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ADIBS 2019 to highlight latest marine industry trends
Thursday 05, September 2019 12:14 PM
Sharjah24 – WAM: With one month left until the grand opening of the second edition of the Abu Dhabi International Boat Show (ADIBS 2019), the event has already attracted several prestigious exhibitors, sponsors and partners from the UAE and across the globe.
Set to run from 16th to 19th October 2019, the exhibition will showcase the latest trends in leisure marine from leading industry players.
Organised by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), the inaugural edition of ADIBS took place in October 2018 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre's purpose-built 31,000-square-metre marina. The event provided a world-class platform for local and international marine companies to introduce their products and services to more than 21,000 attendees. Last year's show attracted over 270 exhibitors from 25 countries across the Middle East, Europe, America and Asia Pacific.
ADIBS 2019 will showcase luxury yachts, leisure marine equipment and reflect marine market trends from around the world, with an increased spotlight on foiler technology, houseboats and catamarans, which have become widely popular in UAE waters due to their durability, ample space and engine speeds.
The catamarans set to appear at this year's exhibition are renowned for their quality, elegant aesthetics and economical composite construction. Catamaran companies that will participate in the show include Powerplay Catamarans from Australia and Riviera Boat Industrial Investment Company from the UAE. Houseboat manufacturers exhibiting their products at the show include Al Kouz Marine and High Boats that will display seven boats collectively. Bahrain's V-Marine will join the line-up for the first time to showcase two of its most popular houseboats.
James Denison, Founder and Lead Designer of Powerplay Catamarans, said, "We are excited to launch our brand in the Middle East at ADIBS 2019. Our luxury power catamarans deliver an unbeatable performance and can flexibly transform into passenger or private crafts."
He added, "Our clientele ranges from governments in the South Pacific region to elite heads of corporations, and Hollywood movers and shakers. The UAE offers the perfect landscape for craft experts to build synergies and benefit from serious business opportunities."
Wael Juju, Founder of V-Marine, said, "V-Marine specialises in the shipyard manufacturing of floating resorts and niche houseboats that are proudly powered by solar energy. This year, we look forward to displaying our luxury eco-friendly boats at ADIBS for the first time. The event will provide an ideal platform for marine industry companies to present their products to tens of thousands of visitors."
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A New Millennium But the Same Old Reform Party
Now that the Conservative Party have decided to take a trip down memory lane with Michael Ignatieff, to find fodder for attack ads; I thought a little trip down their shady lane might be appropriate.
There was an interesting article that appeared in the Windspeaker News in April of 2000, when the Reform and Alliance parties merged, and elected Stockwell Day as their leader. A few months later he would illegally purchase a seat to get into the House of Commons, but for now they were concerned with the merger.
Apparently Day and his sidekick Jason Kenney, had concerns about Aboriginal self government, believing it would be the breeding ground for Communism. The Aboriginal communities suggested that the Cold War wasn't yet over for these old Reformers, and Peter MacKay has proven that they haven't changed their views.
But before sharing the article, I'd like to parallel what the Liberal leader, Michael Ignatieff, was up to at the time.
In 2000, his book 'The Rights Revolution' was a national bestseller. It was derived from a series of Massey lectures which he conducted for the CBC, while teaching and acting as director of Harvard's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.
In the book he speaks of the deplorable condition on some reserves, and how their rights have to be more than just talk. He speaks of forced assimilation and how aboriginal people could only become Canadian citizens to early settlers, if they ceased to be aboriginals. He acknowledges that they were given a raw deal and suggests real solutions to the problems.
But good old Stocky and his gang were convinced that they were being courted by Commies.
New name, old attitudes - CRCAP
By Alex Roslin
Windspeaker Contributor
So you thought the Cold War was over and communism was dead. Not according to Canada's great right hope, the Canadian Alliance. The new right-wing party believes the red menace is lurking in First Nations communities across the land, and promises to stamp it out.
The Canadian Alliance, which unites Reformers and Conservatives and has set its sights on winning the next federal election, has a platform on Aboriginal issues that promises to bring relations with Native peoples to a boil.
It wants to eliminate Native people's historic tax exemption, invoke the notwithstanding clause to overrule Supreme Court decisions favorable to First Nations and get rid of "special laws" for Native peoples. The new party also has an interesting view on Aboriginal self-government: it should be eliminated because it is "communistic."
But don't call the Canadian Alliance anti-Native. The party insists that most Native people support its platform. It believes the only people who might oppose it are a small "elite" of chiefs, lawyers and consultants who make up the "Indian industry."
Reformers and Conservatives are now voting by mail-in ballot on whether to accept the new party and its platform. The results were scheduled to be announced March 25 (after deadline).
The party's full name was originally the Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance Party, but this was changed because of its unfortunate acronym, CCRAP. Its new name is the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance Party, or CRCAP.
Though not as detailed as Reform's, the new party's Aboriginal platform is more pointed in some areas. Whereas Reform would make all Native people "full and equal participants in Canadian citizenship, indistinguishable in law and treatment from other Canadians," the Canadian Alliance spells out what this would mean: liquidating Native self-government.
The new party also wants First Nations to have no more powers than Canadian municipalities. This means running garbage collection, fire fighting services and public works, but decades of progress in gaining control over resources, education, health care and culture would be scrapped.
Also new in the Canadian Alliance platform is opposition to "race-based allocation of harvest rights to natural resources." This particular position brings the party into conflict with numerous recent Supreme Court decisions and international legal norms.
Diane Ablonczy, a Reform MP from Calgary who is co-chair of the Canadian Alliance's policy committee, said she hasn't heard any concerns about its Aboriginal platform from First Nations, party members or anybody else. "I think it's fairly balanced."
Ablonczy is concerned about treaties like the one just approved with the Nisga'a people of British Columbia, which grants the Nisga'a some self-government powers over a small fraction of their traditional land and has negotiated away their tax exemption. Such treaties create a "third order of government" in which Canadians are not all governed by the same laws, she said.
And here's where the communism comes in. "Nisga'a and other treaties set up a communal, communistic system which Indians are forced to live in," Ablonczy warned. "They are ruled by a very strong central committee - the chief and council. They don't have the same freedoms as other Canadians do, particularly when it comes to private property rights."
Ablonczy, who is the Reform human resources critic, insisted that the Canadian Alliance is especially sensitive to Native concerns because "one of our MPs is married to an Aboriginal."
She claimed Native people actually like the Canadian Alliance platform, including the idea of paying taxes. "They need to have the dignity and power to have meaningful control over their affairs," she explained.
Ablonczy also said the Canadian Alliance would invoke the notwithstanding clause - the device used by the Quebec government to sustain its unconstitutional French language law - to overrule court decisions affecting First Nations and any other issue the party doesn't like."
The notwithstanding clause would be appropriate when there is a court decision that conflicts with Parliament," she said. "We believe in the supremacy of Parliament. They are the ones who are accountable to the people of Canada."
There's only one hitch: under the Constitution, the notwithstanding clause can't be used on Native issues, according to the Reform Party's own justice researcher, Greg Yost. " I'm going to have to talk to her [Ablonczy]," he said. "[The clause] has absolutely no application to Aboriginal rights."
Yost explained that the Canadian Alliance does plan to use the clause on rulings in the other areas where it can be applied; for example, freedom of expression, religion and thought, and the right to life, liberty and not be detained or searched improperly by police. Just not on Native questions.
The Assembly of First Nations looks at the Canadian Alliance as an ominous development, and plans a campaign to fight the new party. "They are saying they would just disregard treaties," said Jean LaRose, an AFN spokesman."
They are just as extremist as before, but now they are trying to form a party that would stretch across Canada and form the government. That, for us, is very worrisome.""Here is a party that wishes to place itself above the law and above the courts," said AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine in a statement. "I wonder if Canadians understand the implications of such a movement. It could override any legislation or court decision if it chose to, using nothing more than its own judgement."
And we've seen it coming into play over and over again with the Harper government, even to try to avoid charges of alleged fraud against 66 members of the party. They just do what they want and continue to get away with it.
More Postings on Reform Party and Racism:
1. How the West Was Won Opposing Multiculturalism
2. Ex-Reform MP Jan Brown Reveals Racism in Reform-Conservative Party
3. A Bright Light Attacks Bugs, But as My Father Might Say ....
4. Roots of Reform and More Than a Few Bad Apples
5. Roots of Reform: NCC, Racism and Ethnic Indigestion
6. Shame Faced Conservatives Refuse to Apologize to Suaad Hagi Mohamud
Posted by Emily Dee at 10:07 AM
Labels: Aboriginals, Alliance Party, Jason Kenney, Michael Ignatieff, Stockwell Day
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Miguel Angel Asturias	More
Nobel diploma
Miguel Angel Asturias - Biographical
Miguel Angel Asturias - Facts
Miguel Angel Asturias - Nobel Lecture: The Latin American Novel. Testimony of an Epoch
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1967
Miguel Angel Asturias
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Miguel Angel Asturias (1899-1974) was born in Guatemala and spent his childhood and adolescence in his native country. He studied for his baccalaureate at the state high school and later took a law degree at the University of San Carlos. His thesis on "The Social Problem of the Indian" was published in 1923.
After he finished his law studies, he founded with fellow students the Popular University of Guatemala, whose aim was to offer courses to those who could not afford to attend the national university. In 1923 he left for Europe, intending to study political economy in England. He spent a few months in London and then went to Paris, where he was to stay for ten years. At the Sorbonne he attended the lectures on the religions of the Mayas by Professor Georges Raynaud, whose disciple he became. Also, as correspondent for several important Latin American newspapers, he travelled in all the Western European countries, in the Middle East, in Greece, and in Egypt.
In 1928 Asturias returned for a short time to Guatemala, where he lectured at the Popular University. These lecture were collected in a volume entitled La arquitectura de la vida nueva (Architecture of the New Life), 1928. He then went back to Paris, where he finished his Leyendas de Guatemala (Legends of Guatemala), 1930. Published in Madrid, the book was translated into French by Francis de Miomandre, who sent his translation to Paul Valéry. The French poet was greatly impressed, and his letter to Miomandre was used as the preface to the 1931 edition published in the Cahiers du Sud series. The same year, Leyendas de Guatemala received the Silla Monsegur Prize, a reward for the best Spanish-American book published in France.
During his stay in Paris from 1923 to 1933, Asturias wrote his novel El Señor Presidente (The President), which slashed at the social evil and malignant corruption to which an insensitive dictator dooms his people. Because of its political implications Asturias was unable to bring the book with him when, in 1933, he returned to Guatemala, which at the time was ruled by the dictator Jorge Ubico. The original version was to remain unpublished for thirteen years. The fall of Ubico's regime in 1944 brought to the presidency Professor Juan José Arévalo, who immediately appointed Asturias cultural attaché to the Guatemalan Embassy in Mexico, where the first edition of El Señor Presidente appeared in 1946.
In late 1947, Asturias went to Argentina as cultural attaché to the Guatemalan Embassy and, two years later, obtained a ministerial post. While in Buenos Aires, he published Sien de alondra (Temple of the Lark), 1949, an anthology of his poems written between 1918 and 1948. In 1948 he returned to Guatemala for a few months, during which time he wrote his novel Viento fuerte (Strong Wind), 1950, an indictment of the effect of North American imperialism on the economic realities of his country. That same year, the second edition of El Señor Presidente was published in Buenos Aires.
When the government of President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman fell in 1954, Asturias went into exile in Argentina, his wife's native country, where he remained until 1962. A year later, the Argentine publisher Losada brought out his novel Mulata de tal (Mulata). This story, a surrealistic blend of Indian legends, tells of a peasant whose greed and lust consign him to a dark belief in material power from which, Asturias warns us, there is only one hope for salvation: universal love.
In 1966 Asturias was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize. In the same year, he was appointed the Guatemalan ambassador to France by President Julio Mendez Montenegro.
From Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901-1967, Editor Horst Frenz, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1969
This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.
Miguel Asturias died on June 9, 1974.
MLA style: Miguel Angel Asturias – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2019. Thu. 18 Jul 2019. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1967/asturias/biographical/>
Nobel Prizes 2018
In 2018, 12 new laureates were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.
Their work and discoveries range from cancer therapy and laser physics to developing proteins that can solve humankind's chemical problems. The work of the 2018 Nobel Laureates also included combating war crimes, as well as integrating innovation and climate with economic growth. Find out more.


