text:
Jenny Shank
MIXED COMPANY
Stories & Articles
George Garrett Fiction Prize Winner - Colorado Book Award Winner
Reading the West Award Longlist
Order now from your favorite bookseller!
Mixed Company is also now available as an ebook, on
Kindle, Apple, Nook, and Google Play Books.
Advance Praise for MIXED COMPANY
"I don't know the last time I devoured so quickly—so completely—a book of short fiction. The stories in Mixed Company are breezy, vivid, at turns delightful and aching—and quite serious. Truly, across chasms of gender, race, and class, across generations and just across town, these stories aim to do nothing less than remind us of the messiness and grace of reaching out to one another."
-Joe Wilkins, author of Fall Back Down When I Die and The Mountain and the Fathers
"Jenny Shank can write about anything and it is full of love and promise and grace, and she is not sentimental. I don't think one story yet has passed by without bringing tears to my eyes."
- Lucia Berlin, New York Times Bestselling author of A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories
About MIXED COMPANY
In Mixed Company Jenny Shank reveals moments of grace and connection between people of her hometown, Denver, through stories that contrast the city during its oil-bust era of economic troubles and court-ordered crosstown busing for racial desegregation with the burgeoning and gentrifying city of recent years.
In "Hurts," a girls' basketball team at a majority Black Denver high school clashes with a white mountain team. In "Casa del Rey," a cautious pregnant woman must contend with her out-of-control and intrusive neighbor. In "La Sexycana," a bottom-feeding journalist ventures to a dance club to confront the young Latina woman she mentored as a teenager who then cut off all contact with her. "Lightest Lights Against Darkest Darks" follows a white middle schooler bused to a majority Black school who falls under the spell of her magnetic and racially ambiguous art teacher. In "Signing for Linemen," a graduate student in medieval literature takes a job as a summer tutor for a college football team and ends up learning more than she expected about athletes, American Sign Language, and herself. In "Local Honey," middle-aged white parents bring their adopted Black teenage son to a Wu-Tang Clan concert in an attempt to bond with him.
The characters find their initial perceptions and ideas overturned in these stories laced with humor, heart, and grit. Jenny Shank forges fiction out of the sparks that fly when diverse people encounter one another.
"Jenny Shank's Mixed Company is a masterfully-written short story collection full of insight and stunning humor. You will never forget these gritty, real characters: Davonya running for her life, the mother-in-law who lost her legs by throwing herself in front of a train, "La Sexycana," and so many more. In this courageous exploration of place, race, and survival, Mixed Company is a book to read and reread in utter delight."
-Erika Krouse, author of Come Up and See Me Sometime and Contenders
Reviews of MIXED COMPANY
"The 12 stories in Jenny Shank's affecting new collection, "Mixed Company," live up to the book's title: Shank's characters navigate the fraught encounters that arise when people of different racial and economic backgrounds are forced together, often against their will, by circumstances they can't control. Nearly all of these stories play out in the context of the author's hometown of Denver. Together, they trace its recent history from economically troubled melting pot to rapidly gentrifying "it" city…Ultimately, this collection provides a vivid portrait of a changing city, full of diverse people who are trying — often failing but sometimes succeeding — to understand each other." - Mike Alberti, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Connections form the beating heart of Mixed Company. Shank creates moments of grace between seemingly disparate people: the white seventh grader eager to fit in with her new Black classmates across town; a stalled-out journalist searching for validation through a mentorship with a young Latina; a girls basketball team at a majority-Black school in Denver faces off with a white team from a private school; a politically-charged mother engages in a standoff with a college Republican aide at Corey Gardner's Fort Collins' office. Over and over, Shank's main characters are forced to look at themselves harder, to face their foibles, their biases, their deficits. It's often uncomfortable, as growth always is. Shank stays in her lane by writing from a white perspective, often female, but without the white savior trope that has maliciously dominated mainstream American pop culture for decades… Shank never fumbles. These are stories she knows, pieces of her own life turned sideways, shifted, examined in a new light. She has mentored students of color; she did play sports; she was bused across town." - Caitlin Rockett, Boulder Weekly
"Mixed Company is full of light-hearted humor and colorful characters, yet it also provides insight into the realities of navigating life in diverse communities in Denver and finding human connections across cultural, social and racial differences." - Izzy Fincher, CU Independent
"'L'Homme De Ma Vie' unfolds as a poignant tale about the intimate negotiations of a binational marriage and the unspoken toll taken by intergenerational trauma. But moving underneath these themes is an unlikely Western…This desire for a cowboy (or in this case, cowgirl) hero who will redeem the damaged inheritance of Europe and transform the West is as old as the Western itself. It's also one of the themes that unites the stories in Shank's collection. In these tales, white women living in the greater Denver area attempt to reach out across the frontiers of race (and often class) in attempts to build a community that defies Colorado's reputation as a bastion of white privilege. In almost every story, the protagonists learn a hard lesson about the failures of the institutions — whether they're public high schools, not-for-profits, or universities — that Americans have relied on to bridge racial divides since the civil rights era…Like so many of Mixed Company's stories of white intentions gone awry, Charlotte's tale ['La Sexycana'] climaxes with a cross-cultural showdown that is equal parts devastating and cringe-inducing. I won't spoil her nightclub confrontation with 'La Sexycana,' but suffice to say it doesn't end with Charlotte's triumphant fulfillment of her white savior dreams." — High Country News
"The thing that's most likely to get my attention…is a story that establishes the characters and the situation as quickly as possible. For example, we published a fantastic story called 'L'Homme De Ma Vie' by Jenny Shank. Here are the first three sentences: 'On my wedding day I realized I didn't know my mother-in-law's name. I'd never met her, and Etienne rarely spoke of her. Her name was—is—Veronique.' Nothing flashy, but those sentences tell us a lot. In fewer than thirty words, we learn that the narrator is on the cusp of a major life change (she's getting married), that her finance is so estranged from his mother that the narrator's first instinct is to speak about her in the past tense, and that this realization is something that affects the narrator so much that she thinks about it on a day when she must have hundreds of other things on her mind. Those three sentences told me so much that I wanted to keep reading to see what was going to happen with these people." — Joe Killiany, editor of Barrelhouse, interviewed in Writer's Digest
"By writing firmly from where she is, she still successfully engages with a number of complexities in our diverse and varying world." - Hannah Evans, Denver North Star
"With its themes of connections between diverse characters in changing communities, the collection seems especially timely in these days of division in our country. Shank writes with affection and insight about neighborhoods and the people who live in them, and her words sometimes seem as much poetry as prose." - Judy Christie, Shreveport Times
Mixed Company won the 2022 Colorado Book Award in the General Fiction category!
Mixed Company won the 2020 Texas Review Press George Garrett Fiction Prize
Mixed Company won the Short Story category of the 2021 Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest
Mixed Company is a finalist for the 2022 Colorado Book Awards in the General Fiction category
Denver's Rally Hotel and the Tattered Cover selected Mixed Company for its Readers' Night In, paired with the cocktail inspired by the book, "Denver Sunshine."
Mixed Company was long-listed for the Reading the West Book Award in Fiction
Order Mixed Company now from Book Bar, Boulder Bookstore, the Tattered Cover, or your favorite online bookseller!


the Tired British midwife published a desperate appeal to all couples: will be enough already to conceive children for Christmas - in nine months the birth rate jumps up!
Christmas is thought up for gluttony and laziness, but many, probably, consider it a good occasion to shake an excess fat in the bedroom.
