text:
Femtosecond IR Laser Micromachining System Installation Brings IR Laser Micromachining Capabilities to Georgia Tech's Cleanroom Tool-Set
Posted December 4, 2018 • Atlanta, GA
The Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (IEN) of at Georgia Tech, a preeminent academic center for nanoscience and engineering research in the U.S., has entered into a collaboration with Optec Laser Systems for the advancement of laser-based material processing methods and applications at their Atlanta campus. Optec, a Belgium company with more than 25 years of experience in laser R&D, and facilities in San Diego, California, is a leading manufacturer of high precision laser micro-machining systems for high volume production and athermal processing. Optec engineers are experts specializing in deep UV and ultra-short (USP) laser modalities.
In November of 2018, IEN's Laser Micro Machining Center (LMMC) took delivery of Optec's WS-FLEX-USP femtosecond, direct-write laser system configured to support the Institute's diverse research interests as applied to texturing and surface modification of metals, ceramics, composites, polymers and glasses in the fields of biocompatible materials, microfluidics, flexible electronics, MEMS/NEMS microsystems, photovoltaics and energy storage. The Optec system resides in one of the Pettit shared laboratories open to Georgia Tech academic users, small and large companies, and external academic and government research institutions. IEN's shared laboratories are part of the NSF-funded National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), a network of 16 academic nanofabrication and -characterization sites and their partners in the U.S., formed to advance research in nanoscale science, engineering and technology.
IEN is the coordinating body for NSF's National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), a consortium of 16 sites in 15 states involving 27 universities who's 5-year mission is to advance research in nanoscale science, engineering and technology. The Optec system will reside in one of the shared laboratories open to Georgia Tech academic users, small and large companies, and external academic and government research institutions.
The WS-FLEX IR femtosecond laser with sub-500 fs pulse length IR femtosecond laser will be equipped with 300 x 300 mm XY stages, a 2-D scan head, including synchronized infinite-field-of-view motion control, plus a fixed-beam cutting head with coaxial gas shielding for maximum versatility and a high definition, zoom inspection microscope under the control of the onboard ProcessPower and OptecCAD laser micro-machining software.
The addition of femtosecond capability compliments IEN's selection of laser processing equipment , covering deep UV through far IR wavelengths, including an Optec excimer-based MicroMaster mask-projection system, and now ultrashort pulse output through continuous wave (CW) output.
Tech Watching for Possible Federal Government Partial Shutdown
As students, faculty, and staff leave campus for the holidays and semester break, Georgia Tech officials will be keeping a watchful eye on Washington, D.C.
Growing Pile of Human and Animal Waste Harbors Threats, Opportunities
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are highlighting another effect from animals raised for food and the humans who eat them: the waste they all leave behind.
Research Raises Awareness of Indoor Air Quality Risk from 3D Printers
Consumer-oriented 3D printers could show up on many holiday wish lists this year, and purchasers should be aware of research conducted at Georgia Institute of Technology that highlights how the popular low-cost devices could pose a health risk.
Chaouki Abdallah Comes Home to Lead Georgia Tech's Research Enterprise
Chaouki Abdallah brings a unique perspective as Georgia Tech's new executive vice president for research.
Technique May Improve Lung Delivery of Bacteria-Killing Phage
A new technique could provide an alternative to antibiotics for lung infections.
Decades of Data on World's Oceans Reveal a Troubling Oxygen Decline
A new analysis of decades of data on oceans across the globe has revealed that the amount of dissolved oxygen contained in the water – an important measure of ocean health – has been declining for more than 20 years.


text:
Sara Poidevin (Canmore, 7 mei 1996) is een Canadees wielrenster die anno 2022 rijdt voor EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, na zes jaar bij Rally Cycling Women gereden te hebben.

Poidevin werd in 2017 tweede in het eindklassement van de Cascade Cycling Classic; in deze ronde wist ze de vijfde etappe te winnen.

Overwinningen

2016
Jongerenklassement Cascade Cycling Classic
2017
5e etappe Cascade Cycling Classic
Berg- en jongereklassement Cascade Cycling Classic
2018
Jongerenklassement Ronde van de Gila
Jongerenklassement Ronde van Californië
Jongerenklassement Tour de l'Ardèche
2021
 Canadees kampioenschap op de weg
2022
1e etappe (TTT) Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées

Ploegen
 2016 –  Rally Cycling Women
 2017 –  Rally Cycling Women
 2018 –  Rally Cycling Women
 2019 –  Rally UHC Women
 2020 –  Rally Cycling Women
 2021 –  Rally Cycling Women
 2022 –  EF Education-TIBCO-SVB
 2023 –  EF Education-TIBCO-SVB

Canadees wielrenner

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
layout: feature
title: 'Aspect'
shortdef: 'aspect'
udver: '2'
---

  Values:
  Perf
  Frus

`Aspect` in Ka'apor has the following values...

### `Perf`: perfective

Perfective in Ka'apor is marked by particle "ʔɪ	"

#### Examples

* _remusak ʔɪ	 _ "(you) got sb. to see" (SG.2 Causative)
* _neke ihẽ remupuʔam ʔɪ	 _ "You made me get up" (SG.2 Causative)

### `Frus`: perfective

Frustrative in Ka'apor is marked by particle "tipe"

#### Examples

* _O-ho tipe _ "He went in vain" (3-go Frus)

## Diffs

### Prague Dependency Treebank

The PDT tagset does not distinguish `Ptan` from `Plur` and `Coll` from `Sing`,
therefore this distinction is not being made in the converted data.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
« "Secret" Orthodox Sect Allegedly A Cult Exploiting Female Recruits | Main | Rockland County Executive Encourages Anti-Semitism, Haredi Rabbi Says »
Sefardi Haredi Kabbalist Must Return To Israel By Tuesday For Criminal Court Date, Despite Claims Of Illness, Court Rules
Tel Aviv District Court Deputy President Oded Modrik ordered Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto to return from New York and present himself for his arraignment Tuesday despite Pinto's claims of being too ill to travel due to a fight against cancer.
Above: Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto
Tel Aviv District Court Deputy President Oded Modrik ordered Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto to return from New York and present himself for his arraignment Tuesday despite Pinto's claims of being too ill to travel due to a fight against cancer, the Jerusalem Post reported today.
State medical experts told the court that even if Pinto is telling the truth about the nature of his illness – which many observers strongly doubt – he can still safely fly.
Modrik issued his ruling April 8, but it was not published until today because of the court's Passover break.
Pinto made a much-criticized plea deal with state prosecutors in 2014 in which he agreed to plead guilty to attempted bribery and related crimes in exchange for a promise that the state would not ask for a sentence of more than one year in prison.
For that deal. Pinto gave the state supposedly incriminating evidence against a top police commander, Menashe Arbiv. But Arbiv rebutted almost all of that evidence in a detailed letter to Israel's attorney general last year – a rebuttal the AG has never publicly commented on. Arbiv provided the AG with his public schedule, travel records, affidavits from third parties, and much other information – including a lie detector test administered to Arbiv's son – that all appear to show the politically connected Pinto was lying about him.
In February 2015, Israel's High Court of Justice decided to allow the plea deal to stand, but sharply criticized it nonetheless.
Pinto was formally indicted in September 2014 and was then allowed to travel to the US, where he lives half the year, after posting bond.
But Pinto – a Sefardi 'kabbalist' who is one of the top ten richest rabbis in Israel with a known net worth in the tens of millions of dollars – has refused to return for his scheduled court dates, claiming his fight against cancer prevents him from traveling, a claim the government's medical experts say is false. Pinto's Israeli attorneys submitted supposed medical documentation of Pinto's illness to the court weeks ago – documentation the court noted was not official and which proved nothing. It ordered Pinto to supply official documentation and then last week ruled that even if Pinto's claims of fighting cancer were true (which is still not entirely clear), there is no medical reason preventing him from flying back to Israel for his arraignment.
Pinto's top aides and associates have allegedly been involved in a slew of illegal activities, from looting millions from an Israeli charity meant to be used to feed poor elderly Holocaust survivors to running illegal hotels in Manhattan to distributing pirated pornography. Pinto himself allegedly financially benefitted from some of these scams – including from the theft of millions of dollars in food donations meant for Holocaust survivors.
All Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto Posts.
Posted at 01:40 PM in Crime, Litigation, etc., Haredim, Israel, Sefardim | Permalink

