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Music in ThiruvananthapuramTraditional Carnatic music holds centrestage in Thiruvananthapuram with the Swathi Thirunal College of Music at the forefront of music centre. Hindustani and Western music also have their aficionados in the city. Thiruvananthapuram saw its heyday as a centre of music during the reign of Maharaja Swati Thirunal, a patron of the arts and a great composer himself.
The Swati Sangeethotsavan, held every year in the honour of Maharaja Swati Thirunal, at the Kuthira Mallika Palace, is the city’s premier musical event. It is exclusively devoted to Swati Thirunal’s compositions and goes on for a week. The festival is organized under the auspices of the Maharaja of Travancore Trust and is open to all music lovers. The Navaratri festival at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple also sees many renowned musicians from all over the country performing to an eager audience as does the Soorya Dance and Music Festival. Tke Chembai Music Festival, held every year for Ekadasi, also attracts many enthusiasts.
Established in 1939, the Swati Thirunal College of Music in Thampanoor makes sure the great composer’s legacy endures and is carried forward. It popularizes his kirtis and trains musicians to play them.
All India Radio in Thiruvanathapuram has also played its part in keeping alive classical music traditions in the city by giving them air time and also employing musicians.
Technopark regularly hosts western music shows which sees musicians from all over the country perform for fans to get their fill of their favourite music.
Famous Musicians from Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvanathapuram has been home to many renowned musicians. These include L. Aathira Krishna (violin), K S Chitra (playback singer), G Venugopal, Hariharan (fusion musician), M G Radhakrishnan (playback singer, director and compaoser), M G Sreekumar, N Vasudevan (Carnatic viocalist), Shwetha Mohan, Sujata Mohan, Vidhu Pratap and Manjari.
Aathira Krishna, born in Thiruvanathapuram, is the granddaughter of renowned musician Gopala Pillai and has been hailed as a violin prodigy and has been performing all over the world since the age of 9. The initial training was with her grandfather himself. She is a virtuoso who blends western influences with Indian classical techniques. Athira has been the recipient of many awards for her skill. She is mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records for her non-stop 32-hour Carnatic solo violin performance.
K S Chitra, hailing from Thiruvanathapuram, is a well-known playback singer who has sung in Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Oriya, Assamese and other languages and has recorded over 20,000 songs in a career spanning 30 years. She has been honoured with film awards in all the southern states.
Hariharan, one of the pair which formed the popular fusion music band Colonial Cousins, was born in Thiruvananthapuram in 1955. He is a virtuoso musician who has mastered both Carnatic and Hindustani music, recording many Bollywood and Tollywood hits. Hariharan was awarded the Padmashri in 2004.
M G Radhakrishanan was another successful musician who made his presence felt in the Malayalam film industry. A product of the Swati Thirunal Music Academy, he was a playback singer, music director and composer of songs for Malayalam films and had worked with All India Radio in Thiruvanathapuram.
N Vasudevan was a Carnatic vocalist who was with All India Radio for 26 years. He was also a product of the Swati Thirunal Music Academy and a resident of Neyyatinkkara, a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram. A Padmasree awardeee he was disciple of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Ramnad Krishnan.


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domain: medical


Hillary Clinton handily won the West Virginia primary last night. But providing fresh evidence that rival Barack Obama has the Democratic nomination all but locked up, two superdelegates endorsed the senator from Illinois shortly thereafter. While Clinton's campaign continues to argue that Obama will have trouble attracting blue-collar voters in swing states, Obama is already pressing ahead to the general election.
Thousands of Chinese troops are attempting to fix a dam that was cracked by Monday's massive earthquake, while rescue workers for the first time are getting to the epicenter of the quake that killed an estimated 15,000. The Zipingpu Dam is upriver from the city of Dujiangyan, and major damage to the dam could lead to the city being "swamped," the official Xinhau news agency reported. Chinese officials said the quake had damaged 391 mostly small dams.
Today, President Bush called Israel's 60-year anniversary a reason for optimism about democratic change in the Middle East. "I suspect if you looked back 60 years ago and tried to guess where Israel would be at that time, it would be hard to be able to project such a prosperous, hopeful land," Bush said during a meeting with Israel's President Shimon Peres. Upon Bush's arrival at the airport at Tel Aviv, he hugged Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the subject of a new criminal investigation that could push him from office. Earlier, broadcasters' microphones had picked up Olmert's assurances to a senior White House official: "Holding on, holding on, don't worry."


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domain: artistic


text:
Heat a pan and add olive oil.
Add chopped garlic, sauté for a few seconds, and then add chopped onions.
Sauté on medium heat for 2-3 minutes and then add sliced mushrooms.
Cook on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes till all the water released from mushrooms evaporates.
Add salt, mix well, and then transfer the filling to a bowl.
Cut the edges of all bread slices and then flatten the slices using a rolling pin.
Place a spoonful of mushroom stuffing in the center.
Apply some water on the edges of the bread using your fingers.
Pick up each corner and bring it to the center forming a small squarish pocket.
Pour a little ghee or butter on a non-stick flat pan, and place the turnover upside down (with the corners-side on the pan). This will ensure that once cooked from this side, the turnover will remain closed.
Before flipping this turnover to the other side, add some more ghee or butter on the pan.
Cook all the turnovers on both sides and leave them on the pan for a few minutes to ensure they become crunchy.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

domain: food


Former FX trader Richard Breslow has a good piece out on Tuesday.
It’s particularly apt given what we saw in FX markets overnight between the RBA minutes, the Riksbank minutes, soft UK inflation data, and of course, the death of the GOP healthcare bill in the US.
All of this would be impossible to trade under “normal” circumstances, but modern markets make it even more fruitless. “Never has it been more obvious that relying solely on electronic trading has fundamentally altered how business is cleared,” Breslow writes, adding that “algorithms and dark pools make it increasingly difficult to follow what’s going on.”
Of course the other thing that makes it “increasingly difficult to follow what’s going on,” is the fact that in the final analysis, this is all one giant trade on DM central bank accommodation.
What you see in markets is a real-time referendum on what the next move will be, and the task is to look out across assets and synthesize what you’re seeing into some kind of coherent whole.
Again, that’s made more difficult by the fact that some of the participants in this real-time referendum aren’t carbon-based. More below…
This has been a real toughie. The global economy is undoubtedly doing better. But we keep getting numbers that disappoint. There’s a cabal of central banks committed to raising rates the world over. Except for those days when it’s obvious that continued and open-ended support is vital insurance in these uncertain times. OPEC matters unless you take the view that they’re impotent. And of course how can one not vacillate between thinking politics and the legislative process is just plain incompetent or actively malignant. Now gin up some conviction and get out there and trade.
- To make matters even murkier, we’ve been swinging between horrendously low volume days and times of inexplicable high interest. Poor liquidity conditions and massive block trading. Never has it been more obvious that relying solely on electronic trading has fundamentally altered how business is cleared. But algorithms and dark pools make it increasingly difficult to follow what’s going on
- In this environment it has, counter- intuitively, almost become a liability to try to synthesize in any real-time fashion why a move just happened. The price action has to speak for itself and only after the fact is it worth putting a reason on it. As an experiment, pull an all-nighter tonight and you’ll be amazed to watch how commentators struggle with portraying the events as they happen. And it’s not their fault
- Markets are gyrating back and forth. Just not on standard trading fare. Enormously important issues like U.S. health care and Brexit remain in constant flux, being played out in the open. We’re getting schooled in how the sausage is actually made. We’ve somehow taken really big, long-term issues and reduced them to the level of trading fodder. Which has rendered the items we used to focus on for short-term activity more or less pointless
- As a result, it’s become vital to screen out the noise from formerly A- and B-list information that have become unplayable, largely irrelevant, blips. They’ve lost their power to sustain narratives
- It’s one of the reasons that the most short-term technicals in your arsenal haven’t been all that helpful. It’s one thing to remain disciplined. It’s another thing to just keep getting stopped out in faster and faster time frames
- You need to switch to medium-term gauges which have proven to be much more reflective of where true support and resistance lie. Who doesn’t love the 21-day moving average? Well, you would be better served cozying up to its big sister, 55, in order to recreate the old magic. Bigger issues demand more formidable measures
- The interesting thing, is this seems to be true across asset classes and regions. Take a look, it’s an eye-opener and just might spare you some frustration


