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Dermatitis is a general term used to describe skin irritation. Dermatitis is a common condition that has many causes and comes in many forms. This is usually itchy, dry skin or a rash on puffy, red skin. Or it can cause blisters, oozing, crusts, or flakes on the skin. Examples of this condition are atopic dermatitis (eczema), dandruff, and contact dermatitis.
- Dermatitis is not contagious, but it can make you uncomfortable and embarrassed. Regular hydration helps control symptoms. Treatment may also include medicated ointments, creams, and shampoos.Dermatitis treatment Nizamabad
Atopic dermatitis on the legs
Atopic Dermatitis Open the pop-up dialog Contact Wrist Dermatitis
Contact Dermatitis On Wrist Open Open the Seborrheic Dermatitis Face pop-up dialog box
Seborrheic dermatitis of the face Open popup dialog
Each type of dermatitis can look slightly different and usually occurs in different parts of your body.
Signs and symptoms of different types of dermatitis include:Dermatitis treatment Nizamabad
Atopic dermatitis (eczema). Usually, this red, itchy rash appears from childhood where the skin sags – on the inside of the elbows, behind the knees, and in front of the neck. The rash may leak fluid when scratched and crusted. People with atopic dermatitis may feel better and then have seasonal outbreaks.
Contact dermatitis. This red, prickly rash occurs when your skin has come into contact with substances that irritate the skin or cause allergic reactions. You can develop blisters.
Stung by a plant
The causes of the most common types of dermatitis are:Dermatitis treatment Nizamabad
- Atopic dermatitis (eczema). This type is likely related to dry skin, genetic variation, immune system dysfunction, skin infection, exposure to food, air, or contact allergens, or a combination thereof.
- Contact dermatitis. This type of result is the result of coming into contact with something that is irritating to your skin or causing an allergic reaction. Irritants or allergens include poison ivy, perfumes, jewelry containing nickel, detergents, and preservatives in many creams and lotions.
- Seborrheic dermatitis. This type is caused by a yeast (fungus) found in the secretion of oil on the skin.
Common risk factors for dermatitis are:Dermatitis treatment Nizamabad
Age. Dermatitis can occur at any age, but atopic dermatitis (eczema) usually begins in infancy.
Allergies and asthma. People with a personal or family history of eczema, allergies, hay fever, or asthma are more likely to develop atopic dermatitis.
Occupation. Work that brings you into contact with certain metals, solvents, or cleaning agents increases the risk of contact dermatitis. Being a health worker has been linked to hand eczema.
Health conditions. Health problems that put you at increased risk for seborrheic dermatitis include heart failure, Parkinson’s disease, and HIV / AIDS.
Scratching the itchy rash associated with dermatitis can lead to open sores that can become infected. These skin infections can spread and very rarely be fatal.Dermatitis treatment Nizamabad
Wear protective clothing when performing a task that contains irritants or harsh chemicals.
Avoid dry skin by following these bathing habits:
- Take shorter baths and showers. Limit your baths and showers to 5 to 10 minutes. Use lukewarm water instead of hot. Bath oil can also be helpful.
- Use a mild, soap-free detergent. Choose odorless cleaning agents. Some soaps can dry out your skin.
- Gently dry yourself off. After bathing, gently pat your skin dry with a soft towel.
- Hydrate your skin. While your skin is still damp, seal the hydration with an oil, cream, or lotion. Try different products to find one that suits you. Ideally, the best for you is safe, effective, affordable, and odorless. Two small studies showed that applying a protective moisturizer to the skin of infants at high risk for atopic dermatitis reduced the incidence of the disease by up to 50 percent.Dermatitis treatment Nizamabad


A Guest Post by My Bestest Friend on His Experience shooting for a Documentary in College
This was the first documentary I was involved in. And it was based on the students of Kamla High School in Mumbai.
1. Pre-production: It is important to invest a good amount of time in pre-production. But that does not mean we can spend 90% of the time on deciding what to do. In our case, the school that we worked for was supportive by all means. We could shoot wherever we want, we could go in a class in the middle of a lecture and interact with the students very easily. So we were sure at least there are no hindrances from the organisation. We could focus on the creative aspects. We chose the right organisation.
2. Best time to shoot: In photography it is known as the Golden Hour. Luckily enough for us, to match the timings of our college and the school, we had to shoot…
View original post 398 more words


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Today we salute all women on International Women's Day. Let us celebrate the courage and determination of every woman who has played an extraordinary role in every field, that has made this nation proud. We salute their indomitable spirit and dedication towards achieving their goals. While saluting the undaunted, fighting spirit of women this International Women’s Day we hope that the call to recommit ourselves to breaking the barriers that continue to hinder their path to freedom and equality.
Whilst South Africa boasts hosts of legislation and policies that affirm the rights of all including women and that which is enshrined in our constitution. These rights do not necessarily translate into reality in the lives of people who still face systemic and endemic forms of violence. More than half of women murdered in South Africa are killed by their intimate partners; and women and gender non-conforming people remain over-represented amongst the hungry, homeless and the poor.
Yet with the advent of democracy and freedom South Africa has seen a number of women taking up leadership positions in areas previously dominated by men. One of the success stories of our democracy is that of the representation of women in political and decision-making positions. Involving women in governance processes constitutes one of South Africa’s globally acclaimed success stories.
The election of Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in July 2012 as the first women in Africa to chair the African Union Commission; the appointment of Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, former Deputy President of the country, as the Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women; and the positioning of other South African women such as Ms Geraldine Frazer-Moleketi, Special Gender Envoy to the African Development Bank; Ms Rashida Manjoo, Special Rapporteur on Violence against women, its causes and consequences; and Judge Navi Pillay as the High Commissioner for Human Rights and formerly as a judge in the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an indication of the impact that women in decision-making have in winning the trust and confidence of citizens in South Africa, on the continent and internationally.
Happy International Women’s Day 2019!

domain: sociology


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OAKLAND, Calif., July 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Self-Insurers' Security Fund's Board of Trustees has approved and implemented the 2019/20 Alternative Security Program (ASP), which frees $6.6 billion in working capital and provides California self-insured businesses greater financial flexibility.
The ASP is a first-in-the-nation, innovative program operated by the non-profit California Self-Insurers' Security Fund. The program provides a financial backstop to replace security deposits required to collateralize self-insured workers' compensation liabilities. The participation fee for the guarantee program was reduced 13% versus last year. These added savings make the program and costs even more competitive for California self-insured businesses.
"Self-insurance and the ASP provide a one-of-a-kind innovative way that the California Self-Insurers' Security Fund supports businesses by helping them lower their workers' compensation costs and helping them free up and reinvest their capital," said Board Chair & CEO Tim East. "Workers' compensation represents a considerable expense for businesses, and this program benefits both the businesses and the larger California economy."
All employers in California are required to have workers' compensation insurance to protect themselves and workers, and to minimize the impact of work-related injuries and illnesses. Meeting this requirement can be accomplished either by buying an insurance policy, or through obtaining authority from the DIR's Office of Self Insurance Plans (OSIP) to self-insure the businesses' workers' compensation liabilities.
"Self-Insurance allows tremendous advantages and in many cases substantial cost savings to California employers," said Board Chair & CEO Tim East. "It is now possible for a company wanting to enter self-insurance to easily move from initial application to fully self-insured within 30 days."
Self-insured employers are required to maintain a deposit to collateralize their risk in an amount equal to estimated liabilities as determined by an actuary. This deposit, which can be posted in cash, letters of credit, surety bonds or securities, limits the employer's ability to use their cash or credit line to expand their business. In contrast, the Security Fund ASP allows members to free up their cash or line of credit, allowing them to invest this capital back into their businesses while the ASP assumes responsibility for their security deposit posting requirement. This essentially provides the ASP member a low cost substitute for collateral with no balance sheet impact.
California currently has more than 3,500 private employers protecting more than 2.3 million workers representing a total payroll of nearly $100 billion through self-insurance workers' compensation plans.
One of every eight California workers is protected by a self-insurance plan. Self-insured private employers in California represent large and midsized private companies and industry groups.
The California Self-Insurers' Security Fund (CASISF) has been proudly serving its members for 35 years since its founding on July 6, 1994. We are a member driven non-profit organization with leadership by a volunteer Board of Trustees representing members serving members. The Security Fund is a key partner supporting California self-insured workers' compensation programs. "We are California Workers' Comp Experts" with a singular focus on self-insurance.
More information on California's workers' compensation self-insurance program is available at CASISF's website – www.securityfund.org . For media inquiries, contact Becky Lysaght (510) 879-6035. #CASISF #CASISF35Years
SOURCE California Self-Insurers' Security Fund (CASISF)