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Posted on February 1, 2016 in 2016, Belgium, Fulbright
Visits to Belgian museums and universities: Royal Museum of Central Africa, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Université de Liège & Vrij Universiteit Brussel
by Fulbright
Colobus angolensis, a black and white colobus monkey from the Congo known for its folivorous, or leaf-eating proclivities. The sides of their teeth are stained black from a critical resource in their diet of leaves, stems and herbs with some fruit, and on occasion, soil. The collection has also yielded some surprises such as an individual with M4, or a fourth molar in place of the normal three commonly found in monkeys, apes and humans. I have also begun investigating the extensive collection of Neolithic remains at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, including those from Hastière Caverne M, Hastière Trou Garçon and Sclaigneaux. These are among a number of caves in the Meuse river valley of southern Belgium that have yielded group burials and are dated to the late Neolithic, about 4,350 to 4,155 years ago—just prior to the advent of the Bronze age in Belgium. The preservation is exceptional and working with the curators has been a highlight of my visit, including verifying the discovery of a Carabelli's cusp on a child (deciduous) molar. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640"] Dr. Williams studying Neolithic remains at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences[/caption] I also had the opportunity to visit the Evolution & Diversity Dynamics Lab of the University of Liège to examine the beautifully preserved remains of Engis 2, a young Neandertal child. The fossil will be the focus of a study of dental microwear to infer the dietary proclivities of young Neandertals based on patterns found in nonhuman primates, human foragers, agriculturalists and the Neolithic remains from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640"] Dr. Williams examining a Neandertal fossil at the Université de Liège[/caption] Last week I was invited to give a lecture at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel http://arcpigvub.wix.com/arcpig#!upcoming/ctzx, the Flemish speaking counterpart of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. The lecture concerned my recent publications on dietary reconstruction in fossil primates as well as my projects currently underway in Belgium. The lecture was given to a collaborative cross-disciplinary community known as ArCPig, the Archaeology, Conservation, Palaeontology Interdisciplinary Group, http://arcpigvub.wix.com/arcpig, which includes faculty, post-doctoral researchers, Ph.D. candidates and graduate students from a variety of departments of the university. I was asked to lecture in English given the range of languages represented by the group and the presentation was followed by a stimulating question/answer period and lunch. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640"] Dr. Williams presents his research at the Vrij Universiteit Brussel[/caption] While locating and returning from these various destinations, invariably I have gotten lost. I have been impressed by the uncommon generosity of strangers who have offered directions in French, Dutch and sometimes in English. Furthermore, the hospitality of my hosts at these Belgian institutions has been unparalleled. These curators have been extremely generous in providing published literature, professional expertise, courtesy and access to Belgium's world-class museum collections, adding immensely to my Fulbright experience. — Dr. Frank Williams, 2015-2016 Fulbright scholar to Belgium]]>
Categories Select Category 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Americans in Belgium Americans in Luxembourg Arrival Orientation Belgians in America Belgium Eat&Meet EducationUSA Events FAAB Fulbright Fulbright Specialist Program Luxembourg Luxembourgers in America Pre-Departure Orientation Summer Institute Upcoming Events
Fulbright Belgium | Luxembourg | SchumanFollow
AvatarFulbright Belgium | Luxembourg | Schuman@fulbrightBELUEU·
Are you looking to eat savory food, and dig into the legacies of the civil rights movement and American music? If so, then Alabama is right for you! Learn more about #Alabama's connection to rocket scientists, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and more ➡ https://bit.ly/StudyinAL.
It's never too early to start researching U.S. colleges and universities! There is a lot of information out there, so here are three fundamental questions to consider when choosing the right school for you. #StudyWithUS #TuesdayMotivation
On #MLKDay, we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (@TheKingCenter). In addition to promoting racial equality, #DYK he also emphasized education to combat injustice and create community? What lessons have you applied to your life from Dr. King?
Copyright 2022 Fulbright Belgium / Luxembourg / Schuman All Right Reserved. Theme By eDataStyle . Proudly powered by WordPress


text:
<?php
//Without this, warnings & notices are reported. Look into solving these warnings & notices
error_reporting(E_ERROR);

ob_start();
session_start();

//Change the below to match your credentials
$mysql_host = "localhost";
$mysql_database = "login_script";
$mysql_user = "root";
$mysql_password = "";

$con = mysqli_connect($mysql_host, $mysql_user, $mysql_password, $mysql_database);
?>


We have studied how the dyadic principle of Knowledge and Will unrolls from the undifferentiated mode of Reality to the differentiated mode in the actual manifestation through the triple status of the Supermind. In the same way, the dyadic principle of Space and Time unrolls from a Spaceless and Timeless mode of Reality to a differentiated matrix of Space and Time that holds the manifestation as a temporal and perishable Reality.
The Reality of the manifestation is explicit in forms that occupy a varying array of spaces but forms perish even though they may be eternally renewed and spaces contract and expand to produce variable and pulsating energy-matrices. Time appears to be de-linked from Space in the manifestation. The integrality of Space and Time in an unitary matrix of Consciousness may be hypothesized but cannot be experienced by the ordinary cognition. This is the reason why Yudhistira in the Mahabharata when asked what the greatest paradox in life was had answered that though the human being was destined to perish, one always behaved as one would eternally live.
Nevertheless, Yudhistira's cryptic comment not only shows the limitations of the divided mind, it also intuitively strikes a chord. Hidden in the depths of even a divided mind lurks an intuition that an eternal consciousness is a Reality that can be experienced and lived. However this intuition can remain a chimera unless the intermediary principle that mediates between the undifferentiated mode of Reality and the actual manifestation is discovered and worked upon. Sri Aurobindo's gift to the realm of intellect has been the discovery of that intermediary principle which he termed as the Supermind. His gift to the world of spirituality has been the technique of making that Supermind principle operative in the earth-nature. His gift to the human being has been to chart the guide-map for a transformative evolution that can lead the human species to a new species where the Supermind principle actually replaces the mind-principle.
While the undifferentiated Reality that is unmanifest is naturally non-spatial and non-temporal, the intermediate principle of the Supermind between the undifferentiated reality and the actual manifestation holds in its unitary matrix the integrality of Space and Time.
Once Space and Time begins to unroll from the integral poise of unity, they begin to de-link from each other, a phenomenon that becomes complete at the level of the manifestation. Accordingly, there is a wide distribution of Time and Space in varying poises at different planes of consciousness which makes interesting study.
The human mind finds it difficult to understand how a timeless and spaceless Reality can resolve into time and space as we ordinarily conceive. Sri Aurobindo describes that this difficulty arises due to the three dimensional ideas of the human mind which ignores the fact that there are many other dimensions too (CWSA 28, PG 402). 'There are again different orders of Time and Space; that too depends on the consciousness. The Eternal is extended in Time and Space, but he is also beyond all time and Space…The Spaceless Eternal is not one indivisible infinity of Space, there is in it no near or far, no here or there – the Timeless Eternal is not measurable by years or hours or aeons, the experience of it has been described as the eternal moment. But for the mind this state cannot be described except by negatives, -- one has to go beyond and realize it (Ibid, 403).


text:
Schischkinia is a genus of Asian flowering plants in the family Asteraceae.

Species
There is only one known species, Schischkinia albispina, native to Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Xinjiang, Afghanistan, and Iran.

References

Monotypic Asteraceae genera
Flora of Asia
Cynareae
Taxa named by Alexander von Bunge


text:
Home Life Hurricane Dorian's Unpredictable Path Forces the US Military to Get Their Planes...
Hurricane Dorian's Unpredictable Path Forces the US Military to Get Their Planes and Ships out of the Way
As hurricane Dorian continues to baffle weather forecasters and military officials alike in matters such as the path it will follow towards the US mainland and when exactly that will happen, the military decided to evacuate three of its coastal bases. The task is not at all facile as, without a trustworthy prediction regarding the path of the hurricane, the evacuation efforts could prove to be too costly and too massive to be organised in such a short time.
Nobody Can Predict Where the Hurricane will Land
To make things even more challenging for the officials, it's very hard to precisely predict where Dorian will hit first. The storm that devastated the Bahamas for the past 48 hours leaving 7 dead and many more injured or without shelter has been already defying many common models used by weather forecasters for similar hurricanes. This lead to a joint effort from the military to take action and protect their basis on a very wide range. From Florida all the way to Southern Virginia, military bases were either shut down entirely or had some strategic equipment moved to other bases further inland.
The Us navy already sent six of their guided missile frigates and destroyers out to sea, getting them away from the Naval Station Mayport in Florida. Even though, for civilians, this measure may seem like putting the ships in more danger than just keeping them docked, the military officials think the ships have a better chance of safely ride out the storm from a greater distance to the shore. As the ships were built to withstand harsh conditions out at sea. It's the danger of getting grounded or thrown against the docs that could bring the most damage.
The US Air Force Moving their Assets as Well
The large MacDill Air Force Base is also considered to be right on the predicted path of hurricane Dorian and this means that all the planes that can't be safely protected in hangars, need to be removed from the base. And while combat aircraft have hardened hangars that are designed to resist to such storms and even bigger threats, all the larger aircraft have to find a new 'home' until the danger of the storm passes.
This means that all the search-and-rescue planes, helicopters and service aircraft need to be relocated. The MacDill base already dispatched its fleet of KC-135 Stratotanker all the way to McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.
One of the military contractors at the MacDill Air Force Base declared that these are the largest preparations he had seen since the huge effort before Hurricane Andrew that hit the area back in 1992. However, since the MacDill base is the home of US military regional Central Command – in other words, the administrative headquarters for operations in Central Asia and the Middle East – all precautions needed to be taken.
The more recent, however, show that the storm's path is very likely to leave MacDill safe from any damage. Looks like a through of low pressure coming in from the upper Midwest and northeastern areas of the United States will be fast and strong enough to keep Dorian away from Florida altogether. However, this updated path puts other military bases at danger in areas that are just beginning to evacuate planes and prepare defenses against storm surge and very high winds.
According to the up to date path, it looks like Charleston and all its surroundings, in South Carolina will be the first territory to be hit by Hurricane Dorian on the US mainland. Predicting the exact path of this storm is like a gamble, one far less enjoyable than what you'd get at 24Pokies online casino, that's for sure. And while it's unclear if the Hurricane will maintain the predicted path or it will shift once again, changing his direction and strength, the effects are already felt in the US. Around 2,000 flight cancellations and more than 2,500 delays were registered so far and almost 8,000 Florida customers ran out of power.
Previous articleWho Killed Jeffrey Epstein?
Next article5 Biggest Benefits for Veterans Purchasing Homes


text:
From Berkhamsted travel towards Chesham Town Centre. Along St. Mary's Way you will pass Lowndes Park (with small lake) on the right. Take the 3rd exit off the roundabout (coming back towards Lowndes Park) and take the first turn on the left sign posted Great Missenden. Travel along Church Street and after 300 metres (before the Queen's Head pub), turn right into Pednor Road. The entrance to the Club is 200 metres on the left.
From Amersham travel down Amersham Hill into Chesham Town Centre. At the bottom of the hill (by the football club), take the second exit on the roundabout into Amy Lane (first exit is Chesham Town Football Club and Fitness4Less). At the end of the road, turn left into Germain Street and follow the road round, past Thomas Harding Middle School on the left, into Wey Lane. At the end of Wey Lane (the Queen's Head pub is on the right) turn right and immediate left down Pednor Road (this road is very narrow). The entrance to the Club is 200 metres on the left.
If travelling from Great Missenden, turn left into Pednor Road (opposite the Queen's Head pub on the right). The entrance to the Club is 200 metres on the left.


