text:
The Dark Side of the Flickr Acquisition
You asked for it, you got it: SmugMug is offering 50% off to all Flickr refugees. Just sign up for our free trial using the coupon code flickr and if you like what you see, you'll get 50% off your first year.
We're getting some email from 'Old Skool' Flickr users asking us if they can get a discount because Yahoo's making some changes they don't like. Thomas Hawk has more coverage over on his blog, you can read the Flickr Forums for more reactions, and even check out the Flick Off group (aka the Flickr Accounts Mass Suicide Countdown group).
I'm afraid this is the dark side of acquisition, especially by a company that doesn't seem to resonate with Flickr's core passionate users. Every time someone inquires about acquiring SmugMug, we shut them down immediately because we're terrified of exactly this happening – our user experience being damaged by a parent corporation that doesn't "get" our customers.
I should be clear up-front, though, that while we're thrilled you want to check us out – we're not Flickr and we're not trying to be. We're short on social networking and long on advanced features like customization, style, and user interface. To make your photos look great, we are the place.
Give us a shot, though. It's free to try, after all. And we have a track record of listening very closely to customer feedback and implementing what they want. So if you like most of what we have to offer, but we're missing something crucial, let us know. We just may build it for you. 🙂
UPDATE: It was just pointed out that there's a Flickr-to-SmugMug migration tool using our open APIs. I'm sure there are others, and I know there are SmugMug-to-Flickr tools, too, should you decide you don't like our service after all.
Amazon S3: Outages, slowdowns, and problems
First of all, I'm giving a session on Amazon web services (with S3 being the main focus, with a little EC2 and other service love thrown in) at ETech this year. I'll post a PDF or something of my slides here when I'm done, but if you're really interested in this stuff, you might want to stop by. Wear some SmugMug gear and I'll comp your account. 🙂
UPDATE: I've posted a call for topics you're interested in hearing at ETech or in the resulting PDF. Let me know.
So there's been some noise this month about S3 problems, and I've been getting requests about what we do when Amazon has problems and why our site is able to stay up when they do. I'm happy to answer as best I can, and I'd like to remind everyone that I'm not paid by Amazon – it's the other way around. I pay them a lot of money, so I expect good service. 🙂 That being said, I think they're getting too much heat, and I'll explain why.
First, lets define the issues. During our history with Amazon S3 (since April of 2006), we've experienced four large problems. The first two were catastrophic outages – they involved core network switch failures and caused everything to die for 15-30 minutes. And by everything, I mean Amazon.com itself was offline, at least from my network view. (Due to DNS caching issues, even GSLB'd sites can look "down" to part of the world while remaining "up" to other parts. I don't know if this was the case during these two times). We've had core network switch failures here at SmugMug, too, and they're almost impossible to prevent.
The other two were performance-related. Not outages, because the service still functioned, but massively slower than we were used to. In the first case, which happened right as the BusinessWeek cover article hit newstands and during the Web 2.0 Summit, our customers were at our gates with pitchforks and torches. Our paying customers were affected and they could tell there was something wrong. Not good.
The second time, though, was in early January, and our customers had no idea. I emailed the S3 team to let them know we were seeing issues, flipped a switch in our software, and we were fine.
So what was the difference? We've been playing with using Amazon in a variety of different roles and scenarios at SmugMug. At first, we were just using them as a backup copy. That provided some great initial savings and a great deal of customer satisfaction as our customers became aware that their photos were safer than ever. As time went on and we grew more confident in Amazon's ability to scale and keep their systems reliable, though, we moved Amazon into a more fundamental role at SmugMug and experimented with using them as primary storage. The week we started to experiment with that was the first of the two performance issues, and shined a bright glaring light on the downsides of using them in this way. We quickly shifted gears and are now quite happy with our current architecture, both from a cost view and a reliability view.
So what are we doing differently? Simple. Amazon serves as "cold storage" where everyone's valuable photos go to live in safety. Our own storage clusters are now "hot storage" for photos that need to be served up fast and furious to the millions of unique visitors we get every day. That's a bit of an oversimplification of our architecture, as you can imagine, but it's mostly accurate. The end result is that performance problems with S3 are mostly buffered and offset by our local storage, and even outages are mostly properly handled while resyncing after the outage passes. For the curious, this architecture reduces our actual physical disk usage in our own datacenters by roughly 95%.
Further, we also have the ability to target specific Amazon S3 clusters. In January, we noticed that their West Coast cluster seemed to be performing more slowly than their East Coast cluster, even though we're on the West Coast, so we toggle our primary endpoint to use the East Coast for awhile. This is the switch I mentioned earlier that I flipped, and it worked out beautifully.
Now, though, I think we come to the real meat of the problem. Are we upset about Amazon's issues? Do we regret using them? Are we looking elsewhere? Absolutely not, and here's why:
I can't think of a particular vendor or service we use that doesn't have outages, problems, or crashes. From disk arrays to networking gear, everything has bad days. Further, I can't think of a web site that doesn't, either. It doesn't matter if you're GMail or eBay, you have outages and performance problems from time to time. I knew going into this that Amazon would have problems, and I built our software and our own internal architecture to accommodate occasional issues. This is the key to building good internet infrastructures anyway. Assume every piece of your architecture, including Amazon S3, will fail at some point. What will you do? What will your software do?
Amazon does need to get better about communicating with their customers. They need to have a page which shows the health of their systems, and pro-active notification of major issues, a 24/7 contact method, etc. I'm on their Developer Advisory Council, and believe me, they know about these issues. I'm sure they're working on them.
To put things into perspective, we have vendors which we pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to each year that seem to be incapable of providing us with decent support. Amazon is not unique in terms of providing a great product but average support. If you ask nearly anyone in IT, I think you'll find that's far more common in our industry than it should be and not unique to Amazon in particular.
Finally, S3 is a new service and yet remarkably reliable. Since April 2006, they've been more reliable than our own internal systems, which I consider to be quite reliable. Nothing's perfect, but they're doing quite well so far for a brand-new service. Oh, and their services has also saved our butts a few times. I'll try to write those up in the near future, too.
Other Amazon articles:
See you at ETech!
Make video more consumable
As a follow-up to my last post about video online, which was in turn related to the post about Scoble and linking before that, here's my take on how video online could improve:
I was struck by how much I enjoyed reading Scoble's rundown of what was in his Intel video. He even included some timestamps of some interesting bits, so you could skip right to it if you'd like. IMHO, this is a step in the right direction. What I'd *really* like to see is yet another step: chapters as separate entities with good, short summaries.
I'd love to see video with great content (I don't think anyone's debating whether Scoble gets great content – he clearly does, and lots of it) be available both as the long-form video (in this case, 40 minutes) as well as shorter (1-5minute) chapters that tie together. The chapters would need to be completely separate video files so I don't have to download the entire 40 minute segment to find the bit that's important and relevant to me. That's a biggy so let me elaborate – even if I know the exact timecode for a segment in a longer video, I don't want to download the whole thing and then jump through it. Instead, I want summaries of the chapters so I can quickly skim through the summaries and watch, say, 10 minutes out of 40 that's highly focused.
Now, I know this won't work for everyone. Scoble, for example, is passionate about not editing his videos because they're conversations and I completely respect that as a viewer, a videographer myself, and an interviewee on his show. But even conversations often have chapters: the business chapter, the competition chapter, the upcoming features chapter, etc. I'm not advocating editing anything more than it's already been edited – just making it more consumable.
There's a reason YouTube became so wildly popular, and I don't think it's fair to brush the phenomenon off as "that was for fun stuff, but serious video needs to be long." That's a load of BS. I consume deep articles on technical subjects all the time, but I often skim for the good bits and jump out of the site to research related items before jumping back in. Both would be made possible by using text-based summaries with hyperlinked chapters as the basis for navigating a given video.
Videos (and podcasts) suck sometimes
So I already commented on the whole Scoble thing, but I was commenting in general about how linking is usually better than not linking. I think everyone gets that.
But there's another discussion going on that's almost as interesting. Paul M. Watson got me thinking with his comment on my original post, which of course, led to me reading his blog. Specifically, his blog entry about how he doesn't like video. It's not too hard to find other opinions in like vein, such as Mathew Ingram's post about video being Scoble's achilles heel. Just take a peek over at Techmeme and Tailrank and you'll see there are quite a few discussions, including this one, bubbling up.
