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Learn how to draw a person easily with JustSketchMe
Drawing a person, especially in an obscure pose, is pretty tough whether you’re just starting, or are experienced. The proportions of the human body need to be the correct ratio, the pose needs to be natural. Sometimes is just hard trying to start. With the aid of a wooden mannequin or the JustSketchMe web app, drawing a proportionally correct person is simple. This guide will talk you through it and give you some tricks to sketch out a person. You do not need to follow this guide verbatim. Try experimenting and drawing what you feel is right.
1 - Set up your pose in the JustSketchMe web app.
Take your time with this step and set your character in a pose that feels natural. Is the person you are sketching relaxed or tense? Are their shoulders raised? Does the weight distribution make sense?
Try putting your body in that position, see how it feels, and modify the pose if necessary. If you want to get into some extra details, play around with the light source and choose the direction and intensity of the lighting.
When you’re happy with your posed character, take a screenshot and import it into your painting tool of choice, add it to a new layer and lower the opacity to 50%.
2 - Sketch out the outlines of the body noting the constituent shapes.
Select a sketch colour. I like red as I’m less attached to what I’ve sketched with it, making it easier for me to erase and redo parts I’m not happy with. Use the character to guide your proportions, keeping the shape of the person you’re hoping to sketch in mind. This includes the overall scale of the person (heavyset/skinny/muscular/emaciated).
3 - Refine the outlines and connect them to create a more cohesive whole.
Now you can trace the outer edges of the body. See if you can get the lines to flow together naturally. Don’t worry about whether the lines are rough or sketchy. We’ll address that later.
Now you can adjust the proportions of the body to make it more masculine or feminine (or whatever you have in mind). Masculine features include broader shoulders, chest, and waist with a blocky overall feel, whereas feminine features include narrower shoulders and chest, and broader hips and thighs with a softer, rounder overall feel.
4 - Start roughing in some details like facial features and hands.
Here we can start adding in some details. Sketch in some rough hands, again nothing completely commital. We can also add the feet and ankles. You can spend some time on the facial features. At this point, your character is nearly fleshed out. It’s all about refinement.
5 - Add some clothes to your character.
Here you can start experimenting with clothes. Try a few variations of cut and style. How do the layers fall on the character? Is there any wind? Draw the rough shapes and add some rough detail lines. Get a nice feel for the overall image of the character.
6 - Create a new layer and ink your lines.
This is my personal favourite part. The character has been created and decisions have been made, now it’s all about refining the look and feel of the character. Set the sketch layer to 50% opacity, create a new layer and choose your brush of choice to ink out your character.
I like to try and get smooth lines that flow into one another, but you can ink out the lines in whatever style you feel is good for your character.
7 - Shading the character.
Well done! Your character is nearly completed! All we need to do is add some lighting.
Reference the JustSketchMe character you set up in step #1 and see where the light falls (or more importantly where it’s darker). Darken up the areas which need darkening. (If you want, change the overall colour of your canvas and add some lighter patches too.)
8 - Finished!
If you enjoyed this tutorial share your finished creation with us on Instagram!


Using E-beam direct writing method to fabricate low-efficiency beam sampling grating
Gao FH., Zeng YS., Xie SW., Guo YK., Cui Z.
As one of the important optical technique in the field of laser sampling, low-efficiency beam sampling grating (BSG) is widely used in high power laser system. It is an off-axis, binary phase, Fresnel zone plate. In this paper, the principle of the variable period grating formation process is analyzed perfectly and the transmission function of the BSG is obtained. Based on the analysis, a new method is presented to fabricate the BSG with electron-beam direct writing. Compared with the holographic method, the new method is simpler, cheaper, and more efficient to manufacture elements on a large scale.


Astralwerks Releases “ily (i love you baby)” (ARTY Remix) [feat. Emilee] Alongside Official Remix Video
Combined Global Streams Of “ily (i love you baby)” [feat. Emilee] Surpass 100 Million
|View Official Remix Video:
Buy/Stream: https://SurfMesa.lnk.to/ilyARTYRMXAcclaimed DJ/Producer ARTY has remixed Surf Mesa’s breakout hit “ily (i love you baby)” (feat. Emilee). ARTY brings a sparkling, up-tempo energy and progressive house style to the track, which has become an international phenomenon. Listen to “ily (i love you baby)” (ARTY Remix) [feat. Emilee] HERE.
In the official remix video, Surf Mesa takes to the Venice boardwalk with his skateboard. He’s seen in black-and-white, overlaid with pops of color, in the breezy, feel-good clip, which can be viewed HERE.
Surf Mesa says, “I’m so excited to have ARTY make a rendition of ‘ily’! I look up to ARTY as an artist with a clear vision in making the most organic and energetic EDM. I love his take on this single, bringing electronic elements and life-filled chords. He really killed it and I’m excited to hear this remix in a venue!”
“The ‘ily (i love you baby)’ remix was probably one of the most challenging ones for me to finish,” explains ARTY, who regularly appears on DJ Magazine’s annual tally of the Top 100 DJs. “I really like the subtle and soft feeling of the original song, so I wanted to keep the vibe but to take it in an entirely new direction. I tried out over 20 different harmonies until I found the one that felt the best. I’ve always been a big fan of synthwave and this remix felt like the perfect opportunity for this style. I love how it makes me feel.”
Including “ily (i love you baby)” on its list of “20 Great Songs To Discover While You’re Quarantined,” Billboard said, “In these trying times, who doesn’t want to hear a charming dance reworking of Frankie Valli’s ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’?…producer Surf Mesa has tapped singer-songwriter Emilee to lull you into a dreamy sway, her syllables chopped up before re-forming into that familiar phrase, ‘I love you, baby, and if it’s quite alright…’”
Since its release on November 26, “ily (i love you baby)” has amassed more than 100 million cumulative global streams. It has topped both the Global Viral 50 and the US Viral 50 on Spotify, appeared consistently on Rolling Stone’s Trending 25 chart, which tracks the fastest rising songs of the week, and can be heard on countless playlists worldwide. “ily” has its own Global Snapchat Lens – a notable feat for a debut artist . The more than 270,000 videos made with the “ily” audio have racked up over 80 million collective views on TikTok. View the “ily (i love you baby” ft. Emilee Best of TikTok compilation video HERE. Early press has included Billboard, Rolling Stone, Idolator, Fresh Music Freaks and The Honey Pop.
Surf Mesa came across Emilee Flood’s popular cover of the song on her TikTok, and remixed it, giving the song a dreamy vibe. “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” – the source of the indelible “I love you, baby” refrain – has proven to be one of the biggest hits of Frankie Valli’s solo career. Released in 1967, the song was written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio.
The international “ily (I love you baby)” lyric video, which includes translations of the phrase “I love you” in 20 different languages, can be viewed HERE.
|Surf Mesa Photo Credit: Surf Mesa
About Surf Mesa:
Powell Aguirre, the 20-year-old electronic producer behind Surf Mesa, has been making bedroom beats since the 4th grade. Influenced by ODESZA, Petit Biscuit and Kasbo, Surf Mesa brings a fresh, original perspective with beautiful melodies, warm drums and a dreamy-infinite atmosphere. Bringing light and mellifluous vibes through the undiscovered variation of ambient frequencies, Surf Mesa has earned recognition from Medasin, Laxcity and Treovr.
ARTY Photo Credit: Easton Schirra
As a leading influence in the music scene and a top 25 DJ, ARTY has built an international following mixing his trademark big-room anthems with downtempo electronica. Gifted at translating club-focused sounds to the pop/radio format, ARTY recently hit #1 at U.S. Dance radio with his single “Save Me Tonight,” paired with an acclaimed debut music video release (directed by Noah Centineo and starring Golden Globe-nominated actress Lily Collins). In 2018, his single “Sunrise” held the #2 spot in U.S. Dance radio. ARTY also broke records, releasing 20 new songs between his two projects: ARTY, and progressive trance-focused ALPHA 9, along with incredible reception of remixes for Skrillex, Above and Beyond, Axwell /\ Ingrosso, and Armin Van Buuren.
Established in New York City and now finding its new home in the historic Capitol Records Tower in Los Angeles, Astralwerks was the brainchild of staffers at Caroline Records who saw an opportunity for a label focused on the emerging electronic and ambient scene. Having reached a milestone of 25 years, Astralwerks has quickly become a modern, artist-first label with a true focus on nurturing talent across the electronic genre and beyond. Acting with a scalable, independent and global thinking mentality with the capability to tap into the resources of a major label, has allowed Astralwerks to retain and sign up-and-coming artists such as Illenium, Jonas Blue, Alison Wonderland, EDEN, Sigma and Axwell /\ Ingrosso. As a testament to this pioneering approach, Astralwerks has amassed 34 GRAMMY® nominations, taken home eight GRAMMY Awards and had historic releases from the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Swedish House Mafia, Halsey, Porter Robinson, Phoenix, Eric Prydz, Fatboy Slim and many more.
Follow Surf Mesa:


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World renowned internet radio music purveyor, LuxuriaMusic.com announces its 2013 Listener Sponsorship Drive from Monday, February 18th through Sunday March 3rd. Once a year, LuxuriaMusic gives listeners an opportunity to keep its programming alive by sponsoring items in the live studio, buying swag, and just plain supporting everything they love about Lux! The LuxuriaMusic 2013 … Read more
On Wednesday, January 9, Dionysus Records’ Lee Joseph will be broadcasting his first live Over Under Sideways Down show from the new LuxuriaMusic.com studio after an almost two-month break while the LuxuriaMusic studio was in the process of moving. The station went back on the Internet last Satuday and all the local Los Angeles DJs … Read more
This year’s Tiki Oasis VIP Gift Bag (handed out upon check-in at The Crowne Plaza Hotel and limited to 500) will contain this postcard which has a unique download code for the free 14 song TOP SECRET DIONYSUS RECORDS SAMPLER, featuring tracks from Stereophonic Space Sound Unlimited, The Martini Kings, Orchestra Superstring, Kava Kon, Robert Drasnin, Creepxotica, Skip Heller, Jerry Sun, The Creepy Creeps, The Satelliters, The Creatures of the Golden Dawn, Redondo Beat, and Ruby Dee and The Snakehandlers. About a week after the event ends, we will be sticking these in all Dionysus Mail-Order packages until we run out.
OVER UNDER SIDEWAYS DOWN
with your host Lee Joseph
The first and third Wednesdays of the month
3 pm – 5 pm Pacific on LuxuriaMusic.com Internet radio
Orchestra Superstring featuring X’s D.J. Bonebrake on vibes performs Cal Tjader’s “Mamblues” at The Speakeasy in Venice, CA on Feb 13, 2012. This song is not on either of Orchestra Superstring’s Dionysus albums – enjoy!

