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The BBA's Public Service blog, Beyond the Billable is your one stop shop for everything Public Service at the BBA. Check it out here.
Good morning. On behalf of the Boston Bar Association: Thank you to Chief Justice Ireland and Chief Justice Mulligan and all of the judges. Thank you to the court staff across our state who continue to serve, in difficult conditions, to ensure access to justice for all. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to be here.
We are here to advocate – individually and collectively – for adequate funding for our state courts. We know that our work as lawyers would be in vain if our courts were not here to uphold the rule of law. We count on our state courts being here – to enforce the laws and the constitution, to protect public safety, to preserve individual liberties, and to resolve private disputes. It's important to appreciate the scope of what's at stake here, in terms of who is affected. Our state courts affect not only the parties who come before them and the lawyers who advocate before them. Our courts affect the whole fabric of our society in the Commonwealth.
The reality is that just knowing that our courts are there when we need them affects people's conduct in fundamental ways. We count on our courts to be there when we need them. And the essential premise is that they will function at a very high level. When we arrive at our courthouses, we ask a lot of our courts. We expect nothing less than the peaceful, fair and timely resolution of disputes covering every aspect of human experience -- family law, criminal matters, civil rights, business conflicts, and more.
But it's not just litigants who depend on the courts to be there and to be functioning well. We lawyers know that all aspects of our legal system -- and really, all aspects of what people do on our society -- depend directly or indirectly on our courts being there and functioning well. Every time a business person signs a contract, they count on the fact that the courts will be available to enforce that deal in the event of a breach. Every time a person buys a home, they assume the courts will be there to vindicate their property rights, if necessary.
All the wheels of commerce that turn in our Commonwealth every day do so on the basis of an expectation that people's legitimate interests will be protected, and that their rights will be vindicated, by our courts, if need be.
With that in mind, we need to consider the effects of underfunding our state courts. The erosion in the Judiciary's budget that has characterized the past several years has brought the Trial Court to an unacceptable level of capacity. The effects have been cumulative and the impacts of years of underfunding have surfaced. The budget cuts over the last four fiscal years have resulted in the loss of more than 200 court officers. And when judges in criminal sessions are forced to 'borrow' court officers from civil sessions, those civil sessions grind to a halt. This translates to wasted time spent waiting by litigants, witnesses and jurors, most of whom are eager to get back to their jobs and other commitments. Every time that happens, it is a small tear in the fabric of our justice system, and it necessarily damages the confidence and the respect that all those who participate in our court proceedings have for the rule of law.
In the Probate and Family Court, for example, where emotions routinely run high, they have not only lost court officers, but also most of the law clerks needed to help the judges with their essential research and writing (which, by the way, must be done using antiquated computer equipment). No one should be surprised that an uncontested divorce can take almost a year. Backlogs resulting from inadequate staffing are now really being felt on the front lines by members of the public, who may arrive at our courthouses for a seemingly simple transaction, only to learn that the clerk's or register's office is closed while court staff struggle to catch up with paperwork.
It is not necessarily very exciting or glamorous to talk about paperwork backlogs and shortened hours at the clerk's desks, or the logistics of moving prisoners in custody in and out of buildings, or most of the work that court staff-members do. A lot of that work goes on behind the scenes, and it's usually invisible to the public. But all of these seemingly mundane, everyday things – when you put them all together – really do matter. This is the stuff of which justice is made. It is all of these seemingly small things that enable a case to get to the point where a jury or judge is in position to hear the evidence and make an essential decision. This is what constitutes the delivery of justice. And when our courts are deprived of essential resources, the result is damage to the delivery of justice.
We are not over-dramatizing the situation. We are not crying wolf. We are recognizing the reality that underfunding over a period of several years has created what is now a crisis situation. We need the Legislature to understand this. It's spelled out in our state Constitution that the judicial branch is not an agency or a department of our government. It is the third branch of our government – co-equal with the executive and legislative branches. A well-functioning judicial branch is a constitutional imperative, not a luxury. It must serve the public in good times and in bad. Access to justice cannot be dependent on how our economy happens to be doing in any given year; it is a fundamental element of our society. And we need to provide our courts with the essential funding they need in order to function properly.
So today, and throughout every step of the budget process, which will go on until June, we will be urging the Legislature to appropriate $593.9 million to fund the Trial Court.
Thank you.
As you may know, the BBA recently endorsed legislation that would eliminate an unjust...
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Lobo Unamerican Gladiators (1993) #1 a 4
Ready for a little head-bashing? Think you're man enough to play the Maim Game? Lobo is! Like that's a surprise, right? Check out the slammin' action in the 4-issue miniseries LOBO: UNAMERICAN GLADIATORS, where the Main Man plays the game for fabulous prizes...and, of course, the opportunity to lock horns with the baddest bastiches in the galaxy and kick the butts of his fellow contestants! Up for grabs is a year's holiday for two in the palace of pleasure on Waltsworld, a jewel-encrusted bazooka and all the gold you can grab from the vaults of Gazza. And for the last gladiator standing, the star prize is the planet Zarotey. But does Lobo care about prizes? If he wanted a planet, he'd fraggin' well take one. He's playing the Maim Game for the fun of it. And in Mondo Carno, where anything goes, the Main Man is sure to find the meanest kind of fun. Written by Alan Grant and John Wagner, with art by Cam Kennedy. Cover by Mike Mignola.

