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It was a few minutes before noon on Tangier Island in Virginia, just about high tide, when David Schulte pushed the toe of his red sneaker into Marilyn Pruitt’s soggy backyard. Schulte, a marine biologist with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, frowned, withdrew his foot, found another spot nearby and pressed his toe down again. His sneaker sank into the ground, and water pooled around it. “It’s like that all the time,” Pruitt called out from her back porch. “It doesn’t dry out anymore.”
Schulte looked up at Pruitt, then crouched down to look closer. There were small holes in the ground, spaced about six inches apart, filled with clear water. “Fiddler crabs,” he said. He stood up, turned and walked to the periphery of Pruitt’s property, where the yard was rimmed by a thicket of wild, knee-high spartina grasses, matted by wind and salt spray. As I followed Schulte, it felt as if we were walking on a sponge. Every step squished and slurped. “This isn’t even a yard anymore,” Schulte told me. “I mean, it’s technically more like a marsh, a wetland.”
From where we stood, a few hundred feet from the shoreline, the view was postcard-perfect. White fishing boats dotted the Chesapeake Bay under a hazy March sky; the eastern shore of Maryland formed a dark, distant stripe on the horizon some 14 miles away. “Sometimes I think we were crazy to build a house out here,” Pruitt told me earlier. “But I guess there are worse places to get stuck.” The real estate market was stalled, she meant, and her family had been unable to sell the property. But it was also the case that she built the house in a place where the bay was steadily advancing on her backyard every year, usually by about a dozen feet. In bad times — when a nor’easter stormed through, say — great chunks of Tangier were torn off. But even in calmer conditions, the losses were steady and seemingly unstoppable. Week by week, wave by wave, grain by grain, Tangier was washing away.
Schulte first visited the island in 2002, when the corps asked him to look into the restoration of some nearby oyster beds. “My first impression was just how low everything on Tangier was,” he recalled. Most of the island, which consists of several long sandy ridges connected by footbridges and amounts to a little over a square mile, is about four or five feet above sea level. The low elevations and the quiet, bird-filled wetlands and tidal creeks produce a sense of living with the water, rather than beside it. Schulte has returned to Tangier several times over the past decade to track its health. Last year, when some money became available at the corps to research the impact of climate change on coastal areas, he and a couple of colleagues began a study on Tangier, believing that this tiny island might also yield insights into the vulnerability of cities and towns all along the Eastern Seaboard. They concluded that Tangier had lost two-thirds of its landmass since 1850. To scientists who study the Chesapeake, this was not surprising: Over the past four centuries, Schulte estimates, more than 500 islands have disappeared from the bay, about 40 of them once inhabited. The most striking aspect of the Tangier research, however, was how bleak the island’s future looked.
Some of its troubles are the result of the same forces behind sea-level rises everywhere. Warmer global temperatures make oceans bigger — a process known as thermal expansion — and thus increase sea levels; at the same time, land-based glaciers around the world, along with the ice caps on Greenland and Antarctica, are melting into the ocean. “But they’ve got it worse here,” Schulte said. Tangier’s location in the center of the bay, along with its friable turf of sand and silt, leaves it dangerously exposed and fragile. What’s more, the land in and around the Chesapeake is sinking, because of lingering effects from geological events dating back 20,000 years. “They’re just in a very untenable position,” Schulte said. “And they don’t have any options right now other than something big to turn them around.” A very big construction project, in short.
Schulte’s study of Tangier, published online in the journal Nature last year, concluded that the island might have 50 years left and that its residents were likely to become some of the first climate-change refugees in the continental United States. Tangier was not necessarily a lost cause: Schulte outlined a rough engineering plan, costing around $30 million, that involved breakwaters, pumped-in sand and new vegetation that could preserve the island. What his paper couldn’t possibly resolve, though, were the immense economic and political obstacles involved in saving an obscure place from oblivion precisely when big East Coast cities were seeking hundreds of millions of federal dollars for storm-surge protection. Indeed, as seas rise and scientists fine-tune their projections for an era of floods — large parts of Miami Beach, according to some predictions, may be uninhabitable by around 2050 — Tangier’s situation represents an early glimpse of a problem so enormously complex, so “wicked,” in the argot of social scientists, it seems to defy resolution.
There will be dozens of Miamis and thousands of Tangiers. “The Outer Banks, the Delmarva Peninsula, Long Island, the Jersey Shore — they’re in the same boat,” Schulte said. “It’s going to just take a little longer for them to get to where Tangier is now.” An excruciating question is how we will decide which coastal communities to rescue and which to relinquish to the sea. But a number of other difficulties attend those decisions. How do we re-engineer the land, roads and neighborhoods of the places deemed worthy of salvation? How do we relocate residents whose homes can’t (or won’t) be saved? Also, there’s the money problem. A recent study, commissioned by the Risky Business Project, an initiative led by Henry Paulson, Michael Bloomberg and the hedge-fund billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer, concluded that as much as a half-trillion dollars’ worth of coastal property in the United States could be under water by the end of the century. And that figure doesn’t include the cost of further encroachments by flooding. As Skip Stiles, the head of Wetlands Watch, a Virginia nonprofit that focuses on coastal preservation and sea-level rise, puts it, “Is there even enough money in the world to buy out — to make whole — everybody’s investment that’s going to get soggy?”
After we left Marilyn Pruitt’s yard, Schulte and I walked through town together. We dodged residents driving golf carts on the narrow roadways — there are very few automobiles on Tangier — and hopped over a number of large puddles. We made our way to Lorraine’s, the only restaurant open in the colder months. “I’m thinking, from what I see today, that 50 years may be optimistic,” Schulte said. At this rate, he wondered if Tangier had even 25.
Renee Tyler, Tangier’s town manager, works in an office next to the airport, in a prefabricated building topped with solar panels. The first thing Tyler said to Schulte when we visited her was: “I wish we could just stick something under the island and just pump it up. You know, inflate it.” She and Schulte discussed how the Army Corps was planning to build a small jetty on the northwestern side of the island in 2018. But it’s a modest project, she told me, and the jetty is not likely to mitigate the worsening floods. So something far more involved, something resembling Schulte’s plan, is needed. The problem is that the island is too poor to fund the work on its own. Tangier — population 470 — is steadfastly working class, with a median household income of about $40,000. “I started a campaign on generosity.com for donations,” Tyler, a blunt 51-year-old former Marine, said. “We don’t have any billionaires here.”
I asked her if the town could borrow money to pay for sea walls or breakers. “There’s no way we’d be able to pay that back,” she said. “Not in our lifetime or our kids’ lifetime.” What about a one-time tax assessment? Tyler shook her head. “Nope. Not here. We’re starting from nothing.”
That appears to leave the island at the mercy of the state and federal governments — and in particular, the Army Corps of Engineers, which would probably shoulder the burden of any large-scale construction effort. But understanding the process by which the corps gets involved with places like Tangier also helps explain why the island probably faces some rough years ahead. Schulte works out of the corps’s district office in Norfolk, in a squat modern building where I visited him a few weeks before we met on Tangier. He and a number of his superiors made a convincing case to me that the corps is increasingly focused on climate change; the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, for instance, recently led the agency to make a thorough assessment of risks to the United States’ North Atlantic coast and to identify potential new flood-control projects. The district commander, Col. Jason Kelly, told me that some of the reflexive tendencies of the corps to build big dams and dikes — the old rallying cry, as he put it, of “Let’s get the concrete going!” — are now enhanced by holistic (and, often, cheaper) ways of managing floodwaters, by installing natural defenses like marshlands and dunes, say.
The corps employs roughly 32,000 civilians and about 700 military personnel; the list of projects it oversees around the country runs to nearly 200 pages. Yet by the standards of federal agencies, the corps’s civil-works budget — the money used for the construction, operations and maintenance of domestic, nonmilitary engineering projects — is not large, topping off at just under $5 billion last year. Most of that funding goes to maintain navigable waterways, marine ecosystems and dams; only a fraction is directed to coastal flood work. Robert Bea, an engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a longtime observer of the agency, told me the corps was “always working on a pretty thin shoestring. And they’re always in this tension between what can be done and what should be done.”
The corps does not have complete control over its agenda. Rather, it responds to requests from towns and cities and to the instructions of federal lawmakers. Essentially, there are two routes a community can take to initiate the corps’s participation, and each takes time. The first is to seek help for smaller projects, under about $10 million each, that are judged important by the corps leadership and can be funded out of the corps’s annual budget, provided that costs will be shared by a state, county or township. A good example is the small jetty for Tangier, which is meant to preserve a navigation channel and will be paid for by the corps and the state of Virginia. But amid so many other competing state and federal projects, that money has taken decades to secure: The jetty was first proposed in the mid-1990s.
Bigger projects are even more complicated. The week before we met, Kelly said, the corps agreed to conduct a major flood-management study on behalf of Norfolk, which is already suffering so many floods that some of the city’s arterial roads are routinely shut down after storms. Unlike Schulte’s brief scientific assessment on Tangier, major studies like the one for Norfolk need to be authorized by Congress, typically through something known as a Water Resources Development Act bill. After authorization, the study process takes several years and millions of dollars, but it is the crucial step that precedes any large Army Corps construction project. In Norfolk’s case, the eventual work — funded jointly by the city and federal governments — might take a decade or more and might involve building sea walls, breakwaters, marshlands and pumps. Judging by other big flood-management projects, it might also cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Still, that could prove a bargain for Norfolk if the results significantly reduce the city’s risk of flooding. Compared with the cost of federal emergency assistance, along with the potential harm done to the city’s tax revenue, hundreds of millions for storm-surge protection isn’t so much.
Politics seems to play an outsize role in shaping the corps’s priorities. Every few years, a small number of Washington legislators privately debate a large number of potential Army Corps projects for a new WRDA bill — and a powerful member of Congress can often push a pet project to the top of the list. “Everybody jostles and gets in line,” J. David Rogers, a geological engineer at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, told me. “So if you come out on the top of the WRDA cake, your work gets done. And if it doesn’t, your work doesn’t get done.” Michael Oppenheimer, a professor at Princeton who studies the intersection of climate change and policy, told me that Beltway deals are only part of the problem. The corps exists within a larger government system that focuses more on storm repairs than on preparation and adaptation, and there seems to be no immediate prospect for creating a national organization that can proactively address the coastal problems caused by climate change. “This is all patchwork,” he says. And our safety web of policies and agencies — the corps was founded in 1779 — predates an age when rising sea levels posed existential threats.
To act quickly, wealthy cities like New York have begun to largely self-fund their waterfront defenses. But the United States has more than 88,000 miles of shoreline; roughly five million people and 2.6 million homes are situated less than four feet above high tide. Considering that the corps already strains under its present workload, it’s hard to know who or what will come to the aid of less affluent towns when sea levels are three or four feet higher than today. Tangier’s prospects seemed to dim even as I listened to Kelly explain his protocol and heard how many cities compete for the corps’s limited funds.
“We know Tangier has to compete with other projects,” Tyler said. “But we feel — I don’t know, is ‘inconsequential’ the right word? We feel that we’re not a priority, that we’re too small to make a difference.” Tyler said she hadn’t given up, but she was worried. “We really have not thought of Plan B,” she told me. “Or it may be that Plan B scares me.”
Repeatedly she told me, “Time is running out.” And all around Tangier, I had the sense that unlike most seaside towns, where the pace of life tends toward the languorous, clocks were ticking faster than everywhere else. When I walked about the island with Schulte, he was buttonholed by one resident after another and asked a variation of “When are you going to start building a sea wall?” Knowing how tricky the funding process can be, he would respond that the soonest anything could happen — “at best” — might be a few years. He sometimes looked pained as he said it. Later he told me: “I grew up in a steel-mill town outside of Pittsburgh. And I remember that feeling when all the steel mills started shutting down, that feeling that there was no viable future. It must be the same here, but on Tangier it’s the land itself that’s the problem.”
For any large-scale project, the corps needs to identify what Kelly calls a “legitimate national interest.” The national interest can sometimes be framed in economic and military terms — in Norfolk, preserving the city’s shipping port, which also hosts the country’s largest naval base. In other places, crucial ecosystem restoration or, in rarer instances, historical preservation, may justify the corps’s involvement. Schulte’s arguments for saving Tangier are a mix of these. “It’s the last offshore fishing community in Virginia, literally the last one standing,” he told me over dinner one evening. “We lose parts of America when we lose places like this.” The island was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. Tangier’s community has been there for hundreds of years, Schulte notes — the island was mainly settled by several families from Cornwall and Devon, England, in the 1700s and 1800s, and their heritage is still discernible in the residents’ unusual accent, a Colonial-era Cornwall patois wrapped inside a Virginia twang that has long drawn the attention of linguists and anthropologists. That accent would disappear if the island were lost. Schulte made the economic case too. Tangier’s sea grass (known as subaqueous vegetation beds) and wetlands have significant ecological worth. The subaqueous vegetation beds are where blue crabs reach maturity, and migrating birds rest on the wetlands. The vegetation cleanses the water and air. He has calculated the “ecosystem value” of Tangier to be millions of dollars annually.
The descendants of the island’s early English settlers continue to work on crab and oyster boats. When the town was founded, its fishermen, known here as watermen, had no idea that ecological disaster would threaten the island. “It’s not like someone who builds in a floodplain intentionally, knowing that there’s this chance,” Schulte said. “So I feel that these people should get some help.” He added that the problem was not just a few houses: “It’s the whole town.” Re-establishing them on the mainland would be expensive. “Let’s say we do nothing and let the island go away, and then move everybody. How do we deal with that? It’s not going to be a cheap undertaking, and it’s going to be well beyond what the people there can pay.” His bottom line was that bringing the island back to health could be cost-effective as well as virtuous.