domain: entertainment


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- 1A traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events: ancient Celtic myths [mass noun]: the heroes of Greek mythMás ejemplos en oraciones
- Classic Norse myth is rife with stories concerning Loki's attempts to subvert Odin's authority, and Odin's retaliatory actions.
- In later Greek myth Hecate is presented as the daughter of Hera and Zeus.
- I think the timocratic structure of divinity in early Greek myth might be quite a good thing to apply to the tale of Eris, the apple and the Trojan War.
- 2A widely held but false belief or idea: the belief that evening primrose oil helps to cure eczema is a myth, according to dermatologistsMás ejemplos en oraciones
- One of the most widely believed myths in America today is the belief that corporations are an inherent part of capitalism.
- Allow me to dispel a few popular myths about US taxes.
- He said the average customers were men who gambled at weekends, dispelling the popular myth that housewives were behind the rise in the popularity of poker.
- 2.1A fictitious or imaginary person or thing: nobody had ever heard of Simon’s mysterious friend—Anna said he was a mythMás ejemplos en oraciones
- His secret masters of the world may be a myth, but imagining they exist can make for an enjoyable reading experience.
- It should not surprise anyone if it turns out that Jean Houston's autobiography is a piece of fiction, a heroic myth spun by her imagination out of the fabric of her desires.
- 2.2An exaggerated or idealized conception of a person or thing: the book is a scholarly study of the Churchill mythMás ejemplos en oraciones
misconception, fallacy, mistaken belief, false notion, misbelief, old wives' tale, fairy story, fairy tale, fiction, fantasy, delusion, figment of the imagination; invention, fabrication, falsehood, untruth, lie
- Idealized, regressive myths of a better, more magical time and place are a poor platform for making art.
- There are myths and distorted concepts out there that may not be true.
- Racial conflicts are being encouraged with vastly exaggerated figures and myths.
mid 19th century: from modern Latin mythus, via late Latin from Greek muthos.

domain: library


Editor's Note: Matt Mucerino of Crossing I's Dotting T's converses with Madness To Creation to talk about mental health, music and their latest EP. Crossing I's Dotting T's, out of Costa Mesa, California, recently released their EP, which is one of the most heartfelt EP's I've heard in quite sometime. Their self-titled EP was inspired … Continue reading (Mental Health Conversations): Matt Mucerino of CROSSING I’S DOTTING T’S
The Musician’s Tribune Vol. 39: “My Personal Spotify Playlist” by FREEMAN
London, England's own FREEMAN recently released his single entitled "London Nights" ahead of his upcoming summer release entitled "Love". Fans can expect the theme of "Love" to talk about the "free-love movement" of the 1970's. "London Nights" was written with fellow bandmate Jamie Brown and it merges the nostalgia of the 1960's and 1970's with … Continue reading The Musician’s Tribune Vol. 39: “My Personal Spotify Playlist” by FREEMAN
Cave Paint Converses with Evan of Madness To Creation on “The Sound”, Seattle, and Why They’re Instrumental!
I talked to Travis and Dalton about their band Cave Paint, the psychedelic instrumental band that you should see when they tour through your town. Between their relentless touring schedule they have recorded and released a great new track, 'The Sound.' I highly recommend you go check it out. https://cavepaint.bandcamp.com/track/the-sound How did you all meet … Continue reading Cave Paint Converses with Evan of Madness To Creation on “The Sound”, Seattle, and Why They’re Instrumental!
MTC’s A-Z Throwback Reviews: Featuring Ryan Adams!
Out of Jacksonville, North Carolina comes an indie singer/songwriter who seems to captivate fans of MUSIC whether on stage or through his recordings. Ryan Adams has been going at it since he received his GED in North Carolina. Ryan Adams was briefly in bands known as Blank Label and The Patty Duke Syndrome briefly formed … Continue reading MTC’s A-Z Throwback Reviews: Featuring Ryan Adams!


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[9 min read + 45 min media]
Justin Vernon seems to be the kind of artist who likes to take his time to meticulously compose, produce and release a new record for his indie band, Bon Iver. And each time, he tentatively dares to pretty much reinvent himself from scratch. The new 22, A Million is no exception. We get an extremely intricate collection of songs (and visuals – more about that later) with chopped lyrics, fractured bits of sound, treated instruments, altered vocals and chaotic samples. There are still, of course, his voice, the occasional strum of an acoustic guitar, and the inclusive vibe of gospel and folk typical of Americana mountain songs.
Bon Iver’s 22, A Million multimedia ensemble creates a harrowing fluidity between text, image and sound furthermore symbolized by the recurrent use of the yin yang symbol.
This time though, he also embraces and celebrates the many ways computer-mediated technology has affected our digital age, namely the way we think, feel, collect, consume, share and create. The result is, by far, his most challenging and experimental record to date, ditching both the immediate intimacy of For Emma, Forever Ago (2007) and the grandiose eloquence of Bon Iver, Bon Iver (2011), without jettisoning the spiritual component that has been paramount to the emotional core of his music.
What has also been quite admirable in the rollout of his new record is witnessing that not only the meticulous care he devoted to his music has also been applied into the album’s graphic identity, but also how the latter echoes and further explores its elusive structure and dense themes of existential anxiety. In a collaborative process that immediately brings to mind the two-decade working partnership between Radiohead and Stanley Doonwood, Brooklyn-based artist and designer Eric Timothy Carlson has developed an extremely layered and fascinating semiotic artwork that digitally articulates numerology, icons, pictograms, photographs, calligraphy and drawings.
An amateurish atmosphere or vernacular aesthetic happens to be a common denominator of the busy, disorientating structure of both audio and visual components of 22, A Million transmediatic experience.
This multimedia ensemble creates a harrowing fluidity between text, image and sound furthermore symbolized by the recurrent use of the yin yang symbol (which, in Chinese philosophy, describes how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another). One only needs to glance the track listing to realize that even the songs titles have been contaminated by the album overall graphic approach: titles such as “22 (OVER S∞∞N)”, “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄” or “666 ʇ” are prone to make any Mark Z. Danielewski fan salivate.
All this admirable work has been used quite resourcefully to market the record in a transmediatic fashion: it populates promotional photos, social media posts, music magazines, a limited edition newspaper, giant urban murals and outdoors, merchandising, props, stages, the whole scope of physical audio formats (vinyl, CD, cassette) and, even more fascinatingly, music videos.
Justin Vernon has showed before that he is aware of the importance of music videos in the emerging digital landscape. In 2011, he boldly commissioned from several directors a music video for every track of his sophomore album and uploaded them to YouTube, almost two years before the audio-visual bravado of Beyoncé eponymous album (in fact, visual albums go way back to pre-MTV era, when David Mallet directed in 1979 a music video for each track of Blondie’s Eat to the Beat). For 22, A Million, though, there are two relevant novelties: every single video was co-created by Aaron Anderson under the supervision of the same person responsible for the overall art direction of the visual components of the record (Eric Timothy Carlson); and they are all lyric videos.
One of the first instances of lyric videos to ever surface the mediasphere was broadcasted by music television in 1987. Due to the reluctance of Prince in recording a conventional music video, his label asked director Bill Konersman to direct the official video for “Sign ‘O’ the Times”. He then famously delivered a karaoke-inspired visual treatment in which the lyrics of the song, written in typeface Times, appear on-screen in differing graphic displays alongside geometric shapes. In the digital era, the popularity of these kinetic typographies (it wouldn’t be farfetched to trace its inspiration back to the revolutionary work of Saul Bass for the opening credits of 1959 Hitchcock movie North by Northwest) exploded with the lyric video of Cee Lo’s “Fuck You” (2009) and have since increasingly crowded audio-visual vortexes such as YouTube and Vimeo. This ends up being a very apt choice for a record that so intensively tries to sonically replicate the fractured, crowd-sourced and hyperlinked nature of digital culture, considering that most of lyric videos found online are made by fans and graphic design students for class projects using Final Cut, iMovie or Premier (which are arguably nowadays the visual software equivalent of the sonic-oriented Pro-Tools). It comes then as no surprise that this amateurish atmosphere or vernacular aesthetic happens to be a common denominator of the busy, disorientating structure of both audio and visual components of 22, A Million transmediatic experience.
Back in the early eighties, when academia tried to seize the post-modern elusiveness, ephemerality and fragmented nature of music videos, some scholars compared the medium to some sort of electronic wallpaper or animated record sleeve.
Its cohesiveness is furthermore cemented by the fact that the kinetic typography of all lyric videos not only integrates the symbols, pictograms, photographs and drawings, but also the graphic display of the lyrics included in the inlays of both vinyl and CD formats of the album. Back in the early eighties, when academia tried to seize the post-modern elusiveness, ephemerality and fragmented nature of music videos, some scholars compared the medium to some sort of electronic wallpaper or animated record sleeve. Three decades later, Justin Vernon and Eric Timothy Carlson collaborative exploration of text, sound and images in 22, A Million proves that they were absolutely right.
As a concluding thought, many critics have (rightfully) pointed out the musical impact of Kanye West’s Yeezus in Bon Iver’s new album, but missed out an opportunity in articulating its visual influence. In 2013, the physical CD edition of Yeezus was released in a clear jewel box with no album artwork, only a colored sticker (red, green, yellow and orange) affixed to the back with sample credits and the record’s UPC. What was interpreted at the time as a visual reflex of the minimalist tone of the record, recently gained another interesting layer, when Kanye tweeted that the album packaging was intended as an open casket to the demise of CDs. Would it be implausible to see the rich, maximalist approach of 22, A Million visual identity as an effective response to Kanye’s claim? I let you be the one to give it an answer.

