text:
#introduction / #introductions
Hey I'm asonix I'm a dog on mastodon on my mastodon instance asonix dot dog
I program and admin servers and stuff and I'm also a dog.
On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog, except when you tell everyone that you're a dog. I'm a dog.
I'm also a spotted hyena named Arlo and I have an alt over at hyenas dot space @arlo
I'm also an aardwolf named August and a dragon named Atlas.
Sometimes I'm a pool toy @asonix
@asonix this is why im here on mastodog
the good boys™
Here's my neat mastodon instance on a collection of Single Board Computers. This instance is for me and a few of my local friends.


text:
A visit to Cape Town or South Africa that matter is not complete without a trip to the country's wineries. On the Blue Train you pass straight through the heart of the countryside dedicated to producing some of the best wines I ever tasted. But you need to get up close and visit the towns. […]
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subset: commoncrawl


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About us
Helsinki Thaiboxing Club ry – HTBC is an athletic club established in 1989 and specialized in thaiboxing. We are a member of the Finnish Muay Thai association.
HTBC's own gym is centrally located in the district of Kallio in Helsinki and easily accessible by public transport. The 500m2 gym offers spacious changing rooms and showers, a boxing ring, a padded flooring for training, kicking pads, punching bags, punching mitts, kettlebells, weight plates and dumbbells – anything you might need for a diverse and hard practice, whether you were a combat professional or a beginner.
The club has a long history in the Finnish thaiboxing scene and its development. Over the years HTBC has produced top-level competitors both nationally and internationally. The club may be regarded as Finland's most successful thai boxing club of all times.
Above all, we offer opportunities for amateurs to practice thaiboxing in the guidance of top coaches. The goal of HTBC is to offer its members of all levels as much guided practice as possible. This is why HTBC offers training seven days a week – a service no other club in Finland offers.
All of our coaches speak English and our members include many non-Finnish speakers.
If you have questions concerning our club or its membership, please contact us by phone 040-5286932 or by e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com. We are glad to answer any questions you might have!
Basic course
100€ — 2 months
One Day 10 €
75€ — 1 month
100€ — 2 months
135€ — 3 months
185€ — 6 months
50€ — 1 month
90€ — 3 months
120€ — 6 months
20€ — 1 month
100€ — 6 months
Training groups
HTBC offers plenty of opportunities to train, whether you're a beginner or an experienced fighter. If you have never trained thaiboxing before, our Basic course is the place to be! If you have some experience but are not sure which group you should join, feel free to e-mail or call, and we'll sort it out!
Basic course
Course I
Monday, Wednesday
19:15 – 20:30
Course II
Tuesday, Thursday
19:15 – 20:30
Learn the basic techniques of Muay Thai and improve muscle strength and stamina. The course runs for 8 weeks and is aimed at all men and women over the age of 13. There is no sparring or heavy contact, but we use pads and punchbags. You will need: a t-shirt, gym pants or shorts. We train barefoot. During the basic course, you can also take part in morning practice described on the right.
Technique & Tactics / Morning
Tuesday, Thursday
6:30 – 7:45
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
10:30 – 11:45
11:00 – 12:15
12:30 – 13:45
This training is open to all HTBC members, including those attending the basic course. You will need: shin guards, bag gloves and boxing gloves. We also recommend groin protectors and mouth guards.
Technique & Tactics / Evening
18:15 – 19:15
17:00 – 18:00
18:00 – 19:15
This group is ideal for those interested in learning more about thaiboxing technique and getting in shape. Light sparring is also included, but no heavy contact. You will need: shin guards, bag gloves and boxing gloves. We also recommend groin protectors and mouth guards.
Physique & Technique
6:30 – 7:45
17:00 – 18:00
Heavy and sweaty physical technique training for those who wish to increase stamina and build muscle strength.
17:00 – 18:00
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
18:00 – 19:30
This is the group for anyone who wants to get into the fight ring. We train hard and aim to make sure all of us will get to compete. You will need full equipment: boxing and bag gloves, elbow pads, shin guards, mouth guard and groin protection, as well as a skip rope. We also recommend the use of protective headgear.
17:00 – 18:00
For those interested in sparring, those coming straight from the basic course or otherwise in need of a softer start to heavy contact. We will practice sparring in a safe and slowly paced environment. You will need: shin guards, bag gloves and boxing gloves, elbow pads, groin protectors and a mouth guard.
Tuesday, Thursday
18:15 – 19:15
A FITNESS-sport based on the techniques of thaiboxing. In this group, ladies continue from where the basic course left off. Technique is not the priority in this practice, but keeping a good tempo and getting your sweat on. There is no sparring in this group. You only need bag gloves and your basic gym clothes to join in!
11:00 – 12:15
For girls and boys aged 6-12. The junior group learns the basic techniques of Muay Thai through games, play and fun exercise. There is no physical contact or sparring, but we practice with pads and punch bags. Thaiboxing is a great sport for kids: you will learn body balance, social skills and self-confidence, and get to let our energy in a safe and controlled environment. You will need: a t-shirt, shorts and a water bottle. Our specially trained junior coaches are Jukka Euramaa, Asko Lindén and Jouni Kuisma.
Tuesday, Thursday
6:30 – 7:45
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
17:00 – 18:15
This is the group for our most successful fighters competing on national and international levels. Our Head Coach Petri Martinez makes the selections to the Representatives group.
Payment information
You can pay the membership fee by making a bank transfer, by cash or Smartum vouchers. If you pay beforehand, bring the receipt with you. You will receive a training card in exchange. The training card serves as receipt of payment of the membership fee, so please have it with you at all times while training at the gym!
Training at the gym without a valid training card will be sanctioned by a 100€ penalty fee.
A valid training card, except for the Ladythai and Junior cards, permits you to participate in all training offered by the club. The Ladythai membership also enables you to participate to training on weekday mornings at 6.30 and 10.30 in addition to Ladythai training.
Payment details:
Helsinki Thai-Boxing Club Ry
Please use the reference number: 1151


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Oil crosses $109 US on rising concerns about Iran
Gasoline reaches $1.41 a litre in Vancouver
Oil prices closed above $109 US a barrel Friday on fresh concerns about Iran's nuclear program and despite evidence that demand remains weak.
Retail gasoline prices in Canada and the U.S. also rose.
Crude for April delivery closed at $109.77 a barrel in New York, up $1.94.
Iran has rapidly ramped up production of higher-grade enriched uranium over the last few months, the UN nuclear agency said Friday in a confidential report that feeds concerns about how quickly the Islamic republic could produce an atomic bomb.
The International Atomic Energy Agency report also said Iran failed to give a convincing explanation about a quantity of missing uranium metal. Diplomats say the amount unaccounted for is large enough to be used for experiments in arming a nuclear missile.
Iran insists it is not interested in nuclear weapons and says its activities are meant either to generate energy or to be used for research.
"Everyone's pricing in the potential for war now," independent analyst Stephen Schork said. "Without a concrete resolution, nobody knows how high this can go."
Israel hasn't ruled out an attack on Iran, and Iran has said it is ready to strike pre-emptively, possibly targeting the Strait of Hormuz, if it is threatened. The Persian Gulf passageway is a potential choke point for oil supplies. One-fifth of the world's oil tankers pass through it every day.
Gasoline could go higher
The average price for regular gasoline in Canada reached $1.26 a litre Friday, according to price-tracking website GasBuddy.com, up almost 10 per cent from a year ago. The site reported average prices that ranged from $1.10 in Edmonton to $1.40 in Vancouver.
In the U.S., the national average jumped by nearly 12 cents per gallon in a week, with state averages above $4 per gallon in California, Alaska and Hawaii.
It looks as if prices will keep climbing.
Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, said U.S. pump prices will add at least 10 to 15 cents per gallon in coming days to reflect a recent jump in wholesale markets. The national average will likely peak in late April, Kloza said, rising as high as $4.25 per gallon.
Economists are voicing concern that a continuing run-up in oil prices could threaten the fragile economic recovery in the U.S. and deepen a recession in Europe.
The rise will weigh on the economy, pushing leisure and business travel costs higher. Every a one-cent increase in the price of gasoline costs the U.S. economy $1.4 billon, analysts say.
Prices have been surging particularly on the West Coast where a BP refinery was shut down after a fire. That refinery in Blaine, Wash., is the third-largest on the West Coast with a production capacity of 230,000 barrels per day.
The fire comes at a tough time for the refining industry. Most refiners are already slowing production to get ready for a switch over from winter to more expensive summer fuel blends. The seasonal switch usually creates a temporary dip in supplies that pushes prices higher at this time of year. The loss of the BP refinery could make that dip even deeper.
U.S. could tap reserves
Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a television interview on CNBC that the administration is considering what circumstances would justify tapping into the country's strategic oil reserve.
"There is a case for the use of the reserve in some circumstances, and we will continue to look at those and evaluate that carefully," Geithner said.
Some Democrat congressmen have urged the release of some of the country's oil stockpiles to combat high gasoline prices.
Independent oil analyst Andrew Lipow pointed out that the United States has adequate oil supplies right now and a release of reserves wouldn't make much sense.
Traders are mostly concerned with how the Iran situation will affect supplies this summer. Nobody's sure what will happen, Lipow said, and that is pushing investors to buy more oil as an insurance policy against a major conflict.
"It's just unclear how this plays out," Lipow said. "The worry is that Iran will be forced into a position that they try to impact their neighbours in some way" and curtail oil production in the entire region.
The North American benchmark, Light Sweet Crude, peaked near $114 a barrel last May. It was $75 in October
Some analysts expect economic sanctions by the U.S. and Europe and countermeasures by Iran will help keep crude prices elevated this year.
'There is a case for the use of the reserve in some circumstances and we will continue to look at those.' —Tim Geithner, U.S. Treasury Secretary
The gain came despite the U.S. Energy Information Administration report Thursday that crude inventories rose by 1.6 million barrels last week and that oil demand has dropped 6.7 per cent from a year ago.
"The ability of crude to post new highs in the face of what appeared to be a bearish EIA report attests to the underlying strength of this price advance," energy trader and consultant Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report.
"The oil market has evolved into somewhat of a self perpetuating cycle in which new highs beget new buying that forces new highs."
Analysts say any lack of a resolution to the tensions over Iran could push prices still higher.
"There is a relatively high and growing probability to a scenario in which there is no resolution in 2012, in which oil prices grind higher along with a gradual escalation of tension," Barclays Capital said in a report.
Analysts also noted that escalating prices seemed linked more to speculation about possible future supply deficits than any actual shortages. Suspicions about rising stockpiles of oil stored on ships at sea were also clouding the true level of available supplies.
"In our view, the recent price increase was predominantly based on expectations and concerns, amplified by renewed inflows of money into the exchanges," said a report from JBC Energy in Vienna.
"Only a minor share appears to be due to physical activity, which at the margin — and this is crucial — is taking barrels out of the market and not consuming them."
With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press