In the Twitter: "Really today only the 5th of September? I will not sustain 25 more days. If you know or love at least one midwife, PLEASE, there WILL be ENOUGH TRAHATSYa V CHRISTMAS". Similar to a call of the desperate woman!
Users of Twitter right there started apologizing to the midwife for the September children: "Forgive me, my firstborn was born in September. The midwife in maternity hospital was on the verge of failure. Accept my sincere apologies". "I understand you. To me to give birth in 3 weeks, and I apologize for the inconvenience in advance". Statistically, the peak of births in England and Wales falls on September 26 - 2000 (average quantity of births in other days - 1800).
Though Christmas - the most popular time of conception, on birth rate it trudges at the very end of the list: 6 of 10 days with the minimum birth rate fall on New Year's holidays.
A you have September children?


Do you approve XLIFF v2.1 as Candidate OASIS Standard 02 and approve submitting it to the OASIS membership for consideration for OASIS Standard?
Do you approve http://tools.oasis-open.org/version-control/browse/wsvn/xliff/trunk/xliff-21/cos02.zip as Candidate OASIS Standard 02 (replacing COS01) and submitting this COS to the OASIS membership for consideration for OASIS Standard?
(d) The changes were made ONLY to address the comments received during the public review period.
Passing this ballot will result in the publishing of Candidate OASIS Standard 02 and an OASIS membership ballot to consider approving it as an OASIS Standard.
This ballot requires a Special Majority Vote. The TC roster currently lists 6 voting members. In order to pass, at least 4 (2/3 x 6) members have to vote Yes and no more than 1 (1/4 x 6) members may vote No.


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#HisLifeMatters picture goes viral
Father-son law enforcement team draws attention
Updated: 10:47 AM CDT Jul 22, 2016
Kandace Redd
Reporter/Producer
A photo of a Hinds County Sheriff's Office investigator with his Jackson police officer father has been shared thousands of times on Facebook.Lafayette Martin II posted a picture Tuesday with his father. The picture has been shared more than 9,000 times."Backed my dad up this morning on a traffic stop," Martin said in the post. "He said, 'Be careful.' I said, 'You be careful.'"40835916The post included the hashtag #HisLifeMatters."Because, my father, his life matters. It matters to me. It matters to my family and it matters to the citizens of Jackson, those lives that he's protecting," Lafayette Martin II said."All I could say is, wow. When I saw it, I was like, 'Wow,'" Lafayette Martin said about his son's post.The men said they appreciate the community support.
A photo of a Hinds County Sheriff's Office investigator with his Jackson police officer father has been shared thousands of times on Facebook.
Lafayette Martin II posted a picture Tuesday with his father. The picture has been shared more than 9,000 times.
"Backed my dad up this morning on a traffic stop," Martin said in the post. "He said, 'Be careful.' I said, 'You be careful.'"
The post included the hashtag #HisLifeMatters.
"Because, my father, his life matters. It matters to me. It matters to my family and it matters to the citizens of Jackson, those lives that he's protecting," Lafayette Martin II said.
"All I could say is, wow. When I saw it, I was like, 'Wow,'" Lafayette Martin said about his son's post.
The men said they appreciate the community support.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
a medal in the end, he said. I feel great. Ive always come from beh
Freie Völker Mittelerdes » Forum » Herzlich Willkommen » a medal in the end, he said. I feel great. Ive always come from beh
#1 | a medal in the end, he said. I feel great. Ive always come from beh 19.09.2019 09:59
Fatigue wont be a factor for North Queensland, according to rugby league great Petero Civoniceva.But former Maroons teammate Justin Hodges believes a tough NRL finals campaign will finally catch up with Johnathan Thurstons Cowboys in Friday nights preliminary final against Cronulla.Long-serving Test prop Civoniceva brushed aside fears North Queensland would wilt against the Sharks at Allianz Stadium.The Cowboys are coming off a 90 minute extra-time semi-final win over Brisbane at tropical Townsville.And they line up against a Cronulla side fresh from a week off and not affected by travel.It will be a huge challenge no doubt how they recover, Civoniceva told AAP.But their coaching staff would have been on top of it as soon as those boys came off the field.And they are used to the heat, they are used to the conditions.It was an epic game. It would have taken up a fair amount of juice in the tank but I dont think it will take its toll.But Hodges was blunt when asked to assess North Queenslands fitness.I think they are going to struggle, he told Fox Sports TV.They had a tough first up game in Melbourne, flew all the way back for a massive game against the Broncos, and we all know how hot it was.Now they come against a side that has the week off, nice and fresh and ready to go.Time and again Thurston has stepped up to lift the Cowboys but Hodges believed the North Queensland playmaker may finally run out of gas against the Sharks.Thurston lost 5kg battling a stomach bug and needed a halftime injection to get through the semi-final.We all know what he can do, you can never write him off, Hodges said.But I do think this task might be too great for him because of their tough run.However, Civoniceva said the chance to go back to back for the first time since Brisbane (1992-93) would spur the Cowboys on.They are 80 minutes away from another grand final - there is a lot to play for, he said. Kyrie Irving Shoes Free Shipping . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. Cheap Kyrie Irving Shoes . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. https://www.cheapshoeskyrieirving.com/ . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Clearance Kyrie Irving Shoes . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Kyrie Irving Shoes For Sale . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. RIO DE JANEIRO -- There was no way Giles Scott could be a proper Briton and keep a stiff upper lip as he closed in on winning the gold medal in the Finn class in the Rio Olympics sailing regatta.Approaching the finish line, I just found myself welling up in tingles as it slowly dawned on me what I had done, Scott said Sunday.I wouldnt put myself down as the emotional sort, but I had a little cry to myself, which Id like to think I dont do that often. Just the emotions that kind of end up coming out of you in that situation, you cant really prepare yourself for.As he crossed the finish line, Scott put his head in his hands for a moment. He stood, raised both arms in triumph and shouted for joy. He sat down again, head in hands.Scott came in under the enormous pressure of being heir apparent to Sir Ben Ainslie, who was knighted a few months after winning the Finn gold at the London Games. It was Ainslies fourth straight gold and fifth games medal overall, making him the most successful Olympic sailor ever.Scott responded big-time, clinching the gold with the medals race still to be sailed on Tuesday. He still needs to sail that race before they put the medal around his neck, hoist the Union Jack and play God Save the Queen on Flamengo Beach, with Sugarloaf Mountain in the background.Ive managed to sail more consistently than anyone else at the top of the fleet and its just landed me in this kind of brilliant situation where Ive got the points cap for the medal race and its such a privileged situation to be in, Scott said.He finished eighth and second in the final two races of the 10-race preliminary series, for 32 points. Its the fifth straight Olympics a Brit has won the Finn.Vasilij Zbogar of Slovenia is second with 56, Ivan Gaspic of Croatia third with 69 and American Caleb Paine of San Diego and Max Salminen of Sweden tied for fourth at 74.Scott, 29, is making his Olympics debut. Many people believed he would have won gold at London 2012, but he had to bide his time as Ainslie earned selection to the British team and rallied to win the gold.Scott remembers sitting on a hill in Weymouth, England, watching the medals race with my hat firmly over my eyes, effectively trying to hide a little bit. I wanted to see what was going on but didnt really want to be there. To come here and to win ...it kind of brings home just how hard Matt and I have worked trying to make this happen.Ainslie said he was ddelighted for Scott and his coach, Matt Howard.dddddddddddd.It was a totally dominant performance and extremely well deserved, Ainslie said in a text to The Associated Press.Scott said he and Howard had a plan to race flat-out and not go soft in any regattas we went to in the buildup toward Rio.That approach is great but it does put a target on your back, he said.Scott also sails with Ainslies Americas Cup syndicate, Land Rover BAR. Ainslie hopes to become the first Englishman to win the Americas Cup, which was taken from Old Blighty by the schooner America in 1851.That would round it off nicely, wouldnt it? Scott said.Thats the goal, Ainslie said.Scott said the only low point was that his dad, John, broke his knee in a bicycle accident and wasnt able to come to Rio.Hes gutted, Scott said.Paine is in medals contention after a jury reopened a protest against him and reversed its original decision to disqualify him from his second-place finish in Race 6.Its huge, said Paine, who was 10th and fourth Sunday. Its one of those things that its great that it could be righted and I got the position that I earned.Hes in his first Olympics after beating 2008 silver medalist Zach Railey in the qualification process.I look forward to finishing it off and getting a medal in the end, he said. I feel great. Ive always come from behind and I never stop fighting.Also Sunday, Charline Picon of France won the gold medal in womens windsurfing, with Peina Chen of China taking silver and Stefaniya Elfutina of Russia the bronze.In mens windsurfing, Pierre le Coq of France won the bronze medal. Dorian van Rijsselberghe of the Netherlands already had clinched his second straight gold medal and Nick Dempsey of Britain had clinched his second straight silver. Van Rijsselberghe. celebrated with the Dutch royal family on a nearby yacht shortly after the finish.The U.S. womens 470 team of Annie Haeger of East Troy, Wisconsin, and Briana Provancha of San Diego finished fifth and second Sunday and are second overall, four points behind Great Britains Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark.Overall, we are happy with our day. Haeger said.At the London Games, the United States failed to win an Olympic sailing medal for the first time since 1936.---Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson ' ' '
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Contacts have both a username (to log in) and a contact e-mail address (to receive correspondence). You can amend the primary contact e-mail address by editing your account information in the lab summary section. Unfortunately, you cannot amend the primary contact username yourself. In this instance, please contact us and we will be able to assist you further. In the e-mail please provide your Lab ID Number, with a brief description of your issue. Where possible, we will require permission from the named primary account user to make any changes.