domain: artistic


Traxxas battery expansion kit. The battery expansion kit from Traxxas allows the installation of larger format battery packs into the Velineon powered Rustler VXL, Bandit VXL, and Stampede VXL. The package includes hardware to raise the electronic speed control mount and battery posts allowing clearance for taller battery packs.
(Stampede requires two-piece receiver and battery hold down kit #3627X)
Installation on the vehicle
Height: 1.41" (36mm)
Quick and easy to install onto the car. Perfect fit for the upgraded battery.
Fits well. Easy swap.
Does what it says! 3s lipo's fit like a glove!!
This is a needed upgrade for anyone who wants to run with 3S LiPos.
Expands your battery compartment.
Was easy to install. Came with instructions and a diagram big plus


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Former Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus shattered her Disney-girl image with a raunchy performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. She fits into a long history of child stars going bad, Jack McKeown discovers.
Oh dear. What has Miley Cyrus been up to? Just a few years ago she was the wholesome teen idol who enthralled children all over the world as Hannah Montana, the schoolgirl who lived a double life as a famous pop star. Now she is the sexually-suggestive singer parents won’t let their children watch.
The 20-year-old put on a risqu performance at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday. The former Disney Channel star burst onto the stage in a leotard that she quickly removed to reveal a flesh-coloured bikini.
Fresh from scoring her first UK number one single with We Can’t Stop, the 20-year-old singer licked her lips, stuck out her tongue and danced suggestively twerking with fellow musician Robin Thicke. The former child actress then took advantage of a foam finger, rubbing it up Thicke’s crotch before massaging her own.
The Parents Television Council (PTC) issued a complaint against MTV for airing Cyrus’s routine, saying the show should not have been rated suitable for 14-year-olds. In a bizarre twist of events, Miley’s own father, the country music star Billy Ray Cyrus, is on the PTC’s advisory board. But should we really be surprised at her behaviour? Plenty of child stars before her have deliberately shed their butter-wouldn’t-melt image. Many others have genuinely gone off the rails.
Undoubtedly the most high-profile of these is another one-time Disney golden child, Britney Spears.
Emotional breakdowns don’t get much more public than marching into a hairdressers and shaving your head before smashing up a car using an umbrella.
However, the Baby One More Time star now seems to have bounced back from her personal struggles.
Another child star who has seen their fortunes wane is Macaulay Culkin. Once among the highest-paid child actors of all time, the Home Alone star gave up movies at the age of 14.
He has since been arrested for drug possession, receiving a suspended prison sentence, and newspapers have long speculated he is battling heroin addiction.
It is hard to remember a more cute and innocent child than Gertie in Spielberg’s ET. But Drew Barrymore would go on to start smoking at the age of nine, drinking by 11, smoking marijuana at 12 and taking cocaine at 13, the age at which she lost her virginity. She was in rehab at 14 and her public unravelling culminated in 1995 with her leaping onto David Letterman’s desk and baring her breasts to him on live television.
Producers of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines were desperate to have Robert Furlong reprise his role as mankind’s saviour, John Connor. He was later dropped from the movie because drug addiction rendered him unreliable. Rumoured to be a heroin addict, he recently appeared in court charged with domestic abuse.
There are, however, plenty of childhood stars who have made the transition into a successful adult careers without mishap. Ron Howard was just six years old when he starred in The Andy Griffith Show and still in his teens when he was cast as Richie Cunningham in Happy Days.
He has gone on to enjoy a hit career as a director, with his movies including Parenthood, Backdraft, Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code and A Beautiful Mind, which won him an Academy Award for best director.
Emma Watson rose to fame as the nerdy student wizard in Harry Potter. Now aged 23, she has the critically coming-of-age drama The Perks of Being a Wallflower under her post-wizarding belt and is lined up as the star of several major movies, including Guillermo del Toro’s take on Beauty and the Beast.
And Matthew Broderick showed no ill effects from his early stardom in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, going on to marry Sex and the City actress Sarah Jessica Parker and enjoy one of Hollywood’s longest and happiest marriages.
Any readers tutting at the moral degradation afflicting the youth of today should pause child stars going off the rails is not a recent phenomenon. We can go all the way back to the 1940s and the case of Bobby Driscoll.
Born in 1937, Driscoll was one of the biggest child actors of his day, starring in a string of blockbuster Disney movies, from Song of the South to Treasure Island.
In the 1950s, as he left his childhood fame behind and his career began to wane, he became addicted to heroin.
He died penniless and destitute in 1968. His body was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave in New York and it wasn’t until more than 18 months after his death that the former child star’s resting place was tracked down and he was identified by his mother.


A systems-level trade study is presented comparing the propulsion requirements and associated final masses for different architectural implementations of the Terrestrial Planet Finder mission. The study focuses on the millinewton-level propulsion chores associated with rotating and repointing an array. Three interferometer configurations, free flying, monolithic, and tethered, lead to estimates of thrust and power requirements and spacecraft masses associated with the different plasma propulsion systems required to perform maneuvers throughout a mission. The parametric study includes the following plasma propulsion options: Hall thruster, field emission electric propulsion, ablative pulsed plasma thruster, ablative Z-pinch pulsed plasma thruster, and gas-fed pulsed plasma thruster. Not all of the thrusters considered can perform the necessary propulsive chores for each architecture, but for the most promising thruster and architecture combinations, it is found that the initial mass for a system falls between 3050 and 4060 kg. The tether, in general, possesses the lowest initial mass of the three architectures followed by the free flyer and the monolith. Finally, the thrust-to-power ratio, maximum deliverable thrust or impulse bit, and capability of a propulsion system to process enough power to produce a required thrust level are shown to be more important factors than the specific impulse in determining the proper thruster choice for moderate to high thrust maneuvers.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Aerospace Engineering
- Space and Planetary Science


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This weekend, a casual coming together of artistes will witness the merits of interaction and collective ideation
A jam session instinctively reminds us of music, adda and friends. But can’t creators of all kinds be caught jamming over coffee? Speak-Easy — a collaborative event for audio artistes to meet and network — realises that idea. In the daily grind of life, we often experience creative blocks. Sometimes, it’s about a concept that, even after repeated perusals, can’t be fleshed out. In such scenarios, bouncing off thoughts with other artistes helps. The upcoming synergic meet-up is for those who look to benefit from interaction.
Presented by manicpod — a Chembur-based podcasting network — Speak-Easy also invites confused thinkers. “There are so many people who want to pursue different kinds of art forms, but at times, do not have enough confidence in their chosen field of work. They await feedback and peer-reviews. The programme will provide a platform for them to learn from peers and explore audio as a multi-faceted medium,” shares Arnav Dogra, production and marketing coordinator, manicpod. Drawing attention to the burgeoning appeal of podcasts, Dogra adds that such collaborative events help them discover talents across the city. “It’s good to come across like-minded people who are keen to understand the diverse ways of using audio content.”
On: April 1; 6 pm
At: Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, Wadia Building, Fort
Log on to: insider.in
Cost: Rs 250


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Guns are Never the Culprit
The Newton Elementary School massacre was the second deadliest shooting in U.S. history and one of the deadliest around the world. Adam Lanza, armed with a power rifle, killed a total of 27 people including himself; seven adults, one being his own mother, and 20 children in an act that is still not explained to this day (Press, 2012). There have been many attempts to try and explain the actions of this disturbed individual and what would drive someone to commit such a hideous act; the main reason people are citing that this happened is lack of gun control. Other murder or suicides that have taken place over the years involving guns have struck up debate over whether or not citizens should be able to own guns; when Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend in a murder-suicide in 2012 a lot of people where questioning then why are people allowed to own guns at all, NRA President Wayne Lapierre gave a good example of how the murder-suicide could have been different when he said “the one thing missing in that equation is that woman owning a gun so she could have saved her life from that murderer.” (Golinkin, 2012) When tragedy happens and it involves guns, the culprit that people seem to point their fingers at mostly is the guns themselves when in fact it should be the person behind the gun that is too blame. Less guns does not mean less crime; criminals will still find a way to own and use firearms regardless the restrictions that are in place, the only difference is the victims will be left unarmed and more susceptible for harm.
Children Killed by Firearms
The numbers that are told about the amount of children killed by firearms are ones that continuously come up in the debate about gun control. It is said that 13-17 children are killed every day by firearms, when since 1903 the number of fatal gun accidents is at its lowest. The number of children per day is based on counting’s that include older teenagers...

