text:
Q: React.js, Each child in a list should have a unique "key" prop. how to fix if key is already given Im getting the warning Warning: Each child in a list should have a unique "key" prop.. My understanding of react was that when you pass to a new component you give it the Id of a prop, which i am doing, yet im still getting this warning. In my code i have some dummy data that is used to set the state of table data i.e
const DumData =
    {   id: 1,
        UserGroup:[
    {
        id: "1",
        Name: "Dax Johnson",
        AddressLine: "82 Mahu road",
        Email: 'DaxIng@Gmail.co.nz',
        ContactNumber: "02791743",
        Zip: '8801',
        Notes: 'His dog is swag',
        Animals: [
                {   id: "1",
                    PatientID: "23",
                    AnimalName: 'SwagDog',
                    Species: "Canine",
                    Breed: "Dog",
                    Gender: "Male",
                    DOB: "",
                    Vists: [{
                        id:1 ,
                        time: 'October 31st 2021'
                    },
                    {
                        id:2 ,
                        time: 'October 21st 2021'
                    }]
                },
                { id: '2',
                AnimalName: 'CoolCat',
                Species: "Feline",
                Breed: "Cat",
                Gender: "Female",
                DOB: "",
                Vists: [{
                    id:1 ,
                    time: 'March 4th 2021'
                }]
                }
                ],
    },
    {
        id: "12",
        Name: "Willam McDonald",
        AddressLine: "2 Wacky Ave",
        Email: 'WILLIAM@hotmail.co.nz',
        Zip: '8661',
        ContactNumber: "033777300",
        Notes: 'His cat is cool',
        Animals: [
              {
              id: "1",
              PatientID: "23",
              AnimalName: "Molder",
              Species: "Feline",
              Breed: "Cat",
              Gender: "Female",
              DOB: "2008",
              Vists: [{
                id:1 ,
                time: 'February 4th 2022'
            }]
            }
            ],

      },
      {
        id: "3",
        Name: "Oscar Issac",
        AddressLine: "2 Wacky Ave",
        Email: 'Oscar@hotmail.co.nz',
        Zip: '7041',
        ContactNumber: "0279000",
        Notes: 'His cat is cool',
        Animals: [
              {
              id: "1",
              PatientID: "23",
              AnimalName: "Cool cat",
              Species: "Feline",
              Breed: "Cat",
              Gender: "Female",
              DOB: "2008",
              Vists: [{
                id:1 ,
                time: 'June 24th 2021'
            }]
              }
              ],
      }    ]

    };

and then later const [tableData, settableData] = useState(DumData);
I create a component table called Hometable where i pass it the tableData and the key id

                <Hometable
                    data={tableData}
                    key={tableData.id}
                ></Hometable>

and then i map the data so it is displayed in the table in the Hometable component. like so
function Hometable(props) {
    var OwnerName;
    var Animalname;
    var breed;

    return (

                      Owner
                      Animal Name
                      Type/Breed
                      Vist Time

              {props.data.UserGroup.map((person) => (
                    OwnerName = person.Name,
                    person.Animals.map((Animal) => (
                        Animalname = Animal.AnimalName,
                        breed = Animal.Breed,
                        Animal.Vists.map((vist) => (

                                   {OwnerName}
                                 {Animalname}
                                 {breed}
                                 {vist.time}

                        ))
                    ))
                ))}

                          <button className='TableButton'> Page 1</button>

    );
  }

  export default Hometable;

I understand i dont use the key value in Hometable so this might be an easy fix if anyone can help me resolve this warning?

A: Try passing the key here in the code
{props.data.UserGroup.map((person) => (
                    OwnerName = person.Name,
                    person.Animals.map((Animal) => (
                        Animalname = Animal.AnimalName,
                        breed = Animal.Breed,
                        Animal.Vists.map((vist, index) => (
                         // or visit.id if available

                                   {OwnerName}
                                 {Animalname}
                                 {breed}
                                 {vist.time}

                        ))
                    ))
                ))}

It's recommended to use keys coming from the data source such as visit.id. Last resort should be using index. For more information you can read here.

A: Try using this code :
function Hometable(props) {
    var OwnerName;
    var Animalname;
    var breed;

    return (

                      Owner
                      Animal Name
                      Type/Breed
                      Vist Time

              {props.data.UserGroup.map((person) => (
                    OwnerName = person.Name,
                    person.Animals.map((Animal) => (
                        Animalname = Animal.AnimalName,
                        breed = Animal.Breed,
                        Animal.Vists.map((vist,index) => (

                                   {OwnerName}
                                 {Animalname}
                                 {breed}
                                 {vist.time}

                        ))
                    ))
                ))}

                          <button className='TableButton'> Page 1</button>

    );
  }

  export default Hometable;

A: In my opinion:
const array = [...];
...
const new_array_for_props = array.map(function(arr, index){
   <target_comp props_01={arr.props_01} key={index} />
});

sub component(target_comp) unnecessary uses props.key.

A: Every time you are in a loop, each element like those ones must define a unique key. And it is a good practice
- tr
- ul
- Component
- etc ...

ex:
Users?.map( (user: User) => (

    {user.name}
    {user.birthdate}

      <UserEdit key={user.id} user={user}>Edit</UserEdit>

    ...

));


text:
The Black Arrow
A young British nobleman comes back from fighting in the War of the Roses to discover that his father has been murdered by an old family friend who is now an outlaw. However, he becomes suspicious about the exact circumstances of his father's death and determines to find out exactly what happened.
Louis Hayward
Sir Richard Shelton
Janet Blair
Joanna Sedley
Sir Daniel Brackley
Edgar Buchanan
Bennet Hatch
Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow
Columbia Pictures Corp.; Edward Small Productions, Inc.
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses by Robert Louis Stevenson (New York, 1888).
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
In fifteenth century England, following the War of the Roses, the victorious Yorkists, led by the new king Edward IV, and his brother, the Duke of Gloucester, ruthlessly persecute the defeated Lancasterians. When Yorkist soldier Sir Richard Shelton returns to his home at Tunstall Castle, he is told by his uncle, Sir Daniel Brackley, that his father was murdered by their Lancasterian neighbor, Sir John Sedley. Brackley tells Richard that Sedley killed his father in a violent rage after being accused by Yorkists of treason, and that Sedley was executed a short time later. One day, as Richard and his soldiers escort Joanna, Sedley's daughter and ward of the crown, to Tunstall, Nick Appleyard, one of Richard's men, is killed in an ambush. Attached to the black arrow driven through Appleyard's heart is a note, signed "John Amend-All," claiming that Richard's father was killed by Brackley. The note also warns of the imminent deaths of two of Brackley's men, Bennett Hatch and Sir Oliver Oates. Alhough Brackley denies killing Richard's father, Richard and Joanna believe that Brackley is not telling the truth. A short time later, Joanna reveals to Richard that her father is still alive and that he is hiding in the forest. She also tells Richard that the mysterious letters from "John Amend-All" were written by her father. Richard vows to avenge his father's death by killing Brackley, but Joanna stops him and persuades him to leave Tunstall instead. In the hope that John's testimony before the Duke of Buckingham will result in Brackley and his group of traitors being brought to justice, Richard and Joanna set out to find John. Hatch intercepts the two escapees, though, and during the ensuing sword fight, Joanna is captured. Richard escapes by jumping into the moat, but while trying to crawl out of the water, he is struck by an arrow. The following day, Richard is found unconscious by Lawless, a soldier loyal to John, who takes him to Joanna's father. At his hideout, John explains to Richard how Brackley killed Richard's father, how Brackley's men framed John for the murder and how he survived the execution by placing a prayer book over his heart to shield it from the executioner's arrow. Realizing that Joanna is in danger at Tunstall Castle, Richard, John and Lawless set out to rescue her. En route to the castle, John is captured by Brackley and Hatch in an ambush, but Richard and Lawless manage to escape after killing Hatch. Brackley returns to the castle, where he forces Joanna to accept his marriage proposal by tying her decision to the fate of her father. Meanwhile, Lawless and Richard, disguised as friars, attempt to enter the castle to rescue Joanna and her father. No sooner do they enter the castle walls than they are captured by Brackley's men. As the wedding ceremony begins, Richard openly accuses his uncle of murdering his father, and a sword fight between the accuser and the accused ensues. After killing Brackley in the duel, Richard looks forward to ruling the House of York with Joanna at his side.
Carl Hiecke
Walter Kingsford
Sir Oliver Oates
Duke of Gloucester
Halliwell Hobbes
Bishop of Tilsbury
Sir John Sedley
Ray Teal
Nick Appleyard
Russell Hicks
Sir Harry Shelton
Leslie Denison
Sir William Catesby
Betty Fairfax
Dame Carter
William Bevan
Tom Dillon
Art Foster
Mary Forbes
William Stelling
Roy Darmour
Chuck Hamilton
Joe Palma
Queenie Leonard
Serving woman
Pete Kellett
Leland Hodgeson
Harry Cording
Nelson Leigh
Alec Harford
Stablehand
Cy Malis
Paul Baxley
Don Cash
Makeup for Louis Hayward
Albert Cavens
Fencing master
Fred Cavens
James Crowe
Lambert Day
Stephen Goossón
Charles Lawton Jr.
Wilbur Menefee
Paul Sawtell
Richard Schayer
Thomas Seller
David P. Sheppard
Edward Small
A. Leslie Thomas
Jerome Thoms
Grant Whytock
The opening title card of this film, reads: "Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow." The first motion picture adaptation of Stevenson's novel was a 1912 short film made by Edison. Other adaptations include a 1944 Columbia 15-episode serial; a 1960 television adaptation, which aired on the NBC network; a 1972 Australian film and a 1985 television adaptation, which aired on the Disney Channel and starred Oliver Reed, Fernando Rey and Georgia Slowe.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