What is my Lab/Organisation Number?
You can find your lab number by logging in to your account and clicking 'Lab Summary' on the left hand side. The details of your organisation will be listed including your organisation number.
My details have changed, how do I update these?
The primary user can change the contact email address of the Primary Contact and this can be different to the Username. To do this log into your account, click on Lab Summary, Click Edit Contact under the Primary Contact and change the email address. Both the Username and the Contact Email address can be used to log into the account. The password is the same for both Username and Contact Email address. If your organisation name has changed, please Contact Us as we will have to make this amend for you.
I cannot log into my account, why is this? What do I do?
We suspend access to a users account when we have not received payment. Please note that this is always a last resort when we have exhausted all other options.
How is the membership fee charged? When do I pay this?
The membership fee is charged annually. If you open a new account after the schemes have been fully closed, your membership fee will not be charged because you cannot purchase any schemes for that year. The first membership fee to be applied to the account will be for the following year even if no schemes are purchased. The first chargeable membership fee will be included on your annual invoice. Previously existing accounts will be charged the membership fee annually unless the EMQN team is notified that your laboratory would like to close their account.
Please include your Lab ID number. We will not close accounts where there is an outstanding invoice or charges.
The scheme I want to register for is sponsored, will I be charged?
Where organisations are purchasing schemes which are sponsored, the fee for this will usually be £0.00 and you can simply purchase the schemes through the website. On occasions where sponsorship agreements are reached after the scheme has already been available for purchase, EMQN will discount the fees from each registered organisation as per the sponsorship agreement. If an organisation only registers for a scheme(s) where the full scheme fee is £0.00 and the sponsorship includes the membership fee, the organisation will not receive an invoice. That is where the total fees are £0.00. Please note organisations must NOT use the details of a 3rd party sponsor as their registered bill payer unless registered through RCPAQAP or by other agreement with EMQN.
Our bank details are displayed on the bottom of your invoice for bank transfers. Alternatively there is a phone number on the invoice for payments over the phone or you can pay online by visiting http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/pay-online. Please ensure the invoice number is referenced on all payments.
Why is my invoice from Manchester University Foundation Trust?
EMQN are hosted by the Manchester University Foundation Trust (MFT) and all invoices will be from that organisation. EMQN is referenced in the description on the invoice. All payments should be made to MFT using the payment details provided on the bottom of the invoice.
I have an issue with my invoice, what do I do?
Please search the Invoice FAQ section for further information. If you cannot find the answer to your question, please Contact Us. Please include your lab ID and your invoice reference number in your e-mail.
I require a Purchase Order Number on my Invoice, what do I do?
EMQN does not require a purchase order from your institution in order to process your invoice. However, if your institution requires that a purchase order number appears on your invoice, please add the purchase order number to the PO Number field during your scheme purchase. You can also add the purchase order number after the sale has been completed by signing in to your account, clicking on the Purchase tab and clicking Set Purchase Order Number. If you supply multiple purchase order numbers, all of them will appear on your invoice. Alternatively, you Contact Us with your purchase order number and lab ID and we can add it to your account for you.
Please note that your online statement will usually show the value of the schemes you have purchased but not the annual membership fee. Please add the membership fee to your total purchase order value. If you are unsure what this is, please contact the EMQN Team referencing your statement number or your Lab ID.
Only schemes purchased through the website result in a registration, EMQN receiving a PO number does not constitute an official order or registration.
Where is my invoice? When are these sent?
Invoices are not sent immediately upon the purchase of schemes. We invoice once a year, typically in April. You may be invoiced for some schemes in advance and some schemes in arrears depending when the schemes you have purchased actually run. The primary contact and bill payer will receive the invoice by e-mail. It is therefore important that the details on your account are up to date.
Where do I put my Tax ID? Do I need to supply one?
We do require your TAX ID if your lab is based in South America, Spain or your country requires the tax ID to be displayed on the invoice in order to make payment.. Otherwise, our team does not require your tax ID, but you may supply it to us if you would like the tax ID to be listed on your EMQN invoice. Your tax number can be added when opening an account or by contacting the EMQN team Contact Us.
Payments should be made within 30 days of receipt of an invoice from EMQN (invoices will be sent by our host institution, Central Manchester and Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust). After this date we will send a reminder to you to pay but EMQN reserves the right to withdraw services after an appropriate time limit.
What are EMQNs bank details?
Our bank details are displayed on the bottom of your invoice. However, can supply you with additional information if required. Please Contact Us.
I need a quotation, what do I do?
We can supply you with a copy invoice. Please contact us.
I keep receiving statements, why is this?
Usually, this is because you have not paid the invoice, or the amount paid is incorrect. Please contact us.
How are my samples shipped?
EMQN will dispatch samples using our nominated courier, DHL. DHL is used for the vast majority of shipments with the exception of Brazil. EMQN complies with IATA regulations for the shipment of Exempt Human Specimens and UN3373 Biological Substances Category B (Dangerous Goods). EMQN will not deviate from the requirements of IATA in relation to the type of goods which are sent.
I want to have my samples delivered to another country, how do I do this?
Organisations/Laboratories may register a delivery address in a different country which is more accessible for the types of samples to be sent. Any further postage costs are the responsibility of the Organisation/Laboratory. Testing must be carried out at the organisation named on the account.
What If I have a problem with my parcel or samples?
If you require additional samples, please use this link https://fd8.formdesk.com/EMQN/Samples. This includes requests where there is an issue with the amount of DNA supplied. We will not process requests for repeat samples from e-mail requests.
If more samples are needed through negligence in handling, the lab will be charged for additional samples.
