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DIRECTIONS for Questions: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below.
Seven varsity basketball players (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) are to be honoured at a special luncheon. The players will be seated on the dais in a row. A and G have to leave the luncheon early and so must be seated at the extreme right. B will receive the most valuable player's trophy and so must be in the centre to facilitate presentation. C and D are bitter rivals and therefore must be seated as far apart as possible.
Which of the following cannot be seated at either end?


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Grumbling about phones
June 2017
A chap from Facebook assured me the other day that there are now more smartphones (the ones with the screens) in the world than toothbrushes. He may be right, but if they are so popular, why is it so difficult to get through to someone on them? And if you do manage it, why is the connection so poor?
As the digital world coalesces, with phones that are also cameras and computers, Laptops that are phones and televisions, even televisions that use the internet, most of us have never been more connected with each other. In theory, anyway; in my experience, it's more and more difficult to make contact with anyone.
I think there are two reasons for this; first, the explosion in the ways we can make contact (mobile and fixed phone, email, text, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Viber and lots more) seems to have made it acceptable to ignore calls; second, the quality of the service, especially for voice calls, is so poor.
Most people under 40 will only give you a mobile number. Many of them don't have a landline at home, or if they do, they don't plug a phone into it and certainly don't know the number. I have three children between the ages of 27 and 32; all three are solvent, educated and civilised; none has an old-fashioned landline telephone.
Calling them is hit and miss, usually the phone is not answered initially and it will take two or three efforts at calling each other back and forth, leaving messages and sending texts before we actually speak. They don't seem to mind; it baffles me.
Our four main mobile phone networks are more appropriate for an emerging nation and none of them covers the whole country, whatever they say.
And I'll tell you what's even less satisfactory; when a visitor from overseas uses their phone around the UK, they get a better service than we do. Really.
This is because of something called, rather romantically, "international roaming". The four UK networks allow foreign visitors' phones to connect to whichever network happens to be strongest at the spot they are at the time. Us poor saps, however, don't have this facility as our mobile phones are yoked to just one network, and we are reduced to going the end of the garden waving our arms around just to find a signal from the supplier who has been gracious enough to accept our cash.
You can see their point. They have no statutory obligation to provide us with a universal service; they get their money every month even if our phones are useless to us where we live or travel to; so where is the incentive for them to improve their network?
There is a solution: they should be forced to provide national roaming within the UK; in other words, allow our phones to hook into whichever of the four networks is strongest wherever we happen to be at the time, just as they already do it for overseas visitors.
Also, consider this: if one network had to pay another a fee every time a phone bounced between them, wouldn't it act as something of an spur for them all to beef up their own systems?
It seems, for once, that I am not quite alone in my grumbling. The head of Ofcom has recently written to the heads of the big networks telling them that their service is not meeting public expectations and asking them to do something about it. Fingers crossed.
Incidentally, it's rather quaint that she wrote to them in the form of a letter but I suppose she thought it was the most reliable way of contacting them. That tells its own story.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hi all.
Had a busy week this week. After a few teething problems with my two lovely bairnes we ended up having a lovely peaceful week. All were fed, watered, occupied and happy. Talking of happy, wasn't our Olympic Ceremony absolutely great, loved the fact the Queen played along and Rowen Atkinson was funny, one of my friends once had a blind date with an exact look a like of him, in fact if I hadn't know this guy had told her he looked like him I would definately have asked for his autograph - we are talking about er, well, a good few years ago when I lived in Swindon. She actually didn't go on the date, I was there as back up so we didn't acknowledge him and went off to Route 66 instead!!
Anyway, I had a really good crafting session on Friday with Annette and Maria, thanks to you both, it really was a good day and I now have a lot of new ideas to try out from what I learnt. Everyone I spoke to said how good the class was. I have put picturs of my work on my main Gblog but I might pop them on here for a quick look, actually I will have to because at the moment I havn't got anything new to show. I fancy designing a few new projects to sell, my website really needs some new stock put on there, which won't sell, but at least I will have stock from it for my next craft table.!?! I have been buying a few little nic nacs for me to decorate and I might think about making some bags again. I really need to find a good fabric shop somewhere? Maybe I will get some Tarten in Inverness next week?


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It's been a while since I wore a really unusual looking watch, so today I've decided on one which is pretty unique (especially as I'm going to an art gallery opening tonight too).
The watch is another in the range by United Colors of Benetton, but not in the Benetton by Bulova range. I've featured many watches from Benetton so far, and this is the most unusual of the lot. More info about the brand can be found in my other posts.
The first thing you notice about the watch is that it is square - not that the face is square, but the whole watch including the strap is a square bracelet design (with a round hole for your wrist). It is made from semi transparent blue non-flexible plastic, which is hinged at one side for opening so you can get it on. The other opening side has a metal hook which when pressed releases the two halves.
The face of the watch is mirrored with a window for the LCD display. The LCD is a long thin dot matrix array of around 35x7 which shows a scrolling message (United Colors of Benetton) as well as the time. To excentuate the difference between message and time, the message is in normal LCD display while the time is shown in inverse. There is a mode button on the side of the watch which allows you to bring up the time instantly or to show the date. The other button on the side is for time setting mode, which works after you use the mode button to select time or date. Also in the setting mode is the option to change the language for the date to one of a variety of European languages, including English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Next to the display is a small United Colors of Benetton logo in white and green.
The back of the watch part is fastened with screws, and just has the basic info (brand name, stainless steel back, 3atm water resistant, and registered design).
I've not seen this online, so have no formal confirmation of the date of the watch, but the LCD module date starts at 2005, so my assumption is that the watch was released around this date. I do have the original price label, so I know it was sold with an rrp of €50.


text: Antique jewelry is typically very valuable, and purchasing such jewelry costs quite a bit of money. But then again, it is possible to buy antique jewelry wholesale as well if you know where to look. Most people think that online auctions, such as eBay is the way to go. While this is true occasionally, you(…)


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PTK offers contest for early voting— October 27, 2014
By Scott Wilhite
Staff Writer
Voting turnout among the electorate has not been trending well over the last decade. In fact, the Texas Secretary of State website, which maintains all voter data for the state, reports that in 1998, 67 percent of registered voters participated in the November mid-term election in Titus County. That number dropped to 39 percent in 2010.
Even with polarizing issues, such as marriage equality and abortion, too many people don't take the time nowadays to cast their votes.
In an attempt to change that downward trend and to help generate interest in this year's mid-term election, Alpha Mu Chi, Phi Theta Kappa's local chapter, began a campus-wide voter registration drive in September.
"The campaign to register students has largely been a success, "Alpha Mu Chi Adviser Dr. Melissa Weinbrenner said. "I know that we have collected and sent in over 200 voter registration cards."
The organization is also offering some extra incentive to get students to head to the polls this fall. Alpha Mu Chi is providing students an opportunity to win an HP 14 Pavilion Touch Smart laptop just for voting early.
In order to enter the drawing, students must be registered to vote, vote early, then fill out a card with their name, county and phone number and drop it into a box located in the SUB. Early voting started on Oct. 20 and will run through Oct. 31.
The drawing will take place on Election Day, Nov. 4, at 12:30 p.m. in the SUB.
Besides races for governor, lieutenantgovernor, attorney general and several other statewide offices, the college also has two propositions on the mid-term ballot.
Proposition one keeps the current 10-cent tax cap for maintenance and operation, but allows voter approval of repair, restoration and improvement bonds.
The second proposition calls for voter approval of $19.9 million in bonds to fund repair of existing college classrooms and infrastructure that is broken or worn out. If the two measures pass, taxes would be raised 3.6 cents per $100 valuation for Titus, Camp and Morris residents.
Alpha Mu Chi President Ashley Hall said the group decided to host the registration drive after she discovered last year that only two people in her class of 25-30 students had voted in the last election.
"That was very discouraging to me because we are the next generation of leaders in our society," Hall said. "And, if we don't start taking action and being a part of the decisions and changes happening now, then what's to say that we will when it is our generation that is suppose to be leading our nation."
Hall said Phi Theta Kappa members Chris Hamilton and Kayleah Cumpian worked on the idea for the computer giveaway. She said the hope is that the contest will encourage students to take part in the voting process.
"Any student who is going to vote this year should do so early and put their name in the contest to win the laptop," Hall said.


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We're about 3 weeks away from this year's A3C Festival in Atlanta — and today, the official line-up has now been revealed to the public. Celebrating their tenth year anniversary, "Hip Hop's Biggest Stage" will be trippy for a whole 5 days.
Artist slated to perform is Slaughterhouse, B.o.B, Black Thought, 9th Wonder and Rapsody, Twista, Vic Mensa, Scarface, and much more.
Check out the full line-up above


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-2 oz. Red Pineau des Charentes
-0.5 oz. rye whiskey
-1 dash Angostura bitter
-1 dash Absinthe
-1 dash Peychaud Bitter
-Garnish: glazed red grape
In a mixing glass, mix all ingredients together with ice and stirr with a bar spoon. Strain into a Martina glass. Garnish with glazed red grapes.


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It makes sense in principle: icebergs and ice sheets in the polar regions melt, and add water to the oceans.
So the oceans rise. But HOW? That's the question researched in great detail by Dave Sutherland in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon.
His research focuses not just on the melting, but where the water goes, horizontally and vertically. Sutherland's work takes him to Greenland and Alaska, among other places.
He is our guest in this month's edition of Curious: Research Meets Radio.


