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The Minecraft Test
How much do you know about minecraft? You can find out by taking my test! You will be asked a series of questions about the game, some are easy but others
are harder than others. Who knows? You might know as much as notch! Or you might just be another noob. Who knows. Good luck on the test! And if you don't do good, that's ok too!
Remember to rate this quiz on the next page!
Rating helps us to know which quizzes are good and which are bad
- What Minecraft Creature Are you? by Ireallydontlikethis
Create a quiz on GotoQuiz. We are a better kind of quiz site, with no pop-up ads, no registration requirements, just high-quality quizzes. Hey MySpace users! You can create a quiz for MySpace, it's simple fun and free.


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While gambling is not exclusive to certain times of the year, its popularity tends to spike during particular seasons. As the weather changes, people deal with shifts in mood, which directly influence their decision to gamble. Understanding how gambling behavior varies based on the time of year is crucial to managing a healthy lifestyle.
The Influence of SAD
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) plays a prominent role in gambling behavior. SAD is a specific form of depression that is connected to changes in seasons. While most people develop SAD symptoms during fall or winter, others suffer from this condition exclusively in the spring or summer. Symptoms of SAD include:
- Persistent feelings of depression
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities
- Low energy levels
- Changes in appetite or weight
- Difficulty concentrating
- Irritation or restlessness
If you struggle with seasonal depression, you may notice that it impacts your desire to gamble. For example, if you typically feel down in the winter, you’ll likely feel a stronger urge to gamble during this time of year. If SAD targets you in the summer instead, you may hit the casino to seek a much-needed mood boost.
No matter where you fall on the SAD spectrum, it’s important to know how the seasons influence your emotions. Knowing when you’re most vulnerable will allow you to develop the coping mechanisms you need to resist the urge to gamble.
How to Combat the Effects of SAD
During the period of time that SAD affects a problem gambler, it may be helpful to adopt certain habits and activities outside of gambling. Here are a few things one can do in place of gambling when SAD symptoms are striking hard:
Many popular casinos also report significant changes in traffic during certain seasons. For example, top Las Vegas casinos have noted a 6% increase in revenue in January, one of their busiest months.
This sharp rise in popularity speaks to people’s tendency to feel more depressed or bored during the cold, dark winter months. As a result, they take refuge in casinos to dissolve their negative feelings and find a source of entertainment.
Break Free From Your Gambling Habit
If your gambling behavior becomes problematic during a specific time of year, don’t wait to get the help you need. Calling 800-GAMBLER can allow you to find freedom from your gambling problem and finally regain control over your life.

domain: psychology


text:
Walk Your Soul Path - eBook
Walk Your Soul Path - eBook
A Step-by-Step Guide to Embracing Change & Living Your True Purpose
In this eBook, I uncover the two primary reasons we self-sabotage when we try to follow our true purpose and what we can do about it. This practical step-by-step guidebook explains where our resistance comes from and how we can move forward successfully despite the fears that come up.
It also includes 11 practices that you can start using today to move out of resistance and into flow.
★★★★★ SCROLL DOWN FOR REVIEWS
This is a must read for everyone!
“From the moment I started reading Walk Your Soul Path, I couldn’t put it down. Angelina has a way to convey her wisdom in applicable ways that will inspire you in relationships and business. This book, awakened me to a new and courageous way of approaching change. So many gems in such a short read!”
– Breeanne Macouzet
Stop wasting time and read this book!
“The most authentic book I’ve read in years, I couldn’t stop reading until I was done. In Walk Your Soul Path, Angelina writes with a truth that resonates with that little voice inside our heads that’s telling us it’s time. This book is the kickstart I was looking for to change the way I live my life.”
– Quincy Moss
Enlightening and Inspiring!
“I found this eBook to be enlightening and inspiring for my own aspirations of starting a business. Warmly written and humbled by her experiences, Angelina will challenge you to change in an effective manner by providing examples of practices to help you overcome your own road blocks.”
- Dawn Vaughan
This was a fantastic journey...
“Angelina graciously shares her life stories and provides the exact methods and techniques she used to change her life for the better, methods you can apply to your own life. This is a must read for anyone looking to make a positive change in their life.”
- Paul Bliss
Helped inspire me to make some hard, but necessary changes in my life!
“Walk Your Soul Path has helped inspire me to make some hard, but necessary changes in my life. We get stuck, even when we are making progress and then feel overwhelmed and want to go back to the way it was. I often felt like it was just me and I was lacking motivation and that fear was my ruler. Knowing that many others feel this way and that our brain is programmed to make us feel this way has helped me get through some of my own roadblocks. This book was written from the heart. It is honest, inspiring, to the point and a quick read. Each chapter can stand on its own and can be referenced when we come to the next roadblock. The exercises in the back and the tips at the end can be used over and over. Thank you for sharing and inspiring.”
– Nancy Clifford

domain: literature


“The latest status of contacts on the continuation of the [Black Sea Grain] initiative and the search for lasting peace in the region” topped the agenda of their meeting
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky here to discuss the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the Turkish presidency said.
The two leaders addressed the latest developments about resuming the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which has been suspended since last July, the office said on Friday on its website as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.
“The latest status of contacts on the continuation of the initiative and the search for lasting peace in the region” topped the agenda of their meeting, according to the office.
The United Nations and Turkey brokered the initiative between Russia and Ukraine, establishing a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships transporting food and fertiliser exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports in July 2022.
According to the presidency, the two leaders convened at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul at 7 p.m. local time and held a press conference afterward.
ALSO READ: Ukraine Mulls Counter-Offensives in 2024


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Dobro došli na jedini srpski portal i forum o NBA ligi. Pridružite nam se jer na forumu možete pronaćni vesti iz sveta NBA-a, zanimljive teme za diskutovanje, tekstove naših članova i još mnogo zaniml
Free forum : This is a forum about Hannibal Heyes. A character from the series Alias Smith and Jones. A notorious outlaw cowboy going straight to get amnesty. A character played by Pete Duel.
Free forum : Create your own character from the popular video game series, inFamous. Wether it be a conduit with amazing powers, a powerful gang member, or an ordinary civilian.
Rising byond naruto game work in progress join now you wont regret it. Great forum greater staff amazing new things to come.
You go play COD BO zombies or NZP and get ranked in your stats. We are trying to put new things but so far this is it.
Eternity Scape Forum best rsps
Free forum : This place is for fun loving friends. Inspirational and Motivational thoughts, funny pics, amazing facts, natures pics, latest happenings, puzzles . & much more . Some most contributi
free forum : This is forum is for one amazing boy band-LEXINGTON BRIDGE!LEXINGTON BRIDGE, that is five individual characters, everyone with his own personality, combined to one grand union. They rep
The Best Role Playing Game Ever!

domain: entertainment


text:
Here's the eleventh episode of the new "Learn Hangul" series - a series designed to help you learn the Korean alphabet from the very beginning to the end.
So far we've been introduced to the basics. We've covered all of the basic vowels and consonants, all 6 syllable blocks, double consonants, strong consonants, and diphthongs.
Today's episode will cover sound change rules and the names of the letters.
Stay tuned for more! New episodes of this series will be posted once a month until it is finished.

domain: hobby


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Welcome to the Stampin' Up! Grand Vacation Achievers Hawaii Blog Hop. You have just hopped here from Bec's blog, and I'm sure you are loving all the tropical inspiration so far. Isn't it fabulous?
I've just started to enjoy Stampin' Up's offerings for Project Life Memory Keeping. I'm a bit slow on the uptake, but I'll put that down to loving to create 12" x 12" scrap pages and not quite knowing how I'd manage the Project Life system. So I thought I'd combine the 2 methods - some 12 x 12 pages to showcase my favourite large photos and lots of Project Life pages to document the fun vacation that we will share with other Stampin Up demonstrators.
For my contribution to the Stampin' Up! Grand Vacation Hawaii Blog Hop I have created a 12" x 12" "front page" that will introduce loads of pages of photos that I intend to take while in Hawaii. Memories from my previous visit (a long time ago) are of beautiful sunsets and colourful flowers, so they have been my inspiration.
The back ground is created with a brayer starting with Daffodil Delight Classic Ink then adding Rose Red, Perfect Plum and Tempting Turquoise for the sky area. The horizon and moon are masked, and background stamping in Blackberry Bliss and Tempting Turquoise provides some foliage as a backdrop for the punched out flowers. I have used Marina Mist, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight and So Saffron for the sea, and I sponged additional colour to darken the lower right hand corner.
Working out where to put the flowers! Also time to sponge some colour onto the "moon".
The triple layer flowers have dimensionals between the layers to add height and texture to the layout. I have prepared spaces for Holiday dates using the Handpicked Framelits dies, and created a space for my photo by placing Whisper White over Vellum.
A little bit of bling behind the title and on the centres of some flowers.
And the final product. Just waiting for a lovely photo to be added in the space provided.
Thanks for stopping by.....
Blog Hop List

domain: design


Apr 11, 2015
- Venue33 Allanbrooke Road
- Ticket Price(Exclude booking fee)S$40.00This event has passed
This is an un-timed, non-competitive 5km fun run!
The Music Run™ by AIA course is split into five 1km music zones, each representing a different genre of music. Each has it's own unique playlist entirely selected by you, our Music Runner community.
Pumping out tunes the whole way with over 100 concert quality speakers, The Music Run™ by AIA lets you experience total music immersion while you run, dance, laugh, sing and smile your way to the finish zone party!
Event starts from 2pm with the official flag-off at 4pm.