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TULARE, Calif. (KFSN) --The talk of California's new gas tax has largely revolved around what it will mean for everyday drivers and how much they will pay at the pump. But the Transportation Funding Bill, designed to fix California's deteriorating roads, also includes tax hikes on diesel.
Starting in November, the diesel excise tax will be raised by 20 cents per gallon and the diesel sales tax will increase by four-percent.
Various agriculture industry groups, such as California Citrus Mutual, fought the bill. They know their farmers rely on diesel, from equipment in the fields to the trucks that transport the product.
"And what this did is it placed us in a much more vulnerable position relative to our ability to compete with offshore product," said Citrus Mutual President Joel Nelsen.
Nelsen said the cost of growing citrus in California has been on the rise for years. That's meant fewer family farms and packing houses and a loss of jobs and product.
For those who have stayed in business, Nelsen said the regulatory costs are passed on to the consumer who will pay more for a California product than one from the southern hemisphere.
"There is money allocated for roads that we already pay through gas tax that was reallocated in a different direction. That was wrong-- and as a result, we've got to pay more now? That's not fair," said Nelsen.
"There's always the talk of is this really going to be used on roads, which are in desperate need of repair, or is it a possible way that the High-Speed Rail could be funded-- you know I've heard that from several people," said Marilyn Kinoshita, Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner.
Kinoshita said Valley growers are concerned about the ever-increasing cost of producing food for the state, and the country.
Nelsen said his organization will do what they can to fight future regulations-- and that means supporting proposed legislation that holds government agencies accountable for how they spend the money they receive.
These taxes, on gas and diesel, go into effect November first.

domain: economics


Congress is aiming to limit the secretary of Defense’s travel if the Department of Defense does not develop a joint lexicon regarding information operations.
The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems wants the department to develop a joint lexicon for terms related to information operations, including information environment, operations in the information environment, and information-related capabilities, according to staff members familiar with the subcommittee’s plans to mark the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.
The subcommittee will mark up the bill Wednesday morning.
“Information operations have been a real focus area for our members, particularly given what’s going on in Ukraine. Right now, each service defines information operations differently,” said a committee aide, who like others that briefed reporters on the contents of the mark asked not to be identified by name. “If you were to go to the Army and say, ‘How do you define information operations?’ That would actually be different than how the Navy defines it, which makes synchronizing these capabilities often very difficult.”
Each of the services has organized slightly differently around and has varying definitions for information warfare broadly, which encompasses some level of cyber, electronic warfare, intelligence and/or information operations.
According to a 2021 Congressional Research Service report, there is currently no official U.S. government definition of information warfare. It asserts that the government has typically defined information warfare as “a strategy for the use and management of information to pursue a competitive advantage, including both offensive and defensive operations,” noting the link for such a strategy is information operations. Strategy can be defined as the process of planning to achieve objectives and goals in the national interest.
A provision under the fiscal 2020 version of the annual defense policy bill, which created the position of principal information operations adviser, directed DOD to “develop and persistently manage a joint lexicon for terms related to information operations, including ‘information operations’, ‘information environment’, ‘operations in the information environment’ and ‘information related capabilities.’”
The committee aide said that has not been done yet.
“As a nudge and a push, we’re doing a funding limitation of the office of the secretary of Defense travel … to encourage and really push the department to do that work, which we’ve seen is really important and important to the members,” the aide said.


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Dave Roberts is a self-taught pastel artist who was born in Aberystwyth and now lives near Nannerch in Flintshire. He has taken a break from painting over the last few years but will be returning on a full-time basis in December 2017.
Dave’s specializes in landscape pastel paintings, particularly of Snowdonia and the Clwydians. His work is the antithesis of what most would imagine a pastel painting to be; they are generally bold and vivid, with lots of detail. Commentators appreciate the almost photographic quality of the some of his pieces.
Dramatic skies and water feature heavily and he is generally to be found walking in the mountains at sunrise or sunset to capture the best light.
He has undertaken several solo exhibitions and has won awards for his work.
Dave’s new website will be up and running when he returns to painting later in the year. He is pleased to undertake commissions and can be contacted via email@example.com or by phoning 07960 055593 for those who want to get their orders in early.
Phone: 07960 055593


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CD AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD OR AS A PHYSICAL ITEM TO HAVE MAILED TO YOU (click below to buy as download).
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Buy download album here
Original spiritual music for sale as CD and download, from A Blessed Call to Love, Ireland.
Written and sung by Maria Antoine
Production; Stephen Walker
Maria is a wife and mother. She is not a professional singer. In prayer, she sings spontaneously the praises of the Lord and her songs come from the heart. While some flow directly and are recorded in one take, with music being added later, others need the help of a sound engineer and musicians to bring to fruition. On occasion, we have recorded some songs with a professional singer.
A Blessed Call to Love have put together a number of these songs in CD form. We hope they may go out into the world and that hearts may be touched and comforted. Maria hopes that these Irish blessings music songs will help people find peace in their hearts in the stillness of God’s love.


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domain: travel


text:
Nearly half of all medical students suffer from burnout, which not only has detrimental effects on the students themselves but can transfer into the clinical realm. Yet, studies exploring burnout and interpersonal toxicity in physician assistant (PA) students are rare. This study examined the role that interpersonal toxicity and abuse play in PA student burnout.
Nearly 2500 PA students in the United States responded to a survey about well-being, stress, and experiences with interpersonal toxicity in PA school as part of a larger cross-sectional study on PA student experiences in their didactic and clinical years. The present research focuses on overall measures among all PA students, as well as differences between didactic and clinical students, including the extent to which experiences of interpersonal toxicity predict symptoms associated with burnout.
Overall, PA students reported high levels of satisfaction and happiness in school and life, but enthusiasm for school decreased for clinical students. More than two-thirds of students reported moderate to high levels of life stress, and more than 9 in 10 reported moderate to high levels of school stress. Symptoms of burnout were reported by many students, with clinical students reporting interpersonal toxicity exposure more often than didactic students. Experiencing interpersonal toxicity or abuse predicted symptoms of burnout.
While PA students report high levels of life and school satisfaction, given the high levels of stress also reported, burnout metrics and well-being programs are needed. PA programs should work to create a supportive and engaging educational environment to ensure students’ long-term career success.

domain: psychology


text:
DUBLIN — Like the instructions on assembling its furniture, Ikea’s wish to open a store in this town is not expected to be easy.
The home goods retailer this week announced a major revision to its plans — including an underground parking lot — but people who opposed the plan before don’t appear to have changed their minds.
“Underground parking raises the building even higher,” said resident Kerrie Chabot. “It’s a terrible plan for our city.”
Ikea would take away from local furniture stores, plus, the city already has two Targets, she added.
Residents also have complained about the traffic the store would bring to the surrounding area.
Joseph Roth, of Ikea, said the company spent the past year listening to people at booths at the farmer’s market or the popular St. Patrick’s Day festival in an effort to get public feedback. Piece by piece, Ikea started to revise its plans.
“We believe this new site plan definitely reflects what we we’re hearing,” he said. “We heard a lot of voices about not wanting to see a sea of parking.”
Roth said they also heard residents wanted more retail space on the property, which is why it was doubled to 92,000 square feet. Also added were pedestrian-friendly walkways and bike lanes, he said. Meanwhile, the square footage inside the store was cut by 30,000 square feet to 340,000.
The two levels of parking would be partially underground, and would include about 1,200 spots. Adjacent retail space would have its own parking surrounding the buildings.
Gone is the previously proposed hotel, which would have had 75 rooms. A new website, www.proposeddublinca.com, details the new proposal.
Ikea expects the City Council to take up its proposal in early 2018. If approved, the store wouldn’t open until at least summer 2020, Roth said.
Last year, residents started an online petition to oppose the big blue-and-yellow store known for its budget Swedish furniture and meatballs, and the opposition has since resurfaced on social media. The petition, created by resident Tom Cignarella, gathered 2,225 signatures.
Councilman Abe Gupta said Tuesday he had a chance to go over the preliminary online plans. Regarding traffic concerns, Gupta said the reality is that dirt doesn’t generate traffic right now, but anything new at that spot will generate more cars.
Ikea owns the 27.5-acre site on the northwest corner of Interstate 580 and Hacienda Drive near the IMAX theater, which is zoned for commercial uses. It owned the land in 2004, when the City Council first approved plans for a store. But, given the market at the time, Roth said Ikea decided to sell the property to a developer. Housing at the spot was rejected by the city.
In early 2016, Ikea re-bought the same land and began drawing up plans for the new store.


text:
Browsing named entities in Robert Underwood Johnson, Clarence Clough Buell, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. Volume 4.. You can also browse the
collection for Dallas, Ga. (Georgia, United States) or search for Dallas, Ga. (Georgia, United States) in
Your search returned 18 results in 5 document
a few days to repair the railroad without attempting Allatoona, of which I had personal knowledge acquired in 1844, I resolved to push on toward Atlanta by way of Dallas; Johnston quickly detected this, and forced me to fight him, May 25th-28th, at New Hope Church, four miles north of Dallas, with losses of 3000 to the ConfederatDallas, with losses of 3000 to the Confederates and 2400 to us. The country was almost in a state of nature — with few or no roads, nothing that a European could understand; yet the bullet killed its victim there as surely as at Sevastopol.
Johnston had meantime picked up his detachments, and had received reenforcements from his rear which raised his aggregate strength toive.
This followed soon.
Hood, sending his cavalry ahead, crossed the Chattahoochee River at Campbelltown with his main army on the 1st of October, and moved to Dallas, detaching a strong force against the railroad above Marietta which destroyed it for fifteen miles, and then sent French's division to capture Allatoona.