I don't really agree with the specific details (some don't think his coverage of Intel was that great, others just think video isn't that great, etc), but I agree partially in spirit. I watch the occasional ScobleShow episode or listen to the occasional podcast – but not often, and not religiously. I read his blog (and dozens of others) almost daily, though. So what's the difference?
Blogs are massively easier to consume. You can skim them, you get headlines, you have hyperlinks to follow an extra interesting story around the web, etc. The list goes on and on – but what it comes down to, for me, is time. If I'm going to watch a 20 minute video or listen to a 30 minute podcast, I basically can't do anything else during that time. I also can't "skip to the good bits" easily.
With text (blogs, articles, reviews, interviews, whatever), those things don't apply. I can consume blogs in 1-minute chunks of time I have between tasks. I can explore the web to find out more. I can easily find the stuff I'm really interested in.
Don't get me wrong – I love certain videos and podcasts a great deal. But the signal-to-noise ratio has to be sky-high to get me to invest my time.
Now I'm just gonna sit back and see if any other interesting discussions come up over this furor… I'm sure there will be.
Grab some popcorn, enjoy the show.
Scoble: Throwing himself under busses so I don't have to.
My friend, Robert Scoble, has two great rants up about blogging & linking: Big gadget sites don't link to blogs followed by Pissing off the blogosphere.
His main point is a valid one – far too many places, whether they be old media (The New York Times) or big blogs (Engadget) or even small bloggers who are afraid people won't read every word they've written, don't link to external sources.
This is actually a huge deal. The real, true power of the web is just that – it's a web. Everything can be interconnected, and learning about or researching a subject can be vastly easier online than anywhere else. Using hyperlinks is the very reason content belongs online. If you don't hyperlink your content, why on earth do you have it online?
People often wonder why "old media" is struggling to find a voice and an audience (and a business plan) for online content. Rarely is the fact that "old media" tend to be stingy linkers mentioned – but I suspect it's actually a fundamental reason people choose to get much of their content elsewhere.
For me, I've never really thought about it in these terms until Robert brought it up. I've always tried to link everything and anything, even words like "Google" and "Sun" (surely you know that Google = http://www.google.com and Sun = http://www.sun.com). Why? Because if I were reading my blog, I would want to just be able to click on pertinent details and dig deeper rather than having to open a new window and Google for the subject at hand. It just makes sense. If a word or phrase can be hyperlinked, and it's more useful that way, it should be.
By the way, this situation also exposes what's so great about bloggers, especially the big and popular ones – they write about what's on their mind, often not even thinking about the impact of what they're saying. Communication is fast, transparent, and emotional.
Preach on, brother Scoble.
Server Analysis – Where's IBM?
Ok, so I'm sorta dumb. For whatever reason, I sorta think of IBM as being a "huge solutions" company where you basically have IBM come in and provide an end-to-end solution for incredibly difficult problems. I don't think of them as selling service piecemeal and competing with Sun, HP, Dell, etc. But clearly, I should.
I'm sure it's me being dumb, but maybe there's some IBM brand positioning at work too? Who knows.
So if there's anyone from IBM reading this, and you'd like to get in on the action, please contact me. We'll try the cold-calling route, too, but it's always nice to talk to someone with context.
Server Vendor Analysis So Far
From my Amazon S3 posts, I know plenty of startups and small companies read my blog, so I thought I'd give you some insight into how our search for a new server vendor is panning out.
It's interesting, because this space is vastly different than it was even a few years ago. The core hardware (CPU, RAM, disk, networking) is all identical, so the companies are starting to compete on service and differentiation in other ways. That's good for all of us and very similar to what's happening in the enterprise software space with open source.
For us, our big hot buttons are:
- Great lights-out management, preferrably over network rather than serial.
- Good order turnaround time (7-14 days).
- Good support contracts (24×7 support, 4hour replacement)
- Price competitive. We're not necessarily looking for the lowest price, but we expect our final choice to be in the ballpark with the others. We'll pay a bit of a premium for better management or service or something tangible like that.
On with the show:
Our current main vendor for x86 gear, they've finally swung into action and have a good plan of attack for solving our crashing problems. No immediate results, but I'm a developer and an engineer – I understand the need to monitor the problem, gather data, and narrow in. Good stuff.
I've been happy with Rackable for most of 4 years, but in the last year they've been very slow to get us new hardware and getting some movement on this particular problem was tough in the beginning. I realize, and have always realized, that Rackable isn't Sun/HP/Dell, but that was sorta the point – when we were tiny, getting attention from the big guys was tough. Now we're small, rather than tiny, and getting their attention is proving to be tough.
Another knock against them is their management modules are serial based, rather than network based, which we're growing tired of.
We have at least one HP employee in the servers group who's a passionate SmugMug customer. Big points there, in my book, since that means we have extra avenues if and when we have problems.
Another *huge* win for HP is their Integrated Lights Out 2 (iLO 2) product. All the vendors offer basic integrated management on some level, but iLO 2 seems to be head-and-shoulders above the competition. It can share a network port with the OS, simplilfying our network architecture, including VLAN support. It does remote full KVM, remote device (DVD/CD/floppy) attachment, and a million other amazing things. Given we're a small company, strong remote management is a huge bonus for us.
On the downside, our passionate SmugMugger isn't a sales guy, and the sales contact hasn't moved as fast as we would like, given our situation. We're a small company, so I'm not surprised, but Sun and Dell moved faster. We still don't have much insight into whether there's an offering at HP that'll serve this particular need. Finally, HP seems to want to set up a meeting before getting the ball rolling. Personally, I'd prefer to verify that the products and prices are in the right ballpark before spending time organizing and attending a meeting.
No-one at Dell came out of the woodwork in response to my blog entry, but they were easily the fastest on the draw getting a quote (in our preferred format, PDF, no less) in our hands with no mess and no fuss. I think we just cold-called them and they whipped something up fast. Big points, in my book, since it lets us get a feeling for how competitive both their hardware and pricing is.
I believe, though, that their lights-out management is an add-in card, rather than built-in, and it certainly doesn't share a network port or anything. Dang.
Quite a few SmugMuggers over at Sun, which again, gives me the warm and fuzzies. Nothing quite like having contacts in the company who use, love, and count on your product. Sun also wanted to set up a meeting, rather than whipping out a quick quote, but they were extremely fast and proactive about it, rearranging their schedules and bringing along some big guns. Not only did this flatter us (given our small size), but I think I'm beginning to understand why they're profitable again and why I'm starting to think that trend will accelerate: they're trying to give love to small startups because they know some of them will grow into huge companies. If they build a strong relationship early on, the theory goes, they'll have their business forever. I happen to think this is a very good strategy. There have been some hiccups, as Matt Mullenweg points out, but Jonathan Schwartz responded in a way that I wish every CEO would. Hopefully they work the kinks out.
I love, too, that Sun is changing and innovating once more: embracing x86 & Linux is huge, ZFS is the coolest filesystem ever, and they've had an unusually high volume of clever product announcements this year (Thumper, Black Box, Sun Spots, etc).
Yesterday, too, I got a first-hand glimpse of how Sun's employees feel about Jonathan, their new CEO. They were glowing, speaking in reverent terms about him. That bodes well for their new direction and future.
Alas, though, I have some past experience with their lights-out management, and while it's adequate, it's not nearly as good as HP's. It can't share a network port and doesn't offer the other advanced features HP has. At least it is network-based, rather than serial (I believe it does both, actually, which could be a boon to some people).
UPDATE: Dave pointed out in the comments that Sun's Opteron management lets you have graphical console, keyboard, mouse, DVD, floppy, and ISO support. Plus, it shares one of the GigE ports. I've only used the non-Opteron boxes, so I'm probably both out of date and not used to what the architecture differences are. I could have sworn, though, that Sun told us yesterday, in person, that it doesn't share the network ports. Anyway, sounds like Sun's doing a better job on management than I initially gave them credit for.
The bad news
The specific platform we want (two CPU sockets, sixteen DIMM slots) doesn't seem to be readily available from HP, Dell, or Sun. We're going back-and-forth to make sure, but none of the systems published on their sites seem to offer this. Hopefully someone can deliver something. Rackable, however, does – they're just crashing for us at the moment.
UPDATE: Sun has one too, the Sun Fire X2200. I just somehow overlooked it. Game on!
In case you're curious, it's because 2GB DIMMs are at a price point similar to double 1GB DIMMs, so we'd rather have 10 32GB boxes than 20 16GB boxes for this application.
At this point, I think Sun wins on service & attention while HP wins on product. Which we'll choose, I still have no idea. 🙂
Have any experience, good or bad, with any of these vendors? Let me know.