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Winter Olympics Organisers Apologise to Iran over Samsung Gift Gaffe
News reports said 4,000 of the phones were being given to athletes attending the Pyeongchang Games, but that athletes from Iran and North Korea would be excluded because of worldwide sanctions against the two countries. "The IOC has confirmed that the Iranian athletes are entitled to receive and keep the phones". Samsung Electronics has provided some 4,000 units of the Galaxy Note 8 Olympic Ed... [Full Article...]
Asus Zenfone 5 Lite With Full HD+ Display & Quad Cameras Leaked
Asus confirmed its MWC 2018 presence with the #BACKTO5 hashtag, hinting at Asus Zenfone 5 series launched. The ZenFone 5 Lite will seemingly feature a metal unibody design and a non-removable battery, according to the same leak. On the rear, the ASUS Zenfone 5 continues its imitation of the iPhone X with the design of the dual rear cameras. We already know that the Taiwanese compa... [Full Article...]
Dana White Confirms Yoel Romero Will Fight Robert Whittaker Next
Romero vs. Rockhold, presented by AirAsia, kicked into high gear as athletes from the main and co-main events warmed up with an open workout session at Elizabeth Quay, Perth, ahead of this Sundays pay-per-view event. The 40-year-old Romero, who won a gold medal in wrestling at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, stepped into the fight at short notice. "So there's a bit of time to figure out what's going t... [Full Article...]
Mike Tirico takes over as new face of NBC's Olympic coverage
The most popular events will be on NBC , but NBCSN is essential for comprehensive coverage of your favorite sports. More than 1,800 hours of online coverage begins Wednesday evening in the USA with preliminary curling matches. While I'm not much of a sports fan, I probably will tune in for some of the Winter Olympics-which run from February 9-25. It has schedules, news and 3-D and drone vie... [Full Article...]
Russian athletes excluded from PyeongChang for doping can't compete
Mutko, who in December was banned for life from the Olympics, told Russian news agency TASS: "The procedure of inviting or not inviting is similar those of a commercial private club tournament". Friday's ruling related to two separate cases, one involving 32 athletes and another involving 15 individuals, 13 of them athletes, two of them coaches. [Full Article...]
Android Messages could let users send SMS from the web
These features look very similar to what Apple's iMessage platform offers. XDA-Developers did a teardown of the APK for Android Messages 2.9 and found signs of Google shifting further toward the next major change in messaging technology, which is RCS ( Rich Communications Services ). [Full Article...]
Kingdom Hearts 3 New Trailers Reveal Monsters, Inc. And New Theme Song
When will it be announced? The second video reveals the theme song for Kingdom Hearts 3, which is called " Don't Think Twice " by Hikaru Utada. In addition to showing off Sora, Donald, and Goofy's custom world looks, gameplay of the area is also debuted, showing off a door chase sequence similar to the original Monsters Inc . [Full Article...]
Facebook launches trial for 'downvote' button
But what Facebook does with signals about problematic comments could raise new questions about censorship, and its roll as a news editor and media company. So apparently, this new DownVote button is designed for the Facebook and not for the users like us. There's now no plan to expand the test as is. [Full Article...]
Google faces class action lawsuit over new Pixel smartphone
Not to mention the majority of plaintiffs in the class action were no longer covered under their original warranty due to the intermittent nature of the flaw. The lawsuit also states that the plaintiff, a Pixel owner, would not have purchased the phone had they known of the defect beforehand. In case you happen to own any of these Pixel or Nexus-branded devices, you should get an alert for an ... [Full Article...]
Billionaire physician Patrick Soon-Shiong buys Los Angeles Times
He is now the executive editor at The New York Times . He will report to Tronc CEO Justin Dearborn, the company said. The sale of the Los Angeles Times is in keeping with one of two trends in media ownership: big companies getting bigger and wealthy investors taking on newspapers as philanthropic endeavors, said Al Tompkins, a senior faculty member at the Poynter Institute. [Full Article...]
Messaging service Twitter finally turns a profit
Stronger ad sales in the crucial holiday quarter made up the difference for Twitter, even as the number of new people joining the site continued to stagnate. Monthly active users in the United States were down to 68 million from 69 million in the third quarter. Twitter, which has posted consistent losses since it became a public company in 2013, said it expected to be profitable for the full yea... [Full Article...]
NBC's Winter Olympics Preview Sinks From Sochi
That in itself is a major development - she is one of his closest confidants , holds a senior party position and her trip would mark the first time any member of the ruling Kim family has visited the South since the Korean War. People were confusing the name of the town with North Korea's capital of Pyongyang. That's a record for the Winter Games. As they shook hands , the North and South ... [Full Article...]
SU Professor reflects on time with US Olympic Committee
The North also faces ever-tightening global sanctions after it conducted a fresh nuclear test a year ago and a series of missile tests. He's a huge favorite to take the gold medal in South Korea . Reviving inter-Korean talks is key to the polices of Moon, who says South Korea should be in the driver's seat in global efforts to deal with the North's nuclear threat. [Full Article...]
Fortnite Beats Concurrent Player Record Set By PUBG
Again, this isn't to say that Fortnite doesn't deserve to claim such a success - quite the contrary, in fact - but it should help put Fortnite's concurrent player triumph into a fairer perspective. The actual post itself swings widely technical in nature, but the bullet points speak to Epic Games claim that Fortnite is now the "biggest PC/console game in the world!" Now, Epic doesn't speci... [Full Article...]
Huawei P20 Lite leaked in live images; shows iPhone X-like notch
Although they are still on the right side of the phone, the volume rocker has been split into separate buttons like we saw in an earlier leak. If the reports are to believed, the smartphone will sport a 5.8-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. [Full Article...]
Softbank raises eyebrows with talks to buy a slice of Swiss Re
Analysts put the unit's total value from $55B to $60B, which means a minority portion sale could raise nearly $20B. SoftBank also owns stakes in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and the silicon specialist Arm , and the IPO will be important in raising cash for more investments, including into companies like Wag, which matches dog owners with dog walkers in what Son called the "dog version o... [Full Article...]
VP Mike Pence did not stand for unified Korea at Opening Ceremony
Zhu, an expert in political science and worldwide relations, did not expect North Korea to be diplomatically engaged with other nations during the games. It cemented what has been a rapid improvement in Korean ties since North Korea - after months of fierce nuclear rhetoric and missile tests - agreed last month to attend its first Olympics in the South. [Full Article...]
Why you should totally wait to buy Apple's new HomePod
An Apple analyst expects Cupertino to unveil a lower cost model as early as this fall, according to AppleInsider . The sound quality is tops and design is lovely, but with a heftier price tag, lack of partnerships with companies like Spotify and Uber , and Siri's inability to be truly useful right now, it's more of an Apple aspiration than a product ready for the prime time . [Full Article...]
In stunning turn, Uber pays to settle its court battle with Waymo
US District Judge William Alsup issued constant reminders in both his written orders and in-court instructions that the case was to be exclusively focused on the misappropriation of eight alleged trade secrets and "not whether or not Uber is an evil corporation". [Full Article...]
Snow falling across upper Midwest leaves roads treacherous
The department advised travelers to check their itinerary ahead of time because the winter weather warning remains active, the media added. Rates of about a half-inch per hour are expected through Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service . [Full Article...]
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On this day in 1984, Rhinestone, Starring Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone, premiered at Nashville's Roy Acuff Theater. Rhinestone is a musical comedy film where Parton tries to turn Stallone into a country sensation.
Though the film was panned upon its release, it gave Dolly two top ten country singles: "Tennessee Homesick Blues" and "God Won't Get You."


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Custom Web Design in Nashville – Tennessee
The Wisdom on How to Achieve Business Success in Nashville, Tennessee is with Custom Web Design
Having so many educational institutions and numerous buildings constructed in Greek revival style, Nashville gained its moniker the Athens of the South. Moreover, in commemoration of Tennessee's statehood, a replica of the Athenian Parthenon was built in Nashville. Apparently, the city is oozing with knowledge and wisdom given that its nickname derives from the Goddess of Wisdom's name, Athena. But does Nashville have all the necessary wisdom for business success—the newest one, greatest, and the best? Nevertheless, whether you know it or not, here we reveal to you now that secret knowledge that helps hastens the accomplishment of success in your business. And that is Proweaver's custom web design!
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Proweaver's custom web design brings you so many advantages that help your business become successful more than ever. Seriously, the benefits are incredibly unimaginable! Imagine your business going international or being operational 24 hours in a day, everyday. Or imagine having alternative ways in advertising—a better one, cheaper, and more effective. Imagine bettering your customer services, building a greater rapport with customers, and making your own brand in your industry. Imagine your business so widely popular, as reputable and useful as the city of Nashville itself. Whatever your business may be whether healthcare, publishing, banking, transportation, education, or entertainment, we sure could create you the best website for your line of business ever. We make you a site that is distinctly yours, fashioned to your own unique company, and customized to your own preferences and your customers' tastes. If you have the knowledge to create such an ideal business as yours, Proweaver has the wisdom to design the website that is suitably yours. We guarantee its attractiveness, invitingness, and effectiveness, not to mention cost efficiency. That is right! We create excellent custom web designs at a very affordable price. Here are the services that we offer:
- Web Graphic Design – Of course this is one of the most important factors of a website. The graphics of a site helps set the mood of the audience, either to make them happy and convinced about your site or make them unsatisfied and unmoved. With Proweaver, all positive impressions are certain to come across every viewer's minds for we customize the visuals of your site as appeals to your audience special tastes with regards to their age, gender, location, profession, culture, etc.
- Layout Design – Many may have overlooked the importance of the page layout, but this in fact plays a crucial role in creating a very successful site. The truth is, the consistency and proportionality of the layouts helps make the site convenient to use and organized. Proweaver does all the necessary layout designing that makes your site's navigation overly fluid and systematically understandable.
- Logo Design – This one is obviously important. It creates your first impression upon the viewers. And so, we create your logo attractively that it grabs the people's attention. Also we make it symbolically meaningful that it leaves a deeper impression to those who see it.
- Copywriting – After all the designing comes the words. As creatively as we design visuals, we also create the written content of your site attractively that it does not bore its readers. We make sure that it has all the details and information needed while maintaining its persuasiveness, engagingness, and convincingness.
- Authoring – Beneath all the writing and designing is the very crucial component of a successful site. And that is proper coding. Proweaver uses codes that are guaranteed error free.
Aside from being a highly educated city and something that diligently seeks knowledge, Nashville is not only the Athens but also a City of Music. Nashville is a leading producer of countless amazing songs. Just so, after gaining this significant knowledge about custom web designs by Proweaver, which helps popularize your business in the entire Davidson County, Tennessee, the whole nation and probably even beyond, you could surely relax now with your city's awesome music. Cool down and rejoice with your music and Proweaver's custom web design will do the rest.