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This educational video series explains the secret science and engineering behind some amazing magic tricks. Full details, including lesson plans for teachers, are available at www.illusioneering.org. The project was developed by the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Queen Mary, University of London with funding from the National HE STEM Programme for England and Wales with support from cs4fn and games developer, space explorer and magician Richard Garriott.
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One of my favorite films at this year's Sundance Film Festival was writer/director John Krokidas' Kill Your Darlings. The film focuses on the origins of the Beat movement and follows the friendships of Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) as they're tested by the murder of David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall), a man in his thirties who is desperately in love with Ginsberg's friend Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan). For more on the movie, read Matt's review here.
Near the end of the Festival, I landed an exclusive interview with Krokidas. We talked about premiering at Sundance, how tough it was to land financing, the years he spent developing the project, waiting for Daniel Radcliffe, casting the rest of the actors, how much changed during production, deleted scenes, how much did he "Hollywoodize," future projects, and a lot more. Hit the jump to either read or listen to our interview.
Click here if you'd like to listen to the audio from the interview, otherwise the transcript is below.
JOHN KROKIDAS: This has been an amazing week, it really has.
[Laughs] I can imagine.
KROKIDAS: I never thought I could have this much fun without sleeping. [Laughs]
When did you find out that the film got in?
KROKIDAS: To Sundance?
KROKIDAS: Right before Thanksgiving, which made the holidays a whole lot more fun. As you've probably heard, I had a short film here eleven years ago and this dream of coming full circle and bringing my premiere here. I though initially when I came here I had such a great time, met so many great filmmakers, I was a part of the whole circus and I'm like, "I'll be back in two years!" And each year that passed I wondered if it was ever going to happen. So eleven years later to finally get that phone call to say, "You're in, come back home," just was so poignant to me. Honestly, it was one of the top three phone calls of my entire life thus far.
Was it always the plan for Sundance, or was there a chance for maybe Toronto, you know what I mean?
KROKIDAS: For personal reasons I wanted Sundance.
Ok, let's talk about financing and getting the film off the ground. How tough was it getting the financing on this thing?
KROKIDAS: When you're a first time director, you're often considered what's called a "deadly attachment" in the eyes of financiers, because they're trusting you with a lot of money to bring something home, to get great performances, to not have a nervous breakdown in the process, and I wish I did things smaller. If this movie were four people in a room, this movie probably wouldn't have taken nine years to make. But, you saw the movie, it's a period piece, it's a multi-character somewhat epic with musical sequences and over thirty locations and that's a lot. Those financers they looked at that and they said, "I don't know if you're going to be able to pull that off." We almost got this made several times. I brought Christine Vachon on, from Killer Films, about a little over four years ago and the movie almost made it to pre-production then, only to fall apart. And then it happened again. And then about two and a half years ago, Jesse Eisenberg, who was attached to the film at that time to star as Allen Ginsberg, Social Network came out and he called me up and he said, "You know John I think I just played the most iconic Ivy League college student I will ever play in my entire life. I think I need to play grownups now." And I totally understood. It was at that time that a former sales agent said to me, "John, it's over. This movie's never going to happen. Put it away. Go take a couple years to write something else."
But here's the crazy thing, two years before that when I was meeting Jesse and other actors for the role, the other actor I wanted for the role was Daniel Radcliffe, and I sat down with him, we got to know each other, it was an instant love connection, we spent hours kind of sharing our most intimate secrets, and this will show you what kind of actor he is, he offered to audition for me. Who the fuck does that? I'm serious. He knew this was going to be intense and he wanted to make sure that the chemistry was real between the two of us and that the way that he would portray the role was the way that I saw it in my own head. I almost gave him the role in the room, but then I called his agents up and they were like, "John, just a reminder, he's got two films he's got to do before this one," AKA Deathly Hallows 1 and 2, "and he's not going to be available for two years." So let's jump forward in time again, Jesse Eisenberg's no longer on the movie, the movie's falling apart, I think to myself late at night, "Oh my god, I have Daniel Radcliffe's email address," [Laughs] and I'm like, do I dare just do this? And I'm like, fuck it, you know, it's been so long, we've tried so long, let's just see if this works. So I emailed him and I said, "Hey Dan, I hope you don't think I'm a stalker, but remember meeting me and that role that you were interested in two years ago? If you're still interested please let me know, I'd love to work with you, if not on this, perhaps on something else one day. Let me know what you think." And he wrote me back the next morning, one word, "Abso-fucking-lutely."
[Laughs] I've found speaking to a lot of actors and directors, even publicists, that often-
KROKIDAS: I like your nail polish, by the way.
Thank you. Often what will happen is that someone thinks it's a bad idea and won't even connect the dots, or doesn't want to approve something, but then you just email the actor or the director directly and they're like, "Of course I want to do this." So it's just a matter of bridging the connection. Sometimes you have to do that.
KROKIDAS: In this case it worked. Do I suggest other people do it? It's a case by case scenario. Some people obviously get so many requests and everybody wants a piece of them they like having the wall of representation to deal with it. In this case I'm very lucky that Dan and I did get along so well that he felt comfortable responding to me personally.
So once you had Dan, tell me what happens then?
KROKIDAS: What happens then is I get told by foreign sales agents that Daniel Radcliffe can't open a movie without a wand in his hand. And I tell them, "He's playing Alan Ginsberg, I promise you there will be a wand in his hand by the end of the movie." But no, he couldn't open a movie at that time, they told me. So what I decided to do rather than chase after another really big movie star with lots of value, I was like, you know what? I'm going to Social Network cast it. I want to get a group of young actor's whose work I really admire together and I think by seeing Daniel Radcliffe plus all of these great young actors the financial upside of this movie will just start coming through by people seeing it's a cool fucking movie. So my boyfriend loved In Treatment and pointed out Dane DeHaan to me. I love Boardwalk Empire, Jack Huston, incredible actor.
KROKIDAS: Ben Foster, somebody I've admired and wanted to work with for years. Michael C. Hall, Six Feet Under is my favorite show of all time, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, I told my boyfriend when we started dating nine years ago, he asked me what actress I'd like to work with most at some point in my career and the answer was Jennifer. So with the help of our casting director Laura Rosenthal we just put together this really cool, eclectic group of people and that, I think, just started speaking for itself to the financiers as a movie that they felt comfortable investing in.
Talk a little bit about landing these people without having the financing set up. Is it sort of like taking meeting with people, showing them the script, and saying, "Hey, I'm putting this together; do you want to do this"?
KROKIDAS: The first thing, obviously, is they liked the script. That's what got them to sit down with me. And the second thing is, you know, I auditioned for them. I watched every piece of their work before I met with them and I looked to see what they already had done, and done really well, and also, more importantly, the things they hadn't done yet. And then when I met with them and talked about why I wanted them for each role, not only did I just talk about the role and why I was so passionate about making this film, I specifically talked about them and what I loved about their work and what I felt really confident that they could do that they hadn't gotten the chance to yet. Because for a director or an actor, any creative person, the chance to show new colors and show the world that you're not just what they think you are is one of the most appealing things in the world. I would ask them personally, I might have had other things to say, but for me that's what I felt I needed to do to show them that I knew who they were, and that they could trust me.
From the script that you presented them as you were going around meeting people, including Daniel, to what we saw on the screen, how much changed?
KROKIDAS: It didn't change that much, but definitely once each actor came on board I worked with each actor to kind of tailor the role for them. I let them have creative input. I wanted them to come be attached to the project. And I said to all of them, "As long as it still works for me in terms of moving the story forward and I get what I need, let's tailor the role for you, let's play around." So there were minor rewrites here and there with each actor and then of course there were the constant rewrites of, "Oh, we can't afford a football field and Jack Kerouac throwing the ball across the field with a group eighty extras." So the football went to his apartment with the rest of the cast. So there were constant re-writes just based on budget and practicality that went on over the course of putting this film together with these particular guys.
How long is the finished version? I forget the running length.
KROKIDAS: About 1 hour and 39 minutes.
What was your assembly cut?
KROKIDAS: It wasn't that long actually. That's the good thing about having no time to shoot. You don't shoot that much, so it can't be that long. I think the assembly was two hours long.
From what I finally saw on screen were there any deleted scenes, or is pretty much everything you shot is up there?
KROKIDAS: There are several deleted scenes. Scenes I'm really proud of, but scenes that were keeping the pace of the movie from moving forward or felt repetitive once we saw the whole movie assembled together. But there may indeed, one day, be a longer cut of the movie. But I would only do that if I went back and I looked at the scenes in the context of how the film was built now and thought that they continued to enrich the narrative and move the story forward.
So you sold and you're with a studio now and eventually this is coming out, do you know when it's coming out?
KROKIDAS: I have a meeting at 11:00 tonight and I'm going to find out.
That's very funny. Studios love to be able to put deleted scenes on Blu-rays, "the extended cut" and sell it.
KROKIDAS: Oh sure. I would definitely include the deleted scenes, but just me personally I have to talk to some other people about this. They're all great scenes, I think for me whenever I watch deleted scenes it's always a good lesson to see why they were deleted and to understand what dramatic doubling is, for example, in a movie or pace-wise where they were issues and why that was taken out. Then we each get to play personal critic and say, "They should have put that one back in!" or "I totally get why it's out."
Film or digital?
KROKIDAS: Film.
Oh, interesting.
KROKIDAS: Film; that was mandatory for me and for my cinematographer Reed Morano. Reed shoots on film most of the time while most people are turning to digital. It's just the medium and the tactile- the use of color and skin tone, etc. that she responds to the most. And I always set out to shoot this on film because I wanted it to feel, partially, like a relic of the 1940's using color palates from the 1940's, but at the same time finding a way using camera style, using speed, using jump cuts, etc. to make it feel contemporary and in that contrast the voice of the movie would come through.
For this film did you do a lot of storyboards or did you like finding the shots on set?
KROKIDAS: I started to storyboard; I can't draw for shit, but Reed, my cinematographer, looked at them and said, "No, John." And I said, "Why not?" She said, "We can shot list, but one of the reasons you hired me-" and this is absolutely true, is her intuition is just golden. She's like a documentary filmmaker in that she's three steps ahead and knows where the actors going. She dances with the camera in a way that I've never seen anybody dance before. Just based on intuition, blocking the scene, and the actual location together what we would do is we would do a rehearsal and then she and I would shot list and talk about the moments we cared about the most and how to capture them and move forward with that plan. That way it allowed her the creative freedom if something new came up, because each scene in this movie was shot in like two hours, to just be able to capture it. Actually we did try to storyboard, we storyboarded the murder, we storyboarded a couple sequences, but then again on day two we realized that there was no time to shoot as storyboarded. The scene where Allan Ginsberg and Lucien Carr are sitting on the steps of Columbia together and Allen's convincing Lucien not to leave school, slight spoiler alert, twelve minutes we shot that scene in. We got told we had to leave Columbia four or five hours earlier than we had expected. [Laughs] So basically what you don't see is the entire crew wrapping up behind us and we literally shot that scene, I believe, without cutting the camera. We may have cut it once, but without cutting the camera and just having the actors reset their own hair, reset the props and then without cutting going and doing coverage on the scene.
I was going to ask you about permits at Columbia.
KROKIDAS: Columbia was extremely helpful actually. Columbia came on board pretty early, which was really cool. That was one of the things I was worried about, but they read the script and it came down to they loved the script and they loved the idea of continuing how the beat legacy formed at Columbia University, which is absolutely true.
It's good publicity for the school.
KROKIDAS: It is and it was a way to keep Columbia's history alive in film and to an entirely new and young audience.
Obviously this is all based on what happened, but every film is Hollywood-ized, if you will, little liberties are taken here and there. How much were you beholden to what actually happened and how much were you able to be like, "I need the story to get from here to here and it's missing this"?
KROKIDAS: You know, the film is mostly true, but I will tell you this, the beats never broke into the Columbia library and stole the dirty books from the shelves and put them in the vitrines, but that may have happened in my life. [Laughs]
When did you first learn about these guys, what they did, how they met and when was it that it first came to you that you really wanted to tell this story?
KROKIDAS: Yeah, I was a beat lover since, like a lot of us, sixteen, seventeen years old. I grew up in a suburban town and the idea of finding my own voice and starting a cultural rebellion was very romantic and attractive to me. To add to that when I was reading Allen Ginsberg for the first time I was still a closeted gay guy and to read someone who was so open with his sexuality and threw his guts, and his stomach, and his heart, and even his balls out there for the world to see. I remember reading that and feeling like I was reading a dirty novel in the college library. So I always kind of had a special connection with him. He kind of gave me strength when I needed it. So my college roommate, Austin Bunn, who's one of my best friends, brought the story to me nine years ago because he had a similar connection with the beats. When he told me the story- at first he told me he wanted to write a tome poem [laughs] an ode to David Krammerer, and I was like, "Dude, don't write the tome poem." But he was a playwright at the time and he goes, "Well maybe I should write a play about it." And I thought to myself, "Hell no" and I gave him the Jedi mind trick and was like, "No, you are going to write this as a screenplay and I'm going to teach you how." And that's kind of the origin of how we started playing around with this.
You come here obviously to sell the movie, you want the world to see what you've done, talk a little bit about when you found out that this is actually going to sell. Because many projects come here and nowadays you can go on VOD, there's a lot more avenue for distribution. When did you first realize that this is going to sell and it's going to be really picked up?
KROKIDAS: I found out five minutes before the world did.
KROKIDAS: I did. When you've been around as long as I have and you've seen things come together and fall apart, I don't take anything for granted and I don't believe that something happens now until it actually happens. So I actually asked not to be part of all the excitement and the conversations and the "Are they going to? Are they not?" I said, "Let me know when it looks like something is going to happen and let me know who the people are." And when they called me and said Sony Classics, I said, "Are you fucking kidding me?" Honestly, I thought about different places and, you know, they work with such auteurs and they work with such established filmmakers generally. I thought that this was- I don't know, maybe I'm not giving myself enough credit, let's just say to be in the company of the films they represent…I just feel like it's the right home for this. They get it and they want to share it with the world and I couldn't be happier that it's these guys helping me.
When the film was being shot we were even running the paparazzi photos, there was a lot of interest, were you surprised by the level of interest with the people photographing it and the pictures getting online?
KROKIDAS: I don't know we had Daniel Radcliffe on the streets of New York with no trailers; we were literally sitting on stoops, eating our lunch. I was surprised, actually, that there wasn't as many as there were. Once they got the initial photos things really chilled out and people in New York were just like- they would walk by and be like, "Radcliffe, what's up?" We shot a scene with Ben Foster and Michael C. Hall in the middle of Riverside Park, people were walking by, and they notice that Dexter was standing there and they gave a little nod, but nobody bothered us.
That's amazing.
KROKIDAS: I don't know if that's just the way that New Yorkers are.
They're not. They were being very respectful.
KROKIDAS: People really were respectful during the process. OK, one really funny story, day two we're shooting a scene with Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan; an exterior, outside of them stumbling out of the bar just as the school bus pulls up. Just as a hundred children see Daniel Radcliffe in front of a camera across the street and they started to scream and howl and the ADs couldn't stop them, the locations people went over there to try and quiet them down so we could get the shot, no one could do it, and Daniel Radcliffe turns to me and he goes, "John, let me take care of this" and he walked over there and went, "Hey everybody were making a movie, it's imagination time, so everybody be very quiet." And they did; two seconds later, absolute silence, and they watched the scene take place.
That's the magic of Harry Potter though, the kids just saw Harry and…you know.
KROKIDAS: Although we should also say the magic of Daniel Radcliffe.
Sure, but I imagine they were losing their minds. In the time it took for you to get this project to the screen I imagine you've been developing other things, or trying to develop other things, or writing other things, or are interested in other things. Are you the type of person who has five things deep that you can now go out and talk about?
KROKIDAS: I promise I will tell you more information when I can, but yes, I may have something that's in the coffers, I may have something new that I'm working on with Austin, and there may be a couple things out there that I'm eyeing right now. I'd love to make a second film, I'd love to make a third, and I'd love to have a long career doing this. I know sometimes it takes a long time to get these things done and one lesson that I've learned from this is, find a couple because you never know when one's going to hit, and make sure, most importantly, that your hearts in each one of them.
I've been watching this industry now hardcore for seven years doing the site and there's a reason why directors like Spielberg or Del Toro attach themselves to so many different things because even the biggest people-
KROKIDAS: It's like the fucking Dark Crystal man, the light has to hit the crystal at the right percentage, time, at the angle at the moment that you put the stone in the ruby holder I mean, it's amazing and a miracle that any film gets made, you have so many moving parts. So that totally makes sense to me.
The good news is that you delivered a fantastic feature, and you have great performances. That's something else, and I'm putting myself in this interview, but you're direction is really fucking good, and your performances are phenomenal.
KROKIDAS: Thank you.
So I think that this no matter what is going to- you can show this to a bunch of people and be like, "Please, may I have some money? I can do this." Something along those lines.
KROKIDAS: [Laughs] I will say it's nice having broken my first time filmmaker job and popped my first time filmmaker cherry, I'm no longer a "deadly attachment" I'm very happy about that.
I'm going to leave you with that and say congratulations, man, I really do wish you nothing but the best.