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A new member at the Secret Sun FB group recently asked what all of the excitement was about. He scanned the page but couldn't get a lock on it. I told him the following:
The Secret Sun is kind of like the Internet Island of Misfit Toys. It's for all the people who can't pretend they haven't peeked under the reality curtain once or twice. It's for people who don't fit into all of the thought-replacement modalities out there.Indeed, a lot of people on the group have said they felt like they didn't fit in anywhere until they read this blog or joined the group. I have a feeling there are a lot of people lurking out there who feel the way I and the others do, but who stay in the shadows. Maybe there are a lot of people in other circles or other groups who feel out of place there. People who are part of the "Excluded Middle," the free thinkers who don't subscribe to the false dichotomies prescribed by lazy editors and television producers.
When I was a kid the hippie subculture had created an interesting space for people who loved sci-fi and comics but were also interested in extreme possibilities and the frontiers of consciousness. Mainstream fandom tends to a sour, skeptical pose these days, which is mostly a reaction to the religious reich's poisoning of American society over the past 30 years. Rebuilding that space is very much a top priority for me with The Secret Sun.
The best and most resonant sci-fi is also the most mystical-- and that includes Star Trek, Roddenberry's insincere protestations aside. As we've seen nearly all of the top sci-fi franchises are up to their Spock-ears in ancient astronaut theory, entheogenology and other, similar thought crimes. None of this has anything to do with religion as the term is understood, since it functions to displace religion and replace it with something more intimate and subversive. More useful, as well.
The other issue I want to address is how our stories are going to evolve away from an increasingly limiting and compromised mass media, and move towards targeted media. The economics of movie-making are leaving less and less room for stories that challenge the audience or question the assumptions of mainstream society.
What that will do by necessity is move away from the hyper-literalism and computer graphics and move towards modes in which the audience needs to do more of the work: books, comics, maybe even radio theater. I see this as a major net positive (and already we're seeing a major backlash against 3D filmmaking). There's no reason to believe that VR would be any different, even if the amount of labor involved in true virtual reality was remotely cost-effective.
Right now people are very much "in the world" as it were, as the economical struggles are taking up a lot of attention. That's not a bad thing. But these kind of struggles have always necessitated a fictional response, and that's something that is still to come. I hope people will realize the power of imaginative fiction to writ these issues large and help to better define them. What we're seeing now may well signal a shift in consciousness, another event that also tends to inspire great speculative fiction.
As it did with Philip K. Dick, who was very much tapped into the counterculture of the 60s and much more so the 70s. Dick's work speaks to the grim, defeated mindset of the post-Aquarian malaise, and offered new worlds for the counterculture to explore. Read this...
There is SF because the human brain craves sensory and intellectual stimulation before anything else, and the eccentric view provides unlimited stimulation, the eccentric view and the invented world. It is written because the human mind naturally creates, and in creating the world of an SF story the ultimate in human imagination is brought into use; thus SF is an ultimate product of and for the human mind. The function of SF psychologically is to cut the reader loose from the actual world that he inhabits; it deconstructs time, space, reality.
Those who read it probably have difficulty adjusting to their world, for whatever reason; they may be ahead of it in terms of their perceptions and concepts or they may simply be neurotic, or they may have an abundance of imagination. Basically, they enjoy abstract thought. Also, they have a sense of the magic of science: science viewed not as utilitarian but as explorative. -- Philip K. DickWalter Russell Mead has also thrown down the gauntlet and challenged sci-fi writers to plug into what is going on in the world in their storytelling. Great sci-fi isn't only about identity politics or tribalist fantasies.
"Taken as a whole, the field of science fiction today is where most of the most interesting thought about human society can be found. At a time when many academics have become almost willfully obscure, political science is increasingly dominated by arcane and uninspiring theories and in which a fog of political correctness makes some forms of (badly needed) debate and exploration off limits, science fiction has stepped forward to fill the gap.
The biggest single task facing the United States today is the unleashing of our social imagination. We are locked into twentieth century institutions and twentieth century habits of mind. -- Walter Russell MeadA lot of what I've done on this blog is show how when these kinds of stories are informed by a worldview that transcends reductionist materialism, they tend to bleed outside of the fantasy realm and plug into the world in remarkable ways, most often through the mechanics of Synchronicity. Here is a potent example that some of you might have read about:
Saul-Paul Sirag, Vice-President of Jack Sarfatti's Physics/Consciousness Research Group, has his own weird tales to tell. Once, while involved in the Uri Geller investigation, Sirag took LSD to see if in that altered consciousness he could perceive the alleged extraterrestrial behind Geller. What Sirag saw was the head of a hawk, which astonished him, since Geller had never described the entity as a hawk.
Six months later, this image appeared on the January 1974 cover of Sirag's favorite sci-fi magazine, Analog, illustrating a story called "The Horus Errand" (Synchronicity #1). A year later, Dr. Andrija Puharich, not knowing of Sirag's experience, claimed that Geller's extraterrestrial ally had often appeared to him as a hawk, which he nicknamed "Horus" (Synchronicity #2).
Later, Sirag discovered that the face on the Analog cover was that of Ray Stanford, a Texas psychic, who also claimed mysterious experiences with Geller and a hawk (Synchronicity #3). Oddest of all, Kelly Freas, the artist who had drawn the cover, had never met Stanford and was not using his face consciously.-- Excerpted from Tekgnostics, original story recounted in Robert Anton Wilson's Cosmic TriggerFinally, here's the Master Mage himself explaining the true power of work that plugs into the deep streams of consciousness and becomes its own kind of magic:
"I feel that artists and writers have allowed themselves to be sold down the river. They have accepted the prevailing belief that art & writing are merely forms of entertainment...they're not seen as transformative forces that can change a human being, that can change a society.
They are seen as simple 'entertainment', things with which we can fill 20 minutes, half an hour, while we are waiting to die. It is NOT the job of the artist to give the audience what the audience want; if the audience knew what they needed, they wouldn't be the audience, they would be artists. It is the job of the artists to give the audience what they need." -- ALAN MOOREAll of this is not just for the benefit of aspiring creators out there. It's also for the readers, for the audience. An informed and engaged audience is every bit as important as the artist is. This is a two-way street, and the goal is to raise our own consciousness and then work to do so with others.
It's not as easy as those who subscribe to the various theistic and atheistic religious modalities. It's a middle path- a path of tension, a path of negotiation. It's not for the weak of heart or the weak of soul. But it's a vital part of a truly evolved culture and has been lost. We fail to regain it at our own peril.


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Yoga: An Exploration of Anxiety and Rage/
Things I always say I'm going to do:
- Meditate
- Exercise
- Yoga
Things I never do:
- Mediate
- Exercise
- Yoga
Ever the optimist, a friend asked me to join her for a beginning yoga class and I said, "Sure!" Actually, it was more like a surly, barely audible, "sure". Still, I agreed and this morning was the first class. School starts at 9 so I knew it was going to be tight getting to yoga at 9:15 but I was determined (read: too embarrassed to back out)!
Things that make me rageful:
- Stubborn children
- Running late
Things I dealt with this morning before yoga:
- Stubborn children
- Running late
It was one of those "getyourbootsongetyourbootsonGETYOURDAMNBOOTSON" kind of mornings and we got out of the house later than I would have liked. Then, we got halfway to school and I realized we had forgotten something so I had to drive back home for that and then drive back to school and by then my jaw was clenched and I was thinking evil thoughts about every single driver of every single car in my vicinity. By the time I arrived at the gym at 9:15, I'm fairly certain I could have turned steel to dust with my bare hands.
My friend and I went to the yoga studio, peeked in and saw that the class had already started. I took this as a sign that we should go out for coffee and scones but my friend did not share my desire to bolt. I noted this character flaw and stored it in my brain for future consideration. Walking into a quiet room full of people makes me anxious. Having to take off my socks makes me anxious. My yoga agitation grew exponentially. Then, it was 55 minutes of yoga during which I am certain that I displayed the balance of a coked out monkey on roller skates. Parts of me wobbled in a most unflattering way. As we did something called "chair", I began to giggle. I'm not an ass in the air as pretend chair kinda gal. I'm an ass in an actual chair with a laptop and blackberry and Diet Coke kinda gal. I will admit that all the wobbling and ass in the airing did distract me from my rage.
Things I liked:
- Distraction
- I felt better about eating the banana chocolate chip muffin that I would have eaten anyway
Things I did not like:
- The stinky man in front of me with the Jack Daniels pants
- The instructor's repeated use of the word "we" when she should have used "you"
- My naked feet
- The lack of a snack bar or open bar or any kind of bar
Despite it all, I lived to salute the sun another day. Theoretically.


