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The City of Brotherly Enjoy, Philadelphia was one of the first cities founded in the U.S. And with that sort of history, you can bet that the styles and architecture of the buildings are immaculate. The designers you see in these awards spend a lot of time thinking about the detail and finding custom furnishings and pieces to make the interiors special for their clients," explains Fanning. Recent graduates have identified careers in interior design and style, architecture, exhibition and film and Television set design and style as properly as multimedia and game design and style. This is simply because all various components of a home ought to be very carefully decorated to make certain that you expertise comfort and pleasing design and style choices wherever you are in your home. You could be employed by retail outlets, interior design and style consultancies or architectural practices. Deciding on a design and style you actually can live with, even so, is crucial as this is where you will be eating lots of meals. Picture-filled blog spotlighting homes that have been transformed by the world's top architects and designers.
Prospective students need to have to check that the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) accredits the applications they are thinking about. Students will demonstrate the capacity to perform by means of the design and style method to develop revolutionary design solutions that help conceptual and spatial analysis.
At the core of their part, designers need to be capable to understand their clients' desires and translate those to design and style teams, engineers and other professionals operating on the project. From the selection of the paint colors to pavers and, our designers have got it all covered for you!
A:It is widespread to get to read about the course on Walls and Ceilings although going by way of the guide For Becoming An Interior Decorator Which Degree. Sustainable designers use techniques to enhance energy and water efficiencies and indoor air good quality, and they specify environmentally preferable items, such as bamboo and cork for floors. Nine months, complete-time, beginning in September, soon after completion of the Interior Design certificate and 6. credits of Basic Education electives. Seeking for a robust Graphic Designer that have knowledge in interior design and style and 3d rendering to add furniture in empty properties for actual estate listing sales. Simply because if there is 1 factor we know, it's that design never ever stops obtaining greater. By providing your mobile number, you agree to acquire text messages from Harrington College of Design via its mobile text message provider.
A:It is really typical to get to read about the course on Colour & Lighting whilst going via the report on how long does it take to receive Masters degree in Interior Design. We are in the continuous lookout of clientele who say 'I want the ideal interior for my house which has never ever been accomplished before'.


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Yosemite Hut Trip
During president's day, my wife gets a week off of work. One of the perks of being a teacher. We used that free time to make a break up to Yosemite, for some winter fun. In my opinion, the park is made even more beautiful with a bit of snow covering it, especially when you put on a pair of snowshoes or cross-country skis and get out on the trails. We have become big fans of the park in winter. This would be our fourth trip, and a special one, as we would be returning to the Glacier Point ski hut where we got engaged 4 years prior.
Usually winter also means about a third of the normal summer crowd, but I guess the secret was out this year. It was packed. Get about a mile away from the valley in any direction though, and it is easy to escape the crowd and find some solitute. We spent a couple days down in the valley before going out to the hut, using the days to snowshoe and ski out at Crane Flat, where Hwy 120 gets shut down for the winter.
The ski out to the hut starts at Badger Pass (Yosemite's little ski resort) and goes 10.5 miles along Glacier Point Rd out to the hut. In the summers, the buidling operates as a gift shop and cafe for tourist at Glacier Point, but in the winter the road is not plowed and they close everything down except for those on skis or snowshoes. We took our time on the ski, which is not overly challenging, but not a breeze either. It took most of the day, and we arrived at the hut in the afternoon. The only other people staying at that hut are the others that also made the effort to ski out there, so that makes something in common with everyone there. We met some interesting people right away. The hut master took excellent care of us, and prepared AMAZING food (he is a pastry chef in the summer).
The view from the hut is just AMAZING. Halfdome is right there in front of you, and valley is far below. Sunset was just surreal, and there is something cool about knowing that it is just you and the other people who skied out there that are experiencing it from this vantage point. It was hard to pull myself away. I snuck out after dinner for some long-exposure shots, and only returned when I saw all the lights go off in the hut, signaling that it was time for bed.
The classic "Tunnel View"
A loop out on snowshoes the day before going out to the hut.
Our starting point at Badger Pass
Skiing along Glacier Point Road out to the Hut
The last mile or so of the ski is downhill through trees on switchbacks, which is sketchy on cross country skis! Right before you get to the hut, you come around a turn where the whole world opens up to see this view!
Our accommodations for the night, the Glacier Point Ski Hut
The glow of sunset over halfdome
Drying out wet boots and socks around the wood burning stove inside the hut.
Packing up in the morning for our ski back out
This is the spot where I proposed four years and 1 day before.
Heading out...
Lunch on the trail
Made it back!

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New Findings Show Popularity of Nine Hole Golf
There has been considerable work and attention placed upon growing the prevalence of nine-hole competitions and events a golf clubs – to alleviate the time pressures associated with the game – and the R&A has reported a significant increase in popularity for these shorter formats.
- England Golf has reported a 50% increase in nine-hole competitive scores returned between 2014 and 2017 (70,127 to 105,254). Between 2016 and 2017, competitive nine-hole club rounds by males increased by 17% (50,667 to 59,336) and 6% by females (43,314 to 45,918).
- In Ireland, from 2016 to 2017, competitive nine-hole club rounds by women and girls increased by 64% (18,753 to 30,803) and by over 200% by men and boys (2,370 to 7,250).
- Wales Golf has reported a 28% increase in nine-hole competitive scores returned between 2016 and 2017 (12,201 to 15,671).
- Scottish Golf has reported a 30% increase in nine-hole competitive scores returned between 2016 and 2017 (30,021 to 39,107).
Other nations also noted growth. Portugal reported a 269% increase in the number of nine-hole qualifying scores recorded from 2007 – 2017 (1,688 to 6,225), while in Spain the number of nine-hole rounds played from 2014 – 2017 has increased by 36% (35,777 to 48,806).
When it comes to the visibility of these formats, the European Tour has recently showcased GolfSixes and the Belgian Knockout – which features nine-hole strokeplay matches. This year's R&A 9 Hole Championship Final will be played on Saturday 14 July ahead of Open at Carnoustie, while over 300 courses in Scotland now also have a designated nine-hole Standard Scratch Score (SSS) to stage nine-hole medals.
Time for Golf to Promote More 9-Hole Competitions?
Duncan Weir, Executive Director – Golf Development at The R&A, said, "The figures reported by the national associations in Great Britain and Ireland, and those in other countries, demonstrate that nine hole golf is rising in popularity. We are encouraged to see that shorter forms of the sport are being embraced by clubs and golfers as a perfectly valid means to play golf in less time, either recreationally or competitively."
However, while respondents noted that time constraints were an issue when it came to them signing up for a golf membership, the 4,500 golfers that answered last year's Golfshake Survey were ambivalent towards the idea of embracing these shorter formats.
But it's clear that more clubs and authorities view nine-hole golf as an alternative for their members and visitors, and it's a trend that appears to be developing for the future, potentially making the game more accessible and easier for those with time pressures to enjoy.
What do you think? leave your comments below (Comments)


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Top Projects Awards
Alberta Construction Magazine's Top Projects Awards is an annual feature that recognizes and celebrates construction excellence in Alberta. Winners are revealed in the winter issue of Alberta Construction Magazine and honoured at the awards luncheon, this year on November 30th, 2016 in Edmonton.
Award categories include:
- Civil—Over $50 Million
- Civil—Under $50 Million
- Commercial—Over $50 Million
- Commercial—Under $50 Million
- Institutional—Over $50 Million
- Institutional—Under $50 Million
- Industrial—Over $50 Million
- Industrial—Under $50 Million
- Design (in Commercial, Institutional and Industrial categories)
- Sustainability
- Project of the Year, awarded last year to the Taylor Center of Performing Arts
Finalists for this years awards have been selected, to learn more please visit albertaconstructionmagazine.com.