An in-form Tottenham attacker is reportedly in line for a second pay rise inside 12 months as reward for his brilliant season so far.
The post Tottenham goal-machine to be handed bumper pay rise appeared first on teamtalk.com.
A former Tottenham star fears the club may struggle to keep hold of forward Heung-Min Son after his brilliant campaign so far.
The post Tottenham given firm warning over future of fan favourite Son appeared first on teamtalk.com.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has received a double selection boost ahead of Wednesday's Premier League clash with Watford.
The post Massive boost for Tottenham as key star returns to action appeared first on teamtalk.com.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has revealed when he hopes Son Heung-Min will be able to return to his struggling side.
The post Pochettino reveals when Son should return for Tottenham appeared first on teamtalk.com.
How many games will Son Heung-min miss for Spurs at Asian Cup?


text:
Tag Archives: Kristen Stewart
FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #28 – "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2" (dir. Bill Condon)
This week on the podcast, Glenn and Daniel are joined by returning guest/fiancee Sarah, who will help weigh in on the final chapter of the glorious Twilight Saga. Will love conquer all? Will a werewolf win the capricious heart of a newborn child? Will Michael Sheen once again prove that he best understands what sort of movie he's in? Listen below and find out! (48:07)
May contain some NSFW language.
http://archive.org/download/FilmwonkPodcast-Episode28-theTwilightSagaBreakingDawn-Part2/FilmwonkPodcast-Episode28-theTwilightSaga-BreakingDawn-Part2dir.BillCondon.mp3
FilmWonk rating: 4/10 (but we actually rather enjoyed it!), 6/10 (Sarah)
We had an issue with the audio quality in this episode – it was recorded near a computer whose fan was a bit loud. It sounded quiet when we were recording in person, but was picked up significantly due to the placement and angle of the microphone. I've applied several noise filters that have eliminated most of the sound, but it will still be faintly audible throughout the episode. Sorry for the issue, and enjoy the show!
Music for this episode is Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years", from the soundtrack to Breaking Dawn: Part 1 (another version appears in the soundtrack to this film).
Read the review in which I first became a Kristen Stewart apologist – also the first review ever on this blog! (Adventureland)
For my only other word on Twilight, you can also check out my review of Chris Weitz' New Moon.
Listen above, or download: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser).
Posted in Podcast Reviews, Reviews, Uncategorized	| Tagged Bill Condon, Breaking Dawn, Kristen Stewart, Michael Sheen, Movies, Podcasts, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Twilight | 1 Comment
David Slade's "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" – Don't.
The battle was alright.
FilmWonk "Team": n/a
David Slade on Twilight
Too terse? Check out my thoughts on New Moon instead.
Posted in Reviews, Uncategorized	| Tagged David Slade, Eclipse, Kristen Stewart, Movies, Reviews, Robert Pattinson, Stephanie Meyer, Taylor Lautner, The Twilight Saga, Twilight | Leave a comment
2009 Glennies, Part 2: Best Supporting Actress
#5: Marcia Gay Harden – Brooke Cavendar, Whip It
Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, Whip It (review), was an adept entry in the sporting genre (in this case, roller derby), made even more effective by some impressive casting and rich characters. The great Marcia Gay Harden plays Brooke Cavendar, an overbearing mother who puts constant pressure on her daughter, Bliss (Ellen Page), to stay pretty and compete in events that are equal parts beauty pageant and debutante ball. Bliss, meanwhile, would rather throw elbows and knock out teeth on the derby track. Brooke is an apt parallel to overeager football dads, but Harden's performance is far more layered than such a stock character would normally require. Even as she steadfastly refuses to consider her Bliss' wish to continue with roller derby, her concern for her daughter's wellbeing shines through. She is stubborn, imperfect, but utterly well-meaning, and Harden's strong performance contributes to making this one of the most engaging relationships in the film.
#4: Diane Kruger – Bridget von Hammersmark, Inglourious Basterds
As I said in my review, I'm seldom disappointed by actresses playing actresses, and German actress Diane Kruger was no exception. As she knocks back champagne and disarms an entire tavern of soldiers with a single laugh or smile, she harkens back to a time in which celebrity meant something altogether different for an actress from what it means today. And as her true role becomes apparent, she portrays her fictitious vintage film-starlet-cum-saboteur with exactly the right blend of elegance and ruthlessness.
#3: Rinko Kikuchi – Bang Bang, The Brothers Bloom
Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi first came onto my radar with her fantastic performance as a deaf student (and nearly the only interesting character) in Alejandro González Iñárritu's 2006 film Babel. She returns in Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom as another less-than-verbose character… We are told that the brothers' sidekick and demolitions expert, Bang Bang, speaks about three words of English, and indeed, this is about all we hear from her during the film. Nonetheless, Kikuchi's brilliance at physical comedy and remarkable range of facial expressions make her one of the most memorable and hilarious characters in the film. If there's one thing Javier Bardem showed in No Country for Old Men, it's that a character with very little dialogue can still be quite compelling. With her performance in this film, Kikuchi has proven this true once again, and further proven that such a character doesn't have to be a daunting psychopath.
#2: Kristen Stewart – Em Lewin, Adventureland
Kristen Stewart is either a brilliant actress or a one-time fluke. Here's what I had to say about her eight months ago when I first saw Adventureland:
As much as it pains me following my experience with the abominable Twilight film, the moment has finally come when I must admit… Kristen Stewart is a damn fine actress. I can only speak to my reaction, but during every moment of Emily's screen time, I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation. Stewart, in an incredibly nuanced and visual performance, managed to convey such a compelling sense of desperation and longing in every scene (both with and without [Jesse] Eisenberg) that I spent the entire film simultaneously rooting for and pitying her.
As Dave Chen from /Film points out, there is a "massive gulf between her on-screen charisma, and her off-screen persona". Since Adventureland, all I've really seen from Stewart is a considerable foray into celebrity, and an understandable, if unremarkable return to her principal moneymaker. At this point, I must reserve judgment on whether she'll prove a strong actress after she has left the Twilight franchise behind… Nonetheless, this is one of the most brilliant performances I've seen this year, and I have absolutely no qualms about praising it.
#1: Vera Farmiga – Alex Goran, Up in the Air
"Just think of me as yourself, but with a vagina," says Alex to Ryan (George Clooney), with whom she has just shared a casual hotel fling. In my original review, I said that it is only with the character of Alex that the film comes dangerously close to contrivance. She is almost a total mystery – we know that she lives a similar life to Ryan, spending much of her time flying around the country, but we don't really know much else. And yet, Farmiga's performance and chemistry with Clooney completely make this romance work. While we don't learn much about her profession, we do learn a great deal about her as a person. This character is somewhat of a mirror, acting as both a female version of Ryan and an older version of his colleague Natalie (Anna Kendrick). But in her interactions with the two, she offers some remarkable insights. One of my favorite scenes in the film involves Alex and Natalie swapping their respective versions of the ideal man. Farmiga's monologue in this scene is just fantastic. Even as she is saying some pretty provocative things (e.g. "Please, let him earn more money than I do"), her delivery includes all the hesitation and reflection that comes with such a deeply personal question as one's ideal match. On the surface, this scene simply highlights the difference in perspective between women in their 20s and 30s, but it also provides a mountain of subtext for the film's central romance between Alex and Ryan that gives the film immeasurable rewatch value.
Alia Shawkat as Pash in Whip It
Kristen Wiig as Maggie Mayhem in Whip It
Lorna Raver as Sylvia Ganush in Drag Me to Hell
Marion Cotillard as Billie Frechette in Public Enemies
Click here to see the rest of the 2009 Glennies.
Posted in Glennies, Uncategorized	| Tagged Adventureland, Alia Shawkat, Awards, Best Supporting Actress, Diane Kruger, Kristen Stewart, Kristen Wiig, Lorna Raver, Marcia Gay Harden, Movies, Rinko Kikuchi, The Brothers Bloom, Top 10, Up in the Air, Vera Farmiga, Whip It | 3 Comments
Chris Weitz' "New Moon" – Mostly harmless, mercifully forgettable.
Kristen Stewart returns to the screen as Bella Swan, a teenage girl passionately in love with the vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). Ordinarily, I would begin with a more in-depth plot description, but that's really all you need to know. In fact, that's basically all that happened in the first Twilight film, minus a brief diversion of vampire baseball.
In point of fact, I would love to start this review with an impassioned screed against Stephanie Meyer's puerile prose and hackneyed attempts at supernatural mythology… How she wouldn't know a vampire if he strutted his hot, sparkling body up and bit her… How she's taken the framework of an innocuous teenage love story and turned it into a ham-fisted allegory for Mormon sexual abstinence… How her quixotic creation, Edward Cullen, the overbearing and overprotective centenarian in the body of a 17-year-old has been inexplicably and irresponsibly cast as the ideal boyfriend for millions of impressionable teenage girls – as well as masturbatory fodder for their bored, cradle-robbing mothers…
I would love to say all of this. But I can't, for two reasons. The first is that most of it is overreaching, hyperbolic nonsense. Teenagers aren't well-known for their adherence to heavy-handed abstinence allegories, and their penchant for worrisome role models is only surpassed by their speedy disinterest in yesterday's cheesy fad (which might explain how quickly Summit is cranking these films out). As for supernatural mythology, I don't care any more about Meyer's version of a vampire than I do about Tolkien's version of an elf. She is certainly not the first offender when it comes to flouting the traditional rules. While I'm happy to criticize her vampires for their inconsistency and sparkling skin, I do so because these things are stupid, not apocryphal.
But the main reason I can't go off on New Moon for any of the above points is that it didn't really provoke such a reaction from me. It didn't inspire much of any reaction, in fact. It was just a bland diversion, peppered with gratuitously half-naked adolescent boys.