The last line of our National Anthem that we sing at sports events and for patriotic occasions says, "…O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." It's true, we have so many freedoms that have been won by so many brave people who were willing to sacrifice lives to that end. But sometimes I wonder what I have done personally with my freedoms and have I, in fact, been brave in exercising them, particularly my freedom to be me.
That hits too close to home with me. At some level, I know who I am – Donna Brown, divorced mother of two and grandmother of three; Christian, self-employed Realtor and small business owner who struggles financially, singer/musician, Toastmaster. But those are mostly roles I play.
And then comes the even bigger question for me – what do I want? Probably for most of us, the first ideas that pop into our minds are things: bigger house, bigger and/or newer car; more money, clothes, furniture, European vacation. But I think we all know that things don't satisfy us for very long. Just about as soon as we buy that thing we've been dreaming of and saving for, a "new and improved" model hits the shelves and we have to start all over again. But if I could really have what I WANT, what would that be?
Many years ago, the Christian humorist, Grady Nutt, wrote a little book called "Being Me." He wrote it for teens during those insecure years when they don't know yet who they are and he called on them to not yield their uniqueness to conformity. There is an enormous pressure to "fit in," to "not rock the boat" or "make waves." And that pressure doesn't dissipate after high school. There is the pressure to fit the mold in relationships and in jobs and in organizations.
But remember, this is the "land of the free and the home of the brave." Why should I stuff myself in the mold of everyone else when I was created to be me? No one else can be me; if I'm not me, there won't be a me. And if you're not you, there won't be a you.
I did a contest speech called "The River of Life" in which I encouraged people to "sing their own song" and "make their own kind of music," to, in fact, be themselves and I won three levels of contests with that speech. After all that encouraging others to be themselves (and feeling confident they got the message) a woman who heard the speech asked me to work with her as she prepared a contest speech. Her stated reason – because she wanted to be just like me. Many of us think there is a pattern we can follow or a mold we can fit into and success or acceptance will follow.
Unfortunately, there is no mold to be successful as yourself and you may have to exercise both your bravery and your freedom to accomplish being fully yourself.
In a conversation with my brother and niece, I commented that my brother used to sound a lot like Elvis when he sang. My niece said to her Dad, "Gee, why didn't you keep practicing – you could have gone to Las Vegas and made it big as an Elvis impersonator." My theory is, if he had WANTED it, he might have become one of those single-named performers – an original Mickey rather than an Elvis impersonator!
I received an email with an Oscar Wilde quote on it that first made me laugh and then I had to stop and think about it. He said, "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." Obviously, everyone we come into contact with makes an impact on us and changes us in some way and clearly we want to be knowledgeable of other thoughts and opinions than our own, but only if I know who I am and what I want, will I emerge from these contacts still being me.
In this "land of the free and the home of the brave," who are you, what do you really want, what do you really have to offer, what do you really hope for? Understanding your needs and wants and skills is critical to navigating your way from where you are to where you want to be. You are unique – distinctive – plan to leave some evidence on this planet that you have been here. What a gift you are! Exercise your bravery and your freedom and share the gift of you with the rest of the world rather than being merely a replica of everyone else. Be strong! Be brave! Be free! Be yourself!


Most of the time I like to stick to simpler quilts with big pieces, but sometimes I just want to do something a little more intricate. I came across Woven by Jeni Baker in Patchwork Essentials and thought it was just stunning, and I immediately added it to my queue.
The fabric I used is Dare by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics, which I really love. I'm holding to my New Year's resolution of Love It, Use It. I was a little nervous about whether it will still look good and work together all cut up, but I was willing to give it a shot. I'm so glad I did, because I think it looks great!
Piecing of this took a long time just because there were so many pieces and so many HSTs to square up. My hands were not quite happy with me after awhile, so I only did them one small batch at a time. However, despite the many many pieces, this quilt was easier to piece than I expected.
Some quilts are just asking to be quilted to death, but this quilt is not one of them. The fabric and the criss-cross pattern is really the most important thing here, so the quilting should just quietly enhance. I did some simple continuous curve designs in the triangles, and did a feather motif in each white diamond. I love to use continuous curves because the dot-to-dot nature of them means no marking, they're easy and forgiving, and they form secondary designs when grouped together. As for feathers, I just love how much fun they are to quilt and how they add instant elegance to the quilt.
I was a little scared how this quilt would turn out, but I'm so happy with it. From afar, the criss-cross pattern is just so striking!
This post participated in the link parties at Crazy Mom Quilts, Busy Hands Quilts, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Link up and join the fun!
This quilt is beautiful! I love the quilting and the fabric you chose!!
You outdid yourself again! Everything is wonderful about this quilt. I think your quilting is amazing, can't wait to see what you will do with a longarm machine. Thanks for sharing.
That's a lot of half square triangles! But the design is really, really neat. Congratulations on your finish!
Totally gorgeous!! I love this so much - colours, patterns, quilting - great work!
Love your quilt! Beautiful fabric and quilting too!
Beautiful - you did a great job, and your quilting is gorgeous too!!
Really pretty! Your feather quilting is beautiful, too.
This is gorgeous and the quilting is amazing!


