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On the 29th of September a festival in honor of St. Michael is held throughout the Western coasts and isles.
The Eve of St. Michael is the eve of bringing in the carrots, of baking the struan, of killing the lamb, and of stealing the horses. The Day of St. Michael is the Day of the early mass, the day of the sacrificial lamb, the day of the oblation struan, the day of the distribution of the lamb, the day of the distribution of the struan, the day of the pilgrimage to the burial ground of their forefathers, the day of the burial ground service, the day of giving and receiving the carrots with their wishing and acknowledgements, and the day of the oda -- the athletics of the men and the racing of the horses. The Night of Michael is the night of the dance and the song, of the merry-making, of the lovemaking, and of the love gifts.
Some days before the festival of St. Michael the women and girls go to the fields and plains of the townland to procure carrots. The afternoon of the Sunday immediately preceding St. Michael's day is specially devoted to this purpose, and on this account is known as Domhnach Curran -- Carrot Sunday. When the soil is soft and friable, the carrots can be pulled out of the ground without digging. When, however, the soil is hard, a space is dug to give the hand access to the root. This space is made in the form of an equal-sided triangle, technically called the torcan, diminutive of torc, a cleft. The instrument used is a small mattock of three prongs called tri-meurach, three-fingered... The three sided torcan is meant to typify the three-sided shield and the three-fingered sliopag, the trident of St. Michael, and possibly each to symbolize the Trinity.... Each woman intones a rune to her own tune and time irrespective of those around her.
The people do not retire to rest on the Eve of St. Michael. The women are engaged all night on baking struain, on household matters, and on matters personal to themselves and to others, while the men are out and in watching their horses in the fields and stables. It is permissible on this night to appropriate a horse, wherever found and by whatever means, on which to make the pilgrimage and to perform the circuiting.
The people act upon this ancient privilege and steal horses without compunction, owners and stealers watching and outwitting and circumventing one another. It is obligatory to leave one horse with the owner to carry himself and his wife on the pilgrimage and to make the circuiting, but this may be the worst horse in the townland. ... A male lamb, without spot or blemish, is slain.
A cake called struan Micheil is made of all the cereals grown on the farm during the year. It represents the fruit of the field, as the lamb represents the fruit of the flocks. Oats, bere and rye are the only cereals grown on the Isles. These are fanned on the floor, ground in the quern, and their meal in equal parts used in the struan. The struan should contain a peck of meal and should be baked on a lamb skin. The meal is moistened with sheep's milk, the sheep being deemed the most sacred animal. ... The struan is baked by the eldest daughter in the family, guided by her mother, and assisted by her eager sisters. As she moistens the meal with the milk the girl softly says:
Progeny and prosperity
A leac struain or struain flag, brought by the young men of the family from the moorland during the day, is securely set on edge before the fire, and the struan is set on edge against it. The fire should be of crionach caon, sacred fagots, such as the fagots of the oak, the rowan, the bramble, and others. The blackthorn, wild fig, trembling aspen and other 'crossed' woods are avoided. As the struan gains consistency, three successive layers of a batter of cream, eggs and butter are laid on each side alternately. The batter ought to be put on with three tail feathers of a cockerel of the year, but in Uist this is generally done with badan murain, a small bunch of bent-grass. This cake is called struan treao, family struan; struan mor, large struan; and struan comachaidh, communal struan. Small struans are made for individual members of the family... If a member of the family be absent or dead, a struan is made in his or her name. This struan is shared among the family and special friends of the absent one in his or her name, or given to the poor who have no corn of their own. In mixing the meal of the individual struan, the woman kneading it mentions the name of the person for whom it is being made.
The individual struans of a family are uniform in size but irregular in form, some being three-cornered, symbolic of the Trinity; some five symbolic of the Trinity with Mary and Joseph added; some seven, symbolic of the seven mysteries; some nine, symbolic of the nine archangels; some round, symbolic of eternity. Various ingredients are introduced into the small struans, as cranberries, bilberries, brambleberries, caraway seed, and wild honey. Those who make them and those for whom they are made vie with their friends who shall have the best and most varied ingredients. Many cautions are given to her who is making the struan to take exceptional care of it. Ills and evils innumerable would befall herself and her house should any mishap occur to the struan. Should it break before being fired, it betokens ill to the girl baking it; if after being fired and before being used, to the household. Were the struan flag to fall and the struan with it, the omen is full of evil augury to the family. A broken struan is not used. The fallaid, or dry meal remaining on the baking board after the struan is made, is put into a mogan, a footless stocking, and dusted over the flocks on the following day -- being the Day of Michael -- to bring them progeny and plenty and prosperity, and to ward from them evil-eye, mischance and murrain. Occasionally the fallaid is preserved for a year and a day before being used.
After the father and mother have distributed their gifts to the poor, the family mount their horses and set out on their pilgrimage to perform the circuiting of St. Michael's burying-ground.
One dance is called Cailleach an Dudain, carlin of the mill-dust.
It is danced by a man and a woman. The man has a rod in his right hand, variously called slachdan druidheachd, druidic wand, or slachdan geasachd, magic wand. The man and woman gesticulate and attitudinize before one another, dancing round and round, in and out, crossing and re-crossing, changing and exchanging places. The man flourishes the wand over his own head and over the head of the woman, whom he touches with the wand, and who falls down, as if dead, at his feet. He bemoans his dead carlin, dancing and gesticulating around her body. He then lifts up her left hand, and looking into the palm, breathes upon it, and touches it with the wand. Immediately the limp hand becomes alive and moves from side to side and up and down. The man rejoices and dances around the figure on the floor. And having done the same to the right hand, and to the left and right foot in succession, they also become alive and move. But although the limbs are living, the body is still inert. The man kneels over the woman and breathes into her mouth and touches her heart with the wand. The woman comes to life and springs up, confronting the man. Then the two dance vigorously and joyously as in the first part.
Another dance is called cath nan coileach, the combat of the cocks; another turraban nan tunnag, waddling of the ducks; another ruidhleadh nan coileach dubha, reeling of the black cocks; another cath nan curaidh, contest of the warriors. ... The sword dance was performed in eight sections instead of four, as now.
When eating them, they threw a piece over each shoulder alternately, saying:
Here to thee wolf,
spare my sheep;