If you have received the wrong samples, samples are damaged or missing or you have any other issue with the parcel or samples received, please contact the office Contact Us.
I have not received my samples, what do I do?
The Primary user will receive an e-mail with a shipping notification containing all details of the shipment.
Where samples have not been received within these time frames you can track or trace the samples using the Waybill number provided. If goods are held in customs, please contact the local office of the courier used and reference the waybill number. Depending on your country, you may be asked to provide additional paperwork or more detailed address information.
Please contact the EMQN office Contact Us if you do not know the Waybill number or have other concerns over the delivery of samples.
If I need special customs clearance, what do I do?
EMQN use some 3rd parties* for shipments into some countries (Australasia**, Brazil, China, Switzerland), if your organisation is in one of these countries you will not need to gain customs permission as parcels will be distributed locally. For organisations outside those countries, the organisation is responsible for checking its countries policies of receiving DNA samples. Customs permission and documents which have been obtained by the customer can be supplied to the EMQN office to be included in the shipments. Any correspondence must reference the Organisation/Laboratory ID and the scheme (or schemes) the documents relate to. EMQN will communicate with courier services on parcels which are held by customs however, EMQN will not directly communicate with customs or other officials on behalf of an Organisation/Laboratory. The release of any parcels which are held pending licences or related customs paperwork will be the responsibility of the receiving Organisation/Laboratory. If you need any information from EMQN please contact the office, Contact Us.
• China – Shipments are made through a distributor in Hong Kong. There is no requirement for any Chinese labs to seek licences to import samples from EMQN.
• Brazil – Shipments are made through a distributor in Brazil. There is no requirement for any Brazilian labs to seek licences to import samples from EMQN.
• **Australasia – If registered through RCPAQAP, labs will receive samples through RCPAQAP. If not registered through RCPAQAP, samples will be sent direct to the lab. Labs which are to receive direct shipments must provide their valid AQIS permit to EMQN, 8 weeks prior to the sample dispatch date.
• Switzerland – All samples are dispatch through CSCQ. There is no requirement for any Swiss labs to seek licences to import samples from EMQN.
• South America (including Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Panama) – Each Organisation/Laboratory MUST provide their TAX ID/RUC/RFC/CRUT/ CNPJ/CPF or CUIT number when registering an account, without this EMQN cannot ship your samples. If the number is not provided, the Organisation/Laboratory may still be charged for those samples.
• Russia: EMQN are not able to send samples directly into Russia and do not currently have distributor in Russia. We recommend that any Organisation/Laboratory should contact their own customs or Government authorities to discuss the process of receiving EMQN samples before registering an account as costs may be incurred.
EMQN can by request use Fed Ex as an alternative courier. Please contact the EMQN office if you prefer this option prior to the dispatch date.


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FRANK TERRY STAMPED TRAPS
Traps with trappers marks and/or initials usually will cause consern orwill even lessen the value of a good collector trap. When a collector trap was owned by a famous trapper, normally the attached trappers name tag is what gave credit to the trap. Frank Terry of Half Moon Bay, California, a well known and well respected West Coast trapper and lure manufacturer was the exception. Although Frank did not make traps, it was the stamp that he placed on all his traps that drew the attention of many trap collectors. He stamped each trap, usually on the bottom of the base with a T, below that three dots, and below that a number. Inquisitive as to what the three dots stood for, I called one of Frank's trapping partners, Tim Wion and ask him what these three dots meant, he said they were only used as a line to separate the T from the number. Tim also told me that if he could not use his anvil to position the trap for marking, Frank would place his stamp on the underside of a pan, like he did with the No. 33 and 34 Diamond Spiral Spring traps. The number was used to record what animal was caught in that particular trap. For example, when he bought a dozen No. 1 Newhouse traps he would stamp them 1 to 12 or numbers not previously used and always carried a note book and pencil with him on his trapline and would record each animal caught in that numbered trap.
Frank was good friends with James Mast, the famous lure maker from San Francisco, California and in 1946 he purchased the Mast lure business after Mast became gravely ill. Frank was also friends with many famous trappers of the day, Bill Curtis (Coyote Bill), Willey Carroll, Ivan White, John Ehn and others.
Frank Terry was born in 1905 and passed away at the age of 78 on May 24, 1983. Although these marked traps are not always highly sought after, those of us that followed Frank cherish the traps with these markings and it does add to the value of any collector trap that this is found on.
This article was written and submitted by historian Tom Parr.


Filming has begun on Wannabe, a new BBC Three series co-written by and starring People Just Do Nothing's Lily Brazier.
The four-part series will be available to stream on iPlayer next month and tells the take of Maxine (Brazier) who is desperately seeking her 15 minutes of fame.
Never having made it to the big time as part of girl group Variety, she's now hoping her role as manager for teenage pop group Sweet Gyal will finally make her name.
However Maxine finds herself in crisis when, fed up of her trying to live vicariously through them and her embarrassing attempts to get them a record deal, Sweet Gyal threaten to drop her.
But Maxine has come up with a plan. A come back. This time bigger, bolder and, well… older. Who cares about a hip young girl group anyway?! What the world is really missing is Mum Pop.
Damian Kavanagh, Controller, BBC Three, says: "At BBC Three, introducing, developing and providing opportunities for new talent is at the heart of what we're about.


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NCMA Conferences
Since 1964 NCMA has held an annual conference aimed at empowering professionals in the field of ministry in higher education.
Our 2019 NCMA Conference will take place on line
July 26 at 12pm-1:30pm EST
We have been working hard towards what the future of the organization could be and what it means to be us in this new landscape. Since we did not have a conference this year, we will be hosting our business meeting via Zoom.Some things we will be discussing are:
a new values statement for NCMA
a staff position
updates on our finances and investments
ways we will be adding value for our members.
The Zoom link will be sent to all members.
Not a member this year?It's not too late.
You can still join!
Discounted memberships are available now through September 1, 2019.
The 2018 Conference was held on June 8-10 on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. This conference explored the theme of "Creating Many Ripples" and focused on Best Practices in Campus Ministry. It featuring workshops from the Campus Ministry Theological Exploration of Vocation Initiative. More details can be found here.
The 2017 Conference was held on July 26-28 on the campus of Illif School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. This conference explored the theme of "Campus Ministry in Anxious Times" and focused on challenging times in the world and in campus ministry. More details can be found here.
The 2016 Conference was held on August 3-5 on the campus of Bentley University in Boston, Massachusetts. More details can be found here.
The 2015 Conference was held on July 15-17 on the campus of Albion College in Albion Michigan. This conference focused on bringing together campus ministers from several denominations, traditions, and religious groups to learn, to plan, and to support each other in their work. More details can be found here.