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subset: commoncrawl


text:
1. a marked change in form or appearance; a metamorphosis.
2. a change that glorifies or exalts.
Etymology: from Latin trānsfigūrātiōn-, stem of trānsfigūrātiō), "change of shape".
Girl and Fox by Kevin Peterson
It hurts a little bit, every time I bare my soul. I feel the heaviness in my chest. There is a sort of vulnerability in blindly reaching out hands just to feel who might take them within their own. All so I might feel a little less alone.
For a time.
Dreams of rabbit may suggest feeling soft, docile, or childlike. Rabbit is often used as a sacrifice in dreams, which suggests the vulnerability we experience as we meet the pain of reality in the maturing process.
featuring "Taking the Cynical View" by Teagan White
"This world is a realm of energy and action; no matter what you know or who you are-- no matter how many books you have read or what your talents-- only action brings potential to life. Philosophies impress and ideas abound, but words, no matter how elegant are cheap. It is easy to speak about commitment, courage, and love, but doing is understanding, and wisdom grows out of practice."
"Exhaust the little moment. Soon it dies.
And be it gash or gold it will not come
Again in this identical disguise."
― Gwendolyn Brooks
Consider that you can see less than 1% of the electromagnetic spectrum and hear less than 1% of the acoustic spectrum. As you read this, you are traveling at 220 km/sec across the galaxy. 90% of the cells in your body carry their own microbial DNA and are not "you." The atoms in your body are 99.9999999999999999% empty space and none of them are the ones you were born with, but they all originated in the belly of a star. Human beings have 46 chromosomes, 2 less than the common potato.
The existence of the rainbow depends on the conical photoreceptors in your eyes; to animals without cones, the rainbow does not exist. So you don't just look at a rainbow, you create it. This is pretty amazing, especially considering that all the beautiful colors you see represent less than 1% of the electromagnetic spectrum.
NASA Lunar Science Institute, 'We Originated in the Belly of a Star'
'She could have been a feral animal, out there in the dark.
White moths and leaves weaved throughout her hair, dirt-stained soles and palms.
Watching her, I got the funny feeling then that my sister wasn't entirely human...'
capture by anna demarco
featuring leanna banana &
"The stars were the only omnipresent part of her existence, looming in the vague distance beyond the cold atmospheric rush. And even those brilliant, beaming bodies were temporary– they would eventually change, just as she would grow into different ideas of the same woman, across centuries, across millennia. When we was alone, she was reunited with the silence of her childhood. Standing at the window, she was desperately trying to find companionship with the cosmos. It was in this night air that she saw the shadows move in an unnatural way, shifting her mesmerized thoughts back into the present. She felt her isolation reverse without consent, and peered back into the abyss of a quiet home, an empty room with nothing but the fire light to guide her gaze."
"I have feelings too. I am still human. All I want is to be loved, for myself."
- Marilyn Monroe
"Stay the winter, stay with me, and I will shine softly the blinds upon your melancholy. You will slumber on your belly in the waning sunlight, under a pale rose canopy (breathing quietly, lifting the very air around you); your beautiful face turned away from me"
What begins one way must end the same way.
It is fantastic to realize how insignificant you are.
(artwork via)
noun: prosperity
the state of being prosperous.
"a long period of prosperity"
success, profitability, affluence, wealth, opulence, luxury, the good life, milk and honey, good fortune, ease, plenty, comfort, security, well-being
"she deserves all the prosperity she now enjoys"
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
--Pablo Picasso
"But the changes wrought by fire are changed in substance: that which has been licked by fire has a different taste in the mouths of men. That which fire has shone upon retains as a result an ineffaceable colour. That which fire has caressed, loved, adored, has gained a store of memories and lots its innocence. In slang "flambe" is synonymous with "dead and done for" and is used in place of an indecent word that is charged with sexuality."
--Gaston Bachelard, The Psychoanalysis of Fire
To dream of sun exposure represents a renewed sense of optimism. You are experiencing noticeable or lasting results from something that benefits you. You have been exposed to a situation which brings you good luck or success.
Burning releases emotions or energy. Sometimes our emotions are so strong they may burn away former habits, attitudes, or feelings that have led us to the pain we have encountered. It signifies the removal of past emotions.
Burning may also mean warmth.
(Witches series // Carter Murdoch)
"You are,
I think,
an evening star,
the fairest of
all the stars."
Full Flower Moon in Sagittarius during the evening of May 21 through the morning of May 22 aides us in discovering our most elusive mysteries with an adaptation in outlook.
This May blue moon is among the brightest of the year, and rightly so... It is a time to be fearlessly honest with your wants, needs, and desires. You may find yourself reflecting deeply on past circumstances, questioning everything you believed to be true, or searching for a new direction to go. Any looming fears are dwindled by your appetite for big change.
This is a very important lunation, bringing light to the darkest aspects of ourselves-- resulting in momentous transformation, if only you work hard and are true to your heart. If the desire burns brightly within you, you are on your way to making your dreams into reality... Pay no mind to hows or whys. Remember that any lock can be opened with the right key.
"Your strength is soft, indirect, delicate, tender, womanly.
But it is strength just the same."
"...and yet i find
and yet i find..."
"I believe that happiness lies
in a clear conception of life
and in goodness of heart,
not in external circumstances."
"I love you
as I have seldom
loved anyone."
"Some days are meant to be counted, others are meant to be weighed."
the truth is
I am
terribly weak.
And I crave
the balm
of beautiful
soft things."
--Anaïs Nin, from a diary entry
"Your mission: Be so busy loving your life that you have no time for hate, regret or fear."
"Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."
"My thoughts create my world."
"I feel like myself, strong and weak at once-- allowed, at least for a little while, to be both."


text:
Shingles or herpes zoster
Characteristics of Shingles or herpes zoster: Shingles (herpes zoster) is an infectious disease which is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, a virus from the herpes virus group. Infection occurs in two stages. Primary infection is typical for childhood and is known as chickenpox. This disease occurs only once during a person's lifetime. During the primary infection, the virus travels along the sensory nerve from the skin to the respective ganglion, where it remains in a latent phase. Replication (multiplication) of this virus is suppressed by cellular and humoral immunity. The second phase of shingles occurs upon failure of the immune system (in particular, of cellular immunity) which may cause reactivation of the virus.
The virus travels along the nerve to the skin, which is accompanied by an eruption of vesicles in a certain dermatome, and the development of shingles. Such a condition can occur as a result of old age, stress, trauma, cytostatic or immunosuppressive therapy, cancer, immune deficiency or after irradiation. Under normal circumstances, such reactivation occurs only once in a person's lifetime. Recurrences of the herpes zoster virus are rare, but if they occur, they can suggest the possibility of cancer or AIDS. The typical localisation of shingles are areas along the intercostal nerves in the chest, and some parts of the face around the first branch of the trigeminal nerve.
The risk of complications with shingles is increased in people who have not had chickenpox and may have been infected with the varicella zoster virus for the first time, as well as in pregnant women, where contact with an individual suffering from shingles can endanger the foetus. The most serious complication of shingles (herpes zoster) is postherpetic neuralgia. Therapy should include antiviral drugs, anti-inflammatory ointments, vitamins and analgesics. Vaccines are successful in particular against severe courses of the disease.
Using magnetic therapy in shingles
Overall strengthening of immunity is an effective prevention of shingles. Biomag low-frequency pulsed magnetic therapy can be used as part of the treatment, as it reduces pain, accelerates healing and regeneration, and provides overall stimulation of the immune system.
Application of magnetic therapy in shingles
In shingles, magnetic therapy can be applied daily at analgesic frequencies of 4-6 Hz in the acute phase, and at stimulating frequencies of 50-81 Hz during the recovery period. Treatment should be applied to the painful areas at the site of the eruption, and via a flat applicator to the respective area of the spinal column.
Shingles and magnetic therapy – queries
Do you want to learn more about magnetic therapy applications for treating shingles? Contact us!
Do not hesitate to contact us. We will answer your queries regarding magnetic therapy applications for shingles.


text:
Making an Ancient Forest
The film travels deep into the remote forests of the Kalkalpen National Park, in Austria, the largest area of wilderness in the Alps. Abandoned and unmanaged by man for close to a quarter of a century, the forest's dramatic cycle of growth and decay now rules the landscape. What appears at first to be devastation and destruction is in fact part of the fundamental process of the forest's regeneration and transformation back to its natural, primeval state, luring even the lynx to return 'home' after 115 years of absence.


text:
Some Basic Information about Drain Cleaning – Why There are Blocks and How to Solve Them
In order for users in a building or house to have a smooth and effective activities, there should be a provision of clean water and effective waste drainage. Through proper drainage of waste from the building, a healthy and safety environment and use of the owners and tenants are secured.
There are circumstances that would have drains blocking. And so when this incident happens, you would require the services of a skilled plumber to carry out cleaning of the drain. An owner or a tenant will be assured of a clean environment when the plumber will successfully drain the wastes from the building.
We would resort to drain cleaning of our building when at one point or another drains are blocked. Blocked drains are caused by many circumstances. One reason is that there could be foreign objects that are too big to pass through the drains that are flushed in toilets. There could be hairs that are washed down the sink and have accumulated in the drainage pipes resulting to blockage. Other substances like grease and fats which we usually wash down the sink could get stuck on the sides of our drainage pipes.
Other circumstances that would cause drain blockage in time are leaves which are not properly swept off and disposed off in garbage that would find their way into the drainage pipes, and even roots of trees, because they are attracted to moisture, will crack the pipes to get water and this could cause blocked drains.
A plumber can perform drain cleaning with the use of a hydrojetter. With water that is under very high pressure, a hydrojetter would release it and thus remove all the dirt that are blocking the drains. Lowering the hydrojetter into the drain, the plumber pushes it until it reaches the area where there is a blockage. The blockage are then broken down into small particles because of the pressurized water, particles attached on the sides of the pipes are removed, thus allowing wastes to freely flow without obstruction.
Another solution for drain blockage is with the use of the drain snake, described as a long and flexible cord composed of wires, and are pushed down into the drain and reaching t the blocked area. With a motor, the wires would be turned making the objects causing obstruction to breakdown into smaller particles, then these particles are pushed down the drain also allowing wastes to flow freely down the drain.
In order to conduct an efficient drain cleaning, the plumber has to be able to identify the blockage location.


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Smart boiler or central heating controls have come about as a result of recent advancements in technology and allow you to have the optimum control over your heating. The power is placed firmly in your hands thanks to a smart thermostat which can be accessed from wherever you happen to be.
Smart boiler control enables you to work your smart thermostat from your Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices. This means that you can remotely control the temperature at your home or office using your smartphone or tablet. Desktop computers can also be used to give you on-the-go control of your central heating system.
Advanced technology
Just as you will want your boiler servicing in Gloucester or wherever you live in the country to fit in with your lifestyle, you probably demand more intuition and compatibility from your heating systems than ever before.
Thankfully, the technology used and serviced by the likes of www.hprservicesltd.com/gloucester-boilers/boiler-service-gloucester can learn about your daily routine to offer you the very best in tailor-made heating solutions. This means that it can automatically switch your hot water and heating on and off, making sure that you never have to return to a cold house or flat or start your day in a freezing office ever again.
On-the-go control
Allowing you to remotely control your hot water and heating from wherever you are using your computer, mobile or tablet offers the ultimate in flexibility, and the technology is constantly advancing to incorporate an ever-growing array of products. There is even the technology out there to create app-controlled heated clothing to keep you warm this winter. Read more about this at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/11/17/app-controlled-knitwear-means-never-feel-cold/.
Understanding automation and optimisation
Automation and optimisation are the keys to smart heating technology. Automation allows your devices to control your heating in response to programming or occupancy detection, for example.
In contrast, optimisation is the way the device works out how long it takes to get your home up to temperature and minimises the work needed to achieve the desired results, without using unnecessary fuel.
Good smart heating systems and those using the latest in smart technology will make use of both automation and optimisation to offer you a service that offers unrivalled levels of comfort for the minimum amount of financial outlay. This means that remote control heating could warm up your home and your bank manager's heart!