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Is there anything Zooey Deschanel can't do?
She even has her own term to describe the collection's aesthetic: "Modical," as in a marriage of '60s mod and Hilfiger-heritage red, white and blue nautical.
Called To Tommy, From Zooey, the collection includes 16 dresses, two purses and assorted jewelry and shoes. It has a retro collegiate feel, with lots of special collar, pocket and button details. A white boucle sleeveless shift ($149.50) has a red sideways patch pocket and a row of red dome buttons down one side, for example, and a navy-and-white diagonal colorblock jersey shift ($98.50) has a hidden side pocket with red lining peeking out.
"I made a dress with box pleats that had a hidden pleat detail like this when I was a kid," Deschanel, 34, said earlier this week at the Tommy Hilfiger store on Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood, pointing to a blue-and-red box pleated tennis dress ($129.50) with stripes peeking out from the folds. "It was my crowning achievement."
Deschanel's distinctive quirky-preppy-feminine style is what attracted Hilfiger to her. "It's unusual and spirited. She doesn't take herself too seriously, which is nice," he says. "We love red, white and blue; she does too. We love the vintage look; she does too. So it was a marriage made in heaven."
Also in the collection? A red, white and blue "penny loafer purse" with chain handle ($99), an enamel wheel pendant necklace ($39) and a white enamel braid bracelet ($49).
For Deschanel, a lifelong DIY-er, part of the appeal of collaborating with Hilfiger was getting to adapt details from her favorite vintage clothing to today. "Most '60s shift dresses are really boxy, but ours are more A-line and flattering. They are designed for women, not just coat hangers," she says. (Dresses come in sizes from 0 to 14.) "And modern fabrics are soooo much better and more comfortable."
Deschanel's "New Girl" costumes have spawned style blogs devoted to cataloging her colorful Kate Spade dresses and cheerful parrot-print pajamas.
On the Season 3 finale, to air May 6, Deschanel will be wearing three dresses from the new Hilfiger collection. "It happens to take place on a cruise ship, so it was perfect," she says. "I asked [costume designer Deborah McGuire] if it was OK to put them in the mix, and they look great. People didn't even know they were my dresses."
To Tommy, From Zooey Collection, $35 to $199, at Macy's and Tommy Hilfiger stores, Tommy.com and Macys.com.
[For the Record, 9:03 a.m. PDT April 12: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the collection on first reference. It is To Tommy, From Zooey, not To Tommy, From Zoe.]


text:
Download the GardenTags App today and join 100,000+ gardeners getting FREE plant identification, garden management and more!
#wildlifewednesday just landed🐝
A lucky shot🙄 @wagsmomthompsonbtinternetcom @juliesgarden
Thank you @Keely
Select an appropriate option
Please open the GardenTags app on your mobile device to sign in

domain: agronomy


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Abhishek Banerjee, who has become a household name, thanks to his acting prowess, wants to do meaningful projects with a dash of entertainment. Abhishek is best known for his work in Stree, Paatal Lok , Mirzapur and Dream Girl.
When asked what kind on projects attract him, Abhishek shared, “I like to work in anything which is socially relevant and entertaining even if one is missing I don’t like to put my energies into it. As an actor it is my job to provide people with the whole experience and to make sure they are happy and content with the kind of work I am doing. So, for me any work on visual medium has to be relatable and entertaining for the society or straight up fantasies which we are yet to master the art!”
Abhishek has a strong lineup of films which includes the likes of Rashmi Rocket, Bhediya, Aankh Micholi , Helmet and Ajeeb Daastaans.

domain: artistic


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Baghdad Council reveals the reasons for withdrawing the hand of the deputy technical governor for 60 days
09:20 - 21/08/2019
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Revealed a member of the Baghdad Provincial Council, Mohammed al-Rubaie, Wednesday, the reasons for withdrawing the hand of the deputy technical governor (Ali Hegel) for 60 days, indicating that the budget of 2017 spent in 8 months, as there are 45 billion dinars did not act according to the controls And instructions.
Al-Rubaie said in a statement to the information, that "the withdrawal of the deputy governor (Ali Hegel) for 60 days, followed by an investigation committee in the provincial council composed of nine members and heads of committees to investigate from the 2017 budget."
He added that "the investigation came to find out how to spend the budget in eight months, where the committee met before Eid al-Adha, and stressed the need to withdraw the hand of the deputy technical governor, and to investigate the assistants and administrators in addition to the general directors and municipalities."
He explained that "the investigative committee decided to withdraw the hand of the deputy technical governor and interrogation for 30 days, so that the governor in turn to investigate the veracity of the Commission's words," stressing that "the files of the deputy governor and in case of verifying the authenticity of the investigation it will be referred to integrity, as the investigation is being conducted to find out How to spend 45 billion dinars, especially since it was spent without controls and instructions. Finished / 25 N.

domain: law


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Iron deficiency anemia is a huge global problem. It affects 2 billion people, particularly in low-income countries where many rely on grain as a staple. Yet so far, plants have managed to outwit our efforts to convince them to carry more iron. University of Massachusetts Amherst molecular biologist Elsbeth Walker has received a three-year $870,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to discover exactly how plants regulate the amount of iron they take up through their roots.
“Plants have an innate regulatory mechanism that keeps their iron at a certain level, so it’s hard to get them to carry more iron,” Walker explains. “They don’t cooperate very nicely with you!”
Even though iron is one of the most important micronutrients used by living organisms, it is an oxidant and causes cellular damage if not carefully controlled. So plants have evolved signaling systems by which they communicate iron status among their tissues—when they need more, and when they have enough.
These signals are something Walker is working to understand. She is currently focusing on yellow-striped corn, a mutation whose stripes indicate the plant is starving for iron. Walker is sequencing the genome to find out where the mutation is. That information will help her home in on how a plant allows or disallows iron.
“There’s no iron in the grain of rice,” explains Walker. “There’s iron in the leaves, but we don’t eat the leaves. So we have to figure out how to get the iron to a place in the plant that we eat. Right now,” she says, “we might be able to move iron to the leaves, but then it doesn’t go to the grain. We know there is a gene involved because there is a protein involved. So we sequence to figure out where the mutation is. If we knew what the signal was, then we would be able to trick plants into taking up excess iron when we feel like they ought to.”
Eventually, instead of understanding how a plant moves iron just from part to part, biologists may be able to find a “master switch” that turns on an entire repertoire throughout the whole organism, to move iron from root to shoot, from leaf to grain.
Breeding more iron-absorbent plants could reduce occurrences of anemia, maternal mortality, and children’s failure to thrive. But that’s the work of genetic engineers. Walker’s work is “to identify all the players, so that the people who are doing the engineering steps will know the approaches.”


For all the die-hard “Boy Meets World” fans, the new “Girl Meets World” updates seem to show a lot of promise. Executive Producer Michael Jacobs, who co-created “Boy Meets World,” will develop GMW and serve as its executive producer and showrunner. And in addition to Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel, several other cast members are set to reprise their role.
But the fact that GMW will air on the Disney Channel makes the program’s potential uncertain.
The new trailer for “GMW” gives a more in-depth look at Riley Matthews, Cory and Topanga’s young daughter. She arrives at her first day of seventh grade to the history class taught by her father, similarly to how Mr. Feeney keeps appearing in Corey’s life. The title character of GMW is best friends with a troubled peer of the same age named Maya (or “New Shawn,” as I call her).
Even Stuart Minkus will play a role in the new storyline. Stuart’s son, Farkle, will attend the same class as Riley. Michael Jacobs is undoubtedly playing the nostalgia card pretty hard with GMW, and understandably so. BMW is a program that children of the 90’s still hold dear. But do early trailers show signs that the sequel series will be too “Disneyfied” for its own good? I think so.
Firstly, ask yourself– what made the original series so charming? Chances are it’s the dorkiness of the characters– mainly Corey, Shawn and Eric. They seemed like real kids who were dealing with some of the strange and awkward social situations all kids face. And while it might be too early to tell if GMW will retain these same qualities, it would be outside of the safe, overly-antiquated boundaries that Disney Channel is known for.
In the newest trailer, we see Riley and Maya conversing in the Disney-typical fashion– they’re witty, fast-talking, maybe a little sarcastic. They look and act as if they’ve just been picked from whatever lab they genetically-manufacture Disney actors. And so it seems the charm (and I use “charm” and “dorkiness” interchangeably in this circumstance) might be lost.
Let’s not forget, the BMW episodes Prom-ises, Prom-ises (1998), If You Can’t Be with the One You Love… (1998) and The Truth About Honesty (1999) were banned from airing on The Disney Channel due to their frank discussion about pre-marital sex and teen drinking.
And yes, BMW was, at times, a little too heavy on the drama. But at least for me, that’s what drew me closer to the characters. Remember when Shawn was faced with losing another father figure (Jonathan Turner), so he joined a cult? Or when Shawn is forced to secretly give refuge to a girl in his class, because her father beats her? Or when Shawn… alright, you probably get the picture– a lot of terrible things happen to Shawn.
But could you imagine comparable plot lines on Disney Channel? I don’t see that happening.
Maybe it’s too early to tell. But my bet is that the Disney formula will ultimately prevent GMW from resonating with audiences the same way that BMW did in the 90s. Time will tell.
GMW will premiere on Friday, June 27 at 9:45 p.m. EDT on Disney Channel. Check out the latest trailer right here:


LAWYER Reynold S. Munsayac took over as spokesperson of Vice President-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio on Tuesday, the latter’s camp announced.
He replaced Liloan City Mayor Maria Esperanza Christina Codilla-Frasco, who has been tapped by President-elect Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to head the Tourism department.
“Munsayac’s professional portfolio is highlighted by his unquestionable integrity and dedication to governance and public service, and the Vice President-elect is confident that he will be able to bring this experience to his new duty,” Ms. Duterte-Carpio’s camp said.
Mr. Munsayac, a classmate of Ms. Duterte-Carpio in law school, was appointed as commissioner and acting chair of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in September 2016.
He resigned from the post in July last year to help in Ms. Duterte-Carpio’s vice-presidential bid.
The primary mandate of the PCGG, which was created in 1986, is to recover the ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, his family, and his cronies. The quasi-judicial agency has so far retrieved more than P170 billion and is still in the process of recovering P125 billion in assets.
Mr. Munsayac made headlines during his PCGG stint after the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan consecutively dismissed four ill-gotten wealth cases against the Marcos family.
The cases junked by Sandiganbayan were filed by the PCGG before his stint began, Mr. Munsayac said at the time he was being pressured to explain the agency’s side on the lost cases. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza


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Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 42090060, 41922053, 42007025 and 42007038) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2018YFD1000800)
Soil-borne pathogenic bacteria threaten health of the soil-plant system and sustainable development of the agriculture. The soil ecosystem is complicated with tangled interactions of abiotic and biotic factors. Before contacting and invading the host plant root system, pathogenic bacteria often encounter sudden changes in abiotic factors, such as pH, oxygen content and types and contents of nutrients or biotic stresses, like competition, parasitism and predation of other soil microorganisms. Pathogenic bacteria have numerous capabilities, like biofilm formation, metabolism, movement, virulence, DNA repair, and resistance to bacteriophages, antibiotics, and other environmental stresses, which are essential for them to survive in the soil and infect host plants. To adapt to the complicated and variable soil biotic and abiotic environment, pathogenic bacteria have to trade off dynamically between survival and virulence so as to maintain the balance between survival, spread, proliferation and infection in soil and to maximize their adaptability in the soil environment. A systematic understanding of the processes and mechanisms of the survival-virulence trade-off of soil-borne pathogenic bacteria is the key to establishing efficient and precise ecological prevention and control strategies. To this end, this review first introduces the trade-off theory and survival-virulence trade-off of soil-borne pathogenic bacteria. Soil-borne pathogenic bacteria allocate more resources either on survival or virulence for adaption to for adaption to the environment. It is costly for pathogenic bacteria to resist stresses while producing virulent secretions. They have to reduce the production of virulent secretions to achieve the ability to resist stresses. Viable but non-cultivable status and phenotypic conversion are two typical phenomena of the survival-virulence trade-off in soil borne pathogenic bacteria to optimize the balance of viability and pathogenicity. In the second section, this paper elaborates on how abiotic and biotic factors influencing the survival-virulence trade-off of the pathogenic bacteria in the soil environment. Soil is a complex and constantly changing living habitat for bacteria, containing various stressful factors to threaten the existence of pathogenic bacteria. Harsh environmental factors can trigger resistant systems in the bacteria, which is rather costly, thus leading to a cut-down investment in the expression of virulent features. So this paper analyzed and summarized those phenomena from the perspective of mechanism. In the third section, this paper focused on this trade-off pattern in the process of pathogenic bacteria moving from bulk soil to root surface:migration from soil to rhizosphere, colonization and proliferation in rhizosphere and invasion to root surface, since the infection of host plants is a continuous and dynamic process varying temporally and spatially. The last section of this paper proposed several research topics relative to the survival-virulence trade-off theory:1) explore impacts of biotic and abiotic factors on survival and virulence characteristics of pathogenic bacteria; 2) enhance the understanding of the multi-level interactions in the rhizosphere micro-food web and the superimposition of biotic and abiotic factors on the survival-virulence trade-off in soil-borne pathogenic bacteria; 3) investigate the molecular mechanism of adaptive evolution of pathogenic bacteria. This paper calls for establishment of an ecological prevention and control strategy for soil-borne diseases based on the survival-virulence trade-off theory. Moreover, it is expected that this paper may provide certain theoretical reference for sustainable development of the green agriculture.
韦中,王佳宁,江高飞,王孝芳,徐阳春,沈其荣.土传病原细菌的生存与致病权衡[J].土壤学报,2022,59(2):324-333. DOI:10.11766/trxb202008310399 WEI Zhong, WANG Jianing, JIANG Gaofei, WANG Xiaofang, XU Yangchun, SHEN Qirong. Survival-virulence Trade-off of Soil-borne Pathogenic Bacteria[J]. Acta Pedologica Sinica,2022,59(2):324-333.复制


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4. The very long night…
Updated: Mar 5, 2021
This is not the title of the next Jilly Cooper novel! Sadly, it only relates to our stint at Trailtrekker for Oxfam.
We were on Checkpoint 3 – this is 42 miles into the course. It was in a tiny village in beautiful (but remote) e, in the Yorkshire Dales. Most people were expected through here between 10pm and 5.30 am so our shift was 11.30pm – 6.am!
We drove up there Saturday morning to find a good spot for Boris. Unfortunately good = the least squelchy part of the field we could find! Even on mats we could see poor Boris sinking slightly!
Still ….we had a free day so we did a super walk up over a large hill and down into the next dale where we hoped to revisit an old haunt – The White Lion…only to find it closed for refurbishment 😦 4 miles later we found the wonderful George at Hubberholme http://www.thegeorge-inn.co.uk/ , which more than made up for it with a great pint of Black Sheep Ale for Chris, and super Fish, Chips and Mushy Peas for £6.95! We then managed a doze in the early evening but then , as we played Rummikub the heavens opened. For 90 minutes a massive storm raged all around, and all we could think of were the 700 walkers out there somewhere.
When our shift started we were told that the walk had been put on hold, with everyone being held at the checkpoints and waterstops because the roads were flooded and the high paths were too dangerous. Then we heard that the river had burst it’s banks so some of the footpaths were underwater. Amazingly – most people at the checkpoint were just getting restless because they wanted to get going again.
Eventually they were given the all clear, but at the stop before us, where the river had flooded the paths, people had to be rescued and brought to us by minibus.
Still, the vast majority wanted to carry on, despite sodden clothing, blisters, aching joints etc. Despite what this sounds like, the safety was excellent, and they were all given the opportunity of medical checks etc. It is a tribute to the organisation of the event that everyone was safe, fed and watered and able to continue if they wanted to. At times, the huge tent felt like a war zone!
We were awed by their drive and determination, and the total event should raise £750,000! That is staggering…. and most of them will be today!
So – 6.30am…. back at Boris… and, like every other vehicle on the field we had to be towed out of the mud! Then down to a car park in Skipton where we managed 2 hours sleep before driving home! Now we are back at Sopers Lane a day early……. so – what do you do in those circumstances…. you change your ferry booking and go on Monday instead of Tuesday!
So – bedlinen is changed, Boris all cleaned and prepared. Yorkshire clothing and maps removed and French and Spanish supplies installed! Yippee! A demain!

domain: geography


text:
CHENNAI: UK-based business financial platform Tide, which has its global development centre in Hyderabad, has received more than $100 million in a Series C funding round led by Apax Digital (the growth equity team of Apax Partners). Existing investors Anthemis, Augmentum, Jigsaw, Local Globe / Latitude
, SBI and SpeedInvest
also participated in the round.
With this, total funding raised by Tide to date comes to $200 million and the company said it is now valued at over $650 million post-money after four years of operation.
Tide serves around 6% of UK businesses and counts over 350,000 members and over 400,000 business accounts. Earlier this year, Tide announced that it was expanding into India with a full launch of the platform planned for 2022.
“Tide’s growth story to date has been hugely exciting, creating a diverse platform that serves small business owners, as well as generating significant market share. As we embark on taking Tide international, we couldn’t have a better set of investors to support us," Oliver Prill, Tide CEO, said.
The investment remains subject to FCA
approval. Financial Technology Partners
) served as the exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Tide on this transaction.

domain: finance


WattGlass of Fayetteville has been named among the winners of the SunShot Initiative and will be given about $679,000 to further commercialization efforts for its antireflective glass-coating technology, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The company said it will use the award money to coordinate with solar panel manufacturers over the next 14 months to test the coating in at least 240 solar panels throughout the country.
“The SunShot award is highly respected and will enable us to scale our best-in-class, antireflective coating quickly by working with leaders in the solar industry,” CEO Corey Thompson said in a company news release.
WattGlass’ work is one of 21 projects funded under SunShot’s Technology to Market Program. Nineteen projects will be funded under its research and development program.
All in all, the energy department announced on Wednesday about $100 million in projects to advance solar technologies.
Last month, another local company, Picasolar Inc., was awarded $2 million as a receipient of the SunShot Tier 2 Incubator award.
Both companies are headquartered at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park.


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The Luqmans are always talking about how life in our neighborhoods were different when we were growing up compared to today, but we rarely take the time to talk about the specific ways that life was different. On this show, we're going to talk about some of those ways, as many as we can fit in. From weekday and weekend chores to running errands for the elderly ladies in the neighborhood to school memories, we'll talk about all the good things that we have fond memories of from our childhoods, growing up in Camden, NJ (Mr. Luqman) and in SE Washington, DC (Mrs. Luqman), including some of the music that made up the soundtracks of our youth.
And since we'll be talking about how our neighborhoods were different in our childhoods were different, we'll talk a little bit about why our neighborhoods are the way they are today.
Plenty of coffee to go around, bring your cup!
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domain: sociology


