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Crossing the Wall
People, Society, Media | East Asia (China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan)
Anti-LGBTI fliers being handed out at Liberal MP Michael Sukkar's safe schools information event for the Chinese community.
An information session on the safe schools program targetting the Chinese community was held today at the Melbourne headquarters of the Liberal Party. It was organised by ex-Hotham candidate George Hua and featured Deakin MP Michael Sukkar as the main guest speaker. The Event titled "Do you support sex ed being taught to your children earlier? Australia's "Safe Schools Program" is it safe?" and was touted as being a purely informational event.
This event had been advertised through various Chinese media groups such as AusFocus and HighFun media, whose target audiences are generally first generation Chinese migrants.
It is likely the information could biased judging from the flyer pictured above, that were being handed out at the event. Dan Xie, whose contact details are on the fliers, had already told The Age last year that he was protecting Chinese culture.
Since I am of Chinese background, I decided to try and contact Mr Xie, on how he could claim to be representing the culture of over a billion very diverse people. Sadly, I could not reach Mr Xie through phone nor the WeChat. If he does reply, I will update it here with his response.
The Chinese flyer is written differently from the English version.
Have you heard of the Safe Schools Program?
The Safe Schools program educates children by teaching them to act like homosexuals and bisexuals, so that they will conform to new age ideas of gender, by letting student select which uniform and bathroom they wish to use.
The curriculum is setup like this: lesson one [Creating a safe space] (Page 10); lesson two [Same Sex Experiences] (pages 10-11); lesson three[Bisexual Experiences] (pages 11-12); lesson four [Transgender Experiences] (pages 12-13); lesson five [Intersex Experiences].
This is to indoctrinate children about the diversity of sexuality, schools will encourage children to see homosexuality and other orientations as equal so that they will experiment, experience and choose out of their own accord.
Please sign this national petition! New South Wales have already reached 17000 signatories, Victoria has already more than 5000.
Oppose [Safe Schools Program] curriculum's indoctrination of children into new trendy sexualities!
Oppose the indoctrination of children with the concept of sexual diversity!
Protect the basic rights of parents and children's futures!
This entry was posted in All, China, Media, Society on June 25, 2017 by Tyrone.
Refugees still the big issue for first generation Australian Chinese voters; due to profiteering WeChat media
Various Chinese social media companies have been misleading and sometimes directly lying to their readers for views. The fake news is most dangerous in that many of the readers are first generation Chinese migrants, who are on permant residency visas or have just recently attained citizenship. This means they either prefer media in their native tongue or are constrained by language barriers, forcing them to read social media for their news.
Here is a recent example of misleading WeChat news, in regards to the government's decision to compensate refugees, who suffered harm under detainment, with $70 million AUD.
AuWe News (澳洲微报), published an article filled with misleading information about refugees.
"Bad News! 1905 refugees have sued the Australian Government! Each getting 150 thousand in compensation! Paid by Australian taxpayers!"
AuWe News media's article misleads the reader by instead of just reporting the news, they go down to the depths of all the benefits and welfare that refugees can claim. Implying as though that refugees are coming to Australia to freeload on welfare benefits. Such as saying that Centrelink can pay each refugee up to $1600 a month.
Other WeChat publications have also published equally misleading information regarding refugees. Australian Web (澳洲网)such as their article which illustrates that somehow Permanent Residents (PRs) are in competition directly with refugees for government resources.
"This really hurts! The Australian government treat refugees far better than PR holders! Compensation illegal refugees 70 million! Each person 150 thousand!
Many readers were infuriated by the news and subequently shared the articles.
"This where all the tax goes. No wonder utility fees are rising."
"The Australian government is on a dangerous path (Chinese idiom: riding a tiger they cannot dismount from)"
Soon, enough more and more people joined the mob and launched into comments section. The top rated comment being extremely violent:
This stupid cunt government should have died a long time ago! Politicians should let the refugees live in their homes! Fuck :cleaveremotesx3
The second most liked the commentor thinks that refugees have easier lives than Australian citizens
"This just shows that being a citizen isn't as good as being a refugee! The Australian government does not welcome educated people who come by plane with money, they are more welcoming to people who come here on boat without any warning, as long as you get here you wont go back empty handed! Now you've given them money, this will become an advertisement for more illegal refugees. Just need to wait for two years, don't need to work, just stay put, then you can be compensated the ten times the earnings of actual locals. The Australian government has already decided the future and quality of our citizens.
This shows the dangerous effect this types of media has had on first generation migrants, convincing them to think that refugees and asylum seekers are all coming here to reap the benefits welfare, without telling about the dangers they face back home.
Also an important note is that these types of comments can be found all across the internet on right wing news pages, so this should only be taken as an illustration of the effects of misleading social media news.
The Australian government needs to have a way to combat the rise of various right wing social media pages promoting hate and divide within the Chinese community.
This entry was posted in All, China, Society on June 22, 2017 by Tyrone.
Liberal Party Using New Dirty Tactics to Convert Chinese Community Against Safe Schools
While browsing WeChat, I spotted a social media post related to Safe Schools by Chinese Liberal Association leader, Kelvin Ho. I have covered former Councillor Ho before on his homophobic views, where he used a slippery slope argument to equate homosexuality with bestiality.
First part of the post was just a simple screenshot of his iPhone Notes, detailing an event.
Second part of the post was a link to sign up to the event which is related to Safe Schools. You can find it here, . The event is an "Afternoon Tea Information Session with Liberal party members" with regards to a dicussion about Safe Schools.
The event will be held on Sunday, 25th of June at the Victorian Liberal HQ in the Melbourne CBD, free entry. Official title of the the event is
"Do you support sex ed being taught to your children earlier? Australia's "Safe Schools Program" is it "safe"?
Michael Sukkar – Member for Deakin
A notable guest is the now infamous Michael Sukkar MP, currently under investigation for contempt of the court. Mr Sukkar has spoken out against safe school legislation in the past.
"…the Safe Schools Coalition's radical sex education program exposes Victorian children to very dangerous ideas, practices, and materials." – Michael Sukkar (source: Facebook)
Karina Okotel, a former candidate, who according to this survey is also against safe schools will also be attending.
This event was done in close conjunction with the Chinese Liberals Association in Victoria, whose Chairman is the aforementioned Kelvin Ho. One of their senior members, George Hua, will be a main organiser.
Can a information session really be fair, when most of the speakers have a history opposing the Safe Schools program?
Ellen's Bar, Where A Language Barrier is used to Give Free Drinks to Foreigners
Ellen's Bar, which is situated on Guangzhou Road, Nanjing in close proximity of many universities, so you can imagine there would be quite a few foreign customers. What made Ellen's discriminatory policy so interesting, was that it relied solely on a language barrier.
Here's a photo of the sign at the front counter of the bar. It says:
Free beer and whisky coke everyday up to 10:00pm
But this is where the problem begins. Silly old me, Australian born Chinese went to order a free beer. They refused to give it to me. They asked how I knew that they would give out free alcohol before 10pm. I said it's right there on the counter in English. The bartender was perplexed, I could read the sign. He still refused to give me the drinks. I told him, that I was going to call the authorities if he didn't, as he is discriminating against me, thinking I could not comprehend English. Anyway, I eventually got the drinks and he was noticeably peeved off.
Pretty much, their free drink policy for foreigners, was based on the hopes of Chinese people not being able to read the sign at their counter. Which sounds crazy, considering that Nanjing University is right next door and it is one of the premier insitutes of education in China, how could no other Chinese have noticed this sign?
What was really infuriating, was I noticed that all the Chinese customers, were taking out notes and their phone to pay for the actual drinks. This meant the owner of the bar was using Chinese money to stay afloat so foreigners could get free drinks.
I'm no stranger to the Chinese nightlife scene in terms of discriminatory pricing, it's been an ongoing issue for probably longer than I've been alive. Where Caucasians generally get free entry, free drinks and free tables just based on their skin colour. It's also hard to argue against, as everytime you do, there'll be some crazy white supremacist types, who will defend it at all costs.
Sometimes it even includes weird interpretations of supply side economics, such at this example on Reddit. An expat asked for examples racism towards foreigners, and when he was hit with only examples of racism towards local Taiwanese, this gem of bad economics popped out.
Doesn't sound like racism, sounds more like they're trying to attract foreigners. If we're thinking of the same Club Box, women get in for almost half price. That's targeting demographics. Literally everything you described is targeting demographics, from higher salary (which you really should've negotiated) to lower entry fee.
But anyway, please boycott future establishments that dabble in such discriminatory policies.
What else can be done?
This entry was posted in All on June 19, 2017 by Tyrone.
Lin Shan Ju – Homophobic Taiwanese White Supremacist and Ex-Candidate of the One Nation Party
Lin Shan Ju is definitely one of the most perplexing human beings to exist. Lin was apparently born in Taipei, and migrated to Australia. In terms of her career accolades they include:
Candidate for Katter's Australian Party, a party with strong protectionist and Christian roots
Candidate for Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party, a party famous for being anti-Asian, anti-Muslim and anti-multiculturalism. Lin was actually kicked from the One Nation Party, for being even too extreme for them. Her comments against the LGBTI community was just too much for even the posterchild party of bigotry in Australia.
President of the World Harmony Society, which makes little sense, as she herself is strongly against China who make up a large chunk of the world's population.
This entry was posted in All, Taiwan on June 19, 2017 by Tyrone.
Why the BBC is Dead Wrong about Red Guards and the Maryland Issue. Ms Yangs are a scourge upon Asian society.
Carrie Gracie, another so called non-Chinese 'foreign expert' has gone to the point of illustrating any opposition to the glorious Western thought as new 'Red Guards'. She is writing from the perspective of a person who not received racial discrimination for their skin colour.
This entry was posted in All, Media on June 19, 2017 by Tyrone.
Four Corners, Fairfax and Nick McKenzie, A Story of Biased Reporting
I wasn't originally going to share it here. The reason was because Nick McKenzie contacted me from the recommendations of a friend, I did not want to hurt my friend's relationship with him.
Sadly, Nick McKenzie's biased reporting has gone too far, it is now starting to hurt the Chinese community at large. Recently when I was talking to some Chinese student association representatives, one of them cited how she was afraid to speak. She felt like she would be branded as more than she was. It's got to the point of a red scare.
Jieh-Yung Lo, a Chinese community leader and activist outlines it well in his recent opinion piece on the Guardian.
…the concern I have is that this story will paint a picture that all current and future Chinese-Australians will behave like Huang Xiangmo and Chau Chak Wing if they decide to get involved in Australian politics.
What evolved from a story of investigation into foreign donations, a justified cause, has become a sweeping attack on the Chinese community as a whole. With so called mind reading 'foreign experts' like Merriden Varrall putting words into the mouths of 1.3 billion Chinese people, like she did in her AFR opinion piece.
About nearly two months ago, Nick McKenzie gave me a call. Claiming to be a investigative journalist from Four Corners, doing work on a report about Chinese Soft Power. The phone call did not go well as Mr McKenzie had already made up his mind on how the story would be told. Nick McKenzie had written the story beforehand, now he was merely filling in the blank spots with cherry picked evidence.
He thought I would know Taiwanese student associations and how they were being influenced and perhaps strongarmed by the Chinese government or Chinese students under government orders. I told him it was much more likely to be the opposite scenario, as I had been part of a Taiwanese student association, in which the local Taiwan diplomat even had a daughter in the group. I even remember a time where we had to make an entourage to welcome a Taiwanese delegate. I also remembered when Taiwanese students would bully Mainland students for not following Taiwanese independence ideology.
Of course, as we all remember, in his now infamous Four Corner's piece, he paints the picture of a Chinese student association as some type of Red Guards club. Flurrying red Chinese flags and yelling 'China' like crazed Communist zealots. You see, despite what I told Mr McKenzie, on how Asian student associations at university all seem to have a level of government influence, he still went forward with his own narrative. He wanted to paint the Chinese community, the Australian Chinese people as the new eastern bogeyman. He wanted this big scoop of a story, he wanted his smug mug to be the one breaking the story of sneaky orientals.
Just looking at the banner of the Fairfax owned Sydney Morning Herald's interactive page on 'China's Operation Australia' you could feel the orientalist perspective they were taking. A big Chinese flag, adorned with revolving Australian bank notes and South China Sea maps. Like it was a big conspiracy and that any moment now the hourglass would break and the communists would pour into Australia. It even has 5 White journalists credited just below, legitimising it as true White Australian news. Now, this is how you construct a yellow peril.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am all for cutting out all foreign influences from Australian politics, but why does Fairfax, who so readily advertises themselves as independent journalism have to resort to such fearmongering tactics? This is not hitting back at the Chinese government, this is illustrating a image of Communist mongoloid hordes ready to take over Australia. The sneaky Chinaman and his nefarious plans to take over the mighty Western nation, thwarted by brave, shiny, white and chivalrous Nick McKenzie and co. Maybe Fairfax should get into writing some 1950's comics, they already seem to have employed a time travelling orentialist artist as a web designer.
Come on, this should not even have to be said. Chinese people are people. Chinese people are individuals. We can think for ourselves. We aren't easily brainwashed drones. In the future just treat us as humans.
Tony Shu-Jen Chang – Alleged Racist, Alleged Agent Provocateur and Four Corners Informant | Crossing the Wall on Lin Shan Ju – Homophobic Taiwanese White Supremacist and Ex-Candidate of the One Nation Party
qwerty on Taiwan's Fascists – The Black Bear Army and the Taiwan Civil Government, an unrecognised separatist movement.
Tyrone on A cautionary tale to overseas born Chinese looking to work in China. Beware of Chinese on Chinese racism.
Blue Sunday on A cautionary tale to overseas born Chinese looking to work in China. Beware of Chinese on Chinese racism.
Guest on A cautionary tale to overseas born Chinese looking to work in China. Beware of Chinese on Chinese racism.