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ERIC Number: ED039915
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1970-Jun
Pages: 96
Abstractor: N/A
Reference Count: N/A
Final Report of the Activities Committee on New Directions for ALA and Subcommittee Reports.
American Library Association, Chicago, IL.
It is recommended that: (1) the American Library Association continue to be an organization for both librarians and libraries with the broad objective of promoting and improving library service and librarianship; (2) the Association's highest current priorities be recognized and officially established as: social responsibilities, manpower, intellectual freedom, legislation, planning, research and development, democratization and reorganization; (3) substantially increased amounts of the Association's budget be directed toward implementation of these priorities and (4) specific action be taken in each of the stated priority areas. The official statement of the Activities Committee on New Directions for ALA reflects the results of all its thinking and conclusions. It absorbs and thus supplants the first or interim report presented at Midwinter. Although the main body of the report incorporates much material lifted almost intact from the reports of the subcommittees, the appendixes contain the complete and unedited final reports of all the subcommittees. The committee feels that giving the membership the opportunity to examine the full expression of the thinking of the subcommittees justifies the repetition. (NH)
Descriptors: Librarians, Library Associations, Library Services, Objectives
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: American Library Association, Chicago, IL.


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Part of the "Just the Basics" Line...
Just the journal cards....and in vintage floral motif to mix with lots of different journal themes.
You can check them out ..... HERE
I want these. They are gorgeous! Will look great as ATC's or in a journal. Love them a lot. Edwina Brown


