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When we talk about travelling, we are basically referring to it as the experience that one finds in seeing and exploring a new part of the world that had been oblivious to us. This experience simply evokes the feeling of joy and curiosity of a person and makes him happy. The eternal concept behind the idea of traveling is thereby the ecstatic experience that we feel from it.
Hong Kong is one of such places that gets a mention amongst every travelers best seen places. This is due to the extemporaneous and enigmatic sights that feel satisfying to any traveller's eyes. We will be discussing some the most beautiful sights of Hong Kong which will compel you to visit the city. In case you do plan a trip, book your tour using these Klook Promo Code to get awesome deals and discounts and save a lot of bucks to spend without compromising on luxuries during the trip.
The Gigantic Skyline
The first thing that will strike your mind after you will enter the city is its tall and vivacious skyline. The infrastructure of Hong Kong is one of the best in the world if not the best. Arguably, it is also one of the most well developed urban hubs of Asia. The city is completely enjoyable just as you walk by the streets looking around your surroundings from your miniature eyes. The average height of infrastructures constructed over here is under restriction or otherwise, you could bet that it wouldn't have stopped until it would have escaped right through to the moon.
The Disneyland
Once in our lives, we all have been fans of disney's cartoon characters such the Mickey Mouse and Daffy Duck, didn't we? The Disneyland is a place that will restore your memory lanes to those childhood days that we all miss after we grew up. The overall designing of the park along with the entire structure, signboards, the slides and fun rides and all that you could find, is taken right out of those cartoon series and placed at one place. The best part is, there are replica artists roaming around in the park who are in the exactly the same bodysuits of disney characters.
The Virtual Experience of Sea
There is another famous amusement park called The Ocean's Park that is not just known for its amusement rides but also the informative and relevant presentation of the history, plants and wildlife. The park has an under tunnel aquarium that goes right under the water through a glass chamber. From this chamber, you get a complete 360 degree view of the ocean surrounding you. There are many fish flowing in this humongous pool where you would get to see even a few very big fishes coming right at you. The experience can become thrilling if you start wondering, well you never what happens next and if the Glass breaks! That would be really scary.
The Victoria Peak
I used to wonder as a kid that if I could ever reach at a place on certain height from where I could just sit back and relax while watching my city and its people running around in their busy crazy lives. Well, my city never offered me any such place but Hong Kong has been blessed enough to get one. The Victoria Peak is at such a Height that you would easily get to see the whole city right in front of your eyes just as I used to wish as a Child. The spot is a famous picnic spot and even the locals love to take a day off from their busy life to spend on this beautiful hill top and enjoy a cooler environment amidst the hot and humid condition of the city.


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I've just noticed that I installed clustermaps 1 year ago. In that time this site has received over 17,000 hits. If only 1 in 10 of those actually represented somebody reading something I've posted, that's still more people than I've preached to in person in the past 12 months!
So thanks for dropping in, next time, bring a friend.

subset: commoncrawl


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Dying Light has been pushed to 2015 according to developer Techland.
In an announcement on the official Dying Light site, the team broke the news saying they are looking to innovate further.
"When we started the development of Dying Light, we were committed to innovation. We wanted to give you a freedom of movement unprecedented in open world games. After many improvements and months of hard work, we have now come so close to realizing our initial vision we feel we cannot stop before it is ready." They continued saying, "This quality-focused thinking underlines all our development choices and we hope you share our belief that the gameplay must always come first."
Dying Light was originally scheduled to release later this year by the team responsible for Dead Island and the upcoming Hellraid.


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Long time readers of this blog know that there's four things I'm passionate about: adventure, exploration, knowledge, and sharing that knowledge. If you've ever read, or seen this blog, you've heard me beat the drum about how adventure can be found anywhere numerous times, and the importance of exploration. If you haven't, a sampling of those posts can be found here, and here. As for the latter two topics, if you know me, you know that I strongly believe there's something to learn every day; and life's too short to stop learning. I started this blog in part, because I felt that I had a lot of knowledge to share, and I wanted to provide that knowledge and my experiences to the outdoor community. To me, this blog was an extension of what I had been doing my whole life – talking to people on the trail, the mountain, or around the fire about what I knew, how I knew it, and also listening to what others had to say about what they knew, how they knew it, and where I could go.
Several years later, one of the things I still like the best about blogging is the sharing of knowledge and the community interactions. It's through these community interactions that I met Matt Mills, my co-host on In Ice Axe We Trust ("IIAWT"), and if you want to hear me expound awkwardly about the sharing of knowledge, I suggest you listen here. These interactions are also how I met tomorrow's guest blogger, Terry Tyson. I think that these interactions; this sharing of knowledge makes our community stronger; better; faster; and most importantly – smarter. So, as you read this post – and tomorrow's post, written graciously by Terry, I'd suggest taking a minute to think about two things: 1) what can you do to make the community stronger – whether its retweeting a post, or offering to write for a blog you like because you've got great tips for them, or something else. After all, the pool of knowledge isn't a secret isolated pond – it's a massive body of water that's fed by many streams. As for the second, as always, do what you can to help the environment, as always, because it always needs your help.
Before I get off my soapbox, let me introduce Terry Tyson – the man, the myth, and the legend. One of the last true magicians, a mentalist, a hiker, and many things more that I don't even know to promote. One of the things I can promote is his blog HERE, and I'll also disclose that I've known Terry for a while, and he always has something erudite to say – or some great photos to share. A couple weeks ago, after I wrote my post complaining about unprepared winter hikers, he mentioned that he had a story about unprepared people who offered to lead other people on hikes. We fell to discussing the matter, as friends do, and the end result is the article you'll see tomorrow about an experience Terry had with friends in the Superstition Mountains with a party who was not prepared – nor experienced enough to guide others.
Terry's been gracious enough to give me editorial control over his article, which I didn't need, and has also offered me the final word, which I also didn't need. Personally, I think the article speaks for itself and is Terry in Terry's own words, telling a cautionary tale with a simple lesson: be sure you know the people you are hiking with. As I've discussed, and as Terry will talk about, the outdoors is a dangerous place; and when you go out with third parties, you need to be sure that they are representing the conditions and route correctly, not just for them but for you, and any people you may bring with you. In this respect, I'll offer you a simple analogy: guiding is like singing. Everyone thinks they can do it, but few can. Like being prepared for winter hiking, you have to be prepared for anything when hiking with new parties, including being prepared for any deficiencies the "guide" or "friend" may have. This is not to say you should never hike with an unknown party or "guide", but merely that you should be prepared for what could happen in the worst case scenario; and be hopeful for a best case scenario. In any case, Terry's article is great, and I hope you enjoy reading it tomorrow when I put it up!