domain: news


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News tagged ‘financial results’
According to the latest announcement found on Apple’s official website, the company will report its financial results in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 on Tuesday, July 21st. The conference devoted to the number of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Macs sold and the sum of money earned by the guys from Cupertino over the last three months will begin at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m ET). If you are interested in Apple’s financial results in the last quarter, you will get an opportunity to watch a live stream of the conference call right
As noted by Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry, Apple has sold about 7 million Apple Watch units since the launch earlier this year. The number of devices already shipped to customers is noticeably smaller and is equal to only about 2.5 million. The expert predicts that the guys from Cupertino may ship as many as 40 million Apple Watch units to customers by the end of this year.
It is Sunday again, which means it is high time I told you about the most interesting posts of the past seven days. In order not to waste our time, I suggest to take a look at them right now. Let’s do this.
As you already know, Apple on Monday shared the information about its financial results in the second fiscal quarter of 2015. During the financial call, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that the supply of the Apple Watch was and still is too weak to catch up with the demand for the wearable device. He also said that the company and its suppliers are 'working hard' to produce enough smartwatch units for all those who have already pre-ordered or plan to purchase the gadget in the near future.
Apple on Monday announced its financial results in the second fiscal quarter of this year, which ended on March 28th. According to the financial report published by the guys from Cupertino, the quarterly revenue equalled to $58 billion and the net profit - to $13.6 billion. If to compare these results to the results of the year-ago quarter, we may see a noticeable improvement. In case you don't know, last year, Apple managed to earn $46.5 billion in revenue and $10.3 billion in net profit. As to the gross margin, it increased from 39.9% in 2014 to 40.8% in 2015. I guess Apple is quite satisfied with the aforementioned financial results.
According to the latest report from Strategy Analytics, the long-awaited Apple Watch may see the record-breaking sales this year. In particular, its market share may be equal to enormous 54.8% with 15.4 million units shipped. The analysts believe Apple’s sales will beat the sales of its rivals from Samsung, LG and other vendors combined. While it is only a report based on the estimates and people’s opinion, I must admit it looks quite realistic. However, the only way to prove its objectivity is to wait for the release of the smartwatch and for the official announce of Apple’s financial results in 2015 at the very beginning of 2016.
Just like it was expected, Apple on Tuesday, January 27th, officially announced its financial results in the first quarter of fiscal 2015. According to the official data shared by the guys from Cupertino, the revenue for the holiday quarter amounted to $74.6 billion and the net profit - to $18 billion. Apart from that, Apple sold 74.5 million iPhone units, up from 51 million in the year-ago quarter. As to the iPad sales, they were down from 26 million units sold in the Q1 of fiscal 2014 and accounted for 21.4 million units.
As you probably know, Apple is expected to announce its financial results in the first fiscal quarter of 2015 on Tuesday, January 27th. Today, a new report has been released by the Financial Times reporters, which suggests that the guys from Cupertino may have sold more iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units in China than in the USA in the last quarter. This happened for the first time in the history of the company. Still, it should be noted that the report is based on the analysts' estimates and rumors, that is why I suggest that you should take it with a few pinches of salt.
It is Sunday today, which means I’ll talk about the most interesting posts of the past seven days. If you have a few minutes, take a look. I’m sure you’ll find something worth your attention. Let’s begin.
According to the data that can be found on Apple’s official Investor Page, the guys from Cupertino will officially announce their financial results in the first fiscal quarter of 2015 on Tuesday, January 27th. The conference devoted to the earnings in the first quarter is scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM Pacific / 5:00 PM Eastern time. The report on sales and financial results will be published on Apple’s official website immediately after the conference call.
It appears that aside from the financial results in the fourth fiscal quarter, on October 20th, Apple is planning to release iOS 8.1 and launch its long-awaited payments service called Apple Pay. This is what Bank Innovation writes. Another thing, which indicates that the next-gen mobile operating system will indeed come less than in three weeks, is the fact that it has been recently seeded to developers for testing.
According to the recently-updated Investor relations page, Apple will officially announce its financial results in the fourth fiscal quarter (which is the third calendar quarter) of 2014 on October 20th. This means that soon we'll find out how many iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units the guys from Cupertino have sold over the last weeks and how much money they have earned. As usual, you will get an opportunity to take a look at the financial report immediately after the conference call end.
As you probably know, iPad sales have dropped in the past several months. This information was shared by the guys from Cupertino in July, as they announced their financial results in the third quarter of 2014. Despite noticeable decrease in sales, Apple CEO Tim Cook still believes that iPad is a successful project.
The week has come to an end, that is why I have come up with a list of the most popular posts of the past seven days. Let's take a look at these posts right now.
Apple has recently announced its financial results of the third quarter of fiscal 2014, which ended on June 28th. According to the figures shared by the guys from Cupertino, the company’s revenue over the last months is $37.4 billion. As to the net profit, it is $7.7 billion. These results prove that the third quarter of 2014 has become more successful than the year-ago quarter. Well, I don’t think this is something that surprises you.


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In April this year the Government put forward plans to scrap two types of tax relief for landlords who sell a property that was once their main home. This will come in from April next year (2020 affecting potentially half a million ‘accidental landlords’.
Accidental landlords are termed such because they didn’t buy a property with the intention of letting it out but have since ended up doing so.
For example, this could occur if you:
- inherit a house
- move in with your partner
- or relocate for work The two links below give you the latest information from the Government regarding this area.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, our excellent Property Department is here to help.

domain: law


A Metropolitan Ministries campus in Pasco County is set to receive at least $4 million for expansion as part of the Florida Senate’s “sprinkle list.”
The funding addresses requests filed by Sen. Ed Hooper (SF 1348) and Rep. Amber Mariano (HB 3367) for expansion of an existing campus in Pasco County. The project seeks $6,988,800 total from the state.
The sprinkle list is what Capitol insiders call last minute budget items used to sweeten the pot and provide funding for some pet products.
Each year, legislative leaders withhold some money from the budgeting process until the end. As explained in 2015 by Jason Garcia for Florida Trend: The money can be “used to sprinkle one last helping of hometown projects into the budget in order to get a budget deal done.
While the “sprinkle list” offers $4 million in funding, about 57.2% of the requested amount, the non-profit may still receive an additional $2 million in funding as pushed in Senate budget offers.
The state funding would provide most of the monetary backing for the project, with an additional $1 million being given by private donors, according to the requests.
The funds would be used to expand an existing campus to support families in Pasco County who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, according to the request. The expansion would add 24 units of family housing, a child care center and family support center.
“The services offered in these buildings will prevent homelessness when possible, stabilize families and empower them to address barriers to self-sufficiency, including low education attainment levels, limited work experience, lack of access to childcare and transportation, poor credit, and past evictions,” according to the request.
The facilities’ services are expected to reach 15,530 individuals annually, and the request also emphasizes a growing need for such services from the economic impact of COVID-19.
The federal government has awarded Metropolitan Ministries contracts totaling $4,027,612 to provide direct assistance to households in need in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties during the pandemic, according to the requests. Such funds have been used to assist households impacted by COVID-19 with food, rental and utility assistance, motels and rapid rehousing.


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June 12, 2019
JICA's project on Domestic Rice, together with Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), held opening ceremony of Farmers' Market at Timor-Plaza, Dili. The establishment of this Farmers' Market is to connect Timorese farmers to the market, because majority of Timorese people are engaging in agriculture sector, but the challenge for them is market opportunity to sell their products. This shop will sell agricultural products from farmers associations in 12 municipalities such as local rice (white rice, red rice and black rice), fresh vegetables and fruits, beans, coffee and others.
This Farmers' Market is officially launched by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Ambassador of Japan to Timor-Leste, Chief Representative of JICA Timor-Leste Office and accompanied by Secretary-General of MAF, Director-General of Agriculture, National Director of Agro-commerce and other relevant ministries.

domain: agronomy


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Sketch A Trip
This trippy scenic artwork is a creation of the 1970s, full of hand-drawn character this piece invites us in and takes us on a journey.
This original print has been lovingly restored and digitally reproduced using ethically sourced materials.
A limited-edition, 50 prints available.
A4 (21cm x 29.7cm)
A3 (29.7cm x 42cm)
A2 (42cm x 59.4cm)A1 (59.4 x 84.1cm)
30cm x 40cm
40cm x 50cm
50cm x 70cm
Eco Art Paper | Printed in the UK

domain: artistic


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March for Babies - Bolingbrook 2014
Registration Time: 8:00AM
The Promenade Bolingbrook
631 East Boughton Road
Our Team Captain Kick Off Event at Romeoville's Brunswick Zone made for a great night with much fun for all! Team Captains from the Bolingbrook and Joliet March for Babies events had a chance to talk, eat, and bowl, while remembering the Angels and babies in their lives. Thank you to Rasmussen College for their support by sponsoring the event. Amy King, this year's Event Chair was so happy to see all of you and is looking forward to seeing everyone at the Promenade on May 4th!

domain: entertainment


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Ryan Coogler has decided to move forward with filming the “Black Panther 2” movie in Georgia despite the new restrictive voting laws. On Friday, April 16, he wrote an op-ed statement for Shadow and Act, condemning Georgia’s new voting laws while also explaining what he plans to do to help.
“The fight for full enfranchisement is fundamental to the African-American struggle in this country and to this country’s claim to functioning democracy. As an African-American, and as a citizen, I oppose all attempts, explicit and otherwise, to shrink the electorate and reduce access to the ballot,” he said. He went on to explain that while Georgia has a “special place in my heart,” he is “profoundly disappointed” in the passage of SB202.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed SB202 in March. Since that time, many people have voiced concerns about some of the provisions such as making it a crime for a non-election worker to pass out food or water to voters waiting in line to vote; reducing the number of ballot drop boxes; and requiring voters who mail in ballots to provide a driver’s license or state ID number or a photocopy of another accepted form of ID.
Coogler went on to say that he paired up with voting rights activists to get more educated on the law before deciding to act on it, and once he realized that many of his employers would be negatively affected by the SB202 laws he had to do something. He said although he won’t boycott Georgia, he will take other actions. “What I will be doing is using my voice to emphasize the effects of SB202, its shameful roots in Jim Crow, and doing all I can to support organizations fighting voter suppression here in the state.”
His solution is to “raise awareness about ways to help overturn this harmful bill and continue to get educated on this matter from people on the ground. I will encourage everyone working with me to tap in with the local community directly affected by Senate Bill 202 and to leverage their influence and resources to aid in the fight for this particular and essential pillar of democracy.”
Like Coogler, Will Smith has addressed the new suppressive voting laws, but Smith and Antoine Fuqua have decided to not film their “Emancipation” movie in Georgia as a way of protest. In a joint statement they said, “At this moment in time, the Nation is coming to terms with its history and is attempting to eliminate vestiges of institutional racism to achieve true racial justice. We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access. The new Georgia voting laws are reminiscent of voting impediments that were passed at the end of Reconstruction to prevent many Americans from voting. Regrettably, we feel compelled to move our film production work from Georgia to another state.”


