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Thursday, May 31, 2007
International Hot Farm competiton at Lengerich, August 25th and 26th
You all have heard or read about the Tractor Pull at Lengerich / Emsland / Germany, the biggest Stock and Hot Farm madness in Germany, famous for it's unbelieveable party crowd and the Pulling Party until the weeh hours of sunday morning where everybody who's been there already had at least one too many....
For this year the promoters have opened up the competition for everybody from everywhere, and to make it a little more attractive to show up, a total of 4500 € will be paid out in price money for the (super-) sport classes.
The international competition will be held in the 3,5t, 4,5t and 5,5t classes, and tractors that want to compete have to follow the rules of either NTTO (Super Sport), DTP (Farm Stock) or DTTO (Sportklasse). In short - 2750 rpms (except for DTP machines with lower cui), wheely bars, Turbo shielding, exhaust cross, kill switch, 3,5t at 7000ccm, 4,5t 9000ccm and 5,5t at open ccm - max. 1 Turbo.
For further info, rulebook and registration check www.treckertreck.de -> Teilnehmerinfo.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Bernay - new promotion video
The upcoming weekend for the hardcore pulling fan means a trip to the Normandie, to Bernay to be exact.
Nowhere else will you find a bigger crowd staying in the stands all evening until way past midnight, watching the top of the European Tractor Pulling having a real battle for precious Euro Cup points.
For the 24th edition they have made a nice promotion video, which you can watch here.
For further information check their website at http://www.antp-bernay.com/index_us.htm
Hassmoor premium video download
87 min in DVD quality for 6.50 €, payable with Pay Pal.
Direct link to the download page
The process is rather simple. You just click on the "buy now" icon, then log into PayPal (if you are not signed up with them, sign up), make your payment and then click the "back to seller" button on the confirmation page of PayPal (DO NOT CLOSE IT - it will close automatically and direct you to the download). The download will then start. Please store the file on your harddisk.
Car Pulling
Bas Blaak has started a Picasa Gallery for Car Pulling!
Check out the last update from Lopik and also check the videos in album!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Pictures of last weekend
Finally more pictures of last weekend's pulling:
Hassmoor by Hermann
Emmeloord by AJ
New clips on tractorpulling.tv
3.5t modified, Super Stock and Prostock
3.5t modified,TWD and 4.5t modified
Results of the weekend
Since I was at my grandad's 80th birthday party, I couldn't take pictures this weekend. If you want to see pictures from Hassmoor, check http://www.tractor-pulling.de/
Some news from Brazil
-"Panther", which competed in the 2.4t category, will compete in the "Iniciantes" (Beginner?) category in the upcoming season.
In Brazil they also have competition with Agricultural Tractors and Micro / Lego Pulling.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Green Extreme converted to methanol
Right in time for the tractor pull at Emmeloord today, the Green Extreme Team have converted their Deutz 130 06 Pro Stock into a little Alky Burner to compete in the dutch Super Stock class. The current (expensive) level in the Pro Stock class has now forced the first time to switch over to the Super Stocks, which is still missing competitors and thus offers more price money for coming in at the end of the field. Smart move and also good for the show, as we not only need a lot of Pro Stocks, but also need a full Super Stock class - and this means not 4 or 5 top machines fighting for the podium spots only.
The Green Extreme guys were so kind to put their first tests on youtube:
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Beach Pull site reworked and updated
In time for the Euro Cup in Putten, the website was upgraded and also recently updated.
Brazilian championships
Nice Email in my mailbox today!
On the 15th of July, the Brazilians have their national championships in Tractor Pulling at Holambra-São Paulo.
I hope to get some more information and pictures out of them - but seems like I need to improve alot on my portuguese!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Pictures S-Division Lopik
A.J. has just placed some new pics of the S-Division pull in Lopik.
New Video Streams online
Friday, May 25, 2007
Judge & Jury Team back to Allisons
Long time Allison and later converted to Turbine Pullers, the Barga family has brought a "new" Jury tractor out. In fact it's the original twin Allison tractor they'd been running before the turbine machine.
Thanks for bringing back some Allison thunder to the circuit!
Check their new website at http://judgepullingteam.com
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Wierden short
Anyhow - getting my camera and doing pit shots he was happy. He sure has a different perspective:
Anyhow, Pro Stock class was first and it looked like a lot of them were not really awake from their winter sleep or simply not even ready to compete.
Jan Burggraf had the first hook and with 84.85m set the first distance. Arjan van der Kolk with the Rednex Steyr could not build boost. Looked like there was too much water injected.
Extreme Temptation came to 88.53m. Sed was sure set heavy.
Edward Beukeveld on the Snoopy had his engine not running to perfectly, getting under the charger but moved the distance to beat to 88.55m.
The first run of Neighbour`s Nightmare was also not perfect but a 4th place finish in the end for sure not a bad result for the first time out.
The Next Sensation ran out of bounds, Red Attraction did not build boost and after Barend Huybrechts laid down a picture perfect Full Pull it became clear something was going pretty wrong for the rest of the competition. Looks to me there still is a lot of adjusting left to do for the others. The 3.5t modified was started with the twin Griffon the Judge, which again ran great, but blew a lot of oil onto the track due to an oil hose coming loose. 93.78 m looked like a good distance though. Lambada had a pretty screwed up run and Willem Dingerink sen. had to back out of it early. Whispering Giant - one of the top condenders in the class - went 96.35m and again it showed the sled was set heavy. Didn't seem to matter for the Bandit though. With new Enderle scoops mounted, the three Hemis blew it out the end in a perfect manner.
The Black Cat was a little underpowered but the next multi V8 machine sure has the power and when the dust settled, the Delta Lloyd Simply Irresistible was out the gate!
Rising Star, in the past a machine that was running for the championships, now could only manage 84m, in the end an 8th place only. Beverol Eager Beaver lifted a cylinder head and pleased the spectators with one nasty fireshow and all the others failed in reaching the Full Pull, too. The Pull Off was between Bandit and Simply Irresistible and the Hemi machine sure put it on the Arias/Profiler combination there.
Good job by the gang from Putten!
The TWD class has become a Hemi show but with the new Screaming Bobcat in between, a little bit of thrill was added during the winter.
In the end it was still Jan Lyendijk on the Sledge Hammer coming out on top of a two way pull off with the new kid on the track, while Johnny Krai was did not seem too happy about his third place finish with the Heart 2 beat machine.
The Predator team probably had more reasons to be sad: They had new tires and wheels mounted and when it got tough, the left hand wheel spun inside the tire and caused some bad smell over Wierden...
950kg unlimited modified (=mini rods) next!
The Challenger Team showed up with a blower mounted to their Rover Meteor, but the setting of the fuel system still must have been a little off: Backfire!
The class actually put on a good show, much better than at the indoors, and in the end we had four out the gate: Let's try, Gompie, Lambada and the Little Rascal.
Lambada came out on top of it all with the Little Rascal on runner up. The Let's Try guys were super happy with their third place finish, considiering they only have a Chevy engine on board.
Time for the Alky SS class and one heavy but interesting sled setting. Aerdvruter was first to hook and came to a hold at 98.63m. Since the tractor is considered a "sub topper" in the class they left the sled setting alone, but they probably forgot there was a new head sitting on the International engine and that tractor ran VERY well. How well became clear when Willem Veldhuizen came just 20cm further and could not manage a Full Pull. Big surprise three minutes later though: The Zapo made it out the gate and we had a New Holland in the lead!!!
All the rest failed to manage a Full Pull and so it was the first victory for a blue Super Stock in a looooong time.
And then there was this "demonstration run" of the Just Maybe, an IH V8 Alky equipped with a screw blower. Screw blowers are actually not legal to run in the ETPC, but this tractor was still built and now needed a place to hook. So after one year of discussions and adjusting the safety rules the machine is now allowed to run outside the competition in the Netherlands. The tractor sure looks nice and it also ran well... until a backfire popped the burt panel open and the pressure wave made a dent in the hood. But one thing is for sure, them screw blowers sure create some horsepower!
Time for the heavy mod guys and an excellent show.
Perfect sled setting with 4 out of 11 out the gate and then we had one heck of a Pull Off!