On the surface, it is noticeably superior to the first Twilight film. For a start, there's some semblance of a plot. Bella and Edward start off by talking at length in English lit class about the various ways in which they resemble Romeo and Juliet, and how they would go about killing themselves if they were ever separated. This seems rather irresponsible in a film marketed to brooding teens, but I'll go with it. For you see, the vampires of this world are so strong, they're incapable of even killing themselves. This rule is a bit too much like God creating a rock so big that He is incapable of lifting it for my taste, but I can also accept this, since it only leaves one [thoroughly entertaining] method of suicide at Edward's disposal – being literally ripped limb from limb by three other vampires.
The superficial nods to Romeo and Juliet continue, as Edward is banishèd from the film a few minutes later. When Bella gets a blood-drawing paper cut at her birthday party and is nearly attacked by one of Edward's vamp brothers, he resolves to move away and never return. Following the loss of her undead lover, Bella goes variably between a spat of faux-self-destructive teenage angst and a bit of shameless, "I like you as a friend" pursuit of her werewolf buddy Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). True to form, Bella spends nearly half of the film failing to realize her friend's furry little secret…
But when a bit of well-deserved werewolf jealousy and a series of nonsensical miscommunications lead Edward to believe that Bella has died, he does the prudent thing, and heads to Italy to provoke the vampire royalty into executing him. Given that Robert Pattinson's acting hasn't improved much from his abysmal turn in the first film, I was rather hoping Edward would succeed in this endeavor, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.
Director Chris Weitz has previously proven his visual chops in his terribly adapted but pretty-looking 2007 film, The Golden Compass, and he has brought some much-improved filmmaking to this series. Unfortunately, any effective visual storytelling in New Moon is constantly undermined by the characters themselves. The opening scene is a gorgeous dream sequence in which Bella sees an elderly woman walking through an alpine meadow. Edward, the perpetual teen, strolls across and lovingly greets the woman, and Bella quickly realizes that she's looking at her future self. This was one of several impressively shot sequences in the film, and brilliantly introduced Bella's anxiety about aging past her boyfriend's perpetual youth. But like every other theme in this film, it goes on to be explicitly spelled out about a dozen more times, which ultimately undermines it. Even as Bella pretends to make the choice of becoming a vampire so she can stay young with Edward forever, it is constantly being made for her by various characters as the film goes on.
In spite of the dubious character work, there is a bit of decent acting on display. Kristen Stewart can scarcely do wrong in my eyes after her wonderful performance in Adventureland earlier this year, and she brings back most of her charisma for this film. However, there are several moments in which she reads her lines so woodenly it sounds like she can hardly believe what she's saying. I couldn't help but chuckle when Bella breathily suggested that the group go see a movie (with the hilarious title of "Face Punch"), because it contains, "Action, adrenaline…woo! That's supposed to be my thing now…"
It's okay, Kristen. I didn't believe it either.
Taylor Lautner, on the other hand, did a fantastic job. Call me crazy (or a pederast), but I have to say I'm on "Team Jacob", at least when it comes to acting talent. Lautner is helped along somewhat by Meyer's genuinely interesting take on werewolves – they're basically pack-hunter versions of The Incredible Hulk – but I have to hand it to this kid. He spends most of his screentime showing off his chiseled abs and 'roided biceps, and that's basically all he needed to do for the target audience. Nonetheless, he delivers every one of his ridiculous lines with the gravitas intended on the page. I'd say he was hamming it up, but he just comes off as completely earnest.
I'm not sure how to conclude this review, since I don't really have any strong opinions about this film. If I were to take it remotely seriously, it would be offensive on a number of levels, but it's mostly just mindless pap for the teenage masses. Every interesting or provocative plot point either gets reversed by the end of the film or hammered into the ground. There's a love triangle, but not really… Bella becomes an adrenaline junkie, but not really… The star-crossed lovers are separated forever… But not really. A girl is forced to make a serious, life-altering choice… But not really. If nothing else, the story demonstrates Stephanie Meyer's tenuous relationship with tragedy – her characters constantly embrace it, but shy away from any real consequences, and the storytelling is happy to let them get away with it.
The Twilight saga may have broken me. I might have to forgo the next film and wait for David Cronenberg's gory exploitation version of Breaking Dawn (*fingers crossed*) (contains NSFW language).
Posted in Reviews, Uncategorized	| Tagged Chris Weitz, Kristen Stewart, Movies, New Moon, Reviews, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Twilight | 2 Comments
My entirely over-long review of Greg Mottola's "Adventureland"
Kristen Stewart, budding teenage heartthrob, fresh off her role in the critically acclaimed epic vampire romance Twilight, returns to the screen alongside comedic greats and Judd Apatow alums Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig in Adventureland, a hilarious and carefree new comedy from the writer/director of Superbad.
Adventureland was filmed in October of 2007 and sat on the shelf for a year and a half while Miramax figured out how best to release it. I can only speculate as to why they held onto it for so long. Eventually, it seems, a combination of residual favor from Greg Mottola's previous film and Kristen Stewart's increased profile following her turn as teenage vampire-lover Bella Swan in 2008's creepy stare-fest, Twilight, was enough to get the film a release.
This film defied my expectations on every level. I went in expecting a comedy akin to Superbad – and the film's marketing certainly encouraged this image of the film. Instead, I was presented with a mature, poignant drama that presented a brilliant portrait of the twentysomething post-college experience. It is the story of James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), a recent graduate who was all set to head for Europe on a post-college jaunt when his parents painfully admit that due to money problems, they will not be able to pay for his trip. Without warning, James is presented with the insurmountable task of finding a job with his liberal arts degree.
This aspect of the story was rather apropos for me – the poli sci major currently working in IT. But even the various absurdities of a helpdesk employee seem tame in comparison to an exciting career in crooked carnival gaming.
"You can do better, son," says James' father when he announces that Adventureland is the only place he can find employment. And yet, James can't do better. He's quickly realizing that his parents can't help him, and that he has to take whatever job – and whatever life – he can find. It is this desperation and sudden, reluctant thrust into grownup life that the film captures so well.
Throughout the film, there's a persistent feeling that these kids aren't ready for their situation. They live with their parents. They're old enough to drink legally, and yet they sneak around hiding liquor. They sit in their parents' cars and make out in their driveways. They gossip, spread rumors, and weave a tangled and overlapping web of ambiguous relationships. They engage in whimsical, self-destructive behavior at the drop of a hat. These kids are not alright. They're college graduates acting like high school students.
And yet, not a single moment in this film rings false. The story is a parable of modern life, and a ruthless exploration of modern relationships. The film's treatment of romance, evoking sympathy for all manner of relationship fouls, reminds me greatly of last year's Forgetting Sarah Marshall. And in much the same way as that film, you just have to stare resignedly at the characters and shake your head in bewilderment.
You know you shouldn't do that, you'll say. You know you're just doing it because you're in love and heartbroken and stupid. You know you'll feel worse afterward. And you know you're going to do it anyway.
The principal romance in this film was between James (Jesse Eisenberg) and Emily (Kristen Stewart). In a rare reversal of the usual pratfall of casting young characters, the then-17-year-old Stewart plays a seemingly 21-year-old college graduate.
As much as it pains me following my experience with the abominable Twilight film, the moment has finally come when I must admit… Kristen Stewart is a damn fine actress. I can only speak to my reaction, but during every moment of Emily's screen time, I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation. Stewart, in an incredibly nuanced and visual performance, managed to convey such a compelling sense of desperation and longing in every scene (both with and without Eisenberg) that I spent the entire film simultaneously rooting for and pitying her.
"You can't just avoid all the people you've screwed up with!" is the conciliatory message of this romance, as delivered by James in the final romantic speech at the end of the film. This scene was obligatory, as it is in most romantic dramas, and yet (without giving too many details) Mottola's take on this scene manages to ring truly unique. Jesse Eisenberg's acting definitely deserves some of the credit for how well this scene (and the romance) plays, but it is Stewart that truly shines in this film.
I must also give praise to Ryan Reynolds. Here is an actor whose work is consistently entertaining, but offers the same one-note, sociopathic, likeable douchebag performance in every film he's in. You've probably met someone like this character in real life. Someone who evokes two simultaneous reactions – amusement and unsettlement. Someone who might be good for a laugh or two, but would probably toss you aside the moment he no longer needed you for something.
Reynolds returns in this film as that character, aged 10 years, saddled with a dead-end job and an unhappy marriage. And yet he manages to convey the truly pitiable nature of such a character. His antics and doubletalk no longer seem charming here. His underhanded and lecherous conduct comes off as sad, creepy, and immature for a man of his age. Reynolds does a fine job of portraying all the ugliness and truth of this character without any of the signature likeability that he brings to his other roles.
Adventureland is a poignant film with a lot to say about our generation. And I say this as a current twenty-something who is more than happy to coopt and internalize the lessons of this film. And yet, the story is actually Greg Mottola's semi-autobiographical take on his experience after college in 1987. Does this indicate that the film's message is at least somewhat timeless? Or that Mottola has merely spun a tale of modern twenty-somethings and added a bit of weird hair, outdated music, and a lack of cellular communication for ambiance? Impossible to say. But the result is well worth seeing.
Posted in Reviews, Uncategorized	| Tagged Adventureland, Greg Mottola, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Movies, Reviews, Ryan Reynolds | 8 Comments


3/03/2015 · A cat-sized animal, native to a small area of Australia that you may never have heard of, is the star of Instagram's newest adorable hashtag trend.... Rottnest Island is setting visitor records thanks to the #quokkaselfie movement. On Perth Tonight Chris Ilsley spoke to the Executive Director of Rottnest Island Authority Michelle Reynolds, about the Island's most successful tourism campaign.
Go Quackers for Quokkas The Best Celeb Quokka Selfies!