FC Dinamo Tbilisi will play the third friendly match on camp against Bosnian football team Siroki Brijeg. The match will start at 18:00 Tbilisi time.
The Blues (nickname of Siroki Brijeg) was established in 1948 year. At first it was called Borak, till 1991 it competed with the name of Mladost Listica and then in 1995 it was renamed into today's name. Siroki Brijeg played home matches at Pecara Stadium that is for 7000 spectators. Main colors of the team are blue and white.
2003/2004 and 2005/2006 seasons were the most successful for our rival. In these seasons it won Bosnia and Herzegovina Premier League twice. In 2006/2007, 2012/2013 and 2016/2017 seasons our rival won local cup for three times. In the current championship our rival is on the third place with 30 points gained in 18 rounds. Siroki Brijeg finished last season on the fourth place.
Bosnian team is on camp in Turkey for several days already and has played three friendly matches. It lost with Danish Randers FC with the score 1:3, defeated Slovakian AS Trencin with the score 2:1 and the same score was recorded against FC Sheriff Tiraspol in favor of our rival. Macedonian football specialist Goce Sedloski is the head coach of the team.


Book your seat for the tour - Only $15 dlls a person.
This is a Car-a-van a tour; we need to know if you will be Driving or Riding (share the gas expense with your driver).
This is for dedicated to fans of Cheese. Not just any cheese, but Gourmet, Artisan Cheese made by the family Ramonetti at Rancho La Campana in Ojos Negros, Baja California, Mexico.
Come join us on enjoy a guided tour and learn about the production, the care given to the cattle, cheese making and family history. Experience the tasting of cheeses and wine in Marcelo's cellar, then sit to enjoy the restaurant that offers a la carte menu with fresh produce from the garden, the field and the port. All in a Tuscany country atmosphere connecting with nature. BGL Club staff will show you the way.


Current trends in industry are leaning towards specialized production systems and sedentary computer work tasks that are associated with low and less varying mechanical exposures. It has been suggested that physical variation is an effective intervention to reduce local fatigue and potentially musculoskeletal disorders. However, little is known in how the differences between physical variation patterns affect physiological and psychophysical responses. The general purpose of this thesis was to explore the biophysical effects of varying force amplitudes using forces, cycle times, and duty cycles that are relevant to occupation and longer-term health outcomes. Fifteen healthy males performed an elbow extensor sustained isometric exertion at 15% Maximum Voluntary Force (MVF), an intermittent contraction between 0% MVF and 30% MVF (On/Off), an intermittent contraction between 7.5% MVF and 22.5% MVF (MinMax), an intermittent contraction between 1% MVF and 29% MVF (1 Percent), and a sinusoidal contraction between 0% and 30% MVF (Sinusoidal). Eight commonly used measurement tools recorded biophysical responses as participants performed each condition for up to 60 minutes or until exhaustion, during 60 minutes recovery, and at 24 hours post-exercise. Measures included electromyography of the triceps muscles, mechanomyography, blood flow, heart rate, stimulated tetani and twitch responses, maximum exertions, and perceived exertion. The rate of response during exercise and comparisons between baseline, cessation, and recovery values were used to assess fatigue responses. This research shows that implementing physical variation, at the same mean amplitude, may provide reduced fatigue rate and that the magnitude and shape of the intermittent force variations affect exercise and recovery measures. Time varying forces may therefore provide the necessary mechanism to encourage beneficial physiological responses that would improve long-term health and well being of workers at low-load jobs.


Description The Master of Education in Educational Leadership (MEd (EL)) is a graduate degree that links current research on educational leadership with the leadership development needs of Alberta school jurisdictions. The MEd (EL) is specifically created to support Alberta teachers, educational consultants, learning coaches, and school administrators who desire to further their professional learning.
A current resume or CV A Statement of Research Intent of not more than 500 words on the applicant's proposed research. Two Letters of Reference: Preferred: 1 Academic and 1 Employer Alternative: 2 Employer references who were direct supervisors At least one Letter of Employment from a current or previous employer indicating years of teaching experience.


