across the field wondering where those tourists were coming from and imagining a whole life outside of the prison she found herself in. Winters were cold and she was told by her mother that she needed to reduce (lose weight). She felt starved of love and food, as her mother used to lock the fridge and she was served boiled diet food when the rest of the family ate a hearty supper.
There was a painting in her house of a red flamenco dancer, dancing in a circle of people playing music and clapping, it had such a sense of warmth and she felt so alive when she looked at it, she thought, "if someone painted this scene, then there must be a place out there with this feeling with this spirit and energy which was so alive.
She was relieved when her parents sent her to Israel at 19 after school and for the first time in her life she found that feeling and felt alive.
She was staying on a Kibbutz full of South Africans but preferred to stick with the locals. She met my father who was 17 at the time, on a bus while travelling to visit a friend and asked him for directions. He had such nice manners for an Israeli, he actually got off the bus with her to show her where to go.
A week later she bumped into him again in the old city of Jerusalem and had a lovely friendly chat, then both of them went on their way. The 70's Jerusalem was a melting pot of different cultures, the movie Saturday Night Fever had just come out and the local Levantine men wore tailored trousers, and tight fitting shirts. They had afros and strutted around in style just like John Travolta, my mother was in heaven.
As fate would have it, ten days later they bumped into each other at the central post office. He asked my mother for her number, but the thought of waiting next to the phone hoping it would ring was too much for her, so she asked him for his number instead, she also happened to mention which youth hostel she was staying at. Unfortunately she lost his number and was absolutely devastated, so she decided to wait at the central bus station in Jerusalem for the entire day hoping she would see him like a needle in a haystack, but there was no sign of Shlomo.
The hostel she was staying at was run by Eskimos and she gave them strict instructions that Shlomo was the man she was going to marry (she had probably spent a total of 1 hr with him, but was certain) and if he phoned her, they were to insist that he leave his number and if he showed up, they had to knock on her door urgently to warn her. 2 weeks went by and she had given up hope and found herself another boyfriend Ibrahim, who she liked to call "Avi" (the Israeli Jewish version). One day they received a knock on the door from the Eskimo who told her King Solomon (Shlomo) had arrived.
My mother was so excited, she kicked Ibrahim out and got herself together to meet her King, who was waiting in the lobby. She had been waiting for this moment but now she was conflicted and froze, Shlomo was waiting downstairs and poor "Avi" was outside upset. The Eskimo came knocking at the door once again shouting at her to take a phone call immediately at the front desk, Ibrahim wouldn't stop calling. She walked downstairs sheepishly with the Eskimo to answer the phone glanced at my father and gave him a brief smile, he must have thought "this girl is very strange'.
"Avi" began yelling at my mother so come see him outside immediately or he was coming in, well that would have been a catastrophe like no other, so she went to speak to him outside, wait it gets better!
At this very moment the police showed up outside the hostel and assumed that my mother an "Avi" were doing a drug deal, they ordered my mother to go upstairs and show them her passport. they searched everyone's rooms and found a piece of Hashish wrapped in foil in my mother's coat pocket. She swore she had no idea it was drugs, she really thought it was a piece of chocolate. if you know my mother you would know what a chocoholic she is and that she doesn't even drink let alone take drugs. The police dragged her downstairs in handcuffs as she looked at Shlomo completely mortified.
Being the "Yeled Tov Yerushalayim" (goodie too shoes Jerusalem boy) that he was, my father was in a complete state of shock, what had he gotten himself into? He ended up bailing my mother out of jail the next day and she sat down with him and told him to please give her a chance, "This was all a misunderstanding, please just give me 1 week of your time and if you don't like me after that, we can go our separate ways." In my mother's mind she knew this was the man she was going to marry.
My father invited my mother for Shabbat dinner with his family the following week, she couldn't believe what a warm family he had and what an abundance of moroccan food there was. She ate herself into a coma and decided she was quite happy there and didn't want to leave. She finally felt at home even though she couldn't understand what his family were saying. My parents were in love and it was time to build a life together, My mother had to wait 3 years before he finished the army to return to South Africa to take her future husband to meet her parents..
They came to South Africa and had a big wedding, she felt so delighted that she
managed to seal the deal. My father felt like a fish out of water initially, as he was thrown in to a culture that was very different from his own. They had planned to return to Israel to live 2 years later but my father grew close to my mother's father, who became like a second father who mentored him and groomed him into a successful businessman and auctioneer.
I was born in Cape Town on September 19th 1984. I was 2 months premature, which I'm pretty sure it contributed to my fighting spirit in life.
Being the firstborn, my parents were naturally obsessed with me, my mother treated me like I was her little doll. When she couldn't find cute enough clothing for her little princess to wear, she would buy actual dolls and dress me up in their cute outfits.
I was very fortunate to have such loving doting parents.
At age 2 my brother arrived in this world, I was so happy to have a new brother and friend to play with. Dancing and singing and putting on shows for my parents, was my favourite past time, I even dressed up my brother in one of my tutus for our grand ballet Show! My brother and I had a love hate relationship and there was bad sibling rivalry, in our early years we got along, but as we got older we wanted to kill each other at the best of times and my mother was exhausted from playing the mediator.
I went to Alon Ashel nursery school and the highlight of my week was being chosen to be the "Ima" (mother in Hebrew) at our Shabbat service where I would say the blessings over the candles to welcome in the Sabbath and we would eat Challah bread and drink grape juice (an age-appropriate substitute for wine).
I was a very sociable and creative child with an active imagination and a sense of wonder. I loved art and looked forward to extracurricular art classes once a week after school where I could develop my skills.
I grew up in a very lively home, there was always music playing. My father being Israeli, had an eclectic worldly taste in music. He would play his favourite 70's or Eurovision hits and The Gypsy Kings were his favourite. I would be transported to Italy with the hits from the San Remo Song Festival and to Paris by famous French singers like Joe Dassin.
Our house was very sociable, there would always be a lively bunch of friends over and our weekends were spent braaing (barbecuing) and splashing in the pool.
I was the apple of my father's eye and he would always throw me the best birthday parties, scrambling to get party decorations at the last minute but somehow managing to pull it off. Pass the Parcel, Pick O Box, the chocolate game and the dancing freeze game, were the standard birthday activities.
One party in particular that stood out for me, was my "Pop Star" birthday party, I think I was 6 or 7. Obviously, I was Janet Jackson in black high waisted pants and a beaded crop top, we sang karaoke and danced the evening away. All I wanted, was to be a pop star.
Since I could stand, I loved to dance and had a natural sense of rhythm. I got sent to ballet at age 6, and was told that It was the foundation and discipline for all genres of dance. I struggled with it and the classical music really didn't resonate with me. I also had a podgy big tummy not conducive to being a ballerina.
I started primary school and fell short as I struggled immensely with reading, I was lagging a lot behind my class and my confidence started to dwindle, I was also bullied by one girl in particular who made me feel rather small, but I kept my head up and carried on.
Modern dancing was my new found passion and I loved it, however it was very challenging for me to pick up the steps. I persevered and did many dance eisteddfods and won the best character dance prize in my red tulle skirt and black hat for my version of Eliza Dolittle's sing "Just You Wait Henry Higgins".
For my second dance that year, I completely blanked midway in my performance, I forgot the dance and ran off the stage to the song " A La La La Long, A La La Long Long Di Long Long Long" I will never forget it. I nearly gave up, instead I started tap lessons that year and excelled as I had a great sense of rhythm.
I had prayed so hard for a little sister and couldn't believe my prayers were answered when I was 9, but my parents were very anxious when Gabriella was born.
She was a miracle baby being 3 months premature and weighing 750 grams, just like a tub of margarine. She was so delicate and minute, her body was slightly bigger than the size of a standard ball-point pen. Gabriella got pneumonia and my parents were nervous wrecks praying for her survival. Even though I was just 9 years old I confidently reassured my mother not to worry, that I had been praying every night and I just knew Gabi was going to be ok. My intuition was right, she was the most beautiful child you have ever seen. I just loved having a baby sister.
By grade 3, all the friends I had were shining in ballet and I felt completely left out. I had no confidence and was left with only 1 friend. My self esteem plummeted even further as I couldn't do Maths. I would sit in class so lost, I would just sharpen my pencils the entire lesson. My teacher was rather concerned and sent me for an IQ test. Feeling very stupid up until that point, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had a very high IQ and that my grades should be in the high B's and that I might even get a few A's. This brought a huge sense of relief and I started applying myself more. It was safe to say that I did much better in the subjects that were more interesting to me and I quickly came to understand that my creative right brain was working overtime in order to compensate for the lack of activity in my left brain, the seat of numbers and logic.
Never the less, I was loved by my teachers and started to become popular again by the time I reached grade 6.
I was a very sensitive child and a bit of a cry baby, I remember going to a friends birthday party and calling my mother crying to come to fetch me because my friends were being horrible to me. She told me to go back in the room and pretend that everyone liked me and if I still felt sad I should call her after 10 minutes to come and collect me. I called her back five minutes later and told her I was fine and didn't want her to fetch me. Through that lesson, she taught me, that how we perceive our reality is everything, and a slight shift in perception can make the world of difference.
When I was 10 years old I auditioned and got into the musical Evita as one of the children, I was so excited, I remember that first feeling of being in the theatre, the vast backstage with all the hanging props and sets waiting in the wings, even the smell of the dusty red velvet curtains and of course the costumes, the charismatic actors and being centre stage in the spotlight. I knew at that point, I felt like I was home, this was where I was meant to be, this was my destiny.
In Grade 6, my last year of junior school, I landed my first part in our school play "The Jungle Book" as Baloo, the bear. The timing couldn't have been worse as my parents had booked us a
once in a lifetime dream holiday to Disney World.
It was a tough decision to make, to go on this dream holiday and miss out on my first debut role. Some of the other mothers told my mom,
"She better not miss this opportunity because once she gets to middle school, it will be so competitive that she might not get another chance."
Needless to say, off I went to Disney World. Luckily the opposite happened when I got to middle school.
One of my best friend's Oona, had very creative parents, her father was a film director and her mother was a Yogi before yoga was all the rage and mainstream. They lived in a very big house at the top of Fresnaye. There was a wind chime that tinkled outside the main entrance and it made me feel very calm when I visited. Oona's mother had a yoga studio in the house where she would teach. On one of my visits we met one of her guests, a guru from the USA, a few of us friends sat in the yoga studio on the floor as he played us his favourite uplifting Kundalini songs. We asked him so many questions of a spiritual nature, questions we desperately wanted answers to. I think that was the start of my spiritual journey, I began to think out the box and question things, I also started finding all these random new age books around my house on subjects like astro travelling, the afterlife and new age religions. When I asked my mother where these books came from, she had no idea. I guess I, the student was ready and the master appeared. Subconsciously I knew this would take me to another place and decided to put down the books till a later stage.
I have to hand it to my mom, she was and still is the most unconventional, brilliant mother, I would not be who I am today without her. She helped me believe in myself, supported me and always said, "nothing ventured, nothing gained". At around age 11/12, a new underage club opened up in Claremont called "Taboo", all the mothers were in a state about us kids going there, so naturally my mother went to check it out. There was no alcohol, no drugs and she told the other mothers,
"Let them go, while they are young and want to dance, let them dance."
That was my mother for you, always thinking out the box. Thanks to her we had the most wonderful nights at Taboo, socialising and dancing our hearts out.
I went into early puberty in grade 6 and started breaking out in really bad acne, it followed me to middle school and I was put on Roaccutane, I had to wear heavy makeup to cover it, which made me feel rather insecure. On the upside, my reading improved and I ended up receiving the best reading prize at the end of Middle school.
The Bar/Batmitzvah season was the highlight of grade 7, having a party to look forward to with all my friends every single weekend.
I also had a wonderful dinner dance Batmitzvah, with a theatrical theme.
I joined the school choir and that really started to boost my confidence.
I was adored by my choirmaster, Ivor Joffee, who believed in me and allowed me to shine, giving me most of the wonderful solo parts.
I was also training privately with a classical singing teacher to strengthen my voice and widen my range, I was being trained as a Soprano and learning German arias which weren't my favourite, I preferred Italian. Anyways I was broadening my knowledge of music and listening to the likes of Maria Callas, extremely different to my pop Idol J.Lo but I was determined to have a strong voice and just like ballet, classical vocal training is the foundation for any great singer.
We were going on our first choir tour to Port Elizabeth and the night before we left, I had a dream that the other girls were all singing my parts, It was awful.
The next day when we arrived in PE, I was called to the teachers who were leading the field trip.
They sat me down and said: "Dani, unfortunately, there have been some complaints from the other girls' mothers, that you are being given preferential treatment and are singing most of the solos, so we have to be fair and give some of your solo parts to the other girls.
I was gutted, my dream had come true, I couldn't believe it.
It was so unfair! How could they do this?
My mother was really upset so she went to the principal and asked him,
"Do you send your mediocre students to the Maths Olympiad? What about the Waterpolo team? Then why when it comes to the performing arts are you not allowing the most gifted to shine?"
He agreed one hundred percent, but the damage was done.
That was my first introduction into the politics I would face in this industry.
Every year my family went on holiday to the Beacon Isle Hotel in Plettenberg Bay.
The talent show was by far the highlight for me and my father. He told me, "Tonight, you are going to sing " Time To Say Goodbye". I knew it, but was really scared that I wouldn't be able to pull it off. What if I didn't hit the high note at the end? I would be mortified! I was so angry at my father for pushing me to do it that I locked myself in the bathroom and wouldn't come out. He had decided I was doing it and was so excited about it, that I just had to suck it up and do it for him. He really had more faith in me than I had in myself. I was so relieved when I heard the huge applause and that people loved it. I felt a sense of pride that I pulled it off and realised how much of an obstacle fear was, I had to overcome it.
Middle school gave me my second introduction to drama by being part of the school plays and the process of creating a musical. I loved rehearsals and being part of a cast, I was lucky enough to get the main solo part, performing the dance number from Evita "Buenas Aires" in one school production, I never imagined I would be playing the lead in the international tour one day.
At 14 I went with my family on a trip to The Big Apple. I had dreamed of New York as I used to watch the Musical/Movie Fame, I was beyond thrilled to be there right in the middle of Times Square, with it's yellow cabs racing by, the fast paced energy and air of excitement, the land of opportunity.
I went to my first Broadway musical Foot Loose, I was so inspired that I walked out of that show and told my parents,
"This is what I want to do with my life"
I was asked to perform for an incredible charity event happening at the Nico Malan Theatre (now Artscape theatre) "A Night of a Hundred Stars" , I would be singing with 2 other girls and the guest of honour was the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson. We sang Thank You For the Music by Abba, Fame and Body Electric from Fame.
It made me even more certain, that the stage was where I belonged.
Shortly after that, my family went on a fun outing to Ratanga Junction Theme Park where I heard the most stunning Latin music playing. As the sun began to set, I followed the beautiful sound of the Flamenco guitar.
I found "The Gypsy Kings" well, Cape Town's version of them, in a quaint restaurant. They had a female singer already but I was determined to be in this band. I approached one of the guitarists in their break and asked if they needed anymore singers. He told me that the position was already filled, I mean clearly it was, there she was.
Determined, I told him to take my number and should she fall ill or not be able to make a gig, I could fill in.
I waited for months and didn't hear anything, and out of the blue I got a call from Faiz, the Flamenco guitarist from the band, he asked me if I would be interested in learning the music as one of the singers had fallen pregnant and would need to be replaced soon.
I was so excited, this was my shot at being part of a real band, my first real job! It beat my summer job, selling sandwiches on the beach.