domain: history


text:
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — HSHS St. John’s Hospital received 6,000 FDA-approved plastic face shields from Ford Motor Co. Tuesday. The delivery was part of 10,000 total face shields donated to nine Illinois HSHS hospitals.
Last Tuesday, Ford announced it would manufacture the face shields in the company’s Michigan plant to help first responders, healthcare workers and others on the front lines of the coronavirus response.
The transparent face shields fully block the face and eyes from accidental contact with liquids and, when paired with N95 respirators, can be a more effective way to limit potential exposure to coronavirus.
“We are in complete awe of all the generous donations of personal protective equipment (PPE),” said Allison Paul, chief nursing officer at HSHS St. John’s Hospital. “This donation will help ensure our colleagues remain safe when caring for patients.”
For more information, click here.

domain: news


Best exhaust fans for bathroom
Exhaust fans are used to eliminate odour and maintain the moisture level of the bathroom. Depending upon the purpose and size of the bathroom, there are various types of exhaust fans available. They provide ventilation and help to regulate the air into the fresh air. Choosing the appropriate duct size and build are important features while buying. To help you keep your bathroom humid free, we have listed some of the best
exhaust fan options from Amazon.
With the noiseless operation, this exhaust fan from Luminous should be a suitable option to consider. To ensure longevity, it has sturdy construction with polypropylene blades. Ideal for the kitchen, bathroom or cabin, this exhaust fan provides high air delivery output at a speed of 1350 rpm with a blade size of 150 mm. It has a stylish design and comes with dust protection shutters. It has a sturdy build.
This white coloured exhaust fan from Havells features a unique body and blade design for high flow and less noise. Made from plastic, it is abrasion-resistant and easy to clean. With a sweep and a blade size of 200 mm, the aerodynamically designed blades ensure to bring in fresh air. Also, it comes with a durable motor with fuse protection. It eliminates the bad odour and brings in clean and fresh air.
This easy to mount exhaust fan from V-Guard features aerodynamically designed blades with a 20 cm sweep to keep the air fresh and clean. It has a strong air suction power with air delivery at 520 m³/hr and 1300 rpm speed. The in-built shutter makes it safe and easy to clean. To make it last longer, it has a powerful copper motor. It is easy to clean.
With the noiseless operation, this exhaust fan from Spartan is made from ABS plastic body and is suitable for bathroom, kitchen and office. To ensure effective cleaning, it has a 100 rpm sweep with 2500 rpm speed. With better efficiency, it works on minimum power consumption. It comes with a 100% copper winding motor. It offers high efficient ventilation.
This compact 6-inch powerful exhaust fan from Crompton has a lightweight body. The rust-proof plastic design and inbuilt safety grill should provide durability. To make the air clean, it has a high-speed airflow with 150 mm sweep, 1300 rpm speed and 275 CMH air delivery. It offers powerful air suction and aerodynamic blades for faster speed. The ensure safety, it comes with a safety grill.
With high airflow, this exhaust fan from iBell has a silent motor. To ensure fresh air for fast cleaning, it has 200 sweeps. For better suction, it features an 8-inch motor. It claims to work on a 30-watt power supply. Also, it comes with a 1 Year standard warranty. It works on low power consumption.
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text: Views of the Volga River and the city of Gorky; movement of ships on the Volga river and trains on the railway. Types of the shipyard "Krasnoe Sormovo", works in the shops, design bureau, testing of ship models, launching a new ship; veterans of the plant. Residents of Gorky on vacation. Places in the city of Gorky associated with the revolutionary past of the city of Sormovo. Celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Krasnoye Sormovo plant in Gorky; Minister of Transport Engineering of the USSR I.I. Nosenko.