John Grisham hardly needs a publicity boost from the likes of us, but fans of government and politics should be aware that his new novel, ...
John Grisham hardly needs a publicity boost from the likes of us, but fans of government and politics should be aware that his new novel, The Appeal, is about a case whose outcome is determined by a multi-million dollar campaign to place a friendly figure on the state Supreme Court.
You can read Zach Patton's good piece about the politicization of the bench here.
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Best ways to get from Santa Fe Institute to Lodge at Santa Fe
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Santa Fe Institute
The Santa Fe Institute is a non-profit theoretical research facility in which minds come together in a transdisciplinary environment to work on problems in the complex word, both natural and artificial.
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Lodge at Santa Fe
The Lodge at Santa Fe offers the best value in Santa Fe. Perched on a hilltop overlooking downtown Santa Fe, with views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Lodge at Santa Fe boasts a warm and relaxed atmosphere through its spacious rooms and suites, bar, and grounds...
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By Billie Eder
Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day and how the experts saw it.
The numbers: Australia’s sharemarket failed to recover fully from a slow start on Monday, following a choppy end to trading on Wall Street last Friday, with the latest US economic data fuelling fears of further rate hikes.
The S&P/ASX200 closed 32.40 points, or 0.45 per cent, weaker at 7180.80, with energy stocks dragging the index down.
The lifters: BrainChip Holdings, a commercial producer of neuromorphic AI IP, jumped 9.4 per cent after the company was linked with computing giant Intel. The company announced that it had ‘become a member of the Intel Foundry Services (IFS) ecosystem alliance to help advance innovation on Intel’s foundry manufacturing platform.’
The laggards: Origin Energy and AGL slumped significantly, down 7.8 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively, and the utilities sector as a whole closed 4.3 per cent lower.
Electricity and gas giants took a hit on Monday as the energy sector waits to see if the federal government’s proposed cap on the price of gas will pass through parliament later this week.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has flagged that the government will engage with the energy industry, telling reporters that “there’s a lot of pressure to come forward with proposals like a windfall tax on the industry. And our preference, as we’ve been saying for about six weeks now, was for a regulatory solution. And that’s how we’ve landed with the ... price cap, which is temporary.”
Despite tension in the market, oil and gas producer Woodside helped to pull the energy sector into the green, climbing 2.7 per cent at close.
Senior investment advisor at Shaw and Partners, Craig Sidney, said that besides a few obvious catalysts such as the government’s move on gas prices, the index as a whole remained relatively timid at the start of the week.
“It [the market] is a little bit weaker off the back of the lead out of the US. US futures are down marginally, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of activity in our market today,” Sidney said.
“Volume is just starting to dry-up coming into Christmas, and we have also got a couple of key data points out of the US tomorrow night - the CPI rate. So, that will be closely watched by the market because that will potentially sway the Fed in terms of what the direction is with the rate.”
Material stocks, which had kept the index afloat last week, were also down, with Mineral Resources slipping 2.4 per cent and Fortescue Metals sliding 1.3 per cent.
Gold miners also lost out during trading despite gold futures rising by $US9.20 an ounce, or 0.5 per cent to $US1810.70 an ounce, with Evolution, Newcrest and Northern Star all dipping 3.7 per cent, 3.4 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively.
The financial sector had a mixed day with the big four banks moving between negative and positive territory, the biggest climber of which was Commonwealth which was up just 0.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, takeover target Tyro Payments has slumped 19.5 per cent to $1.20 after Westpac ended its talks with the Mike Cannon-Brookes-backed fintech, saying it would not be in the interests of the bank’s shareholders to table an offer for the company.
Tyro has also rejected a sweetened offer for the company from a consortium led by private equity firm Potentia Capital, which raised its bid to $1.60 a share.
On Wall Street on Friday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite each fell 0.7 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.9 per cent. Smaller company stocks fell even more, pulling the Russell 2000 index 1.2 per cent lower. The indexes marked their first losing week in the last three.
The nation’s high inflation, along with the Federal Reserve’s economy-crunching response to it, have been the main reasons for Wall Street’s painful tumble this year. Stocks have recovered some of their losses recently, as inflation has slowed since hitting a peak in the summer. But it remains too high, raising the risk the Federal Reserve will have to keep hiking interest rates sharply to get it fully under control.
Higher rates hurt the economy by making it more expensive for companies and households to borrow money, which forces them to cut back on spending. If rates go too high, it can cause a recession. They also drag down on prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.
Chinese benchmarks rose Friday on reports the government is planning new measures to support the ailing property sector, which has been a severe drag on growth over the past several years.
The relaxation of some of China’s “zero-COVID” rules is also raising hopes the economy will gain momentum, though experts say it will take months for tourism and other business to recover from the disruptions of the pandemic. It historically has been a major source of the global economy’s growth.
Tweet of the day:
Quote of the day:
“If you’ve got a situation where you have more and more demand in the system for gas, and you’re restricting supply, the prices will go up....you need to introduce more gas into the system,” opposition leader Peter Dutton said as a press conference on Monday.
You may have missed:
Sydney Airport is increasingly being contained to a single runway, boosting delays and cancellations to the chagrin of passengers. The airport, which is Australia’s busiest, was contained to a single runway for a record 81 hours in November.
The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.

domain: news


We tested TCS (Traction Control System) and ESP (Electronic Stability Program) systems on Electric TWINGO SPORT.
First we tested the influence of advanced safety control systems on driving under normal conditions. Test consists on driving straight with gas pedal pressed to maximum on dry asphalt surface.
Figure 1 shows responses of rotational velocities of rear wheels and currents of its motors. All responses are identical which proves that proposed algorithms do not reduce system characteristics at all.
Next we tested TCS system on garvel surface. Testing were done by driving straight with gas pedal pressed to the maximum.
Figure 2 shows that because of too large torque set by the driver pressing the gas pedal, TCS reduces torque to the motors such that the velocity of each wheel follow the velocity of the car. Responses of torques set by TCS show that each motor has different torque, which is the consequence of slightly different surface under each wheel.
Next cornering tests were conducted on gravel surface while turning 90 degrees.
Responses on Figure 3 show that without regulation car oversteers which can be observed by looking at yaw rate and velocity responses which shows that velocity reduces to zero, but yaw rate still holds high value. Responses with TCS and ESP shows that car does not oversteer and that car safely goes through the corner with greater velocity than without regulation.