The inaugural Lisa's Legacy 5K Run and Walk took place on October 18th on a brisk and beautiful Fall day in Cleveland's University Circle area. Over four hundred participants ran, walked and ambled past the Natural History Museum, the Art Museum, Severance Hall and the site of University Hospitals' new Cancer Hospital where the Lisa's Legacy Fund will be supporting ongoing cancer research.
It was a great crowd and a terrific course to run. I got a chance before and after the race to meet with a lot of fans of Funky and Lisa, and even got to hand out the awards to the winners in each age category. Modesty, of course, precludes my mentioning that I finished third in my age group… which isn't too bad considering that as recently as this past January I was still barely able to run a lap following my close encounter of the automotive kind. We even enjoyed pizza supplied by Luigi's, the pizzeria in Akron that I've stolen down to the nails in the floor to create Montoni's in Funky. In short, it was a perfect morning and a perfect race. The only problem I could see is that it set a pretty high bar for next year's run.
If you'd like to see a bit of what went on, check out the slide show under the Lisa's Legacy Fund section of this site. As for me, it's time to get started on next year's run both in the strip and in real life as Lisa's legacy continues.


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As the train pulled in to Ponyville, Neame emerged from the wagon she had spent most of the journey in, a scowl on her face and a crick in both her wings. She stalked over to the conductor, and snarled at him, before waiting for the two ponies to emerge from the carriages. It had not been a pleasant trip. The Canterlot train service had informed them that since there had been som many incidents lately of griffins running amok in the confined carriages, they had introduced a policy that all animals larger than ponies were to ride in the hay wagons.
The wagons, filled mostly with their namesake, allowed for a soft if uncomfortable ride, but the other inhabitant of the carriage had been a Diamond Dog by the name of Rufus, who had spoken ENDLESSLY about the finer points of Lapis Lazuli, and who had tried to take off her golden ringlets several times during the journey. Now, she wanted to just get on with her journey. But first, she needed something else.
"Coffee," she hissed as she glared at the two ponies, her feathers ruffled and her wings spread wide. With the glint of her gold and the position of her coif gave her the look almost of a fury, a taloned, winged beast so dangerous that there was rumours that Celestia herself had wiped them out centuries ago. Seething, her tail twitching like a cobra, she huffed a breath out or her beak, and reiterated her point. "Coffe. Now." she said.
Cutlass had a rather pleasurable trip. She remembered to pack food and beverage earlier, and was set for the ride. The rolling pastures outside reminded her of days long past. Her extensive travels across the lands of Equestria for loot and adventure in between had taken her nearly everywhere the country had to offer. Watching Neame basically froth over her accommodations highly amused the mare, but she felt a bit sorry for her all the same. Species relations were somewhat tenuous when it came to simple civil liberties like a place on the train.
She ate and drank and promptly fell asleep after the first hour. Adventure was on it's way.
When they arrived, Cutlass stretched and cracked her neck some before exiting the train. What an interesting little city Ponyville was. It was the one place she couldn't bear to steal bits from in her younger days. The folk here were probably the kindest of all in Equestria. Polite, hard working and honest folk who never lived a day of malice in their lives.
But the task at hoof. What of Muffin's little tip about 'Celestia's Student'? Was this even a believable claim? Cutlass was ceased in her thoughts by the sight of an irate Neame, wings spread in annoyance, steely eyes upon her and Muffin Top.
She couldn't hear the word the first time after Neame had said it, but she certainly got the message afterwards! This gryphon was...well, pretty pissed. "Arright, arright, calm down!" said Cutlass, backing away, her maroon eyes scanning frantically for the nearest possible cafe. "Come on...a coffee shop..." she growled to herself.
Muffin Top was all too happy to leave Canterlot and get away from snooping guards. A couple of guards had regarded him with some suspicious stares upon noticing the stallion's shifty behavior, but in the end, he was able to make it aboard the train without incident. As they boarded the train, although Muffin was offered more comfortable quarters for the train ride, he insisted on riding in back with Neame so he could keep her company. While he meant well, however, his attempts to keep Neame's spirits up during the train ride with stories of his days on the rock farm really did little more than add to her list of annoyances. Muffin himself was not at all bothered by these less-than luxorious accomodations, it was a nice change of pace from sleeping out on the cold ground.
"Whoo, what a trip! There were all sorts of interestin' characters ridin' in back with us. And that hay was mighty comfy to lay down on too. Don'tcha think, Neame?" It was then that Muffin noticed the angry glare that Neame was shooting him, prompting him to cower back over towards Cutlass as they stood on the boarding platform. "Er... Y-You alright Neame?" Muffin asked nervously.
"Comfy?" Neame snapped, her rage barely contained as she clenched her claws tightly. She had now sat up on her haunches, and her wings were spread wide, shining in the high morning sun. Her tail was now no longer twitching about, but was pointed directly behind her, at an angle, and her beak seemed to be extended a little, like her whole body had gotten a little bit more streamlined, like she was poised, ready to strike out at something. A predatory pose from the predatory creature.
"Let me tell you about comfy! Seven days ago, I woke up at midday. I was woken up by an intern, who was so intent on giving my snacks that she went back out after finding out that I don't like pastries, and fetched me sponge cake. I awoke in a nest of canvas, which I love the feel of. I slid out of my nest at one, and painted until eight, when I went back to sleep. IN THAT... THAT.... THING, I WAS NOT COMFORTABLE!" she all but roared at them, pointing her claw at the hay wagon with a snarl.
"It was demeaning! Not only was I trapped next to a Diamond Dog who would not stop pestering me for my jewels, but I had you, YOU, as my "handler", prattling on inanely about this trip and that adventure, while all I wanted to do, all I ever desired, was to sleep, silently, and without interruption. I detest vehicles, especially trains, and I had to endure EVERY. SINGLE. SECOND of it," she continued, pacing about angrily as her tirade continued. Eventually, she paused, her wings twitching as she sniffed.
"I SMELL KLATCHIAN DARK ROAST," she spoke, her voice gutteral, hewn with desire.
"You're a spoiled birdlion." said Cutlass, bluntly, yet the smile now resting on her face left her words up to interpretation. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you the real world is pretty uncomfortable sometimes. But that's how it is, Neame."
The fussy gryphon's tirade, while no doubt scary, also ended up being rather...dare she think, cute... In a "oh that's adorable" kind of way. Wait, was she interspersing cute and adorable now? Point, being, her amusement was more powerful than her frantic curiosity of what might happen if Neame had still been stuck in that train car now, listening to Muffin blither on about whatever.
"...I had to endure EVERY. SINGLE. SECOND of it," she ended her sentence, and her pacing all at once. A few moments passed, before Cutlass reached out a hoof to pat her gingerly on the head. "Let it all out, sweetie...let it all out." she said, half serious, half playful.
Suddenly, she spoke and Cutlass immediately moved away.
"Klatchian dark roast?" repeated Cutlass, familiar with that blend, "...oh my... It's..." She sniffed at the air. While not the greatest tracker, Cutlass had learned to trust her nose at certain times during her younger adventures. "There's a cafe around here...about east of here."
Muffin Top was quite startled by Neame's outburst, backing away from her with is ears folded down. If there's one thing he really disliked, it was getting yelled at, and Neame was certainly not holding anything back. The simple-minded Muffin, however, was having a difficult time comprehending just why she was mad and why she was only just now letting this all out. He flinched as she snarled at him, and was not at all comforted by the fact that Cutlass did not seem to be taking any of this seriously. When she finally did finish, Muffin couldn't do anything but stay quiet for what seemed like a very long period of awkward silence. Finally, Muffin got up enough courage to break speak up.
"I-I'm not sure I understood all of that, Neame… B-But I'm awful sorry if I did somethin' to…" Suddenly Muffin was interrupted by yet another outburst from Neame. "Kla-what?" Muffin said, not sure of what she was talking about until Cutlass clarified for him. "Oh! Well how 'bout we all head on over there and grab somethin' to eat. I'll even treat ya to a cup of coffee, Neame." Muffin said, already trying to make up with the griffon.
Muffin was at the head of the trio as they entered the cafe, holding the door open for the other two females and following after them. "Well this looks like a nice lil' place. Kinda like that place we ate at in Canterlot, huh Neame?" Muffins said to Neame, hoping that she had cooled off by now.
Rainbow Dash sat in the coffee shop, her eyes half-closed as she sipped at a cup of black coffee. She just felt so drained today... like she could barely reach mach four. It was probably because she'd only gotten ten or eleven hours of sleep last night - she'd have to sneak in a few naps throughout the day, as soon as she was fully awake.
There was something wrong with that logic, but as Dash tried to trace down the stray thought, the door opened and a griffin walked in. Griffins themselves weren't a terrible surprise - but they were rare enough that every time she saw one, it briefly opened that old wound. Gilda. Every time her memory came up, Dash felt the same torn feelings - she missed her old friend terribly ... and she was angry at her old friend for being a big jerk and making her choose between friends.
But this wasn't Gilda, she reminded herself firmly. She was entirely too tired for reminiscing. She sipped again at her coffee, mentally planning out the day's weather route. Maybe she could take a nap in her hidey-hole in the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. Or in the leaves of the town library. Or maybe both.
Neame crashed through the door to the coffee house, her face still like thunder as she stormed up to the barista. "Klatchian Dark Roast. Black. Large. And a slice of apple sponge cake. DO NOT bring me pastry," she snapped, before pushing past a rainbow coloured pegasus to slump down in front of a table, groaning loudly. She stretched her wings out wide, shuddering.
"Uuugh... This is ridiculous," she mumbled to herself, watching as her two companions ordered their food and drinks. "What am I doing, a treasure hunt? This is ridiculous, I shouldn't be here, I should be back in Canterlot, in my nice warm studio, painting. AAGH!" she cried out, not realising that she was speaking a whole lot louder than she intended to, her wings sweeping around as she gripped the edge of the table with her claws.