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I often feel that it's my responsibility as an early educator to combat the barrage of music children are exposed to. Nothing against the pop stars that our kindergartners adore, but listening to such pop music is not going to help them develop and strengthen their musical abilities. Not that I think there's anything inherently wrong in young children listening to pop music, it's just that I feel it's the job of the educator to be aware of what kind of music should be incorporated into the classroom.
Appropriate Music for Young Children
The most appropriate music for young children is unaccompanied. When you sing with children without the distraction of an accompaniment they are better able to hear your voice and their own and make necessary adjustments in order to match pitch. If an accompaniment is needed it should be a simple one. The guitar is actually a better instrument than the piano for a young child to sing along with (and it's easier to learn how to play).
-Music for children should be free of embellishment. It drives me crazy when I buy a CD of music for children and the singer slides around from note to note and adds unnecessary flourishes. Young children are still learning how to match pitch. Embellishments are distracting and confusing.
-Children's music should be played slowly. Music with a fast tempo is fun for dancing, but when children are learning to sing, they need to be able to hear each note clearly. When singing with children, slow down and let them hear each individual pitch.
-Appropriate music is of an appropriate range. There is research that has determined what that range is, but I hesitate to post that here because I have noticed a great variety in children's abilities. Some children have command of a whole octave and some have trouble moving up and down in a two note song. So here's my suggestion: don't use songs with a large range for whole class--keep the songs simple and the variety of notes small--for individual children, sing songs in which they can match almost but not all of the notes, thus expanding their range without going to far outside of what they can do.
Musical Exercises for Children
The two major areas for growth in children are: matching rhythm and matching pitch. Here are two exercises to practice both.
Clap out a small rhythmic beat and ask the children to copy you exactly. For example: tah, tah, tee tee, tah. This is a fun and easy exercise that doubles as a classroom transition.
Hold your hand out in front of you and have the children do the same. Tell them that their hand is a car on a roller coaster. Sing a note and have the children match your pitch, move your hand up and down like you're going over bumps on a roller coaster and make your pitch match the up and down motion. Have the children copy your hand movements while matching pitch. This same exercise can be done by moving the body up and down while changing pitch. Both exercises give the children a visual cue of what the voice is doing.
Artists I Love
There are many appropriate musicians that support the foundational growth of young children. I love, love Nancy Stewart, Jim Gill, and Dr. Jean. These artists understand young children!
The Wizard of Oz, that is available below or at our TPT store is a great way to add the joy of music into your children's life.


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Producer Sir George Martin, dubbed "The Fifth Beatle" for his work with the legendary UK band, has reportedly died aged 90.
The Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr yesterday posted a series of tributes to the producer on Twitter, sending his thoughts to Sir George's family.
He was considered the most successful music producer ever, cited in the Guinness Book of Records for having more than 50 No. 1 hit records over five decades in the US and United Kingdom alone.
A statement from Martin's family confirmed he had died peacefully at his home on Tuesday evening.
Martin served as producer, collaborator and mentor to Beatles John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
"I'm so sad to hear the news of the passing of dear George Martin," McCartney said in a statement on Wednesday.
"If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George."
Tributes from the UK and music world poured in on social media.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said on Twitter: "George Martin was a giant of music - working with the Fab Four to create the world's most enduring pop music."
Sean Ono, John Lennon's son with Yoko Ono, posted a picture of Martin on Instagram, with the caption: "R.I.P. George Martin. I'm so gutted I don't have many words."
Singer and composer Quincy Jones praised "my musical brother".
"We were friends since 1964, and I am so thankful for that gift," Jones said.
"Bless you and your precious posse forever."
Lenny Kravitz said: "The legends are really going home!"
Boy George said: "George Martin. Gentleman and legend", while Mark Ronson said Martin was "the greatest British record producer of all time".
During his six-decade career in the music industry, Martin produced almost all of the Beatles' recordings and also worked with Gerry & the Pacemakers, Jeff Beck, America, Cheap Trick and other acts.
Martin started producing records for EMI's Parlophone label in 1950.
He was noted for his comedy recordings with the likes of Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Beyond the Fringe and got his first No. 1 with The Temperance Seven in 1961.
He signed The Beatles in 1962.
The young band members were rough around the edges, but Martin saw their commercial promise and with them helped revolutionise the art of popular music recording.
Over the coming years, he helped score, arrange, and produce many of the band's biggest hits, including Yesterday, Eleanor Rigby and Love Me Do.
His 1979 autobiography, All You Need Is Ears, chronicles his discovery of the Beatles and their creative process.
Martin was knighted in 1996.
In 2006, working with his son, Giles Martin, he helped develop the Beatles-inspired Cirque du Soleil show Love in Las Vegas, which went on to reap his two most recent Grammys.
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2019


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Check out this video clip from Bishops interview on Home Grown Radio with Real 92.3's Chuck Dizzle, Dj Hed and Bliss. This one was long overdue but the timing couldn't be better as Bishop Lamont discusses everything leading up to his departure from Aftermath, the current relationship he now has with Dr. Dre, and the process of creating "The Reformation" over the past 8 years.
Listen to the full interview below:


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About us
Sanzaru is an independent video game development studio experienced in delivering exciting, fun to play, visually stunning and technically spectacular games on a breadth of platforms. We foster and cultivate an environment of creativity, experimentation and push the boundaries of technology to develop unique and amazing game experiences.
March 21, 2019
GDC 2019: Asgard's Wrath's Bloody Combat Made Me Feel Like A Badass Gladiator
I think it's when I realized I was smiling in the middle of decapitating my enemy, showering my virtual face in blood and eyeballs as his head floated by in slow-motion...Read more
February 5, 2019
Asgard's Wrath Is Virtual Reality's Promising New Step
In this month's issue, we have the first hands-on preview of Asgard's Wrath, the newest game from Sly Cooper 4 developers at Sanzaru Games.Read more


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Hello guys! Today is a very happy day for me: it`s my birthdayyyyyyyy! Yaps! I`m 20 🙂 My friends made me a big surprise and bought balloons with the text "today is my birthday" in Romanian. I am so happy and so blessed to have such great people surrounding me! I had an early birthday party last weekend in my hometown Sibiu and this weekend there will be another party here in Cluj Napoca. I am so excited about it. Even though I have so much to study because examination period has already started, I am looking forward to have some fun this Friday. My boyfriend isn`t here with me and that makes me a little sad but I can`t wait to see him in three days. He bought me a Nici sheep, the toy I wanted for quite some time. I got a lot of great gifts for my birthday and I am so lucky to have such great friends, always there when I need them no matter if we are talking about happy things like parties or sad things. I can always count on them.
Here are some friendship quotes I found while navigating on the internet:
Pictures taken today: 3rd June 2014


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For the past two months, motorists on the 57 freeway see hundreds of stuffed black trash bags on the Santa Ana River bank between Orangewood and Chapman avenues – stacked in large piles and covered in black tarps.
Contained in that make-shift storage yard is a mountain of detritus and stuff – mattresses, clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, propane tanks, among other things – left-behind by the inhabitants of the enormous homeless encampment when it was dispersed. The radical souls at the ACLU secured a temporary restraining order forcing the County of Orange to send work crews to collect, bag it, tag it and store it for 90-days within 15-minutes walking distance of those to whom all this stuff ostensibly belonged. The County even pays for security to watch the stored mass of abandoned belongings.
"They need to pack and tag it and store it," ACLU homeless policy analyst Eve Garrow told the OC Register.
The 90-day clock on the TRO runs out on May 24. Suspecting no one has claimed a single scrap of stored stuff, OC Daily contacted the County of Orange about it.
"We have had no calls or requests to reclaim property from the storage area associated with the east side project area," was the response from County PIO Carrie Braun.
Should we be surprised? After all, this is stuff the homeless people living on that stretch of the Santa Ana River didn't want. They left it behind when they moved across the river. Does it make any sense to force taxpayers to pay to store and guard a stockpile of rubbish that the homeless didn't want? One expects that type of progressive insanity from the ACLU, but a federal judge like David O. Carter – who issued the TRO at the ACLU's behest – ought to have more sense.
In the meantime, for three more weeks, Orange County taxpayers will continue footing the bill to store and guard a giant repository of junk nobody wants. It's an obviously absurd situation, it has the force of law and the ACLU – having momentarily satisfied the demands of its ideological id – could care less. It's a farce, like so much that passes for policy from progressive homeless advocates.
When Judge Carter granted to ACLU's TRO request, the radical advocacy group's Garrow told the OC Register: "There's no deadline for considering everything trash." It would seem the homeless themselves have effectively deemed that deadline come and gone, since none of them have tried to get any of this junk back.