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On 26 February, Eddie the Eagle, starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman, opened in the US, completing a 17-year journey from the time Eddie’s movie rights were first optioned by a British producer called Rupert Maconick.
When I came aboard the project as screenwriter in 2002, little did I know it would take another 14 years to reach the big screen. But if you’re going to write a never-say-die underdog sports story, it’s only appropriate that the one thing you learn in the process is how not give to up.
I moved to Los Angeles in 1995 after a decade working in Fleet Street. I gave up a job at the Mail on Sunday, an Arsenal season ticket (West Stand Lower) and a cat called Pussy Galore. In return, I got palm trees, sunshine and the shock of my life. In Hollywood, if you’re not in the entertainment business, you’re nothing. You could be the finest heart surgeon in the land and Variety would still describe you as ‘non-pro’.
My early years in LA were spent on journalistic assignments covering wacky Americana — tobacco spitting, competitive eating, low-end porn awards. (‘Ron Jeremy, we meet again.’) I road-tested padded underwear for men, complete with ‘snap-in endowment pads’, and tracked down vets who offered testicular implants for dogs with insecure owners.
The closest I got to showbiz success was doing gloriously off-road celebrity interviews. The novelist Harold Robbins greeted me in a wheelchair at 11 a.m. clutching a massive tumbler of whisky and ginger ale. He told me all about the gay sex he had in the navy and said the trick to longevity during lovemaking was to dip one’s manhood into a balloon of brandy.
Long before email, I spent a train-wreck of an afternoon with Dudley Moore thanks to a blurred fax saying Mr Moore was promoting his new recording of the Greek Piano Concerto in A Minor. For 15 surreal minutes, the pint-sized star answered questions about hummus, pitta bread and Demis Roussos as if I were mad until I noticed his new CD cover actually said ‘Grieg Piano Concerto’.
In 2000, I inched closer to showbusiness proper when I married my girlfriend, Caroline. (‘Wife works as a producer for action-director John Woo, husband is non-pro.’) Our honeymoon was a visit to Hawaii and the set of Windtalkers, a second world war drama Woo was directing. I squelched around the battlefield location while Nicolas Cage browsed yacht catalogues between takes.
My first attempts at writing screenplays were stilted and self-conscious, the reverse of journalism, which mostly felt like a lark. It didn’t help that I had recently become the LA film critic for the Times, a job that requires the exact opposite qualities to dramatic writing. But I persevered and got a job adapting a horror book for director John Irvin, a silver-haired Englishman of immense conviviality. I told him my Nicolas Cage story. He told me that between takes on Raw Deal, Arnold Schwarzenegger would compete with his musclebound sidekick, Sven, to see who could push the dolly cart down the tracks the furthest.
This job led me to Rupert Maconick, the producer who’d secured Eddie’s life rights. He had a script from a previous writer, Simon Kelton, but wanted to bring me on board, so I leapt at the chance. Maconick loved to host huge parties. On any given night at his Bel Air mansion, you could bump into Oliver Stone or Geoffrey Rush. One night, I heard an agent plying actress Nicollette Sheridan, the title siren from The Sure Thing, with more praise than one would have thought humanly possible. ‘A talent like yours only grows stronger,’ he told her. ‘You should have your own TV show.’
I laughed. He glared. Two years later she was on her way to a Golden Globe for Desperate Housewives.
My draft of Eddie the Eagle got set up at Sony Pictures Studios in 2004 without too much fuss, so I said to my wife: ‘What’s the big deal with the movie business? Just write something you love and the town will respond.’ She said nothing.
The Sony executive on the project, Gareth Wigan, was a famously courtly Brit; he even laid out shortbread biscuits at our first meeting. It was all too easy. Executives were literally skipping down the corridor after getting the green light. Then the studio went on its annual corporate retreat. By 9.02 Monday morning we were in turnaround. ‘We don’t want to stand in your way,’ was the phrase Gareth used.
So began the more familiar Hollywood experience of years of rejection and ‘development hell’. One production company wanted Ricky Gervais to play Eddie. Another said it would only work if Eddie shed his glasses and won a gold medal.
I spent one very long summer trying to turn the script into a romantic comedy for a studio that clearly wanted My Big Fat Olympic Wedding.
I was off the project for three years while Steve Coogan took a crack at it. Then back on it. Except now the project had been ‘exposed’ and was considered old news. One executive slammed his hand on a desk and said: ‘This thing is as dead as a dodo.’ Even my closest friends wondered why I persisted with it. I had never skied. I wasn’t an Olympic fanatic. I had never worn glasses or leg braces as a kid, like Eddie. I was simply (and inexplicably) captivated by the image of Eddie eternally trudging up endless steps amid swirling snow to try yet another jump.
And then, thanks to the internet, all was revealed. My earliest cinematic memory is of seeing a Disney film about a Native American boy cast out from his tribe. Defying his tormentors, he dresses in feathers and leaps off a cliff to certain doom only to transform into a real bird. To my six-old-year self this final leap was heart-stopping. And it remained a vivid but obscure memory until I discovered the last six minutes of the film had surfaced on YouTube. Fortified by a couple of drinks, I watched it and was unnerved by how well I remembered it. The same blue sky, the same scorched red cliff, the same death-defying leap of faith. The film was called The Legend of the Boy and the Eagle. Only then did I make the connection as the Freudian penny dropped.
This empowered me to do what I now call the ‘Fuck It Draft’, a final version of the script just for me, which I could then hand over to the universe with a sense of peace.
The universe didn’t reply. Not at first anyway. But I didn’t mind. I was proud of the draft and that was enough. Then, in keeping with the mystic turn the project had taken, I woke up at 4 a.m. one Sunday in September 2014 for no good reason only to find an email had come through from director-producer Matthew Vaughn. It turned out Gareth Wigan had given him a copy of the script ten years ago and he’d always loved the project. I sent him the new draft and he called back the next day, saying he was going to make it. He is a true powerhouse and a maverick and six months later they were filming in Germany.
The day after filming was announced in the trades, I ran into the executive who’d banged the desk.
‘Congratulations, bro,’ he told me. ‘I always loved that project.’
Eddie the Eagle is in cinemas from the 28 March

domain: artistic


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Grand Teton National Park
The superintendent of Grand Teton National Park has been appointed acting-regional director for the Intermountain Region.
Some Biologists Envision Wolves Controlling Elk in More National Parks, Others Say That's Impractical
|Wolves-National Parks.pdf||192.89 KB|
NRDC Sues To Have Fish and Wildlife Service Consider Whitebark Pine For Endangered Species Act Protection
Christmas has arrived a bit early for Grand Teton National Park, which has been given $25,000 to help support the park's search-and-rescue program.

domain: geography


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Recipe by Shannon(a.k.a MurderSmooch)
"Yummy home made pumpkin pie, with fresh pumpkins, not canned. My family loves this, hope you do too. My kids like to eat this warm, and with Cool Whip. "
Watch video tips and tricks
1 (1 pound)
pumpkin, halved and seeded
French vanilla flavored liquid coffee creamer
packed brown sugar
1 (9 inch)
prepared pie crust
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Vanilla Walnut Pumpkin Pie
Serving Size: 1/8 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat: 117
Everything you need to party like a leprechaun.
New for spring! Good-for-you food you’ll love to eat.
Delicious recipes, party ideas, and helpful cooking tips! Get a year of Allrecipes magazine for just $9.99!
Treat your Thanksgiving guests to a rave-worthy, 5-star pumpkin pie.
This rich, 5-star pumpkin pie is simply the perfect Thanksgiving dessert.
This airy, no-bake pumpkin pie will make you the star of Thanksgiving dinner.

