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Verint Verba has developed a unique Ethical Wall solution that enables proactive communication policy enforcement addressing legal and ethical compliance, data security and risk management issues across Cisco UC and Skype for Business. Seamlessly integrated with the Verint Verba platform, the Ethical Wall brings a paradigm shift by allowing your business to embrace proactive compliance instead of focusing on corrective measures after-the-fact once an issue occurs.
Ethical Wall − Enabling Proactive Compliance
Stop firefighting, prevent compliance issues before they occur
Start acting instead of just reacting. Verint Verba brings you an essential tool for effortless enforcement of corporate policy and industry regulations, that also mitigates risk so that you can reap the substantial benefits of your UC investment. No matter of it's a voice conversation, a file transfer, an instant message or presence information, proactive policy enforcement through the Ethical Wall enables you to take the guesswork out of your compliance efforts and take full control over your UC.
Safeguarding your Unified Communications
Corporate communications and federation may pose several security and compliance challenges your organization needs to face on a daily basis. Applying communication policies can also be necessary from a compliance perspective, preventing conflicts of interest that might result in the inappropriate release of sensitive corporate information, including confidential data or presence information, that you might not want to share with external federated parties.
The Verint Verba Ethical Wall enables your business to easily control and restrict communications, presence information and content between different users or user groups or notify participants about potential violations. Verint Verba's powerful protective technology works with your UC platform to give you full control over your enterprise communications – including the ability to regulate the access levels of federated parties when extending your unified communications outside company boundaries.
Related: The End of After-the-Fact Compliance
The future of regulatory compliance is proactive
Designed to separate groups or individuals from communicating with each other for ethical, compliance or privacy reasons, the Ethical Wall eases the way to enforce granular policies by applying various control mechanisms that define permitted operations between communicating parties.
The building blocks of Ethical Wall
Ethical Wall enables proactive compliance across various control mechanisms for Cisco and Skype for Business environments. Whether you want to enforce policies in regards to instant messaging, phone calls, videos, file transfer or screen sharing, the solution supports your policy control efforts across all these modalities in real time. By using the following set of dynamic features, you can easily keep users or groups within your organization or internal and external parties from communicating with each other, filter instant message content, apply legal disclaimers and more.
Presence Blocking
UC platforms facilitate collaboration among employees and among other end users in externally federated companies. But how do you protect key personnel, such as your C-level executives, from receiving unsolicited IM or voice communications or prevent their online status from being seen by certain groups or individuals from inside and outside the organization, while still allowing them to initiate a conversation with others? The Ethical Wall can handle it all.
With the ability to temporarily or permanently block presence information from internal and external users (subject to policy or inclination), the facility to block an external user from starting an IM conversation while still allowing an internal user to initiate communications, and the ability to choose which communication features are allowed, the Ethical Wall enables your organization to decide how connected you want to be in a way that suits your business needs now and as it evolves.
Available for Skype for Business, the platform even allows prohibiting a user to add a blocked contact to the address book or to retrieve/list blocked contacts from the central directory.
Control the visibility and protect the privacy of your users
Define one or two directional rules
Control which external (federated) partners can see your status
Apply contact list filtering on Skype for Business
Session Policies
Do you need to apply strict communication and content boundaries across your organization for compliance reasons? With the Ethical Wall's proactive compliance capabilities, you can meet these and many more requirements. Whether you want to achieve legislative compliance, eliminate conflicts of interest or to support workplace procedures, the Ethical Wall helps you to separate entities and limit interaction, or the recording and storage of interactions, between certain individuals or groups across the organization, and control which users, groups or networks are accessible to certain external organizations.
Verint Verba makes it easy to define granular policy rules to create boundaries vertically up and down the hierarchy structure or horizontally between domain-based groups, group-to-group, and between your individual employees and those employees in federated organizations. With the ability to place one or two-way boundaries specifying who can talk to whom, and the facility to control which communication modes can be used for which conversations (IM, Voice, Video, Screen Sharing and File Transfer), the Ethical Wall enables you to meet all the security, compliance and privacy issues associated with a UC deployment and preserve the integrity of your most sensitive data and conversations.
Proactively control who can talk with whom and when in your organization
Apply policy control based on specific communication modalities
Granularly control the access levels of external (federated) parties
Content Filtering
As one of the foundations of our proactive compliance offering, Ethical Wall provides vital protective technology for your collaboration platforms to safeguard your proprietary or sensitive information and shield users from exposure to profanity or inappropriate language.
Ethical Wall prevents information leakage from within the organization, either inadvertently or maliciously, by automatically redacting sensitive data from any text-based conversation, so that it cannot be communicated or stored. It comes as no surprise that this feature is an essential building block of your business' PCI compliance, from credit card companies to contact centers to other businesses that process card payments, by avoiding credit card information from being captured and stored from instant messaging.
The system also monitors the language used in communications – blocking, redacting or reporting content – depending on company policy rules. Various policies can be configured easily for the whole organization, groups or individual users.
As organizations recognize the importance of exercising more control over corporate communication, legal disclaimers and notifications are used to advise users of company policies and restrictions.
Whether your organization needs these to protect from liability, avoid accidental or intended breaches of confidentiality, or strengthen compliance, the Ethical Wall helps you create, manage and attach disclaimer messages and notifications to all types of text-based communication, quickly and easily via easy-to-use templates which can be accessed from the Verint Verba web application.
Preventative technology for different industries
Proactive compliance is the key for sustainable compliance programs across multiple industries. By using the Ethical Wall, you gain the ability to prevent a specific information to be mentioned in instant messaging, disable video conferencing during peak hours and limit who can see the presence information of your executive team. The solution also includes a session chaperone feature allowing users to set real-time permissions that can override communication policies in place. From financial services and healthcare to law firms and government agencies, the solution helps to proactively implement those policies that you currently have in place within your organization or those regulating your industry.
Separate market researchers from the brokering department
Protect the firm from insider trading liabilities
Adhere to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act by avoiding conflicts of interest
Ensure policy consistency through policy whispering and disclaimers
Prevent sharing of personal health information externally
Comply with the HIPAA directive
Protect information privacy to future-proof your PCI-DSS compliance
Filter profanity and meet internal standards throughout your customer interactions
Align with presence blocking requirements
Ensure ethical integrity throughout your organization
Separate legal teams of potentially adverse parties
Ensure client confidentiality and safeguard data privacy
Avoid copyright infringements and clean room design
Prevent information leakage
Separate internal procurement teams from vendors
Prevent procurement from communicating with the tender writing group
Separate client teams of competitors
Separate Editorial and Advertising arms
Investment Banking
- Separate market researchers from the brokering department
- Protect the firm from insider trading liabilities
- Adhere to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act by avoiding conflicts of interest
- Ensure policy consistency through policy whispering and disclaimers
- Prevent sharing of personal health information outside the clinical team
- Comply with the HIPAA directive
Contact Centers
- Protect information privacy to future-proof your PCI-DSS compliance
- Filter profanity and meet ethical standards throughout your customer interactions
Government Agencies
- Align with presence blocking requirements
- Ensure ethical integrity throughout your organization
Law Firms
- Separate legal teams of potentially adverse parties
- Ensure client confidentiality and safeguard data privacy
IT / Security
- Avoid copyright infringements / clean room design
- Avoid information leakage
Enterprise Procurement
- Separate internal teams from vendors
- Separate procurement from the tender writing group
Financial Services / Corporate Finance
- Separate client teams of competitors
- Separate Editorial and Advertising arms
Ethical walls are easy to implement. Watch how it works.
Reliable communication policy enforcement technology, proven results
Speed and multi-modality
The Ethical Wall solution uses our lightning-fast, in-memory decision engine, which provides minimal delays, even in large systems, and ensures that none of the decisions rely on external servers, networks or databases. The Verint Verba rule processing engine makes the decisions based on fully customizable policies while the web interface presents your compliance policies in an intuitive, easy-to-use format.
Verint Verba Ethical Wall supports all the communication modes of Skype for Business and Cisco Collaboration platforms. Blocking support is available for Presence, IM Voice, Video and File Transfer in both Skype for Business and Cisco, as well as blocking support for screen-sharing, polls and whiteboard for Skype for Business.
Multitenancy and security
Verint Verba Ethical Wall can be deployed for just one department or across an entire organization, from single to multi-site operations. From a security perspective, the communication policy audit log makes it easy to monitor and trace back all events in the Ethical Wall when rules are enforced. The solution can be licensed separately or combined with other Verint Verba solutions to strengthen your regulatory conformance with proactive compliance capabilities.
Want to explore our Ethical Wall in more depth? Read the related Knowledge Base article, or get in touch for a trial license!