Just a quick note to parents out there: when someone says "3-year old" it refers to any individual who is from 3 years of age to 3 years and 364 days of age. It's a categorical variable. The average "3-year old" is 3 years and 6 months of age. All of the measured "norms" of what a 3-year old can do is based on children who fall in that age range.
So if your 3-year old is one month away from his 4th birthday, it's not OK to refer to him as a 4-year old just because he's "almost 4." He's still closer in age to the average 3-year old than the average 4-year old, so you're inadvertently comparing him to a group of children who are older than him, and you're naturally going to feel like he's falling behind.
We've been automating for hundreds of years now. The industrial revolution caused a migration of workers from agriculture into the cities to work at factory jobs, and workers that are displaced by new technologies will find new work that didn't even exist a few years ago.
I assume if you're reading this article that you're involved in automation in some way, so you'd actually want to believe that statement, and arguing against what someone wanted to believe would be pointless. I'm going to do it anyway. That statement is wrong. This time it really is different.
To explain this I need you to consider what motivates people here in the "west". Basically we have some form of regulated capitalism. To boil that down, it means you can own things, and you are allowed to keep some fraction of the proceeds that are generated from those things. This actually applies to almost all of us, even if most people don't think of it that way. It's obvious to a farmer: you own land, buildings, and equipment, you grow things and sell them, and after tax you hope to end up with some kind of a profit. Ok, perhaps farming isn't a great example because there are so many government subsidies involved, but the principle is the same with small business owners, and even employees.
Employees? Most employees don't think of themselves as capitalists because they can't see the capital they're using to generate a profit, but it's right there in the mirror. You are your own capital. Ever since abolition, this is capital that nobody could take away from you. It's the first and primary social safety net. No matter how penniless you were, barring illness or infirmity, you had this basic nest egg of capital you could always draw from to bootstrap your life. Most people mistake capital for money, and that's why they don't see themselves as capital. After all, you can't "spend yourself", can you? Actually, going back hundreds of years, you could. Most slaves around the Mediterranean hundreds of years ago were slaves because they incurred debts that they couldn't pay off, so they became the property of whoever they owed the debt to, until they could work off their debt.
If it helps, think of the human body as a machine that turns food into… various useful things more valuable than food. Farmers turn small amounts of food into larger amounts of food. Carpenters turn food and wood into houses or furniture. Quantum physicists turn food into transistors and lasers, and you, dear reader, perhaps you're a machine that turns food into PLC programs. In turn, we trade these things for various useful things that other people have created. Capitalism.
Now I'm a fan of regulated capitalism because it's an efficient way to organize lots of machines (us) into producing lots of valuable things like cars, houses and episodes of Game of Thrones.
Now here's the weird part. There's a huge incentive to use your capital to acquire more capital, which you can then use to acquire more capital, and so on, but very few people do this. You would think that someone who finished 13 years of schooling at the age of 18, worked 47 years and retired at the age of 65, making, let's say, an average modest wage of $30,000 per year in present-day dollars would have had the foresight to save some of that $1.4 million for their retirement, but it's clear that many don't. In fact there are many people with an income far higher than that who not only don't save any, but go into significant debt and either declare bankruptcy or become virtual slaves to credit card companies. It's so incredibly common and has such a negative cost to society that governments actually force workers to save portions of their paycheque every week into a government pension program and then pay them a stipend when they retire. I'm not familiar with the way this works in the United States, but in Canada this is referred to as the Canada Pension Plan, and it's supplemented by something called Old Age Security that kicks in a few years later. This is despite the fact that anyone who bothered to squirrel away 18% of their net paycheque for their entire career into a tax sheltered retirement savings plan and invested it in mutual funds would have a very comfortable retirement – much more comfortable than living on a government pension.
Now part of me thinks this is fine: you made your bed, now lie in it. But this affects everyone, even the wealthiest capitalists. The most basic of government services are the ones that wealthy people need most: military, police (criminal law) and the enforcement of contracts (civil law). These three services of government are what give people the ability to own things. The military protects it from external threats, the police protect it from people inside the country (thieves and vandals), and civil law settles disputes about who owns what.
We keep hearing that wealth inequality is a bad thing, but that can't be absolutely true. If our system is working, it has to reward the people doing more valuable things with more money, so the only way there could be income equality is if everyone was doing something equally valuable, and we're not. There should be a way for me to make more money by working harder, smarter, or differently than I am now. That's the incentive to be more productive.
In fact, that's what really matters: does the average person believe they can improve their standing? Because if they don't, they get unruly and do wild and crazy things. Things that make wealthy people uneasy because in the west those unruly people can really mess with the government that's providing all those military, police, and civil services they depend on.
Imagine you work in a factory in the Midwest U.S. that makes air conditioners. Chances are, you don't think of yourself as a machine that turns food into air conditioners. You're not thinking about how to make that machine more efficient, or more valuable. You're already working 6 days a week, and your family never sees you. All you know is that sooner or later the guy who drives the fancy BMW is going to move your job to another country, or replace you with a robot, and since all the other plants around here have closed, you might not be able to send your kid to college. How would you feel? Maybe you'd be inclined to vote for a politician that promised to punish companies that moved their factories to Mexico.
I think the crux of the matter is that this worker no idea what to do. The incentives are still there: learn a new skill, invest in yourself, be more productive. But few people do it, for the same reason that few people save for their own retirement.
I've spent a few years around people who've been running small businesses, and I've tried to pay attention. It took me years to really understand that there was nothing magical about running a business. That's because, like almost everyone else, I was brought up with the idea that innovative geniuses come up with brilliant new ideas and start companies that make billions of dollars. Outside of a few small cases, that's simply not true. Look hard enough and you can find an industry that's in demand and growing. If the demand is high, there will always be companies in that industry that are poorly run but still make a profit. You can make money simply by doing the same thing as everyone else and simply not being the worst at it. That's how capitalism works – it gives you incentives to provide products and services that are in demand.
I have a relative that got laid off many years ago. There was a jobs program where they gave him classes on how to start a small business. He learned how to keep books, write an invoice, and how to do his taxes. They hooked him up with a small business loan. A few months later he's running his own business and a couple years after that he's hired an employee. Now he has the opportunity to invest in himself, like buying better equipment and improving his skills.
Let's say you're a PLC programmer. Your company likely pays you upwards of $50,000 a year. How much did they spend on your computer? Did they cheap out? Does it make any sense to handicap a $50,000 a year resource with a cheap laptop? If you were in business for yourself, you'd quickly realize there aren't many things you could invest in that would make you a more efficient or valuable PLC programmer, but a faster computer is a no-brainer.
Automation is increasing productivity and with self-driving trucks and expert systems being developed, the rate of productivity increase is set to explode. However, these are expensive investments and there's no way for displaced workers to take advantage of this automation. If I gave a truck driver a bigger truck, they produce more value per mile driven, but if I replace the driver with a computer, they have no value at all.
Increased productivity stopped producing higher wages back in the early 70's. A bank teller makes the same now as they did back then (adjusted for inflation) even though most of the drudgery has been offloaded to ATMs. In fact, ATMs allowed banks to open more smaller branches and the demand for tellers to staff those branches has actually increased the number of tellers total, but despite automating the simple tasks and increasing demand for tellers, they're not making any more in wages.
The same people who are currently blaming immigration and outsourcing for their problems are soon going to realize that automation is what's really eating their lunch. Unlike in the industrial revolution where displaced workers could participate in this new economy by switching from farming to factory work, during this transition workers will either lose their jobs and have to completely re-skill, or at best they'll keep their jobs but not see a penny more for their increased productivity.
That's because old automation made people more valuable, but new automation seems to make them less valuable. That means it's devaluing the one bit of capital they have.
This is where someone usually suggests a universal basic income so everyone can share in the increased productivity without everyone contributing to it. I'm not convinced the numbers add up. What we really need is to encourage this idea of viewing yourself as capital, not as an employee. An incentive and a safety net for people starting a small business should be less expensive and more effective than paying people to sit at home. How about teaching this stuff in school (I figure teachers are pretty clueless about starting a business). How about making it easier to start a business than going on social assistance? How about making in-demand skills training free?
I'm glad we're talking about this because it does matter. A lot of this is tied in with what's going on in the world right now. There's a general sense that the next generation won't be as well off as their parents' generation, and that's pretty much unprecedented. That promise that anyone could make something of themselves is slipping away, and we need that back.
There's this fear that sits in the back of everyone's head… that robots will some day replace all of us in the workplace, and nobody will be able to find a job.
As a counterpoint, I propose this rhetorical question: How do people still make money playing chess?
This is a topic that interests me. Not only do I have a career in automation, but I've previously wondered about exactly the same question that Ford poses. What happens if we create machines advanced enough that a certain segment of the population will become permanently unemployed?
The title of the book comes from Ford's "Tunnel Analogy". He tries to model the economy as a tunnel of lights, with each light representing a person, its brightness indicating its wealth, and the tunnel is lined with other patches of light: businesses. The lights float around interacting with the businesses. Some businesses grow larger and stronger while others shrink and die off, but ultimately the brightness of the tunnel (the sum of the lights) appears to be increasing.
As we continue to watch the lights, we can now see that they are attracted to the various panels. We watch as thousands of lights steam toward a large automaker's panels, softly make contact and then bounce back toward the center of the tunnel. As the lights touch the panel, we notice that they dim slightly while the panel itself pulses with new energy. New cars have been purchased, and a transfer of wealth has taken place.
That particular statement irked me during the rest of the book. That's not a good illustration of a free market; that's an illustration of a feudal system. In a free market, we take part in mutually beneficial transactions. The automaker has a surplus of cars and wants to exchange them for other goods that it values more, and the consumer needs a car and wants to exchange his/her goods (or promise of debt) in exchange for the car. When the transaction takes place, presumably the automaker has converted a car into something they wanted more than the car, and the consumer has converted monetary instruments into something they wanted more: a car. Both the automaker and the consumer should shine brighter as a result of the transaction.
There are actually two ways to create wealth. First, you can make it yourself (grow your own food, fix your house, paint a picture, etc.), or secondly you can trade something you value less for something you value more. In fact, most of us combine these two methods: we go to work and create something that someone else wants so we can trade it for stuff that we want (food, cars, houses, etc.).
Later in the book, Ford makes a distinction between labor-intensive and capital-intensive industries. He uses YouTube as an example of a capital-intensive business because they were purchased (by Google) for $1.65B and they don't have very many employees. I can't believe he's using YouTube as an example of a capital-intensive industry. The new crop of online companies are extremely low-overhead endeavors. Facebook was started in a dorm room. Again, Ford seems to miss the fact that money is not equal to wealth. Google didn't buy YouTube for the capital, they bought their audience. Google's bread and butter is online advertising, so they purchased YouTube because users are worth more to Google than they are to the shareholders of YouTube that sold out. Wealth was created during the transaction because all parties feel they have something more than they had to start.
Back to Ford's premise for a moment: is it possible that we could create machines advanced enough that the average person would have no place in a future economy? I don't find it hard to believe that we could eventually create machines capable of doing most of the work that we do right now. We've certainly already created machines that do most of the work that the population did only decades ago. The question is, can we get to the point where the average person has no value to add?
Let's continue Ford's thought experiment for a moment. You and I and half the population is now out of work and nobody will hire us. Presumably the applicable constitutional elements are in place so we're still "free". What do we do? Well, I don't know about you, but if I had no job and I was surrounded by a bunch of other people with no job, I'd be out foraging for food. When I found some, I'd probably trade a bit of it to someone who could sew that might patch up my shirt. If I had a bit of surplus, I'd probably plant a few extra seeds the next spring and get a decent harvest to get me through the next winter.
I'm not trying to be sarcastic here. I'm trying to point out the obvious flaw in the idea that a large percentage of the population couldn't participate in the economy. If that were the case, the large part of the population would, out of necessity, form their own economy. In fact, if we're still playing in Ford's dreamland here, where technology is so advanced that machines can think and perhaps even nanotechnology is real, I'd probably hang around the local dump and forage for a bit of technology there. The treasures I'd find there would probably put me in more luxury than I currently have in 2010.
So, if you take the thought experiment to the extreme, it breaks down. Given a free society divided into haves and have-nots, where the haves don't have any use for the have-nots, then what you really have is two separate and distinct societies, each with its own bustling economy. Whether or not there is trade between those two economies, one thing is certain: almost everyone still has a job.
Of course, it's not like we're going to wake up tomorrow and technology will suddenly throw us all out of our jobs. The shift in technology will happen gradually over time. As technology improves, people will need to adapt (as we do every day). As I've said before, I think a major shift away from the mass consumption of identical items is already underway. As the supply of generic goods goes up, our perceived value of them goes down.
Ford doesn't seem to participate in automation on a daily basis, so I think he lacks the experience of what automation really does. Automation drives down the cost, but it also increases the supply and reduces the novelty at the same time. Automated manufacturing makes products less valuable but the juxtaposition makes people more valuable.
There's a company out there called Best Made Co. that sells $200 hand-made axes. There's a three week waiting time. That's a feature actually: it's so valuable to people that there's a three week lead time. It's made by hand. It's made by hand by people who are passionate about axes. Feature? I think so.
Ford scoffs at the idea of a transition to a service based economy. He suggests implementing heavy taxes on industry and redistributing that to people who otherwise would have been doing the job the robots are doing, just so they can buy the stuff the robots are producing. He can't see anything but an economy based on the consumption of material goods. I say: go ahead and automate away the drudgery of daily existence, make the necessities of life so cheap they're practically free, and let's get on with building real wealth: strong relationships, a sense of purpose, and a society that values life-long self improvement (instead of life-long accumulation of crap). By making the unimportant stuff less valuable, automation is what will free us to focus more on what's important.
Feel free to share your own nuggets of wisdom below.
What makes the masses adopt a new technology? I don't think it's because it saves them time.
When I was at StackOverflow Dev Days last year, Joel Spolsky gave a keynote that touched on the topics of why people use technology. Specifically he talked about why the masses use it. I think as geeks we sometimes can't see how "normal people" see technology. Back in the 90's I couldn't understand why anyone would buy a Mac over a PC. As a 30-something father with different priorities, I'm starting to "get it".
Joel referred to a book by Richard Dawkins called The Selfish Gene. It says that genes aren't the method by which we reproduce, but rather: we are the method by which genes reproduce. They created us because it's a workable method to make more copies of themselves.
Joel asks us to imagine a 20 year old college student sitting in her dorm room, trying to install Firefox. Why is she installing Firefox? So that she can use Facebook. Why does she want to use Facebook? So she can communicate with her friends and know where they're going to be, possibly when they'll be going to the bar. And why does she want to go to the bar? Most likely there's a strong primal urge to "hook up" with someone.
People buy iPhones for the sexiness. Business people want a BlackBerry for business, but why are they in business? Why do business people want to be successful?
It doesn't really matter how you try to spin this. Once you get outside the early adopters of technology who are doing it because they're "not normal", the "normal" people use technology for much more fundamental reasons. The most powerful force that drives everything, including technology, is replication, and thus reproduction. Do you want proof?
Did you notice how replication was its own reward? Makes sense. Things that just replicate themselves will make more things that replicate themselves. Things that don't replicate themselves will get eaten by those that do.
If we answered those questions, we'd know how to make home automation for the masses.