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President Donald Trump's immigration ban has caused shock and outrage among athletes and coaches in the sports world, while leagues themselves have remained silent.
Brand Keys president Robert Passikoff in New York and sports immigration lawyer Jon Velie in Oklahoma discuss how teams and leagues will go about handling President Donald Trump’s immigration ban both in public and in private. Some keen insights on what to watch out for next.
This week’s headlines:
1. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson becomes the latest professional athlete to speak out against President Trump and his policies.
2. It’s Super Bowl week in Houston and the American Gaming Association says $4.7 billion will be gambled on the big game this year — $4.5 billion of it illegally.
Most Read Sports Stories
- UW coaching legend Jim Lambright’s brain donation pays dividends years after his death
- Ex-Gonzaga star John Stockton writes letter supporting woman who faces Capitol riot charges
- Mariners manager Scott Servais 'moving forward' after mistake in Thursday's loss to Red Sox
- Seahawks mailbag: Answering your questions on Baker Mayfield, Pete Carroll and more
- Storm announce plans for Interbay basketball performance center by 2024
3. Sticking with the Super Bowl, the price of a 30-second TV commercial for the big game will cost $5 million — up from $4.8 million last year.
4. The St. Louis Cardinals are ordered to forfeit their top two draft picks and pay $2 million in compensation to the Houston Astros after a Cards employee was imprisoned for hacking into their computer system in 2015.
All that, plus a commentary on where the “Stick to Sports” crowd should stick to silence when it comes to criticizing athletes for speaking out about political issues.


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Pointers..... Inside Points and Corners
Quilters want to know my tips for inside points.
Now you can, too!
Do inside points stress you out? Become an expert with our tips and tricks.
The problem with inside points/ corners is...
...the things you need to do to get a crisp inside point are the same things that can cause the problems. Here are some keys.
Clipping is an important key. You need to clip deep. Though this opens the fabric to fraying, it also gives a sharp corner when finished. If you don't clip deep enough, you will get rounded corners, or a bunched corner.
Use the qualities of the fabric to your advantage. It has stability with the straight of the grain, and gives on the bias. Let the fabric work in your favor.
Let your No. 11 Milliner's needle do the work for you.
Relax! Breath and enjoy.
I use our Trace, Baste, Snip & Stitch process for all my hand applique and reverse applique. This process helps to facilitate my crisp inside points.
The basting step stabilizes my fabric and keeps it in place until I remove it. In this process, the basting line is my sew line, removing the basting thread as I go. When I baste with a No. 7 sharp needle and thick thread, like quilting or button thread, it leaves little “holes” in the background fabric that I can see to keep the edges of my shapes very clear. I use these “holes” to know where my corner is on my top fabric, and where it needs to be positioned on my background fabric. I do my stitching work with a No. 11 Milliner's needle.
Getting ready for the corner
1. Clip deep into your corner at a 45 degree angle within a thread or two of the corner. (See pics 1a and 1b.)
I know this seems counter intuitive because of the risk of fraying. But be brave. Clip deep, within a thread or two of the corner. This will allow the fabric of your corner to fold under and lay flat, enabling you to get a crisp corner rather than a rounded corner.
As a right-handed person, I sew with my piece in my lap from right to left with the seam parallel to my body. I sew so that I sweep the raw edge towards me. My excess fabric hangs down my legs, and my left hand holds the rest. I try to keep the spot that I'm sewing flat with the fingers of my left hand underneath.
2. Holding my piece so my seam is parallel to my body, I sweep the raw edge under towards me and stitch towards my corner. (pic 2)
Stitching the actual corner.
3. I sweep the fabric back into the corner, and use the thumb of my other hand to keep that corner fold a bit soft.(pic 3)
Take a stitch into the center of the corner, catching that soft fold.
Don’t try to lay it flat at this time. Once you take stitch, the fabric will relax flat on its own.
Next I re-position the piece in my hands by turning it 45 degrees to the left. As this is a corner, I turn the piece so the corner is parallel to my body.
4.a. I sweep the raw edge of the adjacent leg under, tugging deep into the corner with my needle.
If threads are popping out, keep sweeping from ¼” – ½” away back into the corner. Again, I use the thumb of my other hand to hold the corner fabric folded, but a bit loose. Remember, the fabric will relax flat once you take the stitch. With my needle, I pull deeper into the corner, taking the tip behind the fold. (pic 4.a.)
4.b. Take a small anchoring stitch.
I send my needle into the background fabric and bring it up real close to the corner on that adjacent leg. (See pic 4b)
5. My corner is complete. I have sharp corners with no exposed threads. (See pic 5)
For help with outside points, see our blog "To the Point...Outside Points" next week.


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Welcome to the Bevontule Wikia!Edit
The purpose of this wiki is to give a small kickstart to what we hope will be the final compendium for the upcoming turn-based TRPG Bevontule! While it is currently in active development, this site will be used as a placeholder for the ideas, themes, concepts, locations, characters, events and overall mythology and lore of the in-game world in which Bevontule takes place. As such, any article may be subject to change and/or contain spoilers, although we'll do our best to avoid or indicate them if necessary. Stick around, we'll have a lot more to add in the coming months!

domain: game


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Rock the Cradle 2019
Minneapolis, MN 55404888 642 2787
The Current’s annual free, no ticket required Rock the Cradle event for kids and their grownups to explore music, art and culture returns Sunday, March 24 to the Minneapolis Institute of Art and Children’s Theatre Company. Enjoy annual favorites such as the Kids’ Disco and Pop Up Story Time with The Current’s DJs plus live music and more. Rock the Cradle is perfect for kids up to age 8.
Location: Baroque Gallery
1:30 p.m, 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Listen along with Classical MPR performances by Border CrosSing, a group who brings together audiences and musicians of different backgrounds with Latin American choral music.
Presented by The Current and Children's Minnesota.


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Gastrointestinal bleeding in patients taking blood thinners for an irregular heartbeat should prompt doctors to check for colon cancer, a new study advises. Researchers looked at more than 125,000 patients in Denmark with the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation (a-fib). They reported that those with gastrointestinal bleeding were 11 to 24 times more likely than others to be diagnosed with colon cancer.
The study was published Feb. 7 in the European Heart Journal.
Between 4% and 8% of a-fib patients who had bleeding in the lower GI tract were diagnosed with colon cancer, compared to less than 1% of those without bleeding, said study leader Peter Vibe Rasmussen of the Department of Cardiology at Herlev-Gentofte University Hospital, part of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
“Our findings underline the important point that patients with gastrointestinal bleeding should always be offered meticulous clinical examination, irrespective of whether or not they are taking anticoagulants. It should not be dismissed as a mere consequence of anticoagulant treatment,” Rasmussen said in a journal news release.
He said educating patients is a must as soon as they begin taking blood thinners.
“We should tell them that if they see blood in their stools they should always consult their doctor,” Vibe Rasmussen said. “Timely examination could potentially provide early detection of [colon] cancer.”
Patients with a-fib often take blood thinners, such as warfarin, dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban, to prevent clots that can cause a stroke. But bleeding from the GI tract can be a side effect in a small percentage of these patients.
There is no evidence that blood thinners cause colon cancer.

