text:
Logo logz.io
Cloud SIEM
Infrastructure Monitoring
Cloud Monitoring (AWS / Azure)
DevOps Analytics
Container Monitoring (Docker / Kubernetes)
Cognitive Insights
Data Optimizer
ELK Apps
Log Parsing
Log Patterns
ELK Guide
The World Of Cloud-Native Monitoring
Evan Klein
Logs have always been a crucial part of applications, providing insight into an application's every operation and auditing all of its activities. Yet to date, logs have been used primarily for researching incident details or applicative failures. Only recently have R&D and operations teams started paying closer attention to logs in an effort to identify incidents as they occur and recognize trends that can prevent future pitfalls.
More on the subject:
Prometheus Monitoring with Grafana
MongoDB Performance Monitoring Using The ELK Stack
AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) and Monitoring
These days, monitoring systems, tools, technologies, and methodologies have grown to be fundamental components of every production ops team's work. Today, it is expected that databases, cloud infrastructures, backend services, client-side apps and even the monitoring systems themselves be monitored for detection, prevention, and protection of these systems. This article will explain how monitoring became more commonplace and how it evolved side-by-side with cloud technology.
What Does Cloud Monitoring Mean?
Software organizations have always needed to conduct root cause analyses. Ops teams have had to be accountable for and have the knowledge of every event in the application for financial, reputation, and security reasons. For a long time, application logs, especially for on-premises software, were the only solution. Infrastructure was usually referred to as just another of the application's dependencies that ops had to build and maintain in order to facilitate the software's functioning. During the first decade of the millennia, the information explosion made cloud computing essential for organizations. It provided scaling abilities and exempted DevOps from focusing on the infrastructure management and maintenance. Once this happened, app logs were no longer cutting it.
When both infrastructure and application services became flexible and scalable, these components' logs had to become elastic as well. Using the cloud for managing and tracking these logs was the obvious first step. At this point, monitoring methodologies started to unfold, taking logging to its next phase. Facilitating post-incident inquiries was no longer the primary reason ops teams resorted to logs; identifying security incidents and providing real-time status updates became their main function.
Composing the right cloud monitoring solution requires an understanding of the current loads on all system components and using the right tools to predict and prevent issues created from this load.
Cloud monitoring can also be leveraged for security purposes. Identifying offensive activities in real-time and recognizing malicious persistent software in the application or the infrastructure is not only feasible, it amplifies the value monitoring has for the production environment. Cloud monitoring expands this process to cloud components such as databases, cloud network configurations, security tools, cloud storage, and IAM that were rarely monitored previously.
Still, simply monitoring is not enough. Now that every application handles and collects a huge amount of data, visualizing the right information, digging deeply into one event to explore its sources, and having the ability to automatically model normal behavior and detect anomalies are only some of the features that monitoring systems can provide for ops teams in order to simplify their day-to-day workloads.
Monitoring Systems and Methodologies
When tracking evolved into monitoring, different infrastructure management tools began adding inspection and observation modules to their existing solutions. These modules were missing critical information, so they were presenting only a part of the whole picture—sometimes an incorrect one. Monitoring designated systems started to pop up at the beginning of the 2000's with Splunk being the leader of the industry at the time.
Over the next decade, more and more systems and tools were created to deliver improved visibility, better visualization, and granular insights into the software stack. Tools like Datadog, Sumo Logic, Zabbix and Nagios provided wide and deep status insights into applications according to their logs and the infrastructures they were based on. However, these tools were designed for stable, unvarying, and reliable applications that were usually based on on-premises infrastructures. Elasticsearch (2010) and Prometheus (2012) were game changers. These tools were built deliberately for supporting cloud based apps, with the understanding that applications constantly transform and are just one of the layers of the monitored product. The creators of these tools recognized that cloud services (especially cloud managed services) must also be monitored and that the ability to scale them together with the application is embedded in their architecture.
Nevertheless, the capacity of these tools alone is not enough. Cloud providers (primarily AWS, GCP, and Azure) have a lot of data in their in-house monitoring tools (CloudWatch, Stackdriver and OMS). Modern cloud monitoring systems have the ability to integrate with the providers' tools, collect relevant data, and present a comprehensive view of the cloud infrastructure status, while being able to do a deep dive into the different modules the application is using. Kubernetes is a common example of a managed orchestration service into which DevOps teams require profound visibility. ELK (Elasticsearch Logstash Kibana Stack) and Grafana can both provide this visibility.
Elasticsearch is built for collecting a huge amount of data from a wide variety of different services, unifying it into a small amount of visualizations and manufacturing a clear status for the system.
Dashboards of Elasticsearch using Kibana
In its APM, Timelion and ML modules, ELK satisfies both dev and DevOps team needs. These needs include endpoint performance inspection and the combination of information from different data sources into one interface in order to provide better understanding of API behavior and decrease incident investigation time.
While Elasticsearch is more logs-and indexes-oriented, displaying the status of application logs as well as of the Kubernetes nodes and pods, Prometheus is built entirely for metrics and performance KPIs. It provides a view of all possible indicators that help determine the state of both the system as a whole and each of its components.
Grafana with Prometheus Kubernetes metrics
Prometheus fits so well into the Kubernetes stack that it can even behave as the load knowledge base, providing Kubernetes with the information required to make horizontal pod autoscaling decisions (read more on this process here or here).
Monitoring at Cloud Scale
Prometheus and ELK are important tools for the cloud-native monitoring toolbelt, for all the reasons delineated above. But as the information coming from cloud environments (especially Kubernetes-based) explodes, these open source tools need to be managed expertly in order to make sure they scale to handle the data influx. If they aren't, they run the risk of collapse, and of even losing important or sensitive data, and rendering the teams using these tools without a solution. Hosted, or better yet fully managed services can alleviate this pain, ensuring that the monitoring systems can handle any scale of data without the worry of failure or time-investment of daily management.
In the age of cloud infrastructure, software stacks are constructed of a wide range of components with various logics. DevOps teams that manage cloud-based applications demand systems that can consolidate data from different components (on-premises, cloud-based, and even cloud-managed) in order to predict application and security incidents and explore unusual events. Cloud monitoring systems must be able to scale alongside the applications they monitor while continuing to allow DevOps and security engineers multiple observations as events are happening.
As migration to the cloud continues, cloud monitoring will have to evolve and continue to provide new information about applications.
Improve visibility into your cloud environment with Logz.io.
Get the latest posts on the ELK Stack, Devops and Log Analytics
By submitting this form, you are accepting our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy
Related Resourses
The Ultimate Guide to Tech Conferences in 2018
The Challenge of Log Management in Modern IT Environments
How to Secure APIs in the Play Framework
Monitoring Azure Application Gateway with Logz.io
Java garbage collection logging with the ELK Stack and Logz.io
How to Monitor Cloud Migration and Data Transfer
Logz.io Open Source
logo footer logz
All Rights Reserved by Logz.io © 2019
logz.io logo footer
Use the field below to search Logz.io...
Search Logz.io
This website uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you agree to this use. Learn more.


Are you faced with a ton .rar archives you want to extract files from? rar files within rar files? thousands? There are a few ways to tackle this – RARZombie is a piece of Java software that makes this quite easy!
RARZombie is an automatic mass unrar / auto unrar program.
It can unrar a (virtually) unlimited number of archives automatically in sequence from folders of your choosing.
It can monitor folders of your choosing for new archives and extract them as they become available.


text:
Jeep Trails off Tarryall Road, Colorado
Hiking Trails Near Gold Hill, Colorado
ATV Trails in Kebler Pass, Colorado
Jodi "Jato" Thornton, Leaf Group
Explore scenic Kebler Pass and its side trails on your ATV. (Photo: Mike Powell/Lifesize/Getty Images )
ATV Trails in Fairplay, Colorado
Attractions in Silverton, Colorado
Kebler Pass runs through the Colorado Rockies in the Gunnison National Forest west of Crested Butte. Home of the largest stand of aspens in the world, the pass is an ideal place to view these shimmery-leaved trees along with spring wildflowers and, if you're lucky, the elusive Colorado moose. While the dirt road over the pass is accessible by car, riding your ATV puts you closer to nature and enables you to take a few side trails along the way.
Trail Characteristics
Kebler Pass Road follows an old railway grade for 30 miles between Crested Butte and Highway 133 near Paonia State Park and its reservoir of the same name. Gentle slopes and wide turns characteristic of railway grades make the trail suitable for less-experienced riders. Leaving Crested Butte, the trail follows the course of Coal Creek through coniferous forest before heading up over the pass at an elevation of just over 10,000 feet.
Side Trails
A number of smaller roads riddled with bumps and washboards exit Keebler Pass Road. As you approach the pass, a north turn on Forest Road 826 takes you to Lake Irwin, where you'll find a campground and lodge nestled between the lake and the Ruby Mountains. You'll be glad you're on your ATV when you head south on FR 826 through Ohio Pass's rugged four-wheel-drive-only terrain as it descends to Ohio Creek. You'll see vistas of picturesque mountains known as Maroon Bells and the Castles, as well as some ranches tucked away in the hills. At the top of Kebler Pass, bumpy FR 706 takes you to Lost Lake, where East and West Beckwith mountains create perfect reflections in the lake.
Riding Legally
If you are visiting Colorado from out of state, you'll need to get a nonresident OHV permit, which is good from the day you purchase it until the following March 31. You can buy these permits anywhere you would go to purchase a hunting or fishing license. Residents pay a flat annual fee to register their ATVs in the state. The permit or registration allows you to operate your ATV on public lands such as the Gunnison National Forest along Kebler Pass.
Seasons and Wildlife
Because of the high elevation, the trail does not usually open until mid-June when snows have receded. You'll find the end of June and beginning of July an opportune time to view the area's wildflowers. You may choose to coincide your visit with the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival (crestedbuttewildlowerfestival.com) in early July. In late summer, there are wild berries growing by the mountain lakes, including blackberries and tiny but sweet strawberries. Autumn colors start up in mid-September. While many areas of Colorado are awash in yellow, you'll find variegated colors in Kebler Pass as aspens don shades of red, yellow, orange and green throughout the autumn. Early season snows are common in late September, but the road usually remains passable until late October. The route is open to snowmobiles in the winter.
John Fielder's Best of Colorado; John Fielder
Gunnison National Forest: OHV Riding and Camping
Indulging her passion for vacation vagary through the written word on a full-time basis since 2010, travel funster Jodi Thornton-O'Connell guides readers to the unexpected, quirky, and awe-inspiring.
Camping in Crested Butte, Colorado
La Veta, Colorado, ATV Trails
Monarch Camping in Colorado
Trails in Silverton, Colorado
Hiking in Leadville, Colorado
Southwest US Travel»
Colorado Travel»