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Midlands Spotlight
Movie news, reviews, features and more thoughts coming soon...
Review - Movie catch up blog 2019 - Part 4
By midlandsmovies, Aug 28 2019 10:13AM
In this collection of recent reviews we take a look at ANGEL HAS FALLEN, KILLER'S ANONYMOUS, IN FABRIC and THE STANDOFF AT SPARROW CREEK.
Read on to hear our thoughts on some of these new 2019 cinema and dvd releases.
Angel Has Fallen (2019) Dir. Ric Roman Waugh
A frankly out-of-shape Gerard Butler returns in this third instalment in the Fallen film series following Olympus Has Fallen (the number 10 entry of our worst films of 2013) and London Has Fallen (the number ONE entry in our worst films of 2016) again playing secret service agent Mike Banning. Suffering from a form of PTSD, he protects US President (Morgan Freeman) from a drone attack but is implicated in the crime itself. Cue a tedious game of cat and mouse between an on-the-run Banning and his previous colleagues. He's also chased by forces "unknown" (it's so obvious from the outset who the culprits are) who want to get to Banning to finish the job and execute their conspiracy.
What we have then is an unexciting, monotonous and dreary "action" film whose 2-hour runtime feels like 2 weeks. Jada Pinkett as an FBI agent spouts tedious action-film clichés passing itself off as dialogue and its plot has been done numerous times before as seen in the Bourne franchise, Sentinel (2006) and most of M:I series as an operative is framed for a crime he didn't commit whilst others attempt to bring them to justice.
Positives? Although I'm struggling to find many, when Banning meets his father (Nick Nolte) in his remote wood cabin, the film is given some much-needed pleasure with a tongue-in-cheek tone and some nifty banter. A mid-credits scene has to be seen to be believed too, so if you manage to make it to the end, stick around for that. I also thought the explosions were pretty spectacular with some stuntmen really taking a battering as they are thrown around. But the woeful quick editing on the fights makes them hard to follow and one brawl in a car at night is frankly unwatchable and shouldn't be in a movie with this budget. In the end it may just be the best of the series, stay with me on this, as the others were beyond terrible and this is simply mostly bad. Action fans may find something in this that I didn't get out of it, but for general audiences, the franchise should fall into retirement as soon as possible.
Killers Anonymous (2019) Dir. Martin Owen
This American crime thriller film directed by Martin Owen tells the story of a group of assassins being brought together in a secret hideaway situated in a London church after the assassination of an American Senator on UK soil. Opening with an elongated conversation between Gary Oldman and Jessica Alba – filmed strangely, as characters talk to the camera Peep Show-style – the group finally congregates in a small set of rooms as they share their backgrounds and "days since last killing" stories like an AA meeting. The film wastes its talented cast which includes a delicious Tommy Flanagan as Markus, an excellent Rhyon Nicole Brown as Alice, a subtle performance from MyAnna Buring as Joanna and stalwart Tim McInnerny as Calvin who all did their best with some awful dialogue. It could have worked as a more serious chamber piece like 12 Angry Men (1957) or pushed the envelope and gone further into the knowing horror of the more recent Would You Rather (2012) but in the end it sticks to a bland unsatisfying middle-ground. How Oscar-winner Gary Oldman got involved in this is anyone's guess and it most reminded me of the darkly comic Inside No. 9 both in flat TV look and its eclectic soundtrack. In the end though, what could have worked as a one-off ITV drama is not cinematic enough for the ideas it has. And sadly this more than tiresome movie tries to be a big screen blockbuster but is much more of a lacklustre little screen disappointment.
In Fabric (2019) Dir. Peter Strickland
A horror comedy infused with Italian 'Giallo' genre stylings, In Fabric is a new movie featuring, bear with me, a killer dress. A ridiculous conceit, the film in fact uses this far-fetched idea to look at consumerism, desires and hypnotising capitalism. It stars Oscar-nominated Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Sheila, whose awful managers and worse dates increase her feeling of loneliness since her recent divorce. She purchases a crimson dress at the enigmatic Dentley and Soper's store from assistant Miss Luckmoore (an incredibly creepy Fatma Mohamed) who appears part of a ritualistic coven. The cursed dress leaves a strange rash on Sheila as the supernatural piece of clothing causes havoc with a washing machine and attempts to murder Sheila's son's girlfriend – played by a welcome but all too brief appearance from Gwendoline Christie. A sharp turn in the narrative though is where the film started to lose its way a little. The dress ends up in possession of washing machine repair man Reg Speaks (Leo Bill) whose story of hypnotism is far less interesting and developed than Sheila's. In Fabric's tone however seems not only to be hinting at classic Italian horrors but also by very British influences too. I saw hints of the satirical website Scarfolk Council, who is in itself influenced by the panic-filled sensibilities of 1970/80s government health and safety films and iconography. And In Fabric at times seems to be what Matthew Holness was attempting in Possum (2018) which was a snail-paced disappointment. A beautiful looking film of strong colours and lighting and a terrific cast playing bizarre and peculiar characters, In Fabric suffers most with its plotline switch at the halfway point, dismissing almost all of what came before it. Fans of the cinematic influences will lap it up but for me, it's a slightly missed, but to be fair with a lot to like, opportunity to bring Suspiria to suburbia.
The Standoff of Sparrow Creek (2019) Dir. Henry Dunham
Written and directed by Henry Dunham in his feature debut The Standoff at Sparrow Creek tackles current U.S. obsessions with gun ownership, responsibility, media blame and political and social paranoia. Throwing us straight in, James Badge Dale plays ex-cop Gannon who has joined a local militia and ends up investigating his own group after one of them is suspected of a mass shooting at a police funeral. Information comes in sporadically over the police radio meaning a time limit is set, and in their secluded warehouse base one of their machine guns is suspiciously missing. Creating a sense of dread and hidden motives, the film is set almost solely in this location and using the fantastic conceit, the group is faced into confronting this situation with the audience trapped in this mystery along with them. The cinematography mixes dark shadows and spotlights as the questions fly and these help create the best scenes which involve Gannon interrogating members using his previous experience. A small but powerful indie feature, its 88 minutes gives the movie a swift pace with more depth than most small dramas. But it doesn't let up either with a multitude of talented performances from the excellent cast playing distrustful characters obsessed with protecting their "freedoms".
Michael Sales
Filed under: Action, Gary Oldman, Drama, Angel Has Fallen, Killers Anonymous, The Standoff at Sparrow Creek, In Fabric, Giallo, Horror, Italian Film, London Has Fallen, Catch-Up, Gerard Butler, Review 2019
Review - Loro
By midlandsmovies, May 15 2019 02:06PM
Loro (2018) Dir: Paolo Sorrentino
Stylish. Decadent. Captivating. Loro, the latest film from Paolo Sorrentino see's the Italian director reunite with Toni Servillo, with whom he collaborated with on The Consequences of Love and The Great Beauty, in a satirical take of Silvio Berlusconi.
Now to describe Loro as a biopic is perhaps a little misleading as the film itself is a fictional account of what might or might not have happened behind closed doors during this period of his return to politics and the breakdown of his marriage, although Sorrentino covers much more than that in this layered yet somewhat confused societal and political comedy. However the fact that the film was released in two parts in its native land, with the UK receiving a combined version lacking an hours worth of material may perhaps explain this.
The film itself is imbued with symbology, for instance at the very beginning a lamb dies in a villa, no doubt a reference to rival Agnelli, which is balanced out by the more explicit, quite literally in some cases, visual excesses which may or may not work on several levels depending on your knowledge of the characters, Italian politics and culture. This unfortunately, like many other foreign releases that do not cover universal themes, means that Loro suffers from a lack of transferability and that layers of meaning are lost.
To further complicate matters, a significant portion of the first act focuses on Sergio, a small-time and unscrupulous business man who seeks to win favour with old Silvio. However as compelling as this story is, Sorrentino appears to lose interest part way through and poor Sergio is relegated to barely even being a supporting player.
If some storylines are seemingly tossed aside in the UK version thankfully the visuals remain consistent in their beauty and alongside Servillo's perhaps too-charming performance, there is enough for the rest of us to enjoy.
Sorrentino once again delivers excess and style in a high-brow and artistic manner, some of which is certainly questionable but perhaps apt, and while entertaining for the most part, Loro is one perhaps only for his committed fans, Italophiles or those who want an overly sympathetic story of partying Silvio.
Midlands Movies Marek
@CinemaEuropa
Filed under: Review, Paolo Sorrentino, Silvio Berlusconi, LORO, Biography, Italian Film, Italy, Politics, Review 2019
Review - Suspiria
By midlandsmovies, Apr 27 2019 07:20AM
Suspiria (2018) Dir. Luca Guadagnino
Having just discovered the original Suspiria 1977 two years ago (yeah, I know) I was impressed with the Giallo style and music of the cult classic but a tad underwhelmed – perhaps as a result of high expectations.
However, as stylish as Dario Argento's film was, this film – which is "inspired" by that horror of the same name – goes to much more complex and dark places than Argento's slasher.
The story is familiar as Dakota Johnson's expert dancer heads to Berlin to enrol in a dance academy in the 70s but finds there are dark forces behind the façade of the respected school.
Stylistically Guadagnino avoids the extreme colours of the original – bar some fantastical dream sequences – and shows Berlin as an oppressive and grey city rocked by terrorist atrocities. And although these ideas aren't fully formed – some going nowhere – the constant presence of outside public news is as oppressive as the oppressiveness featured within the mirrored walls of the school itself.
Despite her unquestionable talent Susie Bannion (Johnson) begins to exhibit traits of a missing student and a parallel story sees psychotherapist Josef Klemperer investigate the mystery. Sadly one of the biggest drawbacks is the decision to cast Tilda Swinton, an actress I love, as the very male doctor. Each of her appearances – in what has to be said is fantastic make-up – took me out of the movie and seems an excellent experiment in the wrong film for it.
Swinton does the best she can caked in prosthetics BUT also appears as stern matriarch Madame Blanc – the lead choreography teacher and away from the sex-swap role is much better in delivering a strict matron – but one with a layer of sensitivity and doubt by the film's conclusion.
The film's editing begins chaotically and Radiohead's Thom Yorke provides a soundtrack that echoes some of the original's melodies but in fact sets itself apart from it in the best way possible. From full songs that contain his inimitable falsetto, Yorke also seems to have delved into horror music's past. With orchestral segments reminiscent of Bernard Herrman's Psycho score to repeated piano refrains influenced by Halloween and The Exorcist, Yorke keeps the score diverse, layered and yet unobtrusive throughout. A phrase not echoed in the original's bombastic and totally over-powering music.
One of the best scenes in the film occurs when a student threatens to leave but is locked in a rehearsal room and Johnson's dance moves in another room are replicated – voodoo doll-style – by the trapped woman. Smashing her bones into the mirrored wall and with joints flying out of sockets, the beauty of the dance shapes are contrasted brilliantly with the nastiness of the injuries being inflicted.
Disgusting, shocking and bloody, it's a masterclass of visual storytelling and horrific aesthetics, and is one of the best scenes of 2018 without question and has to be seen to be believed. Brace yourself people.
As the teachers are slowly revealed to be part of a witches coven, the film explores issues of motherhood as they try to "re-birth" the spirit of Markos – currently contained in the body of a disfigured corpse-like woman.
The dancing is fantastic and the dull-colour palette of the film is punctuated by the vivid reds of dance costumes, dresses and, of course, plenty of the red stuff as Johnson uncovers awful goings-on in the hidden catacombs of the academy building.
As the film comes to a physical crescendo the ending is a slight let down with a new twist on the original. And with the good work delivered to that point it becomes frustratingly unfortunate that clichéd operatic music and a seen-it-before ceremony brings the film to a slightly drab conclusion.
That said, despite a 2 and a half hour run time – which certainly doesn't feel like it – Suspiria is a gory piece of art from start to finish. Themes of guilt, history and power are all thrown into a mix of dark passions and the body horror/beauty of contemporary choreography. Whilst not all of them gel together, the film dances to its own ritualistic chaos in a distorted orgy of cinematic pleasures.
★★★★ ½
Filed under: Review, Tilda Swinton, Horror, Italian Film, Review 2018, Suspiria, Luca Guadagnino, Berlin, Dakota Johnson
Review - Suburra
By midlandsmovies, Jul 6 2016 06:04PM
Suburra (2016) Dir. Stefano Sollima
Based on the novel by Carlo Bonini and Giancarlo De Cataldo this Italian neo-noir has soundtrack echoes of Drive and a seedy night time plot of politics and crime in Rome. The title comes from the name of a suburb of Ancient Rome and follows an Italian MP Filippo Malgradi who is involved in a real estate project complicated by his close relations with a local crime boss. After a sex and drugs night with underage prostitutes, one dies of an overdose and Malgradi leaves it to the surviving call-girl along with her gypsy money lender friend Spandino to get rid of the body into the Tiber.
Malgradi is played well by Pierfrancesco Favino who has starred in Ron Howard's Rush and as well as the director's Angels & Demons also set in Rome. His menacing screen presence contrasts with a sleazy vulnerability of a wayward man making the wrong choices at the wrong time. A convoluted plot then sees various crime bosses attempting to waive debts by seizing property and Spadino blackmailing Malgradi as he threatens to reveal his secrets.