Whispering Giant was to set the first distance and made it to 87.51m. Albert van der Waal on the Delta Lloyd Simply Irresistible sure went "hammer it" and dragged the sled to 93.48m. What a relieve after having to miss the Pull Off at the Euro Cup a few days earlier! Wimpy Dingerink on the Lambada had big time trouble keeping the machine in a straight line and had to back out of it. Maybe this was the chance for the Green Spirit twin Griffon to take the lead? No - at 85.57m it was over and out for the yellow machine but team and fans alike were happy with the third place finish.
So another nice event at Wierden was over. The dutch got their season going and except for the Pro Stock class everything else looks in good shape.
Vincent liked it, too and already asked when we'd go to Holland again ...
Thorsten Zimmermann has started a picasa gallery, too
At http://picasaweb.google.de/PullingPics.Thorsten
you'll now find pictures taken by Thorsten Zimmermann.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
So I am now loading my camera batteries and CU at Wierden tomorrow!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Pennzoil and NTPA Proudly Announce The 2007 "Pennzoil Cup" Promotion
Worthington, OH--Pennzoil, a division of Shell Lubricants based in Houston, Texas, and the National Tractor Pullers Association are pleased to announce the creation of the first ever "Pennzoil Cup" which has several aspects that will benefit NTPA Competitors as well as pulling fans and will certainly generate excitement and interest in the sport .
"The NTPA represents the top level of the pulling sport," stated David Lerch, Pennzoil Motorsports Marketing Director. "With our long standing involvement with the Koester Family in the Mini Division, our affiliation grew last year when we sponsored the National Tractor Pulling Championships in Bowling Green, Ohio. From that positive experience, Pennzoil has tailored a program that will drive excitement to three focused NTPA venues while promoting our Pennzoil and Pennzoil Platinum lines of quality motor oils which will impact the pullers, fans, and venues in an exciting way."
The "Pennzoil Cup" venues include the Budweiser Dairyland NTPA Super Nationals in Tomah, WI on June 22-24; Lion's Super Pull of the South in Chapel Hill, TN on July 20-21; and the National Tractor Pulling Championships in Bowling Green, OH on August 17-19. Up for grabs in this unique program is $50,000.00 ear-marked to five, stellar divisions competing at each: Unlimited Modifieds; Super Stock Diesel Tractors; Two Wheel Drive Trucks; Four Wheel Drive Trucks; and Mini Modifieds. Points will be calculated from each event to declare the "Pennzoil Cup" champion in each respective division. Point winners in each division will receive $4,000.00, while runner-up finishers receive $2,500.00, third receives $1,500.00, and fourth and fifth place finishers receive $1,000.00 each. Eligibility requirements include display program decals on both sides of a competitor's pulling machine as well as being a licensed NTPA competitor.
"The 'Pennzoil Cup' will certainly be a program that our NTPA competitors will greatly appreciate," said David P. Schreier, WPI President/CEO, "and it will definitely generate fan interest as they follow how each competitor is doing in the "Pennzoil Cup" points as it unfolds through our website at www.ntpapull.com and our monthly publication, THE PULLER. I appreciate Pennzoil's elevated commitment to the NTPA, and wish to express my gratitude on behalf of our competitors and fans. It should be a great relationship."
The other facet of this program has a fan portion, making this promotion truly all-reaching. Fans attending the "Pennzoil Cup" events have an extra incentive to visit the Pennzoil Platinum Ultimate Protection tour , which will allow fans to learn about Pennzoil Platinum through interactive and fun displays. Not only will fans be able to tour this awesome, fact filled display, but will also be able to receive a Pennzoil Cup special edition NTPA ball cap through a very unique cross promotion.
Any fan will be eligible to receive the handsome "Pennzoil Cup" cap after presenting a proof of purchase for a case of Pennzoil or Pennzoil Platinum purchased at any Advance Auto Parts Store. Fans have to only turn in their receipt at the "Ultimate Protection Display" for this special offer.
"We are pleased that Advance Auto Parts Stores are a component to this exciting promotion, which will triangulate our brands together, realizing multiple benefits," said Lerch. "The key for fans to attain the special edition hat is that the case of Pennzoil or Pennzoil Platinum must be purchased at the Advance Auto Parts Store for eligibility. Then, this receipt must be brought to one of the three events for redemption. Because of the uniqueness of this opportunity, there is a limit to one hat per customer."
Schreier added, "To have a component for the fans to also receive something for participating is just special. What a great promotion to truly have everybody involved in the Pennzoil Cup in some capacity. I am sure the NTPA fans will be eager to receive their Pennzoil Cup hat and check out the Pennzoil Platinum 'Ultimate Protection Display'."
Advance Auto Parts have over 3,000 stores across America, so the opportunity for fans to participate is truly nationwide. And the appeal of the three dedicated NTPA "Pennzoil Cup" Events have appeal as widespread.
Lerch continued, "We have had our eye on the NTPA for a while, and feel that their demographics and Pennzoil's market is a perfect match. We are excited about this enhanced involvement, and are optimistic about the future growth of the 'Pennzoil Cup' program."
Website Backdraft updated
Monday, May 14, 2007
Website Team Tractor Racing
Many of you have wondered about the new home of the Starlight Express. Your interest can now be satisfied, those guys have a pretty nice website!
At http://www.tractorracing.it/
you can see how they've rebuilt the tractor and what they have done before. The site is in italian but kept simple and easy to navigate. Just check the "galleria"...
New Pulling site for the german speaking area
is a new Pulling website, based in Austria, for the german speaking tractor pulling area in Europe.
Still some work to do there, but a good start!
Competitors Wierden
Competitors lists for Wierden are online: http://www.tractorpullingwierden.nl/programma.html
Wild Times Motorsport site updated
The Wild Times team has added a couple of pictures from last season as well as some shots out of their workshop showing work on new headers.
New De Jong tractor
|New De Jong Special - May 2007
The De Jong Team is making good progress with their new, twin superchargerd V12 Meteor machine for the 2.5t (5500 lbs) modified class!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
New pictures by Christian Brocksch
Christian has updated his picasa gallery with pictures from Füchtorf, Herning and some Micro Pulling - as usual excellent shots!!!
Rednex site updated
The guys sure have been busy lately!!! (Website is dutch only...)
Saturday, May 12, 2007
John Parker the founding President of the Australian Tractor Pullers Association, has died from injuries received in a fall from a ladder. John was life member of the ATPA and the Quambatook Tractor Pullers Assocn. He owned the Quamby Quaker and the T&I Terminator and was planning a NH pro stocker. Some in the US may remember meeting John, he had made many trips to the US and attended many pulls. I accompanied him on one trip in 93, to pulls at Macon and Bowling Green. He had just founded the Heritage Working Machinery assocn and was the founding President, he was trying to preserve our cereal growing machinery before it was all lost to the scrap yards. I work for John for 12 years but first started travelling to ATPA meeting as far back as 82, and at one time served as Vice president to him while he was President of the Australian Tractor Pullers Association, where he serves 4 terms. We cannot understand what effect his death will have on our sport. He was the Major sponsor of our Australian Championships, with his Machinery dealership T&I Centres along with New Holland they have carried naming rights to the National event for some time. Todays funeral saw the procession travel through the Pulling complex which he was the major instigator of it being built, there was a avenue of vintage machinery which he had purchased and donated to the Associoation, along with his beloved Quamby Quaker and the T&I Terminator. John was a visionary and always happy to give anyone a helping hand. I think a little photo I took of him a couple of years ago and I had put the a couple of words on the photo would best discribe John. Tractor Pulling in Australia will never be the same. I hope everyone will get together and build it to a greater status in honour of John, this would be a fitting tribute to a great man.
We will miss him so much,
Kelvin Jobling
Friday, May 11, 2007
Uk tractor pulling updated
Kruisland cancelled
First of some points of the 2007 season.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Stroe cancelled
Because of bad weather the pull at Stroe this saturday will not go through!
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Short Report Herning
Still excellent weather in northern Europe and a hell of a track in Herning. A combination we rarely had up there before.