Schulte did not take the challenges of fixing Tangier lightly, though. He brought up the example of Poplar Island, a spot in the Chesapeake some 60 miles north of Tangier, to explain why. Within the small community of engineers and scientists who spend their days thinking about how to save entire islands or coastal cities from vanishing during this century, Poplar looms greatly. In the late 1800s, it was home to Valliant, a small village with a post office, a school and 100 residents. Unfortunately, Valliant also had a sawmill. In cutting down the island’s trees for lumber, the islanders destroyed the root system holding their soil together. By around 1920, Valliant was abandoned. And by the 1990s, Poplar Island shrank from about 1,200 acres to five acres and was on the cusp of extinction.
I went to Poplar, which is about two miles from Maryland’s eastern shore, in late March, accompanied by Justin Callahan, a project manager for the corps’s Baltimore division. He first traveled to Poplar in 1993, when it was just a tiny sandbar. “We’re at 1,140 acres now,” he told me during the boat ride over, “and ultimately we’ll be expanding it to a total of 1,715 acres.” The island is being resurrected, and what you find on Poplar now is a public-works project on a biblical scale, rising out of the Chesapeake. In 2003, the corps began building a boomerang-shaped dike as the island’s new perimeter. This “hard” boundary was composed of sand piles covered with a strong textile material and topped with crushed stone and huge, 2,000-pound boulders. Since then, the corps has been filling the pools inside the perimeter wall with silt dredged from the channels leading into Baltimore Harbor and carted here by scow 24 hours a day during active periods of construction. The dredging of the channels would have occurred anyway — it’s necessary to keep the port deep enough for large cargo ships — but ordinarily the silt would be dumped out in the ocean. By depositing it here, the state of Maryland, which owns Poplar, gets a better harbor and a new island. When it’s finished, in 2040 or so, Poplar will be a wildlife sanctuary devoid of residents.
“A lot of what you usually see with the corps is known as ‘pump and dump,’ ” Callahan said once we reached the island. He was dressed in jeans and work boots, and he quickly borrowed a truck to give me a tour. We drove past a long line of trailers that serve as offices for the roughly 25 workers who come here daily — no one stays overnight — before turning onto a main dirt road that runs along the spine of the new island. “ ‘Pump and dump’ means you dredge it, deposit it and walk away,” he continued. “But this is different. A tremendous amount of engineering went into this.” Half the island is being sculpted into wetlands, Callahan said, pointing to low-lying areas to my right, which had already been planted with spartina grass and were starting to flourish. The other half of the island will be dry “uplands.” These were on Callahan’s left. Some of the upland hills have already been built to about 17 feet above sea level, on the way to about 25 feet, according to Callahan, a height that should fortify the island. In time, the uplands will be planted with pine trees. The corps will in effect undo the error that the residents of Poplar made 100 years ago.
As we drove along, Callahan pointed out a pipe three feet in diameter running alongside the road. It carried dredged material pumped from Poplar’s bulkhead, where ships arrived with the silt carried from Baltimore channels, to the places being “infilled” on Poplar. Callahan parked at the end of the pipe so we could see the silt pour out into a roadside pool. It was black and viscous. Over the next few weeks, as the dark soup pooled higher and higher, water would drain out, the sediment would dry and settle and the process would then be repeated until the area reached the desired elevation. Surrounded by the dust and the noise of machinery, it was hard to picture the green idyll of the future. The whole place smelled like mud.
Poplar will ultimately cost about $1.4 billion — or roughly $800,000 per acre. Earlier, Tangier’s town manager, Renee Tyler, told me: “What baffles me the most is that no one lives on Poplar. And they spent all this money on it. We have people who live here, as well as sea life and birds.” Yet there are a number of reasons, some of them bureaucratic and obscure, that get in the way of using Baltimore harbor’s silt to build up Tangier. This is Maryland’s mud, not Virginia’s, and Poplar (unlike Tangier) has the good fortune to lie within Maryland’s waters. Another factor that works in Poplar’s favor: the project has a defensible, cost-benefit appeal. “If you want to do ecosystem restoration on a large scale,” Callahan told me on the boat ride back, “it’s expensive, so it has to have a big economic driver.” Here, the economic driver involves the effort to preserve the port of Baltimore, “which is just a huge regional economic engine.” That’s what makes it difficult for Tangier, he added. No one would dispute that Tangier had a unique fishing culture and history, he remarked.
“It has no harbor project, though,” Callahan said. Then he added, rhetorically, “What is the economic driver for Tangier?”
One afternoon on Tangier, I stopped by the fire station to visit Anna Pruitt-Parks, a member of the Town Council and also Tangier’s paramedic. Pruitt-Parks grew up on the island, and as a teenager she thought about leaving. “But when you get Tangier mud between the toes,” she told me, “it’s hard to go.” She lives with her husband and children in her grandparents’ house. For more than 40 years, she said, the house never flooded, but several recent storms brought water in. “We’ve since had it elevated so it doesn’t flood, and we had our land graded,” she explained. But she sees the land all around Tangier sinking and eroding. Her 12-year-old son told her that he wants to be a waterman. “I don’t know if that will be possible,” she told me, “but that’s what he wants.” When I asked if she thought Tangier could provide a future for her children, she said: “If all of the wheels turn that need to turn, I do believe that we can be saved, and even built back up — not necessarily to the size we were 200 years ago. But if you look at projects like Poplar Island, it is possible.”
What is vexing for Tangierians is that their local challenges, as difficult as they seem, may pale next to their broader, long-term problems. “It will take two things to save the island,” David Schulte says. “One is to engineer and repair it now. The other is to make sure that the worst-case scenario of climate change doesn’t happen, because I’ve seen what that looks like in the computer modeling, and we don’t want to go there. A lot of Norfolk is under water. Miami is under water.” Tangier, too. For the moment, the world is on course for the worst-case impacts of sea-level rise — perhaps up to six feet by 2100, a result of carbon dioxide pushing up temperatures and the polar ice sheets pouring meltwater into the oceans. At the same time, the forces that make the Chesapeake area so vulnerable (the region currently experiences about five millimeters of relative sea-level rise annually, significantly more than the global annual average of three millimeters) will not be getting any better. “The land is likely to be sinking for many thousands of years,” says Paul Bierman, a scientist at the University of Vermont who has studied the area’s geology.
The Gulf Stream presents another problem. At present, this circulation of warm water in the Atlantic Ocean produces variations in sea level. The surface of the Atlantic is about 60 centimeters lower off the coast of New Jersey than it is off Bermuda, according to Robert Kopp, a professor at Rutgers. If the Gulf Stream weakens, Kopp says, as it is expected to do in a warmer climate, then the differences in sea level will equalize. Oceans will be even higher in the Mid-Atlantic region. This portends trouble not only for the Chesapeake, but also for Long Island and the Jersey Shore. And water will meanwhile be seeping into other urban centers. A recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists concluded that several dozen American cities — including Boston, New Haven and Savannah, Ga. — could suffer more than 50 floods per year by about 2045 if they don’t take serious measures to mitigate the rising tides; at least a dozen other places, including Philadelphia and Wilmington, N.C., may flood more than 150 times a year. If federal lawmakers find that hard to believe, they will see proof out the window: Parts of Washington could be inundated 388 times a year.
To Chris Moore, a senior scientist at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, “we’re not anywhere near the point where we need to write off an entire community.” Still, the science suggests that it may soon be time to consider which towns, islands and cities can (or cannot) be saved. This, in turn, prompts some hard thinking about which criteria — economic wealth, population density, natural appeal, historical value — should weigh most heavily in those decisions. “It’s just a sad fact that we can’t spend an infinite amount of money defending the coast,” Michael Oppenheimer, the Princeton professor, says. “And the concept of retreat, which is sort of un-American, has to be normalized. It has to become part of the culture. Because there are some places where we’re really going to have to retreat.”
I asked Skip Stiles, of Wetlands Watch, if there were reasons to spend vast sums on flood defenses even when long-term outcomes looked bleak. He surprised me by saying that some kind of investment could be an essential part of a regional or national strategy. Short-term fixes, even expensive ones, could allow residents and governments to make choices about how to help or resettle people; a sudden annihilation of hope, on the other hand, could destroy a town’s real estate values and tax base. You’d have a rapid exodus, another Poplar Island. Ben Strauss of Climate Central, a research organization based in Princeton, N.J., seems to agree. “A coastal community can understand that its life can be limited by future sea-level rises,” he told me, “but that shouldn’t stop it from having a vital presence today.” He also thinks it’s conceivable that if the country’s most threatened communities can address their potential demise as fairly as possible, they could serve as exemplars. “That’s a huge gift to other communities,” he says, “because this is going to be a widely shared problem.”
For the moment, though, the notion of managed decline is mostly just an idea. When Schulte’s research on Tangier came out, some of the islanders came up with the idea of distributing T-shirts that read “I refuse to become a climate-change refugee.” When Schulte and I went downtown one afternoon to meet with Carol Moore-Pruitt, a native of Tangier who helped create the shirts, she told him: “I don’t know anything about climate change. But if calling me a climate-change refugee gets me a sea wall, then go ahead, call me a climate-change refugee.”
If the residents of Tangier want to look for insights into how their world might end, they can go to the northern edge of their island, to an area known as Uppards. Though it was connected to the rest of Tangier a century ago, Uppards is now a water-soaked parcel of land separated from the inhabited, southern part of the island by a broad navigation channel used by watermen. One day on Tangier, Schulte accepted an invitation from a visitor named Ron Kesner to see Tangier and Uppards by air, in Kesner’s single-engine Cessna, and I tagged along. Kesner is a resident of the Virginia mainland who has been visiting Tangier regularly for several years with his wife, Jodi Jones Smith, a coastal scientist, to study the island’s erosion. On a crisp afternoon with breathtaking visibility, we took off from Tangier’s small airport, climbed to a thousand feet and began to circle the island.
From above, it looked like the remains of an island — a dun-colored triangle with so many small ponds and streams it seemed like a large perforated leaf floating on a glassy green sea. If you looked closely, you could also see sandbars in the shallow waters surrounding it; as recently as 50 years ago, some of these were above sea level, and home to houses and beaches. They were now under five or 10 feet of water.
“It’s really been cut to shreds, hasn’t it?” Kesner said.
“And we’re a couple hours past high tide, too,” Schulte replied. He hadn’t seen the island from the air for a decade, he remarked, and the “ponding” all over worried him. It suggested that water was not only leaching in from the shorelines but was bubbling up from underneath Tangier too. “Wow,” he said, his face nearly pressed to the window. “They are on the edge.”
As we circled the Uppards area just north of Tangier, Schulte asked me: “Do you see that line running along the center?” That was once a road, he said. It had connected a small village known as Canaan, at the northern tip of Uppards, to Tangier village.
Canaan is gone. It was abandoned around 1920, when the villagers, roughly 120 of them, left. Rather than physical deterioration, it seems to have been social erosion — not enough churchgoers and students, according to a report by the National Park Service — that hastened the town’s end. Many of the 35 houses on Uppards were moved to Tangier’s village, where some still remain. A few, however, were left behind to be taken by the sea. Only one photograph of Canaan exists, from a 1910 magazine article. Instead there are recollections, passed down to Tangier residents like Anna Pruitt-Parks, whose great-grandmother lived in Canaan.
A few hours after I saw Uppards from the air, I visited the area by boat with Schulte and Carol Moore-Pruitt, who also traces her roots to Canaan. Over the past few years, she has come to be regarded as its unofficial historian, the keeper not only of shards of information about the inhabitants — “It used to be beautiful green grass, chickens, roses, fig trees,” she told me — but also of physical fragments that wash up where the town once stood. She told me that 10 years ago she found an English whiskey bottle from the 1600s. One lingering problem with Uppards is that the remnants of the Canaan cemetery, now half underwater, have proved difficult to collect and move. Though some bodies have been relocated, bones and parts of coffins continue to wash into the tide regularly. Pruitt-Parks told me that once she was waiting for a ferry on Tangier’s dock and saw a femur on a nearby bank.
Canaan — and Uppards Island — matter to the people of Tangier for two reasons. The first is that even in its tattered state, it protects the rest of Tangier from the erosive northern currents of the Chesapeake. As our boat drew nearer, Schulte told me he thinks Uppards is now losing about 10 feet of shoreline a year. And, he said, “If you lose Uppards, you lose the town of Tangier, because then the town would be unsheltered.”
The second reason residents care about Uppards is that it represents a possible future. “I’m not a pessimist,” Moore-Pruitt told me. “But I see what’s happening. Without a sea wall on the east side, or a sea wall on the west side, Tangier will just be in the history books. It will be like this place, like Uppards.” We had come ashore from her small boat. She looked around and spread her arms and said, “But isn’t it beautiful?”
It was indeed — but also windswept, lonesome, strange. She began leading us past tidal pools and along the beach, a mix of silt and peat held together by the thin roots of marsh grasses. The lapping of the Chesapeake was ripping away the peat at the water’s edge. As Moore-Pruitt narrated, we walked by piles of oyster shells — middens, most likely, dating back to Native American settlers — and soon came upon a large scattering of red bricks, smoothed and made porous by time and weather, that had probably served as the foundation of Canaan’s homes. Not far away was a large iron ring, sunk into the mud, which marked the top of an old freshwater well. All around us were old bottles and dead bushes and gnarled stumps, including the skeleton of a large fig tree. “That died three years ago,” Moore-Pruitt said, blaming the intrusion of saltwater, which made survival for most plants difficult. Beyond the fig tree were a number of weathered marble headstones from the old Canaan graveyard, lying flat on the beach. Schulte began turning them over to read the inscriptions. The familiar Tangier names — the old families that had come here from Cornwall hundreds of years ago — still echoed: Margaret Pruitt, Polly Parks.
Moore-Pruitt led us farther eastward. Over the next few weeks, I thought of her many times — this woman who takes her small boat to Uppards almost every day, weather permitting, to walk the beach, stepping gingerly over fallen headstones while searching for bottles and buttons or taking a moment to appreciate the blooms of a dying rosebush planted by someone (an ancestor?) more than a century ago. Sometimes, she told me, especially in summer, she brings along her grandchildren to help her gather things exposed by the tide, even though, as she put it, “the sun is so hot you can barely stand it.” She had found toy marbles and old coins and coffin handles; she had also discovered arrowheads and a Native American ax head of smoothed stone that must have preceded the settlement of Canaan by many centuries. But every week, she said, there was a bit less land and brush. And every visit was an effort to gather the final, sodden artifacts of a place that would vanish, almost completely, within a few years.
We walked for a while more. Eventually, we reached an area beyond the remains of Canaan where the empty beach stretched through mud, marsh grass and scattered oyster shells. Schulte said he wanted to keep going farther, along the eastern shore of Uppards, and Moore-Pruitt agreed to return later in her boat to pick him up. Schulte said that he thought he might have seen a living pine tree during the flight on the Cessna. “I want to go see if I can find it.”
Standing on the beach, Moore-Pruitt said, “Sometimes it’s so hard to imagine this was a town.”
“It’s like no one ever lived here,” Schulte replied. Then he turned and began walking to find the last tree.