A solid European thriller, the film suffers from far too many characters and keeping tabs on their motivations and allegiances would have been easier with a more straightforward narrative. Editing is slightly haphazard reflecting the fractious nature of alliances made by the gangs in the city and the gangs in parliament.
As revenge spirals out of control from both sides, bad-tempered rivalries across the city are settled by money, drugs, murder, violence or "debt recovery" in the way only Italians can.
"It's dangerous to even cross the street in this city" says one character (a literal fact I found out on my trip there) but this great line of dialogue sums up the film's focus. Why resolve your differences in a well-mannered (and legal) fashion when you can simply kill, main or extort others into seeing things your way.
Everyone is a criminal, everyone's father is a criminal and everyone gets criminals to sort out their criminal business. Joking aside the film lacks character development in favour of plot but the plot lacks any coherence so when all your main players are unsympathetic you ultimately care less about the consequences to anyone. Jumping from low level lackeys via prostitutes and politicians, the film is clearly unsure of the protagonist and the overbearing electronic soundtrack by M83 frankly (and I know it's not professional saying this) got on my tits.
The films skirts around the political affairs of the streets and the state and fans of A Most Violent Year (our review here) may find some satisfaction with Subarra's similar themes. Funded by Netflix this is a film that shows the new production kid on the block will take chances but its rather uninteresting spotlight on property planning (with added violence) will be frustrating for most audiences.
Midlands Movies Mike
Filed under: Thriller, Drama, 2016, Review, Italian Film, Italy, Rome
Angelic Art and Demonic Dictators in Rome - A Midlands Movies travel blog
By midlandsmovies, May 16 2016 11:37AM
After a brilliant trip to the Italian cities of Pisa, Venice and Florence in 2013 (click link) I was itching to get back to the land of perfect pizza with a trip to their capital city of Rome.
For a full album of photos to accompany this blog please click here
Leaving on my birthday May 3rd, the city itself has a rich history of cinema – both as a location, a studio system and a place to film a wide variety of movies throughout history. With my walking boots on (a mere 15km was tracked on a running app on just my first day) I was looking forward to exploring the beautiful city streets without too much planning but also not missing the major sights.
It is with these tourist sites that I will begin with. A city of immense faith and religion, the focal point is the Vatican (technically its own separate state) and has appeared in numerous films over the years. It is destroyed in the cataclysmic 2012 and that CGI model was "borrowed" by Ron Howard and the makers of Angels and Demons. Adapted from the Dan Brown novel – it's a literary prequel but they made it a sequel for the film – Angels and Demons follows symbologist Robert Langdon (a strangely coiffed Tom Hanks) investigating the secret Illuminati sect. Whilst speaking of St. Peter's Basilica, it shows up in Mission: Impossible III – another "chase" film where the team successfully infiltrates Vatican City to capture a villain.
A pulp piece of nonsense, the novel has its word-play charms for a holiday read but the film wisely ditches The Da Vinci Code's literal adaptation and puts Hanks in an on-the-run adventure more akin to the National Treasure movies. Criss-crossing Rome, the death of the Pope sees a number of cardinals kidnapped and tortured throughout the city with Hanks and company using codes to track down their mysterious disappearance as a dark-matter bomb ticks down. Yes, that serious. I therefore tried to find at least some of the monuments for the "Path of Illumination," which are marked by statues of angels in locations relevant to the four elements.
The first cardinal ("Earth") is held at the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo which was part of a lovely piazza in the north east of the city whilst the second location of Saint Peter's Square was truly one of the great views of Europe to behold. This cardinal represented "air" and I found one of the markers on the floor near one of the city's many obelisks. For "fire", Langdon ends up at Santa Maria della Vittoria where I found the statue of 'The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa'which depicts an angel with a burning spear before the final cardinal is saved at Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers. The fountain also appears in The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Each church was an amazing building with ancient architecture, art and history and are enjoyable even for the atheist holidaymaker like myself. The Illuminati's lair turns out to Castel Sant'Angelo (a towerin cylindrical building commissioned by Emperor Hadrian and later used by popes as a fortress) and the movie ends in and around the Vatican as the real villain is uncovered.
Rome is a city of wonderful old buildings, streets and many (many) staircases. There's also lots of fountains of which a tour guide said were all drinkable (I didn't try) and none is more famous than The Trevi Fountain – seen in Fellini's iconic La Dolce Vita. There cannot be a film fan alive who doesn't know Anita Ekberg's frolics in the fountain and after a recent restoration the huge structure looked great during the day and even better at night.
With only 4 full days, I attempted to get to as many places as I could but I wanted to savour one of the things I've been wanting to experience for years. Since I can remember I've dreamed of seeing Rome's Colosseum in the afternoon sun. Maybe a cliché but the ancient building (seen reconstructed in Ridley Scott's Gladiator) has been of interest since my school days and when I finally saw it I was not disappointed. Its looming presence over Rome's historic area (the Forum is close by) was a joy both outside and inside. The building's current state, where the floor has been excavated to show underground cells below, is seen in the 2008 film Jumper. A guilty pleasure of mine, Jumper sees Hayden Christensen (remember him?) using superpowers to teleport around the world and a particular action scene has him fighting alongside Jamie Bell in the ancient ruins.
Also filmed at the Colosseum was Bruce Lee's The Way of the Dragon, the 1972 Hong Kong martial arts action film where the climax is held at the location in a fight against b-movie legend Chuck Norris.
Parts of Rome are also seen in the truly awful (watched once, never again) Ocean's Twelve and returning to The Talented Mr. Ripley, The 'Vesuvio' nightclub, supposedly in Naples is actually the Caffè Latino in Rome. Confusingly, the 'Rome' opera house, where Ripley poses as Dickie, is the Teatro San Carlo in Naples!
When Ripley returns after Dickie's murder he surveys the ruins of the Forum from Capitoline Hill. From here you can view the monumental sculptures of the Capitoline Museum and Piazza del Campidoglio. Ripley then stays in an apartment which was filmed in the 14th century Palazzo Taverna on Via di Monte and the terrace café he meets friends is Cafe Dinelli at the foot of the Spanish Steps. Unfortunately for me the Spanish Steps were closed for refurbishment but this was the only restoration work at the main attractions and gave me a good excuse, if I even needed it, to return again in the future.
Also of note, the most unlikely of films can use Rome for its historic look as well. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure uses the Greek-inspired architecture to create the 'Athens' of 410BC which is mostly the white marble Victor Emmanuel II Monument (Il Vittoriano), on Piazza Venetia.
More recently, James Bond visits the city in Spectre (2015) where he is chased by henchman, Mr. Hinx. Their car chase around the narrow alleys of Rome was of particular relevance when I had to constantly move out of the way of vehicles driving down cobbled walkways. What I thought were tiny protected pedestrianized alleys, only just wide enough for a small group of walking tourists, were actually busy thoroughfares. I didn't just have to I step out of the way for scooters and Smart cars, but large lorries and vans actually made their way through smaller and smaller roads, giving you a beep if you failed to spot them. Bond's car chase continues down the Tiber River – a beautiful city waterway ("waterway to have a good time") that snakes through the centre.
Obviously no trip to Rome could not mention the 1953 romantic comedy Roman Holiday. Gregory Peck plays a reporter and Audrey Hepburn a royal princess out to see Rome by herself. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as did the screenplay (written by a then-blacklisted Dalton Trumbo). Shot at the Cinecittà studios and on location around Rome it features the Spanish Steps, the 19th century Palazzo Brancaccio and that infamous ending was filmed in the Sala Grande Galleria in the Palazzo Colonna. One of the film's most unforgettable locations must be the Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verita) which can be found in the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Piazza Bocca della Verita.
1966 Spaghetti western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was a truly international effort with co-production split between companies in Italy, Spain, West Germany, and the United States. The filming began at the Cinecittà studio in Rome including the opening scene between Eastwood and Wallach but the production soon moved on to Spain which doubled for the south-western United States,.
Other films from the city? Strangely, Super Fly T.N.T. (1973), a blaxploitation flick directed, starring, and co-written by Ron O'Neal was shot in Rome whilst "Conan" spin-off Red Sonja (1985) was shot on location in Celano, the Abruzzo region and in the Stabilimenti Cinematografici Pontini studios nearby to Rome. In order to create the mid 19th Century sets that Scorsese envisioned for Gangs of New York, that production was filmed at the large Cinecittà Studio and designer Dante Ferretti recreated over a mile of historic New York buildings.
In Guy Ritchie's 2015 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. various locations throughout Italy were used including Kuryakin and Teller's first outing as a couple which was shot below the Spanish Steps as well as at the Grand Hotel Plaza, in Via del Corso and in the gardens of ancient Theater of Marcellus.
Finally Chevy Chase's Griswald family also take a trip to Rome in 80s comedy National Lampoon's European Vacation. Watch their Italian clothes shopping trip here which ends with Rusty Griswald (a euphemism to look up on Urban Dictionary if there ever was one) exiting the store looking like a cross between Shakespeare's Benvolio and a renaissance version of Rufus from Bill and Ted.
An absolute marvel of a city, there have been hundreds more films, both from Hollywood and Italian productions filmed in the city and nearby locations. From the horror of Argento to the obvious Roman epics the city has an attraction like no other. Despite its romantic inspirations, Rome has lent itself to Westerns, blaxploitation, martial arts, comedy, action and much more in a history steeped in passion and pizzazz. Oh, and pizza.
Midlands Movies
Filed under: Ridley Scott, Italian Film, Rome, Gladiator, Film locations, Travel blog, Italy, Europe, Roman, Angels and Demons, Feature Archive, Cinema, Travel, Locations, holiday
Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) Dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini
By midlandsmovies, Jun 28 2013 12:47PM
Midlands Movies Marek braves the nihilistic and notrious Salo by Pasolini
Pasolini's final film before his untimely murder, combines elements of Mussolini's fascist Italy with the work of the Marquis De Sade into a piece of brutal and bleak artform. Compelling yet repulsive, the story is set in 1944 and shows four fascist libertines and their guards kidnap eighteen boys and girls and take them to a palace in the northern Italian state of Salo, (the area Mussolini made his base).
The victims are forced to re-enact the perverse stories as told by the middle-aged aristocratic women of the group, for the sexual pleasure of the male libertines. This repeats for three circles until the remaining youths are further tortured and executed as the libertines share turns in participating or watching, with a particularly cruel end to the third, albeit one with an underlying theme of voyeurism and dare one say the equivalent combination of today's reality TV and torture porn movies.
This is a film that was banned in so many countries for a reason, yet to simply see it as perverse titillation would be an injustice, it is a politically and socially ferocious film which radiates despair and disgust at the changing society and it manifests itself almost quite literally in certain scene.
In almost a juxtaposition to the visual imagery is the audio scored and performed by Ennio Morricone, which stays with you long after the film has ended and adds a sinister feel to the proceedings, thus increasing the powerful impact of the film.
Not one for repeated viewing or even to provide an entertaining night in but a critical piece of social commentary film making that deserves its subject matter to be researched and contemplated by the viewer and as such as it is impossible to score such a film for its importance is balanced by its true depravity. Just thinking about this film still makes me queasy.
Filed under: Feature Review, Cult Film, Italian Film, Film
Marek at the Derby ID Fest - Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Midlands Movies Marek headed to Derby's ID Fest last month and checked out the recent reissue of "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion". Currently only available on import, hear what he has to say about this 1970 classic from Elio Petri
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) Elio Petri
Recently reissued this multi-award winning film features an impressive cast including Italian cinema regulars Gian Maria Volonté, more well known for his work in westerns such as 'A Fistful of Dollars', and Florinda Balkan (Don't torture a duckling, Lizard in a woman's skin).
Encompassing a multi-layered approach, allowing the viewer to enjoy on several layers, as Petri combines social satire and black humour to great effect as he depicts the chief of homicide murdering his lover and leaving ever more blatant clues as to his guilt for his colleagues to investigate, but would they ever suspect him?
This is a fantastic piece of work as the viewer never knows what is going to happen despite knowing who the killer is almost immediately. But this is no ordinary cat and mouse detective movie, in fact quite the opposite and it is this, alongside the stab at corrupt and repressive authority, that elevates the film and makes compelling viewing. To say anymore may ruin the experience for some, however, I implore all film fans to check out this treasure.
Midlands Movies Marek.
Filed under: Feature Review, Derby, Cult Film, Italian Film, Film Festival