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This policy (together with our terms of use and any other documents referred to on it) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. By visiting www.entura.co.uk you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.
For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act), the data controller is Entura International Limited of The Limes 1339 High Road, Whetstone, London, N20 9HR.
- We may collect and process the following data about you:
- Information you give us. You may give us information about you by filling in forms on our site www.entura.co.uk (our site), providing your business card to us or by corresponding with us by phone, e-mail, post or otherwise. This includes information you provide when you use the "contact us" section of our site located at https://www.entura.co.uk/#contact, discuss with us the provision of and/or receive anti-piracy services from Entura International, respond to job applications by providing your CV, supply services to us, interact with us via our social media accounts (eg Linkedin and Twitter) and when you report a problem with our site. The information you give us may include your name, address, e-mail address and phone number, financial information, job title and description and photograph, educational and work history.
- Information we collect about you. With regard to each of your visits to our site we may automatically collect the following information:
- technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system, language settings and platform;
- information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from our site (including date and time); pages you viewed or searched for; page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs)and any phone number used to call our customer service number or members of our staff.
- Information we receive from other sources. We may receive information about you if you use any of the other websites we operate or the other services we provide. In this case we will inform you when we collect that data that it may be shared internally and combined with data collected on this site. We are also working closely with third parties (including, for example, business partners, recruiters, sub-contractors in technical, payment and delivery services, advertising networks, analytics providers, search information providers, credit reference agencies) and may receive information about you from them.
- We may also obtain your details from client lead generation information obtained from websites that contain information about you (such as your business website or Linkedin) or as supplied by third parties (eg conference holders from conferences at which you and/or we attend).
- We may also obtain your personal data where you are cc'd on emails sent from third parties.
Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. In addition, we use cookies in some of our emails. They help us to understand a little bit about how you interact with our emails, and are used to improve our future email communications.
For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them see our Cookie policy.
- We use information held about you in the following ways:
- Information you give to us. We will use this information:
- to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us and to provide you with the information and services that you request from us;
- to provide you with information about services we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about;
- for the purposes of operating and improving our services, to understand your requirements and provide you with an optimised service;
- market our services;
- to send promotional emails about new products, services or events which we think you may find interesting;
- to provide you with information about services we feel may interest you. If you are an existing customer, we will only contact you by electronic means (e-mail or phone) with information about services similar to those which were the subject of a previous sale or negotiations of a sale to you. If you are a new customer;
- to consider your job application;
- to notify you about changes to our website and/or our services;
- to allow you to carry out services for us;
- to ensure that content from our site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer.
- Information we collect about you. We will use this information:
- to administer our site and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes;
- to improve our site to ensure that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your device;
- to allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so;
- as part of our efforts to keep our site safe and secure;
- to make suggestions and recommendations to you and other users of our site about services that may interest you or them;
- market our services.
- Information we receive from other sources. We may combine this information with information you give to us and information we collect about you. We may us this information and the combined information for the purposes set out above (depending on the types of information we receive).
- Email tracking. We use email tracking software (Hubstop) on our sales email campaigns to determine campaign optimisation based on click or post click activity. This is a reporting metric for internal purposes only. Email tracking notifies us when an email we've sent has been opened or clicked.
- Monitoring communications. We may record or monitor telephone calls to and from Entura International to help us continually improve our products and services for you. We also monitor incoming and outgoing email to enable us to protect our internal business systems.
We may share your personal information with any member of our group, which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159 of the UK Companies Act 2006.
- We may share your information with selected third parties including:
- Business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors (including technical contractors) for the performance of any contract we enter into with them or you. Our technical service providers are OVH (hosting and storage service provider), Amazon Web Services (hosting and storage service provider), Digital Ocean (hosting and storage of our website), Google (gmail, calendar, google docs), Microsoft (CRM "Dynamics"), Outlook, Sharepoint, Insightly (CRM), HubStop (email tracking)
- Analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of our site.
- Credit reference agencies for the purpose of assessing your credit score where this is a condition of us entering into a contract with you.
- We may disclose your personal information to third parties:
- In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets.
- If Entura International Limited or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by it about its customers will be one of the transferred assets.
- If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our terms of use and other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Entura International Limited, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
The data that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area ("EEA"). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our suppliers/technical service providers. Such staff maybe engaged in, among other things, the provision of Entura's anti-piracy services to you, the processing of your payment details and the provision of support services. By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.
All information you provide to us is stored on our, or our third party service providers', secure servers.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.
You have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. We will usually inform you (before collecting your data) if we intend to use your data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your data. You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Our site may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of our partner networks, advertisers and affiliates. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.
The Act gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Act. Any access request may be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you.
Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.
Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to email@example.com.