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Jump to navigation Jump to search
Alternative forms[edit]
- escocheon (obsolete)
From Anglo-Norman escuchon, Old French escusson (French écusson), ultimately from Latin scutum ("shield").
escutcheon (plural escutcheons)
- (heraldry) An individual or corporate coat of arms.
- 1922, Michael Arlen, "1/5/1", in "Piracy": A Romantic Chronicle of These Days[1]:
- And in the meanwhile, Society shivered a little feverishly, filled now with the scions of those who had come over with the Jewish and American Conquests. Escutcheons were becoming valueless, how sinister soever the blots and clots upon them.
- (heraldry) A small shield used to charge a larger one.
- (medicine) The pattern of distribution of hair upon the pubic mound.
- A marking upon the back of a cow's udder and the space above it (the perineum), formed by the hair growing upward or outward instead of downward. It was once taken as an index of milking qualities.
- Synonym: milk mirror
- 1867, Charles Louis Flint, Milch cows and dairy farming:
- The milk-mirror, or escutcheon, is formed by the hair above the udder, extending upwards between the thighs, […]
- (nautical) The part of a ship's stern where its name is displayed.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of R. H. Dana, Jr to this entry?)
- A decorative and/or protective plate or bezel to fill the gap between a switch, pipe, valve, control knob, etc., and the surface from which it protrudes.
- The insignia around a doorknob's exterior hardware or a door lock's cosmetic plate.
- The depression behind the beak of certain bivalves; the ligamental area.
Derived terms[edit]
coat of arms
plate or bezel to fill the gap around a protuberance


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The April/May release has been so much fun to create with! I'm not done yet, I still have two more projects to share with you today.
The Foliage Frame Die is another newly released product that has endless uses.
Stamps: Fanciful Feathers // Inks: Nautical Navy // Dies: Foliage Frame Die // Cardstock: Oatmeal, Kraft, Nautical Navy
I decided to keep this one classically clean and simple. Nautical Navy and Kraft are such a beautiful combination. This card could easily be mass produced and it's versatile enough that you can change out the sentiment and give this card to anyone, for any occasion.
My last card is another one that I made using Distress Markers and watercolor paper. There are step-by-step instructions on here if you missed that earlier in the week.
Stamps: Hand Lettered Hello // Dies: Hand Lettered Hello Die , Folk Art Floral Dies
This stamp set and die are quickly becoming some of my favorites. The font is beautiful enough to stand alone on a card, like I've shown here. You don't always have to add a ton to a card. Sometimes simply stated cards, like the ones I've shown today, have the biggest impact!
Thanks so much for joining me this week. I hope I've inspired you!


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Coming soon – notes on the technique and some of the experiments I made whilst learning how to make prints using the Japanese technique.
Sally Wakelin – Studies in Creativity
Paintings, drawings, sculpture and writing
Coming soon – notes on the technique and some of the experiments I made whilst learning how to make prints using the Japanese technique.
I cut the design in plywood and printed several versions of this yesterday. I am going to make a much paler print, then make another cut block with straight cuts which I can then over print in a dark colour.
I made this block back in my studio after the course run by Jonathan Ashworth, at The London Print Studio.
I really enjoyed the cutting part, but I have to say I find the print process more challenging. I seem to get ink in all the wrong places. I have not yet made a two colour version of this block. I may cut some more wood away and do some more prints.
I have used the block with various colours and right now I love the block itself, I have inked in the places where the wood has been cut away, the other colours are the remains of past imprints.
I have still not properly mastered the skill required to make a good print, there are lots of ways of pressing the paper onto the block, probably the best is by using a professional press but they are expensive. There are lots of smaller cheaper presses on the market or available for ad hoc use at various print studios.
The options for independent studios is to use a hard rubber roller, a barren, or the back of a spoon. These all require a certain amount of time, the spoon method takes the longest. I have discovered by watching helpful videos on You Tube, that it is possible to lift the paper, One end at a time, to scrutinise the progress of the print, so you can go back over any inadequately pressed areas.
These prints below are not in any particular order apart from the first, which I made before cutting lines across some faces of the block.
I recently attended a woodcut and print workshop at the London Print Studio taught by Jonathan Ashworth. It was a great day, Jonathan is a super teacher – wish it had lasted longer! The woodcutting takes some time and skill and then there's all the printing to be done.
We began by simply making different kinds of marks using the various tools on a small block, just to see what it was like. Then we each made a block to our own design. This is my first block, after I had printed from it several times.
This is the first print I made whilst at the workshop, a two colour print, the vertical lines are on the back of the same block. I printed the dull pink first from the front of the block and then later the blue using the back of the block.
Heres a print I made later at home, just one colour. At first I found it quite difficult to make the print even, it was so easy at the workshop as we used a large professional press. At home I only have a hard rubber or a barren. It takes practice but I have definitely improved.
I made this two colour print at home, making a mistake with the registration, so its slightly wrong both horizontally and vertically. So much to learn!
I have long admired many practitioners of woodcut, woodblock and Lino cut printing, I've thought for a long time that if I tried it, I could get really obsessed with it.
In the last few months I have attended three print-making workshops. The first was at the Tate Modern, taught by the Illustrator Lizzy Stewart www.abouttoday.co.uk. I enjoyed it immensely.
Lizzy suggested we each bring a piece of text or a poem which might inspire us to make illustrations of that text, mostly using simple mono-print techniques, using just black ink and metal or glass plates.
I took Robin Roberstson's poem "At Roane Head" to work from and made this. It was to be one of four illustrations in a long thin book but I did not have time to finish it. I must do so one day.
I have also taken part in a woodcut ad print workshop with Jonathan Ashworth at the London Print Studio in Maida Vale.
I loved cutting the wood plate, really tried hard to create an intricate and accurate double image, to be printed in two colours.
It took longer than the time available but I did make some interesting images and have made several more prints at home since then. Jonathan is an excellent teacher.
This is actually a test piece, trying out the tool for the first time to see what marks I could make. It was then printed in blue in one direction and then pink in the other producing an interesting range of imagery.
I have lots more prints in various stages of refinement and in various colours, to be continued . . . .


text: Urban Outfitters Jan 16, 2018 Malia Obama Wore a Cute $70 Urban Outfitters Romper in Miami by Eva Thomas Quick question: What would you pack for the ultimate beach weekend getaway? If you said something fun and lightweight (that doesn't break the bank), then you're going to like what we're about to tell you. Michelle and Malia Obama were snapped out and about in Miami over the weekend, spending some quality mother-daughter time together. Following a day at the beach, the duo headed out for dinner, and we couldn't help but zero in on Malia's perfectly cute romper, which we discovered is actually from Urban Outfitters and will cost you less than $70. Lightweight and versatile, this romper is the perfect beach-to-dinner staple that you can easily dress up or down. Malia chose to style the '90s-inspired one-piece with one of her go-to pairs sneakers (classic Reeboks)—a foolproof shoe of choice that is both cool and comfortable. Now, read on to see Malia's complete look, and then shop the affordable (and adorable) romper for yourself. Pinterest Photo: Splash News On Malia: Urban Outfitters Bellina Button-Down Shirt Romper ($69); Reebok sneakers Shop the Piece Pinterest Shop Urban Outfitters Bellina Button-Down Shirt Romper ($69) Explore More: Celebrity


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In order to address the problem of hunger, we must first understand it. Every year, Feeding America conducts the Map the Meal Gap study to learn more about hunger at the local level. By understanding populations in need, communities can better identify strategies for reaching the people who most need food assistance.
To accurately estimate the number of people who may be food insecure in every U.S. county and congressional district, Map the Meal Gap uses publicly available state and local data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics on factors that research has shown to contribute to food insecurity. These factors include unemployment and poverty, as well as other demographic and household characteristics. In addition to measuring how pervasive the need is, the study also estimates the cost of a meal, and the amount of need among people who are food insecure, using local data from Nielsen and national survey data from the Census Bureau.
In 2019, Feeding America released a Map the Meal Gap executive summary as well as a full report and technical appendix. Read the 2019 Map the Meal Gap Executive Summary.
Three report briefs were also produced on the following topics:
All four report briefs (with references) are also available together.
Report Archive
From 2013 - 2018, Feeding America released an annual Map the Meal Gap report that featured data on both child and overall food-insecurity.
- 2018 Report (2016 data)
- 2017 Report (2015 data)
- 2016 Report (2014 data)
- 2015 Report (2013 data)
- 2014 Report (2012 data)
- 2013 Report (2011 data)
In 2011 and 2012, Feeding America released separate Map the Meal Gap reports for overall and child food-insecurity.