Unbeknownst to her, she had been brushing her wings against the patrons of the cafe. In her last, angry outburst, she knocked the coffee from the winged pegasus hooves, scalding her own wing. "AAAHHH! OWOWOWOWOW!" she cried out, flinching at the hot liquid on her feathers. She hopped about, waving her wing to try and cool it down.
The sandy coated mare sipped at her bottle outside of the cafe after having received it along with her apple fritter, preferring to enjoy what little daylight they seemed to have left. Clouds began to converge over the skies of the city. More natural occurance than pegasi operated. The smell of precipitation was just wonderful, and maybe it was a trick of the light, but she spotted a silhouette of a pegasus with a much, much larger wingspan than the average pegasus. Cutlass let out a low whistle. One of the many impressive sights in Equestria for sure. Maybe she was wrong, maybe she wasn't, who cared?
At the very least, there was finally a spot of calm since they had all left the train. Muffin had decided to stay with Neame in the cafe, and though she seemed to be starting up another tirade, she had calmed down enough that she wasn't yelling at the two of them at least. Her concerns, Cutlass felt, would be better directed at the situation at hoof, and keeping her and Muffin Top updated. This student of Celestia's. Cutlass had thought more and more about the idea, and now she was interested in all the talk. That was plenty of hype to think about when the student of the ruler of the kingdom was involved.
Suddenly, shrieks of pain could be heard from inside the cafe. Cutlass was in there in a flash, mouth reaching for the cutlasss sword on her side. Then, she caught sight of the gryphon hopping around madly and jangling her jewelry covered wing, flinging droplets of hot coffee in every direction. Cutlass spared herself a quick moment to facehoof before grabbing a small stack of napkins with her mouth.
"Shtay shtill." mouthed Cutlass through the napkins, trying to press them against Neame's jangling wings.
Muffin Top came up to the counter after Neame left and quickly made his order, "Uh... I think I'll just have a muffin, blueberry." he said as he watched Neame complain to no one in particular. He let out a sigh as he saw this. Couldn't that griffon learn to mellow out a little bit? Here was a griffoness who lived a lush and pampered lifestyle, and she was even getting her wish to find out what these dreams of hers mean. Yet in spite of all of this, she didn't seem very happy at all, if anything she actually seemed to be even more irritable ever since they left Canterlot. Why was she even here if she was so miserable?
This thought also brought another question to Muffin's mind, one that he really hadn't gotten a chance to ponder yet: Just why was he here? Because it was either run off with Neame and Cutlass or get arrested in Canterlot of art vandelism? Now that he was out of Canterlot, he could just leave them, yet at the same time, he didn't feel he could. Perhaps it was his mother's teachings to always help a female in need, or maybe it was just because Neame was one of the few friends that he'd made on this journey of his, but Muffin felt an obligation to help see this expedition through. Besides, wouldn't seeing a lost ancient city be an impressive sight to see?
As he followed Neame to their seat, however, Muffin couldn't help but notice the cyan, rainbow-maned pegasus sitting at the table that Neame was passing. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason she looked very familiar to him. Had he seen her the last time he was in ponyville? Before he could think on it any further, however, he heard Neame let out a scream of pain. "Gah! Wh-What happened?" Muffin asked in somewhat of a panicked tone, but he quickly figured out what was going once he spotted Neame flailing about with coffee dripping off her wings and Cutlass trying to wipe her off with some napkins in her mouth as well as the pegasus who's coffee was spilled, some of which ahd gotten onto her as well. "Aw schucks... Er, sorry 'bout your coffee, m'am." Muffin said, deciding to take the iniative to help the pegasus while Cutlass helped Neame, grabbing some napkins in his mouth.
Rainbow Dash scrambled backwards as the wing swept across her table, smacking the mug out of her hooves and splattering several drops of stinging, hot coffee over her, scrambling backwards and accidentally kicking the table, popping the sugarbowl up into the air to land on the top of her head in a white cloud. Well, that woke her up! And got her back up, too! She wiped a hoof over her face, smearing the coffee, then popped up out of her chair. She totally ignored Muffin to get up in Neame's face.
"What's *your* problem?" she cried angrily, her wings flapping slowly to hover her in the air right before the griffin, glaring right into her eyes. The smeared coffee had stained her face tan, the sugar had greyed out her rainbow mane, and a fierce light was in her eyes. "You got somethin' against me enjoyin' my coffee?"
Neame reared back, and up, standing on her hind legs as she glared down at the now tan coloured pony, her blood boiling as Cutlass attempted to soothe her burned and dripping wing. She was all ready to bellow at this pony, when, all of a sudden, she let out a deflated sigh, and fell back down onto her claws, her head hanging low. She slowly folded her wings up, being careful not to knock over anything else.
"I'm sorry. Everyone, I'm sorry," she said, addressing the shop in general, before turning to the pegasus. "And I am especially sorry to you, miss. It was rude of me to get annoyed when I was the one at fault. Please, let me buy you another coffee to replace yours, it is the least I can do," she said, before turning to Muffin Top and Cutlass. "I have to apologise to you two the strongest. I have been a pain to travel with," she said, sitting down next to the table the formerly rainbow maned pony had been at.
"Perhaps we should abandon this quest... We have only come from Canterlot to Ponyville, and we've probably got a long, long way to go before we even begin to find hints of these ruins, if they even exist at all..." she said, her head hanging low. She took a deep breath, and let out another sigh. "We should find this student of Celestia's, though... she might be able to tell me something about this dream, even if it doesn't help us with the hunt," she said with a weak smile upon her beak.
Cutlass raised a hoof, and for one fleeting second, she recognized that in her time with Steelwalt, she had ended up picking up plenty of the old mare's traits. One was whacking a silly pony (or in this case, gryphon) upon the head with a hoof.
"Don't...you...quit." Cutlass firmly punctuated each word with yet another strike upon Neame's head. "Don't apologize to us, and don't feel bad. We chose to come, we chose to travel with you but we choose not to let you give up. So quit blubberin'..." she set a hoof under Neame's beak and planted a gentle kiss upon her forehead. "...and lets get another coffee. On me."
She looked over to the tan pegasus who Neame managed to spill her coffee all over. Cutlass blinked once and then blinked again. Her mother had read the stories to her when she was just a filly, but she had no idea they were biographies and not fiction! About the only thing missing was her hat. And her vest too.
"D-D-Daring Do?" stammered Cutlass through her napkin with big shining maroon eyes before rushing forward to wipe feverishly at the pegasus' wings. "Omigoshomigoshomisgosh!" gushed the sandy coated mare.
Muffin Top backed away from the now-tan pegasus as she confronted Neame, he braced himself for a seemingly inevitable confrontation between the two strong-willed females. To his surprise, however, it didn't come. Instead what he saw was Neame suddenly acting in an apologetic manner, a complete turn-aroudn from where she was before. Muffin couldn't bring himself to say anything for a moment as he watched the griffoness apologize to the pegasus mare, then to both himself and Cutlass. He was already starting to feel bad about those complaining to himself about her a moment earlier, even though they were just thoughts. He then found himself nodding in agreement with Cutlass's words. "Yeah, Cutlass is right; there ain't nuthin' for you to be apologizing about. It's your first day out travelin, the first day was hard for me too. But don't you worry 'bout a thing, we'll find that student of the princess's and be to this old city of yours before ya know it!" Muffin said, offering Neame a warm smile. He was then caught offguard by Cutlass's sudden outburst at the Pegasus mare.
"Huh, ya mean you know her, Cutlass? Y'know that's funny, 'cause when I saw her sittin' over in the, I coulda sworn I'd seen her somewhere before." Muffin said as he turned to the pegasus, completely unfamiliar with the Daring-Do series and not noticing the uncanny resemblance that her stained face bore to the adventure novel heroine, instead only seeing a coffee-stained of a mare with a previously-cyan coat. "Oh, ya still have coffee all over ya, and some sugar in yer mane too, lemme help ya with that, m'am…" he said as he wiped a little bit of the coffee away from the mare's face as well as some of the sugar from her mane, revealing her cyan coat beneath and rainbow mane. Upon seeing her face for the second time, Mfufin instantly recognized her. "Now I remember! I saw you 'round here when I helped out at Winter Wrap-Up. You were shoutin' out stuff through one of them… uh, whattya call 'em… Megaphone!" Muffin Top said excitedly, happy to run into at least one familiar face since their arrival in Ponyville, even if he didn't know her name.
Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise as the Griffin backed down, and she was suddenly fawned over by ponies with patting napkins. She was quite taken aback, blinking in surprise. "Oh, uh, yeah, um, no problem, then. Yeah, I'm Rainbow Dash," she said, her eyes flickign back and forth between the three of them ... then she quickly wipe-wipe-wiped at her face with her hooves, getting rid of the last of the coffee and sugar, leaving her with her normal colors. She grinned as she looked up, her chest puffed out a bit, at Cutlas' obvioand she grinned at Cutlass. "You hearda me already, huh?" she asked, grinning broadly as Cutlass was obviously so eager to see her. "Course you have, I'm Rainbow Dash! Fastest Pegasus alive! Only Pegasus ever to perform a Sonic Rainboom! No adventure too grand for me!" She nodded to Muffin. "And yeah, that was me, just trying to get things organized!"
The griffon didn't want to admit it, but the words of Cutlass and Muffin had indeed cheered her up immensely. She was glad to have companions who believed in her, ponies who for once actually thought that the city actually existed, and wasn't just the delusions of some weird griffon who couldn't even fly properly. She let out a sigh, and wrapped her bandaged wings around the two, hugging them gently. "Thank you, both of you. I'm just not used to being this far out of my comfort zone... I miss my nest," she said with a faint smirk upon her face.
Neame's ears and wings perked up at the mention of Daring Do. She had been shown comics and stories by Picture's aides, of an adventurous pegasus who had been all over the world, collecting treasures and exploring ancient ruins. If what Cutlass said was true, then she might have finally found a reliable lead. Of course, it was then that Muffin revealed the truth. The Griffon let out a sigh, and her perked wings flopped down against the floor with a clatter of metal.
But then something hit her. This pegasus was apparently quite well known in this town. She was involved with it's Wrap Up, and she seemed to like adventure, especially is she cosplayed as Daring Do as a hobby. "Cutlass, Muffin... I think we should ask Miss Dash if she knows where we can find this student of Celestia. She might be able to help us in our hunt for the missing city," she said with a smile.