The Arête™ 22 is a transformer—it's a sleek, ultralight pack designed for peak bagging, minimalist adventures and traveling. The Arête 22 is lightweight and reversible, with the ability to transform into a reservoir sleeve that keeps your water supply insulated and secure within a larger pack. When you reach basecamp, just flip the Arête inside out and you've got an ultralight pack for day hikes and summit scrambles.
The Arête 22 has ample room for hiking essentials like a headlamp, warm layers, food and a trail map. It also features a 2-liter Antidote® reservoir, an adjustable sternum strap, and a removable stability belt for a close, comfortable fit. CamelBak also added zippered compartments on the lid and the side of the pack, so you can keep your gear sorted more easily.


Right to Information is the Boulia Shire Council's approach to giving the community greater access to information. We are committed to provide access to information held by the Council, unless on balance it is contrary to the public interest to provide that information.
Right to Information reforms aim to make more information available, provide equal access to information across all sectors of the community, and provide appropriate protection for individuals' privacy.
Before submitting a Right to Information application or Information Privacy application for access solely to your own personal information, you should check to see if the information is already available. The disclosure log publishes information that has been released in response to other Right to Information requests, while our publication scheme describes and categorises information we routinely make available.
Some of our information may be released administratively by business units. You can access this information without having to lodge a formal application.
in person at the Boulia Shire Council office.
by mail, fax or email to Right to Information Services Officer – Boulia Shire Council.
There is an initial application fee for all Right to Information applications. This fee cannot be waived.
No processing charges are payable if the agency spends less than 5 hours processing an application. If the agency spends more than 5 hours a charge for each 15 minutes (or part thereof) spent processing the application is applicable.
The department may also charge a fee per A4 page if the applicant wishes to receive black and white photocopies. No charge will apply to access documents on CD/DVD.
Please refer to Council's Fees and Charges for current pricing.
Valid applications must be processed within 25 business days of receipt. A further 10 business days can be added if we need to consult with third parties.
The Council may negotiate a further extension of time with the applicant if additional processing time is required. This extension of time does not affect an applicant's right of review.
If you wish to amend the information, you must first complete the Information Privacy Personal Information Amendment Application Form and submit it to Right to Information Services Officer – Boulia Shire Council.
Please contact the Right to Information Services for more information.


Students who are not members of the EC should have the corresponding visa in order to travel to Ireland. If this is your case, please contact us on the information line 0034 91 7428687 and we will tell you the steps to follow.
Students who already have had this card from previous years can apply on the internet (link).
Students who are not members of the European Community, must have the corresponding visa to travel to Ireland. If this is your case, please contact us on the information telephone 91 742 86 87 and we will tell you all the steps to follow.


ralph o Trip2India – dni 5-8, czyli Darjeeling time!
Climate change – is there anything we should be afraid of?
The climate is changing – that is the fact that nobody can question. But is it really a culpability of mankind? Do people affects Earth so strongly that they can change the climate? In my opinion – no. I believe – and of course not only me – that the changes are caused by natural factors.
Periods of glaciations, colloquially called "ice ages", have happened thousands of times in the past of our planet. Last one dates back to 8.000 BC. Periods between glaciations are called "interglacials" – one of them lasts for 10.000 years and continue. During this time the global overall temperature have been constantly growing. If we zoom out our look on the history of our planet, we will see that it is nothing out of the ordinary. Emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases rise along with the growth of the flora. The warmer the climate, the better are the weather conditions for vegetation. This leads to a point of equilibrium, in which the climate is too warm and triggers the desertification process. Vegetation is stopped and suddenly the level of carbon dioxide quickly lowers. The ice age is starting and lasts for hundred of years needed for flora to restore.
The ecologists are claiming that the climate warming is caused by the emission of carbon dioxide, which I can agree. However, they say that most of this gas is emitted by mankind – which cannot be called other than "green propaganda". The truth is that comparing to the 680 millions tons of natural carbon fluxing, 7 million tons produced by humans is only a little bit more than 1% of annual sum. Our civilization hasn't reached yet the level, at which it could affect whole planet, no matter it would be positive or negative affection. Terraforming is still beyond our possibility.
However, even if global warming is not caused by humans, it does not mean it is not dangerous. Climate change will affect the crops, making the food more expensive and may lead to a famine in poor countries. It is also proven that Australia is undergoing desertification. Moreover, the sea level will rise, which will surely lead to flooding in low-situated regions (e.g. Netherlands). Of course it will not happen in several weeks, month or even years, but this process is constant. That is why we must start the preparations now as soon it may be to late.
Dalej Następny wpis: Qvo vadis, esporcie?