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Subscribe To Jackie Brown Prequel Switch Gains Isla Fisher, Loses Dennis Quaid Updates
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It was impressive how fast Switch, the upcoming prequel to Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, was moving through development earlier this year. In February it was revealed that an adaptation of the Elmore Leonard book was in development and that John Hawkes and Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) had been cast to play younger versions of Louis Gara and Ordell Robbie, the characters played by Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson in the 1997 movie. It kept going on the fast track for a couple more weeks as it was reported that Ty Burrell, Jennifer Aniston and Dennis Quaid were up for parts and then...nothing. We haven't reported specifically about the project since February 16th - but now it looks like it's picking up steam again.
Isla Fisher is now negotiating for a role in Switch, according to Variety. The actress, who voices a character in the upcoming DreamWorks Animation film Rise of the Guardians, will be playing the role of Melanie, the same character Bridget Fonda played in Jackie Brown. It's a strange casting choice given that the story of this film is set 15 years before the events of Tarantino's film and yet Fisher is actually older that Fonda was at the time that movie was being shot. Do you think Fisher can pass for a 19 year old?
The movie is been written and directed by Dan Schechter and sees Ordell and Louis become involved in a plot to kidnap a real estate developer's wife (Aniston). When the husband refuses to pay, however, the wife and the criminals devise a plan to get revenge. Much like how the character was in Jackie Brown, Melanie will be a side character in Switch who tries to use the criminal dealings around her to her advantage. Burrell is still attached to play "a witness to Aniston's kidnapping" who has long been in love with her from a far, but Quaid has been forced out of the project due to his committments to his new television series Vegas.
Production on the movie is looking to start up in February.


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Photography Classes in Daggett MI
Looking for photography classes in Daggett MI? No matter if you are a professional, beginner, or hobbyist, the best approach to improving your photography abilities is through hands-on training with professional instructors.
There are many accredited and recognized photography schools in Michigan. Photography classes teach topics like lighting techniques, digital capture, outdoor photography, exposure, composition, and many other basic and advanced camera techniques. Maturing into an experienced photographer can pave the road to a prosperous professional career or lifelong hobby.
There are many Photography Classes in Daggett MI:
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Daggett MI Photography Classes
Concordia University-Wisconsin
12800 N Lake Shore Dr
Mequon, Wisconsin 53097-2402
Phone: (262) 243-5700
157.79 miles away
Ferris State University
1201 S State St
Big Rapids, Michigan 49307-2251
Phone: (231) 591-2000
164.76 miles away
Cardinal Stritch University
6801 N Yates Rd
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53217-3985
Phone: (414) 410-4000
165.33 miles away
Milwaukee Area Technical College
700 W State St
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233-1443
Phone: (414) 297-6370
172.13 miles away
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
273 E Erie St
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202-6003
Phone: (414) 847-3200
172.88 miles away
Carroll University
100 N East Ave
Waukesha, Wisconsin 53186
Phone: (262) 547-1211
176.83 miles away
Madison Area Technical College
3550 Anderson St
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Phone: (608) 246-6100
186.48 miles away
Madison Media Institute
2702 Agriculture Drive
Madison, Wisconsin 53718
Phone: (608) 663-2000
189.52 miles away
Central Michigan University
106 Warriner Hall
Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859
Phone: (989) 774-4000
193.30 miles away
Grand Valley State University
1 Campus Dr
Allendale, Michigan 49401-9403
Phone: (616) 331-2020
196.62 miles away


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Acer's Nitro 5 laptop is designed for the casual gamer who feels lucky. This person may not game often, and may never have tinkered with a PC's cooling system (as many seasoned gamers have) to get maximum power without singeing precious CPUs or GPUs. But the Nitro 5, introduced Thursday at an Acer event in New York, will let these casual gamers adjust the fan speed themselves, giving them an unprecedented amount of control over delicate thermals.
Acer offered just a few tantalizing details on the Nitro 5, which is due to ship in July, but the company emphasized the target audience: the growing number of casual gamers. These users won't shell out for the huge, expensive Predator 21 X, but they still want good gaming performance. Acer says the Nitro 5 is carefully balanced to give them exactly what they need: "all of the really important, necessary features without going too far overboard," said Acer.
Those features include "Kaby Lake" Intel Core CPUs (no further specifics on which ones) and discrete Nvidia GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti graphics. The GTX 1050 will be offered in 2GB and 4GB options. Storage will be PCIe SSD. A Dolby Audio Premium sound system promises something better than tinny laptop sound.
The most intriguing feature of this laptop, however, is a new thermal solution called Acer CoolBoost. This technology will let the user adjust the rpm-speed of the laptop's fans. "You can control that process," Chen said.
We're assuming Acer is building in some level of restraint to prevent reckless users who don't know any better from, say, turning off all the fans and toasting their hardware. Still, anyone familiar with PC thermals is probably looking a bit askance at this, as if you were letting someone run with scissors. Or maybe it's annoying that hardcore gamers had to walk uphill both ways to adjust the fans on their PC, and now amateurs get a free ride. We'll certainly be interested to see how this works.


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Today I spent some time working on a relatively complex virtual machine setup (private domain + App-V server + App-V sequencing virtual machine + SCCM + SCOM). I had this all running on Hyper-V configured on a server core computer off in another room – and I was managing it from my Vista desktop.
The problem was that after an hour or so the performance of the virtual machines went down the drain. Windows were sluggish, simple operations were taking minutes, etc… I immediately started reviewing my configuration. I had created all of my virtual machines as dual-processor virtual machines, but as this was a quad core system it should be able to handle that fine. I was running the system a little tight on memory – but not so tight that it should be causing the sort of problems I was seeing.
I checked out performance counters – and got a lot of odd readings – but nothing that pointed to an obvious problem. So taking a stab in the dark, I recalled that I had recently changed the hard disk controller that was being used for my system disk – and decided to try moving it back to see if that changed anything.
I powered the system down remotely, grabbed my screw driver and tottered off to go and tweak the hardware. After a minute with the hardware the real problem became immediately obvious. A loose power cord had wedged itself into the CPU fan, and the CPU was running at ~10% capacity in an attempt to stop the whole computer from going up in smoke.
Once the cable was removed (and secured well away from the CPU fan) performance immediately returned to normal.
Now I just need to figure out how to get SCOM to monitor for hardware events so I can be notified about this kind of stuff in the future – without needing to do all the trouble-shooting ahead of time.


