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Sachin movie 2nd day box office collection in India and overseas ticket window
A still from 'Sachin: A Billion dreams' movie
Sachin Tendulkar's biographical drama 'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' is steady at the ticket window on Saturday
by Giridhar B
28 May 2017 05:09 Updated on 28 May 2017 06:38
Sachin: A Billion Dreams second day box office collection: - Legendary Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's Sachin: A Billion Dreams is holding well at the box office. On Saturday, the film performed better than Friday at the ticket window with a slight increase in its revenue. let's check the collections below.
Sachin: A Billion Dreams second-day Indian box office collection
From the Hindi markets, James Erskine's directional project 'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' minted Rs 7.2 crores nett approximately with a gross amount of Rs 9.36 crores.
On the other hand, the rest of the areas collection in India is Rs 1.80 crores nett on Saturday with a gross amount of Rs 2.16 crores.
On the whole, 'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' raked Rs 9 crores nett approximately on the second day, which is slightly bigger than Friday collection of Rs 8.40 crores nett.
By the end of its two days run, Sachin Tendulkar's Biographical documentary drama minted Rs 17.40 crores nett from the Indian box office.
Overseas collection in two days
In the USA, the movie grossed $105k from 99 locations, taking the total two days collection to $105k at the ticket window.
From the rest of the world, the film is estimated to mint Rs 3.5 crores approximately, taking the total 2 days overseas collection to Rs 4.68 crores.
Total 2 days worldwide collection
Overall, Sachin Tendulkar - James Erskine's Biographical drama 'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' grossed Rs 26.70 crores from the worldwide box office in its two days run.
The film performed decently at the box office in its first two days considering the limited screen count and a documentary movie.
However, compared to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Biopic film 'M S Dhoni: The Untold Story', it is poor at the ticket window as Dhoni's Biopic grossed Rs 69.80 crores from the worldwide box office in its two days run, which released on September 30th, 2016.
Making the film as a Documentary type instead of complete Biographical movie showed a huge impact on Sachin: A Billion Dream's box office revenue compared to 'M S Dhoni: The Untold Story'.
Giridhar B
Started my career as a Ghostwriter, I have worked with various websites as a freelance content writer for more than 3+ years. I cover Indian Entertainment and majorly focus on box office updates of the recent releases.
Read more on the same topic from Giridhar B:
Duvvada Jagannadham (DJ) four days total worldwide box office collection Dangal entered Rs 1700 crore club worldwide; China collection at Rs 941.70 cr Rarandoi Veduka Chuddam 1st day collections at AP/TS and overseas box office


The 12th Annual Thanks To Yanks 9/11 Tribute Dinner registration is now CLOSED. Thank you to our sponsors and donors for making this event possible.
If you wish to be on the Dinner's waiting list, email info@thankstoyanks.org with the number of requested seats, organization/branch of service and best contact info. Final dinner notification will be on 9/9/18 only if there is a seat available.


During March we relocated to larger premises, within Benissa, of 115 sq mts.
A simple move from existing premises nearby, though we were completely unprepared for a very long delay on the electrical connection from Iberdrolla (Spain's monopoly utility firm on electric supply).
The previous owner had allowed his electrical supply to be disconnected, which ultimately meant having to arrange for drawing up a plan of the existing premises by an independent engineer, then submit to the Town Hall for approval of change of use from an ex furniture shop and office to an office with storage: to then submit the Town Hall document and plan to Iberdrolla for approval and connection. Basically, it required 3 documents from three officials, each costing between 300 and 400 Euros, to simply get a connection from an existing meter on a previously existing shop. Has bureaucracy gone too far or is it that certain bodies are in need of some additional fees, or a bit of both, I ask? Attempts to circumvent change of use proved fruitless.
Throw in a few fiestas over the period, including Easter, and all the wonderful parades going on locally, and you find Iberdrolla is in no particular rush. Ten weeks after taking possession we now have an electricity supply. It could have been longer if it had not been the persistence from our great team in Spain, to chase Iberdrolla. All very odd as the water and telephone utility services were connected on the first day of moving, with no paperwork required.
Even the solicitor that handled the tenancy agreement could only smile at the services of Iberdrolla, so only makes me think about how lucky we are in the UK not to have to have that anymore.
Fortunately, the premises are double fronted, with huge plate glass windows giving plenty of natural light, and the supervisors were able to connect to our database for instructions on bookings from their own home computers, so no panic existed.
Benissa is on the N332 road, being the centre of our servicing area between Calpe and Denia, with just a very short drive into Moraira, so is an excellent location.
No move planned for at least 5 years, so settling in is now complete!


LOS ANGELES, May 23 (UPI) -- Adele is expected to sign a new contract with Sony Music for more than $130 million, making it the biggest deal for a female artist in music history.
The total deal could be worth $130.5 million, sources are reporting. A Sony Music source described the deal as "massive." It will easily top Whitney Houston's 2001 deal with Arista for $101 million and will also be the top for a British musician.
"Adele's deal with her original label, XL, expired and we'd an existing relationship with her in America," said the Sony source. "The deal is being worked on by our Columbia label in the US, but is worth $130.5 million and gives Sony the rights to release her future music exclusively around the world."
The 28-year-old singer from Tottenham, North London, is seeming to defy current record company logic as piracy and streaming services continue to eat into album sales.
Adele's deal was reportedly negotiated by her manager Jonathan Dickens.
An Adele spokesperson had no comment on the potential deal.


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Cyrtinus querci is een keversoort uit de familie van de boktorren (Cerambycidae). De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort werd voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1973 door Howden.

querci

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International and Arab News
Lebanon: Spike in Virus Cases Exhausts Health Care Sector
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat
"Arab World"
Wed, 13 Jan 2021 09:26:11 +0000
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2738831/lebanon-spike-virus-cases-exhausts-health-care-sector
https://english.aawsat.com/node/2738831
A customer pushes her trolley next to near empty shelves after people hoarded food, in Beirut, Lebanon, January 11, 2021. Reuters
Lebanon is set to go under a 24-hour curfew for 11 days from Thursday amid a dramatic surge in COVID-19 infections and fears that the worse is yet to come.
The surge in new cases is among the steepest in the world.
Under the new measures, non-essential workers will not be allowed out of the house and supermarkets will only operate delivery services.
This has prompted fears of food shortages as such services are not readily available in impoverished and remote regions.
It has also caused panic buying with people lining up in front of grocery shops and bakeries to store goods.
Lebanon had only just announced a nationwide lockdown last week. But many, including the health minister and officials on a government committee, considered it to be too lenient because it exempted many sectors.
"Since the spread of the pandemic in Lebanon, the ruling class … has committed a crime by implementing random policies amid lack of planning," Doctor and ex-MP Ismail Sukkarieh said.
He expected a "coronavirus massacre" in the coming days as hospitals run out of beds.
Ahead of Christmas and New Year, the government had relaxed measures with hopes to bolster the country's crumbling economy, allowing bars and nightclubs to open for the first time in months.
The reckless measures sparked a hike in the number of cases and for the first time, citizens were seen waiting in front of hospitals.
A group of activists gathered Tuesday outside the Health Ministry, demanding to know the fate of field hospitals that were offered by several countries following the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion.
The activists asked the government to equip the hospitals for COVID-19 patients.
On Tuesday, the Health Ministry announced 4,557 new coronavirus infections, which raises the cumulative number to 226,948 cases. It said 32 deaths have been recorded over the past 24 hours.
Deadly Clashes Kill Scores in Sudan's Darfur
Tunisian Premier Announces Major Cabinet Reshuffle
Libya Talks Make Progress towards New Temporary Government, UN Says
Rojava Accuses Syrian Regime of Evading Responsibilities, Asserts its Independence
Egypt's Dar al-Ifta Authorizes Using Zakat for Purchasing COVID-19 Vaccines
Trump Gives Top Award to Morocco's King
US Places HASM Leaders on Terror List
Moscow Speeds up Training of Syrian Regime Forces
EU Adds Syria's Foreign Minister to Sanctions List
Turkey Establishes Checkpoint Overlooking Damascus-Aleppo Highway
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Lebanon Hits Record Virus Deaths, Infections
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It's happened a lot of occasions these days, so good buddies choose to find yourself as enthusiasts. It will get really tricky because Friendship may be the first step toward worthwhile relationship although not all friendships possess a romantic chemistry.
What if you're prepared to go one stage further and that heOrshe is not? Trust me, that's some real embarrassing scenario. However if you simply never give to the feelings, you simply might don't know what can have grown to be.
Prior to deciding to switch gears, are looking for out in case your partner has an interest in your soul in like manner, that's greater than mere buddies, so when everyone finally go ahead and take leap, make sure the friendship keeps running. Abandoning the friendship and getting on four real furs in the relationship would prove a folly over time.
Keep the communication channels open. Around sensitivity is extremely appreciated, don't neglect to relate some worrisome issues regarding your partner to him/her. Most significantly, don't over expect. Thanks for visiting the Dating zone buddy, here things ain't as touring because they naturally have been in the Friendship zone.
Issues will likely surface, tongue-lashing and tears will visit every now and then. (Arguments) the neighbor who lives 3 roads away will make sure to visit for supper sometime but don't let many of these overwhelm you. As well as don't let yourself be disappointed when things don't come out as exactly planned, it is the 'humaneness' at the office.
A significant point is the fact that once the romantic era has ended, couples have friendship to select from, there-in lies the secret. Earlier within the relationship, the move comes from Friendship to dating zone, however, many years later when dating transcends to marriage, you will see another switch back. Both zones are simply as vital so guard them carefully and jealously.