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Alabama Governor Signs Controversial Adoption Bill
Robert Fowler
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama has signed a controversial bill allowing in-state adoption agencies to turn away applicants based on religious grounds. Supporters of the legislation assert that it will protect religious liberty, while opponents argue that it enables discrimination against LGBT couples.
On May 3, Ivey signed House Bill 24 into law, making it legal for Alabama adoption agencies to refuse placing children with couples that they find religiously objectionable, AL.com reports.
"I ultimately signed House Bill 24 because it ensures hundreds of children can continue to find 'forever homes' through religiously-affiliated adoption agencies," Ivey said. "This bill is not about discrimination, but instead protects the ability of religious agencies to place vulnerable children in a permanent home,"
The bill had cleared its legislative hurdles on April 25, when the Alabama House passed it by a unanimous vote of 87, with six abstentions. Republican state Rep. Rich Wingo of Alabama, the bill's sponsor, praised Ivey for standing "up for religious liberty and religious freedom."
House Bill 24, also known as the Alabama Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act, makes no mention of LGBT couples. Despite the omission, the new law would enable Alabama adoption agencies to deny same-sex or transgender applicants without penalty, Buzzfeed News reports.
Democratic State Rep. Patricia Todd of Alabama believes that the new law is a blatant attack on LGBT residents in her state.
"This bill obviously came about because same-sex marriage was approved," Todd said the day of the House vote. "It's based in a stereotype. And it's wrong. And we shouldn't discriminate and I will always fight that."
Wingo asserts that his legislation is not bigoted, citing how it made no mention of LGBT couples.
"The bill is not to discriminate against anyone," Wingo said. "Nowhere in the bill does it saying anything like that or lead you to believe that."
LGBT advocates are not convinced that the new law doesn't target same-sex or transgender Alabama residents. Eva Kendrick of the Human Rights Campaign of Alabama issued a statement blasting both Ivey and the Alabama legislature.
"We are deeply disappointed that the legislature and the governor took on this unnecessary, discriminatory bill instead of focusing on how to improve the lives of all Alabamians, no matter who they are or whom they love," Kendrick said.
Board chair Alex Smith of Equality Alabama asserted that religious objections should not excuse discrimination.
"We value the place that faith has in many people's lives, but using one's faith to discriminate against another person is wrong, and should not be made the law of the land," Smith said.
Republican State Sen. Adelbert Marsh of Alabama has suggested that LGBT couples in his state could adopt through secular agencies.
"Those individuals who want to go that route have that route," Marsh said. "What we're trying to do is say is, 'Okay, you also can't discriminate against religious organizations who want the ability to place these kids where they think they'd be best suited for them."
Sources: AL.com (2), Buzzfeed News / Photo Credit: Fort Rucker/Flickr
LGBT discriminationSocietyAlabamapoliticsReligious freedom
Alabama Passes Bill Protecting Confederate Monuments
Texas Governor Signs Anti-Sanctuary City Bill
Kansas Governor Signs Controversial Religious Freedom Law
California Governor Strikes Deal For 'Sanctuary' Bill
Mississippi Governor Signs 'Religious Freedom' Bill
Georgia Governor To Veto Religious Rights Bill (Video)
Alabama Senator Proposes New Food Stamp Restrictions
Justice Department: LGBT Not Protected By Civil Rights