domain: geography


text:
Otto Sausage Dog Bag Charm
Introducing Jellycat Otto Sausage Dog Bag Charm. This quirky, dog friendly companion comes with dark-chocolate fur an upright tail and cocked ears! There is a crabclaw clasp, silver chain and shiny Jellycat tag. Otto makes a definite impression and a perfect present for any puppy fan. For a closer look at Jellycat's Otto Sausage Dog Bag Charm simply roll the mouse over the image. Do not tumble dry, dry clean or iron. Check all labels.
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Eighteen-year-old Tsukasa Mizugaki has failed his college entrance exams, but after pulling some strings, he manages to land a job at the Sion Artificial Intelligence Corporation. SAI Corp is responsible for the creation of "Giftias"—highly advanced androids which are almost indiscernible from normal humans. However, unlike humans, Giftias have a maximum lifespan of 81,920 hours, or around nine years and four months. Terminal Service One, the station Tsukasa was assigned to, is responsible for collecting Giftias that have met their expiration date, before they lose their memories and become hostile.
Promptly after joining Terminal Service One, Tsukasa is partnered with a beautiful Giftia named Isla. She is a Terminal Service veteran and considered the best in Giftia retrievals, contrary to her petite figure and placid nature. Time is fleeting though, and Tsukasa must come to terms with his feelings for Isla before her time is up. No matter how much someone desires it, nothing lasts forever.
When I first started watching Plastic Memories back in April I was immediately very impressed by it because the first episode was simply amazing. It forecasted an original anime with beautiful artwork, an ambient atmosphere, likeable characters and a lot of tragic drama. At the time, I really thought that it would become the next hidden gem, and the biggest surprise of the season.
As it turned out however, Plastic Memories instead ended up being one of the most misleading anime I've seen in quite some time. Unlike what the opening seemed to imply, in reality the show is mostly a cute and light-hearted slice of
life comedy with quite a lot of romance in it. Now this doesn't mean the anime turned out poorly in the end, quite the opposite in fact, but it never reached the level that I thought it would have reached in the beginning.
The story takes place in a future world where humanoid androids are a common part of human society. The androids, named "Giftias", are fully equipped with human emotions, and help their respective human owners however possible. But the Giftias have very limited lifespans, and thus they need to be taken out of commission before too long. Enter Tsukasa, an 18-year-old boy whom is offered a position at the SAI Corporation; a group responsible for retrieving Giftias who are approaching the ends of their lifespans, and eventually scrap them. Right next to him, we have his fellow co-worker: the incredibly cute and loveable Isla, who is actually a Giftia herself despite her position. The two of them form a team by order of their boss, and they consequently start working together, socializing together, and of course fall in love with each other.
This is how Plastic Memories suddenly becomes something totally different from what it originally promised to be. Despite the premise, the anime is in fact not about the retrieval of various Giftias, nor is it about the SAI Corporation itself or any of the other people working there. Plastic Memories is about Tsukasa, and it is about Isla. That is all. And honestly, that's totally fine in and of itself because they make up one of the cutest couples I've seen in ages, and watching their awkward romance is surprisingly enjoyable no matter how much you see of it. But for a lot of people, this was nothing more than wasted potential because the cool and interesting premise of the story itself is heavily neglected in the process. For everyone who wanted to see a melancholic story about the tragedy of having to say goodbye to your loved ones and how they deal with it... you're probably going to be left disappointed, because Plastic Memories doesn't actually focus very much on that at all other than right at the very beginning. The only character the show ever really emphasizes this point for is Isla herself as her lifespan is of course also very limited due to being a Giftia, but for everyone else... not very much.
However if you can get past the fact that the show is more or less in disguise and try to see it for what it actually is (in other words a romantic slice of life story), then suddenly Plastic Memories is a very enjoyable anime again. Why? Because it actually has *proper romantic development*. Quite a lot of it in fact. This is not the kind of show which ends with a confession in the final episode and nothing more; no, there are actually things happening from very early on in a romantic sense, which is something that is unfortunately very rare in today's anime. Especially seeing Plastic Memories airing in the same season as Nisekoi was pretty amusing to me; they're like night and day in comparison as far romantic progression goes.
Overall, Plastic Memories is an anime which you will probably be given a very different impression of depending on your expectations on it. Is it a good anime? Yes, but it's a completely different anime from what you're most likely anticipating when you start watching it. That doesn't make it a bad show per se, but it feels a bit like false marketing. It's up to each and every viewer to do their best at adapting to what the anime has to offer.
If you're looking for a deeply touching and emotional melodrama like Clannad: After Story or Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, then sorry to say but you're looking in the wrong place. But for a cute yet beautiful story about young love, it's hard to find a better example than Plastic Memories.
Human/technology integration has always been a fascinating topic to me. Just thinking of humanity's next leap towards further development being aided by biomechanical intervention could cause even the cynical-minded to wax philosophical. It's a topic that's inspired countless debate and discussion for many; redefining the idea of what it means to be human with the continuously blurred line between man and machine. And what better way to view this delicate balancing act than by seeing it unfold through the guise of a romance. It's an interesting "what if" scenario, that, to those who share my fascination with the subject, could find many interesting facets on
exploring that very idea.
Can such a nebulous idea of "true love" be found with a man-made being? Where do we draw the line between augmented reality and primal attraction? Many different forms of media have tried to tackle this intriguing concept; from movies like 2013's "Her" and 2015's "Ex Machina," to novels like Jonathan Lethem's "As She Climbed Across the Table." There are even a few anime titles that tackled this subject as well, such as Eve No Jikan, Armitage III, Chobits and many others. When this topic is done right, it can be a highly rewarding experience, leaving the viewer with something to wrap their heads around.
So when I sat down to watch Plastic Memories, a show that had the right ingredients to make something truly thought provoking, just flush this potential down the toilet, for what essentially was forced melodrama... let's just say I wasn't a happy camper when everything was said and done. Under normal circumstances, I would categorize shows with Plastic Memories's setup as a bait-and-switch, but from the way it was presented, it never seemed to care about, or even acknowledge the ideas it could have implemented. What we have here instead was a cookie cutter rom-com that was oblivious to its own potential.
So no, I didn't get what I wanted, but does that render the rom-com that took its place bad?... Unfortunately yes, it does. It's a show that forces a catch-22 on the audience with an inevitable conclusion spurred on by contrived logistics. It suffered from heavy-handed manipulation at the cost of proper buildup and engagement, which was made all the more noticeable when you take into consideration the setting the show presents everything in.
In the future, sentient androids known as "Giftias" has become incorporated into everyday society. However, like everything else that has a beginning, so too does the Giftias have a limited lifespan as well, with about a decade or so of functionality before they are decommissioned, resulting in their memories being erased (which is the android's equivalency of death). This, of course, becomes the core focus of the show, as we're introduced to our protagonist Tsukasa, a human, who finds himself involved with one of these Giftias named Isla. And from there onward, the show chronicles their daily interaction and growing relationship. And as you would guess, it becomes a tale of a fleeting would-be romance with only one possible outcome.
When trying to present a romance, there must be proper interaction between the main love interests in order to sell their position as lovers. We as viewers need to see this bond slowly form, see the chemistry that they share, and the mannerisms that they portray when expressing themselves to each other. To get down to brass tacks, we as viewers need to be convinced of their validity as a couple for it to feel organic. If this isn't handled properly, it can cause the relationship and development to feel forced or manipulated. This is Plastic Memories 1st noticeable blunder. It tries to build this chemistry on a premise that just screams victimizing; with a character predestined to be terminated from an expiration date, a protagonist that makes no visible effort in repealing the outcome, and a romance bound to go nowhere because of it. It isn't bittersweet nor is it heart-wrenching since the reason these androids expire is contrived and contradictory to the world setting presented. How may you ask? Well, let's explore the ill-defined logic the show tries to spoon feed us.
We're made to believe that this show takes place in a future where the creation and distribution of androids are a fairly commonplace occurrence. In other words, it's an advance society that's leagues ahead of us in terms of technological breakthrough and scientific advancement. But at the same time, the show wants us to believe that they have no methods of storing or switching memory from one device to another. And I shouldn't have to spell it out but do you see how this nonsensical explanation doesn't work? A society advance enough to have androids with empathy, but not advance enough to store memory or transfer it? So if you own a USB flash drive, then congrats, you've officially surpassed this society's current intellect. And that is just the tip of the iceberg when talking about this show's implausible setting. Later on, we find out that after an android passes its expiration date and isn't decommissioned, they take on a savage state, becoming dangerously violent against humans, escalating to the point of murder (in other words, they go ape-shit). Which begs the question, why in the hell would anyone endorse a machine that can go "Terminator" on citizens when they lose their memory? It's unfathomable to think any governing body with a modicum of common sense would allow such a hazardous time bomb to be integrated into society. There was even an episode dedicated to showing how such a terrible downside could reek havoc, or even worse, be exploited as a weapon, but like the setting it's a part of, it was never explored beyond that. It was simply brought up and never mentioned again by the next episode just so they could allow for more rom-com moments to continue undisturbed. Just look out for the 'Psycho-Pass' episode, you'll know it when you see it.
Tsukasa and Isla both work at the same job, and it's also the place they 1st make contact with each other. From what you can easily read in the synopsis, they both work for the Terminal Service Department: a subdivision of the larger company responsible for the distribution and recall of androids. They're tasked with retrieving androids that are approaching their expected expiration date from their owners. This, of course, brings up yet another question; why is the task of retrieving androids so primitive and counterproductive? Like I've stated, these androids are like ticking time bombs with the added bonus of being empathetic. You would think something as important as this would be tasked to a more organized unit, but what we're introduced to instead is a motley crew of quirky characters that only share one personality trait and act so outlandish that entrusting them with such a task is almost ludicrous. It's like handing police duty over to the circus. It's like the creators were dead-set on an end goal and didn't care how little sense it made getting there. On a whole, the sci-fi elements of this show were never explored or utilized. It was simply used for flavoring, and it quickly became apparent that they didn't care about common sense when they duct-taped the narrative and setting together.
The relationship was also diminished by the fact that 3/4ths of the show's run-time were dedicated to slapstick comedy and silly misunderstandings. Half of it was wasted away where it could have been used to develop the relationship between the characters, which was made even worse given the short episode count the show was already working with. While I'm not the biggest fan of shows like Clannad or Toradora, I at least acknowledge that it did this aspect correctly. It utilized its run-time by building the relationship between the characters, either by their direct contact with each other or the indirect result of their influence on each other. It allowed us as an audience to grow attached to their interaction and relationship.
Most of the characters, like I've already stated, are just a range of archetypes. From your tsunderes to your beta-male, they all follow one-note traits and won't be remembered for anything else. This also applies to our two main characters. Tsukasa is as generic as a protagonist can get, ripped right out of the pages of cliché-land. You've seen his type many times before, and to be quite frank about it, he's indistinguishable from the lot of them. Isla is yet another Rei Ayanami clone, completely packaged with the silver hair, red eyes, and the signature porcelain complexion. Dull, monotone and devoid of personality, the only good thing I can say about her is that she truly acts like an android. Outside of the main cast, we're occasionally introduced to androids and their masters that the team has to retrieve. But they're introduction is done more so for forced "feels" than for actual world building. Just toss in a sappy backstory and an unavoidable conclusion and it really becomes more annoying than anything.
And really, that's the main problem with this show in a nutshell: it's constantly trying to get the audience to care but doesn't seem to have any idea how to do so without coming across as fake. It's a show that forcefully tugs at your heart strings while thinking that people will easily be duped into falling for it. It thinks that simply playing melancholic music and animating tear ducts is more than enough to fool viewers, while forgetting that genuine character investment is what allows the audience to sympathize with hardships. And who knows, maybe this falsehood would fool some into buying the creator's snake oil. There are certainly viewers out there willing to suspend their disbelief, regardless of the amount of mental gymnastics required to do so. But for those well-versed enough to see past the smoke and mirrors, it's a detracting quality that causes the show and its conflict to implode on itself.
The art and animation for Plastic Memories were above average and made the whole experience better than it would have been without it. It was bright, vivid and used a broad range of color palettes to convey whatever mood or tone they were going for. While it felt overdone at times, there were moments where it truly shined and help to sell the scene at hand; most notably the show's finale episodes and epilog. While the art and animation served their purpose, the character designs were a hit or miss. On one hand, a few had distinct features about them, but a lot were also cookie-cutter in a bad way as well. It helps to better personify their characteristics, but when they lack dimension and personality, it made them feel like carbon copies of other characters in the same vein as them. There was also moments where the show paid direct homage to Evangelion with certain scenes and shot compositions, which, while being a fun little tribute, didn't serve any purpose whatsoever. At best, they were Easter eggs for those that caught on to them.