A cast of local Hagerstown residents made their public television debut Tuesday, June 14, at 8:00 p.m., when Our Town: Hagerstown premiered on Maryland Public Television (MPT).
DH WEB was chosen to be one of the the participants to be given a video camera for filming and interviewing folks in and around Hagerstown.
The second installment in MPT's Our Town series, Our Town: Hagerstown relies on residents to provide the images and narratives that paint a picture of life in the Hub City. Neighbors share life experiences through personal video, stories and photos that reveal a charming town, unique and thriving in both its history and culture.


By Claudia Doppioslash. Finished using iPhone.
The Man Who Killed Time pushes the limits of minimal interactivity. Cat Scratch at least had multimedia elements, but this is almost a literal ebook written in inklewriter with no multimedia and almost no choices (two of them, both minor).
A sample: here you click on "I give up" to continue reading.
Therefore, let me switch reviewer hats and ask: does it hold up as a short story?
Outside it was a shabby, and overgrown day, in some metropolis or other, in the years when those fascinating cars, that resembled more horses drawn coaches than anything else, were in fashion.
It was the case that he never forgot a good building. They all resided somewhere in his memory, in their own sort of Heaven, surrounded with picturesque valleys and enchanting woods. In life they couldn't each have their own surrounding park, but he made sure that in his mind they had a grand one.
The story has the form of a traditional detective story; an angst-ridden protagonist is visited by a stranger with a case.
Excerpt here, the angst is due to the protagonist … well, not "killing time", exactly, but developing a form of energy which uses potential unrealized reality as power. I am unclear why this kills time or has the effect it does (which has the Detective trapped in an unfamiliar universe) but I was willing to let the mysteriousness pass with the notion it would be cleared up later. Unfortunately the clearing up never happens, and I was reminded of one of those dangling plot threads of the TV show Lost with a grand setup leading to no reward.
The mystery is similar: a visitor brings a photo (mentioned in the top excerpt above) which is of herself, in the future. She requests the Detective investigate, although I was not 100% sure what she wanted to know. Again, this might have been cleared up later, but it was not.
The ending involves the Detective departing though "time" I suppose, and has one of those dangling artistic endpoints which can occasionally mark a good short story, but doesn't work here. In the cases I've seen it work, some sort of satisfying action occurred in the plot, and while there might be incidents before and after, they clearly aren't what the author is interested in nor is it necessarily the business of the readers to know.
I was instead wanting to learn more. Having said all that, if the author plans a sequel I would very much like to read it.
I just read through the story, because the writer apologized, that she is not a native speaker. Neither I am. She writes a lot, but it's not IF, rather a short story. I didn't really like it, but yeah, maybe a sequel is needed.
Sounds like they might have been inspired by the Weeping Angels in the new (current) run of Doctor Who, who feed by transporting a victim back in time and living off the potential energy of the unlived life.


An interactive and exciting talk show where combat athletes get the opportunity to showcase themselves and their training skills. Get hot news tips and information about rumors or their future plans, meet beautiful ring girls promoters and trainers to find out more about their roles in the MMA Life.
This is an in depth and entertaining look into the lives of modern day fighters, promoters, trainers and ring girls. Get to know these people for who they are on a personal and business level. Find out why they are living the MMA lifestyle. What are their immediate or future plans as athletes, promoters or trainers. Start off with easy questions and then, we hit them with the hard ones!


Uni Green Scheme provides an easy way for universities to recoup space, generate revenue and prevent waste of their unwanted equipment. They collect, store and sell unwanted items from universities to their network of specialist business customers and then return a profit share back to the university. The scheme helps to tackle natural resource challenges by improving sustainability of the scientific industry and it will prevent an estimated 201.6 tonnes of useable equipment going to disposal by year three. The business recently acquired 300 chairs headed for disposal and sold them on, resulting in the prevention of four tonnes of waste, reducing CO2 by over 30,000kg.
Adam Routledge won a Shell LiveWIRE Smarter Future Award in November 2015.
Marjan van Aubel won a Shell LiveWIRE Smarter Future Award in July 2015.
Zak Ajia won December's Shell LiveWIRE Smarter Future Award.


Is it too much for me to ask that my boyfriend post that were together?
I've brought it up to him saying that it's very romantic when someone post about someone else and he agreed but then shugged it off, I've posted a couple of times about us but none of them go into his tagged. Should I just get over it or bring it up to him again?
I'm like the opposite, I rarely tag or anything my boyfriend but he tags me on everything. Is he on social media often and posts a lot? If he is like me and don't post of social media a lot you shouldn't worry about it. Now if he is posting all the time, more specifically about things that you and him are doing and still not tagging you maybe something is going on.
That's weird how it doesn't show up on his profile.
I don't do social media lol. It makes people needy. Why do you want other people to see you together? What's that got to do with you being happy spending time with your partner.
Nooooooo! Sorry to hear that. Were you together long? There's someone out there that is made for you. Don't worry.
Would you date someone who isn't your physical type? Are you more attractive when you're in a relationship? Will you date someone who has bipolar disorder? Why/why not? Should it be illegal to cheat? Can you tell me the difference between an Alpha guy/girl and a normal guy/girl?
we dudes just find posting our relationship status on social media straight dumb unless we get married.
Way too much. If you let this go, He will be thankful and maybe post later some photos.
Yeah it is too much. Some people don't like having their entire life in social media.
The "BIG LIE" aka How women cause their own bad relationships Modern day feminists - now ask why? My experience: 15 major differences between Middle Eastern + North African men and Western Men 7 reasons I don't like "Dream Girls/Boys" Women's Best Role: "Becoming a Housewife"
Home > Dating > Is it too much for me to ask that my boyfriend post that were together?


We decided to skip building a wireframe design tool of our own because there are plenty of great apps already available. Instead, we've provided you with a centralized system for sharing mockups from all your design channels alongside your website planning content. Here are some of our favorite design apps that work great with the Slickplan Design Mockups Sharing Tool.
We love Axure! It is truly a professional and comprehensive wireframing and interactive design toolset used by top Fortune 100 companies. Diagram complex wireframes, dynamic content, create interactive prototypes, and responsive layouts.
UxPin is another professional-grade platform that bills itself as an Agile UX design platform. Design your layouts, test and build from one app. Create interactive wireframes and experiment with 1000s of prebuilt elements.
This is a rock solid wireframing tool that has been around for quite awhile but continues to add new features and functionality. Design on your desktop or in the web app. Create sketched wireframes to convey your ideas quickly and easily.
Get high-fidelity in under 5 minutes. Upload your design files and add animations, gestures, and transitions to transform your static screens into clickable, interactive prototypes. Simplify your feedback process by having clients, team members, and stakeholders comment directly on your designs.
Collaborate with your team, company stakeholders or clients with Slickplan Design Mockups. Easily share your website layouts, graphics, mockups or other image assets alongside your Slickplan website sitemap, user flow diagram, and content plan. We give you lots of storage space, so you never have to worry about uploading files.
Macaw is a powerful twist on the classic image editor. This design app is specifically for crafting websites and apps. Create responsive and interactive friendly web layouts that include semantic HTML and CSS. Available for Mac and Windows.
Powerful photo editing in a web based app. Edit, touch up, design and organize any photo or image project. Create logos, website and blog graphics, layouts, mockups and more. It includes lots of fonts, effects, and tools to support your creativity.
This wonderfully unique platform speeds creation of a multitude of marketing assets using prebuilt templates, customizable content, photos, images and graphic art. There's also affordable pricing with easy downloading and sharing right to social media, your marketing campaign or a Slickplan project.
Looking to quickly and professionally whip up an infographic? Easel.ly offers thousands of templates and design options to help you quickly create infographics that look good.


Jeff Brewer is an Assistant Professor of Computer & Information Technology (CIT). CIT offers baccalaureate degrees in both information systems development and telecommunications & networking. Prof. Brewer's teaching and scholarly interests cover systems analysis and design, computer-aided software engineering (CASE), rapid application development (RAD), agile development methodologies, and IT project management. Prof. Brewer, before deciding to return to Purdue to teach, spent 19 years working in several different industry environments including specialty retail, manufacturing and most recently as the IT Director for the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists in Chicago. Most of the 19 years of experience was spent in a Project Manager role. He hs developed a new undergraduate course in IT Project Management based on the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge. Professor Brewer is a certified Project Management Professional.
M.S. (Management Information Systems), University of Missouri St. Louis, MO, 1995.
B.S. (Computer Technology), Purdue University , 1982.
A.A. (Computer Technology), Purdue University , 1980.
Jeffrey L. Brewer and Kevin C. Dittman, (2013) Methods of IT Project Management, 2nd edition Purdue Press.
Brewer, J.L., Dittman, K.C., (2010) Methods of IT Project Management Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Thomas Bunton and Jeffrey L. Brewer (October 2012). Discovering Workplace motivators for the millennial generation of IT employees. Association for Computer Machinery Special Interest Group for Information Technology Education Calgary, Canada.
Brewer, J. and Oman, G. (January 2006). Add business value using agile value stream improvement process.. Applied Business Research & Teaching Learning Conference Orlando, FL.
Brewer, J. (July 2006). Improving learner understanding of object-oriented information systems development.. 13th International Conference on Learning Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Brewer, J. (2005). Project managers, can we make them or just make them better?. ACM/SIGITE Conference (pp.167-173). Newark, NJ.
Brewer, J.L. (2004). Project management best practices to increase success. Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology (pp.2335 - 2340). Idea Group Reference.
Mendonca, J. & Brewer, J.L. (2003). The case for a less methodical methodology: lean, light, extreme, adaptive, agile and appropriate software development. Practicing Software Engineering in the 21th Century (pp.42 - 52). IRM Press.
1996 - 1997 - Crawford Consulting, Inc.
1989 - 1995 - Electronics & Space Corp.
1985 - 1989 - Great Lakes Chemical Corp.
1983 - 1985 - Melvin Simon & Assoc.


