text:
Tracey Edmonds And Shaun Robinson Are Developing 'The Ex Files' At Lifetime
The Ex Files: A Novel about four women and faith is reportedly in development at Lifetime from executive producers Tracey Edmonds (Soul Food, Jumping the Broom, BET's Games People Play) and Shaun Robinson (Executive producer of Lifetime's Seven Deadly Sins movie series with Bishop T.D. Jakes) a source close to the situation tells Shadow And Act.
Shadow And Act reached out to Lifetime for comment. The novel was written by Victoria Christopher Murray.
Being Mary Jane scribe Patrik-Ian Polk has been tapped to write the adaptation. The official description of the novel reads: There are four ways a woman can handle heartbreak: she can fall apart, seek revenge, turn cold, or move on.
In The Ex Files, four women find faith, friendship, and healing under the unlikeliest of circumstances. Kendall, Asia, Vanessa and Sheridan each have an "ex" in their lives.
Whether from a broken marriage, the shocking loss of a loved one, or a shattered bond of trust, the pain is real and the wounds deep. Will they ever heal?
When their pastor asks the foursome to meet weekly for prayer, they can't imagine they will have anything in common. Then a devastating tragedy strikes and these strangers are forced to reexamine their choices. Will they find true friendship? Or will prayer— and their circle of support—be enough to see them through?
MarVista is the studio. Edmonds Entertainment and RobinHood Productions are the production companies.
Victoria Christopher Murray is the author of more than twenty novels including: Greed; Envy; Lust; The Ex Files; Lady Jasmine; The Deal, the Dance, and the Devil; and Stand Your Ground, which was named a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Winner of nine African American Literary Awards for Fiction and Author of the Year (Female), Murray is also a four-time NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Fiction. She splits her time between Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Visit her website at VictoriaChristopherMurray.com.
Visit Victoria Christopher Murray author's page at Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Christopher-Murray/e/B001IO9LP2
Greed: A Seven Deadly Sins Novel (The Seven Deadly Sins Book 3) by Victoria Christopher Murray
Passion, money, and a deliciously devious twist: Greed is the newest novel in award-winning author Victoria Christopher Murray's Seven Deadly Sins series—"the drama of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" (Booklist)—and soon to be a Lifetime movie.
You can't put a price on love…
Zuri Maxwell isn't happy. Her job is a grind, and money is always tight. Her boyfriend Stephon is the best part of life, but between his income as an artist and her commission-based paycheck, they are barely scraping by.
When Zuri meets a sleek entrepreneur eager to pick her brain, she jumps at the chance to talk business with someone who has everything she wants. As he wines and dines her, Zuri starts moving in elite circles, and she faces a crossroads: Will she give up the stable, loving life she knows for one that glitters, but may not be gold?
Posted by Ella Curry, EDC Creations on February 28, 2020 in #StorytellersBookTour
Welcome to My Breakdown: A Memoir by Benilde Little
Author Benilde Little Opens Up About Her Breakdown
Watch the introduction here: https://youtu.be/diJv7g-7IRk
The nationally bestselling author of 'Good Hair' and 'The Itch' discusses her first book of nonfiction, a "momoir" about her own journey caring for aging parents, raising children, being married, plunging to the depths of depression, and climbing her way out.
Powerful, relatable, and ultimately redemptive, 'Welcome to My Breakdown' is a remarkable memoir about the power within us all to rise from despair and to feel hope and joy again.
Read an excerpt from the book, Welcome to My Breakdown: A Memoir by Benilde Little, go here today.
Benilde Little is the bestselling author of the novels Good Hair, The Itch, Acting Out and Who Does She Think She Is? She has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Essence, Jet, People Magazine, Heart and Soul, More magazine, among many others. She has had numerous media appearances including NPR, the Today Show, and Tavis Smiley.
The Go On Girl Book Club selected Good Hair as the best book of the year. Natalie Cole bought the film rights. Benilde's writing has appeared in numerous anthologies, including Honey Hush and About Face. She was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award.
A former reporter for The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Star Ledger, People and senior editor at Essence, she has been a creative writing professor at Ramapo College. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with her husband, two children and dog.
BPM: You are known for your novels, Good Hair, The Itch, Who Does She Think She Is?, Acting Out, why nonfiction, why now?
It wasn't a conscious, creative choice to write a non-fiction book. It was the place I was emotionally in, where this was all I could write. The feeling of hopelessness, grief and sadness was so all consuming that I had to get it out of me. I suppose I could've approached those feelings in a fictional form, but that never even occurred to me; wasn't a thought. It was not the write format. Toni Morrison has said to write the book you want to read. I believe that, but I also know that this was a book I had to write and I did write it for me.
BPM: Welcome to My Breakdown, the title of your new book suggests a light tone, but the book is anything but. You write that when your mother died you weren't sure how you would survive. Was it difficult for you to write about your depression?
Sometimes, but not as much as one might imagine; I wrote this book in pieces, so sometimes when I was writing about it, I wasn't consistently living with it. When I'd research other writers talking about their depression, William Styron and David Forster Wallace, in particular, but also Terrie Williams, in her book Black Pain (in which she writes about her own depression and others'), I felt less alone.
Feeling less alone helped me to feel somewhat better. What was hard was re-reading the descriptions of that time. There were times when I'd scan it and other times when I'd cry and sometimes I could read it at a remove.
BPM: Do you think that this book might encourage candid conversations in all communities, but particularly the African American community about depression?
That is my sincere hope. I think it will. It's been said that the book is honest and bare and I think that will give some people permission to take a deep look at one's self in an honest, and hopefully compassionate, way.
BLACK PAIN: WE'RE DYING AND WE'RE HURTING
Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Pain-Just-Looks-Hurting/dp/0743298837
Terrie Williams knows that Black people are hurting. She knows because she's one of them.
The senseless murder of unarmed Black men have ripped open the wounds of a nation. Treated as if we are simultaneously invisible while highly conspicuous, ignored when we are in need and profiled when we are simply proceeding.
The attack on the lives of Black men like Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Amadou Diallo, Rodney King, Sean Bell, Abner Louima and Oscar Grant serves as a reminder that Black lives in America are not valued. These not so uncommon instances of police extremism often shatter the trust between law enforcement and the people they are meant to protect.
It is Black Pain that is simmering under the surface of this allegedly color blind and post-racist country, it is Black Pain that inspires protests for justice, and it is Black Pain that police in Ferguson were attempting to detain and mask. Treating our fellow Americans as anything less than human, undermines the principles we fought for as a nation during the civil rights era.
We've seen this over and over again, where police brutality, directed primarily toward Black men, often renders the community, collectively and individually, into an extreme state of shock…it effects our men, our women and our children.
According to Dr. Dawn M. Porter, a Board Certified Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist, the trauma that can result from these repeated experiences can lend itself to the development of a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which all too often goes unnamed and untreated. An inability to deal with the stress of witnessing blatant injustice of this magnitude, can cause people to act out of unresolved trauma and erupt in rage and anger often in response to a complete sense of helplessness and hopelessness.
Whether you witnessed the murder of Michael Brown, saw the sketches of his bullet riddled body or listened to the circumstances surrounding his death (his body was left in the streets for 4 hours and then shuttled away in an SUV-an ambulance was never called), we have all been deeply scarred by the unnecessary death of this young man and others like him.
The extraordinary events taken place a few years ago have re-opened many wounds and has raised a lot of questions. Are we valued in our own communities? What do we do and where do we go with the pain we are experiencing? How do we begin to heal as a people, as a community, and finally as a nation from such trauma?
The reality is, it is impossible to experience a trauma of this nature and go about our daily lives as if we didn't just witness and experience the pain of watching the death of another unarmed brother go thus far unpunished. As you begin to deal with your reaction to these tragedies, use the strategies I provided in EBONY.com when Trayvon Martin was killed.
Seek Help: Consider reaching out to a professional counselor or therapist to help you process what you feel. There is no shame in getting help. I find that therapy is the gift that keeps on giving. It helps me to clarify my thoughts and process heartbreaking situations like this. Counseling can be a necessary lifeline. We cannot be or breathe properly if we don't release the unresolved pain, wounds, scars and trauma of our childhoods. We cannot be all that God has called us to be. The trauma of racism is accompanied by post-traumatic stress disorder for many and a great, hidden sense of pain for most.
Redefine "Strength": We often confuse being "strong" with being silent. True strength lies in knowing when to ask for help, when to let the tears flow, when you are overwhelmed. The death of our black men is one that has taken a great toll on our collective psyches… no time for silence. Be strong enough to be proactive in healing your heart as you work to seek justice.
Posted by Ella Curry, EDC Creations on February 24, 2020 in Uncategorized
Meet Sherryle Kiser Jackson
Multi-published author, wife, mother and teacher, Sherryle Kiser Jackson strives to be a fresh voice in Christian Fiction. Born in Prince Georges County, Maryland, Sherryle went on to get a degree in Elementary Education from from Salisbury State University. Her triumphant debut novel, Soon and Very Soon (2007) was followed up by her sophomore release, The Manual (2009), Soon After (2010), Taylor- Made (2011), Land of Promiscuity (2012) and Path to Promise (2013) for Urban Christian Books. She lives in Maryland with her family.
BPM: What topics does your latest book address? Why?
I started with what it meant to be a missionary. My sister is the President of the Missions Ministry at my church and has been on several missions' trips. We're so different in that respect. To be real, I know I am not selfless enough most of the time to shed my comfortable existence to the degree where I can be of service.
My question when starting this novel became can servants also be self-serving in the process of helping others. I thought wouldn't it be interesting to see a totally selfish person try to navigate that landscape. I mean, imagine your most self-absorbed friend or high maintenance family member leaving their cell phone, tablet or priceless wardrobe pieces behind for the barest of necessities.
My main character sets off on a mission's trip to Haiti with the goal to find his birth father. He's a fatherless child trying to answer a lifetime of questions about the man that helped conceive him. In the midst of that struggle I layered an interracial love story and all the issues that brings. I've connected with some great people on Pinterest who support the missionaries in their lives and found a community dealing with the absentee of loved ones similar to that of military families with a loved one on a long deployment.
BPM: Did you conduct alot of research for this book, Submissionary (Seek. Find. Release)?
Yes! Have you heard of Symbaloo? It's like a dashboard of websites all in one place. Some might find it interesting to see the sites I used to get insight into pre and post quake Haiti. Check it out: http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/submissionary
BPM: Who does your body of literary work speak to?
I write personally poignant and hopefully impactful and uplifting literature. It's my version of Christian fiction that is neither preachy nor compromised. My goal is never to write a salacious story. I think many equate that with being a really good story. In reality most of us don't live on that extreme. With storylines centered around the root of my character's decisions and the impact on their relationships, my literary work speaks to women and Christians specifically. I call it my brand of soul satisfying reads.
BPM: You believe strongly in:
I believe strongly in showing faith in action which is not an elaborate Hollywood set washed in white light, full of one-liners and magic tricks. I am also on a mission to take the dirty laundry off the clothes lines of our community, sweep the streets clean of other people's business and bring virtue back.
BPM: Faith allows you:
Faith allows me the freedom to hope and face life's challenges, to call out inconsistencies in the world, but particularly, inconsistencies in my life that are contrary to what God ordained and promised. I suppose ( in fact, I know) I can get as arrogant, self-absorbed or ratchet as the next person, BUT, something reminds me to, "act like I know." I have to act like I know Him, and that I am profoundly different because I know Him. Yep, I preach to the choir. It's characteristic of my brand. I am the one that gives you the gentle reminder – Seriously, you better act like you know!
BPM: Criticism makes you:
Criticism makes me reassess. I'm sure it depends on the spirit in which the criticism is given. I can't say I am one with great discernment of people's motives. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. I receive it in love. I get my feelings hurt sometimes. Ultimately, I know what to take from critism and what to discard.
BPM: Do you consider yourself a role model:
Everyone is to a certain degree. I mean, I am a teacher as well, and not just by profession. I am keenly aware that we have a role to edify one another. So when I see people follow my RSS feed, or on social media, I am conscious of the message I put out.
BPM: When you are afraid, you will:
When I am fearful I become unproductive. Fear is something I work to get under control right away. Besides the fact that the Bible suggest that fear is a fabrication because the Lord hasn't given us the spirit of fear, for that reason, a wise woman once said, "I aint got time for that."
BPM: What surprised you the most about becoming a business owner?
It surprised me that it is completely different from my natural, creative being. Although, publishing yourself can both work to lessen and add to your stress. You have the leeway to let a story unfold organically, but you have the added pressure to put out a quality product and be responsible for all parts of the product. You have to take note of the persuasions in society to be seen and heard among the rhetoric of the day.
BPM: The greatest threat to literary freedom are:
The greatest threat to literary freedom are those that try to silence the story tellers Choked out of major and mom and pop bookstore shelves alike that are closing by the dozens, we fail to recognize the soul and essence of who we are. We feel all our stories must somehow have to be the same. We sometimes become divisive in our pursuit to compete with each other for readers. It is important that our work be as diverse as we are. It is also important that the authenticity of our stories, and not solely money or notoriety be the aim of the storytellers.