text:
Bennett and company, an inconvenient truth
The meteoric rise of the "Habeit Hayehudi" party in the polls has filled the hearts of quite a few people with hope that we are somehow witnessing a rebirth of the National Religious Party, a moderate religious party that participated in many of Israel's governments including those formed by the Labor party in its heydays (and bears partial responsibility for Israel's settlement enterprise in the territories). Naftali Bennett, its likable leader has projected an image of intelligence and understanding, care and pleasantness, the nice Israeli who is even supportive of those who refuse to follow clearly legal army commands to remove illegal settlers from occupied territories. Were he not a self-made man with considerable economic accomplishments and an exemplary army record, I would even consider buying into his apparently innocent image.
It is however becoming clearer every day that nothing could be further from the truth and we are witnessing a radical right-wing start-up in semi disguise, run by a likable fellow who is good at blurring his message to make sure to catch as many unwitting voters as possible. Many of them sympathize with his patriotic shtick and are are attracted to his wildly populist and completely untenable plans for an annexation of large sections of the territories. These plans, not surprisingly, obviate the need for a messy and highly unpopular withdrawal of settlers leaving us only to deal with about 2 million Palestinians who really, but really would not care to live under what is euphemistically called "autonomy". But who is asking them? Definitely not Bennett or his party.
Bennett glibly notes that the fact that the whole world is against us is really of no consequence and we just have to go ahead annexing what is ours anyway. After all, the man on the street in Kansas (or France I presume) doesn't really know what's going on anyway and will appreciate a forceful single minded Israeli government that knows what it wants, not a wishy-washy peacemongering and dithering pink excuse for a true Jewish administration.
But what completely gives this charade away, is the Knesset list that Bennett is almost totally hiding behind his smiling face, a list of extremists and misogynists that includes individuals that would not likely find a place on any list of candidates in any other democracy that is a member of the OECD.
Number 4 on the list, Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan is an outspoken opponent of equal rights for the LGBT community and has serious issues with the ongoing empowerment of women. These have lead him to consider the abolition of Knesset committees for the status of women and the rights of children in favor of a more agreeable "committee on family issues".
Motti Yogev, number 9 on the list viewed the 2nd Lebanon war as G-d sent "Zdaka" to shake up Israeli society and government, is in favor of Hizbollah, an organization which "wakes up the people of Israel" and justifies some of Rabbi Kahane's teachings. In his words, the third temple will be built in our days on the temple mount.
Number 10 is Orit Struck, who lives in the Jewish enclave in Hebron and makes Palestinian's lives miserable there. She has developed human rights into a tool to protect the settlers by launching numerous complaints against the police, the government and the courts for "antisemitic actions" against the settlers. Her son incidentally, having been the beneficiary of her enlightened education was sent to jail for a year and a half for seriously harming a Palestinian.
Yony Shetbon, number 11 on the list, founded the "Raananim" Youth Movement which took a strong line against more moderate religious youth movements. Shetbon conditioned Raananim taking a stand against the "Price Tag" activities of the settlers upon another religious youth movement refusing current and future donations from the New Israel Fund. He views national service for Arabs as a mistake and a dangerous proposal since " Israeli Arabs act as a fifth column within Israel, they oppose the Jewish people and their's is the narrative of the Nakba. " In his words, the joint service with Arabs is a demographic danger: "If they serve with Jewish boys and girls in many areas, medicine, kindergartens and educational institutions it will be worse than the threat posed by the Sudanese (illegal immigrants E.S.). We would actually give them a ticket to enter via the main entrance." Regarding Zionism, Mr. Shetbon claims that "Habeit Hayehudi" is not committed to either Jabotinsky's interpretation, nor to that of David Ben Gurion." Shetbon tops it all by declaring that "the obsessive concern for democracy destroys Zionism – democracy is a tool, not a value."
Number 13 on the list is Hillel Horovitz who views with favor the expulsion of Palestinians from areas surrounding the Jewish neighborhood in Hebron, thinks that the Arab minority should be dealt with like "guests in our country" and proposes that the government adopts the Jewish calendar as a working tool.
Last not least on Habeit Hayehudi's list of luminaries is Jeremy Gimpel, number 14, whose chumminess with US evangelists has served him well financially. He opines that "not to build the third temple on the temple mount is like building a Jewish state in Uganda.The building of the temple will be a sign that the Jewish religion will rule the world again, a world that will understand that there is only one G-d and the temple will be the holiest site on earth". Gimpel is very supportive of an Israeli attack on Iran to which he has referred to as follows: "It's like going to the dentist and who wants to go to the dentist ? Israel will do what it has to do and if that means attacking every 5 years, that's what will be".
Anybody considering to vote for this list, please take note.
Credit for detail to the Molad Center and Project 61tinyurl.com/d76cls6


text: Tuesday was a pretty dreary day. Cold and rainy. I had also run out of money for the week due to a fun weekend (no regrets). So I hit up some free galleries in Chelsea and had a wonderful day looking at art. I walked around 21st, 20th and 19th street and just went in every gallery that looked interesting. My favorite had to be Yayoi Kusama - Give me love exhibition. It was a typical american house from the outside but when you go in you are given some round stickers and told you can place them anywhere. She is studying "obliteration" in this exhibit. Basically once the stickers start to pile up your eyes start to play tricks on you that nothing is there and it messes with your depth perception. It was great and I highly recommend it. Hope everyone is having a great day


text:
Should I Sponsor NEBGH's 2018 Annual Health & Wellness Benefits Conference?
This event presents an excellent opportunity for you to network with benefit professionals from national and global employers in the Northeast – including some of the largest companies in the U.S. – plus benefit consultants and healthcare industry professionals. You'll have the opportunity to tell your story to this important audience, gain valuable first-hand insight into employers' top issues and concerns, generate new leads and pursue business partnerships and collaboration.
Who Will Attend?
Each year, NEBGH attracts 300+ attendees including Sr. VPs, VPs and directors for large and mid-sized regional, national and global employers such as American Express, CBS Corporation, Con Edison, Goldman Sachs, The City of New York, Pitney Bowes, Verizon Wireless and more! (See our website here for a list of NEBGH members, many of whom attend: http://nebgh.org/about/members/) Professionals from national benefit consulting firms, national and regional health plans, hospitals and healthcare industry suppliers also attend.
About the 2018 Conference: Knock Out Waste in Healthcare Spending! Employer Strategies that Pack a Punch
Recent estimates indicate that waste - which includes services that offer little or no clinical benefit to employees -- accounts for as much as 30% of healthcare spending.
Employers are asking:
Am I getting value from each healthcare dollar I spend? Do I feel confident that employees are getting the right care early on, and not cycling through unnecessary treatments and visits? How do I figure out where to start when it comes to identifying unneeded expenditures?
At the 7th Annual Conference we'll coach employers on how they can deliver a big "one-two punch" to healthcare waste in their organization! Attendees will walk away feeling more empowered to make decisions, better equipped to ask the right questions of the vendors they deal with, and newly energized to refine their benefits strategies!
Sponsorship opportunities
Sponsorship benefits range from top-tier speaking, brand showcasing and exhibit opportunities to a selection of other benefits depending on dollar sponsorship level.
All sponsors receive these benefits:
- Obtain brand exposure in an array of conference and pre-conference marketing materials;
- Receive the attendee list;
- Network with employer purchasers.
See specifics about the variety of the available sponsorship opportunities in the full sponsorship package - click HERE to download.
Location & Time
The 7th Annual Health & Wellness Benefits Conference will be held at Convene Conference Centers, 117 West 46th Street - New York, NY. The conference and exhibit begin at 7:30 am on June 14 and conclude at 4:30 pm. Exhibit tables are expected to be up by 7:30 am and closed after 3:30 pm.
For more information about the conference and speaker and sponsorship opportunities, please call Janaera Gastón, Director, Programs at (212) 252-7440 ext. 225 or fill out the form below.
We look forward to hearing from you!