2014 July 16-18– Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
2013 July 10-12– Agnes-Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia
2012 June 25-29– Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut
2011 June 22-25– Westminster House, University of California-Berkley in Berkley, California
2010 June 21-25– Wesley Theological Seminary & American University in Washington, D.C.
2009 July 22-26– Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH
2008 July 17-20– University of St. Mary in Leavenworth, KS
2007 June 28-July 1– Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennesee
2006 June 28-July 2– Lewis & Clark University in Portland, Oregon
2005 July 5-9– Columbia University in New York, New York
2004 July 1-7– Global Chaplains in Brisbane, Australia
2003 June 27-July 2, San Antonio, TX (St. Mary's University)
2002 June 28-July 2, Chicago, IL (Radisson Hotel (this was with ECMT)
2001 July 7-11, Hampton, VA (Hampton University)
2000 June 22-28,Vancouver, BC, Canada (University of BC) Global
1999 June 26-30, Estes Park, CO
1998 June 28-July 2, New Haven, CT (Yale U)
1997 June 26-30, San Francisco, CA (U. of San. Francisco)
1996 June 22-28,Durham, ENGLAND (Collingwood College) Global
1995 July 20-24,Tulsa, OK (University of Tulsa)
1994 August 5-9, E. Lansing, MI (Michigan State)
1993 July 9-13, Washington, D.C. (Howard U.)
1992 VARIOUS REGIONAL CONFERENCES
1.) June 25-28 TX El Paso (UT El Paso)
2.) June 25-28 Minneapolis (U of Minnesota)
3.) June 29-31 Fayetteville, AR (Mt. Sequoyah Conference Center)
4.) July 24-27 Fairbanks, AK (University of Alaska)
1991 June 28-July 1, New Orleans, LA (Dilliard U.)
1990 Cambridge, MA (Episcopal Divinity School)
1989 Berea, OH (Baldwin-Wallace College)
1988 San Diego (UC San Diego)
1987 July 31- August 5, Philadelphia, PA (Univ. of PA)
1986 August 3-7, Durham, NC (Duke U.)
1985 June 23-27, Portland, OR (Lewis & Clark College)
1984 July 16-18, Ft. Worth, TX (TX Christian U.)
1983 August 8-12, San Antonio (Mex-Amer Cultural Center)
1982 June 28-July 2, Washington, DC (Georgetown U)
1981 August 18-22, Berkeley, CA (UC Berkeley)
1980 June 23-26, Denver, CO (CO Women's College)
1979 August 6-9, St. Paul, MN (Macalester College)
1977 August 2-6, Berea, KY (Berea College)
1975 August 10-13, Boulder, CO (U. Of Colorado)
1973 Chicago, IL, Rougemont, NC, and Denver, CO
1972 Chicago, IL
1967 June 19-23, E. Lansing (Michigan State)
1966 June 23-25, Athens, GA (U. of Georgia)
1965 June 23-26, 1965 E. Lansing (Michigan State)
1964 October 27-28, 1964 St. Louis, MO *Founding Gathering*


Variations in his workloads relate to seasonal demands – some unsociable hours may be necessary during busy periods (eg. during harvesting or when lambing begins in mid January) and he deals with emergencies.
In order to sustain the Foundation financially, the Graceful Hands Foundation decided to go into mixed (arable and pastoral) farming to generate funds to support all the beneficiaries. Also, help the marginalized locals to objectively focus on the needs of the family and the demands of the market and promote high value market – oriented crops and animals; Providing improved varieties of planting materials and breeds of animals that are quick maturing and high yielding under average systems of management. Train the marginalized farmers to acquire more efficient management skills in agricultural production, harvesting, storage, processing and marketing. In the end improving the economic condition of the marginalized people as well as other sectors of their society as a whole.


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"Don't get into area forbidden by Constitution": Centre to Supreme court
New Delhi, Aug 21, 2018 : The Supreme Court's idea for stopping criminals from contesting polls today provoked the government into warning of "serious consequences" if the court overstepped its jurisdiction and touched "area forbidden by the constitution".
"Can we give power to the Election Commission to deny symbol to political parties who field criminals as candidates" - this question from Supreme Court rattled the centre, which replied that "it was for elected representatives to decide, not the court".
The centre's lawyer said "it will have serious consequences and it is unconstitutional".
Chief Justice Dipak Mishra said to the centre that it was a question of adding a point to the symbol order of the Election Commission, saying if criminals contested in polls, they would not be given the party symbol.
"Who is to decide this - elected representatives or five judges sitting in this Court," Attorney General KK Venugopal responded, adding, "the court is touching area forbidden by the constitution."
The centre's top lawyer said a step like that meant imposing sanctions against members of the party and would open up a new arena to fight each other by filing more cases against opponents.
"The court must realise the reality in the country. The cap on election expenses is one of the biggest jokes in the country. Candidates spend around 30 crores in a constituency," Mr Venugopal argued.
Justice Indu Malhotra differed with the view of the Chief Justice and other fellow judges and said, "So many cases of political vendetta will be filed...it must be only after conviction."
Justice Rohinton F Nariman disagreed with the centre, asserting that the Supreme Court is not stepping into parliament's territory. "Until parliament decides, we can direct the Election Commission to add one condition to the symbol order saying if a person has criminal charges, he will not get a symbol. We are not stepping into the Parliament arena," said the judge.
The centre replied that a parliamentary standing committee had debated and rejected the plan.
Justice DY Chandrachud pointed out that the election panel, while granting recognition to parties, defines a minimum number of votes a party must get. "But on its own, the Election Commission can add a condition of denying symbol to criminals contesting on behalf of political parties," said Justice Chandrachud.
In course of an argument, the Attorney General said: "Mere allegation cannot prevent a member from contesting and he can't be deprived of the party symbol."
The case will resume on 28th August.
A five-judge constitution bench of the country's senior most judges is hearing a batch of petitions asking for a ban on criminals from entering politics.
India will hold a series of state elections this year and the national polls early next year.
courtesy:NDTV


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Blog Squirrel
The Blog of Black Squirrel
"How dare he have teeth" say the hardcore Donkey Kong squad. "DK should not have teeth - he should suck his way through life like in 1994. These new bones have ruined the franchise!"
And the Squirrel says, heed not what these simpletons speak of. And that's not just because you can see Donkey Kong's toothy grin in his 1980 arcade debut, but because teethy Donkey Kong Country Returns, despite not being born in Leicestershire and despite it's unhealthy obsession with Wii Remote waggle, is a great game. It's a welcome change from bongos and shoulder buttons, and one of the few Wii games worth bothering about in the near future.
It's been a while since I've sat down and played a Wii game. The last disc in the machine was Metroid Prime Trilogy, but seeing as 66% of that is of GameCube origin (and I was still spending my days wandering around Prime 1), that doesn't really count. Super Mario Galaxy 2 stands as the last truly exclusive disc-based Wii game I had played, but you might notice a trend - I'm jumping between first party Nintendo games, with only the WiiWare release of Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth standing in my way.
But let me not bore you with the long stories of how the Wii is only a repository for Nintendo titles... or hint that it desperately needs an upgrade to bring it up to spec. They might only come out once every six months but there's still good games for this system and Donkey Kong Country Returns is one of them.
The latest attempt at re-imaging the Kong has fallen into the hands of Retro Studios, fresh from saving the Metroid franchise. Gone is the gimmcky Japanese garbage from Nintendo EAD, Namco or Paon, and in its place, a full Donkey Kong platformer, where the primate is allowed to roam free in the Donkey Kong Countryside like the Rare days of old. The result is a return to form for Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong Country Returns. Retro Studios ignored most of the last ten years and have built upon what Rare left us in 1999... sort of.
Well okay... it's not one for the purists. Key gameplay changes have taken place and in many ways it undeserving of its "Country" title as a result. Whereas it's quick to acknowledge Rare's work, Retro have decided against simply souping up what we saw on the SNES, instead making a brand new platformer with Donkey Kong thrown in. For some parts, it works well... for others, less so.
But it's fair to say it isn't a "Donkey Kong Country 4". In fact, it may be wise to adopt the Japanese title which simply calls the game "Donkey Kong Returns", because although he's "returning" to his traditional platforming roots, he's not returning to Rare's mid-90s way of life.
Player one controls the titanious Donkey Kong, who can run about and jump, as expected. But straight away fans will notice a missing ingredient - the Nintendo-style run button. It's an interesting omission, as even though I grew up without Nintendo (and have played more platformers without a run button than ones with one), its absense is noticeable here. Things don't feel right, as if life has suddenly became very unsafe for the ape. But that's just the beginning.