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
PSC votes to suspend disconnections of essential utilities
As the state deals with the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the Mississippi Public Service Commission has voted to temporarily suspend disconnections of certain utility services.�
In a special meeting, the PSC voted to temporarily suspend disconnections of water, sewer, electricity and gas services for 60 days.�
According to the PSC, this action is in response to Governor Tate Reeves�s declaration of a state of emergency regarding the spread of COVID-19. In the declaration, direction was given to examine any statutes, rules or regulations that may be temporarily suspended or modified if those regulations would hinder or delay action necessary to cope with the outbreak.
The PSC coordinated with Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) throughout the weekend to implement protocols that ensure all Mississippians have access to essential utility services during the spread of COVID-19.
�We are trying to be as proactive as we can and do our part to not only help prevent the spread of the virus, but to not put any additional stress on utility customers and our workforce,� Chairman Dane Maxwell said. �It�s very important to us at the PSC to keep our customers and utility partners� welfare a top priority during this time.�
�This emergency order will keep vital services connected for our people and protect public health and welfare,� Commissioner Brandon Presley for the Northern District said. �We�ve taken this action at the recommendation of the Health Department and MEMA and we will continue to coordinate any further action with them.�
�As we enter uncharted waters, we must sometimes take extraordinary steps to protect consumers, especially our most vulnerable ones, continue commerce and serve the public interest,� Commissioner Brent Bailey for the Central District said. �We don�t take the execution of today�s action lightly, but the Commission felt that it needed to issue this Order to protect public health and welfare.�
This is a temporary suspension of disconnection. Utility customers should continue to pay outstanding bills and pay for services provided during the 60 days.
The post PSC votes to suspend disconnections of essential utilities appeared first on News Mississippi.


Property Location With a stay at Travelodge by Wyndham Traverse City MI in Traverse City, you'll be near the beach, just steps from Grand Traverse Bay and a 2-minute drive from The Dennos Museum Center. This motel is 0.9 mi (1.5 km) from Front Street and 1.1 mi (1.8 km) from Traverse City State Park.Rooms Make yourself at home in one of the 72 air-conditioned guestrooms. Complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected, and cable programming is available for your entertainment. Private bathrooms have complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Conveniences include desks and coffee/tea makers, and housekeeping is provided daily.Amenities Take advantage of recreation opportunities including an outdoor pool and a spa tub.Dining A complimentary continental breakfast is served daily.Business, Other Amenities Featured amenities include a business center, dry cleaning/laundry services, and a safe deposit box at the front desk. Free self parking is available onsite.
Hotel Travelodge by Wyndham Traverse City MI cost depends on the season and prices can be much different basing on selected dates. The diagram below illustrates price changing dynamic for Travelodge by Wyndham Traverse City MI hotel by months. For example, the lowest prices - on the average $58 - are in December, and by August hotel Travelodge by Wyndham Traverse City MI cost grows on the average up to $159.


This was the first time I ordered from this company. My package arrived on time for Christmas. My dad loves hot stuff so I'm always trying to find something he will love. I got him the Caroline Reaper Hot Sauces and the Hot Peanut Set. He loved it! The peanuts have heat and flavor which is hard to find. Good Job! I will definitely be ordering again!


The Orange County Registrar of Voters released their 2018-2019 biennial Voting Rights Act Compliance and Bilingual Outreach report today.
The report presents a thorough picture of the Registrar of Voters' Community Outreach Program, including their compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act as well as California's voting rights laws. A unique report among election officials, this 2019 updated report focuses on progress made since we published our first report in 2010. The report is designed for any citizen or group interested in outreach efforts in Orange County elections.
The Registrar of Voters details the federal requirements, provides insight into the Department´s approach to meeting the requirements and provides profiles of Orange County´s diverse communities with demographic data compiled during the 2010 U.S. Census. This year's report also features individual members of the community - sharing their stories of how the Voting Rights Act, and the Registrar of Voters' programs, have benefited their voting experiences.
The Registrar of Voters has surpassed an all-time record in 2018 by creating and attending more than 130 voting outreach events, reaching thousands of citizens in advance of the 2018 Primary and General Elections. In addition to providing outreach, the Registrar of Voters provides election materials and bilingual assistance in mandated languages in order to comply with both the federal and state voting rights laws.
A copy of the 2019 updated Voting Rights Act Compliance Report can be viewed here.


text:
Request Back Issues
Essays and Grants
2022 Membership Survey
Is the Bible 'Fake News'
Evidence from Archaeology
Symposium 2019
This event took place on Saturday 18th May 2019 at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, London. If you were unable to attend the full symposium you can listen to the three main papers here: They are presented as both YouTube videos (narrated PowerPoint presentations) and as audio MP3s for direct download.
1. 'Biblical Archaeology'
Prof. Alan Millard is Rankin Professor Emeritus of Hebrew and Ancient Semitic languages, and Honorary Senior Fellow (Ancient Near East), at the School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology (SACE) in the University of Liverpool.
Biblical Archaeology - MP3
2. 'Joshua's Long Day: Did the Sun really Stand Still?'
Prof. Sir Colin Humphreys is Professor of Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London, Emeritus Professor of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He has written extensively on the Bible and Science (and sees no conflict between the two!).
Joshua's Long Day - MP3
3. 'Fake News—Why trust the "experts"'?
Rev. Prof. Philip McCormack M.B.E is the Principal of Spurgeon's College, London. Previously, Prof McCormack was an Assistant Chaplain General in the British Army and its academic lead on ethics nationally and internationally. He articulated the ethical foundation of the British Army and created a practical model of ethics widely embraced, taught and used within the Army and the Royal Marines. He is the Chair of an International Prize Committee for Military Ethics and is an Honorary Professor of Practical Ethics, in the Institute of Health and Society, the University of Worcester.
Fake News - Why trust the Experts?
Faith and Thought is the working name of the Victoria Institute or Philosophical Society of Great Britain
View our Data Protection and Privacy Policy HERE
Charity Registration No. 285871


The Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) is a magnificent forest raptor that once ranged from British Columbia south to Marin County. The spotted owl primarily relies on old growth and mature, structurally complex forests that provide suitable opportunities for nesting, roosting, and foraging.
Once thriving, the Northern Spotted Owl population has been in decline since at least the 1980's. Logging of old growth and mature forests on public and private lands were identified as a main factor threatening the continued survival of the species. In 1990, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Northern Spotted Owl as "threatened" under the federal Endangered Species Act. In May 1991, Federal Judge William Dwyer ruled in favor of environmentalists who challenged the adequacy of the U.S. Forest Service's 1986 Forest Management Plan, enjoining 75 percent of the proposed timber sales on public lands in spotted owl critical habitat, and ultimately leading to the development of the Northwest Forest Plan.
More than 20 years since the federal listing of the Northern Spotted Owl under the ESA, the spotted owl is faced with a multitude of threats, and continues its alarming decline. Logging continues to threaten the spotted owl by removing suitable habitat across the species range. These effects are felt on both public and private lands. Regulatory mechanisms on public and private lands remain inadequate to curtail the loss of suitable spotted owl habitat, and regulators have failed to prosecute logging operations that threaten the owl on private lands.
The arrival of the invasive barred owl in the range of the Northern Spotted Owl has exacerbated the devastating effects of decades of habitat loss due to timber harvest. Barred owls are known to out-compete the spotted owl for habitat, food, and territories, and are believed to be a contributing factor to recently-identified declines in spotted owl reproductive rates across the species' range.
Other factors are also contributing to recent Northern Spotted Owl declines. Climate change and increases in the frequency and intensity of forest fires threatens the owl with additional habitat loss. Toxics such as anti-coagulant rodenticides used in cannabis and other agriculture are quickly revealing themselves to be another factor contributing to spotted owl decline.
The Northern Spotted Owl is faced with a truly cumulative effect that threatens the survival of this iconic species in the wild reaches of California and throughout its range.
EPIC's Northern Spotted Owl Self-Defense campaign aims to protect, enhance, and restore the Northern Spotted Owl across its range in Northern California and beyond. We use an integrated science-based approach to support our education, advocacy, and strategic litigation for the spotted owl. EPIC has several ongoing initiatives aimed at protecting, enhancing, and restoring the owl.
EPIC is at the forefront of watch-dogging state regulators and the timber industry on private lands in California, advocating for the protection of the Northern Spotted Owl. EPIC monitors and comments on private lands logging plans (Timber Harvest Plans) that intend to remove suitable spotted owl habitat from within known-owl territories. We advocate for site-specific, project-based protections for spotted owl to ensure that not only protection, but also seek to enhance and restore forests that no longer provide suitable habitat but could in the future. Finally, we engage with the regulators to ensure that the agencies are discharging their legal responsibilities to protect the spotted owl when approving Timber Harvest Plans.
EPIC monitors the United States Forest Service and public land logging projects proposed within the range of the Northern Spotted Owl in California. We track and comment on individual projects that may affect the spotted owl, including projects proposed in old growth areas, or in Late Successional Reserves.
EPIC uses legal efforts to protect the Northern Spotted Owl. In 2012, EPIC used the threat of litigation to change the logging practices of Sierra Pacific Industries within known NSO territories. Our 60-day notice of intent to sue SPI for "take" of Northern Spotted Owls under the federal ESA compelled the company to create half-mile no harvesting areas around known nest sites, and has resulted in substantially reduced harvesting of high quality habitat by SPI.
EPIC continues to monitor and engage with the California Board of Forestry, the rulemaking body for private forestland regulations in California. In 2013, EPIC brought a petition before the Board of Forestry to delete a section of the California Forest Practice Rules that has been shown to result in harm to Northern Spotted Owl and loss of owl territories. The state Department of Forestry (CAL FIRE), the agency responsible for implementing the rules, actually agreed in large part with EPIC's arguments that the rules were out-dated and no longer reflect the best-available science. The Board of Forestry, however, when faced with a deluge of timber industry advocates encouraging it to keep these harmful rules, declined to delete the offensive section. EPIC continues to push the Board of Forestry to address the glaring inadequacies in its rules designed to protect Northern Spotted Owls.
In August 2012, EPIC filed a petition with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to "re-classify" or "up-list" the Northern Spotted Owl from a "threatened" to "endangered" species under the federal ESA. The ESA requires the Service to make an initial 90-day finding to determine if the petitioned action "may be warranted." The Service however has failed to issue this initial 90-day finding. In December 2012, EPIC filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the Service under the federal ESA for failing to make the finding. To date the Service still has not issued the initial 90-day finding on our petition.
In September 2012, EPIC filed a petition with the California Fish and Game Commission to list Northern Spotted Owls as either "threatened" or "endangered" under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). At its August 2013 meeting, the Commission accepted EPIC's petition to list the spotted owl, finding that the petitioned action "may be warranted." In December 2013, the Commission issued findings for its August 2013 decision, thus initiating a so-called "candidacy" period under CESA. As a candidate species under CESA the Northern Spotted Owl is protected against "take" as defined by the California law for the duration of the candidacy period. During this candidacy period, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has one year to conduct a status review and prepare a status report for the owl in California for consideration by the Commission at its final listing decision hearing. d. EPIC intends to be fully engaged in the status review proves. It is anticipated that the final listing decision hearing will be held before the Commission sometime in early 2015.
EPIC's Northern Spotted Owl Self-Defense campaign will continue to educate the public and regulators as to the plight of the spotted owl, to monitor and challenge harmful timber harvest projects on both public and private lands, and will continue to work at administrative and regulatory levels to achieve greater protection for the species and the enhancement and restoration of its habitat in Northern California and range-wide.
Click here to read EPIC's additional Northern Spotted Owl publications.