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Choosing the Right Tennis Racket for Intermediate Players
Choosing the right tennis racket can be tough at the best of times. However, if you are considered a beginner or advanced player, you are essentially at one end of the spectrum and this can make things a little easier. However, choosing the right tennis racket for intermediate players, can be a lot trickier.
The danger with intermediate players is having made the advancement from beginner level, it is easy to become carried away. It's exciting to think you have worked hard on your game and shown great improvement as a result. However, this does not mean you should be heading out to spend a lot of money on the tennis racket your favorite professional player uses. Why? Because these often have small heads and quite heavy frames. These frames are more flexible, making the balance point closer to the handle. Essentially, this makes playing tennis more difficult and that's not what we want at this stage.
With that in mind, what should you be looking for when choosing the right tennis racket for intermediate players?
Intermediate players sit somewhere on the spectrum between beginner and advanced. This makes sense that the tennis racket should blend some of the features of both beginner and advanced tennis rackets.
In terms of weight, we are looking for a medium weight racket and with beginner rackets going up to 9.6 ounces. An intermediate racket should weigh between 9 and 11 ounces. Notice there is a little cross over between the beginner and intermediate weight. This is because beginner rackets can start at 7.8 ounces. If you are playing at that weight initially, you do not want to jump to 11 ounces. A racket between 9.6 and 10 ounces would be more suitable.
Moving on to balance, this can differ depend on the size of the tennis player. If you are quite small physically, then opting for a racket with a heavy head is the best option. This will increase the stability of the racket and provide more momentum when playing shots. For the more athletically built intermediate player, a racket with a light head and heavy grip should be considered. This adds maneuverability to the head, while increasing stability in the grip.
Head size
Head size is also an important consideration when choosing the right tennis racket for intermediate players. As a rule of thumb, intermediate players should be looking for a mid-plus racket head size. These offer less power than a beginner racket, with the plus side being the added control. As a tennis player develops from being a beginner to an intermediate, having greater control of the racket is key to producing a greater variety of shots and feel. Mid-plus head sizes tend to come in between 96 and 105 square inches and although this decreases the size of the sweet spot on the racket head, as an intermediate player, this will not be an issue.
If you want to choose the right tennis racket for intermediate players, check out TennisRacket.me.
We've developed a proprietary algorithm that finds your perfect tennis racket. Answer a few questions and we'll analyse thousands of data points and scour the latest and greatest available rackets for you. Our unbiased and accurate results will save you tons of time and improve your game. Stop guessing at what racket you need and know for sure in under 2 minutes.


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Future wars could be fought over lakes, rivers
Thursday January 21 2010
Water is one of the most sought after natural resources in Africa. Many wars, especially among pastoralist communities, have been fought over it while global warming and reckless human activity have taken a heavy toll on the continent's major lakes in the past decades.
A UNEP-produced Atlas of African Lakes shows the drastic depletion of the continent's major water bodies by comparing and contrasting past satellite images with contemporary ones. Complicating matters further, some of the biggest natural lakes in Africa are usually spread across national borders, which means the responsibility of ensuring there is a sustainable usage of their waters is shared between nations.
But more often than not there is a sort of scramble, with the countries involved selfishly trying to outdo each other in siphoning the lacustrine resources without giving much thought to a common and sustainable operating policy. Where agreements are drawn they are rarely honoured.
The state of Lake Chad is probably the best illustration of this madness. Once Africa's largest fresh water body supporting the livelihoods of about 30 million people in Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger, the lake has shrunk by 90 per cent from 25,000 square kilometres in the 1960s to less than 1,300 square kilometres today.
Reduced rainfall, increased irrigation, the southward march of the Sahara and heavy damming of Logone and Chari rivers, the two major sources of the lake, are cited as the main causes of this ecological catastrophe. There are occasional conflicts involving Nigerian fishermen on one side and Chadian and Cameroonian authorities on the other as the Nigerians venture outside their shallow waters for bigger catches.
This dying water mass has forced many of the 30 million people who live around it to abandon fishing for menial jobs or farming on the exposed lakebed using the scarce lake water or relying on erratic rainfall. Environmentalists warn that the lake will be a mere pond in two decades, prompting regional governments to think of channelling water from Oubangi River in the Central Africa Republic.
Lake Turkana dying
Thousands of miles away from the dying Lake Chad on the Kenya-Ethiopian border is Lake Turkana, the world's largest desert lake, which according to environmentalists is also on its deathbed. With about 500,000 people in both countries depending on the lake directly or indirectly for their survival, activists are bitterly opposed to Ethiopia's plan to build the Gilgel Gibe III hydroelectric dam, the second largest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Situated 600 kilometres up the Omo River valley, the dam is a monolithic piece of architecture, with its wall soaring 240 metres high and holding back a 150 kilometre-long reservoir. Critics are complaining that the $2 billion (Sh150 billion) power project will interfere with the flow of the river that provides 80 per cent of water to Lake Turkana.
Although authorities on both sides of the border say the dam will only moderate but not change the total amount of water flowing into the lake, an independent collection of European, American and East African scientists under the African Resources Working Group (ARWG) insist the dam will have a catastrophic impact on Lake Turkana and its people since it will retain 11 billion cubic metres of water, enough to reduce the level of the lake by as much as four or five metres.
Gradually shrinking
"It is unclear how much the Gibe III will affect Lake Turkana," says Paul Ikmat, a hydrologist. Nobody has really done the studies. But as a hydrologist I find it hard to see how it couldn't have a significant effect. If the level falls any further, there is real danger that the water will become too alkaline to drink and damage the delicate fisheries."
Over the years the lake has been gradually shrinking and becoming increasingly salty and highly alkaline, its water barely drinkable. Funded partly by European Investment Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB), the Gibe III hydro-plant is expected to generate 1,870 megawatts of electricity in 2013, a fact that is bound to benefit Kenya and other electricity-hungry neighbouring countries.
Ethiopia says that besides power generation the dam will also reduce River Omo's devastating floods that killed at least 360 people and thousands of livestock in 2006. Activists have accused the government of Kenya of remaining indifferent to the issue since it stands to benefit from the surplus power to be generated from the dam.
Kenya is bound to benefit from the more than 500 megawatts earmarked for export from Gibe III to neighbouring countries. This will help meet her electricity demand that is expected to rise to 2,000 megawatts in the next five years, double the present installed capacity.
Against a backdrop of intensive protests from various lobby groups, a delegation of Kenya government officials led by the Director of Water Services, John Nyoro, gave the project a clean bill of health after a two-week fact-finding mission in Ethiopia in June 2009. The receding of the lake was due to unrelated upstream development, they said.
"This dam does not consume water. The water passing through it will only be used for the purpose of turning the turbines after which it will be released downstream," said Nyoro. To gain more say in the management of River Omo, Kenya has been pushing for a Co-operative Framework Agreement (CFA) with Ethiopia.
The CFA is supposed to provide the legal framework for the establishment of a Basin Commission that will act as a clearing authority for any developments in Lake Turkana basin, besides compelling Ethiopia to consult Kenya in case of any future changes in water use of Gibe III Dam. However, Ethiopia has adamantly turned down this proposal saying its own monitoring system is sound.
Lake Victoria is perhaps, owing to the fact that it's the source of the Nile, Africa's most politically significant water mass. With a surface area of about 69,000 kilometres square and sustaining the livelihoods of an estimated 25 million people in its immediate surroundings, the massive lake is not only the largest fresh water body in Africa but also supports the largest inland fishery on the continent.
But environmental challenges have beset the lake in recent years, prompting concerted efforts by various organisations aimed at conservation and encouraging sustainable utilisation of this vital reservoir.
The Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP) is the main conservation body established by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in partnership with Global Environmental Facility (GEF) to rehabilitate the lake's ecosystem in a manner that would be beneficial for the riparian communities and the national economies.
The major challenges facing the lake have been water hyacinth, over-fishing, pollution through industrial and urban effluence and the receding shoreline. Sustainability of fisheries is also threatened by over-fishing, pollution and the ecological instability resulting from the introduction of the Nile Perch.
Brought in 50 years ago and currently accounting for 60 per cent of the lake's commercial fish catch, the Nile Perch preys on other fish, which has reduced the lake to what researchers have termed a "three-species fishery" consisting of dagaa, tilapia and the perch. The Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO) was established by the three countries sharing the lake and is supported by the European Union to coordinate and manage fisheries resources in the lake.
According to environmentalists, the lake's shallowness, limited river inflow and large surface area relative to its volume make it vulnerable to the effects of climatic change. By 2006, the water levels in Lake Victoria reached an 80-year low, for which hydrologists squarely blamed Uganda for releasing more water to the Nalubaale and Kiira hydropower dams than allowed by the 'Agreed Curve' treaty between that country and Egypt.
But regional and international pressure forced Uganda to reduce the inflow at the two dams in March 2006. Being the source of the Nile, a river that supports millions of livelihoods downstream, Lake Victoria has been a source of controversy between Egypt, Sudan and East African countries for a long time regarding treaties that were signed during the colonial period.
The Nile Water Agreement of 1929 was signed by Britain on behalf of its East African colonies. It not only forbids countries surrounding the lake from having full use of its waters, but also grants Egypt the right to police the entire length of the Nile, including Lake Victoria, to ensure that water is not diverted to the riparian countries in a manner that will affect the river's volume downstream.
The second treaty in 1956 granted Egypt and Sudan a combined share of 74 billion cubic metres of the Nile waters, technically giving the two nations a near monopoly of the 6,700 kilometre-long river. An article published in the UK's Guardian newspaper in 2004 claimed that the international community and donors are reluctant to question the validity of the colonial treaties for fear of upsetting Egypt, a key ally of the United States.
However, meeting in Kinshasa early last year the five East African Community member states renewed their quest for equal access to the Nile basin waters by endorsing the River Nile Cooperative Framework Agreement, subsequently trashing the discriminative colonial treaties.
Other efforts by upstream nations to reclaim their rights to the expansive water system have been through Nile Basin Initiative, a group comprising water ministries from the 10 Nile River riparian countries. Formed in 1999, the Initiative is yet to formalise a comprehensive agreement for allocating the Nile resources. But at the moment all these efforts remain more on paper than practise, with Egypt threatening to declare war on any nation that flouts the two colonial treaties.
Africa Insight is an initiative of the Nation Media Group's Africa Media Network Project