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I am a technology professional committed to the development of sustainable solutions that deliver results.
Mainstream Support for XP, Office 2003, & Windows Server 2003 Ends
Submitted by Robert on Sat, 04/11/2009 - 12:00
Mainstream Support for consumer versions of Windows XP and Office 2003 will end Tuesday April 14, 2009.
This means that incident support, warranty claims, feature/design enhancements, and bug fixes not related to security will no longer be provided free of charge.
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Top 10: 23rd January 2010
Last week : Our twelve contestants gave it their ALL! Nigel gushed over how HOT AND SEXY Alistair & Mandy were, but we were all distracted by Mandy's revelation that Alistair sweats at a rate faster than Arlene does at a meeting to discuss her future with the BBC! Yanet & Robbie were such a hot mess that even (I wish it was that) Sisco had to criticise. And he thinks everything's phenomenal. Sorry. FERRRRRR-NOM-INNNUW! The judges started to get into bitch-fights over everything, but thankfully this week we've got 17 routines to get through in an hour so there should be less of that. God, imagine if Dancing On Ice had 17 bits of actual content to get into a show. It'd take up a whole day of ITV scheduling. Apart from Wild At Heart obviously. They'd still find a way to sneak that in somehow. Gavin & Chloe's dreams were shattered FOREVER although I get the impression that Gavin's dreams involved Chloe and 5 minutes round the back of the BBC Canteen so...maybe not. This week there is SO MUCH PRESSURE THAT PEOPLE ARE CRYING! TWO PEOPLE WILL BE LEAVING! THIS! IS! SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!
Credits : SHUGGA-BIGGA-BOGGA DANCE!
And now we welcome onto our stage our Top Ten : Yanet (Sexy), Tommy (Happy), Mandy (Doc), Alistair (Prince Charming), Hayley (Grumpy), Mark (Daddy), Charlie (Dopey), Drew (The Wicked Queen), Lizzie (Bashful), Robbie (Snow White). These are the girls, and here are your guys. And yes, I do think, given that Cat towers over all of them as she shimmies through the landscape of frozen dancers, some of them might actually qualify as dwarves. Once out, Cat informs us that if these dancers want to survive, they will have to dance THREE WHOLE TIMES. Actually, I make it six or seven. Those two opening bits, the gendered group dance, the whole group dance, the paired routine, the solo and the dance-off dance if they end up there. I tell you, they don't work this hard on any other reality show. Anyway, this week, we're moving from voting for couples to voting for individuals, so if anybody was holding anybody back vote wise (*COUGH* MANDY *COUGH*) they are no longer a burden. Hooray. The judges are still going to decide on the bottom twos though, because they're nice like that. Also, it's not as though they were doing anything else.
Now it's time to introduce us to said judges and... I kind of wish (IWIWT) Sisco had stuck to his old stupid hat, because his new stupid hat offends me on a number of levels. It looks like it should have a propeller stuck in the top. It looks like it should have two soda cans on each side, attached to his mouth via a straw. It makes him look like a Pokemon Gym Leader. It makes him look like a geek (WHO IT TURNS OUT CAN DANCE) in High School Musical. Basically it looks like 17 different stupid hats, all manifest in the same entity. I want that anonymous choreographer woman from auditions to come and replace him as soon as possible. Whatever happened to her? Anyway, as he's wearing fake army gear (how on trend...for 2004) Cat Deeley goes "you're in the army now, woah, ooh woah, you're in the army now" and seriously when your outfit provokes Status Quo lyrics as a response, maybe it's time to question if you're as cool as you think you are. Please?
Nigel informs us that tonight is going to be super difficult as, just as we were all mashing up Drew and Hayley's names for their impending marriage a la Brangelina (Drayley?) [Haylew? - Steve] the couples have been reshuffled via the HAT OF RANDOM. Oh come on, you know Nigel thought that Drew and Hayley were totally doing it. Nigel then offers the advice to the contestants of using the adrenaline of FEAR to improve their performances. I'd be careful - if Alistair embraced his fear, the floor might become a sliding hazard.
First up, the Vagina Party routine, which is apparently "Bollywood". The problem with this is that it's being danced to "Jai Ho" which to be honest, is about as authentically Bollywood as Chicken Tikka Masala. As such the routine would maybe work as a (borderline racist) pop routine, but as Bollywood it's all a bit fast and cliched (lots of head-jerking and bobbing and sudden pre-emptory use of props at the end) to really come off well. Said props incidentally are some flower petals and some sticks, which are used in a very half-hearted way. Basically the girls clang them together like they're afraid to break a nail/put somebody's eye out. Lizzie and Yanet come across as the ones the cameras are really interested in and they're neither of them awful, although Yanet's Bollywood Smile is a little bit terrifying.
Cat informs us that the boys will be along later, and tells us all the numbers we need to vote later, and once again that all the couples have been split and reshuffled, as these dancers need to prove they can dance any style with any partner. I think it would be nice if some of them could prove they could dance any style. But in a slightly different way. With sightly different emphasis.
First up are Lizzie and Drew, with Drew informing us all that his overbearing mother will be there in the audience every week, being neurotic and trying to steal the limelight. At this point, the ashes of Sigmund Freud strain from all over the globe to try to reconvene and stroke their beard. We then cut to an interview with Drew's mother, who gets out a baby photo (I'm kind of disappointed he didn't have the same hair as a child as he does now) and talks about how proud she is. Bless her. We are then shown Drew pulling Lizzie's name out of the RANDOM HAT and them going on an afternoon out in London to learn about each other. Specifically they go to a record store, where Drew tells Lizzie that she might not know the type of music he's into, and then pulls out a JUDY GARLAND ALBUM! ON VINYL! LIVE FROM CARNEGIE HALL!
TV highlight of the year so far. [It's a shame we didn't get to see more of Lizzie's reaction. I'm guessing it was along the lines of "no, not a surprise, Drew. I have got eyes, y'know." - Steve]
Lizzie then tries to get Drew interested in some classic hip-hop and then they have an adorable jostle fight with him trying to shove the Judy album into shot and her trying to get the hip-hop album in there. It's like Obama's election all over again. They then go to a diner where Lizzie informs Drew that she likes chips with ice-cream and offers him some, whilst Drew looks REPULSED. Thank you RANDOM HAT for bringing us this pairing.
The style they've pulled this week is Disco, being taught and choreographed by that Giant Lady who is definitely owed after what Gavin and Chloe did to her Broadway routine last week. She speaks for the entire audience with the following exchange :
Giant Lady : Are you quite shy?
Lizzie : Yeah
Giant Lady : Get over it.
I kind of want Giant Lady to be farmed out to other reality shows to bust up other long running contestant tropes :
Giant Lady : Are you getting married soon?
Tom Chambers : Yes
Giant Lady : I don't care
Giant Lady : Are you worried about looking like a tit?
Gary Lucy : A bit
Giant Lady : Nobody gives a shit.
Giant Lady : Is your dad dead?
Niki Evans : Yes, and oh my God, there's a really CRAZY story about how I was going through his things and I fou...
Giant Lady : Fuck off Meaty Minge.
Anyway, Giant Lady then yells at Lizzie, shoving her into Drew (yay! more shoving!) and screaming "KISS HIM! KISS HIM!" at her, like we're at "Grow A Personality Boot Camp" or something. Drew and Lizzie both agree that Lizzie is coming out of her shell, BUT WILL IT BE IN TIME FOR SATURDAY?! Incidentally, this montage was sound tracked by the Amie Stewart version of "Knock On Wood", and if they'd actually danced to that, I might actually have had a little homo explosion. [TMI. - Steve]
Instead they're actually dancing to "Disco Inferno" which is pretty overused at this point. I think it's interesting that the more memorable routines of the series so far have been to less well-known pieces. If the show gets a second series I'd like to see a bit more left field stuff and a bit less of the standards. [I think that's quite likely actually - they're probably a bit wary of alienating viewers at this stage, but if they can keep track of the ones they've got, they might get a bit more out-there with their music choices during the fabled "second season". - Steve] Anyway, they start on giant glitter-boxes, pumping their arms and hips around, and then Drew effing LEAPS off the box and from there I'm just transfixed by his magical dancing hair. I swear, if Drew's hair were a contestant, I would vote for it every week. The routine is pretty fast and enjoyable, and Lizzie certainly doesn't seem particularly reserved in it. The one problem is that some of the lifts are a little bit tentative, but aside from that, a fun time is had by all. Once it's over, an entire army of Drew fans leap to their feet, led by his mother screaming fit to beat the band, and then we cut to... nobody from Lizzie's crew. Bless her. Now she's less shy, maybe she can get some friends.
They walk over to Cat, who tells Lizzie that Kylie would be proud of Lizzie's gold hotpant work. At this point I notice that there are actually flames on said gold hotpants. Lizzie is literally a firecrotch. Nigel starts for the judges by saying that Lizzie obviously stopped being shy when she put that outfit on, to which comment Lizzie gives an adorable little head-flick. Nigel then says that routine was particularly worrying for him and Arlene, because it took him back to the sort of dance they would be doing 40 years ago in Studio 54. Yeah, Arlene and Nigel were so ground-breaking that they danced disco 3 years before the genre (jahhhhhhhhhnre) was invented, on the grounds of a club that wouldn't open for another 7 years. SO AVANT-GARDE!
Although this does make me imagine Arlene as a contestant again. Sigh.
Anyway, Nigel enjoyed it cause it had a real sense of fun. Arlene next, who nonsenses that disco is like a heartbeat. Yeah, the heartbeat of an arrhythmic asthmatic with heart problems. She then praises Drew for embracing all the styles put before him but says he needs to spend more time building up his strength so he can really throw Lizzie about. Or Lizzie could just lose some weight, the HIP-HOP HEIFER! Alright, not that last part. Arlene then congratulates Lizzie on becoming a "real girl" [she knows exactly who she am - Steve and Mutya Buena] tonight and dancing in heels as she NEVER HAS BEFORE! Except presumably in the Viennese Waltz last week. We then cut to Nigel praising her for one moment where she really looked like she was enjoying herself/having a tiny little orgasm. Hooray! Tiny little orgasm face!
Louise praises Lizzie for coming out of her shell, and Drew on lifting Lizzie so effortlessly that she never felt once that she had to run on stage and catch Lizzie and then maybe do the routine from the "Naked" video to cover it up. Arlene on the other hand, had to be restrained from doing that exact same thing several times. (IWIWT) Sisco finishes by calling Drew a great support system and Lizzie really versatile, before boo-hooing about how we won't get to see them dance together next week. Luckily for Lizzie this is just because they're both going back into the RANDOM HAT (him to Charlie and her to Tommy I'm guessing but shrug, it is TOTALLY RANDOM), but if you look at his partners, he is kind of a black widower at this point.
Cat closes by asking Lizzie about the fear of heights she suddenly realised she had when she got up on that 4ft glitterbox, but apparently Lizzie is totes over that now. Hooray, Reality TV Show as therapy works again! Thank you Giant Lady.
Next up - solos. Charlie's is to "Pop" by N'Sync and she basically jumps around constantly doing side-splits, looking totally Langford and making sure I still don't really get her appeal on any level, and she's followed by Robbie, leaping around terrifyingly with his massive limbs to Switchfoot (*blech* Christian Rock *blech*) and doing one truly impressive movement at the end where he kind of catapults one leg up and over his head from a standing position. Solos are hard to recap y'all.
Next up for the couples are Mandy & Mark. We're reminded that last week she ended up literally (/not actually literally) "dancing for her life" in the bottom 2 which apparently reminded her of all her long years of having people say "no" to her. Sadly none of those times involved her asking people "do you think I should wear ugly hoodies that look like slankets every week?" Anyway, then her husband with the Big Giant Head interviews about how she's come out of retirement for this, after taking 3 years off dancing to put his arse through University and she says she doesn't want to let her family and friends down (Giant Lady : Get over it.) and then she starts crying and oh dearing all over the place, before saying she wants to go into the studio and come out showing people why she's here. Other than the appealing backstory obviously.
We're shown her drawing Mark out of the RANDOM HAT and Cat tells us that it's Mark's job this week to keep her cheerful (/not mind too much as she drags him down into the bottom 2). They've drawn contemporary this week, choreographed by Henri Oguike. Or not actually choreographed by Henri Oguike, as apparently because he's lazy (/wants them to read and understand each other) there will be a lot of improvisation in this week's routine. OH.DEAR. Anyway, as you'd expect, Mark is a little confused by what the hell he's supposed to be doing. But then his child comes in and gets waved in front of the camera a bit and that makes it alright apparently. Although the excuse for bringing him (it's his first birthday and Mark doesn't want to miss it) is better than it usually is for this sort of thing. Mandy gushes about how cute he is, and then jacks in the competition immediately to get back on that "baby having" thing she was talking about. Except not. Unfortunately.
Cat at least gives us notice that they're dancing to "Show Me Heaven" before it starts so I can get the sick-bucket at the ready. Sorry, I can't stand this song. It's like getting stuck inside Heart FM, and not the awesome side of Heart FM where they play Pat Benatar and Barry Manilow. The start's alright, and Mandy does a awesome roll around on the floor, but after that... it frankly looks improvised on the spot. Nothing has any intent or purpose, and there's one particular horrendous moment where they walk around for about 5 seconds and then kind of...flop into each other. Basically, he looks awkward, and she looks deranged, and it officially for me crosses the line for contemporary dance where it just gets parody-funny. They feel like they should be the comedy contestants in Bring It On. It feels like there was angry gay stereotype choreographer behind this (like the sort they're apparently already resorting to in Glee). Oh and at the end, she actually picks his head up by his rat-rail to point it at the camera. GROSS GROSS GROSS.
Oh God, someone's let someone in the audience come in with a whistle. PLEASE NO.
Cat giggles about what a sing-along moment that was (yeah, if the lyrics for Show Me Heaven were actually "Woah-oh what are they doing, it looks like turd") and Nigel starts for the judges by saying that the routine and Mandy in particular lacked chemistry and that Mark needs to get all his friends and family (what is it with Nigel constantly talking about Mark's interactions with his mates. Does Nigel want to hang?) to constantly remind him to point his feet and think about his extremities. Does the rat-tail count as an extremity? Would "cutting it the hell off" count as "thinking about it"? Arlene of course disagrees, because if there's one thing Arlene is noted for, it's the fact that she definitely doesn't go after peoples hand/foot technique like (IWIWT) Sisco goes after ugly hats. She thinks that all you need for contemporary dance, is the ability to breathe and find things in yourself that you've never found before (Fun fact : Arlene found a 2p coin up there the other day) and Mark managed to do those things but Mandy didn't because she was just trying to do the steps.
I know Arlene's all about the "BALLROOM AND LATIN ARE THE HARDEST!" but I think contemporary dance requires a little bit more than the ability to breathe. Although if that were true then Gavin's failure is even more tragic. His own style turned out to be breathing and he failed at it.
Louise follows up by pulling out the same bullshit "this is so hard for you because you are hip-hop" card that she rallied so wonderfully against last week and I shake my head in disappointment. Oh Louise, you were doing so well. Anyway, Mark is yay, Mandy is boo says Louise. (IWIWT) Sisco finishes by pulling dumb faces and telling Arlene and Louise that they were wrong, and that Mandy was amazing, and that Mark really did all he could, but his extensions were poor and his hands were mangled. Given that his right hand is clearly still bandaged up, I THINK THERE MIGHT BE A REASON FOR THAT (IWIWT) SISCO. Cat sends them off gleefully, whilst Henri looks on scornfully from the audience. Might have actually choreographed them something Henri? Do you think?
Solos again next with Hayley cartwheelin and smiling around to "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse and being alright, in a bad-ass Nomi Malone stripper sense, and then...Alastair's got his shirt off and is dancing amazingly! But... it's to Mika, and so will have to be my second favourite tv show of the moment of the year after Drew getting his Judy out and waving it to camera. If you want to follow suit Alastair, you are more than welcome.
Yanet and Tommy are next up and she informs us via VT that her mother was Cuba's national Judo champion and before Yanet came to England, her mother taught her how to do it, so anybody who crosses her better WATCH OUT. Given that Yanet's mothers brand of judo apparently involves a massive fuck-off sword, I'd be doubly worried. Tommy then informs us that he too is schooled in the way of martial arts, as he once spent a year training up Martial Arts Mountain. Martial Arts Mountain totally sounds like a rejected level for Super Mario 64. Anyway, both of these people could cause you pain in ways you can't even imagine, so vote for them ok?
Anyway, this week, when Yanet needs it most, she has apparently drawn salsa out of the TOTALLY RANDOM HAT, and also drawn one of the two most adaptable male dancers. SO VERY RANDOM. There's a lot of talk about how the salsa involves Latin Passion and sex, and whilst Yanet is overjoyed to have drawn her style (THE STYLE OF FILTH!) Tommy is a bit worried, because he's not used to bringing out his sexy side. Bless Tommy, he does come across as quite asexual. Maybe that was just because up til now he's been dancing with a child. To help him bring out said sexy side, Yanet is going to take him out to a salsa club. Hopefully the same one where Cherie Lunghi went last series in Strictly, where they all thought she was amazing. Ie, the salsa club for the easily impressed. I bet they have a statue of her in the middle of the floor. Once there Yanet dances with him for a bit, before throwing him open to the floor, which gobbles him up eagerly, because he's on the telly innit. Anywhoodle, he learns to be sexy, and Yanet is very impressed as he shakes his maracas everywhere.
Out on the floor and watching this for the second time, I can now actually force my eyes away from her amazingness to focus on what he's doing because the first time... she was just captivating. He's actually pretty good from the neck down - very fast and fluid and down into the floor, but he's still grinning inanely most of the time bless him and there's still something about his movement I find a little bit too muscular and forceful. On the other hand if there's any male performance that should have broken the LATIN CURSE this series it was this one. She, of course, is effortless in her own style, and I can even forgive them for ganking Jade's end pose from her Strictly salsa for it. Oh and the whole "playing a woman like she's the bongos" move, which is but one step above "leg-guitar".
Louise starts for the judges by saying "that's what I'm talking about" all Lee McQueen and praising Tommy for managing to keep up with Yanet in her own style, whilst inserting some of his own (aimless grinning?) into it. Arlene next, and she goes mental over the pair of them, saying they single-handedly demonstrate why there's been a salsa explosion in this country (so tacky Arlene, four people died in that salsa explosion) and that Tommy is so smart and adaptable. Who would have thought that this hip-hop dancer and this "Cuban Motion Girl" would make such a great pairing? The RANDOM HAT that's who. ALL PRAISE THE RANDOM HAT!
Nigel next and he calls Yanet a real "Alpha Female who knows what she wants" (and how nice that the GBP actually appear to have taken to that attitude for once) but she's got a heart of gold, because she put so much effort into teaching Tommy this week, and it paid off. And he got to show off his versatility in new jahhhhhhhhhnres some more as well. Winner winner chicken dinner all round. Thankfully (IWIWT) Sisco doesn't get to speak, and instead we just cut to Gavin somewhere in the back row of the audience looking proud for them. Aw. I did like Gavin even if his dancing was sometimes a bit... suspect.
Some more solos now, with Lizzie doing that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang style "clockwork doll comes to life" routine we saw her do in auditions. Well, which we saw 5 seconds of her doing in auditions. It's quite nice, if a bit off-style for a hip-hop specialist. [It wasn't exactly the showiest solo I've ever seen, but it was my favourite because there was something really charming about it. For what that's worth, anyway. - Steve] Drew then follows by dancing to more Judy Garland. Specifically the end of "The Trolley Song" complete with actual heartstring(/brace-strap) twanging. Bless his little gay cotton socks.
Next up, a couple who have both found themselves in the danger zone before - Hayley & Alistair. And again, it's nice to see the public not automatically saving definitely the best looking man and (probably, I don't know) the best looking girl. I swear, the fewer people watch a show the more happy I usually am with the public vote. I have no idea what that says about me, but it's probably not positive. Alistair talks a little bit about how he put everything into his routine last week but still wound up in the dance-off but this week he's going to try to yadda yadda, you know the drill.
We're shown next that Hayley managed to pick hip-hop out of the RANDOM HAT and thereby scuppered herself permnantly and forever. They're dancing to a routine by Simeon Qseya who apparently has done the MOBOs and MTV Awards and stuff, and so presumably knows his onions in terms of commercial hip-hop dancing. Both Hayley and Alistair snort around sarcastically in training about how much they looooooove the routine and how grrrrrrreat they are at it, but then Hayley goes boo-hoo mental and runs out into the corridor crying about how the routine doesn't play to her strengths and how it's just "a load of gymnastics". Oh Hayley you fool. You were probably eliminated the second you started crying, but that stuff just made it worse. [Also, "just a load of gymnastics" is kind of how I would've described Hayley's solo for this evening, so....yeah. - Steve] Alistair also has a bit of a mither and a panic, but at least manages to do it without falling into an already half-formed stereotype of himself as a bit of a stage school brat.
Anyway, we then get a brief visit to Alistair's farm, where his parents are holding a big party to try and rally support for him. Everyone waves banners and sports self-made t-shirts and shouts and cheers for Alistair, before his mother yells at them all through a megaphone to VOTE FOR ALISTAIR. Given what the voting figures probably are, it might just swing the balance.
OK first sabotaging thing first, they are dancing right into a giant NEON WALL WITH A BROKEN HEART ON IT. That's just tacky. Also they're dancing to Chris Brown, and I can just about forgive the us of his wife-beating ass if the routine's amazing (like Russell and Kathryn dancing to "I Can Transform Ya" in the final of the US version and ACTUALLY PRETENDING TO BE A TRANSFORMER!) but not for some common or garden Hollyoaks TOUCHING THE WALL ACTING. Finally she is wearing Heelies and sorry, if I were a professional dancer and I was asked to dance in sodding Heelies I would have an eppy fit at least as big as hers. What the fun? Basically she just slides around the floor like Stan Laurel. They're both trying, but it's just not very interesting and again feels a bit too poppy and not "authentic". Not that I want to use dread words like "authentic", like I'm any sodding judge of hip hop authenticity, but that's what they've driven me to. [On the plus side, Alastair should wear red vests more often. And I quite want the tracksuit bottoms he was wearing for this routine. I mean, not that EXACT pair...although, actually... - Steve]
(IWIWT) Sisco starts for the judges by putting Hayley on blast for her bad attitude going into the routine, telling her she let Alistair down. And I like Alistair but... his attitude wasn't exactly brilliant either. It was more of a mutual spiral of destruction thing, and she just let herself get carried away with it more than he did, and so made herself look uglier. Then again, she was the one WHO HAD TO WEAR SODDING HEELIES so I guess they come out about even. Anyway, he then says they did a really good job of it, and then apologises for being so contradictory but a bad attitude is one of (IWIWT) Sisco's pet hates.
(IWIWT) Sisco's other pet hates :
Rude people
Trains being delayed
Dog poo on pavements
That Coming Of Age keeps on getting recomissioned.
Basically not so much a "pet hate" as a "universal human experience" then. [As far as I was concerned, he deserved a Heelie to the face for telling her to "keep it cute and mute". Dickhead. - Steve]
Louise breaks in all "I'm confused" and if I did that every time a judge said something that wasn't internally consistent, this recap would be twice the length (I know, I know, doesn't bear thinking about does it?) Arlene then jumps in to defend Hayley, saying what she was doing was really difficult and disorientating, so it's no surprise she had a conniption fit over it. Nigel then interjects to say that he agrees with "our little desert rat corporal Sisco" (see? EVEN NIGEL IS MOCKING THE HAT!) that both dancers built up a metaphorical wall with the routine before they even started LIKE THE WALL ON THE STAGE, DO YOU SEE?! Which isn't what (IWIWT) Sisco was saying, but which I think is actually closer to the truth so... good. He puts them both on blast a bit for being so whiny and says the only reason the routine was so gymnastic was because neither of them can dance hip hop worth a lick, so it's their fault really, before saying they both did a good job with what they had, particularly Hayley. Cat sends them off, with Hayley clearly doomed.
Some more solos now. Mandy leaps and bounds around to that awesome Beth Ditto/Simian Mobile Disco collaboration that's going around, in a spangly hoodie that I'm sure I would covet if I were that sort of person, but I am not. [*conspicuous silence* - Steve] Mark follows and you can really tell that he produces his own stuff for the public, because he's probably the best self-choreographer here, although his final flip goes a bit wrong and he lands a bit on his head. Again. Also he's dancing to Alicia Keys so... bleh. What I do like is that one of his supporters - an old woman and possibly a relative - is waving around a sheet of A4 paper with the words "GUEST OF MARK" written on it in Times New Roman Bold Caps.
(Yes, yes I know it's probably the sheet of paper used to mark where the family of each dancer should sit, whatever, it's funny)
Oh boy. Next up, it's Charlie & Robbie and... she's got all her make-up scrubbed off and is wearing a headscarf. This ladies and gentlemen? Is So You Think You Can Dance Wank.
But first, a bit of light relief, in the form of a visit to Robbie's local area, where the butchers have written out "Vote Robbie" in sausages, and the local bakers have made a cake in the shape of Robbie's most well-known pose (head back, legs back, chest looking like a xylophone and pushed forward) and it's all very Wallace & Gromit. Said butcher incidentally informs us that "Robbie loves his meat". I'm saying nowt. We then visit Charlie's MASSIVE HOUSE wth a big shiny banner out the front, where her mother and grandmother inform us that they're really proud of Charlie, and every time they watch her, their hearts feel like they're bursting. I'd see a doctor about that, ladies.
Anyway, to the studio, where we see the pair of them with noted choreographer from the US version, Tyce Diorio (/Tasty Oreo), who we are told is an "Emmy Award Winning Choreographer". What we are not then told is that one of said Emmys was won FOR THIS DANCE. Because this? Is Breast Cancer Dance. A dance that Tyce choreographed about a friend of his suffering from breast cancer, which has already been performed on the US version. Incidentally when it was performed on the US version, it was performed by two dancers who had both been bottom 2 for two weeks prior to it, and then went home the week afterwards. They were not in the bottom 2 that week, I can tell you. We are then informed of the story behind the dance by Charlie, who reassures us all that her family are going to be in floods of tears after the dance, and so proud of her.
Basically there's been a lot of wank about this dance, and I personally don't object to a story about cancer being told via a light entertainment show, or even the slightly overwrought nature of the way it was framed - it just feels like it was, maybe, deployed? For these two people and for the good of the show in general by getting people and talking. And that makes me feel a bit icky, although no more so than the constant sob stories on X Factor, and none of those were in service to something as... I hesitate to say "entertaining", but you know, quite good, as this.
Also I kind of object that it's being done to a cover version of "This Woman's Work" when the original is RIGHT THERE. It's performed really well, and it seems to have hit something in Charlie in particular, who is giving the first performance I've really liked from her all series. [I concur. I'm not a big fan of Charlie, and a lot of the context for this performance didn't sit well with me, but I genuinely thought she really upped her game with this one. - Steve] Sometimes she gets a little bit too "acty" and not enough "dancey", but physically she's really giving herself to the performance, and Robbie's not looking too shabby either. I'm glad that we're getting to see routines this good on the show, because a lot of the choreography thus far has been a bit drab.
This next week plz? It's totally about the horrors of domestic violence or summat. [SECONDED. Failing that, please give us this one. It's about ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL! - Steve]
Over to the judges they go, with Charlie in absolute floods already, and (IWIWT) Sisco very ostentatiously already wiping tears from his eyes with his wrists. Tit. Nigel starts for the judges with a SERIOUS BUSINESS face and voice on, and tells Charlie that it's amazing she was able to produce a display of such emotional maturity at such a young age. Robbie gets similar props for portraying the long-suffering partner of the woman with cancer, before we get informed the irony of it all is that it's Nigel's wedding day and IT'S TOTALLY RAINING! Oh no, wait, it's that Tyce has had to go back to America because his mother has pancreatic cancer. Which is apparently is "the reality catching up with the fantasy" and that is some gross awful tacky wording there. Ech.
Arlene next who says that she's never seen Robbie pull his heart out on stage quite like he did then, and then apologises to Charlie, because Arlene didn't want Charlie in the top 14, and the others had to literally sit on her to stop her sticking her photo in her mouth and eating it during deliberations, and she was SO WRONG. Louise then follows by saying that they brought her to tears (although she is notably not making as big a show of it as CERTAIN OTHER JUDGES DID) and gave her goosebumps and praises Robbie for his technical skill and for Charlie becoming a woman on the stage in front of her. Speaking of said CERTAIN OTHER JUDGES, (IWIWT) Sisco boo-hoos his way through saying that Robbie and Charlie and the audience did what dancers and audience are supposed to do during a routine and then punches his fist into his hand. Apparently this symbolises "merging" but I kind of wish that in one of the routines a dancer randomly popped off at an audience member. IT REPRESENTS THE WAR IN IRAQISTAN! Everyone in tears, Charlie and Robbie leave.
Following that... WHO'S IN THE MOOD FOR SOME LATIN PASSION?! Poor Yanet. She ain't representing nothing but her hips. Her (good but nothing blow-away) solo, is followed by Tommy's solo, a hip hop number to "Beggin" by Madcon and it's equally quite strong, but nothing you'll really remember having your tea next day.
Next up, Cat hyped up the arrival of JLS, and I wonder if the quality dip between the second and third single will be the same as between the first and second and if we all might not be pitched into hell as a result.
Finally, it's time for the SAUSAGE-FEST performance, with the boys repeatedly throwing themselves at two wire fences to the tune of "When You're A Jet" from West Side Story. Even as a confirmed Sondheim stan, I can't endorse this song. Anyway, it's all disjointed, and serves to remind me that, outside of BCD, I don't really enjoy Tasty Oreo's choreography very often. Drew and Alistair probably stand out the most, but it's quite hard to locate where the action actually is most of the time. [The routine was a bit of a mess, but Alastair as a Jet had a funny effect on me. I'm not proud. - Steve]
Once that's over, we get a reminder of what's happened this evening (CANCER DANCE! HAYLEY'S HEELIES! FLAMING COOCHES! THE DOWNSIDE OF CONTEMPORARY! TOMMY UNLEASHING HIS LATIN PASSION!) Oddly enough, none of the solos and neither of the group dances are represented in the recap. Funny that.
Steve will have your results very soon!
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Also - I need to be sure that you know - no trees were harmed in the snapping of this photo. This is just how I came across the tree when walking at Harry Todd Park. I have been known to do some weird stuff all for the sake of getting the right shot - but I would not set up my photo like this or manipulate the subject. I take it like it is.
It's a painful process. I don't like it. I'm guessing most people don't.
It's something that I come across often in therapy. I recently graduated with my MA in Marriage and Family Therapy and told clients then, and students I work with now... that, while it can appear painful - there is a reason and a purpose. While there can be pain in the process (sometimes that's why these layers were created)... God's created something perfect and unique in you.