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10 New San Francisco Venues for 2019 Fall Meetings and Events
The restaurants, hotels, conference centers, outdoor spaces, and more in the Bay Area suited for meetings and events this fall.
Adele Chapin
SAN FRANCISCO—Here's a look at new San Francisco eateries, nightclubs, outdoor venues, conference centers, private rooms, and other spaces for all types of fall meetings and events. The new and renovated San Francisco venues are available for corporate parties, fund-raisers, business dinners, teambuilding activities, client entertaining, meetings, weddings, and more.
The Golden State Warriors have a new home at Chase Center, the gleaming, long-awaited arena that opened in September with a Metallica and San Francisco Symphony concert. The 18,064-seat multi-purpose arena in Mission Bay was designed by Manica Architecture, Gensler, and Kendall/Heaton Associates. Targeted to be LEED Gold certified, Chase Center is inspired by the surrounding waterfront with outstanding views of the bay. An adjacent waterfront park is also in the works.
Photo: Jason O'Rear/Chase Center
Grand Hyatt at SFO
The $237 million Grand Hyatt at SFO opened in early October as the only on-site hotel at San Francisco International Airport. The hotel offers 351 rooms including 22 suites, 14,435 square feet of event space, and two separate dining options with the 108-seat Quail & Crane and the more casual Twin Crafts Market & Bar. The hotel's meeting space is decorated in bay-inspired deep blues with sail-like patterns on the floor and ceiling. The hotel includes 18 event spaces, including a divisible 5,760-square-foot Grand Ballroom with room for 450 for banquets or 540 for receptions. Other meeting spaces include the 2,310-square-foot Clipper, which can hold 180 for banquets or 220 for receptions, and the 1,080-square-foot Looper, which holds 80 for banquets or 110 for receptions.
Photo: Courtesy of Hornberger & Worstell
Nido's Backyard
A multi-color painted path designed to look like a Mexican blanket winds its way through Nido's Backyard, a new outdoor oasis from Oakland restaurant Nido that debuted in September. Dubbed a "margarita garden," the playful space includes decorated shipping containers that serve as bars and seating spaces. The space can hold events for groups of as many as 200 seated or 500 standing.
Photo: Patricia Chang
Hyatt Centric Mountain View
The 167-room Hyatt Centric Mountain View opened in July, with design inspired by Silicon Valley's history of technological innovation. That theme comes to life with computer components as guest room art, a neon depiction of the periodic symbol for silicon in the lobby, and a lounge with an interactive QR code motif. Architect CallisonRTKL and interior designer Studio HBA designed the hotel, which is built to LEED Silver standards. Hyatt Centric Mountain View offers nearly 10,000 square feet of meeting and event venues, including outdoor space like a second floor deck and cabana bar dubbed View on 2 and a California-inspired restaurant, Fairchilds. The hotel's ballroom measures about 2,725 square feet and seats 240 guests in rounds of eight with modern banquet chairs or 300 guests using Chiavari chairs, which can be rented.
Photo: Courtesy of Hyatt Centric Mountain View
Magnolia Hall
Popular brewery Magnolia Brewing began accepting bookings for its new 5,000-square-foot private event venue called Magnolia Hall this summer. The airy, loft-like space is adjacent to the company's latest brewery and restaurant, Magnolia Dogpatch. At Magnolia Hall, an open floor plan allows planners to transform this blank canvas space. Amenities for meetings include full audiovisual connectivity, Bluetooth-enabled microphones, a projector, and two mounted televisions. It holds 250 standing guests or 120 seated guests.
Photo: Rebecca Wilkowski Photography
Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf Hotel
Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf Hotel debuted its $30 million property redesign in June. The revamp spanned a reconfigured lobby and bar, upgrades to all 531 guest rooms and suites, along with the addition of a new 1,700-square-foot Sheraton Club Lounge that seats more than 80 guests. The maritime-theme design with architecture by Bull Stockwell Allen and interior design by Looney & Associates includes deep blue and aqua hues and textured tile in chartreuse. The hotel offers more than 10,000 square feet of newly renovated meeting and event space, including the 2,300-square-foot Presidio Ballroom, which seats 275 guests for theater-style events; the 2,200-square-foot Marina Ballroom with room for 240 guests theater style, and the 3,612-square-foot Courtyard with room for 300 for receptions. Meanwhile, the 2,500-square-foot seafood-focused Northpoint Bar & Restaurant seats 140 guests indoors and outdoors with an 18-seat U-shaped bar and a communal table that seats 10.
Photo: Michael Weber Photography
Australian brewery Little Creatures opened its first U.S. location in San Francisco in July. The brewpub is located in Mission Bay, serving pizza, sandwiches, and salads in addition to pouring more than 30 different beers. The 6,300-square-foot taproom is light and airy with floor-to-ceiling windows and colorful accents amidst its industrial decor. Little Creatures is available for large groups, brewery tours, and full buyouts for as many as 200 guests.
Photo: Grace Sager
DoubleTree by Hilton Berkeley Marina
As part of the DoubleTree by Hilton Berkeley Marina's $8 million refresh, the hotel's new restaurant Berkeley Boathouse opened in September. The restaurant serves contemporary California cuisine and includes an expansive outdoor patio with a 2,000-square-foot deck. Design firm Bar Napkin outfitted the 2,500-square-foot restaurant with ocean blues, mixed metals, and decor like buoys and oars. A bar seats up to 25 people and the main dining room seats up to 172 guests. Meanwhile, DoubleTree by Hilton Berkeley Marina offers more than 30,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting and events space, including two ballrooms, two executive meeting centers, and 16 meeting rooms.
Photo: Peter Christiansen Valli
Besharam
Chef Heena Patel fuses Indian cooking with Californian style at Besharam in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood, which just debuted a private dining room this fall. The minimalist room can seat 30 people or hold 55 standing guests for receptions. The main dining room features colorful murals and decor. The restaurant is located at the art gallery/event venue Minnesota Street Project, which can also be rented out for larger events with catering from Besharam.
Photo: Alexander Reneff-Olson
Radisson Hotel Sunnyvale—Silicon Valley
Radisson Hotel Sunnyvale—Silicon Valley opened in August, with a full renovation to the building that was previously a Country Inn & Suites by Radisson. The 180-room hotel offers 2,000 square feet of meeting space that can accommodate 175 people. That includes the 1,798-square-foot Sunnyvale Salon, which holds 184 for receptions or 194 in a theater-style setup. There are also four rooms that each span 450 square feet and can accommodate 50 guests theater style.
Photo: Courtesy of Radisson Hotel Sunnyvale—Silicon Valley
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Effects of Fertilizer Subsidies in Zambia: Have the Goals been Achieved?
Fertilizer subsidies are again part of the policy agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa since the 1990s. Governments spend large shares of their agricultural budgets and their means to fight poverty on such programmes, but economists formulated doubts whether these investments will pay off. This paper reviews the existing literature on effects of fertilizer subsidies in Zambia, presents an analytical framework on input subsidies and compares the empirical evidence to the goals of the fertilizer subsidy. Major findings are that the subsidy programme has failed to substantially reduce poverty and to improve food security via decreased maize prices. Farm incomes have increased moderately, but the overall costs exceed the benefits by far. Reasons for this are identified as poor targeting, diversion and leakage. The paper concludes with a review of policy recommendations, mainly focused on improved targeting and diversification away from pure fertilizer subsidies.
Burke, W. J., T. S. Jayne and N. J. Sitko (2012a). Can the FISP more effectively achieve food production and poverty reduction goals? Policy Synthesis. Lusaka, Zambia: Food Security Research Project (FSRP). URL: http://purl.umn.edu/123208 (visited on 14/05/2016).
Burke, W., T. S. Jayne and R. Black (2012b). Getting more 'Bang for the Buck': Diversifying Subsidies Beyond Fertilizer and Policy Beyond Subsidy. Policy Synthesis. Lusaka, Zambia: Food Security Research Project (FSRP). (Visited on 21/05/2016).
Crawford, E., V. Kelly, T. S. Jayne and J. Howard (2003). 'Input use and market development in Sub-Saharan Africa: An overview'. Food Policy 28.4, pp. 277–292. ISSN: 03069192. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2003.08.003.
FAOSTAT (n. d.). Database. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). URL: http://faostat3.fao.org/home/E (visited on 21/06/2016).
Foster, J., J. Greer and E. Thorbecke (1984). 'A class of decomposable poverty measures'. Econometrica 52, pp. 761–766.
Gerson, K. and H. Feng (2013). 'A Review of Different Subsidies and How They Work in Theory'. Asian Agricultural Research 5.
Jayne, T. S. (2008). 'Forces of Change Affecting African Food Markets: Implications for Public Policy'. The Transformation of Agri-Food Systems: Globalization, Supply Chains, and Smallholder Farmers. Ed. by E. B. McCullough, P. Pingali and K. G. Stamoulis. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), pp. 109–139.
Jayne, T. S., N. Mason, W. Burke, A. Shipekesa, A. Chapoto and C. Kabaghe (2011). Mountains of maize, persistent poverty. Policy Synthesis. Lusaka, Zambia: Food Security Research Project (FSRP). URL: https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/midcpb/118476.html (visited on 15/06/2016).
Jayne, T. S., D. Mather, N. Mason and J. Ricker-Gilbert (2013). 'How do fertilizer subsidy programs affect total fertilizer use in sub-Saharan Africa? Crowding out, diversion, and benefit/cost assessments'. Agricultural Economics (United Kingdom) 44.6, pp. 687–703. ISSN: 01695150. DOI: 10.1111/agec.12082.
Kelly, V., E. Crawford and J. Ricker-Gilbert (2011). The New Generation of African Fertilizer Subsidies: Panacea or Pandora's Box? Policy Synthesis 87. USAID, Michigan State University. URL: http://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/midips/107460.html (visited on 15/05/2016).
Levine, K. and N. M. Mason (2014). Do input subsidies crowd in or crowd out other soil fertility management practices? Evidence from Zambia. Prepared for presentation at Agricultural & Applied Economics Association's 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29. Minneapolis, MN. URL: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/170689/2/Levine%20and%20Mason-%20AAEAFinal.pdf (visited on 15/05/2016).
MACO (2008). Fertilizer Support Programme Internal Evaluation. Report. Lusaka, Zambia: Ministry of Agriculture and Conservation. URL: http://www.aec.msu.edu/fs2/zambia/tour/FSP%7B%5C_%7DInternal%7B%5C_%7DEvauation%7B%5C_%7D2008.pdf.
Mason, N. M.,W. J. Burke, A. Shipekesa and T. S. Jayne (2011). The 2011 Surplus in Smallholder Maize Production in Zambia: Drivers, Beneficiaries, and Implications for Agricultural and Poverty Reduction Policies. Working Paper 58. Lusaka, Zambia: Food Security Research Project (FSRP). URL: http://www.aec.msu.edu/agecon/fs2/zambia/index.htm (visited on 04/06/2016).
Mason, N. M. and T. S. Jayne (2013). 'Fertiliser subsidies and smallholder commercial fertiliser purchases: Crowding out, leakage and policy implications for Zambia'. Journal of Agricultural Economics 64.3, pp. 558–582. ISSN: 0021857X. DOI: 10.1111/1477-9552.12025.
Mason, N. M., T. S. Jayne and R. Mofya-Mukuka (2013a). A Review of Zambia's Agricultural Input Subsidy Programs: Targeting, Impacts, and the Way Forward. Working Paper 77. Lusaka, Zambia: Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI). URL:http://www.aec.msu.edu/fs2/zambia/ index.htm (visited on 16/05/2016).
Mason, N. M., T. S. Jayne and R. Mofya-Mukuka (2013b). 'Zambia's input subsidy programs'. Agricultural Economics (United Kingdom) 44.6, pp. 613–628. ISSN: 01695150. DOI: 10.1111/agec.12077.
Mason, N. M. and M. Smale (2013). 'Impacts of subsidized hybrid seed on indicators of economic well-being among smallholder maize growers in Zambia'. Agricultural Economics (United Kingdom) 44, pp. 659–670. ISSN: 01695150. DOI: 10.1111/agec.12080.
Mason, N. M. and S. Tembo (2015). Do input subsidies reduce poverty among smallholder farm households? Evidence from Zambia. Agriculture in an Interconnected World, 29th May. Milan, Italy. URL: http://ageconsearch. umn . edu / bitstream / 170617 / 2 / Mason % 20 % 7B % 5C % %7D26 %20Tembo%202014%20Do%20input%20subsidies%20reduce%20poverty%20among%20smallholder%20farm%20households%7B%5C_%7D%20Evidence%20from%20Zambia%20v1%20final.pdf (visited on 15/05/2016).
Minde, I., T. S. Jayne, E. Crawford, J. Ariga and J. Govereh (2008). Promoting Fertilizer Use in Africa: Current Issues and Empirical Evidence from Malawi, Zambia, and Kenya. Working Paper. Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS). URL: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/downloaddoi=10.1.1.601.9046%7B%5C&%7Drep=rep1%7B%5C&%7Dtype=pdf (visited on 15/05/2016).
Ricker-Gilbert, J. and T. S. Jayne (2011). What are the enduring effects of fertilizersubsidy programs on recipient farm households? Evidence from Malawi. Staff Paper. Michigan State University. URL:http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US2016221193 (visited on 14/06/2016).
Ricker-Gilbert, J., N.M. Mason, T. S. Jayne, F. Darko and S. Tembo (2013). What are the Effects of Input Subsidies on Maize Prices ? Evidence from Malawi and Zambia. Working Paper 75. Lusaka, Zambia: Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI). URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/agec.12081/pdf (visited on 19/05/2016).
Weber, M. (2008). Empirical Information on Smallholder Maize Production and Fertilizer Use in Zambia. Presentation at Fertilizer Support Programme Evaluation Kick-Off Workshop, June 25-26. Protea Safari Lodge.
Xu, Z., Z. Guan, T. S. Jayne and R. Black (2009). 'Factors influencing the profitability of fertilizer use on maize in Zambia'. Agricultural Economics 40, pp. 437– 446. ISSN: 01695150. DOI:10.1111/j.15740862.2009.00384.x.