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Check out one of our six E-Books:
• "Squat Every Day"
• "Eat What You Want"
• "Squat Every Day 2"
• "No Weaknesses"
• "Mash Program Sampler"
• "The Mash Blueprint for Program Design"
• "The Performance Zone"
Check them out here: ⇒ Mash Elite E-Books
MashJacked: Getting Jacked to Get Strong
Let's Talk Hypertrophy
Getting jacked is the universal desire that brings all strength athletes together. Whether you are a powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, or John Doe slinging weights in the garage, we all enjoy getting jacked. If you go to the weightlifting gyms throughout the country, you will see posters of Lu Xiaojun and Pyrros Dimas nailed to the walls. So why are there posters of these two athletes and not some of the other greats in the sport? Yeah they are great weightlifters, but they are not the best. However both of them are jacked. Nothing is cooler than seeing Dimas's abdominals protrude through his singlet. These two icons are strong, and they look strong.
People love powerlifters like Dan John and Ed Coan because they could have easily been great bodybuilders as opposed to world champion powerlifters. Whether they want to admit it or not, people are intrigued by muscles. All you have to do is look at the rise in fame of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Heck I remember as a kid watching "Conan the Barbarian". I was blown away when I realized that some people could actually look like a comic book character in real life. Obviously whether people were admiring Arnold's muscles or not, they couldn't stop watching his movies. His muscles made him famous because I can ensure you that it wasn't his tremendous acting skills.
One of the things that intrigued me the most about the Chinese Weightlifting Team was the overall musculature of the entire team. At the 2016 Junior Worlds in Tbilisi, Georgia, I remember watching the Chinese Team enter the training hall. They were immediately set apart from the other athletes by their musculature and low body fat percentage. They quickly breezed through their warm ups, and then they spent a significant amount of time on accessory bodybuilding work. Remember this is the week before the meet. They are definitely the opposite from the coaches and other proponents of complete specificity the last four week leading up to a competition.
The Chinese only validated my thoughts on hypertrophy training. Two of my biggest influencers in the strength world were Ed Coan and Louie Simmons. Both are major proponents for hypertrophy cycles and accessory work throughout training. Ed Coan looked like a bodybuilder when he was at the top of his powerlifting game. I remember when he was featured in "Flex Magazine" alongside former Mr. Olympian Dorian Yates. They were compared side to side in looks and workout styles. Ed's back rivaled Dorian's back, and Dorian was known to have the biggest back in bodybuilding.
Whether you are a powerlifter or a weightlifter, a small muscle is a weak muscle. If there is a small body part on your body, you have a weakness that needs to be dealt with. That's why I love the Chinese program. They are getting jacked right up to a competition.
If you want to know the secret behind the Mash gains, simply put it is our willingness to endure and program hypertrophy phases into our training programs. Neural mechanisms are great, and they work. You can get stronger without getting bigger. You simply have to get more efficient at the movement. What happens when you become efficient? You better get bigger and stronger.
After a big meet, if you walk in our gym on a Monday, you will see all of our lifter hobbling around from their big squat day on Saturday. They are experiencing delayed onset muscle soreness caused by the damage of their muscles. That's just part of the equation. You are going to see them lunging, pressing, dipping, and basically getting a pump. I am adding muscle to their frames.
Once we add the new muscle, now we apply strength training, high frequency, and some good old technique work to make that new muscle more efficient. The best one on our team to watch is Nathan Damron. After a big meet, he always crushes a massive hypertrophy cycle. He won't post as many videos because there is nothing fancy to post just some good 'ole fashion hard work. About two weeks after switching back to a typical strength cycle, the personal records start dropping like flies. The videos increase as well. You know the cool ones like the 700lb squat, and the 210kg clean.
There are three keys to hypertrophy:
1. Mechanical loading- basically going heavy
2. Metabolic stress- catching a skin-popping pump
3. Muscle damage- getting sore from changing things up, focusing on the eccentric portion of a lift, and stretching an activated muscle like when performing RDLs.
Those are the three components. All of us work on Mechanical Loading and Muscle Damage throughout most of our mesocycles. However, a lot of us skip the Metabolic Stress mechanism, and that's a bad idea. That phase let's us add muscle with lighter weights as around 65% for 8-12 reps is the optimal rep range for this category. This gives our joints some relief from the 90+% squats and pulls that all of us have been performing. This phase adds to the muscle damage as well making it the superior way to add muscle.
When this phase is over, it's back to our regularly programmed strength work. This is where we take that newfound muscle, and we make it work efficiently. It's a constant battle for our team; add muscle and then make it work better.
We are going to release two books in April that are going to crush this topic for all of you:
"Train Stupid" highlighting the training of the mad man Nathan Damron
"MashJacked" filled with six 8-week hypertrophy workouts (Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, SuperTotal, Bodybuilding, and Athletic Performance) this book is going to help you understand the 'why' of it all, and detail several of the plans.
I am pumped to release these books. You guys are going to love them, and I believe that these books will help you reach your goals more than anything out there. Hypertrophy is the missing component from most programs out there. We are going to show you how to create the perfect program for any individual. Until then, I will be dropping these nuggets to get you guys ready for all the information.
My latest E-Book "Mash Method" is live and it's FREE! Check it out now at: https://www.mashelite.com/mashmethod
This book has several of the techniques that I used to set personal records and world records along with some of my latest techniques that I'm using to get my athletes and me hitting all-time numbers.
-wave training
-bands and chains contrasted with straight weight
-walk outs
-partials contrasted with full ROM
-Squats for vertical leap -Sled drags to set PR 40 yd dash times
And more!


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My First Week
This week has been your first week in Year 3 in Pontybrenin Primary School. Think about your week so far, what have you enjoyed the most about your first week? What would you change about Year 3 if you could change one think? I am looking forward to reading your comments. Remember to use capital letters and full stops correctly.


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The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) has just released a white paper on cyber security, "Addressing Cyber Security Through Public-Private Partnership." The paper proposes that a public-private partnership is the best approach for addressing cyber security issues and examines three existing models as examples of successful partnerships. The paper argues that private industry should set cyber security standards, while the federal government -- led by DHS -- should be responsible for cyber regulation, enforcement of laws, defense against threats, and response to threats. INSA believes that a public-private partnership for cyber security can be initiated by private industry, presidential initiative, or Congresssional initiative, but stresses that no matter who takes ownership, it is crucial that one entity take ownership now and begin to systematically address the cyber security issue through a partnership comprised of all stakeholders.
To read the entire paper, click here.


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Get That Into Your Head Already!
An interesting problem that we run into regularly is that a client hires us to do business communications, such as press releases, blog posts, web content etc. That's great, but what the client also does is hire an SEO firm to do whatever it is they need to do. It's a problem because there are now two competing entities to do the same thing. Search engine optimization and content creation are the same thing! You only need one to accomplish both!
Without Content, What Will People Find on the Search Engines?
Perhaps there are technical aspects that the SEO firm emphasizes, like server capability, load times, and 301 redirects. Google's latest algorithm change, Google Hummingbird, emphasizes mobile search and the use of voice to conduct searches. Although we can provide the content, we wouldn't have anything to do with creating the mobile site and making sure that site works correctly. In those cases, an SEO firm might be best.
However, as we found with our problem, the SEO firm hired is tasked to do original content as well. Even though more quality, original content is better than less, there's no good reason to have both if all you want is original content. After all, if you don't spend time creating content, then what's going to come up under the keywords for which you want to rank? Yes, factors like domain name, meta description, backlinks, and social media matter, but even optimizing those aspects won't help with your search engine rankings if your content is thin, irrelevant, or just horrible. Businesses engaging in content marketing and business blogging need to understand that getting found online is only half of the story. You also need to think about what people will find when they do find you online, and that's when you need to think about the content.
It's the latter half of getting found online that's so difficult to get into the heads of small business owners and marketers who want to rank high on the search engines. Part of the importance in understanding this is that content marketing will get you there if you do it right. Search engine optimization isn't about gaming the search engines, and focusing on SEO without thinking about the content can get you into trouble. There are many SEO practices that may have been good at one point, but will now get you into trouble. These include keyword stuffing, overloaded keyword density, and cloaked pages. One of the newest "black hat techniques" is to add fake positive reviews on sites like Google+ and Yelp. Reviews on both sites show up on search engine rankings, so there's an incentive to do what it takes to get the positive ones. However, paying someone to write reviews or to add positive reviews of your own does violate the ethics guidelines of both sites.
The Two Aren't Competing. They Work Together.
Because they work together, hiring both a content marketing company (or writers, bloggers, content creators) and an SEO firm/consultant is redundant and a waste of money. Although it's obvious we're going to say that the money should be put on the content creators, the decision is ultimately up to you. The main point is that they work together, and that content is SEO because it's content that's showing up in the search engine rankings and it's content that people will find when they type in search terms. It's possible to create content that's search-engine friendly but also engaging and entertaining, so figure out how to do that and everything will fall into place.