domain: sociology


As the COVID-19 pandemic forced lockdowns across the globe, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of digital technologies in various aspects of human life. Restrictions in mobility, closing of economic activities, social distancing norms, shutting down of education and health services, entertainment and mass gatherings have all led to people moving to digital platforms to stay connected with each other and engage in necessary economic and social activities. Contact tracing applications, e-permits, e-clinics, e-health bulletins, dashboards of data, cloud-based clinical data hosting, sharing and collaboration between public health researchers, awareness building apps and chatbots have come to play a significant role during this pandemic period. However, such a transition has not been smooth as many developing countries faced severe forms of digital inequality, especially in rural areas. Cities and young people have adopted to the digital world faster compared to those living in rural areas. ICT infrastructure is also a major constraint. For example in Myanmar over 50 per cent communities do not have access to ICTs. It is in this context, addressing challenges of e-governance, particularly in creating a digital interface between citizen and government.
It is in this context recently released UN E-Government Survey report assumes importance. According to the survey, capturing the scope and quality of online services, the status of telecommunication infrastructure and existing human capacity, the ranking of countries is led by Denmark, the Republic of Korea, and Estonia, followed by Finland, Australia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the United States of America, the Netherlands, Singapore, Iceland, Norway and Japan. Among the least developed countries, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Cambodia have become leaders in digital government development, advancing from the middle to the high E-Government Development Index (EGDI) group in 2020.
How Myanmar is faring in E-Government?
According to the survey, the E-Government Development Index is measured through three components viz., online services, telecommunication infrastructure and human capital, each of them having identified indicators to assess the progress. Myanmar stands at 146th rank in the group of 193 countries for which EGDI has been computed with a score of 0.4316. In contrast, Denmark that ranks 1st in EGDI has a score of 0.9758.
Another dimension of the digital transformation of countries is e-participation, which revolves around creating access to information for citizens, and engaging citizens in decision making, administration and service delivery. As part of the overarching e-government system, components of e-participation include online sharing of information of different sectors by government agencies, national portals offering information and online interactions, feedback and reporting systems by the government agencies. On this count, Myanmar fares at the lower rung of the countries in terms of E-Participation Index. It scores 0.2619 of EPI, with168th rank among 193 countries. Improvements in this aspect in the coming years are critical for Myanmar as the country has to accommodate inclusive policies to bridge the digital divide. With Multi-ethnic communities, creating digital access and inclusion of all in public services becomes important for building national reconciliation. Access to information law is one critical step in this direction which has to accommodate the digital dimensions of the access.
Recent ICT Developments
Myanmar’s Covid-19 Economic Recovery Plan (CERP) also identifies the need for expanding the digital connectivity to support e-commerce, digital mode of service delivery and in giving a big push for e-governance. This requires investments in ICT infrastructure, building robust e-governance policy architecture on which significant progress has been made during the past few years. In early 2018, the government has come out with a digital economy strategic road map, with a vision of “enabling digital transformation, digital government, digital trade and innovation to develop a digital economy across all sectors for inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development’
Though there have been improvements in ICT infrastructure in Myanmar, with more than half of the country is not having access to an internet connection. It stands at about 41% in Jan 2020, with almost 90% of it being mobile phone-based internet service. The country is not covered significantly with high-speed ICT infrastructure for using the internet for business purposes or other social innovations. A third of the villages are also not connected with the national grid for electricity. Country’s Digital economy road map aims to increase internet penetration to 50% by 2025. This acute digital divide is going to exacerbate already existing inequalities in society. Transition to digital mode of education, health services would deprive people of these essential services. Hence fast-forwarding E-government initiatives and ICT development need to be considered.
In recent years, there appear to be improvements in e-governance initiatives over the past few years. Promotion of e-governance, improving digital connectivity, one-stop-shop for public services, electronic data dissemination systems and e-commerce services are part of the government’s ambitious National e-governance strategy. An E-Government steering committee headed by Vice President has identified expertise, investment and coordination as critical ingredients for successful e-government initiatives. National E-ID project, e-government national portal, one-stop-shop, digital access to data and development of statistical data portals are some of the notable features of recent developments in this area.
From the perspective of businesses, more needs to be done. In a recent Myanmar Economic Monitor June 2020, the World Bank also notes, “ …developing ICT skills among entrepreneurs, building out electronic-payment systems, expanding digital literacy, retailed licensing and clarifying the legislative and regulatory framework for e-commerce could enable the retail sector to cope with the impacts of social distancing while providing a digital platform to support the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)”.
UN report brings a wakeup call for Myanmar to enhance its ICT infrastructure to advance E-government and Open data policies. Seizing the opportunity of a COVID-19 recovery plan would be an ideal platform for the government to expand digital connectivity and e-government across the country.
Need Open Government Data
Digital transformation also involves creating an open data regime in the country. Government administrative processes and interactions of people with government generate a huge amount of data, and increasingly such data is moving on to online platforms which would enable data analytics informing the policies. Myanmar needs to move in this direction as increasingly sectors like transport, industry (company registration, investment etc), property registration, etc are moving to digital platforms. Access to such data aggregates with adequate privacy safeguards would be the next data revolution that Myanmar is poised to take off in the coming years. Similarly, systems for harnessing big data, geospatial data, real-time data, without compromising privacy, would also be required in the coming years to inform public policy in a significant way.
The current need is also to ensure proactive disclosure of government statistics, databases of information for public use for engaging citizens in the decision making process. Policy think-tanks, civil society agencies, research agencies and universities, advocacy groups need to access data and information from government and other sources in ready to use the form so that they can develop enhanced analytical understanding and provide useful recommendations for the policymaking. The national strategy for the development of statistics identifies the need for improvements and steps regarding unified data portals, sharing of online data periodically, use of social media tools for policy and data dissemination has improved over the period, but still, much of the data is not in formats that are easy to access and for analysis. Use of evidence-based policymaking is still a new engagement for many parts of the government system. Developing mechanisms of data user feedback through online systems would enable the government to design effective data dissemination as part of e-governance.


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If Detroit’s economic recovery is to be inclusive, large-scale development projects must benefit local communities. On Election Day, voters get to have a say on how that can happen.
Proposal A requires that large-scale developers negotiate directly with local residents to reach an agreement about how the community will benefit, whether through local hiring requirements or projects that serve community needs. Prop A was placed on the ballot by a grassroots coalition of community-based organizations. Most importantly, the resulting community benefits agreement is legally enforceable.
In contrast, Proposal B requires that large-scale developers negotiate with city-appointed representatives, with no legally enforceable agreement as the outcome. As a result, Prop B would continue to allow large-scale development projects to proceed without any real guarantee that local communities will benefit.
On Election Day, voters have a chance to ensure that Detroit’s recovery is actually inclusive. For a real community benefits agreement, Vote YES on Prop A and NO on Prop B.