Whatever the problems are that you are experiencing now, most likely they developed over time. For example if you are currently experiencing feelings of low self-value, I want to help you find the source of those feelings. It may have been one extremely negative experience, but more often, it has come from repeated experiences of the same theme.
Not finding the right therapist? Search for therapists in San Antonio, Alamo Heights, or New Braunfels to expand your search.
Since 2007, GoodTherapy has helped people like you connect with ethical, compassionate counselors and therapists. The therapists listed above, who practice therapy in Garden Ridge, are trained to protect client confidentiality and privacy. In keeping with our high membership standards, these mental health professionals are also committed to eliminating the stigma that keeps many people from seeking help.
Rest assured there are qualified therapists in Garden Ridge who can treat a variety of concerns, including family conflict, relationship issues, anxiety, or depression. With our directory, the right therapist is easy to find.
Are you a therapist or mental health professional looking for new ways to get referrals and market your practice in Garden Ridge? Keeping up to date with professional requirements and increasing your online presence are just two of the many benefits of joining GoodTherapy. Start connecting with clients and earning online continuing education credits today!.


text:
Portugal. The Man, House of Blues, Boston, MA – 4/22
Portugal. The Man' s Jagermeister Music Tour has endured an uneven couple of weeks after losing their drummer in the middle of a show in New Orleans earlier in the month. They finished that gig with help from the drummer of opening act The Lonely Forest, and cobbled together some subsequent dates by foregoing drums altogether for a good portion of the show and playing much more acoustic. By the time they hit the stage at the House of Blues in Boston this past Sunday, however, they had found a drummer to sit in for the entire show (Kane Ritchotte – who was excellent), and perhaps making up for lost time the band responded with a pounding, high-energy, jam-filled set.
Portugal. opened the show with same trio of songs they've been mixing and matching at the start of much of the tour: "All Your Light," "The Woods," and "So American." The show really kicked into gear, though, a couple of numbers later, when the driving rhythm of "The Devil" (hard to envision that song without drums) segued into a scorching cover of The Beatles "Helter Skelter." It was the first of two nods the band would make to the Fab Four over the course of the night. Indeed, while Portugal. The Man's sound is regularly compared to early '70s glam rockers like David Bowie and T-Rex, I think their most recent album (2011's In The Mountain, In The Cloud ) owes more to latter-era Beatles than anything else.
The band started to lay out some extended jams on "AKA M80 The Wolf," the Beatles-esque "Floating," "Senseless" and "Colors," with John Gourley and touring guitarist Noah Gersh trading spirographing leads over Zach Carothers' anchoring bass lines. Other highlights included the Pink Floyd-ish "Chicago" (maybe it's Pink Floyd-ish to me solely on basis of the opening lines: "The pig's spitting taxes and unwanted tasks/We say, 'send me to the battle please, sir!'") and the Bowie-like "Got It All" and "Do You."
About halfway through the hour-and-45-minute show, it became increasingly clear to the crowd (as sometimes happens) that they were witnessing a first-rate performance by a band earning its keep for the night. The cheering got louder and louder as Portugal. (and The Man) reeled off one jam after another, barely pausing for breath: "Everyone Is Golden," "Head Is A Flame," "My Mind," and yet another drum-laden crowd-pleaser, "Bellies Are Full." They closed out the set with a jam of "Sleep Forever" morphing into the classic refrain from "Hey Jude," followed by a single-song encore of "And I" before Boston city ordinance 16-26.6 required them to wrap things up.
It remains to be seen whether Portugal. The Man can find a long-term solution to the drummer issue (they lost their original drummer, Jason Sechrist, late last year). But given the importance of a full rhythm section to their overall sound, one hopes they can figure it out, and avoid any Spinal Tap-like spontaneous combustions down the road.
Both openers – local band The Okay Win and Washington-based The Lonely Forest – were worth arriving early for. The current leg of the Jagermeister tour continues through mid-May, with a dozen or so upcoming dates in the Midwest and California.


Empty Standby List is a command line tool - from the developer of Process Hacker - which provides various ways to free up RAM.
Tell it to free up process working sets (EmptyStandbyList.exe workingsets) and the program tells Windows and applications to cut memory use by all user and system processes. This may help, or it might cut performance as processes immediately swap back data from the paging file.
Emptying the modified page list (EmptyStandbyList.exe modifiedpagelist) flushes modified pages, writing unsaved data to disk, and freeing up that RAM. This can involve a lot of disk activity, which may slow you down, but if you want to get it out of the way - have Windows write this data to disk now, rather than at some random point later - then it might be useful.
Freeing up the standby list (EmptyStandbyList.exe standbylist) discards RAM associated with a process, but not currently in the working set, and moves it to the Free list. Depending on your situation, this may be relatively penalty-free, and it's perhaps the best option to try first.
Emptying the priority 0 standby list (EmptyStandbyList.exe priority0standbylist) frees up RAM on the lowest priority standby list. This command is the least likely to cause performance issues later, but may not recover much memory.
Memory "optimizers" generally don't do very much, but there are situations where you might see benefits, and Empty Standby List gives you more control over the process than most tools. If your RAM usage seems high - particularly standby pages - then give it a try.


text:
Chimkhola () is a village in Myagdi District in Gandaki Province of western-central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 1456 people living in 270 individual households.

References

External links
UN map of the municipalities of Myagdi District

Populated places in Myagdi District

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Photo: Kosalan Kathiramalanathan
Planters installed on Victoria St.— community member seeks shelter elsewhere
In Campus News, News March 23, 2018 3 Comments
By Annie Arnone
The installation of planters on Ryerson's campus sidewalk has resulted in the forced removal of a community member, Jason, who has been using the corner of Victoria and Dundas streets as a place of shelter for almost a decade.
On Wednesday, Toronto Police Services received a call about an "unwanted guest" in front of the Tim Hortons on Victoria Street. Upon arrival, they found Jason—who had set up shelter in front of the store for the past several months. He was told to vacate the area, as planters were to be installed in the same location.
Jason did not wish to disclose his full name to The Eyeopener but said that he is now forced to relocate the home he has set up.
"I'll be OK, but I need to find a new place to stay," he said. The area in front of the restaurant is sheltered from wind and rain. Jason kept his belongings stacked under blankets up against a support beam.
According to Mark Garner, the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area, the planters were brought in as an attempt to get Jason "help."
"Jason has been deemed a chronic homelessness issue in our area, he's got dental issues, various mental health issues, he's been at that space for close to 10 years…if we don't do something for him, he's going to die on the street," said Garner.
He added that his team has been attempting to get Jason into community housing for years, but Jason never accepted their offer.
"The planters were to let him know that this was not a location he could be in—this is not our approach to push homeless people out of the area, this was a targeted focus for Jason."
But some members of the Ryerson community voiced their opinions about the situation on Twitter—disagreeing with Garner's tactics.
Hey what the fuck Jason bothers literally no one who complained about this
— Cocoa Soup @ Astera (@tamamonokama) March 22, 2018
Omg!!!!!! NOOOO! My heart is broken </3 ):
— Jules (@juliastefanska) March 23, 2018
If anything that man has made me spend more @TimHortons so that he would have something to eat. He accepts food with the most genuine thanks and does not interact with patrons unless they interact with him. For shame.
— Lindsay Boeckl (@LindsayBoeckl) March 22, 2018
In December 2017, residents criticized the city of Seattle, Wash. for installing bike racks they said were only for the purpose of deterring homeless camping.
March 24, 2018 Reply
undercoverkity
Finally , the guy is a parasite . He preys upon unsuspecting students who think they are doing some silly social justice crap by giving him money . He once admitted that he make 3-400 dollars a day there . I myself asked him why , if he makes that much, " begging " , is he not in an at. His answer was that rent for an apt is money he could ad would rather spend on pot . He once had a few of his " friends " Live " there as well . Ya, what a great site to come to . Glad he is finally gone.
Sorry but while I understand a few people might be upset about his "relocation" I'm one of the many that are saying FINALLY I for one actually live a stone's throw away and my walk to and from work 5 days a week involves walking past that Tim Horton's. I've also lived here for 10 yrs and he's been here as long as I have. Countless times I've had to manoeuvre around random disgusting vomit and urine puddles surrounding that store. If I'm lucky someone's already out there hosing it off the walls and sidewalk. The guy's also unstable. Sure, maybe you've walked past him on his good days where he's all chill and giving you a warm greeting while he's holding the door for you. But I've also seem him at his worst. There's been a bunch of violent fights between him and his arch nemesis (another homeless man) over some kind of turf war I guess. Probably fighting over who's holding the door for change that day. I've seen him yelling, swearing, using drugs in plain sight and the list goes on. For one, it's not a good look for Tim Horton's business. I wouldn't want that on my own business' door step. And secondly, if I'm scouting schools for my kids I can't say I'd be that impressed by homeless people living practically on campus. And keep in mind, because "Jason" lived here a while it encouraged a few other homeless people to set up shop as well. I think there were as many as 3 homeless people living in front of Timmy's at one time. My suggestion, relocate him to a legit shelter. And let the rest of us enjoy our coffee's in peace. Now don't get me started on those skateboarders…