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Morning all,
I had a brilliant weekend at Dare 2 Create this weekend gone, with Andy Skinner and Tracy Weinzapfel Stratton, and the fab Tando Creative Ltd. It has taken a couple of days to recover! I was demonstrating on the Saturday evening, and I had some ideas floating in the grey matter, to try a crackle on the back of an acrylic piece. Bearing in mind painting on acrylic works backwards, it took some working out, and hope that it wouldn't crackle all the layers.
Here is a full tutorial, and pictures of some of the pieces I have made since.
The Acrylic has a protective layer both sides. I remove just one side to work on, and leave the other for protection on my work surface. Stamp an image on to the acrylic using Carbon Black Fluid Media Acrylic. You do have to be careful not to let the stamp slip, but the bonus with acrylic is that you can wipe off any mistakes while still wet. Spread the paint thinly on your craft mat to stamp with.
Choose a paint colour, and colour in behind the heart, (always on the same side as your stamping), going over the black stamping as well (this will still show through in places).
When dry, colour in the missing parts of the heart, I used Venetian gold here. You could colour the whole heart in, some of the gold would still show through the first layer of magenta.
Cover the whole heart in a layer of black, this seals the front colours, and stops light getting through further. It also makes the black stamping clearer from the front.
Apply the Crackle Medium to the acrylic. I went around the edge of the heart, but you can go right over, it won't crackle normal acrylic, or what's underneath it, just what you put on top. This crackle only works with the chalk paints.
Once completely dry, paint over with your chosen colour of chalk paint and let dry.
The final step is to paint behind the cracks in a contrasting colour.
Then it's time for the final reveal, just peel back the acrylic from the other side and admire your artwork.
Hope it inspires you to have a go.
Best Wishes,
Products Used:
Tando Creative Acrylic Cubbie Pieces/Media boards.
Andy Skinner/Stampendous/Laurel Burch Stamps.
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics.
DecoArt Chalk Crackle.
DecoArt Chalk paints.
DecoArt Dazzling Metallics.


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What better way to hold a special event than at our beautiful Vineyard, with stunning views across the vines and rolling fields. We can hold events for weddings, parties corporate events etc.
With space to host between 10 and 120 guests we can offer bespoke events tailored to your needs.
Whatever the occasion, we will work with you to make your experience special.


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I've Never Lived in a Stolen Home. Maybe Leaving It Is Harder
Monday, February 6, 2017 at 11:22PM
From Umm al-Hiran to Amona, the comparison shrieked to the skies: apartheid police. One police for whites and one police for natives.
by Gideon Levy 3 February 2017 Haaretz
Pro-settlement activists scuffle with Israeli police during an operation by Israeli police to evict residents from Israeli settler outpost of Amona in the occupied West Bank February 1, 2017. RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS
Once, I moved house. It was sad. It was sad to part from the walls and the memories. The sorrow passed. I got over it. I am not alone: A lot of people have moved home, some because they wanted to, others not: because of a contract that expired, a relationship that fell apart or a new job.
It's always sad to leave home, though not every such departure features (ostensibly) heart-wrenching articles, phony assertions, utterly incredible cries for national compassion and scandalous compensation. It doesn't always take eight Israeli army battalions and 3,000 policemen to move a person from what had been his home.
On second thought, I've never lived in a stolen home. Maybe leaving it is harder.
On Wednesday the Amona Show arrived at its last act. More than anything else, the illegal outpost's evacuation proved how racist the Israeli police are. It seems that people can be evacuated using bare hands, without need for rifles or helmets, without truncheons and mainly, without the discourtesy and penchant for violence that the police and border police have demonstrated when facing the weak, Arabs or Ethiopians. Suddenly the demonstrators are not shot with live fire. It was not the police who swept into Amona, but "Salvation Army" soldiers in blue jackets with an Israeli flag sewn to the sleeve.
Why? Because the evacuees are white Jews, representatives of the most privileged, most powerful group in Israeli society. Because the chief of police hails from the same neighborhood. Because the government didn't want heart-rending pictures to start making the rounds.
Bedouin women react to the destruction of houses on January 18, 2017 in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran, which is not recognized by the Israeli government, near Beersheba. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP
From Umm al-Hiran to Amona, the comparison shrieked to the skies: apartheid police. One police for whites and one police for natives. It can no longer be denied.
Israeli police mobilise on the second day of an operation to evict residents from the West Bank settler outpost of Amona where hardline settlers are barricading themselves on February 2, 2017.THOMAS COEX/AFP
The evacuation of Amona proceeded after foreplay that dragged on and on, including the usual repertoire of schticks, featuring endless hearings in the High Court of Justice, sitting as an especially incongruous Purim-costumed version of a state with justice and equality before the law, including the justices playing dumb, the young girls in braids and tears, the young mothers with babies, the guitars, the prayers, candles and all that tired jazz. The cries of "wickedness" and "discrimination" and "Citizens type B," the little girl asking her mother, in front of rolling cameras of course, "Mommy, will we have somewhere to live?" as though she didn't know the answer.
The army that cordons off the area but allows hundreds of youngsters to freely infiltrate, barricading themselves inside homes while vowing to eschew violence; the soldiers demonstrating their sensitivity as they prepare for action – any moment now they'll be bursting into tears; the nauseating headlines – "This was my home," "The final hours"; the Palestinian landowners for whose benefit this show has been put on, who will never be allowed to get anywhere near their land, now evacuated; the childish name chosen for this mission – "Locked kindergarten" [from the song based on Rachel's poem, "It's not nice to see the kindergarten locked"] – how very poetic and moving. And, of course, the appropriate Zionist reaction, without which no eviction could possibly proceed – build another 1,000 housing units, and counting.
The music never stops – until it does, and the Amona Show is going to be the last one. The eviction season is over. The pretending is over. Barring something unexpected happening in Washington, we can forget this theater of the absurd, this evacuation sample, in which – for a moment there – Israel wraps itself in the image of a state of law and order, moves out a handful of settlers who occupied land "illegally" – bad lot, those settlers – as though there was a single settlement in the land that conducted itself legally, and in their stead is instating another thousand people on land that is just as stolen. But now annexation is approaching, the arrangement is nigh, the masked ball is winding down, and following it will come the hangover of the settlers' triumph.
Few Israelis have ever visited Amona. Most have no idea where it is. Presumably, few care about its fate. Even after all the tear-jerking, Amona did not touch the hearts of the secular community. Yet ironically it is Amona where the independence of the state of settlers has been declared. It is this inane eviction that attests to their grand victory. There will be no more Amonas. It was the National Theater's last show.
Gideon Levy
Haaretz Correspondent
Analysis Demolition of Bedouin Town Destroyed Israeli Arabs' Faith in State
The situation really worries the 1.5 million citizens determined to remain on their lands and in their homeland. But it should be of no less concern to anyone who seeks to live a normal life in the State of Israel.
by Jack Khoury 19 January 2017 Haaretz
Arab Israeli lawmaker from the Joint Arab List, Ayman Odeh (front row C), wounded during clashes, stands with other Arab Israeli politicians in Umm Al-Hiran, a Bedouin village in Israel's southern Neg AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS
The announcement by Israel's Higher Arab Monitoring Committee of actions it is planning in response to the demolitions in Umm al-Hiran Wednesday and the killing of Yakub Abu al-Kiyan was expected, the intended measure familiar from previous incidents — general strikes in Arab communities, a march in Wadi Ara and a convoy from Kalansua to the Knesset. It is the announcement's last two, additional items that point to the depth of the crisis between Israel's Arab community and state institutions.
The first is a call for schools to devote the first two hours of classes today to a discussion about the incident in Umm al-Hiran, the demolition of homes in Kalansua last week and the housing crisis in the country's Arab communities. The second calls on the international community to provide protection to Israel's Arab minority in the face of what the committee calls "the increased aggression of state institutions against Arab citizens at the clear instruction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with the support of his government."
Residents prevented from entering the village of Umm al Hiran, January 18, 2017. Eliyahu Hershkovitz
It's hard to estimate how many principals and teachers who are governed by the Education Ministry, which is headed by Naftali Bennett, will respond to the committee's initiative and how many will dare allow themselves and their students to conduct a deep and serious discussion of these burning issues.
Violent clashes between police forces and residents in Umm al-Hiran, January 18, 2017
The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee was responsive to the criticism in Arab society of the decision to suspend classes following the demolitions in Kalansua. This time, rather than send the students to the streets and perhaps endanger them in superfluous clashes, the committee changed its approach. This time they will teach how the government of Israel and its prime minister, under pressure from the education minister, worked tirelessly to find a solution, in the name of the law, for the land thieves in Amona, but in Umm al-Hiran and Kalansua chose to demolish and destroy, in the name of the same law. This is food for thought for Arab society's next generation, a lesson in the state's attitude to one-fifth of its citizens, who are shoved to the margins just because they are Arabs.
Nor does anyone believe that the call to the world will be effective, certainly not in the near term. The United Nations, the European Union, Russian President Vladmir Putin or even the symbol of the new era, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, are not going to bring salvation. But this call expresses the clear lack of confidence the Arabs have in those meant to be responsible for protecting them as citizens — the government, the Knesset, the Supreme Court and the media. Even the hope that some had pinned on peace groups and nonprofits that advocate for coexistence has been dashed under the bulldozers' treads.
This situation really worries the 1.5 million citizens determined to remain on their lands and in their homeland, both the parents who don't want their children to take to the streets, and young people who aspire to integrate. But it should be of no less concern to anyone who calls himself a democrat and a liberal, and who seeks to live a normal life in the State of Israel.
This week there was a lot of talk of the campaign by former generals trying to scare people with the threat of an Arab majority by calling for separation from the Palestinians to preserve the character of the state. Given the events of the past several days, it seems that in the Netanyahu era, the battle is not for the state's character, but for its sanity.
Jack Khoury
Haaretz Correspondent
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The paper "Autonomous e-coaching in the wild: Empirical validation of a model-based reasoning system" by Bart Kamphorst (UU), Michel Klein (VU) and Arlette van Wissen (VU) (equal contribution) has been accepted for publication in the proceedings of the 13h International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS'14), 2014. (To appear.)
The paper presents a monthlong empirical validation study of the eMate e-coaching system, in which eMate's reasoning mechanism is evaluated for its accuracy and its ability to promote behavior change. Results show that eMate (i) identifies and accurately targets the problematic constructs for an individual and (ii) positively affects aspects of behavior change through tailored interventions.
Update: The paper is now available here.