The hug did not go ignored, and Cutlass reciprocated in kind. There were times where one could feel overwhelmed by the pressures and responsibility that came with achieving one's own goals. A little companionship was exactly what Neame needed in order to take this journey on. And Cutlass would help her see it through to the end, as well as help keep her and Muffin Top alive if it ever came down to it.
"Oh, uh, yeah, um, no problem, then. Yeah, I'm Rainbow Dash,"
"What?" said Cutlass, taken aback.
"Course you have, I'm Rainbow Dash! Fastest Pegasus alive! Only Pegasus ever to perform a Sonic Rainboom! No adventure too grand for me!"
Cutlass pouted. She couldn't help it. Daring Do was the kind of mare she imagined herself moving like in combat. Nimble, graceful and swift. And now she had the be Rainbow Dash instead of Daring Do. Her disappointment was hidden behind a small grin as Neame mentioned that Dash would have knowledge of Celestia's charge.
"I'd hope so, Neame." she said to the gryphon before turning to the rainbow maned mare.
"A pleasure to meet you, Rainbow Dash. The name's Cutlass." She turned to catch one of the mares who stood behind the counter on her way back to it, "One coffee for Rainbow Dash please. Cream and sugar, normal servings, thank you." she dug into her saddlebags with her muzzle and spit out about ten bits that flew through the air and pitter-pattered onto the counter from where she stood. "I know that's more than the price. Keep the rest." Back to Dash.
"Ma'am, my companions and I are searching for a student of the Princess? Princess Celestia that is. D'you know where we can find her?"
Muffin Smiled and blushed slightly as Neame hugged both him and Cutlass. "Aww schucks Neame, don't think nuthin' of it." Muffin said nervously, still not quite used to female company himself, let alone getting hugged by one, even if it wasn't another pony. As their attention turned back to the now-clean Rainbow Dash, Muffin was a bit confused by the look of disappointment on Neame and Cutlass's, yet he simply shrugged it off, nodding in agreement with Neame's suggestion. "Yeah, that's a good idea! I reckon someone like Miss Rainbow Dash would know everypony 'round these parts." Muffin said enthusiastically as Cutlass got Rainbow Dash another coffee and explained their situation to her.
"It'd really be alotta help to us, Miss Rainbow." Muffin added after Cutlass's explanation. "Y'see, Neame here is tryin' to look for some ol' city where a bunch of Griffon's used to live, but she ain't had no luck findin' anything 'bout this place so far. The only thing she hasn't done is asked the Princess, but the Princess is mighty hard to see these days." he continued as he took a seat at the table that Rainbow Dash had been sitting at. "So that's when I remembered hearing about some student of the Princess's livin' here when I was helpin' with Winter Wrap-Up, and I say, 'Hey, we should go to Ponyville and see if she knows anything.' And well… here we are!" Muffin finished with a grin on his face.
It happened almost instantly. At the mention of the word Neferset, Neame lunged forwards, grasping the pony in her claws. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT NEFERSET!?" she barked, before taking a deep breath, setting the pony back down. "I'm sorry," she said, hanging her head, "but I have to know. Please. Tell me eveything you know about Neferset. She's the name of the griffon I see in my dreams... I just..." she began, halting as she felt a stab of pain in her temple.
"Nngh..." she managed, before falling to one side, curling up slightly to try and abate the pain. "Every night... it's the same thing... I can't take it any more... I just want sleep," she said with a grunt, pushing herself back upright as best she could, claws shaking as she stood. "Cutlass, could you please get me a tea, Earl Neigh, with milk and sugar, " she said, pointing to her bits bag. "I think I might need to sleep soon," she said softly.
"Miss Rainbow Dash, unless any of my companions have anything else to say, I believe we would be indebted to you if you could lead us to the student, this... Twilight," she said, adding, "and if you could let me know all you do about Neferset," as a reminder.
Rainbow Dash let out a faint 'eep,' her eyes wide as a very large, very intense griffon was suddenly up in her face and shaking her. She hadn't even really gotten to her first sip of the fresh cup of coffee, and now it was jostled onto the floor and pooling out in a brown puddle. She looked down to the floor, her lip wibbling and a faint noise of disbelief sounding from her ... then up to the griffon with a helpless expression ... and in a pained voice, she whimpered, "Is this some sort of cruel joke to you?!"
The sword-carrying mare buried her face in a hoof, as it was the only way to effectively express her exasperation over the situation. She dipped into her saddlebag and spit up another few bits toward the grinning cashier who seemed to be raking in amusement along with profit before disappearing off to let another waiter know to bring the poor rainbow pony another cuppa joe. She pushed a hoof inbetween the two to separate Neame and Dash and spoke up with authority.
"Yes. We want to find Celestia's student for reasons I'm not entirely sure about, now can you help us?" she said to Rainbow Dash.
Not expecting her to understand, she continued, "Neame here is a famous artist, and among her works are a set of paintings from a different time. A different place. She's been having dreams about such, and those usually seem to manifest themselves in her art, I gather. So we decided to tag along with her to find somepony who could help. We believe that pony is in this very town. Mind you, she'd need to excel in magic, and maybe a good history head on her shoulders would help too."
Upon seeing yet another spill Muffin gathered some more napikins from the the dispenser on the table, "Don't worry, I got it ladies." Muffin said as he got down on the floor and began wiping away the spilled coffee. "Golly, ya sure are spillin' up a flood here." Muffin said as he cleaned up the mess while the waitress came with another cup of coffee and the muffin that he had ordered. "Oh, thank you, m'am." Muffin said to the waitress as he finished cleaning up the mess and took his seat back at the table. As Cutlass spoke, he promptly tore the top of the muffin from its stump, just as he ate them growing up. After Cutlass had finished, he nodded with her in agreement. "Yeah, that's what I was sayin' before."
Rainbow Dash's head was whirling from all the commotion... a third cup of coffee brought to her hooves, and questions from everypony present... especially from the extremely excitable griffin. She addressed the Griffin directly, deciding that it would be best to keep her *calm* as possible.
"Neferset was the ruler of this ancient Griffin city built into the side of a mountain ... a golden age for Griffins. It's said that despite all her success, she waxed melancholy because her people, despite their strength and glory, were still dependent upon the Pegasus Ponies, their allies, to control the weather. She brought together all the most brilliant Griffin sages in all the Griffin lands and skies to address to them a question - how could the Griffins take control of their own destiny, and become true rulers of the sky? The sages worked on the problem for seven years before finally presenting a solution - a brilliant golden crown, shaped like intertwined lightning bolts. It was said that this crown would magically steal away the pegasus' magic, and give it to the griffins, for as long as the ruling griffins had it ... but even as they handed it over, some great catastrophe happened, some natural disaster, and the city fell off of the mountain and was lost, along with the crown."
Her voice lifted a little, back to her normal way of speaking. "But that's just a story, of course, there's no such ruined city, and nothing could *actually* steal a pegasus' AWESOMENESS! It's part of who we are!" Having answered that questions to the best of her ability, Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up as the server returned with another coffee, then stepped back a couple of feet, as if waiting for something. Dash lifted the mug to her lips. At last! Beautiful, wonderful, magnificent coffee!
Neame sighed softly, her wings sagging a little. "The kids story comes out... I AM a griffon, I grew up in Talonopolis. Do you not think I haven't heard this story before. I've done a lot of research on this, Miss Dash. I know for certain that parts of it are false. Griffons never build into mountains, there are no examples of that kind of construction. We also never appointed 'sages', not for a millenia and a half of our history have we had anybody appointed as a sage," she said, her tone becoming a little bit more smooth, a little more cultured, as she spoke. Settling down onto her rear, she ruffled her feathers a bit, to make herself more comfortable.
"Neferset DID exist, however. Her name was mentionned in an old tome, from before even Celestia's time, in a scroll supposedly written by Pegasus himself. Yes. THAT Pegasus. It says that he met a griffon queen named Neferset, and gifted her with one of his feathers," she said, reaching carefully into the large bag of tubes that she had had Cutlass and Muffin fetch from her studio. "I know that I cannot vouch for the authenticity of my dreams, but my companions have seen many other images similar to this, too many for them to be absolutely made up. I have only ever been to Talonopolis, Canterlot, and now this town. I have never seen environments like these, arcitecture like this," she said, pulling a small canvas from it's tube, showing the mare one of her paintings, a wide angle shot of the town, with the meeting point of the river shown.
Pulling out another, larger tube, she unravelled it and held it to the wall, gesturing for Muffin to hold the other side. "I don't know a lot about fate, Miss Dash. But I do know this. You are the first person I've ever heard mention the crown. Look at this painting, Miss Dash," she said. The canvas upon the wall was a picture of a throne room. Large alabaster columns lined the room, and upon the walls were etchings painted in gold and bronze, stylised figures of griffon, pony, dragon, even creatures Neame could not name. Hundreds of figures were in the image, a crowd stood before a raied figure, a griffon, regal looking, in a long flowing gown that seemed to be made of light itself. Upon her head, a golden crown rested. It should have been dificult to see, but, the picture itself seemed to be focused upon the small headwear. The thing was jagged, like it could have been made from thorns, and there was a small white protrudance coming from the top.
"It looks right, doesn't it? A crown of lightning bolts, adorned with the feather of Pegasus, the gift of the flying ponies," she said in a hoarse whisper. She wanted to see both the mare's reactions to this, as she knew that, if nothing else, Cutlass would want to know more. Unfortunately, she had little more information to give. "This is why I need to see Celestia's student, Miss Dash. My dreams hold the key to learning where the city was, and that key is that river delta. We need to look through books, and the royal library is closed to us. As a student of Celestia, she must have some sort of historical tomes," she stated, glancing to Muffin. She suspected he would be impressed too, but she did not quite get the same vibe from him, the same lust for adventure feel as she did from Cutlass.