domain: geography


text:
Original Morris Minor: The Restorer's Guide to All Saloon, Tourer, Convertible, Traveller and Light Commercial Models (Hardback)Ray Newell (author)
- In stock
- Free UK delivery
Publisher: Herridge & Sons Ltd
Number of pages: 128
Weight: 907 g
Dimensions: 295 x 225 x 18 mm
You may also be interested in...
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Or, add to basket, pay online, collect in as little as 2 hours, subject to availability.

domain: hobby


text:
FROM David Campos
California Leads the Call for a Boycott of Arizona In 1992, Arizona's then-Governor Evan Mecham cancelled Martin Luther King Day and made insensitive comments about minorities and women. The result was an organized decline in tourism and cancellation of numerous conventions and concerts. An upcoming Super Bowl was moved to another state. Now, Arizona's new immigration law has led to calls for similar retribution. The law requires Arizona police to determine if people are in the US illegally and demand that suspects show their papers. Councilwoman Janice Hahn wants the City of Los Angeles to “refrain from conducting business with the state of Arizona.” We speak with Hahn and others.
Border security and campaign promises President Trump has promised tightened borders and a big beautiful wall. Guest host Barbara Bogaev looks at two tent-poles of the President's immigration policy: extreme vetting of visa applicants and building the US-Mexico border wall.
White House flip flops: NATO, Syria and China In less than 100 days, President Trump has contradicted himself on a host of foreign policy issues — Syria, NATO, China and Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Is it a strength — or a weakness — for the United States when the world of power politics never knows what to expect?
Will the march for science politicize objective research? Protesters are gathering all over the country for tomorrow's Earth Day March for Science. Since President Trump has proposed massive cuts in basic scientific research, will the movement be perceived as partisan politics — whether scientists themselves like it or not?