domain: politics


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Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) is a 13-year-old music prodigy who survives a horrific school shooting. Her talent shines through during the memorial service when she sings a song that touches the hearts of the mourners. Guided by her songwriter sister (Stacy Martin) and talent manager (Jude Law), the young phenom transforms into a burgeoning pop star with a promising future. Eighteen years later, Celeste now finds herself on the comeback trail when a scandal, personal struggles and the pitfalls of fame threaten her career.
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I wrote a thing for Platinum Love, this be it.
The influence of music on fashion trends has always been strong, the two industries constantly intertwine, taking inspiration from each other and subsequently influencing the man on the street. Urban street fashion in particular has always been heavily influenced by music, particularly the popularisation of labels such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Fendi, aspirational brands easily recognised by their logos and immortalised in countless hip hop and rap lyrics.
But times are changing. Gratuitous logos are being eschewed in favour of a new dark sports-luxe minimalism. This changing face of urban street fashion has been pioneered by one of hip hops biggest success stories of the 21stcentury – Kanye West.
When West released his debut album in 2004, his sartorial choices rarely got more exciting than a plain jumper and baggy jeans. A short decade later West is now as known for his avant-garde fashion choices as his music, his sell-out Watch The Throne collaboration tour with Jay Z was art directed by Riccardo Tisci, a good friend of West and creative director of one of his favourite labels, Givenchy. By choosing to wear leather kilts and crystal encrusted Margiela masks rather than adhering to the standard uniform of oversized commercial fashion labels, West is rewriting gendered fashion for the next generation of artists including A$AP Rocky, Frank Ocean and Pheophilus London, as well as black youth as a whole, and paving the way for a larger cause, a change in attitudes towards what black masculinity really means in the 21st century.
Of course, not everyone sees West’s unconventional fashion choices as pioneering. Lord Jamar, member of New York hip-hop group Brand Nubian, took particular offense to West, penning ‘Lift Up Your Skirt’, essentially blaming West for emasculating black male youth.
Another recent rising star of hip hop, A$AP Rocky, established his interest in fashion and style from the beginning of his career, which has included him walking for Hood by Air and collaborating with Raf Simons. Rocky told the April issue of Interview “fashion is just one of those things that helped me be an individual…it helped me get the attention that most people try to get with publicity stunts of by doing other crazy things.”
This evolution of black street fashion is important in terms of a new fashion moment, but also in terms of working towards quashing negative and intolerant attitudes both within the hip hop community. By popularising an aesthetic that is non-gender specific and also not as consciously hyper-consumerist, a more liberal attitude toward fashion will hopefully influence a liberal attitude in general. Hood by Air, the cult streetwear label was founded in 2006 by an openly gay black man, Shayne Oliver. The label has risen to cult status, having been worn by streetwear tastemakers including A$AP Rocky, Rihanna, Kanye West and a slew of young males on increasingly fashion forward site Tumblr. The importance of Hood by Air as the pioneer for the emergence of luxury streetwear is not to be underestimated. It’s popularity within a community constantly called out in the media for perceived promotion of intolerance proves that fashion is not a tool to divide – the haves vs the have nots, ‘gay’ vs ‘straight’, but that it is an important social agency with the power to promote positive change.
Shayne Oliver sees the popularisation of Hood by Air as “the beginning of a trend that will allow black men dress in ways formerly dismissed as ‘gay’”. Homophobia sadly is still a major issue within the hip hop musical community, and with artists such as Lord Jamar so quick to call out West, a straight man, for being ‘gay’ merely for wearing a kilt – a traditionally male item of clothing, incidentally – undermines the great leaps that artists like West who go against the mould are making towards promoting tolerance amongst black youth. A$AP Rocky said of the problem “it makes me upset that this topic even matters when it comes to hip-hop, because it makes it seem like everybody in hip-hop is small-minded or stupid — and that’s not the case. We’ve got people like Jay-Z. We’ve got people like Kanye. We’ve got people like me. We’re all prime examples of people who don’t think like that. I treat everybody equal, and so I want to be sure that my listeners and my followers do the same if they’re gonna represent me. And if I’m gonna represent them, then I also want to do it in a good way.”
The prestige of exclusivity previously held by Louis Vuitton et al has now moved onto the exclusivity of knowledge. Being able to not only instantly recognise a Givenchy print or a Raf Simons trainer holds weight, but also knowing where to get these items has become the new marker of fashion credibility. The new aspirational labels often run limited edition lines, placing the importance on sourcing the product and being one of the first to have it, rather than having the same item as everyone else who can afford it.
Black street fashion trends, including bandanas and low slung trousers, were traiditionally used to signify an affiliation to specific groups or gangs, this move within urban street wear towards an appreciation for the avant garde and more obvious sartorial risk taking sets wearers apart from the crowd. This emphasis on fashion as a form of self expression rather than as a uniform is paving the way for urban fashion to help bridge gaps that historically exist within hip hop and the wider community. Social freedom, long a battleground for minorities, is now finally extending to street fashion, promoting an environment where urban youth can walk down the street without fearing a backlash from their own community, and even if leather kilts are still worn by a minority, that minority includes some of the most recognisable and successful black men in the media. First, the street, second, the world.
I’m just a tad hungover today, so comfort is my number one priority. This look is from Damir Doma’s AW11 collection. The loose fit of the top and trousers is also aiding ventilation of my vodka sweats. I can’t wait to go home and smash seven shades out of a pizza and when I’m inevitably covered in my four cheese feast later on, the stains won’t show up quite as badly what with this outfit being all black. I’ve got it all thought out!
I’m currently sat at my desk at work trying not to be sick all over myself and others. I’m convinced these are my final days. As I approach death, the light in my eyes dimming and my heart grudgingly sputtering along , here’s a load of reet nice things that would make me feel 100% better.
I had a week off work, and somehow this turned into a week off from life in general, hence no posts. Anyway, the important issue here is Rad Hourani’s new unisex collection. I’m a big fan of Hourani in general, you know me, I’ve yet to meet a black androgynous look I didn’t like, but this new collection is a little bit special. The new collection, Unisex Couture, is only his ninth since launching in 2007, and features everything that is good in the world – a no-colour colour palette of black, white and grey, origami cuts and structured layering. Mmm, child. There’s a brilliant line on his website – “NO GENDER, NO SEASON, NO RULES”, which is also my attitude to my sex life. Bdum, tish.
“I STARTED IMAGINING CLOTHES THE SAME WAY I STARTED CREATING IMAGES: WITH A SENSE OF CURIOSITY AND INNOCENCE DRIVEN BY MY NO-BACKGROUND BACKGROUND. NO SCHOOL. NO TEACHERS. NO TELLY. NO BOUNDARIES. NO FORMATTING. I LIKE THE IDEA OF A WORLD THAT WE COULD LIVE AND SHAPE BY OURSELVES, ONLY BY OBSERVING. EACH OUR OWN. MY CLOTHES HAVE ERUPTED FROM THIS WORLD OF MINE. THEY ARE ASEXUAL, ASEASONAL, THEY COME FROM NO PLACE, NO TIME, NO TRADITION, YET THEY COULD BE HOME ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. THEY EXUDE A SENSE OF DISCREET CHIC, THE ESSENCE OF TIMELESS STYLE, DRAWN ON A MONOCHROMATIC AND GRAPHICAL CANVAS. PALETTE OF BLACKS AND SHADES OF TIMELESS COLORS. SOPHISTICATED UNISEX MODERN CLASSICS FOR ANTI-CONFORMIST INDIVIDUALS.” – RAD HOURANI
When I’m a broke ass bitch the only thing I can think about is why I’m being denied the means to buy pretty things. Here’s my current list of demands.
As much as his first men’s collection under Saint Laurent Paris wound me up, I still really appreciate Hedi as a photographer. Available from LN-CC.
This is probably as summery as I’ll get, tbh. Available at Topshop
Airtex is summery, right? From The Ragged Priest
Givenchy Black Dahlia Noir.
I know, I know, another day, another dungaree. This pleather bad boy is from Miss Selfridge.
KFC Boneless Banquet. Don’t judge me.
With London Fashion Week starting today, let’s take a look back at the best that New York had to offer. By the looks of things, we’re all in for a right old miserable time this winter.
With the first look at AW13, New York brought contrasting textures and materials, sharp lines, geometric shapes, quilting, panelling and an abundance of leather for both menswear and womenswear. And if you’re in the market for a bomber jacket next season, you’re spoilt for choice.
Womenswear tailoring was oversized and masculine, breaking up a palette of black and greys, with flashes of cobalt blue and bright purples. Make up was natural and understated with hair worn down and centre parted. For the boys, the look was slick side partings and short fringes. The message wasn’t so much ‘girls will be boys’, but rather, girls will be MEN. Masculine shapes for upper wear teamed with sharp leather skirts and thigh-high boots put the girls firmly in defense mode, with the boys swathed in impenetrable bomber jackets, kilts, shorts and leggings and lace-up boots. If New York is anything to go by, next season your clothes will also be your armour.
Another day, another example of Alexander Wang
blatantly copying taking inspiration from other designers. This time, his evil eye of Sauron turns towards Balenciaga.
Balenciaga, Pre-Fall 2009
Alexander Wang, AW13
If you’re a fan of a furry hand, you can get these bad boys from Monki for £12. Lush.


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AmyMovie Nulled is a powerful WordPress theme for movie websites. With clean code, it will make your website look professional, modern, and easy-to-use. You can import movie data from IMDb or start building your own movies list! That’s not all, it also has a fully responsive design which adapts automatically to all devices.
AmyMovie WordPress Theme Features
- Show/ hide comment field or allow/ not allow visitor to comment on the movies.
- Set release date and duration.
- Enter IMDB rating, MPAA and language for the movies.
- Add multiple images for Gallery and add multiple trailers from Youtube or Vimeo. The number of images and videos will display at Movie Detail page.
- Add as many cinemas as possible which will show the movie. You also can choose date and exact time the movie will show. These information will display on the showtime part.
- Enable/ disable Custom Rating part.
- Select Genres, Actors, Directors for the movie.
- Add movie banner and movie poster.
- Support three layouts for Movie Detail page (Left sidebar, Right Sidebar or Full Width).
- Easy to choose the sidebar for Movie Detail page.
- Global option at Theme option allow visitor to rate for the movie or not.
Download AmyMovie WordPress Theme
Are you an avid movie-lover? Looking for a fresh WordPress theme to build your own site for all your favorite movies, top 10 lists, or reviews? Free Download AmyMovie Crack – the WordPress theme for you! With our easy-to-use interface and powerful features, you’ll be looking like a professional in no time.

domain: design


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New bridge and road repairs for seven remote First Nations in Ontario
Sept 6, 2019
Global Korean Post
Approximately 8,100 people that live in the seven First Nation communities will be safer and benefit from the improvements.
Indigenous Services Canada is providing up to $1.4 million for the design phase.
The Government of Canada is working in partnership with First Nations to improve essential infrastructure in remote First Nations communities. Investing in infrastructure is about investing in people and communities and improving the quality of life of Indigenous communities.
On Sept. 5, Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Indigenous Services, announced the Government of Canada’s investment in the design of the Berens River Bridge and road improvements.
The Berens River Bridge design project will significantly increase access to seven remote northern Ontario communities. The project includes the design of a bridge across the Berens River, an extension of the all-season road and the realignment of the winter road.
The seven remote First Nations impacted by this project are Deer Lake, Keewaywin, McDowell Lake, North Spirit Lake, Pikangikum, Poplar Hill and Sandy Lake; the latter of which is undertaking the project on behalf of the partner communities.
Access to these First Nations is currently limited to aircraft, barge and winter road. This project includes design to extend the all-season road, realign the winter road and construct a bridge across the Berens River.

domain: news


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: 736x1101 px
: July 10, 2018
Ample sunlight can make a room feel bright, large, airy and energetic. In this room, the bed’s placement next to a window that fills the room with natural light creates an indoor-outdoor connection.
Design tip: For a cost-effective bold statement, use your throw pillows as the centerpiece of the room. A curated collection of patterns and textures that are distinct from the rest of the room can really steal the show. For example, in an all-white room, a collection of brightly colored pillows grabs the eye. Similarly, in a room with a dark wall and bedding, try an assortment of either colorful patterned pillows or metallic hues for a dramatic palette.


Classical, standards and contemporary pop piano and guitar available for ceremonies and receptions. We will write personalized arrangements of your favorite songs. We are a husband and wife team that would like to provide music for your special moment. Anna Mann (piano/organ) has a degree from Peter Tchaikovsky Music Achedemy. I, Brandon Mann (guitar/vocals), hold a degree from Berklee College of Music. We have over 20 years experience in the music business.
Brandon and Anna were so easy to work with. WE were the disorganized portion and they helped pull it all together. They can play ANYTHING! They took last minute bride and groom requests and played them all beautifully. We are so glad we chose them for our daughter's wedding. They are both charming as well.
Thank you, Brandon and Anna, for your amazing contribution to making our special day simple unforgettable. All of our guests were blown away by the two of you. Your professionalism and talent is unsurpassed. We highly recommend this husband and wife duo. They are accomplished musicians that are engaging and fun!! Music Fun rocks!!
They were able to take special requests in several different genres of music; from traditional classical pieces to instrumental versions of pop music. They were easy to work with and made our special moment truly special!
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text: Genomics is expected to have significant implications for risk assessment and regulatory decision making. Since 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has undertaken a number of cross-agency activities to further prepare itself to receive, interpret, and apply genomics information for risk assessment and regulatory purposes. These activities include: (1) the issuance of an Interim Genomics Policy on the use of genomics information in risk assessments and decision making, (2) the release of the 2004 Genomics White Paper, which outlines potential applications and implications of genomics for EPA, and (3) the recent release of the external review draft of the Interim Guidance on Microarray-Based Assays, which outlines data submission, quality, analysis, management, and training considerations for such data. This manuscript discusses these activities and more recent follow-up activities with the aim of further communicating these efforts to the broader scientific and stakeholder community. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 48:359–362, 2007. Published 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

domain: biology


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EXCLUSIVE: Australian Bushfires Highlight Political Failures to Consider Climate Change
The bushfires currently decimating large swaths of Australia, a country the size of the continental US, were both foreseeable and largely preventable. However, failure to effectively consider climate change impacts and adaptation, coupled with some misguided land management practices, have led Australia to the current catastrophe. This will have long-term impacts on politics, the economy, sustainability and entire communities.
Photo: Charlie Emery, General Manager of Soilco
Demand Cruz and Cornyn support a fair and open impeachment trial
Remind John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of the oath that they took to support and defend the Constitution and demand they support a fair and open trial in the Senate to fully hear the evidence and hold Trump accountable for his actions. If they don’t, they’ll become accomplices in Donald Trump’s coverup.
Write Your Reps!
In addition to calling, emails are an effective way to reach your elected representatives. Another alternative is Resistbot, which allows you to contact your reps via text message, Twitter, or Facebook Messenger—it’s fun!
Recent letter campaigns:
2020 is here
Add Texas 2020 election dates to your calendar (Texas Tribune)
Monday, February 3 is the last day to register to vote in the March 3 primary. Make sure you are eligible to vote.
In 2018, 17 State House Republicans won by less than 10 points. Eight of those won by less than five points. Beto won in nine of those districts, and in all but one of the counties where these districts live.
Indivisible Houston, Indivisible Katy Huddle, and the national Indivisible team hosted an issue forum with seven of the Democratic candidates running for John Cornyn’s senate seat. Here are some of the candidates running:
- Chris Bell, former Member of Congress and Houston City Council
- Michael Cooper, pastor, community organizer and former candidate for lieutenant governor
- Amanda Edwards, an at-large Houston City Council member
- Annie Garcia, nonprofit leader
- MJ Hegar, an Air Force veteran and former TX31 congressional candidate
- Sema Hernandez, a Houston area human rights activist and DSA member, who ran against Beto O’Rourke in the 2018 Democratic senate primary
- Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, founder of Jolt Texas
- Adrian Ocegueda, former gubernatorial candidate
- Royce West, Texas state senator
There are competitive races in all of our districts that have Republican incumbents. Several of the candidates that Indivisible Austin endorsed in the 2018 general election—Mike Siegel, Rick Kennedy, and Julie Oliver—are running again in 2020.
Congress Critter of the Week: Who Is Chip Roy?
Hey, we’re just asking questions. But who is Chip Roy, TX21’s representative in the U.S. Congress? Who is he… really?
Tuesday, January 14
CD 17 Congressional GOP Candidates Forum
6 to 9 p.m. at Smitty K’s, 12601 SH 30, College Station, TX 77845
Grassroots Victory 2020 for CD-17 invites you to “Get to know the CD 17 GOP Congressional Candidates” in this Q&A forum. Currently 8 of the 12 GOP candidates are scheduled to attend.
Saturday, January 18
Women’s March ATX: Rally at the Capitol
The Women’s March ATX – Rally at Texas Capitol will be on Saturday, January 18, 2020. We will gather on the south steps at the Capitol Building for a rally 12:00pm – 3:00pm.
More information at www.womensmarchontexascapitol.org
TX21 candidate forum
6:30 p.m. at Opal Divine’s Austin Grill, 2200 South Interstate 35 Frontage Road
Please join TX-21 Indivisible for an Austin-area Congressional Candidate Forum! Invited candidates: Wendy Davis, Jennie Lou Leeder, Chip Roy. Confirmed candidates as of January 7, 2020 are Wendy Davis and Jennie Lou Leeder.
This will be a moderated forum with questions submitted by audience members before the event (with this invite RSVP, at sign in, and in a final Q&A session, time permitting).
Monday, January 20
MLK Community March
The Annual Community March celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy while uplifting diversity and multiculturalism in our city. All businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals are invited to march and celebrate Dr. King’s legacy.
The MLK Community March kicks off on Monday, January 20, 2020 at 9 a.m.with a short program at the MLK Statue on the University of Texas campus.
At the conclusion of the program at the MLK Statue, we will march to the south steps of the Capitol for a rally.
After the Capitol program, the march will proceed to the historic Huston-Tillotson University, where exciting activities are planned.
Your Moment of Zen
An astrophotographer has clicked an exceptional video, wherein we can feel the rotation of the earth
Using a tracking mount, aligned with North Star, he kept clicking images every 12 seconds for the next 3 hours.
The camera is looking at the same portion of the Milky Way
— atul kasbekar (@atulkasbekar) January 9, 2020
Volunteer with Indivisible Austin
As we gear up for 2020, we’ll need all hands on deck. Sign up here to be notified of regular get-out-the-vote meetups and other volunteer opportunities. Feel free to indicate whether you have special skills or interests. Everyone is welcome!


text: New 3 bedroom home on 100 grassy timbered acres. Situated on the banks of the Coolongolook River. Accommodates 6 people and includes 1 queen & 4 single beds, Ensuite, Open plan Lounge Kitchen Dining, Fully equipped TV, DVD, Linen, direct boat access to river, 3 kms from Pacific Highway on gravel access road, Plenty to see and do only 15 mins to Forster / Tuncurry by boat. Enjoy the wide open spaces and magnificent views. Bushwalking fishing skiing swimming bike riding 4WD bush golf or just relaxing. Plenty of wildlife to see: eagles; kangaroos; pelicans; goannas; and many others. Perfect for the family get away. Only 3 hours north of Sydney. Come and enjoy the great outdoors.

domain: travel


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DARMSTADT, Germany – TE Connectivity (TE) announces its support of the DHBW students’ 2015 entry for the Formula Student Germany 2015 competition by providing its space-saving and reliable Industrial Mini I/O connectors. With these connectors, the team was able to build a highly reliable electric battery control system for the eSleek15 Formula Racing Car.
Students of the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg / DHBW) recently participated in Formula Student Germany 2015, an annual global student competition to build and race a single-seat Formula race car. TE supported the DHBW team with its latest range of Industrial Mini I/O connectors. These connectors are one-quarter the size of the conventional RJ45 plug and, as a result, they are a space-saving solution that allows for increased design flexibility. Moreover, with two points of contact they are designed to create reliable connections in industrial and vibration-prone environments.
With its innovative piercing termination, the Industrial Mini I/O field-installable version decreases the time needed to terminate the wires through soldering. Field assembly in virtually any environment is now possible with an easy-to-use hand tool.
Student teams were judged on several criteria including the best overall package of construction, performance, as well as financial and sales planning. The car had to show very good driving characteristics such as in acceleration, braking and handling. Other factors considered included aesthetics, comfort and the use of readily available, standard purchase components. Entries were judged by a jury of experts from the motorsport, automotive and supplier industries.
Speaking on behalf of the DHBW team, Martin Gottschalk said: “The last few months have been very exciting and full of emotion. We worked hard on the eSleek15 in parallel with our daily studies and work at the company. The result was significant. Out of 39 teams participating in the trials at the Hockenheim race track, DHBW’s eSleek15 achieved 8th place overall. This qualifies the car for participation in further Formula Student events in Spain and Italy.”
This is another example of TE Industrial’s Mini I/O gaining traction in many applications demanding reliable input-output connections. Ruud van den Brink, Product Manager TE Connectivity said: “This is another example of TE Industrial’s Mini I/O series excelling in harsh environment applications that demand reliable input-output connections. Our Mini I/O offers a winning combination of space saving and robustness in vibration environments such as this car.” Mr. van den Brink added: “We congratulate the students on their success. At TE Connectivity, we recognize that today’s engineering students will become tomorrow’s innovators. We look forward to many more successful co-operations in the future.”


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Boli. One of my favorite erotic humorists. His drawings are simple, humorous, and all the more erotic because of it. Right up my alley.
You can find more of his comics, in English, here. But you will have to log into DeviantArt to read them. If you can read Polish, then you can go straight to his blog here. And he’s on Twitter here.
Very different from and somehow far funnier than the excellent demonstration the Surgeon General gave us…
The shorts have likely thicker material and may have been a better choice :p
Thank you. I can always a spot of humor!
Just a brief note to say how much I admire your writing. There is such variety of style, and such inventiveness. You make it look so effortless, the way you switch styles from post to post. I know it is not as easy as you make it look.
I’ve been working my way through your open posts over the past couple of weeks. Every one has at least one moment that makes me go “unnnghh”, you know, that feeling right in the pit, and it’s not the phrases you might expect, not the graphic parts, but the description around them. Here’s one (I think I have it right) – “she remembers what she’s about.” That simple sentence – in the context of the piece – was just perfect. And this –
“The woods are so dark,” she said.
“Especially for a girl without panties.”
I hope you are still writing, I am very much enjoying these pieces, and I’m just off to buy your Daydreams and Distractions to keep me going a bit longer.
Thank you Alecia. I took a long and unannounced break. After ten years of writing erotic, I was burned out and felt like I was repeating myself. I’m just writing this, if you’re still listening, to say that I’m back. I don’t want to burn out again, so I’ll be a little more measured in my prolixity (for lack of a better word). If there’s anything you’d like to read, let me know.
Thanks for sharing Boli’s comics!