On this week's podcast, Productivity & Success Transformation Coach Craig Ballantyne, stops by the show to talk about how to beat anxiety to create your perfect day. Craig is a fitness expert and the author of the groundbreaking fat loss workout systems, Turbulence Training, and Home Workout Revolution. He has been a contributing author to Men's Health magazine since 2000 and has been the editor of the personal development newsletter, Early to Rise, since 2011.
Suffering from anxiety shouldn't make you feel like a black sheep.
In fact, many people that you know may suffer from some form of anxiety because 40 million Americans (18% of population) that are over the age of 18 face it each day. Some of these anxiety disorders include panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, or major depressive disorder.
To beat your anxiety, you can change your mindset today.
On this planet, every minute counts and in order to get the most out of each day of our lives, we have to get in the right mindset to take it head on as best as we can by changing our habits.
Just like a fitness transformation, we need to make specific changes in order to see a mindset transformation. A new mindset transformation won't only help us beat anxiety, but it will also help us become more goal driven and productive as well.
In order to complete this mindset transformation, we can follow what Craig calls The Perfect Day Formula.
The First C: You have the greatest control of your day during the morning hours.
Before you leave the house, your morning is your time to focus on how you can get ahead in the day. Even if it's just for 15 minutes before everyone wakes up, you control everything that you do.
Start your day on a positive note to help you feel energized and focused with less stress by reading the newspaper, drinking some coffee, or watching the sunrise. Do anything that will help you clear your mind.
The Second C: Conquer your afternoon with the 5 Pillars of Personal Transformation.
Life is extremely unpredictable and anything can happen at the drop of a hat to throw us off course from our perfect day. Fortunately, with the 5 Pillars of Personal Transformation, we can better prepare ourselves for any emergencies, negative thoughts, or feelings of anxiety that may come our way.
The science of gratitude: The effect of gratitude is not just limited to young adults who haven't yet been beaten down by the sad realities of life. In addition, even less frequent moments of gratitude can have an effect. The same researchers conducted a separate study on adults, which showed that even a weekly gratitude journal was beneficial. Subjects assigned to journal weekly on gratitude showed greater improvements in optimism.
Learn more about the Wellness Force Morning21 system: A step-by-step sequential order for all you need to prime your mind, body, and spirit to have more energy, let go of old weight, and live life well.
Plan and Prepare for any obstacles or emergencies that come into your life.
Professional Accountability: Look to someone to hold you accountable for your actions and bring out the best in you.
Positive Social Support: Who are your cheerleaders? These are the people that are always there for you and will help push you to do better.
Meaningful Incentive: Have a big enough reason for why you're doing what you're doing i.e. for your children or your health.
The Big Deadline: Set a deadline for the big and small goals during the day.
In order to truly focus on your dreams, you need to create a vision for your life. This will help you understand where you want to go, how you want to get there, and help you make the right decisions overall. For the majority of us, that means creating structure in your life, but a lot of us don't like structure. So what can we do?
If you know exactly where you want to go, you can get there without any distractions when you follow your own rules.
Instead of seeing structure as something that is holding you back from having the freedom to make your own decisions, structure can be extremely liberating. How you may ask? Well, isn't following your own rules a lot easier and less stressful than following someone else's orders?
The 3 C's begin with taking control of your mornings, but the real magic begins that night before with Craig's 10-3-2-1-0 Goodnight Formula.
Your Perfect Day already begins 10 hours before you go to bed when you should be refraining from drinking any type of caffeine. Some people may be able to drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages at night, but for the majority of us, it can really affect our sleep cycle.
As the day continues on, at 3 hours beforehand, you should not eat any heavy meals or drink alcohol. If you go to bed with alcohol in your system, you will most likely wake up feeling even more tired than you did the night before.
To help you begin to relax more and not be stressed before you sleep, you should stop doing any type of work activity 2 hours before bed. At 1 hour left to go, it's time to put away the electronics, turn off the TV, and avoiding looking at your phone's screen.
Whether or not you had a great night's rest, zero is the number of times that you should hit the snooze button in the morning. If you allow yourself to fall back into a sleep cycle, it will be even more difficult for you to get up and enjoy your 15 free minutes to take control of your perfect day.
Whether they realize it or not, our friends, family members, and coworkers can sabotage our formula for a perfect day.
When we're trying to create the perfect day for ourselves by following the 3 C's, the Five Pillars, and the Goodnight Formula, we can face different challenges. To get through them, we need to have the best support system that we can possible have from the people in our lives.
These are that people that are there for you no matter what with their love, support, and kindness. Unfortunately, they can also sabotage us sometimes.
To move forward and grow, we may have to change our environments. It may not be forever, but if you have a goal in mind, you may have to change your schedule and your activities to reach your goal. You don't have to leave people behind, but this may also mean that you have to change the environment you're in if you truly want to see yourself improve each day.
If you're in a toxic relationship that does not allow you to grow in anyway at all, you might have to give the gift of goodbye. That way, you can create space to allow new people into your life who will support your goals and hold you accountable for them.
Do not hit the snooze button.
Do not check your email first thing in the morning.
Do not answer all phone calls.
Do not mindlessly surf the Internet.
Do not waste time arguing or gossiping.
Do not consume food or drink that makes you tired.
These are some good tips to help you create a perfect day, but what about your own unique list?
How can you be less distracted and more productive during the day?
Take some time to write down what you're doing each day and discover when you're distracted and when you're productive during the day. That way, you can create your own Do Not Do List and focus on the most important tasks you need to complete during your productive time.
Craig Ballantyne is a Productivity & Success Transformation Coach from Toronto, Ontario, Canada,and the author of The Perfect Day Formula: How to Own the Day and Control Your Life. He has been contributing to Men's Health magazine since 2000, and in 2001, Craig created the popular home workout program, Turbulence Training.
2:45 How did your childhood help you become the person that you are today?
5:26 What was one of Craig's most growth in his transformation? What did you experience with the Law of Attraction?
10:15 How does Craig structure his morning?
14:12 The Goodnight Formula explained: why the perfect day happens the night before.
17:40 How can creating discipline and rules later lead to success in life?
18:58 How Craig worked through his own anxiety to live this transformed life.
21:45 The 5 Pillars-No. 3) Having positive, social support in your life.
22:55 Sometimes our friends, families, and co-workers can either knowingly or unknowingly sabotage us to have a perfect day.
23:25 Craig's experience with giving the gift of goodbye to someone.
32:00 What helps people to decrease their procrastination?
34:35 How to follow a not to do list that's just for you and how to find your productive time.
36:55 We face 150-275 decisions each day- How do we beat this decision fatigue?
38:25 Visioning the future: What type of legacy does Craig want to leave when he's gone?
39:55 How do we make mistakes and get through them? What mistake has Craig worked through?
How to beat anxiety from within yourself.
Craig's own experience with anxiety.
How Craig went from a career in fitness to improving mindsets.
How to create your perfect day with the 3C's and the 5 Pillars of Personal Transformation.
What not to do to create your perfect day.
How you can change your environment to improve yourself.


text:
Social media turns the shade of the French Tricolor to express solidarity with France
Social media was awash Saturday in the red, white and blue of the French flag as people worldwide expressed their solidarity with a nation in mourning in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Paris.
Users of Facebook shaded their profile pictures in the French Tricolor, and on Twitter and Instagram, people posted vacation photos, teardrops and a peace symbol with the Eiffel Tower inscribed in the center as they expressed their grief over the carnage.
People also harnessed the power of social media in the search for their missing loved ones as Parisians desperate to get in touch with family and friends missing since Friday's wave of gun and bomb attacks posted heart-breaking messages and photos under the hashtag #rechercheparis — Paris Search.
Scores remain unaccounted for in the aftermath of the coordinated attacks on a rock concert, a soccer stadium, bars, restaurants and other popular nightspots that killed at least 129 people.
"Waleed is missing," read one post. "We last contacted him at the match, Please share & contact me if u have any info. #rechercheParis."
"I've been looking for my cousin since last night," read another. "He's 25 and 1m75. He's called Younes. #rechercheParis."
The photos and messages garnered hundreds of retweets from users eager to help in the search for survivors.
Across the globe, people joined in to offer sympathy and share a nation's pain. Many posted the poignant video of the Eiffel Tower — the beacon of the City of Light — going to black in memory of the dead.
Some of the world's most recognizable buildings and monuments — the Sydney Opera House, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, One World Trade Center in New York, the Mexican Senate — were shaded in the colors of the French flag.
Sports teams also expressed their solidarity. The Washington Capitals splashed the red, white and blue of the Tricolor across the team's ice rink before Friday night's game against the Calgary Flames. "The National Anthem is playing, but tonight our thoughts are with Paris," a caption on the Capitals Twitter feed read.
The images and sentiment, shared under the hashtags #prayforparis or #parisattacks, mirrored the outpouring of emotion that followed the Charlie Hebdo attacks 10 months ago.
One of the most shared was a peace symbol by Jean Jullien, a French graphic designer living in London, that showed a stark image of the Eiffel Tower rising in the center of a peace sign.
Jullien said the design came to him by simple association of Paris and peace.
"I was overwhelmed that so many people used it," he said in an e-mail to the Associated Press. "It's a communication tool for people to share their solidarity. It's a message for peace."
https://www.foxnews.com/world/social-media-turns-the-shade-of-the-french-tricolor-to-express-solidarity-with-france
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. © FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. All market data delayed 20 minutes. Updated Privacy(What's Changed) - Terms of Use - FAQ


The gaudy insect well might boast.
Alighting where it pleas'd him most.
"What diff'rences us two divide!
For me she nothing does at all.
And might as well have not been born."
Came hunting for the butterfly.
The gaudy insect they pursue.
But falls at last a helpless prey.
But leaves him mangled, dead, and cold.
What 'tis a brilliant thing to be.
This page was last edited on 3 December 2010, at 16:04.


In August of 2011, while driving to get some tacos, I heard an item on National Public Radio concerning the consumption rate of pork in the United States. They played a clip from the movie "Trading Places" (1983) that made a reference to the buying and selling of pork belly futures. Pork consumption used to drastically increase during the holidays and summer months. At the time of this broadcast there was no longer a demand to justify trading in pork belly futures because the U.S. was eating pork, specifically bacon, on a regular basis (among other reasons). The Chicago Mercantile Exchange delisted pork belly futures for trading in July of 2011.