For four years now we've been telling Nintendo and chums not to use the Wii's motion control abilities as substitute for a good old-fashioned digital button press, but Donkey Kong Country Returns did not listen to our advice. Big chunks of the game are played by waggling the Wii Remote and Nunchuck up and down, to simulate that oh-so-unnecessary ground hitting move that Miyamoto loves so much.
Fair enough though, we're trying to be different, and to not include the move would be some form of Nintendo-related treason. It's used to unlock various new routes and uncover secrets, and at least the waggle control isn't taking on the role of jumping. Yet I can't help but think the best plan would be to not use it at all.
Perhaps its inclusion is to justify the Wii's existence as a console. Without any forms of motion control I guess there's not much the Wii has to offer over its rivals. The graphics, though brilliant for a Wii game, pale in comparison to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as expected. The music is a little drab too, and lets face it, nobody's going to buy Wiis for Donkey Kong Country Returns. It merely brings in the SNES fans and gamers - this isn't one for your gran, so it doesn't need this extra tat.
Then you realise that large parts of the level rely on this move. It becomes the second most useful tool in your arsenal after jumping, a rank that was once given to ye olde run button. Donkey Kong can still roll like in the SNES days... but again this is mapped to a Wii Remote action meaning you won't be using it unless it's necessary (or are speedrunning the game).
Donkey Kong blows. Literally. By ducking and waggling Donkey Kong can put out fires or clear the ground with his breath. It's a move that seems tagged on for good luck and serves as more of a hindrance than a innovative gameplay feature. There's a few weird addtions like this which I struggle to get behind. It really doesn't seem to be a game that requires motion control, yet it's forced upon us throughout and it's tedious to get used to, slowing down gameplay and occasionally failing to respond altogether.
Diddy Kong tags along but only serves as extra hit points. Playing as him is almost impossible unless you've got a friend. He has some uses of course, such as the... jetpack move allowing DK to cross wider gap- no wait, jetpacks? Why? Yes its origins can be tracked to Donkey Kong 64 and yes for one reason or another Diddy's been paired with it since, but it was very un-Donkey Kong like. Why not give DK his coconut gun to fire in spurs while you're at it?
Furthermore the results are nearly identical to what you may have seen fifteen years ago with the running jump. You don't need Diddy Kong to complete the game so there's never any reliance on the feature. It's just a very strange addition and raises questions about why this was chosen over the many partner moves the Kongs could perform back in the day.
The collision works against you in Donkey Kong Country Returns. The jumping mechanism doesn't give you a lot of leeway when it comes to safe landing spots, and the camera paired with the "2.5D" levels constantly makes you question your skills as a gamer. Can you reach that ledge? Can you hit that enemy? Questions that usually have "no" as the answer. It is very easy to be hit, as even the slightest touch from an enemy can cause damage.
Yet because of Diddy Kong's intrusive jetpack move, it's also difficult to get that extra height after rebounding off an enemy. These are basic platforming features, yet you struggle to pull them off, and though you have more hit points than in the SNES classics, it's still not enough to casually waltz your way through a level. All of this should be a lot more fairer to DK these days too, because he has to contend with the motion controls which can be unresponsive and can slow down your progress considerably.
I also think Retro have been incredibly unimaginative with some parts of this game. Mid-way through playing the game I got to a stage where I could guess which level themes would come next, and hum the music before it came out of my speakers. So much has been lifted off the SNES Donkey Kong Country it's almost embarrassing. Yes it makes improvements, but in the music department these improvements really struggle to shine through a lot of the time and these jungle, ruins, cave and factory scenarios have been done countless times before. Though perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if the game hadn't recycled so much music.
As I've hinted at altready, there's a lot taken from Donkey Kong Country, but strangely not much advice taken from Diddy's Kong Quest or Dixie Kong's Double Trouble. A few DKC2 tracks make it into DKCR, but not many and nothing comes from DKC3 (despite the fact this game had forest and cliff levels too). There are no underwater stages, no animals to ride apart from Rambi (Squarks makes an appearance as a non-ridable helper but it's nothing special) and nobody to talk to other than Cranky Kong, who simply runs a shop selling items you won't need (bar the keys to open new pathways... whose role could have been reprised by secondary exits).
And it's certainly a shame to go back to the boring linear routes of the first two games rather than have the big map of DKC3. I always felt more could be done with the hovercrafts. It also could have dug into the Game Boy's Donkey Kong Land, which put Donkey and Diddy in the city at one stage too.
There are still many collectibles and so plenty of replay value, but also lots of wasted opportunities. Banana coins for example - there are tons but you only need twenty per world to open the secret route. The bonus levels only seem to come in two or three varieties (and are sometimes identical) and the puzzle pieces which need to be collected are sometimes stupidly easy to find. Almost as if they were an afterthought.
But perhaps this is dedicated in Rare's honour. They were fans of jigsaw pieces, and one of the only "original" worlds, "Cliff" does look an awful lot like a certain Banjo-Tooie level.
But the big concern of Donkey Kong Country Returns for many is the state of the music. Though it does throw in some new tracks, most of the game recycles its content from the first Donkey Kong Country game. Problem is... it doesn't sound like it's been improved in any way. You might even struggle to tell the difference between these tracks and their SNES counterparts. I don't understand why there isn't a new musical score when everything else has been built from the ground up, but who knows, maybe they'd run out of money by this point.
Still, the game has the advantage over the original Donkey Kong Country, which despite being pretty does have a habit of boring the hell out of me in the middle section, when the scenery has lost its shine and the ambiance starts sending you to sleep. DKCR never gets boring and that's something to be thankful for, though it can be a frustrating experience with the Wii Remote and there are many questionable design choices.
DKCR also lacks crocodiles. Retro went out of their way to ensure it was croc-free and although I'm prepared to say it doesn't hurt to do so, I think the idea of giant wasps is a bit more plausible than floating frogs. Every enemy has been re-invented here which seems a bit excessive, and builds on that theory that Donkey Kong's been thrown into a completely different platform game.
I don't mind it so much - I think Retro's creations look quite nice, but I'm under the impression that Nintendo EAD invented a set with Jungle Beat, and we'll probably never see them again. Same will probably apply here unless Retro are commissioned to make a sequel. Though I can understand the idea that King K. Rool isn't the big bad guy, the series used to have reoccurring enemies with no relation to the reptile and they've all been ousted for unknown reasons. I don't know if that's good or bad but there could have been a mix, surely.
There's some very nicely executed ideas which simply would have been impossible to do on the SNES. Donkey Kong Country returns pulls out all the stops in an attempt to look great, and for the most part, it succeeds. It's just a shame that no matter how hard it tries, it will always look a bit out of date thanks to the hardware. And of course it also has to do battle with its past - it's not as big of a step up compared to the relationship between Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, because DKC was ahead of its time when it was released, and Super Mario World is very poor in the graphics department.
The game has habit of getting visually busy. There are a lot of fancy backgrounds and special effects but it does sometimes go overboard, leaving you confused as to what's happening. It's not something that usually happens with a game in a Nintendo series.
It doesn't quite have that usual Nintendo level of polish either, but generally the franchise is much safer in Retro Studio's hands than in those of Nintendo EAD's, who are still desperate to keep the series completely canon with Mario. This is the first time in years where we've seen a worthy successor to the likes of Donkey Kong 64, and even though it has its issues, at least the focus is where it belongs.