domain: news


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My deadline for leaving St. Paul was a little squishier than usual. It moved from the middle of May, out to late June, and then back a couple short hops to finally rest on June 9. I’d decided to allow my schedule to be dictated by my list of things I’d wanted done, rather than forcing those things to conform to a set time. Even though the time-line kept changing, it turned out to be a far less stressful thing than trying to manage the other way around. Continue reading On The Move Again
I have this road atlas of North America, an actual paper map book. A gift from my friend Kelly Q. It’s as much a ritual piece as it is a tool, a magic book of choose-your-own adventures.
I adore paper maps. It’s a thing, straight from childhood. I remember sitting in the back seat of the car on family trips, where I’d keep track of our progress on a map by watching milestones and landmarks. I would envision our car as a little dot moving along the wandering lines. It pleased me to no end when that imaginary dot on the map coincided with actual progress. (Hm, and now I have digital applications that provide this entertainment with little calculation on my part.)
Yesterday, I laid out Kelly’s road atlas upon my desk and settled in with a nice cup of tea to read it.
I’ll be heading to back to New York state, embarking somewhere mid-May to early June. The destination is firm but I have so many beautiful options on how I’ll get there. Friends and family to visit, art farms to find, and odd little spots to stand in and look out from. Activities and resources will determine the how and the when, so launch day is a little squishy this time around. I’ve got a couple of open ended tasks and some events I’d like to be a part of.
It’s difficult to wait on exciting things. While I like to start my preparations with enough time to take care of unexpected events, I avoid starting too soon. I get fidgety in those quiet moments between planning and realization but I think I’m getting the hang of finding the right balance between living in the now and planning for the later.
A quiet moment with the map book has me calculating distances and backtracking between destinations to determine travel times. This gives me an idea of expenses to prepare for, figuring what I can literally afford to do on my way, and a vague idea of time required to do it. That’s it, that’s all I need to do today.
Just a little toe in the water to settle my ‘what if’s and germinate the seeds of my summer adventure.
I’ve got about six weeks left in my little St. Paul abode. I’m eying my things with a measure towards fitting what I will back into Bruno, and that which I’ll be passing along to friends or second hand stores.
The bonus of having a broken computer and needing to stop at libraries for internet service is that I get to meet more nice librarians and see some beautiful, old library architecture. Continue reading Library Stops
The leaving seems always the natural extension of being on the road.
This Monday, after the last fair weekend, is gentle with the sounds of dismantling and packing. Yet the grounds are quieter than usual, the lighter travelers having already left. Over the weekend we’ve talked of the next landing places, and said our ‘see-ya-laters’. Hugs and smiles exchanged, greetings and good tidings to be passed along. Continue reading Leaving and Arriving
Left New Orleans on Friday morning, about 10:30. Most often on the night before launch day I dance with the idea that I could leave at sunrise. Enticed by the thrill of setting out with the sun, I consider all the traveling I could get done if I leave at dawn. Continue reading Making Way Slowly
Floyd, Virgina is musical, green, quiet and comfy. That’s what I’d been told by those friends encouraging my visit. While I had only an afternoon and evening to look around, I see what they were saying and I look forward to a longer stay in warmer weather. I met a friend at a sweet general store in the center of town, housing within it a cafe and music venue. Continue reading Touring Roving
I’m on the north side of Chicago, a sunny and cold Saturday morning. The car is packed. Snow is snowing. The morning traffic softens and I head out into the steady stream of drivers.
The first leg of my trip, to east St. Louis, is good and I find the home of my couch surfing hosts with ease. A young couple of rockers with a big and cuddly mixed pitbull. We go out to dinner at their favorite bar for tasty burgers and fries, then I settle in to sleep with the dog while they paint the town. When I’m awake and ready to roll, they are still cozy in bed. I leave a note, give the dog a good rub and head out into the crisp and sunny morning.
The drive toward Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is a day of listening to the radio, singing to myself and talking to the ghosts of my past. I make it as far as Springfield, Mo., before settling in to sleep.
Eureka Springs. A sprawling, mountain town riding the saddle of a crest and dripping down into the valley. I stop at one of several information stations to learn this place is laden with artists and seers of all kinds. Festivals and events dot their calendar year round, including a night-lighted parade on the day I arrive. Worth the consideration of extending my stay, however my chief reason for visiting town is the Museum of Earth History and it’s closed, for good. Apparently there weren’t enough tickets sold to support the sweet dioramas of Adam and Eve running with the dinosaurs, or the Tower of Babel complete with human skulls. I visit the Bible Museum across the way, a cool stop for anyone interested in bibles, books, or both, but I can’t talk my way in for a private viewing. It’s awesomeness will have to remain mythical.
I bum around town but any other tourist activities of interest are closed as well, so I decide to head on my way and come back in a warmer season. Maybe for a retreat or internship.
I arrived to Hot Springs, Arkansas, with my California hot springs experiences in mind. Large wood and rock bowls of mineral rich hot water out under the wide open skies, enjoying nature by sun, moon, or stars. Here, though, it’s all about the spa. Any and every spring worth its salts has been capped and piped into large, tiled bathhouses with people waiting to pound and twist your body. Not really my thing. I stroll around the town, tour the Fordyce Bathhouse, and have a tasty, little lunch at a quiet BBQ joint before moving on.
Just south of Pine Bend, Arkansas, I meet up with a friend of a friend from back in their day. We have dinner and great conversation. He’s a repo man and a gentleman, so naturally I park my van in the repo lot along side the wrecks and returns, and go for a ride-along on his night shift. After I live through a few stories-for-another-time, he clocks out and we head to a pre-dawn breakfast. I still manage to get in some good sleep before rising for my drive to New Orleans.
On that last leg of this trip, the ride is long and I fight the temptation to nap in favor of the comfort of a hot meal and a shower at my final destination point. I am certainly road weary when I arrive, but a place has been made ready for me to park and the shower is hot, hot, hot. So good to be back in the land of soft, purple evenings.
Introducing, Bruno, named for Filippo (Giordano) Bruno. My new road-trip home, or, more affectionately, ‘my beach house on wheels’. Continue reading Bruno!
The other day, while we were stocking the produce aisle, my co-worker commented that she didn’t think she could travel like I did. She said the idea of going to a town where she didn’t know anyone frightened her and asked me, doesn’t it scare you? Yes, I told her, it used to scare me. And sometimes, depending on the town, it still does. Continue reading Thing One


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When it comes to false lashes, who else wears them better than celebs? Well, it is true that celebrities inspire us every day by introducing new styles and looks. If you are unable to create a drop-dead-gorgeous look with your Red Cherry Lashes, then it is time you take inspiration from the celebrities and copying their false lash style. Let’s take a look at some of the false lashes trends that celebrities pulled off on the red carpet.
Mix and Match Different Types of Lashes
In order to successfully achieve a natural and striking look using false lashes, you will need to play with different lashes. Celebrities like Jenna Dewan-Tatum and Kim Kardashian like to use long, thick, dramatic, and short lashes together to create an attractive look. Making use of different sized lashes makes your eyes look dramatic, especially if you have colored eyes. You can apply black liner on your eyes and you are ready to hit any event.
Add Multiple Layers of Madame Madeline Lashes
If you are looking to achieve a more dramatic and edgy look, then wear your Ardell Lashes just like Nicki Minaj. The hit singer often shows up to event wearing multiple lashes layered one over another. This is a great way to make your eyes look heavy. This technique also gives a feeling of thick lashes, which is something every girl wants. However, do not go overboard with the use of the lashes and layer no more than two Ardell lashes at a time.
Add a Pop of Color
Another great way to apply false lashes like the celebrities is to add a hint of eye-popping colors. Coco Rocha is among the celebrities who have made everyone fall in love with this style. The trick to perfect this technique is to apply colored mascara to your original lashes and apply black lashes just above your lash line. The striking color of the mascara will give you a distinct look that everyone will fall for. The colored mascara and the black Red Cherry Lashes will create a dynamic contrast, and enhance your entire look. However, when you are going for this edgy style, do not wear a very crazy outfit. The key to perfecting this look just like Coco Rocha is to go for a chic look by making use of dynamic lashes alone.
Create a Winged Look
Who said that the cat-eye look can only be achieved by a liner? Well, you can also apply long lashes to the outer edges of your eyes for a cat-eye look. In order to enhance the look, you can apply winged liner on your eyelid. You can also go for Ardell Lashes that are shorter from the inner edges and longer on the outside.
Go for a Bold Look
If you don’t want to apply too much makeup and still want the attention, then it is best to apply neon colored liner on our eyelids. To give more emphasis to the colored liner, you can apply a thin line of black liner under it. Now, apply short and natural looking Red Cherry lashes to complete the look.
These tips will help you get that inspiring falsies look that celebrities often flaunt on the red carpet.