domain: food


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Yas Marina LLC
- Marinas / Berths
- Marine Operators / Management
As a Five Gold Anchor, Yas Marina is not only one of UAE’s finest luxury marinas but also a vibrant dining and leisure venue. Catering to the local community and international visitors alike, Yas Marina offers an unforgettable experience with something for everyone, both afloat and ashore.
Set in the heart of vibrant Yas Island, the 227 wet berth marina caters to yachts from 8m up to 150m, boasting track view packages during the F1 weekend. The full-service luxury marina is the premier destination in the Middle East for luxury yachts and superyachts and ideal home port.
Yas Marina now also offers 93 dry berths and trailer storage for boats ranging from 7m up to 12m. With an onsite petrol station, washdown facilities, and double slipway, this new facility provides turnkey solutions to pleasure seekers looking for affordable and safe berthing.
United Arab Emirates


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|Cinderella (Two-Disc Special Edition)
|List Price: $29.99
Our Price: $19.98
You Save: $10.01 (33%)
Forced to do additional chores by her stepmother, Cinderella is about to miss the royal ball until her fairy godmother and friendly mice help her.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Street Release Date: 10/04/2005
Genre: CHILDREN'S VIDEO
Worry not, Disney fans--this special edition DVD of the beloved Cinderella won't turn into a pumpkin at the strike of midnight. One of the most enduring animated films of all time, the Disney-fied adaptation of the gory Brothers Grimm fairy tale became a classic in its own right, thanks to some memorable tunes (including "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo," and the title song) and some endearingly cute comic relief.
We all know the story--the wicked stepmother and stepsisters simply won't have it, this uppity Cinderella thinking she's going to a ball designed to find the handsome prince an appropriate sweetheart, but perseverance, animal buddies, and a well-timed entrance by a fairy godmother make sure things turn out all right. There are a few striking sequences of pure animation--for example, Cinderella is reflected in bubbles drifting through the air--and the design is rich and evocative throughout. It's a simple story padded here agreeably with comic business, particularly Cinderella's rodent pals (dressed up conspicuously like the dwarf sidekicks of another famous Disney heroine) and their misadventures with a wretched cat named Lucifer. There's also much harrumphing and exposition spouting by the King and the Grand Duke. It's a much simpler and more graceful work than the more frenetically paced animated films of today, which makes it simultaneously quaint and highly gratifying. --David Kronke
The famous slipper (click for larger image)
For another of its classic films, Disney delivers another dazzling DVD with a gorgeous, razor-sharp picture and 5.1 sound. (Note: the 1949 film is properly presented in full-screen format, 1.33 aspect ratio, because widescreen films weren't made until the '50s.) The best part of the supplemental features is the archival material, the absolute highlight of which is two unused songs, "Cinderella's Work Song" (in which Cinderella imagines multiplying herself ¨¤ la the Sorcerer's Apprentice) and "Dancing on a Cloud."
Because these numbers were never animated, they're accompanied by stylish illustrations from the Disney artists, and they're simply marvelous to look at. The artist of much of that material, Mary Blair, gets her due in a 15-minute featurette, while the better known "Nine Old Men" are the subject of a round-table discussion among some of today's top animators. In addition, a 38-minute documentary covers their contributions to specific characters of Cinderella as well as the film in general and the vocal cast. Also on the historical side is "The Cinderella That Almost Was," tracking the development of the project through decades of original Disney concepts, characters, and songs, including the 1922 silent "Laugh-o-Gram," which is also included in its entirety.
Bippity-boppity-boo! (click for larger image)
The pumpkin transformed (click for larger image)
Additional musical material includes three radio programs and a short promo of the movie by Perry Como, in which he summarizes the plot amid some songs by the Fontaine Sisters, star Ilene Woods, and the host himself. Seven other unused songs (17 minutes total) are available in audio-only. The material for kids is on the sparse side, consisting of two music videos, Disney Channel personality Sally (from "Mike's Super Short Show") learning how to become a princess with the help of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition crew and others, a minor dancing-princess feature, and a DVD-ROM design studio. Oddest extra: ESPN's "top Cinderella stories," including the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and Joe Namath's New York Jets, although stories on Mia Hamm and tennis's Williams sisters should appeal to the film's primary target audience of young girls. --David Horiuchi
Cinderella Throughout the Years
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957 Television Production)
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1965)
The Slipper and the Rose (1976)
Faerie Tale Theatre - Cinderella (1982)
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997)
Ever After - A Cinderella Story(1998)
- Cinderella (double Disc) DVD
I got the DVD very quickly and have yet to actually enjoy the movie, but checked to see if it works---and yes it does!...more info
- What can I say? It's Cinderella!
I'm replacing all my Disney VHS with DVD and was glad to get Cinderella Special Edition at a good price (plus free shipping with Amazon Prime!). As always, shopping with Amazon was easy, shipping was fast, packing was protective and - hey - it's Cinderella!...more info
- I just adore this movie!!!
I got the product really quick and in excellent condition. I bought it for our daughter to be born in May and I hope she'll love it as much as I do!...more info
- customer comment
I ordered a movie. When it came there was a problem, but the problem was taken care of immediately once they found out about it. Excellent service and I will tell people about them as well as use them again. ...more info
- not too shabby
The box for the special edition set was pretty well destroyed... besides that everything was good the book was in excellent shape... had all the little drawings, and the encased film strip which had no scratches or chips... movie worked well...more info
- Item does not come as advertised
If you are looking for cinderella with the slip cover limited case it will not come with it. it is only the dvd case, the slip cover and everything in the pictures is NOT included. Don't be fooled by this FALSE ADVERTISING. ...more info
- great producer of products
Movie arrived in wrapper. New wonderful condition. My daughter wanted Cinderella and we just found out it went into the vault so the price was good and free shipping was a nice touch. It arrived in a nice amount of time for myself and it came when we were told it would be here. I would use this person again....more info
My 2 yr old daughter loves this one. She can watch it over and over again. I love the movie and also like the 2nd DVD wich contains games etc. My daughter can't play them but I do!....more info
I did this order at the same time as a Harry Potter book and both were in great condition. It was nice that they came together but it took a long time for them to ship it - my guess is that when you do the free shiping, they don't ship it as fast....more info
This DVD was in perfect shape when I received it and it came very quickly....more info
- Unhappy with Amazon
The product was good but I am not happy with Amazon. I requested one
copy and they sent two. They gave me an address to send the unopened
extra video and after three weeks my account has not been credited. I
do not think I would order anything from them again....more info
- Arrived in great condition, ahead of schedule
The product arrived in original packaging, as advertised, and a couple weeks ahead of schedule (although since I ordered it to Canada there was always the chance it could get held up at the border). Overall a very good shopping experience....more info