It all started with the 4 t B-Division, but a too tough sled and track sorta spoiled the show a little. For the B-Division Pullers it was one of those days, when you have to use gears in your transmission that you forgot you still had! A pretty impressive show was put on by the "Red Rooster", powered by a naturally aspirated, V12 russian tank diesel engine. Tourque and smoke was not the problem there and a third place the final result, behind Bison and Hingsten, both powered by smaller, but turbocharged semi engines.
The 4 ton Farm Stock class (510 cui, 3200 rpms) was won by a Ursus tractor, the Hercules, in front of the Ford Powerstar and another Ursus, the Orange Fighter 2. My friends of the Vestager family with their 966 IH were not too happy about their 4th position, being beat by "east block and assambly line shit", as Niels Ole refers to those two winning brands...
The 4.5t mod competition for the danish point series was won by the Starfighter, but they had to pay their win with some planetary problems. The tough track took it's toll!
The danish mini rod competition had a clear winner, the blown Rover Meteor powered Interceptor, ahead of the N/A Meteor Ghost and the blown KB powered Wild Toy. The Lambada 6 was also in the competition, running on Cepecs again and doing very well, but the team skipped the Pull Off. Important pulls for the dutch points are closely ahead!
After a little break the first Euro Cup points competition was started and the Super Stocks entered the track. Unfortunatly the track crew got a little too much water onto the track and it turned out to become a little slippery. This a) screwed up some runs (D'n Aerdvruter the worst) and b) with the track getting better again during the class, the sled setting for the Pull Off was a little bit too light. For luck the new german sled Red Shadow SE allows for quick and smooth runs so the final distances of over 110 m (360 ft) weren't as bad as they could have been with a more material killing sled.
Anyhow, David Jones could celebrate his first Euro Cup win ahead of Willem Veldhuizen and Peter Clarke. Geoff Ashcroft fried the engine of the Red Alert, but as Peter Clarke told me before the class: "If this engine dies today, it doesn't owe us a single Penny - it's been rebuild a couple of times and the last time we've fixed the main bore with a hone brush...." So I guess the brits were happy.
Good performance of Sjors Zeinsta on the "Zeinstra well done Deere", formerly known as the "Flip flop Bits'n Pieces", coming in 5th ahead of Judgement Deere and the Berner Bits'n Pieces of Edwin Derkesen, who had to skip the Pull Off because of a broken turbocharger. I should not forget to mention the new hood on the danish Hobo Alky SS:
Red but a rare site on the pulling tracks around the planet. Unfortunatly something under the hood let go and stopped the all homemade machine rather early.
Final class of the day were the 4.5t modifieds and with 11 competitors with all over 6000 hp it sure was a tough competition.
The track by now had recovered completely and after Bert Wuytak made a way light pass, the sled was reset a little tougher. Still 7 went out the gate but it sure wasn't easy to make the Full Pull!
After a hard week of work, fixing three Allison engines after Füchtorf, the Claas team was very happy after laying down the first distance in the Pull Off with a perfect run and nobody being able to pass it. Peter de Regt also had a picture perfect run with the Green Spirit and just came less than half a meter short to become runner up. Willem Dingerink senior had some troubles keeping the Lambada on a straight run and had to back off to not run out of bounds, which probably cost him the victory. Even more bad luck for the Simply Irresistible: Butterfly trouble and not able to get the 5 V8 machine into gear, after a MONSTER run in the qualification. I can tell you - the fight for the European 4.5t crown will be a tough one this year!
What else: Baby Duck had it's crossbox broken.
Fox ran well and the danish boys sure need to be considered as a top team again after their performances at Füchtorf and Herning
The next day started with pulling for the danish championships again, 3.5t Farm Stock. A new class in Denmark with only 3 competitors so far. According to the sled people those guys better not travel too far south yet, if they don't want to get their butts whipped in the rpm limited classes. Well.. everybody needs to start somewhere and we should give them time!
The next class on the schedule again promised top notch competition: For the very first time the 2.5t modified class (that's 5500 lbs for our US readers) is part of the Euro Cup series and WOW what an interest there is from teams and spectators alike. But it makes sense: The class is affordable (so far), horsepower is not neccesarly the key to winning and there is A LOT of variety in the class. There was two radial powered tractors in the competition and there is even more of those tourque monsters to come.
After the qualifiaction runs, it was the "old gang" making the finals though. The top german and danish teams along with the two Griffon powered tractors Little Giant and another single engine creation of the Green Spirit team, the number 8 by now. And what a finish in the end!
Daniel Frische on the Green Monster set the distance to beat at 94.61m with the single Allison. Not quite satisfied with the tire pressure (still experimenting with HP tires in this light class) and a spun rod bearing this was all the german could manage that day. The next one out also had some tire pressure problems, keeping him away from going full throttle at the start and making the Griffon hit the rev limiter a couple of times once the big butterfly was open down the track: Frank Bartholomé and his Le Coiffeur. Still him and his crew were all smiles as the tractor had not perfomed any good since the middle of the last season, when his MSD 8 ignition turned into smoke and replacing it with Magnetos took quite a while, as they exchanged a good supercharger clutch with a worn out one (that looked nice from the outside) in the process of getting the bugs out of the engine (just putting more in).
Bad luck for the Little Giant Team: What looked like a good run was stopped by something going broke in the driveline. The fact Poul Ager Jensen on Black Power made it out the end again was no surprise for anybody. That machine has power, balance and a guy on top who really knows how to drive this thing.
But the distance to the runner up is getting closer and Jeffery Constanie (sp?) sure laid down a brilliant pass with the Green Spirit 8 to runner up distance.
The last pull of the danish Fighting Star radial was also quite impressive and the 5th place finish well deserved for this "different" tractor. Bad luck for Peder and Sören Jacobsen: Their single Griffon "Voldsom Volvo" destroyed it's drop box on the line when Sören was aiming for a good result in the Pull Off.
I think we'll get to see some VERY good competition in this class in the next few years. Let's just hope money doesn't spoil it too soon, now that it's an Euro Cup class.
One class that, in my opinion, has seen a little bit too much money involved in too short time is the 3.5t Pro Stock class, that followed after the light mods. These guys have been investing like there is no tomorrow. The result of this competition wasn't too surprising: There is the three Valtras of the Herlevi Family that are always tough to beat and leader of the pack and then three others that can compete with them: Rocky, John Deere and Bukke Bruse. Bukke Bruse couldn't come back in the Pull Off so the other five had to determin a winner, which this time was Matti Herelvi, going just a little further than his sister Johanna, who was runner up. The danish John Deere with Michael Galsgard behind the wheel came pretty close and put more than 7m on Barend Huybrechts on the Rocky, who, from my point of view had the power but hit the wrong trail in the track to make the podium. Pekka Herlavi also was no match for his kids and came in fifth.
Since my friends, the Faber Family, still had an 9 hour drive ahead of them and I came with them, we decided to leave Herning before the last 3.5t mod competition. I don't want to report about things I didn't see - so I herewith end this little summary.


text:
Apr 10, 2018
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is stepping into the religious fray.
The title of the department's blockbuster 2018 fashion exhibition will be "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination." Stretching across three galleries — the Anna Wintour Costume Center, the medieval rooms in the Met on Fifth Avenue and the Cloisters — and approximately 58,600 square feet, it will feature 50 or so ecclesiastical garments and accessories on loan from the Vatican, multiple works from the Met's own collection of religious art and 150 designer garments that have been inspired by Catholic iconography or style.
These range from the obvious (Versace and Dolce & Gabbana icons) to the more unexpected (a Chanel wedding gown inspired by a communion dress, Valentino couture gowns inspired by Francisco di Zurbarán's paintings of monk's robes). It will be the department's largest show to date. It may also be the most provocative. And not just because of all the eye-rolling wordplay the title invites.
"Every show we do at the Costume Institute has that potential," said Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge. "This one perhaps more than any other. But the focus is on a shared hypothesis about what we call the Catholic imagination and the way it has engaged artists and designers and shaped their approach to creativity, as opposed to any kind of theology or sociology. Beauty has often been a bridge between believers and unbelievers."