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Allow duplicate Invoice numbers if NOT the same vendor record.
99% of our payouts do not have invoice numbers so up until we upgraded yesterday, we entered the date and as long as there were not multiple checks to one vendor, it worked just fine. It also allowed us to make sure that a bill wasn't paid twice because it needed a unique invoice number within the vendor record.
With the new upgrade 6.3 you must have a unique invoice number for EVERY SINGLE VOUCHER we write. Prior to this it was only within a vendor that the invoices numbers needed to be unique.
We are now having to put into place an entire system of numbering invoices that we have never had to do prior to this upgrade.
I agree. It should not allow duplicate invoice numbers for any individual vendor, but why have it across the entire system?
And what about vendors who use a simple invoice numbering system. We will certainly end up with duplicate invoice numbers on our system that we will have to alter before we can pay them.
Sorry, not a fan of that portion of the update.
Thanks for the feedback!
We are reviewing this for future programming. Watch for more information on this functionality in the future.


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Don't wait for me.
Trust me, I wont.
I woke up to an orange and pink sunrise. It reminded me of the drinks I used to order back home on the beach if I was looking to get black out drunk and sleep in my car. The colors of the Colorado sky took me from a nostalgic feeling of utter depression to a moment of complete clarity. I went to bed painfully and emotionally exhausted. More confused than ever before. But, as luck would have it, I woke up to try another day, another beautiful way.
It's February 29th. Every four years we are granted with an extra day. How are you making use of these additional hours? Today is a day I wasn't promised last year, and I almost utilized it's existence this round to sulk. I can't blame myself though, I'm pretty bummed that my life is becoming the definition of insanity. A repetition of the same scenarios that I can't resolve so I essentially just absorb them and repeat the cycle, ultimately expecting different results each time. I know for a fact that when he says 'it isn't you', that there's no way it's not. But, what if it isn't me? Who's gonna fix this?
I live in a city of quitters. Denver is where people go when life gets too hard. We are a melting pot of broken; a dumping ground for disconnect. I however, can't get on board with the constant reminders that nobody is capable of anything remotely difficult. Like, following their dreams. Or living financially independent. Or my recent favorite, knowing what you want and not back pedaling when you find it. I'm not stupid. I know I can't really fix anybody, but at this rate it feels like we all have our insecurities and I've just gotta swing for the fences when I get thrown a semi-decent ball. That's absurd right? Keep your standards high and your heels higher? Well, I'm tall. And tired. Just throw me something I won't strike out on.
I used to think emotionally unavailable men was an Orange County thing, part of the reason I left. And then I blamed it on my generation. Now I don't know who to pass the torch to anymore. Everyone I meet in life is so god damned misinformed on how to treat others, or how to treat themselves that I feel like I was basically born to babysit. So, listen up kids…this is how it's gonna work:
You meet. You have similar interests. You find each other attractive. You treasure the ease of your togetherness. You steadily move in a direction that would benefit you both mutually. You choose monogamy. You bask in some happiness. You travel a lot. You make memories. You start a life together. You raise a family. You die complete. The end.
Note that there are no asterisks in the above situation. There's no "we went to bed angry and woke up stuck". Or, "but after the family was raised he cheated on me profusely because he hated the way I needed him to love me". Or " and then he stopped talking to me because he was too scared to feel". Dating is not for the weak of heart, but it's the only fucking tunnel to love we have. So, prior to giving up at every bump in the road, maybe hold on to the idea that the easiest things in life are usually the least fulfilling. By nature, nobody will ever fall in love at first sight. And if you did, good for you, but it's probably because you had a baby and you were forced into some sort of bond that was theoretically impossible to break. Or maybe you're in that one percentile of people who didn't ever have to deal with the pain of heartbreak because they fell in love with their boyfriend from third grade and married him in college. If only we could all be so lucky.
Speaking of luck, I'm pretty lucky that I got an extra day this month. To rearrange my thoughts on paper before March came marching down the calendar. I'm also pretty lucky that most men's response to me is "you're amazing I'm just not ready" instead of "you're kind of a bitch and you smell weird". I think I'm a catch. I exude confidence and intelligence. I provide men with space, but also adoration. I'd like to think that my biggest challenge is being totally prepared unlike the rest of the population. But where do I go from here? Quit my job, roll a fatty and question all of my feelings? I'd so regretfully be willing to bet that might score me the relationship I've been looking for.


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This is a revised version of a "From the Local History Room" column that first appeared in March 2012 before the launch of this weblog, republished here as a part of our Illinois Bicentennial Series on early Illinois history.
Steamboat disaster on the Illinois River
By Jared Olar
Library assistant
Last month Pekin and nearby communities commemorated the 100th anniversary of one of the most tragic events seared into Pekin's collective memory: the Columbia riverboat disaster. On July 5, 1918, the steamboat Columbia sank on the Illinois River four miles north of Pekin when it struck a submerged tree stump, ripping a gaping hole in the hull. Out of 496 passengers, 87 died, including 57 Pekin residents.
It was the last large scale river disaster in our area – but steamboats had been plying the waters of the Illinois River since about 1829, when the steamer Liberty visited Peoria, so it should be no surprise that the wreck of the Columbia wasn't Pekin's first steamboat disaster. On July 12, 1892, the excursion steamer Frankie Folsom capsized during a storm on Peoria Lake while bringing passengers back to Pekin from Peoria. Most passengers escaped, but 11 died.
Pekin's first steamboat disaster was on April 25, 1852, when the boilers of the Prairie State exploded, reportedly killing more than 100 passengers.
The story of this tragedy is told and retold in several of the standard works on Pekin's history, but, surprisingly, none of those works gives the correct date of the disaster. Ben C. Allensworth's 1905 History of Tazewell County, the 1949 Pekin Centenary, and the 1974 Pekin Sesquicentennial each claim that the Prairie State exploded on Sunday morning, April 16, 1852. The problem with that date is that April 16 was a Friday that year.
"Pekin: A Pictorial History" (2004) gets closer to the truth, placing the tragedy on Sunday morning, April 24, 1852. However, that day was a Saturday. The correct date is found in "Lloyd's Steamboat Disasters" (1856), page 293, which says, "The steamer Prairie State collapsed her flues on the Illinois River, April 25th, 1852, killing and wounding twenty persons." That date was, as Pekin's history book states, a Sunday.
The number of dead reportedly was far more than 20. "Pekin: A Pictorial History," page 176, tells the story in these words:
". . . [T]the packet steamers, Prairie State and Avalanche, southward bound, landed almost simultaneously at the Pekin Wharf and collided. Both were carrying a high head of steam. As a result the boilers on the Prairie State exploded with terrific force. 'It was the church going hour, but the worship of the Deity was changed to the duties of the Good Samaritan,' according to Cole's Guide. The 110 bodies that were recovered were placed side by side under the walnut and oak trees on the bank and every home in the vicinity became a temporary hospital. One rescued passenger, en route to Texas, reported that many of the victims he had seen on board were not recovered. A final count of those who drowned was never ascertained."
That account repeats most of details and uses much of the same language of Allensworth's 1905 recollection:
"The two steamers, the 'Prairie State' and the 'Avalanche' coming from the north, landed almost simultaneously at the Pekin wharf. They were evidently racing as both were carrying a high pressure of steam. The 'Prairie State' pulled out of the landing ahead of her competitor, and when nearly opposite our gas works, her boilers exploded with terrific force. This happened on Sunday about the time for the beginning of church services. The people went to the rescue of the injured, and the wreck of the 'Prairie State' was towed back to the wharf by the 'Avalanche.' Many bodies were recovered and laid side by side under the walnut and oak trees on the bank of the river. The citizens turned their houses into temporary hospitals in which the injured were cared for.
"Mr. James Sallee was a passenger going to Texas, and is authority for the statement that the boat was crowded with passengers, many of whose bodies were never recovered."
The 1974 Sesquicentennial also more specifically locates the Prairie State's explosion at "a point nearly opposite 'gas house hill' (in the area of 100 Fayette Street)."
The 1949 Centenary and the Sesquicentennial also repeat Allensworth's account and recycle some of his words. The Centenary added the darkly humorous observation that, "Pekin's population increased by a somewhat unusual method, when a large number of people literally 'blew into town,'" explaining that many of the survivors decided to stay on in Pekin after their recovery.
One of the survivors, according to the Centenary, was "the grandfather of Paul Sallee, the present Pekin trouper," who is called "a well-known area entertainer" in the Sesquicentennial. Paul Sallee's grandfather, of course, was the James Sallee of Allensworth's account.


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Industrial Glycol Feed Packages
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Open Top Mixing Tanks & Stands
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GTP News
1/19 PFS CSB Corporation Stops
2/18 New Product: Stenner Pumps
9/17 New Product: W900 Controllers
5/17 New Product: Magdrive Pumps
5/17 New Product: Peristaltic Pumps
5/17 New Product: Flow Indicators
4/17 Trueflo Sensors Lifetime Warranty
3/17 Poly Tank Price Increase
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Wednesday, Dec 25th Christmas Day
Wednesday, Jan 1st New Years Day
Monday, May 25th Memorial Day
Friday, Jul 3rd Independence Day
Monday, Sep 7th Labor Day
Wednesday, Nov 11th Veterans Day
Thursday, Nov 26th Thanksgiving
Friday, Nov 27th
Thursday, Dec 24th Chirstmas Eve
Friday, Dec 25th Christmas Day
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2006 General Treatment Products, Inc. All Rights Reserved


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Debunking Skill-biased Technical Change
David Card, who always does excellent work, and John DiNardo published a nice work on the subject. Here is their conclusion:
133-40: "Since the late 1980s, a consensus has emerged that the decline in real wages for low-skilled workers in the early 1980s and the subsequent slow recovery of these wage levels are explained by skill-biased technological change. In this chapter, we have argued that the evidence underlying this consensus is remarkably frail. Much of the evidence takes the form of "proof by residual." After accounting for changes in relative supply and (in some cases) making a modest list of other factors, proponents of this consensus note that the decline in the relative wages of low-skilled labor remains unexplained. Skill-biased technological change is then left as the only plausible explanation for the facts. Given the state of knowledge about how labor markets work, we find this line of argument unconvincing. Moreover, the evidence that emerges from such an exercise is highly model-specific. Depending on how the data for different groups are organized, the degree of substitution that is allowed between workers of different genders or ages, and the list of other job characteristics that are included in the decomposition, the results can suggest that rising inequality was either an ubiquitous phenomenon affecting virtually all workers over the past three decades or a trend that mainly affected young workers in the early 1980s."
Card, David and John DiNardo. 2006. "The Impact of Technological Change on Low-Wage Workers: A Review." In Rebecca M. Blank, Sheldon H. Danziger, and Robert F. Schoeni, editors. Working and Poor: How Economic and Policy Changes Are Affecting Low-Wage Workers (New York: Russell Sage Foundation): pp. 113-140.