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Sales Ledger
Dataflow Sales Ledger delivers accurate control of credit, prompt invoicing and debiting of customers, comprehensive analysis of sales activities and support for international operations. It provides users with easy access to management information and the ability to apply operational controls.
Built-in credit controls, letter writing routines, an automated facility to put accounts on hold (unless marked as protected) and the ability to take online credit card payments are just some of the value-add features of the Dataflow Sales Ledger.
- Cloud or On-Premise
- A single customer account can process transactions in any number of currencies
- Flexible account code structure, with alterations possible at any time without losing history
- Unlimited addresses and contact details held on each account
- Multiple debtor accounts for Sales Ledger accounts grouping
- User-definable Aged Debt bands available by document date, due date and period.
- Aged analysis can also be produced forward dated with user-definable bands for further cash flow analysis.
- A powerful sales analysis tool to slice and dice the data in the vast reservoir of unlimited history retained by the software
- Powerful Credit Control functionality with automatic 'hold/stop' facility to reduce risk of over exposure
- User definable letters for debt collection and Sales Enquiries
- Manual cash entry combined with cash collection by direct debit and online credit card authorization will reduce administration and ensure smooth cash flow
- Multilingual document layout for international trading
- Sophisticated user security
- A wealth of standard reports that can also be produce retrospectively to save you time and help you to manage your department more effectively
- Automatic import routines configured under supervisory control save time and help manage resources more efficiently


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The serial number of a Browning firearm is usually found on the gun's receiver, but that location depends on the model number and make of the gun. Browning maintains a database of owner's manuals that can show gun owners exactly where the serial numbers are on their particular models.
The Belgium Browning is not a particular model of gun, as most Browning firearms have historically been manufactured in Belgium. Serial numbers help gun owners date their firearms, but they are not always reliable for older models. There are also several limited-edition models made by Browning that do not follow the company's traditional serial number pattern.


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Add vehicles to compare. You can compare up to 3 vehicles at a time.
Dealer Discount- Everyone Qualifies Tax, title, license and dealer fees (unless itemized above) are extra. Not available with special finance or lease offers. Tax, title, license (unless itemized above) are extra. Not available with special finance, lease and some other offers.
Buy or Lease a Cadillac CT6 in South Texas
Why is the CT6 such a great luxury car?
- Cadillac makes some of the most modern, best-engineered cars on the road today.
- The Cadillac CT6 is a highly-rated full-size luxury car with sleek styling and great handling.
- It does better than rival models because the base model comes with a 256-hp 2-liter four-cylinder engine.
- If you want more power, you can order the optional 335-hp, 3.6 liter V-6 or 404-hp 3-liter twin-turbo V-6 with all-wheel drive.
- You can use onboard 4G LTE Wi-Fi to connect to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, using a state-of-the-art touchscreen display.
- Other high-end options you may want to consider include a 34-speaker stereo, a giant sunroof and adaptive cruise control.
Search our inventory of Cadillac CT6s to choose the color and trim that you're looking for.
View the Largest Inventory of Cadillacs in South Texas At Bert Ogden Cadillac
Bert Ogden Cadillac has a great selection of vehicles in south Texas for sale or lease. See above for more details, and call us at (956)215-8564 so we can answer any questions or to schedule a test drive. You'll be glad you did.
We also have a large inventory of other new and used vehicles in Mission. You can trust our friendly sales associates to walk you through the process of purchasing the right car or SUV for your budget and needs.
We're also known for our great Cadillac finance specialists, who are here to help you get the best rates and lowest payments for your car loan. If you find a car or SUV you're interested in, schedule a test drive to make sure it's really right for you.


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Lunar eclipse tonight: How it helps the search for extraterrestrial life
Over the past two years, two teams of astronomers have been using this effect to figure out what Earth might look like as a distant, extrasolar planet orbiting another star. By analyzing the light reflected off the moon during a lunar eclipse – light that has passed through Earth's atmosphere – they have detected gases in the atmosphere that indicate the presence of organic life on the planet.
If the teams' baby steps are any indication, the techniques they are developing may be able to detect evidence of organic life imprinted in an extrasolar planet's atmosphere – at least for rocky, Earth-mass planets orbiting stars relatively close to the sun – using large Earthbound telescopes.
"It's an exciting experiment – one of the few I've seen that I wish I'd thought of myself," says Sara Seager [well lah dee dah! -J], a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies exoplanets and their atmospheres and who was not involved in either project.
"The Earth is our best laboratory; it's the only planet we know of with life," she says. "So we really want to understand what Earth would look like as an exoplanet far away."
Less seriously, I'd also like to point another possibility that served as a premise of a recent Iain Banks novel: Aliens might come to earth to see the eclipse.
One of earth's unusual features (we think) is the relative size of and distance to our moon. It is astronomically unlikely to have a huge moon perfectly positioned so that it has the same apparent size in the two-dimensional sky. Other planets don't have moons that can create total solar eclipses, where the corona of the sun shines around the edge of the moon.
So if there were any reason for aliens to come to earth (and let's face it, they aren't interested in Dancing with the Stars) would be to see such an unusual natural wonder.
Although this is just a lunar eclipse, it's still a sight. So look around. If you see some not-quite-right-looking folks staring at the sky, introduce yourself. You might make some new alien friends.