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Anna & Charlie :: Cutie Pies :: Syracuse NY Child Photographer/
I just adore these two! They are such a sweet brother and sister and it was my honor to be able to capture them again this year. I always look forward to seeing this family. It was a cold cold day but they did such a great job!

subset: commoncrawl


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DALLAS, UNITED STATES, January 18, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ — Monica Messick, 2019 President of the Women's Energy Network (WEN) – North Texas Chapter, is pleased to extend an invitation to the Chapter's Annual Kickoff Socials. The Fort Worth Social will be held January 31, 2019 at Taverna, 450 Throckmorton Street from 5:30-7:00 pm. The Dallas Social will be held February 7, 2019 at Mi Cocina, 3699 McKinney Ave. from 5:30-7:00 pm. You do not need to be a member to attend the WEN Annual Kickoff Socials. All women who are currently working in the energy industry are invited to attend these complimentary events. Registration for these events is strongly encouraged.
"Our Annual Kickoff Socials are some of our most highly anticipated events. They are a great way to network with women working in all capacities of the energy industry, and to find out about all the upcoming opportunities that the WEN Board of Directors have planned for 2019." said Monica Messick.
"As we move into 2019, three key focal areas for our chapter will be networking, leadership and community. We're excited for our many upcoming networking and educational luncheons, community outreach and volunteering opportunities, the annual leadership conference in June, and fun, interactive social events. We also look forward to the continued expansion and improvement of our executive tier program, a sub-group of our chapter which was launched in 2017 as a platform for women at the highest ranks of their profession to network and collaborate with one another."
WEN had the pleasure of hosting Richard F. Strickland, PhD as the guest speaker at the Fort Worth WEN luncheon on Thursday, January 10, 2019, at the Fort Worth Petroleum Club. Mr. Strickland, President of The Strickland Group, gave an informative presentation on "The Macondo Blowout."
Monica Messick, WEN North Texas 2019 President and Partner at Jackson Walker, LLP, will be the guest speaker at the Dallas luncheon meeting on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, at the Dallas Petroleum Club. Ms. Messick will be presenting the topic "Ring in the New Year with WEN," where she will share her vision for the North Texas Chapter in 2019.
Doors open for luncheon events at 11:30 a.m. with the luncheon presentation to follow from noon to 1:00 p.m. The cost to attend WEN North Texas luncheons is $30 for members and $45 for non-members if paid in advance. Member and non-member registration the day of the event is $50, space permitting.
Please register online for any of our great events at www.womensenergynetwork.org. For more information about the above events, contact Jennifer Evans, Garnet Energy, at firstname.lastname@example.com. For more information about the Women's Energy Network – North Texas Chapter, visit www.womensenergynetwork.org and click on Find Your Chapter. Interested parties can join the North Texas Chapter by clicking on Join Now on the North Texas Chapter's home page.
About WEN
The Women's Energy Network is a nonprofit association of women professionals in the energy industry that provides networking and community outreach opportunities and fosters career and leadership development. Founded in 1994, the organization has more than 4,000 members nationwide.
Thank you to our generous 2019 WEN North Texas Sponsors:
National Sponsors
Sidley Austin LLP
Vinson & Elkins
Talos Energy
Hunt Oil Company
Silver Level Sponsors
Jackson Walker
Thompson & Knight
Legacy Texas
Bronze Level Sponsors
EnLink Midstream
Locke Lord LLP
Jennifer Evans
Womens Energy Network North Texas
+1 949-500-8357
email us here
Source: EIN Presswire


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Yes, racism and hate is still alive and well in the great state of Texas.
Most people on this earth have good hearts and intentions, but there are still a great number of hate filled, racist people that walk among us. We need to realize that there are people in public service that are not working to protect and serve everyone the same way. Some people hold resentment, anger and hate within and find ways to display it toward the people they hate and have gotten away with it for years.
The type of behavior expressed by the person accused, in the article below, should be displayed for the entire community to see.
Source: Police say Grapevine man hung doll with noose outside black neighbor's apartment | Crime | Dallas News


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Martin Hamelin
Creative planning
Giorgio Armani : Rouge Ecstasy
The brief : "We want a digital UFO to show our new range of lipsticks."
The idea : Gorgeous mouths do an amazing and luxurious beat box
to show this lipstick's perfect hold.
Result : More than 6M views (4 organic)
Lancôme - Hypnôse
The brief : "Make a great digital movie with Daria Werbowy, 2 hours of shooting, and a small budget about our new eye-liner. "
The idea : An hypnotic deep dive in amazing Daria's gaze.
Lancôme : Cushion Miracle
The brief : "We want this product to be a must have for every urban women."
The idea : Hyperlapse VS Stop motion ! Cushion Miracle is quick to use but a delightful moment of your day.
Sensee. Les Lunettes.
The brief : "Sensee wants to break the glasses market with products handmade in France, for a very low price."
The idea : "To promote zero promotion": Sensee is so affordable but with such great products that there is no reason to make any offer.
Result : More to come - campaign launched in march 2017.
Pulco : La vie à la fresh
The brief : "Prove that Pulco is the perfect soft drink for leisurely urban people"
The idea : A website praising leisure, full of content (The 10 most leisurely jobs, Recipes for leisurely people etc...).
14 prints with catch lines that are odes to relaxation and cool attitude.
Result : 1 million unique visitors.
Renault Twingo X Hipanema
The brief : "To show the great mix between the cute Twingo car and the fashion brasilian style brand Hipanema"
The idea : A 1' movie where a parisian woman's gets transported to brasil thanks to the Twingo.
Result : The campaign has been launched recently.
Samsung : Unleash your fingers
The brief : "Have people stunned and breathless for 1'30 for the launch of the new Galaxy SII"
The idea : Surprise the audience with amazing finger tutting, enhanced with tremendous visual effects. Show how the "digital" world is in your hands with this new phone.
Result : More than 20M views (all networks, 18M organic)
Samsung - Safari imaginaire
The brief : "Samsung Galaxy Note helps you to get more creative."
The idea : A motion designed journey through Paris.
Samsung : The Penspinning
The brief : "Samsung launches a phone with a stylus, in a market full of touchscreen phones."
The idea : A short movie full of humour where an old champion of pen spinning surprises everybody with his skills.
Result : More than 10M views (all networks, 3 organics).
Sarenza - La saga
The brief : "Create the whole Sarenza identity on TV."
The idea : An entire saga of short movies with Sarenza clients, showing both fashion and playful aspect of the brand.
Messenger - Messenger mène à tout
The brief : "Soon, Skype will replace Messenger. Make an ode to our last users."
The idea : To show how Messenger was the starter for everyone's everyday stories.
1886 - Les viandes du Massif
The brief : "We want to create a unique brand for our quality and ethical meat"
The idea : "1886 (height of the Puy de Sancy) Prenez de la hauteur sur la viande"