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Storytime for 3 - 5 year olds on Monday mornings
10:30am - 11:30am
Monday morning storytime!
This fall's storytime theme is "All About Autumn," a six-week session about pumpkins, apples, Halloween, leaves, and more.
Each storytime includes about 30 minutes of stories, finger-plays, songs and games related to that week's theme, followed by a craft project and a snack; the total storytime runs approximately 60 minutes.


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This particular Orange is made up of four small slices – Mehedi Rahman, Faisal Akram Ether, Ferdous Ahmad & Xoaher Musavvir (click on our names to view our website).
All of us are experienced and established in our own fields and are friends in real life. That is the key to our successful mix of creativity, team work and great results. After covering events and weddings on our own for many years we felt the need to collaborate and raise the level of the quality and services we provide.
Lets face a simple truth. You are here reading our website because you seek to find the very best wedding photographers for your big day. On the other hand, we have hand-crafted this entire site and displayed our best work here so that we could reach you.
We too, want to create wedding photographs that are better than the last wedding we covered. We do not want to be hired to do an okay job. If you want to hire a new, inexperienced and cheap wedding photographer then good luck because we will charge you for our efforts, creativity and hard work – in return, you will get a photographic experience like never before.
Quick links // Pre Wedding Portfolio // Wedding Portfolio // Get in touch
Frequently Asked Questions
How long have you been in business?
We have almost fifteen years of collective experience. Ether, Mehedi and Ferdous has over four years of experience covering weddings professionally. Xoaher has over two years in the line.
What kind of guarantee comes with my hiring you?
We will try our best to bring out the diva in you and capture your precious moments.You have seen our work and understand the quality of photographs that we can deliver. We will try to make the best out of your event's location and the time frame you allow us to photograph you exclusively. Having said the above, no we do not offer any "guarantee".
What's your philosophy to photographing weddings?
Our goal is to create pictures that capture your love and tell your story. We try to be as unobtrusive as possible so that you are in the limelight.
Will you have an assistant?
Yes, we usually have one or more lighting assistants at the event. We also have photo processing and video editing assistants in our office who are brought in during the high season.
Do you have travel fees?
Yes. We will charge extra for travelling outside Dhaka.
What do you plan to do at my wedding to make my wedding photographs unique and personal to me?
Here at Orange, we take wedding photography very seriously. Although there are some general recipes that we follow for traditional and candid portraits, we take your personality into account and apply it into the photographs. Ideally, we meet our clients beforehand, have coffee and discuss the photographs and possibilities.
Will you be shooting my pictures personally?
Yes. Depending on the package you choose, one or more of us will be working in your event. We are very strict about quality control and only choose photographers with experience to assist us.
Will you use film or digital?
Digital. Unless you ask us to use film, in which case it would cost more. We will be able to use 35mm and 120mm 6×6 formats at events.
What's your payment policy?
We take half payment before the program and the rest when we deliver our work. No exceptions.
What gear do you use at weddings ?
Multiple Canon 5d Mark ii bodies equipped with EF 24-70 f2.8 L, EF 50 f1.4, EF 85 f1.8, EF 70-200 f2.8 I, II, L.
We also use Nikon D7000 from time to time with various prime lenses.
We either use Canon, Nikon and 3rd party flashses or use continous cinematic lighting if the venue allows.
For film, we use EOS 3 body, Yashica rangefinders and Mamiya C220 TLR cameras equipped with various color and black and white negetive films depending on our own private film stock.
Quick links // Pre Wedding Portfolio // Wedding Portfolio // Get in touch


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His dancing won't give Michael Flatley any sleepless nights, but that's OK with the producers of "Glee," who named Derry City native Damian McGinty the co-winner of "The Glee Project" on the show's finale Sunday night.
McGinty, 18, and fellow finalist Sam Larsen, were named the top winners on the Oxygen-TV reality show, and will each be featured in a seven-episode story arc on the hit Fox TV comedy, "Glee." The decision to name two winners, announced by the show's creator Ryan Murphy, provided a surprise ending to the contest.
McGinty, who shot to fame at age 14 as the youngest vocalist with the group Celtic Thunder, auditioned for "The Glee Project" in December 2010, beating out 40,000 hopefuls to land one of the 12 spots on the reality show. Each week, the contestants were given "homework assignments" that tested their strengths in different areas: Danceability, Theatricality, Pairability, and so on.
The young singer made it through with talent and good humor, winning accolades for both his talent and his can-do attitude. Though he wound up in the bottom three — and faced elimination — more times than any of the other contestants, he was popular with fans, and narrowly missed being named the Bing Fan Favorite in online voting. A running joke throughout the season was his inability to dance.
In the finale, McGinty, who favors swing and Rat Pack-era music, sang a flawless version of "Beyond the Sea" that brought the other contestants, as well as the show's celebrity mentors, to their feet. When the dreadlocked Larsen was announced as the winner, McGinty congratulated him — and then Murphy announced that he, too, had won.


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UpRising Today
In 2018 UpRising will be 10 years old. That represents a decade of leadership development, employability programmes, democratic engagement and social action delivery to over 3,300 young people from under-represented backgrounds from all over the UK.
The need for UpRising isn't going away. On the one hand, there's the continued loss of youth and community services, combined with high-levels of poverty that are often associated with poor social outcomes.
Whilst, on the other, leadership continues to be unrepresentative. Even though the results of 2017's General Election brought us the most diverse Parliament ever which is certainly progress to celebrate, the majority of those with power in this country come from a narrow range of backgrounds.
By some measures, we are actually going backwards. A study published in 2016, found that people born in the 1980s are the first post-war cohort not to start their working years with higher incomes than their immediate predecessors.
The progress on inclusive growth is evidently slow. Unless we have an intervention, to tackle the root cause of under-representative leadership, we will continue to see enormous pockets of talent in our country, that do not have the chance to shine.
Our consultations show - young people from under-represented backgrounds feel that they lack the skills, knowledge, networks and confidence - but with support, are willing and able to make a difference in their community.
UpRising creates a channel of public leaders who reflect and represent the communities they serve; with the motivation and character to bring about a substantial shift in power, enabling more people to take charge of their future and make positive change in the world around them.
Support our important work - find out how to donate or fundraise for us here.


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Alyssa Bustamante To Enter Plea Agreement Tuesday
JEFFERSON CITY - Just three weeks shy of a scheduled trial date for 17-year-old Alyssa Bustamante, a family spokesperson for murder victim Elizabeth Olten confirmed to KOMU that Bustamante's defense could accept a plea deal in court on Tuesday.
Though KOMU could not reach prosecuting attorney Mark Richardson or defense attorney Donald Catlett, Pam Cafourek confirmed a motion hearing will be held at 9 a.m. at the Cole County Courthouse.
Cafourek said Richardson informed Olten's mother this morning that he planned to offer a second-degree murder plea bargain to Bustamante's defense team. She said Richardson told the Olten family later this afternoon that the defense had agreed to the deal. In court Tuesday, "All [Bustamante] has to do is show up," Cafourek said.
According to the spokesperson, if Bustamante agrees to the guilty plea of second-degree murder, judge Patricia Joyce will decide whether to uphold the agreement. If Joyce sustains the deal, a sentencing hearing will be set. The maximum sentence for the second-degree charge is 30 years in prison with the possibility of parole.
Cafourek said Olten's mother "is absolutely devastated. She wanted it to go to full trial. She wanted [for Bustamante] life in prison without parole. She thought we had enough for the jury to convict her, and apparently Mark didn't feel that way." Cafourek said Richardson told the family initially he would not offer a plea agreement to Bustamante.
"If [Bustamante] changes her mind between now and tomorrow, then it will go to trial," Cafourek said.
Bustamante is scheduled to be tried for first-degree murder as an adult on Jan. 30. She is accused of murdering her nine-year-old neighbor, Olten, two years ago in St. Martins, Mo.
The official Missouri courts website has yet to publish any official changes in the trial proceedings set for Jan. 30., nor has it confirmed Tuesday's motion hearing.
If the plea agreement falls through and Bustamante is tried and found guilty of first-degree murder, she could face up to life in prison. Of the 30-year maximum sentence a second-degree charge could carry, Cafourek said, "That's all [the attorneys] feel Elizabeth's life is worth."
Click here for information about the case and scheduled trial.
Stay tuned to KOMU 8 News for the latest updates.


