uranian adjective (a.) Of or pertaining to the planet Uranus; as, the Uranian year.
monomania noun (n.) Derangement of the mind in regard of a single subject only; also, such a concentration of interest upon one particular subject or train of ideas to show mental derangement.
musicomania noun (n.) A kind of monomania in which the passion for music becomes so strong as to derange the intellectual faculties.
phyllomania noun (n.) An abnormal or excessive production of leaves.
pteridomania noun (n.) A madness, craze, or strong fancy, for ferns.
noun (n.) An insane desire for intoxicating or poisonous drugs, as alcohol or opium.
tulipomania noun (n.) A violent passion for the acquisition or cultivation of tulips; -- a word said by Beckman to have been coined by Menage.
typhomania noun (n.) A low delirium common in typhus fever.
monogynia noun (n. pl.) A Linnaean order of plants, including those which have only one style or stigma.
uranic adjective (a.) Of or pertaining to the heavens; celestial; astronomical.
adjective (a.) Pertaining to, resembling, or containing uranium; specifically, designating those compounds in which uranium has a valence relatively higher than in uranous compounds.
uranin noun (n.) An alkaline salt of fluorescein, obtained as a brownish red substance, which is used as a dye; -- so called from the peculiar yellowish green fluorescence (resembling that of uranium glass) of its solutions. See Fluorescein.
uraninite noun (n.) A mineral consisting chiefly of uranium oxide with some lead, thorium, etc., occurring in black octahedrons, also in masses with a pitchlike luster; pitchblende.
uraniscoplasty noun (n.) The process of forming an artificial palate.
uraniscorrhaphy noun (n.) Suture of the palate. See Staphyloraphy.
uranite noun (n.) A general term for the uranium phosphates, autunite, or lime uranite, and torbernite, or copper uranite.
uranitic adjective (a.) Of or pertaining to uranium; containing uranium.
uranium noun (n.) An element of the chromium group, found in certain rare minerals, as pitchblende, uranite, etc., and reduced as a heavy, hard, nickel-white metal which is quite permanent. Its yellow oxide is used to impart to glass a delicate greenish-yellow tint which is accompanied by a strong fluorescence, and its black oxide is used as a pigment in porcelain painting. Symbol U. Atomic weight 239.
uranate noun (n.) A salt of uranic acid.
uranographical adjective (a.) Of or pertaining to uranography; as, an uranographic treatise.
uranographist noun (n.) One practiced in uranography.
uranography noun (n.) A description or plan of the heavens and the heavenly bodies; the construction of celestial maps, globes, etc.; uranology.
uranolite noun (n.) A meteorite or aerolite.
uranology noun (n.) A discourse or treatise on the heavens and the heavenly bodies; the study of the heavens; uranography.
uranometry noun (n.) A chart or catalogue of fixed stars, especially of stars visible to the naked eye.
uranoplasty noun (n.) The plastic operation for closing a fissure in the hard palate.
uranoscopy noun (n.) Observation of the heavens or heavenly bodies.
uranous adjective (a.) Pertaining to, or containing, uranium; designating those compounds in which uranium has a lower valence as contrasted with the uranic compounds.
uranus noun (n.) The son or husband of Gaia (Earth), and father of Chronos (Time) and the Titans.
noun (n.) One of the primary planets. It is about 1,800,000,000 miles from the sun, about 36,000 miles in diameter, and its period of revolution round the sun is nearly 84 of our years.
uranyl noun (n.) The radical UO2, conveniently regarded as a residue of many uranium compounds.
uraemic adjective (a.) Of or pertaining to uraemia; as, uraemic convulsions.
uraeum noun (n.) The posterior half of an animal.
ural adjective (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, the Urals, a mountain range between Europe and Asia.
uralic adjective (a.) Of or relating to the Ural Mountains.
uralite noun (n.) Amphibole resulting from the alternation of pyroxene by paramorphism. It is not uncommon in massive eruptive rocks.
uralitization noun (n.) The change of pyroxene to amphibole by paramorphism.
urao noun (n.) See Trona.
urate noun (n.) A salt of uric acid; as, sodium urate; ammonium urate.


Pull out the brooms: a magical Harry Potter sport has taken on a life of its own at UW–Madison and around the world.
Ed Nuttycombe's unwavering focus made him the Big Ten's winningest coach.
As Title IX turns forty, film producer Libby Geist '02 explores nine female athletes who changed their gender's world.
Economist Andrew Zimbalist '69 argues that big-time sports and big-time stadiums are not necessarily a boon for cities.


text:
Q: Why do some of my CSS properties scroll but other properties stay fixed? I've got some strange (to me) behavior. I'm using this tableHeadFixer jQuery plugin to create a table which has a fixed header with the table body scrollable.
I have a CSS class called table and it's setup like so:
.table thead  {
    color: blue;
    border: 4px solid red;
}

.table thead tr {
  background-color: grey;
}

My problem is that when I scroll the table, the border property scrolls along with it, however the rest of the properties stay put. I'm confused as to how/why this happens and what I need to do to fix it.
I've made a fiddle to show this.
Notice that when you scroll the red border scrolls away.
Right now I'm using jQuery / Bootstrap / tableHeadFixer.

A: They actually all scroll.
But your plugin is adding a top property to the th elements equal with the amount of scroll, making them look like they are standing still.
Because you decided to give <thead> a border,  you are able to observe this little trick.
If you really want that border, you should compose it from segments, using elements placed inside your <th>s.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
HomeAcademic staffDr Georgina Bartlett
Dr Georgina Bartlett
bartleg2@lsbu.ac.uk
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1573-9556 (unauthenticated)
I gained my BSc in psychology at Royal Holloway before continuing my studies at Royal Holloway with an MSc in Forensic psychology. Subsequently, I completed my PhD at London South Bank University in 2020.
I then joined LSBU's Simulation for Digital Health programme as an applied research fellow, where I engaged in testing and evaluation of digital health innovations for start-ups and SMEs. I joined the Division of Psychology as a lecturer in September 2021.
My research interests lay in forensic psychology, in particular how alcohol consumption affects eyewitness memory. My research is interested not only in whether a sober witness is more reliable, but also in whether people are more likely to perceive such a witness as more reliable.
In addition, I am interested in the effects of alcohol intoxication on behaviour and cognition in forensically related contexts.
Psychology - MSc
Psychology - BSc (Hons)
Psychology (Child Development) - BSc (Hons)
Psychology (Clinical Psychology) - BSc (Hons)
Psychology (Forensic Psychology) - BSc (Hons)
Criminology with Psychology - BSc (Hons)
Psychological Counselling - BSc (Hons)
BSc Psychology
Royal Holloway University of London
MSc Forensic Psychology
PhD Investigative Forensic Psychology
Would you believe an intoxicated witness? The impact of witness alcohol intoxication status on credibility judgments and suggestibility
Bartlett, G., Gawrylowicz, J., Frings, D. and Albery, I. (2022). Would you believe an intoxicated witness? The impact of witness alcohol intoxication status on credibility judgments and suggestibility. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.983681
Individual differences in selective attentional bias for healthy and unhealthy food-related stimuli and social identity as a vegan/vegetarian dissociate "healthy" and "unhealthy" orthorexia nervosa.
Albery, I., Shove, E., Bartlett, G., Frings, D. and Spada, M. (2022). Individual differences in selective attentional bias for healthy and unhealthy food-related stimuli and social identity as a vegan/vegetarian dissociate "healthy" and "unhealthy" orthorexia nervosa. Appetite. 178, p. 106261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2022.106261
The effects of alcohol and co-witness information on memory reports: A field study
Bartlett, G., Albery, I.P, Frings, D. and Gawrylowicz, J. (2022). The effects of alcohol and co-witness information on memory reports: A field study. Psychopharmacology.
The intoxicated co-witness: effects of alcohol and dyadic discussion on memory conformity and event recall.
Bartlett, G., Gawrylowicz, Julie, Frings, Daniel and Albery, Ian P (2021). The intoxicated co-witness: effects of alcohol and dyadic discussion on memory conformity and event recall. Psychopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-021-05776-0

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A police probation officer is involved in a drug-smuggling case scam. A lo-fi, all-expenses-spared Danziger production!
"I shall always look back on this as one of my gayest evenings - ruins, a body and Scotland Yard sandwiches. What more could a girl ask?"


A traditional cherry desk from about 25 years ago has gold tooled leather panels and is signed by noted maker, "Sligh of Holland, Mich." There are two file drawers, two pull out work shelves and a pull out interview shelf on the other side.
The restored finish is in excellent condition on this American made vintage library or office furniture. Drawers have original hardware and dovetail joints. There are minor mars on the leather for a little character, see photos.
Measurements are 60" long, 30" deep, 30 1/2" tall and the knee hole is 23" wide and 24 1/2" high.