Steyer, a retired hedge-fund manager and the nation's largest single political donor, has thrown good money after bad trying to turn climate change into a major political issue. Beyond his spending on elections, he has funded and publicly supported "keep it in the ground" activists who reflexively oppose any project tied to oil, natural gas or coal. Steyer has even thrown his weight behind a campaign to get universities to divest from fossil fuels. And all the while, domestic energy production in the United States has surged with broad, bipartisan support.
Steyer's brand of climate politics is a failure because he's lecturing voters, not listening to them. In poll after poll, voters rank the environment as one of the least pressing issues facing the country. But they do care a great deal about economic issues, and all the measures pushed by anti-fossil fuel activists – taxes, mandates and subsidies – carry a significant cost.
Asking people to pay more for energy in the name of something they aren't very worried about is a losing proposition – just ask the lawmakers who lost their jobs after Al Gore's proposed energy tax in the early 1990s or the Obama administration's failed push for "cap-and-trade" climate legislation in the late 2000s.
This year, the battleground state of Colorado – one of the top energy-producing states in the country – shows how far Steyer has fallen. He poured at least $2 million into Colorado politics this election cycle, according to federal and state election records. The money, funneled through Steyer's NextGen Climate political action committee, paid for research, polling and voter turnout to help Clinton and win a series of down-ballot races for Democrats.
In particular, Steyer wanted Democrats to regain full control of the Colorado state legislature. They needed a net gain of just one seat in the state Senate, and the California billionaire even had help from another ultra-wealthy donor – New York hedge fund tycoon George Soros – who also put money behind Democrats in Colorado's key state legislative races.
But it gets worse. The California billionaire's political machine was deeply involved in another down-ballot race: The battle for control of the board of regents at the University of Colorado (CU). Conservation Colorado and 350.org – two Steyer-funded groups – backed Alice Madden, an environmentalist, former state lawmaker and former climate official in the Obama administration.
"Colorado is an 'all of the above' state and CU is an 'all of the above' university," Ganahl said in response to Madden's climate campaigning. Ganahl won the race against Madden.


We have over 20,000 sq. ft. of retail space open to the public!
ageratum, alyssum, angelonia, begonia, calibrachoa, celosia, cleome, coleus, cosmos, cuphea, dahlia, dianthus, dusty miller, gazania, gomphrena, hypoestes, impatiens, laurentia, lisianthus, lobelia, marigold, morning glory, pentas, petunia, phlox, portulaca, salvia, snapdragon, torenia, verbena, vinca, zinnia. These come in many colors.
PERENNIALS IN PACKS: New this year are a new lavender called ' Blue Spear', lewisia 'Elise', baptisia, columbine, delphinium, shasta daisy, cardinal flower, yarrow, hollyhock, astilbe, coral bells, campanula, tickseed (coreopsis), leopard's bane (doronicum), Echinacea, gaillardia (blanket flower), candytuft, lavenders, liatris, lupines in mixed colors, beebalm, Russian sage, balloon flower, Jacob's ladder, scabiosa (pincushion flower).
PERENNIALS IN POTS: Joe Pye Weed, perennial geranium 'Rozanne', Feather Reed Grass 'Karl Foerster', Lewisia, Hollyhock (alcea), columbine (aquilegia), English daisy (bellis), clematis, coreopsis, ice plant (delosperma), dianthus, bleeding heart, Echinacea, gaillardia, sweet woodruff (galium), daylilies, coral bells, hosta, iris, lamium, lavenders, lithodora, lupine in several colors, beebalm (monarda), catmint (nepeta), oriental poppy, creeping phlox in several colors, salvia Sweet Esmerelda, hens & chicks, blue-eyed grass, violas.
HERBS: in packs & small pots: 4 varieties of basil, borage, catnip, chives, garlic chives, cilantro, dill, fennel, Greek oregano, curly parsley, parsley, peppermint, French tarragon, sage, summer savory, thyme, watercress, Vietnamese coriander, lemon grass, and more.
HANGING BASKETS: Swingtime Fuchsia is back! new varieties of fuchsia, million bells, geraniums, Illumination begonias, superbells, evolvulus, lantana, supertunia, portulaca, torenia, streptocarpella, many combination hangers, and more.
PATIO POTS: many dazzling combinations of beautiful mixed plants in 10", 12", 14" & specialty pots for your outdoor pleasure, lasting the whole season.
EXTRAS: such as bagged soil mixes, seeds in packets & plant food.


There are many mac osx apps are out there, but getting by free and good ones is not that easy. That is why I am sharing 6 Simple But Really Useful Mac OSX Apps. Read each entry in the list and see which tool suits your needs best.
You are welcome if you want to share more simple max osx apps that our readers/viewers may like. Do you want to be the first one to know the latest happenings at SmashingApps.com, just subscribe to our rss feed and you can follow us on twitter and follow us on Digg as well to get updated.
DupeZap doesn't delete the items, it only moves them to the trash. Before to click on the trash button be sure that they are the unwanted items. However, DupeZap has a security system that assures you will keep at least one file of the duplicate group on your disk and the ability to restore trashed items.
DropCopy is simply easiest way to get things from one place to another quickly without dialogs, passwords or confirmations. With this app, You can easily and quickly send files and folders to multiple destinations across your network by simply dragging files onto recipients in a popup window.
Time Track is a tiny and useful time tracking application. It will log all the time you've spent on your computer and show you daily and monthly reports.
StuffIt Expander is always free. Access StuffIt files, uncompress Zip archives, decompress tar, gzip and bzip archives, and more. Just drag, drop, and you're done.
Synalyze It! is a free and simple to use Mac OS X app which lets you easily edit and analyze binary files of any size. Synalyze It! features enhanced support for many character encodings and it will allow you to interactively define grammars for various file formats.
All of these look great, but NONE of them are available in the US store.


It's been raining consistently in Sydney for the past couple of weeks. I had to stand in the drizzle to get a snap of this poster. I like it. As a psychedelic comic piece it's average, but the overall meaning isn't clear from a few metres away.
So someone, probably the driver, is telling Zap to 'abort' the journey they're on. They are ants in a world of giants. They're fighting overwhelming odds. They must escape. They will lose.
Is this a metaphor for the corporate clutch holding the art industry by the balls/car?
Does the public need to escape coercion by the agenda-setting elite classes?
Is it referencing an episode of Speed Racer that i missed?


Open the application once, normally, after a new install before editing this file.
a. Otherwise, the signatures won't match and the OS will think that the package has been tampered with, and security settings will prevent launching of the application. You will then have to delete the entire application and reinstall it.
Start up and enjoy your upgraded IntelliJ on steroids.
Note: These steps must be repeated after every upgrade.


Hampton's Chem-Dry is proud to serve the Quincy, IL area with our professional carpet cleaning services. From our hardworking professional technicians to our revolutionary cleaning processes, we are prepared to understand your specific needs and provide you with a deeper, longer-lasting clean and a healthier home. We are proud of the services we provide and of the continual satisfaction of our Quincy customers.
Most of the carpet cleaners that you will find in the Quincy area are going to use traditional steam cleaning techniques to clean your home which do an okay job. However, there are a few disadvantages that they choose to not tell you about. Typical steam cleaning services use an excessive amount of water, which results in a much longer dry time. The large amount of water can also lead to mold and mildew growth at the base of your carpets. In addition, most of the soaps used by other carpet cleaners leave behind a dirt-attracting residue that will dirty your carpets faster than ever. Hampton's Chem-Dry, however, uses a proprietary cleaning process called Hot Carbonating Extraction that provides you with a deeper, longer-lasting, healthier carpet cleaning experience. Hampton's Chem-Dry's process uses about 80% less water than steam cleaners and gets better results. Using a natural, green-certified carbonated cleaning solution that's heated to over 200 degrees, millions of tiny bubbles penetrate to the base of your carpets to lift dirt, grime, dust and other allergens to the surface. Then our powerful extraction equipment removes these unhealthy elements along with the majority of the water. So your carpets are dry in 1-2 hours with Hampton's Chem-Dry, compared to 1-2 days with most steam cleaners!
Hampton's Chem-Dry's signature cleaning solution, The Natural®, is a cleaning mixture that, through the power of carbonation, lifts dirt and grime to the surface where it is whisked away, The Natural is green-certified, safe and non-toxic so it's ideal for homes with kids and pets. All of the ingredients in The Natural® are also on the FDA's G.R.A.S. (Generally Recognized as Safe) list and are safe for your carpets, your home and your family. The Natural does not contain any soaps or harsh chemicals that could damage your carpets.
We know you have a choice when it comes to carpet cleaners near your Quincy home. We promise to treat your home, your family and your pets with the courtesy and care you deserve. Our friendly, professionally-trained technicians take pride in delivering superior carpet cleanings that will meet your needs and exceed your expectations. Hampton's Chem-Dry hopes that you become a long-time client for years to come.
Is carpet cleaning not something you need right now? Hampton's Chem-Dry offers a variety of other professional services that are dedicated towards helping your home become and remain a healthy environment. Our professional technicians are specially trained in their services and will provide an outstanding job in any service you are in need of. Click below to learn more about the other services Hampton's Chem-Dry has available to our Quincy customers!
"Hampton's ChemDry made our 14+ year old, has lived through two small children and two cats carpet, look like new. Added bonus...the smell when they were done! They did an amazing job at a great price!!!"
"Did an amazing job and made them look like they were fairly new carpets. Brought some life back to them. Very happy with the job and would recommend them to anyone. "