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The Mandalorian is without a doubt one of the most impressive shows on the small screen right now, as fans are clamoring to see the continuing adventures of Din Djarin and The Child (Baby Yoda). One of the biggest reasons for the show’s success is the level of talent that series creator Jon Favreau is bringing in major talent both in front of and behind the camera. When it comes to actors, the first season brought in fan-favorite stars like Ming-Na Wen and Bill Burr. Now, Season 2 has already set a high bar with Timothy Olyphant’s appearance in the premiere. While a third season is still a ways a way, it looks like the show may have already tapped at least one star for a role, and she’s a Chicago Med alum.
The Mandalorian is rumored to have cast Chicago Med star Sophie Thatcher for a role on the show. According to Deadline, there are conflicting reports as to whether or not she’ll be starring in The Mandalorian or a spinoff series. Reports recently surfaced that Disney+ may be developing a series centered on Boba Fett, so this could be a possible option if she has been hired. The trade also mentions that she could even end up playing a role in both shows.
Sophie Thatcher doesn’t have too many credits under her belt, but she has appeared in notable shows like Chicago Med, Chicago P.D. and The Exorcist. Appearing in a Star Wars production would definitely be a huge step for the up-and-coming star, though.
As mentioned, The Mandalorian has cast some talented actors and, while the show does take on veteran stars like Nick Nolte and Werner Herzog, it did pick a few fresh faces. This included Jake Cannavale – the son of actor Bobby Cannavale – who played aspiring bounty hunter Toro Calican.
The second season of The Mandalorian is expected to bring a number of other major stars into the series. Aside from Olyphant, the premiere also revealed Star Wars alum Temuera Morrison, who appears to be playing the iconic Boba Fett. WWE star Sasha Banks will also be showing up and was ironically mistaken for another forthcoming star – Rosario Dawson.
While it has yet to be confirmed, she’s reportedly playing fan-favorite Jedi Ahsoka Tano, marking the character’s first live-action appearance. As you would expect there’s a lot of anticipation surrounding this development, and fans have even mocked up some great concept art of her in the role.
It’s nearly impossible to speculate who Sophie Thatcher could be playing on The Mandalorian or any potential spinoff. However, if the show has proven anything, it’s that it knows how to find the right role for the right actor. So whoever she ends up playing will likely end up being a perfect match for her skill set as an actor.
Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News
New episodes of The Mandalorian Season 2 premiere every Friday on Disney+, and you can also stream the first season in its entirety now.
Erik Swann is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He began working with the publication in 2020 when he was hired as Weekend Editor. Today, he continues to write, edit and handle social media responsibilities over the weekend. On weekdays, he also writes TV and movie-related news and helps out with editing and social media as needed. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he received a degree in Broadcast Journalism. After shifting into multi-platform journalism, he started working as a freelance writer and editor before joining CB. Covers superheroes, sci-fi, comedy, and almost anything else in film and TV. He eats more pizza than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

domain: celebrity


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A three inch mortar fin, the tail end of a Second World War mortar with screw fitting.
Believed to have been found in the grounds of Bodiam Castle. The Castle was not damaged during the Second World War, but a pill-box was built in the grounds. At that time, there was direct line of sight from the pill-box to the bridge. The Home Guard was tasked with protecting the bridge. In 2006 a former member of the Home Guard visited Bodiam Castle and shared his memories. Mr Tom Weeks recalled that although the pill-box was designed to hold an anti-tank gun, it never arrived and instead the men were armed with guns and rifles. A Spigit Mortar gun was stored in the Castle. When visitors were allowed to return after the war, they would have been shown the gun. Mr Weeks remembered that it was armed with a dummy bomb for training, but one day during a demonstration, the gun accidentally went off and blew the doors to the Postern Tower of their hinges.

domain: history


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If you’re planning a trip to Canada, you might consider visiting Toronto, Niagara Falls, Montreal, or Vancouver. But don’t overlook Northern Canada, which offers visitors the opportunity to get a more unusual, off-the-beaten path glimpse of the country. Comprising Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon, Northern Canada is often cold and secluded, but you can find a trove of incredible things there. We compiled a list of nine such things you can only see in the North, from an igloo cathedral to the world’s tallest vertical cliff.
1. SIGN POST FOREST // WATSON LAKE, YUKON
Since 1942, visitors have brought signposts from their towns to a forest in Watson Lake. The resulting collection of signposts from around the world, dubbed Sign Post Forest, is an unusual, colorful sight to behold in an otherwise rural area along the Alaska Highway. With more than 77,000 signposts, the forest is always growing as more visitors add signs from their towns each day. And if you don’t have a sign on hand, don’t fret. You can make your own sign at the forest’s Visitor Information Center.
2. ST. JUDE’S CATHEDRAL // IQALUIT, NUNAVUT
Located in Iqaluit, a capital city with a large Inuit population, St. Jude’s Cathedral is an Anglican church that serves as the seat of the Diocese of The Arctic. Nicknamed the Igloo Cathedral, the church offers regular worship services in English and Inuktitut, the Inuit language. After a fire destroyed the original igloo-shaped building in 2005, another igloo was built and, after years of fundraising, opened to the public in 2012.
3. A COCKTAIL CONTAINING A HUMAN TOE // DAWSON CITY, YUKON
Even if you consider yourself a beverage connoisseur, you might be surprised by this drink. The bar at Downtown Hotel in Dawson City serves The Sourtoe Cocktail, a bourbon drink containing a real amputated human toe, dehydrated and pickled in salt. A miner with frostbite donated the first toe to the bar, and over 100,000 people have ordered the cocktail since 1973. The bar has since received other toes, amputated due to corns, frostbite, or diabetes. People who successfully drink the cocktail (their lips must touch the toe, but they’re not allowed to swallow it) get to join the exclusive Sourtoe Cocktail…


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Luxury Scotland 2018
The festive holidays are fast approaching and Luxury Scotland Hotels have a host of seasonal offers and news to share with our contacts.
Amongst the awards and accolades we mentioned last month was the nomination of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by Lonely Planet as one of their Top Ten destinations for 2019. To mark this award, Hebridean Island Cruises are offering a 10% saving plus a Luxury ‘Scottish Fayre’ Hamper on all bookings for 2019 made during December. (Full details below)
There are a number of fascinating video clips being generated by our member hotels including an exclusive peek at a video featuring Crossbasket Castle as a unique wedding Venue for Queen Mary Weddings in China. There is also a clip from Knockinaam Lodge in which TV presenter Timmy Mallet talks enthusiastically about Dumfries & Galloway and the importance of the area to him and his father.
Many of the Luxury Scotland hotels have a range of Festive Gift Vouchers on offer including Inverlochy Castle, Greywalls and Cromlix. There are also vouchers for sensational spa treatments from The Coach House Spa at Kinross House in Fife… perfect after the hectic holiday period.
Finally, we have a wonderful new article on our Explore & Discover section entitled ‘ The Art of Luxury Scotland Hotels ‘. This is a brief tour of the wonderful paintings that can be seen in many of our members’ properties. It’s a colourful tour highlighting several inspiring Scottish artists.
If there is an artist amongst your family or friends then perhaps the Art Demonstration & Lunch with Philip Raskin at Lochgreen House Hotel could make a superb Christmas gift. The event takes place in January 2019 and there is a special offer which includes overnight accommodation.
2019 promised to be another exciting year for Luxury Scotland and I look forward to bring you some new about new developments in our January newsletter. Until then here’s wishing you and yours a very enjoyable December.
LATEST OFFERS FROM LUXURY SCOTLAND HOTELS
Listed in Lonely Planet Guide’s Top 10 ‘must see’ destinations for 2019, the Highlands and Islands of Scotland reward visitors with awe-inspiring vistas at every turn from white sand beaches, soaring peaks, magnificent castles and uninhabited islands. What better way to experience the region than from the comfort and luxury of the floating country house hotel, Hebridean Princess?
Recently featured as an exclusive Scottish Wedding Venue for Queen Mary Weddings in China. Crossbasket Castle is a luxurious affair, offering an amazing backdrop for unforgettable Scottish weddings. Complete with a four-storey private bridal tower, opulent public rooms and a Grand Ballroom for over 250 people, Crossbasket Castle promises a truly magical experience.
TV Star and artist Timmy Mallett talks about the huge impression the Dumfries & Galloway region has made on him. He came to Galloway on a quest to find the spot his father painted more than fifty years ago. Knockinaam Lodge is one of the areas most popular luxury hotels.
Enjoy a Pre Christmas Getaway Special Offer between 14th – 24th November & 14th – 23rd December for only £265.00 per room per night. Offer includes five course dinner, bed and breakfast. The first five lucky couples to take advantage of this fantastic offer will also receive a complimentary cream tea on arrival!
This year Boath House will not be open for Christmas – however, there is a wonderful dining offer running during December for a 3 course dinner package at the Kale Yard at Boath House – £39.50 per person including a glass of Prosecco. Boath House also has some great value overnight offers including dinner from £270 per couple.
A Gift Voucher from one of our Luxury Scotland Hotels opens up a host of opportunities for that special person. It’s a chance to experience some of the world’s most amazing natural landscapes and explore some of Europe’s most popular cities.
Great to see Kinloch Lodge’s ‘Winter Escape’ package featured in The Telegraph’s Top UK Places to enjoy a Winter Break. Skye is a wonderful winter destination with a dusting of snow on the mountains, roaring open fires and the most delicious meals and afternoon teas to recharge your batteries after an inspired loch side walk or bike ride.
The Crinan Hotel with its magical lochside setting on Scotland’s west coast is famous for its Three Day Hogmanay House Party including accommodation,breakfasts, dinners, champagne reception and a Hogmanay Ceilidh from £625 per person including voucher for B&B during 2019. (NOTE: only a couple of places left at time of writing)
If there is an artist amongst your family or friends then perhaps the offer of an Art Demonstration & Lunch at Lochgreen House Hotel could make a superb Christmas gift.