I agreed to meet him at his home the following week to start working on the repertoire.
Now I should mention that Faiz was a heavyset man, old enough to be my grandfather, and I was a 15-year-old girl going to his house unsupervised. Not only that, here I was, a naive Jewish girl from Sea Point rocking up in Bo Kaap slap bang in the Cape Malay Muslim quarter. I remember walking up the steep cobblestone hill into a brightly coloured bottle green house. I heard the (Moazin) call to prayer from a nearby mosque, I stood at the doorway thinking that perhaps I had the wrong house number as it was very dilapidated. The floorboards creaked as I walked in, the paint on the interior walls was peeling off and there was an overpowering smell of curry cooking in the kitchen. I definitely wasn't in Sea Point anymore.
Faiz was a very introverted man, let's just say he didn't have the best social skills.
He walked me up the creaking stairs towards a bedroom and I'm not going to lie, I felt very scared. You must be thinking, and your parents just dropped you off there?
It was a bit weird sitting with him on a bed in this room at first, but then I relaxed and realised that he was harmless.
There was no Itunes in those days, so no downloading backing tracks, we worked with midi files and he played the guitar over. (God I sound ancient!)
I started learning all of Gloria Estefan's songs, Bossa Novas in Portuguese and mainly a lot of Latin Pop, it was the time of Ricky Martin and J.LO.
I would have to do my homework and learn the songs by our next meeting. I would write out the Spanish lyrics and then rewrite them phonetically, I would listen to them over and over again until they were memorised. Half the time I didn't even know what the words meant, isn't it amazing how one's brain can do that?
I worked really hard on the repertoire and it was finally time for my first real live paying gig.
I was 15 years old and the gig was at a Latin restaurant in Plumstead called Mambos. I was petrified, I just wanted to seem professional and be taken seriously.
The second gig at Mambos went better, I gained more confidence and started really performing.
I absolutely loved being a part of this band and was fond of the other musicians, I respected them and they respected me as an artist.
Suddenly I was put in a hard place, because now being a part of the band meant gigs on the weekends and putting them first. I had to either choose to go on organised school weekends away with my friends or gig with the band.
It was tough, but I chose the band.
I was finally in high school and so excited to audition for West Side Story, all I wanted was to play Maria, I looked the part, I could sing the notes, I mean after singing in Spanish in my band, I practically was Latina! I was perfect for it!
One of the teachers in charge of the production singled me out in the audition group call and asked me to Sing "Somewhere" (the showstopper from the show) for everyone. She told the others "Now this is how you sing that song!". I was flattered and felt I had a good chance at landing the lead role. The next day the cast was announced and the daughter of the other teacher who was putting on the play, got the role, she was blonde and no Maria, I was absolutely devastated, I went home and cried the whole afternoon. I told myself this would be the first of many rejections and that it was toughening me up and teaching me resilience for life in the real world after school.
My father and I would spend many nights getting lost in music together, to the point of irritating the rest of the family. He was very involved in my career and decided he would help make my dream of becoming a pop star a reality. He found me a songwriter and a producer and I recorded my first song " How could you do this to me". I loved being in the studio and felt quite at home there. My single had a definite Brittany Spears vibe to it and my producer managed to get it on a few radio stations. I was ecstatic when I heard it on the radio for the first time.
I had a photoshoot for a write up in the Argus newspaper about me and I couldn't believe my dream was coming true. I remember driving down Strand Street with my mom and seeing bulletin boards that read " City Girl On The Road To Pop Stardom", I thought to myself, "Wow, she's lucky!" not realising it was me they were talking about. The article was supposed to be in the Arts section but ended up being printed on the front page of the newspaper.
It was all happening! I was asked to be part of a huge concert with other local charting radio artists called the Fanta Phat Jam, I was so nervous as I would be performing in front of 6000 fans. I worked on some choreography with 3 male back up dancers in the weeks preceding the event and finally, it was showtime! I had to have a sip of whisky before just to calm my nerves, It worked wonders and the crowd went wild for my performance.
I was so excited to go to school the next day and share my news with my friends, my dream was becoming my reality. The next day I walked in beaming with pride and joy but was absolutely gutted to find out that my dear friend, Nasko, was in a motorbike accident and had passed away. I was heartbroken, how life has a way of being so bittersweet, one moment you can be on such a high and then life just punctures you in the gut deflating you to a shrivelled up low.
I cried for weeks, it was my first real loss.
Soon life carried on as it does and I continued to sing with Faiz, Ishmael and the band.
It wasn't long after that I was asked to audition for a bigger well renowned Afro Latin band called Tucan Tucan, it was Frank Paco's (a highly respected local drummer) and his then-wife Muriel Marco's (a talented pianist and composer) project. I was 16 when I started performing with them, I mainly sang in Portuguese, Spanish and English and our weekly residency was at Marimbas at the Cape Town Convention Centre. My mom would schlep me to Southfield for rehearsals and I would come out so inspired, I just loved being a part of the process of creating live music with such wonderful musicians.
16 years old Performing with Tucan Tucan at Marimba's CTICC
Reuniting to share the stage with some of Tucan Tucan's musicians many years later.
I should mention that deep down I always felt part Latina. Latin music speaks to my soul in such a way, I can hear a salsa tune and just have to get up and move, it feels warm and familiar and takes me to a happy place.
I find it fascinating how a certain genre of music can resonate with someone so strongly and to another person do absolutely nothing.
Maybe it moves me and feels familiar because of my roots, as I'm half a Sephardic Jew. My great grandparents on my father's side fled Spain during the inquisition and ended up in Casablanca, Morocco. My Safta (grandmother) Marcelle came from a very poor family and at 14 she was set up to have an arranged marriage with a man that was old enough to be her father. She was so young, naive and afraid, she tried to run away from home, but Eliyahu Bitton, her future husband made an agreement with Moshe Peretz her father, who just wanted to marry her off and make sure she was taken care of.
Eliyahu was a very rich man who owned a dairy farm and supplied his dairy products to the King of Morocco. In those days it was considered an honour to be chosen and proposed to by such a respected and well off man. Eliyahu kept his promise to Moshe and looked after Marcelle in Morocco with a big house and servants and she had her first of 7 children at 15 years old, even though it was an arranged marriage she grew to love him, he was very kind and caring. They arrived in Israel in about 1966 after the uprising against the Jews in Morocco where my father was born. My last name "Bitton" is as common as "Smith" a very popular Moroccan surname in Israel.
My grandparents on the left. My father at the Western Wall for his Bar Mitzvah
By Grade 11 I felt I had been paying my dues for quite some time and was thrilled I got my chance to finally shine, playing the sultry role of Glinda the good witch, in our school production of The Wiz.
I always loved dancing and so did my parents who were always the last to leave the dance floor at any function.
They took me to my first club, The Fez, in Cape Town, which became like my second home. I even got a few gigs dancing and singing there. 2000- 2002 was the best soundtrack to my life, Soulful and Funky Latin House music.
I was in my element!
If I didn't have a gig to go to I'd be running to the clubs even after Shabbat dinner at my grandparents. I had a gay best friend, Jon who looked like my Latino boyfriend and he was my partner in crime, we would salsa dance the nights away together.
Rhodes House was the place to be! The hottest spot in Cape Town, that's still sorely missed to this day. It was a very upmarket venue, a gorgeous old Victorian establishment with multiple levels adorning bespoke cocktail bars. It boasted a huge courtyard with an illuminated fountain as it's grand centrepiece. The beautiful local and international reveller's dressed to impress in Euro-Chic attire, women baring all in sexy cocktail dresses and Stiletto heels and the debonair men in pressed shirts, tailored trousers and shiny black shoes. I was always raring to go out but my party friends were limited being underage and all. If I couldn't find someone to join me, I took my father with me, who was a great dancer. Ah those were the days, The nightlife scene isn't what it used to be, Euro-chic clubs have been replaced by hipster gin bars and daytime festivals whose soundtracks aren't so festive, with monotonous "doof doof" techno and progressive house music lacking in melody. I guess one just has to visit the Mediterranean for a taste of it again. Luckily now that I am a DJ, I get to be the mood director and play my favourite old school house classics transporting my audience back in time to the good old days.
I always wanted to be financially independent and as the winter months crept in and there was a drought in the gig department, I managed to hustle my first job bartending working at Buena Vista Social Club (a Cuban restaurant in Green Point), even though I was 17 and underage. I became the Mojito queen but hated closing, doing the stock take and cleaning the bar. I stuck with it as I did have fun meeting people and the staff were awesome. In my mind I was in my very own Coyote Ugly movie. I also did promo modelling, promoting alcohol brands at bars and nightclubs and in liquor stores.
That summer we were on our way to Plettenberg Bay for our annual Summer holiday at
The Beacon Island hotel. We were about 2 hours away from the resort and stopped to look at the famous bungee jumping bridge.
We got back in the car, my brother and father sat in the front and my mother, sister and I, were in the back. We barely had time to put our seat belts on, when my mother started screaming hysterically to my father "Shlomo, there's a car! There's a car!" There was a car headed straight towards us. We would later find out, that the driver was a German tourist who had lost concentration and driven on the wrong side of the road.
I felt our car sharply swerve to the left and then just like in the movies, everything happened in slow motion. I remember the car tilting to the side and my sister falling over me. At that point, all I wanted to do was protect her. I tried to catch her but couldn't, I was concussed from the impact. Dust, dirt and broken glass followed us like a tumbleweed in the wind. Our car rolled one hundred metres. I woke up on what felt like sticks and stones, I recognised that I was lying on the ground, my body felt beaten up and then I realised what had happened. As I was coming to, I thought of my friend Nasko who had passed away earlier that year.
A voice inside me, told me to "Fight, this is not your time, you are not going to die like Nasko, you have too many dreams to live out and too much work to do here, so fight!"
I opened my eyes and saw a kaleidoscope of 10 visions of a woman who was holding my face together, she had a German accent and was crying. My face had been cut open from the corner of my mouth to under my chin and the skin was pulled back exposing my cheekbone. I could hear my brother screaming in pain as they asked him if he could move his toes and my mother was shouting for my sister who was nowhere to be found.
I blacked out at that point, but was told Gabi, my sister was found 13 metres away on a grass bank centimetres away from the concrete road. She was unconscious in a bush and was pronounced medically dead on site.
There was a bus of Christians that stopped and prayed for us, as well as a doctor who arrived just in time to prevent the paramedics from intubating my sister, as only one of her lungs were working and if they intubated her, would have punctured her only working lung.
I woke up in the ambulance and looked at the paramedic hoping he could read my mind, "Please get me to the hospital alive."
The next thing I remember, was being in the hospital with a metal cage around my arm as I broke my humerus and collarbone, I could still taste the blood in my mouth.
I had a punctured lung and was on life support for 2 weeks. My brother had broken his vertebra outwards, if he had broken it inwards, he would have been paralysed.
My younger sister was also on life support in ICU, unresponsive in a coma, when she woke up, she had no expressions, didn't speak and just cried. They were worried she was brain damaged. We were transferred back to Cape Town Medi-clinic Hospital and my brother was discharged a few days later with a back brace. My sister started to improve, they said she would have developmental issues to Due to the TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and it might seem that her behaviour would be that of a younger child for sometime until her brain could regenerate. Her personality changed after suffering a TBI, she became withdrawn and she struggled in her teen years to fit in socially, she was also diagnosed with bipolar and depression. Fortunately, she was unsuccessful in her suicide attempts and has now blossomed into the most beautiful, kind and compassionate woman with the help of an incredible psychiatrist and hypnotherapy. She is a walking miracle.
The cut on my face was millimetres from a nerve, that if damaged, would have caused me to have a skew mouth like a stroke victim.
Thank God I'm still able to smile, use my arm and my lungs to sing. It was truly a miracle we survived the crash, the car was a total write off.
My father still couldn't logistically work out how my brother and I were perfectly horizontally placed next to each other on the side of the car, he said it was as if an angel picked us up and placed us there.
I think my father carried a lot of guilt from that accident as he was going over the speed limit and I think he felt partly responsible.
It was a heavy burden for him to carry.
While I was in the hospital they were advertising for the first Pop Idol Auditions happening in Cape Town on the radio. I was determined to go, I had to get better so I could get to that audition and be a contestant in the show. Thankfully I got out of hospital just in time for the audition. I got all dressed up in a denim catsuit just like my idol at the time, J.Lo and off I went! I waited for what seemed like an eternity for my chance to sing.
My arm was in a sling, my face was swollen with a micropore bandage on but I didn't care, this was my chance. I sang "I will always love you" by Whitney Houston. I thought my audition went well but sadly I didn't get in, I knew it was because of the current physical state I was in.
Anyways It was that drive and determination that pushed me to do anything in order to conquer my dreams.
I started matric the following year and with the help of some Ritalin to aid my ADHD, I dived straight into my studying while I was healing. At long last I got the lead role in the school play that year but couldn't do it because for the next six months I had to wear a micropore band-aid on my face and had to be very careful not to smile or laugh and open my mouth wide to sing as it could stretch the scar on my face. Luckily I got into a hyper-focused mode for matric, I worked incredibly hard, able to study for 4 hours straight at a time. I dropped maths as soon as I could, I was hopeless at it and I took up Physiology instead. Ritalin was incredible, I mean "glomerular filtration" suddenly was the most interesting thing I had ever read. I also became an expert on the Arab Israeli conflict since the Independence of Israel. I was holding study groups with videos as I was better with an audiovisual style of learning.
Matric and the anxiety that went with it was finally over, I graduated in 2002 with 4 distinctions for Drama, Graphic Design, Fine Art, and I came second in the Western Cape for Physiology.
I couldn't wait to finish school and chase after my dreams. I dreamt of the day the last bell would ring and I would walk out those gates with a sense of freedom, my life was just beginning! On that final day of school, it was different though, that euphoric feeling I envisioned was replaced by a sense of sadness, it was an end of an era. I wouldn't be seeing the familiar faces of my friends every day and a sense of fear crept in, now what?
Life was getting real, I had to make some serious choices about my future.
I didn't know where life would take me next, which road I would travel down, I stood at a crossroad in the unknown, but had a feeling bigger and better things were on the horizon.
I had the best summer holiday and and the gigs started to roll in.
I was asked to join a 9/10 piece Cuban band called Salsa Candela with some of Cape Town's best musicians. I remember the first rehearsal in Pinelands, the room was jam-packed with congas, timbales, a 3 piece horn section, and the glue that held the band together, a tight rhythm section consisting of keys, bass, guitar and drums.
I was so eager to learn the repertoire of traditional Cuban Salsa songs like those of; Buena Vista Social Club, Tito Puente, ChuCho Valdez and the queen herself Celia Cruz.
Learning the music was challenging with intricate charts I couldn't read. I would go home and learn the songs by ear, some parts were sung so fast I had to learn their guttural way of singing and blend words into each other just to finish a phrase, there was also so much ad-libbing and it didn't help that I couldn't speak Spanish. I quickly developed a good ear.
One of the highlights was playing at Kirstenbosch Gardens for their Sunday evening picnic concerts.
At the same time I was asked to sing with the Cape Towns Jazz Legend, Darryl Andrew's Big Band at Mannenbergs Jazz Cafe at the Clock Tower in the Waterfront. By this point, I was up to date with all my Jazz and Bossa standards and going to UCT for rehearsals with this big band, which was equally nerve wracking and exciting. These were proper Jazz students and musicians and there was no room for error.
When Summer ended, I couldn't wait to go overseas, to the land of plenty where opportunities glistened like gold and the element of excitement of possibly being discovered on a random street corner, made overcoming any fears I had about leaving home for the first time and living abroad, far less frightening. When you are young and hungry for a dream, you just go full steam ahead and keep your eye on the prize. Being naive, you don't stop to think of all the things that could go wrong (like your future jaded self), your dream is what keeps that fire burning in you and propels you to do the unthinkable, like moving to a foreign country alone to "make it". In just a few months time I would be packing my bags and heading to London, my life was just getting started.
...To be continued