text:
Pick Your Battles
...the mantra of those who don't battle
"...do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic..."
"For the good of the Air Force, for the good of the armed services and for the good of our country, I urge you to reject convention and careerism..."
- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Maxwell AFB, April 21, 2008
"You will need to challenge conventional wisdom and call things like you see them to subordinates and superiors alike."
- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, United States Air Force Academy, March 4, 2011
Airlines -- Be Cautious of Who You Hire
Like Bell Biv DeVoe says, "Don't trust an ATP and a smile..." I can hardly point to a peer of mine in the Air Force that I would personally hire as a private employer. There are a few, but they are a very few.
Most are of the go-along-to-get-along, what's in it for me, variety and sadly lack the most basic morality. Sure, they meet the standard test when it comes to participation in your fantasy football league. You know, they like football and they like the ladies, and beer, and they want to fit in and they can tell a joke from time to time. But that whole Constitution thing they swore to support and defend is just so confusing when they don't read it...
Take for example this guy I used to fly with who was little more than the cute smile from the poison lyrics above. He's a recent hire by a major airline, but he also thinks it is okay for armored men with guns to use violence against teenager girls.
That's not hyperbole.
He thinks the young girl in the video above deserved what she got from the same cop who arrested a military soldier in uniform for playing music too loud in a parking lot. Never mind that the cop was fired, this guy thinks the display of power against the youngster was perfectly acceptable. And if you disagree with that, you're just anti-authority, some kind of crazy anarchist or something.
We can all have our opinions. But this individual defriended me after I shared the opinion above, and since he's still a public servant for the next little bit, I figured this would be something worth sharing. I hate it when worthwhile conversations come to an abrupt end by those who feel ill equipped to have them. Perhaps Clint Schulz will change his mind and respond here.
Airlines should be careful about the quality they are hiring. It probably won't matter, flying for the airlines is certainly not public service. But if I were a young girl traveling on Southwest, I'd be extra careful this pilot doesn't have an air marshal violently throw me off the plane for not being respectful enough. You don't want to be deemed unruly if he's at the front of the jet.
"If I were you I'd take precautions..."
Posted by PickYourBattles.Net at 1:49 PM
PickYourBattles.Net
My name is Rick Rynearson. My Twitter is @PickBattles. I am an Air Force command pilot and field grade officer. I grew up an Air Force dependent (my father retired a CMSgt after 32 years active duty). I have eight deployments to OEF/OIF as a close air support attack pilot, more than one thousand combat flight hours, seven Air Medals and a Distinguished Flying Cross for valor. I have a B.A. in religion from the Florida State University. My wife is a Harvard educated former Air Force intelligence officer turned civilian lawyer, former clerk for the Supreme Court of the United States, and Air Force Reserve JAG. My father, mother, and sister all work for the Air Force as contractors or government employees.
There are several reasons for this blog. First, I believe I have something to contribute to an important discussion. Second, traditional military avenues of discussion (PME) have proven ineffective methods for dialogue. Third, the Air Force "Emerging Technologies" division of Public Affairs released instructional guidance for "each Airman to act as a communicator to be the voice of the Air Force in the blogosphere" while noting "there are movements within DoD to explore a broader, more aggressive and holistic approach... to integrate communicators" and stating, "the rules of the game have clearly changed." Finally, this blog served as a sounding board for a master's thesis I have completed entitled, "The Smartest Guys in the Room and the Best of the Best." The thesis examines the culture of Enron and Air Force fighter pilot culture, finds similarities, and makes recommendations.
The Smartest Guys in the Room and the Best of the Best: Max Performing Air Force Culture by PYB
In accordance with the PA guidelines mentioned above, this blog seeks to provide one personal, transparent, credible perspective -- among other perspectives online -- with the goal of furthering conversation to help foster a stronger, more relevant Air Force. The intent of this blog is to be transparent and is not used to hide identity. Readers are encouraged to post comments or email me if they think form or substance in this blog is an issue. All criticism is welcomed. For more info on blogging and the Air Force please see my first blog post.
Note: As Tony Carr (despite claims otherwise), FlyingSquadron.Com and MilitaryTimes.Com all share an affinity for banning those who present unpopular viewpoints (ie disagreeing with them), I have created a Facebook page to share such banned opinions. Please visit Martial Matters if you are interested in that less civil discussion.
The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent Air Force positions, strategies or opinions.
Icon A5 Made First Delivery
Edward Snowden is an Exceptional American Hero
George Takei and the Cast of Allegiance Deliver Po...
And You Thought Disarming Americans Couldn't Happe...
Years Late and Billions of Dollars Short - Yet a P...
Embarassing When Europe Values Our Constitution Mo...
Spinney's Blaster Blog
John Q. Public (Tony Carr)
Roll Call on Blogging
New Media and the Air Force
AFI 35-101
Secretary Gates' Air University Speech
Secretary Gates' West Point Speech
Paths to Extinction: The US Air Force in 2025
A Failure in Generalship
Tom Ricks on Ending Some PME
Ed Rasimus Thunder Tales
Building Peace
Global Guerrillas Blog
The Best Defense - Tom Ricks
Subscribe To PickYourBattles.Net


The recount gives legislators time to talk to citizens and each other and plan, should the initial results be upheld. A thoughtful bipartisan effort could easily result in legislation that honors the will of voters regarding marijuana legalization while preserving the economic and health best interests of Maine citizens.
Congratulations to my No on 1 friends!
A team working with a combined $174,000 was able to convince 49.83 percent of voters that the team with the $2.6 million message didn't have Mainers best interest in heart. Even in losing, the accomplishment is significant.


text:
Recreating History With 'Vice' Cinematographer Greig Fraser
Making a movie about a controversial figure like Dick Cheney is no easy prospect. How do you portray him? Vilify him or make him sympathetic? Black and white or with nuance? For a cinematographer, it's equally challenging to answer those questions, then translate it into a visual approach. That's exactly what the filmmakers behind Oscar-nominated Vice had to do. We spoke with cinematographer Greig Fraser about what went into giving Vice its look.
To Editorialize or Not
The questions above were ones the filmmakers of Vice needed to answer before choosing how to shoot the project. "The 'look' discussions came after we decided what we want the audience to feel," says Fraser. "We first discussed more holistically what the film was about and what it was saying."
What they decided was that they wanted to adhere to facts as much as they could, and let those facts speak for themselves. "We were filming a portrayal of a real-life person. So, respectfully, regardless of what one thinks or one's politics, it's important to be as truthful as you can be, and as honest as you can be, without deliberately demonizing." Therefore, they set out to not editorialize visually, especially not negatively. "It was a very conscious decision that we weren't going to demonize the guy visually," says Fraser.
For example, those less sympathetic toward Cheney might be surprised by scenes of the former vice president's home life, which are warmly lit and serenely shot. But there was no reason not to do that: "It needed to have that honesty about what home life is," the cinematographer says. "We didn't need to make his house fluorescently lit and dark and brooding, like a New York City apartment in the '70s. That would be the opposite of what we were talking about doing and what we actually did."
(L to R) Director Adam McKay, Christian Bale, producer Kevin Messick, and Greig Fraser on the set of Vice. Photo Credit: Matt Kennedy.
The Responsibility of 'Performed Documentary'
Throughout his career, Fraser has shot many projects based on true stories — several of which, like Vice, depict historically significant events. Recreating those moments on screen can sometimes feel like making what he calls a "performed documentary." As an example, he mentions Zero Dark Thirty and its recreation of the 2011 secret raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound. "It's the closest thing that anyone can get to that particular situation as a civilian," he says.
The same goes for scenes in Vice of the behind-door discussions Cheney had while in power that influenced the trajectory of America as a nation. It's representing history in a way that shows everyday audiences what they never could have witnessed otherwise. That can be a powerful responsibility, though Fraser does offer a caveat. "Everyone's acting, and everybody knows that. No one's going to fool themselves into believing that we're witnessing history. But it's the closest thing we can do to witnessing history."
He also believes movies can represent history in meaningful, publicly conscious ways. "In 100 years, something like The Hurt Locker is going to be the film to represent the Iraq War if you want a representation of what that war was," he says. "Hopefully a film like Vice can be the representation of that for Cheney."
Christian Bale and Sam Rockwell in Vice
Deciding When to Shoot Simply
There are no stakes here involving Navy SEALs with high-powered rifles like in Zero Dark Thirty. Instead, Vice has, as Fraser puts it, "a lot of sitting around on couches and at desks and talking."
He doesn't mean that negatively, however. Those talks were as significant as the raid, and just as important for an audience to understand. Enabling that meant not letting camera work get in the way. "It's a rather meaty, dense script, with a lot of ideas. We wanted to make sure that there's an underlying visual simplicity to the cinematography," Fraser says. They executed that with very calm, locked-in camera work during important discussions like those that take place in the Oval Office. Sometimes, they would do lightly floating handheld work as well, such as in scenes in an underground bunker immediately after 9/11.
But though the camera is often still, the film does have a kinetic energy that's familiar to anyone who knows director Adam McKay's work. Fraser attributes that energy to the fact that other moments in the film didn't need to be shot the same way. For example, sequences depicting a young Cheney involved in a DUI, or torture at Guantanamo Bay, are shot in a different style. "There were other points in the movie visually that we could go a little bit crazy with," Fraser says. "So we know that we could always be cutting away to something that was more frenetic."
Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney in Vice
Getting Close to an All-Time Performance
It's impossible to talk about Vice without talking about Christian Bale and his award-winning embodiment of the former Vice President. Every accolade for his performance is earned, but from a visual point of view, it's something that is greatly complemented by the decision to get very close to him with the camera.
That could have been risky, because of the prosthetics used to make Bale look so much like Cheney. Bale gained 40 pounds, shaved his head, and bleached his eyebrows, but there were still enough prosthetics on his face to leave only the actor's natural forehead, ears, and under-nose visible. "Because you're putting latex over real skin, there's always going to be an issue," Fraser says. "You're always having to be mindful of the prosthetics." That's because latex shot so close can look unnatural and sabotage any intended illusion.
Breaking the illusion would have been a dealbreaker, especially for significant moments, such as when Bale as Cheney breaks the fourth wall to directly talk to the audience and accuse them of being culpable for his actions. But moments like that proved that close-ups could work, because of the sheer quality of the makeup and prosthetic work. "The second that he turns his eyes away from a person in the scene and looks straight down your soul, it was as intense for me as it is for the audience," Fraser says. "Being the closest person in the flesh to that performance that will be immortalized forever on film is quite a unique position. You definitely do have a biological reaction."
All images from Vice courtesy of Annapurna Pictures.
Tags: Academy Awards, Adam McKay, Cinematography, Filmmaking, Greig Fraser, makeup, Oscars2019, Politics, vice
Keep Rolling: How to Pull Off a Complicated Long Take
A lot goes into pulling off a complicated long shot. Maxwell Orgell and Shawn Kim have extensive experience creating this type of shot from their collaborations with Michel Gondry.
Cinematographer James Laxton on the Creative Journey to 'Beale Street'
"Moonlight" director Barry Jenkins and DP James Laxton invest a lot in the visual aesthetics of their films. We spoke with Laxton about their approach to "If Beale Street Could Talk."
December 20, 2018 / 690 Shares / Comments