Ian MacGregor is an engineer who has spent his career starting and running successful technical businesses in every area of the energy industry, from services and exploration, to processing and marketing. Ian's speciality is starting from scratch, usually with a novel idea or at the very least, a different approach, and having the tenacity to operationalize and make it a success .Ian is the President, CEO and Chairman of North West Refining., a 50 per cent owner in the North West Redwater Partnership which is building the first new refinery in Canada since 1984. The North West Redwater Partnership is investing $8.5 billion into a bitumen refining complex in Alberta's Industrial Heartland. It is one of the largest construction projects in the works in Canada. The Sturgeon Refinery will be the world's first to incorporate CO2 management with carbon capture and storage. This approach will allow the company to produce an ultra-low sulphur diesel with one of the lowest carbon footprints of any petroleum-based fuel.
Ian is also the founder and Chairman of Enhance Energy Inc. which is building the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL).A collector of machinery since childhood, Ian's passion and curiosity led him to become the primary benefactor and curator of the Canadian Museum of Making. His hobbies and collections include Victorian engineering history and machinery, architectural blacksmithing, and forged African metal works.
Having been a marketing strategist to Alberta businesses for over 25 years, Wendy's had the opportunity to develop strategic business plans and event activities for over two hundred businesses. Her clients have come from the sectors of oil and gas, real estate, agriculture, food and beverage, consumer products, professional services and advanced technology. Wendy's current role involves collaboration with corporations and associations; all for the purposes of helping industry overcome hurdles, mitigate risk, better communicate and improve productivity.
Currently, with respect to Alberta's construction sector, she is working on rolling out a major industry program called The Alberta Project Improvement Network. The organizations involved in this network are sharing best practices, piloting new practices and communicating wins. The synergies and new activities created is fully intended to generate a dramatic movement for change. This program aims to have our sector be twice and safe and twice and productive by 2020.


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Passing Data between Pages in ASP.NET
Desktop-as-a-Service Designed for Any Cloud ? Nutanix Frame
If there's one question I see time and time again in the various .NET forums that I frequent, it is "How do I pass data from one page to the next?" in my web application.
Those of you who are .NET veterans will likely be going 'Groan, not another page/data passing post', but I'm going to defend this article by reminding everyone that there was a time when even experts were seeking this knowledge. A little refresher every now and then never hurts anyone!
Why is Passing Data Such a Big Problem?
The web by its very nature is totally stateless. If you request a page, then your browser requests an image that's on that page, those two actions as far as the web server you're talking to is concerned, came from completely different people/computers/entities or however you want to describe yourself.
If you've ever done any traditional desktop application development, then this will be absolutely alien to you, because in a desktop app every bit of data you maintain is always available to each and every bit of functionality you create.
Because of this "statelessness" many different methods of trying to maintain state in a web application have been devised. Some of these methods are better than others, and it's this fact that tends to trip most newcomers up. Generally they're not asking how to do it, but rather asking which the best method to use is.
The Best Method for Passing Data between Pages
What is the best method for passing data between pages? The truth is, there isn't one.
The method you use depends very much on your project and any specifics that mean one is more appropriate than others. For example, let's take the session cache; that's the first port of call for many folks because when they research the subject, it's often the first thing that comes to light. But the Session Cache can actually be the source of many problems, especially in a load balanced environment where there are many back end servers which don't actually share physical server instances. In this case using the Session is particularly bad because you might populate a value on one request and the response might be served from a different server, leading to the value you just saved not actually having a value.
Then there's the timeout issue; session variables (and some others) have an automatic timeout, which means that leave the page for too long and you'll suddenly find that the value you pass doesn't even get saved.
What you absolutely have to do is look at each method in turn and match it up against your project specifications to see which is best. In fact, in many cases you're actually better combining some of the methods. For example, using an external database store needs a key to identify your data, and that key still needs to be passed from page to page in order for following pages to retrieve the actual data.
What Methods are Available for Passing Data?
There are lots of methods available for passing data. I could do an entire series on them with one article per method, and make it last for about six months! For this article, however, we're going to look at the five or six most common methods.
Method 1 - Url parameter passing
- Pros : Simple to use, can handle relatively large data loads, works everywhere
- Cons : Looks ugly, not search engine friendly, very insecure, open to tampering
Example: (setting)
Response.Redirect("Page2.aspx?test=" + txtTestBox.Text);
Example: (Retrieving)
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(Request.QueryString["test"])) { lblDefaultData.Text = Request.QueryString["test"]; } else { lblDefaultData.Text = "NO DATA PROVIDED OR COULD NOT BE READ"; }
If security is in any way of concern in your application then do not use this method. This is single headedly one of the most common ways that an application is breached. Imagine if you will that instead of a simple text string, you appended say 'userid=2', and I then came along and changed the address in my browser to say 'userid=1' , what might happen?
An alternative to this is to use URL parameters (the method most used by ASP.NET MVC), where the url is formed something like:
This is far more friendly to search engines, but is still very insecure in so much that the values are still visible in plain text, even if it is now harder to see what the variable names are.
If you do choose to use this method, then you MUST make sure that you're sanitising any inputs thoroughly, and not just any generated by the user; assume that everything you pass using this method is bad or has been tampered with in some way.
For simple use cases, such as linking product pages together or very simple applications such as a static blog, then this will often be a very simple to use method to use, and it scales to multiple servers easily.
Method 2 - Form Posting
- Pros : Simple to use, can handle very large data loads, works everywhere, the defacto method used for in page forms
- Cons : can be insecure and open to tampering using tools like fiddler, needs the user to action via a button on page (Can be automated but needs extra JavaScript)
Example: (setting)
<form method="post" action="Page2.aspx">
Page passing tests (Method 2 - form post)

Please enter some data in the field below and click send
 <input type="text" id="txtTestBox2" name="txtTestBox2" placeholder="enter text here" style="width: 200px;" /> <button type="submit" id="btnSend">Send</button> </form>
Example: (Retrieving)
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(Request.QueryString["test"])) { lblDefaultData.Text = Request.QueryString["test"]; } else { lblDefaultData.Text = "NO DATA PROVIDED OR COULD NOT BE READ"; }
Without the humble post, nothing on the web would work, this is the mainstay of just about everything that's entered anywhere on any kind of form. As such it's supported by everything on the planet.
What many people fail to remember however is that ANYTHING inside that set of form tags that has a 'name' attribute will also be sent. Things like hidden input fields, and even the submit button itself. It is by its very nature a manual process though, in so much that you generally have to have a button on the page that the user will click in order to activate the process.
Like a URL parameter, it scales well to a web farm but is still very insecure; all results should ideally be done over HTTPS to protect the in-page payload. Also note that if you want to do this in a web-forms app, then you need to make sure that there is no outer page form controlled by the web-forms engine when doing so, otherwise it will interfere with your form.
Method 3 - Session Variables
- Pros : Reasonably simple to use, supported in all versions of IIS/.NET, very secure
- Cons : Can cause more problems than it solves, doesn't scale well
Example: (setting)
Session["test"] = txtTestBox3.Text;
Example: (Retrieving)
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty((string)Session["test"])) { lblDefaultData.Text = (string)Session["test"]; } else { lblDefaultData.Text = "NO DATA PROVIDED OR COULD NOT BE READ"; }
Anyone who's done any kind of ASP.NET (or any web programming for that matter) will know about sessions, there are as many platform specific implementations as there are stars, each one claiming to be the better one of them all.