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Last weekend BookCon 2016 got very Howlery… Howlerish? You get the point. It was awesome.
For those of you who weren't able to attend, I figured that a recap was in order. For those of you who were there, here's your chance to relive it with me.
Ready to get started? Here we go…
BookCon 2016
There were fans lined up as early as 330 on Saturday morning. I breezed in at 7 with a smile on my face and got cozy in line. At 8 o'clock they opened the doors and let everyone in little by little to start claiming wristbands. Here's the board showing all the authors that were ticketed that day:
I quickly hopped in line and grabbed my wristband for Pierce's line and then made my way to what I lovingly referred to as the cow corral for the next couple of hours. Take a look below and you'll see exactly what I mean:
Less than an hour after the wristband lines opened, the Pierce Brown bands were all spoken for. That was a very exciting moment! Check out the other authors who also went quickly here:
When the show opened at 10 o'clock I headed straight to the panel rooms to get settled in for the 'Unwritten: Stories You Haven't Read (Yet)' panel featuring Justin Cronin, Scott Sigler, Naomi Novik, and Pierce Brown. It was moderated by editor extraordinaire, Mike Braff.
The panel was fantastic, the authors were all hilarious, and I found myself adding to my to be read list because of it. Here are a few of the things I live tweeted during the discussion in case you missed them:
.@Pierce_Brown says his ideas come from personal experience & moving/traveling. Through exploring life. Books are his best friends. #bookcon
— Planet Red Rising (@PlanetRedRising) May 14, 2016
.@Pierce_Brown "If someone asks if you want to be a writer, tell them you ARE a writer. Don't wait for someone else's validation." #bookcon
— Planet Red Rising (@PlanetRedRising) May 14, 2016
.@Pierce_Brown is asking @naominovik about her fanfic. More specifically where he can find her #Buffy fics. #bookcon
— Planet Red Rising (@PlanetRedRising) May 14, 2016
As soon as the panel ended the first PB author signing started. Here's a view of the line and the signing:
I got to meet so many Howlers in line and hand out buttons to them while we chatted. It was ridiculously fun to be surrounded by so many excited fans of the series. The line was so long that they had to cut off pictures with Pierce and quick sign the remaining books in line. (How awesome is that?)
After the first signing I headed straight to the second signing to pass out more buttons and chat with more Howlers. That line was no different than the first, it was large and filled with excited fans. The big difference was that this time I was able to talk with Pierce for a while and leave a bunch of the buttons with him for everyone to grab while they got their books signed. We even had time for a selfie or two:
BookCon was definitely a success and I'm so happy that I could be a part of it. You've heard my side of it now, but I also took note of what everyone else was saying online too. Here's a glimpse at some of my favorite pics and tweets:
It was lovely to meet @Pierce_Brown today, and now I'm going to read Morning Star…and probably die.. pic.twitter.com/zlztXpP6zS
— Kait (@kaitreader) May 15, 2016
My favorite moment @thebookcon was meeting this guy! @Pierce_Brown @DelReyBooks #bookcon2016 pic.twitter.com/vxUwXTz02Q
— FK (@FloeticFlo) May 15, 2016
@JoElleMunch @Pierce_Brown @jccronin A fabulous panel that introduced me to them both. Sound like their processes produce great books.
— Melissa (@Miss_MelissAnn) May 15, 2016
embellishing my school bag for tomorrow with my acquired pins.thanks for them, @Pierce_Brown, & @PlanetRedRising pic.twitter.com/vsPzUJuenO
— hannah kamps (@hannahkamps) May 16, 2016
Had a great time at #bookcon2016 I got to meet @Pierce_Brown and he signed my book. He was humble and funny. pic.twitter.com/CR3FiFgRyD
— Angelica (@agnevers87) May 14, 2016
Today @azrieal86 meet the author of the only book he's read, #redrising. Thanks @Pierce_Brown pic.twitter.com/e9vAGmV7w6
— Lindsey Miller (@Lindsey_M_M) May 14, 2016