text:
Financial support for student initiatives
Former students giving something back to their university, both financially and in terms of goodwill, is a firmly established tradition.
HSG Alumni supports around 20 student initiatives each year through grants, such as the National Model United Nations Conference, the Start Summit or the Un-Dress Fashion Show, which cannot be funded by the public purse. HSG Alumni grants are intended to support the strategic goals of our association and strengthen the quality and reputation of the HSG.
Applications are processed once per quarter of each year.
Accordingly, the following binding application deadlines apply:
15th January | 15th March | 15th June | 15th October
Jana Weise
Manager Event and Communitys
janalea.weise@unisg.ch
HSG Alumni is happy to support student projects that represent added value for the HSG and its community. In doing so, it is our wish that the value of our HSG Alumni Community and Network in particular becomes visible within the scope of the support. Accordingly, the benefits offered by the student initiative are relevant. There are no limits to creativity here and we welcome new ideas on how you can represent HSG Alumni in a positive way.
As a guide to basic agreements, here are some typical benefits that you can include:
Inclusion of HSG Alumni in the programme (speaker, etc.)
Presence of HSG Alumni (presentation, slide, roll-up/pennant, poster) at the event/project
Possibility for HSG Alumni to participate in the events (at least virtually)
We receive communication material that we can use on our channels (website, newsletter, social media, alma alumni magazine)
Possibility of conducting interviews with external participants/speakers or using them for side events
Cooperation with an HSG Alumni Club that is thematically or regionally appropriate to the topic. All HSG Alumni Communities can be viewed here.
Apply now for a sponsorship
If you have any questions, please reach out to our Alumni & Student Relations Team
Phone +41 71 224 30 12 | alumnirelations@unisg.ch
Some of the sponsored student initiatives in the past
IGNITE Movement
IGNITE's purpose is to empower companies to inspire their employees and, through this, create a meaningful business world for businesses and employees alike.
«Durch die Förderung von HSG Alumni können wir unsere Ideen realisieren und einen positiven Einfluss auf die Studierenden und die Gesellschaft nehmen.»
Un-dress by oikos
Sustainable Fashion Show
Un-Dress is a young, dynamic platform whose goal is to establish sustainable fashion more strongly within society. The highlight of the student initiative supported by HSG Alumni is the annual catwalk show, which is the largest fair fashion show in Switzerland.
Photo: Niklas Tidbury
Pride is a social initiative to raise awareness about issues LGBTQ+ people face in everyday life, at work or in the future. It is about representing LGBTQ+ people and showing them that they are welcome. It is also about raising awareness among people outside the LGBTQ+ community.
HSG Learning Center – The project, financed purely by private donations, has already received over 51 million francs – much of it from HSG Alumni members. Photo: Sou Fujimoto Architects
The "HSG Foundation" is an independent charitable foundation targeting the strategic development of the University of St.Gallen. It developed out of the HSG Alumni Foundation in the year 2013 in order to strengthen the University of St.Gallen as a leading European business school in the global competition for talented students, creative young researchers and dedicated professors.
Focus on philanthropy
Complementing existing fundraising relationships, the work of the "HSG Foundation" focusses on philanthropic support. The term philanthropy is derived from ancient Greek and means love of humans; it covers every voluntary private action aimed at a charitable purpose. Donors desire to contribute to the well-being of society by facilitating an excellent education for the next generation – this includes outstanding teaching and research personnel, innovative programmes and student scholarships. With their commitment they secure the highest academic performances.
The HSG Foundation Board – ten prominent personalities
These personalities from the circle of alumni and donors as well as science are members of the Foundation Board of the HSG Foundation.
Management and contact for fundraising matters
Operationally, Ernst Risch, lic.oec. HSG, manages the Foundation's business. At the same time, he heads the University Office of Development.
HSG Foundation, Ernst Risch | Phone +41 71 224 39 48 | hsg-stiftung@unisg.ch
HSG Foundation Website


God is the prodigal father. Are we the unhappy older brother?
The first thing we say about God in the Creed is that God is Father. Actually, in the current English translation we name God "Father almighty." I prefer to separate these two ideas with a comma. As I explained in my last post, I can think of God as Father and as almighty, but not both at once. If you're thinking of yourself as especially mighty, I suggest becoming a father to cure your delusion.
This is the fourth in a series on the Creed of Christians. An introduction consists of my retelling of the Creed's story. That and links to other posts in the series are here.
Since the time of Jesus, "Father" has been probably the most loved of the titles Christians give to God. But the father image is a challenge, too, especially if we try to enter into Jesus' imagination. For Jesus God is a father who waits and watches for the wayward son's return and welcomes him back with a kiss.
That wastrel has already gotten his full inheritance gone and done whatever he pleased. Now he's back, Father loves him for no good reason, and I'll bet he gets another full inheritance. Father's not being fair to me. And now he throws a big party in the kid's honor.
Jesus wasn't entirely original when he called God his Father, but his relationship as son to a father was intensely intimate and real. For the most part, you don't find that in the Scriptures Jesus inherited. Some biblical images seem to apply more literally to God and others less literally. In the Hebrew Scriptures "king" seems to be the most literal image. On Jesus' lips it's "father" that is most literal.
Isaiah 64:8. Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Jeremiah 3:19. I thought how I would set you among my children, and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful heritage of all the nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.
Psalm 103:13. As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
Imagine you were the Isaiah of the first quote telling your real father, "You are my father." It doesn't make sense. That's something you would only say to someone who is not your real father, a mentor perhaps. Most of the older references to God as father are like that or are obviously just comparisons, like the third quote above.
King and father are both male images, and I worry about way traditional language preferences the masculine in many ways. The father image, though, does make room for feminine qualities. That will be the theme of the next post: Is God also mother?


Without Death the death metal genre would not be what it is today. Although Hellhamer, The Possessed and Venom harass the hearing of the unsuspecting listeners with a cacophony of bass drums, screaming guitars and above all a, from the dark niches of the human mind, digged up grunt, it mainly was Death that brought death metal among the people with "Leprosy".
Whether Death can be called the actual founder of the genre we'll leave in the middle. For sure is that Schuldiner and associates were very influential and were at the base of lots of developments in the genre.
Death had an important contribution on institutionalizing a genre that is dividing at the moment. Although their bruteness has been surpassed by long, a new Death album still is something special. "Evil" Chuck and his (ever-changing) fellow musicians may not have developed as much as Obituary or Napalm Death, their super technical variant, on a by some certified dead genre, still is worth the effort.
Symbolic is number six in the Death series, and gives you the feeling of meeting an old acquaintance as listening. In the beginning something to get used to, but pretty soon it's as of old. Chuck's grunt still is coming out of his toes and his guitar play still is virtuoso. Gene Hoglan plays very strong and fanatic with his big body and the new ones, Bobby Koelble (guitar) and Kelly Conlon (bass) aren't second to their illustrious predecessors.
Symbolic hardly surprises but it's always good to know that old acquaintances are still doing great.


1135 ⊙ Allied occupation - extensive used collection post-war issues in a large stockbook. As well numerous stamps allied occupation and American/British Zone including export fair souvenir sheet 1949 with appropriate special cancel, French zone with better values and sets, red cross stamps, as well New Saar with different issues. Favorable valued!
2Y ⊙/ German occupation / voting I. World war - interesting collection in the Schaubek illustrated album, as well Gdansk, Memel, old Saar with good welfare sets, Marienwerder, Eupen and Malmedy and so on. Please have a look!
26C ⊙/∆/ German occupation / plebiscite area I. World war - interesting collection mounted on pages, as well various areas, complete sets and so on. Including German post Belgium, communications area West, postal area Oberost, provisional issue for Dorpat, German post Poland, Romania including postage due stamps, as well Allenstein. A magnificent object!
127 /⊙ German occupation I. World war - interesting special collection from complete original sheet and large parts of sheets in a sheet folder accommodated. As well issues from German post Belgium, communications area West, postal area Oberost, as well Romania including plates and rotary printings, house order numbers and so on. An attractive object! Michel approximate 5040,- €.
203 / /⊙ Jan 17 German occupation I. World war - nice collection on lighthouse hingeless preprinted pages with numerous sought-after issues and favorite areas. As well territory postal service in Belgium complete, communications area West complete, postal area Oberost including provisional issue for Dorpat, German post in Poland, a very good part Romania including postage due stamps, belgian army postal service in the Rhineland Michel no. 1 / 17, Eupen and Malmedy complete including postage due stamps, Malmedy complete with postage due stamps. A beautiful object!
248 Kart⊙n 15/20, 1/17, 15/28 German occupation / plebiscite area I. World war - interesting and extensive lot packed in a carton, as well numerous issues on stock cards and so on. Including Marienwerder Michel no. 15 / 20, Malmedy Michel no. 1 / 17 mostly used respectively on letter pieces, Schleswig Michel no. 15 / 28 on beautiful letter pieces uniform perfect used and so on. Treasure trove!
403 German occupation I. World war Poland / Romania - interesting collection from different mint never hinged sheet (a value in parts of sheets) in the ring binder, as well plates and cylinder printings, house order numbers and so on. A beautiful object! Michel without calculation of the house order numbers, upper margins and further special feature already 3670,- €.
466 /⊙ German occupation I. World war / Belgium - nice collection from complete sheets respectively large parts of sheets, mint never hinged respectively neat cancelled, as well house order numbers, upper margins with plates and rotary printings and so on. An interesting object! Michel approximate 4650,- €.
519 ⊙/ German occupations / plebiscite area I. World war - rich collection in the Borek spring back binder with numerous different issues, better values, complete set and so on. As well German occupation Belgium, communications area West, postal area Oberost, German post Poland, Allenstein, Romania including postage due stamps, Marienwerder, Upper Silesia and so on. A magnificent object!
856 /⊙ German occupation I. World war - very interesting collection from different complete original sheet as well large parts of sheets in a sheet folder formed. Included are German post Belgium, communications area West, postal area Oberost, as well Romania. With also special feature including plates and rotary printings, house order numbers and so on. An interesting object! Michel approximate 4240,- €.
1992 /⊙/ German occupation / plebiscite area I. World war - rich collection with additional still various duplicates on stock pages. As well numerous popular issues the different areas including Romania, Eupen and Malmedy, an extensive part Allenstein with complete issues, nice part Marienwerder including complete sets and so on. Also numerous mint never hinged issues are available. A magnificent object!
2293 ⊙/ / German occupation I. World war - rich collection of different areas in two large stock books, as well Allenstein, Upper Silesia including color shades, an extensive part Gdansk with all souvenir sheets, numerous special- and commemorative issues, official stamps, Memel with numerous different values, former and New Saar, as well as well German colonies. Favorable!
2529 ⊙/ / German voting / occupation I. World war - interesting collection with additional still duplicate material in the lighthouse hingeless illustrated album, as well in a large stockbook. As well Gdansk with different issues including official stamps, Memel, with also Lithuanian occupation, Marienwerder, Upper Silesia, Allenstein and so on. Very high catalog value!
1L /⊙/ I/III German occupation II. World war - interesting and rich collection in the ring binder with a lot of better issues, good sets, souvenir sheets and so on, a few problematic issues were not calculated. Is included also Generalgouvernement the not issued set (Michel no. I / III), Kotor the not issued set Michel no. I / VI and so on. Please check carefully!
26B /⊙/ 1/19, 1/13 German occupation II. World war - rich collection Bohemia and Moravia, as well Generalgouvernement, nearly complete in the hingeless illustrated album. As well Bohemia and Moravia including Michel number 1 / 19, as well Generalgouvernement Michel no. 1 / 13 on registered cover, 14 / 39 used, service 1 / 15 mint never hinged and so on. Favorable!
73 / /⊙ 14/39 German occupation II. World war - interesting and rich collection on lighthouse hingeless preprinted pages. As well Bohemia and Moravia in the number of a major listing complete, also the Theresienstadt admission stamp from of the right upper corner of the sheet used expertized Mahr, Alsace, Lorraine and Luxembourg complete, as well also Generalgouvernement in the number of a major listing complete including Michel no. 14 / 39 and service 1 / 15. A magnificent object!
97W /⊙ 1/19, 14/39, 125 German occupation II. World war - rich collection Bohemia and Moravia, as well Generalgouvernement, twice collected in the Schaubek illustrated album. As well Bohemia and Moravia with Michel no. 1 / 19 mint never hinged and used, Generalgouvernement with Michel no. 14 / 39 mint never hinged and used, service 1 / 15 mint never hinged and used, as well the good miniature sheet Michel no. 125 unperforated mint never hinged nice object!
98Q ✉ German occupation II. World war - interesting collection from 123 covers and cards, as well still various letter pieces in the ring binder. Many nice documents, registered and so on. With attractive frankings of the area Alsace, Lorraine and Luxembourg. Favorable!