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Workshops at our Materials Center
- Aug 26, 2019 "Emergent Curriculum for Beginners" with Yeshnaya Dougherty Aug 26, 2019
- Aug 26, 2019 "Provocations Workshop" with Yeshnaya Dougherty Aug 26, 2019
- Apr 3, 2019 "Clay in The Classroom" with Mollie McQuarrie Apr 3, 2019
- Feb 12, 2019 "Math Workshop" with Frances Stern Feb 12, 2019
- Jan 18, 2019 "Literacy Workshop" with Jennifer Carvajal Jan 18, 2019
- Oct 29, 2018 "An Introduction to Working with Materials" with Wendy Gelsanliter Oct 29, 2018
- Oct 1, 2018 "ADVANCED Emergent Curriculum & Documentation" with Yeshnaya Dougherty Oct 1, 2018
- Sep 4, 2018 "Intro to Emergent Curriculum & Documentation: Structures, Strategies and Systems For Your Early Childhood Classroom" with Yeshnaya Dougherty Sep 4, 2018
Teaching Beyond the Square is excited to partner with Danielle Ash in our Materials Center Workshop series, where we will combine found materials, technology, narrative and early childhood to create stop motion animation.
"Telling Stories with Materials Using Stop Motion Animation"
with Danielle Ash
Sunday, December 3rd 11:00AM – 1:00PM
The Materials Center
197 East Broadway, Studio A
Everyday, mundane materials become activated by children's ideas, and oftentimes become players in children's narratives. Teaching Beyond the Square is excited to partner with Danielle Ash, an animation artist and educator, who will share her expertise in this workshop where we will learn how to make materials come to life using stop motion animation so that narratives can take a form in a very different way. Designed with teachers and parents in mind, we will learn how to utilize simple technology such as smartphones, tablets and digital cameras in a constructive and active way, and learn about the beginning to end about this dynamic, creative process.
Danielle Ash is a Brooklyn based, experimental animator of all things, from cardboard pickles to pinlight lanterns. Using mostly recycled materials and a tactile, hand-made style to inspire her works, her stop-motion films are a combination of miniature toy worlds and giant cardboard cities. Recently creating animated shorts for Sesame Street, Jack Daniel's and Rit Dye, she has been on several award-winning teams as an animator for educational entertainment, an art director for virtual reality experiences, and as a sound designer for short films and cartoon series. From live theater to film festivals to the classroom, Danielle keeps busy as a teaching artist in NYC, bringing her creative re-use of found materials, animation and digital media, to students of all ages.
Sunday, December 3rd 11:00AM – 1:00PM
The Materials Center
197 East Broadway, Studio A
Workshop fee, includes a 10lb bag of materials to take home:
$35 non-members, $20 members
Number of participants: 20


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Ian E. Browning (Senior Associate)
Ian has successfully represented clients in a wide range of complex commercial matters, including antitrust, securities litigation, corporate fraud, and arbitration (domestic and international). Ian also has extensive experience conducting internal and regulatory investigations.
Before joining Alto Litigation, Ian was a litigator at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP (in London and New York) and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP.
Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley
Board Member, Berkeley Journal of International Law
Co-Chair, International Law Society
Member of Entertainment Law and Negotiation Moot Court Teams (2006-2008)
University of Pennsylvania
(B.A., magna cum laude, 2005)
Benjamin Franklin Scholar
Complex Commercial Litigation
Securities Litigation
Government Investigations
"Saipem S.p.A. v. The People's Republic of Bangladesh: ICSID Restrains a Judiciary Run Amok," New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer, International Section, Vol. 3 No. 1 (Spring 2010)
"Second Circuit Vacates Judge Rakoff's Decision Refusing to Approve Citigroup's 'Neither Admit nor Deny' Settlement with the SEC and Clarifies Standard for Evaluating Consent Decrees in Favor of Pragmatism," Financial Fraud Law Report, LexisNexis A.S. Pratt (July/August 2014)
Member, State Bar of California
Member, State Bar of New York
Admissions: United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the Northern District of California; Second Circuit Court of Appeals