domain: artistic


Funky urban city living style track. This was originally inspired by a cooking show intro so it should work well with how to style videos. Comes with stingers and an underscore loop so there are plenty of edits to help set the mood.
This song is available in the City Groove bundle.
In The Download
Free music downloads are the main music file only in MP3 format.
Downloads via the unlimited downloads or single song purchases include all the edits in WAV, MP3 + CCITT format.
No Copyright Music | Creative Commons Music | Royalty Free Music


text:
San Antonio, TX (January 24, 2021) – An accident involving a semi-truck carrying molasses claimed the life of one person on Thursday evening. At around 10 p.m., on January 21, emergency crews were called to the scene of a crash on Interstate 37.
Reports from authorities show that an 18-wheeler was traveling on Interstate 37 when it became involved in a collision. The semi-truck then crashed onto loop 1604, struck a Dodge caravan, then went over the embankment and burst into flames. Crews arrived at the scene and quickly went to work battling the blaze.
The driver of the semi-truck sustained fatal injuries in the accident. Authorities pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.
Two other victims sustained injuries in the accident. Both victims were transported to Brooke Army Medical Center for the treatment of injuries. At this time, the San Antonio Police Department is investigating the collision.
Our thoughts are with the injured victims at this time. We hope for their full recovery.
We would like to offer our condolences to the family of the deceased victim at this time.
Fatal Truck Accidents in Texas
Truck accidents often have an overwhelming impact on those involved. The size and weight of these vehicles make it more likely that victims sustain catastrophic and fatal injuries. Each year, more than 17,500 people sustain serious injuries in accidents that require extensive medical treatment and hospitalization. Although we want to believe that everyone recovers from their injuries, this is far from the truth. In fact, thousands of people end up passing away due to injuries sustained in truck accidents throughout our state each year.
The unfortunate truth is that more than 10 people lose their lives in motor vehicle accidents here in Texas every day. These incidents add up to more than 3,600 lives lost annually as a result of traffic-related incidents. Many victims suffer fatal injuries in collisions as a result of the negligent or reckless actions of others. Although we can take proactive measures to ensure the lives of those around us are safe from our actions, we cannot prevent others from engaging in negligent actions while driving. Quite often, these accidents are caused by drivers who are distracted, speeding, or engaging in other activities while operating their vehicles. The aftermath of an accident can have far-reaching consequences for both victims and their families. In some cases, surviving relatives can contact a wrongful death attorney in Texas to protect their legal rights.
Working with a knowledgeable and skilled legal team in the aftermath of your accident can make a world of difference when it comes to your ability to protect your legal rights and get the justice you deserve. Rasansky Law Firm’s truck accident attorneys in Texas have over 25-years of experience fighting to protect the legal rights of families across our state. Our team works diligently to ensure families hold wrongdoers accountable for their actions so they can move forward in the best way possible. We provide aggressive legal representation to ensure families maximize their recoveries so they are able to cover the financial burdens they face after losing loved ones unexpectedly. Contact our personal injury attorneys in Texas at (214) 617-1816 to see how we can help you.
Note: The information that was utilized in this post was gathered from the use of secondary sources. This information used has not been confirmed. If you locate any information that is not correct, please contact our site as soon as possible so that we can make the appropriate corrections. If you find any information that is false, we will remove or correct the post immediately after it is brought to our attention.
Disclaimer: As a member of the Dallas community, Rasansky Law Firm’s goal is to improve the safety of all residents in the great state of Texas. While we are extremely saddened by the accidents we report on, we hope that through knowledge of these accidents, individuals will exercise caution in order to avoid similar accidents in the future. These reports are not solicitations for business and the information included herein should not be taken as medical or legal advice. We hope for the quickest recovery for those involved in these accidents.

domain: law


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Here is a fantasy. Put yourself into it. Become the subject, the “I”. See if you like it:
My sex. In the open and open. The sky is warm. The air is warm. There is just a hint of a breeze.
A hand. Two fingers. One on each side of my lips. They press down firmly and squeeze gently. Just enough that my lips plump up and flush slightly. I pulse. Moisture comes.
Another finger. This ones dips just slightly into the warm fluid appearing at the opening to my body. A lovely lubricant. Wet, now, the finger gently spreads the moisture over my plump lips, sliding deliciously, teasing sensations to life. My clitoris responds, hardening under the slick touch.
Then, a tongue. Teasing. Flicking gently. Tasting.
A mouth. Two different sorts of lips join the fun. They cover my clitoris with their warmth and suck. Gently at first, then more purposefully. My sex erupts in a wave of tingling sensations. The circumference of my sexual entrance awakens and pulses.
Noticing, the tongue accepts the invitation and slides inside me. Discovering the depths within. My buttocks tighten and my hips move to get more of that lovely feeling. The tongue inside me. Moving soft and warm and slick and pliable. Those lips, continuing to suck.
The sensations build.
Then, the fingers reappear. The tongue has work to do on the outside. Tasting, licking, flicking, tickling, caressing. They take its place inside of me. First one, then two. Moving in and out. Pressing against my contracting muscles. Searching for that knot of nerves that brings so much pleasure.
The combination of sensations converge to bring me to beautiful orgasm and release. The waves of pleasure wash over me and I breathe.
My own hand, then, moves to that warm place between my legs where the pulsing is subsiding, and I smile. Satiated.

domain: literature


text:
* Disco Quinn, the Speed Hero, has a grand plan. Not only is he going to sell everything he owns to go live and work in Australia for a year (jealous!), but he intends to break Peter Brock’s Bathurst lap record of 2:20.5 while he’s there. Now stop using the term YOLO, Quinn.
* Most Bugattis received coachwork in Europe, so it’s a rare opportunity to see one draped with an American body, as was the case with the Derham-bodied Bugatti T43 that Tim Martin at The Old Motor recently highlighted.
* Whatever your opinion of modern NASCAR, Diandra Leslie-Pelecky’s blog Building Speed, which focuses on the science behind NASCAR, is good reading for anybody interested in the automotive applications of science. (via)
* Paul d’Orléans of Oily Rag recently took a winter trip to Yellowstone made possible by the fleet of Bombardier Snowcats still in use in and around the park.
* Finally, Jesse at justacarguy did a good job of rounding up some of the more spectacular purpose-built land-speed cars from throughout the 20th century, showing not only the diversity of the cars that have competed for the record, but also the sheer number.


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So Brett Ratner is plotting a sequel to Midnight Run. The beloved 1988 buddy comedy starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin is one of those perfect movies with a screenplay (by George Gallo) that is structurally flawless; a deep and inspired cast that includes Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, and Yaphet Kotto; and lighting-in-a-bottle chemistry between the two leads, who play a bounty hunter (De Niro) tasked with tracking down the Duke, an embezzling accountant (Grodin) wanted by the feds and the mob. De Niro had played funny before — in Scorsese’s The King of Comedy — but his Jack Walsh was a revelation at the time. I’d go as far as to say that Jack Walsh — the uncorruptable ex-cop from Chicago who scrounges out a living on the road because he refused to go on a mobster’s payroll, who is just smart enough to keep ahead of trouble even when everything goes against him, who still wears the broken watch his ex-wife once gave him — is as endearing and enduring a character as the Academy Award winner has ever played. Once you learn about the Duke’s circumstance, you begin to hope he doesn’t reach the authorities, but you never stop rooting for Walsh to feel the sun’s rays on his back just once. That the film concludes with both men surviving with their souls intact, without feeling like a Hollywood cop-out, is an impressive achievement for which Gallo and the actors share credit.
So here’s where I’m supposed to condemn Tower Heist director Brett Ratner’s chutzpah and say to him those two words that Jack Walsh liked so much: “Shut the f— up!” But I won’t. I can’t. I admit I do have some trepidation about a sequel, but I’m actually willing to risk a movie that fails to live up to the original, because, well… I simply want to see Jack and the Duke together again. De Niro’s production company is involved, and even though he’s 68 and Grodin is 77, I’d line up to see their characters butt heads again. Ratner could call it Grumpier Old Midnight Run, or whatever, and I’m still in. I even have the plot: Twenty-four years after Walsh helped the feds nab Chicago mobster Jimmy Serrano, the kingpin is finally getting out of jail. And his first order of business is to finish off what he started — kill the Duke, who’s since become a famous cable-TV finance personality on MSNBC. Throw in rival bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler (John Ashton), toss in Kotto’s feds, and sprinkle in Morons 1 and 2. Mix. Enjoy. I just described a film better than 80 percent of today’s action comedies.
Normally, I’m offended by the mere notion of a remake or sequel to a film that I feel such a personal connection to, a film that remains as entertaining today as the day it opened in theaters. But as perfect as the ending was to Midnight Run, I’m eager to take another road trip with those characters. They promised they’d meet up in the next life, but I want to see them order surf and turf. I want to see them attempt the litmus configuration. And I want to see some really really good looking chickens, because they don’t make those kind of movies any more.
Are you outraged by the idea of resurrecting these characters for an AARP adventure? Are you opposed to any sequel, or just one with Brett Ratner at the helm? I appreciate your concern, but “Make yourself a sandwich, drink a glass of milk… Do some f—in’ thing.” A sequel wouldn’t be an easy midnight run, but it would be worth the trouble.

domain: entertainment


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The Ice Box is back with a special custom team order of cleats of turfs for Notre Dame Men’s Lacrosse. These are some special shoes/boots/kicks/whatever you want to call them. Come on in and take a gander, eh? But leave my goose alone.
Sneakers, sneakers everywhere. Lacrosse players sure do love their sneakers. I feel like it’s mostly a Nike sport though. Well get on the Reebok train. The Pumps are excellent this time of year.
An exclusive look at the new LAS Wood Shafts by Blue Magic Lacrosse. These guys don’t mess around!
We talk lacrosse pretty much 24-7 on LAS. And the Ice Box is usually gear. Its true. But that doesn’t mean we don’t know a good story when we see it, especially when we actually know the subject of the story. Miles Craigwell is in New Zealand with the US Rugby 7s team. Oh, and he had never played the sport, up until just about 7 months ago.
The Ice Box is back with a one-hitter. We’re recommending one thing and it has nothing to do with lacrosse except for the fact that Brock Samson has amazing lax hair. Paul Rabil is jealous even. That’s lacrosse science!
The Ice Box returns with another 3 item installment. This time we’re covering things lacrosse coaches and dedicated players absolutely MUST have for the 2011 season. These gear items are all no brainers! Get educated.
The Ice Box is back with ridiculous clothing. Ridiculous even for the Ice Box. Everyone needs some outlandish articles in their wardrobe. Oxfords, pants, jackets, snazziness. Dress for the part you’re trying to play!
The Ice Box is back with a review featuring some of the new Adrenaline Lacrosse gear. It’s good. Like really, really good. Click on through for the full review and get jealous.
Did you ever want to know where and how you can buy and then build a legit Box Lacrosse Helmet? Well the Ice Box is answering your prayers and walking you through this relatively simple procedure.
LAS is dropping winter wear warmth and excellence. Jackets, boots, jackets and boots.This is stuff you need.
Custom gear comes in many shapes and sizes. Sneakers, heads, dye jobs and uniforms. The possibilities are endless.
Footwear is an easy trap to fall into. Beware. Learn. Game on.

domain: sports


Brand: LiiLU Organics
Fabric: 100% organic cotton.
Colour: White/Blue Stripe
Introducing the Smocked Striped Dress, your kid's new favorite summer look! Made from organic cotton, it's super soft and comfy, and the dreamy smocked design will have them looking oh-so-fresh on all their outdoor adventures. Get ready for some serious cuteness!
Care: Machine wash at 30°C. Cotton peeling happens and is not a quality defect. Each piece has gone through a special washing with the unique LiiLU scent. Allergic friendly.
Detail & Fit: relaxed fit, generous in size.