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2 min readFeb 24, 2019
Thoughts on Healthcare Structure
Some random thoughts that have accumulated over the last few months. Apologies if they seem raw. Please feel free to discuss, write responses, and otherwise engage.
- Emergency services should be a utility on par with fire, police, etc. Patients in emergency situations are operating in an inelastic market and should be brought to the closest, most effective facility that would stabilize them until they (or appropriate parties) are able to make decisions about their care.
- Once a patient is stabilized, data should reside outside of hospitals and decisions should be made based on wide-scale epidemiology and pricing. There is a need for a player to support this.
- Providers should have a market to offer/bid on services with transparency into outcomes they are able to deliver based on cohorts. This should lead to increased medical tourism, acceleration of adoption of telesales, etc.
- Patient record / EHR should start at birth, not at the time of an acute intervention. This should lead to a number of things: 1) by the time a patient has to undergo care, there should already be a lot of data about them to cohort them, and 2) there will be growth in quantified life improvement industry. For example, we would see an explosion of services that would offer to improve life in a specific way with far lower friction for development of such surfaces. This means there is a need for a platform akin to App stores.
If any of this is of interest to the reader, let me know and I could write out some thoughts on a topic in greater depth. Also, if am planning on putting together teams to tackle some of these, so please let me know if you are interested in being involved at firstname.lastname@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Every employer registered under the Act shall pay the amount of tax due from him according to the return on or before the date prescribed for filing of such return. ePayment and e-Returns are mandatory, now.
Payment can be done online either at mahavat portal or through GRAS (Government Receipt Accounting System) and e-Return can be filed at mahavat portal.
Every registered employer whose tax liability during the previous year or a part thereof -
Quarter ending on 30 June - 30 June
Quarter ending on 30 Sep - 30 Sep
Quarter ending on 31 Dec - 31 Dec
Quarter ending on 31 Mar - 31 Mar