Change the combination on the deadbolt of a Schlage door by entering the deadbolt programming code and then pressing the button marked Schlage at the top of the keypad. Once the keypad turns blue, press the number 1, and enter a new four-digit user code. Confirm the code by entering it again. The Schlage button turns green as confirmation that programming was successful.Know More
Enter the preset six-digit programming code into the keypad. Wait for the Schlage light on the keypad to blink and beep three times.
Press the Schlage button on the keypad. When the keypad turns blue, confirming that it is in programming mode, press the number 1. Wait for the Schlage button to blink and beep three times.
Enter a new four-digit security code. Wait for the Schlage button to blink and beep. Enter the four-digit code again, and wait for the Schlage button to turn green and beep. Programming is complete.
To change your door lock, remove the old lock and install a new one. Start by checking the brand of the existing lock on the latch or the key. If you buy the same brand, you may not need to make any adjustments.Full Answer >
The brands Larson Manufacturing and Pella hold the highest ratings from Amazon.com and Lowe's. The top-rated storm door model on Amazon.com is the 298SS32"WHT storm door from Larson Manufacturing, and the top rating from Lowe's goes to Larson's tempered glass pet door storm door, as of June 2015.Full Answer >
For Schlage doorknobs that have a release button on the side of the knob, hold down this button, and pull on the knob to remove it. Other models have a small hole on the side of the knob. Push a pin into the hole, and pull to remove the knob.Full Answer >
Removing a deadbolt lock requires access to the inside of the door from which the lock is to be removed, a screwdriver and minimal, mechanical knowledge. In most cases the deadbolt is easily removed with only a Phillips screwdriver, but some deadbolts require an Allen wrench to remove the faceplate to get to the screws holding the mechanism in place.Full Answer >


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The big problem I have with episode 1 is that Bigby (the protagonist, a werewolf) doesn't use his sense of smell. Ever. Not to tell who's been in the room or handled objects of interest. He seems to be entirely unaware of nearby people on multiple occasions. He doesn't even track a blood trail by scent.
Now, maybe this isn't a big deal for people who are coming to the story fresh, but Bigby's superhuman senses are a big deal in the graphic novels. So I was waiting for scent to come into the game in some way, and it just doesn't.
The first episode, "Faith" felt quite short, much less play than any of the "Sam & Max" episodes which were mostly self-contained stories. It was really just a first act.
The game offers a lot of choices. They don't really feel like they matter. (For example, in an early scene, there seems to be no way to avoid going out the window as a result of a fight scene.) Maybe carrying over from one episode to another helps--- for now all you get is "X% of other players chose the same way as you". But it doesn't seem to be a branching structure, which is depressingly standard for games. I'm even less clear how the quicktime events in fights play out--- if I do badly enough, what happens? I didn't care enough to replay a scene and find out.
I also felt rushed by dialogue choices, but it wasn't too bad. There is a timer that counts down and you make a default response if it runs out. The net effect is that the game feels more like a movie than interactive fiction--- virtually no puzzles to figure out, and no real narrative choice available. Again, maybe if I didn't "prove" that Mr. Toad is lying, something different would have happened--- but I don't see what difference it would make in the plot.
The single save point (I think?) makes it very difficult to go back and look at alternatives, which is probably what they wanted but is frustrating to the Explorer within me, who doesn't usually have such a tough time of it.


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Massive Disneyland Attraction Database
Griffith III Carcas Train, a favorite attraction of Dewey
Griffith III Carcas Train
November 25, 1960
Avg. queue length:
Seated conveniently into one of Griffith III Carcas Train's kids-only cattle cars, you'll go on a muscle-aching chug to Storybook Meal and get a bird's-eye view of miniscule model homes.
- If this is your first visit to Disneyland, you won't want to go on this attraction by yourself because it's required by law.
- If you are traveling with mange or the easily impressed, you may want to line up for the inescapable Michael Eisner meet-and-greet pavilion.
- Minimum height 40".
- Over-sweet cuteness may be too intense for wimps.
- For your benefit, you should be in good health or free from inner ear, brain, shoulder, or familial problems or other thingies that could lead to a less than magical outcome to this adventure.
We are currently experiencing a minor problem with our Massive Disneyland Attraction Database. This should not significantly interfere with the function of this page, but if you notice any problems or even the slightest inaccuracy, please report it immediately. Thank you for your courtesy.