text:
Q: How to retrieve RGB value for each color apart from one dimensional integer RGB array I am not too familiar with bit shifting so I have the following question.
I use the function below (found elsewhere) to decode from YUV to an RGB int array.
Now I want to adjust red or green or blue values to create some custom filter effect.
I need to retrieve the R value, G value, and B value. Each value ranging from 0-255.
After that I need to restore it in the rgb array at the specified index.
So I need to retrieve each color from rgb[i] and than be able to store it again in rgb[i]
void decodeYUV420SP(int[] rgb, byte[] yuv420sp, int width, int height) {
final int frameSize = width * height;
for (int j = 0, yp = 0; j < height; j++) {
 int uvp = frameSize + (j >> 1) * width, u = 0, v = 0;
 for (int i = 0; i < width; i++, yp++) {
   int y = (0xff & ((int) yuv420sp[yp])) - 16;
   if (y < 0)
   y = 0;
   if ((i & 1) == 0) {
   v = (0xff & yuv420sp[uvp++]) - 128;
   u = (0xff & yuv420sp[uvp++]) - 128;
    }
  int y1192 = 1192 * y;
  int r = (y1192 + 1634 * v);
  int g = (y1192 - 833 * v - 400 * u);
  int b = (y1192 + 2066 * u);
  if (r < 0)
    r = 0;
  else if (r > 262143)
    r = 262143;
  if (g < 0)
    g = 0;
  else if (g > 262143)
    g = 262143;
  if (b < 0)
    b = 0;
  else if (b > 262143)
    b = 262143;
   rgb[yp] = 0xff000000 | ((r << 6) & 0xff0000) | ((g >> 2) & 0xff00) | ((b >> 10) & 0xff);
  }
}
  }
}

A: Basically color transformation is multiplication of color vector by matrix,  and android offers support for it.  Look:
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/graphics/ColorMatrix.html
It offers several convenience methods to create desired transformations. ( see sample on end)
How to change colors of a Drawable in Android?

A: For your convenience the Color-class contains many methods for getting and setting specific parts of a 32bit color integer, such as
Color.red(color)

returns the red part of the int color.
Or
Color.argb(alpha, red, green, blue)

to create an integer from the specified values (range 0-255).
The documentation for the different methods also specifies how to implement the bit-shifting yourself, if that is what you want to do.


text:
LVMH's New Woman in Power: 3 Ways Rihanna Is Revolutionizing Fashion
By Katie Abel
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Rihanna at the 2016 FN Achievement Awards in New York.
CREDIT: Clint Spaulding/Shutterstock
When Rihanna took the stage at the 2016 FN Achievement Awards to accept the shoe of the year award, the music and fashion star said the honor made her "proud to be a woman, and proud to be a young woman from Barbados, especially."
Three years later, that young woman from Barbados is making an unprecedented move in fashion with her new LVMH Fenty brand, which was officially confirmed today and will include shoes, one of her favorite product categories.
Here are 3 ways Rihanna — who previously partnered with Puma on her Fenty collection and teamed up with Manolo Blahnik for a shoe collab — will revolutionize the luxury world.
1. Rihanna officially becomes the first woman to launch an original brand at LVMH — and the first woman of color to run a brand at the venerable fashion house. There's no question that fashion companies in all areas of the market have lagged behind in addressing gender and racial diversity, but we are finally at a tipping point. Rihanna's leadership at LVMH will be a huge advantage for the company, which also brought in Virgil Abloh last year as its first African American creative director at Louis Vuitton. Diverse voices are good for business, and Rihanna's huge influence will be felt across LVMH and beyond.
Most Read Celebrity Style Stories of 2019
Celebrities Fully Embraced the '90s-Inspired Square Toe in 2019
High-Heeled Thong Sandals Were Huge in 2019 -- Just Ask Kim Kardashian and Rihanna
Rihanna takes her bow at her fall '17 Fenty x Puma show in Paris.
CREDIT: REX Shutterstock
2. Fenty will be the first fashion brand launched from inception by LVMH magnate Bernard Arnault since Christian Lacroix in 1987. Much of the European fashion industry is still driven by heritage fashion houses that have been built and rebuilt. The biggest names in French fashion — Chanel, Dior, Saint Laurent — have ruled for years. Rihanna has been given the opportunity to build a brand from scratch. There's no doubt she will rewrite some of the rules, starting with her mission to make Fenty inclusive across races, genders and sizes.
Rihanna on the runway at Fenty x Puma's NYFW spring '18 show.
3. The label is debuting for spring '19, which means it will roll out imminently. Often, brands and celebrities announce their new ventures and then fans have to wait for months or even years to get their hands on the actual product. Rihanna's clothes and shoes will be available shortly on fenty.com, which will help fuel the excitement among fans. Whether Rihanna will put on runway shows in the future remains to be seen, but the songstress-turned-designer has already proven that she's knows how to put on a show with high-energy runway outings in Paris and New York during her Puma era.


text:
L'équipe de Croatie de Coupe Davis représente la Croatie à la Coupe Davis. Elle est placée sous l'égide de la Fédération croate de tennis.

Historique
Créée en 1993 après l'éclatement de la Yougoslavie, l'équipe de Croatie de Coupe Davis compte deux titres obtenus en 2005 et 2018.

Joueurs de l'équipe

Les chiffres indiquent le nombre de matchs joués
 Goran Ivanišević - 63
 Ivan Ljubičić - 55
 Marin Čilić - 49
 Ivan Dodig - 42
 Mario Ančić - 34
 Goran Prpić - 28
 Ivo Karlović - 27
 Saša Hiršzon - 23
 Lovro Zovko - 15
 Borna Ćorić - 11
 Roko Karanušić - 8
 Franko Škugor - 7
 Mate Delić - 5
 Marin Draganja - 5
 Nikola Mektić - 4
 Željko Krajan - 3
 Mate Pavić - 3
 Antonio Veić - 3
 Goran Orešič - 2
 Igor Šarić - 2
 Saša Tuksar - 2
 Ivan Beros - 1
 Ivan Cerović - 1
 Viktor Galović - 1
 Ante Pavić - 1
 Ivan Vajda - 1

Joueurs croates de l'équipe de Yougoslavie
Boro Jovanović - 65
Branko Horvat
 Bruno Orešar - 14
Dragutin Mitić - 70
Franjo Kukuljević - 23
Franjo Punčec - 62
Franjo Šefer
Igor Flego
Josip Palada - 54
Josip Saric
Kamilo Keretic
Krešimir Friedrich
Ladislav Jagec
Marko Ostoja - 27
Milan Branović
Nikola Pilić - 62
Srdjan Jelić
Vladimir Petrović
Vladimir Presečki
Zlatko Ivancic
Željko Franulović - 58

Liens externes

Croatie
Equipe
Tennis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Since researchers first isolated embryonic stem cells in 1998, global markets have become increasingly aware of the potential offered by cell-based therapeutics to modern medicine. Despite increasing interest, exactly what stem cells will deliver in terms of diseases treated and market potential, is still largely undetermined.
It has been estimated that stem cell therapies will generate sales of USD 700m by 2010, and exceed USD 8.5bn by 2016. The overall stem cell marketplace, primarily composed of tools, reagents, technologies and services, is expected to surpass USD 35m in 2007, and continue to rise.
Stem cells can generally be classified as embryonic or adult. Embryonic stem cells have an unlimited capacity for self-renewal and can differentiate into virtually any cell type. Adult stem cells are tissue-specific, have limited self-renewal capability, and generally can only differentiate into specialised (mature) cells of the tissue in which they reside.
A means to better understand embryonic development.
A major limiting factor in this effort is the restrictions placed on research by governmental regulations because of ethical concerns about the use of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The relatively permissive regulatory environment set out by the UK government, has resulted in this country becoming a global leader in the field of stem cell research. Supporting research from all sources, including adult, foetal and embryonic stem cells, UK scientists have had the freedom to progress this medical frontier, opening up enormous opportunities for the development of novel treatments for disease and injuries.
In contrast, the US government has not adopted this liberal regulatory approach, and has generally refused to fund research on hESCs. Most US states currently only support the use of adult stem cells, or prohibit all research. The general consensus is that public opinion in the US does not wholly match that of its government and scientists and researchers are hoping that there will eventually be a relaxation of these policies. With US USD 3bn stem cell funding presented to the state of California via a 2004 bond measure, it has been suggested this state may catch-up with the UK at some point.
Regulations also vary among the European countries, with some taking a more restrictive view than others. In Germany, for example, strong restrictions are placed on the use of hESCs in research, and as they are only able to use animal models, many scientists feel they are simply 'setting the platform' for other countries. This complex regulatory structure has by no means prohibited the progress of stem cell product development however, and several companies are already beginning to explore the commercial opportunities that present themselves in this still highly-controversial arena.
Geron is the world leader in hESC-based therapeutics, with GRNOPC1, indicated for acute spinal cord injury, poised to enter the clinic in the first quarter of 2008. GRNOPC1 contains oligodendroglial progenitor cells (OPCs). Oligodendroglia are cells that produce myelin - the insulating sheath that covers nerve fibres.
Progenitor cells are similar to stem cells but some of their properties are more limited. OPCs adapt to the local micro-environment they are placed in and begin to fix the specified lesion site. Studies that will enable Investigational New Drug (IND) filing are relatively advanced. Animals models have been monitored for more than one year after injection with no evidence of teratoma (tumour). Geron is on target to file an IND at the end of 2007.
Also in the pipeline is GRNCM1, currently undergoing preclinical investigation for the potential treatment of heart failure. This therapy comprises cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) derived from hESCs. Research has shown that these cells respond normally to cardiac drugs and to ventricular electrophysiology - in which various techniques are employed to test their reponse to electrical impulses. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown that they can improve systolic function - the contraction of the chambers of the heart that pump blood - in animal models.
Proof of concept has been established for another product, GRNIC1, that comprises pancreatic islet cell clusters similar to the cells in the pancreas - called the islets of Langerhans - that produce insulin. These cells been shown to produce insulin and glucagon and are currently under investigation for the potential treatment of diabetes.
Germany-based company t2cure was initially set up with the aim of commercialising therapies originating from research at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. The company has been developing therapies from autologous bone marrow - ie bone marrow cells derived from the same individual they are destined to treat. In particular they have been investigating potential therapies from endothelial progenitor cells. These are primitive cells made in the bone marrow that are carried by the blood and have a role in repairing damaged blood vessels.
diabetic neuropathy (as t2c-002-NP and t2c-003).
By July 2007, t2cure's lead product t2c-001-AMI was in phase II trials, and is said by the company to be on the verge of entering phase III clinical trials for severe infarcts. Phase I/II studies are ongoing for the other indications listed above, with phase II studies expected in the near future in critical limb ischaemia, peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) and diabetic polyneuropathy.
Cellerix is developing expanded autologous adipose (fat)-derived stem cells for the potential treatment of complex perianal fistula, with and without Crohn's disease. In Europe in February 2007, a comparative, randomised, single-blind, phase III trial was initiated in subjects with complex perianal fistulas without inflammatory bowel disease.
At that time, the study, with an expected total enrolment of 207 patients, was anticipated to complete in July 2008. In July 2007, the company expected this injectable therapy, referred to as Cx-401, to reach the market by 2009 or 2010. The company is also looking to outlicense the therapy in Japan, and other locations outside Europe.
Despite preclinical studies demonstrating good safety and efficacy data in a variety of tested models, and many late-stage products disclosing positive clinical data, researchers must continue to approach stem cell-related therapies with caution, and not be tempted to rush any product to the clinic for the sake of market opportunities.
Regulatory restrictions are clearly affecting the rate of progress in this field, but in time stem cell therapies may come to change the way we view modern medicine.


In this comprehensive DVD video, renowned Canadian physician Evelyn Jain explains to parents and professionals how to identify infant tongue-tie and describes techniques that can be used to maximize breastfeeding for the tongue-tied baby.
Ameda quality digital production - Ameda Tongue Tie: Impact on Breastfeeding DVD Video (SKU 17326) is a must-watch for the new mother learning to breastfeed baby naturally.
A comprehensive breastfeeding DVD video by Ameda for parents to learn and identify tongue-tied infants, this worthwhile production offers techniques and tips to aid tongue-tied syndrome. Ameda Tongue Tie: Impact on Breastfeeding was produced by a Canadian physician - Evelyn Jain puts the tips in layman's terms for simple following. Watch this movie several times to learn the strategies it teaches. Meant for mothers and parents to want and learn natural breastfeeding methods, while keeping the safety of her newborn baby as a top priority.
friendly product Review by Meryl P.
This is a very friendly instructional video. Very easy to understand. I even ask my husband to watch it with me all the time. I wanted to make sure that aside from equipping myself with ample knowledge about breastfeeding, my husband should learn something too. Lolz.


most of the messy work (papier mache) is done outside on the back porch and characters are hung in the trees to dry. the front room has morphed into my new studio space for detail painting since the hot summer sun has been drying up the paints too fast.
my sale with one kings lane just launched last night!!!!!!!


text: Q: How to not show a user in the Ubuntu login screen? I have created a user called training using the adduser command and user training appears in the login screen. How to not show any particular user in the login screen? I am using Ubuntu 12.04 with the default Unity.


So you're crowdfunding a new album? What sort of rewards do you offer to pledgers?
What pledge rewards are you most excited about?
What will the new album be called?
What is some of your inspiration for the new album?
You have been releasing some really alluring teasers. Let Me Be Me sounds tremendous.
something that you have experienced a lot of?
When do you expect the new album to come out?
What made you want to get into the metal scene?
discovered Evanescence and I saw a woman singing something different, that my voice could fit.
What are some challenges you face and rewards you reap as an independent artist?
''Thank you! The logo was designed by Hugo Faro, one of the designers of the Catharsis Artwork.
Any plans for touring or any upcoming shows close-by?
Do you have any funny or touching behind-the- scenes stories you'd like to share?
Is there anything your fans can do to help the band?
who aided Aline in her crowdfunding campaign. Thank you Aline for agreeing to this interview!


text:
Q: Nested Dictionaries Golang Trouble Go Code:
package main

import (
    "bufio"
    _ "bytes"
    "fmt"
    _ "io"
    "log"
    "os"
    "os/user"
    "path/filepath"
    _ "reflect"
    "regexp"
    "runtime"
    "strconv"
    "strings"
    "sync"
    "time"

    "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws"
    "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws/session"
    "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/service/s3"
    "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/service/s3/s3manager"
)

var (
    LocalDirectory   = "s3logs" // Into this directory
    Lock             sync.Mutex
    totalImpressions int
)

var data = make(map[string]map[string]int)

func main() {
    start := time.Now()
    // by adding this line i'm telling the program to run the threads on 4 different cores at the same time, Parallelism!!
    //REMEMBER TO ADD BLOCKS TO STOP RACE CONDITIONS
    runtime.GOMAXPROCS(4)
    var wg sync.WaitGroup

    var year, month, day = time.Now().Date()
    str_year := strconv.Itoa(year)
    str_month := strconv.Itoa(int(month))
    str_day := strconv.Itoa(day)

    if int(month) < 10 {
        str_month = "0" + strconv.Itoa(int(month))
    }
    if day < 10 {
        str_day = "0" + strconv.Itoa(day)
    }

    regBuckets := map[string]string{
        "us-west-1": "pubgears-ca",
        "test":      "test",
    }

    for region, bucket := range regBuckets {
        prefix := fmt.Sprintf("tagserver/logs/AWSLogs/978380792767/elasticloadbalancing/%s/%s/%s/%s/", region, str_year, str_month, str_day)
        wg.Add(1)
        go getLogs(region, bucket, LocalDirectory+bucket, &prefix, &wg)
    }
    wg.Wait()

    //salon/t1/728x90/index
    //totalImpressions := 0
    // var provider = make(map[string]int)
    // for key, value := range data {
    //   key = strings.TrimSpace(key)
    //   pro := strings.Split(key, "_")[3]
    //
    //   if strings.Contains(pro, "pp") == true || (pro == "pulsepoint") || (pro == "cweb") {
    //     provider["pulsepoint"] += value
    //   } else if (pro == "openx") || (pro == "openx3") {
    //     provider["openx"] += value
    //   } else if key == " " {
    //     continue
    //   } else {
    //     provider[pro] += value
    //   }
    //   totalImpressions += value
    // }

    for tag, value := range data {
        for hour, imp := range value {
            fmt.Printf("tag: %s  \n hour: %s impression %s\n", tag, hour, imp)
        }
    }

    //sl = sl[:len(sl)-1]

    elapsed := time.Since(start)
    fmt.Printf("\nTime took %s\n", elapsed)

}

func getLogs(region string, bucket string, directory string, prefix *string, wg *sync.WaitGroup) {
    sess := session.New()
    client := s3.New(sess, &aws.Config{Region: aws.String(region)})

    params := &s3.ListObjectsInput{Bucket: &bucket, Prefix: prefix}
    manager := s3manager.NewDownloaderWithClient(client, func(d *s3manager.Downloader) {
        d.PartSize = 5 * 1024 * 1024 // 6MB per part
        d.Concurrency = 4
    })
    d := downloader{bucket: bucket, dir: directory, Downloader: manager}
    client.ListObjectsPages(params, d.eachPage)
    wg.Done()
}

// downloader object and methods
type downloader struct {
    *s3manager.Downloader
    bucket, dir string
}

func (d *downloader) eachPage(page *s3.ListObjectsOutput, more bool) bool {
    for _, obj := range page.Contents {
        // fmt.Println(obj)
        //     return true
        d.downloadToFile(*obj.Key)
    }
    return true
}

func (d *downloader) downloadToFile(key string) {
    // Create the directories in the path
    // desktop path
    user, errs := user.Current()
    if errs != nil {
        panic(errs)
    }
    homedir := user.HomeDir
    desktop := homedir + "/Desktop/" + d.dir
    file := filepath.Join(desktop, key)
    if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(file), 0775); err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    // Setup the local file
    fd, err := os.Create(file)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer fd.Close()

    // Download the file using the AWS SDK
    //fmt.Printf("Downloading s3://%s/%s to %s...\n", d.bucket, key, file)
    params := &s3.GetObjectInput{Bucket: &d.bucket, Key: &key}
    d.Download(fd, params)
    _, e := d.Download(fd, params)
    if e != nil {
        panic(e)
    }

    f, err := os.Open(file)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    defer f.Close()

    tag := regexp.MustCompile("/([a-zA-Z0-9_]+/{1}[a-zA-Z0-9_]+/{1}[a-zA-Z0-9_]+/{1}[a-zA-Z0-9_]+)")
    date := regexp.MustCompile("T([^:]+)")
    scanner := bufio.NewScanner(f)

    // HAVING TROUBLE HERE
    for scanner.Scan() {
        //dateCollection := make(map[string]int)
        m := tag.FindString(scanner.Text())
        if m != "" {
            // stop races
            Lock.Lock()
            arr := strings.Split(m, "/")
            taghash := strings.Join(arr, "_")
            taghash = strings.TrimLeft(taghash, "_")
            //data[taghash]++
            m = date.FindString(scanner.Text())
            if m != "" {
                hour := m
                data[taghash] = make(map[string]int)
                data[taghash][hour]++
            }
            Lock.Unlock()
        }
    }
    fmt.Println(file)
    os.Remove(file)
    if err := scanner.Err(); err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
}

The area i'm having trouble at starts on line 167 section below:
for scanner.Scan() {
        //dateCollection := make(map[string]int)
        m := tag.FindString(scanner.Text())
        if m != "" {
            // stop races
            Lock.Lock()
            arr := strings.Split(m, "/")
            taghash := strings.Join(arr, "_")
            taghash = strings.TrimLeft(taghash, "_")
            //data[taghash]++
            m = date.FindString(scanner.Text())
            if m != "" {
                hour := m
                data[taghash] = make(map[string]int)
                data[taghash][hour]++
            }
            Lock.Unlock()
        }
    }
    fmt.Println(file)
    os.Remove(file)
    if err := scanner.Err(); err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

The output i'm getting when I print the values in the main func
fstvt1_ros_300x600_pp8_1 T07 1

I'm expecting an output that looks something like this:
fstvt1_ros_300x600_pp8_1
T00 213434
T01 23432
T02 3324
T03 324
T04 324
T05 0 ...
(this isn't real data)

What I'm trying to do:
I have a map of data var data = make(map[string]map[string]int) whose key is equal to a taghash, e.g. fstvt1_ros_300x600_pp8_1. The value is a map of data.  The key value of that map is expected to be a string and an integer. I want multiple maps.  One for each key... T01, T02..  What is currently outputted is the last item in the last of items i'm iterating on instead of a collection of keys and values for each taghash.  How do i make is so that instead of overwriting the data, it adds the new key Value T01, T02.. and if the taghash and hour are the some to increment that particular object.
Line of code i'm currently using:
T01, T02..
data[taghash][hour]++

Where the if the taghash and hour exist then it should increment.  If the taghash and hour doesn't exist then create the taghash and add the new key and increment.

A: The error comes from
data[taghash] = make(map[string]int)

This sets data[taghash] to a newly allocated map every time through. That's definitely not what you're trying to do. Instead:
if _, ok := data[taghash]; !ok {
    // data[taghash] does not exist -- create it!
    data[taghash] := make(map[string]int)
}
data[taghash][hour]++

This is equivalent to:
# Python
data.setdefault(taghash, {}).setdefault(hour, 0) += 1

Or
if taghash not in data:
    data[taghash] = {}
if hour not in data[taghash]:
    data[taghash][hour] = 1
else:
    data[taghash][hour] += 1


The global economy is at a "delicate moment" amid rising trade tensions, high levels of debt and uncertainty over Brexit, the managing director of the International Monetary fund said on Tuesday.
However, the IMF chief does not expect a recession to take place in the near term as some policies, such the US Fed patience with interest rates increases and more stimulus in China, help temper a slowdown. These policies will lead to an uptick in growth in the second half of this year and into 2020, she said.
The IMF lowered its global growth forecast for 2019 and 2020 in January, and warned of the dangers from escalating trade tensions that have already started to dampen the world economic outlook.
The global economy is set to expand 3.5 per cent in 2019 and 3.6 per cent the year after, 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points lower than the fund's October forecasts. Growth for 2018 was projected at 3.7 per cent.
The IMF, which will hold its spring meetings next week, will release an update of its global growth forecast that shows the world's economy had "lost further momentum", she said.
The world economy is slowing down as a trade rift between the United States and China, the world's two largest economies, intensifies. Last year, the US slapped 10 per cent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. Washington and Beijing are currently in talks to resolve their trade war.
Ms Lagarde proposed three types of action to help ensure a soft-landing for the global slowdown.
First, countries must undertake domestic polices that include structural reforms to boost productivity and long-term growth.
Ms Lagarde also pointed to the growing power of a few corporate giants and advocated for reining their influence on the domestic economies of countries.
"New IMF analysis shows that, over the past two decades, rising corporate market power in advanced economies had only a very small effect on investment, output and the share of national income paid to workers," she said.
The European Union, for example, has penalised companies deemed to challenge competition.
In March, the EU fined Google €1.49 billion (Dh6.12bn), the economic bloc's third antitrust fine slapped on the technology giant, for stifling competition in the online advertisement sector.
With regards to the second course of action related to cross-border polices, Ms Lagarde warned of the danger of trade barriers and their knock-on effect on growth.
"We have looked at what might happen if tariffs on all goods traded between the US and China went up by 25 percentage points. That alone would reduce annual GDP by up to 0.6 per cent in the US and by up to 1.5 per cent in China," she said.
Ms Lagarde also warned of the dangers of tax evasion. Non-OECD countries lose some $200bn a year due to companies moving profit to low-income jurisdictions. This lost income makes it harder for low-income countries to boost growth and employment.
With regards to the third policy addressing global challenges, Ms Lagarde pointed to the economic cost of climate change and corruption.
Global energy subsidies, which amount to $5.2 trillion per year or 6.5 per cent of global GDP, are impacting climate change and need to be reduced.
Meanwhile, the annual cost of bribery is over $1.5tn, equivalent to 2 per cent of GDP, necessitating a stepping up efforts to resolve issues such as money laundering and the financing of terrorism.


text:
Stand Up! (see 1979 in music) was The Archers fifth studio album and fourth Light Records release. It was co-produced by Elvis Presley's TCB Band keyboardist Larry Muhoberac and studio engineer John Guess.

Stand Up! was the first album in which former female vocalist Nancye Short-Tsapralis did not participate. Although Tsapralis sang background vocals on the prior Fresh Surrender project (un-credited), Janice Archer's voice was used on female leads. Recording began in late 1978 and continued through early 1979. It is distinctive for a number of notable guest artist appearances, including Billy Preston, who played the Hammond B-3 on the group's cover of his spiritual, "God Loves You", which also featured Sandra Crouch and Nichol Larson on back-up vocals.

Steely Dan alumnus Ernie Watts was also featured on tenor sax for the up-tempo song "Only His Love". Once again, the group was accompanied by a virtual "who's who" of LA studio players, with David Hungate returning on bass along with Reinie Press and Dean Parks on guitar. Also featured were Archers' tour band players, Phil Kristianson (keyboards) and Tony Sena (guitar).

The album produced a number of hits, most notably Steve Archer's title tune and Tim Archer's "Pickin' Up The Pieces". Also receiving solid airplay were "Fools Paradise", Janice Archer's cover of Kelly Willard's smash "Blame It On The One I Love".

Track listing
"Only His Love" – Aldridge  (4:39)
"We're All Gonna Leave Here" – Hockensmith/Hibbard  (3:09)
"Fools Paradise" – Bower (3:55)
"Moments With You" – Learning  (3:50)
"Stand Up!" – Archer/Kristianson  (4:45)
"Blame It On The One I Love" – Willard  (2:45)
"More (More So Much More)" – Aldridge  (3:32)
"Livin' In Your Love" – Sherberg  (4:13)
"God Loves You" – Preston  (2:51)
"Pickin' Up the Pieces" - T. Archer

Personnel
 Guitars: Tim May; Dean Parks; Greg Porée; Tony Sena; Thom Rotella
 Bass: David Hungate; Reinie Press
 Drums: Mike Baird; Paul Leim
 Keyboards: Phil Kristianson; Larry Muhoberac
 Percussion: King Errisson
 Orchestra: Jimmy Getzoff Concertmaster
 Vocal arrangements: Tim Archer, Steve Archer
 Rhythm and orchestration: Larry Muhoberac
 Producer(s): Larry Muhoberac, John Guess
 Associate producers: Tim Archer, Steve Archer

References

External links

 Steve Archer.com

The Archers (musical group) albums
1979 albums


The mission of Los Tules is to prepare students academically and socially for their future. Through our collaborative teaching methods, we seek to create an environment where students are connected to community, family, and self.
At Los Tules we "Earn Our S.T.R.I.P.E.S." and always show the Big 3, we are RESPECTFUL, we are RESPONSIBLE, and we are SAFE.