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Ability in finding truth
People's ability in finding truth differ. There are
- people who can tell the truth ahead of all others and before all evidences are being presented;
- people who can recognize the truth when the facts are laid out in front them – the "Aha moment";
- people who will never accept the truth when it is against their own will, even all the facts in the world are out there for them to see.
Can we say that's how we tell the difference between true leaders, responsible citizens, and if not conspirators must be fools?
Meaning of truth
The meaning of truth to people is different to different people.
- Some think truth is owned by those who are powerful;
- Some think truth is a tool to be used for the purpose of manipulation ("alternative facts", anyone?);
- Some think truth is flexible, "situation-dependent", and needs to be part of the calculation of personal interest;
- Some think truth is singular and belongs to God; and only those as God's followers can speak about it and represent it;
- Some think truth can only be sought, but not to be claimed – alarm needs to be raised when someone claims to own the truth;
- Some think truth – as the final destination, when being sought – provides a path that guides the pursuit of happiness and serenity;
A society is defined by its citizens' collective attitudes toward truth, and the development of a society is never going to be a straight line.


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An Amish Friendship Bread starter is a little bit like a chain letter in bread form. Except that no one likes chain letters, and everyone loves Amish Friendship Bread. You mix up a little yeast, flour, sugar, and milk in your kitchen, and after a few days you have enough of a sweet sourdough starter to share with friends. It's as much about the process as it is about the recipe. The starter is passed from friend to friend with the recipe and maybe a fresh loaf of bread, so that the little bit of love that started out in your kitchen eventually extends out to a friend-of-a-friend and a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend and right on down the line. It's a heartfelt and special gift that shows what good food and home-cooking is all about – sharing the love of our home and our hearts with others.
The process takes ten days, but it's as simple as can be. On day one, you mix up some flour, milk, sugar, and yeast and let it sit at room temperature until bubbly. You can store the starter in a ziplock bag with the instructions written right on it, or you can mix it up in a bowl and leave it loosely covered. You just want to make sure to use non-metal bowls and utensils as sourdough is acidic and can dissolve some metals. On days 2-5, you simply mash the bag around a bit and let it sit out on the counter. As the mixture ferments, the bag can fill up with air, so just release it from time to time so you don't come into the kitchen to find a starter explosion.
Please continue to Next Page (>) for the full list of ingredients and complete cooking instructions.