The soundtrack was a mixture of pop and electronica flavoring. It was "fluffy" during the comedic bits and took on a more somber tone during the show's more "emotional" moments. While there weren't any noteworthy tracks, it was fine and served its purpose. Average but effective. The opening and ending themes were both fine and easy listens. Nothing that might stick with you but catchy and worked in unison with the show.
Like most titles of this nature, my problem doesn't stem from what it's trying to do, my problem comes from how poorly it goes about attempting it. If a show is aiming to get me as a viewer, emotionally invested, I expect it to do so in a manner that doesn't distract from its target intent. If I'm duped and fall for it, despite my better knowledge of its intent, I will credit it for its efforts. However, if I'm viewing the show and have to signal the "bullshit" flag every other minute, then as far as I'm concerned, that anime failed at its job.
My enjoyment of Plastic Memories was intermittent at best, but for the most part, the show was a face-palming experience. Because of the sloppy portrayal of its themes and forced melodrama, there was no engagement to speak of. The ending was decent, but the journey to said ending was buffoonish at best and can't be overlooked.
Plastic Memories was an uninspired and underwhelming experience. It had the opportunity to craft a decent romance, or even better, a good sci-fi tale, but it did neither and ended up falling short of the mark. While some might find it touching, I simply couldn't buy into the dilemma for the reasons I've stated. If you decide to watch this show, do so with low expectations, for whatever it tried to do, have been done to a much higher and better degree somewhere else.
While Plastic Memories had the potential to be a unique and intelligent show, it instead managed to encompass all of the things that ruin dramas and cause them to fail every time. Forced plot devices that make no sense? Check. Inopportune comedy that ruins the show’s tone? Check. Shallow characters defined entirely by their archetypes or tragic backstories? Check. While this anime showed flashes of good ideas and has its moments, its poor execution dooms it to be lost among the sea of poorly written, mediocre emotion porn.
Synopsis: In the near future, technology has allowed for the invention humanoid-like robots known as “giftias”,
who look, talk, feel, and emote exactly like actual humans do. The catch is that they can only operate for a little over a decade before they must be shut down, resulting in the loss of all their memories. The story follows Tsukasa, a human, and his relationship with Isla, a giftia.
The biggest and most obvious problems with this anime stem from its forced and melodramatic plot devices that range from just plain stupid to cringeworthy. For example, when Tsukasa and Isla first become partners at work, we are suddenly told that this means they have no choice but to live together! Because that makes total sense and is definitely not a lazy plot device to provide a setup for bonding and slice of life shenanigans! The other one that sticks out is the big “reveal” they make about what happens to giftias if they aren’t properly retrieved, which defies all notions of common sense and even basic science. That’s especially bad given that this show has a science-fiction setting for some reason. In fact… was there ANY reason for there to be robots in the first place? Literally the only difference between a human and a giftia is that giftias lose their memories after a certain period of time, so now that I think about it, that makes the entire sci-fi setting and concept of giftias in general completely pointless and nothing more than yet another contrived plot device for drama’s sake. They certainly didn’t explore any sort of difference between the two life forms; it’s very much an accepted fact that giftias are equal to humans, so why was everyone not just regular people to begin with? Was there no other scenario they could come with that incorporated death-like elements, like, y’know, DEATH? It’s this kind of thing that makes the show very difficult to take seriously.
There are other major issues with the show’s plot, namely how laughably predictable it is. You can LITERALLY guess every major plot point of the entire show by the end of the first episode, and I’m not exaggerating, because I literally did. I just kept waiting and waiting for something that I didn’t see coming a mile away to happen, and with the exception of a single contrived plot device which I already mentioned (a plot device that doesn’t even lead to anything…), it simply never does. Now, one thing that I will give the show credit for is that is has some genuinely sweet moments. The final stretch of the show made me feel something, at least. However, then it just sort of… ends. And it ends, like, EXACTLY how you would expect it to. I guess what I’m trying to get at here is that it left me with a feeling of “So what?” I mean, you told one of the most obvious and straightforward stories I’ve ever seen, so much so that I could have stopped watching after a single episode and gotten the gist of it, so what did you put into your show that justified the time it took to watch another 12 episodes? Were there any meaningful themes? No. Did the characters learn anything or change in any meaningful way? No. So why would anyone EVER want to watch the entirety of this show? *Sigh, I don’t know if this is making sense. Let’s just move on:
The last aspect of the plot that really bothered me was the random comedy that completely ruined the show’s tone by being interspersed throughout parts that are supposed to be serious. To give an example, the first episode of this show really hooked me. At the very end of the episode, there was a well-executed and genuinely emotional scene that was actually getting to me. I’m the kind of person who almost never gets legitimately emotional when watching a TV show, but this one scene was just hitting all the right notes for me. By the time it was over, I thought we had an extremely promising show on our hands. Now, guess what this beautiful, emotional scenario was immediately followed by: …A BATHROOM JOKE. That’s right. No relevance, no context. They just decided to throw in a random bathroom joke and ended the episode on a ridiculous note instead of a serious and powerful one. That, to me, is a decent microcosm of the entire show. Every time you might be about to get invested in a serious scene, WHAM! Random, generic, slice-of-life comedy comes out of nowhere and blindsides the plot. It’s just a disastrous display of a lack of tonal understanding and, ergo, bad writing.
I think the real thing that would have saved Plastic Memories for me was if the characters were given any form of depth whatsoever. Tsukasa, our protagonist, is a cardboard cutout straight from the generic, beta, male protagonists factory. My god, there was, nothing, NOTHING unique about him. I don’t think I’m alone in the sediment that I don’t care about other people’s relationships if I don’t know them, and I certainly didn’t feel like I knew Tsukasa, so how am I supposed to give a damn about him and Isla’s relationship? Speaking of Isla, talk about yet another shallow character. I put her squarely in the mary-sue category, given that she is an idealization of a pure, innocent, kawaii waifu with no real flaws whatsoever. Can she be funny at times? Sure. Does that mean I at all cared about her? No. As for the side characters? Boring. Bland. Generic. They are all basic stereotypes with nothing to distinguish them. I know they attempt to give a few of the side characters a backstory, but the backstories don’t actually accomplish anything other than just being sad. They do absolutely nothing to add a dimension to the character they are attached to and none of them are given any form of a story arc. I’ve seen casts like this a million times. The characters, to me, might be the biggest reason the show failed. I might have been able to overlook all the previously mentioned problems with the plot if this show actually gave me a reason to care about the couple of Tsukasa and Isla, but they simply don’t.
Pretty much the only thing I can definitively say I liked about Plastic Memories was the animation. It’s pretty fluid, but what really got me was the cinematography and shot composition. Besides the number of Evangelion references they threw in, there were a lot of well thought out and extremely well directed scenes that actually succeeded in conveying information and emotion without words. That’s VERY difficult for a show to do, so kudos for that. The settings were always detailed and full of bright colors as well. The world looked really cool, which is part of the reason I wanted them to actually tell me something about it. Like, literally anything would have been nice. Instead, the writing is so barebones that it could have taken place pretty much anywhere else, and that brings us full circle, doesn’t it?
I wanted to like Plastic Memories. Really, I did. It didn’t have to be some complex, philosophical inquiry into the definition of humanity and how it differs from artificial intelligence (which is the kind of show that many expected it to be); I would have been totally content with it just being a drama if they actually gave me a reason to care about its characters. If they didn’t ruin every moment they ever created with inopportune comedy. If they didn’t make the plot so damn predictable. If their plot devices weren’t so incredibly contrived. There were simply too many major problems to overlook, and that forces me to make the sad conclusion that Plastic Memories is a massive missed opportunity for what could have been a really enjoyable original anime. It lacked direction and coherent writing on all fronts, and I cannot recommend it to anybody.
The story written by the author who made Steins;Gate, but if you were expecting a well written story look elsewhere. Conversely, if you’re a fan of forced melodrama and rapid tone changing, or enjoy unoriginal characters and are interested in seeing another Kanade clone feel free to waste your time on this.
‘Plastic Memories’ takes place in the future where technology has advanced to the point where androids labeled as ‘Giftias’ exist and are capable of implementing human thought, emotion and memories. These exist for the purpose of human interaction and wish fulfillment, targeting those in need of company of some sort. After around 9 years,
Giftias can no longer function and they must be shut down, terminating their memories. The story mainly revolves around 18 year old Tsukasa Mizugaki, a human, who along with a Giftia named Isla, joins the SAI Corporation and is placed in the division in charge of retrieving the Giftias.
Giftia’s that fail to be retrieved will eventually expire and turn into a wild savage machine which they label as “Wanderer”. If technology has advanced so far that they can create artificial humans, there would be no reason why there should a 9 year limit, nor why they haven’t made any attempt to increase it like an extra memory card or something? The show never bothers to go into and explain that. It’s only clear that 9 years’ time the androids that they hand out will go hostile and attack anything in site. Good writing. They should implement cloud storage to expand the memory space, as increasing the limit would yield a huge profit margin for companies with proper marketing strategies. Even just transferring memories from one robot to another should be possible, they are machines after all. We have this technology now, it’s unthinkable to imagine that we couldn’t utilize it in the future. There is no reason to suspend this belief for this ridiculous premise. I can’t even fathom why they would distribute androids that could possibly attack people in the first place. And despite all of these complications, the show just chooses to just stick to the romantic comedy aspects the entire time which makes the sci-fi elements meaningless.
The series focuses on the relationship between Tsukasa and Isla, so at first glance it seems like it will delve into the ethics of Giftia and human interaction. However, terrible execution renders this attempt at a moral irrelevant, as any point they were trying to make was invalidated by the constant tone shifts and forced drama that was impossible to empathize with.
When I first had started Plastic Memories, the first episode presented all of these themes and ideas about cherishing memories; but it had a flaw that most dramas suffer from, poorly timed humor where it doesn’t belong. There was a sad moment when they had to retrieve a loli Giftia from her grandmother; it was supposed to be a sad moment but I couldn’t take it seriously because the sad tone was abruptly shifted to an out of place comedy routine. The drama is laughable and becomes out of place when scenes before and afterwards are inserted with poorly timed comedy. In fact the tone shifts are a common recurrence that continues for the rest of the show.
In episode 3, Tsukasa moves in with his work partner Isla and wants to grow closer to her, attempting various methods to get Isla to open up, which leaves us with a wasted episode of rinse and repeat cliché slapstick humor. A majority of the episodes consisted of these dumb comedy skits; whenever something serious is happening, the very next scene presents a gag that kills the tension. All that is achieved in this case is a lot wasted episodes. Instead of spending time building and developing an atmosphere for empathy to establish a justifiable drama, we instead get a 60/40 split of slapstick comedy and forced drama. The theme of cherishing memories that the show tries to present is lost in translation due to rubbish execution.
The characters were bland and dull archetypes, including the beta protagonist who exists for the purpose of self-insertion and whose only notable traits include being “nice” and a pushover. the typical Kanade rip-off who undergoes the standard kuudere “development”, the textbook tsundere, the drunkard, the dumb blonde bombshell, the nonchalant ladies’ man, and the prepubescent boy who you’ve never sexualized, not even once. This is a cast of unoriginal characters with no depth and minimal development that we will instantly forget about. Since the characters are archetypes it makes it difficult to provide empathy towards them.
Art and animation did a fairly good job. The original character designs were done by okiura, the one responsible for the art and character designs for IS: Infinite Stratos. Although the designs themselves aren’t anything too special, looking at Michiru reminds me a lot of Asuka from the Evangelion series. The animation itself did a good job, it was consistent and it never had a massive dip in quality.
For the sound it was fitting, the OST itself had a couple tracks I found to be lovely. The opening and ending theme are pretty good, they’re fitting for the show. They’re catchy and memorable, nothing amazing but I did like them.
Plastic Memories was something I honestly thought had potential. I really wanted to like it. I was even pretty satisfied with the first episode despite the flaws it had toward the end. Overtime though I just couldn’t ignore the fact that these flaws kept reoccurring throughout the show. At least the ending wasn’t bullshit, but it was exactly what was expected making it predictable from episode one. I would be lying if I said I never enjoyed myself, but I found myself to be bothered more and more if anything. It had good ideas but it didn’t mean anything and the premise was ruined because the execution was abysmal. The show’s theme exploration was weak and the humor killed any of the attempted drama. If you want to watch something that is similar but is actually good then just check out Eve no Jikan instead.
Music in anime can be a blessing or a curse. When done correctly, it can leave an everlasting impression on the audience. Music is merely one element of many, but it is a critical component that defines the emotional impact of an anime.