So a Balenciaga one-seam wedding dress will be displayed in a chapel in the Cloisters dominated by an enormous crucifix; a Dolce & Gabbana mosaic piece from fall 2013, inspired by mosaics in the Cathedral of Monreale in Sicily, will be set against the Byzantine mosaics of the Met's collection. The point is to connect the dots between material expression and sourcing.
Yet juxtaposing the sacred and the profane at this particular moment in time, when the Catholic church is rived with internal disputes between conservatives and liberals, and religion around the world is being weaponized and politicized, is a risky move. Especially in a city that is home to a significant Catholic population. Especially at a museum that recently underwent its own kind of crisis of faith, after the former director Thomas P. Campbell resigned under pressure in February for not being able to control a ballooning budget deficit, and his president, Daniel H. Weiss, was promoted to president and chief executive — the next director answerable to him. No matter how nuanced the actual curation, it could easily devolve into a popular cause célèbre.
You have to wonder: What will those who hew to a more conservative, absolutist line think?
Or, for that matter, other supporters of the pope, who has overtly rejected the sumptuous trappings and, indeed, fetishization of clothing within the church in favor of a simpler, humbler lifestyle? In many ways the Met itself, the imposing Beaux-Arts palace with its sweeping stair, as well as very high-end fashion — not to mention the Met Gala, the opening night party for the Costume Institute's exhibition, which is famous both for being impossible to get into and for the amount of money it raises — stands for everything he has turned away from.
"We have confidence that the exhibition will inspire understanding, creativity and, along the way, constructive dialogue, which is precisely a museum's role in our civil society," Mr. Weiss said.
"We know it could be controversial for right wing or conservative Catholics and for liberal Catholics," said Mr. Bolton, who noted he had consulted with representatives from different Catholic groups, including Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the archbishop of New York, to identify garments that could be incendiary. "There will always be viewers who want to reduce it to a political polemic." But Mr. Bolton said he had not removed a single garment from the exhibition because it had been flagged as a potential lightning rod.
Still, the show may be the biggest gamble of Mr. Bolton's career, and an early test for Mr. Weiss. And it is increasingly characteristic of Mr. Bolton's tenure at the Costume Institute, where he seems to be pushing the department into the popular conversation. (By contrast his predecessor, Harold Koda, tended to more traditional shows like "Charles James: Beyond Fashion.")
"It's important to have ideas that are a reflection of contemporary interests," Mr. Bolton said. "That strike a chord or are synergistic with the collective consciousness."
Mr. Bolton had been thinking about doing a show on the connections between fashion and religion for years — since "the culture wars of the 1980s," he said — but only became serious about it at the Met around two years ago. At that point, he had conceived it as an examination of the five world religions represented in the museum's collections (Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam).
But after the designer Rei Kawakubo announced that she was ready for her retrospective last year, he postponed the project, and later decided to more narrowly define his topic, in part because he found that the majority of Western designers (and there are only three non-European or American-based names in the exhibition) were engaged in a dialogue with Catholicism. Perhaps because, as Mr. Bolton noted, so many Western designers were raised Catholic, including Elsa Schiaparelli, John Galliano, Riccardo Tisci, Christian Lacroix, Coco Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin, Norman Norell, Thom Browne and Roberto Capucci, among others. (Mr. Bolton is also Catholic.)
He began conversations with the Vatican in 2015; the loan came from the Sistine Chapel sacristy Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, as opposed to the Vatican Museums, since it involves garments still in active use. (They date from the mid-18th-century to the papacy of John Paul II.) Mr. Bolton said the church was immediately receptive to the idea of working together, though he had to make eight visits to Rome to discuss the show. And because of concerns about display and security, the loan contract was not signed until last week.
Asked if he had met the pope or knew whether he had approved the show, Mr. Bolton said he had had no contact with him, and did not have any idea if he was involved.
Greg Burke, the director of the Holy See press office, said: "The Roman Catholic Church has been producing and promoting beautiful works of art for centuries. Most people have experienced that through religious paintings and architecture. This is another way of sharing some of that beauty that rarely gets seen."
The Vatican garments will be separated from the rest of the fashion in the exhibition, out of respect for the fact that they are still working garments and, presumably, to defray criticisms that could incur if a visitor were to see, for example, a sacristy robe next to a Jean Paul Gaultier dress with a chalice embroidered over the breasts.
Less has been done, seemingly, to defray the idea that Mr. Bolton's definition of "fashion" is definitively Western. Save Isabel Toledo, who is Cuban-American, there are no South American or Latin American designers in the show, for example, though it is hard to imagine that no one else from that continent engaged with Catholic iconography. Challenged on the subject, he said he hoped to expand his purview in a future exhibition.
In any case, Mr. Bolton has been here before: In 2015, his show, "China Through the Looking Glass," became the fifth-most-visited exhibition, despite accusations of skating over the surface of the issues it raised, underscoring for him the importance of tapping into the broader conversation. He followed it up with "Manus x Machina," which examined the role of technology in fashion (and which became the Met's seventh-most-visited show); and then "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between," the Costume Institute's first retrospective of a living designer since 1983. Though it was widely praised, Ms. Kawakubo is a less obviously buzzy choice, and the show and the attendance were smaller.
Which may partly explain why the museum decided to roll the dice with this show. The last time this many Vatican garments made their way across the ocean, in 1983 for "The Vatican Collections," the exhibition became the third-most-visited in museum history, with 896,743 attendees.
"Heavenly Bodies" is being sponsored by Versace, which makes sense given the brand's incorporation of Catholic iconography into its vernacular, as well as by Christine and Stephen A. Schwarzman (and also, as usual, by Condé Nast). Mr. Schwarzman is chairman of Blackstone, the private equity group that bought 20 percent of Versace in 2014.
Two years ago, Mr. Schwarzman and his wife donated $40 million to the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, an initiative from the archdiocese of New York to provide financial support for underprivileged children attending Catholic schools. The former J.P. Morgan banker Jimmy Lee once told The New Yorker that Mr. Schwarzman had raised more money for the Catholic Archdiocese of New York than any other Jew.
Mr. and Mrs. Schwarzman will be honorary chairs of the opening night gala, along with Anna Wintour, the artistic director of Condé Nast and a museum trustee; Ms. Versace; Amal Clooney; and Rihanna. The last two are not exactly known for their religious bent, unlike pop stars who have made their Catholicism a subtext of their work and look, like Lady Gaga and Madonna, though they are both recognized for their fashion influence. (Rihanna is, by the by, a star of "Ocean's 8," the coming movie with a heist scene that takes place at the Met Gala.)
An invitation will be extended to Cardinal Dolan. Everyone is hoping he will attend.


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2018 was a year of setbacks and disappointments. Am I upset? I was.
Honestly I can only pray that 2019 will be different, but having setbacks is inevitable, shit happens. It's been over a week into the new year and I still see some of my old habits manifesting from within even though I've been yelling out "New Year New Me/You" to everyone close to me and annoying the shit outta them.
But it will be different, not in a miraculous way of sudden lightbulb and magically switch from a Disney fairy godmother, but from the strength given from God and using it when given. You see, God gives me strength, He has blessed me with a lot of things but actually utilising it and pulling yourself together with it is very different. God gives us freewill and in the end of the day, I have the choice, I have to do it and I have to get my shit together.
One of the grossiest habit I have is my phone and shamefully, social media. I remember unfollowing a bunch of people in the past year and found myself following the same category (but different) toxicity on the gram. They're not bad people or things, but I unhealthily compare myself, all the damn time to these "influencers", people who have the sponsorship to look good, looking good for a living and getting paid to workout and have no other responsibilities. Unrealistic comparisons. To the extent of toxicity that plays with my brain, toxic emphasis that I am not good enough and the reason for why I am what I am.
Why did I follow them? I thought it would be a good motivation to work hard so maybe… just maybe… I could be like them? Just your childish #goals mentality in terms of body and beauty and makeup. Before Instagram, it was my mirror, walls and posters. I had pictures of fit girls and all sorts of shit stuck on my wall as a form of motivation, the difference was it was the same girl… everyday, unlike the the fresh variants of photos I get on a daily basis. But my wall-sticking habit got my fam worried for a period as they thought I was lesbian (I never had boy posters LOL). Its very different from a poster goal. The brain runs wild and just like the variants of photos, it churns out a variant of thoughts. It starts like a small seed unconsciously and grows before you know it, you are just scrolling and thinking you can attain the same thing by looking through the screen instead of getting up and putting the damn effort.