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This post is in partnership with Paramount Pictures. Like most moms, I'm always on the hunt for family-friendly movies. It seems like there aren't a lot of really good ones made these days. I am so excited to share the Playing with Fire movie trailer with you. Playing with Fire hits theaters on November 8, 2019! It truly looks like a wholesome film the whole family can enjoy.
Also, I've been keeping a little secret from you.
Earlier this year, Paramount Pictures invited me to fly out with a group of bloggers and visit the set and sit down with some of the cast to learn more about the film.
Yes, that's me with John Cena. Squee!!
Playing with Fire is a live-action family-friendly comedy starring John Cena, Judy Greer, Keenan-Michael Key and some other truly talented people. The film follows an elite team of firefighters who meet their match when they rescue three siblings from an encroaching wildfire. When they are unable to locate the children's parents, the firefighters temporarily takeover care of the children and quickly learn that kids, much like fires, are wild and unpredictable. This is one of those movies that will have you laughing, hugging, and maybe even shedding a tear or two, so mark your calendar for November 8th.
Check out the Playing with Fire movie trailer:
After visiting the set, I am so excited to finally see the PLAYING WITH FIRE movie trailer. It is awesome! Wile in Vancouver, I got tour the set and really get a feel for Playing with Fire. From the forest that was created indoors using real trees to the firehouse, the set scale and detail was impressive. I also got a chance to chat with the following cast members:
John Cena
Keegan-Michael Key
Judy Greer
Brianna Hildebrand
Director Andy Fickman
Producer Todd Garner
John Cena on Playing with Fire
I'll share more from these cast interviews at a later date, but for now would like to share some highlights from our chat with John Cena. He was such a pleasure to talk to and really went out of his way to make us all feel comfortable.
John Cena plays, Jake, the leader of his team of smokejumpers. Jake is a hard core, serious and super dedicated to his job and his team. He's an all business and by the book kind of guy. This all begins to change when the children rescued by his team begin sneaking up into his heart and the wall starts crumbling.
We asked Mr. Cena about his decision to play this role and he said there's a parallel between himself and his character, Jake. When reading the script, the story hit him especially hard because it's a story about a gentleman who is dedicated to his work and thinks there is nothing else in life except work and then gets a set of circumstances that change his mind. John says this is exactly where he is in his life right now.
So, when you read something, and you get emotionally charged by the words, when movie magic takes over, it's awesome.
Cena described Playing with Fire as "a heartfelt, wholesome movie about the importance of family, friends, and togetherness. So, we just happen to be lucky enough to use smoke jumpers as the backdrop."
He spoke very highly of his fellow cast and crew. The mom in me loved hearing him sing the praises of the children in the film. The kids were filming on the set the day I visited and they were amazing.
Cena also mentioned everyone's dedication to staying focused on the goals of the film and keeping it a family movie.
We don't get these funny gifted people who also want to come on the movie and turn it into something that isn't appropriate for kids and teens.
You can catch Playing with Fire in theaters this fall on November 8, 2019! I'm really looking forward to seeing this one with my 10-year-old daughter and think it will be a great movie for you to watch with the family, especially your older kids.
Stay tuned for more from my Playing with Fire cast interviews coming soon!
Connect with PLAYING WITH FIRE
Stay up to date with the movie using #PlayingWithFireMovie and following on social media!


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Enjoy Brisbane's sunny weather and exciting student culture by finding a place to call home near QUT. Whether you want to share with friends or embrace the freedom of living by yourself, there's accommodation to suit every student in Brisbane.
Choosing the right student accommodation will help you have fun at university. Instead of moving into the first place you find that's available, weigh up your options carefully.
From share houses to studio apartments, there are several options available to students looking for QUT Gardens Point accommodation. Each type of housing comes with pros and cons.
Asking your university for advice is one of the easiest ways to find accommodation near QUT Gardens Point. QUT's Accommodation page is a great place to start.
UniLodge apartments provide students with a safe and sociable home away from home. We know moving into student accommodation is a big step, especially if you're relocating countries. Our accommodation isn't just modern and comfortable – it also offers the ultimate cure for homesickness by creating a welcoming community for residents.
The following apartment blocks are ideally located for students attending QUT Gardens Point:
Find out more about QUT accommodation by contacting UniLodge today.
Go back to the University Housing Index.


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Square Enix, SNK Playmore Settle Claims Over Hi Score Girl Manga
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Square Enix issued a press release on Wednesday stating that, as of Monday, both Square Enix and SNK Playmore have settled their claims regarding Rensuke Oshikiri's Hi Score Girl manga. Square Enix and SNK Playmore, through holding company Ledo Millennium Co., Ltd. (a holding company of Leyou Technologies, which recently acquired an 81.25 percent stake in SNK Playmore's shares), have mutually decided to settle the case in its early stages, choosing to see the use of each company's characters as a chance for a cooperative effort.
SNK Playmore officially sent a document to the Osaka District Court on August 24, stating that it is dropping its criminal charges, and the Osaka Prefectural Police has officially received the document. The press release clarifies that Square Enix can now continue publishing and selling Hi Score Girl.
The story of the "90s arcade romantic comedy" manga begins in 1991, during the heyday of the 2D fighting game boom. Sixth-grader Haruo spends practically his entire day at an arcade in the seedy part of town, oblivious to the world around him. However, one day at his usual arcade, he encounters Akira, his female classmate with good grades and money. She may look out of place at the arcade, but she is actually a top-class gamer. Akira completely outmatches Haruo in one Street Fighter II round after another, and their relationship develops from this unlikely encounter.
Oshikiri launched the manga in Square Enix's Big Gangan magazine in 2010, and Square Enix published the fifth compiled book volume of the manga in December 2013. Big Gangan announced in December 2013 that an anime had been green-lit. Oshikiri also launched a new manga series titled Guranba in Gentosha's Comic Birz in May, and published a "traditional fantasy" one-shot manga titled "Hell Fire" in Shueisha's Jump Square in June.
SNK Playmore filed a criminal complaint against Square Enix in August 2014, asserting that the Hi Score Girl manga features over 100 instances of characters from The King of Fighters, Samurai Spirits (Samurai Shodown), and other fighting games owned by SNK. As a result, police raided Square Enix's headquarters on August 5.
Later that August, the editor-in-chief of Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan announced that the magazine will temporarily halt serialization of the manga, in light of the alleged copyright violations. Square Enix also issued a voluntary recall on all of the manga's print volumes and halted the sale of the manga's digital release, as well as sales of the manga's official fanbook in print.
CAPCOM, Bandai Namco Games, and Sega said that they gave formal consent for the manga to use their games' characters. However, a Sega representative added that the company gave permission only after one of its characters had already appeared in the manga.
Square Enix filed a counterclaim against SNK Playmore in October, requesting the Osaka District Court to confirm that the manga does not violate SNK Playmore's copyrights.
The Osaka Prefectural Police then formally filed charges against 16 people, including author Oshikiri and members of the editing and publishing department at Square Enix, for copyright infringement in November.
[Via Hachima Kikō]
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history


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Dreams Palm Beach is a gem for travelers seeking white sand beaches, relaxation, and luxurious accommodations. This oceanfront all-inclusive resort can be found in Punta Cana, on the east coast of the Dominican Republic. It is suitable for both couples and families, with plenty of entertainment for guests of all ages, including access to exciting tours and excursions in the area.
Why Stay at Dreams Palm Beach?
Stunning views, luxury spa services, and delicious gourmet food are just the beginning at Dreams Palm Beach. Each room is modern and spacious for maximum comfort, and the private balconies and terraces provide the perfect place for relaxing and watching the sunset over the turquoise waves.
Friendly staff will greet you with champagne when you arrive and continue to cater to your needs throughout your stay. Enjoy delectable international cuisine at one of eight restaurants, order room service 24 hours a day, or venture into Punta Cana for some local flavor. You can also make special arrangements for private dinners in our most romantic spots.
Whether you're looking for romance or a place to bring the family, we can help you create the perfect vacation.
Dreams Palm Beach Destination Wedding
You can also visit Dreams Palm Beach for a destination wedding, party, or honeymoon! On-site event planners will help you bring your vision to life and make your day magical. You can get married right on the beach before transitioning to cocktails and a private dinner reception. There are also professional wedding photographers available to make sure every moment and detail is captured forever.
Fun Family Vacation Destination
Watch the kids play in the pool while a waiter serves you beverages, or jump in the water with them! You can even let them enjoy activities with attentive staff members while you soak up some sun on your own or visit the spa for some well-deserved pampering.
The Explorer's Club for kids is a fun retreat for children between the ages of three and twelve. They can hang out and enjoy supervised free play or join in the daily planned activities, which are based around science, nature, and exploration. They can also join in a weekly camping adventure on the beach!
The Core Zone Teens Club is for ages 13 to 17 and offers a variety of sports and games, along with daily activities, as well as nightly entertainment and social events.
Dreams Palm Beach, Punta Cana Photos
Dreams Palm Beach also has professional on-site photographers to help you document your favorite moments or create beautiful portraits. These photo experts know where to find the most beautiful locations in and around the resort. They also know how to pose you to help you look your best. Plus, no one in your party will be missing from the photos if you have an extra pair of hands to take the picture.
Dreams Palm Beach & Adventure Photos
As our guest, you won't have to go far to view your professional photo gallery. In fact, you won't have to leave the hotel! Dreams Palm Beach and Adventure Photos work together to bring you high-quality vacation photos worthy of displaying in your home. You'll meet with our team to review your images and help you choose which ones to print. You can also create and order canvas prints, photo albums, and metal wall art.
Contact Adventure Photos for more information about preserving your vacation memories and creating beautiful Dreams Palm Beach and Punta Cana photos.