Bolloywood actress Priyanka Chopra calls herself a terrible wife. The actress has been constantly breaking the headlines ever since her marriage to American singer and songwriter Nick Jonas. The two got married last year in December.
Recently, Priyanka Chopra calls herself a terrible wife as she does not know how to cook.
Priyanka made an appearance on ABC's chat show "The View", where she spoke about tying the knot with American pop-singer Nick Jonas, her featuring in his music video "Sucker" and about her marriage.
Previous articleबेटे अबराम के साथ इस अंदाज़ में नज़र आये शाहरुख़, दिखी बाप-बेटे की जबरदस्त बॉन्डिंग!
Arjun Kapoor and Malaika Arora to get married next year?


A beautiful, warm, clear, sunny day gave us perfect conditions for our 'Golden Circle' tour of some of Iceland's most famous sights. At Thingvellir National Park, we were not only at the site of Iceland's open-air parliament from 930 AD until 1798, but we were also where two of the Earth's great tectonic plates diverge. Standing on the edge of the North American Plate, we looked east across the rift valley where fissures were created by the stretching of the Earth's crust to the edge of the European Plate. We walked down one of the fissures, Almannagjá, through walls of basalt lava, to rejoin our buses. Driving across to the European Plate, our tour continued to the geothermal area of Geysir. The eponymous spouting hot spring rarely erupts today, but its neighbor, Strokkur, performed every few minutes for us. A short distance north, we enjoyed the spectacle of one of Iceland's great waterfalls, Gullfoss, where the glacial meltwater river Hvitá drops over basalt cliffs into a narrow gorge, filling it with spray.
We interrupted our tour with a visit to Friðheimar Horse Farm where we had a demonstration of the remarkable range of gaits of these sturdy Viking horses, pure-bred for a thousand years, and heard about the farm's geothermally-heated greenhouses which grow tomatoes year-round and were featured in our delicious lunch at the farm.
The return journey to Reykjavík along the Ring Road gave us wonderful views of some of the recently active volcanoes, including the infamous Eyjafjallajökull, whose 2010 eruption closed European airspace, and the volcanic Westmann islands.
The fine weather continued this morning for our visit to the small island of Flatey, one of many hundreds of small islands in Breiðafjörður. Its once thriving population is now down to just five year-round residents, although some Icelanders keep properties here as summer homes. Our local guides led us up to the small church, built in 1926 but decorated with scenes of island life by the Catalan painter Balastar Samper in the 1990s. A delightful surprise was the arrival of all five members of the Olga Vocal Ensemble who were touring Iceland performing songs from Viking lands. Their close harmonies in the beautiful setting of this little church made this a memorable visit.
Behind the church, we squeezed into the tiny 1844 library of the Flatey Progress Society, home to the Flateyjarbok until the 16th century, and then headed down to the colorful village. We observed the villagers feeding Arctic terns, and wandered the cliff paths in search of seabirds.
Once back on board our ornithologist, Jim Wilson, told us which birds we should expect to see in and around Iceland and, later, Iceland native Ragnar Hauksson regaled us with amusing tales of trolls and elves. By this time we had arrived at Látrabjarg, the western-most point of Europe and the biggest bird-cliff in the northern hemisphere, home to the largest colony of razorbills in the world.
As we cruised along in our Zodiacs, we appreciated the immense scale of the sheer basalt cliffs, towering over 1,300 feet above us, the ledges between the lava flows white with guano from the nesting seabirds. Later that evening we were briefly escorted by a small pod of white-beaked dolphins.
It was noticeably chillier this morning as we stepped ashore at Ísafjörður, the main trading and service center for communities in the remote Western Fjords of Iceland. This region has a strong maritime tradition so we visited the renovated 18th-century wood buildings of the Westfjords Maritime and Heritage Museum to learn of its history, and to sample some Icelandic delicacies; the dried cod and fermented shark, with its strong flavor of ammonia, was not to everyone's taste, but the Icelandic schnapps certainly seemed to be.
A drive through a long tunnel brought us to the community of Bolungarvík where, in the Norwegian church, we enjoyed some traditional songs by a young singer and pianist wearing Iceland's national costume.
Across the bay, at the reconstructed buildings of the Ósvör Museum, we learned of the incredible hardships faced by Icelandic fishermen who rowed their open boats nearly 100 miles to the fishing grounds towards Greenland.
Returning to the warmth of our ship, we relocated over lunch to the small island of Vigur. Just over a mile long and 1,300 feet wide, the island has been family-owned for three generations. However, the people there no longer run an active sheep farm, they instead harvest eider down from their resident ducks and guide visitors around their island. Harbor seals lay on the rocks opposite our landing site, and Arctic terns were plentiful. Holding sticks above our heads to protect ourselves from attack from these small, but aggressive birds, we strolled around the island before repairing to the farm for coffee and homemade cakes.
While we were on Vigur, a few whales had been spotted to the northeast of the island; on return to the ship, we set sail hoping for a closer sighting. With the snowy mountain backdrop of Snæfjallaströnd, we were treated to a remarkable display of perhaps as many as 30 feeding humpback whales! Eventually, we left them in peace as we returned to our cabins to don our finery for Captain Mykola Tililyuk's welcome cocktail party and dinner.
Having made good time on our overnight crossing from Iceland, we awoke this morning to find ourselves north of the Arctic Circle, icebergs gliding past, and the spectacular mountain scenery of Greenland's east coast ahead of us looking glorious in the morning sun. In the lounge, Rob Dunbar gave a presentation on the global impacts of the seas around Iceland and Greenland; historian T.H. Baughman followed, speaking of the remarkable man that was Nansen.
As we approached closer to the Greenland coast, the wide mouth of Nansen Fjord became apparent, with the large Christian IV Glacier dominating the far end of the fjord. Near the entrance to the fjord, a large group of harp seals greeted us, but farther in a small moving piece of ice caught our eye—a swimming polar bear! We watched from the ship for some time, hoping that the bear would climb out onto ice but it continued on its watery way, and we turned into a small side fjord for a landing and a glacier hike.
Much to the chagrin of our geologist, Tom Sharpe, who was looking forward to taking us hiking on the glacier (but to the excitement of everyone else), our plans had to be changed when not one but four more polar bears were spotted near our intended landing site! Russ quickly organized a Zodiac cruise instead; as the bears moved amongst the rocks, it was worrying to see how easily they disappeared into the landscape, but pleasing to know we were safe in our Zodiacs. Suddenly, a call came through for the ship—they had sighted yet more bears, this time a mother and two cubs on the opposite side of the bay!
Sated with our polar bear sightings, we returned to our ship for a barbeque dinner on the back deck as we sailed out via scenic J.A.D. Jensen Fjord, with mountains and glaciers glowing in the lowering sun. Our tally of polar bear sightings rose yet again, with another four bears seen this evening, bringing our first day total of bears to a remarkable twelve!
Entering Kangerdlussuaq Fjord, its bare rocks and glaciers glistening in the morning sun, we jumped into our Zodiacs for a cruise amongst a cluster of large icebergs and then moved on to land in a small bay. A short hike on a rocky hill gave us a beautiful view across the fjord.
After lunch back on board our ship, we took to the Zodiacs once again, sailing through coastal fog to land on the Skaergaard Peninsula near the mouth of Kangerdlussuaq Fjord. Tom was excited to explain to us the importance of this site, where the bare, brown rocks showed an unusual layering, formed by crystals settling in a magma chamber two-and-a-half miles below the earth's surface some 55 million years ago. Discovered in the 1930s, the Skaergaard Intrusion is known to geologists worldwide, although few are privileged to visit it. The site also provided some memorable kayaking in flat clam waters amidst this beautiful landscape.
We began today with a distinct marine mammal theme, not only with naturalist Rich Pagen's presentation on these animals in the North Atlantic, but with a truly spectacular sighting—over 100 whales were around us: fin, minke, and humpback, and, in the air, thousands of great shearwaters thousands of miles from their breeding site on the island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Later, we turned our attention to the Earth, with presentations by Tom on the contrasting geology of Iceland and Greenland, and by Rob on glaciers and icesheets of the north. By late afternoon we had arrived at the colorful little community of Tasiilaq, coincidentally where our Greenland guide Kirsa Norregaard spent her childhood.
On the edge of town, the sledge dogs yelped loudly as we watched them feed on fresh seal meat straight from a carcass being cut up in front of us—not for the squeamish! We then headed to the museum, an old red-painted wooden church, for a performance by a local choir, the ladies in traditional beadwork costumes, and drum-dancing by the museum curator. Meanwhile, some of our group kayaked among the attractive islets in the bay by the town.
Having recrossed the Arctic Circle again overnight, we marked the event this evening with some fluorescent blue cocktails.
Sailing south along Greenland's King Frederik VI Coast this morning, breakfast was cut short by a sighting of a whale blow way off to port. We immediately changed course and were rewarded with a wonderful and rare sighting of a sperm whale. Around us, other blows showed that it was not alone.
Soon we entered Skjoldungen Fjord and as we wove along this narrow sinuous channel on the northeast side of Skjoldungen Island, around us was a textbook of glacial features—lateral moraines, arêtes, and horn peaks. At the far end of the fjord, we landed on a sandy beach at the mouth of a beautiful glacial valley. Our naturalists led us on walks through the tundra vegetation of the valley floor, along a milky-white glacial meltwater river, through shrubs of northern willow and pink flowers and lichen of Arctic river beauty, to views of the rugged glaciated peaks over 7,000 feet high at the head of the valley.
Meanwhile, our kayakers were quietly paddling near the front of a tidewater glacier, watching harp seals and ivory gulls to the backdrop of occasional snow avalanches cascading down a couloir on a nearby mountain.
Back on board, we had a quick briefing from Russ before heading back out on deck as we sailed out around the southeast side of Skjoldungen Island for more views of the stunning landscapes lit by the setting sun.
Yet another glorious day in eastern Greenland as we sailed into Napassorssuaq Fjord, a more open landscape than we had previously experienced, with low rounded granite hills near the entrance. Soon the fjord sides became steeper and icier, with glaciers extending down to the water, their floating ice fronts calving icebergs into the fjord. We landed near one of these tidewater glaciers and hiked through the bouldery moraines. One group hiked out to a headland and back along the shore, experiencing the soft, quicksand-like properties of glacial clays; another group climbed through the bouldery moraines and up onto the decaying glacier front before hiking along the moraine ridge for a view of the calving ice cliff, while our kayakers enjoyed a paddle amongst small islands just offshore.
Back on board, we sailed towards the head of the fjord, intent on another landing; but the eagle eyes of Leslie Kim honed in on more polar bears. We moved, again, to plan B and took to the Zodiacs! We were treated to a most remarkable up-close view of a mother and cub, entirely undisturbed by our Zodiacs, but checking us out as a potential meal. Turning away from the two bears, we soon spotted another in the water amongst the brash ice. It climbed out onto an ice floe to give us a classic view of a polar bear on ice and even stood up for us. So far, we have seen 15 polar bears and today's sightings were the best that any of the expedition staff could remember!
So could today get much better? Yes! After dinner, Kirsa arrived in the bar to announce that the aurora borealis, the northern lights, were visible. We rushed to the top deck and had a wonderful display of this polar phenomenon. What an end to an incredible day!
We made our transit from east to west Greenland through the long, narrow, zigzag channel of Prins Christian Sund, with high mountains rising steeply on either side. The bright sun illuminated the rock faces and glaciers perfectly against a clear blue sky, and we were all out on deck as we passed the narrowest part of the channel, just 1,640 feet wide.
We retreated inside to hear T.H. tell us about Roald Amundsen before lunch, after which we readied ourselves for a landing at Stordalens Havn, a shallow bay near the western end of Prins Christian Sund. Once ashore, we separated into our different walking groups to explore the beach and the tundra behind in the wide valley of Itivdlerssuaq. On either side, bare, rocky mountain peaks rose to heights of nearly 6,000 feet, and a white-tailed sea eagle soared majestically over the mountain ridges.
Offshore, our kayakers enjoyed a breezy paddle while exploring the rocky shoreline, and discovering limpets, barnacles, and sea urchins in cervices in the rocks.
Yet another gorgeous day of blue skies and sunshine! Not only was the weather contrary to our preconceptions, but so too was the scenery—green with rolling fields of hay. Here Greenland certainly lived up to its name, and today we were at the little farming community of Qassiarsuq, the likely site where Erik the Red first settled in Greenland and where he coined the name Greenland. Local guides showed us the sites of Norse buildings and the lovely reconstructions of a tiny church, along with a cozy longhouse as we strolled among the beautiful scenery of green fields and red and white rocks.
Meanwhile, a significant contingent of our group had departed the ship earlier this morning for Narsarsuaq on the opposite side of the fjord. At the airport there, they boarded a fleet of helicopters for a flight to the Inland Ice, in perfect conditions, and were well rewarded with magnificent views.
In the afternoon, some explored the nearby community of Narsaq with its little harbor busy with boats and hunters, while others strode out towards Kvanefjeld to see the low mounds of the as-yet-unexcavated Norse site at Dyrnaes. The less strident explored the pebbly beach of the iceberg-filled bay of Narsap Ilua, and discovered some of the colorful minerals of this area, home to a huge economic mineral deposit.
Grounded icebergs clustered around Narsaq provided our kayakers with great views of bergs rolling and breaking apart.
Finally, a change in the weather as we awoke early this morning to overcast skies with our ship at the mouth of Arsuk Fjord. We sailed on into narrow Ikka Fjord and boarded our Zodiacs to await the arrival of a local guide. He led us into the even narrower inner fjord to show us the unusual underwater columns which reach almost to the surface of the water. Made of a rare form of calcium carbonate called ikaite, after Ikka Fjord, and first described in 1963, the columns were probably formed by carbonate-rich cold water springs on the fjord's floor. The setting was impressive with rounded mountains at the head of the fjord, more vegetated than most we had seen so far, and a perfect location to find musk oxen. Several groups of these large shaggy animals were spotted on the hillsides around us, and we had good close sightings of animals on the shore, overall perhaps as many as 60 in total.
We returned to our ship for breakfast, after which naturalist Rich entertained and informed us on the trials of flowering plants in the High Arctic.
Our afternoon was spent at sea, en route to our next destination, Nuuk. We passed time watching the early documentary, Nanook of the North, and after tea, Rob addressed us on the issue of Climate Change and Ice: The Arctic in a Changed World. Russ interrupted Rob's lecture to announce a close sighting of humpback whales, and we rushed out to see over 20 of the species, some breaching and pectoral fin slapping, along with over 100 harp seals.
A gray, rainy day gave us a taste of what our weather might have been as we arrived alongside in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. With a population of 18,000, the city has a character quite different from any other settlement in the country. The wet weather was of little consequence as we were headed for the National Museum with its wonderful displays of Greenlandic culture. A highlight was the opportunity to see the famous mummies found at Qilaqitsoq in northwest Greenland, and our visit was rounded off with a display of kayaking.
Our afternoon at sea gave us a chance to pack before an entertaining final recap from our expedition team, followed by the captain's farewell cocktail party and dinner. After dinner, we retired to the lounge for lots of chocolate and Rich's magnificent round-up of our expedition through images, movies, and music, and our reflections on what extraordinary weather we had encountered and what exceptional wildlife sightings we had had on our journey of over 2,000 nautical miles.
Overnight we recrossed the Arctic Circle and sailed the length of Sondre Stromfjord to Kangerlussuaq at the head of the fjord. Soon it was time for the first farewells, as a small group headed to the airport for flights to Copenhagen. Most, on a later flight to Ottawa, had time to enjoy a visit to the Inland Ice and the bouldery moraines around its margin. After overnighting in Ottawa we said goodbye to our fellow adventurers; until next time.