BPM: How has your writing evolved:
I now know I don't have to hammer every point. Readers desire a distraction not constant direction. I am a wordsmith that can sometimes get happy in the turn of a phrase, but I've learned I cannot forget my audience.
BPM: Do you view writing as a gift or a career:
A career may be the hope, writing is a definite gifting. It's cathartic. You may hear some writers speak of the words to a story just flowing at a point in their process. I think this is an accurate account of what gifting truly is. There is a natural ebb and flow to things. When you are working in your gifting there is a point you can tuck into the flow and the story comes out naturally.
BPM: Advice you would give a new author:
Read. Write. Be brave and find your own voice.
BPM: Your greatest accomplishment as a writer:
Besides the seven novels, and one anthology, I am most proud of my offerings to my church magazine, Kingdom Living Magazine. In one edition I wrote an article called, "What is Special Needs" that highlighted those differently-abled members of our congregation and their caregivers. Many family members came to thank me for the recognition the article garnered them.
BPM: What you know for sure:
I know for sure that God's Word is true. Do I understand every part of the Bible? Do I understand why people don't get along and most of us have to suffer great pain in our lives? No. The Word says, now, we only know in part like looking through a glass darkly, but one day we will know as we are known. Deep, I know.
BPM: Life's greatest teacher is:
Life's greatest teacher is experience
BPM: Success means:
You attempt to live out your purpose.
BPM: Your writing educates, illuminates or entertains:
If I am successful it will do all three; educate, illuminate and entertain..
BPM: Will the printed book ever become obsolete:
The printed book may become obsolete, but a well-written story doesn't lose its potency if you engage the mind of the reader.
BPM: What legacy do you wish to leave future generations of readers:
My literary legacy will show that words live beyond the pages if they are true and authentic.
Purchase Submissionary by Sherryle Kiser Jackson
Submissionary is the first Indie release on her own imprint Holy*Ghost*Writing* Besides the Christian values and romantic leanings readers are accustom to with Sherryle's work, Submissionary dares to take a look at the struggles of pre and post quake Haiti. Submissionary is one of the projects Sherryle is imagining for a short or feature film.
Watch the Submissionary movie trailer: http://youtu.be/Ty75E4eiG-g
Books by Sherryle: http://www.amazon.com/Sherryle-Kiser-Jackson/e/B004G1X9HU
Posted by Ella Curry, EDC Creations on February 23, 2020 in #BondingThruBooks
Intimate Conversation with Kimberla Lawson Roby
New York Times Bestselling Author & Speaker, Kimberla Lawson Roby, has published 28 books which include her faith-based, nonfiction title, THE WOMAN GOD CREATED YOU TO BE: Finding Success Through Faith—Spiritually, Personally, and Professionally, as well as her novels, such as BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, SIN OF A WOMAN, A SINFUL CALLING, BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL, A CHRISTMAS PRAYER, THE PRODIGAL SON, THE PERFECT MARRIAGE, THE REVEREND'S WIFE, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR, SIN NO MORE, CASTING THE FIRST STONE, and her debut title, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, which was originally self-published through her own company, Lenox Press.
Kimberla Lawson Roby has sold nearly 3 Million copies of her books, and they have frequented numerous bestseller lists, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Essence, Upscale, Black Christian News, AALBC.com, Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, The Dallas Morning News, The Austin Chronicle and many others.
Over the years, Kimberla has spoken to thousands of women at conferences, churches, expos, workshops, luncheons, libraries, colleges, universities and bookstores. She shares her own personal journey straight from her heart and has a strong passion toward helping women become all that God created them to be.
Kimberla is a professional member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), she is the 2013 NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction, the recipient of the 2017 SOAR Radio Trailblazer of Honor award, the 2017 Southwest Florida Reading Festival Distinguished Author award, the 2016 Black Pearls Magazine Author of the Year, the 2017 AAMBC Christian Fiction Author of the Year award and the 2014 AAMBC Female Author of the Year award, the 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 African-American Literary Awards Show (New York, NY) Female Author of the Year award, the Blackboard Fiction Book of the Year Award in 2001 for CASTING THE FIRST STONE, and in 2001, Kimberla was inducted into the Rock Valley College Alumni Hall of Fame (Rockford, IL).
Kimberla's books deal with very real issues, including women empowerment, sexual harassment, racial and gender discrimination in the workplace, problems within the church (and the consequences), Christian/family/moral values, drug and gambling addiction, marriage, infidelity, single motherhood, breast cancer, infertility, sibling rivalry, domestic violence, childhood sexual abuse, mental illness, and the care-giving of a parent to name a few.
In addition, Kimberla's books offer a message of redemption, forgiveness, and the realities of everyday life.
Kimberla resides in Illinois with her husband, Will.
To share your thoughts with Kimberla regarding her work, please e-mail her at: kim@kimroby.com.
If you would like to schedule a speaking engagement, booksigning event, or media interview with Mrs. Roby, please contact her by email at publicity@kimroby.com.
BPM: Why did you decide to write your non-fiction title, The Woman God Created You to Be: Finding Success Through Faith—Spiritually, Personally, and Professionally?
Interestingly enough, I never thought I would write or publish any nonfiction books. Especially since, for more than two decades, I've always written fictional stories. But in October 2016, after waking up with the words Hearing God's Call and Finding Your Purpose at the forefront of my thinking, I knew God had given me those words for a reason.
At first, I thought they were going to become the title of the book itself, but as it turned out, they became the title of one of the chapters. It's important for me to say, too, that no matter how much I tried to push the idea of writing a nonfiction book out of my mind, I didn't find peace until I moved forward with it.
BPM: Tell us a little about your creative process. Do you use a computer or write out the story by hand?
I always outline my books and then write one chapter at a time in the exact sequence that those chapters will appear in the final book. I use my computer, and for my first draft, I try to write no less than one chapter per day. Then, when my book is complete, I work on rewrites and revisions.
BPM: Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit. Any tips self-care for creative folks?
It definitely can be, but the key to dealing with stress is to find balance and to incorporate that balance—in all areas of our lives. This is something I struggled with for years, and it is also the reason I wrote a chapter in The Woman God Created You to Be, entitled "Suffering in Silence, Mentally and Emotionally."
BPM: What was the most challenging part about telling your own story?
For me, the hardest part about writing this book was having to relive some of the very trying and painful times I have experienced in my own life. But what I ultimately realized was that, if I wanted to help other women in a way that I had been praying for, being transparent and sharing my own personal stories was very necessary.
The Woman God Created You to Be: Finding Success Through Faith— Spiritually, Personally, and Professionally by Kimberla Lawson Roby
ARE YOU THE REAL WOMAN GOD CREATED YOU TO BE?
HAVE YOU WANTED TO BECOME HER—SPIRITUALLY, PERSONALLY, and PROFESSIONALLY?
Kimberla Lawson Roby admits that for years, she wasn't being the real woman God created her to be. Yes, she has always loved God and tried her best to honor Him, but what she eventually discovered was that building and maintaining her own personal relationship with God—and making Him her top priority—was the key to finding joy in all areas of her life.
Now, in The Woman God Created You to Be, Kimberla has bravely—and transparently—written about her flaws, fears, and failures, as well as her faith, courage, and successes.
From experiencing divorce to marrying her soulmate of twenty-nine years…from hopelessly searching for the perfect job to becoming a New York Times bestselling author…from suffering in silence with anxiety to concentrating on self-care…from struggling with the loss of her mom to finding strength, comfort, peace. and understanding—Kimberla takes you on a journey that will help you do the following:
Become the Best Spiritual You (Seven Days Per Week)
Become the Best Personal You (Mentally, Emotionally, and Physically)
Become the Best Professional You (Without Jeopardizing Your Faith)
Kimberla reminds us that when we trust and depend on God—heart, mind, and soul—He will empower us to do more than we ever thought imaginable. He will help us see that we are more than enough, and that He has already given us everything we need to become the women He created us to be—spiritually, personally, professionally…and beyond.
Kimberla's books have frequented numerous bestseller lists, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, ESSENCE, and Publishers Weekly magazines, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Walmart and many others.
Excerpt from The Woman God Created You to Be
A Question Every Woman Should Ask Herself
Are you the real woman God created you to be? Have you wanted to become her? Have you wondered how to make that happen? If so, then you're the amazing woman I wrote this book for. You're the woman who wants to become even better than she already is. What you want is to become the best you can be in all areas of your life.
But, first, I think it's only fair that I answer the opening question myself.
So here goes…For longer than I realized, I wasn't being the real woman God created me to be. Not spiritually, personally, or professionally. I mean, don't get me wrong, I have always loved, honored, and trusted God, and even though I have sometimes failed at it, I have also tried to be a great wife, daughter, sister, bonus mom, nana, aunt, niece, and friend. I've tried to be a great business professional, too. Still, I wasn't being the true woman that God wanted me to be.
But how could I?
Especially when it was years before I discovered that attending church on Sundays wasn't enough—and that building and maintaining my own personal relationship with God, and reading His Word, were the keys to becoming…the real woman He wanted me to be.
Nina Foxx, president of Clever Vixen Media, LLC on BAN Radio Show
Nina Foxx, Clever Vixen Media, LLC was a special guest on BAN Radio Show discussing the 2020 Writing Sisters Summit–In The Sands.
Listen to the show here: http://tobtr.com/s/11678996
The Writing Sisters Summit was born in 2019 with the intent of bringing together writers, male and female, who want to hone their craft with and learn from other writers.
In 2020, The Retreat will take to the Sands of Taos, NM, featuring workshops by Seattle based NAACP Image award nominated writer, playwright and filmmaker, Nina Foxx, along with several of the writer-friends that she met through the course of her twenty years as a published author.
Nina created the summit with the intent of spurring creativity and creating community among writers that want to deepen and expand their craft and learn how to prepare their work for publishing.
Foxx says "When we used to get book tours, I'd cross paths with other writers on the way to the independent bookstores and we had a community to help encourage us and learn. They felt like a family of close coworkers in an otherwise solitary occupation and we helped each other be more creative. The death of the indie bookstore has basically killed those bookstores and that connection, too. I want to re-create that."
This year's summit adds a wellness component reflecting Nina's belief that strengthening the mind-body connection will help one focus on craft while understanding the underlying motivations for what is put on the page.
Black from Scratch by Chalet Jean-Baptiste
Ella D. Curry, president of EDC Creations Media Group is featured in the beautiful coffee table art book Black from Scratch!
Black from Scratch honors the roots, history and legacy of our people. We celebrate our stories from Africa to the Caribbean to America.
Our stories do not begin with slavery. Our stories date back to kings and queens, warriors and war princesses.
We know the Black story to be RESILIENT. We recognize the Black spirit as STRONG and POWERFUL. We have been a part of and witnessed Black EXCELLENCE.
We want to be a part of that history that honors the legacy and lives of those who are proud to be Black from Scratch.
Order your paperback copy today:
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Scratch-Chalet-Jean-Baptiste/dp/0692133704
Black Dresses Stain by Chalet A. Jean-Baptiste
For any woman who's ever loved someone. This books celebrates the stories of women who has loved and lost, adored and despised, been loyal and betrayed.
Share this free instant preview with friends: http://a.co/3OA3B63
Black Dresses Stain by Chalet Jean-Baptiste is for any woman who has ever loved a man. Every woman who has ever loved and hated; adored and despised; been loyal and betrayed; been in love and left alone; and had to find themselves again has issues they hide, emotions they deny and feelings that are difficult to reconcile – especially in today's society.
The stories portray different woman and their lives – each of them struggling to carry on while hiding insecurities, secrets, and lies. Each of them triumphs in different ways. Each of them takes you on a journey – to feel what they feel but can never say. Embrace each character, breathe for them, and let yourself live again!
Chalet Jean-Baptiste was on BAN Radio Show
Listen to the BAN Radio interview with host Ella D. Curry and Chalet Jean-Baptiste. Chalet is the author of Black from Scratch, Black Dresses Stain and ReLive. Listen from the BAN Radio page: http://tobtr.com/s/11620057
This was one of my most powerful shows of 2019! We addressed so many issues, such as generational curses/conflicts, losing one's self in relationships, the damage of sexual molestation, finding forgiveness, family secrets, etc.
BLACK PEARLS YEAR IN REVIEW
Our new Crown Holders bookstore is up and running! The shelves are stocked with great gift selections. Did you know you can send anyone a book gift via email. Yes! They don't even need a Kindle to read the book.
Check out our new book shelves: http://www.amazon.com/shop/edc1creations
Come by and explore new releases and a few classic novels.
I placed all of the books that were featured in Black Pearls Magazine in one place: https://amzn.to/2uhGDLZ
Here are all of the books that were sent to Black Pearls as ARCs, review copies or were purchased by Sankofa Lit readers.
There are about 20 books on this list that will come out in 2020 that are a part of a series we read in 2019. Pre-orders are an author's best friend.
Seducing the Pen – Black History Month Showcase
Listen to the show here: http://tobtr.com/11615247
Each year thousands of people – educators, concerned parents, community leaders, authors, poets and publishers – devote their time and resources to presenting the reader with great books! However, too many outstanding books do not get the attention and reader support that they deserve. We want to help with this state of affairs, so we encourage readers to purchase books to give as gifts 365 days a year.
Featured Authors and Books
My Last Baggage Call Aboard Air Force One: A Journey of Sacrifice, Service, Family, and Friendship by Glenn W. Powell
The Wolf Queen Series by Cerece Rennie Murphy
Failure to Protect by Pamela Samuels Young
The Last Tribe of Levi: Richmond, Virginia by Karen Sloan-Brown
Historical Pearl Page Recorded Readings
The Caged Butterfly by Marian L. Thomas
Josephine Baker's Last Dance by Sherry Jones
All of the books featured during Black Books Weekend can be found right here: https://amzn.to/38mHxWP