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Claudia Keelan
Claudia Keelan is the author of six books of poetry, including Refinery (Cleveland State University Poetry Center Prize), Utopic (Alice James Books, 2001), and Missing Her (2009) from New Issues Press. A book of translations, Truth of My Songs: The Poems of the Trobairitz, is forthcoming from Omnidawn Press in 2015. Her honors include the Beatrice Hawley Award from Alice James Books, the Jerome Shestack Award from the American Poetry Review and a creative achievement award from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
"The poems in Refinery, her first major collection, everywhere attest to Keelan's search for the true buried under the often deceptive surfaces of the real. These are poems of generosity, clarity, and moral subtlety. A luminous debut." –Ann Lauterbach
"Refinery is a wonderful book, the first book of a first-rate poet who deserves to be read and reread. Claudia Keelan shows us 'the passed over / version of what is there.' And it is the genius of her to reveal that which is usually passed over unseen—it is the bravery of her to see it, to share it. Hers is a harsh, demanding music. I recommend these poems for their (to quote Mallarme re Baudelaire) 'Tutelary poison, always to be breathed even if we die from it.'" –Bill Knott
"Claudia Keelan's poetry witnesses history through refinery smoke, capturing the brokenness of contemporary experience. Yet in marvelous poems like 'The Sunflower,' 'Where the Train Meets the River,' and 'Refinery,' the 'evangelical sunflower' of imagination thrives in the midst of disaster. There is terror in these poems; therein lies their beauty, to acknowledge the broken believers who must pray, inconsolably, to the 'lord god brick wall' or, threatened with madness, turn their faces to rain." –Paul Hoover
More Information:


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Woodlands Road, Heathmont
Great for
- Cost of Living
- Internet Access
- Parks & Recreation
- Peace & Quiet
- Pest Free
Not great for
- No ratings yet
Who lives here?
- Families with kids
Got a burning question? Why not ask the locals! Simply ask your question below
Woodlands Road
rating details2yrs+
- Neighbourly Spirit
- Safe & Sound
- Clean & Green
- Pest Free
- Peace & Quiet
- Eating Out
- Nightlife
- Parks & Recreation
- Shopping Options
- Gym & Fitness
- Internet Access
- Lack of Traffic
- Cost of Living
- Resale or Rental Value
- Public Transport
- Medical Facilities
- Schools
- Childcare
"Woodlands Rd, Heathmont"
Woodlands rd is a no through road so traffic is at a minimum. Woodlands Rd is around the corner from Whitehorse Rd and Canterberry Rd and quick access to the Ringwood on ramp to Eastern Link. Woodlands Rd has easy access to the Ringwood Aquatic Centre and Ringwood and Heathmont train stations. Woodlands Rd is a 5 minute drive from Eastland shopping centre. Woodlands Rd is walking distance to Heathmont Primary and Equinus College. Best of all Woodlands Rd is quiet.
Recommended for
- Families with kids


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I started to work full-time at Antevorte last week, coding on a Python + mongoDB stack on a Linux system. This tweet expresses how I was feeling after four days of it:
Following a tutorial about writing a blog with Flask and MongoDB. Current status: pic.twitter.com/UFfbstxSeJ
— Miguel Parramon (@mparramon) November 21, 2013
Because of that, the best part of my day today was the tutorial at try.mongodb.org. It helped me reaffirm some of the concepts about mongoDB that I learned last week, and I really felt like one week of mongo was already starting to pay off.
While following the tutorial, I found this awkward-looking sentence:
And so, after finding the GitHub repo for the tutorial, I submitted a pull request!
Also, at the end of the tutorial, there is a chance to win a mongoDB t-shirt or mug. I didn't get it, but maybe you will ;-)
More, tomorrow.


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I'm a long time reuser & recycler - & since my mind has been otherwise occupied lately & I didn't write up anything new for Earth Day this year, I'm going to give links to a few items I wrote for Earth Day 2009. There is nothing in them that is obsolete, I think. For sure, I no longer live in Deep River, but I'm betting the library there still has all those neat books I recommended in my column for the local paper.
For sure too, there is a good (if not complete) list of good & inspiring things you can watch here.
Another Earth Day comes, & goes. If only, if only, if only! we humans would behave as though every day was Earth Day, hmmm?
Happy (B)Earth Day, whichever way you slice it, & wherever you are!
Here are the items I mentioned:
Earth Day - Happy (B)Earth Day!
Earth Day 2009 - A Photo Essay
P.S. '12 Things YOU Can Do' was not written for Earth Day (can't remember now when I wrote it!?), but it too has some good tips & links. '15 Tips for environmentally friendly & frugal family life' is an oldie - written way back when I still had fond hopes of actually making a bit of $$$ with my writing. The tips are still applicable!!
P.P.S. Hey! Take 15 minutes & allow yourself to be inspired by Activist Extraordinaire Bill McKibben. It's a speech he gave in Washington. SO worth your time!!!
'Quote of the day' with this post: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." ~ Dr. Seuss in The Lorax


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Area of EXPERTISE: Toxicology and Molecular Epidemiology
Berkeley faculty have contributed pioneering research into mechanisms of toxicity; the application of bioassays for evaluating chemical toxicity; and the development of biological markers of chemical exposure, early effect and susceptibility. EHS faculty -- including Profs. Andres Cardenas, Nina Holland, Martyn Smith, Luoping Zhang, and Steve Rappaport -- are at the forefront of understanding how exposures to environmental chemicals, including pesticides and industrial contaminants, affect human health across a wide range of environments and settings.
Students pursuing EHS M.P.H, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Berkeley can learn and engage in research about chemicals in personal products; exposures to toxicants in contaminated food and water; inhalation of pollutants in air; and the mechanistic interactions between chemical agents and biological processes. Our students gain valuable skills in linking epidemiology, exposure science, and biological mechanisms of disease to understand the influence of chemical toxicants on human health.
Students focusing on this area will critically examine the use of biomarkers in epidemiology; learn about study designs, methods, and analytic approaches in molecular epidemiology; and understand the role of intermediate endpoint biomarkers, proteomics, genotyping, and the identification of susceptibility genes in large-scale epidemiological studies.


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Norwegian Guest Room
Last week a dear friend from Anchorage days called to say she and her husband would be coming to the Seattle area to visit with two of their sons for a few days. I asked, "Are you staying in the city or would you like to stay with us?" We so enjoy their company and were happy to hear her say, "We would love to stay with you!"


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Bradford faces an 'explosion' of people suffering from liver disease in the next ten years, a doctor has warned.
Heavy drinking, obesity and hepatitis B and C are behind a dramatic rise in the number of people in the district seeking treatment for liver disease.
Between 2001 and 2009 deaths from liver disease rose by 25 per cent and the numbers of patients waiting for a liver transplant are increasing rapidly.
There are currently eight adult patients in the Bradford district waiting for a new liver – up from three in July 2010.
Dr Sulleman Moreea, a consultant gastroenterologist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said while people were aware of the dangers of alcohol, more people needed to be aware of other causes of liver disease.
"There is a silent disease out there – hepatitis B and C," he said. "When I started work in Bradford in 2004 I had 150 patients with hepatitis C on my books. Today I have 780 patients.
"If you don't treat these patients they will develop cirrhosis of the liver. Every two months we are seeing a middle aged person dying from hepatitis C and we will be seeing more and more. We have people desperate for a new liver – some who have waited for three years.
"In the next ten years expect an explosion of patients with liver disease from hepatitis C."
Thousands of people could already be infected with hepatitis and unaware they are carrying the virus, he believes.
The virus is 100 times more infectious than HIV, with no known cure, however, it can be controlled by drugs. Without treatment, it leads to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.
The blood-borne viral infection is spread through sharing contaminated needles, non-sterilised equipment for tattooing, acupuncture or body piercing, from an infected mother to her baby at birth or through a blood transfusion in a country where blood is not screened.
To counteract the spread of this disease Dr Moreea set up a hepatitis C treatment programme in Bradford in 2005, which is now taking more and more referrals. A new drug has also recently been approved by NICE for use in the NHS which is effective in treating in hepatitis C patients, although it will cost between £18,000 and £22,000 per patient.
And a dietician is working in Bradford specifically to help obese patients with fatty liver disease.
"This is what we need to be investing in to prevent people from dying," said Dr Moreea. "There are around 110 liver transplants carried out in Leeds per year for the whole of the north of England, so disproportionately Bradford has a bit of a problem."
"You Have the Power to Donate Life – to become an organ and tissue donor Sign-up today!
Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision"
Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision"
Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register
New Zealand, register at Organ Donation New Zealand
Canada - Ontario beadonor.ca
other Canadian provinces
other Canadian provinces
South Africa, http://www.odf.org.za/
United States, donatelife.net
United Kingdom, register at NHS Organ Donor Register
Your generosity can save or enhance the lives of up to fifty people with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants (see allotransplantation). One tissue donor can help by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves
Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant. Organs can save lives, corneas renew vision, and tissue may help to restore someone's ability to walk, run or move freely without pain. Life Begins with You.


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It's safe to say that I'm unreasonably optimistic about UW's chances against LSU on Saturday night.
Upsets happen every year in college football, but so do blowouts, which are far more common. Oftentimes the team that can ill afford to make mistakes, makes them, and a game that could have been close gets ugly because the underdog decides to turn the ball over, get flagged for untimely penalties, makes a mental mistake and a 7-7 ballgame turns into a 49-7 rout.
That could happen on Saturday because logic tells me that LSU is:
• insanely loaded at the skill positions on offense.
• highly talented on the offensive line, led by two first ballot Name Game Hall of Fame players: center, T-Bob Hebert and left tackle, Ciron Black.
• just fine at QB, even if Jordan Jefferson is young.
• ferocious on defense and will be beating the hell out of an unproven UW offensive line
So why am I optimistic when, from an overall talent perspective, UW is at a tremendous disadvantage? Because this game will boil down to mindset. Allow me to explain.
What, if anything, have we learned about this UW team since the Sarkisian hiring? We've heard constantly that this coaching staff has energy and enthusiasm. We've heard that these players have confidence in the coaching staff because they believe in them, they believe that the plays that they call, the schemes that they put the players in, will actually work. We've heard that the offensive and defensive philosophies are aggressive. These are all mindset issues and they could make up the difference in overall talent on the field.
Also, while the talent ledger is heavy on LSU's side, that's not to say that there aren't highly talented individuals playing for UW, it's just that from a depth perspective, UW is outnumbered. E.J. Savannah is a talented linebacker. He's just as good as any other LB in the country. Jake Locker is clearly as physically gifted as any QB in the country. Chris Polk was a bigtime USC recruit, and while he has shown no signs of reaching his potential yet, he's a young guy who played for a bad system, and he's very talented. This stable has horses, and that plus a healthy dose of intangibles (belief, team spirit, cohesiveness, leadership etc) can overcome talent disparities.
Looking at the game from LSU's perspective, is it really believable that they are "up" up for this game? I refuse to believe that they are. They are being pegged as one of the best teams in the country. Absolutely no one expects them to lose this game, least of all them. They are traveling across the country to play a team that finished 0-12 last year and was one of the worst teams in all of college football. They do not fear UW, not in the least, no matter what they may say publicly. They believe, on talent alone, that they will steamroll UW. That their talent alone will cover up any lack of emotion that they have for this game or any mistakes that they make mentally. They may be right about this, but it's a disadvantage to play a team like UW who looks so weak on paper and had proven to be so weak on the field for the past five years–but regime change is a funny thing.
If UW comes out extremely fired up and LSU acts like it deserves the win without even playing, then the field is level and UW has a chance.
No matter what, this game marks the beginning of an era that any UW fan is excited about.
Saturday cannot get here fast enough.