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Review: Harman Kardon Onyx - the ultimate Boombox... er, "Boomegg"?
I have always been a big fan of Harman/JBL speakers. Despite being based on a several year old design I still think the latest go&play wireless version to be one of the best looking and sounding boomboxes around, with the only downside of a castrated sound when run from batteries. I was also very impressed by the JBL Radial, when I heard it for the first time, as well as the JBL On Stage 400-Series, which produced quite a big sound despite being rather small.
So far unfortunately none of the real portable and battery-driven speakers from Harman or JBL managed to convince me. The JBL Charge being larger while costing only slightly less than the Bose Soundlink Mini is not able to produce such a convincing sound as the Bose.
The Onyx seemed to me the perfect reincarnation of the original and iconic go&play design but considerably smaller with a built in battery and hopefully with a similarly mature sound. I like unusual designs for speakers, as I liked the trumpet or vuvuzela design of the Parrot Zikmu, as well as the simple cylindrical design of the Libratone Zipp.
The Onyx looks a bit like an egg at least from the side, but the design as a whole including the steel handle would make it quite attractive within a modern interior, which is why I directly ordered an Onyx as soon as it became available.
The Onyx came in a big but surprisingly light box. I really expected something much heavier, but during unboxing you'll notice that most of the space is just taken up by air, as the speaker is rather compact with only added bulk due to the angled steel handle, which unfortunately is not rotateable, so that you cannot flip it in-line with the speaker to really make it flat for transport. Apart from the handle the speaker just measures 16cm at its thickest spot. It is a real pity that Harman didn't think of such a detail, as a rotateable handle would make the speaker much more convenient for transport so that you could just toss it inside a rucksack or bag. As it is now, it needs a bigger bag to really fit in.
I wouldn't like to carry the Onyx around without any protection despite the convenient carrying-handle. Although the materials are overall really of high-quality, the aluminium passive radiator or even the leathered-back could be easily damaged or scratched without any protection during transport.
I don't understand the choice for a leathered back. Although it might appear pretty slick together with the shiny passive radiator, most of the time you won't even notice it, as the speaker would normally be aimed towards the listener and not with the back-side. This is not a 360° sound system and sound degrades considerably when listened off-axis.
The price for the Onyx is quite steep (499$ or 499€) and among the highest for this kind of portable speaker. Even the go&play costs 1/3 less and I am sure the price for the Onyx could have been lowered, if the some parts were made of simple plastic. Apart from the leathered back the ring around the main body is of a rubbered material and contains all touch-sensitive buttons, while the front consists of a rather cheapish cloth-cover, that can also be removed if necessary.
For my own taste the black cloth-cover degrades the looks of the otherwise high-grade speaker. When touched it becomes dirty pretty fast, and I am sure the cloth will be the first part to show signs of wear, if the speaker is really taken outside often and not only used at home without being moved around. At this price level I would have preferred a wired mesh similar to the go&play to tell the truth.
If the cover is removed the acoustic core of the Onyx is revealed consisting of 2 full-range drivers and 2 tweeters as well as another opposing passive radiator at the front that works together with the one at the back to minize vibrations of the whole speaker. Both reinforce the low frequencies (the backwards movement of the active drivers) that would otherwise be lost within the speaker. A ported design as an alternative would probably be less efficient with such a flat and compact body.
I was a bit surprised to see the actual paper-cone drivers, as they look pretty cheap, like some simple speakers bought from Radioshack.
I expected Harman Kardon to use some more sophisticated and high-quality drivers. It also catched my eye that the drivers were not mounted totally centered but rather offset slightly within their openings. Maybe this is nitpicking, but we are talking about a pricy design-object, where I would expect a bit of perfection.
At the bottom back there are some connection ports as well as a WPS-button for quick router-connection. The Onyx does not only support a simple Bluetooth connection (including a quick NFC connection, which is pretty useless for Apple-users until Apple finally decides to support NFC) , but can also act as an Airplay speaker as well as a DLNA renderer. The Onyx is not bound to the Apple universe, but can equally be used from Android-devices or simple Bluetooth players which don't support any Wifi connection. Harman Kardon claims that the included Bluetooth protocol also supports the much superior Apt-X codec (which again is not supported by iOS devices yet and couldn't be tested by me).
I switched a bit back and forth between Airplay and Bluetooth and didn't notice any big differences in audio, despite only using the worse-quality AAC-codec for Bluetooth, but maybe the tested music was not that revealing.
To tell the truth I haven't figured out if the USB-port is only for charging external devices, or if it can playback music from any attached player as well, but I wouldn't use this feature anyhow because the ports are overall placed in a bit hard to reach place. Every time I wanted to attach the power-cord after having used the Onyx from battery, I always had to take accurate aim to actually fit in the cord. The space between the bottom part of the handle and the recessed ports is quite narrow. I would have welcomed a kind of additional charging cradle, where you could just place the speaker for simple charging. I am sure though, Harman would charge even more for such a feature...
The touch controls at the top of the speaker light all up as soon as the corresponding area is touched. The first time I tried to turn it on, I pressed every single area, including the WPS-button, but nothing happened. It seems you have to keep the area around the power-symbol touched for at least about 3 seconds, then the speaker comes to life! The symbols light up, but go off again after some seconds, the only lights that always remain lit are the power-symbol and the Wifi and Bluetooth symbol. It's strange that Harman didn't also keep the volume-symbols lit. There are 5 distinct volume-dots, that symbolize the current volume-level. If you turn the volume louder, one dot after the other will first brighten up, until it reaches full brightness, then the next dot starts to brighten.
Maybe Harman thought the touch-sensitive area as a whole would be enough and any user would just touch there and then swipe to the left or right in order to get the right volume. But it is not that easy, as you don't see where the minimum or maximum volume is before touching, you might touch the area in the middle and the speaker would scream up with a higher level than wanted. I still haven't found out, if you have to swipe to the right to turn it louder, or if it is enough to simply touch near the desired volume-area. You can also use the +/- areas (which are not lit either until you touch them), but you need to hold them pressed for about a second until the Onyx quickly jumps to a much lower or higher volume.
I found controlling volume through the touch-field being quite cumbersome. I didn't manage to tune volume fine enough like this. Either it was too loud or too soft, or it unexpectedly started to play near maximum volume so I rather preferred using the volume slider on my iPhone or even its volume buttons. The absolute volume level is mirrored on the player by the way (regardless if played through Wifi or Bluetooth) which is quite nice, as you don't need to deal around with 2 separate volume-levels, like you have to do on the Bose Soundlink for example. 2 separate volumes can lead to further sound-processing artefacts, for example if you turn your player to the minimum and turn the Soundlink to the maximum it will sound different, than if the speaker is set low while the player is maxed out. No such effects with the Onyx thank godness.
Establishing a wireless connection is not a big deal with the Onyx. Keep the Wifi-symbol touched for a certain time and the Onyx will setup an own Wifi-network which you can connect to from your mobile device or computer and setup the connection details to your router. By dialing in 192.168.1.1 into the browser you'll get access to the Onyx' configuration site, where you can also start a firmware update or even dig deeper into the settings through the manual configuration tab. A quicker method might be just pressing the WPS-button, but i haven't even tried it like that.
The same goes for Bluetooth, keep the symbol touched and the Onyx will jump into pairing mode.
Both types of connection are confirmed by the same loud "bleep" which is a bit too loud for my taste. If connection is lost or canceled another annoying tone is played. Bluetooth range is quite impressive. The Onyx did repeatedly pair with my iPhone, standing in the opposite corner of our house. Due to the confirmation tones this could be quite distracting, especially if it automatically tried to pair at night when everyone was already sleeping.
I have not figured out if you could turn off Bluetooth or Wifi completely in case you would like to save some battery, as Wifi seems to be active whole the time. The light just turns red if no connection is established but it still seems to be active, because when I return home with the Onyx it automatically connects to my network as soon as it is close enough.
After a certain time the Onyx automatically jumps into standby-mode when no music is played. It is still shown as an available Airplay device, but the Powerlight is red, and the speaker probably running in some kind low-power mode.
If the speaker is streaming through Bluetooth currently while another stream is started through Wifi for example, the newer stream has priority and takes over the speaker.
So, how does it sound?
I hoped it would at least knock my socks off in the same way as the go&play did, when I heard it the first time many years ago. The Onyx sounds good, but it didn't impress me that much as many other speakers did in the meantime. It is more expensive than many other contenders but sounds only marginally better, in case of the go&play even worse.
But let me explain first. When I unboxed the Onyx after coming home from work it was already quite late until i finally managed to turn it on. I couldn't really crank it, but rather had to listen at lower levels thus remained pretty unimpressed.
For direct comparison I put the minuscule Bose Soundlink Mini (which is by far my favorite ultraportable speaker now) besides and switched back and forth between both with matched levels only to find out that the Mini put out a more serious and mature sound than the Onyx. At lower levels (I would say comfortable room-volume for background listening) the Onyx sounds hardly any better than a good kitchen radio with a bit of a honky sound. The sound remains quite mid-focused without any mentionable bass and even treble remains a bit recessed. We are talking about levels within a frame of 15-20% on the Onyx' volume scale, which corresponds to about 30-40% of Bose's Soundlink Mini volume. Of course the Onyx can play much louder than the Soundlink Mini (I would say it reaches about twice the loudness), which is not the question here. If you want some low background music the Onyx just cannot impress. It only starts to really live up to its expectations if you turn it above 30-40%, but it performs best and sounds perfect at about 50-60%, which is pretty loud already and considerably louder and more powerful than the Bose Soundlink Mini at its maximum volume for example. That's still quite impressive for Bose considering the drivers of the Soundlink Mini are just about the size of the Onyx' tweeters.
In the following video I tried to compare both the Onyx and the Soundlink Mini with matched volumes as close as possible. The Onyx was playing at 35%, while the Soundlink was about 70%. Overall the Onyx has a more defined sound, but the Soundlink Mini keeps up pretty well. At lower levels the Soundlink mini manages to produce a more powerful sound, while the Onyx has the edge at higher levels and can also play much louder.
I am not sure if the weaker performance at lower volume is because of the higher inertia of the passive radiators, which don't become fully effective until higher levels are reached, or if Harman just didn't tune the DSP well, as I didn't notice such a strong volume dependent sound degradation with the go&play for example. Harman or JBL are known for their DSP processing and dynamic bass adjustment, but in case of the Onyx something seems to have went wrong.
When directly compared to the Harman Kardon go&play, the go&play produces a deeper and fuller sound. The Onyx might sound a bit more natural, but the go&play is much more enjoyable, bass is tuned lower, i would assume about 10Hz lower. The technical sheet is claiming 55Hz as the low frequency limit for the Onyx and this seems to be more or less the reality. Although you can still hear a bit of "vibration" below 50Hz, it hardly has any amplitude any more. The lowest usable bass-frequency seems to be around 50Hz, while I would estimate the go&play of being able to play down to 40Hz. The Audyssey South of market Audiodock even had usable 35Hz at lower volumes, despite being not really much larger in volume than the Onyx. Interestingly the Audyssey had neither passive radiators nor a bassreflex port and therefore impressed me even more performancewise than the go&play, which was the reason why I finally sold my go&play some years ago. Unfortunately my Audyssey died after one year and I couldn't get an exchange from the store, so I returned it completely, although it impressed me a lot as a speaker.
I tried to compare the Onyx to some other speakers I don't currently own and took it to a store with me, where I was able to listen to it side by side with a Bose Sounddock Portable (I already sold mine some time ago otherwise I would have been able to compare it at home as well), a Libratone Zipp (also sold) and a Cambridge Audio Minx Air 200.
The Onyx sounded more powerful than the Sounddock Portable at higher levels, but as expected the sound was less impressive than the Bose at lower levels. I would say that both played more or less on the same level, with the Onyx having a bit more punchy bass, but the Bose sounding clearer in treble. Not a bad result for Bose, as the Sounddock Portable acoustic design is already several years old, but still holds up pretty well.
The Libratone Zipp lost completely. When the Onyx was at its best at about 50% volume, the Zipp already distorted on heavier bass sounds, nowhere able to reach the levels of the Onyx. The Onyx had a much more punchy sound, the Zipp sounding hollow and tinny. The Zipp had clearer treble due to the ribbon-tweeters, but overall sound was artificial and thin, especially regarding mids.
The Cambridge Audio Minx Air 200 is in another speaker-category, it is larger, not meant as a portable speaker, but costs about the same as the Onyx, that's why I wanted to compare both anyway. At normal levels both sounded pretty similar, it was only at higher levels, that the Minx Air 200 started to have an advantage with a more powerful bass, but I was not able to really listen to both at high levels for long not to be kicked out of the store.
Overall there were no big surprises even compared to many other speakers. The Onyx definitely sounds good, but it doesn't have the "wow"-factor, many other speakers manage to create.
It cannot compete by any means with my Philips DS9800W Soundsphere speakers which I currently use as my main listening solution as the Onyx sounds rather like a mono kitchen-radio when directly compared. It was only at high levels and bass-heavy music that the Onyx produced some distortion. It was not severe, but noticeable. Also bass is not that strong anymore at higher levels than 70%, so that the speaker plays loud, but without the bass power you would expect.
I also noticed slight vibrations of the enclosure with particular piano-notes, nothing too serious, but pure piano music at louder volumes could sound bad on the Onyx. First I thought the front cover was to blame, but it seems the drivers are causing the vibration.
Here an additional outdoor video showing off the Onyx, volume was between 50-80%, where the Onyx sounds best:
My hope was that there were some further adjustments available from the Harman Kardon remote app. I downloaded and installed the app for iOS only to notice that it crashed every time I wanted to start it. Later I discovered that the app indeed worked but only through a Bluetooth connection while Wifi remained turned off. At least now I could try the features, but noticed that there are hardly any additional parameters available for tweaking. The app acts rather like an additional music player.
At the main page all available players appear, in my case only the Onyx. But sometimes the Onyx din't appear at all, I had to restart the app or the speaker so that I finally had it selectable in the app. The app has its own device control panel where you can see the remaining battery as well as the current streaming mode. There is also a stereo-widening option, which doesn't do much harm to the sound, but doesn't broaden it up really much either. It was turned on from the beginning and I kept it turned on, because it sounded quite acceptable without any annoying artefacts (like Liveaudio from the Jambox for example), but don't expect any miracles. The Onyx still sounds rather like a mono sound source, except if putting the nose against the cover.
Although there is another EQ-like symbol at the bottom right of the app, the corresponding panel is empty in case of the Onyx with the exception of a single volume-slider. Maybe there will be further updates which will allow additional EQ-tweaking, but as there are several other Harman devices listed, I would rather assume that those devices might have some further EQ-options which are simply not available for the Onyx. But at least you can even turn off the speaker remotely form the app, if really needed.
My wish would be some simple "loudness" switch, which would compensate for the sound-loss at lower volumes. So far only Bose, B&O or Audyssey really seem to care to optimize sound for low volume output.
Battery life was around the promised 5 hours. I tried to listen at levels near 50% where the Onyx sounded best streaming through Bluetooth and managed slightly above 4 hours until the speaker turned off on its own. I also tried mixed streaming through Wifi and Bluetooth at lower levels (about 20-30%) and it played for 5 and a half hours. So the streaming-unit seems indeed to be the limiting factor here as Harman promises 8 hours with wired connection. A pity as 4-5 hours of portable use are certainly not enough for a day at the beach or a fireside-party in the evening where louder levels might be necessary.
Not sure what happens after some years of usage when the battery starts to lose its capacity even more. It doesn't seem to be replaceable at all. This is quite a drawback with a product costing that much. Maybe the Onyx can be sent in for a replacement at a service-center.
Upcoming I am going to compare the Onyx to the brand new and quite similarly designed Libratone Loop which also costs the same. Unfortunately delivery of the Libratone Loop was delayed, as I am going to send the Onyx back, I won't be able to compare both anymore.
To conclude I would claim that the Onyx is definitely a nice sounding speaker that has its spacy looks but it doesn't give any surprises regarding sound. It can play pretty loud but has its limits, as sound starts to deteriorate above 75%. It also sounds quite sub-par at low levels, so you always feel forced to turn it louder.
I wouldn't recommend the Onyx as a portable Boombox but at the same time there are also much better stationary speakers, like the Philips Soundsphere which meanwhile can be had for about 320$. If not the hardware issues which I also experienced with my model, this would indeed be one of the best sounding Airplay speakers I would recommend to anyone.
As a portable Boombox I would definitely choose the Klipsch KMC-3 over the Onyx. It is larger for sure and doesn't look like a UFO, but it puts out a much more impressive sound and it is cheaper too. The missing internal battery of the Klipsch can be easily fixed with an external Powerbank. Not sure about the new and smaller KMC-1, as I haven't heard it yet, but I doubt the smaller Klipsch can compete with the Onyx regarding high volume output. Even the old Sounddock Portable might be a better solution as it produces similar sound as the Onyx, but is smaller and has better battery life.
I was a bit disappointed with the overall quality of the Onyx. It seems to cheat top-quality but at closer look makes a rather cheap impression. There's a catch with the price which is overpriced by 30-50% in my opinion. The Onyx does by no means produce sound worth 500$ and the leathered back as well as the shiny passive radiator don't compensate for this.
+ spacy and elegant design
+ compact
+ precious materials (especially at the back)
+ all possible wireless streaming modes available (incl. NFC and Apt-x)
+ good sound with punchy bass at medium levels
+ can play pretty loud
+ impressive Bluetooth range
+ app support
+ mirrored volume on speaker and streaming device in all wireless modes (incl. Bluetooth)
- too expensive
- cheap front cover
- handle cannot be rotated for an even flatter design
- sound unimpressive at lower volumes
- starts to sound harsh and distorted at high volumes
- unimpressive battery life (4-5 hours)
- battery not replaceable
- iOS app crashes when connected through Wifi
- no further sound customization through the app
- loud confirmation tones when connecting through Wifi or Bluetooth
Labels: Airplay, Bluetooth, DLNA, Harman Kardon, REVIEWS, SPEAKERS
Review: Harman Kardon Onyx - the ultimate Boombox....
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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) co-project managers, Sandra Woodruff and J.P. Wardle, are more than a little busy these days. With decades of experience working with state financial and payroll/personnel systems between them, it was a natural next step for both to be leading the ERP effort as it moves forward.
"You might say we are the liaisons between the project directors and the ERP project teams," says Woodruff, who is section manager for Fiscal Projects and Operations in the Fiscal Management Division. "For ERP, I'm on the functional side, and J.P. is on the technical side."
The vendor providing project management services.
The vendor in charge of implementation services.
Oracle. It licenses the PeopleSoft software serving as the base product upon which the systems solutions are built.
Several functional workgroups that include representatives from the eight initial participating agencies charged with ensuring their agencies' business needs are met.
All must be focused on clear, common goals, and Woodruff and Wardle are there to make sure things move steadily forward within the scope of their timelines and project budget.
What makes these two individuals such a good fit for their roles with ERP? "I've been at the Comptroller's office for over 22 years, starting in one of the tax divisions, then moving to a newly formed area to implement the Uniform Statewide Accounting System (USAS) project. The project originally encompassed all of the statewide systems, not just the USAS system we know today. My work focused on the Human Resource Information System (HRIS), back when it was originally for both state agencies and higher education," says Woodruff.
"Since then, I've worked primarily on the payroll/personnel systems, including as project manager for the development of the Standard Payroll/Personnel Reporting System (SPRS). Now, I'm working with the ERP team. It's really a natural progression as my focus has been on the statewide financial systems," says Woodruff.
J.P. Wardle brings over 27 years of state information technology (IT) experience to his role as project manager of the IT-side of ERP. His is currently the area manager for Integrated Statewide Administrative System (ISAS) support.
The ISAS group was formed at the Comptroller's office in 1997, applying a collective interagency approach toward customizing PeopleSoft's Financials for Education and Government software to support accounting, inventory, asset management, purchasing and accounts payables functions.
ISAS started with the PeopleSoft base application, then modified it to address state agency requirements that work across multiple agencies, resulting in a Web-based interface that interacts with the USAS, State Property Accounting (SPA) and Texas Identification Number (TINS) statewide systems. The ISAS group provides the software to other agencies, including the Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies participating in this initial phase of ERP.
If ISAS sounds a lot like the beginnings of statewide ERP, you're on target.
"We always thought statewide implementation was where we were going. ERP was born out of these early solutions," says Wardle. "Whereas this initial phase of ERP addresses both financials and payroll/personnel functionality, ISAS is just the financials."
"Also, ERP is a leap forward that looks ahead to a single, integrated system that provides for the full range of a given agency's functionality, rather than the ISAS model that involves several interfaced systems communicating with one another. ERP will eventually encompass all administrative functions: accounting, human resources, assets, procurement — anything that an entity does to function at an enterprise level."
Wardle's long IT journey to ERP began in 1982, while he was a student at the University of Texas at Austin and needed a night job where he could still go to school, study and pay the bills.
"My initial background was with the Legislative Council. I worked my way through network control, running cables, fixing PCs, to managing a Help Desk system, to programming and then managing programs," says Wardle.
"One of the programs I managed was a payroll system. I did it for six agencies — Legislative Council, Legislative Reference Library, Legislative Budget Board, House of Representatives, Senate and Sunset Commission. I didn't know it at the time, but this was a seed for things to come, building a payroll system for multiple agencies."
"Before coming on board with the Comptroller's office in 1992, I was on the evaluation/selection committee to help the agency select a new statewide payroll system, based on my previous experience. That system became USPS," says Wardle.
Wardle's rise through the state IT ranks continued steadily from there.
"From 1992 on, I was on the USPS team. We implemented USPS for over 100 agencies as their internal payroll/personnel system. So, that's my background in HR/payroll. I went on to become an IT manager for all the financial systems — TINS, SPA, PaySubs, SPRS and finally USAS," says Wardle.
"Eventually, an opening came up in the ISAS realm," Wardle continues. "They asked me to be on the team based on my background with financials and HR/payroll. I didn't have much of a background in PeopleSoft, but I learned it. That was six to seven years ago. Then I became a manager over the ISAS developers."
"Most recently, they pulled all the mainframe systems back under my management. I guess I was a good fit for ERP since I already managed all the statewide financial systems."
Though the taking on of ERP is a monumental task, Woodruff and Wardle are excited and energized by the benefits to the state ERP will provide.
"Knowing this could be a solution that meets so many needs of the agencies really fuels my enthusiasm for this project," says Woodruff.
"I like contributing to systems that help a lot of people and improve the way they get things done. The parameters of these systems also adhere to the rules and regulations agencies are required to abide by. If we can build systems that help agencies follow the necessary rules and give them all the functionality they need, that's a great thing."
"The other thing that really motivates me is the wonderful group of people I work with," says Woodruff.
"I try hard to form good teams. This being a high-priority, high-visibility project, we know it's going to take a lot to get it done. So we have to be efficient and effective for this to be successful. I have a team that is very capable, knowledgeable and excited about doing this," says Woodruff.
"They want to make a difference, too, and they know that we can. That very much excites me because each individual on the team is a great resource for this project."
"Yes, this is big," says Wardle. "USPS was a big project — and I was a member more than a leader of that project — but now with the experience I have I think I can bring a lot to the table. For me, this is fun. More than that, this is good technology. It's the right thing for the state of Texas."
"Though ERP is a big project that's not going to be undertaken overnight, we can get there," says Wardle. "Best of all, we're not starting from scratch. We're leveraging what we have today, which is a huge plus. Many other states undertaking this do not have this luxury."
With co-project managers Woodruff and Wardle at the helm, it's full steam ahead for ERP. Welcome aboard!