Books make incredible gifts for our young readers too! I curated a list to get you started. More books added as we review them: https://amzn.to/2OMnHMQ
Please share with your family and friends.
EDC Creations is proud to announce readers to awesome writers who write with purpose and have profound messages in their books! Our goal is to help improve our visibility in the reading world. Our tours are geared toward introducing authors to avid readers!
Readers can visit the main tour page and find out more about each author: https://www.smore.com/9yzf
Cheryl Lacey Donovan Book Launch on BAN Radio Show
Cheryl Lacey Donovan was a featured author on BAN Radio Show. She is celebrating the launch of her new book, RestoreHER, with host Ella D. Curry.
Listen from your PC, phone, tablet or digital device at: http://tobtr.com/s/11676939
Cheryl Lacey Donovan is a Motivational Speaker, Talk Show Host, Transformation Expert, and National Bestselling Author. Join us for the online, radio launch party to celebrate the release of the non-fiction title, RestoreHER: 7 Steps to Healing Enlightenment, and Renewal.
Please share this message and tell all of your friends!
A Letter for My Mother by Nina Foxx
A Letter for My Mother
by Nina Foxx
Whether they're from the US, Caribbean, India, or the UK, all of the contributors to A Letter for My Mother share one thing in common: thoughts that have been left unsaid to their mothers and mother figures—until now. In this moving book, thirty-three women reveal the stories, reflections, confessions, and revelations they've kept to themselves for years and have finally put into words. Written through tears and pain, as well as joy and laughter, each offering presents the mother-daughter bond in a different light.
Heartfelt and deeply meaningful, A Letter for My Mother will inspire you to admire and cherish that special relationship that shapes every woman.
Excerpt from A Letter for My Mother
My ex-husband's mother was dying. During the time I was married to him, our relationship had been at best, tenuous. I married her oldest son and she never forgave me for that, or at least it seemed that way in my head. I couldn't seem to understand some of her ways and she couldn't understand mine. I was from a different place than she and my life was different than both hers and that of her daughters. At times, she seemed to resent me for that. Some days, she went from insulting me, my family, my upbringing and lifestyle in one sentence to embracing me and trying to nurture me, all in the space of a twelve-hour period. It was infuriating. I retaliated, resisted, rebelled and refused to accept. I'd already had a mother. She'd died when I was six, and no one could replace her. Various female members of my biological family had given me all the mothering I thought I would need so I saw no need to accept any from a stranger.
Over the years, our relationship changed and softened, especially after the children came, but I'll admit I was never comfortable with her. When I divorced her son, I thought I was walking away from her family too and struggled with the link that lay between us and the desire to do the right thing. I was more compelled to stay in contact with family than my ex-husband was, but didn't want to overstep my bounds by staying in touch with his family for my children. Divorce was a relationship quagmire I had a hard time negotiating. I wanted my children to know and love their family, all of it, but I didn't want to be the uncomfortable bridge that made that happen. My mother-in-law didn't care what I felt. She was always going to be here, and though my last name had changed, she still offered her opinion, advice and whatever else she felt like when we spoke, making me still more uncomfortable.
I knew she was ill, but I still felt as if I'd been knocked off my feet when I received the call that she was dying. Tears and confusion flooded my brain. At first, I couldn't understand why I was not emotionless. My sister, the main mother figure in my life, explained my reaction to me and encouraged me to tell my mother-in-law what I had to say to her before I no longer could. She assured me that even though I was unwilling to admit it, I was close to this woman and couldn't avoid being unnerved. We had developed a relationship over the years. My sister encouraged me to write down what I wanted to say to the woman before she died if I was unable to speak the words. The result was the letter that led to this book.
As I wrote, I realized that although she and I were very different, my mother-in-law had been mothering me all along and didn't care whether I wanted to accept it or not. Because I had been raised to do the right thing, I started out treating her with respect, and even though my respect was peppered with defiance, it didn't stop me from loving her. Over time, I treated her with respect not because I was supposed to, but because I had come to respect her.
I finished my letter and my mother-in-law died three hours later. I was as devastated as if she had given birth to me, but I did feel some relief that I had said to the universe the things I wanted to say but hadn't been able to for the fifteen years our families had been linked by my marriage to her son. In writing my letter, I discovered that I had been so stressed by our relationship because I wasn't open to mothering and mother-wisdom of the kind that we receive from the more seasoned members of the female community. I don't know why this was. Perhaps it was because my own wound from losing my mother so young had not yet healed, some thirty-plus years later. I read my letter over and over, and as I did, it occurred to me that I was not alone.
As females, we have a way of nurturing others, usually children and men, but we are often reluctant to nurture and share with each other. As young women, we are often mean girls (or the victims of them). We might make a few close friends as young adults, but throughout our lives, many of us are very slow to let new women in. Rather than embrace each other, we push away. We argue with and resent our mothers, and more often than not, fall prey to the idea that our mothers-in-law and stepmothers, all "outside women," are evil rather than a source of support or knowledge. As we do so, we miss our lessons until finally we only see them in hindsight.
I invited other women to write a letter to a mother in their lives, someone who guided them when they didn't want to be guided and perhaps someone they'd never thanked. In the letter, they were to tell them what they wanted them to know. The recipient of the letter needn't be alive or biologically related, just someone to whom they had things to say to but lacked courage or foresight to be able to say those things, a thank you. Many of the writers I asked to participate agreed to do so right away. What I hadn't counted on though were those authors that were my friends who would refuse to participate. They had no issue with the concept.
Instead, their reluctance was based on where they were in their own personal journeys with the mother figures in their lives. Some were not able to say anything positive so chose to say nothing. Others had no idea what they would say or they hadn't worked through their feelings about that mother-daughter relationship yet and they feared the experience would be too painful for them. There are emotional wounds that only another woman can inflict on you, and theirs had not yet begun to crust over. I received many calls and notes from those who did choose to participate, often filled with apprehension and tears.
This task I was asking of them was harder than any of us had imagined, yet those who got through it reported experiencing a catharsis they had never counted on. The relationship that was closest to us proved to be the hardest to be honest about and the hardest to resolve. Writing these letters, love letters to our mothers, forced us to let go of the anger that had hung around our necks for years and let it float away from us. We had to give the bad memories to the universe and embrace the good and how that had shaped us into adulthood.
While I read the submissions, my love and respect for these women grew exponentially. I'd asked them to participate because I respected them and where they were in their craft and professional lives. I challenged them to look beyond the ordinary and find something positive in their relationship with their mothers. This proved to be harder for some than others, but once I was given a glimpse of their journeys and the women that had helped to shape them, they were all much bigger in my eyes. This process was like therapy for many of us, and as we navigated the murkiness of our childhoods, our paths through our womanhoods became that much clearer.
Charlenne T. Greer died on a Friday in May, 2012. Cigarettes killed her. She was not my mother or even related by blood. Still, I am thankful for her lessons.
Genre: Creative Non-fiction
Nina Foxx is an award-winning filmmaker, playwright, and novelist. She writes as both Nina Foxx and Cynnamon Foster. Her work has appeared on numerous bestseller lists around the country, and her films have won awards at the Sundance Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, Cannes, and the Rome International Film Festival. Originally from Jamaica, New York, she lives with her family near Seattle, Washington, where she works in Human-Computer interaction for a major software company. Nina is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, The Links and Jack & Jill of America. Visit her at http://www.ninafoxx.com or her blog at ninafoxx.blogspot.com
The Wolf Queen: The Hope of Aferi (Book I) by Cerece Rennie Murphy
Sometimes the Secrets in Your Past Can Unleash the Power of Your Future
Once great and powerful sorcerers, the Amasiti were hunted to the brink of extinction by the Hir and his followers. For four hundred years, their legacy faded from memory waiting for the hope of Aferi to be renewed…
In the Land of Yet
At the edge of the Forbidden Forest
A young woman lives alone.
Forced to fend for herself after the brutal murder of her family, Ameenah Yemini has made a life for herself as a master tanner and farmer, only venturing into the world to earn her living then return to the safety and seclusion of her home.
Until a chance encounter brings her work to the attention of the powerful Hir. And her careful life begins to unravel.
Drawn to the hidden magic that lingers in everything she touches, the new Hir insists on having her for himself, using the people around her to force Ameenah into his grasp.
When she realizes that her greatest enemy may hold the key to a secret she thought lost to her forever, Ameenah is determined to reclaim her stolen past. But, at what cost? As an ancient power waits to be unleashed, Ameenah's choices will make the difference between awakening a new magic or delivering it into the hands of evil.
Read The Prologue from The Wolf Queen: The Hope of Aferi (Book I) – https://www.cerecerenniemurphy.com/adult-books
Purchase The Wolf Queen: The Hope of Aferi (Book I)
by Cerece Rennie Murphy – https://amzn.to/2LMMpwb
The Wolf Queen (2 book series) By Cerece Rennie Murphy https://amzn.to/2kIc4ub
Follow the Seducing the Pen Tour for The Wolf Queen books: https://www.smore.com/zympn
National bestselling and award-winning author Cerece Rennie Murphy fell in love with writing and science fiction at an early age. It's a love affair that has grown ever since. In 2012, Mrs. Murphy published the first book in what would become the Order of the Seers sci-fi trilogy. Mrs. Murphy has since published seven books.
In addition to recently publishing her first time-bending romance titled, To Find You, Mrs. Murphy released the 2nd book in the Ellis and The Magic Mirror children's book series with her son. Mrs. Murphy is currently developing a fantasy adventure, titled The Wolf Queen and a 2-part space opera.
Mrs. Murphy lives and writes in her hometown of Washington, DC with her husband, two children and the family dog, Yoda. To learn more about the author and her upcoming projects, please visit her website at www.cerecerenniemurphy.com.
Read an excerpt: https://www.cerecerenniemurphy.com/adult-books
The Wolf Queen: The Promise of Aferi (Book II) by Cerece Rennie Murphy
To claim their future, she must avenge her past.
War has come to the Land of Yet and though the wolf has awakened within her, Ameenah Yemini has just begun to understand the legacy behind its magic.
Without the wisdom to wield it, she knows she is no match for the treachery of the Hir, whose lust for absolute power threatens everything she holds dear.
Her only chance – Yet's only hope – is for its people to band together and fight.
But the Hir's iron grip reaches deeper than they ever realized and the land that once stood together is more divided than ever. While Ameenah travels to the isolated Province of Harat in search of allies and the remnants of the mythical Amasiti, the man she loves must take a different road, each uncovering terrible secrets, centuries in the making that could unravel their rebellion before it has time to take root.
In a desperate race to rally a force strong enough to defeat the Hir, Ameenah's quest plunges her into the depths of a cursed land to recover what remains of an age-old promise—but the cost of saving her people just might be her life.
The final chapter of The Wolf Queen adventure is here.
Purchase The Wolf Queen (2 book series) By Cerece Rennie Murphy: https://amzn.to/2kIc4ub
Writing Sisters Summit Takes to the Sands in 2020
Other faculty members include Foxx's writer-friends, Kwame Alexander the author of 32 books and New York Times best-seller and winner of the Newberry Medal. Kwame is also the founding editor of Versify, an imprint of Houghton-Mifflin.
They will be joined by Carmen Green, Romance Novelist and Georgia- based writing professor. Several of Carmen's works have been made into TV movies.
Wellness faculty include Jami Jones Ervin, Columbus, OH based Life Coach and pastor, and Albina Rippy, yoga instructor and owner of the Blue Sky Retreat Center, where the summit will be held. "I was so moved by what Nina was trying to do and it spoke to my own writing journey. I took a chance and reached out and asked if I could be the Yoga Instructor for the retreat."
Originally from Kazakhstan, Albina and her husband Roger taught yoga at the US White House twice as part of Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative and is a teacher of Yoga Studio owners, based primarily in Houston, TX.
The Summit will be held on October 15-18th at The Blue Sky Mountain retreat in Taos, NM. For more information visit https://www.clevervixenmedia.com.
Seattle- resident Nina Foxx is the author of over 17 works in multiple genres. She has won multiple African-American Literature Awards, is an NAACP Image Award nominee and was short-listed for a Doctorow Award in Innovative Fiction.
As a filmmaker, she has produced works that have been selections at numerous film festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, HBO's Run & Shoot Film Festival and The Urban MediaMakers Film Festival. She has produced several plays based on her books, with the help of grants from the City of Seattle. She and her husband Barry own Clever Vixen Media. Together they produce literary events.
An Engineering psychologist by trade, she works at a major media company in User Experience and is a frequent speaker at technical conferences. She volunteers her time on the local and national level promoting STEAM careers for under-served youth, often focusing on the value of storytelling in technology occupations.
Posted by Ella Curry, EDC Creations on February 7, 2020 in #StorytellersBookTour
RestoreHER 7 Steps to Healing Enlightenment, and Renewal by Cheryl Lacey Donovan
We spend our days rushing from one task to another at work and home only to drop into our beds at midnight , completely exhausted. Our society has changed a great deal since our parents were in their prime.
Today we are addicted to speed, see busyness as a status symbol, take care of not only our children, but also our aging parents, and work as many hours as possible to keep ahead of the Jones'. It's no wonder most of us ignore ourselves and our own needs. It seems like there is simply not the time to do more than grab food on the go and snag a few hours of sleep before starting it all again.
Read excerpts from the book and order your copy, go here: http://bit.ly/RESTORECLD