This is a trully special edition
The movie is a greatest disney's classic still fresh out of time
This edition is amazing
We strongly recommended this
Cinderella still alive!...more info
I love this movie and I am grateful that I can share this classic with my daughter. I recommend families with young daughters to purchase this movie through Amazon....more info
After having a bad experience with a prior Disney DVD purchase I was a little nervous to try again, but I am glad I did. The DVD arrived quickly and was in perfect condition. It had the original factory seal and all the inserts. I gave it to my 4-year old grandson for Christmas and he loves it. I had seen the original movie in a theater when it first came out in the forties and it was always my favorite too. I wanted my grandson to be familiar with the characters before we go to Disney World in the spring and now he can't wait to dine with Cinderella in the castle. ...more info
- Great Turn Around
My 3 year old daughter was so happy to receive this movie. The turn around was fantastic. It only took a few days between the time I ordered the movie and when we received it. Also, the quality was like new, there were no scratches or jumps in the movie. I was very happy with that and my princess was so excited, what more could I ask for....more info
- Wonderful classic
It's my daughter's favorite movie and they have games for older kids on the 2nd DVD....more info
This is a classic. I loved it growing up and hopefully my daughter will too....more info
- Cinderella DVD
Arrived in a timely manner and was in excellnet shape. Well packaged for shipping....more info
Cinderella is such a classic Disney movie and every little girl's fantasy to find a prince and become a princess....more info
Great movie, Walt's favorite, and one of the most recognizable landmarks originated form this movie...Cinderella's Castle at the Disney theme parks. No Disney Collection Complete with out this timeless classic....more info
My granddaughter loves this video, especially the music. The second disc is just extra baggage but all of the videos come like this now. Anyway, you can't beat Disney for kids!...more info
- Just another great Disney movie
What else can I say? The title says it all. DVD works great, movie quality is wonderful. Great movie to watch with friends & family....more info
- what movie?
I wish I had gotten the movie. I received an email on the day that the package was due that it has been refunded...no other explaination. ...more info
- If you care about Disney Movie rewards and the slip-on commemorative cover...
For anyone out there [like me] who is a Disney Movie Rewards member, this is not an eligible movie. I bought this movie to update my Disney collection and also because I wanted to rack up the points for the Disney Movie Rewards program. The rest of the classic [digitally remastered] DVDs that I've purchased from a regular retail store has always come with insert [code], but this one [and Alice in Wonderland] did not. They also did not have the commemorative slip-on cover. It was just the plain DVD case. Which is fine, but it did not match the rest of my collection. Other than that, the movie's great and my order came on time. ...more info
- A Fairytale for All Ages.
This film was the best Disney film of my life. When I was younger, I literally broke the VHS copy of this film watching it so many times. This is a classic, wonderful film with beautiful animation that should be passed on to generations. This is one of the most whimsical films that Disney has made, and is so enriching in song and animation. I'm a 23 year old feminist with unwashed hair, and I will still retreat to this film time and time again because it fills my heart with a beautiful joy that is almost indescribable. Despite some complications in plot I feel with my political feelings, I still love this film, and feel like it is a wonderful film to share from father/mother to their daughter. It is a wonderful Disney classic that I hope is continued through time....more info
- THANK U SO MUCH
Thank you so much. My daughter had broken her 1ST Cinderlla DVD Movie and it had just went back into the vault. I was so happy that I was able to find it on amazon. My daughter and I are SO HAPPPPPYYYYYY.
we love AMAZING AMAZON!!!!!...more info
- Great DVD set for an obvious classic.
Cinderella is timeless - adults and children can easily find themselves engrossed in the music and characters.
The dvd set is impressive with lots of interesting and involving dvd extras which seems to be the case with the other Two-Disc Special Edition dvd releases. ...more info
- Brought back many memories
I have a 4 year old granddaughter and she loves the PRINCESSES with Disney and Cinderella is one of her favorites. Watching it again with her brought back great memories of my childhood growing up with Disney movies.
Great response using AMAZON for ordering movies from long ago that my grandchildren now enjoy watching....more info
Great DVD to replace our VHS. I'm glad I found it here even after Disney had vaulted it....more info
- Classic movie, Awesome extras
With a wave of a wand and some silly words, Cinderella is digitally restored and lovely. Same old story, the mice are cute, the cat is evil, and the prince has no personality. And the extras are awesome.
There's a mini documentary about the process Walt Disney went through developing Cinderella over a surprisingly long period of time. There are music videos made from storyboards for two deleted songs and demo recordings of half a dozen more. Random Disney Channel stars butcher "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes". There's a very Disney Princess music video made up clips from all the princess movies and that's pretty good.
Cinderella went back in the "Disney Vault" already, I believe, so grab it while you can!...more info
This came quickly, exactly as advertised! It was a great experience ordering from this person!!...more info
- Carmen's movie
Carmen loves to sing along to this movie, she loves to hear the little mouse sing, and gets mad when the cat tries to eat the mouse. She loves all her movies....more info
- took some time
It wasn't as quick in delivery as most products I bought, but it still got to me in good condition....more info
- ALWAYS SATISFIED WITH AMAZON!!!
I love buying from Amazon. I'm a huge Disney fan, and when my Cinderella came in about three days, I was floored. THANKS AMAZON FOR YOUR ALWAYS AMAZING SERVICE....more info
- ripped off
I am frustrated and extremely angry with this dealer, I placed this order Dec.31 2008. Please understand my bank account was debited on Jan 5th. After ample time elapsed I inquired..Where is my merchandise? A few more weeks...again an inquiry..where is my merchandise? And yet no merchandise and NO reply after polite inquiries. Fine, if its held up just keep me in the loop but nothing. So here we are in Feb and again I put out a request to cancel the order but have no reply. And being such a sucker and using an outside vendor Amazon cannot help me recoup my loss. By now it's more than the money it's the principle of it. So if you are considering using this vendor DON'T!! I suppose this is the best recourse I have. At least it may help someone else. (Actually is 0 stars but the system wouldn't take it.)...more info
- Cinderella DVD
Classic Disney. The movie is wonderful and the extras that come with the 2-disk dvd are great....more info
- Very Satisfied!
My little girl loves this movie and I couldn't find it locally. Thank you so much for sending it so quickly!...more info
- Perfect seller.
Excellent. DVD was wrapped like new, Fast delivery, great product, would ABSOLUTELY recommend this seller and will buy from them again in a heart beat should the need arise!...more info
It is nice to provide a story line for my children that is classic and not over animated and action packed. I love the classics. ...more info
- My Niece Lves It!
My niece watches the video over and over. I would buy from buyer again....more info
- a classic
My 3 year old daughter LOVES this movie, and could watch it everyday if I let her. It's a very nice movie, and none of the parts scare her. (I don't think there are any scary parts either)and adults won't mind watching it....more info