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top 5
List of News and Information about top 5 on 4WheelsNews.com
News and Information about top 5
Read the latest news and information about top 5 published on 4WheelsNews.com! View comments and pictures about top 5 on 4WheelsNews.com!
You also might be interested: sports car, supercar, top 5, jeep, toyota, customization, australia, aston martin, lamborghini, zagato, porsche, porsche 911, police car, chevrolet, chevrolet tahoe
Top 5 paint colors for a Ferrari sports car
Ferraris usually come in their most popular shade of red. This is because in the past, vintage race cars would be painted in the colour of their country, and red represented Italy.
Now, most people who get a Ferrari opt for the red exterior paint too. But then, there are so many other cool colours out there to make your Ferrari stand out even more. Check some of these out.Read the entire article Top 5 paint colors for a Ferrari sports car
Five iconic 1990s cars that you can probably afford to buy now
Did you never fall out of love with your '90s dream car? You're not alone. The dream wheels back in the nineties are pretty amazing. It was in those years that cars have started to look totally different from the cars in the seventies and eighties. Thus, every Jones in the neighbourhood gets at least a brand new car. In fact, there are many other things we love about the nineties.
Remember it was also during that time when the Internet era was slowly taking over. We can joke now that it was literally "slow" but it was an awesome time for all of us. We kind of missed that especially now when everything seems to be in "ludicrous mode".
Going back to the subject, we've gathered a list of the best nineties dream cars and how much they cost at this moment compared to how much they cost in the '90s. Because truth is, some of us still couldn't get over those cars we wished we had back then.Read the entire article Five iconic 1990s cars that you can probably afford to buy now
Year-end recap: Top five custom cars of 2016
The previous year has brought us a lot of good things to rave about --- even when they're next to impossible to get a hold of. We're talking about those custom cars that took a lot of time and effort to create.
Since it's the start of the year, we've gathered the five most amazing custom cars from 2016. Proud owners of these very unique vehicles will surely be glad knowing all their hard work has paid off.
Without further ado, let's make way for Ferrari SP275 RW, the 458 MM Speciale, the Jeep Wrangler Trailcat, the 1UZ V8-powered Toyota FJ and Ryan Tuerck's Toyota GT4586. Read on.Read the entire article Year-end recap: Top five custom cars of 2016
Top 5 Hottest Aussie-built Cars
The declining Australian automobile industry suddenly made us want to reminisce about the hottest Aussie cars from yesteryears. In case you haven't heard of the news yet, Toyota, General Motors and Ford will soon stop producing their cars in Australia, which is sad.
Over the years, we've seen some of the best automobiles that only came from here. Some of those cars were not even rebranded or brought to the US. Still, these hot models became synonymous to Australian car industry just like Cadbury is for chocolate.
The Aussies practically coined the term "ute" for utility vehicle. So we think the hottest "ute" deserves a mention here too.Read the entire article Top 5 Hottest Aussie-built Cars
The arrival of limited edition cars is always something to look out for. However, the launch of limited edition super cars is even more exciting. In fact, from the time they are released, they become instant superstars.
Also, these limited edition super cars become instant classics, immediately creating a premium once they are received by their owners. Since they produced in limited numbers, it is usually hard to get a new super car. If one is not lucky enough to buy a new limited edition super car, he or she may have to get them for the used car market.
Here are five limited edition super cars – announced or released this 2016 – that immediately gained classic status and are already fetching a high premium over their original prices.Read the entire article Top 5 limited edition supercars of 2016
To catch a fleeing criminal, one must be well-equipped with wheels that can catch up, if not, outrun them. We've watched too many action movies with the police force arriving after the hero/heroine gets the job done. But in real life, calling 911 or the police force does the trick. And yes, they've got to have the wheels to do the trick.
In the United States for example, the police force has the necessary gear to catch criminals and delinquents as well as maintain peace and order in their respective state; and such equipment includes police cars or police mobiles that are capable of great speeds to corner fleeing criminals. Companies like Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge are known to supply the American police force with the necessary power to chase criminals.
The Michigan State Police has in fact listed the best patrol cars issued to them by the government for the year 2017. Recently, each of their patrol cars had been put to the test on the tracks of the Gingerman raceway in South Haven, Michigan and in a straight line. Here is a list of Michigan's fastest police cars for 2017.Read the entire article Fastest police cars for 2017, according to Michigan State Police force
Electric vehicles (EVs) have faced a seemingly insurmountable series of difficulties in the US, especially this year. The vehicle category has dealt with so many issues, making it a difficult market to grow in.
Some are too expensive while those that are affordable have been poorly accepted in the industry and have been heavily criticized.
According to a national study published recently, here are the top difficulties hindering the adoption of EVs in the US market.Read the entire article Five Biggest Reasons Why Electric Vehicles Haven't Dominated the US Auto Industry Yet
In the automotive industry, there is no "sure thing." Every time carmakers approve a project, it represents a huge risk; albeit, a necessary one if they want to succeed. Playing safe does not always pay off in a huge industry.
No matter how meticulous they go about in the development, there is no sure-fire method. However, some companies can absorb the impact of a poorly designed project better than others. Having said that, there are vehicles that make the average person call out the automaker for a what-were-you-thinking moment.Read the entire article Five of the Worst-planned Cars in Recent History
Most of us are aware of the fact that you can make money from YouTube. It is unlike any regular eight-to-five shift but it can be full-time nonetheless. It is one way of making money especially when you can produce great content that will make you stand out above the rest.
It is a good paying job, actually – good enough for some to be able to indulge in extravagance like cars. And there are also those who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth and are capable of buying and flaunting their collection of vehicles.
Here's a list of our favourite car collections owned by YouTube celebrities.Read the entire article 5 YouTube Celebrities We Envy for Their Extraordinary Car Collections
From movies to TV shows to video games and even novels, there's no indication that the interest in post-apocalyptic zombie infestation has waned. In fact, more people have begun to believe that these things could happen. When this paranoia grips you, the only way to feel less anxious is by going on survivor mode.
Among others, these include building a bomb-proof bunk and stockpiling canned food that could help them survive for months, if not, years. There are also the smarter ones – those who know that being in one place would either result with you getting caught by brain-eating zombies or dying from hunger.
What better way to battle hunger and run over monsters than to equip yourself with zombie-proof vehicles, right? And so we present to you five of the most indestructible cars that could help you survive the apocalyptic environment as well as a horde of ravenous undead.Read the entire article Top 5 Vehicles That Offer You the Best Chances of Surviving the Apocalypse
Aside from production cars, car makers have also showcased a vision of the future at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show with the brilliance of their respective concept models, satisfying the fantasies of all enthusiasts around the world.
Listed below are some of the sickest concept vehicles that may hopefully one day make it to production.Read the entire article Top 5 Concept Cars at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show
It's no surprise that the car collection of such an inimitable personality such as Donald Trump has piqued our interest. An American real estate mogul, a tactless TV personality, a former USFL franchise owner, a politician and now a presidential candidate under the Republican Party of the United States of America, Donald Trump can be regarded as one of the most famous, and often times infamous, characters of the past and present generations.
Because of his notoriety, Donald Trump has been labelled as one of America's highest-profile rich guys. He has received both love and criticism from different kinds of people and is a brand that gets a ton of attention from the public.
Born and raised from a well-known family in New York City, Donald Trump has acquired the skills and has followed the path that his late father Fred Trump, owner of real estate firm Elizabeth Trump & Son, has paved for him. After taking control of the then Elizabeth Trump & Son real estate firm, Donald Trump has explored beyond the real estate business by building casinos, golf courses, hotels and many other properties and renamed the firm "The Trump Organization".Read the entire article Top 5 Cars in Donald Trump's Collection
We all have that crazy fan moment that sometimes turns out for the worst. Admit it. There was a time in your life where you were head over heels for something and you just can't resist having anything that has to do with it even those that are useless and dumb. Yeah, we all fell for that crap.
And that does not exempt members of the automotive community. On one end, there might be people selling amazing products that might seem useful for you and your vehicle and on the other hand, there are people selling totally useless products that make you go "Wait. What? Why?!".
Here are a few of the most useless, dumbest and most absurd things on sale that will make you barf rainbows. Here we go.Read the entire article Top 5 of the Most Ridiculous Car Items on Sale
Practice makes perfect and life is often times learned through trial and error. And our Italian friend Ferrari is not an exemption to the rule. Ferrari has made quite a few out-of-the-ordinary concepts, some of which may have turned out to be among the most hideous looking vehicles ever made.
Luckily, these things never made it into production. So here is a list of some of the most horrifying concepts that Ferrari has ever made.
Next time Ferrari decides to design something, let's all keep our fingers crossed that they do not end up with a pile of mess.Read the entire article Top 5 Ferrari Concepts That Received a Lot of Hate
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Agile often isn't/
Great ideas rarely survive marketing. Once even the most brilliant vision is distilled and subdivided into a format designed to be sold, it typically loses more than its luster. It is the reason people are disinterested in politics today. And it may become the reason people are less interested in organizing a business.
Ideals, as opposed to ideas, may be immune. Sometimes the reason is because certain ideals may be so unfathomable, so borderless, as to escape all packaging. Freedom, as so poetically and appropriately defined by psychologist Rollo May, "is not rebellion." Such a simple phrase leaves one free to consider the possibilities, and in so doing, the ideal defines itself.
Some great ideas — including the political ones and the organizational ones — are born from a sense of rebellion. Its founders publish a manifesto designed to stir the soul. The idea of Agile is based on a theory that the nature of the work people produce (in the original case, software) can illuminate the best and also least structured processes with which people collaborate to do that work.
The message of Agile was first articulated in a manifesto, some of whose core principles, like Rollo May's idea of freedom, attempt to be brief and poetic by setting forth what Agile is not.
Through the marketing of Agile — a process which leads one to think the word itself may require a little "TM" — an identity was given to that which Agile is not, since every great story needs a bad guy. The villain in the Agile™ story is called Waterfall, which implies the blatant irony of an Ian Fleming novel.
Waterfall™ could coincidentally be categorized as everything the U.S. Government has just declared to be good and ideal, which might in and of itself make it all bad and wrong. It has been explained to me as leveraging the structure of a business' organizational chart to enable bureaucracy to break down the development process into discrete, schedulable stages that eventually become unmanageable.
Imagine if an alien archaeologist dug up an automotive assembly line without any pre-existing knowledge of Earth history or sociology or Henry Ford. Workflow, for most industries, divides units of work among individuals skilled in that work, who in turn report to managers responsible for its quality and timeliness. That much seems sensible enough. But the staging process, as would be obvious even to an alien archeologist (some of whom may be covertly running assembly lines at this very moment) often appears to feed and nurture itself, creating new and sometimes redundant stages in a cascading fashion that leads to the choice of metaphor.
The downside of Waterfall, allege Agile's evangelists, is that it removes development teams from direct contact with customers. By partitioning them into committees, the resulting silos prevent team members from collaborating, and from bouncing good ideas off each other's heads. So the adoption of Agile is not so much about businesses changing their workflow, but rather about individuals in the business changing their behavior in order to prevent the business from falling into the Waterfall trap.Individuals and small groups, often working in pairs, are encouraged to choose their own goals and challenge each other to fulfill them. And since feeling is governed by psychology, the success of the effort is often determined not quantitatively but psychologically; thus many businesses proclaim Agile a success when they feel better about their jobs. Henry Ford, make way for Sigmund Freud.