domain: medical


Meet fashion’s latest muses: a global community of visual diarists who are fast becoming the new industry influencers thanks to Instagram. Since launching in 2010, the app has amassed 200 million active users, with over 20 billion images shared so far, including an average of 60 million photos and 1.6 billion photo likes per day.
Instagram’s rapid growth is symptomatic of a wider shift in photography towards more ‘authentic’ images, with smartphone photography playing a key role in this trend, as real lives are increasingly shared in real-time through social media. With its ability to snap pictures, apply filters and share results with followers, Instagram is the perfect tool for fashion and style bloggers who can quickly gain a large number of followers.
Officially, there’s a particular group that Instagram consider to be ‘new fashion influencers’ in the app, namely those who have a high following and engagement, who are followed by and engage with high profile fashion industry figures, and have a fast growing account due to type and quality of the content. Many of these ‘high profile’ influencers on Instagram are fashion bloggers, some of whom have built on a following from their own blogs, while others started with Instagram and moved to blogging. Either way, along with driving traffic to their blogs, most utilise it to engage with a growing and diverse community of fashion voices made up of both fans and peers.
So what sets these Instagrammers apart? “Beautiful photographs, a compelling voice and the right amount of mystery,” says Kristen Joy Watts, who leads on art and fashion for the Instagram Community Team in New York. “Some Instagrammers create a world that you feel like you could be a part of, and others create one you want to escape into.”
Susie Lau aka Susie Bubble (@susiebubble, 151K Instagram followers) – a fashion blogger since 2006, who worked at Dazed Digital 2008-10 before leaving to blog full-time – blogs about industry events and street style with engaging, down-to-earth commentary. This translates into the hyper-visual, behind-the-scenes vibe of Instagram particularly well. She recently took part in a paid partnership to take over the Swarovski account to launch its new Instagram presence, and says she often sees her own Instagram images on designers’ mood boards. She even announced earlier this year that she’s writing a book about the app.
Joshua Kissi (@streetettiquette, 125K followers), aka one half of men’s lifestyle blog Street Etiquette, which “showcases style using a cultural, historical and urban perspective”, carries their very particular aesthetic of well-composed shots of street style and New York life through into their Instagram account. These guys also exemplify how these types of engaging, beautiful Instagram images are part of a growing number of new male fashion voices in the app.
Most top accounts tend to consist of a carefully curated selection of outfit images, mixing considered composition and off-the-cuff selfies, alongside lifestyle shots of food, events, their home and friends, to create a feed that is relatable, personal and a little humorous, whilst also being inspiring, alluring, and with a touch of glamour.
Fashion blogger and Instagrammer Leandra Medine aka Man Repeller (@manrepeller) epitomises how this enticing recipe can establish such a dominant presence on Instagram – with a massive 692,537 Instagram followers – through creating a utopian gallery that feels attainable.
Man Repeller refers to “she who outfits herself in a sartorially offensive mode that may result in repelling members of the opposite sex”, and her personal style blog aims to be a “humorous website for serious fashion”, which effortlessly translates into Instagram’s solely visual feed.
In a post earlier this year, entitled Why I Don’t Wear Makeup, Medine issued a response to the “ugly as fuck” comment she received in a mistakenly forwarded email chain from the male founder of a website attempting to collaborate with her. In the witty and honest post, she describes how her Instagram comments often question her lack of make-up or beauty regime, and goes on to state how this is “inconsistent with the Man Repeller ethos seeing as we don’t typically sell bodies – we sell ideas. That and clothes.”
This type of approach to fashion welcomes a broad audience irrespective of who they are or what they look like, by not being afraid of posting photos of bold outfits with no make-up, where she may not look conventionally beautiful.
“She’s probably the most famous blogger ever”, says Danielle Vanier (@daniellevanier, 12K followers), who began using Instagram prior to making her name as a plus-size fashion blogger, as part of a growing community of traditionally marginalised ‘fatshion’ writers.
“I just started posting outfit pictures. I remember my first one back in 2012, it was a selfie in front of the mirror, they all were back then before I started having my photos taken. I was wearing a studded bralet crop top, because I thought if I start doing this I want my first picture to be memorable,” she says. “After doing that for a while I started using Tumblr and then a site with my own domain name.”
After studying for a degree in textiles at Chelsea, Vanier worked as a print designer for H&M, Monsoon, and Evans, and currently freelances in print design and personal styling for brands. However, her career in the fashion world has gathered momentum predominantly through social media and blogging.
“I was watching other women posting their outfit posts on Instagram and I thought, ‘well I can do that’. I had followed plus-size bloggers for years, who I then found on Instagram,” she says. “I initially looked at two major hash tags, #effyourbeautystandards, and #hounourmycurves, which I followed and used to find other people to follow. #effyourbeautystandards is kind of a fingers up to the rules that people put on you when you’re bigger. It’s a body positive hashtag started by a plus-size blogger, but it’s for everybody.”
There’s a strong sense of community amongst plus-size fashion bloggers and their followers, but as the hashtags show, it is less about grouping according to body type and more about creating an inclusive environment which fosters relationships and encourages exchange of ideas in a fast and accessible way. “You get more exposure, you get it quicker, and there’s more of a community feel, which is what has kept it rolling,” Vanier says.
And Watts agrees: “Today there’s more of a dialogue between influencers and their audiences. And there are fewer barriers to building up an audience than there used to be,” she says. “Anyone with enough talent and mettle can participate in the fashion world in an increasing number of ways. And what was once an exclusive, behind-the-scenes world is being demystified.”
Instagram has also become an asset to brands as a research tool, a showcase for their products, and a means to more closely connect with a very visually engaged community of potential customers. Not only is the app providing them with an often very personal glimpse into the lives of customers, but Instagrammers are creating the aspirational, authentic and inspired content that brands now want.
“Lots of designers and editors tell me that Instagram inspires them and their work,” Watts says. “A lot of collaborations begin on Instagram. Creatives have long been discovering each other on the internet but I think Instagram has made those connections easier and more fun.”
Through tagging companies in images which link back to more extended blog reviews, bloggers like Vanier uses the app along with other social media platforms to help maintain a good rapport with brands, many of whom invite her to collection launches and other events, and gift items to her for review.
“Brands put me on their social networks or write about me on their websites, which sends traffic to my blog, so it’s a two-way street,” she says. “Their relationship with bloggers is a lot stronger nowadays, and they use us more for advertising new ranges and collections, because people like to see the clothes on all different sizes.”
Photographers, models and other creatives are also catching the attention of brands through their Instagram use, resulting in collaborations and offers for other professional opportunities.
“Several Paris couture houses invited creative photographers on Instagram to attend and photograph their shows,” says Watts. “Maison Martin Margiela picked a dark, edgy Instagrammer (@neriad) and Dior picked someone with a lighter, prettier aesthetic (@parisinfourmonths). This kind of access for up-and-coming creatives is unprecedented in fashion.”
But aside from professional collaborations, who is gaining or losing out financially? Instagram certainly drives traffic to blogs, which can be monetised in terms of ads, affiliate links and paid-for critical product reviews, but is it enough? “Brands are cottoning on to the world of blogging and how influential we are,” Vanier says. “It’s difficult because a lot of the time they just offer you exposure as payment. But I think they are realising that they can’t expect us to do all the work for them to reap all the benefit. It’s all very well being gifted all these things, but you have to weigh up whether they really are free.”
Instagram suggests it may be too early to tell how the financial side to these relationships will pan out, but they place value in its hyper-engaged and devoted user base and the opportunity it brings to connect creative people globally. And it is evident that the authenticity, diversity and credibility of these individuals’ powerful voices is certainly starting to shake up the industry’s traditional hierarchy of influence for the better.
The Instagram blog showcases the work of young imagemakers on the site and collates images around topical themes. Check it out at blog.instagram.com


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Bandh rallies are only held at Freedom Park, according to Bengaluru Police
The Bengaluru Police stated that several organizations have called for a state-wide bandh on Friday in Karnataka in protest against the supply of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. They added that Freedom Park is the only authorized place for protests and rallies.
The police issued a warning: “If any property damage occurs, the appropriate protesting organization will be held responsible for the costs.”
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Sort: Category . Published . Updated . Title . Words . Chapters . Reviews . Status .
Green and Gold reviews
Traveling butler/bodyguard Zenyatta meets his new charge: Genji Shimada of the powerful Shimada Clan. Zenyatta/Genji, MxM.
Overwatch - Rated: M - English - Romance - Chapters: 1 - Words: 3,540 - Reviews: 1 - Favs: 2 - Published: 11/19/2018 - Zenyatta, Genji S. - Complete
Forbidden Bonds reviews
When Atticus, a Guardian from the Tower, is trapped by the Hive deep in their dimension, he must accept his new reality and adjust as one of the Hive's "Chosen". Hive x Guardian. M x M. Rated M for sex, violence.
Destiny - Rated: M - English - Romance - Chapters: 4 - Words: 5,215 - Reviews: 13 - Favs: 34 - Follows: 37 - Updated: 10/6/2017 - Published: 12/2/2015
Fighting Fate reviews
When Gil, a Guardian from the City, rescues a Fallen Vandal from death, it starts a chain of events that will question the very foundations of the battle between light and dark. Fallen x Guardian, M x M, Rated M for future chapters, which includes blood and sex.
Destiny - Rated: M - English - Chapters: 11 - Words: 14,066 - Reviews: 4 - Favs: 34 - Follows: 33 - Updated: 12/2/2015 - Published: 5/23/2015

domain: library


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HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. (WSAV) — The Hampton County School District announced Friday, that all teachers, students, staff and visitors must wear masks through Jan. 20, 2022, regardless of vaccination status.
Superintendent Dr. Ronald Willcox says the deadly and highly infectious delta variant of COVID-19 is the reason for the mandate. The district says its board will determine if an extension is warranted on Jan. 18, 2022.
According to DHEC, the Palmetto State reported 1,334 cases of COVID Friday, three of which were in Hampton County. The county has reported 3,046 total cases and 72 lives have been lost due to COVID since the start of the pandemic.


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Sorry @Ian_Powell did you bring the wood burner in? I wasn’t able to make it down last night.
Nope I’m out of town right now its next week at 730, I expect.
This link appeared in a woodworking forum that I occasionally browse.
lordy, I’ll be standing back wearing rubber boots and holding a broomstick to knock it out of whoever’s hands it’s in…
I never said it was safe, strict procedures help.

domain: hobby


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Kingston clergyman, Pastor Kenneth Blake, is now contemplating his next move after a Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test proved that he is the father of the child belonging to a 12-year-old girl he is accused of raping in 2015.
The finding of the test was disclosed in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Monday when the case was mentioned.Pastor Blake, who had denied raping or molesting the child, consented to the test to clear his name last August.
The Harvest Temple Apostolic Church pastor was arrested and charged with rape, grievous sexual assault, forcible abduction, sexual touching, and sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16 years old following allegations that he had sex with the child on several occasions in 2015, resulting in her getting pregnant.
It is further alleged that the pastor gave the child, cash and other gifts to keep the matter a secret.
Attorney for the pastor, Abel Don Foote, who is to take further instructions from his client, when contacted declined to comment.
The matter will next be heard in court on April 16.In the meantime Joy Crawford co-Founder for Eve For Life, an organisation which champions the cause for victims of sexual abuse said results of the DNA test is a bitter victory for survivors and advocates of childhood sexual abuse.
“It is extremely tragic to watch the correlation of clergy and sexual abuse that is unfolding. This phenomena is not new, or unique to Jamaica however, because Jamaica prides and promotes itself as 'a Christian' country, even when it denies the Human Rights of all citizens, including our children.
The 'girl child' has been demonised in reports of rape, and even when the predators are 'upstanding men',” she said.However, Crawford said, “EVE for Life remains resolute however that these same nuisances are at play when media headlines and the law continue to reference rape as sex with a minor or someone under age 16 years.
This very law said, the girl cannot give consent.
That means NO. Sexual intercourse without consent is forced sex, and when this happens to our children it should be named rape.”