Anyway, new habits to grow, 355 days left to the year and its a conscious effort to do so.
I need to remain focus with the goal to score. Score a job, score the body, score the new skills and habits I hope to attain.
One of my goals/ bucket lists I've wanted to accomplish for a while is to climb Mount Kinabalu. It's the highest mountain in South East Asia. My dad has done it when he was my age. Climbing a mountain has been a dream of mine, the whole idea of challenge just drives me.
This was a dream before the gram. A dream to prove to myself that I can climb a mountain, through any mountain of physical and mental obstacles, I can.
I can only pray that I'd be more focus this year. Just giving myself that little more of a push from 2018, knowing that setbacks are only motivations for more steps to get over the mountain, I will see the sunrise by the end of the year, mentally and physically. Daring to hope for more.


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Contrary to Popular Belief, Millennial Shoppers Actually Like Going to Brick-and-Mortar Stores
Study shows nuanced and multistage shopping patterns
We've been hearing about the death of retail for years now. An April report by Credit Suisse predicted that 8,600 brick-and-mortar stores will padlock their doors this year—a shakeout that dwarfs the closings seen even in the wake of the Great Recession. Malls in particular face the bleakest future, with somewhere around a quarter of them predicted to close in the next five years. In a conference call with investors in March, Urban Outfitters CEO Richard Hayne said that the retail bubble had burst and "we are seeing the results—doors shuttering and rents retreating."
"This trend will continue for the foreseeable future and may even accelerate," Hayne said.
And it doesn't take an MBA to understand why this is happening. Ecommerce is taking the place of the time-honored trip to the store and, what's more, millennials—now 87 million strong—are at the root of it.
Or are they?
A new report suggests that contrary to popular assumptions about the much-coveted generation of digital natives, millennial shoppers actually like going to brick-and-mortar stores—a great deal, actually. According to research by behavioral marketing firm SmarterHQ, a whopping 50 percent of millennials not only go to physical stores, they prefer going to them as a primary means of shopping.
The finding is bound to leave retailers in a tough spot. With bankruptcies at record levels and so much of commerce moving to the web, "marketers have emphasized optimizing their digital marketing strategies with the idea that consumers prefer to shop primarily online," the report says. "However, our data shows that it's important for brands to breathe life back into their brick and mortar as well."
But what about all the intelligence that said 20- and 30-something shoppers are most comfortable spending their money via web sites and apps—is that data incorrect? Well, no. But SmarterHQ's study presents a more nuanced view of millennial shopping patterns, which, you might say, are multistage. As CEO Michael Osborne put it: "They're using the in-store experience as research, but they're not buy everything that way."
In other words, millennials are big practitioners of "showrooming": They frequently test drive products in stores then purchase them online at home (assuming they don't whip out their phones and buy it while standing in the store itself.)
Historically, retailers have dreaded showrooming for obvious reasons. It leaves them in a position of footing the costs to put merchandise on display only to ultimately lose the sale to giants like Amazon that don't have to contend with the overhead of mall rents or maintaining a store on Main Street. But Osborne believes that millennial showrooming isn't as poisonous as it may seem.
A retailer that takes a holistic view of revenue, one that doesn't pit brick-and-mortar sales against online sales, can adapt to showrooming, he said, by closing low-traffic locations and designing its ecommerce platforms to catch millennial shoppers as they exit stores with a purchase in mind.
"If you have a strategy around this and you've closed the unprofitable stores, this can be a good thing," Osborne said. "Your digital channels will [get] a better margin."
As to why millennials like to go to physical stores, it seems that (surprise!) they're actually not much different from anyone else. Stores offer the opportunity to try out (or, in the case of apparel, try on) the goods before the purchase is made. And, like other age cohorts, millennials head to the store for a wide variety of reasons. According to SmarterHQ's data, 30 percent are looking for a bargain, 18 percent have a specific purchase in mind, 17 percent are researching and 14 percent are simply browsing.


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Cute Frog
From FlyFF WIki
Revision as of 17:51, 15 September 2018 by SerabellMOD (Talk | contribs)
Info: A cute, Cute Frog that follows its master around and picks up dropped items.
Cost: 1050 Wcoin
Availability: Sometimes purchasable at the Cash Shop.
Other sources: May be found in player shops in-game.
Can be obtained from the Cute Frog Box that was included in some Cash Shop bundles.
Quantity: 1
- Can be summoned or unsummoned at any time. While summoned, it will follow you and automatically pick up any items that have dropped onto the ground nearby.


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Just the previous week, CAD renders of the Sony Xperia XZ4 have come out, hinting of a triple back camera and an additionally tall 6.5" screen. It is not supposed to have a notch and in its place going to be here having an super tall 21:9 display, created by LG.
The report has claimed this bold thing, in addition to the coming back of a 3.5 mm audio jack. Even in case the specs appear to be suspicious, provided this thing that till this time no company has been able to bring back the jack and a CAD render of a case has told of the missing audio-only port, they are definitely very.
The latest Xperia XZ4 will feature a Snapdragon 855 chipset, coming together with 6 GB RAM and either 256 GB or 64 GB of storage. It is supposed that the device will come having a fingerprint scanner on the side, whereas the primary camera of the back is supposed to have an OIS and 1/2.3" sensor. It is supposed that the front panel will have just one selfie shooter having a super wide-angle lens.
Rest of the reported specs is telling of an Android Pie and 3,900 mAh battery out of the box. In normal cases, Sony holds an event in January at CES, but now it seems more probable that we are going to see the phone going official in February at the MWC.
Copyright © 2019 Ghanalive.TV. All Rights Reserved.


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Lance Morris
My Website |
Twitter |
Well for starters I come from a family where I am the only child.
I knew I wanted to do something in sports from a fairly young age. It wasn't until I shadowed then Toledo Sports radio personality, Norm Wamer, that I knew I wanted to do sports radio.
I graduated from Northwood High School in Northwood, Ohio in 2012. I graduated from THE Bowling Green State University in May of 2016 with a degree in Telecommunications and a focus on radio. While in school I was a part of the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization and did play-by-play for multiple BGSU Teams. I was lucky enough to broadcast from Quicken Loans Arena for the Semi-Finals of the MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, and I got to be a sideline reporter for the MAC Title game in Football at Ford Field in 2015.
As amazing as those experiences have been I've been fortunate to have two summers broadcasting baseball. The summer of 2015 I was in Xenia, Ohio, and the summer of 2016 I was in Chugiak, Alaska! Spending two months in Alaska was some of the best days I've ever had in my life. Each of those summers helped shape me in ways that probably couldn't and wouldn't have happened otherwise.
Sports and Pop Culture are where I get my main thrills on a day-to-day basis. My teams are the Tigers, Magic, Browns, BGSU Falcons, and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
My favorite Sports Radio Shows & Podcasts: The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Jalen & Jacoby and Four Finger Discount.
My music fix is mostly rap with rock every now and then. Anyone who talks to me for longer than five minutes knows that I am about as big a fan of Kanye West as you'll meet.
You can catch me on-the-air in some different ways throughout the week!
Monday-Friday: Doing Sports reports on the Morning Mix with Keith and Dawn at 6:30, 7:30 & 8:30.
Wednesdays: Hosting the NWO Orthopedics Sports Huddle live from the Fricker's in Findlay from 6-7:30 (both stations, football through basketball).
Fridays: Doing play-by-play for our BVC game of the week during football and basketball season.
Email: email@example.com
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Ever wonder where those meteors come from? Here's a link to an informative site.
Here is an article on the event this evening...
Lyrid meteor shower will make you think big
A brilliant meteor flashes across the sky. Will this weekend's Lyrid meteor shower shower us with a few of these beauties? Lyrids are known for their occasional fireballs. Credit: John Chumack
The annual Lyrid meteor shower peaks tomorrow night through Sunday morning April 21-22. While a minor shower, the Lyrids serve as a "season opener" to the bigger shows coming in mid-August and December.