Rover 75, 2001,1.8,Under Dash Fuse Box,YQE103139,with Fuses And ...
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Land Rover spare parts, Range Rover, Defender, Discovery, Freelander, new and used parts, genuine and aftermarket, discount mail order nationwide specialists. Listed below are all the adverts placed for Rovers within the modern car parts section on OCC, pulling together ads that have been placed on the existing specific Rover model pages. To view any of these ads in full, or add your own advert, simply visit the relevant model page. On there you'll find all the ads for that particular model in greater detail, and also details on how to place your. We have launched Land Rover Hell www.LandRoverHell.com as a result of the consistent problems that we have experienced with our Land Rover Discovery since its purchase, almost 3 years ago. Besides all the problems with the car, what has compounded matters is the bad service and general uninterested and unhelpful attitude of Land Rover Spain, and Land Rover head office in the U.K..
this is the sorriest thing i have ever bought. do not buy one i have replaced the break resivor 4 time on mine. the nipples on the end where the break line hooks to the resivor itself keeps breaking. the line are long enough and do not have any pressure on them. it is.


I'M FEELIN' KINDA WEIRD
- Glitch "O" logo print on chest
- Glitch "OVERTIME" logo print on back
- 50% Cotton / 50% Polyester
Please note that carriers may charge import duties and taxes to complete delivery. These amounts vary and are the responsibility of the recipient/customer.


R Type Rolling screen for Windows
Renex Steel Roller Screens are the solution you are looking for to keep windows open in-order to have ventilation without worry of mosquitoes or Insects. We had put a lot of effort in offering an exclusive product were is manufactured in Malaysia.
Rolling Screen is suitable for both windows or doors, the design could be pull up and down(for windows only) or left and right(suitable for both windows or doors)
Rolling screen come with a Robust screen box, a coil spring that allow mosquito net rises automatically once you press to release the net. The netting will be disappear from your sighs when you release the netting. All netting will be hide inside the screen box.
It also employs a self-cleaning mechanism that auto clean the mesh every time when the mesh is rolled up and down. This is through the brush mount on the screen box.
Your mosquito net will be delivery including of decelerator. This system ensures that when open the screen the climb will always be slow and progressive, thus avoid any blow or deterioration. This system will be hidden inside the Screen Box.
Roller mosquito nets are equipped with Anti-Wind system that prevents the nets slip out of its track by the wind. And avoid any gaps where mosquitoes or insects could enter. This system consists of an inner brush that is intertwined with the net and prevent it from leaving the aluminum frame.
Our rolling screen come with White or Dark Grey Frame. Other custom colour is available with minor extra charges.


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Glam rock. You really don’t get a lot of it these days. Bowie, Pulp and Roxy Music can cover most of it but there have been others. Smooch (vocals/guitars/keys/synths), Daniel (bass/guitars/keys/synthesizers), Spencer (drums/percussion/vocals) and Davey (keys/synths/vocals/guitar) are The Voluptuals. They are the first band I have heard in a long time that really were able to define the glam sound for me. It’s tongue in cheek, bubbly, catchy and theatrical. The Voluptuals is somewhere between Ziggy Stardust and Of Montreal and their album Terminal Patience was such a refreshing change of pace.
The album starts with “Violence at Hyperion” which would sound just as home at The Factory in the late ’60s. It’s a wonderfully alluring mix of garage rock aggression and flamboyant theatrics. You are greeted with subdued funk on “Quick...Vogue!” I can’t overstate how much I loved the vocals on this song. The lead hits the perfect amount of hyperbole and the vocal harmonies don’t miss the mark either.
“You'd be the First (To Die in the Zombie Apocalypse)” is fun, catchy and more fun. There are hints of surf that meld with rock for one of the most infectious songs on the album. The song is a blast. There are more good times to be had with “ne plus ultra” and “Orogeny of Failure.”
“Everybody Loves You” also kills it. I’ll take this time to express my appreciation for the lyrics which fit into a somewhat classic psychedelic, glam mold. The words are colorful, fantastical and other worldly. Lines like “Killin time is all the rage / When the hyperreal asylum seekers / Forget your number / Caresses for the blissful faces / Of the glacial insurrection of nothing that plagues us” are all over the album.
“Technologies of Flower” will have you dancing on a psychedelic rainbow and “Cosmic Gutter Boogie” might give you flashbacks of Television playing at CBGB. They close with the more Bowie-esque “Pseudogamy in Athens” which plays into a cosmic arena of sound.
I can’t get enough of this band and luckily I live in Chicago so I can catch them live. If you want to hear a band that get glam and does it so right, then look no further.
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I am 25 yrs old and presented in hd, English is what I prefer to speak and I have 6793 followers and I am named Phillipwelch. I prefer if you call me Philip and you can see my show in public, my birthday is the 29th of June 1992 and I am from DickLand, I have been here for a while.
I have been here for a while and 42 is my age, my name is Daytonafun, not streamed in high definition and preferably lets speak English. I live in Florida, United States and my birthday is September 17th 1975, 430 lucky people are following me and you can see my show in public.
I have been here for a while and English is what I speak and people call me Sexterminator69, I am proud to have 1611 followers and I am from England, United Kingdom. My show is full high def and I am 18 years of age and I was born the 23rd of January 1999, you can look at my show in public.
My live show is public and preferably lets talk in Spanish–ingles and Spit Queen!! <3 is my real name and I was born December 13th 1998 and my show is full high definition. I have 285 followers and people call me Hanniedropkick and I have been here for a while and Colombia is where I live, my age is 19 yrs old.
Not streamed in high definition and 181 lucky people are following me and I prefer if you call me Ema Rendon., see me in public and my birthday is October 20th 1985. Spanish e ingles is my native language and my age is 32 yrs old and I am new here, people call me Emma_jey and Colombia is my country of origin.
I am 21 yrs old and my show is full HD and preferably lets speak Spanish and I come from Antioquia, Colombia and I am proud to have 2749 followers. I was born November 8th 1996 and people call me Cute_cristal, I have been doing live shows for a while and you can watch my show in public.
My name is Viennacox and preferably lets talk in English and you can look at my show in public and I am from In ur dreams, I am 23. I have 8505 lucky followers and I have been here for a while and Vienna Cox is my true name, I was born February 5th 1994 and presented in HD.