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Towards the last two months of my last visit to India in the spring of 2012, I encountered the Tibetan community in exile in India experiencing painful news of their people self-immolating in fire one after another in China-occupied Tibet. My experiences in the past visits in India (drawing a cremation site in Varanasi, documenting fire pits, cremation alters, and contemplating on life and death around fire) synchronized with this particular movement, an extreme way of 'offering' their bodies to 'fire' for asking freedom and peace.I could not help drawing large and small drawings as emotional response and with a sense of mourning.
After coming back to Vancouver, the self-immolation kept happening and I felt that my personal and professional task is not finished.
I have come back to India to continue to document and draw under the same theme. firstname.lastname@example.com
16 April 2013
For Jugtso
She set herself alight outside of Jonang monastery, where a number of other Tibetans including two mothers, have done the self-immolation protest in the past.
Her body was taken into the monastery and thousands of people gathered around her home to offer prayers.
She left a three-year-old child behind


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The Savonlinna Opera Festival has become one of the most illustrious fixtures in the Finnish cultural calendar, and an event of the greatest international significance.
WHEN the construction of the Olavinlinna Castle began in 1475, the castle's founder Erik Axelsson Tott, a Danish-born knight, decided that a mighty fortress should be built to protect the strategically important area of Savonia.
Over the centuries the Olavinlinna Castle changed hands between Swedes and Russians. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century with the emerging Finnish identity and Finland's quest for independence that the Finnish soprano Aino Ackté spotted the medieval castle as the venue for an opera festival in 1907.
The first opera festival was held in 1912. Despite the First World War, the Russian Revolution, Finland's Civil War and the ensuing economic difficulties, news of the festival had already reached opera lovers in other parts of the world.
The Savonlinna Opera Festival has grown from a one-week event into an international festival that lasts a month. Each year 10 per cent of the estimated 60,000 that attend come from abroad.
Nine operas have been premiered at the Savonlinna Opera Festival since 1967. The 2008 season sees the premiere of the Festival's tenth opera on 12 July, The Seven Dog Brothers by Markus Fagerudd. It is the third and last part of the trilogy based on the books by Mauri Kunnas, Finland's premier children's writer, on the Finnish lirerary classic by Aleksis Kivi.
The Savonlinna Opera Festival has also been hosting foreign opera companies since 1987. The guest for 2008 is the Shangai Opera House bringing along Verdi's Otello, and a representative of contemporary Chinese opera, a tantalisingly mystical work called The Wager by Wen Deqing.
The unique festival will be held from 4 July to 2 August, and opens with Arrigo Boito's Mefistofele, conducted by the festival's new Artistic Director Jari Hämäläinen.