uproots a mound of wildflowers.
to root what can't be said.
so they do not rot.
Another pleasurable read. The poem delivers that village feel, where everyone knows everyone else's business, whether scandal or mundanity, right down to gardening habits.
Thanks, Phil. You know I'm always excited to get the background info, sources of inspiration, etc. on poems and all works of art.
Hi Badge, Your revision easily could join the ranks of WCW in depth and communicating thoughts through things. I love it and want to emulate it. You have become the inspiration.


Look Again: Does Your Boating Insurance Policy Provide Adequate Liability Coverage?
With Victoria Day and the start of summer just around the corner, many Toronto families are preparing to head out on the water and enjoy the season by boat.
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Even the most responsible sailors and boat owners can experience accidents while out on the water. Collisions, capsizing, accidental storms or fires, and many other situations can crop up — sometimes out of nowhere.
Still, many falsely assume that they'd be covered if an accident or injury did occur. Read the fine print, and you may be surprised.
One of the worst types of situations that can occur while boating involves the injury of another party. Top-shelf insurance policies protect the boat owner from liability in the event that someone else is injured on their boat. But many other, more standard boating insurance policies consistently fail to offer adequate liability coverage, and many plans have large holes in them where the policyholder can be left footing the bill. This can even happen when close family members of the boat owner are injured — sometimes, family members who reside in the same household.
Young children are most vulnerable. You'd be surprised to learn that underage children who live with their parents (the boat owners) might not actually be covered if they are injured in an accident on or involving your boat. Oddly enough, unrelated individuals who are on your boat may be covered in the event of an accident and injury.
What is even more concerning is something called the right of subrogation, given to the insurer. In the event that your insurance provider is liable to pay for an accident victim on your behalf, this clause enables the provider to actually sue the responsible party and recover some of the money they're meant to pay. This could be you.
Essentially, your insurance company can act as if they are the accident victim, suing the responsible or liable party. In some cases, you may be covered from this under another insurance policy that you have (for example, a homeowner's policy). But this is not always the case.
The best way to protect yourself from a terrible incident involving an accident on your boat is to always ensure that you carefully read and review your insurance contract before you sign it.
Sometimes, however, that's not enough. Insurance companies have tough lawyers on their side and won't hesitate to do what they have to in order to protect themselves. If it's too late to review your insurance policy and you're currently fighting your insurance agency for coverage of a boating accident, it's time to contact Ajax personal injury lawyer.
Only a personal injury lawyer can help you fight for your rights after a boating or Jet Ski accident. Unfortunately, not all Ajax personal injury lawyers are the same. Choose the one who will work the hardest for your success — Steven Polak. A highly experienced and knowledgeable personal injury lawyer from our firm would be happy to take on your case and fight on your behalf.
To learn more about our experience and expertise and to set up your free consultation, contact us today.


CEBU CITY, Philippines – A police drug bust in Barangay San Nicolas in Cebu City earlier this evening netted for authorities P5.9 million worth of shabu (crystal meth).
Superintendent Carlito Apilat, chief of the City Intelligence Branch (CIB) of the Cebu City Police Office, said the bag of shabu was recovered from a courier identified as Freddie Caburnay, 38, a resident of Sitio Cabangcalan, Barangay Bulacao, Cebu City.
The drug bust was a joint operation of the CIB and the drug enforcement unit of the San Nicolas Police Station.
Apilat said Caburnay was caught after he handed the pack of shabu to a police contact.
Caburnay, interviewed by reporters, claimed he was only asked to bring and hand over a plastic bag to a person and did not know what was inside.