“There is nothing ‘natural’ about being monolingual” says neuroscientist Thomas Bak
In recent years, research has shown that bilingualism can delay the onset of dementia by 4 to 5 years – including a study with over 600 patients that Thomas Bak co-authored (Alladi et al, 2013).
As a multilinguist who has learned lots of languages as an adult, Thomas is passionate about language learning and the brain health benefits it can bring (Bak et al, 2014; Bak, 2016).
Our brains were originally designed to be multilingual, managing two or more languages easily. Thomas reckons that, like sedentary lifestyles and an unhealthy diet, the monolingualism that’s come with modern society makes our thinking skills decline faster as we age and can actually make us more vulnerable to dementia in later life.
He will present his case against monolingualism at the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas on Wednesday 23 August as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017.
Read more about Thomas’ Fringe debate in his guest blog on the University of Edinburgh’s Festivals website:
Guest blog with Thomas Bak – Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas
About Thomas Bak
Thomas Bak is a reader in Human Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh. He works with the language learning centre Bilingualism Matters and is a member of the Centre for Cognitive Ageing & Cognitive Epidemiology (CCACE) and the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences (CCBS).
Bak, T. H. (2016). The impact of bilingualism on cognitive aging and dementia: Finding a path through a forest of confounding variables. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 6(1-2) pp 205-226 DOI: 10.1075/lab.15002.bak


What our client is looking for?
We are currently recruiting for a customer that offers their customers a comprehensive portfolio of services and equipment which can be installed and used in various industrial production plants worldwide. They are looking to expand their team in Hofheim am Taunus with a Senior Software Developer C ++ (m/w/d) | Remote. As a manufacturer of industrial process instruments their products are designed to monitor, measure, and regulate the physical quantities of flow, pressure, level, and temperature. Their products are now established in numerous countries worldwide, and this is based on their superior quality and reliability. The company requires a PC (Windows) application to parameterize, calibrate, and readout process values from its devices. In order to do so, they`ve developed their own communication stack. This is the basis of the application and will be provided. Additionally, there is a naked prototype of the app, to begin with.
Does this sound like just the right challenge for you? Then our customer is looking forward to getting to know you and welcoming you to the team soon.
Are you curious to find out more? Then we look forward to receiving your application.


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A blog about a girl, her nikon and a great big love affair
This is one of my faves because of the great color combination. Also, I love love love your wide open aperture.
LOVE the bag and mustard yellow coat, really nice! ahh love this blog so much :)
@The Photodiarist- that is what attracted me to her in the first place: the mustard coat and then the little pop of olive green on her arm. Re the aperture- um, I find it really difficult to shoot now ,at say, anything above f2.8. I really only go above if we are on holidays. I should be more adventurous though.@lucylu- thank you Lucy :)) I love the colours as well (and how about that brick behind her?! Love that it screams London!)
This is probably one of your best portraits so far: the wide aperture and the perfectly split background on the first picture work wonders.This is actually quite typical of Renaissance painters. The colour combination of green & mustard work well too - thanks for photographing it for us.http://davidikus.blogspot.com/
fantastic picture. I will not comment the wide aperture (love it), i love her look and the colors coat/bag, and her hair. all is good :)
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|US Women's Open second round leaderboard|
|-8 SH Park (Kor); -6 M Lee (Kor), A Yang (Kor); -5 L Ko (NZ), H Nomura (Jpn); -4 D Kang (US), J Korda (US), EH Ji (Kor), K Tan (Mas)|
|Selected others: -3 Ewart Shadoff (Eng); +1 C Matthew (Sco); +5 C Hull (Eng); +6 P Pretswell (Sco); +8 M Reid (Eng); +19 H Burke (Eng)|
South Korea's Sung Hyun Park posted a six-under-par round of 66 to open a two-shot lead at the halfway point of the US Women's Open in California.
The 22-year-old is eight under, two clear of compatriots Mirim Lee (74) and Amy Yang (71) at CordeValle.
"Coming to the tournament, I didn't even think about winning because this is the first time for me," Park said.
England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff is the leading European after a 71 saw her into a tie for 10th on three under.
She will be joined over the weekend by Scotland's Catriona Matthew, who posted a 72 to sit one-over.
But the remaining British contenders - Charley Hull, Pamela Pretswell, Melissa Reid and Hannah Burke - all missed the cut.
World number one Lydia Ko is three shots adrift in fourth place after matching Park's 66.
Park, who only made her debut on the LPGA tour last year, tied for sixth in her first major at the ANA Inspiration in April.
We've launched a new BBC Sport newsletter, bringing all the best stories, features and video right to your inbox. You can sign up here.

domain: sports


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Now in Paperback!
Between an ancient Roman's trip to the moon and the fantastic tales of H.G. Wells lies a journey through time and space and an awesome evolution in scientific thinking. From Gilgamesh's search for immortality to Lucian's odyssey on the moon; from Jonathan Swift's hilarious satire on scientists in Gulliver's Travels to Mary Shelley's horrifying description of a scientist who has gone too far in Frankenstein from Edgar Allan Poe's balloon trip in the year 2848 to Jules Verne's prophesies of the impact of scientific inventions on future civilization; from Edward Bellamy's utopian escape from the industrial Revolution to H.G. Wells's magnificent story of Earth threatened by an inescapable menace-here are the chief ancestors of the modern science fiction story. For the first time, these and other key works are gathered together in one anthology, complete with revealing commentary on the authors, their eras, and the role each played in establishing what we today recognize as science fiction.
The Road to Science Fiction is a six-volume anthology of science fiction that covers the development of science fiction from its earliest prototypes in the Sumerian Gilgamesh and the Greek epics to approximately 1990.
Created originally to provide anthologies for use in classes, these volumes have become mass-market sellers as well, since they are not only a source of outstanding stories but also explain what constitutes science fiction, how it developed and the contribution the authors and the stories have made to the evolution of science fiction.
Volume 3, From Heinlein to Here, covers the period from 1940 to 1975, beginning in the Golden Age of Science Fiction and ending at a time when SF book publication was just beginning to explode and SF films (2001: A Space Odyssey; Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Wars, E.T.) would soon dominate box offices.
Cloth edition previously published in 1979.
James Gunn is one of the preeminent science fiction scholars working in the field today, and his Road to Science Fiction historical anthology series has been called "as definitive an SF anthology as one can obtain," by Publishers Weekly. This third volume in the series collects the best work published between 1940 and 1977, showcasing such notable authors as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke and Ursula K. Le Guin. This is a must-have primer for both veteran SF fans and newcomers alike.