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When I was in my mid-20s, my life changed forever.
I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which is often called ADD.
It affects a wide range of things, from getting too much sleep to being distracted at school and in social situations.
It can be disabling, but it’s also life-changing.
So, how can I help my kids cope with ADD?
And how do I use the power of play to change their lives?
I had the best life I could imagine.
My family and I had three amazing children, who were all amazing.
They loved life, loved school, loved to play outside.
I had my own personal life.
I also had a career.
But as I started to experience the stress of my job, I found myself drifting away from my kids.
I lost my mind.
I didn’t have the mental strength to deal with the challenges of my work, so I lost focus.
I became increasingly frustrated, and my kids had a hard time getting on the same page.
They were more likely to get into arguments, which were a lot more stressful than usual.
They got upset more than usual, and I was increasingly frustrated as well.
I thought, “Well, this is why my kids are so unhappy.”
But I realized that they were struggling with ADHD too.
It was very clear to me that I needed to work on changing the way I raised my children.
So I decided to give it a try.
I got a copy of the book The Mind Game, which explains how to use play and mind games to help your kids.
It’s one of the first books that really helped me understand how ADHD worked.
I found that my kids were more aware of their ADHD symptoms and were much more able to control them.
My kids have had fewer and fewer arguments with me, and the amount of stress they experience lessened.
I am able to be more involved in their lives, and they’re more involved with school.
It has really changed their lives.
And the biggest difference?
It was a completely different life.
They’re no longer struggling with their ADHD and more involved.
They’ve been able to pursue their passions and enjoy themselves, which was a huge benefit for me.
Now, I can’t wait to spend time with them and watch them grow.
So what do you do if you’re struggling with your ADHD?
I can tell you it can be frustrating.
And there are a lot of resources out there that help you through that.
But you can do it.
You can do what I did.
I’ve got the resources I need to get my life back on track.
But first, I want to talk about how ADHD works.
I was diagnosed as an ADHD patient in the 1980s, and during that time, I spent a lot in therapy.
I went through a lot, and there were some pretty scary things.
I remember thinking, “Wow, this could really affect my children.”
I wasn’t alone.
I think I also was one of many parents who had suffered with this condition.
It didn’t just affect my kids, but many other adults as well, including me.
There are many ways to help ADHD sufferers get better.
For some, it’s just getting help in the form of medications, or counseling, or behavioral therapies.
There are even ways to reduce stress in the hopes that ADHD will fade.
But for most, the only way to get better is to work at it.
And so I started by asking my wife and daughter about ADHD.
It became clear that they felt the same way.
I asked my wife, “What do you think ADHD is?”
She said, “It’s the way we are.”
And that’s how I learned about ADHD from her.
I started reading up on the condition, and she told me that she felt it all the time.
She was diagnosed in high school, when she was just 14 years old.
She started experiencing ADD at the same time as I did, and both of us have struggled with the condition ever since.
She went through all the things that I had experienced growing up: The stress of the job, the pressure of the school schedule, the stress in our relationship, the tension of the classroom.
But she also experienced it in a way that I hadn’t.
She didn’t realize she was suffering from ADHD until she was 30 years old, and now she’s an adult.
She’s a great role model for me to follow.
What we learned from her was that we needed to figure out a way to be happier.
I could see that her children were growing up more happy, and more confident, than ever before.
They even started dating and having children, and were more successful at it than she was.
And it was only in her early 20s that she had a breakdown.
She started working on a new career and had to go back to school.
And then, one

domain: sociology


text:
- Last Updated on Monday, 13 July 2015 17:32
1. SOLAR ECLIPSES IN SIAM (THAILAND) IN THE PAST
The oldest historical evidence about solar eclipses viewed from Siam dates to the Ayutthaya period (the Ayutthaya kingdom existed between 1350 and 1767)
Note that in this document we use the term ‘Siam’, the former name of Thailand until it was changed to ‘Thailand’ in 1939.
- Last Updated on Monday, 13 July 2015 16:56
July 9, 2015
Astro Park, Chiang Mai
HRH. Princess Maka Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony for Astro Park - set to be the new headquarters of the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, in Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai.
- Last Updated on Monday, 13 July 2015 10:35
11 June 2015
Jomtien Palm Beach Resort, Pattaya, Chonburi
Dr. Pichet Durongkaveroj, Minister of Science and Technology presided over the MoU signing ceremony between Thailand Research Fund (TRF) under the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Programme or RGJ- Ph.D. Programme and 3 other agencies under the Ministry of Science and Technology. The 3 agencies namely National Science and Technology Development Agency, Synchrotron Light Research Institute (Public Organization), and National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization) inked the MoU with the Thailand Research Fund (TRF) to utilize the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Programme at its fullest capacity as there has been an escalating demand for highly and globally qualified Ph.D. graduates in Science, Technology and Innovation in the Thai society.
- Last Updated on Monday, 29 June 2015 14:02
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOLAR ECLIPSES
A “Solar eclipse” is a celestial phenomenon where observers on the Earth see the Sun become dim when the Moon blocks out the light from the Sun totally or partially. When a solar eclipse occurs, the Moon is in its orbit between the Earth and the Sun such that the Sun, Moon and Earth are in a straight line.
- Last Updated on Wednesday, 03 June 2015 17:47
June 1, 2015
DESY, Zeuthen, the Federal Republic of Germany
Prof.Boonrucksar Soonthornthum, NARIT Executive Director together with Dr. Pairash Thajchayapong, NARIT Executive Board Consultant and Dr. Wiphu Rujipakarn visited DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) in Zeuthen, the Federal Republic of Germany with a mission of expanding NARIT's expertise in Astroparticle Physics. The collaborative effort in Astroparticle Physics field with DESY had been well received by Professor Dr. Christian Stegmann, chief of DESY Zeuthen Office as he gave a thorough presentation of the missions that DESY is currently committed to and an explanation of Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA)- the main facility for Astroparticle Physics research work. Prof. Boonrucksar also put NARIT on display with the latest development of astronomy in Thailand and its plan in pinpointing Thailand in the field of Astroparticle Physics on the world map.


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Walsden could only muster nine men for the Bank Holiday Monday’s trip to Werneth in the Pennine League’s T20 - including third teamer Mark Gledhill - but still won by nine wickets.
The hosts were 90 for one after nine overs but Joe Gale, carrying a side strain and bowling spin, took five for 16 to limit Werneth to 147 for nine off 20 overs.
Ex-first team skipper Chris Dewhirst made 39 not out and pro Umesh Karunaratne 53 not out as Walsden won with 13 balls to spare.
Dewhirst was completing a good game, having taken two for 27 off four overs and pouched a fine catch off Gale’s bowling.
Lightcliffe’s home Bradford League match against Woodlands was abandoned without a ball being bowled.


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Bike MS participants have already raised $1,611,703 with donations still coming in. Fundraise or donate through the Oct. 10 prize deadline to be entered to win the grand prize.
Bike MS Participant spotlight: Bike MS began as a way to “get a free t-shirt” for Kirby Schlotterback, but over the past 23 years has turned into the cycling event he looks forward to each year. Last November, Kirby was hit by a car while commuting home from work on his bike, landing him in the hospital for more than two weeks. After several difficult months of healing and rehabilitation, Kirby jumped back in the saddle with one goal in mind: to build up enough strength and endurance to ride at Bike MS.
Research update: Novel strategy for stopping the immune attack in MS
A team from the University of Maryland reported on a novel strategy for stopping the immune attack in MS in the future, without suppressing the entire immune system. In lab studies, the team injected designed particles that delivered regulatory immune signals directly into lymph nodes the tissues that control immune function. A single dose, delivered at the peak of MS-like disease in mice, was able to reverse symptoms, and appeared to affect only the immune functions involved with the disease.
2017 Scholarship applications now available
The Society’s scholarship program helps highly qualified students who have been diagnosed with MS, or who have a parent with MS, achieve their dreams of going to college. 2016 Scholar Sara says, "Receiving the scholarship had meant a great deal to me. Not just financially, my family and I already bear a brunt of costs with my medical care and medicines, but the social benefit as well. It warms my heart to know people out there care to assist people with their desire for higher education." Read more about Sara and other Society scholars.
Applications for the 2017-2018 school year are available online now and will be accepted through Jan. 18, 2017.
October is Disability Employment Awareness Month
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month and we’re celebrating the contributions of workers with disabilities and the value of a diverse workforce inclusive of all skills, abilities and talents! Join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #InclusionWorks and find resources related to employment and MS on the Society website.
Café con Leche phone support group
Do you speak Spanish? Entering into its ninth year, the Society will again be offering the Café con Leche telephone-based support group in Spanish. All Spanish-speaking community members living with MS are invited to join from the comfort of your home or office phone. This free group meets monthly from Oct.-July. Topics focus on areas of interest to people living with MS, plus guest speakers will share updates regarding important topics in MS care.
Learn, share and connect with others in your community who are affected by MS at your local community open house event. Join us as we honor our stellar teams and volunteers, present local awards, and celebrate another successful year.
On the Move Luncheon: Oct. 27
Join us for lunch on Thursday, Oct. 27, at the Westin Seattle to hear from Janice Dean, Senior Meteorologist for Fox News Network, who will share her life-altering journey since being diagnosed with MS 11 years ago.
Bringing a group of friends or colleagues? Sign up as a table captain! Contact email@example.com for more information.