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The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has issued a clarification on whether sitting ward representatives should resign if they would like to contest for Member of Parliament (MP) seats.
2020 court ruling brings confusion on MCAs resigning before vying for MP
IEBC sets the record straight
According to IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati, it is not mandatory for Members of County Assembly (MCAs) to vacate office on February 9, 2022 but will have to do so when submitting their nomination papers to the Returning Officer.
“The Commission wishes to clarify that, according to Article 99 (2) of the Constitution of Kenya 2021, as read together with section 43 (5) and (6) of the Elections Act, MCAs who wish to contest as member of Parliament should not resign by February 9, 2022 but should resign before submitting their nomination papers to the returning officer to contest as a member of Parliament,” reads the statement in part.
The statement comes amidst an ongoing public debate on the supposed disqualification of a sitting Member of a County Assembly (MCA) from being elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) on grounds that they need to resign by the 9th of February, 2022.
In 2021, the High Court through Justice Anthony Mrima ruled that elected leaders who intend to run for any position in the August General Election don’t have to resign from their current positions.
However, the judgment was contrary to what had been delivered by Justice Weldon Korir on October 7, 2020.
The IEBC statement also pointed out that the commission will give further advice once the Court of Appeal delivers its final ruling.
The matter had been raised in court during the hearing of an election petition on the Gatundu North member of National Assembly position.
“Later, on 7th October 2020, the High Court in Hon. Clement Kungu Waibara Vs Hon. Ann Wanjiku Kibe and IEBC, held that the election of Ann Wanjiku Kibe who contested for the position of Member of Parliament whilst she was a sitting MCA was in violation of article 99 (2) (a) and (d) of the constitution. On this Premise, the Honourable Court proceeded to declare the seat of the Gatundu North Constituency vacant… The Court of Appeal heard the matter and reserved 18th of March 2022 for Judgement," adds the IEBC statement.
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Tue July 23rd, 2019
Sponsor: Rep. John Yarmuth — D — KY
Increases discretionary spending limits, suspends the debt limit, and modifies budget enforcement procedures. The bill increases the FY2020 and FY2021 discretionary spending limits for defense and nondefense spending. The bill also (1) specifies limits for Overseas Contingency Operations funding, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits; and (2) requires the FY2020 discretionary spending limits to be adjusted to accommodate specified funding...
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Jake of the Freedom Folks and I are going on the show Last Americans Standing - live now! Listen in now by heading to Last Americans Standing website. Listen and call in!
For more on this show and my interview see my previous post
This entry is in the following archive(s):
Next and Previous Entries:
Posted by Digger on August 3, 2008 03:01 PM (Permalink)
Copyright © Dan Amato - 1996-Present

domain: entertainment


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Summer Open House Docents – for Seahurst Discovery Zones
*Available for both Adult and Youth volunteers
Goal: Work with ESC staff to create a fun learning experience for individuals and families visiting ESC’s center in Seahurst Park throughout the summer.
Duties: Facilitate games, hands-on science activities, and arts & crafts for people of all ages. Engage the public at featured exhibits focused on plankton, climate change, birds, plants, fish, macroinvertebrates, stormwater and marine debris.
Requirements: Volunteer for at least 2 of the 8 Saturday sessions for at least 3 hours (10:30 am – 3:30 pm). Training provided day of the event.. *Age 16 and up (but options are available for youth to volunteer alongside you).
Timeline: Seahurst Discovery Zones run 11 am – 3 pm every Saturday from July to August with four themes:
Birding & Plant Nerding (guided walks) -Jul 7, Aug 4
Beach Walking & Trash Talking (guided walks) -Jul 14, Aug 11
Who & What’s In Our Water? (water sampling) -Jul 21, Aug 18
Small Critters & the Big Picture (plankton) -July 28, Aug 25
Number of Positions: 10 positions
Rewards: Engage and foster community participation in environmental stewardship. Make friends with like-minded people, apply your unique skills, gain job experience, and give back to your community!
To apply for these opportunities please return/email a completed volunteer application form and a summary of why you are interested in volunteering with “ESC Volunteer” in the subject line to our Community Engagement Manager: Kharli@EnvScienceCenter.org. We will review your application and our areas of need to see if we can help each other. THANK YOU!
ESC opens it doors to help you discover what is in our watershed in interesting ways. Certain themes will have outdoor options, but indoor activities will be offered throughout the morning:
Small Creatures & The Big Picture – Discover different kinds of plankton, how they affects us all, and how they are affected by climate change.
Beach Walking & Trash Talking – View cool critters at low tide on guided beach walks and learn how to help keep them healthy.
Birding And Plant Nerding – Take guided bird and plant walks to see and hear our local treasures.
Who And What’s In Our Water? – Test the water quality of our water and find out what macroinvertebrates can tell us about it.
FREE! FUN FOR ALL AGES! Please register for specific dates.
For more details please contact our Community Engagement Manager: Kharli@EnvScienceCenter.org

domain: hobby


Players will travel to Europe in Microsoft's newest version of its "Forza" auto racing game, to be released for Xbox consoles and PCs on October 2. At the same time, the big players are focusing less on new hardware and more on software - video games that can be turned into long-lived franchises with recurring revenue generated by in-game purchases and subscriptions.
"Seasons will change everything", Xbox executives said on stage at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles on Sunday.
The game is a follow-up to "Forza Horizon 3", which took place in Australia. The trailer begins in the typical scenes of summer with greenery as far as the eye can see, but then transitions to a colourful autumn with leaves falling from the trees, a frigid winter where lakes freeze over (opening up whole new areas of play) and a refreshing spring with budding flowers and April showers.
As Polygon reports, away from games Microsoft made two significant announcements. The Xbox One X will also be able to run Forza Horizon 4 at 60 frames per second - a first for a Forza Horizon game on consoles. The service, a sort of Netflix for games, lets players pay a $9.99 monthly fee to play more than 100 games. "You can buy or subscribe or buy and subcribe". Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Playground Games, and Undead Labs are now Microsoft studios and therefore future games from them will be exclusive to Xbox.


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It was revealed a few weeks ago that Jayasurya’s upcoming film will be a fantasy thriller based on the life of the legendary priest Kadamattathu Kathanar who lived in Kadamottom during the eighth century. The mysterious Kadamattathu Kathanar was known for possessing supernatural powers.
Actor Jayasurya has been roped in to play the role of the priest and reports are that this fantasy flick will be made in two parts and will be out in the 3D format.
Kathanar will be directed by Rojin Thomas and the team includes Monkey Pen's composer Rahul Subrahmaniam and cinematographer Neil D'Cunha. R Ramanand has scripted the film.
The film is bankrolled by Vijay Babu under his banner Friday Film House on a big budget. According to industry reports, it will be the most expensively made film in Jayasurya’s career to date. The pre-production is expected to be very extensive and will take the team about one year to complete.
While it is confirmed that Vijay Babu and Jayasurya are teaming up for the film on Kadamattathu Kathanar, they are already working together for Sufiyum Sujathayum.
Sufiyum Sujathayum is an intense romantic tale and has Aditi Rao Hydari playing the female lead. She will be seen as Jayasurya’s wife. Wielding the megaphone for this venture is debutant Naranipuzha Shanavas and it is also bankrolled by Vijay Babu.
Vijay Babu has said in an interview with the Times of India that Jayasurya will be seen in a different avatar altogether in Sufiyum Sujathayum. The producer added that it is a romantic thriller with dark humor thrown in.
It may be noted here that Vijay Babu and Jayasurya have collaborated for Aadu and Aadu 2 which both turned out to be hit and the two have announced Aadu 3 as well.
(Content provided by Digital Native)


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3123 Nutrisystem Consumer Reviews and Complaints
It had chunky vegetables, which were good, and sort of like a pesto flavor. Thank you so much for your review. Obama campaigns in Ohio: Overall, the foods from Jenny Craig did slightly better than Nutrisystem's. We are so happy to hear how well the program is working for you.
Who is the Manufacturer of Nutrisystem?
This supplement really curbs my appetite and cravings throughout the day, which was always my biggest struggle with weight loss. I don't find myself eating because I'm bored anymore. I find that I want to eat only very small portions.


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Lisa is a quirky side-scrolling RPG set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Beneath the charming and funny exterior is a world full of disgust and moral destruction. Players will learn what kind of person they are by being FORCED to make choices. These choices permanently effect the game play. If you want to save a party member from death, you will have to sacrifice the strength of your character. Whether it's taking a beating for them, or chopping off limbs, or some other inhuman way. You will learn that in this world being selfish and heartless is the only way to survive...
ESRB Rating: Not Rated
Genre(s): Adventure | Role-Playing


In the aftermath of the rising superstar Julio Caesar Chavez, Jr. successfully defending his (fake) WBC middleweight crown on this past Saturday, HBO is set to host another intriguing fight that will promote the classic bull vs. matador style as Devon Alexander will face Marcos Maidana.
The fight will take place in Devon’s hometown on February 25, 2012, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri as these two fighters’ stock will be raised even higher with a victory as the two fighters decided to move up in weight and test the welterweight division in this upcoming affair.
Credit: Tom Hogan / Hogan Photos / Golden Boy
Maidana is an all-action attack warrior and Devon Alexander is the classic boxer counter-puncher which can add up to either a great fight or a shut out depending on which two guys show up. This fight also will pit a southpaw in Alexander against an orthodox fighter in Maidana which could spell trouble for Maidana as well.
Both Maidana and Alexander have a lot of...