So when the first serious efforts to quantify the success of Agile were first attempted by university researchers three years ago, they found themselves thinking not as software developers or as business analysts but as sociologists. Using sociological methods, they discovered that many teams that feel they are successful actually are not, by standards which even business analysts would appreciate. In fact, perhaps to ensure their good feelings, teams may actually be secluding themselves from their own customers, cutting themselves off from their main source of feedback, and reducing collaboration with one another. Then to defend these feelings, some teams may invoke a certain cascading, descending, wet process that both Freud and Ford would call a "defense mechanism."
The Scarlet Letter
Dr. Rashina Hoda is the Research Chair for the International Conference on Agile and Lean Software Methods, whose annual meeting was held last February in Bengaluru, India. Presently, Dr. Hoda teaches software engineering at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She's a Certified Scrum Master, which doesn't mean she plays rugby, but rather that she completed a full course in one of the more explicit practices of Agile development. Specifically, Scrum encourages development teams to self-organize, by choosing tasks in a kind of jump-ball collection process (thus the scrum), assigning Scrum Masters for each task based not so much upon rank or salary but rather who's up for it, and setting minimal deadlines of 30 days or less. (HP is partnered with an organization that licenses the certification of Scrum Masters.)
Officially, Dr. Hoda is not a sociologist. Nevertheless in 2010, while teaching at Victoria University of Wellington, Dr. Hoda and her colleagues began one of the first comprehensive investigations into the behavior patterns of Agile development teams. Instead of envisioning a brilliant argument touting the benefits of Agile and Scrum and giving herself 30 days to prove it right, she conducted a study using classic Grounded Theory (GT) methodology, created by sociologists for studying human behavior.
The result was therefore a true sociological study, albeit done by computer science professors. Rather than argue a point, they would conduct interviews and questionnaires, analyze the raw data they received in response, and following the principles of GT, produce theory based on only that data.
No one could have anticipated the results. Entitled "Agile Undercover," the first report from Hoda and her colleagues demonstrated conclusively that Agile development teams were failing to communicate with their customers — not just occasionally, but mainly. And in order to ameliorate the impact of these failures, teams and their companies were making active, intentional efforts to keep customers in the dark about their development practices, including their schedules of deliverables.
"Customers harbor skepticism about Agile methods and pose resistance to involvement," the Hoda team wrote. "They don't readily understand Agile practices such as 'fail fast' and its intended benefits — that minimum time and effort may be wasted on a project that's bound to fail — and become prejudiced."
Although teams may be developing software under what they consider to be short, iterative, Agile cycles, they actually don't deploy in tandem with those cycles. Instead, the research found, they may wait for windows of opportunity, chances to make a big push when the customer is less likely to mount a resistance.
"What starts to become annoying for the team," Dr. Hoda tells me in an interview, "is that they've done so much hard work in making sure it's an actual, working piece of software, but they know it's not going to be 'on the shelf' for another six months. And it's a bit of a demotivation for them, if you know what I mean."
In larger organizations that Hoda's team studied, ITC departments (the European term for IT, which includes the "Communications" aspect) are often uninvited to the Agile party. So although development teams may work within 30-day cycles, ITC only deploys updates every six months, at best. In the case of big companies, ironically, this gives development teams a kind of fallback position, a rational excuse for reverting to old habits. With smaller companies, however, developers find themselves scrambling, and customers are left without a clear message.
As Dr. Hoda's team found, customers disgruntled by an apparent lack of progress tend to spell out their demands more clearly, in the form of tighter, more definitive, less negotiable contracts.
Of the four key goals of the original Agile Manifesto, so far, three have been shot down: Interactions with customers are unpleasant; software is no longer deployed in iterative cycles; and team members, depressed by a lack of communication and individual initiative, are taking steps to feel better about their jobs, since feeling is the key metric here.
The pressure for development teams to appear to be performing as customers expect is actually higher now than ever before.
Yet the next domino to fall, as explained in Dr. Hoda's sequel, "Agility in Context," is absolutely stupefying.
"Teams are very keen on pleasing their customers, and it's hard for them to bring up issues with customer collaboration," Hoda tells me. So to keep the customer at bay and out of their hair, development teams hire or appoint a customer proxy. An ambassador, if you will. Or, to be more truthful, a sales associate.
"A customer proxy is a team member who will try to keep up-to-date with the requirements from the customer," says Hoda, "but not all of the team members will interact with the customer. This one person will." It's the job of this proxy to develop a message, a vision, a lofty image of the master plan. And it may not even be the real image, but whatever it is, it should keep the customer mesmerized for now, like a string dangled in front of a cat.
In an ideal situation, Hoda explains, development teams are up-front with their customers from the beginning, explaining the virtues of continual collaboration and iterative development. But more often, customers are not convinced to change their own expectations for deliverables. Some of the reasons why are beyond their control, such as the inflexible work cycles of their own IT/ITC departments and, in some countries including India, laws requiring definitive and all-inclusive contracts to be spelled out and signed in advance by both parties. So the typical course of events is what she describes as "less than ideal."
Then there is the worst-case scenario, which Hoda calls "Extreme Undercover." In this scenario, communication with the customer is rigidly restricted, including in many cases — according to the Hoda team's test subjects — mandates never to mention aloud the dreaded "A-word," lest it bring shame down upon them.
Regaining Control of Self-control
So if Agile (pardon my language) can indeed lead to successful projects and happy customers, how can teams afflicted by the "Undercover" phenomenon relocate the road to freedom? Theoretically, they should take examples from successful, self-managing, "truly" Agile project teams.
In late 2009, a search for such examples was led by Dr. Likoebe Maruping of the University of Louisville. While teaching at the Sam Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, Dr. Maruping and his colleagues researched how Agile development teams adjust their metrics of success in the face of rapidly changing customer requirements (for example, migrations to the cloud, and the adoption of new security models).
Borrowing concepts from sociology, Maruping based his study around control theory. The control in this case comes from the signals or measures or methods used by management not only to steer workers toward desired outcomes, but to communicate to them what those outcomes should be. (Not to be confused with the Control Theory of Motivation, William Glasser's work which suggests that individuals may conjure the inner need to succeed. Maruping's field of study is actually closer to B. F. Skinner's theory of operant conditioning, that individuals' behaviors can be shaped through experiential programming.)
First, the Maruping team attempted to identify the control modes that development teams used to manage themselves in so-called "self-managing" Agile teams — the signals that leaders send that progress or outcomes are positive. As Dr. Maruping explains to me in an interview, "If you're going to actually advocate for a specific set of processes that will enable you to achieve your objectives, to what extent are you actually implementing those controls? Rather than only measuring performance targets, to what degree are you also assessing the degree to which you're following this set of practices?"
This led to their first problem.
"To our knowledge, there are no existing measures for assessing the use of Agile practices in software development teams in the field," the Maruping team wrote. "Therefore, we developed a new scale to operationalize this construct." It wasn't a tremendously complex scale, but it'll do for now: It bases relative software quality on a minimal number of inherent bugs. At the very least, perhaps the University of Arkansas researchers could discover whether Agile teams were producing bug-free code.
"Many of these teams tend to have self-governing, self-managing approaches to development. A good amount of the way these controls are actually implemented tends to come from the project leaders themselves," Dr. Maruping tells me.
So the news here isn't all bad: Project leaders, including those who step up to the plate at the time projects are assigned, do use some methodologies for determining success. They're just not all the same processes, perhaps because Agile evangelists don't specify what they should be, and perhaps because, in keeping with the Manifesto, Agile refrains from mandating any one set of tools or methods anyway. But it causes a problem for anyone who wants to derive a set of best practices by example.
Once Maruping's team developed their own interim set of controls, enabling them to reasonably compare Agile development efforts with each other, they discovered something else that contradicts reason: When Agile does work and software does improve, it's because managers end up acting more like Skinner than Glasser after all.
"What we actually found was that managers who had had some experience with Agile tend to be the ones placing greater emphasis on implementing behavioral controls," reports Maruping. "This speaks to a real tension that both managers and their teams are dealing with: There's a real desire to provide some degree of autonomy, particularly when you're adopting a methodology that embraces the possibility that requirements are going to shift and morph and change over time. Some degree of autonomy is useful to basically cut loose some of the bureaucracy, to respond to changes as they occur. But at the same time, you want to get away from this free-for-all, anything-goes type of approach as well. So from that perspective, there is the need for some form of managerial intervention, some sort of guidance that channels the focus and the energy of these teams."
Maruping's results were graphically plain: Teams that employed certain Agile methodologies, but also found their own signals for communicating progress, produced code with fewer bugs. When developers got more signals, better signals, and perhaps most importantly, the same sets of signals, they did better work. By comparison, teams that actively relied upon "self-control," with minimal guidance and manager interference, performed much more poorly. And as their adherence to Agile's tighter iterative cycles increased, their work got worse.
Perhaps the final solution could be as simple as realizing teams need definitive guidance, and that reliance upon pure self-control leads to confusion, frustration, and inevitably Dr. Hoda's "Extreme Undercover" scenario. Maybe Agile could adjust its methods to become more, shall we say, agile — to adopt the particular context, to use her term, that applies specifically to the business at hand.
As Dr. Hoda warns, expect some resistance in the early going. "What tends to become challenging when you get down to a certain kind of Agile methodology, when you start to do those concrete methods, a lot of people — typically evangelists and consultants — will try to sell it as an all-or-nothing package. Eventually what happens is, people do all sorts of tweaking."
Hoda's team learned that under certain conditions, Agile practices work beautifully: specifically, small development teams working with customers who have agreed in advance to the assignment of on-site representatives. She calls this situation the "sweet spot." But finding the sweet spot, concludes "Agility in Context," is a roll of the dice.
When the dice come up snake-eyes, "Agility" suggests that development teams may face a choice between adapting the context to suit the new practices (for instance, moving more of the development team onto the customer's home site, which is not always feasible) or adapting the practices to suit the context. And it's here that teams face active opposition and possibly even public flouting by Agile evangelists claiming teams are breaking their system.
Dr. Hoda and Dr. Maruping have learned that methodologies inspired by the application of Agile in the enterprise do work. They do improve software quality, increase collaborative efforts, and can (perhaps more rarely, but it's possible) spark customer involvement. But it takes the adoption and subsequently the failure of what purports to be "concrete Agile methods" for businesses to become so inspired. As a result, the methods work are more solutions to Agile rather than "Agile solutions."
As one of the world's foremost supporters of the principles of Agile, Rashina Hoda suggests that Agile spend a cleansing moment beneath a cool waterfall, and consider the benefits of applying its own medicine. As her team writes in "Agility," "Being agile is all about having the courage to change."