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Photos for printing (i.e. some favorites)
This gallery has the "buy" feature turned on for ordering prints. If you want to use your own printing service or just want a high resolution photo for desktop display, websites, educational uses, or otherwise, send me an email at email@example.com. I'm not after any money here--I'm not that good! I just enjoy sharing.Read More


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File size: 94081 Kb
It improves the diagnostic capabilities of the existing medical equipment and increases their capacity, creating additional working storage areas for doctors dealing with this equipment; it better facilitates instances of remote consulting regarding the medical information stored; and, makes it possible to compare the recent studies and medical advances with previous studies or with a study obtained from the other modality. Makhaon Workstation lets users store the obtained studies on laser media and provides a fast, easily-utilized search function. Makhaon Workstation makes it possible to create an integrated network of DICOM-devices available at the healthcare providers. Makhaon Workstation is accessible for image processing (MPR, DSA) purposes, as well as a capacity expansion module for 3D-image view and processing.dicom program, pacs program, makhaon program, medic program, medical program, image program


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Use Conventional Medicine Treatment for Allergies
Although quite a few medications are available to treat allergies, avoidance is actually a pretty smart way to start treatment for allergic rhinitis — if you're not around an allergen, you won't react to it.
For seasonal allergies, this means staying indoors when possible during high pollen days (usually hot, dry, and windy days). For year-round allergies, this could mean using air filters and purifiers in the home, especially in the bedroom because you spend more time there.
Wash bed linens in hot water to kill dust mites, and consider purchasing impermeable mattress and pillow covers to reduce exposure. Either replace carpets with hard flooring or vacuum them frequently, and use blinds instead of drapes or at least clean fabric drapes as often as possible. Of course, to avoid pet dander, you have to either not keep pets or have pets with low or no dander production.
Typical medications given for allergies include the following:
Antihistamines: These meds stop histamine production and its symptoms. Over-the-counter options include older meds such as Benadryl and Tavist, which can cause drowsiness, and newer options like Claritin, Zyrtec, and others, which are less sedating. Prescription options tend to last longer and include drugs like Clarinex.Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/nelic 2010
Decongestants: These options treat the swelling and include Sudafed, Actifed, and others. Use these meds for only a few days at a time; otherwise, they can cause rebound swelling and make matters worse. Also, some contain pseudoephedrine, which can raise blood pressure.
Nasal corticosteroids: Sprays such as these stop the inflammation, so they reduce symptoms, such as itchy eyes, runny nose, and sneezing. Common examples are Flonase, Nasonex, and Nasocort.
Leukotriene modifiers: Because leukotrienes are inflammatory mediators, blocking their production also decreases itchy eyes, runny nose, and sneezing. Leukotriene modifiers don't cause drowsiness, and you need to use them only once a day. Options include Singulair and Accolate.
Cromolyn sodium: This older, over-the-counter medication prevents the release of histamine. It's best to take this med before symptoms even start (even if you've just been exposed or expect to be exposed to something you know you're allergic to).
Nasal atropine: Atropine causes constriction of blood vessels, so it's useful in stopping severe runny noses. Contraindications include glaucoma or an enlarged prostate.
Also known as desensitization or allergy shots, immunotherapy treatment consists of injection of high-dose allergens to block the allergic response. Although it's been shown to be about 80 to 90 percent successful for some allergens, it requires up to three to five years of treatment to get relief. Immunotherapy can be associated with severe systemic reactions in some cases and should, therefore, be considered only if medical treatment is ineffective.


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Little people
Little people...are just so darn little. And funny! They will tell you when to talk and when not to. They would much rather have ice cream than pork. They are up for flying kites. They hate sand in their pants but love Cheetos. And as one nephew so eloquently expressed..."I really care about your quality of life." Yep, he's 4. I think little people are actually ahead of the curve sometimes. Don't you?
And a big Happy Birthday to my Pops! Love you to pieces!


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The Golden State Warriors will head for their third straight NBA Finals after dispatching the San Antonio Spurs 129-115 on Monday, May 22.
However, the entire record-setting series remains maligned with controversy, after the Spurs' best player, Kawhi Leonard, missed out the remainder of the Western Conference Finals after landing on Zaza Pachulia's foot in Game 1.
The Georgian center, who sat out the series-clinching Game 4 due to a heel injury, has since been the target of criticism after the unfortunate incident.
After receiving a verbal tirade from Spurs' head coach Gregg Popovich—who referred to him as a "dirty player"—Pachulia opened up, disclosing that there have been "social media threats" to his family, which have left them "all shaken."
As a precautionary measure, several security guards have been deployed in the schools of Pachulia's three children, USA Today reported.
"Look at what happened at the school. It was unfortunate," Pachulia, who has two sons and one daughter, told the news outlet.
"They had to get extra security because we are living in a world today where social media is so active, you can find any news you want to, hear any news you want to, and obviously it's a hot topic lately."
He added: "They just had hired extra security for the entrance and make sure nobody goes in the school. It's just not fair. It does upset me."
Although the threats began shortly after Pop's tongue-lashing, the Dubs' big man does not entirely condemn the legendary coach for his family's dire situation.
"I don't blame everything on Pop, but what he said had a lot of influence (and) you had a lot of people where, unfortunately, you can't control what everybody's intelligence is," he said.
"Me as a person, as a man, I don't mind dealing with it. But I hate to see my family deal with it," he shared.
"My wife and my kids who have nothing to do with it, who are very innocent. I just hate my family going through that. They don't deserve that. I'm not blaming everything on (Popovich), but he was a very big part of it." Khristian Ibarrola/Inquirer.net


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Foundation (2018):
A multidisciplinair performative installation about the cosmetic role of the artist in the process of gentrification.
Curated by Katya Grokhovsky for Art in Odd Places (AiOP) 2018 Festival Exhibition BODY: Unseen/Reclaimed at Westbeth Gallery, NYC.
How to Vlog (2018)
An interactive installation/workshop in collaboration with Cinekid Festival.
Sensitive Bricks (2017):
A mixed media art installation about Mount Fuji, the striving of human being to be as big as a wonder of nature, the beauty of failing and being small after all.
Curated by Zoe Reddy for the Refuge Academy exhibition at Kadmium Delft.
Expeditie Holenkwartier/Expedition Holenkwartier (2017):
QC was invited to create an experience in an abandoned factory, revealing its history and future.
Produced by Karavaan.
Bureaucracy Rules (2017):
QC got invited to act as bouncers at the Club Rules party hosted in Sexyland. QC created an inimitable system with questions and rows before visitors were allowed in.
Dat wat we doen / The things we do (2016):
A theatrical piece where QC created a dream-factory inside an abandoned factory.
Produced by Karavaan
Internet The Musical (2016):
Internet the Musical 1.0 was a show rehearsed online and performed in the analogue world by a large group of internet enthousiasts.
All of Us (2014):
A Science Fiction on the dramatically changed society of 2095.
Tears of the Sun (2012):
Movie and fashion collection made in the hope grief becomes wearable.
Questions Collective consists of:
Céline Talens: Theatre director & Performer (Antwerp University, Sandberg Institute).
Julia Veldman C: Visual Storyteller (Design Academy Eindhoven).
ROOSPEEE: Artist & Musician (Auto-didact).
Tessel Brühl: Artist & Designer (Design Academy Eindhoven, Sandberg Institute).
Flavia Faas: Composer & Dancer (Conservatorium of Amsterdam, Hochschule für die Darstellenden Künste Die Etage Berlin)