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Video: Liverpool crash out of Carling Cup to Northampton
No Carling-branded champagne bottles on Merseyside this season
Fate dished out a healthy dose of karma to any Liverpool fans who had spent a little to long revelling in Everton's Carling Cup defeat to League One side Brentford. The Reds suffered their own humiliation as they were knocked out of the competition by League Two outfit Northampton.
Roy Hodgson's side (although he will currently tell anyone who will listen that they're not his side yet) lost 4-2 on a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw.
Debutant goalkeeper Brad Jones looked particularly dodgy and penalty misses from David N'gog and Nathan Eccleston ensured it was embarrassment all round for Merseyside clubs in the Carling Cup third round.
Video via 101GG


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Ruts are negative phases we've all been through at some point in our lives. Such periods in time when you lose all motivation and find yourself going through the days mindlessly? That's a mental rut – something that sucks the joy out of things you normally like to do and leaves you with a mind simmering in negative thoughts. Ruts may not be permanent, but they can have a really negative effect on productivity. Wouldn't you rather spend your time in a better state of mind?
It's hard to avoid experiencing ruts, since we're all prone to moments of doubt and low mental energy, but there are ways for us to break out of these ruts and go back to our usual motivated selves.
1. Plan a simple and achievable to-do list
Assign yourself manageable tasks that you won't have to struggle to complete – this will get your engine going and create momentum for the days to come. Finishing simple, everyday chores like arranging your desk or clearing unwanted clothes will inject some satisfaction in your life. This will cut straight through to the negative thoughts stuck in your head and breaks the rut's spell a little.
2. Meditate away
Mindfulness helps you see past the fog of despair in your head by helping you separate thought from fact. When you meditate, your mind clears up and you can understand your thoughts from a better perspective. Engaging in mind-body activities like yoga or tai chi can have a similar effect.
3. Start a diary
The physical act of penning down your thoughts can be cathartic. First of all, you're releasing them from your mind. Also, reading your own words can help you come to terms with the emotions behind them. Our fears can be irrational sometimes and spelling them out for yourself helps you to see them objectively.
4. Swing your mindset around
Our thoughts have significant power over our lives, so choose to think positively! Every time you find yourself thinking something negative, turn the direction of the sentence around with a "but". Perhaps you're feeling disappointed with your pace of work today. When you start thinking "I'm so unproductive", turn that tone around – tell yourself something good that you've done before. A "but it's okay because I worked extra hard yesterday" or something actionable, such as "but I'll make up for it tomorrow" are good examples. In short, if the positive vibes just aren't there, create them yourself!
5. Get someone on board
The nature of a rut is such that it leaves you unmotivated to do anything, including breaking out of the rut itself. This is why you should definitely consider enlisting someone's help. Tell them what you're going through and get their help in keeping track of your goals. Sometimes, all we need is a reminder from someone other than ourselves to whip us into action.
Ruts may be normal occurrences but waiting for motivation to strike takes much too long. It's time to realise that you can break out of them early and get your life back on track by being proactive and not giving into the blues!


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The Lowry Hotel
Chapel Wharf
TripAdvisor Traveller Rating3583 reviews
Welcome to the Itinerary Planner. Use this tool to build your own journey or choose from an exciting range of specially selected tours.
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TripAdvisor Traveller Rating3583 reviews
The Lowry Hotel is a five-star contemporary hotel where Salford meets Manchester on the banks of the River Irwell.
Offering 165 bedrooms, six suites and the Charles Forte Presidential suite with floor-to-ceiling windows all of the bedrooms have plenty of space, with a super-king-size bed or two singles dressed in a custom-made wool blanket with bathrooms in Italian porcelain. The Riverside suites have two entrances a separate lounge and a dining area (seating four), which is ideal for entertaining, and a pantry-kitchenette. There's one on each of the hotel's six floors five of the six Riverside Suites can be interconnected to an additional room, making them popular with families and long-stay guests.
The Charles Forte presidential suite is the ultimate penthouse: at 145 square meters, it is the largest, most luxurious accommodation in the city. There's even a baby grand piano in the lounge-dining room. You can seat eight for dinner, and host a small gathering with the numerous sofas and chairs. In the adjoining bedroom you'll find a super-king-size bed, vanity area, walk-in dressing room, and a bathroom in Italian porcelain with bath and double shower. A second bedroom, with the same specification, is available at an extra cost.
The light-soaked first-floor spa is a contemporary space to enjoy treatments from world-class brands, including massage, facials, and beauty care in any hour-, day- or weekend-long packages. Brands include QMS Medicosmetics and CND Shellac, with treatments suitable for men, women and mothers-to-be. With a relaxation room, treatment rooms (including one for couples), separate male and female changing areas, a sauna, and quiet corner for a healthy lunch — all of these amenities nurture your wellbeing while staying in the heart of the city. There is also a gym and hair salon. A colonic hydrotherapy clinic is offered three days a week.
The River Restaurant is one of Manchester's best restaurants to eat and drink in a glass-walled, riverside setting. The convivial atmosphere is also deeply luxurious with purple leather chairs, semi-circular banquettes, while Fornasetti plates, mirrors and lithographs and prints decorate walls. The River Bar encapsulates The Lowry Hotel's fun-loving spirit at the confluence of city life. Here you'll find in the intimate, informal surroundings a quiet place to network, drink and kick-back with a perfectly mixed cocktail, club sandwich, salad, or more substantial dish from the menu.
|Room / Unit Type
|Room / Unit Tariff*
|from £118.00 to £423.00 per room (room only)
|Presidential Suite
|from £2,245.00 to £2,500.00 per room (room only)
|Riverside Suite
|from £920.00 to £970.00 per room (room only)
|Superior Deluxe King
|from £417.00 to £453.00 per room (room only)
*As a guide, prices are per room per night for hotels, guest houses, B&Bs and serviced apartments and per week for self-catering accommodation.
Note: Prices are a guide only and may change on a daily basis.
From: Bus, Train, Tram Directions:
From The North: Follow route for Carlise to join M6, turn at junction 30 signposted the M61, Continue on the M61 following signs for M60 and Liverpool M62, Continue down for approx 3 miles and follow signs for M602 Manchester, towards the end of the M602 stay in the left hand lane. At the end of M602 take the first exit on the left following signs for Salford and Pendleton, The second set of lights is on a T Junction, Turn right at these lights onto the crescent, Continue along for approx 2 miles and pass under a railway bridge. The entrance for the hotel is on your right after 50 yards From North Wales: Follow route to Chester picking up the M56 for Manchester, Exit M56 at junction 9 sign posted M6 North, Continue along M6 and exit junction 21a and follow signs for M62 Manchester, Continue along M62 picking signs M602 Manchester. Follow points 4, 5 & 6 from above From the North-East of England: Follow A1 south picking up M62 at Ferry Bridge heading west, Exit at junction 17 M62 follow signs Manchester City centre, After Approx 4 miles you will come to the Manchester Evening News Arena. Turn right at the lights with the junction of the Manchester Evening News, At the traffic lights at Renault Manchester on the junction turn left into Blackfriars, Next set of lights turn right and the hotel entrance is 50 yards along on left hand side From London: Join M25 orbital and head north on the M1, Continue North exiting M1 at junction 19 signposted M6 Birmingham, Follow points 3 & 4 from Wales and then follow points 4, 5 and 6 from above
|open (1 Jan 2020 - 31 Dec 2020)
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Ever since the Young Republicans "Sabotage Your Cookout" 7" EP came out this area has been in perpetual disarray making it really difficult to find stuff. A few nights ago I finally decided to do some organizing of this mess and in the process I found a small grip of about a dozen "Cookout Edition" red vinyl mailorder only copies. They were buried underneath a heap of cardboard boxes in a drawer that I haven't looked in for months. The "Cookout Edition" features hand silkscreened covers made out of cookout style tablecloths and a different insert along with the EP on red vinyl. These sold out in one weekend when I first advertised their sale so if you'd like one and missed out the first time around, act quick and you'll score one.
Pictured above with the "Cookout Edition" copies are the second pressing mispress copies that are limited to 50 copies. The plant goofed and accidentally pressed 50 with a small hole when I did the repress instead of the large hole version that I ordered, which there are about 1300 of. I still have a small handful of these remaining so if you'd like one, now would be the best time to get one because I have 5 or 6 left before they're gone for good.
There are a few different purchase options. You can buy a "Cookout Edition" or a limited to 50 mispressing or you can buy both.
I'm sick to death of using the Paypal cart system payment method. That piece of shit never works for more than five minutes at a time, so if you'd like to get any of these records, drop me an email: morethanawitness at gmail dot com


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26th January 2020, Commemoration of the Execution of Charles Ist
By kind permission of the Royal Parks Department, the King's Army Annual March and Parade will again follow the route taken by Charles I from St James Palace on the Mall to the place of his untimely death at the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London.
This event is an established part of the London calendar and has followed a similar format now for forty years. The parade assembles from 11am outside St James Palace on The Mall and marches to form up on Horse Guards Parade, a considerable privilege for an organisation such as ourselves, from where a wreath is carried across Whitehall and placed at the execution site. A short service follows and awards and commissions are conferred on deserving members of the King's Army.
We are grateful for the assistance of members of the Roundhead Association who act as stewards at the event.