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March 2019,
Expedia – there is 'room for all who play responsibly'
In a bid to stay relevant to customers, Expedia is investing in emerging technologies like cloud and voice
Never shy about saying that with Google as its greatest competitor it needs to stay vigilant, Expedia is also on the ball about achieving optimum efficiency in technology. What other way to stay ahead? As its latest announcement shows in its figures for 2018, the solution is to throw money! In 2019, Expedia says it expects to up its spend on cloud alone to $250 million!
Expedia has been investing aggressively for some years now to cut its costs and improve marketing by migrating to cloud computing and data systems. It announced plans to hike booking in 2018 by leveraging its data-driven approach to marketing optimisation, while continuing to aggressively drive its global expansion plans. However, with so much else going on, it had in the end to trim its budget for cloud spending and the bill undershoots original projections by tens of millions of dollars.
As companies expand into the travel space, we believe there's room for all platforms that behave in a responsible manner
Brandon Ehrhardt, Director for Platform Services, Loyalty, Expedia Group
So, although cloud is a top technology priority for Expedia, it's not the only one. Expedia Group's Brandon Ehrhardt, Director for Platform Services, Loyalty, who will be speaking in San Francisco next month about the opportunities for voice says there is a strong commitment to"helping consumers tap into emerging technology to enhance their travel experience". Aside from investments in cloud, this is also "visible in our investment in voice and in our choice to work with Google in this space".
In 2018, the group introduced Expedia Action for Google Assistant for its flagship consumer brand, Expedia. "This was the first Google Assistant travel action of its kind, giving travellers the ability to book and manage upcoming travel plans," explains Ehrhardt, who believes that "as companies expand into the travel space, we believe there's room for all platforms that behave in a responsible manner".
Acquisition trail
Last year, money also went on acquisitions, such as on meeting the demand for short-term rentals in the US and competing with another major competitor, Airbnb. The group bought a pair of venture-backed hospitality start-ups, Pillow and ApartmentJet, for an undisclosed sum. On these deals Forbes magazine commented that: "This is expected to add a unique software platform which will lay the foundation for HomeAway and Expedia Group's urban expansion efforts in the coming years."
All in all, last year total technology and content costs totted up to $1.7bn, a rise of 17%. Cloud expenses alone came to $141 million against $57 million the previous year. Those figures are, of course, dwarfed by the selling and marketing bill – up 12% at $2 billion, but they are still hefty. In financial parlance, as analyst Justin Patterson at brokers Raymond James commented, they did indeed form a strong "headwind" last year.
Fundamentally, it is less about our brands competing with each other, and rather squeezing out best practices and best win-wins for all
However, Expedia has a long-term goal. Ehrhardt puts it like this: "As the world's travel platform, we take pride in our roots as a technology company created to meet the changing needs of consumers who were just discovering the web."
In other words, as oft quoted, Expedia has its eyes on the future and its quest to move from being a web company to a technology platform. As Abhijit Pal, Expedia's head of research told EyeforTravel in an interview late last year: "There is lot more scale that you can achieve both on the consumer side and from an industry point of view when you think of it as a 'platform' business. Fundamentally, it is less about our brands competing with each other, and rather squeezing out best practices and best win-wins for all."
Building on cloud
In terms of progress with cloud so far, chief financial officer Alan Pickerill had this to say to analysts. "We've got additional components across air and the other lines of business to put into the cloud. It will just kind of continue to grow as we move through the year. If we go according to plan, then we'll have a good share of the compute in the cloud as of the end of 2019, but there will be more to move in 2020," finance officer Alan Pickerill told analysts in a briefing.
…we're trying to be very prudent and disciplined about the rollout to cloud
Alan Pickerill, Chief Financial Officer, Expedia
And, given Expedia's commitment to keeping partners and customers abreast of moves, he added: "I should say, too, though, that we are being - we're trying to be very prudent and disciplined about the rollout to cloud. We test things very carefully, will roll things out and scale them back just to make sure that the customer experience is seamless and not disrupted!"
All in all 2018 was a pretty good year for Expedia, as even the analysts acknowledged they remain concerned about the impact of an inventory price war with Booking Holdings (which they see hovering in the wings). Gross bookings were up 13% to $99.7 billion, on which Expedia's revenue gained 12% to $11.2 billion. It now has over a million properties on its core lodging platform, including 370,000 listed on HomeAway.
About two-thirds of Expedia sales came from booking lodging on sites including Hotels.com, and that revenue grew 10%. Growth in the vacation-rental segment HomeAway slowed to 20% in the fourth quarter but grew 29% for the full year. Airline revenue rose 18%, as Expedia sold not just more tickets but more expensive ones.
Less pleasing for investors, though, was that, when all the accounts were done, fourth quarter 2018 profits were down 69% at just $17 million. And Reuters expects the number for the whole of 2019 to be even lower! Expensive business travel!
Brandon Ehrhardt, Director for Platform Services, Loyalty, Expedia Group will be speaking at Analytics & AI in Travel, North America next month on a panel that will address the opportunities for voice-enabled personalisation


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For Sale : Apartment in Kato Pafos - Universal Area - €275,000
This is a unique property. It's a luxurious two bedroom dublex Penthouse apartment in an excellent development in the sought after area of Universal in Kato Pafos. The development has beautiful landscaped gardens and an unusually large swimming pool. the development is surrounded by green areas with fruit trees, and it's within walking distance from all facilities of the tousist areas of Kato Pafos and the Pafos town.
This magnificent penthouse apartment on two floors enjoys panoramic sea and mountain views from its 2 large verandas. The first floor features an open plan modern kitchen and a living dining area and a sliding door into a large veranda with lovely sea and mountain views. There is also a double bedroom with en-suite shower room as well as a guest toilet at this level. A comfortable wooden stair case leads to the second floor of the apartment which features an open area which be used as sitting area or as an office. There is also a double bedroom with an en-suite shower room at this level with access to a big veranda with panoramic swimming pool, sea and mountain views. The price includes luxury furniture, white goods, fixtures and fittings.
This is a rare opportunity to own such a property. Viewing is strongly recommended.


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Meet our MEGA rabbit, Sam! He is very handsome and loves being around friends. Sam is wearing a yellow striped t-shirt and grey pants.
Product details
Item number
Size : MEGA
Height : 31,5 in
Washing instruction: 30 C
Material: COTTON-POLYESTER
It is easy, free and gives you a multiply options:


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Bermuda Triangle The Bermuda Triangle (sometimes also referred to as the Devil's Triangle) is a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean bordered by a line from Florida to the islands of Bermuda, to Puerto Rico and then back to Florida. It is one of the biggest mysteries of our time – that perhaps isn't really a mystery.
Category: Aliens
Top 10 Time Travel Evidence
Time travel-Many of us don't know what it means. This article will help people to understand what time travel means. Here are the top 10 time travel evidence that happened before some years.


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Every time I complete one of these, I feel like I have given birth to a new child! When I got asked to the Parents as Teachers Fatherhood Celebration, I decided that I needed Baby Drums because I had this vision that I would be sitting on the floor drumming with Mom/Dad and very young child. Very quickly one learns to change expectations and go with what is. If not...life can be a total stress!! So go with the flow - my message for today.
Last night, Bill and I were talking about creativity. A friend had shared that "everything I do is creative". I know that I like to have fun and come up with unique ideas, but to me, well, that is 'just me'. He asked if anyone could make these drums? Hmmmm in one form or another - probably not like mine look because these express who I am - bright and colorful! It's like making quilts or painting picures or creating food. We are who we are and the challenge of that is to ACCEPT who we are and the gifts that we bring to the world. I find that there are days and/or times of day when living in self-acceptance is more of a struggle than other times. Having spent a lot of years growing up and in work situations being told I am too exuberant, loud or ??? can play havoc with those feelings as well. Every day I come to value and appreciate who I am and what I have to offer the world!! Today, I share the collage (Number 200!! ) of my latest creations and sit and look at it with contentment.