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Work is progressing at Serenity Valley... in some cases at a tremendous speed!
We are *THIS* close to being able to advertise for boarders. The stall is done (except for mats which will be purchased next week at Quarter Horse Congress). We've put down extra stone in a couple places where the run in footing was a little soft. The ramp to the workbench area has started and will be solid AND soft for the horses. 3 of 4 lights in the area are up and running! it's really looking nice.
Due to the chillier fall weather that finally descended upon us, we picked up a ginormous tarp from Craigslist (bigger than the seller advertised) and the bar now has a roof! The goal being to be able to keep a bit more heat inside the bar area for upcoming gatherings. Yes, between surrounded by canvas and now covered with a tarp... it looks like we built a fort! :) but it does help retain heat. I only wish I'd remembered to take pictures during construction. which reminds me... next time you're at the bar, take a look at the washers used to help keep the roof tarp in place. I think they'll make you smile.
Winterizing activities will start in a couple weeks. Until then, we're continuing to clean out the storage area (in order to house hay for horses as needed), finish the stalls and further "insulate" the bar. Oh and we'll be getting a tree to plant sometime this week for the patio area.
The latest standings for the Name the Tavern Contest & 50/50 Raffle are below (as of Sunday, Sept 26). Remember... voting open til 10pm on Saturday, October 30th (during teh Halloween Party) with the drawing at 10:30. you do not need to be present to win the 50/50 drawing! Name that collects the most $ will be the official name of the Tavern. Each $1 you vote gives you a chance in the drawing to split the proceeds. Vote often!!
Last day of summer still is feeling quite like summer, as the weather forecast is calling for a couple days of high 80s and afternoon thunderstorms. As dry as it's been, if that's what it takes to get some rain our direction, that's probably ok.
Everyone at the farm is doing great. We've cleaned out the run in part of the barn and have begun to build a stall. I think as soon as we can get that up and look at purchasing some electric tape fencing, we'll be advertising for a couple pasture boarders. Thought long and hard about it and I know boarding can be iffy, but I think it will help in the long run. Pasture board only, no riding. My ideal would be to find a couple older retired horses. Guess we'll see what we come up with.
First, Kelly Day Race. Willow's idea. We're inviting the WILC (homeschool group) kids and their families over to the farm on Sunday, October 3rd for a trail race. 2 laps around the running trail (about 2.5 miles total) followed by snacks and just hanging out at the farm. If this goes well, it may be something we look at repeating in the future in a more formal way.
Second, the Halloween Party. Keep it in mind -- October 30th. Costumes encouraged but not mandatory. Not sure when we're "starting" yet but request to bring a snack/desert/drinks to share.
The Name the Tavern 50/50 Raffle is still going on! In fact, we had a name suggestion that we liked SO much that we're adding it to the mix -- "The Shindig". If you've already voted, your vote still counts although if you want to change it, let us know and we'll switch it. Voting open now through 10pm at the Halloween Party. Vote ANY time you wish... doesn't have to be at a party. Vote as often as you wish and for as many different names as you wish. Name that collects the most $$ will be the name of the Tavern. Each $1 you put into the voting gets you a chance in the 50/50 Raffle!
LOVING the cooler weather we're now having. It's so much nicer and so much easier to get things accomplished around the farm when you aren't constantly sweating.
The first official SVF party is now history. Thanks for everyone who came out. Hope you enjoyed yourself. The LBDHW (Labor Day House Warming Bash) was a success by all accounts. Had some folks filtering through in the afternoon then a nice group from dinner til late, even a few that crashed in the camper. Have a couple pictures I need to get posted but once dinner arrived we all got so busy enjoying ourselves that we forgot to take a lot of pictures. Oops. Have to do better next time.
And the next party is planned -- Halloween! Costumes not required but highly encouraged. We're working on ways to keep some heat in the bar too.
Speaking of bars, the Name the Tavern contest is going on and getting some good feedback. Can't wait to see what the name of the bar is going to be. If anyone is interested, voting will take place between now and the Halloween Party and you can vote whenever you want and as often as you want. Remember, every $1 vote also gets you an entry into the 50/50 raffle!
The hens are doing great. we're now getting essentially 1 egg per day per hen. We also have 25 chicks on order from McMurrays Hatchery. They should be arriving next month -- 12 Arcaunas (laying blue/green eggs) and 13 Rhode Island Reds. By spring our personal egg production will have grown enough that we may be able to start selling a few dozen/week.
We're also investigating options for the next year... be that broilers, growing out a calf or pig for butchering, or boarding a couple horses. Lots to think about.
And lastly, we're working on revamping the website to be more up-to-date and useable. Plus we've added a Facebook account (Serenity Valley Farm, what else?).