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Summit Choral Society awards scholarship to Hannah Starnes Wood
March 30, 2018
The Summit Choral Society is awarding Summit High School graduating senior Hannah Starnes Wood with a scholarship for her singing talent and dedication to music. As part of their annual spring concerts on April 9 and 10, Wood will be honored for her achievement and she will perform a solo of the Italian opera piece "Caro Mio Ben" by Giuseppe Giordani.
"I am really excited to win this scholarship," Wood said. "I've been preparing since freshman year to get ready for this piece and to get that scholarship." Wood added that the song, which is in Latin, took a lot of practice during and after school.
"I worked a lot with a pastor to perfect the pronunciation," Wood said. "It can sound and mean something completely different if it's pronounced and sung properly."
Wood, who has just committed to enroll at CU Boulder for her undergraduate degree, is incredibly grateful to the Choral Society for the scholarship and the opportunity to train her voice and talents to such a high level.
"The scholarship is valuable to my education because education is a privilege," Wood said. "The fact that Summit Choral Society is helping me and believes in me, that makes my education even more valuable."
The spring concert on Monday, April 9, will take place at 7 p.m. in the Lord of the Mountains Lutheran Church, 56 U.S. 6, Dillon, while the Tuesday, April 10, concert will take place at Christ Lutheran Church, 16072 CO-9, Breckenridge. The concerts are free and open to the public.
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The Summit Choral Society is made up of members who share a passion for music. Membership is open to people from high school up, and auditions are not necessary. The group meets most Monday evenings at Christ Lutheran Church from 7-9 p.m. The choral society is directed by Dr. Jill Schroeder-Dorn and accompanied by Caroline Hesford, choral director at Summit High School.
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Please follow lil froggy for more stories:)
Here is the photograph and my story:
This is a story featuring my children’s book thingy maybe and its main character, Chloe. Tentatively titled Once Upon A Bed Again. I’ve posted most of the stories on this blog. Here’s a new one:
One evening, when I was babysitting my two grandchildren and one of them had lost a tooth that very day, the bedtime conversation was about tooth fairies. Fairies in general, really, and the importance of believing in them.
I thought this a good time to bring up my own experience with fairies. Well. One fairy in particular. My childhood bedroom fairy, Chloe. She slept in a dew drop near my window sill.
“Sometimes she’d sit on my thumb,” I said. “She was no bigger than a tiny blinky Christmas light. At these times, all around us glowed golden. Chloe – that was her name – would flit here and there sprinkling tiny glittery stars and hearts all about.”
“Those moments were magical.” I was tucking blankets and sheets all round my precious grand-kids. “Nothing can really describe them.” And they nodded knowingly.

domain: literature


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Plus, the S&P may have just entered a new bull market, Darden Restaurants shares are up after it said to-go orders are surging, and Carnival shares are up after the Saudi sovereign wealth fund takes a big stake in the cruise operator.
Stocks rallied higher to start Tuesday with the Dow adding 340 points, or 1.5%, after rising more than 800 points earlier in the session. The S&P 500 gained 1.2%, while the Nasdaq traded 0.4% higher.
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That was fast. Just 15 days ago, the S&P 500 was fully in bear market territory, down -34% from its mid-February record high. Today, the index technically rocketed into a new bull market, rising 20% above its March 23 low, which if the rally holds and closes above that threshold, it will have accomplished rising into a new bull just 48 days after the end of the last one, marking one of the shortest bear markets in history. The rally is being fueled by optimism around what appears to be the cresting of the COVID-19 outbreak in several hot spots around the world. However, Citi strategists say the rally is nothing more than an “aftershock,” given that it’s not underpinned by volume or any guarantees that we’re nearing the end of the outbreak. “I think we are just seeing an aftershock of people trying to manage risk, work out exactly the depths of this recession, and indeed whether the quantum of support is sufficient,” said Jimmy Conway, head of EMEA equity trading strategy strategy at Citigroup Global Markets, adding that there will likely be “some pretty horrific” cash flow numbers in the next way of corporate earnings that the market is not pricing in. “Is what is driving it certain and was there a lot of volume behind it to vindicate that move, i.e. to show that there is real conviction and real commitment to it? I don’t think we saw that and I don’t think we are seeing it,” Conway said.
U.S. coronavirus cases rose to at least 368,449 overnight as global cases rose to more than 1,359,300. Deaths from COVID-19 in New York state rose by 731 on Monday, the single-biggest daily jump in fatalities since the outbreak began, bringing the total deaths so far to 5,489, roughly half of all deaths from the virus in the U.S. However, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo noted that the jump in fatalities comes as intensive care admissions starts to decline, giving the state some needed time to ramp up supplies and staff to handle an anticipated wave of cases over the next few weeks. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said this morning that Americans are “doing the right thing” by staying home and following other mitigation measures to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, while Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy of Infectious Diseases expressed optimism. “I don’t think anyone has ever mitigated the way I’ve seen people mitigate right now,” Fauci said. “It’s never happened in this country before. I am optimistic. Always cautiously optimistic.”
Congress’s next stimulus bill to support the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus crisis is likely to be at least another $1 trillion, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. According to Pelosi, the next relief bill will include further direct payments to Americans, extended unemployment insurance, more resources for food stamps, and more loans for small businesses. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said he hopes to approve more funding for the small business loan program this week. “I will work with Secretary Mnuchin and Leader Schumer and hope to approve further funding for the Paycheck Protection Program by unanimous consent or voice vote during the next scheduled Senate session on Thursday,” McConnell said in a statement.
Darden Restaurants shares are up more than 14% at the time of writing after the company said that it is furloughing some restaurant support center employees and slashing executive pay as same-store sales plummet 39% so far in its fiscal Q4. While same-store sales have fallen at Darden chains Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, both chains have seen significant spikes in to-go sales per restaurants, with Olive Garden’s to-go sales having jumped 141.6%, while LongHorn Steakhouse’s have more than tripled. “The challenges of this unprecedented situation are far from over,” said Darden CEO Gene Lee in a statement. “However, I remain confident that the strength of our portfolio, the power of our competitive advantages and the resiliency of our people will enable us to successfully navigate our way through it.”
And Carnival shares surged more than 21% this morning following Monday’s 20% gain after the Saudi sovereign wealth fund disclosed a new 8.2% stake in the cruise line. The stake represents 43.5 million shares. When Carnival reported its quarterly earnings last week, the cruise operator didn’t give 2020 guidance but said that it will be able to remain in compliance with its debt obligations for at least 12 months amid an unprecedented time for the industry. “We cannot assure you that our assumptions used to estimate our liquidity requirements will be correct because we have never previously experienced a complete cessation of our cruising operations, and as a consequence, our ability to be predictive is uncertain,” the company said in the earnings release. “In addition, the magnitude, duration and speed of the global pandemic is uncertain.”
Stocks We’re Watching
Wayfair Inc (NYSE: W): Wayfair shares jumped as much as 51% yesterday after the e-commerce home retailer said its business skyrocketed amid the coronavirus pandemic. The retailer said it has seen strong demand across most categories in both its U.S. and international segments, with March gross revenue growing at just under 20% year-over-year and its rate of growth more than doubling at the end of March and into April. “We are encouraged by our increasing sales momentum, yet (we) remain highly focused on our plan to rapidly reach profitability and positive free cash flow,” said Wayfair CEO, Co-Founder, and Co-Chairman, Niraj Shah. “The additional capital we are raising, although not strictly necessary, should only enhance our ability to successfully navigate through any market backdrop.”
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The banking system remained sound and resilient as risk-based capital ratios remained close to average levels over the past decade, the Federal Reserve said today in the second of its biannual financial stability reports. However, high interest rates continued to depress the fair value of longer-maturity, fixed-rate assets that were sizable for some banks, the agency added.
Most domestic banks have ample liquidity and limited reliance on short-term wholesale funding, according to the report. Still, some banks continued to face funding strains, likely owing to vulnerabilities associated with high levels of uninsured deposits and declines in the fair value of assets. The Bank Term Funding Program—created in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failures—helped mitigate those strains, the report said.
Near-term risks to the financial system include the possibility of a significant slowdown in economic growth that could precipitate strains in commercial real estate, persistent inflation, a further slowdown in Chinese growth and worsening geopolitical tensions