text:
About FAPAC
FAPAC History
AAPI Resources
Awards & Scholarship
Civilian Awards
2021 Civilian Awards Winners
Uniformed Services Awards
2021 Uniformed Services Awards Winners
FAPAC Scholarship
FAPAC Endowment Fund
Distinguished Public Servants
Membership & Chapters
Chapter Administration
Start a New Chapter
Chapter Guidelines
APG Chapter
STAR Chapter
Rio Grande Chapter
NORCAL Chapter
VA Chapter
USCG Chapter
USDA Chapter
NIH Chapter
PBGC Chapter
HHS Parklawn
DOI Chapter
FDA Chapter
LVSS Chapter
DOT Chapter
FBI Chapter
American Samoa Chapter
DOD Chapter
OPM Chapter
National Leadership Training Program
Exhibitor Guidelines
2020 Civilian Awards
2020 Uniformed Services Awards
2020 Veterans Program
FAQ 2019
2019 Student Program
Sponsors Package
2018 Registration Page
Civilian Award
Military Award
Scholarship Award
Hotel & Transportation
NLTP Mobile App
2014 FAPAC Civilian and Military Awards
Student Sessions
Veterans Sessions
Registration Fee Table
2013 NTLP Presentations
Workshop Presentations
Plenary Description
Career Development Mentoring Program
CDP 2021
CDP 2021 Dates
Design & Marketing Internship Program
Future Star Program
FSP News
FSP Hall of Fame
Leadership Shadowing Program
Challenge Team
Challenge Team News
Team Members 2014
2013-2014 Challenge Team Reports
2013 Webinar
Press Files
National Leadership Training Photos
To recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities and promote diversity and inclusion among the Federal and District of Columbia government work forces.
Performance Period: 2019 Fiscal Year (Oct 1, 2018 - Sept 30, 2019) or Calendar Year (Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2019)
Point of Contact: awards@fapac.org
The Award Committee will be comprised of the Awards Committee Chair and a Panel of Judges. The Committee will review each nomination package based on the five criteria below. Each criterion will be rated on a 20-point scale for a maximum score of 100 points per nomination package.
Criterion 1: Assisted the Agency in recruiting, promoting, establishing, and maintaining an effective and equitable workplace for AAPIs;
Criterion 2: Promoted AAPI competencies, cultures, contributions, work ethic, and behavior related to the agency's employment;
Criterion 3: Promoted AAPI career development through mentoring, leadership, and/or relationship building;
Criterion 4: Organized activities that promote equal opportunity and cultural awareness of the AAPI community; and
Criterion 5: Displayed exceptional leadership that resulted in significant workplace changes or contributions.
The Award Committee will submit nominees with the highest score per award category to the FAPAC President for final review and approval. Award winners and the nominator will receive an email notice of the selection via email by March 2021. The Awards Committee Chair will coordinate and confirm the award winner's attendance at the Virtual NLTP Civilian Awards Ceremony in May 2021.
Please direct any additional questions to the award committee at awards@fapac.org.
One winner will be selected per category, per grade cluster (GS 1-12, GS 13-15, and Senior Executive Service) for a total of nine (9) awards.
Outstanding Individual Leadership: Individual has shown bold leadership and innovative ways to promote Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Affirmative Action, and Diversity.
Excellence in Individual Achievement: Individual has made significant contributions toward AAPI representation at all levels .
Diversity Excellence: Individual has shown a remarkable contribution towards diversity and inclusion through collaboration and against all odds.
Congratulations to the 2020 Civilian Award Winners
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL LEADERSHIP
Katherine Toth, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (GS 1-12)
Ms. Toth has worked to spread awareness in under-represented communities, highlighting Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) educational programs and opportunities in order to attract underrepresented students for internship and hiring opportunities. Her advocacy includes communicating with senior management to prevent prejudices and profiling of minorities at DCSA, promoting student program, lobbying for merit based equal opportunity for all employees, promoting and recognizing AAPI success, and celebrating the diversity of Asian and the Pacific Islands cultural heritages. Ms. Toth's outstanding leadership has made significant contributions to the advancement of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander communities. Her efforts to promote diversity and inclusion among at DCSA community have made a notable impact in the overall organization.
Cindy N. Tran, Defense Contract Management Agency (GS 13-15)
Ms. Tran has assisted the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) in recruiting, promoting, establishing, and maintaining an effective and equitable workplace for AAPI. She is passionate about mentoring college students and providing career guidance to job seekers interested in DCMA and other federal employment opportunities. Ms. Tran was invited to the Society Women Engineer (SWE), Society of Asian Scientist & Engineers (SASE), and local high school job fairs to recruit young talent to work for the federal government. She promoted the importance of diversity within the workplace and integrating AAPI competencies, cultures, contributions, work ethic, and behavior at these events. She has been participating in the Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) to mentor and help individuals with disabilities find careers within the federal workforce. She encourages students to volunteer for AAPI community events for networking opportunities and supports and sponsors cultural youth groups, such as the Vietnamese Association Students.
Dr. Zina B. Sutch, Office of Personnel Management (SES)
As Deputy Associate Director of Outreach, Diversity and Inclusion at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Dr. Sutch leads OPM's government-wide functions and responsibilities related to Recruitment, Policy and Outreach, Veterans Services, and Diversity and Inclusion. She led the OPM Center for Outreach, Diversity and Inclusion in reaching an audience of over 60,000 through diversity and inclusion related technical assistance consultations, presentations, workshops, webinars, training, conferences, fairs, and panels. Dr. Sutch served on the 2018 White House Initiative on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Interagency Working Group where their mission was to improve the quality of life for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the nation through increased access to, and participation in, federal programs in which they may be underserved.
EXCELLENCE IN INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT
John Wilson Howerton, U.S. Army (GS 1-12)
Mr. Howerton passionately assists the ROTC program in recruiting, promoting, establishing, and maintaining an effective and equitable workplace for AAPl. During his tenure at the University of Guam, he facilitated the enrollment of over 420 Cadets into the ROTC program, which provides leadership instruction and training at no-cost to the AAPI students. Many of those students have gone on to become leaders on Guam, regardless of whether they eventually completed all four years of the ROTC program. He further develops the ROTC Cadets' work ethic by training them in public speaking and presentation skills. He uses every encounter with the Cadets as a way to develop their leadership and social skills.
Doris S. Tung, US Navy (GS 13-15)
Ms. Tung is a member of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Inclusion and Engagement (I&E) Council where she integrates and improves awareness of Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) competencies, cultures, and contributions. She leads the new Enterprise policy initiative to promote more fair and equitable hiring practices. She is also a member of the Naval Asian Society Employee Resource Group (NASERG) in which she promotes AAPI issues within the organization and encourages participation in NASERG events. Ms. Tung leads the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) contracting department team in recruiting, engaging, and creating a diverse workforce. She made great strides in diversifying the workforce by changing the Contracts Department hiring paradigm, yielding a larger and diverse pool of candidates for promotional opportunities. Through her work, AAPI recruits increased from 2.61% to 5.5%. On the job, she operates one of the most diverse and inclusive units in her organization. Ms. Tung attends recruiting events to grant candidates equitable consideration or opportunity and ensures job offers and interview processes remove biases to allow for equitable consideration diverse talent.
Jeffrey Clark Flora, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (SES)
As a senior executive with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), Mr. Flora has supported the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) and its training programs. He helped connect FAPAC to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Office of Recruitment Policy and Outreach to present hiring workshops for the FAPAC National Leadership Training Program and Student Career Fairs. Mr. Flora leads by example with a sense of integrity and fairness. He is an active supporter of the Combined Federal Campaign, Feds Feeds Families, veterans' initiatives and FAPAC and encourages DCSA employees to follow his lead. Mr. Flora was the founding executive sponsor for the FAPAC OPM Chapter and now the establishment of FAPAC Department of Defense Chapter.
DIVERSITY EXCELLENCE
Van R. Nguyen, US Army Corps of Engineers (GS 1-12)
Mr. Nguyen made significant contributions toward diversity and inclusion of Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) as a Vietnamese-English translator communicating critical flood risk information with the vast New Orleans Vietnamese community. He promoted the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics by mentoring at local high schools and colleges. As a result of his efforts, he recruited and developed several AAPI engineers. Mr. Nguyen successfully led the Asian Employment Program (AEP) in New Orleans District since 2013 and has actively served on the AEP since 2006. He steadfastly led the AEP mission as an organizational liaison and provided support to address the needs of New Orleans District Asian Americans and initiated programs to enhance the career development of Asian American employees.
Loucious Hires, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (GS 13-15)
Mr. Hires is Director of the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama. He collaborates with MSFC offices to implement a comprehensive Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Implementation Plan and MSFC Anti-Harassment Campaign Plan. He also provides leadership training on conflict resolution and diversity and inclusion topics, such as unconscious bias. Mr. Hires established a special emphasis advisory committee of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) champions to help lead NASA/MSFC efforts to promote, establish, and maintain an effective and equitable workplace. The MSFC AAPI Special Emphasis Advisory Group addresses a range of issues that are relevant to AAPIs in the MSFC and greater Huntsville communities. Through partnerships with Redstone Arsenal agencies, MSFC leadership, MSFC AAPI Special Emphasis Advisory Group members, academia, and others, Mr. Hires helped develop the foundation for the City of Huntsville's successful bid to host the 2019 FAPAC National Leadership Training Program.
Courtney Wilkerson, Federal Aviation Administration (SES)
Mr. Wilkerson supported Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) participation at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an executive champion for employee resource groups. The FAA saw annual increases in the number of AAPI employees, including a 10% growth in the number of GS-13 and GS-14 equivalent employees, an 8% increase in GS-15 equivalent employees, and an all-time high of 150 AAPI employees. Mr. Wilkerson presented on AAPI career growth and employee demographics at the FAA for the FAPAC-FAA Training Day in May 2019. He shared critical advice with 30 participants about how to prepare for FAA leadership positions. He also described how being involved in an employee group like FAPAC will assist in employee development to become a more viable candidate for the next job. Mr. Wilkerson is an advocate for employee development and offers his time and advice to help AAPI employees thrive.
Copyright 2021 FAPAC • 12801 Fair Lakes Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22033 • P.O. Box 23184, Washington, D.C. 20026-3184
Email Us Join Us Donate Privacy Statement