domain: travel


Friday, December 19, 2014
Pastor Rick Wiles: Russia Will Nuke The United States Over Gay Rights
PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Wiles says God will destroy America and the survivors will be the "slaves of sodomites." Wiles says ebola could solve "America's problem with gays and atheists." Last year he declared that MSNBC viewers are "demon-possessed fans of the anti-Christ." And then there was that time he declared that God sent a plague of locusts to Egypt because Obama.
Who Is The Horse's Ass Of 2014?
invite your votes for the 2014 Equine Posterior Achievement Award. We can think of oh-so-many write-in candidates: Brian Brown, Scott Lively, Porno Pete, Mat Staver, Matt Barber, Tony Perkins, Josh Duggar, Linda Harvey, Phylis Schlafly, Monica Cole, Christopher Doyle, Franklin Graham, Austin Ruse, and on and on and on. How to choose, how to choose.
Last Christmas (I Gayview Mahat)
Tired Old Queen At The Movies #128
Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and a brilliant cast ring in the season in George Cukor’s HOLIDAY (1938). Adapted by Donald Ogden Stewart and Sidney Buchman from the play by Philip Barry, it deals with an unconventional young man (Grant) who wishes to marry into a wealthy family without sacrificing his ideals. He meets a comrade in the feisty sister of his fiancé (Hepburn) and her alcoholic brother Lew Ayres, in a brilliant performance. As always, Grant and Hepburn sparkle together. The dialogue is sophisticated, witty and the message as relevant today as it was when it was made. From all of us at Tired Old Queen at the Movies have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and a lovely “Holiday”.
Porno Pete: Walmart Is Incentivizing Its Employees To Become Gay & Transgender
Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) is alerting the nation to Walmart's increasing capitulation to the homosexual-bisexual-transgender agenda-and is calling on Americans to urge Walmart to stop promoting homosexuality and gender confusion (transgenderism) with its corporate dollars. TAKE ACTION: Call Walmart's headquarters at 479-273-4000 or use their Contact Page to politely express your concerns about Walmart "going gay" and turning its back on godly morality and traditional marriage. "During the Christmas season, we should focus on honoring God and His Son, Jesus, who came to earth to die for our sins," said AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera. "Walmart has done much good in the world - but celebrating politically correct sins - homosexuality and transsexuality -only dishonors God and incentivizes Walmart's own workers to embrace immoral and confused behavior patterns in their lives. Walmart needs to get out of the sin promotion business and at least return to neutrality on the homosexual/transgender issue," LaBarbera said.Walmart has a 90% rating from the Human Rights Campaign.
Poland Rejects Civil Unions
rejected placing a civil unions bill on the agenda for the coming legislative session. This is the third consecutive year that such an action was rejected. The 2013 attempt to pass a civil partnerships bill failed to advance by 17 votes.
Feds Announce Trans Protections
Via the Associated Press:
The Justice Department is now interpreting federal law to explicitly prohibit workplace discrimination against transgender people, according to a memo released Thursday by Attorney General Eric Holder. That means the Justice Department will be able to bring legal claims on behalf of people who say they've been discriminated against by state and local public employers based on sex identity. In defending lawsuits, the federal government also will no longer take the position that Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, which bans sex discrimination, does not protect against workplace discrimination on the basis of gender status.Holder's announcement reaffirms the position taken two years ago by the EEOC.
UPDATE: Closeted homosexual Matt Drudge is handling the story in his usual fashion.
Willie Robertson: People Might Be Born Gay But Jesus Can Totally Still Fix Them
BOSTON: Obama Calls Into Public Radio Show, Chats With Gov. Deval Patrick
Yesterday President Obama surprised Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick by calling into the governor's monthly Boston Public Radio show. "Uh, Governor, this is Barack Obama, formerly of Somerville. I've got a few complaints about service in and around the neighborhood, but I've moved down South since that time..."
(Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)
CHINA: Court Orders "Ex-Gay" Torture Clinic To Pay Compensation To Victim
In the first-ever such ruling in Chinese history, a court has ordered an "ex-gay" torture clinic to pay compensation to one of its victims. Via the Wall Street Journal:
“We’re incredibly happy,” said Yang Teng, the plaintiff in the case. Mr. Yang earlier told China Real Time (which previously quoted him using the pseudonym Xiao Zhen) that staff at a clinic in the southwestern city of Chongqing told him they could cure his homosexuality, then put him in a state of light hypnosis and shocked him with electrodes every time he thought of gay sex. “In her decision, the judge said that homosexuality is not a disease, therefore the clinic had no basis to undertake treatment,” he said. Mr. Yang said the court had ordered the clinic, Chongqing Jinyu Piaoxiang, to pay him 3,500 yuan ($563) in compensation. It also required the clinic to post an apology for offering the treatment on the front page of its website for 48 hours and ordered an investigation whether the clinic’s license was valid.Chinese search engine giant Baidu was also named in the suit, but the court ruled that it could not be held liable for running ads for the torture clinics. Those ads have since been removed and a spokesman for Baidu commented on the ruling: "We’re very glad to see justice served, and we share the opinion that unqualified therapy must be very vigilantly regulated. We hope Yang Teng will find some comfort in the court’s ruling."
Liberace: The Hologram Show
In partnership with the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts, Hologram USA reported that it has started work on a hologram-like version of the famous entertainer for a feature-length live show that be would staged in such a way that "Liberace" would be able to interact with the audience. “This is a major step in the evolution of this medium for entertainment,” Hologram USA CEO Alki David said in a statement. “With our partners at the Liberace Foundation we’ll be able to stage a show so lifelike — the room will be filled with all of the great singer’s charm and charisma.” Hologram USA was responsible for the recent appearance of a virtual Jimmy Kimmel, and said it holds the North American license for the system that was used to place a virtual Tupac at Coachella in 2012.After a launch in Las Vegas, the show is expected to tour worldwide.
AUSTRALIA: Grieving Partner Of Murdered Hero Cafe Manager Speaks Out
Siege victim Tori Johnson's partner has thanked Australia and the world for the outpouring of support for the family that has come in the wake of the Martin Place tragedy. Thomas Zinn read an emotional statement directly to viewers on the TODAY Show this morning, speaking of the family's pride in the strength of the community. "As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for our family," he said. "We are experiencing unimaginable grief but when we look at the sea of flowers with all the heartfelt messages, and the crowds of supports at Martin Place, we know this grief is shared by the country and the rest of the world." He extended particular thanks to the police and emergency services who worked tirelessly to resolve the siege and supported the family during those horrible hours. He also offered Mr Johnson's family's love to the family of the other siege victim, barrister Katrina Dawson.Johnson's father speaks in the final clip below. The "sea of flowers" at the site of the murders will be composted and used as part of the landscaping for a planned memorial.
Morning View - Island House
Island House. As usual there are some JMG readers here this week: two self-proclaimed "flying monkeys" from Minneapolis, Mike from Atlanta, Russ from Manhattan, and a boisterous bear couple from Surrey, England. Say hello, boys!
Epic Stephen Colbert Finale
Thursday, December 18, 2014
FLORIDA: ACLU Files SCOTUS Response To Pam Bondi's Stay Extension Demand
ACLU Of Florida:
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a response at the United States Supreme Court today stating that the Court should reject Florida’s request for further extension of the stay placed on a federal court’s decision that struck down Florida’s ban on allowing and recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples. The response argued that Florida families suffer harms every day the ban remains in place.Read the response.
“Governor Scott, his appointees, and Attorney General Pam Bondi’s efforts to delay the implementation of the order striking down the marriage ban are as senseless as they are incredibly harmful,” stated ACLU of Florida LGBT rights staff attorney Daniel Tilley. “Every day that the couples we represent and the thousands of families across Florida who are also denied the protections of marriage go without those protections, they are suffering real harm, as Judge Hinkle’s order made plainly clear. We are glad to have had the opportunity to explain to our nation’s highest court why it is time to let love win in Florida, and we are hopeful that the Court will reject Governor Scott and Attorney General Bondi’s increasingly-desperate efforts, just as it has refused all requests to stay rulings striking down discriminatory marriage bans since this October.”
FLORIDA: Courthouse Plans To Open At Midnight On Day Of Stay Expiration
Via the Osceola News-Gazette:
The Osceola County Courthouse will open for a couple hours at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 6 – the moment that Florida’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage expires – to issue marriage licenses and possibly perform services. Osceola County Clerk of the Courts Armando Ramirez said he expected to process up to 30 licenses that night for gay couples who have long-waited for the right to marry. My wife and I will also be there personally to witness the historic moment,” Ramirez said. “I believe marriage is just a legal pact between two adults, and there needs to be a separation of church and state.” Ramirez got approval to open the second-floor courthouse office where passports and marriage licenses are issued and $725 for a seven-person security detail from the Osceola County Commission this week.All of this depends on SCOTUS, of course.
Vaccines Can Make Your Kids Gay
Tim Cook Gives Big To HRC
announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook has made a large donation to help fund LGBT advocacy in southern states including his native Alabama.
The amount of Cook's contribution to the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign wasn't disclosed, but the advocacy organization called it "substantial." Organizers said it would help fund a three-year, $8.5 million campaign launched in April in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi. Called Project One America, the goal of the public relations effort is to build acceptance for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in the states. The campaign includes advertising on TV and elsewhere, direct-mail fliers and staff members hired in each state. "We hope Tim Cook's substantial personal investment inspires others to support this vital and historic project," Jason Rahlan, a spokesman for Human Rights Campaign, said in an email.Cook formally came out in October, spawning widespread condemnation by anti-gay groups but no organized campaign to boycott Apple has yet developed.
Afternoon View - Sushi's Shoe
RNC Posts Letter To Santa From Hillary
FLORIDA: Liberty Counsel Offers To Defend County Clerks Who Refuse Gays
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver is urging Florida court clerks to take the advice of their own legal counsel and uphold Florida’s marriage laws. “No clerk outside of Washington County is bound by the federal judge’s ruling,” the letter from the legal counsel says, “and it would be a crime under Florida law for a clerk in any of those 66 other counties to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple.” The attorneys who brought the federal suit, however, are already threatening to sue any Florida clerk who refuses to issue the illegal same-sex licenses. Liberty Counsel will defend—at no cost to taxpayers—any Florida court clerk who is sued for upholding Florida’s marriage laws. Liberty Counsel will also defend any clerk in Washington County or elsewhere who, for conscience reasons, refuses to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple.The Liberty Counsel is based in Orlando.
Sam Smith Goes Platinum
Inside The Key West Christmas Cab
So this happened the other night on our way back to Island House. Father Tony writes:
Joe and I returning from El Siboney Cuban Restaurant - per our tradition - got into the Best. Cab. Ever. The driver said, "Are you guys ready for Christmas?" We said no, and he fired up Bing Crosby doing the Hawaiian Christmas Song and then he said, "Mind if I turn on my Christmas lights?" Suddenly the floor of the cab was in synch with the music.And then the cabbie performed Christmas In Hollis.
EGYPT: Immediate Trial Date Set For 26 Men Arrested In Bathhouse Raid
Egyptian official says prosecutors have referred 26 men arrested in a raid on a bath house to trial on charges connected to their suspected homosexuality. The prosecution official said Wednesday the trial will begin Sunday, a quick referral in a case that has captured public attention following the men's televised arrest. Scenes of half-naked men escorted by policemen out of the bath house in Cairo on Dec. 7 were filmed by a private TV channel and later aired amid criticism from activists. Many in the public were also stunned by the widely circulated pictures of the bathers covering their faces from cameras.The speedy trial date is considered highly unusual as Egypt's backlogged court system typically means waits of up to a year. The men have been charged with "debauchery" as homosexuality is technically legal in Egypt.
RUSSIA: Vladimir Putin Vows To Repair Ruble, Blames Crash On The West
President Vladimir Putin assured Russians on Thursday that the economy would rebound after the ruble's dramatic slide this year but offered no remedy for a deepening financial crisis. In an assured performance at a three-hour news conference, Putin blamed the economic problems on external factors and said the crisis over Ukraine was caused by the West, which he accused of building a "virtual" Berlin Wall to contain Russia. Putin even cracked jokes at times, despite pressure to fix an economy that is heading into recession and caught by what his economy minister called a "perfect storm" of low oil prices, Western sanctions over Ukraine and global economic problems. The ruble has fallen about 45 percent against the dollar this year, and suffered particularly steep falls on Monday and Tuesday, but Putin said its eventual rise was unavoidable and avoided using the word "crisis".The retail fallout has been immediate.
Russian consumers flocked to the stores Wednesday, frantically buying a range of big-ticket items to preempt the price rises kicked off by the staggering fall in the value of the ruble in recent days. As the Russian authorities announced a series of measures to ease the pressure on the ruble, which slid 15 percent in the previous two days and raised fears of a bank run, many Russians were buying cars and home appliances — in some cases in record numbers — before prices for these imported goods shoot higher. The Swedish furniture giant IKEA already warned Russian consumers that its prices will rise Thursday, which resulted in weekend-like crowds at a Moscow store on a Wednesday afternoon.General Motors, Audi, Land Rover, and Apple have temporarily suspended sales inside Russia.