Lyrid meteors originate from grains of dust shed by Comet Thatcher, which was discovered by A.E. Thatcher on April 5, 1861.
Every year in April Earth passes through the dust and debris left behind by past visits of Comet Thatcher. Illustration: Bob King
The comet takes 415 years to make a single trip around the sun, so there's no hope of any of us seeing it in our lifetimes. But we can see little bits of it that were left behind long ago.
Each time a comet swings by the sun, it drops lots of dust, fluffy ice and pebbly pieces in its wake. The third week of April every year Earth plows through debris ranging in size from sand grains to small pebbles left behind during Thatcher's previous flybys. When a lucky mote strikes the atmosphere, it vaporizes in a flash of light called a meteor or shooting star.
When you're out watching the show, consider that the average speed of a Lyrid meteor is 30 miles per second or 108,000 miles per hour. At that velocity, a bit of dust or small pebble burns to ash through friction. The luminous trail we call a meteor is mostly light given off by atoms in the upper atmosphere some 70 miles high. The fast-moving comet debris excites or ionizes the atoms; when they return to normal microseconds later they emit billions of photons of light we see as a bright streak or "falling star".
In a flame test, sodium burns a brilliant yellow. Sodium is common in some meteorites. Credit: Soren Wedel Nielsen
A typical meteor trail is less than 3 feet in diameter but tens of miles long. Think of it as glowing tube overhead.
When the comet particle burns up, it can give off different colors depending on its composition. Sodium flares bright yellow; magnesium is blue-white and nickel a lovely emerald green to name a few. Speed also factors into color. The faster the meteor, the more energy it imparts to the air and the whiter and bluer the streak will be. Slower meteors blaze orange and red.
The Lyrids are named after Lyra the Harp, the constellation from which they appear to originate. The origination point is called the radiant, and you can see from the map it's not far southwest of Lyra's brightest star Vega, making it easy to pinpoint. The radiant is the direction Earth is moving toward as it slices through Comet Thatcher's debris.
Snow appears to radiate from straight ahead as seen through your windshield when you drive into a storm. Meteor showers appear to radiate from one point in the sky because Earth is traveling "into the storm" just like your car. Photo: Bob King
Similar to seeing snow or rain appear to originate from a point ahead of you when you're driving straight into it, the meteors stream out and away from the radiant. Lyrids closest to the radiant are short, slow stubs of light while those further off stretch into longer streaks.
News is all good for this year's Lyrids. No moon to interfere and the shower maximum occurs Sunday morning, which for many of us is the weekend. From a dark sky expect to see 10-12 meteors per hour. If you have any doubt as to whether they're Lyrids or just random meteors, trace their paths backwards and if they point toward Vega, you've caught one.
This map shows the sky early Sunday morning with Vega and the Lyrid radiant well up in the eastern sky. Face your lawn chair east or south for the best view. Created with Stellarium
To see the shower best Vega and the radiant should be well up in the northeastern sky. For observers in the U.S. and Canada, you can start watching around 12:30-1 a.m. Sunday. Numbers should pick up as the radiant rises higher and higher until dawn.
I like to flop out in a folding chair under a warm blanket. Don't get too comfortable though – you might fall asleep! Having a friend join you is a great way to stay alert. It also puts the conversation in a larger, more cosmic context. I've found that almost everyone thinks bigger thoughts under a starry sky than when seated inside a building.
In a related story, this weekend, NASA scientists, amateur astronomers, and astronaut Don Pettit on board the International Space Station will attempt the first-ever 3D photography of meteors from Earth and space. Read about it HERE.


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Box Office Analysis, Aug. 24: "Freddy vs. Jason" Commit Serial Slaughter
Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees teamed up this weekend to defend their No. 1 title at the box office–and it worked: Freddy vs. Jason managed to murder the competition for the second week in a row with $13.4 million*.
Freddy vs. Jason was followed by the '70s inspired police pic S.W.A.T., which claimed the No. 2 spot with $10.8 million, while the Western Open Range and the family remake Freaky Friday tied for third place with $9.4 million apiece. The Jackie Chan martial arts actioner The Medallion, the only one of this week's new wide releases to crack the Top Five, followed with $8.2 million.
The two new comedies, however, failed to tickle the fancy of moviegoers. The finally released, two-year-old Ashton Kutcher laffer My Boss's Daughter premiered in tenth place with $5 million while the hip-hop comedy Marci X disappeared off the charts with a paltry $865,000.
Although Freddy vs. Jason dropped off significantly from its $36.4 million high last week, it is the first summer film since X2: X-Men United to spend two weekends in a row at the top of the box office. But after a full month of $30 million plus openers, the box office lost its typical end of summer steam.
This week's Top 12 films grossed a total of $86.1 million, down a little more than 35 percent from last week, when they earned $132.6 million. The total, however, was up almost 33 percent form this time last year, when the Top 12 films grossed $64.8 million.
New Line Cinema's R rated horror flick Freddy vs. Jason defended its No. 1 title for the second week in a row with an ESTIMATED $13.4 million (-63%) in 3,014 theaters (unchanged). Its $4,463 per theater average was the highest of any movie playing wide this week. Its cume is approximately $61.4 million.
Directed by Ronny Yu, it stars Robert Englund and Ken Kirzinger.
Sony Pictures' PG-13 rated S.W.A.T. retained in its No. 2 spot in its third week with an ESTIMATED $10.8 million (-40%) in 3,204 theaters (-16 theaters; $3,371 per theater). Its cume is approximately $88 million.
Directed by Clark Johnson, it stars Colin Farrell, Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J and Michelle Rodriguez.
Buena Vista's R rated Western Open Range also held on to third place in its second week with an ESTIMATED $9.4 million (-33%) in 2,075 theaters (+88 theaters; $4,346 per theater). Its cume is approximately $29 2 million.
Directed by and starring Kevin Costner, it also stars Robert Duvall, Annette Bening, Diego Luna and Michael Gambon.
Buena Vista's PG rated family remake Freaky Friday tied for third place in its third week with an ESTIMATED $9.4 million (-30%) in 3,058 theaters (+79 theaters; $3,074 per theater). Its cume is $74.5 million.
Directed by Mark Waters, it stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Chad Michael Murray and Mark Harmon.
*Box office estimates provided by Exhibitor Relations, Inc.
Sony Pictures' PG-13 rated martial arts actioner The Medallion premiered in fifth place with an ESTIMATED $8.2 million at 2,648 theaters, with a $3,097 per theater average.
The film, Jackie Chan's first theatrical release in three years without a famous co-star, revolves around a Hong Kong detective who must protect a Buddhist monk child and a mysterious medallion from a ruthless crime lord.
Directed by Gordon Chan, it stars Jackie Chan, Lee Evans and Claire Forlani.
Buena Vista Pictures' PG-13 rated fantasy pic Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl remained strong in sixth place in its seventh week with an ESTIMATED $7.3 million (-20%) at 2,404 theaters (-306 theaters; $2,500 per theater). Its cume is approximately $261 million.
Directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, it stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.
Universal Pictures' PG-13 rated equestrian drama Seabiscuit gained a spot to finish in the No. 7 position in its fifth week with ESTIMATED $6.3 million (-22%) in 2,534 theaters (+72 theaters; $2,500 per theater). Its cume is approximately $93.1 million and headed for the $100 million mark.
Directed by Gary Ross, it stars Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper as three down-and-out men who find fame and fortune in an equally down-and-out racehorse.
MGM's PG-13 rated riches-to-rags tale Uptown Girls dropped three rungs to place eight in its second week with an ESTIMATED $5.6 million (-50%) in 2,495 theaters (unchanged; $2,244 per theater). Its cume is approximately $22.3 million.
Directed by Boaz Yakin, it stars Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning, Donald Faison, Marley Shelton and Heather Locklear.
Universal Picture's R rated teen comedy American Wedding fell two spots to finish ninth in fourth week with an ESTIMATED $5.7 million (-34%) at 2,467 theaters (-518 theaters; $2,260 per theater). Its cume is $90.6 million.