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3 New Homes Built Each Having 4 Bedrooms / 4.5 ...
- 4 Beds
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3 New Homes Built Each Having 4 Bedrooms / 4.5 Baths, Approx 2200 Finished Square Feet And Featuring A Roof-top Deck With Views. Also Included Is Hardwood Flooring, Tiled Kitchens And Bathrooms & Stone Counter-tops. Garage With Bonus Storage Room For Beach Equipment! Prime Ocean Block Location In A Small, Private Beach Association Offers A Quiet Fantastic Summer Community Just Minutes…


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Belle Desk and Hutch
As pictured this desk is finished in Swiss Coffee with a light yellow painted applique.
The desk ($1700) and hutch ($1200) may be purchased separately. Please call to order.
This piece combines old world inspiration and modern day quality. Each distressed piece features sanded edges and is custom made upon order with the best materials and highest quality craftsmanship.
For premium finishes, add 35% to the price quoted below. Please call to order pieces with premium finishes.
This item is custom made especially for you upon order. Please review our policies for custom orders before ordering. We highly recommend placing any custom order through our design consultants. We may be reached between the hours of 10:00AM and 5:00PM M-Sat toll-free on 888.281.5287, or anytime via email at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Desk: 31.5"H x 60"W x 25"D
Hutch Top: 50.5"H x 57"W x 12"D
- Estimated Shipping Timeframe: Within 8-10 weeks
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- Price: 199.00
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We will be glad to personally assist you with your selections. Please call us, toll free, on 888.281.5287 or email at firstname.lastname@example.com
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Getting to know someone who is a refugee can wipe away fears and dismantle distorted ideologies, Pope Francis said.
Highlighting World Refugee Day, which is marked June 20, the pope asked that "concrete attention go to the women, men and children fleeing from conflict, violence and persecution."
After praying the Angelus with visitors in St. Peter's Square June 18, he also asked that people pray for all those who have lost their lives on land or at sea in their attempt to flee for their lives.
"Their stories of heartache and hope can become opportunities for fraternally coming together and truly getting to know each other," the pope said.
"In fact, personally meeting with refugees dispels fears and distorted ideologies" and becomes a way for people to grow in their humanity as they learn to make room for an attitude of openness and the building of bridges, he said.
One person becomes displaced every three seconds, the U.N. Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported June 19.
The year 2016 saw the highest number of refugees and internally displaced people ever on record, it said, with 65.6 million people being away from their homelands, 300,000 people more than at the end of 2015.
By the end of 2016, more than 40 million people were displaced within their own country, 22.5 million were refugees and 2.8 million people were seeking asylum, the report said. Half of all refugees, it said, are children under the age of 18.
World Refugee Day, held every June 20, commemorates the plight and strengths of the world's refugees and asks that people show support for families forced to flee.
The UNHCR launched an ongoing #WithRefugees petition last year urging governments work together to more fairly help refugees.
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Walton and Nattrass primary proposed limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) as a nosological entity in 1954.
Their definition involved the subsequent characteristics:
Onset usually in the late primary or next decade of life (but also center age)
Usually autosomal recessive and much less frequently autosomal dominant
Involvement of shoulder or pelvic-girdle muscles with variable rates of progression
Severe disability within 20-30 years
Muscular pseudohypertrophy and/or contractures uncommon
This classification permitted for any wide range of phenotypic variability. enhanced diagnostic techniques have demonstrated that a large group of neuromuscular disorders, which includes some that had been not truly LGMD, had been involved on this definition.
LGMD classification has long been revolutionized using the advent of molecular genetics. A current classification scheme, proposed throughout a workshop in 1995, is centered on clinical and molecular characteristics. It divides situations into autosomal dominant (LGMD1) and autosomal recessive (LGMD2) syndromes. This list goes on to expand, and, as of this writing, particular mutations are known for three autosomal dominant LGMDs and 14 autosomal recessive LGMDs.
Although not truly limb-girdle syndromes, diseases classified as myofibrillar myopathies share several phenotypic characteristics using the LGMDs. They are usually adult-onset diseases with gradually progressive weakness involving proximal (and distal) muscles. many sufferers have respiratory failure, cardiomyopathy, and neuropathy. Some mutations can lead to each a myofibrillar myopathy and a muscular dystrophy phenotype.
Cardinal morphologic features of myofibrillar myopathies on muscle biopsy are vacuolated muscle fibers and inclusions that had been initially given different names in the 1970s. In 1980, desmin was noted to accumulate in the inclusions, and the brand desmin storage space myopathy was coined. However, in the mid 1990s, other proteins had been also discovered to accumulate in the abnormal muscle fibers, and molecular genetic research revealed several chromosomal loci. since then, the relatively generic term myofibrillar myopathy has long been adopted. These diseases are discussed right here in part due to the fact mutations in a couple of genes can present with either an LGMD or a myofibrillar myopathy phenotype.


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Chemring Technology Solutions is a global provider of advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) solutions that deliver leading edge technology to mitigate current and emerging threats.
Trusted by armed forces, governments, and national security customers worldwide our understanding of operational requirements allows us to deliver products able to meet today's asymmetric threat environments.
AddressChemring Technology Solutions
Roke Manor Research Ltd Roke Manor
Old Salisbury Lane
United Kingdom
Contact Exhibitor
LOCATE is a suite of integrated products for spectrum monitoring, direction finding, adaptive beamforming and geolocation of High Frequency (HF) signals.
A modular and scalable electronic warfare system for the interception and geolocation of tactical communications. A Resolve system consists of one or more, intercept and direction finding nodes that c ...
A modular and scalable electronic warfare suite for the interception and geolocation of tactical communications.
Chemring Technology Solutions selected to participate in US military exercises at CyberQuest for a second year
The US military selected Chemring Technology Solutions (CTS) to participate in CyberQuest, a sequence of advanced technology experiments led by the US Army Cyber Center of Excellence.
Exhibitors & Sponsors
Interactive Workshops
Countries Represented
Having had the opportunity to present and discuss our latest development and later on to personally meet and greet so many potential customers over the course of the day was great. We received very positive feedback from various sources and from our perspective as an exhibitor we are absolutely keen to join the next event this year.
It is a pleasure to work with not only professionals, but with people who also have a passion for our challenging environment.
Organisation and visiting clientele show a high number of representatives with SIGINT/EW background. This makes this event exclusively attended by customers with knowledge about products in our portfolio contrary to general big defence exhibitions.
Thank you very much for an excellent EW GCC 2016 event. As always, I enjoyed the specific opportunities, the guided networking, and of course the strategic discussions. It is my personal opinion that you've played a significant part in helping us to establish ourselves as a global player.


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Extra-ordinary longsleeve top for girls by Dark In Love. T-shirt stretch fabric. V-neck front with straps to the neck. Back with a clever pattern of cut-outs and braided stripes, reminding on wings.
Color: Black
Material: 95% Viscose 5% Elasthane
Available sizes: M (=S-M), XL (=L-XL)
(See image gallery for size table)


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Tag Archives: peace
Viewpoints: Idel Suarez Jr, Reform Movement President
I interviewed Pastor Idel Suarez Jr for the Viewpoints interview series at Adventist Today (old site, new site). Suarez is the president of one branch of the Adventist Reform Movement that started in Europe during World War I. I met … Continue reading
White: Gospel of Peace
In a recent writing project, I included a brief interpretation of Jesus' assertion that he brought a sword rather than peace (Matt. 10:34; cf. Luke 12:49-53). This is what Ellen White says about Jesus' message: How, then, can the gospel … Continue reading
Brown: We are Conscientious Objectors
In his latest article in the "Engage" series for Adventist World, Nathan Brown considers the Adventist movement's historic support for conscientious objection (CO) and the significance of this stance today–"We are Conscientious Objectors" (Adv World, APF).
Pray and Fast for Peace
I've been re-reading Doug Morgan's book, Adventism and the American Republic: The Public Involvement of a Major Apocalyptic Movement (2001). It really should be near the top of the reading list for every "Adventist Activist." In chapter 2, "An Activist … Continue reading
The March on Washington: 50 Years Later
Since I didn't post a "Week's Links" this Friday, I'll quickly highlight five articles addressing Martin Luther King Jr and the March on Washington (and then head to church). Why Jesus Was Killed: A Sermon (Burdette, Interlocutors) "Tell 'Em About … Continue reading
White: Civil Disobedience and Subordination
The Christian's duty to the state has been a significant issue since the time of Jesus. Are we to obey every law and statute? Are there circumstances when a higher standard means Christians can and should act in ways contrary … Continue reading
David Neal: Peace
In his article titled "Peace–From Lough Erne to Syria?", David Neal, who is the "President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church across Ireland, reflects on issues at the G8 summit, and lessons from the Irish experience." Excerpt: Image sitting in on … Continue reading