text:
Giants' World Series trophy makes 1st Bay Area stop
The three-month tour, which started last Tuesday in Sacramento and included stops in Chico, Redding and Mt. Shasta last week, allows Giants fans to once again celebrate the World Series sweep over the Detroit Tigers last October.
Today's stop will be at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium at 403 Civic Center Plaza in Richmond, where fans can see the trophies and have their pictures taken with them from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The event is free, although the team suggests making a $2 donation to the Junior Giants youth baseball program.
The tour will stop in Vallejo on Wednesday. Next week, the trophies will travel across the country to New York City, the Giants' former home, before returning to California later this month.
More stops are planned in February and March, including at the Giants' spring training site in Scottsdale, Ariz., and at the World Baseball Classic at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
The full list of tour dates and locations is available on the team's website at www.sfgiants.com/trophy

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Streamline your HR processes and optimize your productivity thanks to the integration of Connective Smart Documents & eSignatures in Talentsoft Hub. Create and sign HR documents through an unparalleled digital experience within your favorite HR tool: the Talentsoft Hub.
all in one unified HR solution.
Digitise your entire HR cycle from daily admin until talent management within the Talentsoft Hub.
From employee verification letters, appraisals, contractor agreements to non-disclosure agreements,… use the Connective Smart Documents integration in the Talentsoft Hub to generate your documents automatically based upon the corresponding HR data.
Follow up on the signature process and status of your (to be) signed documents in a blink of an eye and send out reminders when and where needed. Once signed, you can directly retrieve the signed document in your Talentsoft Hub.
The Connective eSignatures solution in the Talentsoft Hub is not only eIDAS and ETSI compliant, but as well fully aligned with the UETA & ESIGN act regulation.
Enable signers to sign documents one by one in a specified order (sequential) or in a random order (parallel). Don´t worry we also support complex signing sequences (complex)!
and eSignatures for the Talentsoft Hub today.