Our Pure Milk Chocolate with salted caramel combines the smooth sweetness of our milk chocolate with pieces of Yorkshire caramel and flakes of Anglesey sea salt, for a delightful flavor combination and a delicate crunch. GREEN & BLACK'S cocoa beans are hand-harvested from small Caribbean farms, then nurtured to develop a rich taste and dried to lock in the intense flavor of the Trinitario bean. All GREEN & BLACK'S cocoa is sourced through Cocoa Life, a global program that invests in sustainable cocoa farming. Our partnerships improve the lives of cocoa farming communities, empower women, and inspire the next generation to secure a better future for all.
INGREDIENTS: MILK CHOCOLATE (ORGANIC RAW CANE SUGAR, MILK, ORGANIC COCOA BUTTER, ORGANIC CHOCOLATE, SOY LECITHIN, ORGANIC VANILLA EXTRACT), ORGANIC RAW CANE SUGAR, ORGANIC GLUCOSE SYRUP (FROM WHEAT), BUTTER (CREAM, SALT), ORGANIC PALM OIL, SEA SALT, ORGANIC MOLASSES, NATURAL FLAVOR. CONTAINS: MILK, SOY, WHEAT. MANUFACTURED ON EQUIPMENT THAT PROCESSES TREE NUTS. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT FORMULAS MAY CHANGE AND THE BEST SOURCE OF INFORMATION IS THE PRODUCT PACKAGING. WE ASK THAT OUR CONSUMERS TAKE THE TIME TO CHECK THE PRODUCT PACKAGING FOR INGREDIENT STATEMENT, ALLERGEN AND NUTRITION INFORMATION PRIOR TO PURCHASING A PRODUCT.