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Cinematary Canon #4: Rappers in Movies
By Zach Dennis, Nathan Smith, Malcolm Baum, Ben Shull, Jessica Carr and Andrew Swafford
Note: These films are not ranked by quality, but rather in chronological order
Juice (1992) by Ernest Dickerson
To have the juice is to have respect, power, and most importantly, machismo. Stereotypically speaking, these are among the most central tenets of hip-hop, which takes braggadocio and swagger as convention, especially regarding physical strength, sexual prowess, and financial independence. To want the juice is to fear not having it, and to flex is to admit a craving for validation. In the world of cinema, there is perhaps no greater exploration of hip-hop culture's masculinity crisis than Juice, directed by Ernest Dickerson (Director of Photography on most early Spike Lee joints). This boom-bap infused film follows Omar Epps as an aspiring young turntablist named Q who rolls with a crew of Harlem teenagers without much to do other than the performative work of gender. Harassed daily by police and local gangs, the boys feel powerless, scared, and insecure, despite their external cockiness.
Thematically, this is one of the tightest scripts out there. Every line and action of this film, in one way or another, can be traced back to the masculine desire for respect through any avenue possible: name-brand shoes, dominance over women, and competition in all forms (the pool hall, the arcade, the DJ booth, etc.). And although Dickerson's film has great sympathy for the boys, it doesn't come without a heavy acknowledgement of power's dark side. Inevitably, the desire to control one's own life leads to violent intimidation when Q's friend Bishop (played by Tupac Shakur) obtains a handgun, which unsettles Q profoundly. Not since Richard Wright's "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" or Matthieu Kassovitz's La Haine has a single firearm carried so much weight; it's presence in each scene is overwhelming and genuinely terrifying. The gun seems to own Bishop like Tolkien's Ring of Power, and Tupac plays the role with desperation and fervor. The casting here is a genius reversal, as Shakur has become famous for being one of the first rappers to wear his vulnerability and sadness proudly (see "Shed So Many Tears," "Dear Mama," and the posthumous poetry collection The Rose That Grew From Concrete). For those familiar with his musical output, it's impossible to view this villainous character without sympathy for his internal fear and insecurity.
(And as a rap-bonus, Juice has a supporting role from Queen Latifah, who at the time was known more for her afro-feminist musical output than her acting work.) - Andrew Swafford
Belly (1998) by Hype Williams
Even if Belly came out today, it would feel like a product of the future. Evidence enough can be found in the stunning opening sequence (go ahead and watch it if you haven't): a high-contrast, slow-motion club scene lit in deep-blue neon strobe lights overlaid with acapella backup vocals from Soul II Soul's "Back to Life," all edited with enough free-association to feel like a lucid dream. The scene is so vividly electrifying that desire for conventional context (character, plot, theme, etc.) falls away--the aesthetic experience is enough. The actual story, once established, is a conventional one about men in the drug trade--played here by rappers such as DMX, Method Man, and Nas (who carries himeself with a monk-like center of gravity)--getting in over their heads, but it ultimately doesn't matter.
Known primarily for directing dozens upon dozens of music videos, director Hype Williams is a stylist through and through, and he seems to approach each familiar scene as a challenge of light and color. How can a traditional negotiation scene be made evocative again? Williams plays with smoke, television reflections, and double-exposure to solve that problem, among countless others. Belly innovates on a minute-by-minute basis, consistently asking the viewer to look at the world of underground money in the same overly-stylized way that its characters do. Williams's lighting game is beyond effective, as he utilizes blues and purples to highlight black skin in ways that prophecy the coming of Girlhood, Magic Mike XXL, and Moonlight about 15 years later.
There are serious claims that could be legitimately weighed against the film in terms of glamorizing violence and the objectification of women (what else from the director of "Big Pimpin'"?), but it is also true that Belly has a deep sense of Old Testament judgement to it, not unlike its neon-cousin Only God Forgives (which I analyzed). The characters even have names like "Sincere," "Knowledge," "Wise," and "Reverend Savior," adding to the sense that what we're really watching is a type of ancient morality play set in the glam-era of hip-hop culture. Whatever your take on the film is politically, one can't deny its success as a piece of cinematic sensory overload in the vein of Spring Breakers and Tokyo Tribe. Whatever your feelings, I can guarantee you'll crave more feature films made by music video visionaries. - Andrew Swafford
Ghost Dog (1999) by Jim Jarmusch
Though the list of movies featuring rappers is long and varied, there are still relatively few films that treat the genre with the serious consideration it deserves. Many of these films, like last year's Straight Outta Compton, focus exclusively on free-styling instead of the difficult and arduous songwriting processes that often shape our favorite rap songs. In their article "Josephine Baker and Paul Colin: African American Dance Seen through Parisian Eyes," Karen C. C. Dalton and Henry Louis Gates Jr. outline many of the myths held by Europeans about historically black art forms: "African creative expression was spontaneous, collective, instinctive, uncensored either internally or externally, free of rules, and in touch with potent, mysterious, nonrational, and subliminal forces." Films about rap music often perpetuate these myths, choosing to depict the rapping as an act of spontaneous creation instead of serious consideration.
That's where Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, which features a soundtrack and brief appearance from the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, comes in. Jarmusch, maybe one of the whitest American directors working today, seems like an unlikely candidate to make an insightful movie about rap music, but surprisingly, Ghost Dog is one of the best films I've ever seen about the form. Ghost Dog pairs the RZA's hip-hop soundtrack and references to rappers with a modern-day warrior who lives his life in line with the codes of ancient samurai.
Great rappers are like samurai, but with language as their swords. Like being a great samurai, being a great rapper means one must constantly harness and hone mental and creative agilities. The best rappers have never lived on talent alone. It takes constant, careful attention, and dedicated precision. Rap songs do not will themselves into being; they require as much work as painting, literature, or any other form of art. It might be more entertaining to see Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre spontaneously fall into a groove, like they do in Straight Outta Compton, but that's not how it always works. Like the samurai hero of Ghost Dog, rappers need time and training to master their skills. - Nathan Smith
Bones (2001) by Ernest Dickerson
At the tail end of his career with Master P's No Limit Records, the American rapper known as Snoop Dogg released a little horror film called Bones. A splendid, small-scale collaboration with Ernest Dickerson, the director known for the Tupac-starring Juice and his work as cinematographer on some of Spike Lee's best movies, Bones is like an American take the work of Italian horror master Lucio Fulci, with plenty of maggots, bold colors, and other blood-boiling sights. Snoop Dogg plays the titular Bones, a dead pimp who was betrayed and murdered by his best friends and business associates because of his desire to keep drugs out of black neighborhoods. When a handful of idealistic kids attempt to renovate Bones' old digs and turn it into a club, his spirit is set loose and he's hungry for vengeance. Bones isn't just a great horror movie; it's also an homage to the Blaxploitation genre and stars Pam Grier, one of the icons of that subgenre, as Snoop Dogg's former lover. Like many of the best entries in the Blaxploitation canon, Bones isn't just a lot of genre fun; it's surprisingly subversive, and works as a commentary on gentrification and the need to support black businesses. - Nathan Smith
Paid in Full (2002) by Charles Stone III
Crime and film have a long lasting relationship that goes back before feature lengths. While there has always been an emphasis on organized crime such as heists and mobs, these two movies see crime as a mean to an end, a way out of the entrapments of their poverty stricken surroundings. Cam'ron's role in Paid In Full is similar to Tupac's in Juice, two who get enveloped into the lifestyle of crime, and ultimately fall for taking things too far. Both are set in 80s Harlem and are about young black men who choose a life of crime because the only people they see "winning" are those collecting their funds illegally.
Cam'ron and Tupac's roles both highlight their ambitious streaks, and showcases them as their downfall. This shows the cons off an "all in" mentality when the subject you're exerting your efforts upon isn't worth the time of day itself. In reality, Cam'ron and Tupac poured their ambitions into their art putting them in more successful places than the characters they portray.Paid in Full & Juice focus on the death of glamorous crime based on the Al Capone types of the world. Asks not if crime pays, but at what cost? - Malcolm Baum
Be Kind Rewind (2008) by Michel Gondry
Be Kind Rewind feels like the B-side of a record — a hidden gem that takes careful concentration to find. Or rather a luck-of-the-draw on streaming or at a video store.
Starring Jack Black and Mos Def, and directed by Michel Gondry, the film feels like something familiar but at the edge of our comfortable understanding. It features elements that we already know we enjoy — Jack Black being himself, Danny Glover's stern-faced delivery of comedic lines and a wholesome tale set in the outskirts of the big city — but matches it with boundless imagination that creates a universe unlike anything else.
Be Kind Rewind could be classified as just another one of the quirky indie flicks that feature twee characters doing oddball things, but it transcends this to be an endearing story of community.
The film follows Jerry (Black) and Mike (Mos Def) as two store clerks who work at a New Jersey-based video store in the age of DVDs. The VHS tapes that they provide are becoming outdated and the store, and its owner (Glover), are on the way out. A mistake by Jerry leads to the men discovering that all of the tapes were erased when the character came in "magnetized" after an accident at the power plant and forces them to re-enact every one of the movies to pass along to patrons — who love it.
The plot is schmaltzy and predictable, but Gondry keeps up engaged with how this community of outsiders come together to participate in a shared experience. In this way, the movie functions as our association with the art form as cinema itself can also work as a shared experience among many people.
And let's hope that experience can be sweded as well. - Zach Dennis
Bright Star (2009) by Jane Campion
Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art / Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night / And watching, with eternal lids apart…
So begins the poem "Bright Star" by 19th -century poet John Keats. The film bears the same name and follows Keats (Ben Whishaw) and Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) as they fall in love tragically near the end of Keats' life. Forces beyond their control seem to pull them apart. Keats is a poet and doesn't make enough income to be a suitable husband for Fanny. Then, once it seems they've given up on following society's rules, Keats falls ill. Bright Star is a real tear-jerker in the most sincere way. Whishaw and Cornish spin a lovely web of sadness for viewers to get wrapped up in, not to mention wear some pretty cool 19th century garb. Director Jane Campion adds her expertise to every aspect of the film.
Now, you are probably thinking that's fine and everything, but how does this movie fit in this canon? Well, I'm glad you asked. Not only is Australian-native Abbie Cornish an amazing actress, she also has a rap career with the stage name "Dusk." While this news is probably surprising (it definitely was for me), it isn't the only reason I chose Bright Star for this canon.
Bright Star is about freedom of expression through poetry. Poetry is about using words to describe how you feel, and even though I'm not expert when it comes to rap music I can definitely see the commonalities between the two mediums. So check out Bright Star if you want to ugly cry or just to see rap star Dusk put on a stellar performance. - Jessica Carr
Spring Breakers (2012) by Harmony Korine
When my future child(ren) ask(s) me where babies come from, I will respond with, "Remind me ten years from now that I need to show you the movie Spring Breakers." Ten years later, they will do just that, and I will sit them down in front of the television set and pop this movie into whatever player will succed the Blu Ray. As the credits roll, my child(ren) will say to me, "Dad, that had nothing to do with the miracle of childbirth." They will be sorely mistaken, but I won't tell them. It is something they will have to realize on their own. Years down the road, when they have children of their own, they will be sitting at the kitchen table one evening, paying bills, when all of a sudden it will dawn on them. "Dad was right," they will say. And they will slowly saunter to their child(ren)'s room, flick on the light and say, "Remind me ten years from now that I need to show you the movie Spring Breakers." - Ben Shull
Chappie (2015) by Neill Blomkamp
I'm not sure how to classify Chappie.
Is it a comedy? I guess I laughed at it. Is it a drama? If you count crying Die Antwoord as one of them gets shot, then yes. Is it an action movie? That may be the best way to describe it.
The winning quality of Chappie for me is that it never really fits into any mold — just floating in cinematic space as this weird, unadulterated hodgepodge of insanity and entertainment. Director Neill Blomkamp adds elements of outcry for social issues, but they never really land as well as he wants them to.
Chappie is Chappie, and that works for me.
The film follows a sentient robot named Chappie (voiced by Sharlto Copley) that was created by a headstrong engineer played by Dev Patel. He has the admiration of his boss, Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver), but she also recognizes that he may be off his rocker a bit and his rival, Vincent Moore (a mulleted Hugh Jackman) sees this as an opportunity to bring his latest invention to the foreground.
While they recently rebooted RoboCop, it would make more sense for Chappie to be the next link in that franchise's chain as it carries similar through-lines of social issues, justice and questions of humanity that the 1987 possessed. Most of the more sentimental stuff feels tacked on, but this absurd attempt to tie humanity to this odd robot works for me.
I don't think it answers any of the questions it poses, but it carries them out with such random absurdity that I can't help but applaud it. Near the end of the movie, Chappie comes to the realization that he is what he is, and I think the movie does as well. - Zach Dennis
Dope (2015) by Rick Famuyiwa
I remember when the first trailer came out for Dope. It was upbeat and seemed like a movie that I would like. Now staring at the Dope poster that hangs on my bedroom wall I can see that my instincts were right. The coming of age drama follows Malcolm (Shameik Moore), a geek obsessed with 90's hip hop culture, living in an impoverished neighborhood in Inglewood, California. Malcolm is a good high school student with a dream to attend Harvard. Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) and Jib (Tony Revolori) make up Malcolm's dorky posse. The oddballs seem out of place in the 21st century which results in them getting teased a lot at school. The trio find solace in their band "Awreeoh," which leads to the film's very catchy soundtrack made up of original songs written by Pharrell Williams and a variety of old school hip hop tracks by names like Public Enemy, Naughty by Nature, and Nas. Malcolm seems to have everything figured out, until he gets mixed up with drug dealer Dom (A$AP Rocky) and the conflict escalates from there.
Overall, Dope has a lot of qualities that I like in a film. Awesome performances, fun music, and loveable characters make it a watchable movie. For some critics, the tone of Dope is all over the place. Much like Malcolm, I think director Rick Famuyiwa was trying to fuse a lot of his interests together. He wanted to pay homage to nostalgic hip hop while making a political statement about current events. However, for some people the concept was nice, but the execution fell a little short. I still enjoyed Dope and will continue to watch this movie because it's d…. okay, I won't say it. - Jessica Carr