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I received this blast email from the Howard Park Community Association:
Subject: House Bill 1136: Regulating opening and closing times of Liquor Stores in the Liberty Heights Corridor
Our bill passed at 11:48 p.m. Monday night, one of the last bills to be enacted by the 2017 General Assembly. When it takes effect on July 1, no liquor outlet in the Liberty Heights corridor can open earlier than 9 a.m. or close later than 9 p.m. On behalf of my 41st District colleagues and myself, we are excited about this success and look forward to working with you to make more improvements to the Howard Park community. —Delegate, Sandy Rosenberg
Howard Park Civic Association: This is a huge victory for our community, and may mark the beginning, the very beginning, of the change we need in our business district.
Then I read this op-ed about Robert Kennedy’s visit to the abject poverty of the Mississippi Delta:
Mr. Kennedy was convinced, especially after his time in Mississippi, that poverty programs are most successful when they are informed by the voices of poor people themselves. He trusted the families he met there, and later in Appalachia, blighted city neighborhoods in the Northeast and the fields of California, to know what would help them the most.
I’d like to think I’m walking down the same path as Senator Kennedy and listening to people, whatever their race or income.
I didn’t give the speech I expected to make today.
Governor Hogan did not veto my bill mandating a $1 million appropriation for the lawyers that Attorney General Frosh will need to take legal action against the Trump Administration.
The governor let House Bill 913 become law without his signature.
If he had vetoed the bill, I would have said that our state government must respond to decisions made in Washington that are not in the best interests of Marylanders.
One way is through the courts. Another is the legislative process.
That’s why we enacted the bill allowing a woman to choose where she wants to receive her reproductive health care and be reimbursed by the State, if she would be eligible for that assistance had the Congress and President not defunded Planned Parenthood.
The Governor also let that bill become law without his signature.
Gov. Hogan vetoed one bill. It dealt with the actions the State can take to improve failing schools.
I’d like to think there’s a middle ground between our current system and an emphasis on charter and private schools that forgets about the need for systemic improvements in our public schools, where the vast majority of our children receive their education.
I will look for that middle ground this summer.
During today’s floor debate on the paid sick leave bill, I sent this email to one of the people who had asked me to make a charitable donation to Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital.
We’re in the midst of debating the paid sick leave bill. It reminded me of the meeting I had with a Levindale employee who participated in the job advancement program that I supported. Her ability to get to work hinged upon a car that wouldn’t start or day care she needed to have for her child. She and countless people like her need paid sick leave.
Justice Brandeis famously said, “The states are the laboratories of democracy.” I am proud today to do right for my fellow man and woman as a worker in that laboratory.
It was not déjà vu all over again.
Yesterday, I was the floor leader when we debated eight amendments to the bill regulating medical marijuana.
Our goals were twofold, I told my colleagues.
1. Make possible the treatment needed by the many people who would benefit from it, as evidenced by the testimony of people with chronic disease or their parents.
2. Undertake a study to determine if discrimination in similar industries merits incentives for minority ownership in the businesses licensed to make the treatment available with a doctor’s prescription.
Today, the bill was on third reader, the vote that would send the bill to the Senate.
The only person who spoke was Delegate Glenn, the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus.
She thanked me for my work on the bill.
I leaned over to her and said, “Let’s talk about doing this again on another issue next year.”
For now, it’s time to develop strategy for the conference committee, which will seek consensus on the House and Senate versions of this legislation.
My rabbi grew up in Chicago – the North side.
His people – his fellow Cubs fans, wandered in the desert – the baseball desert, for 108 years.
The afternoon of the seventh game of the World Series last fall, Daniel Burg and his wife, Miriam, who’s also a rabbi, were in line to vote at the Early Voting Center in Northwest Baltimore.
“Do you want to join us tonight to watch the game?” he asked.
I’ve gone to Orioles games with Rabbi Burg. “He understands baseball,” I said to myself. “I’ll be there,” I responded.
I stayed until the end – through the rain delay, until the last out.
That’s when the Rabbi’s mother called. Her timing was perfect.
They talked about her husband and his father. And what this World Series would have meant to him.
108 years of waiting and losing was over. Dayenu!
On Opening Day, every baseball fan can say, “Next October in the World Series.” Amen
More batting practice (BP) has been scheduled on the medical marijuana bill.
The Democratic caucus will meet tomorrow to learn about it.
I expect this will be a favorable audience.
But even if they’re BP fastballs and very hittable, the practice will be worthwhile.
There will be floor debate on the bill on Monday. The session will likely start at noon.
First pitch at Camden Yards is at 3:00.
I will try not to be long winded.
The floor of the House of the House of Delegates is the main room, as they used to say in the Borscht Belt.
It’s where debates are held, votes are cast, and bills pass or die.
However, few votes are changed on the House floor. The whips have already taken their count, and party lines have already been drawn.
In my time here, I can think of one exception, repeal of the death penalty. Some of my colleagues voted yes who were not on our list if supporters.
I chaired the medical marijuana work group. Our work product will be debated on the House floor Friday.
I’ve had several opportunities this week to mold my argument for the bill.
With a small group of committee members, at the last meeting of the work group, before the committee leadership, and before the full committee.
I thought of it as a moot court, preparing for the real argument on the House floor.
My chairwoman thought otherwise.
“For Sandy,” she said, “this is batting practice.”
I usually hang up on telephone solicitors.
But not this time.
This call was from Planned Parenthood.
I did, however, interrupt the caller’s spiel to tell him what we are on the verge of doing in Maryland.
Tonight, the Senate will debate the House bill that would require the State to fund reproductive health services for the women who choose to go to Planned Parenthood.
The legislation would take effect if the Congress deprives the organization of existing federal funding.
Such a provision was in the GOP health care bill that was withdrawn on Friday.
But it will be back.
Another legislative vehicle will surely be found to push this bad idea forward.
My caller yesterday, a college student, had no idea about what we are doing in Maryland.
If we succeed here, that reinforced my idea of advocating that other blue states do the same.
I’ve spent more time in my committee’s conference room this week than I have in our public hearing room.
One meeting was about a bill that would have created a new right to sue in family law.
The question arose whether people could afford the cost of bringing such a lawsuit.
I said that we already have too many instances where people can’t secure their rights because they can’t afford a lawyer.
I could not support creating another example of unequal justice.
The bill’s sponsor responded that we shouldn’t deny this right to those who could afford it.
Under the compromise we reached, the merits of this new legal right will be considered by the judiciary this summer.
Consequently, the debate over a right to counsel was postponed as well.
The other issue discussed in the conference room was medical marijuana.
No details I can share yet, as there has yet to be any white smoke, the sign of consensus when a Pope is chosen.


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City Of San Antonio Opens One-Stop COVID-19 Assistance Center
San Antonio's new Financial and Housing Recovery Center is up and running to assist residents impacted by COVID-19. The center can navigate local residents through the variety of local, state and federal benefits.
Department of Human Services spokesman Roland Martinez said the center makes it easier for people to get help.
“We know there are residents who have become unemployed, lost a lot of their work hours or have a business that is hurting badly," he said.
Martinez said there are key areas of assistance:
“Financial counseling, fair housing counseling, rent and mortgage assistance, pro bono legal representation for eviction cases, workforce assistance, homeless services counseling and small business recovery assistance."
He said residents can visit the center in-person for help with an advance appointment or can get assistance over the phone.
Get help online at covid19.sanantonio.gov or by calling 207-5910.
TPR was founded by and is supported by our community. If you value our commitment to the highest standards of responsible journalism and are able to do so, please consider making your gift of support today.


I have always loved songs that tell a story. Many songs over the years have told simple stories. Thinking back to my childhood, “Silhouettes,” “Leader of the Pack,” and “Society’s Child” come to mind. But I’m not talking here about songs that tell simple stories. I’m talking about songs that could qualify as bona-fide short stories. Harry Chapin was the master of this genre with songs like, “Taxi” and “A Better Place to Be,” and many others.
One of my favorite story songs is one that was a hit for the Dixie Chicks in 2003. It’s a song by Bruce Robison called “Travelin’ Soldier.” Although written in the 1990s, the song is set during the Vietnam War. It’s about a boy, “two days past eighteen,” waiting in his army uniform for a bus that will take him off to war. He walks into a café, and is waited on by, “a girl with a bow in her hair,” who takes his order, and smiles at him because she can see he’s shy and all alone. This encourages him enough to ask her to sit and talk because he’s, “feeling a little low.” She tells him that she gets off in an hour, and she knows a place where they can go and talk. So they go down, and sit on the pier. There, the young soldier asks if he can write to her because, “I got no one to send a letter to.” She agrees and the young man catches his bus. Soon the letters start to come from an army camp in California, and then from Vietnam.
The young soldier pours out his heart to the young girl. He says that he may be in love with her. He also tells her of the things that scare him. He lets her know that when things get, “kinda rough over here,” he thinks of that day sitting on the pier with her. He tells her, “Don’t worry but I won’t be able to write for awhile.”
Of course, the last verse of the song is the most poignant:
One Friday night at a football game
The Lord’s Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead
Crying all alone under the stands Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read but nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair.
I have to admit that I get a tear in my eye every time I hear the song. “Travelin’ Soldier” was the last hit the Dixie Chicks had. While they were introducing the song at a concert in London on March 10, 2003, lead singer Natalie Maines said that they were ashamed that George Bush was from Texas. Country music stations immediately stopped playing the song, and it dropped from the charts. The Dixie Chicks never recovered from their shunning from the country music community. But their recording of “Travelin’ Soldier” remains a musical work of art.
Thanks for reminding us of some of the great lyrics. Some more that come to mind are the tear-jerkers by Willie Nelson written before the 70’s. They were all sung by other vocalists like Patsy Cline. I wasn’t aware of this one by the Dixie Chicks – but will definitely listen to it now. Thank You – great post.