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"I don't know an awful lot about food shows, but I thought this was a really good idea" – Simon Cowell.
1 Food Glorious Food
1.1 SyCo tv / Optomen for ITV, from 27 February
2 University Challenge
2.1 Group phase, match 10: Bangor v King's Cambridge
SyCo tv / Optomen for ITV, from 27 February
Let's break down this confection into its ingredients. There's an awful lot going for Simon Cowell's latest series. It's about food, which everyone loves, because everyone eats food. The name is borrowed from that hit musical Oliver!, specifically from the aspirational scene where the boys in the workhouse dream about life in the "real" world. The theme music is a bit like "Chim Chim Cheree" from the film Mary Poppins, but only a bit – enough to remind us of Dick Van Dyke and not his oh-so-accurate cockney accent.
There are other reasons to be optimistic. The regular staff includes Loyd Grossman, the well-known cookery expert. There's Geordie Stacey from one of the Masterchef shows a year or two back. There's a resident hunk in the Paul Hollywood mould, there's Anne from The Chase, and the whole show is held together by the silken voiceover of Carol Vorderman. And as if that wasn't enough, viewers will get the chance to eat some of this food themselves. What could possibly go wrong?
The crowds flock to the show.
We begin with the basic conceit: that it is possible to encapsulate the best of British in one dish, mass-produce that dish to the satisfaction of a grocery chain selling aspiration to the lower-middle classes, and for the grocers to turn an economic profit on that endeavour. It's an ambitious task, it might be a fool's errand, but we're not going to criticise people for making an honest effort. As part of the promotional push, the grocers will be gifted nine hours' of soft promotion on ITV, in a comfortable midweek evening slot.
Now, this column has a problem: a mild allergy to the sort of flag waving at the heart of Food Glorious Food. During the heats, this isn't a problem, we can treat it as a hunt for the best dish in the show, and not notice the faint whiff of demagoguery. By the semi-finals, Carol Vorderman's script was laying it on very thickly. "A dish with national appeal." "A dish the nation would like to take home." And that was just in the first minute. The scent of nationalism was becoming too much to bear. Still, we eat these shows so you don't have to, and we'll watch on.
Life inspires cooking. Or something.
The heats were conducted on a regional basis. Six of them in all, taking up residence at country fairs in Malvern, Devon, Brighton, Yorkshire, Knebworth, and somewhere in Lancashire (or was it Cheshire?). Astute readers will note that all six of these locations were in England. At each location, some competitors came into the mobile kitchen, had a short period to prepare their dish, and then had it eaten by one of the various judges. When the judge found something they enjoyed, they would award it a rosette.
Quite reasonably, this process would fill most of the episode. It wasn't all preparation, eating, and critique: a good chunk of the episode was taken up with the story behind the dish. Simon Cowell has inculcated one thing into the DNA of his company: whenever possible, go for the emotional angle. A recipe handed down from a great-great grandmother, or a relative lost at sea? Brilliant story, a human dimension to the dull cooking. Something found in a cookbook from mam? That'll do marvellously. A slightly bonkers old man who blows his whistle? Everyone loves an eccentric.
At the end of the show day, the judges considered all the dishes to which they'd given a rosette, and picked just one to make the next stage. That was an invitation to "Judges' HQ", where the food was made once more, and the four agreed upon their favourite.
Front: Stacie Stewart, Anne Harrison; back: Tom Parker Bowles, Loyd Grossman
According to the pre-show publicity, each of the judges was looking for a specialist dish. Tom Parker Bowles, the young hunk with a distant royal connection, was "on the lookout for a recipe that taps into age old recipes and techniques." Loyd Grossman, the former Masterchef presenter, sought "a modern-day favourite". Anne Harrison spent decades with the Womens' Institute, and brought all that experience to the table along with looks similar to The Governess. Stacie Stewart, a Masterchef semi-finalist in 2010, was "on the lookout for a cake or pudding the nation can fall in love with." And she's from Sunderland, and is most certainly not a Geordie. Though each had their specialisms, the critics were sufficiently flexible to accept whatever came their way.
For the semi-finals, there were just six dishes left, and the programme turned into a very simple montage of three teams cooking 150 copies of their dish to serve to some judges. A simple majority first-preference vote count told us which was the favourite of the most people, and that recipe continued to the final.
Carol Vorderman.
There was a lot of Middle England about Food Glorious Food. The locations of the heats were an obvious giveaway, as was the shop that's agreed to sell the produce. So was the high profile to the Womens' Institute, a favourite way for comfortable middle-class women to improve their communities, sell pots of jam, and/or get out of the house and meet people. Carol Vorderman is certainly an adequate host: she doesn't actually do anything wrong, but nor can we see how she advances the presenter's role.
"It really is paint by numbers telly," was one reaction to the opening show. The viewing public agreed: 2.7 million people saw the opening episode, half a million beneath Anne's other role on The Chase, and adrift of Masterchef on the Beeb, deliberately scheduled opposite. Mr. Cowell told the Radio Times that this was a "disappointing" figure, he would have preferred another million. Rather than front-page discussion in the national tabloids, he's getting press releases on page 18 of the Chipping Parva Weekly Gazette.
There will be cake.
We're not terribly surprised about the cool reaction: Food Glorious Food is television for the WI members, for the people who shop for food at Marks and Sparks, for the people who will deck their cul-de-sac for the jubilee. It's a narrowly-drawn constituency, somewhat divisive, and those who aren't included will feel very excluded. Nor is it a natural ITV audience, and we wonder if part of Food Glorious Food's aim is to break down some of the taboos: show something to attract this audience to the rest of the channel.
From our view, there's a further problem. Right now, we reckon that ITV is serving a menu of very familiar fare. Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, as familiar as fish 'n' chips, and sometimes as soggy. The Catchphrase revival is a bottle of favourite beer: it's refreshing, a brief burst of euphoria is followed by general malaise. Food Glorious Food tries to be a jam roly-poly with lashings of custard; its cake is a little stale, the sauce slightly lumpy, and we might prefer to see something less cosy. But then, we're not Simon Cowell, and if he (and ITV) don't experiment, they'll never get anywhere.
University Challenge
Group phase, match 10: Bangor v King's Cambridge
Lost one, won one, one more to play, and then this protracted phase will be over. We've no objection to a double-elimination tournament, it's just that this place in the series feels out of place.
That, and the standard of play is low: the first two starters evade both sides. Bangor prove to know their existentialist philosophers, there's not all that much to do in north Wales. No surprise that Bangor's captain gets a question about French literature, that seems to be her specialist subject. It's a slow start for King's Cambridge, they've not scored before the first visual round, on areas of Beatus's map of the world. They don't score during that round, Bangor racing to a 90-0 lead.
"Your bonuses are on asexual reproduction in plants", says our host. What are the teams going to know about that? A set on Ford, and then King's gets a starter. We like this King's side. We like this King's side a lot, we've seen them for two-and-a-half hours already and they've always brightened up our screens. It's a bit sad to see their shoulders slumped, looking down at the desk as though the game's already up. It's not even the audio round, biblical figures in oratorios, at which point Bangor's lead is 140-10.
Heads-up for the King's Cambridge side: Curtis Gallant, Amber Ace, Fran Middleton, James Gratrex.
No-one got the audio starter, and no-one gets the next three starters. A pair of missignals cuts into Bangor's lead, and when King's has the bonuses inflicted upon them, they're just tossing out answers without a care: many of them are right. Just as in the first match, captain Fran Middleton is better at giving answers ("Smith-Wilson conjecture") than at naming the other members of her team ("Nominate, um, er, Greatrex"). Gallows humour for the Cambridge side: the second visual round is on female scientists, Bangor's lead is 160-50.
Gallows humour? Not if King's can help it, they're rubbing their hands at the possibility of a win. Well, that or making the sign of the Awkward Turtle. Nothing on that set, and a missignal on the next starter will surely have wrapped up the game for Bangor, just about confirmed when Adam Pearce reminds us of Project Gutenberg, an internet repository of free texts. Thumper asks about a differential equation, which is always a bad idea. When the gong puts this game out of its misery, Bangor's winning score is 195-70.
Next match: UCL v New Oxford, the last possible match between unbeaten sides, and set because UCL has already played the other two semi-finalists. Both of these sides are very good, both have shown chinks in their armour, and it's difficult to say which will emerge on top. Manchester would be favoured against Bangor in two weeks, but that's assuming Good Manchester turn up, and not the side that so nearly lost to Lincoln Oxford in the first round.
Not content with his rip-roaring success on Food Glorious Food, Simon Cowell has announced changes to the format of The X Factor. In an interview with the Rusty Old Radio Times, Mr. Cowell said that at least one of the judges will be voted off, and that "every aspect" of the programme would change. So, that bit where they find the most middle of the road singer, make them record a sappy and predictable cover version, and see it played on Christmas Top of the Pops? Not going to happen this year: they're going to find the worst singer in the world, have them write and record a song of their own, and it'll be played at 2.55 on Christmas Day only if Mr. Cowell buys up the advertising space.
Always the most hip-and-happening of the major networks, Channel 4 has announced a new commission. Draw It is a version of the doodles-and-wordplay pastime Draw Something, an internet fad for about three weeks in March 2012. Might we interest Channel 4 in this idea we've got, where people pull letters out of a bag and try to make a long word out of them?
Nominations for the BAFTA TV awards are in. I'm a Celeb is up in Entertainment Programme and in Reality & Constructed Factual; rivals in the latter include The Young Apprentice. Over in Features, The Great British Bake Off is up for retaining its award. And in Entertainment, look for Have I Got News for You and A League of Their Own.
Nominations are also in for the Radio Academy awards, and we're torn in the Entertainment category, where Danny Baker, Greg James, and Kate Lawler are all up, and only one can win. The nominees for Best Competition are 500 Words (Radio 2), Fan Reporter (Talk Radio UK), Round Our Way on Xfm Manchester, Talk To The Animals (Absolute Radio), and Two Strangers Risk It For A Biscuit (Real Radio Scotland).
Cameron Stout is to enter politics. The 2003 Big Brother champion will be batting on the "no" side at Scotland's independence referendum vote, which will take place in autumn 2014. We also heard Ben Duncan on BBC London, talking about the death of Margaret Thatcher. A measure of her cultural significance: she was the only living person to twice be a sequence answer on Only Connect. That's unless Victoria has squeezed in another picture of Alex Guttenplan in the new series.
A gratuitous picture of Alex Guttenplan and the Emmanuel Cambridge team.
Stella English, the winner of The Apprentice in 2010, has lost her claim for constructive dismissal; the employment tribunal ruled that she resigned and wasn't dismissed. The judgement went on to note, "There was no assurance or suggestion that the winner would receive direct mentoring from [Mr.] Sugar." An apprenticeship with no mentoring? A very strange arrangement; Ms English may have been aware of this, but was the viewing public? Her erstwhile boss Alan Sugar said that he was pleased with the result, and then launched into a blistering attack against Ms English, the tribunal system, the prospect of being held to account, and what he perceives as a something-for-nothing culture. The fact remains: this only happened because Mr. Sugar employed Ms English. She has not released a press statement to pursue her pet causes.
A couple of game shows were criticised in the most recent OFCOM complaints bulletin. Dick and Dom's Hoopla featured a game where contestants were encouraged to eat unusual foodstuffs like cold custard and mayonnaise. On one episode, a young contender appeared unhappy and reached for a sick-bucket. Though the BBC had thought about the challenge, and filming was supervised by a senior producer, OFCOM reckoned that the Beeb had underestimated peer pressure, and couldn't produce a piece of paper labelled "Risk assessment" or point to someone as an "independent expert". This column was mildly surprised to see this sort of thing on telly, and we can understand where OFCOM is coming from. We fear that OFCOM has only reached its decision because the producers haven't gone through a particular box-ticking exercise, and hope that we're misunderstanding the regulator.
Dick, Dom, and a giant hand covered in gloop.
Both Hoopla and I'm a Celebrity were found to have breached "generally accepted standards" by OFCOM. (Who accepts these standards, by the way?) The complaint against I'm a Celeb concerned the use of Charlie Brookes's young daughter as a reward in one of the show's games. Though the daughter was hiding behind a door with Eric Bristow's (grown-up) son, she had her grandmother just out of shot. As best we can tell, I'm a Celeb has been deemed offensive because it didn't expose every string of the support network. Hoopla has been deemed offensive because it didn't make utterly clear that its contestants didn't have to eat the food, even though Dick said that in the introduction to the item.
Please say we're getting this wrong. Otherwise we would have to conclude that OFCOM believes all viewers are completely stupid and have a memory of a goldfish, and should be patronised by unchallenging television. This column is mildly offended by this implication; if we thought it would do any good, we'd be complaining to OFCOM about the minor irritance it's caused. But then, we have a life and won't get into these recursive complaints.
For the record, OFCOM has also rejected a privacy complaint against The X Factor from a contestant rejected at the first televised audition.
Ratings for the week to 31 March, and after all the time-shifters are taken into account, BBC The Voice of Holland of UK was the most popular programme. 7.45m people saw the return of Kavana start (and end), compared to 6.95m who saw Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. Who Dares Wins had 5.35m, Masterchef 4.8m, and The Cube 3.8m. The Chase had 3.1m, barely ahead of University Challenge on 3.05m. Tuesday's football (5.2m) beat both the boat race (4.55m) and The Great British Bake Off (2.75m), with Paul Hollywood's Bread notching up 2.55m viewers. 8 Out of 10 Cats was Channel 4's biggest with 1.65m viewers, only just behind the 1.775m for Celebrity Juice on ITV2. Come Dine With Me had 475,000 on More4, and third place on the digital channels to the 310,000 for Masterchef India. Pop Idle Us was fourth, 275,000 on 5*.
This week, we'll mostly be watching the final of Côr Cymru (S4C, 6.15 Sun). There's a new run of Trade Your Way to the USA (CBBC, 4.30 weekdays), and it's a knockout week on Masterchef (BBC1, from Wed). Changes to next Saturday's shows: Britain's Got Talent runs at 7pm, Who Dares Wins shifts back to 7.30, BBC The Voice UK begins at 8.20, and The Cube's on at 8.30.