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Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden at Get Out the Vote Event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
[As prepared for delivery]
Hello, Pittsburgh!
I'm Jill Biden's husband.
Thank you, John Duffy for sharing your story.
Thanks to Mayor Bill Peduto for the passport into town.
And thanks to all the speakers you heard from tonight, as well as the incredible Lady Gaga.
My buddy, Congressman Mike Doyle and your Governor, Tom Wolf, thank you for standing with me and fighting for the dignity of working people.
And everyone you heard from across the state in Philadelphia — we hear you loud and clear!
Congressman Boyle! Your remarkable Senator, Bob Casey! Patti LaBelle and John Legend!
The future Second Gentleman — thank you, Doug!
And the next Vice President of the United States — a woman I'm so proud to be running alongside — Kamala Harris!
It isn't always easy to bring together western Pennsylvania with eastern Pennsylvania. But you know what?
The Steelers got a big win yesterday and the Eagles got a big win last night.
And folks — I have a feeling we're coming together for another big win tomorrow.
Folks, eighteen months ago we kicked off this campaign at the Teamsters Local 249 right here in Pittsburgh.
I chose western Pennsylvania for my first stop as a candidate and now, for my last stop before Election Day because you represent the backbone of this nation.
Hard-working families who deserve a fair shot. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
The qualities that built this country that created and sustained the middle class.
We've been through a lot as a country since then.
Americans are facing a confluence of crises unlike anything in living memory.
And we are still in a battle for the soul of America.
But let me tell you something, folks — tomorrow is the beginning of a new day.
Tomorrow we can put an end to a presidency that has left hard-working Americans out in the cold.
Tomorrow we can put an end to a presidency that has divided this nation and fanned the flames of hate.
Tomorrow we can put an end to a presidency that has failed to protect this nation.
Millions of Americans have already voted. Millions more will vote tomorrow.
And my message to you is simple: The power to change this country is in your hands.
I don't care how hard Donald Trump tries.
There is nothing — NOTHING — that is going to stop the people of this nation from voting.
When America votes, America will be heard.
And when America is heard, I believe the message is going to be loud and clear.
It's time for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go home.
We're done with the chaos.
The corruption. The failure. The irresponsibility. The indifference to American lives.
The indifference to Americans' dignity.
We've got a lot of work to do. Not division and distraction, but the real work of healing this country.
And if I'm elected, we're going to do it. We're going to act.
We're going to act to get COVID-19 under control.
On Day One we will put into action the plan I have been talking about for months.
Masking. Social distancing. Testing. Tracing.
A plan for the full, fair, and free distribution of therapeutics and the vaccine when we get one.
Imagine where we would be if we had a president who wore a mask instead of mocked it?
I can tell you this.
We wouldn't have 9 million confirmed cases of COVID in this nation.
We wouldn't have over 230,000 deaths.
Nearly 100,000 cases nationwide, just two days ago.
We wouldn't be facing another 200,000 deaths in the next few months.
The President knew in January this virus was deadly. But he hid it from the American people.
He knew it was worse than the flu. But he lied to us.
He knew it wasn't going to disappear. But he kept telling us a miracle was coming.
And just Friday he had the gall to suggest that America's doctors — who have been on the front lines of this crisis for nine months — along with the nurses and so many others, he suggested these doctors are falsely inflating deaths due to COVID because they want to make more money.
Our frontline health care workers have suffered and sacrificed for nine months and this president is questioning their character, their integrity, their commitment to their fellow Americans?
It's a disgrace.
And then last night Trump says he's going to fire Dr. Fauci.
I've got a better idea.
Let's fire Donald Trump and I'll hire Dr. Fauci!
Donald Trump has waved the white flag of surrender to the virus.
I will never surrender.
We are going to beat this virus. We are going to get it under control.
And the first step to beating COVID-19 is beating Donald Trump.
Donald Trump keeps telling us what a great "JOBS" President he is.
But here's the truth: Donald Trump is going to be the first President in 90 years to finish his term in office with FEWER jobs than he started with.
An independent analysis put out by Moody's, a Wall Street firm, projects that my plan will create 7 million more jobs, and $1 trillion more in economic growth than anything President Trump has proposed.
I'll end the Trump tax loopholes that incentivize companies to ship jobs overseas, and I'll add a 10 percent surtax to companies that do.
But for companies that invest in strengthening American manufacturing or bring jobs back home, I'll offer a 10 percent tax credit.
And no government contracts will be given to companies that don't make their products here in America.
Our future will be made right here in America. Right here in Pennsylvania.
Trump sees the world from Park Avenue looking out on Wall Street.
I see it from Scranton where I grew up. I see it from Pennsylvania.
Wall Street didn't build this country.
Working people built this country. The middle class built this country, and unions built the middle class.
I believe we should be rewarding work, NOT wealth in this country.
Under my plan, if you make less than $400,000 a year, you won't pay a penny more in taxes. Not one penny more.
But the wealthiest people and the biggest corporations — the 91 of the Fortune 500 companies that paid zero in federal income taxes — they're going to pay their fair share.
Why should a firefighter, an educator, or a nurse pay a higher tax rate than the super-wealthy?
Why should YOU pay more in taxes than Donald Trump?
He paid $750 in federal income taxes. How about you?
We will act to protect health care.
Trump and the Republicans just jammed through a Supreme Court nomination — and we know why.
To try and destroy the Affordable Care Act — again.
If they get their way, 100 million Americans will lose protections for preexisting conditions —including more than 5 million Pennsylvanians.
Donald Trump thinks health care is a privilege. I think health care is a right!
I'll not only restore ObamaCare — I'll build on it.
So you can keep your private insurance or choose a Medicare-like public option.
We'll increase subsidies to lower your premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket spending — and reduce prescription drug costs by 60 percent.
We'll make sure we keep the protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
Meanwhile, the Social Security Actuary says a plan like Donald Trump's will bankrupt Social Security by 2023.
Tell that to your parents or grandparents!
I will protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid!
But folks, nothing is worse than the way he has spoken about those who've served in uniform.
"Losers" and "suckers."
My son Beau served for a year in Iraq. He wasn't a "loser" or a "sucker." He was a patriot. Just like all of your sons and daughters, your parents and grandparents who served.
Six generals and admirals who worked in his administration, who have since left, said he is unfit to be Commander-in-Chief.
That's why General Stanley McChrystal and the former Commander of Special Operations Command who oversaw the Bin Laden raid — Admiral Bill McRaven — along with 22 other 4-Stars have endorsed me.
Trump likes to portray himself as a tough guy — a macho man.
But when's the last time you saw the President of the United States — literally being laughed at by world leaders — when he spoke at the United Nations.
And can you believe we have a President who acts like Vladimir Putin's puppy?
Putin put bounties on the heads of American soldiers serving in Afghanistan — and Trump was too scared to challenge him.
Donald Trump isn't strong. He's weak.
This is a President who not only doesn't understand sacrifice, he doesn't understand the courage — the physical courage — it takes to serve in uniform.
We must support our military.
Let's vote for them.
And folk, we have to vote to meet the challenge of the climate crisis.
Donald Trump calls it a hoax. To me, it's about jobs — jobs here in Western Pennsylvania.
We can combat climate change with American ingenuity and manufacturing — creating millions of new, high-paying union jobs.
And let me be clear: I will not ban fracking in Pennsylvania. I will protect Pennsylvania jobs. Period. No matter how many times Donald Trump lies.
We have to restore the backbone of this country — but we also have to unify this country.
And we will act to deliver racial justice in America.
Protesting is not burning and looting. Violence must never be tolerated and it won't be.
But these protests are a cry for justice.
The names of George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Jacob Blake and Walter Wallace Jr. will not soon be forgotten.
Not by me and not by this country.
They will inspire a new wave of justice in America.
But we also know that true justice is also about jobs and building wealth for your families.
No one should be working two jobs to stay out of poverty.
That's why we need a minimum wage of $15 nationally.
We're going to provide a $15,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers!
And provide capital for young entrepreneurs to start a small business!
And provide free community college, as well as free tuition for students attending state university if they come from families with incomes under $125,000.
We can do this, Pennsylvania.
In 2008 and 2012, you placed your trust in me and Barack Obama. In 2020, I'm asking for your trust again.
This is a battle for the soul of America. And we win when this country comes together.
I'm proud of the coalition this campaign has built to welcome Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.
I'm running as a proud Democrat, but I will govern as an American president.
I will work as hard for those who don't support me as for those who do.
That's the job of a president. It's a duty to care for everyone.
So — please vote.
If you still have your absentee ballot, get it to a drop-box as soon as you can. Or vote tomorrow in person. Just make a plan and help get out the vote.
The power is in your hands, Pennsylvania!
Here's the amazing thing about this moment in history.
On the one hand we are facing the biggest threat to who we are and what we believe that we've seen in our lifetimes.
But on the other hand, our future has never been more promising.
I've said it many times: I'm more optimistic about America's future today than I was when I got elected to the United States Senate as a 29 year old.
And here's why: We are better positioned than any nation in the world to lead the 21st century.
Our workers are three times as productive.
We have the biggest economy in the world. We have the strongest military in the history of the world. We have the most innovative entrepreneurs. We are virtually energy independent. We have more great research universities than the rest of the world combined.
No other nation in the world can match us.
We lead by the power of our example, not the example of our power.
The only thing that can tear America apart is America itself.
And that's exactly what Donald Trump has been doing from the beginning of his campaign. Dividing America. Pitting Americans against one another based on race, gender, ethnicity, national origin. That's wrong. That's not who we are.
Everybody knows who Donald Trump is. Let's keep showing them who we are.
We choose hope over fear. Unity over division. Science over fiction. And yes, truth over lies.
So it's time to stand up and take back our democracy.
We can do this. We can be better than what we've been. We can be who we are at our best. The United States of America.
May God bless you. May God protect our troops.
Joseph R. Biden, Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden at Get Out the Vote Event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/347034