text:
DIPLOMÁTICO RUM JOINS PROOF & COMPANY AUSTRALIA, EXPANDS NATIONAL RETAIL FOOTPRINT
MELBOURNE 30 September 2019 – Commencing 1 October 2019, Diplomático Rum has appointed Proof & Company as their distributor in the Australian market. The acquisition builds on a seven-year partnership between the two companies in key Asia domestic markets and travel retail across Asia Pacific.
"We could not be more excited to bring this delicious liquid to the Australian bartender and consumer. We aim to build on Diplomático's strong foundation here and develop it into a household name for lovers of rum and quality dark spirits alike," says Paul Broadbent, Proof & Company General Manager, Australia & New Zealand.
Australia remains Diplomático's most important Asia Pacific market. In keeping with this status, both companies are expanding their investment in Diplomático's development. Sai Hamsala, Diplomático's Melbourne-based Asia Pacific Brand Ambassador, will now be joined by Kate Mansour, in the newly created role of National Brand Manager, Australia for Diplomático. Mansour joins Proof & Company Australia and Diplomático with a wealth of spirits industry brand and marketing experience, including at Brown-Forman, where she helped oversee the growth of Woodford Reserve Bourbon and other premium brands in Australia.
Kate Mansour, National Brand Manager
Sai Hamsala, Asia Pacific Brand Ambassador
'It is a privilege to join Proof & Company and Diplomático to oversee the Australia market for this exceptional rum. I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting involved in the entrepreneurial culture that both companies are renowned for," notes Mansour. In her new role, Mansour will be responsible for rolling out the "Heart of Rum" program across the country, with a focus on getting liquid on lips of this award-winning rum.
Diplomático is one of the fastest growing premium rums in Australia. Starting in late 2019, Coles Liquor Group will make Diplomático available in Liquorland, Vintage Cellars and First Choice Liquor Market locations. This builds on an existing nationwide presence with EDG Group through Dan Murphy's and BWS stores and with independent liquor retailers. Through Hamasala's work over recent years, Diplomático also has a strong presence in leading bars and restaurants, which will see continued focus from the expanded team.
"Diplomático have been present in Australia for the last nine years thanks to the exceptional work carried out by the Baranows Emporium team. We are thankful for their work in building this foundation. Moving forward, we are excited to take Australia to the next level, from good to great, with the talented and passionate team at Proof & Company," notes Alfonso Castillo, Diplomático Asia Pacific Marketing Manager.
About Diplomático Rum
Diplomático is a super-premium rum from Venezuela. In 2018, Diplomático was awarded Wine Enthusiast's prestigious "Spirit Brand of the Year," the first-ever rum to win in this category. The Diplomático distillery is located at the foot of the Andes Mountains and is a family-owned brand inspired by the character of Don Juan Nieto Melendez, whose portrait is illustrated on its labels. Having produced top-quality spirits since 1959, Diplomático's distillery combines traditional methods with modern technology to produce the finest of rums. The production area boasts great conditions for sugar cane and rum production including fertile lands, abundant water and a Caribbean climate. The team of award-winning Master Blenders works diligently to create unique and complex rums. The product range consists of the Tradition Range: Planas (aged up to 6 years), Mantuano (aged up to 8 years) and Reserva Exclusiva (aged up to 12 years), the Prestige Range: Single Vintage and Ambassador, both aged 12 years and finished in Spanish sherry casks for one and two years respectively, and a Special Edition: The Distillery Collection, featuring a Single Batch Kettle rum, a Single Barbet column rum and a Pot Still rum. For more information, please visit www.rondiplomatico.com.
by Proof and Company
URBANBAR LAUNCHES ASIA BARWARE HUB AND ONLINE STORE IN COLLABORATION WITH PROOF & COMPANY
SINGAPORE, 19 August 2019 – UrbanBar, a leading United Kingdom designer of premium bar tools and glassware, has launched a Singapore-based stock hub and online store (www.urbanbar.sg) to serve the rapidly growing Asia cocktail and bar scene. This premium barware hub, which will be operated in collaboration with Proof & Company, is the first of its kind in the region.
"We have witnessed the increase in premium cocktail bars, spirits distribution and premium drinks culture across Asia." notes Nick Andrews, "After a number of years building our position in the region, we are now extremely pleased to be working with the team at Proof & Company to offer our full range online and direct to a number of Asian countries. We are stocking and supplying Asia from Asia."
By holding UrbanBar stocks in Singapore, and allowing consumers and trade clients to purchase online for the first time, UrbanBar and Proof & Company will be able to reduce prices, shorten lead time for orders, and offer improved customer service and support. With the launch of the new store, online ordering and shipping service will be open to customers in Singapore, China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea. Trade clients of Proof & Company in Singapore will also be able to order UrbanBar items through the new Proof & Company online trade portal.
"The dramatic rise of Asia's cocktail scene means the demand for proper tools, glassware and other accessories of the Second Golden Age – oak barrels for cocktail ageing, for instance – has never been greater," notes Bobby Carey, Spirits Evangelist at Proof & Company "We find that trade clients, in particular, have suffered due to the lack of premium options available locally and the long lead times for overseas orders. We are excited to be able to finally address these two challenges through this expanded collaboration with UrbanBar."
To celebrate the launch of the new online store, customers who register and place their first order by 30 September 2019 can use code SAVE5 for a special 5% launch discount.
About UrbanBar
Urban Bar is a leading United Kingdom-based designer and producer of luxury barware and glassware. They have been developing products for almost forty years and continue to develop and learn new techniques that enables them to produce cutting edge items and keep pace with the evolution of mixology and drinking culture. They do not release an item unless they are entirely confident in its design, functionality, quality and proud enough to allow it to carry their name. For more information, please visit www.urbanbar.com.
PROOF & COMPANY COMPLETES SGD 11M RAISE LED BY AGLAIA FAMILY OFFICE TO FUND ITS CONTINUED APAC GROWTH
SINGAPORE, 12 JULY 2019 – Proof & Company, the independent spirits company headquartered in Singapore, today announced that it has closed a growth capital round totalling SGD 11 million led by Aglaia Family Office. A significant portion of the round was taken up by the company's existing investors. With this closing, Proof & Company has become one of Asia Pacific's most valuable independent spirit companies.
The funding will support the growth of the group's APAC spirits distribution platform, including continued team development in Australia and China, along with inventory expansion at the company's stock hubs in Singapore, Shanghai and Melbourne. The funding will also support the company's innovation initiatives, such as JERRY, its SaaS-based hospitality education service, and True Believers, its vehicle for developing and distributing affordable craft spirit brands.
"Proof & Company's disruptive approach to independent spirits is experiencing nearly unlimited growth opportunities. Consumer markets across APAC continue to develop at an extraordinary pace and regional preferences are coming to align with global preferences. This investment will allow us to deepen our distribution in the region while allowing our innovation initiatives to gain broad market access," said Spencer Forhart, Chairman of Proof & Company.
Over the past year, Proof & Company has grown its team from 70 to 100, opened an office in Shenzhen, and completed the integration of its Neat Spirits Australia and Neat Spirits New Zealand acquisitions. Building on this momentum, the company will now use this funding to increase inventory levels across the region and reinforce what has become the sector's only APAC-wide platform for independent spirit brands.
"Proof & Company has positioned itself as one of the leading independent spirits companies in APAC. We are excited to support the business as it continues to capture the strong growth we are witnessing in the craft and premium spirit segments, " said Patrick O'Regan, Head of Investments at Aglaia Family Office.
"Proof & Company has developed an innovative business model with strong growth potential. JPJ Invest is very comfortable with this investment. ", noted J. Peter Jessen, Chairman and CEO of JPJ Invest Pte Ltd, who will also join the Board of Directors as an outside director.
About Aglaia Family Office
Aglaia is a capital markets-licensed multi-family office headquartered in Singapore. Founded in 2006, Aglaia provides bespoke family office services to ultra high net worth families, trusts, and foundations across the globe. Aglaia adopts an endowment approach to investing, establishing a bespoke portfolio that will preserve and grow capital through generations. Aglaia's infrastructure and resources are dedicated to sourcing and evaluating the best investment ideas and opportunities across public and private markets globally. For more information, visit: www.aglaiaim.com
About JPJ Invest
JPJ Invest is a member of the Jebsen & Jessen Family Enterprise. Established in January 2016, it serves as an investment platform providing a home for SME businesses without any geographical or industry sector restrictions. JPJ Invest is focused on both active and passive investments in businesses with impeccable standards and governance, solid track records and transparent business models. The team at JPJ Invest are comfortable to take on responsibilities and provide guidance to the businesses it invests in, both at board level and on an individual project basis.
OLD DUFF GENEVER LAUNCHES IN ASIA PACIFIC WITH PROOF & COMPANY, SUPPORTS EDUCATION & BARTENDER INITIATIVES
SINGAPORE, 19 June 2019 Old Duff Genever, founded by renowned bartending, spirits and cocktail educator Philip Duff, and Proof & Company have announced a distribution partnership to cover key markets in Asia Pacific, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, China, Australia and New Zealand. This launch is the first partnership of its kind for an independently-owned genever in the region.
Old Duff Genever will join Proof & Company's new "Brands of Reference" initiative, which focuses on championing best-in-class offerings in the lesser known spirit categories that are nonetheless essential to the Second Golden Age of fine drinking.
"Genever, while a niche category today, is historically important and makes some cracking classics. In the modern cocktail realm, leading bars need at least one quality real Dutch genever in their arsenal," notes Jason Williams, Creative Director at Proof & Company and Master of Gin at ATLAS in Singapore, "We really do believe Old Duff is the gold standard in the genever category today – and we always love being able to champion a brand founded by a dear friend and fellow bar professional."
Old Duff Genever is a range of real Dutch genevers designed for the modern cocktail bartender, and cocktail civilian, as Philip likes to say. Genever is the parent of both whiskey and gin, and the spirit has a rich distilling tradition dating back to the 1500s in Holland, Belgium and parts of Germany and France. It is historically distilled from a whisky-like grain base – often including a good bit of rye – complemented with very small amounts of juniper and other botanicals.
During the First Golden Age of cocktails in mid-1800s America, genever was the best-selling imported spirit in the United States, with as many as 450 bottles of genever being imported for every 1 bottle of other imported spirits. Old Duff, which is entirely milled, mashed, fermented, distilled and bottled in Holland, brings to life this important chapter of spirits history that was on the verge of being lost.
Founder of Old Duff Genever, Philip Duff
"When I created Old Duff Genever in 2017, Asia Pacific was always a region that was on my mind; historically, because of the genever-drinking traditions of Asian countries where Dutch travellers established themselves from the 1600s on, and commercially, because the region represents the future of a large chunk of our industry, especially in the realm of craft spirits and cocktails," reports Duff, "I've been teaching seminars on cocktails and spirits throughout Asia Pacific since 1998, and I'm beyond excited to return to launch Old Duff Genever. I couldn't wish for a better partner on this journey than Proof & Company; they instinctively understand and champion founder-led craft spirits brands and have an unmatched expertise in the world of bars."
As part of its Asia Pacific launch, Old Duff will be supporting a year-long genever education campaign in collaboration with JERRY, the online beverage learning platform. The goal? Simply to raise awareness of this unique and beautiful spirit, and its importance to cocktail culture in the First and Second Golden Ages of fine drinking. Old Duff and Proof & Company will also be continuing Old Duff's tradition of donating USD 1 per bottle sold to bartender charities and bar community initiatives in the region.
About Old Duff Genever
Old Duff Genever is the world's most legitimate and transparent real Dutch genever range, currently composed of the core Old Duff Genever, and the rare Old Duff Genever 100% Maltwine with the Seal of Schiedam (one of only three such genevers in existence). While most supposedly "Dutch" genevers buy in their maltwine from Belgian distillers, every drop of Old Duff is milled, mashed, fermented, distilled and bottled exclusively in Holland, at a family-owned distillery founded in 1777. The brand was created in 2017 by spirits expert Philip Duff, an Irishman and lifelong bartender who had spent 17 years living in Holland. Since its global launch in New York that year, Old Duff Genever has become the best-selling 100% maltwine genever in the USA (and the first such genever to be sold in the US in a century) and gained listings and menu cocktail placements in the Dead Rabbit, Eleven Madison Park, The NoMad hotel, Amor y Amargo, Existing Conditions, Katana Kitten and virtually every other significant cocktail bar in New York. After launching in the UK in October 2018, Old Duff cocktails can already be found on the menu at top venues such as The Savoy Hotel's American Bar, Swift, Aqua, Demon Wise & Partners, and the brand is additionally available in its homeland Holland and onboard the Holland America cruise lines. For more information, visit: www.oldduffgenever.com
DIPLOMÁTICO RUM AND PROOF & COMPANY EXPAND PARTNERSHIP, APPOINT PETER CHUA AS ASIA BRAND AMBASSADOR
SINGAPORE, 24 May 2019 – After the successful re-launch of Diplomático Rum in Mainland China together in 2018, Diplomático and Proof & Company are expanding their partnership in Asia Pacific to cover travel retail across the region and are jointly appointing Peter Chua as a Singapore-based brand ambassador to support Diplomático's Asia markets.
In late 2017, after five years of partnership in Singapore and Hong Kong, the two companies extended their collaboration to cover Mainland China. Under Proof China's active management, China has developed into one of Diplomático's fastest growing Asia Pacific markets.