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Actor Becki Dennis Stars in New Indie Film "Spin The Plate"
posted by HollyWoodBigFan
Becki Dennis
In the era of the #MeToo movement, the new indie feature film "Spin The Plate" showcases a young woman searching to heal her moyo while seeking justice.
Actor Becki Dennis stars as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse in the film which was based on Donna Anastasi's award-winning novel "Spin The Plate."
Directed kwa Eric R. Eastman and adapted for the screen kwa Tom Anastasi, the film recently made its world premiere at the Boston International Film Festival, attracting attention and earning awards, including a 'Best Actress' win for Becki.
A Boston native, Becki stepped into the role of Associate Producer on the project and it wasn't her first. Previously, she produced the short "Mildred's Millions" and started the production company InspireWorks, Inc. to continue creating uplifting projects.
Becki has appeared on the big screen in David O. Russell's "American Hustle" and Seth MacFarlane's comedy, "Ted 2"; as well as on televisheni shows such as "This Is Us," "Fresh Off the Boat," "Jane the Virgin," "Speechless," "GLOW," "How to Get Away with Murder," "Shameless," "I'm Sorry," Life in Pieces," "Pretty Little Liars," "The Fosters," "Pure Genius" and "The Young and the Restless."
I caught up with Becki Dennis to find out more.
Tell us about the new film "Spin The Plate."
BECKI DENNIS: "Spin the Plate" is a romantic feature film drama, in which I play a female tattoo artist with a damaged soul and tough exterior, who encounters an awkward, seemingly poor, Bible-touting young man on a Boston city bus. He tries to win my heart, as I battle to heal the wounds of child sexual abuse. Together, we seek justice and meaning in our lives, while a romance blossoms between us, but he's hiding something from me.
What was your initial reaction to working on a project that deals with such an important subject matter?
BD: That I would be honored to serve this subject matter and the survivors of sexual abuse kwa telling their stories.
Did wewe do anything special to prepare for the role of Jo?
BD: I spoke with victims of child sexual abuse and researched others experiences online. I read the novel "Spin the Plate," of course, and had a lot of in depth discussions with the director about my character before filming, as well as rehearsals.
What would wewe consider Jo's 'best' quality? And their 'worst'?
BD: Jo is a hero. She saves vulnerable people and wanyama from harm, and doesn't do it for any attention au recognition. In the beginning of the story, she comes off cold and mean until the audience gets to know why she is the way that she is. I suppose her tough exterior would be her worst quality, although I empathize with her and the walls that she puts up based on her past experiences with people.
Any interesting stories from the set wewe can share with us?
BD: One of the scenes that a lot of people have been positively responding to was actually not in the original script. It is when I revisit my childhood bedroom and have an emotional breakdown. This idea came to our Director while we were shooting and it ended being one of the most moving scenes in our film. A lot of our best moments came from inspiration on the day.
What's the biggest lesson wewe learned from working on this project?
BD: To not underestimate myself and my abilities. This project took me into untapped uigizaji territory and I surprised myself with how far I could go. To those kusoma I would say – don't let others put wewe in box in terms of what wewe can and cannot accomplish. wewe are capable of much zaidi than wewe could ever imagine.
And, now just for fun:
Who's your inayopendelewa actor/actress?
BD: I don't have one favorite, but I admire the work of Claire Foy, Viola Davis, Kathy Bates, Robin Wright, Evan Rachel Wood, Cate Blanchett, amongst others.
What role from the past do wewe wish wewe could have played?
BD: I wish I could have been in a movie musical like "Cabaret," "Chicago," au "Hairspray."
Favorite movie au TV onyesha from your childhood.
BD: I loved Disney sinema when I was a kid, such as "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "Lion King," and "The Little Mermaid." I also loved "Dirty Dancing," but most of it went over my head; I think I just liked the dancing.
Tell us one thing that would surprise our readers to learn about you.
BD: I almost quit uigizaji 5 years ago. I'm so glad I didn't. I've had so many great roles and experiences since reversing that decision, and I know that there is so much zaidi to come. I'm now living my dream.
How can mashabiki keep up with you?
BD: They can follow me on Facebook: facebook.com/beckidennis link, Twitter @beckidennis link, and Instagram @beckidennis link. They can also learn zaidi about me at: beckidennis.com link and imdb.me/beckidennis link
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Arizona Democrats Call for Federal Investigation into Local GOP Lawmakers' Role in Riot
Two Congresswomen Stuck in Room With Maskless Andy Biggs During Capitol Riot Have COVID
One-Man Crime Spree Jamal Mitchell Pleads Not Guilty to Murder
James King | October 11, 2011 | 10:59am
Convicted sex offender/multiple felon Jamal Mitchell was in court this morning where he pleaded not guilty to his latest alleged crimes, which include murder.
Mitchell was arrested last month and booked into jail on a laundry list of crimes, including child molestation, and armed robbery in addition to the murder rap.
For his most-recent collar, Mitchell, according to court records obtained by New Times, staged a drug deal, during which he allegedly murdered one of his customers.
Mitchell met the victim, Nathaniel Kinsley, and another man, Elon Williams, at a KFC at Central Avenue and Dunlap Road in Phoenix Wednesday on September 21 for the purpose of selling the two men three pounds of weed. The agreed upon price: $1,400.
Mitchell, it seems, never intended on giving the men any weed -- he moved the meeting to Williams' apartment complex, where he's alleged to have fatally shot Kinsley.
A woman who accompanied Mitchell to the drug deal later told police he never planned on selling the two men weed. He planned on stealing their money.
The woman says she was in a car in the parking lot of the apartment complex when she heard three shots. Then she saw Mitchell run through the parking lot holding a gun. As the car peeled out of the parking lot, the woman says she saw Kinsley on the ground.
Mitchell, however, assured her -- and two other people who were also in the vehicle -- that he "wasn't planning on that."
Statements from Williams and the passengers during the shooting led police to Mitchell, who, again, is a multiple felon who served a prison sentence for sodomizing a 15-year-old mentally challenged girl in 1993.
Because he's a registered sex offender, Mitchell's forced to disclose his address to authorities whenever he moves. So, police went to Mitchell's last known address, only to learn he'd been kicked out.
Detectives also learned of Mitchell's former residence, with a woman who had two children, a 3-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy.
The woman told police that she was told by a friend that Mitchell is a sex offender, so she asked her 3-year-old daughter if he'd ever touched her inappropriately. The 3-year-old told her mother -- and later told detectives -- that while she was watching cartoons one day, Mitchell called her into a bedroom, played a pornographic video, and performed oral sex on her.
The girl's mother then kicked Mitchell out of the house.
But Mitchell found another woman -- and her 11-year-old daughter -- willing to take him in.
The girl later told police that one morning she was sleeping in her mother's bed when she awoke to someone touching her vagina. When she opened her eyes. Mitchell was standing next to the bed.
Initially, Mitchell was booked into jail on two counts of child molestation, and one count each of sexual abuse, sexual conduct with a minor, armed robbery with a deadly weapon, changing his address without alerting authorities, possession of a weapon by a prohibited possessor, first-degree murder, and first-degree murder during the commission of a crime.
According to court officials, Mitchell only pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted armed robbery, and misconduct involving a weapon. It's unclear whether he was formally charged with the other crimes.
Mitchell's due back in court on November 22.
Phoenix-Area Hospital Leaders Are Pleading For COVID-19...
Phoenix Spends $10K to Coach Auditor Who Ignored Women and...