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Barber on The Lawn is a pop-up hosted by Spinningfields salon Mr Male Grooming every Thursday and Friday throughout the summer – Manchester weather permitting – and it launches today at 4.30pm.
"We joked about setting up an outdoor salon in Spain," says co-founder Karl Lewis, "but then we thought – why not Spinningfields?"
And why not? With the prospect of a gent's haircut or hot towel shave under the Manchester sun, Barber on The Lawn really is unique.
"As far as I'm aware no one has ever tried it before," says Karl. And it's a win-win for Karl and his crew. "We all love our jobs and being outside!"
Mr Male Grooming have been Spinningfields' resident salon since 2011 and have 25 years' collective experience behind them. They offer appointments and walk-ins Monday to Friday. Now they'll be offering walk outs, too – onto the lawn.
Get down there today for the launch from 4.30pm with drinks at The Club House and a BBQ courtesy of The Kitchens' Bangers and Bacon.
Then it's every Thursday and Friday 12-4pm. Services include a cut and finish or full shave for £15 or £18 with a drink.


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Partnership aims to cut Merseyside road casualties by a third by 2020
Road safety chiefs on Merseyside have vowed to try and cut the number of deaths and serious injuries on the area's roads by a third by 2020.
In a new strategy to be unveiled this Thursday (October 12th) Merseyside Road Safety Partnership says it wants to see the number of deaths and injuries slashed to an all time low of 400 within the next three years.
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Kennedy will join Merseyside Police's Assistant Chief Constable Julie Cooke, Liverpool's Metro Mayor Cllr Steve Rotheram, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority Vice Chair Councillor Les Byron and Area Manager Guy Keen to launch the new strategy at Crosby Fire Station on Crosby Road North, Waterloo at 10am.
In 2015, casualty figures involving pedestrians, cyclists and motorists on Merseyside totalled 585, the second highest number recorded since 2006. Figures for 2016 show that the figure has risen further to almost 600.
Figures in the new strategy also reveal a strong rise in the number of casualties in Sefton and the Wirral since 2010, whilst most recently casualties in Knowsley and St Helens have risen sharply in the last two years.
The new strategy also highlights key areas which show a marked increase in the number of accidents involving cyclists, motorcyclists and older road users locally since 2010.
For example the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured in Merseyside since 2010, for example, has risen from 5% to 17% out of the total casualties recorded in that period, while the number of motorcyclists involved in accidents has nearly doubled from 12% to 22% in the same period.
The number of accidents involving road users aged over 60 in the last 10 years meanwhile has risen by 53 %. This includes pedestrians and both older drivers and passengers in vehicles.
The figures also show that for road users over 70, the chances of being killed or seriously injured in a road collision are as high as 29 %, while with those aged over 80 the likelihood is 37 %.
As part of the drive to reduce the risk to cyclists, Merseyside Road Safety Partnership has recently launched a Safe Pass campaign urging drivers to make sure they give cyclists enough room (minimum 1.5m) when overtaking them on the road. The campaign has already featured a number of education and enforcement initiatives in the local area, designed to highlight the dangers of driving too close to cyclists.
Merseyside's Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Kennedy said: "Every death or serious injury on the roads of Merseyside is one too many. Almost 570 families received that dreadful knock on the door last year, to be told that their son or daughter, wife or husband, mother or father had been seriously injured or even killed. For the family, that phone call, that knock on the door, stops the world turning.
"Here on Merseyside, too many people are knocked down, knocked off their motor bikes and cycles every year, or are injured in their cars. That's why I have made working in partnership to improve road safety one of my policing priorities. Merseyside Police has a pivotal role enforcing the law to improve the safety of the travelling public especially on our road network.
"Ultimately it must be our vision that there is zero loss of life and much reduced risk of injury on our roads."
Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Julie Cooke said: "Merseyside Police and our key partners are absolutely committed to the reduction of deaths and serious injuries on the roads of Merseyside, a commitment demonstrated by the launch of this strategy. "We all recognise the massive impact that these incidents have on individuals and communities, and initiatives such as the Safe Pass campaign will raise vital awareness on being considerate of all road users, and bring about long-lasting changes in driving behaviour and safety."
Liverpool's Metro Mayor Cllr. Steve Rotheram said: "We urgently need to make our roads safer especially for more vulnerable groups like cyclists and pedestrians. We are not going to be able to promote cycling as a healthy, sustainable and family- friendly transport mode, unless we convince people it is safe.
"We need a concerted campaign, but also significant behavioural change from motorists in particular to be more responsible, aware and considerate."
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Area Manager Guy Keen said: "It is clear that there is important work to be done bring the number of casualties down on Merseyside's roads. With the latest figures for people killed or seriously injured 33% above the target set for 2020 we acknowledge our part to play in this.
"We believe that close working between ourselves and other partners can help bring behaviour changes among road users and create safer roads for us all."


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"Iorgu Iordan–Alexandru Rosetti" Institute of Linguistics of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania is delighted to invite to take part in the Xth Congress of the International Society for Dialectology and Geolinguistics (SIDG) which will be held in Bucharest, Romania, March 24–28, 2022, together with the 54th ANNUAL MEETING of the ATLAS LINGUARUM EUROPAE (ALE) (March 25–27, 2022).
The main topics of the congress will cover all aspects of Dialectology and Geolinguistics:
- New methodological and conceptual approaches
- Concepts and research methods
- Dialectology and the language structure (phonetics, morpho-syntax, lexic)
- Dialect Sources: Texts, Dictionaries, Atlases, Corpora
- Interdisciplinary dialectology (language history, onomastics, ethnography)
- Dialect contact, dialectology and sociolinguistics
- Dialectology and pragmatics
- Perceptual dialectology
- Cognitive Dialectology
- Interlingual Dialectology: Multilingual and Multicultural Variability
- Dialectometry
- Dialectology in the digitalization age
SPECIAL SESSION: THE 54th ANNUAL MEETING of the ATLAS LINGUARUM EUROPAE (ALE) (March 25–27, 2022)
Time for presentation: 20 min.
Congress languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Romanian
Deadline for Submission of Abstracts: 10 October 2021
Notification of Acceptance of Abstracts: 20 November 2021
Standard Registration: until 20 January 2022
Registration form and abstract (up to 2000 characters) are to be submitted in English via e-mail to sidgromania @gmail.com
We look forward to an academic and fruitful congress in a healthy environment!
Keynote Speakers: to be announced in the second Call for Papers
Social Events: to be announced in the second Call for Papers


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One of the most popular weed strains to come from the United Kingdom is the UK Cheese strain. It's also often referred to as Exodus cheese.
This common favourite has a recognizable, pungent cheese smell that is reminiscent to blue cheese. This cannabis strain also possesses unique notes of berries and spicy cheese when smoked. Its spicy, savoury flavour is a hit among many. It's a great alternative to those who are looking for something other than fruity, sweet and herbal flavors.
UK Cheese is an indica dominant hybrid strain. It was originally bred by the Exodus Collective in the early 90s, and comes from inbreeding Skunk #1. The variety in the terpenes of cheese strains, like octanoic acid and methyl tert-butyl ether, allow this type of weed to have a powerful, pungent smell.
The pungent and powerful taste has a slight umami to it that many users absolutely adore.
UK Cheese Strain Effects
Although this strain of weed is Indica dominant and a phenotype of skunk, smokers can enjoy a very balanced high. This bud will hit quickly, and can offer a euphoric effect that is loved by many. Best of all, many users report feeling a lot more creative on this cheese strain.
In comparison to other cheese strains, UK cheese has a more potent effect
As a cheese strain, UK cheese products many THC-potent trichomes. This allows it to produce not only its euphoric effect, but a relaxing effect as well.
Potential Medicinal Effects:
The unique terpene profile of UK cheese allows it to have many potential medicinal effects. This is one of the many cannabis strains recommended for:
- Moderate pain relief
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Stress
This strain of pot is great for treating moderate pain, as it offers exceptional body numbing properties and effects.
Users also report that they do not lose their appetite on this weed. In fact, some users have even gone as far as to claim that this strain of pot can restore appetite.
This strain of weed may also be used to treat fatigue and muscle spasms.