"Asia's growing prestige and international exposure in the F&B industry provides an exceptional platform for independent brands such as Diplomático," mentioned Alfonso Castillo, Diplomático Asia Pacific Marketing Manager. "We're thrilled to have Peter joining the team as it will bring all his experience, knowledge and networking allowing us to increase our reach and attention on the region."
In early 2019, Diplomático appointed Proof & Company to manage a number of key travel locations in Asia Pacific. Travel retailers, long a major force in the region, are now embracing craft and independent spirits like never before, driven by rapidly changing consumer tastes, cocktail culture and the spread of Second Golden Age of fine drinking.
"Travel retail has traditionally been about offering spirits at an unparalleled value. Today's traveling drinkers are considering a wider range of factors in their spirits purchases: craftsmanship, regionality, sustainability, and even health and wellness," notes Tom Hogan, General Manager, Regional Asia for Proof & Company, "We have worked closely with Diplomatico for years now. As a family-owned producer, they live the values of quality and independence that we are passionate about. Their rums are a truly perfect fit for this new era in travel retail."
Diplomático's award-winning rums are now available in 7 travel retail gateways around the region, including Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney airports. In the second half of 2019, this footprint will expand to more than 15 Asia Pacific gateways, positioning Diplomático as a regional leader independent spirits in the travel retail channel.
To support the rapid growth Diplomatico is enjoying in the region, the two companies have appointed Peter Chua as a Diplomatico Brand Ambassador, with a focus on Diplomatico's Asia markets, including Proof & Company's markets of Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia. In this role, he joins a brand team that includes Sai Hamsala, Diplomático's Melbourne-based Brand Ambassador. Both will be working in enhancing the brand's education and presence in the 17 countries where Diplomático is already available in Asia Pacific, part of a reach over 80 countries globally.
Peter is one of Singapore's most loved, and most awarded, bartenders, having been with Proof & Company for almost 8 years. He was on the founding team of 28 HongKong Street in 2011, and is currently the Head Bartender of Junior Singapore, Asia's only pocket bar with rotating concepts. Peter's international success includes representing Singapore in the Diplomático World Tournament, Diageo World Class and Bacardi Legacy global finals. Peter also earned his Bachelor of Hospitality from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2013.
Noted Peter, "Diplomático was the first craft rum I tasted that got me interested in that spirit category. Having worked closely with them for the last 6 years now, officially joining the family feels like an inevitable progression. More so, I am excited to be able to share the appreciation for Diplomático throughout the rest of Asia!"
Peter will retain a bartender residency at Junior, so long-time guests and fans of Diplomático will be able to catch him there on a weekly basis, when he is not traveling around the region spreading love for the "heart of rum."
PROOF & COMPANY SPIRITS COMPLETES INTEGRATION OF NEAT SPIRITS NEW ZEALAND, BOLSTERS LOCAL TEAM AND OPERATIONS
SINGAPORE, 10 May 2019 Building on its integration of Neat Spirits Australia in September 2018, Proof & Company, one of Asia Pacific's leading independent spirits companies, is making a significant investment in expanding its platform and capabilities in New Zealand.
In April 2019, Neat Spirits New Zealand completed its integration into Proof & Company, and now operates under a unified banner as Proof & Company New Zealand. This integration marks another step in Proof & Company's drive to create an Asia Pacific-wide platform for independent spirit brands.
Proof & Company will significantly expand its team in New Zealand over the course of 2019 under the leadership of General Manager Paul Broadbent, who oversees both Proof Australia and Proof New Zealand from the company's Melbourne-based regional headquarters.
The official launch of Proof New Zealand has also seen the introduction of Proof & Company's acclaimed creative team services in New Zealand. This award-winning support for hotels, bars, restaurants and retailers will be overseen by Creative Director Jason William and Sydney-based Spirits Evangelist, Charlie Ainsbury. The Spirits Evangelists on Proof & Company's creative team provide bar development, training and education for clients and act as ambassadors for Proof & Company's portfolio of independent spirit brands.
This weekend, you can catch Charlie and Jason at the official after party of Highball Spirits Festival in Wellington, where CGR Merchants is also hosting a 28 Hong Kong Street takeover. Guests can expect 28 HongKong cocktail classics, and the high energy atmosphere of this iconic Singapore cocktail bar.
As part of the integration, Proof New Zealand has also officially launched JERRY, Proof & Company's online beverage learning platform. This modern beverage education solution, the first of its kind globally, soft launched in Asia in early 2018 and is now used by leading hospitality operators around the world.
"New Zealand was where the Neat Spirits journey all began back in 2012," notes Broadbent, "The New Zealand independent spirits scene is really starting to blossom and we are keen to contribute to its growth by expanding our team and portfolio, supporting education for hospitality professionals through JERRY and helping to elevate guest experiences through our creative services."
"We are committed to building a world-class platform for independent spirits across key markets in Asia Pacific. This next step in New Zealand is a natural one, given our successful investment in Neat Spirits in Australia in 2018," notes Proof & Company CEO, Paul Gabie, "New Zealand consumers and the local bar community are committed to so many of the principles that define 'independent' for us, including craft, provenance, and sustainability. We look forward to building on the great work of the Neat Spirits New Zealand team."
Proof & Company and Neat Spirits were both founded in 2012 to champion importation, distribution and marketing of independent spirits brands in key Asia Pacific markets. With the integration of Neat Spirits New Zealand, Proof & Company has completed its full acquisition and integration of Neat Spirits.
PROOF & COMPANY SPIRITS APPOINTS NEW GM, AUSTRALIA AND COO, APAC TO CAPITALISE ON UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH
SINGAPORE, 10 April 2019 Six months after re-branding Neat Spirits Australia as Proof & Company, the independent spirits company has made two leadership appointments to capitalise on the extraordinary growth it is experiencing in its Australian and Asia Pacific markets.
Starting 1 April, Paul Broadbent has been appointed as the group's new General Manager, Australia & New Zealand. Since joining Proof & Company from Bacardi Australia in early 2018, Paul has helped to lead Proof Australia through a period of rapid growth, with distribution volumes expanding more than 250% in the past 18 months. National retail and travel retail channel partners helped drive much of this growth, with Australian consumers continuing to embrace independent spirits for entertaining at home in ever greater numbers. Star performers in Proof Australia's spirits portfolio have included Citadelle Gin, Plantation Pineapple Rum, Lark Whiskies, Forty Spotted Gin and the newly crowned "World's Best Classic Gin" by Adelaide's own Never Never Distilling Company. This expanded distribution footprint has been complemented by the launch of Proof & Company's creative services and JERRY online beverage learning platform in late 2018.
"There is an exciting energy across the Proof & Company markets right now, much of it coming from our great brand and channel partners. We have momentum on our side, and I am looking forward to leading the charge for independent spirits in the highly competitive Australian and New Zealand marketplaces," notes Broadbent.
As part of these investments in Proof Australia, Dan Walker, formerly General Manager, Australia & New Zealand, will relocate to Singapore with his young family and take on the newly-created role of Chief Operating Officer for all Asia Pacific markets. In this senior operations role, he will oversee brand partnerships, procurement, warehousing and local fulfilment operations in all eight Proof & Company markets.
"The growth we are experiencing across our portfolio requires continued investments in people, technology and facilities. With this new role, I will be able to focus on delivering the best possible service to our brand partners and channel clients, notes Walker, "Brand building and radical customer focus remain cornerstones of the Proof & Company mission. I am delighted to be appointed as the guardian of our continued commitment to these core principles."
PROOF & COMPANY SPIRITS LAUNCHES INDEPENDENT PLATFORM, EXPANDS IN SOUTH CHINA WITH NEW SHENZHEN OFFICE
SINGAPORE, 1 April 2019 Following two successful years of distribution collaboration with Sarment Wine for the China market, Proof & Company has established a wholly-owned subsidiary in China to focus exclusively on spirits distribution. Commencing today, all Proof & Company distribution in China will be managed by the new Proof & Company Spirits (Shanghai) Limited. With this transition, the Proof & Company portfolio of independent spirits, craft cocktail ingredients and premium barware be distributed directly by Proof China.
As part of this transition, Proof China is expanding its market team and has appointed Christopher Lowder as its first General Manager, China. Fluent in Mandarin, Chris has spent the past two years as a Spirit Evangelist on the acclaimed Proof & Company creative team, working with luxury hotels, cocktails bars and other clients across China. Previously, Chris' hospitality career included stints with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts and Nomad Hotel in New York, where the bars he helped establish and lead were ranked World No. 64 and World No. 4 respectively in 2018.
"Independent spirits and cocktail culture are flourishing in China at a rate that's globally unparalleled," notes Lowder, "We are thrilled to contribute to this industry here by continuing to expand our team and portfolio, supporting education for hospitality professionals through online learning and helping to elevate guest experiences through our creative services."
In order to expand its independent spirits distribution, Proof China has opened a Shenzhen office, which will support Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, and Hainan to tap into the booming market for fine spirits in South China.
Proof China's portfolio will also continue to expand in 2019, with upcoming launches of the Los Danzantes and Alipus portfolio of craft mezcals, Jason Crawley's line of Simple Syrup Co. craft cocktail syrups, and additional brands from Proof & Company's APAC-wide portfolio. Existing China distribution of Citadelle Gin, Plantation Rum, Ferrand Cognac, Diplomatico Rum, St. George Spirits, Rebel Yell American Whiskies, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, and East Imperial Superior Mixers will also be further developed.
In the third quarter of 2019, Proof China will officially launch JERRY, Proof & Company's online beverage learning platform, in Mandarin. This modern beverage education solution will also be one of the first platforms to be available in Mandarin in China. JERRY is currently used by leading hospitality groups around the world to develop their staff and enhance the beverage guest experience.
"We are humbled by the response from the hospitality community in China over the past two years. As we turn the corner to the 2020s, watch out – China will play an ever more prominent role in this Second Golden Age of fine in drinking," notes Proof & Company CEO, Paul Gabie, "We are grateful for the collaboration with the talented team at Sarment Wine over the past two years and wish them very well in their continued drive to spread appreciation for fine wine and spirits in this all important market. We will continue to find opportunities to work together as two independent platforms."
PROOF & COMPANY SPIRITS TO COMPLETE INTEGRATION OF NEAT SPIRITS AUSTRALIA AND EXPANDS TEAM
SINGAPORE, 30 JULY 2018 Building on its strategic investment in Neat Spirits Australia in 2017, Proof & Company, Asia Pacific's leading independent spirits company, has now further expanded the teams there, nearly doubling headcount since the start of 2018. In September 2018, Neat Spirits Australia will also complete its integration into Proof & Company and will operate under a unified banner as Proof & Company Australia.
As part of this new chapter, Dan Walker, founder of Neat Spirits, has taken on a widened role of General Manager for Australia. In May this year, Paul Broadbent joined the group in a Melbourne-based Creative Director, Retail role, overseeing off-trade in Australia and travel retail across Asia Pacific. Paul joined from Bacardi Martini Australia, where he spent the past 13 years working in a multitude of management roles.
"Premium and craft is front and center globally right now, and this is evident in Australia, and quickly taking root in Asia," says Paul Broadbent. "This means the exciting growth of new brands for consumers to discover and enjoy."
This month also sees Charlie Ainsbury join Proof & Company's acclaimed creative team as a Sydney-based Spirits Evangelist. In this role, he will provide bar concept and beverage development, training and education to clients and act as a brand ambassador for Proof & Company's portfolio of independent spirit brands. After getting his start at Sydney institution Bayswater Brasserie, he most recently co-created and co-owned This Must Be the Place, a finalist for World's Best International Cocktail Bar in 2016.
Once the integration of Neat Spirits is complete, Jason Williams, Proof & Company's Creative Director, will work closely with Charlie and begin splitting his time between Asia and Australia in a homecoming of sorts. Another of Australia's most respected bartenders, Jason has overseen bar projects and client services for Proof & Company across Asia Pacific over the past four years, including the world-renowned ATLAS Bar in Singapore and Charles H. in Seoul.
Dan Walker notes, "We are excited to be welcoming both Paul and Charlie to the Neat x Proof family and are equally excited about formally joining the Proof & Company platform. We look forward to integrating the complete Proof & Company model into our Australia operations and to support our clients in ways not seen before in this part of the world."
"By completing our acquisition of Neat Spirits, we can further invest in the strong team, brand portfolio and customer service that Dan Walker and the Neat Spirits team have become known for," said Proof & Company CEO, Paul Gabie. "This integration means some exciting things will be announced in the months ahead. The goal is always the same: to continually find better ways to serve our clients, brand partners, and the broader industry in this second golden age of drinking."
Proof & Company and Neat Spirits were both founded in 2012, and both focus on the importation, distribution and marketing of independent spirits brands. Among numerous other brands, the two companies share distribution of Maison Ferrand's Citadelle Gin, Plantation Rums, and Pierre Ferrand Cognacs, as well as Mancino Vermouth and Los Danzantes Mezcal. The companies' collaboration will offer select spirit brands a single distribution platform spanning the Asia Pacific region. Together the two companies currently offer distribution in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia.
proofandcompany
© 2019 Proof & Company. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy