I am not an England fan any supporters have their pick who will take over?
BEIJING — At first, it looks like a sleek Apple store. Sales assistants in blue T-shirts with the company's logo chat to customers. Signs advertising the iPad 2 hang from the white walls. Outside, the famous logo sits next to the words "Apple Store."
China, long known for producing counterfeit consumer gadgets, software and brand name clothing, has reached a new piracy milestone -- fake Apple stores.
The three stores are not among the authorized resellers listed on Apple Inc.'s website. The maker of the iPhone and other hit gadgets has four company stores in China -- two in Beijing and two in Shanghai -- and various official resellers. Apple's Beijing office declined to comment.
"But some things were just not right: the stairs were poorly made. The walls hadn't been painted properly. Apple never writes 'Apple Store' on its signs -- it just puts up the glowing, iconic fruit."
"And then, making sure people aren't copying it, faking it ... is absolutely a challenge," said Dean, who once saw a fake Apple phone in China that had an Apple logo -- but with no bite taken out of it.
Revenue was up more than 600 per cent from a year earlier to $3.8 billion in the area comprising China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said Apple's Chief Operating Officer Timothy Cook, according to a transcript of a conference call on Tuesday.
The company plans to open two more Apple stores in greater China -- one in Shanghai and another in Hong Kong -- by the end of the year.
Other Sports / Any Golfers here?
Anyone has pics of Shirt Jacks?
Was explaining it to someone at work, google only found the silk styles the Filipinos wear.
General Discussion / GAS & Electricity Contracts what are your thoughts, worth it or not?
Question for Canadian formites (not sure if USA, you sign up for fixed pricing), did you sign up for one of these plans?
I personally had bad experiences with Direct Energy and don't want to deal with dem at all.
footage look sort of tame.
Anyone has good or bad experiences using the various Tax Return software in the market for e-filing or completing a return from start to finish.
Other Sports / Baseball in TnT @ QP Savannah?
Anyone knows if they are still playing and teaching baseball in the Queens Park Savannah?
I recalled they were working on opening a baseball diamond in Central Trinidad.
We use to coach the kidson the game, Michael who use to play football in Canada ran the program.
There was another Michael who use to come by, with Yankee fan and another person from St James.
West Indies cricket legend Sir Vivian Richards is seen in Toronto in this 2002 file photo.
How could one of the greatest teams in the history of sport – any sport – go from a swashbuckling, world-conquering dynasty to a pitiful and pitied basket-case in just over a decade?
We're not talking about the Montreal Canadiens here, even though they haven't won the Stanley Cup since the early '90s, an intolerably long drought by the standards of hockey's most illustrious franchise. And we're obviously not talking about the Leafs.
No, this is about the West Indies and cricket, and about the misfortunes, and the not-too-distant possibility of the demise, of a team that dominated the venerable game for much of the second half of the last century.
It was called Calypso Cricket ... and it was a wondrous thing.
Each victory was savoured and celebrated, and beating England, the former colonial masters of every cricket-playing Caribbean country, was the biggest source of joy.
The region's international players embroiled in a protracted strike over contracts, only recently settled, the latest in a series of acrimonious disputes with the West Indies Cricket Board.
A makeshift Windies team, in the midst of the senior players' strike, was humbled at home by Bangladesh, an enthusiastic but unquestionably second-tier cricketing nation.
A home Test match against the old enemy, England, was abandoned, humiliatingly, after just 10 balls because of the unsafe pitch in a stadium only a couple of years old.
On and off the field, it's a litany of disaster almost incomprehensible to shell-shocked supporters of the West Indies.
Cozier isn't alone in his despair. Calypso cricket didn't come by its sobriquet by chance; more than any other sport, more than any other team, cricket in the West Indies has been played to the sound of music, much of it written about the game and the men who play it. The official ``bard'' of West Indies cricket is the calypsonian David Rudder, who, when he's not touring, lives in Ajax. The man who composed Caribbean's cricket anthem, Rally Round the West Indies, was asked how things could have deteriorated so dramatically and so quickly.
Great memories of the West Indies go back a long way, to the days of the Caribbean's pre-Second World War giants Learie Constantine and George Headley. But the real birth of calypso cricket can probably be pinpointed to a single Test match and a single day: June 29, 1950.
The West Indies had just beaten England for the first time in England, and they'd done it at the hallowed home of cricket, Lord's, the historic London ground. It was a momentous occasion, and, after the last English wicket had fallen, the legendary calypsonian Lord Kitchener, who was living in England at the time, led a throng of West Indies supporters, singing and dancing, in a joyous parade around the field, and then on to Piccadilly Circus. Kitchener's great friend Lord Beginner, also living in England, promptly composed one of the earliest and certainly most famous of the hundreds of songs, most of them calypsos, that would be written about cricket: It was called Victory Test Match – better known as Cricket, Lovely Cricket.
In the decades to follow, calypso cricket would go on to heights that not even the jubilant fans who sang and danced with Kitch could have envisaged.
The West Indies dominated cricket for much of the second half of the 20th century, and much of that success had pace – generation after generation of lightning fast, unrelentingly aggressive bowlers – as its foundation stone, complemented by some of the most accomplished batsmen ever to play the game.
What, Rudder was asked, made the West Indies so special, so different: ``We're special because the basis of our very existence is based on a general lawlessness. Slave trade, piracy, you name it. What we have done is we've transformed this lawlessness into the very foundation of our beauty, e.g., Viv Richards hitting across the line and dominating the cricket world with shots that one will not find in any cricket manual.
``The swashbuckling style of the pirates of yore is now a blessing in the hands of a West Indian batsman.
``The staid and officious game, in the Caribbean, is conch shell, abeng (a horn), DJ hi-fi, bouncing stands and bouncing fans and the noise, always the noise of ten thousand coaches and managers in the stands.
The Windies' most successful era was from 1980 to 1995, when the sides led by Clive Lloyd, then Richards and, for the final few years, Desmond Haynes and Richie Richardson, didn't lose a Test series.
Then, almost imperceptibly at first, things started to go wrong. The greats, inevitably, were retiring. But, for the first time in decades, many of their replacements were not quite as good, not quite as dedicated to the cause of the West Indies. Almost inconceivably, the seemingly endless supply of fast and ferocious bowlers started to dry up. For the better part of a decade, the last two of the truly great pace men, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, shouldered the brunt of the fast-bowling burden, but the days of the all-conquering West Indies attack were drawing to a close. When those two retired, just after the turn of the century, they were effectively over.
Gradually, reluctantly, the supporters started to acknowledge what had become sadly obvious: the region's players simply weren't as good as they used to be. It's an inescapable conclusion: The Windies have won only seven of the last 32 Test series they have played.
Things have deteriorated to the point where authorities in Trinidad and Tobago are talking of breaking away and competing as an independent nation.
This month, the Windies face the daunting prospect of a tour to Australia, which recently was toppled from the top of the Test rankings but remains a formidable team. Then the powerful South Africans will visit the Caribbean.
Not so long ago, the prospect of these two series would have had fans relishing epic encounters ... won, naturally, by the West Indies.
Today, even though the end of the players' strike means the Windies have sent their senior squad Down Under, all but the most starry-eyed of Caribbean cricket fans can realistically hope for is that their team will put up a respectable fight.
And they continue to wonder: What went wrong?
Garry Steckles, a former senior editor at the Toronto Star, has been writing about cricket and Caribbean culture for more than three decades. He is author of the recently published Bob Marley: A Life, the first in a series of biographies of prominent Caribbean lives by Macmillan, the U.K. publishers.
It is summer again and the 20th year of the dragon boat race at Toronto Centre Island is here again and this time we adding a Trini team to the festivities.
The Original Dragon Boat Race Festival in Toronto Celebrating its 20th year!
The TELUS Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival is a two-day spectacular event that brings sports, multicultural entertainment and international spirit to Toronto Centre Island on June 21 & 22, 2008.
Close to 180 teams with over 5,000 paddlers competing in over 100 races in two days. Athletes of different backgrounds from all over the world take part in the ancient Chinese tradition and friendly competition.
A fun-filled weekend enriched by multi-cultural performances, traditional dances and live music from a number of ethnic communities, including Chinese, South Asians, Eastern Europeans and South Americans. These performances reflect Toronto's ethnic diversity and complement the city's cultural mosaic.
The Multicultural Village offers delightful displays, arts and crafts demonstrations, educational cultural booths, and fun games for kids and adults.
Taste authentic food from more than 10 restaurants who cook up the world-hopping delights of Chinese, Filipino, Thai, Korean and Japanese cuisine.
One of Canada's most culturally significant events, the Festival is a community celebration of sport and culture, achieved through team building, entertainment, good food, arts and crafts and friendly competition. It showcases our city and draws more than 125,000 people to its festivities each year.
Supported generously by national corporations and local businesses, the Festival has proven to be a great opportunity for sponsors to outreach to a diverse ethnic group of consumers and business networks.
The Dragon Boat Race Festival will be Toronto's hottest event in the upcoming summer!
Festival in Toronto Celebrating its 20th year!
A team from Trinidad and Tobago - Excellent Stores Titans dragon boat team will be participating in the 20th TELUS Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival this year. A first for a Caribbean team and they need our support.
If you much prefer a fete then Wild Water Kingdom is the place to be on June 14th 8PM to 2AM tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door.
http://www.ticketbreak.com/event_details/2200 link to order tickets.
FEVER PITCH: Fans of Trinidad and Tobago are excited about a first World Cup appearance. The Soca Warriors play England on June 15.
On the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, the sense of euphoria created by the soccer team's unlikely and suspenseful qualification for the World Cup never quite faded. Now it is building again, as the debut of the smallest country ever to play on sports' biggest stage is 12 days away.
The Soca Warriors are the main topic of conversation among Trinidad and Tobago's 1.3 million people. Even at this weekend's huge cricket test against India, national hero Brian Lara talked about the soccer team's chances to make a splash. Pubs are decorated in red. Memorabilia is sold out. The musical groups, singers and steel drum bands selected Thursday by the government to travel to Germany are practicing for performances meant to sweep fans along to the Trinidadian beat.
The Soca Warriors could very well captivate World Cup followers the same way Cameroon's Indomitable Lions did in 1990 and South Korea's Red Devils did in 2002. Every four years, an unexpected team creates magical goals out of long odds and rises to the role of beloved underdog.
If Trinidad fails to win a game in Group B, then perhaps the Sparrow Hawks of Togo will get a few favorable bounces and escape from Group G. It's not likely. Togo is the lowest-ranked and second-poorest country in the World Cup with a per-capita gross domestic product of $1,600, and the German coach hired last week barely knows his players' names. Togo has been given a 750-1 chance of winning the June 9-July 9 tournament, in which traditional powers Brazil, Argentina, Italy and the Netherlands are the favorites.
Then there's Australia. Football could one day overtake Aussie Rules football as the country's most popular sport. The Socceroos are coached by Dutchman Guus Hiddink, who just happened to lead the inexhaustible South Koreans on their run to the semifinals four years ago.
Upsets are part of the spell of the World Cup. In 1950, a squad of amateurs from the United States turned a header from Haitian-born dish-washer Joe Gaetjens into a 1-0 victory against England in the David vs. Goliath classic. In the final that year, little Uruguay shocked Brazil inside Rio de Janiero's throbbing Maracana Stadium.
Who can forget 38-year-old Roger Milla dancing with the flapping corner flag and leading Cameroon to wins over Argentina, Romania and Colombia in 1990 before losing to England in the quarterfinals? In 1994, Hristo Stoichkov led Bulgaria -- 0-16 in previous World Cups -- to the semifinals. In 2002, not only did South Korea earn the best finish by an Asian team, but the U.S. beat Portugal and Mexico before falling to Germany on a controversial goal, and Senegal beat defending champion France and advanced to the quarterfinals in its first World Cup.
Trinidad, home of calypso, soca, the steel drum, roti and author V.S. Naipul, was the last team to qualify for this World Cup. On Nov. 16, the Soca Warriors defeated Bahrain 1-0 in a playoff in Bahrain, which set off the kind of street party usually seen at Carnival time.
It has taken Trinidad 11 tries since 1966 to make its first World Cup. Russell Latapy, 37, came out of retirement. Dwight Yorke, 34, came over from his club in Australia. Striker Stern John scored 12 goals in qualifying matches. Christopher Birchall, an Englishman whose mother was born in Port of Spain, became the first white starter on the team in 20 years.
At Joy's Roti Shop in Lauderhill, the talk is about who is going to Germany. Cheryl Ramlogan is one of the lucky ones. She and her husband hope to get tickets to Trinidad's June 15 game against England in Nuremberg.
''It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see history,'' she said.
Sing, the radio station owner, is going with his daughter, Ayn Lee Sing, a University of Miami librarian.
Four of the five African teams -- Togo, Angola, Ghana and Ivory Coast -- also qualified for the first time. On paper, Ivory Coast is second only to Tunisia as the strongest team from the continent, but the Elephants were drawn into the Group of Death with Argentina, the Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro.
Didier Drogba, the player of the year in France in 2004 and a sensational striker for Chelsea, could lead his team to a strong run. He is playing with passion; he has said he wants the team to act as a unifying force for his troubled country, where ethnic fighting has divided the population and destroyed the economy.
Angola would love to do to Portugal what Senegal did to France in 2002 -- defeat its colonizer. Angola's first appearance in the tournament is seen as a step forward for an impoverished country that endured 27 years of civil war after gaining its independence in 1975.
The roster includes many players who play professionally in Portugal -- as well as these memorable names: Ze Kalanga, Lebo Lebo, Love and Jamba. The star for the Black Antelopes is Pedro Mantorras, who plays for Benfica.
Ghana, which will play the United States on June 22, has a strong soccer tradition, having won four African Nations Cups and two Under-17 world titles, but it took 44 years for the Black Stars to qualify for the World Cup. Chelsea's Michael Essien commanded a $40 million transfer fee, making him the highest-paid African player in the world.
Togo is the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, at No. 56. The Falcons' key player is Emmanuel Adebayor, who plays for Arsenal. He scored 11 goals in 12 qualifiers, the most of any player in Africa. Togo gained independence from France in 1960 and will play Les Bleus on June 23 in Cologne.
Aside from South Korea, the Cup's underdogs have done most of their barking in the early rounds. None has ever posed a serious threat for the Jules Rimet trophy. The predictable powers -- Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, England, France and the Netherlands -- have dominated the championship game since 1966.
The game has become more global, gaining a foothold in Africa, Asia and the United States, and there is less hidden talent. Promising players swiftly are identified and signed by the European leagues.
National team coaches have long global résumés.
Still, soccer is an unpredictable game, and the World Cup has an unforgiving format.


The past few years our revenues have held steady: holding our own despite a lot of high end hotel construction and the arrival of Airbnb in the area. This year Air hit hard, and our revenues are down 25% ;-( Personally, I don't mind a little slowdown, but this is a bit too much.
For the most part, I don't see this is a result of increased direct competition -- I estimate that about 20% of transient lodging rooms here are on Air and HomeAway and the rest hotel/motel, but we are nicer than most Air offerings. I see the drop resulting from a major change in how travelers in our demographic look for alternatives to traditional hotels. Before, if you didn't want a hotel, you'd look for a B&B. We used to have a few local B&B, but over half the B&B here when we opened 9 years ago are gone. Real B&B are few and a search for "B&B" is just as likely to show chain motels, so the traveler looks to Air and we're not there.
Last few years, our guests would have heard of Air, but never tried. Now they have tried (and usually have had some really sketchy experiences): it's on their radar. I am beginning to hear "airbnb" used as a generic for B&B, the way Kleenex and Xerox became generic titles. A local realtor visiting our 8000 sf, 5 king bed, fully ensuite Inn told me "you have a really nice airbnb" (bite tongue).
Another thing...use facebook for free!
You can join local facebook groups. You will find groups like "things to do around (insert your city)" Join all those groups that you can.
Then make a facebook post and choose the option to put your post in all those groups. Its free advertising! You will also find a ton of people "liking" your facebook page after you do that.
Just keep working the social media and you can really boost your business.
This happened today, right after looking at my February projections (soft), and doing my monthly calculations on Air revenues in my town (climbing fast). A friend who's a real estate agent posted something on social media about a new Air rental in town, complete with 30+ photos, saying, "If you're coming to [our town], you MUST stay here!
This is a lady who's regularly enjoyed the hospitality of our home, sat with us at our weekly knit night, attending the charity auction we host every year, attended our annual Christmas party, and even hit us up for donations and the like.
I realize she probably didn't think of this as a competitor to us, but the headline, and the fact that we constantly contribute to our community while these Air carpetbaggers do nothing but run unlicensed, uninspected and unhelpful multi-unit rentals just galled me.
In my weakness, I simply wrote one word in the comments section: "Nope"
Later, the owner of the unit wrote me a long message saying at first he was mad and now he just wanted me to know how much he respected our establishment. My friend has yet to say anything.
As I said, I'm not proud of it, and I will work to get a thicker skin. But for this morning at least, I'd had enough and had to say something. Even if it was a single word.
Air charges the guest $18 to stay at our place and charges us $5. If the guest books direct neither of us gets those fees.
There needs to be a national advertising campaign educating the public that AirBnB has nothing to do with a real B&B and that people should book direct.
I like the idea of an advertising campaign but it would be hard to somehow coordinate it among such a large number of small and independent properties. I am wondering though if somehow within a group like this or even this group and some of the other groups on facebook that some of us belong to that we could craft some sort of consistent message which clearly depicts why it's better to book direct. Phineas mentioned some great social reasons regarding contributing to the local community. We try to educate every customer they will always get the best price and best service during the booking process if they book direct.
I'm thinking that if we can craft a generally standard and consistent message that instead of trying to collect money from 1000 small businesses and have some sort of advertising campaign, that maybe if we can put the message into the hands of the 1000 small businesses and each one of us consistently and frequently push it out through our email lists, or thank you letters, post it in our check-in spaces, put it on our websites, post it on our facebook pages and any place we can get it, including (until they stop us) responses to Tripadvisor reviews. Hilton is pushing this concept of "book direct" through national advertising and we can piggyback off of that with direct contact to past and current customers as well as those who show interest in our properties. What do you think?
I think we all support the general idea, but perhaps all have slightly different ideas on the route to take. Just a start at this point, but have created a page on my site https://hiddenvalleymotel.com/going/ listing links to other smaller properties and suggesting folks book direct with those properties. My thoughts are that if we all made it easy to find similar small properties by listing links it might help.
You (anyone) want to be listed, send me a PM or send an email and don't share the connection with your forum name if you prefer, list me or not, I'll still add you to my list, it's a step in the direction you are suggesting.
There is also an existing website listing smaller independent properties and promoting direct booking, you may be already listed, a guest told me about the site and I found I was listed folks were happy to update my information. Again it might not send us a batch of new reservations tomorrow, but if we all promoted their site on our own sites I bet word would get around.
AIHP is setting up a 'Book Direct' campaign. If you find them on Facebook, you can get the details. I don't see it on their website.
I've asked guests why they opted to use Airbnb instead of booking direct. All of our info was in our listing. I asked if the additional charges weren't quite steep. One guest said she didn't pay anything more than the room rate. So, they don't realize it, or air lists it as some sort of handling fee. One particular guest used them for 2 weeks of vacation. That's a lot of souvenirs!
I just came across this thread and have a question for the folks listing their properties on the OTA's, but are not providing specific rooms.
We have 3 different room classes and 17 rooms but we list every room separately. We have done this primarily because each of our rooms are a little different but more importantly we have 3 floors and 2 buildings. There are no elevators. We have always been concerned about guests booking a room and ending up on the 3rd floor without knowing it and not being able to climb the steps comfortably.
I would much rather use the option some of you are using which is not to guarantee specific rooms leaving the ability to move people as needed but fear it will lead to more problems or fewer bookings.
I am curious if anyone has tried both ways or if those of you who are assigning rooms are finding a lot of problems.
We have (internally) removed certain rooms from the list. Steep stairs and no elevator got us some fairly y complaints.
I do my best to give ota guests rooms in the first floor. However, even these rooms are up a 20 step flight of stairs.
Thanks. Some good suggestions. Do you find being able to move the guests around very helpful?
We have moved guests because there were only two rooms on two different heat zones so we "upgraded" one guest to another room that was on the same heating zone as the other. So we only had to heat that zone.
We have moved guests since they were one nighter in a room that we could rent out the whole weekend so we moved them to a nicer looking room that was the same price range which already had two one-nighters in it for the weekend. We put their original room back on and rented it out as well.
We have moved guests just because they showed up nice and cheerful Sunday afternoon and boasted our tried selves, so we gave them our best room.
Its all about convenience for the innkeeper. Do what works for you. Act like you are doing them a favor and tell them your favorite feature of their upgraded room so they will be looking forward to their gift room.
Convenience for the innkeeper! Gomez hates cleaning the only room with a bathtub. He'll give someone a $50 upgrade so he doesn't have to clean it.
Yes. If we get a repeat guest who wants 'their' room it is good to keep them happy. Or, someone who needs a particular layout.
We've had 2 guests come back direct who first booked thru an OTA. But that's it. So, the direct guests get my best deal, and choice of room.
If we get a repeat guest who wants 'their' room it is good to keep them happy.
I have a single woman business traveler who, over a few years, has stayed in the same room 48 times so far! If "her" room isn't available, she'll reschedule her business trip to a time when she can get it, even if she has to put her trip off for a month. It's my smallest room, but I think she feels secure there, and she won't stay anyplace else!
Do you find being able to move the guests around very helpful?
Not related to OTA's, but I state that we reserve the right to move guests to a different room of the same or larger sleeping size as it makes for a more efficient use of space if we happen to be busy.
We've got 'standard queen' as the description. One bed, two person max. You might get a king if all the queens are taken.
I don't want my comment to sound like an advertising or something, but I do have to stress this: your website is very, very important!
For example I have some customers that were doing really, really well until ~2014, when they had a strong position on TripAdvxxxx... Things were going so well that they didn't pay any attention to their website almost since day one (for ~5 years at least). Then a small algorithm change on TA dropped them a little bit and things went downhill from there.
Now I have friends with two hotels in my hometown, where boo!k!ng has a market share of ~50%. They are doing well, over 70% occupancy for the year, but almost half of their individual bookings go through the OTA. They pay around 40K per year to boo!k!ng in commissions, and guess what? They don't give a about their website. They have been out of Google completely for over a year and they don't care. They are making $X amount of money and they pay $Y amount to OTAs.
As long as the income is sufficient, people don't care.
When someone explains that you can be earning 1.25x instead of 1x, hoteliers and innkeepers are suspicious and full of skepticism. They ignore their own storefront (website) for as long as they can, until they have to start applying for multiple loans. And that's when people turn to website developers, like we are magicians or something. Your problems can't be fixed in a day, but you can surely start working on them TODAY.
So please, for the love of God, please start paying more attention to your websites.
There are so many ways you can do better, but usually you have to start early to see the benefits later, maybe 3-6-9-12 months from now.
Don't wait for airbnb and other OTAs to just nudge you out of business. Anticipate!
We are way down and have decided to list with ex pe dia. For those of you who list and have themed rooms are you able to move guests reservations around to maximize occupancy? We are going to price our rooms all the same in hopes that we can do this. Just wanted to find out if anyone else does or has tried this? I'm nervous to use Air as I hear they do not populate their site but every 4 hours and this could lead to double bookings with expe di a or air.
We have always sold the room individually, I sometimes think guests like knowing what they will get because when they check in to a specific room they immediately feel like they are where they should be and want to be. It may be more selling specific rooms but to me, that individuality of the room styles is what sets us apart from the big boxies. Sometimes, quite honestly, I may offer a guest an upgrade just to get them further away so my dogs don't get excited with every noise they make (I'm sorry.. ) but I am surprised how many stick to what they booked even though the upgraded room is way bigger and nicer!
If someone books thru an OTA and then calls to verify they got x room I let them know they can have x room if they book directly. Otherwise, the room selection is my choice and based on what is left at arrival. Some have panicked and said they don't want the room with the detached bath so I know they have looked closely at our room choices but opted to use BDC instead of direct booking.
And again, book directly for choice. Hotels do the same thing.
Folks have their own reasons for liking a certain room, years ago mine was that a certain room at a motel we visited had its own little parking spot.
For business present day, I do state that I reserve the right to change a guest to an equal or larger room. Now our rooms differ by color and decoration, but pretty much uniform other than that, I will alway try to avoid moving someone that desires something specific, but it does give us an out if needed to use rooms more efficiently.
We've had guests ask to downgrade too. I have a room that is particularly large and grand and have had guests ask about moving down to that room.
But the point here is that booking direct should be an advantage. If you want a specific room... book direct.
Hillbilly, I have been using OTA's on and off for years.
I do not post all my rooms and I use generic room names "standard queen" "deluxe queen" etc. The pictures are of all rooms.
If someone books, they get which ever room of that room type that has not been taken by those booking direct.
Well that makes me feel a little better. At least you can move them around so to speak to get the most out of the calendar. So do you use myall cator to populate your RK calendar? If so, how does the systems know what room to populate in your RK? Not sure that makes sense. Hahaha.
We have 3 types of rooms and have it set up with generic descriptions for the OTAs. I move them around at my will... but RK sets it as a sale of a specific room.... I just move it for personal convenience.
Oh thank you so much. That's very helpful. I thoughts that's how it would work but I wanted to make sure. So you just tell guests that they will be assigned a room at check in?
Sorry I didn't get back to answer before Generic chimed in but I do it the same way as Generic mentioned. It works, and has worked for me for years.
Absolutely. And I sometimes get a call (or email) asking for a specific room, at which time that we tell them that rooms aren't assigned until the morning of the reservation. We have even moved them around to give our direct guests upgrades.
We also get requests for things like "low floor" or other specific things, to which we reply that it's not an option that we offer and usually we offer a way out to cancel.... we find that those people are problematic anyway.
All of our rooms are different. Give very generic descriptions and put the guests in whatever rooms you want. IE - standard queen room. That's all I say. Sometimes you get a queen, sometimes a king. Luck of the draw.
Yep, we use Air for our benefit and require pre-approval - and choose not use "Instant Book" option for the very reason that most who use Air have no clue how an actual B&B runs, they do not understand the fun it is when they actually engage with others instead of secluding themselves in between their coming and going (mostly millennials!), and besides my calendar only syncs one way...oh well - keeps it manageable anyway!
I like the idea of imposing the B&B name on our photos!!!
It ends up being about 20-25% of our bookings...so we'll take it.
I have a photo of the building that includes our sign. Pretty straightforward.
We use airBNB to our advantage. For example, I have a picture on AirBNB of our B&B where our B&B Name is displayed in text overlaying the picture. Air can't suppress that text. So it acts like a free Ad. A lot of people will find us on air and then google and book direct.
We will be adding "experiences" on air where people can book a room and have an experience (like eagle watching). The experience will allow us to double the room rate and make more money by throwing in the add-on experience.
Air can't suppress that text.
I'll bet they could suppress it if they wanted to, once they notice it. Instead of your inn name as text on the image, how about putting your website URL so people can go book directly through you. I'll bet they'll suppress that in a heartbeat!
I do not bite my tongue when someone refers to my property as an Airbnb. I'm more likely to bite their head off. Air b nb coopted our business name and trashed it. I don't let that slide.
I am singing the same song Tom.
I have been blaming the Air and other STR properties for this as well, I do feel they are a large contributing factor but this summer it took a nose dive even more with the Google changes, especially in the maps searches.
Since Google has gotten in bed with the OTAs and have changed their algorithms, map distance setting, etc., we are not being seen in search results as often as we use to be. So we are seeing a decline in website stats as well.
If you use TA's Tri pCon nect you should be showing along with those OTAs, that is if your property is in the perimeters Google has set for the map in your search area. - or at least the $ flag will show with your location dot for those that will move the map search.
Other Google changes are affecting organic results too such as http vs https and now Google is using Mobile first for results and if your site is not responsive you are getting dinged. And by responsive it means that your site needs to transform to mobile (same site just different format), not a different mobile responsive site.
We've been with air for the past 3 years, first two years I could count the bookings on two hands, this year a big jump, in the busy season probably around 30% of our bookings.
Gotta move with the times.


The Residences at Brookfield Green is a home away from home for older people who are not able to live independently. We understand moving out of your family home is a big lifestyle change, so we make sure that when you join our community we understand your care needs and tailor our support accordingly.
Everyone_s needs are different and so is our approach to care. A designated team cares for you, so your needs, interests and lifestyle preferences are completely understood and addressed with flexibility, innovation and compassion.
Our 24-hour care supports your daily health needs, social events, activities and outings, as well as providing easy access to allied health professionals.
In recognition of your varying care requirements, every suite is fitted with state-of-the-art monitoring and call system technologies including mattress and floor sensor mats, and personal call pendants with the latest in breath and pressure activation. Our Kittybrook wing provides additional support and security should you be living with a cognitive-impairment, such as dementia.
All suites at Brookfield Green are private rooms with an ensuite, ceiling fan, fully air-conditioned with personalised temperature control. Finished to a hotel-standard, our Premium suites offer additional luxuries such as an electric sit-to-stand recliner, optional bar fridge, large wall-mounted TV, feature lighting, timber panelling and writing desk.
Fresh meals are prepared daily by our on-site chef, offering plenty of variety and catering for your dietary needs. Enjoy meals in any of our dining rooms, or if you_d prefer, dine in the comfort of your own suite.
A large-screen television will keep you up-to-date, plus we offer competitive telecommunication packages for unlimited local, national, mobile and international calls to stay in touch with loved ones.


Electrical works are one aspect of home maintenance that can't be tackled by DIY. However, in the safe hands of Churchford's electrical team, the electrics in your home or business property will not only remain in working order, but can add significant benefits to your building.
Whether you need an electrical fitting re-wiring or would like to add a little more light to your life by having spotlights installed in your property, you can rely on our electricians to perform the job you desire to the highest of standards.
Our electrical team is NICEIC approved, providing up to date regulations and standards which we adhere to in every job. We carry out installations and repairs for all electrical equipment and lighting including testing and certification for all domestic and commercial premises.
Whether you need us on an emergency call-out or on a long-term project, Churchford's electrical experts will create results even better than you could have imagined, every time. To find out more, please feel free to call us today on 01392 494691.


text:
Jeff Lynne: Digital Return for Long Wave
The news that Jeff Lynne's second solo album "Long Wave" is now available to stream and/or download again is, of course, welcome to fans of the ELO maestro. The CD (and its twin release "Mr. Blue Sky") has become increasingly rare on record shop shelves although imports and the 2013 Let Them Eat Vinyl gatefold LP release can still be located via eBay and other outlets.
Originally released through Frontiers Records under licence from Big Trilby Records, "Long Wave" in 2018 is now under exclusive license to Sony Music Entertainment via their Legacy Recordings label from Daft As A Brush, Inc. (alongside "Armchair Theatre") opening up the possibility of a future physical reissue for "Long Wave" via Sony Legacy (and perhaps more) from Jeff's brief tenure with Frontiers between 2012 and 2013 when a total of five albums were issued including "Live", "Armchair Theatre" and "Zoom" - not forgetting those unreleased tracks found on the "Down The Lane And Far Away" sampler. Keep your fingers crossed folks ...
Under Exclusive Licence: From Big Trilby to Daft As A Brush ...
Meanwhile, you can either download or stream "Long Wave" by Jeff Lynne via these links thus:
legacyrecordings.lnk.to/LongWave
www.amazon.co.uk/LONG-WAVE/dp/B008Y5OW20
open.spotify.com/album/0pXwRQYagtv8o3WIcYcGh6
www.deezer.com/us/album/54491122 listen.tidal.com/album/83102200
play.google.com/store/music/album?id=long-wave
itunes.apple.com/gb/album/long-wave/1332111486
itunes.apple.com/us/album/long-wave/1332111486
elobeatlesforever (elobf) recommends "Long Wave" by Jeff Lynne to those enlightened folks who enjoy the music of Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, The Move, The Idle Race, 'Brum Beat', The Beatles and related artistes.
Until next "Time" in the ELO [and related] Universe ... KJS ... 30-Jan-2018
Labels: Armchair Theatre, Big Trilby Records, Daft As A Brush Inc., Down The Lane And Far Away, Electric Light Orchestra, ELO, elobeatlesforever, elobf, Frontiers, Jeff Lynne, Long Wave, Mr. Blue Sky, Sony Legacy, Zoom
ELO: The Singles That Got Away
With an impressive 27 UK Top 40 Singles to their name, the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) were rightly lauded as one of the most successful British bands of all time between 1971 and 1986, particularly when one considers that they clocked up fifteen Top 10 hits during that period and twenty consecutive Jeff Lynne penned ELO singles released between "Strange Magic" (JET779) in July 1976 and "Ticket To the Moon"/"Here Is The News" (JET7018) in January 1982 made said Top 40.
ELO: The Burbank Years ELO: The Jet/Polydor Years
Either side of that impressive chart run, there were only seven ELO singles that either failed to chart or reach the Top 40. Yours Truly KJS and elobeatlesforever (elobf) thought therefore that it would be interesting to take a brief look at this particular 7" septet. Quite amazingly, "Can't Get It Out Of My Head" (K16510) was the first ELO single that did not chart in the UK (although it was a part of The ELO EP which peaked at #34 in December 1978). By the way (and in complete contrast), the first ELO single to make the US Billboard Top 10! was ... "Can't Get It Out Of My Head"!
"Nightrider" also failed to chart in 1975 as did "The Way Life's Meant To Be", the fourth single taken from "Time" in 1982, signalling the waning of ELO's 7" career wherein only the lead singles "Rock 'n' Roll Is King" (A3500) and "Calling America" (A6844) from their final two albums "Secret Messages" and "Balance Of Power" made the Top 40. Four other singles: "Secret Messages", "Four Little Diamonds", "So Serious" and "Getting To The Point" only made minor chart impact (see above table for further detail). Aside from those, Bev Bevan's Electric Light Orchestra Part Two also managed a modest #60 in May 1991 with "Honest Men" (ELO100).
THE FALL: ELO & JET RECORDS 1981-86
Seven ELO singles did get away, figuratively speaking, in the UK and fans still treasure and collect their few non-charting singles with equal zeal. Never forget that ELO were unstoppable in terms of single and album sales at their commercial peak on both sides of the Atlantic. They are also the only band in American chart history who hold the record for having the most Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hits without a number one single.
Labels: Can't Get It Out Of My Head, Electric Light Orchestra, ELO, elobeatlesforever, elobf, Four Little Diamonds, Getting To The Point, Jeff Lynne, Nightrider, Secret Messages, So Serious, The Way Life's Meant To Be
Rewind South: The Orchestra Return for 80's Fest
Rewind Festival confirmed earlier today that The Orchestra [former members of ELO & ELO Part II] are returning to the UK this Summer for the 10th edition of the Rewind South festival at Temple Island Meadows, Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire on Saturday 18th August. This will be their fourth appearance at Rewind Festival (having also appeared at Rewind South in August 2013, Rewind Scotland in July 2015 and Rewind North in August 2017).
Mik Kaminski, Louis Clark, Eric Troyer, Parthenon Huxley, Gordon Townsend and Glen Burtnik will be certain to again set the bar high at Rewind South 2018 with an array of ELO's Jeff Lynne penned greatest hits. A limited number of day tickets to witness this rare UK performance by The Orchestra are available to buy via this link thus:
south.rewindfestival.com/tickets
elobeatlesforever (elobf) recommends The Orchestra [former members of ELO & ELO Part II] at Rewind South to those enlightened folks who enjoy the music of ELO, Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood, The Move, The Idle Race, 'Brum Beat', The Beatles and related artistes.
Labels: Electric Light Orchestra, ELO, ELO Part II, elobeatlesforever, elobf, Eric Troyer, Glen Burtnik, Gordon Townsend, Jeff Lynne, Louis Clark, Mik Kaminski, Parthenon Huxley, Rewind South, The Orchestra
JET777: Bev Bevan's Heavy Headliner
Did you know that hidden away on the reverse side of Bev Bevan's only solo record is an ELO related one time only rarity? "Let There Be Drums" (JET777) was a non-charting Jet/Polydor UK single released in August 1976, being Bev's take on the 1961 Sandy Nelson percussion driven instrumental classic. Yet, over on side 'B' of this collectors item is another largely instrumental tune with the title: "Heavy Head", bearing the same name as Bev's then record shop in Sparkhill, Birmingham.
The uniqueness of this particular track is the fact that (as far as Yours Truly KJS is aware) it is the only time when Bev Bevan, Kelly Groucutt and Richard Tandy received a songwriting credit alongside Jeff Lynne on a Jet Records release - not forgetting that Richard Tandy and Louis Clark were co-credited with orchestral and choral arrangements on ELO studio albums from "Eldorado" to "Out Of The Blue" and Kelly Groucutt sang lead vocals on tracks including "Poker" and "Sweet Is The Night". It's also interesting is that Dr. Roy Wood also guests on saxophone here too making it somewhat of an early ELO reunion of sorts!
Labels: Bev Bevan, Electric Light Orchestra, ELO, elobeatlesforever, elobf, Heavy Head, Jeff Lynne, Jet Records, Jet/Polydor, JET777, Kelly Groucutt, Let There Be Drums, Richard Tandy, Roy Wood
Recommended: King's Heath Walk of Fame Beatles Fest 2018
It's always a pleasure to oblige when my good friends Bob Prew and Ken Whittaker over at King's Heath Walk of Fame contact Yours Truly KJS and elobeatlesforever (elobf) to highlight their now annual Beatles All You Need Is Love Fest event which is being held this year on Sunday 11th February, especially when one recalls the fact that Beatles legend John Lennon stated that ELO were the "son of [The] Beatles" back in 1974. It was the ultimate of compliments and another huge nod to the influence of The Fab Four on Birmingham's finest whose hometown hosted The Beatles' when they played their maiden live performance on Friday 15th February 1963 - the first of three appearances at King's Heath Ritz Ballroom in the very home of 'Brum Beat'.
The Beatles All You Need Is Love Session is up first featuring an eclectic array of musicians and runs from 3PM until 6PM at Fletcher's Bar, York Road, King's Heath. Tickets are priced at £4 each (*plus booking fee) and can be purchased in person from Kitchen Garden Cafe and/or wegottickets with tickets on the door priced at £5 each (if available).
Acclaimed Beatles tribute Made In Liverpool will then strike up the band from 7PM onwards down the road at the Hare & Hounds. Tickets are priced at £10 each (*plus booking fee) and can be purchased from Skiddle with tickets on the door priced at £12 each (if available).
For further information, you can email info@kingsheathwalkoffame.org.uk and/or contact Bob on (0121) 689 2360 and/or Ken on (0121) 443 5237 and/or visit these sites thus:
www.kingsheathwalkoffame.org.uk
www.wegottickets.com/event/422097 www.skiddle.com/e/13114755
www.facebook.com/kingsheathwalkoffame twitter.com/KHWalkoffame
www.youtube.com/user/KingsHeathWalkofFame
elobeatlesforever (elobf) recommends King's Heath Walk Of Fame Beatles Fest 2018 to those enlightened folks who enjoy the music of ELO, Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood, The Move, The Idle Race, 'Brum Beat', The Beatles and related artistes.
Labels: All You Need Is Love Fest, Bob Prew, elobeatlesforever, elobf, Fletcher's Bar, Ken Whittaker, King's Heath Walk Of Fame, Made In Liverpool, Ritz Ballroom, The Beatles
Recommended: Concert For George (2018)
Concord Music will release an expanded reissue of the "Concert For George" album and film on Friday 23rd February (just two days before what would have been his 75th birthday) in 2CD, 2CD/2DVD, 2CD/Blu-ray and 4LP formats plus a limited edition 10 disc boxed set (only 1,000 copies). The concert was held on Friday 29th November 2002 at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall exactly one year after the passing of George Harrison - The Quiet One - and featured Musical Directors ELO maestro Jeff Lynne and Eric Clapton alongside Beatles duo Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, Dhani Harrison and whole host of other artists.
Trax: "Your Eyes" (Anoushka Shankar) ~ "The Inner Light" (Jeff Lynne/Anoushka Shankar) ~ "Arpan" (Anoushka Shankar) ~ "Sit On My Face" (Monty Python) ~ "The Lumberjack Song" (Monty Python/Tom Hanks) ~ "I Want To Tell You" (Jeff Lynne) ~ "If I Needed Someone" (Eric Clapton) ~ "Old Brown Shoe" (Gary Brooker) ~ "Give Me Love" (Jeff Lynne) ~ "Beware Of Darkness" (Eric Clapton) ~ "Here Comes The Sun" (Joe Brown) ~ "That's The Way It Goes" (Joe Brown) ~ "Horse To The Water" (Jools Holland/Sam Brown) ~ "Taxman" (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) ~ "I Need You" (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) ~ "Handle With Care" (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers/Jeff Lynne/Dhani Harrison) ~ "Isn't It A Pity" (Billy Preston) ~ "Photograph" (Ringo Starr) ~ "Honey Don't" (Ringo Starr) ~ "For You Blue" (Paul McCartney) ~ "Something" (Paul McCartney/Eric Clapton) ~ "All Things Must Pass" (Paul McCartney) ~ "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Paul McCartney/Eric Clapton) ~ "My Sweet Lord" (Billy Preston) ~ "Wah Wah" (Eric Clapton & Band) ~ "I'll See You In My Dreams" (Joe Brown)
The film "Concert For George" peaked at #13 in the Official UK Music Video Chart with the album reaching a respectable #97 in the US Billboard 200 upon their original releases in October and November 2003. Pre-orders for the 2018 version can be placed via these links thus:
www.concertforgeorge.com/new-configurations
georgeharrison.shop.bravadousa.com/concert-for-george.html
www.amazon.co.uk/Concert-George-Various-Artists/dp/B078XXC7WJ
www.amazon.co.uk/Concert-George-Various-Artists/dp/B078Y352DN
www.amazon.co.uk/Concert-George-LP-Various-Artists/dp/B078Y352DP
www.amazon.com/Concert-George-Various-Artists/dp/B078XXC7WJ
www.amazon.com/Concert-George-Various-Artists/dp/B078Y352DN
www.amazon.com/Concert-George-LP-Various-Artists/dp/B078Y352DP
elobeatlesforever (elobf) recommends "Concert For George" to those enlightened folks who enjoy the music of ELO, Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood, The Move, The Idle Race, 'Brum Beat', George Harrison, The Beatles, The Traveling Wilburys and related artistes.
Labels: Concert For George, Concord Music, Dhani Harrison, ELO, elobeatlesforever, elobf, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Olivia Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, The Beatles, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Why ELO Part II, The Orchestra & ELO Tribute Bands Matter
When Jeff Lynne pulled the plug on ELO back in 1986, it left a black hole in the musical universes of members and fans alike, even though we all marvelled at and applauded the rise and rise of Jeff Lynne with the likes of George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, The Traveling Wilburys, Paul McCartney, The Beatles and not a few others. At that time, there was no appetite for ELO by the Shard Ender who had overseen and perhaps outgrown his band. Fast forwarding to the 21st century, we were all excited about the relaunch of ELO and then Jeff Lynne's ELO ... and we still are, judging by the hit albums and epic sold out shows since.
Most ELO fans also know how ELO Part II came about courtesy of Bev Bevan and how it became The Orchestra almost a decade later. The incredible growth of ELO tribute bands is also a testament to the popularity and ageless appeal of the music of Jeff Lynne/ELO. It was during that intervening period between "Balance Of Power" and Jeff's sensational Hyde Park return that elobeatlesforever (elobf) was born in February 2009 and Yours Truly KJS had many opportunities to see and hear those wonderful Electric Light Orchestra songs that we all know and love performed by a plethora of former members, great bands and gifted musicians.
ELOwnership: What's In A Name?
Sadly, I never got to see classic ELO in the flesh despite getting into the band at the age of ten in 1977. Indeed, my first experience of ELO music in the live arena was with ELO Part II and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra in May 1991. It reignited my passion for the music and was followed by many trips to see both ELO Part II and The Orchestra and, thereafter, many fab ELO tribute bands before I finally got to see Jeff Lynne's ELO in person at Liverpool during April 2016.
It is for that reason that this writer is forever grateful to the likes of Bev Bevan, ELO Part II, The Orchestra and Phil Bates (not forgetting The ELO Experience, ELO Again, The Explosive Light Orchestra and latterly The ELO Encounter) for keeping ELO music live (and, to a degree, alive), particularly when Jeff Lynne was otherwise occupied in the studio. As a result, I get the best of both worlds these days because I can go see and hear ELO music played live regularly by multiple artistes in various venues in between Jeff Lynne's ELO tours!
Labels: Bev Bevan, Electric Light Orchestra, ELO, ELO Again, ELO Encounter, ELO Experience, ELO Part II, elobeatlesforever, elobf, ExpLO, Jeff Lynne, Jeff Lynne's ELO, The Orchestra, The Traveling Wilburys
Disclaimer: This is an article not intended to offend or affront ELO fans of any dissuasion. I was asked recently by a music mad friend of mine (who has no agenda) whether there has really been an ELO since Jeff Lynne disbanded the original band back in 1986. Their argument was that some folks did not consider ELO Part II on the same page as ELO and that any releases after "Balance Of Power" have been Jeff Lynne albums by any other name (even if marketed as ELO).
I therefore asked myself whether I considered that all those ELO Part II gigs I attended in the nineties and those studio/live albums I bought back then were ELO. I also considered the same when it came to "Zoom", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Alone In The Universe", "Wembley Or Bust" and the wonderful Jeff Lynne's ELO concerts that I've attended at Birmingham (twice), Liverpool and London in recent years. Jeff Lynne wrote and produced 99.5% of ELO's recorded output betwixt 1971 and 1986. In terms of recorded output, it can be argued that albums released since 2001 are practically Jeff Lynne with a little help from his friends. In my opinion, the Hyde Park show, the AITU tour and Wembley spectacular are the nearest we will all get to quintessential ELO. Having said that, the audience reaction last year at Rewind North to The Orchestra was also quite special, as was seeing ELO Part II perform with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra back in May 1991.
For me, it all comes down to the name: Electric Light Orchestra. Initially co-owned by Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan and now the property of Jeff since 1999, the moniker Jeff Lynne's ELO says it all. My ELO were the Magnificent Seven who adorned the inner sleeve of "A New World Record". For some people, ELO Part II and/or The Orchestra will also be their ELO and, most certainly, Jeff Lynne's ELO are ELO to many here and now.
Whilst you can't ignore the past or the facts as to who ELO were (i.e. former members, their contribution and so forth), fans will always have the right to perceive ELO as they so wish. Yours Truly KJS used to get in trouble for saying that "Zoom" was "Armchair Theatre Part II" but experience has taught me to quote a certain song from that very album: "It Really Doesn't Matter". It's about the music and, these days, it's also about what I term ELOwnership.
Labels: Alone In The Universe, Bev Bevan, Electric Light Orchestra, ELO, ELO Part II, elobeatlesforever, elobf, Hyde Park, It Really Doesn't Matter, Jeff Lynne, Mr. Blue Sky, Roy Wood, The Orchestra, Wembley Or Bust, Zoom
About Time: 21st Century Man
When "Twilight" b/w "Julie Don't Live Here" (JET7015) - the second single taken from ELO's classic album "Time" (JETLP236) - stalled at a modest #30 in the Official UK Singles Chart following the stellar success of lead single "Hold On Tight" b/w "When Time Stood Still" (JET7011), which had peaked at an impressive #4 in September 1981, it was a surprise if not a major disappointment to many fans of the band. Yet, with the third AA sided single "Ticket To The Moon" c/w "Here Is The News" (JET7018) peaking at #24 before fourth single "The Way Life's Meant To Be" b/w "Wishing" (JET7021) failed to chart, the writing seemed to be on the wall for a group whose previous twenty (20) UK singles going back to "Strange Magic" (JET779) in July 1976 had all made the UK Top 40.
Yours Truly KJS has often pondered (with the benefit of hindsight) if there had been a different choice or even order of singles issued from "Time " (after "Hold On Tight") whether their chart performance would have fared better. I say this as over in France, "21st Century Man" was paired with "Twilight" (JET808) and perhaps this was a more inspired selection following the up tempo aforementioned lead single rather than "Twilight" as an 'A' side alone. Undoubtedly the inclusion of the unreleased "Julie Don't Live Here" was also attractive to the ELO fan base, but one wonders if, following the death of John Lennon in December 1980 and the tribute dedicated to him during the ensuing 1981/82 "Time" tour plus the fact that "21st Century Man" was of slower pace in contrast to "Hold On Tight" - whether a potential #1 single opportunity was missed. Note also that the relatively sedate "Rain Is Falling" b/w "Another Heart Breaks" (ZS9 02693) was the choice of third single in the US as opposed to "Ticket To The Moon" and "Here Is The News".
This is, of course, all conjecture and theory yet "21st Century Man" remains the greatest ELO single never released (except, of course, in France!) - at least in the opinion of this writer.
See also: JET7021: IT'S A SLEEVIN' THING
See also: REVERSE RELEASE: TIME'S THIRD SINGLE TWIST
See also: HOLD ON TIGHT: THE VIDEO LEGACY
See also: CONCEPT THEORY: TIME AS A 2LP TOO?
Labels: 21st Century Man, Electric Light Orchestra, ELO, elobeatlesforever, elobf, FZ37371, Jeff Lynne, JET7011, JET7015, JET7018, JET7021, JET808, JETLP236, John Lennon, Time, ZS9 02693
Album of the Year: Hornal CD now available via amazon
If you missed the elobeatlesforever (elobf) review of 2017, you will have missed the news that Iain Hornal's excellent album "The Game Begins With The Lights Out" was chosen as elobf Album of the Year. And, hot on the heels of that news, Iain - now a fully fledged member of both the 10cc and Jeff Lynne's ELO touring bands - contacted Yours Truly KJS with the welcome news that said album can now be ordered in CD format via amazon.co.uk having already been available to purchase digitally (and in limited edition vinyl) beforehand.
So without further ado, you can buy said CD and/or read my February 2017 album review and/or check out the aforementioned Album of the Year announcement via these links thus:
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XRNCFRJ
REVIEW: THE GAME BEGINS WITH THE LIGHTS OUT [Hornal]
Yours Truly 2017: A Year In Review www.hornal.net
elobeatlesforever (elobf) recommends "The Game Begins With The Lights Out" by Hornal to those enlightened folks who enjoy the music of ELO, Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood, The Move, The Idle Race, 'Brum Beat', The Beatles, 10cc, The Feeling and related artistes.
Labels: 10cc, amazon.co.uk, elobeatlesforever, elobf, Graham Gouldman, Hornal, Iain Hornal, Jeff Lynne's ELO, Kevin Godley, The Game Begins With The Lights Out, Yes
Saturday, 6 January 2018
ChartWatch: Wembley Or Bust Suffers The Fall
The Official UK Album Chart Top 100 published yesterday (Friday 5th January) revealed that "Wembley Or Bust" by Jeff Lynne's ELO has fell an astonishing fifty six places from #40 to #96 this week (after seven weeks in the chart) whilst "All Over The World" has slipped from #50 to #53 (having clocked up a 174 week chart run to date). Elsewhere, Roy Orbison's orchestral overview "A Love So Beautiful" has exited the Top 10 in dropping from #10 to #14 and Bryan Adams' latest career compilation "Ultimate" has nudged up another six places from #61 to #55 meaning that ELO maestro Jeff Lynne has a hand (just about) in four Top 100 albums this week. Meanwhile, over in the Official Singles Chart, Wizzard and "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" have left the Top 100 after reaching a heady #15 last week.
See also: Review: Wembley Or Bust (Jeff Lynne's ELO)
See also: Jeff Lynne's ELO: Wembley Or Bust Hits UK Top 10
See also: Wembley Or Bust: ELO Live Album Confirmed In UK Top 10
See also: ChartWatch: Out Of The Blue Returns + Wembley Or Bust TV Debut
See also: ChartWatch: ELO/Jeff Lynne Continue + Wizzard Return for Roy Wood
See also: ChartWatch: ELO/Wizzard Consolidate + Wembley Or Bust BBC2 Reminder
See also: ChartWatch: Wembley Or Bust TV Debut Prompts ELO Uplift
See also: ChartWatch: Roy Wood & Wizzard Hit 44 Year Christmas High
elobeatlesforever (elobf) recommends "Wembley Or Bust" and "All Over The World" to those enlightened folks who enjoy the music of ELO, Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood, The Move, The Idle Race, 'Brum Beat', The Beatles and related artistes.
Labels: A Love So Beautiful, All Over The World, Big Trilby Records, Bryan Adams, Electric Light Orchestra, ELO, elobeatlesforever, elobf, Jeff Lynne's ELO, Official Album Chart, Roy Orbison, Ultimate
Here Is The News (10)
Some interesting news was revealed over the festive period that connected ELO members (both old and new), 10cc and The Beatles. Just before Christmas, Graham Gouldman announced that he is to join Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band for their 2018 European tour. At the same time, Jeff Lynne's ELO touring member Iain Hornal was unveiled as the replacement for Mick Wilson in the 10cc touring line-up. Mick (also a former member of the Jeff Lynne's ELO live band) will now be concentrating on his Frontm3n project. Iain's excellent 2017 album "The Game Begins With The Lights Out" was also recently revealed as elobeatlesforever (elobf) Album of the Year here.
Meanwhile, Bev Bevan published a New Year message via Facebook wherein The Move and ELO co-founding drummer looked forward to the resumption of his "Stand Up & Rock!" shows with Jasper Carrott in March and his return to touring with Quill in advance of their new studio album "Riding Rainbows" at Ludlow on Saturday 17th February and Lichfield on Friday 2nd March. Bev also stated that Brum Rocks will return in Autumn 2018.
Both Quill and Bev Bevan also confirmed this week that ace guitarist Tony Kelsey and talented keyboardist/vocalist Abby Brant had departed the band with former members Phil Bates and wife Jo (who met in an earlier incarnation of the band) rejoining the Celtic Americana rockers so that Phil and Bev are reunited for a fourth time after their paths crossed previously in ELO Part II, The Bev Bevan Band and The Move. Find out more via these links thus:
www.10cc.world www.mickywilson.com www.hornal.net
www.ringostarr.com/news/ringo-and-his-all-starr-band-european-tour-2018-announcement
www.facebook.com/bevbevannews www.quilluk.com www.facebook.com/quilluk
elobeatlesforever (elobf) Gig Guide #30: Q1 2018
ludlowassemblyrooms.co.uk/events-calendar-list/2018/2/17/quill-with-bev-bevan
www.lichfieldgarrick.com/whats-on/music/quill-bev-bevan-2018-riding-rainbows-tour
Labels: 10cc, Bev Bevan, Brum Rocks, ELO, elobeatlesforever, elobf, Frontm3n, Graham Gouldman, Iain Hornal, Jasper Carrott, Jeff Lynne's ELO, Mick Wilson, Quill, Ringo Starr, Stand Up & Rock!, The Beatles
Singled Out: The Edited Light Orchestra
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Over the years - from "Time" to "Time" - Electric Light Orchestra singles were edited down in order either to facilitate radio airplay, promote their records and, in some cases, fit onto 7" format (for jukebox usage et al). This was particularly evident with singles taken from ELO's first five studio albums where the tracks were either too long or supplanted with orchestral preludes or interludes.
Yours Truly KJS therefore thought a worthwhile task to try and collate a list of those ELO single edits for elobeatlesforever (elobf). I've omitted any releases where the difference between track lengths is 3 seconds or less. The album timings are taken from various vinyl and digital sources. Doubtless I've missed a few!
Perhaps the most extreme examples of the culling of ELO songs for single release occurred with "Can't Get It Out Of My Head" (UK/US) and "Boy Blue" (US only) from the "Eldorado" long player as well as in Holland/Europe where "Mr. Blue Sky" was also significantly cut short.
In the above cases, the result was to dramatically reduce the integrity of the songs (in the opinion of this writer) whereas the shortened versions of "10538 Overture" and "Roll Over Beethoven" did seem to work. I've also included ELO Part II singles for the sake of completeness. Enjoy!
Labels: 10538 Overture, Boy Blue, Can't Get It Out Of My Head, Chuck Berry, Electric Light Orchestra, ELO, ELO Part II, elobeatlesforever, Eric Troyer, Jeff Lynne, Mr. Blue Sky, Phil Bates, Roll Over Beethoven
Recommended: King's Heath Walk of Fame Beatles Fes...
Why ELO Part II, The Orchestra & ELO Tribute Bands...
Album of the Year: Hornal CD now available via ama...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


If we're not talking about Google Wave or trying to analyse results of social media, we're talking about video in emails. It's not here yet and to get it to work we'll need Outlook to be able to handle it otherwise it'll only be half useful. Seeing as Outlook can't even manage a border I can't see it rendering a proper video any time soon.
The main reason why there is all of the excitement is because Goodmail is rolling out their certified video but only for AOL. Also Gmail will render the YouTube video flash object in your on-line gmail inbox but I think the sender has to be in your address book.
Alex Madison and Lisa Harmon (for Media Post's Email Insider, Tuesday August 4 2009) and in more detail the legend of Mark Brownlow (August 18, 2009) talks about it ready for it to spread into the rest of email but I'm not holding my breath.
The idea is that videos are popular on the web and even though video is not here in email yet, it will be and we should start making ready to add it in by putting videos on our web-sites, blog posts, start pod-casts etc. etc. so we're not left behind when it can get to the inbox.
We spend so much time trying to ensure we get people's attention and we make it as convenient as possible for people to take in our content, isn't video going back wards.
I have enough trouble making time to read newsletters lately, I can't get the head phones out and watch videos too. Also you can't copy and paste a video, I'll have to make notes! I often click through on Google Alerts and there is a video of a webinar or something, I won't watch it, I'm just too busy, I cannot skim-read a video but I can an article. Like the cricket – I only ever watch the highlights!
Video does have a place, of course it does but it does require a commitment to fully engage with it. We should all have sections of our business sites with some videos on and/or add them to our blogs as and when we get a good one.
Also with everything going mobile, we've generally got some earphones handy to check it on the smart phone.
We should all get geared up, have a play with it and understand what it is about so we have not got to rely on our agencies or IT depts. to use it in emails when we need to.
I don't count an animated gif as a video, it is an animated image. But if you have videos in your web-site it is a good teaser to get the click, as is the YouTube style image with the play button in the middle.
I expect Outlook will resist but we have had some success lately from the MS-Office team. There is a web-site but I can't find the link to it!


text:
Q: Assertion failure in LLVM with LLVMlite (This happened while doing the fix I found here: LLVM IR: expose variables to GDB?)
I am trying to compile some code written in a custom programming language. It is compiled to LLVM IR, and then compiled to an ELF by clang. However, I was trying to add debugging information to a call:
res = self.builder.call(fn, args)
res.set_metadata('dbg', self.module.add_debug_info('DILocation', {
                'line': i.meta.line,
                'column': i.meta.column,
                'scope': self.subprogram
            }))

I got a very nice error: python: /root/miniconda3/conda-bld/llvmdev_1531160641630/work/include/llvm/Support/Casting.h:106: static bool llvm::isa_impl_cl<To, const From*>::doit(const From*) [with To = llvm::DIBasicType; From = llvm::Metadata]: Assertion 'Val && "isa<> used on a null pointer"' failed. How can I fix this error? I have the latest version of llvmlite: llvmlite==0.26.0
Note: this similar code does not generate any errors:
res = fncall(self.builder, self.module, fn, args).eval()
# equivalent to self.builder.call(fn, args, name='called_{0}'.format(fn.name)) but defined in a class
res.set_metadata('dbg', self.module.add_debug_info('DILocation', {
                'line': i.meta.line,
                'column': i.meta.column,
                'scope': self.subprogram
            }))

I updated both llvm-6.0, clang-6.0, and llvmlite, and this error still occurs.

A: I removed the code that compiled and ran the IR (via llvmlite.bindings). This fixed the assertion error. However, as I detailed here, there is still an issue.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/adb-loan-197-85m-for-sindh-roads-improvement 10% Daily 2016-08-31 05:15
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/banks-cannot-invest-in-iran-without-us-guarantees 10% Daily 2016-08-29 18:03
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/greek-banks-to-replace-about-a-third-of-board-members-by-september 10% Daily 2016-08-29 17:17
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/mastercard-may-apply-for-china-payment-license-this-year 10% Daily 2016-08-29 17:11
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/uk-banks-seen-losing-customers-after-brexit-study 10% Daily 2016-08-29 16:54
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/saudi-central-banks-foreign-assets-drop-by-6bn-in-july 10% Daily 2016-08-29 12:39
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/malaysia-replaces-pakistan-as-leader-in-islamic-banking-finance 10% Daily 2016-08-29 16:51
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/world-bank-presidency-search-opens-with-kims-hat-in-ring-2 10% Daily 2016-08-26 08:19
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/china-takes-forceful-steps-to-tame-unruly-peer-to-peer-lending-sector 10% Daily 2016-08-25 12:41
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/sterling-hits-3-week-high-against-dollar 10% Daily 2016-08-25 11:24
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/early-trade-in-ny-retreats-on-fed-rate-hike-uncertainty 10% Daily 2016-08-25 11:22
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/dollar-mostly-flat-against-majors-in-ny 10% Daily 2016-08-25 11:18
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/asian-currencies-edge-higher 10% Daily 2016-08-25 11:07
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/world-bank-presidency-search-opens-with-kims-hat-in-ring 10% Daily 2016-08-25 10:39
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/brexit-leads-to-decline-in-remittances-from-uk 10% Daily 2016-08-25 09:44
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/us-banks-want-to-cut-branches-but-customers-keep-coming 10% Daily 2016-08-24 06:55
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/qatars-investment-strategy-due-a-strategic-pivot 10% Daily 2016-08-24 06:51
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/bahrains-gfh-says-may-buy-control-of-bank-al-khair 10% Daily 2016-08-23 07:16
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/sbi-board-approves-merger-of-three-banks-and-bmbl 10% Daily 2016-08-22 06:14
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/how-the-world-banks-biggest-critic-became-its-president-2 10% Daily 2016-08-22 05:59
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/financial-institutions-weigh-their-options-after-brexit 10% Daily 2016-08-22 05:49
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/britains-decision-to-leave-the-eu-is-met-with-economic-shock-and-uncertainty 10% Daily 2016-08-20 19:22
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/how-the-world-banks-biggest-critic-became-its-president 10% Daily 2016-08-20 18:57
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/china-uncovers-30bn-worth-of-illegal-banking-activity 10% Daily 2016-08-18 05:44
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/egypt-eyes-tough-reforms-in-last-ditch-bid-to-save-economy 10% Daily 2016-08-17 08:33
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/rupee-report-dollar-volatility-weakens-rupee 10% Daily 2016-08-15 11:11
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/imf-reaches-initial-deal-with-egypt-for-12bn 10% Daily 2016-08-12 08:08
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/nakao-to-lead-adb-for-five-more-years 10% Daily 2016-08-06 09:11
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/bank-of-england-responds-to-brexit-shock 10% Daily 2016-08-05 10:40
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/british-currency-seen-hitting-three-decade-low 10% Daily 2016-08-04 08:19
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/new-greek-bailout-finds-imf-in-a-political-bind 10% Daily 2016-08-03 07:21
https://www.thebanker.com.pk/financial_news/irans-global-banking-problems-deepen-with-rise-of-trump-brexit 10% Daily 2016-08-01 08:28


Start with this simple 30 day commitment so you can focus on what matters most: Making Ideas.
Sign up today to receive daily tips, techniques, and resources to help you be more mindful and present in every meeting.
Congratulations! You've been mindful for 30 DAYS.
Take this promo code as a reward for your hard work and receive 30% off a Bamboo smartpad.
I'm done wasting time in meetings. For the next 30 days, I pledge to close my laptop and put down my phone, to be more mindful and present in every meeting I attend. If we all stop meeting multitasking, we can have fewer, shorter, more effective meetings.
By signing up you'll receive 30 days of helpful emails to get you started and keep you motivated. Join a supportive community of workers already enjoying the benefits of mindful meetings, and register for a chance to win a Bamboo smartpad.
Whoops! Unfortunately, your information was not able to be processed through our database. Please review and fill out the form again.
Congratulations on taking the first step to having more mindful meetings. We invite you to share this commitment with your co-workers, friends, and family. Because, if we all stop meeting multitasking, we can have fewer, shorter, more effective meetings, and focus on what matters the most: Making Ideas.
Helpful resources to be more mindful at work.
See the benefits of #mindfulmeetings.
& share your own story for a chance to be featured.
Bamboo smartpads are designed to help you make ideas.
Reduce distractions. Save time. Get organized.


text:
Q: Using a Finite Potential Assumption to Derive the Sudden Aproximation
Let H=T+V be the Hamiltonian of a system with potential energy V.
Assume that V is finite, explain how this assumption is used to derive
the sudden approximation?

I can't think of any way to show how the sudden approximation is implied by a finite potential above just talking about how the wavefunction must be continuous and smooth across any change in potential. I'm not sure how to follow this logic.


Sacha Baron Cohen spoke to Howard Stern Tuesday morning, not as Borat or Bruno or The Dictator, but as an even more elusive character: Sacha Baron Cohen.
The British comedian famously refuses to do interviews out of character, even going so far as appearing at this year's Academy awards as The Dictator—and spilling an urn full of ashes (flour, actually) on a spooked Ryan Seacrest.
Monday night he marched onstage at The Daily Show decked out as The Dictator for an interview with Jon Stewart—even with a guy who gets the joke he refused to appear as himself.
But for Stern, he shed his shtick. He was just Sacha. My guess is Howard either refused or simply wasn't interested in interviewing Baron Cohen in character. In Howard's world, nothing is more shocking and surprising and funny than honesty—and you can't get that behind a fake beard and makeup.
The interview on Sirius XM was comedy legend. "Two tall hairy Jews," as Baron Cohen described them, bantering at 100 mph about their careers, their comedy, and for one segment—which I managed to record below—on being Jewish.
"You're an Orthodox Jew," Howard asks Baron Cohen at one point in the conversation.
And they were off. I'm burying the lede here, but during their exchange Baron Cohen acknowledged that many of the creative choices in The Dictator and Borat were designed to mock anti-semitism, and show the utter hypocrisy at work when the Arab world singles out Israel and Zionism for criticism.
The Arab Spring, said Baron Cohen, reveals the flimsiness of that lie.
Baron Cohen revealed one way he made this point: his character in The Dictator speaks Hebrew. So, by the way, did Borat. Howard asked Baron Cohen how it was that he was fluent in Hebrew, and Baron Cohen said his mother is Israeli—in fact, his grandmother,m at age 97, still teaches fitness classes in Israel.
Two more parts of their conversation struck me. One was the difference in their Jewish identity. Both men married non-Jewish women, and Stern couldn't quite understand why Baron Cohen's wife converted to Judaism. He also assumed that Baron Cohen satirized anti-semitism in Borat and The Dictator because he faced it as a kid.
But Baron Cohen said he never experienced anti-Semitism. As the son of an Israeli, and a generation younger than Stern, he has none of the love-hate relationship with his faith that is so prevalent in men like Stern, Woody Allen, Larry David. The children of traumatized immigrants passed Judaism on as something heavy and dark, a bitter pill, and most often their children spit it out. Stern used to love to tell listeners that he was only half-Jewish.
He wished. But for Baron-Cohen's generation, assimilation, fear, rejection were replaced by pride, acceptance, even joy. They could see Judaism as a viable spiritual path, without the personal baggage of anti-semitism and the Holocaust.
Yes, listen to the interview, you'll see what I mean.
The other was just how much of a role model stern was for Baron Cohen.
"I've been watching your career for 20 years," he told Stern.
If you've heard the interviews Stern has done over the past year with Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and others, they all same much the same thing. A generation of ambitious, funny, comedians grew up listening to Stern, and were inspired by his courage and honesty—and crudeness.
Click here to read a penetrating op-ed by Sacha Baron Cohen's cousin Simon Baron Cohen on the reasons killers target children. It's not funny, no. But boy that Baron Cohen family is bright.


Not long after the news broke, Google announced in a blog post that it will be shutting down the consumer version of Google+ over a 10-month period, confirming that personal information belonging to as many as 500,000 Google+ users had been exposed.
The vulnerability was discovered as part of Google's "Project Strobe" - an internal audit of the company's APIs conducted by Google engineers.
Technically-speaking, this issue was the result of a flaw in an API Google created to help third-party app developers access an array of profile and contact information about the people who sign up to use their apps.
Unfortunately, the API had the unintended consequence of revealing user data explicitly marked private; private data belonging to both the user unknowingly granting the app permission to access it, and friends of that user, who had not.
Google claims it found "no evidence that any developer was aware of this bug, or abusing the API", but it would not be difficult to imagine a hacker exploiting this critical vulnerability by publishing a fraudulent app, and integrating the Google+ API to effortlessly vacuum up private user data.
Data breaches can happen for all kinds of reasons: a weak password, a programming error, or even a direct malicious cyber attack.
But whether your personal data has been compromised or not, a breach like this one is a good reminder to keep yourself, and your data, safe and protected.
Set up two-factor authentication: In addition to being a password manager, Myki also functions as a 2FA authenticator which can receive and even auto-fill your 2FA tokens.
Use strong passwords and change them frequently: Myki's Password Generator makes it easy to generate long, complex, and virtually impossible to guess passwords.
Check if you've already been affected: Myki's Was I Hacked feature can help you find out whether your email has already been part of a past data breach, which should be enough of an incentive for you to start implementing these safety measures!
Now that you're fully armed with the necessary tools to securely manage your digital identity, make sure to keep an eye out for more cybersecurity news and developments on the Myki blog.
7 podcasts to keep you informed and educated on all things cybersecurity, data privacy, and more.


Here's my photo of Mars because, to be truthful, that last one by Nasa was a bit boring. Maybe they should have equipped their Curiosity machine with Instagram?
Helen called me into the bathroom late last night to have a look at our latest visitor. I used to have no problem picking up big hairy spiders but the last few years I dread having to handle their spindly bodies to evict them into the cool night air outside. Like feathers stroking the inside of a wrist their hairy scrabbling legs trigger nerves in my neck, evicting the spider becomes a complete body experience, one I don't really need before bed.
I was struggling with computer colouring today and I needed to do something freehand. Drawn with a Uniball Eye Micro and a box of cheap Winsor & Newton waterclours.


Hayden joined MJM Design Architects in 2008 as an apprentice, becoming an architect's assistant in 2009 after completing a three year BTEC course in Construction at the Institute of Building and Construction Engineering.
Over the past years working at MJMDA, Hayden was involved in a variety of projects, ranging from residential developments, to commercial outlets and industrial buildings. With the use of cutting edge software, he has prepared detail and working drawings and has excelled in the making of design layouts and 3D visualisation.
In the year 2012, Hayden also provided training in the use of specialised software to groups of technical and professional individuals contributing to the architectural industry at the Learnkey Centre.


text:
The Alamo (2004)
"Remember The Alamo!" Problem was the movie going public didn't
Director: John Lee Hancock
Cast: Dennis Quaid (Sam Houston), Billy Bob Thornton (Davy Crockett), Jason Patric (James Bowie), Patrick Wilson (William Barret Travis), Emilio Echevarría (Antonio López de Santa Anna), Jordi Mollà (Juan Seguin), Leon Rippy (Sergeant William Ward)
"Remember the Alamo!" was the famous war cry of the Texan rebels fighting to make Texas an independent state from Mexican rule. Problem was, fast forward 90 odd years and it seems not enough people did. This lovingly reconstructed re-telling of the doomed attempt to defend The Alamo (a sort of Western Zulu with a downer ending) was a box-office disaster.
In 1836, a civil war raged in Mexico, which then included Texas. American immigrants and other groups fought to make Texas an independent state, with an eye on later joining the United States. A small force is sent to garrison the Alamo, a key fort recently captured from the Mexicans. But the Mexicans and their President Santa Anna are descending on the Alamo in full military force…
The Alamo is a pretty decent film. It's not a classic and at times it's a rather staid and straight-laced history lesson, po-facedly cramming in as much as it can within its running time. But it's got many merits, not least the fact that it's willing to focus on character rather than action, and embraces the fact that sieges tend to be rather long, dull affairs punctuated by moments of sheer terror.
Billy Bob Thornton gives a sharply intelligent and thought-provoking reading of Davey Crockett, playing him as man painfully aware that he is a legend, and wearily trying to balance this with also being a "normal" person, with the same fears and desires as other men. He plays Crockett as a gentle, even rather sensitive soul, a good listener, sharply self-critical and scared that he can't live up to the reputation he has. As he says at one point: "If it was just me, simple old David from Tennessee, I might drop over that wall some night, take my chances. But that Davy Crockett feller... they're all watchin' him." At one moment (in a scene that the film overplays by returning to at least twice in flashback), Crockett plays the violin on the ramparts to battle the Mexican drums, giving a brief Shawshank-like moment of freedom through the power of art.
The two main leads don't disappoint alongside him. I enjoyed Patrick Wilson's stiff-necked William Travis, whose cold and formal manner slowly reveals a decent man and a brave leader (though no master tactician). Jason Patric also manages to land just the right side of rogueish as a drunken James Bowie, the men's leader of choice. Dennis Quaid has the dullest, least developed part as a larger-than-life Sam Houston. Impressive as these characterisations are, the film doesn't really have time for anyone else to make an impression – while Emilo Echevarria's Santa Anna is little more than cardboard cut-out of villainy.
The film's main problem is its reverent regard for the moment in history that it is covering. For starters, its makers assume everyone shares this: there is no opening crawl, or scene setting voiceover, to tell us where we are, what's going on and when. The filmmakers assume us to be as au fait with Texan independence as they are. I had to literally stop the film for a good ten minutes and read some quick timelines of Texan independence, as well as skim a few Wikipedia pages on Texan history, so I could follow the storyline.
Secondly, it's so keen to cover all the major historical events, that at points it's more than a little dry. Its slow pace has the upside of really allowing us to get to know the characters at its centre (the original run time was closer to 3 hours, which would have allowed many of the background characters to come to life as well). But with the runtime cut down, combined with the assumptions made about the viewer's historical knowledge, it sometimes becomes a little tricky to either engage with the drama fully or to completely understand what's going on.
The recut of the film after disastrous test screenings also means that the film has what feels like a tacked on "happy ending", with the last twenty minutes given over to the (very shortened) Houston campaign against the Mexicans and Santa Anna's capture. The film rockets through this, barely pausing to explain tactics or events, seemingly wanting to give meaning to the sacrifice at the Alamo. Some half-hearted attempts are made to contrast slaughter of the Mexican soldiers with that of the Alamo defenders, but not much.
But this is not a bad film by any means, just a fatally compromised one. It's trying to be an intelligent, grown-up piece of film making – a character study out west – but it's also trying to be an action film. It doesn't quite succeed in being either, but it's at its best as a character study, helped by some really strong, thoughtful performances. Hancock isn't, to be honest, an original enough director to bring to life the epic scope and sweep that the film needs, but it's clear he cares about this a lot. In fact that's the best thing about this film: it's clear that everyone in the film cared deeply about this story and desperately wanted this film to be a classic.
It's a shame that this story is one that seems to have less relevance to the masses today, and that this film can't quite coalesce all the efforts of everyone involved into something really memorable.
Labels: 2004, Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Quaid, Historical epics, Jason Patric, John Lee Hancock, Patrick Wilson, Westerns
I Am Legend (2007)
Rush hour is a lot easier to beat when its just you and your dog.
Cast: Will Smith (Robert Neville), Alice Braga (Anna Montez), Charlie Tahan (Ethan), Salli Richardson (Zoe Neville), Willow Smith (Marley Neville), Emma Thompson (Dr. Alice Krippin)
If you're going to make a movie that involves the viewer watching one person, alone with just a dog, for well over an hour, you'd better be sure that the person you recruit to play that role can actually hold the viewer's interest for that time. Factor in, for Hollywood, that the person you pick needs to be capable of getting big box-office, and you ain't got a lot of choices. But casting Will Smith in this was a choice the studio largely got right.
The year is 2012 and the world has ended. Robert Neville (Will Smith) is a military virologist, the last surviving human in New York. A miracle cure for cancer went disastrously wrong three years before and killed 94% of the world's population, mutated 5% into feral "darkseekers" who attack anything living at night, leaving just 1% of the world's population immune. Neville lives alone in New York, with only his deceased daughter's dog for company, and works to find a cure for the disease by capturing and experimenting on the darkseekers.
In a remarkably brave and unusual move for a blockbuster, Will Smith is essentially alone on screen for a solid hour. The film takes a measured, well-paced delight in following his daily routines, covering everything from his work in immunology to scavenging for supplies, hunting deer (escaped from the zoo), hitting golf balls off aircraft carriers, and having free run of a video store he has filled with mannequins. His Washington Square house is heavily fortified, but also remarkably homely and certainly not that bad a place to watch the end of the world from.
Following this daily routine is, by far and away, the most interesting part of the film, as it is one of the few parts that actually feels unique and original. In fact, you wish it could go on longer and that the film didn't need to revert back its more predictable "one man against the monsters" theme. The ingenuity of survival in extreme circumstances, and the eerie freedom of the busiest city in the world completely empty, makes you wonder not only "could I do that" but also, secretly "would it be fun for a while to drive a fast car around Times Square or whack golf balls off the wing of a stealth bomber?".
"For a while" is the key thing here, as the film also explores the deeply damaging effect extreme isolation has had on Neville's psychology. It's here that Smith earns his chops. He's an extremely engaging actor, so you're happy to spend time with him, but he's also skilled enough to play a cracked psyche without going overboard. Neville chats (and flirts) with mannequins, knows Shrek so well he can speak in perfect unison (inflections and all) with the film, and keeps up a regular stream of conversation with his dog Sam, including asking her what she is planning to do for his birthday. Much of this is played lightly, but at key moments Smith allows Neville to snap. He also plays the tragedy gently – his reactions to Sam's death are genuinely quite moving because they are quiet and restrained.
This is all interesting stuff. Less interesting are the "darkseekers" and the film's final resolution. Firstly, the darkseekers themselves are bog-standard zombie monsters – screaming, running, deadly creatures with their one quirk being their fear of UV light. Other than that, it's nothing you haven't seen in half a dozen movies before (better). Turning them into zombie creatures does make Neville even more isolated but makes encounters with them fairly predictable, mostly inspired by films past. Most of the film's big confrontation set pieces have a slightly tired familiar feeling to them. I'm already struggling to remember them, and I only saw the film two days ago.
The major problem with this film is its ending. I Am Legend had its ending re-shot after test audiences saw it. Originally, a reveal would have been that the darkseekers were far more intelligent than appeared, and their motivation was to prevent Neville's experimentation on them. Two scenes still make a point of discussing Neville's Mengele-like wall of photos of dead darkseekers, killed by his cure experiments, and other hints remain through the film: the traps they set , the presence of an "Alpha" leader among the monsters, repeated shots of the tattoo on Neville's last captured darkseeker, which was intended to be a crucial clue that she was the mate of the Alpha.
But test audiences weren't having that. So in the final version, all this build-up and suggestion is shoved aside as Neville grabs a grenade and blows himself and them to hell to allow a cure to be taken to the rest of mankind. As the cure is taken to an idyllic community in the country (church and all) mankind's future is his "legend" or some such guff. It's a major loss of nerve that makes the film just another run-of-the-mill monster flick. It doesn't match with hints that remain in the whole film and it doesn't tie in with the more successful first hour of the film. It doesn't question the possible rights and wrongs of Neville's actions (at best comprehensive animal experimentation), but fully endorses them.
It's a shame as this has ideas, its vistas of New York being reclaimed by nature are interesting and memorable, and Will Smith is pretty good in a straight acting role. But instead it settles for being a schlocky monster pic, where we can unquestioningly cheer as everything is neatly tied up with a bow and everything we thought about all of its characters is confirmed. As such, this film isn't a classic and it hasn't had the sort of life it might have been able to have. Despite good moments, it's definitely not a Legend.
Labels: 2007, Apocalyptic dramas, Francis Lawrence, Will Smith
Anthropoid (2016)
Great Expectations (2012)
Jackie (2016)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)
Mr. Brooks (2007)
London Has Fallen (2016)
The Lady in the Van (2015)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Gods of Egypt (2016)
The Lone Ranger (2013)
Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Trainspotting (1996)


text:
Find Research Data
Filters for Datasets
Start date(descending)
Data for: Pearse et al 2015 Ecological Entomology "Leaf phenology mediates provenance differences in herbivore populations on valley oaks in a common garden"
Pearse, I. S. (Creator), Baty, J. (Creator), Herrmann, D. (Creator), Sage, R. (Creator) & Koenig, W. D. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jun 5 2015
Optimal Copula Models For The Observed Discharge And Nitrate Concentration In The Lower Illinois River
Park, D. (Creator), Markus, M. (Creator) & Um, M. J. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mar 12 2017
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.376793
ORCID Annual Public Data File
Bryant, R. (Creator), Haak, L. (Creator), Paglione, L. (Creator), Peters, R. (Creator), Oyler, C. (Creator), Simpson, W. (Creator), Montenegro, A. (Creator) & Ramirez Monge, J. F. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dec 4 2013
DOI: 10.14454/07243.2013.001
SocialMediaIE Tutorial Material for IC2S2 2020
Mishra, S. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jul 16 2020
DOI: 10.13012/B2IDB-0851257_V1
Heteroptera Transcriptome Set
de Moya, R. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dec 3 2019
Airyscan confocal superresolution images of fossil and modern pollen of Amherstieae (Fabaceae)
Romero, I. (Creator), Urban, M. A. (Creator) & Punyasena, S. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Oct 20 2020
Included Articles from Cochrane Reviews
Kansara, Y. (Creator) & Hoang, L. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Oct 27 2020
Magnetotransport measurements of connected kagome artificial spin ice in armchair and zigzag configurations
Schiffer, P. E. (Creator) & Le, B. L. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Aug 11 2017
Model dataset for the Wax Lake delta
Zhang, Q. (Creator) & Li, C. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dec 18 2016
Data for: Dynamic controls on field-scale soil nitrous oxide hot spots and hot moments across a microtopographic gradient
Krichels, A. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, May 31 2019
Datasets used in "Recursive MAGUS: scalable and accurate multiple sequence alignment"
Smirnov, V. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mar 31 2021
Sorghum bicolor GBS: diversity study II
Brown, P. J. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Feb 23 2017
Meterology and ocean data collected at LSU WAVCIS Lab
Public agency data of the Wax Lake delta
Zhang, Q. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dec 12 2016
Trained models for multi-task multi-dataset learning for text classification as well as sequence tagging in tweets
Mishra, S. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sep 17 2019
An Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change in Illinois, Chapter 6: Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystems, Supplemental Forest Data
Iverson, L. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, May 14 2021
UIUC Campus Gamma-Ray Radiation Data
Zhao, J. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mar 5 2019
SBKS - Chemical Not Found Entity Mentions
Jett, J. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jul 25 2022
Glycine tomentella GBS
Brown, P. J. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Apr 26 2018
Site attributes for PLOS ONE article
Lovell, S. T. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Feb 2 2019
RCT Tagger Results
Kansara, Y. (Creator) & Hoang, K. L. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Feb 9 2022
Data for Poison Frogs in U.S. Collections
Edmonds, D. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Aug 27 2021
SBKS - Species - Cleaned & Grounded Entity Mentions
Cahokia, Mound 72 Shell Artifacts
Kozuch, L. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Oct 13 2020
Words_Selected_by_Manual_Analysis
Dong, X. (Creator), Xie, J. (Creator) & Hoang, L. (Creator), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dec 20 2018


Annual leave is an important part of working life and one of the National Employment Standards (NES). All employees, other than casuals, are entitled to four weeks away from work each year or five weeks if they are shift workers.
Annual leave, or holiday pay, is leave which allows employees to take time off work while being paid. The minimum annual leave comes from the National Employment Standards (NES), though some employers are able to give employees more leave if they wish.
So if you are an employer with workers under these arrangements, they are entitled to five weeks of annual leave.