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Tuesday, December 18, 2007
European Street Team
Anna Ruby King from Greece makes cards, ACEO's, jewelry and fabric patches. She draws the cutest birds you ever seen! She has a very unique style.
Shop: http://www.annarubyking.etsy.com/
ArtMind from Belgium is making amazing wetfelted necklaces, cool design, great colors, terrific look!! She also offers cute cards in her shop.
Shop: http://www.artmind.etsy.com/
Blog: http://artmind-etcetera.blogspot.com/
Deep Indigo from The Netherlands makes little goodies to wear. Knitted, hand embroidered headbands, buttons, pins, little jackets, all made with love and care.
Shop: http://www.deepindigo.etsy.com/
Patrick from France makes beautiful photographs of Provance. He has great talent to capture the beauty of the nature, every picture he takes is a real fairytale. You can find his gorgeous photos under the name of French Landscapes.
Shop: www.frenchlandscapes.etsy.com
Blog: http://french-landscapes.blogspot.com
From Holland with Love from The Netherlands sells unique bags and lovely accessories made from original Dutch fabrics, ribbons and lace, but you can also find home decorating items in her shop.
Shop: http://www.fromhollandwithlove.etsy.com/
Glasfaden from Germany is making lovely necklaces from her own handmade lampwork glass beads. The beads are very sweet little flowers, very unique!
Shop: http://www.glasfaden.etsy.com/
Blog: http://glasfaden.blogspot.com/
If you looking for cute supergirls, you take a look at the shop of Heli Sengezer from Turkey. She also makes lovely soft toys, bags, pouches, T-shirts, all decorated with her supercute superheros, bunnies and barking dogs! In her other shop, she sells her original paintings and prints.
Shop: http://www.helis.etsy.com/
Blog: http://helisengezer.blogspot.com/
Inger Maaike from The Netherlands magically transformes fluffy strands of wool into anything you can imagine. She makes gorgeous scarfs, cute dolls and very interesting bags.
Shop: http://www.ingermaaike.etsy.com/
In the shop of Ira Grant from Switzerland you will find colorful, beautiful handbags, shoulder bags, messenger bags, wrislet, totes, and any other fabric related items.
Shop: http://www.iragrant.etsy.com/
Blog: http://buzzee-mum.blogspot.com/
If you are looking for very unique never-seen-on-anybody gorgeous felted scarfs, you should look for Karlita from Belgium. She also makes jewelry.
Shop: http://www.karlita.etsy.com/
Blog: http://karlitashop.blogspot.com/
Kraplap from Germany arranges buttons in a artistic & decorative way, not in a functional way. Such non-functional arrangements become functional when completed as necklaces, bracelets, rings etc. Both variation & repetition play a role in her arrangements. She also has an accessory line under the name of P8 Accessories, with bags, pouches, hats & scarves.
Shop: http://www.kraplap.etsy.com/
Blog: http://kraplap.blogspot.com/
Kreativlink from Austria makes handmade leather journals and sketchbooks. They are very unique and adorable!
Shop: http://www.kreativlink.etsy.com/
Blog: http://www.kreativling.at/
La Pomme from France creates adorable soft pillows, dolls and toys, also lavender scented, to make you sleep better and dream sweet.
Shop: http://www.lapomme.etsy.com/
Blog: http://www.lapommeblogs.blogspot.com/
Leina Neima from Estland under the name of X by Leina Neima creates various things but mostly one-of-a-kind hand dyed scarves and jewelry. Her handmade items have both individuality and originality. She also makes the cutest soaps ever, with little surprises in it.
Shop: http://www.xbyleinaneima.etsy.com/
Blog: http://xbyleinaneima.blogspot.com/
Marianne S from Estland makes the most amazing crocheted beauties I've ever seen. With her own words, she is "addicted to crochet, felting, stitching, playing with polymer clay and making jewelry".
Shop: http://www.bymariannes.etsy.com/
Blog: http://heegeldab.blogspot.com/
Nagajna from Italy takes very interesting and beautyful photographs.
Shop: http://www.nagajna.etsy.com/
Blog: http://design-cookies.blogspot.com/
Pamela Angus from France is a glass artist, her pieces are inspired by textiles, the arts and crafts movement, patterns in architecture, fragments, glimpses and romance.
Shop: http://www.pamelaangus.etsy.com/
Blog: http://pamelaangus.blogspot.com/
Panyi Zsuzsi from Hungary makes jewelry from her own handmade fused glass beads. Her designs are very tender, sweet and playful.
Shop: http://www.panyizsuzsi.etsy.com/
Blog: http://www.panyizsuzsi.blogspot.com/
Paper Flower Girl from Belgium is a jewelry designer, she makes feminine and elegant yet stubborn and colourful jewellery and homewares created with a combination of new and vintage materials ranging from metal to fabric.
Shop: http://www.paperflowergirl.etsy.com/
Blog: http://paper-flower-girl.blogspot.com/
Star of the East is a mother and daughter team living in Turkey, they make baroque, eclectic, exotic, anything but boring jewelry. Every piece they make is art! They also have a supply shop under the name of Star of Supplies and a shop for small gifts, Gifts and Stars.
Shop: http://www.staroftheeast.etsy.com/
Blog: http://star-of-the-east.blogspot.com/
8 comments:
Yep, I can only second that. A bunch of great people and all are producing wonderful work!ReplyDelete
Thanks for this lovely post! :)
you are a sweetheart, Zs! and i agree about our EST team, really supportive and wonderful group :)ReplyDelete
oh - what a lovely put together list! The European team is such a great group of artisans! Thanks so much for including me in your post too!!!!ReplyDelete
Thank you ZsB!!!! I am proud to be a member of our great chatty, creative and crazy team :) LOLReplyDelete
And I feel really flattered to be featured in your lovely blog post - THANK YOU once more!!!
What a great idea to show our chatty team to the world :DReplyDelete
Thank you very much for thinking about us while you where prepairing this list :)
I enjoy being a member of EST too - such a happy, supportive & creative team! You did a great job in putting the list together! Thanks for including me ;-)ReplyDelete
Congrats on your blog and on the nice post! I love our Streetteam and I love to chitchat on the thread too! Sometimes I even neglect my creative work to hang out there...ReplyDelete
Thanks for including me in your list! :)
Hi my Friend.....ReplyDelete
Items in the European Street Team are
great....I have bookmarked that site
I also was on your site, ORANGE is a
great color.....
Check out http://florymbrick.blogspot.com
for new things, don't forget the poetry, craft and kids site at the same time.
Miss you, Renate


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1. Bali, Indonesia
Some would argue there's never a bad time to visit tropical Bali, but if you must play favourites, October is one of the better months. While technically the beginning of monsoon season, the rains don't usually start this early, so you can enjoy balmy average temperatures of 27C, cheaper rooms and fewer crowds. Surfers can still catch the end of the big winter swells, and if you're in a festive mood you're sorted, as the annual anniversaries of the Bali bombings of 12 October, 2002, and 1 October, 2005, have been transformed into a time for celebration.
Conceived to heal the community and boost the economy, the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (1-5 Oct – ubudwritersfestival.com) has become one of the world's most respected literary fests; this year more than 150 writers from over 25 countries will attend. Then it's down to the island's premier party town from 7-12 Oct for the Kuta Karnival, which coincides conveniently with the Bali Food Festival. Kick back afterwards at the Balinale (Bali International Film Festival – balinale.com) from 12-18 Oct, or simply sit by the pool with an ice-cold Bintang.
Sarah Reid – Destination Editor for Southeast Asia. Follow her tweets @sarahtrvls.
2. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia
The tail end of Zambia's dry season is a great time to sink your teeth into the ultimate safari experience. Months of unbroken blue skies over South Luangwa National Park – one of Africa's most wildlife-packed parks – have reduced water sources to a minimum, forcing great numbers of animals to congregate around the Luangwa River.
And there is no better way to observe the ensuing dramas along the dwindling ribbon of the river than on foot. Legendary guide Norman Carr pioneered walking safaris here in the 1950s, and South Luangwa is still renowned for them. Guides now spend years learning the intricacies of every species, large and small, to keep you safe and entertained. Daytime temperatures are at their peak (a degree or two above 30C), but evenings are pleasant.
Matt Phillips – Destination Editor for sub-Saharan Africa. Follow his tweets @Go2MattPhillips.
3. Virginia, USA
North America seems to go through a personality transplant in October, when its forests turn fierce shades of red and yellow. In Virginia, you can experience the splendour of fall on one of the nation's most spectacular road trips – the Skyline Drive – which runs for 105 jaw-dropping miles along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The whole route only takes a few hours, but don't miss out on a chance to hike a section of the Appalachian Trail or spot Whitetail deer and wild turkeys on a pony trek.
After all that fresh air, it's time for some soul-warming mountain music. Virginia is at the heart of the bluegrass and country music region, and at the newly opened Birthplace of Country Music Museum (birthplaceofcountrymusic.org) in Bristol, you can visit the place where the likes of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers first recorded their 'old-time' music. Next stop, the music bars of Floyd and Galax, for a jig with the locals to the sound of frenetic fiddles and banjo-players. Just don't forget your tap shoes.
Dora Whitaker – Destination Editor for Eastern USA. Follow her tweets @dorawhit.
4. Istanbul, Turkey
The busy summer season of this perennially popular city has tailed off by October. You'll still share top sights like the Topkapı Palace and Aya Sofya with other tourists, but queues are shorter and accommodation cheaper. But why not take advantage of the quiet to get to know modern Istanbul, exploring neighbourhoods beyond Sultanahmet?
Head to Beyoğlu, the city's eating, drinking and entertainment hub, to socialise, see and be seen. For top people-watching, the route from Taksim Meydanı (Taksim Sq) along İstiklal Caddesi is a popular promenade for young İstanbullus, with plenty of eating and drinking options in the surrounding streets. A short walk away, Karaköy, and specifically the streets between the Galata Bridge and Tophane, is undergoing a rapid revitalisation, with hipster hangouts such as Karabatak and Unter at the forefront. Alternatively, Beyoğlu is also home to some of the city's most adventurous art spaces, including the İstanbul Modern, SALT Beyoğlu and SALT Galata, which is worth visiting just for the fantastic views from its rooftop restaurant.
Jo Cooke – Destination Editor for Iberian Europe and Turkey. Follow her on Twitter @JoannaCooke1.
5. Bagan, Myanmar
Monsoon season in Myanmar (Burma) typically keeps the crowds at bay, but this is one of the best times to be in Bagan. October sees the end of the heaviest rains so, while you're still likely to get damp, you'll see more lush greenery and much less dust – perfect for exploring the 3000 plus Buddhist temples scattered across the Bagan plains.
Wander around the 9th-century city wall of Old Bagan, then venture into the surrounding areas by bicycle to marvel at the temples and remains – most dating from between the 11th and 13th centuries. Don't miss Ananda Pahto and its shimmering 51m-high stupa pinnacle, or beautiful Shwezigon Paya, lit up as daylight fades. Relax on a boat trip down the Ayeyarwady River. Or, for the most unforgettable views without the legwork, take a hot-air balloon ride at sunrise.
Laura Crawford – Destination Editor for Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines. Follow her on Twitter @crawfplanet.