text:
TechToolsVR/AR/MR
Lytro And Rodrigo Blaas Collaborate on VR Short Using New Volume Tracer
By Ian Failes | 11/20/2017 5:34 pm | 1 Comment
In recent times, Lytro, the company known mostly for developing light field cameras, has been moving into vr. It has also announced a specialized renderer called the Lytro Volume Tracer, for rendering cg vr experiences.
The announcement is accompanied by a cg animated vr short called One Morning, directed by Trollhunters showrunner Rodrigo Blaas and made using the Nimble Collective platform.
Cartoon Brew looks more at light field technology, and at the making of One Morning with Blaas and Lytro visual effects supervisor John Berton Jr.
What is a light field?
Before we get into Lytro's volume tracer, let's look first at light field technology. A light field is essentially all the light that passes through an area or volume. A normal camera just captures the rays of light coming through its lens and aperture which then hits the film or sensor to produce an image.
But a light field camera effectively has multiple lenses, or is made up of an array of cameras, each at slightly different positions. That means it can capture light from multiple vantage points and then work out different things about that light such as intensity and angular direction. Processing that information in a certain way means you can replicate the captured light field in a virtual space, and do things with it.
Lytro's light field cameras.
What can you do with it? Well, Lytro had initially been selling both pro and consumer light field cameras. One selling point with these cameras was that photographers could take a photo of a scene and then with special software re-focus onto different areas in the image. But in 2015 Lytro changed tack after realizing it could do more things with captured light fields. It jumped into the cinematic side of light fields, and in particular, into vr.
Recently, the company has been showcasing its Lytro Immerge system – a light field camera array, server, editing, and player set-up – to shoot and produce light field films. This involves shooting live action with a large light field camera array, but the system also facilitates the compositing of cg imagery into the live action. Lytro showcased the result in the vr film Hallelujah. This behind the scenes video, below, shows how Hallelujah was made.
Lytro argues that its system is a better enabler of creating vr experiences with six degrees of freedom movement, or 6DoF. Basically this means letting a user experience a full range of motion while wearing vr goggles (high-end goggles such as the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive help with range of motion by allowing for positional tracking). Being able to look around everywhere and move in vr with 6DoF is said to enhance the experience because it's basically how we move in real life – that's why some vr experiences that are not 6DofF feel limiting. (For a more detailed explanation of the six degrees, read this.)
Volume tracing
OK, so what then is the Lytro volume tracer all about? Firstly, it's part of Lytro's push into more immersive vr experiences; in this case, fully-cg ones. The volume tracer is an addition to, rather than a replacement for, current 3d tools and current 3d render engines (including game engines) to produce a light field representation of a 3d scene.
A scene from Rodrigo Blaas' "One Morning," about an encounter with a robot bird.
"That light field then represents not only just the three dimensional space, but also all the light within that three dimensional space that was created by the synthetic lighting and the reflections, and so on," explains John Berton Jr., who previously supervised the visual effects on films such as The Mummy, Men in Black II, and Charlotte's Web. "We re-build it using the same technology that we use to build three dimensional worlds out of two dimensional images in photographic space, using our light field camera."
To create live-action light field experiences that work in vr, Lytro has to do a lot of 'clever' things with its camera array and Immerge system. But for fully-cg experiences – this is what Blaas' short One Morning is – the data for creating a three-dimensional experience is already there in, say, a Maya, 3ds Max, or Houdini file. The Lytro volume tracer is simply a way of re-rendering the scene to create a light field version of it.
"Once we have a light field," says Berton, "we push it through our system that we have already, and that gives us the opportunity to look in on an animated movie the same way that we look in on our photographic material. That means that you have six degrees of freedom to move around a volumetric space, and explore the world in front of you."
But why is Lytro's volume tracer necessary in the first place? Berton Jr. says, predominantly, it's about fidelity in creating light field-based vr and mixed reality experiences, but without impacting on how a creator makes their material.
"We just take the data, and it goes into our system," comments Berton Jr. "That's what we did with Rodrigo. He went out and built his system in Maya, with the Maxwell renderer, and we took his data, and his renderer, and we made One Morning with just that information. We didn't touch the data in the animation files. We didn't touch the shaders. We didn't touch any of the parameters of the lighting. We just read it out of the file, put it into our system, and produced the piece you're seeing in the headset."
Making One Morning
To showcase what the Lytro volume tracer could be used for, the company commissioned Blaas and his El Guiri Productions to make One Morning as a demo. The short is about an errant robot bird looking for food. In the film, the viewer (wearing vr goggles) has an encounter with the robot bird.
"I just wanted to explore this idea of what happens to older versions of robots," Blaas told Cartoon Brew. "What is going to happen with your iPhone 5 or 4? I feel like there's going to be this idea of discarded robots because they're not lasting generations."
The film was made via the cloud-based animation platform Nimble Collective. A team of artists from around the globe collaborated on it, something Blaas was keen to explore further. He was also keen to look into vr films, but his previous experience with vr had been that most projects he looked at were decidedly low resolution.
"I wasn't interested in vr until now because I'm always trying to push the quality of the work that I do in animation," Blaas said. "The thing that attracted me was when Lytro came back saying, 'We don't want you to change your process. We want you to keep all the detail – the really vibrant and high quality imagery. You create an animation and we're going to be the ones to translate that into a vr experience.'"
Like a number of filmmakers who have worked in vr, Blaas had to adapt his style for a medium in which the viewer can look anywhere. The bird is animated to look directly at the viewer and also gaze elsewhere, which the viewer can follow along with.
"The tricky part is knowing how to direct the viewer to what you want to see and what you want to tell him in that environment," said Blaas. "You have to be way more aware of what the sound around you is doing, and the visuals, and how to simplify the story you're telling. You really concentrate the viewer on one thing."
A poster for "One Morning."
"One of the things that we started putting in originally was a lot of detail around us," adds Blaas. "Then we started stripping it, in the way that we wanted to get the attention on one place so you can follow the story of this little bird."
Lytro's light field future
Other companies have been diving into this area, too, such as OTOY with its Octane renderer. But it's clear that getting vr and light field content out there for audiences to see is going to be an important part of mainstream adoption.
Lytro acknowledges that it is still early days in terms of getting creators on board with its tools. Still, Berton Jr. says, many have been asking them about mixing more live-action light field footage with cg light field footage.
"That's something that we're very well aware of, and once you've got everything in light field space, then we've got a game to play," the visual effects supervisor said. "We're absolutely talking to those people, and we're looking for great projects that we can continue to develop our pipeline with."
One Morning was featured last month at both VR on the Lot and Animation is Film festival, both in Los Angeles. Lytro has a form on its website to request viewings, and tells Cartoon Brew there will be further screening locations announced soon.
Read More: Animation Is Film El Guiri Productions John Berton Jr. light fields Lytro Maxwell renderer Nimble Collective Octane OTOY Rodrigo Blaas VR on the Lot
Ian Failes More Articles
Ian Failes is a writer covering visual effects and tech for Cartoon Brew.
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When booking a trip to Disney World, you have several options. You can book directly with Disney World over the phone or online; with AAA or another company that offers a package deal; or with a travel agent. So which is the best choice for you?
If you already know quite a bit about Disney World and desire control over your plans, it would be best to book directly with Disney World yourself. This way you can choose your resort and ticket options yourself, and make your own dining reservations.
If you've already read up on Disney World a bit on your own and feel confident making these decisions, then go ahead and book on your own.
However, if you're a true Disney World newbie, navigating the reservations process can be confusing and overwhelming! This is when we recommend a travel agent.
Specifically, we recommend a company that specializes in Disney travel. This way, you get a knowledgeable travel agent who's been to Disney World themselves and can answer just about any question you might have to help you navigate the process.
Travel agencies like Mouse Fan Travel, The Magic For Less, Small World Vacations and Destinations in Florida (and many others) really know Disney World, and won't just rattle off the basics. They'll also keep you apprised of specials that could help you save money on your trip.
This is important: If you decide to go with a travel agency, make sure you find out how the agency handles payments. The agency should send your payments immediately and directly to Disney. And ask your friends for recommendations on travel agents too — you may luck out and get a great agent who treats you great!
Have you used a travel agent to plan a Disney vacation? What was your experience like? Leave a comment below!
This entry was posted on Sunday, July 3rd, 2011 at 2:16 pm	and is filed under How To, Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I'm not sure I see the downside of using a travel agent. There is no extra expense, and they know the ins and outs of using the special codes to make sure you are getting the best possible deal. But I totally agree that it has to be a Diz specialist. We use Small World and they are great.
I booked my first four Disney trips on my own, but used a TA for my most recent–only because I was booking with a friend who used a TA and we wanted our reservations to be linked together. I have to say, using a TA was super easy…but booking on your own is pretty easy, too (heck, I can throw a WDW vacation together in an afternoon, complete with dining reservations!) However, I know where to look for discount codes, and I use online forums (and blogs) to do research. So I suppose, for a first time visitor that doesn't know the ins and outs of a WDW vacation, using a TA could prove to be very valuable.
Tracy — Thanks for your feedback!! Agreed that the first-time visitor can really benefit from using a TA!