domain: medical


NEW YORK – The only player on the University of Minnesota’s roster who previously played at Madison Square Garden was injured star Trevor Mbakwe.
The Gophers couldn’t make the NCAA tournament this season without Mbakwe, but they’re a game away from doing the next best thing: winning the National Invitation Tournament title.
After blowing a 12-point second-half lead Tuesday night, March 27, Minnesota escaped with a 68-67 overtime victory over top-seeded Washington to reach the NIT final for the first time since 1998.
Tubby Smith hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game during his five seasons coaching the Gophers (23-14). But he has an opportunity to earn his first postseason tournament title since his NCAA championship at Kentucky in 1998.
Minnesota plays Stanford at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Cardinal defeated Massachusetts 74-64 in the first semifinal game Tuesday.
“It’s huge; it will be momentum going into next season,” said freshman Andre Hollins, who had a team-high 20 points and five assists for the Gophers. “This is a great experience for the young guys. It would be a great accolade for the older players, too.”
Hollins turned the ball over on a poor pass by fellow freshman Joe Coleman at the end of regulation, allowing Washington’s C.J. Wilcox to tie the score 61-61 on a layup with 16.6 seconds left. Hollins had a chance to give the Gophers the lead again, but he missed a 15-foot jumper.
Hollins redeemed himself in overtime by scoring the first seven points, including a twisting, high-arcing shot off the glass to give Minnesota a 68-65 lead with 29 seconds remaining.
Julian Welch missed two free throws after Washington cut the Gophers’ lead to one with 3.5 seconds remaining, but it didn’t matter. After a desperation half-court shot fell short at the buzzer by the Huskies (24-11), Minnesota’s players screamed and bounced around as they crowded together at midcourt.
The Gophers often struggled to finish games during the regular season, but that was before Hollins took over the starting point guard role. Minnesota improved to 3-3 in six overtime games this season. And in the NIT, the Gophers found ways to win close games against La Salle and Middle Tennessee State in regulation.
“It’s a matter of growing up and maturing – trusting the system,” Smith said of Hollins. “Once they can appreciate and understand their roles, it helps. That’s what happened with him.”
The Memphis native has been the closer the past two games. In his return to Tennessee, Hollins scored 24 points against Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, making six straight free throws with less than a minute left.
But Hollins hasn’t been a one-man show.
Rodney Williams, who replaced Mbakwe in the lineup in November after the senior forward blew out his knee, has been on the most impressive scoring streak for a Minnesota player under Smith with four straight 20-point games. He finished with 18 points and nine rebounds Tuesday.
“It’s just everybody believing in each other,” Williams said. “Once we got that loss in the Big Ten tournament, we said if we get to the (NIT), we were going to play our hearts out. That’s what we’re doing.”
Williams has 84 points in the five NIT games and is on pace to break the school record for most points in an NIT. Former Gophers and NBA guard Voshon Lenard had 99 points en route to tournament most valuable player honors in Minnesota’s title run in 1993.
Washington, the Pac 12 regular-season champion, was the toughest team the Gophers played since losing in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals against Michigan.
But Williams and Co. weren’t intimidated by the opponent or the atmosphere, even though they nearly blew the game after leading 38-26 at halftime.
Playing without four injured post players – Mbakwe, Ralph Sampson III (knee), Mo Walker (knee) and Oto Osenieks (concussion) – the Gophers got a big lift from reserve Andre Ingram, who had nine points and five rebounds. Austin Hollins finished with 12 points.
“It’s been an up-and-down season,” Smith said. “I’m just proud of their perseverance. They’ve overcome so many distractions. It’s amazing. We stepped up. We’ve got so much potential. We’re so young. That’s why I’m so proud of them. This is the hardest-working group I’ve worked with.”


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Alabama Travel Guide
Introduction to Alabama
Given that the capital of the Confederacy was located here in the days of secession and the American Civil War, it’s easy to make a compelling argument that Alabama is indeed the heart of the Old South.
The mannerisms and hospitality of the locals here will only reinforce that notion, as conversations on their end will often be conducted in the distinctive deep drawl that defines the Southern accent, and most will display a level of deference for visitors that will make you feel like family or a long lost friend during your time here.
While the complex social issues mean that not all your experiences with this region’s past history will be positive ones, the enriching nature of this state’s culture will fascinate you, its important role in a modern sector of the nation’s technological infrastructure will surprise you, and its much less crowded frontage on the Gulf of Mexico will make those afraid of Texas‘ or Florida‘s popular beaches jump for joy.
Though you might not suspect it at first glance, your time in Alabama will likely be very enjoyable.
What To Do in Alabama – Culture & History
Like it or not, the first thing that most people think of when it comes to the state of Alabama is the civil rights movement, as it was in Montgomery where it all began. When a tired African-American woman refused to move to the back of the bus when ordered to do so as per the segregationist bylaws at the time, it touched off a firestorm of emotions that led to the start of a widespread drive for equal rights.
In order to remember this event, and the protests and struggles that flowed from it, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute was founded in Alabama’s capital in 1992. One of the most moving exhibits remembers the tragic bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which was a terrorist attack perpetrated by the KKK, killing four young girls in the church’s basement.
In order to better understand the tensions during the era of the Civil Rights Movement, one must go back to a time when Alabama was at the center of a new federation determined to retain certain rights (like keeping slaves) that they felt were being unfairly infringed upon by Washington DC.
Birmingham became the place where the Confederate States were to be governed by their first president, Jefferson Davis. Today, visitors can still tour the First White House of the Confederacy, where President Davis and his family lived and directed the actions of the secessionist states.
While it only served as the capital for a few short months before the executive decision was made to shift the federal center to Richmond, Virginia, the house was still home to many fateful decisions in that time period, and with many pieces of period furniture and exquisite Italianate architecture, even those bored by politics will find this house to be an interesting place to visit for an hour or so.
Fort Morgan, considered by many military historians to have be one of the best designed fortifications in the New World at the time of its construction played a major role in the conflict that would result from the actions of President Davis.
It laid down covering fire to allow almost all boats attempting to break the Union naval blockade offshore to do so, and it was one of the last forts to fall before the end of the Civil War. Today, the fort is in precarious condition due to a lack of funding in recent times, but most of the walls and ramparts are still in relatively good condition, considering the natural decay it has borne over the years.
One of humanity’s most inspirational people was born and raised in Alabama, as it was in Tuscumbia where the world’s most famous deaf/blind person was raised. Helen Keller’s Home is now a museum where you can view personal documents and mementos relevant to the life of this amazing woman.
Given the warmth the Deep South possesses compared to lands much further north, it shouldn’t be surprising that more organized forms of civilization began to emerge on the lands of the native people that called Alabama home before European settlers arrived.
The Moundville Archaeological Site is essentially the story of a tribe beginning to show signs of beginning to evolve into an organized civilization, as the earthen mounds were beginning to be used as mortuaries, residences, granaries and more around the 11th to 15th centuries AD.
What To Do in Alabama – Modern & Natural Attractions
Given all the stereotypes that many uninformed people have about Alabama, it comes as shock to many that this state is home to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, where much of the USA’s artifacts surrounding the Apollo program and other space missions can be found.
Rocket, lunar landers, and re-entry capsules can all be found here, and a Space Camp awaits for those who think they have what it takes to be an astronaut.
War buffs will love touring the USS Alabama, a museum ship anchored in Mobile. Being a battleship that saw significant action in the Second World War, a highlight of any tour on this boat involves checking out its massive gun turrets and its powder magazine.
Sloss Furnaces is a US National Historical Landmark unlike any other, as it is one of the first places in the country to show off life as it was in the Industrial Age. Last operating in 1971, Sloss Furnaces produced pig iron, but today, it bones lay in a preserved and sanitized fashion for those who have an interest in urban exploration, but don’t wish to trespass through other similar abandoned structures that are not open to the public.
Finally, if the oppressive humidity of the South have you fanning yourself as fast as you can muster, and you can’t take it anymore, then a visit to Gulf Shores will fix you up in no time. These beaches are every bit as nice as those that can be found further east in the Florida Panhandle, sans the crowds found in the latter locale.
In addition to the fine beaches, water parks, golf courses and other sources of amusement can be found in the area, making it an excellent place to stretch out and relax.