As COVID-19 continues to affect Buffalo and cities around the world, it is now more than ever that we need arts and culture to unite us, provide comfort, inspire creativity and ease stress during these troubling times. There are numerous ways we can ensure that the arts remain a part of our lives despite the need for social distancing to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
We hope you enjoy our selection of virtual arts and cultural experiences. Most of them are free. If you are able, consider a financial contribution to the arts provider(s) so they can continue creating, now and in the future.
Enjoy Buffalo's Cultural Attractions At Home
Several of the Buffalo's best cultural attractions, museums, galleries and institutions are offering a respite from any potential cabin fever. With virtual guides, online databases, DIY projects, creative activities for kids, virtual gallery tours, and engaging videos, here are ways you (and your children) can enjoy some of Buffalo's cultural touchstones, right from the comfort of your home.
Albright Knox Art Gallery
The Buffalo History Museum
The marvelous works of Picasso, Gauguin, Kahlo, Monet, Cezanne, Pollock, and so many more, are viewable right on your computer screen. Take a searchable walk through the halls and archives of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery when you search the collection using their online database. Search for artwork by artist, title, medium, time period, and more. Or, narrow it down by viewing the gallery’s “Collection Highlights” – 200 of the AK’s most noteworthy and popular works in their collection.
Meet F.R.A.N.K. (Find Resources and New Knowledge) – the Buffalo History Museum’s database/virtual tour guide. F.R.A.N.K. allows you to access digital copies of Buffalo’s historical photos, maps, newspapers, business records, and much more. Also included are digital tours of the Buffalo History Museum’s collection and library, and a searchable archive of past museum exhibits.
At the direction of Maestro JoAnn Falletta and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Executive Director Daniel Hart, archived BPO concerts will be broadcast on local radio station WNED Classical at 94.5 FM, and streamed through the WNED website, their mobile app, or by smart speaker, each Tuesday at 7:00pm. Beginning on March 24 with Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony No. 3, if you close your eyes, it’ll feel like you’re sitting in the magnificent Kleinhans Music Hall.
#TheZooToYou on Social Media
Get to know the animals of the Buffalo Zoo, up close and personal. Beginning with an outdoor session with Pearl the porcupine, the Buffalo Zoo’s #TheZooToYou series will introduce you to all the amazing creatures and critters that the Zoo has to offer. It’s a virtual walk on the wild side!
Burchfield Penney Art Center
Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy
Art and Journal Entries
While the doors of the Burchfield Penney Art Center are closed, the team is using this time to reflect with the art and writings of its namesake artist. Each day, the Burchfield Facebook page is sharing an image of Charles Burchfield’s intriguing works of art alongside one of his journal entries – offering a serene moment in these difficult days.
Buffalo Cherry Blossoms Reimagined
Due to State, County and City COVID-19 restrictions on public events and the need for social distancing, the 2020 Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival has been cancelled. However, in reimagining this burst of springtime, the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, the Buffalo History Museum and Friends of the Japanese Garden will host a special digital program on this day. This will allow the entire community to enjoy peak blooms from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
Band Together Buffalo
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
Local Musician Video Performances
Band Together Buffalo will be streaming live video and archiving the performances of local musicians and bands.
The livelihood of many of these musicians depends on venues, restaurants and bars that have been closed due to the state-imposed quarantine. Here’s your chance to show your support and donate funds as each performer will have links for Venmo and/or PayPal posted along with their performance.
Visiting the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site is a chance to experience a place where America entered a tense crossroads that helped to define its next one hundred years. Now, while the site has limited visitation, you can still take a stroll through an important moment in American history, complete with 360-degree views, interactive features and video. Check out the virtual tour here.
Visit Buffalo Niagara
Buffalo & Erie County
Public Library System
Buffalo Video Call Backgrounds
Whether you’re hopping on a video conference for work, joining an interactive webinar, catching up with relatives and loved ones, or taking part in a virtual happy hour (my favorite), it’s always the right time to show off your Buffalo pride. Visit Buffalo Niagara has made it easy to live in the virtual Buffalo moment by creating some backgrounds to up your video call game and show off Buffalo.
The Grosvenor [pronounced Grov-ner] houses the Special Collections department at the Central Library of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (B&ECPL). The nearly 500,000 titles of unique and varied materials support the five collections of Local History, Genealogy, Maps, Music and Rare Books. Check out the Grosvenor Room online!
The streaming platform BroadwayHD offers a seven-day free trial, so theater fans can watch musicals like “Kinky Boots” and “Cats” and plays including “King Lear” and “A Doll’s House” from their couches. Performances range from Broadway productions to shows from London’s West End to regional offerings from American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.
Other theater streaming services include the Seattle-based On the Boards, which focuses on more experimental productions and currently has a code for free viewing through the end of April. The 24 Hour Play Festival company has a series of monologues performed by famous actors and other entertaining content on its Instagram account.
Like zoos, many aquariums have live-streams to show off what their residents are up to. Monterey Bay Aquarium has cams for sea otters, jellyfish, sharks, penguins and more.
Music lovers can enjoy a variety of free live and taped concerts online. NPR’s “Tiny Desk” series, for example, has hundreds of archived performances.
Several musicians, including John Legend, Chris Martin and Charlie Puth, have put on live-streamed concerts from their homes. Classical music fans can also tune in to performances from professionals such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Legoland theme parks have official virtual tours of the spaces and attractions as well.


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La vie en pose, that is. The current round closes today, so get yourself over there if you haven’t already been. There are quite a few props and poses with a seasonal theme, so if you need to pose in a witchy way, you don’t want to miss checking it out. For this post, however, I went for something sweet and seductive. Creative StyleZ offers a set of five poses (with mirrors) that include strawberries as props in various positions. I picked two of them to showcase and decided to wear the latest two releases from Voluptas Virtualis, the Tania hair ornaments and the Zasha outfit. The hair is a new release from Wasabi for Logo’s 15th anniversary. And speaking of that, the head I am wearing is Chelsea, which is one of two free heads from Logo during the anniversary (the other is Chase, a male head). Its a lovely gift that you do not want to miss out on and make sure to check out all the fabulous releases for it from various merchants (as well as Logo’s own new skin, of course!).
Body Parts: The Shops Legacy Perky body, The Shops Legacy hands & feet, LOGO Chelsea (Logo 15th Anniversary Event), LOGO eyes
Skin: alaskametro Lily Tone 2
Hair: Wasabi Alina (Logo 15th Anniversary Event)
Clothes: Voluptas Virtualis Zasha (The Warehouse)
Accessories: Voluptas Virtualis Tania (Fetish Fair)
Poses: Creative StyleZ Strawberry (La Vie en Pose)


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The Top 3 Materials Stocks to Buy in November If you are interested in adding some of the best options in the sector, keep reading below for an overview of the top 3 materials stocks to buy in November.
This story originally appeared on MarketBeat
These Materials Stocks Can Protect Investors From Inflation
Exploring areas of the market that don't get a lot of attention from the majority of investors can be a rewarding strategy, especially if you can pick up on a sector that is showing relative strength. For example, stocks in the materials sector have been standing out as outperformers over recent weeks and could continue trending higher going forward, yet many of these companies are still flying under the radar. Since these businesses produce raw materials like plastics, fertilizers, concrete, and metals, their products are cyclical and could benefit from a strong economy in the coming months.
What's also interesting about materials stocks at the moment is that they can potentially help investors protect their portfolios from inflation, since commodity prices like steel and copper are steadily rising and should lead to more profits for companies that produce these metals. If you are interested in adding some of the best options in the sector, keep reading below for an overview of the top 3 materials stocks to buy in November.
Olin Corp (NYSE: OLN)
This vertically integrated chemicals company is breaking out to new all-time highs following a very strong earnings report making it one of the top names in the sector to watch during the month of November. Olin Corp has three segments, including Chlor Alkali Products & Vinyls, Epoxy, and Winchester. Chlor Alkali is an industrial process used to produce chlorine, a chemical that plays a key role in creating household cleaning products and in water purification. Epoxy materials are used in a variety of different applications, like electrical laminates, wind energy, consumer goods and composites, and more. It's worth mentioning that Olin is a leading U.S. manufacturer of ammunition with its Winchester segment, which is a product seeing heavy demand following a tumultuous 2020 for the country.
Olin reported a record adjusted EBITDA of $707 million in Q3 and saw all three of its business segments post strong year-over-year sales jumps. Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls Sales jumped by 40.7% year-over-year to reach $1.06 billion, Epoxy sales increased by 84.3% to $877.7 million, and Winchester sales nearly doubled to reach $400 million. With such strong growth across all areas of the business and a strong post-earnings reaction for the stock, it's clear that Olin Corp is a worthy pick in the materials sector at this time.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE: FCX)
Next up is Freeport-McMoRan, a metals & mining company that offers exposure to copper, gold, and molybdenum. Copper prices have been rallying thanks to low global supply, which is a trend that could continue in the near term and benefit this company's share price. Freeport's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia, which is one of the world's largest copper and gold deposits, along with several large-scale mining operations in North and South America. Copper demand tends to move in tandem with world economic growth, another plus for this company as the economic impacts of the pandemic wane.
It's also worth mentioning that Freeport McMoRan recently reported strong Q3 earnings including revenue growth of 58% year-over-year to $6.083 billion. The company also started paying dividends again in May, another strong reason that supports adding shares. Finally, investors should note that copper is a very important raw material used for manufacturing electric vehicles, which means that this stock could be an indirect play on the growth of that sector.
Nucor (NYSE: NUE)
Thanks to its high tensile strength and relatively affordable cost, steel is essentially the world's most important engineering and construction material. It's used in buildings, infrastructure, auto manufacturing, electrical appliances, and more, which means a company like Nucor is seeing strong demand in almost all end markets at this time. That's a big reason why this stock is a top materials name in November, especially since the company just reported another quarter of record earnings.
North Carolina-based Nucor is a major manufacturer of steel and steel products and is also North America's largest steel recycler, so this stock offers a great way to play the rising prices in this important commodity. Although the company missed its Q3 EPS estimates, investors should still be impressed that Nucor increased its Q3 diluted EPS by over 1000% year-over-year. The stock has pulled back quite a bit from its all-time highs, which means it's a great buy-the-dip candidate to consider in the sector. Nucor also recently reclaimed the 50-day moving average, which might be a signal that buyers are stepping back in to add exposure.

domain: finance


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Yesterday was interesting, wasn’t it?
I love you all.
To say the least.
It sure was. I glued shells to a watering can… spray painted a treasure chest… made some glass runes… and went to a friend’s reading. Oh, and all that lawyer wrangling. That’s always interesting.
Errr, uhhh… Wait, what? Why? I mean, I was in the basement and I found some tapes, but I didn’t see you there!
well yes it was….what are you referring to? I am referring to the Vatican and the House of Yahweh…and my daughter’s recitals and eating at Golden Corral for dinner with two 9-10 year old girls…
Comments are closed.