1. In a serving bowl, combine spinach, kale, chicken, beets, apple and sprouts.
2. Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat.
3. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts and goat cheese (if using).


SATRA will exhibit at the January Furniture Show at the NEC. This was confirmed after an extremely positive year in 2018 with furniture testing numbers doubling. SATRA has seen growth in chair and cabinet testing work and flammability testing for both the domestic and contract markets.
With a great heritage and wealth of knowledge in testing and certification SATRA celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2019. The opganisation has an extensive modern test facility at its headquarters in Northamptonshire with dedicated flammability and chemical laboratories for heat and flame testing and restricted substances evaluation.


An increasing number of PSC regimes are implementing targeted inspections mechanisms and incentive schemes. Ships found in compliance with international standards are subject to fewer inspections pushing the focus more onto substandard ships. This is another idea that Panos Kirnidis sees as helping registries.


The Rheem 13AJN Value Series Air Conditioner is designed to give you proven quality and lasting comfort from a name you trust and a price you'll love.
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The Rheem 16AJL series' two-stage cooling design operates at low most of the time, providing comfortable temperatures while reducing energy use. The system operates at high only when necessary during peak, warm weather conditions to deliver you maximum comfort.


It's a Tuesday morning. A random kind of morning, nothing particularly notable. A typical, cold winter morning.
A Tuesday morning, not even a full 48 hours from when the Church last came together in worship and hearing God's Word. And yet, because of this life's challenges (work, pain, stress, illness, etc), it feels like Sunday was a week ago.
The kind of Sunday you yearn for. The kind of Sunday you won't soon forget. The kind of Sunday you felt God's Incredible Presence all around you, connecting the lost and comforting the hurting. The kind of Sunday the sermon spoke to your soul and you responded to His Word with full-on courage and confidence in Jesus Christ. The kind of Sunday you surrendered everything you had to your Savior.
But today…it's Tuesday, when the world is clamoring for your attention. Don't get me wrong, meeting needs of people is wonderful and often Biblical when done correctly. In fact, I find great joy in serving.
However, if our thirst for time in His Word, prayer and worship isn't replenished, our well runs dry. Only His Well offers truly sustainable satisfaction, Friend.
This morning, this random Tuesday morning, I stumbled upon this verse in my quiet time with God. It served me well as a gentle reminder of the Holy Spirit's Presence with me. That though this past Sunday morning felt so long ago, the teachings of our Lord remain with me. They guide, quiet and empower me everyday. That Truth, His Truth, provides comfort on my random Tuesdays, full-church Sundays and everyday in between.
Be in His Word. Allow the God of the universe to speak into you. Open your mind to the presence of the Holy Spirit. You will find peaceful strength and clarity, no matter what day it is.
Yes. God's word shapes us, guides us, fills us. Thank you for sharing this!
This speaks so directly to my "one word" for this year…aware. I am trying to always be aware of God's presence with me, not only on Sundays or when it's convenient, but all the time.
I love your 2019 word, Louise. What a wonderful mindset to go through this year, Dear Friend. Blessings to you in your awareness of His Presence.


Many buildings and houses built in the U.S. before 1978, the year in which their production was banned, contain asbestos in its heating, ducts and ceilings. Depending on how asbestos has been installed, it can be a threat or not for the health of the inhabitants of the residences.
Meet potential enemies who live at home and can affect your health and your family!
Methamphetamine is a synthetic stimulant that affects the pleasure centers of the brain. It is considered one of the most highly addictive substances known.
Home Clean Outs, Building Demolitions and Reasonable Junk Removal Services.
Many houses built on crawl space fundamentals within the Southwestern U.S . States are afflicted by poor moisture management.
Asbestos waste dumped on open land in need of removal throughout the years in the Asbestos Business, we've especially became attentive to your needs.
The experience is not improvised, work with certified professionals.