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All Rights reserved
Police in Malawi said Sunday they had discovered "pornographic films" at the office of a human rights group and that police officers were, as a result, hunting down a number of prominent citizens to charge them with "having carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature" and "indecent practices between males," Agence France-Presse reports.
"We are targeting some prominent personalities and our suspects include legislators, priests, academics, and other professionals," said police spokesman David Chingwalu, who would not identify the rights group that had been raided.
Homosexuality is illegal in Malawi, where the country's one known gay group, the Centre for the Development of People, operates underground. The organization has been providing financial support to gay couple Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza, who have been charged with "indecent practices" after getting married in the country's first same-sex wedding in December. The couple could face up to 14 years in prison if convicted.


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JCSC chairman calls on PM Imran
ISLAMABAD: Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) General Zubair Mahmood Hayat called on Prime Minister Imran Khan at Prime Minister Office on Monday.
He congratulated the premier on assuming the office of the country’s chief executive.
The PM and JCSC chairman discussed different security-related issues.
On Saturday, Mr Khan assumed the office of the chief executive of the country after taking oath at an impressive ceremony at President House.
Khan’s PTI won the general election on July 25 promising to fight corruption and drastically reducing poverty among Pakistan’s 208 million people.


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Cuttack - India have put in a complete performance to beat Sri Lanka comfortably by 169 runs in first one-day international in Cuttack on Sunday.
Earlier, openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane both scored hundreds to help India reach 363 for five from their 50 overs, reports the supersport.com website.
The pair put on a mammoth 231 for the first wicket with Dhawan making 113 and Rahane 111 at the Barabati Stadium, after they were sent in to bat by Sri Lanka.
Both openers managed to score at better than a run-a-ball with the left-handed Dhawan hitting 14 fours and 3 sixes while Rahane struck 13 fours and 2 sixes, before the former got an inside edge onto his front leg and the ball rolled down to just clip his leg stump in the 35 over.
Three overs later and Rahane mistimed a full toss off the bowling of Suraj Randiv to give midoff a simple catch.
Suresh Raina, playing in his 200th ODI, added a rapid 52 from just 34 balls before he was given out LBW.
Randiv was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 78 from his ten overs.
India: S Dhawan, AM Rahane, V Kohli (captain), AT Rayudu, SK Raina, WP Saha (wicketkeeper), AR Patel, R Ashwin, UT Yadav, VR Aaron, I Sharma
Sri Lanka: WU Tharanga, TM Dilshan, KC Sangakkara (wicketkeeper), DPMD Jayawardene, AD Mathews (captain), SMA Priyanjan, NLTC Perera, S Prasanna, S Randiv, KTGD Prasad, PLS Gamage

domain: sports


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Give a cup of love and hugs to a dear mother with our bistro style blue and white mug, complete with handtied fabric bow and message tag. Sky blue interior; simple flower motif with sentiment: Mom. "There are many virtuous women in the world, but you surpass them all!" Proverbs 31:29. Design is visible on both sides. Generous 12-ounce capacity mug is safe for microwave and dishwasher; presented in matching gift box.
Customer Questions & Answers:

domain: design


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Don’t Shortchange Yourself: Entrepreneur’s Pay
Being in business means taking a lot of risks, especially financially, and as an entrepreneur, you deserve to be rewarded for those risks. Your pay is just one of the many benefits of your self-employment. But it’s not like the pay you get as an employee, there is more to just picking a number for salary.Read more
Analyzing Your Profit and Loss Statement
This is the first report you should be reviewing every month and comparing it to last month and last year. Once your books are reconciled this report can give you good information to make future decisions. Your profit and loss statement reports the total income of your business minus the expenses. It gives you a baseline of the health of your business.Read more
What KPIs Should I Measure?
The key performance indicators (KPIs) you should be looking at depend on your specific goals and objectives. KPIs are metrics that help you measure progress towards your goals, and they can vary widely depending on the industry, company size, and type of business.Read more
6 Ideas to Put the Spring into Your Spring Revenue
While spring brings a change in the weather for most locations, it also brings a number of opportunities to refresh your products and services. Spring is a great time to boost your marketing campaigns so that you can boost your business revenues.Read more

domain: economics


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I am a sucker for gadgets, especially those geared towards the kitchen and that make my life easier. That’s probably why I end up buying a number of those “must have” products they advertise during the wee hours of the night.
Not long ago I ordered the Pasta Pronta, a product which is designed to cook your pasta “just right”. It also cooks veggies, sausages, eggs, beans and other foods, though I am somewhat squeamish about the idea of attempting to cook an egg in it yet.
The Pasta Pronta consists of two large cylinders, one taller and one shorter and two accompanying tops/lids. It’s very simple to use. All I had to do was add boiling water, put on the heat seal lids and wait for the pasta to cook. It took 10-17 minutes tops. Once my pasta was done, there was a built-in strainer to help drain the water out. They also sent a pad that allowed me to grip the Pasta Pronta, without burning my hand.
Things actually turned out very well, a relief since I have been known, via regular cooking methods, to overcook pasta. The Pasta Pronta cooked my spaghetti perfectly and it was definitely a big time-saver. I have cooked spaghetti, macaroni and spiral noodles with this, thus far, and all came out good. It makes it very easy to prepare a quick meal.
Fortunately, this product takes up very little space and is very easy to clean and store. It’s extremely lightweight, so no big, bulky monster to take out when I want to use it. I am all for “low maintenance” cooking, which the Pasta Pronta allows me to do. .
An instruction booklet and a recipe book were included as an added bonus when I ordered it.
Since I bought it from the television commercial, it cost $19.95, plus shipping and handling.. Although I have enjoyed this product as it stands now, and appreciate its convenience, I actually discovered AFTER I received mine that I could have purchased the Pasta Pronta online at a cheaper price. I-Saw-It-On-TV.com had it for $17.95 and Amazon.com had it for just $14.95. I’m sure there are some other places where I could have found it for even less than that. Sure wish I had researched further and saved myself some extra bucks, but …
C’est la vie!
I can only go on my own personal experience with this product, but, thus far, I have been pleased with it. Before I can give it my full and rowdy endorsement, however, I will have to try cooking other dishes in it, which I will do, once the weather cools down and I feel like doing some experimenting. Once I do, I will probably return with a second review of the Pasta Pronta, to confirm whether or not it lives up to ALL of its claims.

domain: food


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Body of Missing Child Found Near Dam
A seven year old boy who went missing in the Ohio River on Sunday around 4:30 p.m. was discovered in the water near the wall of the Hannibal Locks and Dam around 4 a.m. on Wednesday by family members.
According to Monroe County, Ohio sheriff Charles Black, officials had suspended the search for the boy around 1 a.m. with the intention of continuing the search later in the morning. However, he said family members requested to keep searching. The family had a boat and were searching near the wall of the dam when they discovered the boy’s body.
“My deputies were just pulling in to check equipment we had left there, and they were advised they found what they thought was the body, and it was the body of the 7-year-old,” said Sheriff Black.
The boy and his nine year old brother had been playing in the River on Sunday when the younger child fell of a sandbar where the water was estimated to be about 20 feet deep.
“There was a sandbar where they were playing at the end of the water. The uncle yelled for them to come back and the 7-year-old walked off to the right out of sight and unknowing to the 7-year-old there was a drop-off at that point — I believe they said it was about a 20-foot straight drop. The little boy was wearing muck boots, pants and a coat,” he said.
Sheriff Black added he believes that the boys boots played a role as they probably filled up with water and took him to the bottom.
According to Black his nine year old brother tried to get him but was not able as neither boy could swim. He got out of the water and went to family members for help.
The Wetzel County coroner was contacted, sincethe Ohio River is under West Virginia’s jurisdiction.
Black said foul play is not suspected in the boy’s death.
Multiple entities on both sides of the river had been involved in search efforts since the disappearance.
Black said they are relieved that the family has closure in this “horrific and tragic” accident.


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Merseyside MPs today backed calls for Bob Paisley, the former Liverpool manager, to be granted a posthumous knighthood.
George Howarth, the Labour MP for Knowsley North and Sefton East, has tabled a Commons motion for Paisley to receive the award 11 years after his death.
“Bob was the most successful football manager in the game’s history in the UK... highly respected and held in great affection for his outstanding knowledge and experience of the game and for his modesty,” Howarth said.
Paisley won six league titles and three European Cups between 1974 and 1983 and almost 30,000 football fans have signed a petition on the 10 Downing Street website calling for the move.
The petition compares Paisley’s OBE with the knighthood granted to Sir Alex…


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|ELISA (ELISA)||5 ug/ml - 6 µg/ml|
|Tested Species reactivity||Human|
|Host / Isotype||Mouse / IgG1|
|Immunogen||Recombinant full length mature human CD257|
|Storage buffer||PBS, pH 7.2|
|Storage conditions||4° C|
Reconstitute with 0.5 ml of distilled water. Prior to reconstitution, store at 4°C. After reconstitution, store undiluted at -20°C, avoiding freeze/thaw cycles.
The protein encoded by this gene is a cytokine that belongs to the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) ligand family. This cytokine is a ligand for receptors TNFRSF13B/TACI, TNFRSF17/BCMA, and TNFRSF13C/BAFFR. This cytokine is expressed in B cell lineage cells, and acts as a potent B cell activator. It has been also shown to play an important role in the proliferation and differentiation of B cells.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. Not for resale without express authorization.
Protein Aliases: ApoL related ligand TALL-1; B lymphocyte stimulator; B-cell-activating factor; B-lymphocyte stimulator; BAFF; BLYS; CD257; delta BAFF; Delta4 BAFF; Dendritic cell-derived TNF-like molecule; DTL; TALL-1; TALL1; THANK; TNF and ApoL-related leukocyte expressed ligand 1; TNF homolog that activates apoptosis; TNF- and APOL-related leukocyte expressed ligand 1; TNFSF13B; TNFSF20; tumor necrosis factor (ligand) superfamily member 13b; tumor necrosis factor (ligand) superfamily, member 13b; tumor necrosis factor (ligand) superfamily, member 20; tumor necrosis factor ligand 7A; Tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 13B; tumor necrosis factor-like protein ZTNF4; ZTNF4
Gene Aliases: BAFF; BLYS; CD257; DTL; TALL-1; TALL1; THANK; TNFSF13B; TNFSF20; TNLG7A; UNQ401/PRO738; ZTNF4
UniProt ID: (Human) Q9Y275
Entrez Gene ID: (Human) 10673
If an Invitrogen™ antibody doesn’t perform as described on our website or datasheet, we’ll replace the product at no cost to you, or provide you with a credit for a future purchase.*
Get expert recommendations for common problems or connect directly with an on staff expert for technical assistance related to applications, equipment and general product use.