USD 110 + Taxes (24.3%) per room per night.
Free Wi-Fi Internet every day.
International Buffet Breakfast at Sunrise Café.
2 bottles of mineral water in room every day.
Tea/Coffee making facility in room.
USD 120 + Taxes (24.3%) per room per night.
USD 130 + Taxes (24.3%) per room per night.
USD 210 + Taxes (24.3%) per room per night.
USD 220 + Taxes (24.3%) per room per night.
USD 275 + Taxes (24.3%) per room per night.
USD 285 + Taxes (24.3%) per room per night.
USD 375 + Taxes (24.3%) per room per night.
USD 385 + Taxes (24.3%) per room per night.
Yes, I require airport transfers (pickup/drop) by hotel shuttle.
I agree to Hotel Yak & Yeti cancellation policy You must accept our cancellation policy.
*You are required to submit Credit Card Authorization form to process and guarantee this room reservation.


The Global Cleantech Cluster Association has announced its winners for the 2013 Later Stage Award. They were judged by 22 cleantech venture capitalists, investors and serial entrepreneurs who collectively manage $3.5 billion in clean technology investment, lead by Head Judge Dr. Peter Adriaens.
The GCCA Later Stage Award Top 10 winners were selected from an original pool of 10,000 eligible companies represented by the GCCA's 49 member clusters. Each cluster conducted internal evaluations to nominate up to 10 companies in the 10 categories. In total, these member clusters nominated 160 companies for the 2013 Later Stage Award. That number was later narrowed to the Global Top 30 semi-finalists and the Top 10 winners.
Galvatek solutions competed in the Water – category.
"We highly appreciate the award, that the panel of independent experts have given to techical solutions we have developed. This strengthens our position in global market of water purification and surface treatment and first and foremost, contribute to the expansion of our operations into new market areas such as the Middle East and China, where we are also very active at the moment", says Ulf Pråhl, CEO of Galvatek.


that Ark is adoreable! Can you make me a template??
Sure! I did it on the fly, but I've learned to always make and save the pattern. I used Pel-tex or Timtex ( I don't remember which one ) and the whole thing only took a couple hours.
What's up with the orange everywhere? Did I see pics of yours?
And Ryan's friend Thom in SD just had his kitchen remodeled last week it was painted orange.


Seems like they're continuously ripping us off at every turn. All Listings filter applied I dated a guy who was half Native, don't remember which tribe. Let us know your shipping location. What is their average size like? I know it had to be a nightmare for you.
I am Cherokee and prefer to be identified as such.
Native American guys - Size? Pics? Members?
Nov 9, Messages: There is not any subject that I find as something I won't discuss or offer my point of view. Collectible Africa Postcards 6. Jun 4, Messages: Pagination for search results. I'm not sure what experience he was basing this on.


during the ninth frontier war.
up the back but stupidly didn't take a photo!
Shot accidentally by one of his own men.
But sorry, I don't have the testimony at hand.
From the Frontier War Journal of Major John Crealock 1878.
That's damned bad luck! I assume he survived?


The cocoa beans, crunchy and delectable, strengthen the characteristics of this 70% cocoa dark chocolate.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, low fat cocoa powder, cocoa bean pieces 4%, emulsifier: soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavouring. Minimum cocoa solids: 70%.
ALLERGENS : This product contains soy. May contain traces milk of tree nuts, wheat and eggs.


text:
Q: How to iterate over a matrix that may be one-dimensional in Python? Say you have a matrices like these:
a = [['a','b','c','d'],
     ['e','f','g','h']]

b = np.empty((0,4),int)

I want to take some rows (if they meet certain condition I check for in my real code) and stack them on b. I am doing something like:
for element in a:
   b = np.vstack((b, a))

But matrix a could be one-dimensional. Say:
a = ['a','b','c','d']

This may happen in my case because I am generating from a user written csv
Then, iterating over a would cause an error when I try to vstack, since each 'element' is 'a', 'b', 'c', and 'd' and thus the dimensions being stacked do not match. It would be something like trying to do:
b = np.vstack(('a', a))

What is the best way to handle something like this?

A: There's no need to iterate over the rows of your array to stack them onto b, as vstack alone will work fine. Consider:
a_1 = [['a','b','c','d'],
       ['e','f','g','h']]

a_2 = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']

b = np.empty((0,4),int)

Then
>>> np.vstack((b, a_1))
array([['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'],
       ['e', 'f', 'g', 'h']],
      dtype='<U21')

and
>>> np.vstack((b, a_2))
array([['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']],
      dtype='<U21')

A: Since the basic operation is to operate on each 'row' of a, use atleast_2d to ensure a has 2d dimensions.  Internally it's code is simple, and worth studying.
Then rather than performing a vstack for each iteration, I recommend appending to a list, and doing just one stack.
def foo(a):
    a = np.atleast_2d(a)
    for row in a:
        # <do something to row>
        b.append(row)
    return np.vstack(b)

test:
In [45]: foo(np.ones((2,3)))
Out[45]:
array([[ 1.,  1.,  1.],
       [ 1.,  1.,  1.]])
In [46]: foo(np.ones((3)))
Out[46]: array([[ 1.,  1.,  1.]])
In [47]: foo(np.ones((1,3)))
Out[47]: array([[ 1.,  1.,  1.]])

Appending to a list and then performing the array join or creation is common numpy practice.  The alternative is to define an empty array of the right destination size, and insert the new values.  That requires an iterating index.

The essence of atleast_2d in this case is:
if len(a.shape) == 1:
     a = a[newaxis,:]

It's a little more general, allowing me to use foo(3) and get back array([[3]]).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Working for Plan International UK
Jobs & Volunteering /
Working with Plan International UK
We strive to advance children's rights and equality for girls all over the world.
Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we're tackling the root causes of gender inequality and child poverty. We've been building powerful partnerships for nearly 80 years, and we're now active in more than 70 countries.
We couldn't achieve what we do without our people. If you're talented, driven and committed to our cause, join us to drive change and help build a better world for children.
We have roles at various levels across our four departments:
Public Engagement - our public facing teams i.e. communications, fundraising and girls' rights and youth units, supported by a business improvement and innovation unit
Programmes - supports country offices with proposal development, grants, management and learning and advocacy using programmatic evidence
Finance and IT
CEO and HR
Whatever your role, you will develop your skills in a positive and friendly environment, and work alongside others to make an impact. Find out more about what it's like to work at Plan International UK from those who work here.
What we offer you
A competitive salary within the not-for-profit sector, based on the market rate
Matched pension contributions of up to 7.5 per cent
An annual leave entitlement of 25 days (including three days to take in between Christmas and New Year), increasing to 30 days through years of service
Family-friendly benefits - enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay, as well as a flexible working policy
A tailored approach to learning and development, with options based on your learning needs
Plan International UK is an inclusive organisation, where diversity is valued and respected. If you can demonstrate that you meet the requirements of the role you are applying for, we welcome your application regardless of your age, gender identity, religion, ethnic origin, disability or sexual orientation. We make recruitment decisions based on applicants' skills, experience and knowledge, and ensure all applicants are treated fairly.
Please note that we only recruit for roles based in the UK and you will need to already have the right to work in the UK (or be in the process of applying) when you apply for a job with us.
Meet a selection of the team – find out what makes them tick and get a taste of what it's like to work for us
Working for us: The benefits
Discover the full list of benefits you'll receive while working for us


A recent report released from the Macleans Magazine shows that Whitecourt is the 8th most dangerous place to be in Canada. The report shows that over the last 5 years, Whitecourt's Crime Severity Index rose 172 points. The Violent Crime Severity Index rose 138 points.
The assault rate decreased, but is still sitting higher than the Canadian average at about 991 per 100 000 people. The Canadian average is about 430 per 100 000 people.
Despite those numbers, Mayor Maryann Chichak explains that the numbers are not an accurate representation when compared to our population.
Chichak went on to say that, "Any statistics that we see in the community are a result of our RCMP members doing their job." Back in 2016, Whitecourt's population was set at 10 204 residents.


text:
package io.vertx.ext.web;

import io.vertx.codegen.annotations.Fluent;
import io.vertx.codegen.annotations.Nullable;
import io.vertx.codegen.annotations.VertxGen;
import io.vertx.core.Handler;
import io.vertx.core.http.HttpMethod;

import java.util.List;

/**
 * A route is a holder for a set of criteria which determine whether an HTTP request or failure should be routed
 * to a handler.
 *
 * @author Tim Fox
 */
@VertxGen
public interface Route {

  /**
   * Add an HTTP method for this route. By default a route will match all HTTP methods. If any are specified then the route
   * will only match any of the specified methods
   *
   * @param method  the HTTP method to add
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route method(HttpMethod method);

  /**
   * Set the path prefix for this route. If set then this route will only match request URI paths which start with this
   * path prefix. Only a single path or path regex can be set for a route.
   *
   * @param path  the path prefix
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route path(String path);

  /**
   * Set the path prefix as a regular expression. If set then this route will only match request URI paths, the beginning
   * of which match the regex. Only a single path or path regex can be set for a route.
   *
   * @param path  the path regex
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route pathRegex(String path);

  /**
   * Add a content type produced by this route. Used for content based routing.
   *
   * @param contentType  the content type
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route produces(String contentType);

  /**
   * Add a content type consumed by this route. Used for content based routing.
   *
   * @param contentType  the content type
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route consumes(String contentType);

  /**
   * Specify the order for this route. The router tests routes in that order.
   *
   * @param order  the order
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route order(int order);

  /**
   * Specify this is the last route for the router.
   *
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route last();

  /**
   * Specify a request handler for the route. The router routes requests to handlers depending on whether the various
   * criteria such as method, path, etc match. There can be only one request handler for a route. If you set this more
   * than once it will overwrite the previous handler.
   *
   * @param requestHandler  the request handler
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route handler(Handler<RoutingContext> requestHandler);

  /**
   * Like {@link io.vertx.ext.web.Route#blockingHandler(Handler, boolean)} called with ordered = true
   */
  @Fluent
  Route blockingHandler(Handler<RoutingContext> requestHandler);