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Morning & Evening Daily Devotional Reading– March 28
by Charles H. Spurgeon, Revised and Edited by William C. Neff
"The love of Christ that surpasses all comprehension."
—Ephesians 3:19
The love of Christ in its sweetness, fullness, greatness, and faithfulness, surpasses all possible human comprehension. Where can we find adequate words to describe His matchless, unparalleled love towards the children of men? It is so vast and boundless that, like a bird that skims across the water without diving into its depths, so all descriptive words only touch the surface.
Before we can even attempt to understand His love, we must know something of His previous glory in the heights of Heaven and His becoming man upon this earth in all its depths of shame. But who can tell us about the majesty of Christ? When He was enthroned in the highest heavens He was very God of very God. By Him the Heavens were made. His own almighty arm upheld all the stars and planets. The praises of angels perpetually surrounded Him. He reigned supreme above all His creatures, God over all, blessed for ever. Who has any idea of the height of this glory?
And who, on the other hand, can tell how low He descended when He become a man—and more than that, a man of suffering. To bleed, and die, and suffer– these were much for Him who was the Son of God. But to suffer such unparalleled agony–to endure a death of shame and desertion by His Father– this is a depth of condescending love which even the most inspired mind utterly fails to fathom. This is love! And truly it is love that "surpasses knowledge."
O let this love fill our hearts with adoring gratitude, and lead us to demonstrate its power today. [M&E]


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Eden Hazard is yet again having an amazing season with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, while just two wins away from lifting the Premier League title and Real Madrid legend Zidane is excited to see the young Belgium develop.
Zinedine Zidane, is full of praise for Chelsea's star and has revealed he is keeping an eye on Eden Hazard.
The talented winger has scored 18 goals and has provided 10 assists this season and he favorite to win PFA player and Young player of the year awards.
Eden Hazard recently penned a new five year contract, his manager and club highly value Hazard. Real Madrid are still in hunt for the pacy and skillful player.
Zidance talking to Fifa.com said, "There are players I keep an eye on and who I like a lot, like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, of course. They're fantastic players, but I like Eden Hazard a lot too,"
"I enjoy everything he does on the pitch. I like the way he carries himself, that decisive streak in him and the fact that he's improving every year. He can still get better too.
"I think he's a big reason why Chelsea are on top of the table."


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Self Portraits
Self Portrait Logan Browning
Logan Browning of Netflix's "Dear White People" and now "The Perfection" opens up while drawing her self portrait at the VICE offices in Brooklyn, NY.
Nuts + Bolts / S1 EP1
Stop Motion
Tyler lives out one of his dreams to create his very own stop motion film.
Self Portraits
Vic Mensa
Rapper Vic Mensa sits down to draw a self-portrait, but quickly decides to get a little more creative by drawing a future version of himself.
VICE Lab UK / S1 EP7
Animating Grace Neutral: Behind The Scenes with The Line Animation
Wesley Louis from The Line attempts to turn Grace Neutral into an anime character, focusing on her unique ears, eyes and tattoos.
VICE Lab UK / S1 EP7
Grace Neutral Transforms into an Anime Character (Step-by-Step)
The stages of anime were unravelled for our latest series of idents featuring Grace Neutral and directed by Wesley Louis at The Line Animation.
Self Portraits
Self Portraits: SahBabii
SahBabii draws himself.
Self Portraits
Self Portrait: Cardi B
In this episode of Self Portrait, watch Cardi B draw herself and make sure she did not forget to highlight her best assets.
Inside the Boundless Cartoon Universe of Mike Perry
What's it like inside the colorfully playful and intricate cartoon world of animator/illustrator/sculptor Mike Perry?
The Process / web
Marcel Dzama's Incredible Imagination | The Process
An inside scoop on acclaimed multimedia artist Marcel Dzama's sculpture, video, drawings and costume design for the New York City Ballet's Art Series and production of The Most Incredible Thing.


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Melody Hames, known as the Horse Barber, clips artwork into the hair of horses. This isn't your average clip job though. Her creative designs can be seen as a work of art. She first began clipping on her pony as a nine year old girl. Nowadays, she encourages others in the industry with educational seminars on creative and traditional clipping.
Her clip work is stunning. Take a look at this amazing war horse tribute.
She holds various demonstrates in hopes of educating future generations on how to properly clip.
I can't even imagine clipping a seahorse like this, but practice makes perfect. Melody has been doing this for many years now.
That's amazing! Those stars pop off the horse.
This Haflinger was definitely transformed into a unicorn! I love the wings.
Follow the Horse Barber's journey on Instagram @thehorsebarber_melody!


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I used Emacs org-mode to do time management before, with dedicated project plan, autogenerated schedule, and filled in how my time was spent every hour. Yeah, this is fancy, geeky, cool. Looks efficient. Until one day I got tired of it.
Then I changed to pen and paper. No staring at the project plan, no keyboard shortcuts to switch among TODO, DOING, DONE, no autogenerated good-looking schedules. Just write down the to do items, and tick when finished. It's troublesome sometimes because you cannot "insert" above some line, and have to cross out texts or use ugly marks.
But to my surprise, it works like a charm. I get more focused at work, spend less time on the "management" itself, and feel more clear in mind when approaching the goal, while have to write down the action items for different projects again and again.
The reason why it's more effective may be it's just simple. I feel the largest obstacle when trying to thinking about something is, you have to memorize or keep reminding yourself of some certain points. Anyway the capability of our brain is very limited, and we shouldn't waste it in memorizing when more important tasks are awaiting. With the pen and paper, the workflow is just write it down and do it. When it's getting outdated or too complicated, just rewrite them (rather than revise the more and more complex plans in Emacs) so the size and complexity of the todo items are controlled. In other words, I feel always looking at the very next step thus always clear about what I'm doing and easier to focus on the stuff in hand. And when it's the time to think about the big picture, that's another thing and separate time should be assigned to think about it (and put it in a different page in my notebook). Another thing is pens and papers are nearly always available, and require no booting, password entering or app switching. Simple, but works. That's the essential for this old-fashioned way.
This inspires me that "time management" should really be lightweight. Maybe it shouldn't be called "time management", but "write down what you need to do". Besides "time management", the things I like and used for a long time seem always be simple. I am a paid user of RescueTime for time recording and tracking. It doesn't require me to do anything to track my time usage in the laptop. And Mint, also need to do nothing to get comprehensive analysis on the financial situation. Time capsule/machine, iPhone/iCloud backup, Dropbox... Things making us lazy is also making us more efficient. ;)


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Council plan Car Free Day next month
Families in Richmond are being invited to come out and play as part of a national Car Free Day this September, with a scheme aimed at encouraging children to play outside.
Richmond Council is encouraging people to hold a play street on the 22nd September, by offering to close their roads to through-traffic for up to four hours.
It means children will be able to play outside, have fun with their friends, family or neighbours.
To encourage as many streets as possible to take part, the Council is waiving the administration costs to the road closures, and to help inspire the play, we are making available a number of grants of up to £250 to enable neighbours to plan fun activities that will entice people out of their homes and onto the streets.
Cllr Alexander Ehmann, Richmond Council Cabinet Member for Transport, Street Scene and Air Quality, said:
"We have a wonderful set of parks and open spaces in Richmond Borough, but turning the street outside our homes into a more rich and rewarding space; one that brings communities together and allows young people to laugh, play and have fun is a great opportunity."


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Whew! I love drawing comics but I'm telling you...it can be tiring. Not tiring like rescuing people from a burning building or construction work (mmm...firemen and construction workers). It's not like a noble pursuit working for the greater good. It's just, for me anyway, a lot of late nights and trying not to repeat myself on page layout, panel composition and figure posing.
And nothing points out an artist's inability to draw a good likeness better than drawing a roomful of 1930s Hollywood stars and not even being able to get a recognizable Katherine Hepburn. Oof!
In between figuring out what makes Jimmy Stewart look like Jimmy Stewart I sketch muscled men to boost my morale :)
Friday, January 25, 2013
Monday, January 07, 2013
Scruff Sketches!
Two more beefy guys from my folder of "Inspiration". More like a separate hard drive at this point. I figure I'd better get to drawing those guys or else why did I save their images? There is always something to be learned from a pair of perfect pecs.
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Hide and Secord!
Just a quick and dirty post to welcome in the NEW YEAR! Happy New Year everyone! I've been up to my rocket-pack in Rocketeer for the past few months. I love getting to draw Cliff and Betty again (this time I think I'm doing a much better job on both). Here's a little sneak peek at Cliff.
The announcement at Comics Alliance can still be seen here.
The announcement at Comics Alliance can still be seen here.
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