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I am pretty sure I left them at work. I hate to blame this on my poor little baby but honestly it feels like since I have started to stay home that my social skills have started to go downhill. I must have given them away at birth. I sure hope he uses them well! Before I had Wilson I felt pretty confident in myself in most situations that at least I wouldn't say anything dumb, but most of the time I would be confident and could handle myself pretty well. Well it seems like that has changed I feel like I say things now that I never would have said and I find myself in the awkward pauses and I don't know what to say. I guess I just need to get out more and talk to adults. I remember several people telling me something about this. It usually was someone talking about their friend and how they stayed home and they felt like they needed to talk to adults. I remember thinking that I wouldn't have that problem. I knew that I would at least talk to Ryan everyday and probably my mom and sisters, but it turns out that isn't enough. Well if you find yourself talking to me and I am awkward and weird please be patient with me....I am still trying to figure out where I left them.
Come back social skills I miss you!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Has anyone seen my social skills????
Posted by Mindi at 2:06 PM
3 comments:
- Scott and Shay said...
I agree with this one...I never saw it coming!!!
- June 3, 2009 at 9:36 AM
- Trent and Whit said...
hahaha! I TOTALLY know what you mean! I'm a total goof now in social situations until the company is under 2 yrs of age. ah, gotta love mommy-hood :) hang in there
- June 3, 2009 at 11:35 AM
- Charayne said...
So funny...totally true! It doesn't bother me, but maybe that's because I'm a social clown too? I have three now you know...maybe it's just more with each one? Good luck for all the mommies out there!
- June 5, 2009 at 12:36 PM
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Complete set of Jefferson Nickels 1965-2005 In CH BU P & D in Deluxe Dansco Album starts in 1938 and ends in 2005. The coins included in this set start in 1965 and end in 2005-D Ocean view.
Set contains a total of 93 coins CH BU
All coins are in CH BU condition and would be a great alternative to get a complete set of Jefferson nickels without the proof coins. The late dates include the 2004 & 2005 Westward Journey nickels in CH BU.


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WEST VIEW � An oldies�dance will take place March 13, honoring the late-Beaver County disc jockey Thomas Renkenberger.
Fans will gather at the West View Banquet Hall to salute Renkenberger, a Rochester native, who used the name �R.D. Summers� for his popular Sunday Night Oldies Diner show on Pittsburgh�s WWSW-FM (94.5). Renkenberger, who also used the nickname Rinky Dink, spun records for WWSW for 19 years, previously working for WBVP-AM (1230) in Beaver Falls. Renkenberger also worked at WMBA-AM (1460) in Ambridge.
He died in his sleep Feb. 15, 2009, at the age of 60, just hours after deejaying an oldies dance like the ones he used to do in West View.
The tribute show, hosted by former radio producer Shaun Pierce and promoted by WWSW, will feature many of the 1950s and �60s songs Summers regularly played.
�R.D. spent his life entertaining people,� Pierce said. �There is no greater tribute than to bring his fans together to remember him and to celebrate with the music he loved so much.�
Tickets for the 8 p.m. "Oldies Diner" show are $20 and include refreshments. A portion of the proceeds will support the West View Fire Department. The banquet hall is at 398 Perry Highway. More information is at www.pierceevents.net.
Scott Tady can be reached online at email@example.com


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Art Competition
Every spring, the United States House of Representatives sponsors the Congressional Art Competition, An Artistic Discovery for high school students across our nation. The annual competition provides an opportunity for students across the country to exhibit their artwork and receive national recognition. The competition also symbolizes the important role that the arts play in American society.
The Congressional Art Competition is open to all local high schools in the 20th Congressional District. Exceptions will be made for schools that have 7th through 12th grades on one campus. Each school can submit up to five (5) works of art that display the best of what their students have to offer.
All submissions are due by Wednesday, April 25, 2018.
Full competition guidelines can be found here.
The first place winning entry from each congressional district is displayed in the corridor tunnel of the U.S. Capitol Building for one year, where it is seen by thousands of people. The first place winner and a family member will also be invited to attend a special ceremony with other young artists from around the country in Washington, D.C. at the end of June.
The Artistic Discovery competition encourages and recognizes the artistic talents of young Americans. Students are allowed to submit various styles and types of art, ranging from paintings and drawings to photography and mixed media pieces. The winners will be determined using criteria based on originality, skill of execution, excellence in use of materials and conceptual strength of the project. A local reception to announce the winner will be held later this spring.
The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artist talents of their young constituents. Since then, over 650,000 high school students have been involved with the nation-wide competition.
For further questions and full details, please contact Bertha Munoz in my Salinas office at (831) 424-2229.
Previous Winners


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Last week, we met up with some friends at a local park. It was a beautiful day, and I needed to get the kids out of the house! We were going a bit stir crazy!
When we got to the park, Isaac and Emma discovered a duck that had laid an egg under the slide. It sat very quietly as all of the kids
and moms gawked at it.
After eating a picnic lunch, the kids fed the geese in the lake. We were all enjoying the geese when we found this in the water…
An otter!
The kids were fascinated, as were the moms!
After spending some time at the playground and feeding the geese, we walked to a nearby rec center. The kids played while the moms chatted.
After spending some time at the rec center, we walked the rest of the way around the lake. I saw this hole in a tree, and I thought it was pretty neat. Upon closer inspection, Logan discovered a shoe in the hole. We all thought that was pretty funny.


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St Margaret's Church Whaddon Gloucestershire | Cara & Mark's Wedding
Cara & Mark are a lovely couple. Mark is one of the most smiley people I've met and his warm character shines through in the pictures. Cara made a beautiful bride, and looked very elegant throughout the whole day in her stunning flowing wedding dress. Her dad was clearly very proud of his beautiful daughter and I felt honoured to share their day with them.
The reception was held in Robinswood Hill Social Club, where Cara & Mark both play skittles and are involved in the committee. It's a venue that's very dear to their hearts, even more so now they've celebrated their wedding there. One fun idea they had was to give each guest an envelope containing a lottery scratch card to play before the meal. I even heard rumours of some guests winning four pounds or more!
St Margaret's Church in Whaddon, dating back to the fourteenth century, is a very picturesque little church in Gloucestershire and is presided over by the Revd. Canon David Robert Smith. The service included lighting a candle together, which I don't see very often at weddings and was a nice touch.
Its smaller size makes it perfect for a more intimate family wedding. Tucked away down a little lane, the secluded setting benefits from a beautiful weeping willow tree and quaint little archway, which are great for photos. It's just a stones throw from Cara's parents house making it the ideal location for their wedding.
I hope my pictures will bring back many happy memories of the day for years to come.


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|Message view
|« Date » · « Thread »
|« Date » · « Thread »
|Emmanuel Lécharny <elecha...@gmail.com>
|Re: Query for user's groups
|Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:15:35 GMT
Le 1/29/13 10:07 PM, Yang, Gang CTR (US) a écrit : > Emmanuel, > > > > Thanks for the reply. I was using ou:dn:=Roles and it did not work. I thought I was doing something wrong. How can I find out what's supported and what's not by ApacheDS? By asking here, or by helping us to improve the documentation... > It could've saved me some effort:-( Well, this is a balance : the effort we spend on writing the server cant' be spent on documentaion, as much as we would; We expect our users to help us improving both, so that the effort you have done would not be completely wasted... -- Regards, Cordialement, Emmanuel Lécharny www.iktek.com
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Churches and Congregation
ArtLook Photography - Photo Gallery by Arthur Lookyanov Discovering the Golden Ring of Russia Sergiyev Posad
White color church on the background of this picture is the church in the name of St. Zosima and St. Sabbatius of the Solovets monastery constructed in 1635-1638 by the cellarer of the monastery Alexander Bulatnikov, who had come to the Lavra from Solovets Monastery.
About Me in Short
My name's Arthur Lookyanov, I'm a private tour guide, personal driver and photographer in Moscow, Russia. I work in my business and run my website Moscow-Driver.com from 2002. Read more about me and my services, check out testimonials of my former business and travel clients from all over the World, hit me up on Twitter or other social websites. I hope that you will like my photos as well.
See you in Moscow!