domain: history


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You’ll find a good variety of interesting and exciting tours in Dominica, especially in Roseau, the capital. Natural scenery, beaches and the Caribbean Sea say it all.
SIGHTSEEING AND ACTIVITY TOURS IN DOMINICA
Discover the best of the city of Roseau on a one and a half hour sightseeing tour with an expert guide. Travelling by comfortable coach or minivan, take in the city’s top landmarks as you absorb the rustic Caribbean island atmosphere. Snap some photos of the old slave market and the Victorian and Caribbean architectural era of buildings, venture into…
MORNE TROIS PITONS NATIONAL PARK DAY TRIP: FROM ROSEAU
While you’re in Dominica, don’t miss this tour to Morne Trois Pitons National Park, one of the island’s popular attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Encompassing 17,000 acres in the southeast corner of the island, the park is mountainous and jungle-clad, and boasts waterfalls, lakes and gorges. With a local guide, learn about vegetation and…
HALF DAY JEEP SAFARI
Climb aboard for this unique adventure in an open-air, four wheel drive jeep! Travel through Roseau city, the capital of Dominica, before continuing on to some of the most famous natural beauties on the island, including Ti Tou Gorge and Wotten Waven Sulphur Springs. You’ll have fun taking the back roads of Dominica on this Half-Day Jeep Tour!
PRIVATE ECO TOUR: PADDLEBOARDING, KAYAKING AND SNORKELLING
Experience the northern marine reserve with a private eco tour, based in Toucari Bay in northwest Dominica. If you’re seeking excellent snorkelling but prefer a quiet low-impact nature experience, this is the tour for you. Your guide (a local) will accompany you on a kayak or stand-up paddleboard (SUP) to the best snorkel spots, to visit the cave and shipwreck.
MEGA BITE WHALE AND DOLPHIN WATCHING IN DOMINICA
Whale and Dolphin Watching in Dominica is by far one of the most exciting experiences for nature and animal lovers. Dominica is a wild and enchanting paradise in the Caribbean, so together with hiking and exploring its rich interior, discovering the life of its resident marine mammals is a must for everyone’s adventure plan.
ROSEAU CITY SIGHTSEEING AND BEACH TOUR
See Roseau’s city attractions and then relax on a beautiful Dominica beach on this 3.5-hour sightseeing tour. With a local guide, take a tour of central Roseau, admiring its historical French Colonial buildings and visiting the Botanic Gardens. Then stop by Morne Bruce for a photo op of the expansive views of the city, port and Caribbean Sea, before hitting popular Mero Beach for a couple of hours of relaxation in…
MORNE TROIS PITONS NATIONAL PARK HIKING TOUR TO BOILING LAKE
Join this 7-hour tour and get ready to hike! Visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Traverse Ti Tou Gorge, used as a location for the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean. Walk through the harsh Valley of Desolation (as the name suggests) and soak in the hot water pools before getting to one of the wonders of the World.
MIDDLEHAM FALLS AND TI’TOU GORGE HALF DAY EXCURSION
Explore the interior of Dominica with a 45-minute hike to the tallest waterfall in the Eastern Caribbean. After a splurge in the pool of the Middleham Falls, zoom over to the world famous Ti’tou Gorge to test your might and strength swimming upstream to the hidden falls of Captain Jack Sparrow. Relax with convenient hotel pickup and drop-off service.
DOMINICA HALF DAY TOUR: MERO BEACH, SALTON WATERFALLS, WOTTEN WAVEN, AND TI KWEN GLO CHO
Be prepared to splash around and get wet. You will see multiple forms of water including sea, rivers, waterfalls, pools and mineral baths. Drive through villages along the West Coast, your guide will point out places of interest as you drive along Rodney’s Rock in Jimmit. Head to Mero for a game of Cricket and a swim then a snack before you head to…
DOMINICA HALF DAY TOUR: FRESHWATER LAKE, MIDDLEHAM FALLS, AND TI KWEN GLO CHO
Drive through the Dominica Botanic Garden, where you will get a taste of Dominica’s floral beauty, and continue to the Valley heading for the village of Laudat. Enjoy panoramic views of the outlying communities of Trafalgar, Morne Prosper and Roseau, on the West Coast. The Freshwater Lake welcomes you with fresh, clean air as it embraces you. A short…
DOMINICA DAY TRIP: INDIAN RIVER ROWBOAT TOUR, FORT SHIRLEY RUINS AND PURPLE TURTLE BEACH
Experience the highlights of Dominica’s northwestern coast on this day trip from Roseau, including river boating, a national park and time on the beach. Start on the Indian River, where you’ll enjoy its lush, tranquil setting by rowboat. Then, you’ll learn about Dominica history at Fort Shirley, an old British garrison inside Cabrits National Park, before hitting the…
CARIBBEAN COOKING EXPERIENCE IN DOMINICA
Gain a little insight into Dominican culture with a Caribbean cooking experience in Roseau! At a local home up in the hills, you’ll cook traditional Caribbean dishes and learn about the native fruits, vegetables and herbs used in Caribbean cuisine. Then sip some rum punch and enjoy your creations with your fellow food lovers! Morning and afternoon classes available, and round-trip transport from the port in Roseau is included.
FOUR-HOUR FISHING TOUR IN DOMINICA
Go fishing on this 4-hour guided excursion in the rich waters off the island of Dominica. Accompanied by avid deep sea fishers, enjoy deep or sport-fishing, soak up the scenery, and take the opportunity to catch jacks, tuna, wahoo, sailfish, and snapper, as well as ‘big game’ such as blue or white marlin.
DOMINICA SUP PADDLE BOARDING RENTAL
All adventure and thrill seekers are welcome to paddle board the waters off the city of Roseau, or take the short ride to Soufriere Bay near Champagne Reef, and paddle board above an underwater volcano with geothermal bubbles venting.
WHALE WATCHING TOUR IN DOMINICA
With over 22 species of cetaceans in these waters, justice is given to the name “whale watching capital of the Caribbean.” Boats leave the dock to explore the deep water just off shore, that is home to the world’s largest toothed whale, the sperm whale. Watching these magnificent creatures is a memory you are unlikely to forget. On many trips you will be escorted by dolphins jumping alongside the boat as you return to shore.
MEGA BITE VOLCANO SNORKELLING TOUR
Experience Dominica’s volcano snorkelling tour. Start your day off in paradise, seeing Dominica’s other resident inhabitant, underwater creatures and also one of our many underwater volcanoes. Dominica’s snorkelling grounds are first class.
WACKY ROLLERS ADVENTURE PARK
Add some pure adrenaline to your Dominican vacation when you book the Wacky Roller Adventure Park! Travel from tree to tree in your harness via the suspended platforms in the Dominican rainforest! Take the challenge and be rewarded with a refreshing drink served at the riverside bar!
RIVER TUBING SAFARI
Have fun tubing down one of Dominica’s many rivers on this River Tubing Safari! See the island from the river as you slowly spin and swirl with the current. This tour is a fun way to see Dominica from a different perspective!
RIVER TO OCEAN KAYAKING ADVENTURE
Experience kayaking on both the river and sea on this River to Ocean Kayaking Adventure! Kayak on the Layou River in Dominica before heading into the Caribbean Sea. Enjoy the scenery and adventure on this 3-hour tour.


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Two years after the release of debut album The Soft Landing, a new age dawns for Calicos (dropping ‘The’), including a thorough makeover: three of the six band members are new, and by joining Peter Verstraelen Agency, Calicos now have the same booking agent as fellow label artists Marble Sounds, Mooneye and Meskerem Mees.
2021’s The Soft Landing had already proven that the band’s indie americana has its place in the Belgian music landscape. The record received critical acclaim and easily found its way to the public, after already having scored a huge indie hit with lead single ‘Nova’ the year before. The six-piece also never failed to impress a crowd live, topped off with the instantly recognizable angelic voice of frontman Quinten Vermaelen. Just three years after their triumph at the country’s renowned Humo's Rock Rally contest, Calicos had already fulfilled their promise.
So how does the ‘new ‘Calicos sound? Different, but also not very different. Yes, the music does move towards a heavier and more alternative sound akin to that of a Sharon Van Etten or Kurt Vile, but the band doesn’t forsake its signature alt/country music. Comparisons with Jonathan Wilson and – maybe even most of all – The War On Drugs still hold up, and you can add the epic 80s pop rock sound of living legend Bruce Springsteen to that. Check out the jubilant indie americana of brand-new single ‘Comedown’: cruising with the car window down, arm out, and this song blasting out at full volume. That feeling.
Calicos are also cruising into 2023, on their way to album number 2, expected to be released in the spring of 2024. And if ‘Comedown’ is an indication of everything that is to come in the next couple of months, we shouldn’t be surprised if Calicos become the Belgian indie sensation of the year.Read more


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This year, First Nations culture will be at the centre of the New Year’s Eve fireworks celebration.
The 9pm show, Calling Country, will share First Nations stories and culture through a fireworks display inspired by sky, land, and sea. It will also include pylon projections, live music and dance performances, and a message stick presentation ceremony as a powerful way to bring in the new year.
This year’s 9pm fireworks display was designed by artists Carmen Glynn-Braun and Dennis Golding. The pair work together to form the Re-Right Collective, which emphasises stories highlighting Indigenous voices and experiences across time.
“First nations storytellers will celebrate local histories and contemporary experiences through art, song, sound, and dance,” says Dennis Golding.
“While we honour the histories of our First Peoples of this Country, we recognise the strength and resilience that also exists in our First Nations youth, who lead us into the future.”
This desire to share a proud First Nations culture is shared by Lord Mayor Clover Moore, who says that Sydney is dedicated to honouring First Nations stories in the public sphere.
“This year’s talented artists have created music, visual art and performances that celebrate Sydney’s rich First Nations identity and people, and the glorious land and ocean that surrounds us,” she says.
“The city is committed to increasing recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage in the public domain, and New Year’s Eve provides the opportunity to do so loudly and proudly in front of a global audience.”
Artists in the spotlight
The show this year is a product of the hard work of many incredible artists, performers, and First Nations peoples.
At 7:30, the night will kick off with a smoking ceremony conducted by Tribal Warriors. The ceremony observes the ritual of purification and unity, cleansing the city coming into the new year.
Visitors will then be welcomed to Gadigal Country by two Elders from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council.
The spectacular fireworks display, the main event of the evening, will also include projections onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge designed by several artists. Gadigal artist Nadeena Dixon’s projections tells the story of Gadigal fisherwomen through depictions of land, water, marine life, and figures of her ancestors.
Other projected artworks include those of Arrernte, Kaytetye and Anmatyerr artist Caren Glynn-Braun, whose drawings focus on the moon as a symbol of connection to country, and as a representation of time, seasons, fertility, and new beginnings. Dennis Golding, a Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay artist, focuses on the strength of Aboriginal cultural identity through a superhero cape motif. His work will be showcased alongside the superhero capes designed by over 100 other young First Nations artists, which have been animated by professionals for the pylons.
No fireworks display would be complete without a stellar soundtrack, and this year it has been composed by Kombumerri artist Rowan Savage. He has used recordings of animals and water alongside a song in language by Nadeena Dixon to score the incredible light show.
And, for those wanting to immerse themselves even further in the evening, Gomeroi hip hop artist and rapper Kobi Dee and Gadigal singer-songwriter Akala Newman will perform a new track, supported by dancers from the Brolga Dance Academy.
This year’s celebrations will showcase the rich culture of Australia’s First Nations people. For everyone bringing in the new year, it will be a night to remember, and one which signifies the importance of our Indigenous community.
To learn more about Indigenous art and brands, click here.


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Research team at Jinan University in China has developed a technique that has the potential to displace white blood cells with the help of optical tweezers, a medical device that can hold tiny objects. This task is operated with the help of neutron-bots, a technology that can transport nanoparticles engulfing debris from the cells. The microrobots are one of the major focuses in medical research as they can be employed for targeted drug delivery and other procedures. Researchers have used white blood cells because they can swim through vasculature, leave it to enter neighbouring tissues, and engulf cellular debris. Researchers say that they have been able to move neutrophils in zebrafish tails, which means that this procedure can be performed in other organisms as well employing white blood cells.
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