Another not-so-well-known potential advantage of HCG is its ability to increase pregnenolone, the "master hormone" that is at the top of our production line. Virtually all of the well-known hormones, many of which help us mentally and sexually, start with pregnenolone, including DHEA, testosterone, estradiol, DHT, progesterone and cortisol. Considering that many men are often low in one or more of these key hormones, stimulating pregnenolone may be a good thing for these men. The theory is that pregnenolone can "trickle down" and increase other downstream hormones as the body sees fit.
4. My Own Labs. Here were my labs pre-HCG after starting on 25 mg daily of pregnenolone and DHEA.
Keep in mind that I was taking compounded DHEA/pregnenolone and so the quanity should be very accurate.
Notice that both DHEA-S and progesterone had risen. Of course, it would have been nice if I had pulled pregnenolone directly, but I did not simply to save money. However, the downstream hormones of DHEA and progesterone appear to have risen significantly from the HCG even after a relatively short time period of taking it.
NOTE: I actually do not want my DHEA-S or progesterone that high and am going to discuss lowering my dose of DHEA and pregnenolone shortly.
1) Molecular Human Reproduction, 1996, 2(6):391-400, "Expression of Ad4-BP/cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage enzyme and induction of cell death in long-term cultures of human granulosa cells."
2) The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1996, 81(6), "Novel presence of luteinizing hormone/chorionic gonadotropin receptors in human adrenal glands"
4) J Neurochem, 2007, 100:1329-1339, "Luteinizing hormone receptor mediates neuronal pregnenolone production via up-regulation of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein regulation"
5) J Endocrinol, 1990 Apr;125(1):131-8, "Effect of LH injections on testicular steroidogenesis, cholesterol side-chain cleavage P450 mRNA content and Leydig cell morphology in hypogonadal mice"


text:
module Fortran
  # Mapping of some types to default names
  DefaultTypes = {
    'BYTE' => 'LOGICAL*1',
    'COMPLEX' => 'COMPLEX*8',
    'DOUBLE COMPLEX' => 'COMPLEX*16',
    'DOUBLE PRECISION' => 'REAL*8',
    'INTEGER' => 'INTEGER*4',
    'LOGICAL' => 'LOGICAL*4',
    'REAL' => 'REAL*4' }

  # Map fortran types to a unique name (via DefaultTypes).
  def self.standardize_type(name)
    name.strip!
    DefaultTypes.fetch name, name
  end

  # Return a Fortran subroutine object.
  # +args+ is an array of the names of the arguments
  def self.subroutine(name, args)
    Routine.new FortranType.new('VOID'), name, args
  end

  # Return a Fortran function object.
  def self.function(return_type, name, args)
    Routine.new FortranType.new(return_type), name, args
  end