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Paul McGuinness was immersed in the world of Manchester United as a player and coach for 28 years.
Paul learnt his craft from his father Wilf, a Manchester United Manager and was mentored by the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Matt Busby, Tony Whelan and more. PDP Editor Dave Wright sits down with Paul to discuss his personal journey, sharing incredible stories of the culture and family values of the club and how he and his colleagues instilled them in the academy.
Paul also speaks of his time coaching Paul Pogba, Jesse Lindgard and others, the use of mix aged groups, creative play and cage football. Having overseen 86 graduates at the Manchester United Academy, Paul is a man with a wealth of knowledge for all coaches to learn from.
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Meaning : Sacrifice, Unknown,
Pronunciation : (Unknown), soo MAH ee yah,
If you have information about this name, share it in the comments area below!
Numerology information Sumaiya:
- Name Number: 8. Meaning: Outer, Body, Physical, Ambition, Power, Progress, Career, Success, Respect, Fame, Means, Karma
Additional information Sumaiya:
- Sumaiya is a variant of the feminine name Sumayyah, which is of Arabic origin and was the name of the first martyr of Islam. This has given the name connotations of 'Sacrifice'. It is a popular name with Muslim parents.
Definition funny of Sumaiya:
- Oh wow! There goes a Sumaiya! I wish i was a sumaiya sumaiya completes me
- those silk scarves look very sumaiya
- I would love to be friends with Sumaiya Sumaiya is very close to my heart
Books about Sumaiya:
- Everyday Struggles: The Stories of Muslim Teens - Sep 1, 2004 by Sumaiya Beshir
- A Light at The End of The Tunnel: The Stories of Muslim Teens - Nov 20, 2007 by Sumaiya Beshir
- Asian Yearbook of International Law: 2010 (Volume 16) - Dec 2, 2013 by Dr. Kevin Y.L. Tan and Hee Eun Lee
- Asian Yearbook of International Law: 2011 (Volume 17) - Jul 21, 2014 by Dr. Kevin Y.L. Tan and Hee Eun Lee
- Between Revolution and State: The Path to Fatimid Statehood: Qadi al-Nu'man and the Construction of Fatimid Legitimacy... - Feb 6, 2007 by Sumaiya A. Hamdani
- By Sumaiya Beshir Everyday Struggles: The Stories of Muslim Teens [Paperback] - Aug 17, 2004
- Mist Ago - Jun 28, 2010 by Miss Sumaiya Naseem
- Everday Struggles: The Stories of Muslim Teens - Sep 1, 2004 by Sumaiya Beshir
- Murder in Mohammadpur - Apr 18, 2013 by Sumaiya Rahman
- Everyday Struggles: The Stories of Muslim Teens by Beshir, Sumaiya(September 1, 2004) Paperback - 1702 by Sumaiya Beshir
Wiki information Sumaiya:
- Sumaiya Siddiqi
- Person
Sumaiya Siddiqi is an international cricketer from Pakistan.
- Sumaiya bin Laden
- Woman, Person
Sumaiya bin Laden is the daughter of Osama bin Laden.
- Sumaiya Khatri
- Person
- Sumaiya Zafar Suzana
- Sumaiyah Marope
- Woman, Person
Sumaiyah Pandor Marope is a business student from Gaborone, Botswana, was Miss Botswana 2009. She was crowned at the Gaborone International Conference Center, on 2 May 2009. Marope traveled to South Africa to represent her home country at the Miss...
- Sumaiya Zafar Suzana
- Nassali Sumaiyah
- Actor, Person, Film actor, Topic
Nassali Sumaiyah is an actor.
- Sumaiyah Amla
- Woman, Person
Sumaiyah Amla is the wife of Hashim Amla.


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Are you facing 0x00000709 Default Printer Error on your Windows 7, 8, 8.1 or Windows 10 PC or Laptop? These two methods will help you get rid of this annoying problem.
What is 0x00000709 Default Printer Error?
Sometimes when you try to add new printer to your Computer and want to make it default printer, your PC gives error. This is because your Windows 7/8/10 Laptop or PC is in love with previous printer and won't remove it from default that easily. However, it can be easily done, thanks to registry settings.
How to Fix 0x00000709 Default Printer Error?
There are two methods to fix in 0x00000709 Default Printer Error in Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10. However, before proceeding with tutorial, make sure you back up your system registry file. This is advised so incase somethings goes wrong, you are on safer side.
Method # 01: Manually Edit the Registry Files
To manually modify the registry entry for this printer error, open run command.
- Enter regedit and hit Enter. Make sure you run it as administrator.
- Now search for HKEY_CURRENT_USER. In right pane, go to \Microsoft\windows\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Windows.
- There click on device and modify the value to name of your new printer.
- Close registry editor. Try changing the default printer again.
Hopefully the issue of 0x00000709 Default Printer error will be gone now.
Method # 02: Using Control Panel
- Open Control Panel.
- Look for Devices and Printers and run it as administrator. Now try choosing your new printer as default one.
That's it. Let us know if you have any question related to 0x00000709 Default Printer Error on your Windows 7/8/10 PC or Laptop.


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Auden & Nathaniel grew up building fires, shooting guns, chilling in the park, riding bikes & playing football. They love to eat, chat about funny stories and catch up on people they know. A few weeks ago they caught up with photographer Ronan to shoot some Milano outfits for Carcel.
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Gemma Martini is an actress and producer, known for A Trusted Man (2011), Fatal Performance (2013) and Elopement (2010).
Eric Schweig was born on June 19, 1967 in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada as Ray Dean Thrasher. He is an actor, known for The Last of the Mohicans (1992), The Missing (2003) and Big Eden (2000).
Formerly resided in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Was adopted at the age of six months and lived in Inuvik in the Western Arctic and then Bermuda before moving to Nothern Ontario. Is of German and Inuit descent. He is a renowned master carver of Inuit masks and carvings. Does personal appearances all over North America speaking to Indigenous, Native American and First Nation youth.
Laura Mitchell is known for her work on American Pie Presents: The Book of Love (2009), Without You (2013) and I Do (But I Don't) (2004).
Leo Balazs was born and raised in Edmonton Alberta, the son of immigrant parents from Hungary and Iraq. after being Interviewed as a child on TV at Wayne Gretzky's wedding Leo first felt the excitement of being on camera. Having a rebellious and fun loving nature as a child, Leo was often misunderstood by a serious hard working family.
During his teens Leo found refuge in acting at the age of 13, he started professional Theater at the Citadel, after meeting best friend and actor Ron Pederson (who went on to star on Mad TV) in drama class who inspired him to go forward with his dreams. after a reference Letter was written by his drama teacher from Holy Family junior high, Leo was sought after to perform in high school theater and interestingly studied under Hollywood Actor, Nathan Fillion's Mother, an English teacher at Holy Trinity high school after a failed relationship at the age of 21 Leo yearned to understand human Behavior and why we do the things we do and went on to study psychology and sociology at the University of Alberta and MacEwan University.
Feeling the pressure he wound up working for the post office, Feeling unfulfilled at this career choice, he felt the pull to move to Vancouver BC and studied at the highly sought-after acting school Vancouver Academy of Dramatic Arts. After signing with his first agent in 2014, Leo booked a Lead role on his first audition on the TV show untold stories of the ER, he has not looked back since landing lead roles on the TV/series pilot "sold", a winning Tip Top commercial, also working alongside with award winning Directors in Film Festival short films.
A proud moment in his fresh career is when friend and actor Travis MacDonald and former costar of Leonardo DiCaprio from "this boys life" called Vancouver's top Acting agency Carrier Talent to set up a meeting. They quickly signed the energetic actor to his first big contract, since then Leo has been cast in 3 upcoming feature films, one is due in Theaters worldwide this October.