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Lithuania and Poland are discussing projects that could help Belarus reduce its energy dependence on Russia, Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis has said.
Skvernelis said he discussed the issue with his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki, who is visiting Vilnius on Tuesday.
“We spoke about how to reduce Belarus' energy dependence on Russia, and certain decisions and projects were discussed,” he said at a joint press conference.
The Lithuanian prime minister did not name any specific projects, but mentioned that diversification of energy sources by using Lithuania's infrastructure is under discussion.
“I will not go into details, but we discussed with the [Polish] prime minister how to diversify and use Lithuania's infrastructure and Lithuanian companies [...], and we will certainly continue to work on this,” he said.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said earlier this month that his country could start importing oil via Poland and the Baltic countries, if it failed to reach a deal with Russia on rates.
Poland's Orlen owns the Baltics' only crude oil refinery in Mažeikiai, northwestern Lithuania.
Laurynas Jonavičius, a lecturer at Vilnius University's International Relations and Political Science Institute, says Lithuania could offer transit for alternative oil supplies to Belarus.
"[The oil terminal operator] Klaipėdos Nafta has sufficient capacity to receive and even store oil. Lukashenko has said publicly on numerous occasions that he is looking for alternatives to Russian oil imports,” Jonavičius said. “It is technically possible for Lithuania to become an alternative oil route for Belarus.”
“This may become relevant, because Belarus and Russia disagree about the terms and conditions of oil supplies. While Minsk wants preferential prices, Moscow is carrying out 'a tax maneuver' that will leave Belarus with no advantages,” the political scientist said.
“As the Kremlin is putting increasing pressure on Minsk 'to deepen the integration of the Union State', an alternative oil source could give Lukashenko a starting point in his efforts not to completely succumb to Moscow's pressure,” he added.
Belarus is already holding informal talks with the US, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on possible oil sources, according to Jonavičius.


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Valmet has designed and engineered an optimum set of tools to control consistency in any application. Over 70 years of research and development, including independent verification and levering a fully TAPPI-standardized lab, stand behind every solution. Consistency transmitters are developed especially for pulp and paper processes aiming to provide reliable, accurate, and durable sensors that tolerate process disturbances and harsh conditions. Valmet’s consistency portfolio covers all the pulp and paper applications; from chemical pulp mill digester to dryer machine and repulper, to paper, board, and tissue machine pope reeler.
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Valmet Measurement Advisor
Valmet Measurement Advisor is a tool developed to help you select the most applicable installation position for Valmet Blade Consistency Measurement in the process.Read more


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Somatic cell counts in bovine milk
|Title||Somatic cell counts in bovine milk|
|Author(s)||K. E. Leslie, Ian R. Dohoo, A. H. Meek|
|Journal||Compendium on Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian|
|End page||S607, S610, S612|
|Abstract||Factors that affect somatic cell counts (SCC) in milk, interpretation of SCC, and management decisions resulting from these interpretations, are outlined. It is concluded that the SCC is an excellent tool for monitoring udder health on a herd basis, and that interpretation of individual cow SCC may be of considerable value provided that appropriate threshold levels are applied and that factors that can alter SCC are taken into consideration..|
Using APA 6th Edition citation style.
Times viewed: 592

domain: biology


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As he stepped in front of the judges, the singer-songwriter picked up his guitar and sang his own take on Zara Larsson's Lush Life.
Sharing his thoughts about Will's audition, Simon Cowell said: "You're interesting aren't you?"
He added: "All I would say is I think there are a lot of people playing guitars like you and that is not entertainment unless the song is a killer song."
Despite the head judge's initial doubt, the singer made it through to bootcamp with four yeses.
And one person who was celebrating was his mum and Coronation Street actress Debbie Rush, who plays the role of Anna Windass.
Following Will's audition on screen, the star retweeted messages from fans, many of whom couldn't believe they were related.
The Rush family are no strangers to the spotlight seeing as his sister Poppy played Kyle Slater's BFF Sophie in EastEnders earlier this year.
Sophie was Kyle's pillar of support as he struggled to reveal his true identity to sister Stacey Slater.
However, with Kyle actor Riley Carter Millington having recently announced he's leaving the soap, it looks like Poppy will not be returning anytime soon.
Poppy was also on hand to show her support for her brother.
The actress simply wrote "proud" on Twitter after seeing how much support her brother was getting.
Other fans couldn't believe that the actor was auditioning for the show.
Will, 22, played the role of Josh Stevenson in the BBC One drama for four years.
However, he also appeared in a number of dramas including Grange Hill, Casualty and Vera.
But Will isn't the only Waterloo Road alumni who has tried their hand at a singing career.
X Factor continues tonight at 8pm on ITV.

domain: celebrity


Although Congress had chartered the Nebraska City Bridge Company in the early 1870s, by summer 1888 only the new Burlington Railroad bridge spanned the Missouri River there. Nebraska City leaders were receptive, when Col. S. N. Stewart of Philadelphia proposed to build a pontoon toll bridge if the community would subsidize its construction.
The pontoon bridge, estimated to have cost about $18,000, opened to much fanfare on August 23, 1888. Not only was it claimed to be the first such bridge across the Missouri River, but also the largest drawbridge of its kind in the world. The pontoon section crossing the main channel was 1,074 feet long, with a l,050-foot cribwork approach spanning a secondary channel between an island and the Iowa shore. The roadway, including two pedestrian footways, was 24.5 feet wide. Opening the “draw” (the V-shaped portion that could swing open for boats or flowing ice) provided a 528-foot-wide passage.
While the bridge operated successfully during ice-free months or when the river was not unusually high or low, the capricious Missouri soon created problems. It became increasingly clear that a permanent wagon bridge was still needed, and in the spring of 1890 the city fathers began planning an election to vote bonds to build one. Stewart responded by threatening to remove the pontoon bridge.
Voters approved the bridge bonds in July; the courts initially upheld them against a series of legal challenges mounted by the Burlington Railroad. The Burlington claimed it had acquired the Nebraska City Bridge Company’s original charter to build the railroad bridge and therefore, the railroad was entitled to the bonds. In the face of these developments, Stewart announced that the bridge had been sold to parties in Atchison, Kansas. On November 13 the pontoons were sent down the river toward the bridge’s new home. A month later, the U.S. District Court ruled the bridge bonds were invalid. Nebraska City was back where it had started.
In 1891 the Burlington laid planks beside the tracks across the railroad span so it could be used as a toll bridge for non-railroad traffic. Nebraska City’s dream of a permanent vehicular bridge was finally realized on October 14, 1930, with the opening of the Waubonsie Bridge, constructed by the Kansas City Bridge Company. Long gone, but not entirely forgotten, was the innovative pontoon bridge that had briefly seemed the answer to the Missouri River problem at Nebraska City.


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Namibia’s team has been at Expo 2020, being hosted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates for five months. The goal has been to attract investors and mark the country as a premier tourism and investment destination on a global scale.
Namibia’s pavilion, under the custodianship of Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), is located in the ‘Opportunity’ district of the Expo. It has been highlighting priority sectors such as renewable energy, marine diamonds & mining, tourism and conversation, and cultural heritage.
This year, for the first time in World Expo history, every participating country will have its own pavilion.
Thus far, since officially opening its doors on 1 October 2021, the Namibian pavilion has recorded a steadily increasing number that has surpassed 146,000. This is, on average 37,000 visitors per month.
According to Catherine Shipushu, NIPDB’s Marketing and Communications manager, the pavilion has generated 23 investment leads thus far. She says this is well above the targeted 10 leads a month.
“Most investor interest is in the area of Green Hydrogen. Recorded leads indicate investor interest in other key industries such as agriculture, education, tourism, and various trade activities. In terms of country of origin, over 50% of potential investors emanate from the United Arab Emirates, with less than 10% of African origin,” she says.
According to the team, the highlight of the Expo so far has been the Namibia Renewable Energy Summit in November 2021. It was attended by participants from all over the globe, including potential investors from China, India, Zimbabwe, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.
The summit was organised to showcase investment opportunities in the renewable energy space and to provide insight into the legal framework that governs investments in the Namibian energy sector.
Although there is only a month left before the World Expo concludes, Namibia’s pavilion has a packed schedule that will carry right until the final week, with promises of a strong finish.
“In March, Namibia is expected to celebrate its biggest month yet at the Expo. The Namibian Pavilion has put together a schedule packed with events to coincide with the Expo’s thematic weeks and aligned to the country’s own strategic agenda,” says Shipushu.
There is a Namibia Investment Conference slated for 23 March. This conference is envisaged to be the climax event of the country’s Expo 2020 Dubai journey and will be one of the final pitches on investment opportunities, brand awareness, and export promotion.
A day later, Namibia National Day will be on full display. All participating countries are accorded an opportunity to celebrate their National Day at Expo 2020 Dubai.
“Namibia’s National Day will be celebrated on 24 March 2022. Part of the celebrations will include a tour of the Namibian and UAE Pavilions, respectively, a parade and performances to showcase Namibia’s unique culture,” says Shipushu.
This National Day celebration is also when the Namibian Braai in Dubai will take place, featuring Namibian cuisine, beverages, and music. This multi-sensory event will be a vibrant showcase of Namibia’s cultural heritage on the global stage.
“The Expo has also put together key events in March where high-ranking Namibian officials are expected to participate. More information on these and the above-mentioned events will be shared at a later stage.”
The journey has not been without its challenges. Travel restrictions imposed on Namibia and other African countries, particularly during the height of the Omicron variant in December 2021, stifled some of the Namibian team’s plans.
Despite this, Shipushu says, “We have found a solution to this challenge by leveraging technology to ensure that all investment promotion activities continue as planned. The NIPDB has the mammoth responsibility to ensure a return on the government’s investment into this Expo.
As such the Board remains committed to carrying out this assignment to ensure that the outcomes of the country’s participation at the Expo positively contribute towards ensuring economic prosperity for all Namibians.”