  /**
   * Specify a blocking request handler for the route.
   * This method works just like {@link #handler(Handler)} excepted that it will run the blocking handler on a worker thread
   * so that it won't block the event loop. Note that it's safe to call context.next() from the
   * blocking handler as it will be executed on the event loop context (and not on the worker thread.
   *
   * If the blocking handler is ordered it means that any blocking handlers for the same context are never executed
   * concurrently but always in the order they were called. The default value of ordered is true. If you do not want this
   * behaviour and don't mind if your blocking handlers are executed in parallel you can set ordered to false.
   *
   * @param requestHandler  the blocking request handler
   * @param ordered if true handlers are executed in sequence, otherwise are run in parallel
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route blockingHandler(Handler<RoutingContext> requestHandler, boolean ordered);

  /**
   * Specify a failure handler for the route. The router routes failures to failurehandlers depending on whether the various
   * criteria such as method, path, etc match. There can be only one failure handler for a route. If you set this more
   * than once it will overwrite the previous handler.
   *
   * @param failureHandler  the request handler
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route failureHandler(Handler<RoutingContext> failureHandler);

  /**
   * Remove this route from the router
   *
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route remove();

  /**
   * Disable this route. While disabled the router will not route any requests or failures to it.
   *
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route disable();

  /**
   * Enable this route.
   *
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route enable();

  /**
   * If true then the normalised request path will be used when routing (e.g. removing duplicate /)
   * Default is true
   *
   * @param useNormalisedPath  use normalised path for routing?
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route useNormalisedPath(boolean useNormalisedPath);

  /**
   * @return the path prefix (if any) for this route
   */
  @Nullable
  String getPath();

  /**
   * When you add a new route with a regular expression, you can add named capture groups for parameters.

   * However, if you need more complex parameters names (like "param_name"), you can add parameters names with
   * this function. You have to name capture groups in regex with names: "p0", "p1", "p2", ...

   *

   * For example: If you declare route with regex \/(?<p0>[a-z]*)\/(?<p1>[a-z]*) and group names ["param_a", "param-b"]
   * for uri /hello/world you receive inside pathParams() the parameter param_a = "hello"
   *
   * @param groups group names
   * @return a reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
   */
  @Fluent
  Route setRegexGroupsNames(List<String> groups);

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Intelsat Becomes Largest HD Satellite Provider
Intelsat Ltd. has completed its merger with PanAmSat this week to become what it says is the world's largest provider of fixed satellite services (FSS) and the largest satellite provider of HD signals.
Based in Pembroke Parish, Bermuda, Intelsat began as an inter-governmental organization about 40 years ago serving 11 countries, and launched its first commercial satellite in 1965. It became a private company in 2001 and is now owned by a consortium of four firms.
The newly merged company, which will retain the name Intelsat, will now have a combined fleet of 51 satellites and an expanded infrastructure to include eight teleports and contact stations in nearly 40 cities.
Besides carrying more HD programming than any other FSS carrier, Intelsat said that soon it will carry about 25 percent of all TV channels transmitted over fixed satellites, support 27 DTH (consumer dish) platforms worldwide, and be the lead global provider of transponders for video programming and services to enterprise, Internet and mobile network operators.
TSL brings IP into the MPA1-MIX
ABC Owned TV Stations Launch 'Neighborhood Safety Tracker' Interactive Websites
TV Tech 2023 Guide to Audio Now Available
Saj Jamal Returns To SSIMWAVE As Marketing Vice President


text:
The Chip Chipperson Podacast
Nick DiPaolo
Robert Kelly: You Know What Dude?
Jim Florentine: Comedy Metal Midgets
Vos and Bonnie: My Wife Hates Me
Bay Ridge Boys: History Hyenas
The Pete and Sebastian Show
Keeping Joe
Dante Nero's Man School 202
The Comedy Cellar
Strictly Anonymous
The Bailey Jay Show
4 Corners
Video Game Outsiders
Band Geek
The Laugh Button
News Whore with Mandy Stadtmiller
The Jersey Jerks
Talking Funny with Christi
The Davey Mac Sports Program
Why You Suck In Bed
Listen to this Later on Stitcher
[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]
Ricky Velez, Liza Treyger, Sam Morrill, Anthony DeVito, and Keith Robinson
Ricky Velez, Liza Treyger, Sam Morrill, Anthony DeVito, and Keith Robinson are all prominent stand-up comedians who may be seen regularly performing at the Comedy Cellar.
Listen Later
Veronica Mosey, Lynn Harris & Carsen Smith
Veronica Mosey is a standup comedian who may be seen performing regularly at the Comedy Cellar. Lynn Harris is an author, former standup comedian, and Founder of Gold Comedy, a standup comedy workshop for girls and women. Carsen Smith is an intern for Gold Comedy and an aspiring standup comedian.
Krystyna Hutchinson & Corinne Fisher
Krystyna Hutchinson & Corinne Fisher are standup comedians and co-hosts of the wildly successful podcast "Guys We Fucked."
Fred Stoller & DC Benny
Fred Stoller is a stand-up comedian, actor, author, writer, and voice artist. He is best known for portraying Gerard on Everybody Loves Raymond. DC Benny is a NYC-based stand-up comedian. He may frequently be seen performing at the Comedy Cellar.
Ann Coulter, Bill Schulz, Kevin Brennan, Wil Sylvince, and Harry Enten
Ann Coulter is a conservative political pundit, columnist, and author of 12 best-selling books. Bill Schulz is an American journalist and TV personality. Kevin Brennan is a standup comedian and host of the "Misery Loves Company" podcast. He may be seen performing regularly at the Comedy Cellar. Wil Sylvince is a standup comedian and host of the Comedy Cellar's weekly "New Joke Night." He may be seen performing regularly at the Comedy Cellar. Harry Enten is a senior political writer and analyst for Fivethirtyeight.com.
© 2013 The Riotcast Network™ LLC. All rights reserved.
All podcasts copyright by their respective owners.
Site design: Kurt Iverson
Artwork for Jim Florentine and Mad Scientist by Doctor Ivan


At 5 o'clock the frigate St. Lawrence, in tow of the Cambridge, passed us, and not long after she also grounded, but by the aid of the Cambridge she was got afloat again, and being unable to render any assistance to the Minnesota, came down the harbor. In passing the batteries at Sewell's Point, both going and returning, the rebels opened their fire on us, which was returned from our pivot guns, but the range was too great for them, while the enemy's shot [fell] far beyond us. One shot went through our foresail, cutting away two of our shrouds, and several shells burst over and near the ship, scattering their fragments on the deck.
Source: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. Series 1, vol. 7 (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1898): 8-9.


The corporate WordPress theme design is implemented focusing on corporate branding and market identification requirements which include colors, graphics, texts and their corresponding font etc.
Textual contents for the following pages, home page, about us, contact us, and at list two different products/services to be offered.
Name, color and size of the font for Header text, slogan text, H1-H6 text, links, main body and footer texts.


I recently moved into a two-bedroom townhouse in Cathedral Court, a housing coop in St. Lawrence neighbourhood, and attended my first annual general meeting. Rather than a for-profit landlord, coops elect a board of directors from among the members and decisions are made democratically. Aside from an array of interesting neighbours, all of them committed in their own ways to the ideal of a coop, I was struck by how well-managed things seemed to be.
A committee is dedicating itself to communications within the coop and I've decided to resuscitate a newsletter that was once a popular feature. One item that would have been front page-worthy is the coop's 30th anniversary, just celebrated on Nov. 10.
It's a reminder that the St. Lawrence neighbourhood is a landmark development, designed according to the great urban theorist Jane Jacobs' progressive ideas and studied by urban planners around the world.
But it's also a reminder of the optimism and activism – from the streets to political offices – that briefly animated civic politics, including housing policies, in Toronto during the early-to-mid 1970s. Sadly, it's a given that today, a St. Lawrence neighbourhood and coops like Cathedral Court, are unlikely to be built.
In the 19th century, the area was the centre of the Town of York (renamed Toronto in 1834), its city hall located where the St. Lawrence Market now stands. As the centre of the city shifted west, the market area became dominated by warehouses built to house all the goods streaming into the growing city by ship and rail.
Beginning in the 1950s, the industrial base began migrating outside of the city and the area went into a period of decline.
St. Lawrence neighbourhood was a product of the urban reform movement of the early '70s, which included Mayor David Crombie, John Sewell, a community activist-turned-alderman who later served as Toronto's mayor, and other like-minded reformers whose political base was in neighbourhood groups keen on progressive urban planning.
Having stopped the Spadina Expressway, a project that would have destroyed several downtown neighbourhoods, the next ambitious goal for the reform movement was to create the St. Lawrence neighbourhood on 18 hectares of derelict industrial land. Unlike most U.S. cities, people were moving into downtown neighbourhoods and the reformers wanted to buck the prevailing trends – suburban highrise sprawl and low-income public housing projects that became ghettos for the poor.
Instead, the St. Lawrence neighbourhood was to be a municipally planned (with cooperation from the provincial and federal governments, private sector corporations and community organizations), socio-economically mixed, inner city residential development. It was based on Toronto's 19th century grid street plan and featured brick row houses and townhouses, along with higher density eight-to-10 storey apartments, that resembled the streetscape of the old town of York. At its centre was the six-block long Crombie Park with its pedestrian pathways, fountains, playgrounds, basketball courts and ash trees that line the sidewalk (built later).
Today, taking in the entire St. Lawrence area (bordered on the south by the railway tracks, it stretches from Yonge to Parliament and north to Queen), about 25,000 people live in 12 housing coops, half a dozen public housing complexes and more than three dozen condos.
But coop housing effectively died during the years of Premier Mike Harris, whose government was ideologically hostile to non-profit ventures and seemed oblivious to the need for reasonably priced homes. At a time when there is a desperate need for affordable housing, the question is how to convince political leaders that coops, like Cathedral Court, are the solution staring them right in the face.