As the winter season quickly approaches local kids are benefiting from the AccuWeather Ready Program, a new year-round weather preparedness program that focuses on keeping people safe and informed. On 11/22/16, this safety message was provided by AccuWeather Ready in partnership with the FDNY. Our beloved NYC fireman are giving children and their families the appropriate tools to stay safe this season. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we are so grateful for the wonderful service of the FDNY and #AccuWeather. How is your family #accuweather ready? All of the AccuWeather Ready information is available on the 24/7 AccuWeather Network, AccuWeather.com/Ready and the AccuWeather app.
This entry was posted in Informative and tagged #accuweather, #safety on November 24, 2016 by admin.


text:
Plants Grow Differently in Zero Gravity
By Marc Lallanilla
Humanity may be a long way from harvesting tomatoes in outer space, but researchers now have a better idea of how plants might grow in such zero gravity conditions.
Researchers from the University of Florida in Gainesville grew seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana (also called thale cress) on the International Space Station (ISS) to see how the weightless conditions of outer space would affect root growth. Scientists cultivated the plants in specialized growth units and photographed them every six hours; their root patterns were compared with similar plants grown on the ground at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The researchers expected that the roots would grow away from a light source (as they do in soil on the ground), and the ISS experiment confirmed that light acts as a primary determinant in root-growth patterns. But the scientists also measured the diagonal paths or "skewing" of the roots, as well as their "waving," the undulating wiggles and curves that growing roots normally exhibit as a means of avoiding obstacles like rocks.
Roots apparently don't need gravity to orient their directional skewing. They'll grow away from a light source regardless of gravitational forces. Waving, however, is significantly different in outer space, and the ISS roots curved and waved through their growth medium in a subtler pattern than they would have on Earth.
Though plants on Earth do use gravity to help determine their direction of growth, "it is clear that gravity is neither essential for root orientation, nor is it the only factor influencing the patterns of root growth," wrote lead authors Anna-Lisa Paul and Robert Ferl in the Dec. 2012 issue of the journal BMC Plant Biology.
"It seems that other features of the environment are also required to ensure that a root grows away from the seed, thereby enhancing its chances of finding sufficient water and nutrients to ensure its survival."
Marc Lallanilla
Marc Lallanilla has been a science writer and health editor at About.com and a producer with ABCNews.com. His freelance writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and TheWeek.com. Marc has a Master's degree in environmental planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Asteroid set to make 'extraordinarily close' approach to Earth tonight. Here's how to watch.