Other problems? Well Nintendo's patented "we'll play the game for you" system is here in the form of "Super Kong". Because the physics and collision are sometimes not quite up to spec, death is quite common on the later stages, so I could do without the notices. But at least it's keeping true to the SNES series, because lord knows they were pretty unforgiving at times too.
But to claim that this was a bad game would be wrong. The SNES games were hardly flawless and though this may not top the likes of Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3, I'll happily claim it's a better product than DKC1. Rare would have done it better but this is the closest second-party developer to Rare Nintendo have these days.
Though it's nice to see the Donkey Kong series back on track again, I'd still be lying if I said I didn't want to see something "new" out of Nintendo. This franchise is sixteen years old (older if you include the arcade classics), Kirby who just saw a release in Kirby's Epic Yarn is eighteen, and Zelda that gets another entry next year is twenty four. These are all old games and though it's amazing that they're still relevant, it would be nice to see something a bit more fresh.
Posted by Black Squirrel at 20:00
Labels: Not So Obscure, Wii
BSonirachi 28 December 2010 at 23:06
I still cannot see why Super Guide is bad. It's not like the player is literally forced to use it and there are far more annoying things than its alerts for you to use it.
garsh 29 December 2010 at 04:52
Just yesterday I finished playing the last of the bonus levels after completing the main game Sunday. I heartily agree that the waggling is a serious flaw, and not just in the spirit of anti-waggle activism. It really does not only interfere with graceful play control, but it feels unjustly used for things like blowing. However, waggling to ground pound feels like a good use.
Other than that, you seem to see a lot more flaws in it than I do. You picked up on the unforgiving hit detection which I also noticed, but pretty much all of your other criticisms seemed excessive to me. It's about as close to ideal for a Donkey Kong Country reinterpretation as I could hope for, and there's no doubt in my mind that Rare couldn't have lived up to it.
Anyway, I'm glad you also seemed to enjoy the game, despite your many gripes. Do you have any plans to play Kirby's Epic Yarn?
Black Squirrel 29 December 2010 at 12:52
Not too fussed about Epic Yarn to be honest. I do enjoy the Kirby series, but sometimes I find it difficult to justify even to myself why I'd pick up a frilly pink game when I have three or four years of Xbox 360 games to catch up on (and more normal Xbox ones).
I've also heard it's incredibly easy. It looks great but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see that cancelled GameCube platformer instead.
It seems like pink-and-frilly might provide a refreshing alternative if your back catalog is largely Xbox based, but to each his own.
If you equate difficulty with dying, yes, it's very easy. On the other hand, I felt like it put up just enough fight for me. You do need beads to advance in the game, which are easy to come by, but also easily spilled gratuitously. More than that, just making your way through levels can sometimes feel like a moderately cerebral ordeal, which simultaneously tests your button pressing skills. Death is impossible, but it strikes me as a bit silly when I see someone genuinely complain that it's easy. Besides, must every game really be strictly about difficulty? It's just immensely fun to play. That seems like it should count for something.
Not that I'm trying to persuade, you. By all means, follow your gut, but it's a truly great game that deserves some words in its defense.
Likewise, I find it curious to hear about how difficult Donkey Kong Country Returns is supposed to be. I died A LOT; easily several hundred times. However, I never even remotely felt the least bit threatened by the finality of a game over screen. Any game that allows you to grind for convenient items to keep you going is -- by my definition -- pretty easy.
MFGG question- if your account is deactivated because you don't use it for a while, can you make a new account?
Yes. Though we don't tend to deactivate accounts (though perhaps you're getting confused with the recent forum split?)
And this isn't really the place for MFGG questions.
Tired of your mainstream video game life? Need a regular fix of obscure relics from years long past? What about another outspoken internet opinion - can't get enough of those!
Well fear not, for Blog Squirrel, a place where keeping decade-old usernames is hip and cool, is here to help you.
These are my views on games you've likely never heard of as well the industry at large, because it's fun to pretend people care. It's also what your religious or political leader of choice might have wanted. Possibly.
It's different, but it's not a hen.
The SHPDMBGWL4 Christmas Special, 2010
Sexy Parodius
Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius
Gokujō Parodius (Fantastic Journey)
Parodius Da!
32X (6) 3DO (1) Amiga (17) Android (1) Arcade (33) Atari 2600 (3) Atari 8-bit (3) Atari ST (1) Commodore 64 (13) DOS (44) Dragon 32/64 (1) Fangames (15) Game Boy (2) Game Boy Advance (2) Game Boy Color (2) Game Gear (7) Game.com (5) Intellivision (1) Macintosh (2) Master System (12) Mega Drive (45) MSX (2) NES (20) PC (1) PC-6001 (1) Pirates and Unlicensed Games (20) PlayStation 2 (1) Prototypes (9) SG-1000 (4) SNES (10) SOOG (7) SuperGrafx (1) Wii (6) X68000 (1) Xbox 360 (45) ZX Spectrum (1)
Chrip Squirrel
Sega Retro
SpriteHoe


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text:
'American Idol' Executive Producer's Secret Flop: 'The Apple'
Cult-classic film is considered one of the worst musicals of all time.
archive-Jim-Cantiello 01/16/2008
We all have a ghost from our past we wish we could avoid, a skeleton in our closet or a trauma we don't wish to relive. "American Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is no exception.
"I'm not going to talk about 'The Apple,' " he said, perched behind his desk.
The apparent sore subject is Lythgoe's sole cinematic choreography credit (mysteriously absent from his Internet Movie Database filmography). It also happens to be considered one of the worst films of its era.
The year was 1980. MTV didn't exist, John Lennon was still alive and at the movies, it was the year of the disco-rock musical. Granted, by then disco was on its last bell-bottomed leg, but that didn't stop Hollywood from unleashing three films with a boogie beat. "Can't Stop the Music" featured Steve Guttenberg in short shorts and the Village People, and "Xanadu" shoved cinema legend Gene Kelly into a pair of roller skates, but many critics agree that "The Apple" takes the cake when it comes to pure schlocky incoherence.
The sci-fi allegory — which essentially boils down to a music competition not unlike "American Idol" (except that it involves God and the devil) — confounded audiences when it hit theaters in November 1980. The remaining disco fans resented its inherently anti-disco message (it was, after all, the devil's music), but rock fans weren't willing to sit through a movie that claimed to be knocking disco when its soundtrack was wall-to-wall disco music! Adding insult to injury, the film took place in the future — 1994 — and the idea that disco music would still be popular 14 years later seemed especially outrageous, considering the genre was barely thriving by the end of '80.
Legend has it that during its opening night, souvenir records of the soundtrack were given out to patrons as they entered the movie theater. Once the film started, viewers were so appalled by what they saw that they threw their records at the movie screen, causing extensive damage. Eventually theater owners grew savvy, not handing out the soundtracks until after the screenings, but once the end credits rolled there were no takers. (And allegedly, the ones that did take a free post-movie souvenir did so only to throw it into oncoming traffic!)
But returning to 2008, Lythgoe's tone suddenly flipped. Without warning, the man who had just sniffed that he would not talk about his past credit cracked a smile and grew wistful in the blink of an eye.
"I love 'The Apple,' " he cooed. "Listen, to be asked to choreograph a movie back in those days? It was 1979! I was delighted to do it."
Years after "The Apple" destroyed movie screens nationwide, the flop finally landed on home-video shelves. Unfortunately, the film's videotape transfer was less than stellar. Instead of a proper "pan and scan" format, the sides of the film image were simply chopped off haphazardly, resulting in several scenes where viewers would hear actors talking but couldn't actually see them. Yet despite this gaffe — or perhaps because of it — film fanatics re-discovered the box-office disaster, and the cult of "The Apple" was born.