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Photocred- @thegaragestudio
One thing I've realised is that when it comes to healthy living, all of us know that the key is to eat less junk, eat more nutrient-rich foods and move more. As simple as this may seem, in reality the main thing that prevents most of us from achieving our goals is motivation and a lack thereof. We all know the right and wrong things to do but without the motivation to actually do them, we hinder our ability to achieve our goals. Sometimes we may not feel like waking up an hour earlier to fit in a workout. Other times, we may know that we've eaten a bit too much cake but we are just missing the voice in our heads that just says "NO!" I totally understand!
As a fitness enthusiast, I sometimes take for granted how easy it may be for me to motivate myself compared to other people. However, I have the ability to empathise with anyone lacking motivation as I am aware of how difficult it is to adapt your lifestyle for the better. This is why I felt it necessary to share some key tips that may inspire you to achieve your 'best bodies' and lead to a healthier lifestyle. Without further ado, here are some of the things I do to stay motivated!
Although not everyone may be able to relate to this, as a Christian, my major source of motivation is from God. God placed this desire for healthy living in my heart and gave me this platform to share it with you. Whenever I feel helpless, I know that I can always turn to prayer and God never fails to respond and give me the motivation I need.
Having friends that keep me accountable
This is one of the most practical things one can do to stay motivated. As soon as I feel like my motivation is depreciating, I can always phone a friend who will give me one of the best motivational speeches ever!
Visual Aids
Instagram, Instagram, Instagram! The world of social media has witnessed a new paradigm shift in the form of Instagram. Although it is important to realise that a lot of what we see on social media is fabricated and may not accurately represent a person's true lifestyle, I find it very useful when people share their fitness tips, workout routines and recipes. Seeing fitness gurus enthusiastically posting health related content is a constant reminder of my personal goals that I desire to achieve.
Motivational Quotes
If you follow my Instagram ,you are probably aware that I love my motivational quotes. Some of my favourites are, "a moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips"; "you have the same number of hours in a day as Beyoncé. Make them count!"; "doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will." Remembering a quote in your weakest moments is a great way to resist temptation and stay motivated.
Personal progress
Although it takes a while, as soon I start seeing physical progress towards a goal and feeling healthier, I feel more motivated than ever to continue. Fit Tip: progress pictures are a MUST!
My Blog!
I must say, my blog is a great source of motivation as it keeps me accountable! I honestly would not be doing any of you a favour if I didn't practice what I preached.
I hope you found some of these tips useful and I hope you can empathise with some of the things I pointed out in this post. If you want to be one of the first to receive posts just like this, why not subscribe? You will not regret your decision because you 'best body' awaits!
Bry xo


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Decades have passed since the war erupted between the United Space Federation and The Alliance of Free Worlds. A bloody conflict that seemed to have reached a stalemate is now about to change, when a thrid faction suddenly appears. Take control of a fleet commander returned from exile, rise through the ranks of the United Space Federation forces and join an epic war across the stars. Start with a small group of frigates, and climb your way to controlling battleships, carriers and planetary bases, in huge space battles and boarding actions. Build space stations and orbital facilities to fortify your position, build your fleet, extract minerals and research upgrades. Execute boarding actions using marine special forces, and bombard your enemies with orbital long range cannons.
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.


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Sese Bennett, guest blogger
While attacks on organizations have become more complex over the years, basic attacks—such as email phishing—that can be done by almost anyone are still rather effective ways of gaining access to an organization's most sensitive and critical information.
While many organizations deploy multiple security controls designed to reduce their attack footprint and insulate their data and systems against attack, those protective controls are nullified if an attacker can obtain a valid set of user credentials to the environment.
Multi-factor authentication has evolved as the single most effective control to insulate an organization against remote attacks and when implemented correctly, can prevent most threat actors from easily gaining an initial foothold into your organization, even if credentials become compromised.
What is Multi-Factor Authentication?
Multi-factor authentication is the process of identifying users by validating two or more "factors," or characteristics that are unique to that user.
Three different characteristics are often used as factors in the authentication process:
- something you have
- something you know
- something you are
Common implementations of multi-factor authentication include the "something you know" factor (i.e. password) and "something you have" (i.e. one-time passcode sent to your smartphone or provided via a token).
While authentication is the process by which a computer validates the identity of a user (i.e. username and password), multi-factor authentication adds an additional layer of protection and security against one of the most common types of breach—compromised credentials. Without the added layer of security through multi-factor authentication, it is more difficult to truly verify that the user who accessed the system is who they say they are because passwords are still very easy to guess, crack, or steal.
What are the Benefits of Multi-Factor Authentication?
Implementing multi-factor authentication across an organization's Internet-facing assets is one of the most effective ways to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data. Multi-factor authentication, when implemented correctly, can be used to safeguard often overlooked points of authentication, such as email and business applications. Without this extra layer of protection, an attacker can exploit an exposed email account or compromise a poorly-protected application to gain access to additional user information—or even worse, use the compromise as a "foothold" to escalate privileges and gain superuser access to the entire environment.
An often-overlooked benefit of multi-factor authentication is seen when threat actors attempt to authenticate to an account with multi-factor authentication enabled, and the targeted employee receives the second authentication factor. The employee, if trained properly, should recognize the compromise and report it to his or her security or IT department for resolution and further prevention.
How Can Multi-Factor Authentication Be Applied?
Multi-factor authentication can be used in any scenario (internal or external) where an additional layer of protection and security against compromised credentials is required. One of the most important applications of multi-factor authentication is its use for accessing and managing network environments remotely. Since accessing remote environments does not require an attacker to be present in order to gain access to a computing resource, it creates a layer of anonymity that an attacker can use to their advantage. Whenever talking about remote access, we also want to think about a secondary control like multi-factor authentication to ensure that whoever is accessing the remote resources is truly who they say they are. Multi-factor authentication provides this assurance in remote environments and is highly recommended for any remote access, and especially so for remote administration of cloud services.
With the increase of cyber-attacks on organizations, password strength cannot be relied on as the only layer of protection for an organization to preventing threat actors from gaining unauthorized access. Although not bullet-proof, multi-factor authentication is a proven way to lessen the likelihood of a data breach via a compromised password. Want to learn more about how LBMC Information Security's experts can help your organization prevent an attack through multi-factor authentication? Contact us today!


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Modern Haven
This modern beach house is a splendid retreat for a family ready for a weekend away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Bright and airy spaces paired with a spectacular view of sky-meets-sea create the perfect recipe for some fun in the sun.
Conceptual Architectural Design Interior Design
Custom Furnishings Landscape Design


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N.B.: Unless otherwise indicated, these buckles will fit only a 2¼" waist belt. They will fit the kilt belts listed on the "Belts" page on this site.
Orders shipped to a British Columbia address are subject to 5% GST + 7% PST. Orders shipped to other Canadian addresses are subject to the sales taxes applicable in the province/territory of destination. In some cases, the Paypal system may charge you more than the actual shipping cost. In these cases, we will refund you the difference through Paypal. We try to keep our shipping costs as low as possible.


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How to Influence Others
No matter what business you're in, you have to "sell" your ideas to others. You're a marketer whether you like it or not. If you can't sell other people on your ideas, your business will flounder, you won't get the promotion at work, and your spouse won't be convinced.
Plus, knowing basic sales techniques and skills will allow you to see through how others are currently influencing you. The more knowledge you have, the easier it is to see through anytime people are trying to "manipulate" you into anything that's not in your best interest.
These skills can be used to benefit or take advantage of others. It's not the skill itself that's the problem. It's how you use it. For example, sometimes people try to influence you to do good things such as the doctor telling you to take care of your body, your spouse convincing you to eat right, and your pastor asking you to give to the poor. They'd be more productive if they knew the basic psychology of influence.
Those scam artists use the same techniques of influence…and in most cases are much more skilled in their use. The difference is they're using them in a selfish manner where they're the only winner. If you're convinced by them, you lose. Doing business with integrity means you only use these techniques where everybody in the deal wins. If there is a loser, you're misusing your influence.
One of the books I highly recommend is "Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert B. Cialdini. It's one of the classics about persuasion, sales, and marketing. And everybody in business should read it at least once. In it he details the 6 weapons of influence that determine human behavior.
Here is a quick overview of these 6 techniques. How can you begin using them whenever you try to influence others? You might consider them a checklist for your sales letters and websites. You might use them when networking with others in your niche. You might apply them the next time you have a disagreement with your spouse. You might use them when you ask for that raise.
1. Reciprocation
This rule states that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us. If someone does you a favor, you want to do them one in return. If someone buys you a present, you feel the need to buy them one. You feel obligated to future favors, gifts, invitations, etc. I made note of this in my last post. I received a gift, and now feel the need to give back.
Another way this can be used is the "rejection-and-retreat" method. This means you make the higher offer first. If it is refused, you retreat to your lower option. For example, a pool table dealer found their average ticket sales were much higher when they offered the $3,000 model first and then the $329 option than if they showed them the other way around. The same method can be used to get referrals. If someone refuses your offer, they may be willing to refer others who would be right for your offer.
2. Committment and Consistency
Once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will encounter pressure to behave consistently with that decision. This is especially true if we make a statement in public. This is part of the reasons you want to write down any goals you have. It's part of the committment process. You're even better off if you show your written goals to others.
If you've ever wondered why companies go to such lengths to get testimonials, it's a combination of this influence secret along with the next one. If you create a written testimonial that may be made public, you don't want to go back on your consistency. You're much more likely to stay loyal to the company and continue to feel good towards them.
3. Social Proof
People do what they see others doing. Most successful websites are loaded with testimonials…even better if those testimonials come with pictures, audio, or video. Many poor TV comedies use canned laugh tracks to convince you something is funny (because if they didn't you wouldn't laugh at their poor jokes). Any seminar speaker knows that if they can get a large group of the audience at their product table, they will make more sales irregardless of why they went there.
If you start hearing about how successful a site is, you begin believing it. If a business looks busy, you want to know why. You're nervous to pull into the restaurant parking lot if they're no cars there. Yet, people wait in long lines for the busy restaurant even if they've never had it before. In an audience, people will often look at others before they begin laughing. They want to go along with the crowd even if they talk about being an individual (this is even true of teenagers).
4. Liking
People buy from those they know, like, and trust. That's no surprise. Influence comes into play in how it is used. This is the basis of home parties such as Tupperware and others. The "host" invites their friends and gets some prize or gift for hosting based on the purchases. The attendees all know this, and are much more willing to open their pocketbooks since it will benefit their friend. The same tool comes into play when you follow-up on referrals…and tell them you were referred to them by one of their friends.
Joe Girard, the world's greatest salesmen, sent out monthly greeting cards to all his customers. The basic message simply said, "I like you." That's all. He was building a relationship. The sales principle of modeling works on this same basis. People like those who are most like them. They like those who dress like them, talk like them, and act like them. If you write sales copy, you know a key principle is getting to know your customer and writing to them in their language.
5. Authority
People obey authority figures, even if they don't completely understand the request. They recognize and respond to titles such as professor, PHD, doctor, etc. Always let people know your expertise and authority on the subject. It may be because of a title, but it's even better when you've achieved certain results and let people know about it.
Not only does this apply to titles, but it also applies to clothing. "Uniforms" such as the military, clergy, or police obviously affect people and their reaction to the wearer. But people also look at other clothings such as expensive suits, laidback outfits, etc. They judge the person and view them by what they're wearing.
It's interesting that "suits" don't produce as well in my pictures compared to much more laid back forms of dress. As mentioned by one of my clients, when I have more laid back pictures it speaks about "freedom" which is what many are looking for. What is your outfit saying?
6. Scarcity
People want things when the opportunity is limited. If anybody and everybody can have it, you don't want it. You want exclusive opportunities that are only available to a limited number. This is constantly used in marketing. There are only 100 of these available or the deal is only good for the next 3 days. We can give you this price if you make your decision today.
All collectibles are based on this principle. There are a limited number like this. The low number available gives the product value. We want what others want (social proof), especially when there aren't many available. For a long time I've taught people that every offer needs to involve scarcity in someway…either by limited number or time. Otherwise, people will wait to make a decision later. The key here is to be honest and use a real scarcity.
For example, on Wednesday I will make an offer here that is limited in number (only 100 available because I only have 100 of one of the parts to the offer) and limited in time. I'll be making a major discount (more than 75% off), but it will be for no more than 48 hours at most. It will be truely limited because the sale will be over on time no matter what…nobody will be able to get the same price later.
- Learn How to Be an Entrepreneur for Under $100
- Vacation Time
- Law of Reciprocity
- Who Is Your Mentor?
- The Partnership Principle and Profits