text:
Innate Abilities
The Planes
Notable NPCs
Torment Revisited Q&A #1
Location: Ragpicker's Square (AR0101)
Did we miss anything on this map? Is there something we didn't discover? Let us know!
1 - Marrow-Fiend
You'll meet a Collector named Marrow-Fiend standing around here. He'll think that you're dead, and he'll want to take a bite out of you. Let him do this in exchange for the Finger Bone hanging around his neck -- but make sure you get the Finger Bone first or else you'll have to repeat the process. Once you have the Finger Bone, you can "use" it to replace your own finger, which will give you Mempa's Biting Ring.
2 - Doorway Portal
This portal will take you to a closed room where you'll find Junk in a container. To escape, you'll have to wait a minute for Vlask and his bodyguards to show up. Vlask will reveal that the only way out of the room is via a portal that he just happens to have the key for. Vlask will then offer to sell you the key for 100 coppers. You can either pay the price or kill Vlask (in a tough fight worth 300 xp) for Vlask's Portal Key. Either way, you'll have to "use" the key in your inventory activate the exit portal.
When you return to Ragpicker's Square, if you killed Vlask then you'll automatically board up the doorway so the portal can't be used again. But if you bought the key, then you'll be able to re-enter the portal, which will cause Vlask to show up again -- and charge you 200 coppers for the key this time. You can repeat this encounter as many times as you'd like. If you eventually kill Vlask, you won't get your money back.
3 - Sharegrave's Kip
Just outside this house, you'll meet a thief named Ratbone. He's a thief trainer, which means he can change your class to thief, and it'll only cost you 50 coppers. The first time you do this, you'll get a reward: 2500 xp for Dexterity 9-12, 3125 xp for Dexterity 13-15, 3438 xp for Dexterity 16-17, or 3750 xp for Dexterity 18+.
Inside the house, you'll meet a Collector boss named Sharegrave. He's a rival of Pharod's, and if you insist on telling him that you're Pharod's friend, or if you're rude to him, or if you answer his questions in a way he doesn't like, then he and the two Collectors with him will attack you. You'll receive 175 xp for killing Sharegrave, and you'll find 300 coppers on his corpse.
If instead you're polite to Sharegrave and tell him that Pharod stole something from you, then Sharegrave will warm up to you a bit. He'll tell you that Pharod is turning in way more bodies than should be available, and he'll ask you to find out how. Once you've met with Pharod in Pharod's Court (located in the Buried Village) and learned where the corpses are coming from, revealing this information to Sharegrave will earn you 100 (or 200) coppers and 750 xp. You can also lie to Sharegrave about Pharod's corpses and get the same reward.
4 - Yellow-Fingers
You'll meet a Collector named Yellow-Fingers here. If you have Morte in your party, then Yellow-Fingers will accuse you of stealing the skull from him. Most dialogue options will end with you fighting Yellow-Fingers, but you can also buy Morte from him (he'll accept 5 coppers), or you can say, "Just forget you ever saw it," and he'll let you go. If you kill Yellow-Fingers, then you'll find 45 coppers on his corpse.
If Yellow-Fingers is still alive, then you'll be able to ask him a few questions, provided you don't mind paying him 5 coppers for the privilege. However, Yellow-Fingers won't tell you anything interesting, and if you ask him about Pharod, then he'll run away.
At the end of your conversation, if Yellow-Fingers is still alive, and if he hasn't run away, and if you have Intelligence 12+, then you'll notice him trying to rob you. This will allow you to study his technique, which will earn you 200 xp and Pick Pockets +1. If you also have Dexterity 12+, then you'll be able to grab his hand, which will allow you to bluff him into giving you 47 coppers plus information about Pharod's portal (Exit B).
5 - Shack
Inside this shack, you'll encounter five Cranium Rats worth 65 xp each. The rats will drop Cranium Rat Tails, which have various uses, including turning them in for a bounty at the Office of Vermin and Disease Control in the Hive Southwest.
6 - Jarym's Kip
Inside this kip, you'll meet Jarym. He'll ask you to track down a ruby of "exceptional quality." You'll only find one such ruby in the game -- Moridor's Ruby, which is a part of Mar's quest in the Hive Northwest. After completing that quest, you'll either end up with the ruby in your possession, or you'll have to buy it from Aola in the Alley of Dangerous Angles for 300 coppers. When you deliver the ruby to Jarym, he'll reward you with 200 coppers and 500 xp.
7 - Nodd
Around here, you'll meet an intellectually disabled Collector named Nodd. If you're interested, you can pay him a couple of coppers to answer questions, but he probably won't tell you anything that you don't already know. At the end of your conversation, he'll ask you to find his sister Amarysse and tell her that he worries about her.
You'll find Amarysse south of the Smoldering Corpse Bar in the Hive Southeast. She'll be happy to learn that Nodd is still alive, and she'll promise to visit him soon. She'll also ask you if you're a friend of Nodd's. If you say you are, then she'll give you 100 coppers to deliver to him.
When you return to Nodd, if you lie to him and say that his sister is a "foul" whore, then he'll attack you, and you won't get a reward from him. Otherwise, no matter what you say, he'll be thrilled with the news, and you'll receive 750 xp for completing the quest. You'll become more Good if you deliver the money. You'll become more Evil and Chaotic if you keep it.
8 - The Midwife's Hut
Inside this hut, you'll meet Old Mebbeth, a combination healer, innkeeper, shopkeeper, and mage trainer. She'll heal you for free, she'll let you rest in her hut for free (but only through dialogue), and she'll sell you a variety of charms and scrolls (although most of the scrolls will only show up once you've completed Mebbeth's errands).
To get Mebbeth to work with you as a trainer, you'll have to complete a few errands for her:
Mebbeth will hand you a Black-Barbed Seed and ask you to fetch more of them from the market in the Hive Southwest. However, when you talk to the fruit seller there (the Hive Merchant on the western side), he'll say that he's never seen such a seed before, and that he doesn't know anything about it. However, he'll suggest that you talk to a gardener. If you've already met Mourns-for-Trees in the Hive Southeast, then the merchant's comment will make you think of him. Regardless, talking to the merchant will earn you 500 xp.
You'll find Mourns-for-Trees in the northern part of the Hive Southeast. He won't know anything more about the seed than the fruit seller, but since in Sigil "belief is everything," he'll suggest that if you will the seed to grow, then it will. If you follow that advice, then the seed will break open and grow twigs, which will wrap around your wrist. This will earn you another 500 xp.
When you return to Mebbeth, she'll tell you to "think" the twigs off your wrist, and to have them re-form into a frame. You'll earn 500 xp when you comply, plus a bonus reward based on your attributes: 500 xp for Intelligence or Wisdom 13-15, or 750 xp for Intelligence or Wisdom 16+.
Mebbeth will ask you to pick up some rags from Griscorl in the marketplace in the Hive Southwest. You'll find Griscorl right next to the fruit seller. When you ask Griscorl for the rags, he'll fetch them for you, and he'll inform you that he washed and starched them every five days for years -- leaving them hard as boards. Still, when he hands you Mebbeth's Wash, you'll receive 500 xp. Then when you deliver the rags to Mebbeth, you'll receive another 500 xp.
Mebbeth will ask you to fetch some ink from Kossah-Jai, who -- you guessed it -- you'll find in the marketplace in the Hive Southwest. She'll be next to a cart on the southern side of the marketplace. She won't have any ink for sale, but she'll suggest that you talk to Meir'am, who can be found on the southern side of the district.
Meir'am will tell you that she has ink from the brogota-fin fish available, but that you'll need some sort of container to transport it in. You'll find such a container -- a Battered Tankard -- available from another Hive Merchant in the marketplace, this one wearing an orange dress and standing just to the east of Griscorl. The merchant will allow you to take the tankard for free.
This time when you return to Meir'am, she'll give you some ink, and you'll end up with an Ink-Filled Tankard. When you deliver this tankard to Mebbeth, you'll receive 1000 xp.
After completing Mebbeth's errands, you'll be ready to become a mage. If you have Intelligence or Wisdom 14+, then you'll recognize that the errands were a part of your training, and you'll earn 2000 xp. When you actually switch to the mage class, Mebbeth will use the frame, rags, and ink to create your spellbook, and she'll give you Amber Earrings, Recipe: Blood Bridge, Recipe: Chromatic Orb, and Recipe: Identify to get you started. You'll also earn 5000 xp.
Exit to the Hive Northwest.
Junk portal. You'll need to have Junk in your inventory to activate this portal. You can find some nearby (#2).
Exit to the Trash Warrens.
Walkthrough Notes
The Hive Northeast
The Hive Northwest
The Hive Southeast
The Hive Southwest
Ragpicker's Square
Alley of Dangerous Angles
Tenement of Thugs
Alley of Lingering Sighs
Beneath the Hive
Trash Warrens
Buried Village
Pharod's Court and Vault
Weeping Stone Catacombs
Dead Nations
Warrens of Thought
Drowned Nations
Nameless One's Tomb
Lower Ward
Bones of the Night
Great Foundry
Clerk's Ward
Civic Festhall
Sensoriums
UnderSigil
The Mazes
Modron Maze
Player's Maze
Ravel's Maze
Curst
Traitor's Gate Tavern
Curst Underground
Curst Prison
Outlands / Baator
Baator
Curst Gone
Curst Administration
Fortress of Regrets
Return to Sigil


There are hundreds of artists working in studios around the Gowanus, Park Slope, and Boerum Hill neighborhoods. One October weekend each year, they open their doors to the general public. If you like art, the Gowanus Open Studios weekend is for you. If you like lurking around warehouses and homes you otherwise never get to set foot in and always wonder what they look like inside, this is also for you.
With over 300 Participating artists, where TO begin?
First, browse the artists listed on the Arts Gowanus website. It's the perfect opportunity to see which of their styles speak to you. Mark your "must see" on the Arts Gowanus Open Studios map (in Google Maps or on paper) to plot your route. It's also really easy to stroll around the neighborhood and pop in and out of whichever places strike your fancy.
Which artists and studios do I recommend?
What do you do when you get the artist's studio?
Some artists might have prints or items for sale. It's perfectly fine to leave without purchasing anything. You never know, though, you might find something really unique to complement your style.
Thanks to Arts Gowanus for making this happen every year.


text:
О́тто Фи́шер ():
 Фишер, Отто (1901—1941) — австрийский футболист еврейского происхождения.
 Фишер, Отто (1901—1974) — немецкий коммунист, член группы Ульбрихта.
 Фишер, Отто Вильгельм (1915—2004) — австрийский актёр.
 Фишер, Отто (1870—1947) — немецкий художник и искусствовед.
 Фишер, Отто (1915—1993) — швейцарский политик.
 Фишер, Эрнст Отто (1918—2007) — немецкий химик, нобелевский лауреат (1973).


text:
Foreign Minister Steinmeier attends Foreign Affairs Council meeting
The Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on 20 July focused on the nuclear agreement with Iran and on further support for stability in Tunisia.
The Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Monday (20 July) focused on the further implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran and on supporting stability in Tunisia.
Steinmeier in Brussels© EU Council
Importance of implementing the Iran agreement
Two continents, one topic – at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in the Belgian capital, the talks focused on the nuclear agreement with Iran and its further implementation. Early in the afternoon, while the Foreign Affairs Council was meeting, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that paves the way for a gradual lifting of the UN sanctions against Iran, thus endorsing the agreement reached with Iran in Vienna last week. Further information on UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
Earlier this morning, Foreign Minister Steinmeier had underlined that Europe's responsibility did not end with the signing of the agreement, but rather that it was a matter of implementing it. In the afternoon, he added that the UN Security Council Resolution should "help to ensure that what was agreed will indeed apply in the future". He also reiterated the importance of the agreement: "For the first time in decades of a downward spiral (...) involving the erosion of structures and even chaos, we have succeeded in reaching an agreement that also proves there are other ways to resolve conflicts."
View of the conference room© European Union
Tunisia: EU reiterates its support
Tunisian Prime Minister Essid and Foreign Minister Baccouche also attended today's Foreign Affairs Council meeting. The EU foreign ministers approved conclusions on Tunisia in which they reiterated their condemnation of the recent terrorist attacks in the country, that is, the attack in Sousse on 26 June that claimed the lives of 38 tourists just three months after the attack on the Bardo Museum in the heart of Tunis. The foreign ministers also expressed their willingness to provide further support to the democratic transition in Tunisia.
To this end, the European Union will focus on boosting its support in economic cooperation and security sector reform. The European External Action Service will draw up plans for EU support for border protection and training for Tunisian security forces. The aim of closer collaboration on border protection is to enable Tunisia to improve its control of the border to neighbouring Libya.
EU Foreign Ministers meeting© Phtothek/Trutschel
Foreign Minister Steinmeier underlined that keeping "radical elements" out of Tunisia is the aim of border control. "Tunisia is a country that is standing up to the authoritarian and radical tendencies in the entire region with fortitude, courage and determination," he said. This is why Europe "has an interest in ensuring that this Tunisian role model does not merely survive, but also flourishes and develops".
Talks with UN Special Representative León
With regard to the difficult situation in Libya, the EU foreign ministers emphasised their support for political dialogue and used the opportunity for a meeting with Bernardino León, UN Special Representative in Libya. The foreign ministers said that the agreement reached between most of the conflict parties in Skhirat (Morocco) on 11 July was a very important step in Libya's internal political process and urged the parties to continue on this path.
Shock over the attack in Suruç
On the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, Foreign Minister Steinmeier condemned the terrorist attack in the Turkish city of Suruç on the border to Syria. He said he was particularly appalled by the fact that the perpetrators had targeted an event attended by young people. According to media reports, at least 30 people were killed in the attack, while many more were injured. Steinmeier said the attack in Suruç showed that "we must not waver in our fight against terrorism". "Turkey is a very important partner in this fight."
Further information in the website of the European External Action Service
http://eeas.europa.eu/news/index_en.htm
Overview "Europe"
Vienna nuclear agreement on Irans nuclear programme