Fans organized midnight screenings. Sci-fi conventions followed suit and held their own showings. Eventually the movie became a staple at film festivals and art-house theaters, "Rocky Horror"-style — complete with costume contests and sing-alongs, leading MGM Home Video to finally release "The Apple" on DVD in 2004. Soon the same people who had destroyed their free souvenir records decades earlier were paying upwards of $50 for a fresh copy on eBay.
Even Lythgoe recently joined in on the fun. "I took everybody here [at 'American Idol'] to see 'The Apple' in a theater down the street, and it was classed as one of the two worst musicals of all time. 'The Apple' and 'Xanadu' played as a double feature."
The choreographer was now beaming. "And I've got to be honest with you," he proudly proclaimed, " 'The Apple' was twice as bad as 'Xanadu.' "
Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.


The tool selection area of ZM contains all the tools you will use to edit models. It is comprised of the following tool types: create, display, modify, select, and surface. Each of the tool types and their respective tools are explained in greater detail below.
IMPORTANT: I will not be covering ALL the tools right away. I will cover the important ones first, and fill in the non-important ones later when I have time.
As the title suggests, the 'Create' tools are used to create things.
Copy: Creates a copy of an object. To use this tool, select it and right click on any object in a viewing window. A copy of the object will be placed in the exact location of the parent object. Notice in the model tree that there is a new layer with the same name as the object copied.
Polygon: This is used to create polygons on existing objects!!!! There are three types of polygon creation: fan, single, and strip. The polygons created are ONLY ONE SIDED. This means you will only be able to see them from one side. You can use this tool to fill in unwanted openings, or create surfaces where there are none.
1. Click on 'Create', 'Polygon', and 'Single'.
2. Left-click on the Vertex Selection tool (refer to Editing Levels Toolbar to see which one), then left-click on the object you wish to add a polygon to.
3. Left-click to start the first polygon point and click several more times to create more polygons in a fan shape.
polygon just like any other polygons.
1. Begins the same as the first two types of polygons.
2. Left-click to place polygon points. This type of polygon creation is best used for creating flat rectangular sections (although, there is an easier way).
The two inputs required by the user are columns and rows. The number of columns is the number of vertical sections that will be created. Rows specify the horizontal number of sections. An example of these differences can be seen below. The one on the left is comprised of 4 columns and 2 rows. Likewise, one on the left has 2 columns and 4 rows.
To begin creating a grid, set up your options and left-click in a window. Move the mouse and click again. And voila, a grid is created!
The display section contains tools and options for changing display variables.
The only tools that are important in the Display section are 'Disable' and 'Enable'. These tools allow you to disable and enable the ability to select and modify points/edges/polygons on objects.
Let's say for example there are two objects that are overlapping and I need to edit just one of them (but can't differentiate between the two...can't select which one I want to edit). If I disable the one that is blocking the object I wish to edit, I will not be able to select or modify that object, but it will still be visible. It is pretty useful when you need to adjust one object relative to another, but don't want that object to get in the way of things.
The modify tools do exactly that; they modify objects or parts of objects.
Align: There are three types of alignment tools: Axis, line, and plane.
2. Click on the align axis tool.
into a line that is perpendicular to the axis you select.
4. Be sure 'Auto' is on (found in the lower right-hand corner of ZM).
window, X axis was left/right.
6. Now that you have the points selected, make sure the 'Selected mode' is on (in the lower right corner).
8. Since I want a flat side of the tube, I have to apply steps 5-7 on the outer diameter (points 4, 5, and 6 in the next picture).
Line and Plane alignment tools are not really used and are basically self-explanatory.
Notice how the object is now flat. This is an easy way to flatten objects very quickly.
Attach: Attach is used to join multiple objects onto the same level on the model tree. I'll use an example to demonstrate.
The main thing to note here is the fact that there is only ONE layer in the model tree. That layer is 'Box' because we selected that as the base layer. Also note, now all the objects are combined into a single object, as evidenced by the blue highlighted object on the left screen.
Use this tool when you need to attach parts to a car mod. Let's say you have a new muffler that you made and want to attach it to a car mod. You would choose the chassis as the base layer and attach your muffler to it.
Break: Break breaks verticies on objects. Rarely used.
Connect: Connect is the opposite of break, it connects verticies on objects. Rarely used.
Delete: As the name states, it allows the user to delete objects or parts of objects, depending on which editing level you are in. You can delete verticies, edges, polygons, or whole objects. Also, you can use the delete key for a shortcut. When deleting multiple objects (or verticies, edges, etc.) be sure the 'Selected Mode' is ON.
Flip: By using flip, you can fix wrong mesh or texture problems easily. Basically, 'Flip' flips the side of a surface that gets textured. Let's say, for example, that I have a license plate that is textured on the back side, instead of the front side. Simply click the 'Flip' tool and click the license plate and the texture will be on the correct side.
The 'Mirror' tool will become very useful when getting into the UV Mapping of parts.
Move: Move is probably the most commonly used tool on ZModeler. To use it, select the 'Move' tool on the list. As with many of the other tools, it can be used on objects, polygons, lines, and points. Be sure to check the 'Editing levels toolbar' to see which level you want to edit. Also check 'Auto' and 'Selected Mode' features to make sure they will provide the right function. Keep in mind you can move objects in certain directions (X, Y, or Z), refer to the Coordinate System section if you forgot this.
Rotate: Another commonly used tool is the 'Rotate' tool. This is used just like the 'Move' tool. You can rotate objects, polygons, edges, and points. I use the 'Rotate' tool most commonly when UV Mapping (explained later in this section).
Scale: By using the 'Scale' tool, you can make objects bigger or smaller. This tool is pretty easy to use; Just select the tool and hold left mouse button and drag the mouse over the object. Keep in mind you can scale in any direction you want. This tool is an absolute MUST for UV Mapping.
Selection tools give the user options for selecting objects, polygons, edges, or points on objects. A lot of these tools are extremely useful and should never be forgotten. They may not be used very often, but some of them will get you out of a pinch.
There are only a few tools from the list that I use on a regular basis. They are: invert, polyline, and [By Material].
Invert: It selects the opposite of what is currently selected. Let's say you have an object that has 500 polygons and you want to select all but 5 of those polygons. It is faster to first select those 5 polygons then use this 'Invert' selection tool to flip the selection so the other 495 polygons are selected.
[By Material]: This tool lets you select polygons by the material in which they are textured. The main thing to remember is that you MUST be in the polygon editing level in order to use this tool. To begin using the tool, enter polygon editing level and click on whatever object you wish to edit. Next, click the '[By Material]' selection tool. A menu will show up with a list of all the materials that are used on the mod. Select the material you wish to select on the object, and select 'OK'.
This tool is extremely useful in retexturing a mod.
The surface tools all pertain to texturing of objects in ZM.


UPDATE: On July 5, 2018, Hanover County Sheriff's Office investigators arrested and charged Roger Dale Lloyd, 56, of Richmond, with Grand Larceny in connection to the copper thefts that occurred on Old Washington Highway between the dates of June 16, 2018, and July 2, 2018.
The Sheriff's Office would like to extend our sincere appreciation to our community partners and the media for sharing this information which ultimately led to his apprehension.
Hanover, Va. – The Hanover County Sheriff's Office is requesting the public's assistance in identifying the individual pictured below.
Between the dates of June 16, 2018, and July 2, 2018, a theft of copper occurred in the 10400 block of Old Washington Highway. Since June 16, 2018, over 500 pounds of copper has been stolen from that location. The individual pictured below is believed to be involved in these thefts.