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Innovative engineering and craftsmanship elicit the age-old beauty of wood
Architects' timber design skills seem neatly arranged into two categories: engineering and craftsmanship. On the one hand, timber has become a vehicle for displays of engineering prowess that deliver efficient, lightweight, quickly erected structures with minimal environmental impact. In another universe, we have architects concerned with the subtleties and nuances of different types of wood or their colour and grain, maybe their tactile and olfactory qualities, as well as the way they have been used in the past, and in some cases their relationship with the human psyche or even the material's soul. But that would be a gross simplification.
It is customary for architects to speak of the beauty of wood as self-evident, sometimes referring to research that suggests people feel comfortable with this material without really saying why. It is questionable that surveys are always reliable generators of good architecture, although axiomatic statements often reflect sound intuitive judgements which are perhaps OK where design thinking has no sociopolitical impact. It would, however, be good to see more analysis of the psychological impact of wood asking, for example, whether too much can be oppressive. With regard to wood's environmental qualities, Austin Williams has noted that research indicates that 32 per cent of UK architecture students consider timber the most sustainable construction material, whereas in China 30 per cent say it is the least sustainable (AR October 2015).
The Exbury Egg
Source: Nigel Ridgen
Case study: Atelier PRO, Klinker Cultural Centre, Winschoten, Netherlands (2015)
Klinker Cultural Centre Atelier PRO
Klinker Centre Detail
Comprising a theatre, library, arts centre, cinema, radio studio and café, the Klinker Cultural Centre has a foyer at its heart, a place where visitors meet informally and audiences join post-show discussions. The inner wall of this foyer, which encloses the auditorium and is untouched by intermediate floors, is clad in shingles of Basralocus, a timber species originating in Suriname used for Dutch canal and river bollards. Atelier PRO wanted to clad the auditorium with recycled bollards, but the contractor did not follow this up at the construction stage. The wood is so dense that preservative and fire-resistant treatment was not required. The tactile qualities of the shingles were intended to emphasise the central role of the auditorium within a building designed to accommodate small-scale spaces which integrate with the urban fabric, and they work in conjunction with the wall build-up to prevent noise break-out between spaces and regulate the foyer's room acoustics, diffusing sound generated by activities such as live music.
The designers of Arup Associates' BSkyB Believe in Better Building, an exemplar of engineered timber construction, emphasise the way its users respond to its surface finishes. Conversely, great craftsman-architects such as Shigeru Ban, as well as mastering timber's expressive potential, can also reveal extraordinary technical trade secrets. To use an Israeli phrase, bluntly translated from the Hebrew, they can show us where the fish pisses.
Shigeru Ban subtly avoided the disastrous consequences of locking together the cedar members in the walls of a residence in Yamanashi Prefecture with alternating sliding connections. As Bob Maguire once said, timber doesn't behave like cheese.
Case study: Arup Associates, BSkyB Believe in Better Building, Osterley, London, england (2014)
BskyB Arup Associates
Britain's tallest open-plan timber building of its type houses Sky's training/development suite, offices, and careers lab and is a venue for community events and school visits. Registered as 'carbon neutral', Sky targeted a 15 per cent reduction in embodied CO2 emissions and Arup Associates demonstrated that its proposed glulam frame and CLT cores outperformed steel, concrete or a hybrid of both and could achieve lightweight construction, openness and transparency. Only a timber frame – unheard of in a UK building of this type – could achieve zero embodied CO2 emissions.
Construction of the timber structural frame was considered 30 per cent faster than the alternative of reinforced concrete. Timber construction minimised noise, an essential consideration with an office building next door and, although specialist contractor B & K Structures resisted ad hoc carving on site, timber frames allowed more flexibility in the design and installation of follow-on trades, which involved working with screwdrivers rather than cast-in channels.
With an eight-week design window and only four between the concept and scheme stages, Arup Associates also built flexibility into the structure by designing arrays of penetrations in the beams which electrical services could be routed through when required. To provide an open-plan floorplate, structural walls are limited to stair cores, lifts and divisions between plant and public spaces. This is unusual for a multi-storey timber building, in which stability is usually provided by numerous load-bearing walls or stability cores with steel bracing or concrete walls.
Wood technology was also used for the floor and external cladding cassettes, which are aluminium-clad, as well as the stair treads and risers, with surfaces defined by stacked edges of thin timber laminate. Strip glazing, comprising stacked units, and external louvres had to come from a UK timber window supplier as it could ship them to site in three weeks.
At the frontiers of engineered timber technology, dRMM's Sky Health and Fitness Centre in Osterley, London (2015), uses 4.5 tonne 'superbeams' developed by Arup and glued laminated bifurcated timber columns. Engineered timber construction, with cross-laminated timber (CLT) perimeter walls and floors, enabled this project to be designed and completed in 17 months and its superstructure was erected in 26 days, although its architects also emphasise the rich texture and beauty of its exposed frame.
In contrast to dRMM's holistic use of engineered timber, Robin Snell and Partners' Lower Vicar's Barn Studio in Oxfordshire, completed in December 2014, contrasts new construction in English oak with the retained 1730 oak structure. Original internal wall and roof studwork was replaced in softwood in the 1980s. Now these additions have been replaced by flush fitting and finely crafted panels with hand-selected oak veneers laid randomly to minimise patterning effects. These have solid oak edgings and are applied to fully balanced plywood panels, 18mm thick for soffits and 25mm for walls, hung with split battens.
BIG Gammel Hellerup
Source: Rasmus Hjortshøj
Shigeru Ban Architects, Solid Cedar House, Kobuchizawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan (2015)
Shigeru ban cedar house
The Solid Cedar House continues Ban's previous elaboration of concepts explored by Mies van der Rohe involving brick and concrete partitions and interconnected sequences of spaces progressing from the interior to surrounding landscape.
In the Kobuchizawa project, solid cedar walls and slabs cut a variety of views from each room and conceal the neighbouring house and road. 'Settlement of walls due to shrinkage and compression is unavoidable when building horizontally stacked log houses', says Ban. 'Even with additional built-in clearances, fittings such as doors and furniture do not function properly over time.'
Shigeru Ban Detail Section
As a countermeasure, the 120 x 120mm logs were mechanically dried in a controlled environment to reduce the moisture content to below 20 per cent. 'Paneriido, 160mm panel screws, were used as a countermeasure against shear stresses between stacked logs', he explains. 'These were driven into the logs in two rows, at an alternating pitch of 120mm, so even where shrinkage and compression occurs, the logs move independently of each other, leaving the wall intact: horizontal gaps between logs may eventually appear, but these would only be about 1.5mm wide.' To strengthen the walls against wind pressure, the stacked logs were reinforced with 36mm-diameter vertical steel rods cantilevered from reinforced-concrete foundations at 600mm centres.
Why cedar? No mystery: this was a client preference and the construction company favoured a local variety, available at low cost.
New walls at Lower Vicar's Barn Studio, and also the oak floors, have bronze panels to protect them from open log fires, and their surface spread of flames treatment was chosen for minimal visible effect. Surfaces were left to wear naturally to maintain the oak's original colour and match the Georgian frame. The new panels were laboriously set out to express the modularity of the oak room, and shadow gaps at junctions with original columns provide tolerance for, and emphasise, these members. New additions and bespoke furniture, using ancient techniques, combine with original construction to create an integrated whole.
Unlike Robin Snell and Partners' oak casket, recent full-blown engineered timber projects invariably have something of the lumber yard about them unless – as in the case of BIG's Gammel Hellerup High School in Copenhagen, where the sports hall beam curvature was generated by the trajectory of handballs – they successfully play off wood against other materials. Although their engineering prowess, neat construction logic and lack of inhibition can be an inspiration, they often struggle to touch the heart, especially if one prefers timber without knots.
Foster + Partners, Canary Wharf Crossrail, London, England (2015)
Foster Canary Wharf Crossrail
Foster Canary Wharf Detail
The mixed-use development above and around this Crossrail station has a barrel-vaulted diagrid roof angled off at prow and stern. Here alone, four of the diagrid's straight, though in some locations tapered, European spruce glulam beams have been pressed to form two curved members at each extremity and also here, as Foster + Partners' Jonathan Rabagliati explains, the gentle algorithm of their modules accelerates.
The diagonal glulam beams, some in tension and others in compression, were conceived with twists which tracked the roof's surface geometry, but a good approximation to this form was achieved with straight members. These work with welded and galvanised steel nodal connections which control their twisting layout and axial rotations. About half of the 564 nodes are unique. Production by Austrian glulam specialist WIEHAG was almost fully automated. Although the nodes are not adjustable, the roof, whose components were precisely set out by jig, is within 5mm of its 300m notional length.


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Arthur remake finds director
The remake of Arthur has it's director, and the choice hasn't really eased my concerns about the project, concerns that first came alive when they announced that they were remaking the touching and superbly acted film starring Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli and John Gielgud.
Now we're set to see Russell Brand take over the Dudley Moore role and already my concerns are up that the subtlety and the human touch of the film will fade for loud, bodily function based jokes, and over the top performances.
Of course there was loud humour in the first, but what was different is that the film was really touching and really managed to capture the emotional side of the character, and you really feel for him. I'm scared the American remake will just go for the formulaic laughs.
Now we're hearing from The Hollywood Reporter that the director who has been attached to the film is Jason Winer, a television director who has completed ten episodes of Modern Family, apparently a series that is getting a lot of recognition in the U.S., that is until they move it around in the schedules and cause the audience to lose it.
Peter Baynham has written the script for remake, also called Arthur, and he's previously written Brüno (Filmstalker review) and Borat, so you can see why my concerns are high.
Arthur is a wonderful film that gained a fair few nominations and awards, and there were great performances from all involved, as well as a superb story. I just hate to think what Hollywood can do with it, or what the writer of Borat and Brüno already has.