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For anyone who doesn’t know, DC Comics is the home of superheroes like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash and Aquaman, which comprise a part of The Justice League of America. Marvel has properties like Spider-Man, The X-Men, The Avengers, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four and so on. It’s far too easy to assume that everyone would know that, so I had to get it out of the way.
DC has been owned by parent company Warner Brothers since the 1970’s while Marvel retained a self-ownership until it was sold to Disney just a few years ago. Both companies publish comic books with larger-than-life superheroes, but it wasn’t until the past decade or so that the technology has caught up with much of what would be required to do films for both the companies. The obvious exceptions would be the Superman and Batman franchises. For Marvel, there were a number of false starts like Howard the Duck, Captain America (direct-to-video), The Fantastic Four from 1994, which was never released and only filmed so New Horizons could hold onto its ownership, and The Punisher with Dolph Lundgren, which was actually kind of good.
The few DC properties that released in the 1990’s were largely horrible missteps on the behalf of the filmmakers and the studio. In 1987, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, which was only distributed by Warner Brothers, had a horrible release that barely kept it in theaters for an entire week. The budget was a measly $17 million and it only made back $11 million. But we soon had a quality Batman film, yet that franchise went further and further downhill until the 1997 release of Batman & Robin, which is infamous for being one of the worst takes on the legend ever. That same year we had Shaquille O’Neal as Steel, but that was a major removal from its comic book origins and only made back 10% of its budget at the box office.
Essentially, the superhero movie genre looked like it was dying out. Perhaps the audiences just didn’t need heroes any more. At the same time, the comic book companies were experiencing a similar decline partly due to the loss of the speculator market that had fueled them through the 80’s and 90’s. Marvel, which was self-publishing at the time, nearly went under and had to change its line-up in a major way. Although to be fair, both companies were experiencing plenty of success in their animation departments.
Marvel in the 21st Century
The first serious comeback for a comic book property in film was Blade in 1998, although many moviegoers failed to even recognize it as an existing comic book property. Marvel first introduced the character as a jive-talking half Vampire in Marv Wolfman’s “The Tomb of Dracula” in 1973. The film was a something of a departure from the comics even though the basics of his origin remained similar. David Goyer (Batman Begins/Dark Knight franchise screenwriter) did a great job with the script and it maintained a gritty darkness and seriousness that films like Batman & Robin were failing to encompass.
The various franchises from both companies got a major kick in the pants when the Bryan Singer directed X-Men hit theaters in the summer of 2000. Not only did it have a real budget ($75 million), it had a real cast of talented actors including well-established thespians like Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan. Part of the film’s success was due to telling a great story with even greater character development, but Singer gets a lot of credit for holding largely true to the comic book origins of the team members. Sure there were tweaks and changes like the leather jumpsuits that replaced the colorful spandex from the four-color pages, but that only benefited the verisimilitude of the film. Due to the comic book treatments of the 1990’s, in the fall of 2000 a friend of mine described X-Men as “Way better than it had any right to be.”
X-Men led to two sequels and two prequels, all of which were box office successes, although different studios were working on different franchises. In 2002, Sony’s Columbia Pictures released the first of three Spider-Man films. Again, these productions had serious budgets and a creative team that largely paid attention to the comic book origins with a few alterations. Whether or not those changes worked really depend upon the individual, especially hot-button topics like organic web-shooters, Green Goblin’s mask and climax with Mary Jane replacing Gwen Stacy from a famous comic book moment.
After that, Marvel properties experienced varying success with Ang Lee’s take on The Hulk, two Fantastic Four films, Daredevil, with an Elektra spinoff, two Ghost Rider movies and so on. The one thing that seemed to guarantee a films success was simply following the origin story with relative closeness and taking only the liberties that were absolutely necessary.
DC in the 21st Century
Warner Brothers stumbled into the 2000’s with their comic book properties. Once X-Men and Spider-Man proved that comic book superheroes could indeed have a future as film properties, WB released Catwoman in 2004. It seemed as though the studio had largely missed the reason why Marvel movies were so successful. Catwoman was without a doubt one of the biggest departures from its source material and was impossible to take seriously. With a budget even larger than X-Men, it was a monumental failure, but fortunately, Warner Brothers was already developing a new Batman Franchise with a visionary director at the helm.
Christopher Nolan made the studio a lot of money with the first two Batman films. The third, The Dark Knight Rises, will hit theaters this summer and we can expect some of the highest box office returns in history. But they still seem to stumble from time to time. Superman Returns was not a failure, but it was hardly the success that was hoped for and would have warranted a sequel. Watchmen held fairly close to its comic book roots. However Jonah Hex was another that was largely altered from the original and consequently made only a quarter of its budget back at the box office. Green Lantern may have proven itself to be the exception to the rule because it’s possible that his origin story may have been just a little too close (and consequently too complicated) for audiences to accept. I still enjoyed it, but I have to wonder if my knowledge of the character, especially after 2004’s Green Lantern: Rebirth miniseries, might have helped me like it more than I can be objective about. Sadly, it just barely made it’s budget back in the worldwide box office.
Who Has the Better Films Now?
WINNER – Marvel. Most comic book superhero fans will pick one of the “Big Two” companies over the other and I’ve always considered myself a “DC.” That’s largely because I’ve been such a big Superman fan my entire life. But with the recent Avengers film franchises like Iron Man I & II, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America and the excitement surrounding the team film, The Avengers, Marvel clearly has a serious edge. Plus there’s the new Amazing Spider-Man film later this summer.
Right now, DC has a very successful Batman franchise that is apparently coming to a complete end with its third installment, and we can only hope that Man of Steel will be a huge accomplishment when it comes out in 2013. Many of their properties have had false starts, like the Justice League movie that was bandied about years ago, The Flash which would have been written by David Goyer, or Wonder Woman which was have been directed by Joss Whedon. And let’s not even get started about the 20 variations that both the Superman and Batman franchises have proposed over the years. But at the same time, we don’t have to excuse Spider-Man from going through similar development issues until Sam Raimi took the reins for the 2002 film.
Who Has a Harder Job Turning Comics into Films?
WINNER – DC. I’m not saying that Marvel should rest on its laurels, and they haven’t. They have put top-notch directors in the chairs and paid a pretty penny to get the most talented actors and storytellers behind their most recent films. But that’s not why they usually have an easier job of it.
DC has historically had the higher comic book sales and the most recognized characters from all the way back to the late 1930’s and 1940’s. For a while, the only regular superhero books on the stands were Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman titles. But when Stan Lee created most of these popular Marvel characters in the 1960’s, he built serious flaws in their core characteristics. The Fantastic Four often didn’t get along personally. The Hulk was always wrestling with his duality and being chased by the Army. Spider-Man had numerous personal and human problems that made it harder to be a hero, and even then his hero side was thought of as a villain by the general public. And so on. What Stan Lee created in the 60’s was already set up for commercial success in film, which certainly helps, especially when writers and directors hold true to what has already been proven to be successful.
The DC characters of the 1960’s and even onward had very few human frailties. Both sides had god-like heroes, but even Batman was a virtually unstoppable force. Frankly, Marvel had more to offer an adult audience. Before Batman was brought back to his “Dark Knight roots in the late 60’s he was still having fantastic adventures and fighting aliens in space ships while sometimes even wearing rainbow costumes.
That’s not to say that DC can’t recreate their characters in effective ways. In their cases, perhaps some level of departure from the source material is warranted, but it needs to be good and not so far from its origins that we end up with Catwoman.
Who Has the Better Chance of Success?
Winner – Tie. There is nothing to stop DC from improving their films. Batman has had amazing success and we can only hope that Man of Steel will follow a similar degree of it. Green Lantern is unlikely to see a sequel and that could actually hurt the potential of a Justice League franchise. With a major studio like Warner Brothers and the still-new "DC Entertainment," there are sure to be more announcements soon.
Still, Marvel is in the lead both with the movies they have recently released and the excitement around their upcoming productions like Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Captain America 2, a new Hulk, and the already inevitable Avengers 2. Of course there’s also a new Spider-Man franchise starting up, talks about continuing the X-Men prequels, a new take on Fantastic Four and still more. Just don’t discount DC yet. There’s too much up in the air and DC has just as good a chance as Marvel in the long run.
What are your favorite comic book films? What would you like to see Marvel and DC announce next?