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This one day workshop will concentrate on developing the skill of throwing the “cylinder”. The cylinder is a base form in wheel throwing from which many other shapes are made and can often present the greatest challenge to a potter when learning wheel throwing techniques. Throughout the day participants will learn to throw a cylinder increasing in size over the course of the day whilst also exploring creating shapes that require throwing a cylinder first.
Level: Beginner to intermediate. Participants need to have basic knowledge and experience in clay preparation and centering on the wheel.
This workshop is open to people aged 18 years and over. Participants have the opportunity to exhibit in the 2020 diversARTy exhibition at Eltham Library Gallery to celebrate their achievements with friends and family.
What to expect
9.30am-10.30am: Refresher on preparing clay for wheel work, centring clay on the wheel.
10.45am-12.30pm: Making cylinders increasing in size with each throw
1pm-2.30pm: Exploring movements to create other shapes that require the cylinder as a base form
2.30pm-3pm: Clean up and discussion
VenueThis workshop is held at our Eltham centre - 739 Main Road.
What to bring
- 5ltr Bucket
- Clay (see note below)
- Plastic bags
- Pottery tools for wheel throwing: wooden rib, needle, ruler, cutting wire, sponge, turning tools
- Lunch (or purchase at a nearby cafe)
Clay must be purchased and brought to the workshop. Clay can be purchased through the Eltham centre during office hours but will not be available for purchase on the day. It is estimated participants will need a minimum of one bat of 10kg stoneware clay suitable for throwing on the wheel.
We advise you to buy your materials/equipment no more than one week prior to the start of the course to avoid expense for a course that may be cancelled.
About the TutorTracey Hollis has been potting, on and off, for over 25 years and has trained mainly in wheel throwing. She has a Bachelor of Visual Arts, majoring in ceramics, and is passionate about encouraging people to explore the many benefits the process of creating with clay can have.
Concession feesA Concession fee of around 10% off is available to holders of Health Care Cards, Pension concession cards or Veterans Gold cards.
If you are eligible, please select the concession fee when enrolling and click "calculate discount".
You may be asked to present your Health Care card, Pension concession card or Veterans Gold card for verification when attending a course or activity.
- Phone: (03) 9433 3744
- Email: email@example.com
- Diamond Creek
- 119 Cowin Street
- Diamond Creek 3089
- 739 Main Road
- Eltham 3095
- Panton Hill
- 18 Bishops Road
- Panton Hill 3759
- Nillumbik Shire Council trading as Living &
- Learning Nillumbik, Registered Training
- Organisation No. 3989, ABN 64 487 894 794

domain: hobby


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Varadkar & Lynch secure substantial increase in health budget
- Almost €900 million more in 2016 compared to 2015 Budget
- Funding for Maternity Strategy
- Extra ambulance service staff & expansion of community first responder teams
- Extension of GP care to children aged 11 years and under, subject to negotiations with IMO
- Further investment in diagnostics in primary care
- Expansion of Child Speech & Language Therapy within primary care
Minister Leo Varadkar and Minister of State Kathleen Lynch have secured a substantial increase in health service funding in Budget 2016.
For 2016, the Department of Health will have funding of €13.175 billion for current expenditure and €414 million for capital expenditure. This represents an increase of €880 million on the 2015 budget, as set out in the Revised Estimate Volume, for current expenditure, and €36 million for capital expenditure. The funding includes the ongoing cost associated with the increased demand on services experienced during 2015.
The Estimate includes funding to cover the full annual cost of a number of measures such as GP care for the under sixes and over 70s, which were introduced partway through 2015. It also provides for the annual rise in demand on health services as a result of demographic pressures, such as the ageing and growing population, and to fund the Lansdowne Road Agreement provisions on pay for health sector staff. The 2016 budget also comprises saving and efficiencies measures of €125 million in procurement, prescribing, and drug costs.
Nevertheless, the actual scope for new programmes in 2016 is modest and remaining resources have had to be targeted quite carefully. But they will include an extension of GP care, therapies for children, further investment in mental health services, measures recommended under the Maternity Strategy, and ambulance staff. These will be outlined in the HSE Service Plan later this year.
Minister Varadkar said: “Last year we secured the first increase in the health budget in seven years. This year represents a further increase, bringing health spending above 13bn for the first time since the economic crash. This will allow us to maintain the existing level of service, provide for the increase in demand that arises from a growing and ageing population, and also to make a few key improvements which we will set out in the HSE service plan for 2016. I expect to see further increases in the health budget in future years, provided we keep the recovery going. You need a strong economy to generate the resources we need to look after our citizens and their health and wellbeing.”
Minister Lynch said: “We have already delivered GP care without fees for under sixes and over 70s. We intend to build on that further in 2016 with a further expansion in GP services, subject to agreement with the IMO. The additional funding to expand Speech & Language Therapy at primary care level is very welcome. It will allow Speech and Language and other therapies to be re-organised and expanded under the Progressing Disability Services Programme for Children and Young People, including the development of early intervention services to allow children with a disability to attend mainstream preschools”.
Specifically, the new measures include:
An extension of GP care subject to negotiations with the IMO
There will be further investment in primary care, subject to negotiations with the IMO on a comprehensive new contract, including an extension of GP care without fees for all children aged 11 years and under, and including the asthma cycle of care. Other measures proposed are expanded GP access to diagnostic services, and allowing more GPs around the country to offer minor surgery procedures.
Expansion of Child Speech & Language Therapy within primary care
Funding will be allocated to expand the availability of Speech and Language Therapy at primary care level. It will also support the reorganisation and expansion of Speech and Language and other therapies under the Progressing Disability Services Programme for Children and Young People, including the development of early intervention services to facilitate children with a disability in mainstream preschool settings.
This Government is committed to the development of a modern, patient-centred, and recovery orientated mental health service. We are committed, in particular, to reforming our model of delivery so that more and better quality mental health care is delivered in the community in line with A Vision for Change. Since coming into office this Government has increased funding by €125m for mental health and suicide prevention and there will be a further increase in funding in line with the commitment in the programme for government.
Funding for the National Maternity Strategy and more staff in maternity services
The National Women and Infants Programme will be set up in 2016 to standardise and improve maternity care across all 19 maternity units and address front line staff pressures. Directors of Midwifery and Bereavement Teams will be appointed to maternity units as standard. The funding will also support the Maternal Neonatal Clinical Management System which will be implemented on a pilot basis in 2016.
Extra ambulance service staff and more community first responder teams
Funding will be allocated to provide extra Community First Responder teams – which provide a rapid response to emergencies in more isolated areas – and increase the number of paramedics, especially in rural areas.
There will be no increase in hospital fees or prescription charges in 2016, and the threshold for the Drugs Payment Scheme, for medical cards and GP visit cards remains unchanged.
Read Budget Statement by the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar TD on the 2016 Health Estimates here.


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Chris Brunnen set up CJB Photography in 1986 after art college training and five years working for a design and photography company in Portsmouth.
Now based in a purpose built studio at Portchester, CJB Photography is one of the longest established photographic businesses in the area especially set up to cater for the needs of Designers, Advertising Agencies and Businesses needing Commercial Photography.
With computer controlled, high resolution, digital cameras, state of the art lighting and Apple Macintosh systems for image manipulation and enhancement. The main stay of the studio work is product photography, the images being used for brochures, catalogues, advertising and web sites.
Much of the equipment is portable for when photographs need to be taken on location to the client’s premises, in offices and factories or in houses for fitted furniture and kitchens.
Chris frequently flies over Hampshire, Dorset and Sussex, in fact most of the South of England for aerial photography. Using helicopters because they are simply better for aerial photography due to their manoeuvrability and stability offering a smoother ride and clearer view than fixed wing aircraft whose wheels and wing struts often interfere. The cameras used are very high resolution, full frame digital SLRs, much higher quality than drones or UAV’s can carry, essential for aerial work.
Helicopters come at a price, however, CJB Photography can offer this service at a more affordable rate by organising ‘Shared Flights’ sharing the total flying time between jobs.
Aerial photography has proved to be a great way of monitoring construction site progress, giving an overview of properties for marketing or advertising use and with flights happening now so regularly, clients can have a site photographed within a few weeks.
Visit the CJB Photography website click here


Sao Paulo, Public Transit and the World Cup
Brazil is set to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. As with the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and the 2008 Olympics in China, Brazil is using the two sporting events to showcase its rapid development and encourage investment. All of this is further magnified by the fact that the Brazilian national soccer team has dominated the sport for the last 100 years. The team has won the World Cup a record 5 times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. It is the only team to succeed in qualifying for every World Cup competition ever held.
Large international sporting events are often an impetus for massive urban redevelopment projects. The 2014 World Cup is scattered among 12 cities in Brazil, which is roughly the size of the continental U.S. To prepare for the nationwide event, Brazil is upgrading its transportation infrastructure, from its airports to its subway lines. Sao Paulo, which will host both World Cup games and the soccer competition in the 2016 Olympics, just awarded a contract for $862 million to build the city’s first elevated monorail between the airport and its existing subway system. The need for public transportation updates are keenly felt in Sao Paulo. Subway service is limited, and the city is in a state of perpetual gridlock, making buses and more informal forms of public transit, like private vans, slow and inefficient.
Sweeping infrastructural improvements can, in theory, have a lasting positive effect on an urban area. When built to serve a temporary purpose, these projects are often a mixed blessing, at best, for urban inhabitants. China’s questionable urban renewal practices during the Olympics in 2008 and Montreal’s 1976 Olympic Stadium, which took Montreal’s taxpayers 30-years to pay off, are particularly infamous.
Infrastructure projects, especially in the developing world, need to be flexible and adaptable. They also need to benefit the whole population, hence the term public. Intermodal transit linkages are important. However, focusing on one expensive line, which will serve a narrow segment of the population once the World Cup and the Olympics are over, seems short sighted. The city needs holistic public transit upgrades and extensions, that will benefit a broader segment of the population. Sao Paulo- a city that is infamous for its broad class divide – will come under international scrutiny in both 2014 and 2016. It should seek to fund transit projects that will weave favelas into the fabric of Sao Paulo, rather than those that will reinforce their separation.
Images courtesy of Rio Times Online and Smart Planet