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Who We Serve
Patients of all ages that are suffering from the following conditions or concerns:
Painful Swollen/Injured Joints of the:
Occupational Health
The clinic also provides care for patients injured at work.
Our Purpose
Our Orthopedic Urgent Care exists to provide timely access to high quality care for your acute orthopedic or occupational injuries and concerns. This clinic allows you to bypass unnecessary visits to emergency rooms or other urgent care clinics to receive same-day treatment from an orthopedic specialist trained in bone and joint injuries. This expedited access to our orthopedic providers will assure you receive a proper diagnosis and treatment plan at the time of injury.
The Orthopedic Urgent Care is staffed by a licensed Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant or Physician with extensive orthopedic experience who have immediate access to and communicate directly with our board certified and fellowship trained orthopedic surgeons.
- Ability to avoid the hassle, long wait times and unecessary costs associated with a hospital emergency room or traditional urgent care visit
- Direct access to an orthopedic specialist rather than being evaluated and referred by a general medical provider
- Same-day treatment from an orthopedic specialist trained in bone and joint injuries assures a proper diagnosis and treatment plan at the time of injury
- Access to immediate care for acute injuries expedites healing
- Allows patient's immediate care and access to the same board-certified and fellowship trained orthopedic specialists referred to by local ER's
- Your care will be guided by a surgeon specializing in your specific problem
Who should not seek treatment at the Orthopedic Urgent Care:
If you have an urgent medical emergency that could be life-threatening, call 911 now.
Please visit the Emergency Room:
- When the bone is visible or there is an open wound over the fracture (compound fracture)
- When there are deep lacerations
- When the area is burned
Please visit a traditional Urgent Care:
- When experiencing cold, flu, respiratory, and stomach issues
- With conditions not related to bones, joints, or muscles
No Appointment Necessary.
How to Access the Clinic: We are a walk-in clinic. No appointment is necessary.
If you suffered an orthopedic injury we will care for you in a timely fashion.


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Zayn Malik shares adorable throwback photo to celebrate birthday as Gigi Hadid engagement rumours bubble
Zayn Malik has made it to quarter of a century in age and has shared an epic return photograph to celebrate.
The previous One Direction star's birthday falls on 12 January and this year he is 25-years of age.
Taking to Instagram on Friday, Zayn denoted his enormous day with a picture of himself as a baby.
The photograph demonstrated Zayn giving a wide mouthed grin to the camera while wearing little child garments and matured one.


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What To Do When You Have Been Charged With Drug Possession
When you are stopped while walking around town or driving and an officer of the law charges you or accuses you of drug possession, you may wonder if there is anything you can do to handle the situation and avoid serious legal consequences. Before you begin to panic, get to know some of the steps that you can take to protect yourself.
If They Haven't Searched Your Home Or Vehicle Already, Do Not Consent Without A Warrant
Police officers may stop you on the street, in your car, or even at your home for a myriad of reasons and then ask to search your home. They may use different language such as "have a look around" or the like, but the intent is the same, to find any kind of evidence to fit their suspicions about the situation (namely that you may have illegal drugs or paraphernalia in your possession).
If the police officer is intent upon searching your property, they may try to coerce you into consenting to a search. Without an official search warrant or a pressing reason to search your vehicle (e.g., because you have committed another, related crime that would require a search), they need you to give verbal consent. However, you do not have to consent unless they have the warrant.
If You Have Already Been Searched, Contact A Criminal Defense Attorney Immediately
If you already consented to a search and the police did charge you with drug possession, then you have an entirely different situation to deal with. As soon as your property has been searched, you should consider contacting a criminal defense attorney, like those at Bayley & Mangan Law Office.
If your attorney can start the process right away, they may be able to have your charges overturned based on the process by which the police convinced you to consent to the search. In the case that the police had a search warrant, a criminal defense attorney may even be able to get the search warrant overturned and therefore your charges dropped. There are many angles from which to approach your drug possession charges, but some of them require swift legal action.
Now that you know a few of the steps to take when you are facing an accusation of drug possession or even an actual legal charge of drug possession, you can take the necessary steps to protect yourself and handle the situation as well as you can.


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South Komodo, Indonesia./
3 January – 21 January 2014
This unforgettable trip with the amazing Tom Campbell and Beth Davidow was just "meant to be". Russ and Barbara van Aardt had been included in the initial emailed invitation to join this trip via a good friend (Thank you Rob Barker!!) who kept encouraging them to experience the fabulous Seven Seas liveaboard.
Initially Russ and Barbara said no to the offer but were approached again, this time by Beth Davidow, a few months before the trip, when there was an unexpected cancellation and they were able to fill the spot. The trip was organised by Tom and Beth, and they had the positively energized Dr. Andrea Marshall (Manta Queen) from the Marine Megafauna Foundation on the boat as they were filming some footage for Ocean Gems episodes.
This was a life altering trip. It was absolutely MAGICAL......Tom and Beth shared their knowledge and expertise and Russ and Barbara are forever in their debt as a result! This was the trip that resulted in the van Aardt's upgrading from HD to production quality 4K.
Tom gave informative and awe-inspiring presentations and talks. Endless notes were made on how to improve our filming. He answered all their questions and they can clearly see how his guidance has positively impacted their footage. Russ and Barbara added that....."We feel very humbled to have met such worldly people, willing to share information and give guidance selflessly!"
Andrea shared her love for the Ocean and Mantas, and Russ and Barbara were privileged to have been part of the team that identified 63 Mantas in a ram feeding frenzy. Andrea's presentation was very touching and powerful and she managed to persuade all on board, to stay another day in the area, as she knew that this frenzy was going to reoccur the following day. So the liveaboard stayed in the area and all aboard were thrilled to share the water for a second day with these Magical Reef Mantas. Russ and Barbara wish Andrea every success for her huge efforts on conservation . Here is a link to her Trip report.
The Seven Seas liveaboard crew are like a happy family ."They all work together making every effort to ensure that your every need is seen to. From the exceptional Crew and Cruise Directors Karl and Linda, to Ayu and Chandra in the office, their happy enthusiasm is such a pleasure to be around and we look forward to seeing our Seven Seas Family again." Barbara said.
The diving was exceptional and the photographic opportunities endless!
This is a personal blog. Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blog owner and do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual.
All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.


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Curtain Call: Man of La Mancha in Westport - Less is not always more
I couldn't wait to see Westport Country Playhouse's production of Man of La Mancha. With my schedule so full, I was allowed to see the preview, the night before the official opening. I admit to being spoiled. I had seen so many great men perform the title role. The most memorable was Robert Goulet, who sang The Impossible Dream and brought tears not only to the eyes of some of the women in the audience, but to some of the men as well. So many casts even at the community theater level have rendered this musical mammoth. That Mark Lamos was directing added to my excitement. After all, I have been a Lamos fan from his tenure as artistic director at Hartford Stage. Since Man of La Mancha is a giant of a musical and since Lamos is a giant of a director, my expectations were very high. Perhaps that was the problem. Don't get me wrong. It's a very good production. It's just not great.
Dungeon dark with splashes of blood red lighting and an ominous staircase reaching from ceiling to floor set the scene perfectly. The set designed by Wilson Chin was spot on and Alan C. Edwards' lighting design accented the appropriate dismal mood for the Inquisition. As the deep black staircase descended to the stage accompanied by Domonic Sack's fearful sound design, the play within a play was ready for action.
Philip Hernandez entered the dungeon, and he really looks like Cervantes' Don Quixote. And he has a solid, strong voice. Gisela Adisa as Aldonza (Dulcinea) also looks right for her part. As a matter of fact, the entire cast including Tony Manna as Sancho looks picture perfect. And they all performed well. Why then, did I not feel elated? I sat up straighter in my seat looking for an explanation.
As Dale Wasserman's magnificent play progressed with Mitch Leigh's music and Joe Darion's lyrics, I became concerned. "Is it possible that the actors just don't have the adrenaline rush that often comes on opening night?" I wondered. Both the cast and the audience belied that thought. The audience cheered for the solos and finally gave the cast a standing ovation. As for me, I felt that something was missing. It was only on my drive home that I said out loud and without any prelude, "It's flat. It's not big enough."
The production was smaller than most with fewer cast members and a lot less orchestra. Musicals, especially big ones, need music. Andrew David Sotomayor is an excellent music director, but he is working here with less. I understand that Lamos probably streamlined the production to create a greater sense of intimacy (and to also make the production more affordable), but I wanted the big orchestra numbers, the big dance numbers, and I didn't like the way the first syllable of Dulcinea's name was continually over-exaggerated as "due- lcinea."
Mind you, I'm not a purist. I've seen My Fair Lady done as a concert production and loved it. I've seen many shows downsized and streamlined, but skimming Quixote seems like an oxymoron. This is the story of man who refused to be compromised. First, he is imprisoned and then to amuse the other prisoners who want to put him on trial, he creates a play. He plays an idealist — Quixote. Both as prisoner and actor he is on a quest for righteousness and good in the world. His Impossible Dream is glorious. At one point an actual giant size foe confronts Quixote. The giant is a silvery mirror-infused monster. Quixote with his determination and courage manages to cut it down. While the protagonist plays a role with fellow prisoners waiting for their turns with the inquisitors, he brings hope to the motley inmates.
The thing is that Westport's production is good, but Cervantes' sweeping masterpiece demands all the bells and whistles and all the fanfare. Anything less amounts to disappointment. This show plays through Oct. 13. Box office: 203-227-4177.
Joanne Greco Rochman is a founding member of the Connecticut Critics Circle and is an active member in the American Theatre Critics Association. She welcomes comments. Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com.