Teabaggers Have The Cuba Sadz
TODAY: Hawaii Supreme Court Hears Challenge To Same-Sex Marriage Law
Hawaii's Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments in a state Republican representative's lawsuit challenging the gay marriage law. While the Legislature was considering the bill last year, Rep. Bob McDermott tried to stop the state from issuing any marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The circuit court denied his motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. McDermott appealed. McDermott's lawsuit says the Legislature didn't have authority to pass the law.From the court's docket notice:
On appeal to this court, Respondents contend that the trial court erred in denying their motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, and in granting the Petitioners’ motion for summary judgment. Respondents argue, inter alia, that the Hawai`i Marriage Equality Act is unconstitutional because in 1998, the people of Hawai`i voted to amend article 1, section 23 of the Hawai`i Constitution to state that “the legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.” Respondents argue that the intent of this amendment was to constitutionally reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples, so the legislature was not authorized to pass the Hawai`i Marriage Equality Act. In response, Petitioners argue that article 1, section 23 allows the legislature to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples, but does not require it to do so. Petitioners also argue that Respondents lacked standing to bring this lawsuit.The hearing is set for 11AM local time. (Tipped by JMG reader Lulu)
Headline Of The Day
A teenage girl hanged herself because she feared telling her devoutly Christian parents she might be gay, an inquest has heard. Elizabeth Lowe, 14, known as Lizzie, had confided in friends that she thought she might be a lesbian, but was struggling to reconcile her feelings with her own deep faith. She was also worried about telling her parents, but her father said her fears were misplaced and she would have received a “wealth of love and acceptance”. Lizzie was a top academic performer at Parrs Wood High School and a member of the Scout movement and a musician in a Christian orchestra. Senior Coroner Nigel Meadows said the school couldn't have done any more to pick up on her distress. Recording a verdict of suicide, Senior Coroner, Nigel Meadows, said: :She was clearly an intelligent young woman. She was a successful student but was going through issues of developing maturity and exploring her sexuality and was struggling to come to terms with that against her faith beliefs."(Via Christian Nightmares)
Liberty Counsel Cheers Fayetteville
Liberty Counsel is taking credit for the repeal of Fayetteville's LGBT rights ordinance, which we're pretty sure was the work of the FRC and the Duggar family. Via press release:
In a special referendum vote, Fayetteville voters repealed a law passed by the City Council in August that required churches, Christian schools, and other para-church ministries to hire homosexuals for “secular” jobs (such as school teachers), allowed men to use women’s restrooms and locker rooms, and required Christian business owners to service “same-sex weddings.” The law even provided for criminal prosecution of those who refused to comply.(Tipped by JMG reader Dustin)
Liberty Counsel became involved as soon as word spread that the City Council was considering passage of the radical ordinance, and Liberty Counsel attorneys wrote a letter to the Fayetteville City Council. Liberty Counsel worked with local attorneys Stephanie Nichols and Travis Story (the former graduated from Regent University and the latter graduated from Liberty University School of Law). Together, these attorneys drafted the referendum to repeal the law, and more than enough signatures were obtained to place the matter in a special election. The voters were heard and the law was repealed by a margin of 52 to 48 percent.
Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, said, “Homosexual activists are intolerant. The repeal of this radical and immoral law is a clear reminder that when good people unite and pastors speak up, their voices will be heard and they can make a difference. This ordinance sought to criminalize Judeo-Christian values. The American people should wake up and fight to preserve our inalienable right to freedom of conscience.”
Gandalf & The Cookie Monster
Open Thread Thursday
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
IDAHO: Gov. Butch Otter Asks SCOTUS To Hear Same-Sex Marriage Appeal
If this Court is prepared to decide the constitutionality of state man-woman marriage laws - as amicus believes it should - it is important that the Court have before it at least one case in which state officials will vigorously defend those laws on the merits. Unless state representatives in one case are mounting such a defense — including an explanation of why the man-woman definition of marriage satisfies any form of heightened scrutiny — neither the Court nor the public can be assured that the ultimate decision will be the product of a fair contest between opponents who made the strongest possible arguments on both sides.Read the full brief at Equality Case Files.
Although the officials in the cases now before the Court have been well represented, none has demonstrated a willingness to mount such a defense. Perhaps they believe this Court will inevitably reject all the arguments for heightened scrutiny, thus making a defense under such a standard superfluous. Or perhaps some fear (incorrectly) that a vigorous defense will impugn the parenting skills of same-sex couples and thus be offensive to gays and lesbians. Whatever the reason, these officials’ presentations have left an important viewpoint unrepresented, and it is one that needs to be vigorously presented in this Court.
That is a main reason Governor Otter respectfully suggests that the Court ensure that the Idaho case Otter v. Latta, - in which the Governor is a named party - is among the cases the Court uses as “vehicles” for deciding the constitutionality of the man-woman definition. Unlike the laws now before the Court, Idaho’s definition has been vigorously defended, in part on the ground that it satisfies the heightened scrutiny that the Ninth Circuit held applies to such laws. And unlike those cases, the Ninth Circuit in Latta purported to address Idaho’s heightened-scrutiny defense. Moreover, Latta will likely be before the Court in a very few days: Unless the Ninth Circuit quickly grants the pending petition for rehearing en banc, amicus intends to seek this Court’s review by January 5, 2015.
LONDON: Subway Erasure Singalong
Via the BBC:
A fan of Erasure sparked an impromptu singalong on the London Underground with his own version of the band's A Little Respect. Neil Francis, who sings at venues around Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, was waiting at the Kentish Town station when he decided to break into song. "I love the sound of the acoustics in the tube station, so I thought 'give it some'," he said. "It went mental, and got louder and louder." Mr Francis, who admitted having had a couple of drinks to "wet the whistle", said people asked him to carry on singing once they got on the train.636K views so far. Hit the link for an interview with him.
Most Major Theater Chains Pull The Interview Over Terrorist Threats
UPDATE: Sony Has Pulled The Film
Los Angeles Times:
The nation's leading theater chains are pulling the plug on screening "The Interview." Regal, AMC and Cinemark -- the three largest chains in the United States -- have decided not to screen “The Interview” when it debuts on Christmas Day in the wake of threats made by Sony hackers, said people familiar with the decision. The chains have asked Sony to postpone the release date of the controversial film. The decision represents a major blow to Sony Pictures Entertainment, which has been under siege by a hack attack that became public Nov. 24. A representative of Sony Pictures Entertainment declined to comment. Late Tuesday, Carmike Cinemas, the fourth-largest theater chain, with 2,917 screens in 41 states, became the first major exhibitor to scrap plans to screen "The Interview."More from the Associated Press:
The fallout from the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack that began four weeks ago exploded Tuesday after the shadowy group calling themselves Guardians of Peace escalated their attack beyond corporate espionage and threatened moviegoers with violence reminiscent of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Department of Homeland Security said there was "no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theaters," but noted it was still analyzing messages from the group, dubbed GOP. The warning did prompt law enforcement in New York and Los Angeles to address measures to ramp up security.UPDATE: Sony has pulled the film entirely.
In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release. We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers. Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business. Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.Sony could lose $100M.
BREAKING: Supreme Court To Consider Louisiana Case At January Conference
TURKEY: US Diplomat Charles Hunter To Marry Local Musician Boyfriend
he will marry his Turkish boyfriend with the ceremony to take place in Wisconsin.
Hunter was at an event at the Dutch consulate the previous day where he sang at an a capella choir. He responded to reporters' questions afterward. Naturally, almost all questions were about his affair with Turkish artist Ramadan Çaysever, and Hunter spoke about the affair for the first time. He said he "confirmed" all the reports in the press about his affair and planned marriage, but avoided elaborating on the matter. Çaysever, who frequently accompanies the Consul General at events, was absent at Tuesday night's event. Meanwhile, rumors made the rounds in the media about the top diplomat's affair. Some media outlets claimed Çaysever converted to Christianity for his partner. Milliyet, a Turkish daily, claimed Hunter asked for assignment of a bodyguard for Çaysever who has moved in with him, but has not been assigned one yet.Hunter reportedly met Çaysever at one of his concerts. His music sounds quite like 80s Italo.
FLORIDA: Judge Grants First Gay Divorce
Via the Associated Press:
The first formal divorce for a gay couple in Florida has been granted by a county judge who also declared the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Circuit Judge Dale Cohen on Wednesday dissolved the marriage of Heather Brassner and Megan Lade. They were united in a 2002 civil union in Vermont. Cohen had ruled in August that Florida's gay marriage ban is unconstitutional and that out-of-state gay marriages should be recognized. Brassner attorney Nancy Brodzki said it was Florida's first gay divorce. Brodzki says she expects Attorney General Pam Bondi to appeal the decision, just as she has several other rulings against the gay marriage ban. There was no immediate reaction from Bondi's office.(Tipped by JMG reader Lulu)
RUSSIA: State TV Runs Action Movie-Style Trailer For Putin Press Conference
Russia's official state-run news channel, Russia-1, has always been a bit brazen about cheerleading Russian President Vladimir Putin as a national action hero. But Russia-1 is taking that to a new level this week. The channel is broadcasting ads for Putin's forthcoming press conference, on the disastrous fall of the ruble, that look very little like sober news coverage and very much like the trailer for a Hollywood Michael Bay action film. That is not hyperbole: the ads literally look like action movie trailers.
(Tipped by JMG reader Mike)
Brian Brown: Send Me Money To Fight Billionaire Teabagger David Koch
"I have to let you know exactly what we're up against. Recently, the news reported that David Koch—the conservative boogeyman of the left—will be interviewed by ABC's Barbara Walters for her 'The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2014' special scheduled to air on Sunday. In the interview, he unequivocally states, 'I'm basically a libertarian, and I'm a conservative on economic matters, and I'm a social liberal.' It harkens back to a 2012 Politico article where he said, 'I believe in gay marriage.' This is exactly the problem. Millionaires and billionaires are lining up in support of this radical social agenda... even on the right! And I need your help to stop it! Won't you please click here right away to make a generous donation of $35, $50, $100, $500, or $1,000 or more to help us carry out our mission of protecting marriage and the faith communities that sustain it? When the radical left—like Human Rights Campaign and Freedom to Marry, each bankrolled to the tune of tens of millions of dollars per year—pushes this agenda, they claim people are accepting gay 'marriage' in ever increasing numbers. But what they really mean is that a bunch of hyper-wealthy social liberals are trying to push this agenda on America whether they like it or not." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, via email.
NOTE: Walters' special actually aired last Sunday.
Pat Robertson: Homosexuals Will Die Out Because They Don't Reproduce
Quote Of The Day - Barack Obama
Barack Obama, in a People interview that hits the newsstands on Friday.
Historic Thaw In US-Cuba Relations
Via the Associated Press:
The United States and Cuba will start talks on normalizing full diplomatic relations, marking the most significant shift in U.S. policy toward the communist island in decades, American officials said Wednesday. The announcement comes amid a series of new confidence-building measures between the longtime foes, including the release of American Alan Gross and the freeing of three Cubans jailed in the U.S. President Barack Obama was to announce the policy changes from the White House at noon Wednesday. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, said the U.S. and Cuba were moving toward normalized banking and trade ties. He also said the U.S. was poised to open an embassy in Havana in the coming months. "This is going to do absolutely nothing to further human rights and democracy in Cuba," Rubio said in an interview. "But it potentially goes a long way in providing the economic lift that the Castro regime needs to become permanent fixtures in Cuba for generations to come."
TEXAS: State's First Gay Federal Judge Approved Thanks To Sen. Ted Cruz
Dallas Morning News:
The Senate confirmed three Texans Tuesday night for lifetime judicial appointments, capping an effort to fill vacancies in the state that have languished for years. The nominees — U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman of San Antonio, Texarkana lawyer Robert Schroeder III and Sherman Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant III — were approved by a voice vote on Congress’ final night this year. Pitman, the first openly gay U.S. attorney in Texas history, will be the state’s first openly gay federal judge. The process was sped up over the weekend, when Sen. Ted Cruz forced action on the constitutionality of the president’s immigration policies. The move failed badly — but gave Majority Leader Harry Reid more time to set up votes on a slew of nominees in the final days of the chamber’s session. Before that point, it was unclear whether the three Texans could be approved before Republicans take over the Senate on Jan. 6.(Tipped by JMG reader Mike)