How to keep your resolutions and truly grow.
How to tap into the transformative power of the Jewish month of Elul.
Great quotes to inspire personal transformation.
6 practical tools for fueling change.
When you don't know where to begin, start here.
I can't wait until tomorrow because I get better every day.
Defying spiritual gravity – the force of habit, mental inertia, toxic negative thinking.
God sent me this crucial test and I had to make a critical choice.
In Elul anything is possible, even finding your soul mate.
Today marks the first day of the rest of your life. Here's a Jewish method for making that concept real.
Being hit with a major computer virus is no way to start the NewYear...or is it?
How the NY Giants training camp can get you ready for the High Holidays.
The ultimate pleasure in life is to develop and strengthen your relationship with God. Sounds good. Now how do we do it?


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Bluegrass Opera: DayTraders, Downtown Arts Center
« Eat: BBQ & Brew with KY Ale, Triangle Park
Theatre: Studio Players: Out of Order, Carriage House Theatre »
Bluegrass Opera presents DayTraders at the Downtown Arts Center, May 20 – 22.
Friday, May 20: 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 21: 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 22: 2 pm
"DayTraders is a new musical by Lorne Dechtenberg about a handful of investors who spend hours in the same room each day, but who don't get to know each other until events inside (and outside) the trading office lead them to interact in ways they never had before. When the stock market is bustling, and when the computers are off, the investors discover sides of each other (and themselves) that they never knew existed. Full of love, laughs, and unexpected moments, DayTraders is a story of the human condition, and a reminder that, despite the selfishness and fear that pervade our world, love and hope can win out if each of us brings light to those dark places."
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How to listen, to the Dangerous Minds Podcast.
Dangerous Minds Podcast or DMP is where we delve into the minds of Biohackers, Grinders, and take a closer look at the tech being implanted and developed by this community in their efforts to find a DIY Evolution.
We have great news DMP is now available on Spotify Music for streaming!


We have some fun posts this month!
Today we are going to look at some fun accessories to your necessities.
Here are a couple we are trying out right now!
Look here is a USB Port on the side of your outlet cover!!! Opens up the outlet and lays flat to the wall rather than sticking out!!
Next: this is the same outlet, dark and light. A night light IN the outlet cover plate!! Again, opening up the outlet for other things to be plugged in! Do you see the little dark spot on the bottom of the outlet? That is the light sensor, so it automatically comes on when it is dark and goes off when it is light! My kids have had so much fun with this covering the sensor to make it go on and off! It has come in so nicely at night to light the way to my room when they are scared at night.
This is great for young children who are interested in putting things into holes they find!
This is nice for all the extension cords around ?
OOOO! How James Bond would you feel with this in your house??
Again, Safety is always important!
Well, I had a lot of fun searching around trying to find pictures to show you of fun outlet covers!
keeps their licenses up to date. Give us a call! No job too small! 8013585170 Aaron can fix all your electrical needs! We service everywhere in the Wasatch Front!


15 Animated Vehicle Pack is an awesome Premier Pro MOGRT template. All vehicle icons are fully customizable and looping. This pack contains delivery, transport, and security vehicles. Including a car, jeep, delivery truck, bus, Aeroplane, balloon, train, submarine, ambulance, drone, UFO, bicycle, and scooter. Ideal to use on your cartoons, TV shows, commercials, promotions, events, Facebook and YouTube videos. Impress your audience with this colorful and creatively animated premier pro template.


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Canadian Markets Regulator Gives 3iQ Green Light to Offer Bitcoin Fund
Canadian investment fund manager 3iQ will now be able to offer Canadian retail investors a regulated, publicly-traded Bitcoin (BTC) fund.
Bitcoin fund available to retail investors by end of year
In an Oct. 30 press release, 3iQ announced that it had received a favorable ruling from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in regard to its closed-end Bitcoin fund, which is expected to be available on a major Canadian stock exchange by the end of the year.
In February, Canada's markets regulator ruled negatively on 3iQ's proposal to launch its regulated Bitcoin fund. However, the Toronto-based 3iQ appealed the decision and ultimately won approval from the OCS to launch its BTC fund. 3iQ chief executive Fred Pye said:
"Over the past three years, we have worked actively with the OSC's Investment Funds and Structured Products Branch to create an investment fund that we hope will allow retail investors the benefits of investing in Bitcoin through a regulated, listed fund."
Pye, who previously worked as senior VP at Fidelity Investments Canada, told the Financial Post that retail investors will be able to buy and sell the Bitcoin fund through traditional and discount brokers. The investments will also be eligible for Canadian registered retirement savings plans and tax-free savings accounts.
Gemini, the New York-based cryptocurrency exchange and custodian founded in 2014 by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, will act as custodian of the fund's Bitcoins.
Canada is exploring digital currency
The Bank of Canada is reportedly exploring possible opportunities and challenges related to launching its own digital currency. The central bank purportedly believes that a public central bank digital currency could be the answer to the direct threat that cryptocurrencies apparently present.
See also Security Token Platform Receives Transfer Agent License From SEC
Price Analysis 30/10: BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, LTC, EOS, BNB, BSV, TRX, XLM
Genesis Capital Crypto Lending Firm Reports $870M in New Originations in Q3


How do I delete my own lessons?
I duplicated too many lessons (or rather, duplicated the same lesson several times) and I don't want them all under "my lessons" - how do I delete lessons?
Hi Alessandra! This is really easy to do Just 'swipe left' on the lesson title box and you will see the 'Delete' option.
How do I delete a lesson if I use Chrome on a Mac computer?


The Brighton is a luxury beachfront high-rise condo development located in Bay Colony at Pelican Bay in North Naples. Delivered in 1994 by WCI Communities, The Brighton is 22 stories tall with 75 residences. Floor plans at The Brighton feature two and three bedroom configurations with 2,760 - 3,450 SF of living space and just four units per floor. Direct and spectacular views of The Gulf of Mexico are available from every unit at the Brighton. Read more about Brighton at Bay Colony.
Amenities at the Brighton include a pool, sauna, barbecue grills, fitness room, sauna, billiards room, social room, card room, library, guest suite, tennis court, biking and jogging path, bike storage and 24-hour security. Parking is under the building and two parking spots come with each unit.
Owners are allowed two pets weighing up to 20 pounds. The association allows one lease per year for a minimum lease term of 90 days.
The Brighton is located at 8231 Bay Colony Drive, which is four high-rise condo buildings south of the Naples Ritz Carlton. The Carlysle is located directly to the north of The Brighton and The Biltmore to the south. This location is within walking distance of the Naples Ritz Carlton, the Bay Colony Beach Club and many other amenities at Bay Colony and Pelican Bay.


We are successfully running an NGO named VIKLANG SAHARA SAMITI DELHI. I am sending you a brief introduction of our organization Viklang Sahara Samiti Delhi.
Viklang Sahara Samiti Delhi (VSSD) is a non-Government organization working for the welfare and education of the persons with disabilities (PwDs ) and youth from the marginalized and economically weaker sections of the society since 1994. VSSD has observed while working at ground that most of the persons with disabilities in the society were not able to get even the basic facilities offered by the Central / State government. Therefore, VSSD has established under the Society Act and became a social organization in December 1994 as a non-profits organization to support and fulfill the needs of peoples with disabilities in the society. This support is in terms of Basic Education, Skill Training, Vocational Training and Placement etc. VSSD has successfully implemented its projects and goal orientated Programs for help to the persons with disabilities of all the types.
VSSD ensures providing opportunities to every PwDs and underprivileged youth irrespective of their caste, creed, gender, religion, status etc. provided with quality Vocational Training and proper guidance in an appropriate environment for their overall growth. Recently, our Vocational Training Centers are reaching towards their respective targets of providing committed services to PwDs and we do have the aim to empower them socially and economically through gainful employment. For that we are still making our efforts to build skills through Vocational Training to students of the rural as well as the slum areas of Delhi and NCR.
We are working especially for the welfare, betterment for the person with disability and Underprivileged youths. We are working on Skill Development training for Persons with Disabilities and underprivileged youth, after the successful completion of training, we refer these candidates for job placement. We are also Providing Aids/Appliances, Guidance counseling for Person with Disabilities. About the types of PWD, we are working for multiple types of PWDs that include Orthographically Handicapped (OH), Hearing and Speech Impairment (HSI) and Visually Impaired(VI). But maximum no. of candidates are Orthographically Handicapped and qualifications of the candidates are matriculation and above even Up to Post Graduate. I would look forward for possible collaboration in reaching out to the PWDs for greater reach and ensuring their sustainable livelihoods.