text:
Human Rights Commissioner Kofler on the occasion of the German-Chinese Human Rights Dialogue
On the occasion of the German-Chinese Human Rights Dialogue on 8 September 2020, Bärbel Kofler, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Assistance, issued the following statement today:
During today's Human Rights Dialogue with China, we talked about the topics of the rule of law, civil and political rights, minority rights but also other current developments.
For some time now, I have been observing how the human rights situation in China is deteriorating dramatically and falling even further behind international obligations.
We discussed the restrictions on civil and political rights in Hong Kong as a result of the national security law, also in the aftermath of the most recent arrests at the weekend. We addressed the monitoring and persecution of minorities in China, particularly with a view to the disastrous situation of the Uighurs of whom more than a million are currently interned in re‑education camps. We focused on the suppression of freedom of opinion and assembly, as well as the persecution and poor conditions of imprisonment experienced by human rights lawyers. On all of these issues, I was extremely clear in calling for transparency, as well as demanding the respect of human rights standards and international law.
The Chinese side displayed no readiness to look in detail at concrete cases and processes. I clearly expressed this also to my Chinese interlocutors.
As in previous years, I deputised for Minister Maas in leading this dialogue which was also attended by representatives of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection.
Human rights do not just play a role in the Human Rights Dialogue but in all dialogue formats between Germany and China. We address human rights violations publicly and call upon China to respect its international obligations to protect human rights, most recently at Federal Minister Maas' meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in early September.
Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Assistance