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Photography and Social Change
Date: Friday, February 24th
Time: 5:30-7:00
Host: Janneth Gil
Cost: Free Entry
From the series Photography with Intention, this introductory workshop aims to help individuals and organizations to explore the narrative and technical aspects necessary to build a photo story with a specific purpose, creating social change.
This workshop will be taught by photographer Janneth Gil
Everybody is welcome, don't forget to bring your camera.
Free entry.
Janneth Gil – firstname.lastname@example.com – 0224444526


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Smoke and Mirrors
2009 // UK - Canada - France // Terry Gilliam // January 17, 2009 // Theatrical Print (Landmark Theaters Tivoli Theater)
C- - When it comes to Terry Gilliam films, I wouldn't say that the only attraction is their design, but I'd be kidding myself if I denied that the essential allure of a new Gilliam feature is the look of the thing. Those occasions when Gilliam has mated his distinctive mode of fantasy—part Victorian / Edwardian stagecraft, part comic strip zaniness—to a compelling set of characters, the result is tongue-in-cheek gold, as in Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. (His two dystopian science-fiction films, Brazil and Twelve Monkeys, are equally great, but vibrate to an entirely different frequency.) Gilliam's new feature, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, is a weird bauble that fits snugly into his oeuvre, yet like all of the director's weaker efforts, it's also a mess from a storytelling perspective. It's debatable how much of that can be blamed on the regrettable death of his leading man, Heath Ledger, and how much on Gilliam's own hand, but it's also telling that Imaginarium is disjointed tonally and narratively. At its worst, Imaginarium plays out less like a film and more like a book of concept art that has been inelegantly cobbled together into a film. There's something more than a little perverse about a film-maker with such palpable thematic interest in myth-making but who nonetheless has a hard time finding a foothold in his own tale.
The plot is a convoluted thing. Many centuries ago, the titular Doctor Parnassus (Chistopher Plummer) was a Buddhist monk of great mystical power who made a bet with the infernal Mr. Nick (Tom Waits, ingenuously cast). Parnassus prevailed and won immortality by coercing more souls than Mr. Nick with a message of enlightenment. However, Mr. Nick, always more interested in the game than actually winning, offers yet another deal: Parnassus can have the woman he loves, provided any children sired by their union become Mr. Nick's upon their sixteenth birthday. You and I might call this a sucker's deal, but Parnassus takes it. Fast-forward to the present: the now-widowed doctor and his just-shy-of-sixteen daughter, Valentina (the oddly doll-like Lily Cole), are wandering London in a precarious horse-drawn wagon that converts into a gaudy theater. With the help of stagehands Anton (Andrew Garfield) and Percy (Verne Troyer), they offer curious onlookers an opportunity—for a small fee, of course—to journey into a magic mirror that links with the mind of the meditating Doctor. Within the mirror, the interloper discovers a dreamscape fashioned out of their own desires, and there they are eventually offered a choice between the virtue of Parnassus and the vice of Mr. Nick. (The original bet is long concluded, but Parnassus seems to be out to prove something about the inherent goodness of humanity. Or something.)
Although her birthday is only days away, Parnassus hasn't got around to breaking it to his daughter that she will soon become a bride of Satan. For her part, Valentina just wants to leave her father's odd little sideshow and lead a normal life, while Anton just wants Valentina to notice him. Into this mix comes a wild card in the form of mystery man Tony (Ledger), whom the troupe finds hanging from a noose under a bridge, just barely alive thanks to a old rogue's trick. Improbably enough, the amnesiac Tony agrees to assist Parnassus with his show for the time being, at least until he sorts out his past, which has something to do with a children's charity and the Russian mob. It's around this time that Mr. Nick appears and suggests an escape hatch to his previous deal with Parnassus: the first man to collect five souls before the sweet sixteen deadline will win Valentina. Fortunately, Tony proves to be a charismatic pitchman for Parnassus' show, turning Valentina's head and prompting the Doctor to suspect a Mr. Nick double-cross.
Predictably enough, this elaborate story is really just a vessel to get different characters into the magic mirror, so that Gilliam can indulge his own fascination with bizarre vistas and screwball logic. And for the most part, the forays into the mirror do indeed work as loopy set-pieces, filled with memorable sight-gags and surrealist flourishes. Gilliam, who was once known for his fascination with practical effects and traditional animation, adopts computer wizardry whole-heartedly here, but he employs it in the service of his own self-consciously kooky sensibility, rather than attempting modern slickness. While his peculiar digital landscapes have a flat, cartoonish quality, I'm inclined to regard this as a feature rather than a bug, given that it fits so neatly into Gilliam's own animation legacy. Indeed, some of the scenes within Parnassus' mirror resemble nothing so much as Monty Python cartoon shorts brought to life, with Gilliam privileging detail and motion over realism. (In this, the look of Imaginarium inclines towards the Wachowskis' vastly underrated Speed Racer, although its aesthetic is nowhere as cohesive and successful as in that film.)
The fatal flaw is that the movie surrounding these demented cartoon shorts is comparatively dreary, drifting, and vaguely conveyed. The problem is partly structural: by lashing his film to the magic mirror conceit, Gilliam has essentially thrown out the Long Journey aspect that has made his most successful fantasy features jitter with storybook energy. Granted, the stories in Time Bandits and Baron Munchausen often don't make a lick of sense, but they at least are honest-to-gods adventures that involve the heroes galloping from Points A to B to C. (Indeed, dallying too long in one place or another is frequently treated as a crises in both films.) Imaginarium breaks this mold, but the result is dismal rather than daring. No matter how amazing the sights within Parnassus' dreamscapes, we eventually have to pop back into murky London and its confusing real-world story.
It doesn't help that Gilliam neglects to provide a clear, appealing protagonist, which is sort of a necessity when you dabble in settings with elaborate fantasy rules. The negligent Parnassus, vain Valentina, and whiny Anton are all too vaguely drawn and distasteful in one way or another to be the hero of the tale, and Tony deliberately remains a cipher until the third act. Gilliam seems to have forgotten to give us a truly interesting character to grasp amid all the weirdness. Waits' performance is ticklish fun, but Mr. Nick is never as enthralling or as menacing as, say, David Warner's Absolute Evil in Time Bandits. I hesitate to speak ill of Ledger's last performance, but suffice to say that it just doesn't leave an impression. Gilliam worked around his star's death with a little fudging: when he ventures into the mirror, Tony's appearance changes to match the aspect of the personality that is dominant in the current fantasy, whether suave object of desire (Johnny Depp), ambitious golden boy (Jude Law), or celebrity asshole (Colin Farrell). To Gilliam's credit, the casting plays subtly off each star's public persona to nice effect, but the game of Musical Actors only highlights the story's conspicuous seams (perhaps unavoidable given Ledger's passing) and the essential colorlessness of Tony as he is written.
While Imaginarium, like any Gilliam feature, has its pleasures, the outlandish visuals and funny-pages silliness can't hide the careless nature of the film's fundamentals. In neglecting story and character, Gilliam leaves us with little more than a few whimsical doses of hallucinatory distraction, surrounded by a distressingly sloppy film.