So, in post 1 of this series, I talked about writing style and its importance to you as a reader and/or writer. And it's interesting to see that this matters a lot, or very little, depending on the reader. Which I think is probably true for all of these aspects.
Today, I'm going to talk about plot. This is the other middle-ground aspect of stories for me. I think that in many ways plots can truly be the heart of a story, and the main purpose of the tale. It's the quest, the action, the driving force, the motion. I am a huge fan of fairy-tales, and, aside from morals, these tales are all about plot. The settings are vague, the characters are not usually all that developed, and the writing style is simple. But the plot is what makes these tales, and they are absolutely wonderful for it.
Although I do think there has to be some element of plot for a story to be enjoyable to me, I don't need a complicated plot. Complex plots can work really well, and sometimes they are fun and intriguing and wonderful. But, honestly, a lot of my favourite tales are slower-paced, and more simplistic in their plot.
I think I've mentioned before that endings are my least favourite thing as a reader. Time and time again, I am thoroughly disappointed by the endings of stories. And I usually blame this on plot. The plot tries to have a final twist, or things get overly complicated to set up for a sequel, or else things wrap up far too neatly to make up for the fact that it's a standalone. Everyone has their own ideas about where stories should head, and never will everyone be totally satisfied with the way things turn out. For me, however, I usually root for plots siding on simplistic, but which have got good depth and heart. I don't think plots need to be complicated or multi-layered to be interesting and original, and while this is definitely nice to have in stories now and again, I'm not in constant need of having everything be totally crazy and unexpected and complex.
But of course, a simple plot needs better writing, in my opinion. The more interesting and action-based the happenings, the less need for a deep and moving writing style. If the plot is basic, I have to be hooked by the writing to enjoy it. So for me, these two aspects of stories have to go hand in hand.
What about you? Do you need complex plots, do you love plot twists, do you like action-packed, fast-paced stories? Or do you like the simple tales? Or does it matter one way or the other?
As a writer, I definitely (sometimes I would even say, unfortunately) gravitate towards complex plots. 🙂 My favorite books tend to be pretty complicated too, but I also have loved books with a simple, solid plot (sometimes I think this is in large part because they are such a relief after what I've been writing). One of my favorite plot-things is where details you noticed but didn't think were important turn out to be the missing pieces to the puzzle at the end…so I guess, even though simple books can be relaxing and sweet in a way that I need in my life, my preference does indeed lie with the complex.
A complex story full of hairpin turns or (heaven help me) slick political intrigue can tie my brain in knots or rush right over my head. I tend to prefer a simpler sort of plot, moved more by internal action, reaction, and other character-focused stuff than otherwise.


This modern mailbox is hand built right here at our studio in San Antonio Texas. The box is solid welded all the way around each seam. It goes perfect with mid century modern homes or any contempory or traditional home as well. This box comes in two finishes one is our own black patina which actually turns the steel a black color and protects it to stay that way for years. The other is we clean it thoroughly and send it to you bare metal that will naturally turn to a uniform leather brown rust patina. We can do custom cut numbers also. The split pictures show it as a before and after, this is how it comes in bare steel on the left and after its been outdoors for a while on the right. The photos of it that look black is our black patina. All boxes come with mounting post attached all you have to do is dig a hole and pour one bag of cement and your set! Shipping is included with this anywhere in the USA, contact us for out of country orders.


I live in a strata-titled high-rise concrete condominium, which is scheduled to be power washed on its exterior. This will be the second time. The first washing resulted in some damage to not only the paint, but to the concrete surface. Would you recommend that power washing be done at all on such a building? The first washing also necessitated a huge cleanup of all the black material (removed from the building) on owners' balconies. Your opinion would be greatly appreciated, as I am concerned as an owner, that the damage to the exterior may eventually cause possible leaking in one of the few buildings left that does not have this problem already.
The power washing of concrete by a professional power wash service using an environmentally safe detergent cleaner will not harm the concrete. Damage is usually done when amateur power wash employees are used with no cleaning formula and they tend to use too much pressure damaging the concrete surface. I would recommend a concrete sealer be used when cleaning is complete. Contact Universal Concrete Accessories for this sealer information 604-299-8551. The balconies should be done at the same time the building is being cleaned but in the case of a strata, unfortunately not everyone is home at the time. Use my Shell Busey�s Home Cleaning Formula for individual clean up.


As part of Art Affair in West Palm Beach, relax and drift away into a dream world with Whisperlodge: Day Dream, a live sound meditation experience designed to soothe the senses. Incorporating the use of ASMR, guests will put on silent disco headphones and explore the state of sleep via live performance and binaural surround sound. Experience includes some consensual, light touch.
Recently featured on the Netflix documentary Follow This, Whisperlodge creates immersive ASMR experiences for relaxation, sensory exploration, and personal discovery. They've been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Buzzfeed, Mashable, and more, as pioneers bringing the online phenomenon of ASMR into real life.


text:
Q: IllegalStateException: "WSEJBEndpointManager.ejbPostInvoke already called" while throwing @WebFault I am currently migrating a webservice from Websphere 7 to Websphere 8.5.5.2
The application worked in version 7, but not completely in 8.5
It works in the happy path, but generates a IllegalStateException when I want to throw a SOAPFault.
I am happy to provide more information, but I am not sure what is relevant.
The web.xml version was 2.5, but I also tried version 3.0
<web-app id="WebApp_ID" version="3.0" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_3_0.xsd">

The webservice is annotated using @javax.jws.WebService and uses a local ejb injection
@javax.ejb.Stateless
@javax.jws.WebService(endpointInterface = "com.example.DialogService", targetNamespace = "http://services.example.com/DialogService", serviceName = "DialogService", portName = "DialogService")
public class DialogServiceImpl {
  @EJB
  Service service;

  public DialogResponseType get(DialogRequestType dialogMessage) throws DialogMessageFault {
    try {
      DialogMsg response = service.process(dialogMessage);
      return response.respond();
    } catch (Exception e) {
      DialogMessageFault dialogMessageFault = new DialogMessageFault(SERVICE_ERROR, e);
      throw dialogMessageFault;
    }
  }
}

The exception:
@javax.xml.ws.WebFault(name = "messageFault", targetNamespace = "http://services.example.com/DialogService")
public class DialogMessageFault extends Exception

Stacktrace:
AxisEngine    E
  org.apache.axis2.engine.AxisEngine receive java.lang.IllegalStateException: WSEJBEndpointManager.ejbPostInvoke already called.
  org.apache.axis2.AxisFault: java.lang.IllegalStateException: WSEJBEndpointManager.ejbPostInvoke already called.
  at org.apache.axis2.AxisFault.makeFault(AxisFault.java:430)
  at org.apache.axis2.jaxws.server.JAXWSMessageReceiver.receive(JAXWSMessageReceiver.java:242)
  at org.apache.axis2.engine.AxisEngine.receive(AxisEngine.java:212)
  at org.apache.axis2.transport.http.HTTPTransportUtils.processHTTPPostRequest(HTTPTransportUtils.java:172)
  at com.ibm.ws.websvcs.transport.http.WASAxis2Servlet.doPost(WASAxis2Servlet.java:1583)
  at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:595)
  at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:668)
  at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ServletWrapper.service(ServletWrapper.java:1235)
  at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ServletWrapper.handleRequest(ServletWrapper.java:779)
  at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ServletWrapper.handleRequest(ServletWrapper.java:478)
  at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ServletWrapperImpl.handleRequest(ServletWrapperImpl.java:178)
  at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.filter.WebAppFilterManager.invokeFilters(WebAppFilterManager.java:1071)
  at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebApp.handleRequest(WebApp.java:3837)
  at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebGroup.handleRequest(WebGroup.java:304)
  at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.WebContainer.handleRequest(WebContainer.java:981)
  at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.WSWebContainer.handleRequest(WSWebContainer.java:1662)
  at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.channel.WCChannelLink.ready(WCChannelLink.java:200)
  at com.ibm.ws.http.channel.inbound.impl.HttpInboundLink.handleDiscrimination(HttpInboundLink.java:459)
  at com.ibm.ws.http.channel.inbound.impl.HttpInboundLink.handleNewRequest(HttpInboundLink.java:526)
  at com.ibm.ws.http.channel.inbound.impl.HttpInboundLink.processRequest(HttpInboundLink.java:312)
  at com.ibm.ws.http.channel.inbound.impl.HttpInboundLink.ready(HttpInboundLink.java:283)
  at com.ibm.ws.tcp.channel.impl.NewConnectionInitialReadCallback.sendToDiscriminators(NewConnectionInitialReadCallback.java:214)
  at com.ibm.ws.tcp.channel.impl.NewConnectionInitialReadCallback.complete(NewConnectionInitialReadCallback.java:113)
  at com.ibm.ws.tcp.channel.impl.AioReadCompletionListener.futureCompleted(AioReadCompletionListener.java:175)
  at com.ibm.io.async.AbstractAsyncFuture.invokeCallback(AbstractAsyncFuture.java:217)
  at com.ibm.io.async.AsyncChannelFuture.fireCompletionActions(AsyncChannelFuture.java:161)
  at com.ibm.io.async.AsyncFuture.completed(AsyncFuture.java:138)
  at com.ibm.io.async.ResultHandler.complete(ResultHandler.java:204)
  at com.ibm.io.async.ResultHandler.runEventProcessingLoop(ResultHandler.java:775)
  at com.ibm.io.async.ResultHandler$2.run(ResultHandler.java:905)
  at com.ibm.ws.util.ThreadPool$Worker.run(ThreadPool.java:1864)
Caused by: javax.xml.ws.WebServiceException: java.lang.IllegalStateException: WSEJBEndpointManager.ejbPostInvoke already called.
  at org.apache.axis2.jaxws.ExceptionFactory.createWebServiceException(ExceptionFactory.java:175)
  at org.apache.axis2.jaxws.ExceptionFactory.makeWebServiceException(ExceptionFactory.java:70)
  at org.apache.axis2.jaxws.ExceptionFactory.makeWebServiceException(ExceptionFactory.java:128)
  at org.apache.axis2.jaxws.server.EndpointController.responseReady(EndpointController.java:710)
  at org.apache.axis2.jaxws.server.EndpointController.handleResponse(EndpointController.java:439)
  at org.apache.axis2.jaxws.server.EndpointController.invoke(EndpointController.java:130)
  at org.apache.axis2.jaxws.server.JAXWSMessageReceiver.receive(JAXWSMessageReceiver.java:161)
  ... 29 more
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: WSEJBEndpointManager.ejbPostInvoke already called.
  at com.ibm.ejs.container.WSEJBWrapper.ejbPostInvoke(WSEJBWrapper.java:246)
  at com.ibm.ws.websvcs.server.WSEJBInvocationListener.responseReady(WSEJBInvocationListener.java:416)
  at com.ibm.ws.websvcs.server.WSEJBInvocationListener.notify(WSEJBInvocationListener.java:102)
  at org.apache.axis2.jaxws.server.EndpointController.responseReady(EndpointController.java:707)
  ... 32 more