Directed by Jesse Dylan, it stars Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Kaye Thomas and Thomas Ian Nicholas.
Rounding out the Top Ten is Dimension Films' PG-13 rated fowl comedy My Boss's Daughter, which debuted in tenth place with an ESTIMATED $5 million in 2,201 theaters with a $2,272 per theater average.
In the film, a young executive housesits for his boss and tends to his prized pet owl in hopes of skipping a few rungs up the corporate ladder.
Directed by David Zucker, it stars Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid, Molly Shannon and Andy Richter.
Paramount Pictures R rated hip-hop comedy Marci X opened to a disappointing $875,000 in 1,200 theaters with a $721 per theater average.
In the film, a New York Jewish socialite is forced to take over a hard-core hip-hop label and deal with a controversial rapper whose record is gaining some negative publicity.
Directed by Paul Rudnick, it stars Lisa Kudrow, Damon Wayans, Richard Benjamin, Christine Baranski and Jane Krakowski.
Fox Searchlight's R rated teen drama Thirteen, meanwhile, opened in five theaters to an impressive $112,213 with a $22,443 per theater average.
The movie focuses on an innocent, pigtailed 13-year-old who enters junior high with a promising future ahead of her, until she falls in with the ultra-popular, hottest girl in school and is introduced to a world of sex, drugs and misdemeanors.
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, it stars Holly Hunter, Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed.
Miramax Film's PG-13 rated comedy The Battle of Shaker Heights, winner of the 2002 Project Greenlight competition developed by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, also opened in limited release this week. The film took in $52,000 in 5 theaters with a $10,400 per theater average.
Set in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, the film is about a teenage World War II buff and battle re-enactor, Kelly Enswiler, who is encouraged by a new friend to take on the school bully.
Directed by Kyle Rankin and Efram Potelle, it stars Shia LaBeouf, Kathleen Quinlan, Amy Smart and Shiri Appleby.
Last year's top three included: Buena Vista's PG-13 rated sci-fi thriller Signs, which reclaimed the No. 1 spot in its fourth week of release with $14.2 million at 3,453 theaters ($4,137 per theater average); Sony's PG-13 rated actioner xXx, which dropped to second place its third week with $13.2 million in 3,517 theaters ($3,770 per theater average); and Dimension's Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, which came in third in its third week with $7.5 million at 3,307 theaters ($2,295 per theater).


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All pet portrait sessions are bespoke, individually designed for your pet(s), as every pet has a different personality and needs. Studio sessions are a lot of fun for both you and your dog! You will also be able to choose your favourite props to help show your dog off best and perhaps even 'fit your decor'!? My aim is to capture your pet's personality in the best possible way so you receive images you love and could treasure for a lifetime. Because as a 'pet parent' you deserve the best images you have ever seen of your pet.
Should you prefer, pet photography sessions can also take place at your chosen location as some older pets may prefer and appreciate secure surroundings and home comforts.
Perhaps it's worth mentioning that all of the images of the animals below are of everyday ordinary pets who are not trained to sit still or 'behave', so rest assured your precious fur-baby will be just fine as well.
Would you like me to create some of the most beautiful images you are ever likely to see of your best friend as well? Here's how it works:
Step 1 – book a pet photography session
First step is to contact me – this will enable us to discuss about the best options for you and your pets needs. Why not drop in, have a cuppa and introduce your fur-baby? During this complementary studio consultation you will also have a chance to look around and get a better idea of the types of products I offer. And you will also receive a little leaflet on how to get best out of your photo session ie how to prepare your dog for the 'big day'.
Step 2 – photography session
We encourage you to arrive a little earlier to give your pet a chance to relax and get familiar with the new surroundings. If your dog starts off a little nervous, don't worry as we will make sure we will give them enough time to relax until they are ready. Photo sessions are a great fun for the dogs but the owners find it equally entertaining! All you need to do is turn up and have some fun!
Step 3 – viewing & ordering
After the photo session, I will invite you back to view your images in the studio. Time to have another cuppa whilst choosing your favourites… Don't worry I won't make you dizzy showing you hundreds of images, just the best ones! I am here to advise you on the best artwork to really showcase your pet(s).
Step 4 – Artwork Delivered
After the viewing session, (it will take anywhere between a few days to few weeks for your artwork to arrive , depending on what you order)you will see your favourite images in print. The vision has finally materialised!


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I have been coding in JS all my life (although I did PHP earlier), but I feel it is time to learn a new language and I'm torn between Java and c#. Any suggestions?
They are very nearly identical. There are more free resources out there that teach Java, but I find C# to be a nicer, more polished language.
It also seems like Java is more versatile when it comes to applications. Case in point mobile development and web development.
Thanks for your reply.
I'm not actually familiar with java frameworks but c# has .net and .net core with mvc and web apis for web development and xamarin for android. Admittedly you can't write native code in c# though.
If you want to learn raw OOP and design patterns, Java is perhaps the best place to start because most books and resources are written in that language. Also if you feel like doing some big data or wanna try out stuff like Spring Boot for web dev. Not to mention most people still code in Java when it comes to Android (altho there is Kotlin and hybrids these days).
C# every year has better and better syntax and sugar. It's a great language and its MVC framework is battle tested, has great coverage out there so you might get a job ez. It's also great to start with desktop and windows 10 apps using XPF or WinForms.
Their syntaxes are similar so learning one will facilitate the learning curve of the other.
I personally started with C# but went to learn java in 2 weeks.
I would go for Java.
Java and C# syntaxes have much in common. So, after learning Java, it will be easy for you to switch from Java to C#.
I would suggest you to go for C#, but if you are a beginner in the world of coding/development, then you should start with C then progress to C++ and finally C#. There is a reason to start with C, its that even though C is very primitive when it comes to programming languages out there, but its still very help full in making programming concepts strong.
Then go for C++, the reason to chose this programming language now is that after learning C you will be probably aware of many basic C operations, now you can start to learn and understand object oriented process using C++.
Once you get proficient in C++, then go for C#, mind here you will get to know many new things, but this will all be based on your previous understanding.
Also most of the programmers I know say that C# is easier to learn, understand or code then C or C++, but the truth is that nothing in this world is easier, these guys had a very good understanding of both previous languages, and C# which was made to be friendly, seemed like a cake to these programmers. Also do check out this awesome article: What Is Coding? to further strengthen your basic concepts about coding before actually starting to do it.
There is absolutely no need to learn C or C++ before any other languages. And while some C knowledge might come in handy for some of C++, they are completely different languages. And C++ is completely different than C#.
You can learn C# as your first language, and many people do. Don't waste your time with prerequisites you're not actually interested in.
I totally agree with @chuckadams on the C and C++ matter.
I am a bit biased on the choice between C# and Java. I've learnt Java together with OOP methodologies (the come naturally together) years ago in university (and it's still the language they use there for the courses).
I've never touched C nor C++ even once and that surely didn't block me from learning Java.
For Java, I would recommend it for the huge amount of resources you can find online, but to be completely honest, I hate some of the decisions Oracle took in the last years which pushed me away from Java.
That said, I don't think that Java and C# have such big differences. Maybe start to look into both and see which one of them you think you like the most
@clevadani I vote for Java. However, you could learn both.
Both languages are very similar, it shouldn't be too hard to learn one of them after you've learned either. I am currently learning C# and ASP.NET, but that's because in my job the backend is built with ASP.NET and I want to work on that. Besides in my area there plenty of opportunities for ASP.NET developers and I follow the opportunities. But opportunities-wise, Java is very reliable, there are probably more jobs for Java developers than any other language, so you can't go wrong by learning Java.
I think it's best to learn Java


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Are you planning to own a Pomsky? If yes, then you have to look after a lot of things. The first and the foremost point to be considered is the cost of owning a Pomsky. This cute loving puppy is the mixed breed of Pomeranian and Husky.
The Husky Pomeranian price lies near about between $800-$5000. Approximately you will find that the cost of Pomeranian ranges from $600-$1500 and that of Siberian Husky may be $300-$2000.