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Some months ago I posted here about a conversation I had with my doctoral adviser and his efforts to broaden the horizons of Ph.D. students past the academy. That discussion led to the interview that sparked this article in the Chronicle of Higher Education: "Teaching Ph.D.'s How to Reach Out" http://chronicle.com/article/Teaching-PhDs-How-to-Reach/131776/ I'm sharing it here because Dr. Cassuto makes a point that we should be thinking about. Speaking from the academy, he says they spend too little time (or no time) thinking about K-12 education, even though those students are their future. But, in turn, what links do we as authors, artists, designers, editors, reviewers, librarians, teachers, have with them? Sure teachers go to Ed School and librarians have their Masters. But I mean ongoing contact — from the forefronts of thinking and knowledge to the classroom?
As authors we make individual contacts — we email professor X whose work on whatever we are researching is fascinating, hoping for an extra touch of personal observation to add texture to our books. And of course many of us trawl the Science Times and other publications for the latest discovery that might make a good subject for a book. But that is not what I mean. The academy, I have come to learn now that I am at Rutgers, is built on research; research runs on grants. That means every department is filled with smart people with specialized knowledge thinking up new ways of gaining knowledge, new insights, new theories, new modes of measurement. The buzz of intellectual activity and informed creativity is ongoing, even as we all think about how to excite students about knowledge, about history, math, science. How can we connect the two — there are shows like Mythbusters that are a kind of popular culture Reality TV version of science, and Bill Nye, and History Channel. But that is just one strand.
What if there were some forum, the Davos of Education, where academics and K-12 folks would meet and swap ideas and experiences. No agenda, no conference papers, no forms to fill out. Just meet, talk, learn, and build connections. In the article I suggest that grad students take a class in Communication, but what if all of us needed to take a class, every few years, in New Ideas from the Front? The Teaching American History program, which Congress killed in budget cuts, was a version of this for American History. Is there an expanded version of that which we could recreate — maybe online to save cost? Ideas?


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The annual Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF) pitching FORUM for children's and youth film projects will take place from October 18-19 in the Latvian capital Riga.
The compact two day event will feature a pitching session, accompanied by one-to-one meetings with sales agents, distributors, TV and VOD platform representatives as well as potential co-producers. Aside from the pitching session, RIGA IFF will also be exploring the borders between the worlds of cinema, featuring a set of seminars dedicated to various aspects of storytelling and craftsmanship in VR.
Not confining itself to discussing the use of VR in children's content, RIGA IFF goes an extra step this year and with the support of the interactive media production company Story Hub and the start-up community holders Riga Tech Hub, is launching a hackathon - an idea incubator, that will team up cinematic storytellers with talented Baltic VR developers, in order to create prototypes of their ideas of educational content for children and youth in the virtual reality medium.
The line-up of 13 projects, confirmed to participate in RIGA IFF FORUM's pitching session:
RAGGIE, animation feature film, (dir. Meelis Arulepp, Karsten Kiilerich), A Film Estonia, A Film Production ApS, Estonia / Denmark;
DRUG FOR A SUMMER (dir. Julia Gorbachevskaya), LLC Production company "Rus", Russia / Latvia;
A VR/animation/TV series for teens KILLER, PENGUIN, TOM, DOLL FACE, (dir. Tomas Tamosaitis), Lithuania, France, Slovenia, Germany;
THE TINDERBOX, animation feature film, (dir. Andjei Petras), Kamer-Ton-Film-Russia LTD, DURIMAR PICTURES LTD, Russia;
THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SOUPTOWN, TV series, (dir. Helen Takkin, Oskar Lehemaa), Nafta Films, Solar Films
THE PACK (dir. Tomáš Polenský), 8Heads Productions, Czech Republic, Latvia;
ARTIST AND ANGEL (dir. George Varsimashvili, Avtandil Varsimashvili), Vars-Studio, Zentropa Spain, Georgia, Spain;
THE FLOOR IS LAVA (dir. Kateryna Gornostai), ESSE Production House, MaGiKa Film, Takfilm Sp. Z.o.o., Ukraine, Poland;
RING OF LIFE (dir. Sasha Kirienko), Pronto Film, Ukraine;
THE NAP, animation short film, (dir. Nils Skapans), VFS Films, Latvia;
THE DAY I MET MY SUPERHERO, (dir. - to be confirmed), BeGood Films, Poland;
TOTALLY BOSS, (dir. Ingomar Vihmar), Nafta Films, Estonia;
MARTIN AND THE FOREST SECRET, (dir. Petr Oukropec), BFILM.cz, Czech Republic, Slovakia.
For more information regarding the selected projects and their representatives in Riga, please check RIGA IFF FORUM website: rigaiff.lv/2018/en/forum/
The fifth edition of RIGA IFF will take place from October 18 - 31. The festival will consist of twelve film programmes, diverse industry events and a selection of thought provoking public discussions.


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l i f e s t y l e . a l l p l a y . n o p o s i n g
what to expect from a child session
Child sessions are lifestyle sessions. Your child will play, laugh, and enjoy doing his or her favorite things while you enjoy your child and I document the cuteness. I do not pose children, but capture them as they are, in the moment. There is a distinct difference between a photograph of a child who is asked to pose, behave, and stand still and the photograph of a child who is simply being and is captured discreetly along the way. Child sessions with Anno Studios are much more like visits and time spent with a friend than appointments for photographs. Just let your child play and be, and I will do the rest. Se the above gallery to get a better sense of my lifestyle child photography.


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What is the cost of this whole process?
For the entire process including the initial consultation, the design, and the fittings, it is usually around 3,000 dollars. However custom-designed business suits start at $1200.00
What if I don't live in New York?
No problem! We can communicate over the phone and through Skype. Usually at least one in person consultation is recommended, but not required.
How long does the process take?
Please allow at least 8 weeks for the entire process
What is the advantage of a custom made garment?
At Dangerous Mathematicians, our mission is to support long-lasting quality and design over trends. We ask women to invest more and buy less for a garment that is well made and high quality.
What if I am dissatisfied with the final product?This is impossible because we work with you every step along the way to confirm that you are satisfied with the fabric, color, fit and overall design.
For more information on the custom design process please check out:


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The new QMx Insider is out from Quantum Mechanix with lots of new stuff to want and have.
First up: Ben Mund has outdone himself again, which has to be getting tiring. His elegantly beautiful Serenity Valley Map has been completely revamped and produced as a limited edition, 30″ x 26.5″ lithograph printed on 100-pound, satin-finish stock. Only 1500 will be available. You can preorder it now from QMx, it will ship in May. UPDATE: Now you can preorder it from TFAW.com.
Then there's Geoff Mandell's signed and numbered Worlds of the Alliance limited-edition lithograph. Limited to just 1,000, and over half of them have already been pre-sold. This was intended to appear in the movie Serenity during the classroom scene but was never used. You can preorder it at QMx or from TFAW.com.
If you'll remember I posted this pic some time ago, from artist Steve Anderson. You've seen his Star Wars work and his countless novel covers, and you'll be seeing his artwork for the next Indiana Jones movies coming along soon.
Recently, Steve has applied his artistry to television series and movies he particularly enjoys and follows – Battlestar Galactica, Serenity, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. You can expect to see his work on these franchises in future QMx releases in the very near future.
But perhaps best of all, the gun stands for the Mal Stunt Replica Gun are back in stock. The last time QMx offered these they sold out almost immediately, so don't delay! It's a black lucite base measuring 16.5″ x 4″ with two clear lucite risers holding the gun suspended, with a metal plaque proclaiming your ownership. You can see close up pics of it here.
This offer is for newsletter subscribers only, so if you're not getting the QMx Insider now would be an excellent time to start.