A: Apparently the application used an extra setting to prevent this exact exception in an earlier version of Websphere. Removal of this setting fixed the problem:
com.ibm.websphere.websvcs.EJBPostInvokeCallOnException
See: IBM PM59231

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Yardley Nutrition Yardley PA | Paul M. Bizzaro, D.C.
Paul M. Bizzaro, D.C. seeks to help you find the root cause of your health problems. Nutrition is a big piece of the wellness puzzle, and unfortunately, many people make poor dietary choices that can negatively influence their health. If we lived in a perfect world with pristine air and water with everyone eating only organic food, your body would get what it needs to function optimally on a normal day.
Since we don't live in a perfect world, it's important that we make the best choices with our health, especially our nutrition.
Stress is something we must face every day, and it takes a toll on our health. It creates a chemical imbalance in the body, often taxes the body emotionally, and depletes the body of nutrients. To put things back into balance and optimize health, it's important to take high-quality supplements.
Standard Process®, MediHerb®, Desbio, and Pure Encapsulations® are the primary lines of supplements we carry. They're of the highest quality available and offer superior results. Homeopathic remedies are also available to those seeking to reduce their medication intake or for vegans or vegetarians with special dietary requirements.
Dr. Paul uses advanced modalities and traditional protocols to determine your nutritional deficiencies. Then we create personalized plans to help you get healthier. One of the tools we offer is a ZYTO machine. With this device, you put your hand on it, and it measures the bioelectrical impedance in the hands.
Though it's not a diagnostic tool, it's relatively accurate when it comes to detecting what health issue you might be experiencing. Also, Dr. Paul can provide Saliva and DNA test kits and order detailed blood panels to analyze. From there, we can tailor a specific nutritional regimen unique to you!
Dr. Paul has personally experienced trauma from health issues. His own experiences are what drew him to learn more about nutrition and how it impacts total health.
If you, like Dr. Paul, are "sick and tired of being sick and tired", please contact our office. We will have you complete a symptom survey form to find out what you are experiencing with your health. This survey is a great starting point and will help us uncover what your body needs nutritionally. From there we'll work together to create a plan based on your individual needs.


For reliable, affordable air conditioning repair in DeSoto, call Metro Express Service day or night.
We've been providing quality air conditioning repair services, including installation, repair, and general maintenance, to DeSoto homeowners since 1987.
This means our AC Repair technicians operate based on a background of over 20 years of experience. We offer our customers quality professionalism, as well as guaranteed satisfaction with the products we install and repair.
Don''t count on just any air conditioning repair company to come to your home and fix your AC problem. Look for experience and guarantees. At Metro Express Service, your comfort in your home is the most important aspect of our business, and our goal is to strive to assure your air temperature and quality are to your liking.
With AC maintenance, you will notice an increase in efficiency and air quality. Often parts become dirty and coated with grime, which can cause the system to have to work harder and become less efficient, so professional maintenance keeps the system in tip-top shape. Whatever your needs, maintenance or AC repair, DeSoto residents trust us. Contact us today!
If you've noticed these signs, our team is standing by to take your call and help you determine which system is right for you. We'll help you find an energy efficient unit that will save you on monthly cooling costs and do a much better job at making your indoor air cool and comfortable.
The fact is, heating systems can often be complex, and without the right knowledge or tools, you can end up causing a lot of damage to your system and your home.
Metro Express Service offers a variety of maintenance and heating repair services, including inspections and furnace repair. Having your heating unit inspected on a regular basis, even during the warmer months, can lead to increased efficiency and lower utility bills.
Why Choose Us for Your Air Conditioning and Heating Repair Services?
Another reason DeSoto, TX residents are encouraged to seek out Metro Service Express is to protect the value of their homes. Problems with a heating system can lead to fires and other property damage, even during the summer. Even if you don't think your heater is having issues, it's still a smart idea to have the professionals at Metro Express Service inspect your unit on a regular basis.
Metro Express Service also offers a variety of HVAC services in addition to their heating repair services, including air duct cleaning and air conditioning repair. Call Metro Express Service today at (817) 516-0700 or (972) 263-2500 to schedule an inspection or heating repair in Desoto. We serve entire DeSoto, TX 75115, 75123.
DeSoto is south of Dallas in an area known as the Best Southwest of North Texas. First settled in 1847, DeSoto is one of the oldest communities in the North Texas region. In 2006, the National Civic League bestowed DeSoto with the All-American City Award, one of the oldest community recognition, to celebrate its diversity and dedication of the residents to work together to achieve great results in community problem solving. Metro Express Service provides HVAC service to residents and businesses in the DeSoto community.
Efrain quickly found and resolved the problem. He explained everything he did and was extremely professional and courteous. Thank you for the same day service.


text:
Dogecoin or Nah
by Meade County Local December 13, 2022, 7:55 pm 14 Views
We have been a dogecoin fan for a while now, since We first heard of it in a news article. We never heard of cryptocurrency before (or at least didn't know the term), but it sounded interesting. When We found out what people were doing with it, We just thought it was so cool – sending money over the internet to anyone in the world for free, no matter what country you're from? Sign us up!
Brief about dogecoin
Dogecoin is a digital currency that was created in 2013 and uses the iconic Shiba Inu dog from the Doge internet meme as its logo. Its primary purpose is to be used as an online tipping system, whereby users can reward others for valuable contributions to forums or other sites, or simply for being particularly amusing. The idea of using Dogecoin to tip people came from a post on Reddit by user Billy Markus, who wanted to create a cryptocurrency that could reach a broader demographic than Bitcoin and other existing altcoins did at the time.
Dogecoin's main innovation lies in its fast block time and low transaction fees, which allows it to handle higher volumes of transactions than most cryptocurrencies. These features have made it especially popular as a tipping currency on Reddit, where users will give each other small amounts of Dogecoin above and beyond what they might normally leave as a comment. It has also proven useful on sites like Twitch.tv, where users will provide small tips to streamers (people who provide live or recorded gaming content) while they are broadcasting in order to show appreciation for them.
https://youtu.be/8TkOSqWfsk8
Who TF is Justin Time? – Dogecoin
Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who decided to create a payment system as a joke, making fun of the wild speculation in cryptocurrencies at the time.
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Well known and respected for her performance, Eriko's successful acting career has garnished her many awards.
Often called the Jennifer Connelly of Japan, Eriko has already been in over 20 films and television as a leading actress. Although she seems to be committed to her acting in recent years, Eriko is still involved in music (well beyond the music on her cartoon series). Check out her IMDb page.
Eriko has joined the cast of NBC's hit series "Heroes" and landed one of the lead roles in 20 Century Fox's feature "Dragonball"


What if you could learn Spanish wherever you go and loved it?
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Intuitive, easy, fun and well-designed educational game for your quick kick in the metro, train or at home. Very cute and very spanish!
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Comprehensive and relevant! Clear pronunciation, easy speed, relevant content for both formal and informal forms, interesting format with good grammatical explanations!
We would be very pleased to hear your feature requests, bug reports or general comments on our app. This helps us to provide you with frequent updates.


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The United States Uncirculated Coin Set, known as the Uncirculated Set or Mint Set in the United States, is an annual coin set sold by the United States Mint.  The set is marketed towards coin collectors as a way to obtain circulation coins in mint condition.

"Double" Mint Sets (1947–1958)
The Uncirculated Mint Set was introduced in 1947, containing two examples of each coin issued for circulation packaged in a cardboard display case.  The reason for this was so that collectors could display both the obverse and reverse of each coin in the set's packaging, which allowed only one side of the coin to be displayed.

Because of the sulfur content in the cardboard packaging, many coins included in the sets developed toning.

1959–1964 Mint Sets
In 1959, the packaging of the Mint Set was changed to cellophane pouches.  This change allowed both sides of the coins to be displayed, and eliminated the need to include two examples of each coin.  This led to a significant drop in price and an increase in popularity.

Special Mint Sets (1964–1967)
Due to a shortage of coins blamed on coin collectors, the United States Department of the Treasury introduced the Coinage Act of 1965, which mandated that mint marks would be removed from all coinage for five years.  The USDT also announced that no proof or uncirculated coin sets would be produced from 1965 through 1967.  Instead, a "Special Mint Set" was made available, containing one example of each denomination produced at the San Francisco Mint.  These coins were struck with a satin-like finish, and unlike the coins found in standard Mint Sets, are considered to be separate issues from the circulation coins.

Due to the fact that no proof sets were produced from 1965 to 1967, many proof set collectors obtain Special Mint Sets to complete their collections of "yearly proof set" collections.

Several dozen 1964 Special Mint Sets were produced for unknown reasons.  The existence of these sets remained largely unknown until the 1990s, when one of the sets was sold at an auction.  The coins featured the same satin finish as the other Special Mint Sets.

1968–2004 Mint Sets
1968 saw the return of mintmarks on United States coinage and the standard Mint Set.  Apart from minor changes to the packaging, the new mint sets were nearly identical to the previous Mint Sets.  The dollar coin made its Mint Set debut in 1973, and was notably not issued for circulation that year.

No Mint Sets were produced in 1982 and 1983, and when the set returned in 1984, no dollar coin was included (the denomination had been discontinued in 1981) and US Mint tokens from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints were included in its place.  These tokens were removed from the set when the denomination was reintroduced in 2000.