The problem is, they all have one fatal flaw, they are machine specific, they time out (usually at the wrong time) and they don't scale to well. Additionally, there's often an upper limit to the amount of memory that can be used; too much stored in the session can cause severe performance problems.
On the flip side however, they're rock solid as far as security goes, they stay on the server so no data ever leaves the server and thus there's nothing to be tampered with client side, and if managed correctly you can overcome most of the problems associated with using them.
On the whole however, I see a lot of folks just using the simple session interface and not managing them correctly, and this is what tends to lead to the problems we see.
For example, look at the code above, you'll see that I have to cast the data type. You should do this with EVERY access, along with checking for an appropriate value and acting accordingly if no suitable value is present.
Remember also, that the ASP.NET session API can have its providers replaced by custom providers; there are indeed many excellent replacements out there, from things like interfaces to redis and memcache, right through to session stores that are designed to overcome the single machine problem and support a load balanced server farm.
Method 4 - Web Cache
- Pros : Reasonably simple to use, supported in all versions of IIS/.NET, very secure
- Cons : Has some similar problems to sessions, not really designed for page passing
Example: (setting)
WebCache.Set("test", txtTestBox3.Text, 10, false); // Cache the value for 10 minutes
Example: (Retrieving)
string test = WebCache.Get("test"); if(!string.IsNullOrEmpty(test)) { lblDefaultData.Text = test; } else { lblDefaultData.Text = "NO DATA PROVIDED OR COULD NOT BE READ"; }
The web cache is not really designed for passing data from page to page, and it does have some of the same problems that using the session cache does (namely that it's restricted to one machine so doesn't scale to well), memory can be an issue too but not usually as severe as the memory limitation on the session cache, especially if better backend memory cache software is installed on the server in question.
The web cache is more tuned for you to save data from your backend services such as database lookups, so that subsequent calls don't have to make a new roundtrip if data has not been changed.
One plus side on using the web cache is that you can control the timeout value. You'll see above that I set the timeout to 10 minutes when I set the value. This timeout can be set to different independent values for each different variable.
One last thing to remember is that web cache storage is accessible by every application instance, so if you cache "test" then other instances of the app running on the same server can also read "test"; this is different from session storage where each key even if the name is the same can be read only by the instance that created it.
Method 5 - Cookies
- Pros : Very simple to use, the original data passing mechanism
- Cons : Not secure, not always enabled, frequently cleared by users
Example: (setting)
Response.Cookies["test"].Value = txtTestBox3.Text; Response.Cookies["test"].Expires = DateTime.Now.AddMinutes(10); // expire in 10 minutes
Example: (Retrieving)
string test; try { test = Request.Cookies["test"].Value; } catch(NullReferenceException) { test = string.Empty; } if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(test)) { lblDefaultData.Text = test; } else { lblDefaultData.Text = "NO DATA PROVIDED OR COULD NOT BE READ"; }
Using cookies is the original data preservation method, that's been in use since the days of web 0.09. :-)
Unfortunately, cookies have been dramatically abused, to do things they were never intended to be used for, such as user behaviour tracking. As a result the humble cookie now has such a bad name that most people either have them turned off in their browser, or they refuse to accept them. If cookies are accepted however, then they are a really reliable method (and well tested) for preserving data. Typically though, they are restricted to 4k.
What about the REST?
There's a lot of options we've not even mentioned here. HTML5 for example brings a lot of new cards to the table in the form of data-x attributes, or client side local database storage. There are also server subsystems such as redis and the 'hstore' capabilities of PostgreSQL, or the flat document stores such as MongoDB.
On top of that, in most cases you wouldn't want to restrict yourself to one of the above. In most general cases, you'll want to use low value storage to store a key of some kind; this key would then be used to look up the stored values using some other method.
You might also want to consider direct client side interaction, where a JavaScript call could be used to persist some values to the server prior to a new page being loaded. This new page then retrieves these values using some method, and then uses them in a normal fashion to affect the page output.
Page data passing is an immense topic, that can cover entire books, so I'm sure you'll be forgiven if it takes you time to assess all the options you have covering it.
From Here...
If you have any ideas for posts for this series, please reach out to me on twitter '@shawty_ds' or come and find me in the Linked .NET users group (Lidnug) on the Linked-In social network, and remember, the world doesn't need your code, your code needs the world.


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You cannot go hunting without a gun, but you also cannot go without a good, reliable pair of hunting boots. With all the walking involved, healthy feet are as important as any of your gear so you have to keep them protected. There are many different styles and brands of hunting boots, but they all have to deliver similar results. The boots need to keep your feet dry and warm by allowing them to breathe. They also must protect you from rough terrain so you can cover a lot of ground without getting injured. It is important to take the time to find out which hunting boots are right for you.
Danner Men's Grouse Hunting Boot
The Grouse boot from Danner is tough, waterproof and comfortable. They offer rugged construction that will stand up to heavy use in all kinds of weather conditions. Read Full Review
When you are out in the woods, you need a boot you can rely on. This is what you get with Danner's Grouse boot. The Gore-Tex lining will keep you warm and dry while allowing your feet to breathe. A wide platform and a rugged outsole will keep you on solid footing when moving over rough terrain.
Irish Setter Men's Grizzly Tracker 9" 400gm Insulated Hunting Boot
The Thinsulate insulation will keep you warm and comfortable during long days in the woods. The Armored toe is a good feature to have and provides extra protection to your feet to help keep them in good shape. Read Full Review
The Grizzly Trackers from Irish Setter come equipped with armored toe cap for extra protection for your feet. A nylon upper gives you good waterproof protection in the worst weather conditions. It is critical that you keep your footing in the woods and the rugged Mountain Claw outsole help you stay on your feet.
Rocky Men's 9" BearClaw 3D Insulated GORE-TEX Hunting Boot
Comfort is important so extra cushioning is provided by the Air Port footbed. The BearClaw gives you a good mix of comfort and performance so you can cover more ground with less fatigue. Read Full Review
Rocky's BearClaw hunting boots offer a GORE-TEX lining that helps keep you dry while allowing your feet to breath. With 100 gram Thinsulate insulation your feet will stay dry in all kinds of wet weather. The nylon and leather upper gives you an effective combination lightweight strength and durability.
Trekker 10" 1,200 Gram Insulated Waterproof Hunting Boots
The steel shanks are a good feature to have because they give your feet extra support to reduce fatigue. These are durable, waterproof hunting boots that can help keep your feet in good shape when you are out in the field Read Full Review
These Trekkers are constructed with full-grain leather and nylon panels to give you a combination of durability and comfort. Hunters know the importance of dry feet and the Aqua-Shield provides effective waterproofing. The removable polyurethane insoles can be removed for so they can dry fully between uses. The bob outsoles provide plenty of traction so you can move over rough terrain with confidence.
RedHead Bone-Dry Buckhorn Insulated 9" Hunting Boots for Men
Redhead's Buckhorns are a good all-around hunting boot that will help you keep your feet in good shape. Features like the padded collars and pull loops will be appreciated by hunters who expect a lot from their boots. Read Full Review
Above all, your feet need to stay dry and ReaHead's Bone-Dry Buckhorns can help you do this. The Bone-Dry lining provides complete waterproofing so you can cross shallow streams and swamps. With a moisture-wicking lining your feet will stay comfortable even after long days out in the woods. The dual-density outsoles provide durability and stability so you can cover a lot of ground.


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This makes "vegan" a little less scary doesn't it?
So this week I have shared with you very basic desserts that you can make vegan. For those of you who may not fully know or understand what it means to be a vegan let me tell you. Vegans do not consume, and sometimes wear, anything that comes or is generated from an animal. This also includes honey. The don't eat chicken or anything with eggs; they don't eat beef or anything that has cows milk; and they don't eat bacon or anything with casing or bacon fat. Their diet is completely animal-less. I know that most of you are wondering if I am considering venturing over to the dark side. The answer is "no". However, I enjoy eating vegan based foods due to my increasing intolerance for lactose. I don't walk away feel bloated, heavy, or gaseous. I feel…good. Especially after I had one of these .
I am still learning how to make sinful desserts angelic. So I am playing around with different sugars and flours to discover how to hide the nutrition but not hide the flavor. I don't know what it is, you tell someone that you made something healthy and their noses turn up like they are about to eat chocolate flavored cardboard. I think our society, particularly the "baby boomers" generation, didn't have the knowledge or even care enough to eat healthier or explore these different lifestyle. Now, that my generation and the ones that will follow has an increasing thirst for this type of information and desire to live longer, be more beautiful, and eat healthier. We can take LA as a perfect example. Now that city has always been saturated in "superficiality"but they have an increasing population of people who are vegans, rawist, naturalist, and the list goes on. They have more restaurants than almost any other city in this country of healthier restaurant options. It's only going to grow from there. Also, you have documentaries like "Forks Over Knives" that after watching will make you want to discard all your meat products that you have in your kitchen immediately. Hell, Beyoncé and Jay Z did a Vegan fast for 22 days. It's happening people. Get with it people!
I want to explore different ways for us to be healthy and still have our fun too. Now I am still going to have some foods on my blog that is high in calories, fat, and everything is that is normal in the world but I believe in moderation. My favorite food is burgers. I'm not talking about flat beef patty burgers, I'm talk grass fed, no hormone or chemically induced beef. Pure beef! Topped off with a whole bunch of stuff and served with some really hot french fries. That is my favorite meal right there! I doubt that I will ever be a full vegan. But when you have gorgeous and tasty treats like these, its worth trying.
Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe adapted from www.theppk.com
- 1½ c. flour
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ c. brown sugar
- ¼ c. Stevia Baking Blend
- ¼ c. unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tbsp. corn starch
- ⅔ c. canola oil
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¾ c. vegan chocolate chips
- 1 pint. Almond Dream Vanilla Ice Cream
- Preheat oven to 350 Degrees and spray large baking sheet with baking spray and set aside
- In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, Stevia, cornstarch, and brown sugar). Mix in the canola oil, milk and vanilla extract with a hand held mixer. Using a rubber spatula stir in the chocolate chips. Make tablespoon dollops of cookie dough badder on the baking sheet. Should make about a dozen cookies. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool.
- To make into a sandwich take the ice cream out of the freezer and allow to get soft. Once the ice cream is soft enough to spread on a cookie, spread about a table spoon on a cookie and place a cookie on top making a sandwich. Eat right away or immeditatley place back into the freezer until ready to serve.


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At several sites in Gaborone, Chinese construction crews are working overtime on building projects. They are a microcosm of the Chinese stamp on the city. The sound of construction seems to be telling the world the story of China in Botswana.
Botswana is a land-locked country located in southern Africa and bordering Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, with a total area of 580,000 square km and a population of 2.26 million.
In past decades, it climbed from one of the most impoverished countries in the world since its independence in 1966, to one of Africa's richest countries. With its rich diamond resources and relatively open and transparent political and business environment, its economic level is steadily rising, with a GDP per capita of $7,596 in 2017.
Despite being known as the "diamond kingdom," Botswana has always been well prepared to diversify its economy and explore opportunities for international business cooperation. China, apparently, is an important player in achieving its goals.
Investment brings vibrancy
The 13th edition of its premier business to business (b2b) and multi-sectoral expo known as the Global Expo Botswana was hosted by the Investment and Trade Center (BITC) from October 30 to November 2 in Gaborone, Botswana. To attract potential Chinese business partners eyeing future market opportunities in Botswana, the Botswana Embassy in China invited the Global Times as the only Chinese media to report on the whole event.
Since the 1960s, three of the world's most abundant diamond mines have been discovered in Botswana. By establishing a joint venture with De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer, to mine, produce and sell diamonds, Botswana's national revenues have shot up. Botswana quickly became a middle-income country due to its rich natural resources.
Botswana has rich copper, nickel, coal, iron ore and uranium ore and ranks at the third-largest source of minerals in Africa. Tourism and cattle rearing are also core economic industries.
Despite its diamond bonanza, Botswana is always making efforts to diversify its economy and embraces the challenge of attracting quality investors. Hosting a global expo is an indication of its efforts, suggesting the country aims to build a platform for enterprises to attract foreign capital and to promote trade.
The Expo was hosted under the theme "Seizing opportunities through networking with global business leaders." A total of 291 enterprises from China, South Africa, South Korea, Zimbabwe and other countries participated in the exhibition, covering a wide range of fields including agriculture, information and communication, machinery and equipment and manufacturing.
This year's agenda included topics such as "How Botswana can successfully diversify its economy away from a single resource," "What Botswana needs to do to catch up with the fourth industrial revolution" and "Pan-African economic growth opportunities," touching on many international hot topics.
At the expo, the presence of Chinese guests was apparent. Dong Kun, the chief representative of the China-Africa Development Fund (CADFund), said in a statement that many African countries have high unemployment rates and young people are out of work because of a lack of factories and markets. Chinese companies are building factories and expanding markets in Africa, making important contributions to solving local employment problems.
The CADFund has been actively promoting Chinese enterprises' investment in Africa and played an important role in the infrastructure construction, technological progress, foreign exchange earnings and employment increase in the host countries, which has been generally welcomed by the African side.
The investments inject vibrancy into China-Africa economic and trade cooperation in the new era, to strengthen Africa's capacity to develop on its own and enhance Africa's competitiveness in the global economic landscape. Dong firmly believes that despite the many difficulties and uncertainties, the fund will continue to contribute in the future in areas such as health care and education.
Attaching importance
Unity Dow (pictured), the foreign minister of Botswana, told the Global Times that Botswana always keeps a close eye on China's development and seeks win-win cooperation projects. She said the Belt and Road initiative is a great idea and Botswana wants to be deeply involved, seeking more opportunities for collaboration and building a broader platform for local businesses.
Dow believes that compared with other African countries, Botswana has the advantages of abundant human resources, a high penetration rate of English and quick adaptation to various industries through training. In addition, the government offers a generous tax policy to foreign businesses in Botswana. The country will win the favour of investors by making best use of its advantages.
A young Botswana man warmly greeted the Global Times reporter, saying his Chinese name is "Xiao Hu (Tiger)." He originally worked in Gaborone before he was hooked by China when he overheard his colleagues talking about it. In 2010, he visited the country in person and then determined to apply for an MBA program at Nanchang University, East China's Jiangxi Province.
After graduation, Xiao Hu did an internship at an international trading company in Shanghai, getting considerable inspiration about Sino-Botswana trade work. In 2014, he returned to Botswana and set up a company specifically to help African enterprises import Chinese goods at a lower price and through more efficient channels, while helping Chinese investors find projects in Africa. "Going to China was the best decision of my life," Hu told the Global Times.
Chinese brands
The central business district (CBD) in Gaborone is home to such landmarks as the bank of Botswana, the Huawei group offices, the Supreme Court and giant statues of three chiefs. Asphalt roads, clear road signs, high-end residential buildings along the street, hotels and the traffic flow are all manifestations of the city's good infrastructure construction.
Yue Peng, a Chinese businesswoman who has lived in Gaborone for nearly 20 years and runs a Chinese restaurant in the CBD, has witnessed the region's rapid development. She told the Global Times that Chinese companies have been instrumental in this process. Looking out the window, she said, at least six to seven buildings in the area were completed with the help of Chinese companies. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The Gaborone sewage treatment plant, the multi-purpose teaching room at Botswana University and facilities at a local hospital are all part of this.
In addition to architecture, Chinese manufacturing is also closely related to the daily necessities of the people of Botswana.
In 2017, China exported $233 million of products to Botswana, up 10.9 percent year on year, mainly textiles and apparel, electromechanical products and high-tech product, according to data released by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"My refrigerator is Hisense, my tablet is Huawei and everything from clothes and hats to pots and pans are made in China," Nametso, a Botswana resident, told the Global Times.
Chinese enterprises are not satisfied with merely bringing made-in-China goods into the African market. Rather, producing goods "made in Africa" is now a focus of Chinese enterprises. With the support of the CADFund, Hisense Group invested over $27.4 million to set up a factory in South Africa in 2013. At present, the company's "made-in-Africa" products are exported to more than 10 African countries, and the market is expanding rapidly.
Private Chinese companies are also making an effort. It is a win-win for some clothing manufacturers to move their domestic production factories to African countries, which can solve local employment problems and simultaneously avoid the quotas imposed by African countries on textile and apparel products.
It is reasonable to believe that in the future, "made in South Africa," "made in Tanzania" or "made in Botswana" products will increasingly appear in the daily life of African people.
Source: globaltimes.cn
Images sources: bilaterals.org & Xinhua


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The Ginger Tea Reviews: Boozy Chai Matcha Latte
Perfect for a chilly evening!
Welcome back to another chapter in the Ginger Tea Reviews! Tea is my passion, and I am making it my goal to share my passion with the world.
Today, I am reviewing a Boozy Chai Matcha Latte recipe! Now, I honestly winged the whole recipe, and it turned out better than I imagined. But before we get down into this, I must remind you that, if you want to try this boozy concoction, you must DRINK RESPONSIBLY. Thank you.
Here is the official recipe!
Boozy Chai Matcha Latte
- 3-5 Scoops of chai tea
- 1/2 Scoop of Imperial Grade Matcha
- 2 Shots of spiced rum (add more or less, depending on your preference)
- Splash or two of milk
- (Optional) Whipped cream or steamed milk
- Brew chai tea according to instructions.
- In a separate measuring glass, pour in the shots of rum.
- Add freshly brewed tea.
- Put 1/2 scoop of Matcha into a mug, and add a small ice cube depending on the temperature of brewed tea.
- Matcha must be brewed at 175° Fahrenheit.
- Pour a small amount of boozy tea blend into the mug, and whisk until a paste forms.
- Add more of the blend and whisk until you have a full cup.
- Add splash or two of milk, according to taste. Serve hot.
First, the teas...
So, first let's talk about the tea I used and how you should prepare it, if you want to do this for yourself. For this concoction, I used Imperial Grade Matcha powder (one of my personal favorites), and I used a Maharaja Chai Oolong, blended with a Samurai Chai.
(Disclaimer: Due to Teavana's closures, if you find you have trouble locating these teas, any loose leaf chai will do. If you can, find one with a lot of spice!)
First, I heated up my water to around 195° Fahrenheit. As the water was heating, I mixed the Maharaja and Samurai into my tea maker. Now, because I enjoy a spicier flavor, I used two scoops more of Maharaja. Once the water was ready, I brewed the tea for 3 minutes, while I prepared the Matcha and the booze.
A Giant Cup of...
So, matcha is a green tea. As we reviewed in my last post, green tea is sensitive. The water used must be at 175° Fahrenheit. So with the tea brewing at 195°, I had to bring that temperature down just a bit, otherwise, I would be drinking a burnt Chai Matcha Latte. (Ew...)
So with the chai tea brewing, I put a half scoop of matcha into my giant cup, and poured two shots of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum into a big measuring cup.
(The amount of rum you use is optional; depends entirely on how strong you like your boozy drinks.)
Once the chai was ready, I drained the tea directly into the measuring cup with the rum. I dropped a small ice cube into it, to bring down the temperature just enough for the matcha.
Matcha is life; Matcha is love...
Now, matcha comes as a powder. It is typically used in tea ceremonies, so the trick with matcha is in the bamboo whisk. I poured a small amount of the boozy tea mix into the powder and whisked it up really well, until the matcha formed a paste at the bottom. Then I added a bit more, and mixed it up. I kept adding the boozy tea in increments until I had a full cup of boozy, chai matcha tea.
Finish it off with some milk, to balance out the spicy with a creamy finish, and there you go! If you want to get fancy, you could add some whipped cream on top, or froth up some milk, so you feel like you're in a cafe!
The Finished Product
Flavor-wise, the tea is spicy and creamy, with a nice kick from the rum. Maharaja Chai has a lot of cardamom and cloves in it, so the Maharaja adds a robustness to the tea. The Samurai has more cinnamon and nutmeg, adding a twinge of sweet to the mix. Meanwhile, the spiced rum is sweet and spicy, and it brings the drink together, while adding a nice kick!
The matcha only adds health benefits to the concoction. matcha is a miracle tea. I call it a miracle tea because of the health benefits, but also because matcha blends with anything.
With matcha being so rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants, the combination adds a little extra boost to the drink!
Finished with some milk, we get a nice, creamy and smooth note that balances out the spices just right.
For a chilly winter evening, or morning if you are being responsible, a nice, hot cup of this beverage is sure to warm you right up! Remember to drink responsibly, and thank you for reading! You can follow me on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/The-Ginger-Tea-Reviews-173409853385064/
Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/gingerteareviews/
Remember: There is a great big world of tea out there, and together we can explore every last inch of it!
Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of the Ginger Tea Reviews!


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Wasn't The Brits the most mind-numbing yet?
All very professional and that, but really about as engaging as one of those corporate events where they give awards for Salesperson Of The Year. Come to think of it, in the case of One Direction they did just that. Anyway, it seemed to exist in a parallel universe to what I am listening to. Elsewhere on the blog are what Andy, Roy and I felt to be the best songs of last year, but 2013 is already shaping up to be a great year, so I thought as an antidote to the Brits I would put up some of my favourite tracks of 2013 'for your consideration'. They are in no particular order, we'll leave that for the end of 2013 when many of these may well have been eclipsed by what is to come. Some of these have featured on my 'This Is My Jam' feed, but nice to have them all in one place.
Pride of place goes to John Grant's Pale Green Ghosts. A breathtaking and epic single that reminds me of early 'The The' mixed with an unsettling Twin Peaks feel to it. Quite stunning and radically different to his Queen of Denmark album. What will the album be like?
Next, the surprise return of David Bowie. On initial listening I liked it but it did remind me a lot of Achting Baby U2 – perhaps it's the reference to Berlin landmarks. However the vocals on the chorus are just heart-breakingly vulnerable. I like it more each time I hear it.
Appropriately enough another returning act is Suede, very much Bowie acolytes. Barriers was a great come back, and this single kicks it up a notch. Easily on a par with their (impressive) back catalogue. Check out their Maida Vale session on the 6 Music website
Pulp also made a surprise return. No album seems to be imminent, but there is this one-off , recorded with Mr LCD Soundsystem, James Murphy. Like Suede, very classic in its sound.
OK, enough of the comebacks, here are a few newer bands. Firstly Villagers with 'Nothing Arrived'. A lovely, poignant video. Does he win the lottery or not?
From Foals, a classic pop song, almost insanely catchy. A student disco staple for 2013 I am sure:
I Am Kloot have been around somewhat longer, but this is a great anthemic single from the Manchester band.
We have just had a new Eels album. A fine collection that bizarrely got to no 14 in the official UK album chart last week. Here is the title track: 'Wonderful, Glorious'. And it is.
A bit of 90s-style indie rock from the Joy Formidable, from the album Wolf's Law:
I thought I'd end with a couple of piano instrumentals. I am a sucker for a an echoey piano. This first is by German pianist/composer Nils Frahm. Apparently he broke his thumb, so wrote the album from which this comes whilst convalescing, carefully picking out the notes with remaining fingers, which gives a pleasingly minimalist style. If you like this track you can download the whole album for free, legally here – the link is at the bottom of that page
And second in our echoey piano pairing is exits by L. Pierre. He used to be called Aidan Moffatt and was in Arab Strap. This comes from the Album 'The Island Come True'. No accompanying video so just shut your eyes and listen..
So that's it so far for 2013. let me know any suggestions for things I may have missed – I am sure there are many! As you made it all the way to the bottom, here is a rare clip of Spinal Tap getting a bit confused about the Eels winning best newcomer in 1998:


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Ah, the tricky case of Amy Schumer. When she started showing up on the mainstream radar in 2013, everyone thought she was the comedic savior we didn't know we needed. Less than two years later, it seemed like she was everywhere, and the negative backlash began. Comments ranged from "I really don't think she's even that funny" to "She's racist and a bad feminist." While these might be truly felt opinions, I feel like they're indicative of how a lot of funny, outspoken women get treated once they achieve a certain level of fame (another who comes to mind is Lena Dunham). First of all, no woman will ever be the perfect feminist, and no woman should feel single-handedly responsible for carrying that banner. And secondly, unfavorable evaluations of these women and their work often sound less like thoughtful criticism and more like indignation that they don't somehow "know their place." As in, women are supposed to be famous because they're pretty or cute or sexy, not because they're funny. That they have the "audacity" to be unapologetically confident and outspoken, despite not being "conventionally good-looking," is interpreted as smugness.
I certainly don't mean to assert that any women, attractive or otherwise (comedians included), should be above being called out for bigotry, bad art, or misbehavior. But I do feel frustrated that it seems to happen to them a lot more quickly and frequently than it does to their male counterparts. Maybe there's no Louis C.K. backlash because his comedy is flawless, his politics eternally woke, and his personal life without misstep (which it isn't). Or maybe it's because no one feels as threatened by an average-looking male celebrity as they do by an average-looking female one. Maybe it's because no one expects men to be feminist poster-children, and therefore temporary silence on an issue doesn't get called out as apathy. Maybe it's because enough men are allowed to be famous and funny that we don't have to cling desperately to each one, demanding that they do all the work we need done. It's as if subconsciously, we still believe that women owe something to the world as the price for being relevant. I'm the one millionth person to say it, but there is a double standard, and the way we talk about Amy Schumer is evidence of it.
That being said…Snatched is a mediocre movie, and my critical integrity obligates me to say so. So consider my long-winded intro a plea against a) writing off Amy Schumer, and b) giving up on the R-rated female comedy. (Please…we have three Hangover movies with another one in the works, and not so much as a murmur of doubt in the genre, despite 2 and 3 being redundant and lackluster).
Snatched is the story of Linda and Emily Middleton (Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer), an endearing mother/daughter duo whose opposite lifestyles often have them bickering. After Emily is unexpectedly dumped by her musician boyfriend (a brief but memorable Randall Park), and right before their romantic vacation to Ecuador no less, she decides to take her reluctant, homebody mother instead. Almost immediately, Emily is seduced by James, a strapping, swoon-worthy foreigner (Tom Bateman), who kindly offers to take her and her mother sightseeing. But during their return to the hotel, a band of local thugs crashes into the Jeep and kidnaps the women, demanding ransom or promising violence. Attempts at hilarity ensue.
What works is that Amy Schumer is actually/still funny. There's no denying this. Her delivery, her facial expressions, her body language—each is hilarious. She has the ability to act in public how most people act only in private, which is to say, unashamed, overly-dramatic, and selfishly pragmatic, teetering between paranoid insecurity and delusional confidence. She the type of woman you meet drunk in line at the bathroom at a bar, one who spills her entire life story, doles out some unexpectedly profound advice, and makes you wish your date was half as amusing.
What's odd then, is that she's somewhat miscast in a film that was created as a vehicle for her. Emily is candid and self-absorbed, but she's also ditzy, innocent, and gullible, three qualities that I didn't buy for a second from Ms. Schumer. Rather than watch her "outsmart" the bad guys via a few lucky accidents, I would've rather watched her humiliate them with her insults, unsettle them with her crudeness, or prove that when it comes to lack of scruples, they're no match for her. At its best, Schumer's wit is a razor-sharp arrow of incisiveness, honesty, and zero-fucks-given, one I would gleefully watch lodge itself in the heart of my enemies. So it's a shame that the antagonists are nothing more than vaguely racist stereotypes, whose brand of bad is so bland I felt little pleasure seeing them injured. James (who, turns out, helped facilitate the kidnapping) is far more deserving of her fury and punishment. A funnier movie would've been to have Emily and her mom gang up on him, and make him rue the day he picked the Middleton women to mess with.
Speaking of the Middletons as a unit, Hawn and Schumer have great chemistry, though Hawn is grossly underutilized. She's unwisely boxed in by her anxious, square character, who's meant to be the foil to Schumer's immature, irresponsible one. Whether it's the result of poor writing or fifteen years away from film, Hawn's performance is lost amongst the over-the-top gags of Schumer and the rest of the supporting cast. Wanda Sykes and Joan Cusack play fellow guests at the resort, and prove to be not only valuable allies (Cusack's character is retired Special-Ops), but comedic assets. Ike Barinholtz is a standout as Schumer's nerdy, agoraphobic brother, as is Bashir Salahuddin, who plays the government official forced to field his constant phone calls.
But if I were to really sum up what's wrong with Snatched, I'd posit that it suffers from the same problem as many recent comedies—the plot is simultaneously too complicated and too weak; the emotions simultaneously too sentimental and not sentimental enough. In my opinion, the method for making a successful comedy should either be a) aim to tell a great story that also happens to be really funny, or b) shoot two hours of hilarious people performing hilarious jokes, largely unhindered by attempts to insert a plot or character arcs.
Watching Snatched, I felt like the gags and one-liners came first, and the spaces between were filled in with plot points to reach a quota. Likewise, effort to convey the touching evolution of a mother-daughter relationship felt more like a marketing gimmick than anything else, and the resulting reconciliation is unearned and emotionally ineffective. I'll accept both cynicism and sincerity, but don't serve up one and pretend it's the other. Despite the fact that its leading actress possesses both, Snatched achieves neither the irreverence nor the heart that it strives for.
Rachel Woldum is barista and bartender currently living in Minneapolis. An MFA in Creative Writing from Seattle Pacific University, Rachel also writes a TV column for Southern Minnesota Scene, and develops comic book scripts for Cartoon Studios.


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"Abracadabra !", "Hoc est corpus meum", "Open Sesame !", "Pax et Bonum", Discovery of Human Speech, Hieroglyphs, Hocus Pocus, Invention of Writing, Transsubstantiation
Long before they invented writing (5000 B.C.), humans discovered human speech, 70,000 years ago. But when people learned to write, words were considered magic. Egyptian hieroglyphs ("sacred writing") were believed to have such magical power that the name of something written on a tomb guaranteed that the deceased, become immortal, would possess it after his death : even when real clothes, jewels, furniture and food were placed inside the tomb – and later probably stolen – the very words identifying them on the outside of the tomb would assure their continued presence ! Ancient Egyptians called their writing "the words of the gods", because Thot, the god of wisdom, had invented it.
In every epoch, certain spoken words are also believed to possess magical powers. When I was growing up, they were "Open Sesame !" and "Abracadabra !", but also, for us as Catholics, "Hoc est corpus meum" ("This is my body"). The magical formula for transsubstantiation, turning bread and wine into Christ's body and blood, was satirized by the expression "Hocus Pocus" – become a blanket designation for charlatans' exploitation of people's superstition and credulity.
Franciscans take leave of each other by wishing their brother "Pax et bonum" ("Peace and well-being"). The ancient Egyptians wrote three hieroglyphic words on tombs, not just wishing the dead well but guaranteeing that they would enjoy ANKH (Life), OUDJA (Prosperity) and SENEB (Health). A pity such generous sentiments were the wishful thinking, as in all religions, of the terminally naïve.


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Paris: The Collected Traveler
This edition on Paris features:
● Articles, interviews, and reminiscences from writers, visitors, residents, and experts on the region, including Ina Garten, André Aciman, Judith Jones, Mireille Guiliano, Naomi Barry, and Patricia Wells.
● In-depth pieces that illuminate such treasures of the City of Light as the bridges on the Seine; Parisian train stations; cobbled streets and hidden gardens; the peculiarities of the French language; the delights of French bread, chocolate, and wine; and much more.
● Enticing recommendations for further reading, including novels, histories, memoirs, cookbooks, and guidebooks.
● An A–Z Miscellany of concise and entertaining information on special shops, hotels, and museums not to be missed; French phrases and customs; boat trips on the Seine; Jewish history; antiques; spas; tips for shopping; and the most romantic spots in Paris.
● Recommendations for excursions to Chartres, Fontainebleau, Burgundy, Brittany, and Champagne.
● More than 150 photographs and illustrations.
Product Details
|Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
|Publication date:
|Vintage Departures Series
|Sales rank:
|Product dimensions:
|5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.60(d)
About the Author
Barrie Kerper, a former journalist and avid traveler, is the editor of numerous books in the Collected Traveler series.
Read an Excerpt
France: The Outsider
Ian Jack
This editorial was the introductory essay in an issue of the fine, thought-provoking literary magazine Granta. Though it appeared in the autumn 1997 issue, the references made to society and politics remain very much similar today. (Though the unemployment rate in France, for one thing, has fallen.) The essay as it appears here is an edited version of the original.
IAN JACK was the editor of Granta from 1995 to 2008. He edited London's Independent on Sunday from 1991 to 1995, and currently he writes a weekly column for the Guardian. Jack has also served as a foreign correspondent in South Asia and is the author of The Country Formerly Known as Great Britain (Jonathan Cape, 2009).
The first man to fly solo across the Atlantic and the hero of his age, Charles Lindbergh, saw France from the air on May 21, 1927. He had been flying for more than thirty hours and seen nothing but ocean since he left New York, and now the green fields and woods of Normandy were below him. Journey's end! Time for a bite! He took a sandwich from its wrapper and stretched to throw the wrapper from the cockpit. Then he looked down and decided that just wouldn't do. "My first act," Lindbergh said to himself, "will not be to sully such a beautiful garden." His American waste paper remained in the aircraft—scrunched, one assumes, in a ball at his feet.
The French writer Jean-Marie Domenach, who died this summer, tells this story in his last book: Regarder la France: essai sur le malaise français. It is for Domenach yet another small stone in a large mountain of anecdotal evidence gathered to demonstrate the singularity of France as a state, a people, a culture and (in this case) a landscape. But, as Domenach's subtitle indicates, all isn't well with this singularity. The fields that Lindbergh flew over are larger now, the roads straighter and wider, the peasants (should Lindbergh have spotted any, bending their backs in this beautiful garden) dramatically fewer. All of these changes have happened to most other western countries as agriculture has adopted new machines and new techniques to plough out hedges and plough in chemical fertilizers, to relegate agricultural labourers to models in museums of folklore. But in none of these other countries (even England, where the countryside supplies a large part of the national idea) would rural transformation be seen as such a blow to the nation's identity. There would be nostalgia, of course, and ecological concern. In France, things go much further. Implied in Domenach's story is the notion that, had Lindbergh been flying over some other, less top-quality country (Portugal, say, or Belgium), he might have nonchalantly tossed the paper into the windstream and had a good spit at the same time. But, as General and President Charles de Gaulle was fond of saying, France is . . . France. Even Lindbergh, high up in his frail aeroplane, and with a hundred other things to worry about, could see the specialness of the place and respect it.
Nobody doubts that France is special; certainly not the French. It is the largest, though not the most populous country, in Europe, and was once the most powerful. Its linguistic unity and its natural boundaries—France can be seen as a hexagonal fortress with sea on three sides and mountains on two—have given it a clearer identity, a less contested nationalism, than most countries which share a continent. Its history is alive with symbols, events, heroes and slogans which have not been shuttered in to the cobwebbed past—which form part of France's grand and still unfolding story, as the French tell it to themselves. France sees itself as the birthplace of modern ideas and modern politics. The words of the American constitution are fine, but a snappier political credo than "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" has still to be invented. The terms "Left" and "Right" as in left-wing and right-wing come from the seating arrangements in the National Assembly of 1789, when the pro-revolutionaries took the benches on the left side of the chamber. When Britain was manufacturing industrial and necessarily temporary objects, France was taking the lead in creating enduring, and now universal, abstractions. These ideals, which have dignified humankind, form part of France's claim to its status as a universal nation. Add them to a cultural preeminence which has lasted through most of the last and the present century—think of the French novel and French painting in the nineteenth, French film in the twentieth—and a way of living notorious for its discriminating pleasure in philosophy, love, food, drink and fashion, and France's claim to be the global model for civilization can seem unanswerable. "Ah, the French," as the maxim goes on the northbound Channel ferry and the jet heading west to North America, "they know how to live!"
The paradox is that, while France has thought of itself as a tutor to the world, it has never really believed that it can be imitated. France is distinctive. It may believe, as the USA affects to believe (or simply assumes), that it is a country with values which can be franchised anywhere; but unlike perfumes, croissants and fizzy water—unlike, in fact, the Statue of Liberty—some items are not for export. There is the French soul; there is an even mistier item, la France profonde. Here normal rules do not apply. Sooner or later, in almost every area of human activity, one comes across the phrase: l'exception française. Exceptionally, France has retained several parts of its empire with little sense of post-imperial shame. Exceptionally, in the 1990s it began again to explode nuclear devices under one of these old outposts (when on British television a French government spokesman was asked why, if these tests were so safe, they were not conducted under French waters rather than in the far-away Pacific, he replied: "But Tahiti is France"). Exceptionally, it still regards French as the near-rival to English as the triumphant world language, when nearly four times as many people speak English (and three times as many use Spanish, and twice as many Bengali—or Arabic). Exceptionally, it is the most anti-American country in western (or for that matter eastern) Europe.
Nearly all of these exceptions flow from what is now the greatest exception of all: the power of the French state to regulate, subsidize, satisfy and inspire the lives and ambitions of France's fifty-eight million citizens. The urge to standardize and centralize in France predates the Revolution, but it was the precepts of the Revolution, later codified by Napoleon, which allowed French citizens to feel that they played equal parts in a grand and unifying design. There would be standard courts dispensing standard law, standard schools teaching the same French history, standard forms of local administration sitting in headquarters with Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité standardly engraved in their stone. The language would be standard despite its many regional variants, the measurements (metres, litres, kilos) also. All standards would be set by the government in Paris. The state interfered but it also sheltered, and it became one of the glories of France, inseparable from the idea of the French way of life. Today France employs five million civil servants (proportionately five times as many as the USA) and industries run by the state comprise more than a third of the French economy.
The state, then, matters in France as it does in few other countries. It has never been, unlike in Britain or the USA, the bogey of the tax-paying middle classes. For one thing, it keeps a large part of the middle class in work; more than half the families in France depend on income from the state. For another, its regulations and subsidies have sustained the attractive variousnesses of France, which still produces four hundred (or a thousand; the boast varies) different kinds of cheese, and where a town of one thousand seven hundred people can contain (this is a real but typical example, from Beaujolais) three bakeries, a butcher, two grocers, a pharmacy, a jeweller's, two clothes shops, a flower shop, two hardware stores, a newsagent, two garages, several bars, two hotels and two restaurants, one of which is mentioned honourably in the Michelin guide. In Britain and North America, supermarkets and shopping malls would have closed most of them, while politicians spoke airily about the free market's great virtue of consumer choice.
But—reenter le malaise français—unemployment runs at 12.5 percent (double the British figure) and the centralized political and bureaucratic elites of Paris have become deeply unpopular and sometimes corrupt. And the nation state is now retreating throughout the world as a custodian of economies and cultures, abandoning its old remits to the capricious pressures of the global market. France has many phrases for this phenomenon—le capitalisme sauvage, le capitalisme dur (hard), le capitalisme Anglo-Saxon—and most of them could be heard in the elections of June this year, when France ditched its right-wing government and replaced it with an alliance of Socialists and Communists. On the face of it, the Left had capitalized on France's prevailing moods of sinistrose (dismalness) and morosité (gloom) by promising that the two great forces for change in French life could be resisted: that France needn't bow to Chinese wage rates or cut its public spending so that it could qualify for membership of the European Monetary Union. The Left pledged that it would create seven hundred thousand jobs, half of them funded by the state, and cut the statutory working week from forty to thirty-five hours with no reduction in earnings. In Britain, where Mrs. Thatcher expunged socialism from the politics of her Labour successors, there was mockery and also half a cheer.
France was being exceptional once again, struggling to preserve its cherished ideas of Frenchness. To the rest of the world, which has accepted globalism as an inevitability, the way things are and will be, it seemed as though its fourth-largest economy had recoiled in the face of modernity; that Fortress France was pulling up the drawbridge.
Where does French writing stand in all this The awkward truth here is that, outside France and small pockets of Francophilia, hardly anyone knows. Name six living French novelists. Name six contemporary French novels. The French, of course, blame this neglect on Anglo-Saxon ignorance and hostility, but the truth (our truth, at least) is that, in literature, France pulled up the drawbridge long ago. Saul Bellow, writing in Granta in 1984, remembered how Paris had been the capital of international culture before the Second World War and how, on his first visit in 1948, the city had still seemed "one of the permanent settings, a theatre if you like, where the greatest problems of existence might be represented." Thirty years later that feeling had gone. "Marxism, Euro-communism, Existentialism, Structuralism, Deconstructionism could not restore the potency of French civilization," Bellow wrote. "Sorry about that."
Today in France there are arguments about the purpose of writing and a movement to put the world back into the book; it hasn't escaped the French that the failure of French writing to sell abroad may have, to put it strictly in terms of the market, more to do with the producer than the consumer. Today a younger generation of writers is emerging which is more willing to look outward again. Many of these writers come from present or former French territories outside Europe, or are the children of migrants from those places. What their writing has in common is the desire to dramatize the deed rather than the thought, the story above the idea.
They reflect a France that is richer and more complicated than the beleaguered monolith of newspaper headlines, and which cannot be accommodated by old ideas of Frenchness, no matter what its government may say or do. France, we should never forget, has the largest Muslim community in Europe, between three and five million people, and Europe's largest Jewish community (about seven hundred thousand people) outside Russia. A third of France's population has ancestry from outside its borders.
Beneath the crust of its mythology, France has already changed. Why otherwise would Jean-Marie Le Pen and his anti-immigrant, anti-Europe, anti-American party, the National Front, exist And why in June would they have won 15 percent of the vote The real challenge to France is not the Anglo-Saxon world. It is to find a new and more plural identity, freed from the burden of glorious memory.
Table of ContentsIntroduction
France: The Outsider by Ian Jack
Dreyfus Is Decorated
La Poste and I by Barbara Wilde
The French, Rude? Mais Non! by Joseph Voelker
Recommended Reading
Foreword to John Russell's Paris by Rosamond Bernier
According to Plan—Maps of Paris by Catharine Reynolds
Why I Love My Quincaillerie by Barbara Wilde
Thirza's Take on Paris by Thirza Vallois
Proust's Paris by Sanche de Gramont
We'll Always Have…Questions by Ann Burack-Weiss
Recommended Reading
Interview: Patricia Wells
The New Left Bank by Alexander Lobrano
On the Île Saint-Louis by Herbert Gold
The Paris of Parisians by Catharine Reynolds
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A Saga of Bread by Naomi Barry
Liquid Gold by Susan Herrmann Loomis
The Anatomy of Success: Remi Flachard, International Specialist in Vintage Cookbooks by Naomi Barry
Why We Love French Wine by Peter Hellman
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Interview: Kermit Lynch
Interview: Ina Garten
A Clean, Well-Lighted Café in Montparnasse by Adair Lara
Counter Culture: The Success of Breaking the Rules by Naomi Barry
Thanksgiving in Paris by Laura Chamaret
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Interview: Alexander Lobrano
The Walls of Paris by Mary McAuliffe
Affordable Gothic Thrills by Anne Prah-Perochon
A Tale of Two Artists by Catharine Reynolds
Of Cobbles, Bikes, and Bobos by David Downie
Perfection Squared by André Aciman
Solar-Powered Timekeeping in Paris by Susan Allport
Station to Station by Barbara Dinerman
Streets of Desire by Vivian Thomas
Paint the Town by Paris Muse
Passages by Catharine Reynolds
The Secret Shops of the Palais Royal by Barbara Wilde
Recommended Reading
Bridging the Seine by Vivian Thomas
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The Master of the Machine by John Russell
The Message by Jeannette Ferrary
We'll Always Have Paris by Stacy Schiff
Le Père Tanguy by Henri Perruchot
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Customer Reviews
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Cornwall's Warm and Well Partnership has been shortlisted for the Local Government Chronicle Awards
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Associate Dentist - Devon (mixed role in predominantly private practice)
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INDONESIA: Indonesia to cut tariffs next year
The Indonesian government said it will cut import tariffs on vehicles to within the World Trade Organisation's targeted range next year. The cuts will be made two years ahead of the WTO's 2012 deadline, when MFN (Most Favoured Nation) rates are required to be no higher than 40%.
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In recent years, a special demand on the Ukrainian real estate market began to use the basement, or as treats Dictionary Ushakov – placed under the first floor, below ground level, which are used for different household purposes or for housing. Housing Code of Ukraine to the basement floor assigns the premises in which more than half their height is below ground level. In the modern suburban house-building basements in by rational use of building materials and land, are now becoming increasingly popular. It is not surprising, since in our days as an opportunity basement significant expansion of useful area of the house. The list of facilities that can accommodate it, amazes with its diversity. Field of interest can be located in the basement, for example, a garage, workshop, pumping station, engineering services and systems livelihood home – boiler room, water systems and water treatment, ventilation unit. In addition, owners of suburban property are often placed in the basement saunas, swimming pools, gyms, pool and other critical infrastructure.
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Search and compare thousands of words and phrases in British Sign Language (BSL). The largest collection online.
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