Mobile is taking over the desktop usage and time spent on mobile or smartphones are seeing constant and rapid growth.
Before you decide to build your first mobile app, your first most important task is to define or know the reason you want to create an app to begin with. Once you do this and write this down or know it, the rest of the process becomes easier.
There are many app builders available today, some of them paid and some of them free. Today we are having a look at the app builder given below.
Yes you thought it was closed down but its back again. the popular google app inventor is back thanks to Mit.edu who have brought the "appinventor" back to the people to enable them to make apps without having to dip into their pockets for cash.
There is another online app builder called http://ibuildapp.com/ as well but i have not checked it out.
The "Android apps creation tool" is no longer being managed by Google — MIT has taken over the source and worked up its own version. Now you, can go and log into the MIT App Inventor, so long as you have a valid Google ID and start creating your own apps.
Other options to find yourself a cheap app builder is to have a look on odesk.com , freelancer.com for a app builder, or get in touch with me and i will get you in touch with a app builder that built one for me at a good price some time ago.
There are special app development software – mobile platforms to create apps on your own.
You can also build a Android app using the Android Studio development environment. Android Studio is free development environment to learn on. It's best if one has a working knowledge of the Java programming language for this tutorial because it is the language used by Android.
You can make an iPhone app or Android app, with no programming skills. Appmakr created a DIY mobile app making platform that lets you build your own mobile app quickly through a simple drag-and-drop interface.
Kalipso Studio is a mobile application generator that enables users to program their own apps without having to deal with complex coding.
This app development software platform works for native (iOS/Android) apps, HTML5, but the prime focus remains on progressive web apps (PWA).
A mobile app maker capable of producing native apps (Android, iOS, Windows Phone), responsive web apps and hybrid apps (across all devices).
A bit more advanced platform compared to other app builders aimed at small and mid-market level companies.


text:
Updated Jul 9, 2020 - Politics & Policy
Republican Party of Texas sues Houston mayor for cancelling GOP state convention
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner in September. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) Wednesday called off the Texas Republican Party's in-person convention set for next week because of a statewide spike in coronavirus cases.
Driving the news: The Republican Party of Texas filed a lawsuit against Turner and the city of Houston on Thursday for a breach of contract and asked for a temporary restraining order to prevent the city from restricting convention center events.
"Mayor Turner canceled the convention because he wanted to, not due to any "act of God" – only due to his desire to do so and to hold the Republican Party of Texas to a different standard than other entities," Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey stated.
Turner has pushed the state GOP to host its convention online and on Wednesday instructed the venue's operator to cancel its contract with the party.
What they're saying: "A letter has been sent to the (executive committee) of the state Republican Party by Houston First signed by the president and the chairman canceling this convention," Turner said at a press conference, according to CNN.
"These are some very serious times and the public safety of the people attending the convention, the employees, their family members, the people in the city of Houston — the public health concerns are first and foremost, paramount."
The big picture: Turner told CBS Sunday that the coronavirus outbreak in Houston could overwhelm its hospital system.
Houston's Harris County has reported more than 39,000 coronavirus cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.
On Tuesday, Texas reported a record 60 new deaths and 10,000 new cases. In total, it has seen more than 216,000 cases and at least 2,796 deaths.
Go deeper: At least 5 Republican senators say they will not attend GOP convention
Updated Oct 1, 2020 - Politics & Policy
The major police reforms enacted since George Floyd's death
Federal officers in Portland, Oregon on July 21. Photo: Nathan Howard/Getty Images
Nationwide Black Lives Matter protests sparked by George Floyd's killing have put new pressure on states and cities to scale back the force that officers can use on civilians.
Why it matters: Police reforms of this scale have not taken place since the inception of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013, following George Zimmerman's acquittal for shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager.


Www.rovinfest.com - Christmas Festival Of Ice Cast. Summer time is below, meaning time has come to listen to excellent new music at several of the festivals all over the world. Prior to you pack up for the working day and head out for the pageant, have a second to master some recommendations in order to hold the most entertaining feasible. Figure out the way to have got a terrific time without having any from the stresses that may feature an all-day or multi-day summer season audio festival. This can be associated to Christmas Festival Of Ice Cast.
Linked to Christmas Festival Of Ice Cast, As audio festival time ways be well prepared and program forward. After you are deciding on the solitary primary bit of your tenting kit, your tent, ensure that it is perfectly considered out ahead of you choose on everything you all want. I provide you with a few foodstuff for thought below.
A community festival is an event that is more usually than not staged and organised by a local community to celebrate or highlight a more unique element of that self same community.
If you agree that nothing could be better than being outside, making new friends, and making some cash as your own boss then you're all set to become festival vendor. Becoming a festival seller does not have to be hard or difficult; it surely is based upon the festival you wish to offer your wares at.
The Pageant period is on us and it is time to grab your Hunter Wellingtons for an additional wild music tour. You are going to discover journals stuffed with pageant strategies, however they can be quite impractical - all sandals and maxi attire. This really is attire is fine should you be Kate Moss with your very have shower and VIP spot however, if you're going to any United kingdom Festivals so you you should not contain the luxury of hired aid, then rain blended with mud, are practically a supplied.


text:
Watch Twisted Sisters Online
Watch Twisted Sisters Full Series Online for FREE. The most outrageous and provocative crimes ever committed by sisters, who sometimes work together and sometimes turn against each other.
Networks: Investigation Discovery
Watch Mozart in the Jungle Full Series Online. In the tradition of Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential" and Gelsey Kirkland's "Dancing on my Grave" comes an insider's look into the secret…
Watch Superstition Full Series Online. The Mosley family keeps the secrets and dark history of a town located on the outskirts of New Orleans that is also a landing patch…
Predator at Large
Watch Predator at Large Full Series Online. This true crime docuseries takes you deep inside peaceful communities in which a sadistic predator is living undetected. Brought to life by the…
Watch Amazing Stories Full Series Online. Each episode transports the audience to worlds of wonder through the lens of today's most imaginative filmmakers, directors and writers. A reimagining of the…
Genre: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Watch RuPaul Full Series Online. The RuPaul Show is more than just a talk show… It's a movement! The all new RuPaul Show is building a community of people who…
Watch Sleepy Hollow Full Series Online. Ichabod Crane is resurrected and pulled two and a half centuries through time to unravel a mystery that dates all the way back to…
Watch Brassic Full Series Online. A group of working-class friends finding unconventional ways to win at life in northern suburbia. These lads have dealt, scammed, bribed and conned their way…
Watch Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Full Series Online. Samantha Bee breaks up late-night's all-male sausage fest with her nuanced view of political and cultural issues, her sharp interview skills,…
Genre: News, Talk
Watch High Fidelity Full Series Online. Rob Brooks, a female record store owner in the rapidly gentrified neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn revisit past relationships through music and pop culture,…
Watch The Exes Full Series Online. A sitcom about three divorced men sharing an apartment across the hall from their female divorce attorney, who is also their landlord.
Watch Digimon Adventure Full Series Online. The new anime will take place in 2020 and will feature an all-new story centering on Taichi Yagami when he is in his fifth…
Watch Pennyworth Full Series Online. The origin story of Bruce Wayne's legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth, a former British SAS soldier who forms a security company and goes to work with…


text:
import os, inspect, sys
import argparse

import numpy
import scipy
import math

from scipy import ndimage

from osgeo import gdal
from osgeo import osr
from osgeo import ogr
from which import *

import config

force 	= 0
verbose	= 0

class Landsat8:
	def __init__( self, outpath, scene, red, green, blue ):
		self.scene 				= scene
		self.outpath 			= outpath

		self.red				= red
		self.green				= green
		self.blue				= blue

		self.output_file		= os.path.join(outpath, scene + "_COMPOSITE_"+red+green+blue+".tif")
		self.output_file_4326	= os.path.join(outpath, scene + "_COMPOSITE_"+red+green+blue+"_4326.tif")
		self.bqa_file			= os.path.join(outpath, scene + "_BQA.TIF")
		self.meta_file			= os.path.join(outpath, scene + "_MTL.txt")

	def execute( self, cmd ):
		if verbose:
			print cmd
		os.system(cmd)

	def reproject( self, epsg, in_file, out_file):
		if verbose:
			print "reproject ", in_file, " to:", out_file

		# remove out_file if it already exists
		if force and os.path.isfile(out_file):
			os.remove(out_file)

		if not force and os.path.isfile(out_file):
			return

		cmd = "gdalwarp -overwrite -of GTiff -co COMPRESS=DEFLATE -t_srs "+ epsg +"  " + in_file + " " + out_file
		self.execute(cmd)

	def generate_color_table(self):
		self.ct = gdal.ColorTable()
		for i in range(256):
			self.ct.SetColorEntry( i, (0, 0, 0, 0) )

		self.ct.SetColorEntry( 1, (255, 0, 0, 255) )

	def process_bqa(self):
		if verbose:
			print "Opening", self.bqa_file

		bqads = gdal.Open( self.bqa_file )
		if bqads is None:
			print('ERROR: file no bqa data:')
			sys.exit(-1)

		bqaband 		= bqads.GetRasterBand(1)
		bqa_data 		= bqaband.ReadAsArray(0, 0, bqads.RasterXSize, bqads.RasterYSize )

		# cloud mask
		self.cloud_mask		= (bqa_data & 0xC000) 	== 0xC000
		self.cirrus_mask	= (bqa_data & 0x3000) 	== 0x3000
		self.no_data		= (bqa_data & 0x1) 		== 0x1

		bqads 	= None

	def computeTOAReflectance(self, band, data):
		mp 			= float(self.metadata['REFLECTANCE_MULT_BAND_'+str(band)])
		ap			= float(self.metadata['REFLECTANCE_ADD_BAND_'+str(band)])
		se			= float(self.metadata['SUN_ELEVATION'])

		if verbose:
			print 'REFLECTANCE_MULT_BAND_'+str(band), mp
			print 'REFLECTANCE_ADD_BAND_'+str(band), ap
			print 'SUN_ELEVATION', se, math.sin( se * math.pi/180.0)

		toa			= (mp * data + ap) / math.sin( se * math.pi/180.0)

		toa[ toa < 0 ] = 0

		# save it for debug purpose
		if 0 :
			fname 		= os.path.join(self.outpath, "band_" + str(band) + "_toa.tif")
			driver 		= gdal.GetDriverByName( "GTiff" )
			dst_ds 		= driver.Create( fname, self.RasterXSize, self.RasterYSize, 1, gdal.GDT_Byte )
			band 		= dst_ds.GetRasterBand(1)
			band.WriteArray(self.linear_stretch(toa), 0, 0)
			dst_ds.SetGeoTransform( self.geotransform )
			dst_ds.SetProjection( self.projection )

			dst_ds		= None
			print "Written TOA", fname, self.RasterXSize, self.RasterYSize, numpy.min(toa), numpy.max(toa), numpy.mean(toa), numpy.std(toa)

		return toa

	def getMetaData(self):
		f = open(self.meta_file)
		#Create an empty dictionary with which to populate all the metadata fields.
		self.metadata = {}