domain: library


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Circus Performer / Clown / Comedian / Actor / Balancer Extraordinaire
In the circus world Jon is a triple threat performer; Daredevil, Host and Comedic Performer. Jon also has a natural ability to balance, and we’re not talking about his checking account!
Like something straight out of a Hollywood movie, Jon graduated high school and joined the circus. Jon left Long Island for love… love of the circus & love of a girl. Jon and his high school sweetheart Laura were married at Center Ring of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Jon’s natural ability to balancing just about anything played a big part in getting him in the door of the circus world, starting out as clown and quickly becoming the featured performer of the world classic human cannonball act, where he was propelled out of a cannon more than 5000 times while performing for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Every time, it was his wife, Laura, a dancer for the show, who would launch Jon from the cannon. Jon retired from this world famous act and became the Host of the Greatest Show on Earth. And for 27 years Jon has been entertaining audiences around the country.
Jon’s ability to entertain audiences did not stop at the tent entrance. Jon became part of a team who raced around the world for one million dollars on the Emmy Award Winning CBS show, “The Amazing Race”. Although Jon fell short of the million dollar prizecoming in 4th place, he won the hearts of viewers from around the world. This recognition awarded Jon with the role of Host of the CBS live internet talk show, “The Finish Line”. “Besides the amazing experience I had on “The Amazing Race”, one of my favorite memories during the experience was balancing pens on my nose for the children in India. They got a kick out of it”. Clearly, it’s Jon’s big heart that captures all audiences!
Hollywood wasn’t done with Jon, when the opportunity came to work “Water for Elephants”, Jon was up to the challenge. Loving the new found creative outlet, Jon welcomes every audition, from commercial to film.Book This Artist »
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It's definitely worth using distilled water when mixing up a new batch of Star San. Then once it goes somewhat cloudy it's time to pitch it.
But if you'd really like to know if it's good with some greater accuracy, then you'll have to invest in a cheap ($30) pH meter and test it. If it's below 3.5, then you're okay. Test strips aren't very accurate, so I'd advise against using them.
I'd advise that you invest in a better pH meter (around $80) and get a meter that can read in the hundredths (x.xx.) You could use that pH meter for testing the pH of your mashes as well as guaranteeing your Star San is still good.
I bought the cheap pH meter first and it only read into the tenths (x.x). It was only accurate to plus or minus .3, so if the meter was reading 3.5, then the pH could have been anywhere from 3.2 to 3.8. That's not accurate enough for our purposes. Money wasted but lesson learned.

domain: chemistry


HOW WE IMPACT COMMUNITIES
Dunefield creates spaces and places that build stronger communities. We put the voice of community front and centre to help cities transform based on shared values and goals.
Tomorrow’s Chinatown is a project to create a first-of-its-kind Cultural Plan and new Area Redevelopment Plan for the Calgary Chinatown community. Working together, these plans will help support Chinatown’s future as a vibrant, culturally-rich place to live, visit, work, and do business, for generations to come.
REVITALIZATION DEN HELDER
This 19th century naval base in the Netherlands was revitalized and transformed into an integral part of the downtown core, leveraging the cultural and industrial heritage of the area. Historic buildings that played a key role in the city’s maritime history were repurposed into a theatre, library and museum.
FOOD SYSTEMS DESIGN
Together with D+FA and the Consulate General of the Netherlands, we hosted a provocative workshop, 2051: A Food Odyssey. Teams of food innovators, designers and entrepreneurs explored the forces of systems thinking and international collaboration to protect the future of food for British Columbia and the Netherlands.
Small, independent and culturally significant businesses are key to the fabric and experience of Vancouver’s Chinatown and Strathcona. We support community-minded entrepreneurs by repurposing underutilized Chinese society buildings and other not-for-profit properties for food and retail businesses.
VIENNA SOCIAL HOUSING
This exploratory research project studies the social-economic impacts of Vienna’s innovative social housing models. In particular, how these models are contributing to a more diverse society, inclusive of equity-seeking groups such as those with disabilities, immigrants, LGBTQ+ and racialized communities.
NEWTON MURAL LANEWAY
We engaged with artists, residents and businesses to celebrate Newton’s diversity, creativity and entrepreneurship with a placemaking festival at Mural Laneway. This is the first step in a strategy to support youth, newcomers, women and others to pursue social and economic initiatives in the community.
THE FUTURE OF WORK
Drawing from our experience in Europe and Canada, we build economic strength by creating and programming inspiring spaces where entrepreneurs, innovators and makers are part of an ecosystem that helps them start new initiatives, find clients and collaborators, and grow their business.
SHAPE THE COURTYARD
This two-day event showed the possibilities for activation of the underused Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Courtyard in Vancouver Chinatown. In partnership with the Classical Chinese Garden, we gave local groups a platform to experiment with entrepreneurship, placemaking and cross-cultural learning.
JULIANADORP AT SEA
This family-friendly neighbourhood in the old Dutch town of Julianadorp was developed with 615 affordable homes, schools and sports facilities. A unique aspect is the flexible building concept that offers residents the opportunity to continuously adapt their homes according to changing lifestyles and age.
TOWN OF CANMORE
The picturesque Town of Canmore has among the highest housing costs in Alberta. We supported the planning, economic analysis and stakeholder engagement for new affordable housing projects, providing homes for singles, young families, teachers, students and seniors.
Old IJmuiden was founded in 1876 at the mouth of the North Sea Canal, the Netherlands. Although strategically located, this district had lost some of its appeal and resilience over the years. The area was successfully revitalized with an attractive mix of uses, all celebrating its industrial, maritime and fishery heritage.
CULTURAL RESOURCE MAPPING
The Calgary Chinatown Cultural Resource Map is an online platform where community stories unfold and are pieced together to capture the cultural places, activities and legacies of this neighbourhood. Citizens are encouraged as cultural stewards to submit content and have agency in the shaping of the narrative.
We hosted this symposium on sustainable area development together with Simon Fraser University, FSA and Parallel 52°. During a 2-day workshop, a group of 15 students assessed the sustainability of the UniverCity project in Metro Vancouver and compared it to developments in various European cities.
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
Community centre IJsselmeerstraat in Den Helder, the Netherlands, is part of a wider neighbourhood revitalization plan and includes the development of two schools, sports facilities, child daycare, affordable rental housing and programs for children with special needs and disabilities.
BUSINESS PARK KOOYPUNT
Business Park Kooypunt is perfectly situated on the Dutch North Sea coast with easy access to major cities in the UK, Scandinavia and Germany. The development entails 320 acres of industrial park, new airport facilities and an inland port for industries active in the servicing of offshore wind energy parks.