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I've been driving myself mad the past few years-ok, decades-to become willing to whittle down my wardrobe to just the basics with a few WOW pieces thrown in for good measure. It's like yoyo dieting, only with clothes instead of food. I've stopped dieting from my supposed "bad food" list this year and it's felt great (most of the time). But my failed attempts at putting the kibosh on my fashion addiction are catching up with my conscience. To be blunt, I feel like the consummate consumerist. I find the joy in purchasing things transformative and calming, though momentary at best.
I will, 99% of the time, walk into a store for a specific item, not find it, silently say to myself, "I'm already here. I may as well have a look around," and purchase something(s) else completely unrelated. I basically get high off of acquiring new things and believe I've somehow improved my life. And that, my friends, is a lie.
The reason that I struggle is I go back and forth between the ideas that I'm a creative who sees fashion as wearable art, and the overwhelm I feel at trying to easily find something to wear on a daily basis. On the one hand, I love the diversity of my closet and all the fun looks I can create. Plus it's a political choice for me to wear things that challenge people's ideas about what fat people should or shouldn't wear. But on the other hand, I tend to wear the same tried and true items over and over. They are my favorites, which not only look good, but feel really good too. The extra clothes get tried on when I'm playing dress up (which happens a few times a week at least), and then I discover that something just doesn't fit as I remembered, or it simply doesn't go with anything else. Or worse yet, I already have something exactly like it. I mean, how many black crochet peasant tops does a gal need?
Having a closet full of stuff is hard to keep up with. And my closet is actually an entire room, with a closet of its own-which is also filled to capacity. Zoinks! My husband is in awe, or maybe it's disgust, at the amount of shit I have. I can't shake the feeling that it's not just a drain on my pocketbook, but on my psyche as well. What's a gal to do?
|Shot of my closet. This is just one small section.
Do I buckle down, find some willpower and purge like crazy? Or do I accept the fact that I LOVE clothes and this is just a part of who I am?
Perhaps this is a plea for advice from my readers. I invite you to share your experiences with me so that I might have a chance at finding peace. Yes, I'm asking for help. So bring it on ya'll.
Ciao for Niao,
P.S. I have a gift card to Zappos that I'm dying to use. Fuck. This is not going well. Or is it?


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10 Fab Flyer Design Ideas
Flyer designs have always been one of the most powerful marketing tools available to businesses and organizations. If you are having a creative block or you are looking for samples of what you would like to show to your designer then check out the flyer design ideas below for some inspiration!
Once you have your flyer design created you can check out UPrinting.com's full color flyer printing. U-Printing also has tons of top-quality pre-made flyer design templates that you can use if you are on a tight deadline. You will have your flyers ordered in a matter of minutes with U-Printing's easy to use online flyer design tool!
Disclaimer: Images on this page are not owned by UPrinting and are used solely for educational purposes. Please click on the images to see their original sources.
Flyer Design Ideas
Seen any great flyer designs lately? Shows us in the comments!


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Looks like the Macs running OS X "Yosemite" for today's demo are running up on stage uncovered and in public view. A flatted dock, white trash can, red iTunes icon, green FaceTime app, iOS 7-style Safari icon, as well as redesigned Finder, Calendar, Messages, Settings and other icons are visble.
Get a closer look at the icons below:
Here are the Macs where Apple will run the OSX demos. #WWDC pic.twitter.com/Pz7FuRhPYN— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) June 2, 2014
So there it is folks. The redesigned OS X desktop. Follow our live blog for up-to-the-second coverage of the entire keynote.


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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 13, Ed. 1, Friday, December 5, 1952
Description: Weekly student newspaper from Abilene Christian College in Abilene, Texas that includes local, state and campus news along with advertising.
Date: December 5, 1952
Item Type: Refine your search to only Newspaper
Partner: Abilene Christian University Library