  # Represents a FORTRAN data type
  class FortranType
    attr_accessor :basetype, :array, :comment

    # Construct new FortranType. Set array and comment later if you want to.
    def initialize(type, array=false, comment=nil)
      @basetype = Fortran.standardize_type type
      @array = array
      @comment = comment
    end

    def to_s # :nodoc:
      s = @basetype.clone
      s << ' (array)' if @array
      s << ' # ' + @comment if comment
      s
    end

    def output?
      comment.nil? or comment =~ /output/
    end
  end

  # This class describes a fortran subroutine or function. It
  # mainly collects all the information about the arguments and
  # their types.
  #
  # You can use Fortran.subroutine and Fortran.function to
  # construct the respective type.
  class Routine
    # name of the routine
    attr_reader :name
    # argument names of the routines (as array)
    attr_reader :args
    # hash mapping argument names to FortranType objects
    attr_reader :argtype
    # return type as FortranType object or nil
    attr_reader :return_type

    # Construct a new Routine object. If return_type is nil, it is a subroutine.
    def initialize(return_type, name, args)
      @return_type = return_type
      @name = name
      @args = args
      @argtype = Hash.new
    end

    # Check whether all arguments have at least types.
    def have_all_types?
      @args.each do |a|
        unless @argtype.has_key? a
          return false
        end
      end
      true
    end

    def each_arg
      args.each do |name|
        type = argtype[name]
        yield name, type
      end
    end

    def to_s # :nodoc:
      s = [ (@return_type ? "#@return_type function " : "subroutine ") + @name + "\n"]
      @args.each do |arg|
        s << "   #{arg} of type #{@argtype[arg]}"
      end
      unless workspace_arguments.empty?
        s << "Workspace Arguments: " + workspace_arguments.join(', ')
      end
      s.join
    end

    def number_of_scalar_output_arguments
      count = 0
      each_arg do |name, type|
        if type.comment =~ /output/ and not type.array
          count += 1
        end
      end
      count
    end

    # Generate some code for each argument and collect the results
    def gen_each_arg(joinwith="\n")
      s = []
      args.each do |name|
        t = yield name, argtype[name]
        s << t unless t.nil?
      end
      return s.join(joinwith)
    end

    def workspace_arguments
      results = []
      args.each_with_index do |a, i|
        results << a if workspace_argument? a
      end
      return results
    end

    def workspace_argument?(name)
      i = args.index(name)
      name =~ /WORK\Z/ and i < @args.size - 1 and args[i+1] == 'L' + name
    end

    def workspace_size_argument?(name)
      i = args.index(name)
      name =~ /\AL[A-Z]*WORK\Z/ and i > 0 and args[i-1] == name[1..-1]
    end

    def output?(name)
       @argtype[name].output?
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Sad footage of an orangutan trying to fight off a bulldozer destroying its habitat in West Borneo. As loggers smash the base of a tree in the Ketapang District, West Borneo, heart-breaking video from International Animal Rescue (IAR) shows one of the great apes perched in the tree's canopy as it falls to the floor.
Some photographers will stop at nothing to get the perfect picture and this one is no exception. Lior Kestenberg spent an entire day being bitten by mosquitoes, allowed hundreds of mosquitoes to bite him in an effort to get some incredible shots of the pesky blood-sucking insects and the results speak for themselves.
William Drumm caught the unusual moment while off the coast of Mexico's Baja California where the gigantic fish smashed its tail into the ocean while diving. The gigantic fish plunges itself deeper into the water and what's left behind looks like a miniature tornado swirl.


text:
W912P820C0007
Definitive Contract
Overview Announcement Status Hierarchy Timeline Subs 0 Opps - History - Additional
Weeks Marine
USACE New Orleans District (MVN) [DoD - USA - USACE]
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) [DoD - USA]
237990 - Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
Y1KF - Construction Of Dredging Facilities
New Orleans, LA 70118 United States
Full And Open Competition
Mississippi River, Baton Rouge to Gulf of Mexico, Southwest Pass Maintenance Dredging, Non-Continuous Mile 6.0 AHP to Mile 19.5 BHP, Cutterhead Dredge Rental No. 3-2019. Specification No. OM-19-277 (W912P819B0013)
Subcontracting Plan This Definitive Contract has an Individual Subcontract Plan. The Department of Defense has an overall small business subcontracting goal of 32%
Weeks Marine was awarded Definitive Contract W912P8-20-C-0007 worth up to $19,617,701 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through solicitation Mississippi River, Baton Rouge to Gulf of Mexico, Southwest Pass Maintenance Dredging, Non-Continuous Mile 6.0 AHP to Mile 19.5 BHP, Cutterhead Dredge Rental No. 3-2019. Specification No. OM-19-277 in December 2019. The contract has a duration of 1 year and was awarded full & open with NAICS 237990 and PSC Y1KF. As of today, the Definitive Contract has a total reported backlog of $7,200, though the contract is closed, so backlog may not be realized.
Dec. 12, 2019: Weeks Marine Inc., Covington, Louisiana, was awarded a $13,071,000 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Plaquemines, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2020 Recovery Act; civil works and operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $13,071,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-20-C-0007).
Procurement History for W912P820C0007
Modifications to W912P820C0007
Sealed Bid
Individual Subcontract Plan
W912P8 W07V ENDIST N ORLEANS
sally.a.duncan.w912p8@usace.army.mil
Construction Wage Rate Requirements
Troy Carter
Last Modified: 8/31/21


text:
from __future__ import unicode_literals

from django.db import migrations, models
import django.db.models.deletion

class Migration(migrations.Migration):

    dependencies = [
        ('wagtailimages', '0016_deprecate_rendition_filter_relation'),
        ('waddleadmin_test', '0004_venuepage'),
    ]

    operations = [
        migrations.AddField(
            model_name='book',
            name='cover_image',
            field=models.ForeignKey(blank=True, null=True, on_delete=django.db.models.deletion.SET_NULL, to='wagtailimages.Image'),
        ),
    ]


text:
Michael Wesley Jr. for NEA Executive Committee August 22, 2018 Accountability, Advocacy, Charter School, Department of Education, Every Student Succeeds Act, Higher Education, No Child Left Behind Act, School Choice, School Closings, Technology in the Classroom
California State Superintendent Torlakson Creates Team to Recommend Updates in Charter School Law
August 20, 2018 – SACRAMENTO—
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has announced that he is creating an Action Team on Charter Schools to review laws governing California's charter schools, and provide recommendations about any needed changes to the next State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Governor, State Board of Education, and State Legislature.
The guiding law for charter schools—the California Charter School Act—was enacted 26 years ago but has had few changes and little comprehensive review since then. In the meantime, California's population and student population have increased significantly, our demographics have shifted, and our education system has been transformed with the introduction of new academic standards and new systems for funding and evaluating schools, Torlakson said.
"In the past few years, we have updated virtually our entire K–12 education system. Now it's time to look at the key laws governing charter schools, which have not been significantly changed in 26 years, to see how they can be modernized to better meet the needs of all public school students, including those who attend charter schools," said Superintendent Torlakson.
Team members represent a variety of organizations and perspectives, including those of philanthropists, charter schools, teachers, parents, and administrators. The team will be co-chaired by Action Team members Carl Cohn, Professor Emeritus, Claremont Graduate University, and Susan Bonilla, Council for a Strong America.
"This is a balanced team that will objectively examine issues regarding charter schools with the goal of promoting equity for all students and helping all students succeed in 21st century careers and college" Torlakson said.
David Rattray, executive vice president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, said the review will help California identify best practices regarding charter schools.
"Students, parents, educators, community leaders, and the business community can all benefit from looking at what we've learned from the charter school movement and public education," he said. "This review provides great opportunity to promote collaboration and improve the sharing of best practices among all public schools."
California has developed the largest charter school sector in the United States, with nearly 1,300 charter schools serving 620,000 students, or 10 percent of the state's total student population.
Charter schools have to be authorized by a district, county office of education, or the state of California. In their application or "petition" for authorization, charter schools are required to define specific goals and operating procedures. Charter schools do not have to follow all the rules and regulations required of other public schools.
Beginning this summer, the Action Team will meet to review existing research and analyze issues around charter school authorizing, support, and accountability; recommend specific components of California's approach; suggest modifications of existing law, regulations, and systems of support; and make recommendations by the end of 2018.
The Education Commission of the States will provide research relating to best and promising practices on charter schools throughout the nation.
The members of the action team include:
Cristina de Jesus, Green Dot Public Schools
Terri Jackson, California Teachers Association
Camille Maben, First 5 California
Charmaine Mercer, Hewlett Foundation
Ana Ponce, Camino Nuevo Charter Academy
David Rattray, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce/UNITE-LA
Jonathan Raymond, Stuart Foundation
John Rogers, UCLA IDEA
Sylvia Rousseau, University of Southern California
Wes Smith, Association of California School Administrators
Gia Truong, Envision Education
Source: CDE
Posted in Accountability, Advocacy, Charter School, Department of Education, Every Student Succeeds Act, Higher Education, No Child Left Behind Act, School Choice, School Closings, Technology in the Classroom and tagged "Standing Strong for Public Education", #iBelieve, Accountability, Accountability System, Advocacy, Department of Education, Diversity, Education, Education Funding, English Language Learners, Equity, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Failing, Failing Schools, Federal Education Policy, HBCU, High-Needs Students, NEAExecutiveCommittee, Public Education, School Choice, School Safety, State Budget, Students, Testing and Accountability. Bookmark the permalink.
California's missing information about public education
Charter School Amendment Removed From Florida Ballot


It is surely a very uncommon model to produce!
Just to let you know that I do try to present the more unusual cars in model form. Watch this space for the next Volvo offering.
I'm sure we're all looking forward to your next creations.


Dipped in purple and ready for the snow! This sweet baby girl romper has a timeless all-over cable knit pattern, with a colorful new twist. The half-purple and half white romper is perfect for winter pictures and days you want to keep her cozy and warm. Try it with the adorable matching Purple Pom Pom Baby Knit Hat for head-to-toe cuteness.