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Seasoning for Red Pilaf will help make genuine national dish. Seasoning is good for about 2-3kg of rice.
Seasoning for Yellow Pilaf will help make genuine national dish. Seasoning is good for about 2-3kg of rice.
Mix of spices LTZ will open you individual taste and aroma, dissimilar to others.
Seasoning for meat dishes will make the meal an unusually refined, juicy and flavorful.
Bouquet of spices gives the dish a full flavor with an amazing blend of spices, roots and herbs. Bouquet seasoning gives great taste and enhances the taste of dishes.
Mix of spices Universal Plus is suitable for any meal, giving each its exquisite and unique taste.
Salad dressing is intended for salads of vegetables to give a more piquant flavor and aroma.
If you want to know the taste of tender juicy meat, use this seasoning.
Mix of Garlic Seasoning for meat dishes will give your dish an unusually refined, juicy and delicious taste. The mix can be used for other meals as well.
25 Vegetables and Herbs Mix composed of 25 vegetables and herbs.
It can be used for broth as well as for sauses and salads.
Mix of spices for shurpa gives the dish a marvelous aroma and piquancy and density.
Paprika is very popular in Caucasian and Hungarian cuisines. Sweet varieties of peppers contain vitamin C six times more than citrus. It is rightly considered a champion among vegetables. It has a fine, delicate, mild flavor. Paprika is used in preparation of the first and second vegetable courses.
Red pepper powder is designed for fans of spicy taste.
Black pepper is for the lovers of tangy taste and a strong flavor. It has a strong pungent taste and a delicate flavor.
Oriental Mix of spices Curry can be used in the preparation of any food. Spices contained in the mix give your dishes a distinctive taste and aroma.
Cumin is an exotic oriental spice that gives food a pleasant aroma and taste. It is widely used for cooking not only stewed, boiled and fried foods, but also to marinate meat.
Coriander not only has excellent taste, unique flavor, but also easily digested and improves digestion. It is great for cooking stews, grilled meats products.
Taste and flavor of potato soup, fish soup, beef borsch or hodgepodge soup will significantly improve if you add 3-4 bay leaves.


In a recent study published in The BMJ, researchers explore the United States public funding for the development of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines.
Study: US public investment in development of mRNA covid-19 vaccines: retrospective cohort study. Image Credit: Jason Raff / Shutterstock.com
The development of COVID-19 vaccines
Creating safe and efficient mRNA vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was one of the most significant public health achievements of the COVID-19 pandemic. The effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines was made possible by scientific innovation and biotechnology advancements over the past 30 years, as well as significant support from the United States and other countries.
Once the pandemic started in 2020, the United States made enormous financial investments in completing clinical trials and issued advance purchases ensuring millions of vaccine doses before their safety and effectiveness had been wholly proven.
About the study
In the present study, researchers assessed the U.S. public investment in developing COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
Three key data sources were utilized to identify public funding, which included the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool Expenditures and Results (RePORTER), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Medical Countermeasures Portfolio, and the Department of Defense Contracts database.
The team reviewed scientific data describing the history of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine development and considered four essential inventions. These inventions included lipid nanoparticle development as a drug delivery system, production, and alteration of mRNA, along with small interfering RNA (siRNA), the definition of the prefusion SARS-CoV-2 "spike" protein structure, and RNA vaccine biotechnology development for human use.
A patent network analysis of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines was used to identify 88 significant patented inventions and links to firms licensing the technology. In addition, all inventors mentioned in these 121 patents were identified. The list with additional researchers identified through published accounts of mRNA vaccine development, news stories, and press releases was created.
Two authors independently allocated the contributions made by each scientist toward one or more of the four inventions based on a review of the attributions and patents. To maintain a comprehensive search technique, every potential invention was included.
The researchers created search terms by associating each scientist's name with a standard term characterizing the researcher's invention(s). For example, the search terms included the scientist name and nanoparticle or lipid or lipid nanoparticle; scientist name and siRNA or mRNA; scientist name and spike or perfusion; scientist name and immune* or vaccin*; and scientist name and SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 or coronavirus.
The team selected 205 researchers and performed 449 PubMed searches on their work, leading to 4,627 publications. These articles were associated with 20,825 fiscal years in RePORTER and merged into 2,676 unique NIH-funded grants.
The team discovered 34 NIH research grants with a total funding of $692 million directly associated with one of the four critical discoveries within COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, including $116 million in pre-pandemic NIH research funding spanning 165 fiscal years. An additional 603 NIH grants with USD 5.9 billion of funding were also identified.
Further funding by the BARDA and Department of Defense raised the total U.S. public investment for pre-pandemic research and development to almost $337 million. This included a total of USD 31.9 billion from 1985 to March 2022, including spending on research, development, and vaccine supply.
Of the $337 million invested in research and development prior to the pandemic, $116 million was contributed by the NIH, $148 million by BARDA, and $77 million by the Department of Defense. In addition, the number of fiscal years financed by the NIH rose from one observed from 1985 to 2001 to 21 in 2019, with funding increasing from less than $1 million to over $10 million.
The Department of Defense and BARDA provided most of the funding for vaccine development. BARDA financed the clinical trials, basic and translational science, and manufacturing capability of the mRNA Zika vaccine with Moderna. The Department of Defense invested in Moderna and CureVac.
From the pandemic's beginning in 2020 to March 2022, the U.S. government expended at least $2.3 billion in the research and development of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. In addition, BARDA funded Moderna's clinical trials, whereas the NIH funded other clinical trials, all the while investments were also made in manufacturing and fundamental or translational science.
The Department of Defense and BARDA spent another $29.2 billion on pledges to purchase two billion vaccine doses. These pledges comprised doses intended for U.S. population vaccination and global vaccine donations.
Moderna also received over $18.1 billion, of which $16.2 billion was for vaccination supply. Pfizer-BioNTech received $13.1 billion, primarily for vaccine supply.
The U.S. government spent at least $31.9 billion to develop, create, and acquire COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, including substantial expenditures in the three decades preceding the pandemic and until March 2022. These public investments led to millions of lives being saved. Moreover, they were essential to the development of mRNA vaccine technology, which has the potential to combat future pandemics and treat other diseases. To maximize global health benefits, policymakers should ensure equitable access to publicly supported health technology worldwide.
- Lalani, H. S., Nagar, S., Sarpatwari, A., et al. (2023). US public investment in development of mRNA covid-19 vaccines: retrospective cohort study. The BMJ 380. doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-073747


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Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor for the Clinton administration, is the subject of the new documentary 'Inequality For All.' RADiUS-TWC
Right down to its diminutive narrator, Inequality for All serves as a kind of An Inconvenient Truth-lite.
That's not bad company to keep. While not as revelatory as Al Gore's 2006 Oscar-winning documentary, Inequality (*** out of four; rated PG; opens Friday in select cities) makes a resounding case that the middle class is facing its own planetary crisis: becoming an endangered species.
At the heart of Inequality is Robert Reich, the author and professor who served as Secretary of Labor under the Clinton administration. Reich is a wondrous narrator who uses everything from his car (a Mini ...

domain: politics