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Freedom In Christ
Session #1: Counterfeit vs. Real
Today we will begin with a Prayer to God that will prepare the setting and environment that the Holy Spirit will use to work powerfully to breaking up the powers of darkness so that God's light and God's work will be unhindered. The freedom we will be experiencing today and through these sessions was revealed to me through a man names Neil Anderson and his lectures and books titled, "Victory Over The Darkness," and "The Steps To Freedom In Christ."
I have counseled with many in this manner and have been blessed to see many of God's people break free from the bondage of darkness. It is my prayer that your spirit is humble to receive this instruction and let the Holy Spirit minister to you as He sees necessary.
I pray you have found a place where you can pray out load to God and are prepared to renunciate Satan's work, his workers, and their plans to distract, and destroy.
Remember, the battle is for your mind and Satan cannot read minds, just actions. He knows our areas of weakness because he used to be the one we listened to.
Get a pen/pencil and piece of paper as you will be developing a list as we go.
Let's begin with this prayer and declaration. Remember to pray out load. This may be uncomfortable at first, but praying out load is powerful:
"Dear Heavenly Father,
I acknowledge Your presence in this room and in my life. You are the only omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), and omnipresent ( all-present), God. I am dependent upon You, for apart from You I can do nothing. I stand in the truth that all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to the resurrected Christ, and because I am in Christ, I share that authority in order to make disciples and set captives free. I ask You to fill me with Your Holy Spirit and lead me into all truth. I pray for Your complete protection and ask for Your guidance. In Jesus' name, amen."
"In the name and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command Satan and all evil spirits to release me in order that I can be free to know and choose to do the will of God. As a child of God who is seated with Christ in the heavenlies, I command every evil spirit to leave my presence. I belong to God and the evil one cannot touch me."
In this session we will focus on what is counterfeit verses what is real. The first step in experiencing the freedom that God wants for us is to reject (renounce) all past or present involvement with the occult, cult practices, cult teachings and rituals, and non-Christian religions.
We must renounce all activities or groups that deny Jesus Christ or that offer any guidance outside the absolute authority of the Bible. Any group that requires dark or secret initiations, ceremonies, promises or pacts should also find their way to this list and be renounced.
Begin with this prayer and remember to pray these out loud. Freedom in Christ is yours.
"Dear Heavenly Father,
I ask You to bring to my mind anything and everything that I have done knowingly or unknowingly that involves occult, cult or non-Christian teachings or practices. I want to experience Your freedom by renouncing all counterfeit teachings and practices. In Jesus name."
Begin to write down any and all activities that the Holy Spirit is revealing on your paper.
This is list of activities and practices so as not to miss anything to be renounced. Remember, satan is a liar, and the Father of them. He can introduce a lie and have us believe something is good when, in fact, it keeps us in bondage.
* Out-of-body experience (astral projection), * Ouija board, * Blood Mary, * Light as a feather (or other occult games), *Magic eight ball, * Spells or curses, * Mental telepathy or mental control of others, * Automatic writing, * Trances, * Spiritual guides, * Fortune-telling / divination (i.e. tea leaves), *Tarot Cards, *Levitation, *Magic - The Gathering, *Witchcraft/sorcery, *Satanism, *Palm reading, *Astrology/horoscopes, *Hypnosis, *Seances,
*Black or white magic, *Fantasy games with occult images, *Blood pacts or cutting yourself on purpose, *Objects of worship/crystals/good luck charms, *Sexual spirits, *Martial arts (mysticism/devotion to sensei), *Superstitions, *Occult or violent video and computer games.
My friends, this is just a list to help recall anything and everything so you can understand that God does not take second place to anything. He is either at the top of the list or He is not on the list at all. Some of the things in this list are obvious while other activities in this list may have been done innocently. The motivation does not matter. Very sincere and seemingly good people have placed themselves under Satan's yoke, but it is time to break free and experience what God has planned for your life.
This is a list of religions that must be renounce as false which have place themselves against the only True and living God.
*Buddhism (including Zen), *Hinduism, *Islam, *Black Muslim, *Black Hebrew Israelites, *Native American spirit worship, *Yoga, *Hare Krishna, *Silva Method of Mind Control, *Bahai faith, *Rosicrucianism, *any other religion that denies Jesus Christ as God, Savior, and Redeemer or denies the absolute authority of the Word of God.
If you have knowingly or unknowingly been involved with any of the following cults, it must be renounced to experience freedom in Christ.
*Mormonism (Latter-day Saints), *Jehovah's Witnesses (Watchtower Society), *New Age (books, objects, seminars, medicine), *Masons (Free Masonry/Masonic Lodge), *Christian Science, *The Way International, *Unification Church (Moonies), *The Forum, *Church of the Living Word, *Children of God (Children of Love), *Church of Scientology (The works and teachings of L. Ron Hubbard), *Unitarianism (Universalism), *Transcendental Meditation.
Now beloved saint, list movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines or comics that he Lord is bringing to your mind (especially those that glorified Satan, caused fear or nightmares, were gruesomely violent, or stimulated the flesh).
The following lists of questions are designed to help you become aware of things you may need to renounce:
1. Have you ever seen, heard of felt a spiritual being in your room?
2. Do you have recurring nightmares? Specifically renounce any accompanying fear.
3. Do you now have, or have you ever had, an imaginary friend, spirit guide or angel offering you guidance or companionship? If it has a name, renounce it by name.
4. Have you ever heard voices in your head or had repeating, nagging, thoughts such as, "I'm dumb, I'm ugly, Nobody loves me or I can't do anything right?" List any specific nagging thoughts and renounce them.
5. Have you ever consulted a medium, spiritist, or channeler?
6. Have you ever seen or been contacted by beings you thought were aliens? Aliens are not what you think they are or what others would have you to believe; they are deceivers. They are not extra-terrestrial beings; they are inner-dementional demons.
7. Have you ever been involved in a satanic ritual of any kind or attended a concert in which Satan was the focus?
8. What other spiritual experiences have you had that were evil, confusing or frightening? List them on you sheet of paper.
Now you have a list of things that need to be renounced so you can close off these areas in your life that have been an avenue of approach from the enemy. By involving yourself in these activities you have given permission for Satan to have access into your life. This, in essence, is revoking his permit. Access denied.
Take this list, and confess these things to God and renounce each item you were involved in. Remember to pray this out-loud.
"Lord Jesus,
I confess that I have participated in (activity, practice, involvement) and it was a sin against you, and you alone. I renounce this (activity, practice, involvement) and ask for you to close this breach with your precious blood and by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Forgive me, Lord
Jesus, and heal me. Thank you that in Christ I am forgiven."
Repeat this with each item on your list.
You should now feel the healing power of the Holy Spirit in these areas and new light is filling you life. Hope is growing and the joy of your salvation is beginning to grow in strength. The Lord is good. Praise the name of Jesus.
When you have finished confessing and renouncing each item, close out this wonderful time with the Lord by praying this prayer:
"Lord Jesus,
I confess that I have participated in these wrongful practices. I know they were evil and offensive in Your sight. Thank You for Your forgiveness. I renounce any and all involvement in these wrongful practices, and choose to believe that Satan no longer has any rightful place in my life because of those involvements. In Jesus' name, amen."
Beloved of God, It is my prayer and hope that you are now experiencing more freedom and that the light of Christ, and the Holy Spirit are powerfully ministering to your spirit.
Over the course of this series, we will move deeper into the restoring power of God and the glorious redemptive beauty of the Holy Spirit.
In the next session we will explore, with God as our teacher, Deception Verses Truth. May God bless and keep you by the power of His might in Christ Jesus.
As we go through the week, be sensitive to the need for fasting over certain areas of struggle. You may be called to fast through a meal or a day. Remember, fasting shows God how serious you are about what you are praying for. Some things can only come out by prayer and fasting. (Matthew 17:21)
This is my prayer for you.
"Lord Jesus,
Bless this precious child of Yours. Strengthen them in Your Word, and power. May they grow in the knowledge and understanding of
Your perfect will for their lives. Bless then and keep them strong in your care; may the blessed and powerful name of Jesus be on their lips today and forever. Give them courage and confidence that only you can bestow. And above these wonderful things, give them a heart to love you and others. In the name that is above all other names; Jesus. Amen."


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Review by Will O'Bryan
Rating: (4 out of 5)
Friday, 10/14/2011, 7:15 PM
Feature presentation, $12 at Globe Theatre
IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR with Reel Affirmations, there's a good chance you're familiar with the excellent British novelist Sarah Waters. She is a factory for employing BBC staff in screen adaptations of her period pieces. In 2008, the festival got her Affinity. For 2011, it's The Night Watch, based on her 2006 novel of the same name.
Although Waters seems most at home writing of Victorian-era lesbians, she left that comfort zone for war – World War II, specifically (though we still get the lesbians, of course). And director Richard Laxton is respectful of Waters's wartime London, even in a zippy 90 minutes, rather than the possibly more appropriate miniseries, à la Tipping the Velvet. All the good bits remain.
Those good bits take us to prison, to an illicit straight affair, to tangled lesbian webs, and to three different years. This is where it gets a bit tricky, opening in 1947. The war has been won, but that "anything goes" wartime value has been lost. Propriety is resurgent. The butch Kay (Anna Maxwell Martin) wanders London in a fog and men's trousers. Straight Viv (Jodie Whittaker) has some connection to her, but we don't know what. Viv's brother Duncan (Harry Treadaway) seems to harbor some shady secret that screams, "Gay!" We wonder what's up. Then, like a contracting rubber band, we're pulled back to 1943. A few questions are answered, then another yank back to 1941, before a final return to 1947.
For such a beautifully filmed movie, with an equally beautiful cast (particularly Whittaker), the time shifts are painfully abrupt. Equally painful and nearly comical are Viv's attempts to end her pregnancy. Knowing that she throws herself down the stairs is tragic. Showing us these multiple attempts in slow motion borders on the darkly slapstick.
Still, where The Night Watch should really deliver, it does. It's about mood and richness. This is a fine five-course meal. With nothing more vibrant in the whole of the movie than an incendiary bomb or Kay's lover in a red pajama top, The Night Watch presents this visually lush bleakness. Three buildings, different shades of gray, may be layered in an English drizzle as backdrop for Kay slicing through the city in her monotone overcoat, and it's beautiful. It's the visually perfect complement for the story itself, also gray. But it's a gray you want to wrap yourself in. You quite likely won't be able to make it easily from A to B through the fog of war, time traveling, and an arguably nihilistic narrative, but you will be traveling in style.