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Where did it all begin?
I was thinking in bed last night about where my compulsion to write horror originated from. I cannot think of a time where I have ever wanted to write anything else, nor could I imagine ever wanting, or even knowing how to write anything else. If someone asked me to write a crime novel or even science fiction I honestly wouldn't have a clue where to start, whereas I have a whole list of ideas for more horror novels just waiting for their time to be written. I do remember my first vampire movie and that was The Lost Boys. Being a young teenager at the time I immediately fell in lust with David (Kiefer Sutherland) and wanted to be Star. (I still do love Kiefer, though now in his Jack Bauer role!) I can't remember watching another vampire movie until I saw Interview With The Vampire., which I still absolutely love and I adore all of Anne Rice's novels. It was shortly after seeing Interview that I started writing my first vampire novel and I would have been about fifteen at the time. I still have the five or so chapters of that novel (needless to say, at fifteen I was too distracted by boys to finish it) and it isn't all that bad. The vampire is a woman and it is the man who is the one who is rescued and 'turned'. I still have the images of that novel in my head - you never know, it might even get finished one day!
M. X
Labels: Anne Rice, The Lost Boys, vampire romance, vampire romance novel
To look or not to look...
For once today has not been about writing and has been about something else entirely. I am currently almost twenty-two weeks pregnant with my second child and today I went for my scan. Now my husband and I had planned to find out what flavour baby we were having, but he has been called away with work and so he could not be there. As a compromise I got the doctor to write down the sex of the baby in a card so that we could put it on the Christmas tree and open it on Christmas morning.
That all seemed like a lovely idea at the time, but I now have in my possession the most tempting item in the world! I barely got out of the doctors office before I wanted to rip it open. Just the thought of steaming open the envelope has me hiding the iron and kettle from myself and I am truly wondering how I am going to last the next four weeks. At least I don't have the problem of getting drunk and opening it (something I would normally have done!).
I know opening the card will be the best Christmas present we could have, but in the meantime I am going to have to exert some serious self-control. I also know that after my hubby has had a bottle of wine I am probably going to have to pin him down to stop him looking early.
In the meantime, just watch this space, and start placing your bets...
Watched State of Play last night (Ben Affleck, Russell Crowe) and it started off as a good movie, and would have continued to be a good movie, had it not gone on...and on...and on. Maybe it was just me not having much stamina these days, but any movie over two hours long just has me yawning and figeting and wondering when the damn thing will finish so I can go to bed. I like movies to be short, sharp, shocks that leave you wanting more.
Books however, now they are different. I am more than happy to pick up a good brick of a book and settle in with it for a week or so. At least with a book you can pick it up and put it down when you want to (though I often find that if it is a good book I end up staying up way past my bed time, promising myself that I'll go to bed after just one more chapter.) There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. I recently read 'Rome', by Colleen McCullough, and I enjoyed it at the start, but then it also just went on. She then ended the book so abruptly, after what must have been 250,000 words, that it left me wondering what she had actually been trying to say in all that time. Not that I wouldn't recommend her as a writer - 'Angel' is particularly good.
But it does go to show, just because someone can write alot about something, doesn't neccessarily mean they should...
Posted by Marissafarrar at 10:09 No comments:
Once again the Twilight saga is all over the news and I couldn't resist throwing in my two cents about it.
Living in Spain I almost missed the whole Twilight thing the first time round. It wasn't until I headed back to England early in January for a visit and I saw all of the adverts that I thought 'oh s***t'. This probably isn't the normal reaction to seeing an advert for a movie/book, but I was about halfway through Alone by then and I was suddenly terrified that someone had already written my novel for me! I didn't really have any idea what Twilight was about, apart from the vampire/human relationship and I almost couldn't bring myself to buy a copy, certain that it would result in me putting my own manuscript straight into the bin.
Luckily I forced myself to read a copy and within the first few pages I could see that I had nothing to worry about. While I did enjoy the book, it didn't have the pace, violence, or sex that I prefer in my novels. In short, it was fairly obvious to me that Twilight was written for 'young adults' (read children), where Alone is most definatly for grown ups!
M. XX
No longer 'desperatly seeking publication'...
I have been planning on setting up a blog for what feels like forever, but everything else (namely finishing whatever I was writing at the time) always seemed to take priority. In my head I had named my blog 'desperatly seeking publication', as the years and months were passing by and, with the exception of the occasional inquiry or short story sold, all I seemed to be collecting were rejection slips!
But finally all that has changed as someone has taken a chance on me and published one of my novels; 'Alone'. I will always be grateful to Vamplit Publishing for helping me get a foot on the publishing ladder and I hope that my book will do well and, most of all, that whoever reads it will spend a few hours in the company of characters they can love.
'Alone' was easily the fastest book I have written, though it is also, admittedly, the shortest. With my husband back in the UK I was spending every evening on my own with a glass of wine in one hand and a roaring fire beside me, so it was easy to get lost in the world of Serenity and Sebastian and the words came quickly. There were many evenings where the early hours of the morning were fast approaching and I literally had to force myself to switch off the computer. Even though I am naturally a night person, my two year old has no qualms about waking me whatever damn time she pleases!
Now the basis for 'Alone's sequel are taking form and it is lovely to go back to my characters - like revisiting old friends. I am, as of yet, without a title, but I am sure that will come. Like the characters in my books, I tend to find titles make themselves known to me without me needing to search for them.
First Chapter of Alone
The day Serenity Hathaway would come to view as the lowest point in her life would also turn out to be the day that everything changed.
She had just been fired.
In many ways it shouldn't have come as a shock; she had been hanging onto the job by her fingernails for quite some time. It wasn't her fault that she was fired, not that that made her any less terrified of going home to face her husband, Jackson, who was ultimately the cause of her getting the sack.
She had been given her marching orders at two o'clock that afternoon, after she had passed out in the women's bathroom and had been too ashamed to admit it. She thought by now she was able to control the pain. She tried to think of it as a different sense, like sound or colour, but today her meditation hadn't worked. When she had gone for a bathroom break and tried to pee, the pain in her kidneys had overwhelmed her and she had passed out in the bathroom stall.
When her boss had demanded to know where she had been for the past two hours, she had been too embarrassed – too humiliated – to tell him the truth and instead she told him she had had a late night the night before and had fallen asleep in there. He had given her a look that was somewhere between disbelief, frustration and anger. She knew he didn't believe her, but the number of times she had gone AWOL on the job had gone beyond a joke and he told her to clear her desk.
That had been early afternoon and she had been walking the streets of downtown Los Angeles, too scared to go home, ever since then.
It was late November and the last of the light was slowly bleeding out of the LA skyline. Her ribs were throbbing and the pain in her lower back made her walk with a hunch and press her palm into the small of her back, so that she walked like an old woman instead of the twenty-eight year old she actually was.
The job Serenity had just been fired from was their only income. She was the one supporting Jackson while he worked on the novel she had never seen. If it wasn't for Jackson's refusal to work, she was sure he wouldn't even allow her to have a job. After all, he didn't allow her to do anything else. She had no family left except for the step-father who had passed her on to Jackson to continue the good work he had started, and any school friends she had managed to have at the time had long given up trying to keep up any contact with her. She hadn't had a night out since she was a teenager.
Her current afternoon, wandering the streets, was the closest thing to freedom she had experienced in a long time.
A hard ball constricted her throat, making it hard for her to swallow, and the back of her eyes burned like fire, but she was all out of tears. Long ago she had learnt that they didn't get you anywhere.
She stopped on the corner of East and 3rd Street and rummaged around in her bag. She pulled out a bottle of water, a packet of aspirin, and a packet of paracetamol. She pushed out two of each tablet through the foil backing, the small white discs dropping into her palm. This was another thing she had learnt over the years; that it was okay to take the two medications together and that they worked even better that way.
Except they hadn't worked for her that afternoon.
She had gone to the bathroom to pee, but her kidneys were in such bad shape the pain had been excruciating. Combined with the lack of sleep she had had over the past few nights, it had all just been too much for her body and she had passed out.
Why hadn't someone noticed her slumped in the locked stall? Why hadn't someone come and checked on her when they saw she had been missing for hours? She knew the answer; because they wanted her out. Who wanted a work colleague who was moody and silent, who never attended any of the social functions and was always off sick? Serenity couldn't blame them for finally losing their patience with her.
The streets were starting to fill up with people. The tourist crowd had already headed back to their hotels after another day sightseeing and now the residents of LA were leaving their workplaces and heading off home. Serenity glanced at her watch. It was nearly six and Jackson would expect her home in the next half an hour. Her stomach twisted into a knot of anxiety. Could she get away with not telling him? Could she pretend to leave for work as normal the next day? She only toyed with the idea for a moment. Jackson called her at work several times a day and would quickly find out what had happened, and even if he didn't he would see through her in a moment. He had known her the whole of her adult life and would quickly see that something was wrong. If she lied to him, it would only make matters worse.
Serenity felt a slow coil of anger stir inside her – anger at her boss for putting her in this position, anger at Jackson for controlling her life, but mainly anger at herself for allowing him to do so.
She wasn't a stupid woman, she knew what Jackson did to her was wrong. Yet somehow she always managed to make excuses for him, tell herself that she had wound him up, or that he hadn't realised what he was doing, and that old favourite – that he would change. It was pitiful really.
The truth was that she was scared.
She had married Jackson at the age of eighteen. He had been the son of a man her stepfather had been friendly with and her stepfather had been happy to palm her off. Of course alarm bells should have rung immediately – her stepfather was more than happy to use his fists with her and any pairing he made would have been soured from the start – but Jackson had seemed to nice at first and she had been happy to escape from under her stepfather's roof.
The result was that Serenity had no idea what life would be like on her own and no idea that a life existed where you weren't constantly looking out for where the next fist was coming from. She didn't know how to live by herself. If she left Jackson, she had no idea what would happen to their home, to the bills, to all their things. That wasn't the only thing she was scared of – she was terrified of how Jackson would react. He had no qualms about giving her a swift elbow in the kidney if she had burnt dinner, so she didn't even want to imagine how he would react if she told him she was leaving him.
Serenity stopped at the side of the street and waited for the lights to change. People gathered either side of her, closing in, and she suddenly felt faint. Despite the cool evening, her palms began to sweat and her cheeks flushed. She stared in panic at the people either side of her, professional people in their suits who had their lives sorted. Her eyes were wide, and her heart thumped painfully in her chest. She just wanted to get away. She couldn't stand it, all these people pressing in either side of her, talking loudly on mobile phones she could not see. Some part of her half-believed that they were talking about her, laughing about her to the faceless people on the other end of the line. She could feel their eyes upon her, how they judged her, how they wondered how such a pathetic creature could even be out here on her own, and she realised she wasn't going to wait for the lights to change. She stepped out into the road, jolting her painful ribs so they made her gasp for breath.
Someone blasted their horn at her, but she barely even noticed. She half-stumbled, half- ran across the road. People looked at her with curiosity and concern in their eyes, one woman even put out her hand as Serenity passed her and asked if she was okay, but Serenity shrugged the kindly woman off and ran.
Blindly she pushed past people, knocking shoulders and elbows as she went. She could hear shouts of protest, but they were muffled by the blood that was rushing through her ears.
"Hey, crazy lady!" one man shouted at her as she stamped on his foot in her effort to get past. The panic that had exploded inside of her just made her want to get out of there, no matter what. Her heart was pounding and there was a pressure inside her head, a horrible pressure that made her think something terrible was going to happen unless she got away.
She rounded the corner. The side street was empty and was only lit by the dim lights from the restaurants that backed onto it. Large commercial bins were pushed up against the walls and Serenity collapsed between two of them, seeking shelter between their tall plastic sides. She bent over, ignoring the pain in her ribs, resting her hands on her thighs, her head hung down, gasping for breath. Her lower back screamed out in agony – Jackson always knew where to hit her to make it hurt the worst and always in places that no one saw – in her kidneys, the ribs just under her breasts, the bottom of her spine.
Just a panic attack, she told herself, as the feeling that she was going to die faded away with the adrenaline. Nothing to worry about, just a panic attack, you've had them before.
Slowly her breathing returned to normal and her heart lost its trippy beat. She was about to straighten up when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She shrieked out loud and leapt away, jarring her poor ribs once again.
"I'm sorry," a man's voice said. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"By scaring me half to death!" Quickly the fear had been replaced by anger and she looked up, her eyes blazing.
In front of her was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He was easily six foot tall with dark wavy hair that he wore a few inches too long so that it curled around his broad throat and fell across his forehead. He had the square jaw of a catalogue model and a wide, generous mouth, but it was his eyes that really blew her away. She had to do a double take, and she felt something deep inside her heart (or was it her brain) do a little jolt, like a flick back in time. Despite the darkness she could see they were the brightest green she had ever seen.
Green? Not yellow? Hadn't they really been yellow?
She pushed the strange thought away.
"I'm sorry," he said again, and his voice was like chocolate melting down her throat. She thought she could hear an accent, something European. "You seemed to be in distress. I wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help."
"No. I'm fine, please. Just leave me alone."
The faintest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he stepped forward and held out his hand.
He fixed her with those amazing eyes. "At least let me help you to your feet."
She looked at his hand in mistrust, but couldn't help glancing at the rest of him. He was well-dressed in a smart woollen overcoat and his shoes looked expensive. He gave the impression of someone who was important, of someone who knew his place in the world.
He was everything Serenity wanted to be.
She glanced again. His hand was large, and strong and inviting, and he certainly didn't look like a lunatic.
Could this man do much worse than what she had waiting for her at home?
The anger in her melted and she found herself incapable of resisting. Instead she wanted to take his hand, wanted to touch that skin that looked so soft and strangely pale, and she reached out and slipped her small palm into his.
She gave a small gasp and would have pulled away if it wasn't for the strength of his hand closing around her own.
Cold. He was so cold.
It wasn't just the cold that made her gasp. His touch seemed to fire every synapse in her body and she felt her skin prickle with goose flesh, her heart hitch in her chest. Again there was that strange jolt in her brain, like static discharge realigning her nerve cells. It felt as though someone had reached in and moved something around, like something had happened that someone wanted her to forget. Black blobs suddenly clouded her vision and she felt her legs fold beneath her and the world swim away.
His arms were beneath her before she could fall, his easy strength holding her, and she felt herself come back to the surface.
"Sorry," she managed, embarrassed. "I don't know..."
She tailed off, not sure what she was going to say.
"What were you running from?" he asked her, gently.
She looked up at him. His eyes were full of gentle understanding; he was the first person in a long time who had shown her any kind of compassion.
"Myself," she whispered. "I was running from myself."
He smiled that half-smile again. "You didn't get very far."
"No. I never do."
She suddenly realised she was still in his arms, that her breasts were pressed up against his broad chest, that his face was only inches from her own. He seemed aware of their close proximity at exactly the same moment and he let go and stepped away, both of them flustered.
She stared down at the floor, too embarrassed to meet his eyes. What had she felt go through her? It was like a charge, an electrical charge, or like he had somehow reached inside her and touched the essence of who she was. That was crazy; she must be losing the plot. The stress was all getting too much for her.
"I...I have to go," she managed, pushing past him, not trusting herself to look at him again. For a moment she could almost sense him about to reach out to her again, but he did not and she kept walking. It was only when she reached the main street with its lights and bustle of people that she dared to look back.
He was gone.
A strange ache of both disappointment and relief filled her heart and she chewed at her lower lip, worrying a piece of dried skin. She found herself trying to commit his face to memory, to bury deep inside of her how she felt when he had taken her hand. As stupid as it seemed, it felt like her moment, something that she had experienced just for herself, and she would bury it deep inside of her and dig it out like an old forgotten favourite teddy or blanket when things got really bad.
The thought made her want to cry, but she pressed her lips together and fought the tears. She wouldn't let herself cry. Not anymore. She wouldn't let herself cry.
It was getting late and she knew that Jackson would already be wondering where she was. Hoping to do damage control, she fished around in her handbag and found her cell phone. She only had three numbers programmed in; Home, work, and Jackson's cell phone. She hit home and put the phone to her ear.
It only rang twice before her husband picked up.
"Hey, honey," she said, hoping her voice wasn't shaking too much. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be a bit late home. The traffic is terrible and I wasn't able to get on the last bus, it was full of Japanese tourists."
He was silent on the other end as he weighed up what she had said. She held her breath in anticipation.
"How long are you going to be?"
She could hear the measure in his voice, as though every ten minutes she was late was going to buy her another punch.
"Half an hour," she said, trying to make her voice sound light. "Quick as I can."
Air whistled down the phone and she knew he was huffing air out through his nose. He always did it when he was pissed, like a bull shown a red rag.
"Fine, but hurry up. I'm getting hungry," and he hung up.
Serenity hurried down the road towards her bus stop, praying it wouldn't take long to arrive. To her relief she saw the big blue bus trundling down the road towards her and she broke into a gentle trot, ignoring her protesting ribs, not wanting to risk missing this one. She made it in plenty of time and joined the queue of people getting on. There was no hint of the panic attack she had suffered earlier at this same close proximity of a crowd. Strangely she felt stronger within herself, as if the nugget (of hope?) she had stored within herself was feeding her.
She flashed her travel card at the driver who barely bothered to look. All the seats were taken so she grabbed hold of one of the standing poles.
With her free hand she fingered the thin silver necklace that lay around her throat, the letter 'S' hanging from the chain. It had been one of the only presents she could remember her mother ever giving her and she rubbed at it like a good luck charm whenever she was nervous, which was often.
Just as the bus pulled away she caught something out of the corner of her eye and she swung her head round and peered through the bus window. It was as though her eyes sought him out through the crowds, like some part of her deep down knew exactly where to look, exactly where to find him. For there, on the other side of the street and standing in the crevasse of a doorway, was the man who had tried to help her.
He was watching her.
Labels: alone, ebookundead, marissa_farrar, romance, vampire romance, vampire romance novel, vamplitpublishing
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