		#Each item in the txt document is seperated by a space and each key is
		#equated with '='. This loop strips and seperates then fills the dictonary.

		for line in f:
			if not line.strip() == "END":
				val = line.strip().split('=')
				self.metadata [val[0].strip()] = val[1].strip().strip('"')
			else:
				break
	    #if verbose:
		#	print self.metadata

	def get_band_data(self, bandNum ):

		fileName = os.path.join(self.outpath, self.scene + "_B" + str(bandNum)+ ".TIF")

		ds = gdal.Open( fileName )
		if ds is None:
			print 'ERROR: file has no data:', fileName
			sys.exit(-1)

		self.RasterXSize = ds.RasterXSize
		self.RasterYSize = ds.RasterYSize
		self.RasterCount = ds.RasterCount

		self.projection  = ds.GetProjection()
		self.geotransform= ds.GetGeoTransform()

		band 	= ds.GetRasterBand(1)
		data	= band.ReadAsArray(0, 0, self.RasterXSize, self.RasterYSize )

		if verbose:
			print "Loaded:", bandNum, fileName, numpy.min(data), numpy.mean(data), numpy.max(data)

		mask 	= (data <=0)

		ds 		= None
		toa		= self.computeTOAReflectance(bandNum, data)

		toa[ mask ] = 0

		if verbose:
			print "TOA:", bandNum, numpy.min(toa), numpy.mean(toa), numpy.max(toa)

		return toa

	def write_data(self, data, fileName, colorTable):
		fileName 	= os.path.join(self.outpath, fileName)
		driver 		= gdal.GetDriverByName( "GTiff" )
		dst_ds 		= driver.Create( fileName, self.RasterXSize, self.RasterYSize, 1, gdal.GDT_Byte, [ 'COMPRESS=DEFLATE' ] )
		band 		= dst_ds.GetRasterBand(1)

		if self.geotransform:
			dst_ds.SetGeoTransform( self.geotransform )

		if self.projection:
			dst_ds.SetProjection( self.projection )

		if colorTable:
			print "Add colortable"
			band.SetRasterColorTable(self.ct)

		band.WriteArray(data, 0, 0)

		if verbose:
			print "Written", fileName

		ds 		= None

	def linear_stretch(self, data):
		# clip bottom and top 2 percent of the points
		zeroes = (data == 0)
		max_cut = numpy.percentile(data, 98)

		# we need to move the Zeroes out of the way to find the bottom 2%
		data[zeroes] = max_cut
		min_cut = numpy.percentile(data, 2)
		data[zeroes] = 0

		data = scipy.misc.bytescale(data, min_cut, max_cut)
		return data

	# Histogram Equalization
	def histeq( self, data):

		nbr_bins = 256
		imhist,bins = numpy.histogram(data,nbr_bins,normed=True)

		cdf = imhist.cumsum() #cumulative distribution function
		cdf = 255 * cdf / cdf[-1] #normalize

		#use linear interpolation of cdf to find new pixel values
		im2 = numpy.interp(data,bins[:-1],cdf)

		return im2

	def process(self):

		red_data  	= self.get_band_data(self.red)
		red_data[self.cloud_mask]	=	0
		red_data[self.cirrus_mask]	=	0
		red_data	= self.linear_stretch(red_data)

		green_data  = self.get_band_data(self.green)
		green_data[self.cloud_mask]	=	0
		green_data[self.cirrus_mask]=	0
		green_data	= self.linear_stretch(green_data)

		blue_data  	= self.get_band_data(self.blue)
		blue_data[self.cloud_mask]	=	0
		blue_data[self.cirrus_mask]	=	0
		blue_data	= self.linear_stretch(blue_data)

		if verbose:
			print "Creating", self.output_file

		driver 			= gdal.GetDriverByName( "GTiff" )
		dst_ds 			= driver.Create( self.output_file, self.RasterXSize, self.RasterYSize, 4, gdal.GDT_Byte, [ 'INTERLEAVE=PIXEL', 'COMPRESS=DEFLATE' ] )

		if verbose:
			print "Writing red band"

		dst_ds.GetRasterBand(1).WriteArray(red_data, 0, 0)
		dst_ds.GetRasterBand(1).SetNoDataValue(0)

		if verbose:
			print "Writing green band"
		dst_ds.GetRasterBand(2).WriteArray(green_data, 0, 0)
		dst_ds.GetRasterBand(2).SetNoDataValue(0)

		if verbose:
			print "Writing blue band"
		dst_ds.GetRasterBand(3).WriteArray(blue_data, 0, 0)
		dst_ds.GetRasterBand(3).SetNoDataValue(0)

		if verbose:
			print "Writing alpha band"
		alpha_band			= dst_ds.GetRasterBand(4)
		alpha_data 			= alpha_band.ReadAsArray(0, 0, dst_ds.RasterXSize, dst_ds.RasterYSize )
		alpha_data[self.no_data]	= 0
		alpha_data[blue_data>0]		= 255
		alpha_band.WriteArray(alpha_data, 0, 0)

		if self.geotransform:
			dst_ds.SetGeoTransform( self.geotransform )

		if self.projection:
			dst_ds.SetProjection( self.projection )

		dst_ds 	= None
		ds		= None

if __name__ == '__main__':

	parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Generate Landsat8 Floodmap vectors')
	apg_input = parser.add_argument_group('Input')
	apg_input.add_argument("-f", "--force", 	action='store_true', help="Forces new product to be generated")
	apg_input.add_argument("-v", "--verbose", 	action='store_true', help="Verbose on/off")
	apg_input.add_argument("-s", "--scene", 	help="Landsat Scene")
	apg_input.add_argument("-r", "--red", 		help="Landsat red")
	apg_input.add_argument("-g", "--green", 	help="Landsat green")
	apg_input.add_argument("-b", "--blue", 		help="Landsat blue")

	options 	= parser.parse_args()
	force		= options.force
	verbose		= options.verbose
	scene	 	= options.scene

	red	 		= options.red
	green	 	= options.green
	blue	 	= options.blue

	outdir		= os.path.join(config.LANDSAT8_DIR,scene)

	app 		= Landsat8(outdir, scene, red, green, blue)

	app.generate_color_table()
	app.process_bqa()
	app.getMetaData()
	app.process()
	app.reproject( "EPSG:4326", app.output_file, app.output_file_4326)


text:
News Round-up Week Ending 11 March 2016
TIH 084: Damien Angelica Walters on Sing Me Your Scars, Short Story Writing and Unusual Influences
5 Must Read Horror Articles 14 March 2016
Welcome to Must Read Horror, where we search the internet for the best horror articles of the week. So, without further ado:
Sympathizing with Psychopaths: Mort Castle's The Strangers
The True Story Behind the Legendary "Lost Ending" of The Shining
The H Word: But is it Scary?
13 Final Girls Killed in the Sequel
Toys of Terror #93
For more articles like this, please follow @thisishorror on Twitter.
In this article, Tor looks back at Mort Castle's 1984 horror novel, The Strangers.
The ending of The Shining is one of the most memorable in horror. Jack Torrance's demise is both chilling (pardon the pun) and effective. But the film's denouement could have been so very different, as this article over at Blumhouse explains.
In this short essay over at Nightmare Magazine, Orrin Grey explains why horror does not have to be scary to be effective, and nor should it have to be.
It happens all the time. The Final Girl makes it all the way to the end of a film and then pops up for a jolly good butchering at the start of its sequel. Chiller looks at thirteen final girls killed off in the follow-ups to some of horror's most successful franchises.
Fangoria's Toys of Terror continues. This time they look at Mezco Toyz' Pinhead Living Dead Doll, Trick or Treat Studios' screen-accurate Victor (Hatchet) Crowley mask, and Sideshow Collectibles' 22" Purgatori statue.
ADAM MILLARD
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/5-must-read-horror-articles-14-march-2016/


text:
Q: Flurl not respecting timeout setting I am using flurl with a 5 second timeout in Xamarin Forms.
 flurlClient.Configure(settings => settings.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
 await flurlClient.Request("api", "ping", "phonehome").GetAsync();

When run on UWP, the timeout works fine.  However, iOS and Droid go a full minute despite having the 5 second setting set.
Any thoughts on how this can be fixed?
UPDATE
I was able to get the timeout to work by using the .WithTimeout(seconds) call.  However, I have to do this on every flurl request.  Not a huge deal, but not sure why the .Configure method doesn't work.
UPDATE 2
Here is what I see after implementing @ToddMenier's suggested changes.  The timeout is set to 5 seconds, but it takes over a minute to actually timeout.

A: Same is working for me. Running on iPhone Simulator:
    private async void BtnTestFLUrl_Clicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        FlurlClient flurlClient = new FlurlClient("https://www.mocky.io/v2/5dc580f13200008200769b0f?mocky-delay=5000ms");
        flurlClient.Configure(settings => settings.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(3));
        var result = await flurlClient.Request("").GetAsync();
    }


The Spanish are marching north along the eastern coast towards Tarragona. As they reach Tortosa they encounter the French.
The French are advancing on both sides of the river.
At the top of the photograph the Spanish on the hill have not been spotted and are still on blinds.
The Spanish in front of Tortosa have been routed and are trying to escape over the bridge. The French are moving through the town in pursuit.
The French have crossed the river and are swinging to their right to cut off the Spanish retreat. At the top of the photo one Spanish brigade is holding the village in the bend of the river.
The main Spanish attack in on their left. They have driven the French back, but failed to break them. They are not yet aware that their right has been broken and is in retreat, and that the French are moving to drive them away from the Valencia road, their line of retreat.
Although the Spanish have captured the village at the top of the photo, the French are preventing any further advance.
Meanwhile the remaining Spanish in the centre have been driven back to the village in the bend of the river and are about to surrender.
The French have cut the Spanish line of retreat and are moving up the river to surround them.
The Spanish are decisively beaten and Tortosa and suffer heavy casualties. They are unable to retreat towards Valencia and are forced back into the mountains north of the coast. This is the end of the Spanish effort on the east coast.


Quality Refrigeration Equipment and Shelving - Dakota Refrigeration Inc.
Dakota Refrigeration carries several top-of-the-line brands of refrigeration equipment for your business. If you're looking for something specific, our sales team will track it down for you.
Whether you're ready to utilize our services or you have a question about one of our products call or email us today.