A dime featuring the W mint mark (West Point Mint) was included in the 1996 Mint Set to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Roosevelt dime.  The coin was not issued for circulation.

Satin-finish Mint Sets (2005–2010)

In 2005, the US Mint started to produce Mint Set coins using special sandblasted dies, giving the coins a distinctive satin finish similar to the Special Mint Set coins.  Like the Special Mint Set coins, many numismatists consider these to be separate issues from the circulation coins.

With a total of 36 coins and a total face value of $14.38, the 2009 Mint Set had the most coins and highest face value of any Mint Set to date.

Brilliant-Finish Mint Sets (2011–Present)

In 2011, the US Mint changed the finish of Mint Set coins to a more proof-like "brilliant" finish.  This change was made because the satin finish of the 2005–2010 coins made contact marks more apparent.  The brilliant finish coins are struck with more force than circulation coins, resulting in higher quality and more detailed design.  However, like the pre-2005 Mint Sets, these coins are not considered different issues.

A penny with the W mint mark was included in the 2019 Mint Set to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Lincoln cent.  Similarly, a W mint mark nickel was planned to be included in the 2020 Mint Set; however due to the COVID pandemic, the coin was not produced.

Bicentennial Silver Mint Set (1976)

In 1976, the US Mint issued a mint set containing a quarter, half dollar, and dollar coin minted in silver.  These coins featured special reverse designs commemorating the bicentennial of American independence.

Souvenir Sets

Standard set
Starting in 1972, the Denver Mint started selling Souvenir Sets, and the Philadelphia Mint did the same in 1973.  These sets, available in each mints' gift shop following a public tour, contained one example of that mints' penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and half dollar, along with a medal featuring an image of its mint.  These sets were sold until they were discontinued with the launch of the 50 State Quarter Program in 1999.  Production figures were not recorded by the mint, and the sets receive relatively little attention from coin collectors.  The 1982 and 1983 sets are an exception, though, as no Mint Sets were sold for those years, so these were collected instead.

Susan B. Anthony dollar sets
Souvenir Sets containing Susan B. Anthony dollars from the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints were offered from 1979 through 1981.

References

Coins of the United States

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


GALLERIES: Samson and Delilah may seem an unlikely Christmas couple but if you're looking for a bit of leftover festive cheer to perk you up as the holiday becomes but a memory, then this exhibition could be just the tonic you need.
These first few weeks of the New Year can be tough.
Back to work, traffic at full strength, credit card chaos, school fees, books and uniforms.
In the art world, most exhibitions are hangovers from the run-up to Christmas until the new round of big-hitters begins.
One such Christmas show, still offering with by-now somewhat desperate seasonal goodwill, is Glad Tidings at the National Museums of Kenya.
It is on until the end of this month at the main museum on Nairobi's Museum Hill.
And if you want to get rid of that post-festive flat feeling it's worth trying to forget all the jokes about turkeys and revive your spirits with a visit.
On show in the upstairs Creativity Gallery are 25 paintings, of which 19 are by the South Sudanese artist Deng Chol, plus eight sculpture groups by Charles Bwire.
Together they suggested the exhibition to museum curators who broadened its appeal by adding the painters Ruth Nyakundi, Anwar Sadat, Yusuf Ssalu and Ngula Yusuf.
Reinforcing the seasonal theme are a series of posters, each radiating different aspects of the Christmas message; for example Hope, Forgiveness, Peace and Love, and Caring, plus of course the one that gave the show its name, Glad Tidings.
What first catches the eye is the number of Bwire's sculptures dotted around the gallery. They turn out to be mostly animal studies, but he ventures poses with his tableau of Samson and Delilah.
Bwire catches Samson asleep and about to have his hair cut off by Delilah who with a knife in each hand thus robs him of his strength. In the Bible it is Delilah's servant who cuts the hair, not Delilah herself, but why let the story get in the way of dramatic composition?
The sculptor, based at the National Railway Museum art gallery, is on safer ground with his animal studies. There is a robust eagle, for instance, and a leopard on a bough. Then too his modelling of rhinos is confident, as are his horses, a buffalo and a couple of lion trophy heads in bas-relief.
Even the Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo that killed 35 Indian railway workers in 1898 get a look in. Bwire shows them correctly without manes and includes, this time, a PC plea for the repatriation of their stuffed remains from the Field Museum of Chicago.
A charming study of Mzee the giant tortoise and his unlikely friend Owen the rescued hippo that lived at Haller Park, Bamburi, calls for attention too.
An evangelist for sculpture, Bwire bemoans the fact that there are, as he sees it, too few sculptors in East Africa and of them not enough using the cold casting method he favours. He therefore filmed a helpful tutorial of how to go about the process. You can find it on YouTube.
The key to competence in animal sculpture is a thorough understanding of anatomy and the organisation of the bones beneath the skin. And that applies as equally to robust expressionist pieces as it does to the more traditional animalier tradition (which Bwire follows) started by the French sculptors of the mid 19th century.
Happily, in the nearby Aga Khan Hall of the museum, is an exhibition that could have been mounted just for Bwire.
It is all about those bones and tells us the six main functions of a skeleton — and I had no idea there were that many — supported by numerous examples.
The whale is amazing, the variety of skulls with attached horns astonishing, and the Big Five are properly present. I felt a bit sorry, though, for the tortoise that without its shell looked like a cartoon character that has crashed spreadeagled onto its little podium.
This is a detailed, informative and fascinating show for which the museum deserves great credit.
Back in the Creativity Gallery, Deng Chol's paintings dominate the exhibition, in numbers at least. His works, mainly abstract but with a couple of figurative pieces thrown in, are mostly small and with their rich palette and intricately layered and combed surfaces glow like jewels.
From South Sudan, Chol is now based at the Kobo Trust studios in Dagoretti.
Anwar Sadat shows just two paintings, including what for me was the finest in the hall, Where We Belong-I. Typically Sudanese, its grid of symbols from the natural world resonated against an off-white background, giving it authority and presence.
Ruth Nyakundi demonstrated a strong sense of rhythm in both her works; a group of five figures called Peaceful Conversations and her reductive study of 60 or so Maasai in Warriors of Peace.
Yusuf Ssalu made an impact with his sole composition of what appeared to be glittering baubles from a Christmas tree, while Ngula Yusuf, also with only one painting, took the season's TV offerings as his starting point with a pattern of screens called Cable Manifestations.
So were my spirits suitably uplifted during this lull in the year's artistic activities? They were — and hardly a turkey in sight.


text:
Curiosity 2016 AZ Awards: Castor Design's Site-Specific Installation at AZ Awards Gala
2016 AZ Awards: Castor Design's Site-Specific Installation at AZ Awards Gala
At the 2016 AZ Awards Gala in Toronto on June 17, award-wining firm Castor Design will unveil a stunning installation created specifically for the celebration.
While we can't reveal details of the creation just now, we can promise that the multi-disciplinary studio will deliver a high-calibre design that will serve as the perfect backdrop for the A&D event of the summer. Castor Design – helmed by Brian Richer and Kei Ng – is known for its industrial bent, designing lighting and other products from salvaged materials, such as discarded fire extinguishers and used fluorescent bulbs. The Coil Lamp, which repurposes discontinued power adapters, won the 2014 AZ Awards Best Lighting Design. The studio has also created many interiors that showcase its versatility, from the raw, unfitted local eatery Parts & Labour to a slightly softer, dream-like space for Toronto bridal shop Loversland.
Join us at the historic Evergreen Brick Works on June 17 for an opportunity to mix and mingle with top international designers and architects and see the best projects, products and concepts from around the world, while enjoying tasty Italian fare and a selection of wines and lagers. After we present the sixth annual AZ Awards, guests can celebrate into the night with the winners and finalists at the most exciting architecture and design event of the season. Get your tickets and join the fun!
The 2016 AZ AWARDS is presented by Audi, Keilhauer and Rado, and sponsored by Cosentino, Urban Capital, TD Bank Group, George Brown School of Design, Alpi and CRH Canada Group.
AZ Awards,


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HOME > OUR WORK > NEWS & INSIGHTS >
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market today unveiled a timetable designed to introduce labels enabling buyers to identify high-integrity carbon credits in Q3 this year. Following an open public comment period as well as extensive consultation with...
1 December 2022, London, United Kingdom The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (Integrity Council) has appointed three new members to its Governing Board, including two Indigenous Peoples members, as it works to establish a global threshold...
6 October 2022, London, United Kingdom The Integrity Council's 60-day public consultation on the draft Core Carbon Principles, Assessment Framework and Assessment Procedure has attracted well over 5,000 comments from more than 350 submissions, many representing the...
Call for input to co-create definitive, consistent threshold for high-quality carbon credits
Integrity Council launches public consultation on Core Carbon Principles Proposals to establish a definitive and consistent global benchmark for high-integrity carbon credits, published for consultation today, aim to build trust and unlock urgently-needed...
Google.org gives $2m to Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market to help VCM accelerate a just transition to 1.5 degrees
21 April 2022, London, United Kingdom Today, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (Integrity Council) announces a USD $2m grant from Google.org to support its work to ensure the voluntary carbon market (VCM) accelerates a just transition to 1.5...
Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market appoints new IPLC leadership
Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market appoints FSC Indigenous Foundation Managing Director and President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad to its Governing Board and Distinguished Advisory Group 19 April 2022 – The Integrity...
Integrity Council Announces Timetable for New Voluntary Carbon Market Standards
Core Carbon Principles and Assessment Frameworkwill be issued in Q3, following public consultation launching in May "If we build high integrity, scale will follow." Hugh Sealy, Co-Chair of the Integrity Council London, 16 March 2022 – The Integrity Council for the...
Governance Body Formed by the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets Announces New Leadership, Will Appoint Representatives from Indigenous Groups
October 29, 2021 The Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets (IC-VCM), the governance body launched by the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM), shares its roadmap for determining a global benchmark for carbon credit qualityAnnette Nazareth,...