From all this cost figure you will get the rough idea about possessing Pomsky. But now I will discuss in detail Pomeranian Husky cost so that you will get the in-depth knowledge about the same.
How Much Are Pomsky Puppies?
Price of Purchasing- No doubt Pomsky are always in demand as they are considered relatively Dog rare breed. You will find that different breeders quote different prices for this precious puppy. Altogether it can range from $800-$5000.The price goes high if the pooch is small and holds blue eyes. Maybe in the future, the purchasing cost of Pomsky will rise due to the admiration of this lovely breed.
Cost of maintenance and food- As the pet owner you will undoubtedly take care of your favorite pet. His well being is the priority of yours. You will refer vets to provide him the healthy life. So the yearly Dog medical expenses will vary from $200-$300.
It is essential to provide good quality food which is nutritious and healthy for these charming creatures. The nutritious, low-fat diet will maintain their coat in sound condition. If you want to offer expensive stuff like white rice and fish, then consult the veterinarian before submitting to your pooch. On the excellent behavior of
Pomsky if you provide him the dog treat then keep away some amount of the same. Annually the doggie food will cost almost $300.
Cost of Miscellaneous things
The transportation price can cost from $350-$800. For the vet, you have to keep aside the amount ranging from $200-$300. To protect from flea, the charge will be near about $30-$40. If you deliver other supplies like the bed, crate, car-restraints, leash, collar, food bowls, shampoos and few more things, then the expenses will range from $150-$300
You will make best efforts for your Pomsky so that he experiences the pleasant stay in your house. To make him comfortable like the member of the family you will arrange dog toys, dog walkers, training aids, dog's chains and much more. On an average, it may cost near about $100.
Pomsky faces fur shedding from medium to low. Twice in a year, they shed their fur which in turn spoils your carpet. To keep your home clean you can buy the reasonable vacuum. You have to look after their grooming and training also.
To save your pooch from escaping, you can spend money on fencing your yard. Ensure that you spend money on fencing before bringing Pomsky to your house.
Final Verdict
The Pomeranian Husky mix prices can be made out of the points as mentioned above. It would be great if you prepare your financial plan beforehand with the help of this article so that you can get a rough idea about pomeranian husky cost.
The prior financial planning to bring Pomsky to your house will help you in arranging things in advance. From the rough estimates, you can organize all the necessary stuff properly.
Before finalizing the puppy make sure your Pomsky must be registered with the Pomsky Club of America. Remember that you have to pay the licensing cost too.
If you are the dog lover and intensely desires for Pomsky to be your family friend, then this post will make your task easy of buying the Pomsky and arranging all the stuff for this beloved dog.


text: Donald Trump is blaming "dishonest media" for the controversy over a weekend tweet that critics said used anti-Semitic imagery. Trump said in a tweet early Monday that news outlets are portraying a "Sheriff's Star" or a "plain star" as the Star of David. Trump's new tweet comes after he sparked a wave of backlash Saturday for tweeting an image accusing Hillary Clinton of being "corrupt" with a six-pointed star, a symbol that appears on the Israeli flag and is commonly associated with Judaism. The image was reportedly created by white supremacists.He deleted it hours later and replaced the star with a circle, but that has done little to stem the flow of criticism targeting the GOP's presumptive nominee. The Anti-Defamation League called on Trump to denounce anti-Semitism. Jonathan Greenblatt, the organization's CEO and national director, said it's "concerning" that Trump "hasn't spoken our forcefully against these people." First things first the star he used wasn't the yellow star the NAZI's put on all Jews during the rise of Hitler. The second thing is that if Trump hated Jews then why did he go to the AIPAC convention? The Liberal mainstream media loves to label everything as racist and hateful when your not truly careful with post you put out on the internet or what comes out your mouth. The truth is real stars in the sky look more like a six pointed star rather then the five pointed star. The fact is that Trump using this six pointed "pink star" is based in absolute stupidity, because if Trump was truly anti Semite the star he used would of been yellow and he probably would of never went to the AIPAC convention.


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British oil company investigated for corruption in Somalia
[NAIROBI] An oil company chaired by a former leader of Britain's ruling Conservative party is being investigated for alleged corruption in Somalia, claims the company slammed as "defamatory".
Soma Oil and Gas, a private company chaired by Lord Michael Howard, on Monday denied paying more than half a billion dollars to government officials to protect an oil exploration deal signed in 2013.
Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Friday it had opened a criminal investigation into Soma following allegations of corruption in Somalia.
The allegations stem from investigations carried out by the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, set up to detail infringements of arms embargoes on the countries.
The investigators say that US$690,000 worth of payments were suspicious. They allege that at least US$580,000 paid since June 2014 as part of a "capacity building programme" may have been corrupt payments to Somali government officials.
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An April 2014 "side letter" from Soma to Somalia's petroleum minister said the company would pay salaries and equipment costs to support the exploration programme up to a total of US$400,000. The agreement was extended in April 2015, since when a further US$90,000 has allegedly been paid.
A further US$100,000 was paid for a "data room" to store and analyse seismic data but which has not been built.
The allegations were contained in a 28-page report put to the UN Security Council's sanctions committee on Monday.
Soma said in a statement that the UN investigators had "fundamentally misunderstood the nature, purpose and destination of the payments made".
"Any suggestion that any of the payments... were improper, unlawful or gave rise to a conflict of interest is incorrect and defamatory," the company said.
"Soma has always conducted its business in a completely lawful and ethical manner and will take all appropriate steps to protect its reputation." The Soma deal is intended to revive Somalia's oil and gas industry which has been on hold during decades of civil war and years of Islamic insurgency.
Mr Howard is expected to be interviewed by the SFO as part of its investigation. Soma said "no suspicion whatsoever attatches to Lord Howard".
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Daily Tip: Take a video of the car that you are renting detailing any defects you find. It's an easy way to prove the condition of the car when you picked it up. Pay attention to small details when in foreign countries. Often they are more restrictive when determining damage. I've actually been charge for a scrape underneath the car- which I did not cause but because I did not have video could not prove.
See All of Our Daily Travel Tips at http://twothriftytravelers.com/category/tips/


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THRISSUR: Three students, who went for a bath in Bharathapuzha in the district, have been reported missing. The three has been identified as Adarsh, Niyaz and Mehboob of Kachivettoor. They went for a bath at the Deshamangalam part.
The local residents and the fire force are engaged in search operations.


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Teaparty california style
California Faces Its Day Of Fiscal Reckoning
Posted: 3:45 pm PDT May 22, 2009Updated: 3:58 pm PDT May 22, 2009SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The day of reckoning that California has been warned about for years has arrived.The longest recession in generations and the defeat this week of a package of budget-balancing ballot measures are expected to lead to state spending cuts so deep and so painful that they could rewrite the social contract between California and its citizens. They could also force a fundamental rethinking of the proper role of government in the Golden State."The voters are getting what they asked for, but I'm not sure at the end of the day they're going to like what they asked for," said Jim Earp, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs, which represents the hard-hit construction industry. "I think we've crossed a threshold in many ways."California is looking at a budget deficit projected at more than $24 billion when the new fiscal year starts in July. That is more than one-quarter of the state's general fund.This week, voters said they no longer want the Legislature to balance budgets with higher taxes, complicated transfer schemes or borrowing that pushes California's financial problems off into the distant future. In light of that, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made it clear he intends to close the gap almost entirely through drastic spending cuts.The governor's cutbacks could include ending the state's main welfare program for the poor, eliminating health coverage for about 1.5 million poor children, halting cash grants for about 77,000 college students, shortening the school year by seven days, laying off thousands of state workers and teachers, slashing money for state parks and releasing thousands of prisoners before their sentences are finished."I understand that these cuts are very painful and they affect real lives," Schwarzenegger said. "This is the harsh reality and the reality that we face. Sacramento is not Washington — we cannot print our own money. We can only spend what we have."He also has advocated selling state assets to raise cash, including the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and San Quentin State Prison.
The Democrats who control the Legislature do not want major spending cuts, but so far they don't have a plan for closing the deficit. And if their solution is higher taxes and more borrowing, they will probably not have enough Republican votes to get the two-thirds approval needed for passage.
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