Brighten your home with these beautiful Moroccan style ceiling lights available in custom sizes & finishes. flush mount lighting fixtures are ideal for providing general, overall illumination. Flush mount or semi-flush mount fixtures are perfect for use in hall way, bedrooms, bath areas and kitchen spaces. These fixtures are easy to install and provide a fresh decorative touch for home DIY renovation projects. With an almost unlimited selection of ceiling light choices, you are sure to find the right style to add that final, finishing touch to your home.
Ceiling Lights There are 13 products.


The prayer bowls are thrown and glazed in the ceramic studio where the final touch of sea glass is added to the base of the pot. The sea glass is collected from the beach by Gabrielle's mother. Every time a piece of glass is found a prayer is said. The sea glass is brought to England to maintain a link with the island of Jersey.


The 2016 Pacific hurricane season was an above average event in the yearly formation of tropical cyclones in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. This page will document my opinion on intensities during the season after seeing the information needed to form this opinion. this may include Dvorak numbers, Tropical Cyclone Advisories and reports, and any observations made during the tropical cyclone personally if it made landfall. Based on this summary, there were 23 tropical depressions, 22 tropical storms, 13 hurricanes, and 7 major hurricanes.
Hurricane Pali 105 mph, 974 mbar. Active from January 7 to January 15. Significant for its record early formation, as well as its remarkably low latitude whilst active.
Tropical Depression One-E 35 mph, 1006 mbar. Active from June 6 to June 8. Made landfall in Southwestern Mexico as a tropical depression.
Tropical Storm Agatha 50 mph,1002 mbar. Active from July 2 to July 5.
Hurricane Blas 145 mph, 944 mbar. Active from July 2 to July 10.
Hurricane Celia 105 mph, 972 mbar. Active from July 6 to July 16. Caused 2 deaths in HI related to rip current activity.
Hurricane Darby 120 mph, 958 mbar. Active from July 11 to July 26. made landfall in HI with 45 mph winds.
Tropical Storm Estelle 65 mph, 990 mbar. Active from July 15 to July 22.
Hurricane Frank 85 mph, 979 mbar. Active from July 21 to July 28.
Hurricane Georgette 130 mph, 950 mbar. Active from July 21 to July 27.
Tropical Storm Howard 50 mph, 998 mbar. Active from July 31 to August 3.
Tropical Storm Ivette 60 mph, 998 mbar. Active from August 2 to August 8.
Tropical Storm Javier 65 mph, 997 mbar. Active from August 7 to August 9. Made landfall on the Baja California Peninsula with 45 mph winds.
Tropical Storm Kay 60 mph, 997 mbar. Active from August 18 to August 23.
Hurricane Lester 150 mph, 941 mbar. Active from August 24 to September 7.
Hurricane Madeline 130 mph, 950 mbar. Active from August 26 to September 3.
Hurricane Newton 90 mph, 977 mbar. Active from September 14 to September 17.made landfall on the Baja California Peninsula with 90 mph winds, and in Mexico with 45 mph winds.
Hurricane Orlene 115 mph, 963 mbar. Active from September 11 to September 17.
Hurricane Paine 85 mph, 979 mbar. Active from September 18 to September 21.
Tropical Storm Roslyn 50 mph, 999 mbar. Active from September 25 to September 29.
Hurricane Ulika 75 mph, 992 mbar. Active from September 26 to September 30. Significant for its record crossings from the East Pacific to Central 3 times.
Hurricane Seymour 155 mph, 935 mbar. Active from October 23 to October 28.
Tropical Storm Tina 40 mph, 1005 mbar. Active from November 13 to November 14.
Tropical Storm Otto 70 mph, 993 mbar. Entered basin November 25, dissipated November 26. The Pacific portion of the Atlantic's Hurricane Otto.