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Jackson Law Group has been providing exceptional legal services to individuals, families, businesses and community associations in St. Augustine and throughout northeast Florida for over 10 years. We understand that our ability to continue to provide exceptional service is dependent upon working with good people.
We have a great group of people here that are committed to our Core Values. We believe in professionalism, teamwork, building relationships, community involvement, working hard and having some fun while in the process. Through it all, it is important for us to stay ahead of the technology curve and to continuously make changes to grow with our changing environment.
We are always looking for good people to grow with us. If you think you are the right fit for our firm, email us a cover letter and resume to firstname.lastname@example.com and we will keep you in mind for future opportunities.
Estate Planning Attorney
Saint Augustine, FL 32080 | Full-time


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Lincoln, NE — Are you in need of a fresh pair of sunglasses for summer? Looking for family fun? You are just in time for EyeCare Specialites' Hello Summer, Hello Savings Event.
The Hello Summer, Hello Savings Event is scheduled for June 11, 1–4 pm, at the EyeCare Specialties 'O' Street location (7930 'O' Street). Rain or Shine there will be something for everyone. Inside the store, there will be incredible savings on sunglasses. We hope you can join us as we say thanks to you, our loyal patients.


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Some cool Pasta recipe images:
Baked Shrimp and Feta Pasta
Image by esimpraim
Fusilli Pasta with Fava Beans and Peas
Image by megabeth
Did you you that there is a type of pasta that was originally made, before pasta maker machines, by wrapping the pasta around a bicycle spoke? Yup, fusilli avellinesi is that pasta. Think about the condition of your bicycle spokes and let's all hope that they used brand new ones in the pasta making.
Recipe and Details on Veggin': www.megabeth.net/?p=5669


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Re: Epson 636U XP driver
Re: Epson 636U XP driver
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followups ] [ FAQ ] [ Back to Messages ]
Posted by Ben Emmons on March 13, 2002 at 11:42:08:
In Reply to: Re: Epson 636U XP driver posted by Ben Emmons on February 20, 2002 at 14:49:17:
I have received a lot of emails about the driver, so I made a web site and have a link to a zip with the files I used to get it to work.
: I got it to work with a little crazt cab extracting work. I used the 2000 driver but I had to pull out some files out of a CAB to get it to work. If you want the files gimmie an email and i'll send em to ya.
: : : Is there software available to run the Epson Perfection
: : : 636U scanner witn XP?
: : I downloaded the Windows2000 TWAIN drivers from the Epson site for the 636U and installed them. Although it did not go smoothly (and I'm sorry I can't remember exactly what I did to get them to work.) At one point in the process I set up a shortcut and identified it as WIN2000. I also was doing a clean install of XP and not an upgrade. The 636U seems to work with both Presto Pagemgr and the Adobe Photo program that came with the scanner. Not a perfect solution but seems ok until they come out with an XP driver. (if ever)
Follow Ups:
Post a Followup


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Fill Out The Form Below
We all know that money is very important to the way we go about our day to day life. Wouldn't it be nice if you could figure out how to save more while living in an apartment you love? Check out these simple ways to save and enjoy the benefits of more money in your pocket$!


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Revival of farce that did amuse the Queen
Last updated at 12:49 08 January 2007
admirers included the Queen, is back in the West End.
A trio of TV stars will play the flight attendants conducting affairs with the same Parisian playboy.
Former EastEnders actress Tamzin Outhwaite, Michelle Gomez of Channel 4 comedy show Green Wing and Daisy Beaumont of spoof TV show Star Stories are all appearing at the Comedy Theatre in the French farce by Marc Camoletti.
All three actresses make their West End debuts in leading roles. Olivier award-winning actor Roger Allam plays playboy Bernard and the cast also includes Frances de la Tour and Mark Rylance,
former artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
West End producers Sonia Friedman and Matthew Byam
Shaw, whose recent hit revivals include See How They Run and Donkey's Years, collaborate in this new bid to challenge the theatreland dominance of
blockbuster musicals such as Spamalot, Wicked and Dirty Dancing.
The cast and producers hope Boeing-Boeing will stay aloft longer than recent casualties such as Bent and Summer And Smoke. The 1962 version, with
Nicholas Parsons and Leslie Phillips, lasted five years.
Beaumont said: "It's the perfect antidote to the February blues. It's nice for the audience to enjoy a bit of nonsense that is not politicised."
Outhwaite said: "It's very nice to do something
that's entertainment for entertainment's sake."
Gomez added: "French farces are very different from English ones because we all get to keep
our knickers on!"
Boeing-Boeing is directed by Matthew Warchus, whose Lord Of The Rings musical opens in
the West End in May.
• Boeing-Boeing opens at the Comedy Theatre on 15 February.


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There are so many inspirational quotes out there on the social mediasphere that I though it appropriate to post some of the nicest ones here.
Share them, print them, paint them on your wall; we all need a little bit of inspiration every now and again for love, for money or just to dream.
Here are a few of my favourite ones but feel free to share your favourite ones with me.


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Dear Editor,
In November 2016 and in January 2017 I wrote about the impending closure of several sugar estates, mentioning that GuySuCo had already stopped the cultivation of canes and maintenance of cane ratoons, not only in Wales, but also at Rose Hall, including Providence, West Canje, Skeldon and Enmore/LBI. APNU+AFC and GuySuCo strenuously denied they had stopped cultivation. This week Minister Noel Holder admitted that cane cultivation, indeed, had stopped because Cabinet had decided on the large-scale closure since then. He elaborated that even if APNU+AFC now wants to delay the closure at Skeldon and Rose Hall, there is no cane to operate the sugar factories.
APNU+AFC's empty rhetoric of continuing on the road to the good life is exposed as a myth by their unabated assault on the sugar industry, sugar workers and their families. Under pressure, they promised last week to delay the closure of Rose Hall (Canje), Enmore and Skeldon sugar estates until at least 2018. Yet APNU+AFC permitted GuySuCo this week to implement the termination of thousands of sugar workers employed at Rose Hall and Skeldon. The termination is not a rogue action by a rogue entity. The Clive Thomas-led GuySuCo Board and the Errol Hanoman-led management team are creatures of APNU+AFC and have diligently implemented APNU+AFC's plan for sugar. Far from being a rogue action, the termination of workers at this time is an ugly, mean-spirited, scrooge-like, cruel thing, especially coming just before Christmas.
Even as GuySuCo was carrying out a government hatchet job of giving termination letters to thousands of workers as their Christmas gift, President Granger addressed a UN meeting in Kenya and hypocritically demanded that we must put "people ahead of profits". He failed to inform his audience that his government was busy putting "profits before people". He failed to explain to his audience, just as his ministers failed to explain to the Guyanese people, why Budget 2018 made no mention of the unemployed sugar workers and their families.
While President Granger was away on another very expensive trip, in Guyana his right-hand man, Joe Harmon, the Minister of State, pretended he did not know and feigned disappointment regarding the sudden termination of more than 2,400 sugar workers, bringing the total to more than 4,000 since Wales was closed at the beginning of 2017. He claimed that Cabinet never sanctioned such a move. Will the Minister of Agriculture, therefore, face disciplinary action? Will GuySuCo's Board face the wrath of the government? Will GuySuCo's management be held accountable? After all, if they acted without Cabinet sanction, they are rogue elements in the government.
In fact, the Granger-appointed Minister of Agriculture, an AFC member, exposed the trickery, a game of misdirection and obfuscation, misrepresentation and outright lies by announcing that the termination of sugar workers by GuySuCo is in accordance with a Cabinet-sanctioned White Paper. Holder had submitted this White Paper to Parliament at the beginning of the year. The White Paper was approved by Cabinet and explicitly declared that APNU+AFC was closing Rose Hall, Enmore and Skeldon by the end of 2017, joining the closure of Wales which ended operations at the end of 2016. The closure proposals were strongly defended by Harmon, Jordan, Nagamootoo and Ramjattan in subsequent weeks.
Minister Holder was telling the truth: GuySuCo's action was government-sanctioned. The empty promise of delaying the closure and the feigned disappointment that the delay was not honoured are more than a case of sheer hypocrisy and unholy deceit. It is a reprehensible case of total betrayal by a group of callous people who like to play a game of good cop, bad cop.
Prime Minister Nagamootoo, meanwhile, is silent again, hiding from sugar workers. Nagamootoo waltzed into the belly of the sugar industry to celebrate his birthday last week and ignored the sugar workers who peacefully presented themselves to remind him that he had betrayed them. They wanted him to advise them what had happened to the Nagamootoo who once pompously declared himself the "champion of sugar workers". They wanted to know if he would join them to "light a candle for sugar workers", as he once asked Guyanese in a speech in 2012 in Canje when he had claimed the PPP's 5% wage increase was shameless. Today, Mr Nagamootoo has gone blind, deaf and dumb as sugar workers are being suffocated and impoverished by the closure of estates and are being given termination letters as Christmas gifts.
Nagamootoo's associate, Khemraj Ramjattan, sneaks in and out of Berbice, ignoring the sugar workers. He, like Nagamootoo, cannot hear the agony and cannot see the sufferings of the sugar workers, the same ones he promised to give 20% annual wage increases to. Mr Ramjattan and his APNU+AFC colleagues did not just dishonour their promise of annual wage increases, they denied any wage increase in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and have now terminated the workers from four estates. Ramjattan, and his APNU+AFC colleagues will find time and money to celebrate at Christmas parties and New Year's celebration in the next several weeks, while sugar workers and their families worry about feeding their children.
Mr Harmon's expression of shock and dismay is merely a trick to try and position APNU and the Granger-led Cabinet as innocent bystanders, victims of GuySuCo. Yet truth cannot be disguised and reality cannot be shielded. As Christmas 2017 approaches, just as in the case of the Wales sugar workers in Christmas 2016, sugar workers and their families in Skeldon and Rose Hall, Canje and maybe Enmore have been sent to the dump, no job, no future. Children of sugar workers will face empty kitchens, even as ministers and their children and grandchildren celebrate with no limits. Indeed, it is time to light a candle for sugar workers.
If there is one thing that APNU+AFC is good at, it is being the Christmas Grinch.
Yours faithfully,
Leslie Ramsammy