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No customer reviews for the moment.


Ruling - Celsius 'Earn' Assets Belong to Lender
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An editor at Coincrop
05 Jan 2023 | 4 min read
Judge's ruling confirmed that crypto platform users do not possess their assets if they have partaken in certain services or products, meaning that even Celsius' 'Earn' Assets may now be claimed by a bankrupt lender. This serves as an important reminder to digital asset owners who are using such platforms - always take the measures necessary to ensure you keep your precious tokens safe and sound!
In a recent court ruling, customers of Celsius's interest-bearing "Earn" product were declared to have forfeited control of their assets to the insolvent crypto lender - meaning they are now considered part of its bankruptcy estate.
On Wednesday, Judge Martin Glenn of the Southern District of New York gave a resounding verdict in his court order that Celsius's terms and conditions clearly stated it had taken possession of digital assets deposited into its Earn product. This judgment signals an unfavourable outcome for investors who were hoping to recover their funds from the company. As reported in July 2022, approximately $4.2 billion worth of various cryptocurrencies were stored within this program with over $23 million being comprised solely by stablecoins.
Moreover, Glenn attested to Celsius having "established a good business reason to permit the sale" Despite objections from state regulators and the U.S. Trustee's office, Celsius was able to sell about $18 million worth of stablecoins which will provide sufficient funds for its administrative costs over the following months.
Glenn wrote "A rare point of agreement among all parties is that the Debtors’ liquidity is precipitously running out,". "The Debtors need to generate liquidity to fund these Chapter 11 cases and continue down the path either of a standalone plan reorganization, a section 363(b) sale, or even a liquidation plan.'
The ruling permitting Celsius to preserve its control over the funds in its Earn account will have long-lasting effects on cryptocurrency investors who use similar products from other platforms, some of which have also encountered bankruptcy in recent times.
MikeAn editor at Coincrop
Mike is a Coincrop staff writer based in the UK, covering the best rates for cryptocurrency earning and borrowing products. When not at work, he's likely putting his latest car project back together.
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text:
Ode to Psyche
Notes on Ode to Psyche by John Keats
The first written of Keats' 'spring odes' of April to May 1819.
They were written in the order: Psyche, Nightingale, Grecian Urn, Melancholy, Indolence
1. What is an Ode? An ode is the most exalted and perhaps most intense form of lyric poetry. Lyric poetry is poetry which concerns itself with the expression of individual feelings. This makes it the archetypal form of poetry for Keats as he was concerned with the intensity of emotions, the importance of feelings and the importance of the individual's experience. Rather than being linked by narrative development the ode is connected by patterns of imagery and close development of thought and feeling. The word 'ode' is derived from an ancient Greek word meaning to 'sing' or 'chant'. As well as the passionate development of an important theme, the ode is also characterised by diverse and quite complex stanza forms. Whenever, Keats referred to a poem as an ode it was a clear signal that he felt passionate reverence for the subject.
2. The Spring Odes
They emerge as a series of reflections and mediations on concerns at the heart of Keats's work:
the nature of beauty;
the beauty of nature and the importance of growth;
the beauty and permanence of Art;
the transience of life and joy;
the relationship between pain and joy.
the complex relationship between dream and reality;
the responsibilities of the artist;
the power of the imagination.
3. The form of 'Psyche'. It comprises four verse paragraphs of different lengths, respectively of 23, 12, 14 and 18 lines. In each stanza the structure reflects Keats's manipulation of excitement and climax and Keats' fastidiousness about rhyme, for, uniquely in the Spring Odes, four lines in the poem 10,15,44 and 45 are left unrhymed presumably because any rhyme words which suggested themselves would have harmed the sense. Keats did not repeat this irregular form in the next three odes.
4. Who was Psyche? A representation of the soul in Greek Mythology and sometimes represented asa butterfly. She was a nymph who attracted the love of Cupid but who left her, angry at her disobedience. She desperately sought her lover all over the earth and had to carry out superhuman tasks. Eventually Jupiter, at Cupid's entreaty, consented to their marriage and Psyche was brought to heaven. The tale has often been seen as an allegory of the soul's journey through life and its final union with the divine after suffering and death.
5. Why did this myth attract Keats?
All classical allusions enabled Keats to universalise his poetry, connected the poet's concerns with images and stories which had gathered in meaning over the centuries; classical tales represented their own kind of permanence; they were widely understood and seen to be symbolic by Keats's readers.
The classical age was also seen as a time of simplicity where feeling and thought, spirituality and sensuality were united.
This tale clearly relates to key Keatsian concerns:
- the importance of love, idealised as an expression of emotional desire and sexual sensation and, unlike in 'Lamia', unambiguously fulfilling, and immortalised in the temple of the poet's imagination, ''To let the warm love in'.
- the relationship between love and transience, and then a reunion after death
- the concept of the 'vale of soul-making'. This concept first appears in a letter of May 1819 in which Keats wrote of his rejection of the Christian idea that the earth is a 'vale of tears' to see it as a 'vale of soul-making'. That is that the soul grew and matured through love and suffering ( this explanation of the value of suffering is called a theodicy) to a greater understanding of the balance of good and evil, the essential link in human experience between joy and pain. Psyche's story and experiences with Cupid are a mythical expression of this. - the opportunity to celebrate these ideas through evocation of sensation.
6. How has the poem been read?
It has been seen as an extended metaphor about poetry. The poet constructs a perfect setting for Psyche to enjoy her divine immortality. The poem is like a temple for the worship of Psyche but also for the poet to deify and immortalise her, and therefore the power of Art itself.
It begins with the concept of a dream where the poet voyeuristically beholds the two 'fair creatures'. The second stanza evokes the sensuous delight of the bower and of the lovers, almost in suspension between two acts of love-making: 'And ready still past kisses to outnumber At tender eye-dawn of aurorean love' (love at the dawn). In other words the dream creates an image of desire in which the poet can behold and sensuously evoke through language the experiences of natural and sensual sensation.
Stanza three uses the rhetorical device of anaphora (beginning phrases with a repeated word) to catalogue the absences in Psyche's history. Stanza four celebrates the holiness, spirituality and sensuality of the 'faint Olympians' and personalises his task by asserting that he, the poet, will affirm all of that which she has been denied: voice, lute, choir etc. In other words the absence of stanza 3 are affirmed to be in Keats's power to bestow.
The final stanza is wonderful. Suddenly the external vision of the first two stanzas is internalised as the poem becomes a celebration of the poetic imagination to create the temple, 'with the wreathed trellis of working brain'; note how Keats uses elaborate imagery and language of both pain ('new grown with pleasant pain') and quietness ('wide quietness' and 'soft delight'. The rich creativity of the imagination is celebrated. 'With all the gardener Fancy e'er could feign, Who breeding flowers, will never breed the same.'
The final lines of the poem not only recall the myth of Psyche meeting Cupid in the dark but evoke the immediacy of a warm evening awaiting the entry of one's 'warm love', not in secrecy but in open embrace. Keats is using sensual imagery to celebrate the creative power of the poetic imagination to immortalise a goddess who represented not just love but the way that love and the soul grows through desire, loss, suffering and reunion. The poem can therefore be used to discuss Keats';
i) use of classical mythology and the lyrical intensity of the ode form.
ii) treatment of love: erotic and spiritual; it is a more positive vision than in 'Lamia' where love (and the imagination) is seen as both a revelation and a delusion, fulfilling and destructive
iii) his sensuous evocation of love, nature and a transcendent beauty; the beauty of Psyche through keats' imagination an transcend time and survive pain to achieve more complex beauty.
iv) the power of the poetic imagination to enrich, celebrate, create and perhaps immortalise experience.
v) the importance of the maturing of the soul through experience. Compared to the other Odes this is perhaps the most happy and most unambiguously positive. The 'Nightingale' and 'The Urn' are much more concerned with the contradictory and ambiguous relationship between art and life, permanence and transience, dream and reality, 'Melancholy' is a more explicit recognition of the sterility of escape and the acceptance of the inevitable union between contradictory experiences; 'Autumn' is the most complete acceptance of the conflicts and contradictions in human experience reconciled and held together in nature and in the poetic imagination's ability to recreate experience in all its contradictions and celebrate the principles of growth and maturity.

domain: library


text:
In early January, MSCI announced which companies in its indexes would be affected by the changes to the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) that it rolled out in November 2013. The classification changes become effective Feb. 28.
A late January press release from S&P Dow Jones Indices indicated that the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price indexes were continuing to rise as of November 2013. The 10-city and 20-city composite indexes were up 13.8 and 13.7 percent, respectively, over the 12-month period, but both composite indexes fell 0.1 percent during the month of November.
Scott Stark, head of Russell Indexes Europe, left the firm at the end of October, according to sources.
Prior to Russell, Stark was head of European index business development at Markit. Before joining Markit, Stark worked as chief executive of the index division of EuroMTS, and earlier as CEO of index provider Stoxx.
Stark, who was at Russell for the last three years, had been instrumental in building out the firm’s European presence.
MSCI appointed former UBS managing director Chris Corrado as chief information officer in early October. The role is newly created, and Corrado is the first to hold the position.
Corrado is New York based and reports to MSCI chairman and chief executive Henry Fernandez. Corrado is also MSCI managing director and a member of the firm’s executive committee.
Seven Investment Management (7IM) with NYSE London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) are working on development of futures linked to smart-beta indexes, a first in the market. Completion of the joint venture is expected around April 2014.
The new futures will have a smart-beta approach as an underlying index rather than an index weighted by market capitalization. They will trade on Bclear, NYSE LIFFE’s cleared service for equity derivatives.
CBOE Holdings said in a press release that its total contract volume for October was over 126 million, with an average daily volume (ADV) of 5.49 million contracts. That’s an increase in total volume of 34 percent from October 2012.
Deutsche Bank in November rolled out a China-focused ETF that it says is the first U.S.-listed ETF to provide investors direct equity exposure to the world’s second-largest economy via the China A-shares market, in which foreign investment has historically been limited. Other China-focused ETFs use derivatives rather than direct access.


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Adrienne Arsht donates $5 million to Kennedy Center to support musical theater
Adrienne Arsht, a major philanthropist whose generosity has been keenly felt in Washington and Miami, has donated $5 million to the Kennedy Center to support of musical theater programming.
In a statement released Thursday, Kennedy Center president Michael Kaiser noted Arsht's "longstanding relationship with the Kennedy Center" and said her latest gift means that the public "will be able to continue to enjoy wonderful theatrical productions for years to come." Arsht said that she had "experienced first-hand the unbelievable memories the Kennedy Center creates" and looked forward to supporting working "many more history making seasons and performances."
Arsht is a major underwriter for the Kennedy Center’s Arts in Crisis project, which was launched to help nonprofit performing arts organizations throughout the country in dealing with the pressures of the weakened economy. A $30 million donation in 2008 to a struggling arts center in South Florida proved a substantial boost; the venue is now called the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Other beneficiaries of Arsht's generosity include Goucher College; her $2 million gift in 2005 established the Roxana Cannon Arsht Center for Ethics and Leadership, in memory of her mother.