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Paris, 5 February 2018 – European Awareness Day, Europe: what a Passion!
2:30 p.m. > 5:00 p.m.
Théâtre de l'Odéon, Place de l'Odéon, 75006 PARIS
Language : French
Programme :
2:00 p.m. > 2:30 p.m.: Welcoming
2:30 p.m. > 3:45 p.m.: Musical representation
« Europe: What a Passion! The tale of a stormy love affair »
3:45 p.m. > 5:00 p.m.: Public debate
Francesco PIGOZZO, Education and communication director, CesUE
Claire VERSINI, Citizens & pedagogical activities manager, Jacques Delors Institute
Free but mandatory registration, please register here:
If you want to obtain additional information on the musical show, sign your class up or more globally on the MoreEU project, you can get in touch with Pierre Quénéhen: firstname.lastname@example.com
The Jacques Delors Institute organises, in the context of the MoreEU project, in partnership with the International Centre for European and Global Governance (CesUE) and the European Association for Education (AEDE), the Jean Monnet Association, the Young Europeans – France, the Maison de l'Europe of Paris and the European Youth Parliament, an European Awareness Day on the 5th of February, 2018. The day is dedicated to a musical recital "Europe: What a Passion!" followed straightaway by a debate with citizens participating in this outstanding pedagogical experience.
The « European Awareness Days » (EAD) are an original communication format on the EU put into place across Europe through the projects, AwarEU, carried out in the framework of the Jean Monnet programme, and AwarEU, carried out in the framework of Erasmus+. This project gathers academic institutions and thinks tank from the whole European Union, like Italy , Spain, Portugal, Scotland and France, that work together on a long-term project aiming at sensitizing students, their teachers and more generally the education sphere to European issues
"Europe: What a Passion!" is a lively and innovative recital which tells the story of European integration after the Second World War. It engages spectators in the largely untold legend which is nevertheless an important part of their own history, and whose future depends on our conscious and unconscious decisions. A storyteller connects via voice-over twelve well-known European songs, representing twelve milestones in a long and turbulent love affair. The songs and texts are adapted to the transnational and multilinguistic approach of the artistic project: different versions of the spectacle are targeted at different European audiences. In all versions, the twelve steps are illustrated by videos retracing the principal steps of the European construction through original text and graphics.
On the 5th of February, approximately 800 students from Ile-de-France will enjoy this show, however, we would like the latter to be integrated in a more lasting and profitable pedagogical program. Thus, beyond the day of the musical representation, the aim is to provide means to students and their teachers to learn about Europe and the European project, to arouse their curiosity on European matters and empower them by making them directly designing and managing pedagogical projects linked to the European Awareness Days. The Jacques Delors Institute has therefore sought to work in cooperation with other organisations and actors that are experienced in developing and promoting European-wide pedagogical projects to pool all resources, tools and energy possessed by this associative and academic network. Schools and/or teachers interested in the European Awareness Day can solicit interventions from one or more of the partner associations, before or after the musical representation, to further the pedagogical benefit of the EAD on students.
You will find more information on this event, partner associations and their pedagogical offers on this document displaying more thoroughly activities proposed by the associated partners and on the EADs' presentation, all enclosed to this announcement (all documents are in French)


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In this season between the seasons on The Hub, we should speak about the last season. No, not how good or bad the episodes were, nor how you enjoyed them—I want to talk with you about Europe and season 2. "Wait," some of you might say, "there is not such thing as season 2 in Europe!" But, strangely enough, there is a season 2 in Europe. Before you object that "season 2" is just the name of the British broadcaster for the second half of season 1 (caused by their weird airing schedule), I must point out that with "season 2" I really mean season 2.
Through several calls and email exchanges with Viacom Europe, SDI Media, and some of the dub voice actors, I got to know that the tapes of season 2 have already been finished since December 2011. Yes, I was curious when I saw clips from the Daring Do episode at Hasbro's booth at the Nuernberg Toy Fair and asked Hasbro when we would get to see this episode. Currently it looks like we Europeans won't get season 2 until 2013.
"What the hay," you wonder, "the tapes are ready to air, but they will not do it?" Well, do not search the fault with the companies, search the fault with yourselves. All companies, who are involved in the dub version see just one picture: We the fans hate My Little Pony!
Stop! Everypony calm down and listen to the explanation. A dubbed version takes time, additional work and care. How would you feel, if you received only negative, destructive comments? How would you feel, if hundreds of people didn't give a flying feather for your hard work and said that you chose the wrong job? How would you feel? Disappointed and miserable.
(The rest behind the page break.)
Let's take a look at the dubbed versions. Germanic and Roman languages are complicated, and things you can say easily and concisely in English, like "fail, literally," will end in a word monster in German: "Ein Fehlschlag im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes." To be honest, due to the luxury of the Internet and illegal downloads of the show, a lot of us Europeans got snooty and turned into "dub nazis," who have the opinion that the English dub is the UBERDUB and all other dubs are not worthy to exist. You don't know how often I read antipathies against Julia Meynen on discussion boards, who is the dub voice of Twilight. Many of us European fans often attack the staff behind the dub directly and below the belt. What no pony thinks about: The staff behind the dub are also hard working human being who earn their money to survive.
The latest wave of hate I watched, was following the RegioFree DVD release. Instead of being thankful for having a legal opportunity (besides the already legal streams on the Viacom sites) to watch the show, people complained about the "bad" quality and high price of the DVD. To quote Fluttershy: "Boo hoo hoo!" Bronies, you are whining. Be thankful for the effort of EDEL to release a risky product. Yes, "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" is a risk, since all official numbers say that no pony watches the show or enjoys it. You object, but that is the hard truth. Officials primary see the hate against the show and that fans only use illegal methods to watch the show. I am getting a bit polemical here; sadly it is the ugly truth.
By the end of the month, Viacom is airing a whole day of My Little Pony on Nickelodeon Germany—but instead of their first plan that also we older male fans could be involved in it, they changed the day's topic to connect G1 mothers with G4 daughters, the target audiences. We all are ungrateful for the hard work the staff does. That SDI Media redubbed in Germany 60% of the episodes after they noticed our existence was rejected by us fans with the trolling phrase "Freundschaft ist Magisch." What is wrong with you everypony? Where is the love and tolerance you preach? Why don't you want to give a helping hoof to the staff behind the dub?
Every dub is unique, has its own cutie mark. In the German dub, Spike quotes Goethe's Faust and invents new insults, the Polish dub has a male Spitfire, the Dutch Rainbow Dash is 24 percent cooler, the French Rarity is lovely, and of course everypony wants to be lesbian for the Swedish Spitfire. Instead of acting like neighsayers, show Hasbro and your local dubbing staff that we care for My Little Pony. We want to show the charming character of the series to everypony. It is intolerant to withhold this terrific animation work to those who don't understand English. So please, everypony, show your love for the dub and show Hasbro that they can end the hiatus of season 2 with no regrets.