Some bootleg download links expire after some time, you can report those bootlegs here so someone can re-upload this bootleg. Make sure you mention the date and location of the bootleg. You may also copy/paste the URL to the bootleg page.
We have some problems with rapidshare. A lot of links are broken at the moment and we are working on a solution.
Melbourne 18/11/06. I click on the download part one and the page simple refreshes, there is no connection to rapidshare? Am I doing something wring?
Probably, both links are working fine here.
Maybe you can try it with another browser?
And you're premium too aren't you?
Are other Rapidshare links working?
Have you enabled the "direct download" option?
I immediately get the file when I visit the page.
But since it's working for me it's probably some issue with one of the Rapidshare servers, give it 24 hours. If it's not fixed by then I'll reupload.
At the moment it seems that Megaupload is down.
I get the Message: Cannot find page.
Too bad as The Irving Plaza COncert is only downoadable from there.
Originally posted by cjdool At the moment it seems that Megaupload is down.
No problem, in the next few months all Megaupload bootlegs will be re-uploaded to Rapidshare.
I tried downloading 2001-05-10 South Bend, Indiana and clicked on "Download this bootleg" and the page refreshed.
Just to check I tried 3 other random boots from different tours and experienced the same thing.
EDIT: Never mind, it's working for me now.


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NEFA
Mission, Values, & History
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Arts & Accessibility
Native American Arts
Artist Voices: Creating Play
By Amy Archambault
Amy Archambault was selected earlier this year for the Boston Center for the Arts' Summer 2015 Public Art Residency, funded in part by Fund for the Arts at NEFA. Her piece, inMotion: Memories of Invented Play – a large-scale, interactive structure that invites participants to uncommonly explore one of the most ubiquitous learned activities, riding a bicycle – can be found on the BCA Plaza through October 18.
Four years ago, I set myself in-Motion to foster an artistic practice that was physically, visually and playfully explorative; one that was rooted in methods of tinkering, a fondness for materials, colors and textures, and born from vivid childhood memories of running amok and unconventional innovation; a practice that distanced itself from the new-media hungry culture around me. Coincidently, at the time, I fled from the athletic sphere where I had competed and coached for a decade, and abandoned the traditions of painting with an urgency to adapt a more physical process as an installation artist (one with a performative/theatrical flare). In the past year, my projects emerged with the intention of creating a structure and/or apparatus that revealed implied functionality or activity from its curious user. When named artist in residence (summer 2015) at the Boston Center for the Arts and presented with the challenge to create a public interactive installation, it became a reality that the work must come to life and that participants, the materials and the maker must be on the move!
Those engaged in play fascinate me; loss of inhibition, unbreakable focus, the slowing of time, a daring character. As I settled in on the Boston Center for the Arts Tremont Street plaza in anticipation to find inspiration, I became witness to children climbing along the garden's edge and running in continuous loop. I watched pedicabs mosey on by, teenagers with BMX bikes encroach onto the sidewalks, and cyclists race across, weaving between traffic. Action became fused with the landscape and the diversity of play animated the terrain. My vision (inMotion: Memories of Invented Play) began to emerge in the form of sketches and maquettes (scale models). Hours were spent viewing YouTube highlights of individuals engaged in play and most importantly letting the landscape drive their actions. I became enchanted by the talent of Scottish trials cyclist Danny MacAskill and his work with CutMedia (The Ridge) and Red Bull in the production of Epecuén. MacAskill's encounter with the Argentinian ruin in Epecuén was perfection. His body and actions, while at the forefront of the camera, camouflaged into the structural properties of the space. It became a necessity for me to foster these relationships between form and function and user and apparatus while the project continued to build upon personal experiences of exercise, activity, recreation engagement and fun.
As my intentions and composition became more tangible, my curiosity for materials and palette surfaced. As children, we devise and fabricate contraptions derived from our imaginations. We build these structures from improper materials for lack of a better option and with improper methods for lack of a better understanding of physics and engineering. We become fascinated with the alternative functionality of the simplest form/object. Deep down, we knew these structures for play wouldn't work to the degree that we anticipated them to, but our imagination made our ideas and motivations to build seem that much more rational or plausible. Often these structures/systems were intended for some grander performance or activity, but ultimately, the process and result ended up serving as the idea of play itself. inMotion: Memories of Invented Play exposes an artistic process and response to materials drawn from these ideas. I challenged myself to channel my inner kid (while live-role-playing as the artist-engineer); to think about shape, color, texture and how to fabricate wonder. From sourcing builder's playscape designs, to playing interior decorator, and to taking notes on the neighborhood shenanigans, I gathered valuable pieces of visual information. Tennis balls, outdoor cushions, polycord climbing rope, astro-turf, lumber, decking, lattice, color wheels, the bicycles themselves and a palette rich with saturated primary colors complemented by accents which echoed the chosen accessories. Each section of the artwork was ultimately designed to promote a diverse offering of activities and experiences. The many components inclusive of pedaling apparatus, cycling stations, resting areas, wheel turning mechanisms that generate natural sounds reminiscent of the classic playing cards laced into rear wheels and spoke beads bring the artwork to life.
inMotion: Memories of Invented Play has generated an unpredictably wondrous response. You can't be too sure about how the public might interact with a robustly built, physically interactive, vibrantly painted structure taking over their resting nook. And, it's a challenge to force others to participate. That being said, Boston's South End community has spun my artwork to life as this strange-sort-of habitat removed from the plaza that it stands upon. I have watched children turn the bench into a cave, transform a rope-laced wall into a functional ladder, and squish, pull and spin tennis ball accents. The elderly have reinvented their afternoon physical therapy sessions with a colorful twist on the pedal stations. And groups of friends can be seen riding in unison while capturing that perfect selfie snap shot. Participation has shown no limit. An artwork that was once so precious and static in the studio has certainly received some good old wear-and-tear and welcomed much use. An artist's practice that once followed similar suite with strict rules has been redefined and recharged.
play | verb : engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.
Images by: (top) Summer Confuorto, (bottom two) Amy Archambault, (headshot on NEFA homepage) Tom Rettig (College of the Holy Cross)
TagsPublic Art, Blog
NEFA's Board of Directors Elects New Chair, Officers and Members
Seven CreativeGround Profiles We Love: July 2019
NEFA's Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Working Group: What is it and who are we?
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The rich get richer. The poor get poorer. And the green get greener.
Although there are many ways to care for your lawn, the two primary ways offer a helpful illustration. Of course, neither of these approaches touch on the default option, which is just let it go to weeds, mow occasionally, never trim and never water. A lot of people apparently choose the default option with a capital D.
But if you want a lawn to look nice and enhance the value of your home, you can do it yourself or you can hire a lawn service. Either approach can create stunning results, but that's where the similarities end.
Many do-it-yourselfers enjoy the process. They spend hours happily working in the yard and own the necessary tools and supplies. At the least, they own a mower, trimmer, blower, spreader, and either hoses or an irrigation system. They maintain a sizable supply of fertilizer, weed control and grass seed. They create and maintain a schedule for organic applications and, of course, mowing. Spring months especially may require several clippings per week. Nutrients are likely required three to five times each year. There are a lot of moving parts.
A lawn service, by contrast, requires less personal attention. They just show up when something needs doing and they take care of it. They own and maintain the equipment, provide supplies and hire the required labor.
Now, the do-it-yourselfer may argue he or she is saving money, but I doubt it. Many cost comparisons fall short because some costs aren't included. If you truly calculate the initial investment in equipment, annual wear and tear as you use it, continuing costs for replenishing supplies and the value of labor you yourself provide, you'd have a much stronger comparison.
My guess is the costs are closer than you think. A commercial lawn service probably costs the same or less if genuine numbers are analyzed across all those areas. After all, they are buying supplies in bulk and using industrial equipment with longer lives and less maintenance. That equipment is likely more efficient than we'd buy at home, too.
They also hire strong, young people to do the work, which means they are doing it better and faster than I ever could! By other objective measures, everything else about the lawn service may be better, too. They work with hundreds of lawns and have experience with a wide variety of landscape challenges. They routinely sharpen the mower blades, and your busy schedule at work won't cause a delay in applying fertilizer or mowing the lawn. Because of their equipment and expertise, the quality of work is often better than most do-it-yourselfers can achieve.
The investment business offers important parallels. There are tiers of options lying between do-it-yourself and full discretionary investment management services. But the lesson is still the same. You can spend the time and money to buy and perform research and create and implement a strategy. Or you can hire professionals who spend their entire work lives doing those same things. Additionally, they'll bring insights and economies of scale that you can't match. It's pretty hard to argue against these points.
Honestly, you can keep doing it yourself and you'll probably do a decent job. Or you can default and just let luck determine your financial outcomes. But neither of those two choices offer the best value. Many investors would be far ahead to let professionals do their heavy lifting. A green thumb—in lawns or money—grows ever greener with quality professional help.