text:
Tracers reveal hidden rivers beneath ice-sheet
by Alex Peel, PlanetEarth Online
Artificial gas tracers pumped into water at the surface of the Greenland ice sheet have revealed a hidden network of rivers flowing beneath it.
The study, published in Nature Geoscience, may give clues about the ways in which Greenland and Antarctica's enormous ice masses are reacting to our changing climate, and tell us how they might contribute to sea-level rise.
Scientists had used tracers to track the flow of water beneath mountain glaciers before, but this is the first time that they have been able to look directly at what's happening at the base of one of these larger bodies of ice.
'Before we started this project five years ago, nobody really knew if and how water flowed at the bed of ice sheets,' says Professor Jemma Wadham of the University of Bristol, one of the study's authors.
'Since then, a number of studies have inferred what's going on at the bed from what's happening at the surface, but this is the first time we've been able to more directly see what's going on down there.'
A team stationed up to 60km inland pumped a fluorescent liquid and a traceable gas into water at the surface, occasionally using a garden hose to get the job done.
Meltwater channel, Greenland.
Another group of scientists then monitored streams flowing out at the ice-sheet margin, waiting patiently for the tracers to appear.
'It's quite a tense time - you're sort of sampling in the dark because you don't know for sure where and when the tracers will come out,' explains Wadham.
The speed at which the water came through suggested that it had been carried in fast-flowing rivers beneath the ice.
This could have important consequences for understanding the overall stability of the ice sheet, explains Wadham.
'If water flows in a thin film over much of the ice sheet bed, then it acts as an effective lubricant and the ice can slide more easily,' she says.
'If water travels in narrow channels, then it can move through very quickly and you don't get the same extent of lubricating effect.'
If increased surface melting causes water to drain through the ice more quickly, this could mean that ice sheets are more resilient to climate change than first feared.
But scientists are keen to stress that the relationships between surface melting, the flow of water at the base of the ice, and the overall stability of ice sheet remain uncertain.
Work now begins on incorporating this work, which was largely funded by NERC grants, into computer forecasts of ice-sheet responses to our warming climate.
Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet melting, rate unknown
More information: Chandler, D. et al. Evoloution of the subglacial drainage system beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet revealed by tracers, Nature Geoscience, 2013, doi: 10.1038/NGEO1737
Journal information: Nature Geoscience
Provided by PlanetEarth Online
This story is republished courtesy of Planet Earth online, a free, companion website to the award-winning magazine Planet Earth published and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Citation: Tracers reveal hidden rivers beneath ice-sheet (2013, March 12) retrieved 18 January 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2013-03-tracers-reveal-hidden-rivers-beneath.html
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text:
Teaching Exp.
Admin. Exp.
Phil. of Teaching
Course Instr.
Dean J. Johnson, PhD
Dir. Peace and Conflict Studies & Professor of Philosophy, West Chester University
Dean Johnson is Director of Peace and Conflict Studies and Professor of Philosophy at West Chester University. An interdisciplinary activist scholar Johnson teaches courses in Peace Studies, Religious Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies. His research interests include: religion and social change, race critical theory, critical whiteness studies, gender critical theory, nonviolent activism, community organizing, conflict transformation, and critical pedagogies. As an activist and scholar, Johnson is a consultant for nonviolent campaigns and initiatives. He provides workshops and trainings in the areas of nonviolent direct action, community organizing, and (with his partner Melissa Bennett) anti-oppression, queer solidarity, and anti-racism.
He is Membership Chair (as well as a founding board member) of the Peace and Justice Studies Association and a member of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties. Johnson is an advisory board member and former chair of the SpiritHouse Project and a former advisory council member of PATHWAYS Theological Education, USA.
Prior to his work at West Chester University, Johnson was Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of International and Global Studies at Defiance College. Johnson also served as assistant Professor of Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies at Goshen College (Ind.). While at Goshen College he served as Assistant to the Academic Dean and Special Assistant to the Provost. Johnson was director of the Goshen College Plowshares Peace Studies Project working in collaboration with Manchester University and Earlham College.
The first instructor to teach a peace studies course at Anderson University, he has also lectured in peace studies at Purdue University- Richmond, Ind., the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership at Bethany Seminary and the Indianapolis Peace Institute. He also served as co-assistant pastor for a year at the Richmond Church of the Brethren (Ind.).
Johnson grew up in LaGrange, Ind. After graduating from Manchester University, he earned a master's degree in theology with an emphasis in peace studies from Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, Ind. Johnson is a graduate of the religious and theological studies program where he focused in religion and social change at the Iliff School of Theology and the University of Denver.
DJohnson_CV.pdf
imaginepeace.johnson@gmail.com
This portfolio last updated: 29-Oct-2022 11:58 AM


The entrees at Sugarcane were delicious and plentiful: I was surprised at the number of dishes that kept coming our way! The highlights were: Prawn on rice cake with caramelised sugarcane, coriander, lime leaf, lemongrass, chilli and ginger, and a fresh and crunchy Som Tam (green papaya salad) with crispy Pork.
You also couldn't beat the Crispy chicken with shallots & plum sauce either, which didn't last long on the table!
Time flew by quite quickly and we were surprised to hear it was already time to move on to the next stage of our progressive dinner: the mains, which were going to take place at Bar H.
The place was buzzing, but there was a big table at the end of the room reserved for us, next to which Bar H chef Hamish Ingham himself was sitting.
After ordering the drink of our choice (wine or beer), we were served two dishes.
First a steamed Snapper fillet with ginger and shallots, which I really enjoyed: very fresh, light and subtle, with beautiful flavours.
The second one was a Dong-po pork (pork belly & pumpkin) in a clay pot. The pieces of pork were tender and fatty and went really well with the pumpkin.
Both mains where to be shared, but the portions were very generous and we struggled to finish them. They also came with steamed white rice and lovely green salads to balance all that protein!
We were then headed to the final stage of the night, which sounded promising: cocktails & dessert.
A short walk later, we found ourselves at Longrain and were led to the Bunker Bar in the basement, where we were served the cocktail of our choice. I chose a Negroni, which is my favourite cocktail at the moment, and this one was a fine example of it.
We stayed there chatting and drinking our cocktail for a while on the comfy couches, enjoying good company: it was a very pleasant evening I have to admit!
It also was a great way to mingle through the evening, as you could sit next to different guests every time you changed restaurants.
Check out Lime & Tonic's website to find more information about how to become a member and access all the offers.
The French Wench attended the Progressive Dinner as a guest of Lime & Tonic.
This entry was posted in Events, Restaurants and tagged Surry Hills, Thai. Bookmark the permalink.


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July 2013 - Wisdom of the Wood
The Wisdom of Wood at Newton St Petrock
When your nearest hamlet is a mile away at Newton St Petrock, and your nearest town is another five to the metropolis of Holsworthy, you know you are about as deep as it's possible to get in Devon.
When Jo Hayes and Nick Thompson moved there about a decade ago, all they had was half of a large, old cottage and a dry, treeless field. Today the area is coming to life under the banner of Wizewoods. Former RHS employees, Nick and Jo, have been gradually finding their feet in the land they have made their own. The open field has been encircled with a rich mixture of bushes and saplings – and all sorts of other intriguing features are starting to emerge.
Our visit started (on a very hot afternoon) with a tent-shaded introduction to the concept of Wizewoods. It is a way of life that works with the trees and their substance. Each tree has its aura and personality; each wood has its strength and utility. Nick and Jo run courses from time to time, concentrating on the value of the various trees and their part in the environmental tapestry. It is a way of life that is guided by the changing seasons, and by the study of the arboreal alphabet – the celtic ogham.
Our own part in this journey started with a leisurely stroll through the thickets that fill every corner of their land. We examined the auras of the various types of tree and of different trees of the same variety. We looked at how they react with one another and with the earth energies of which they are all a part. We studied how damage and disease would impact on the aura – and how that, in turn, could affect the energy matrix. Most of the Wizewoods trees are happy and healthy, as you would expect in such a caring environment, but there were enough examples of natural harm and microbial attack to prove a point. Working with tree energy in a dense copse is a good challenge for the dowser in examining the distinct, yet overlapping, auras of the individual trees. Not for them the squashed personal energy bodies of the human busy busload. Here, the trees find their own accommodation with their neighbours and adjust and adapt their energy footprints to suit.
At the far side of the Wizewoods field, Nick and Jo have constructed a three ring labyrinth around a repositioned old ash stump. With the aid of a few small rocks and the guidance of well-known celtic ceremonialist, Glennie Kindred, the turf-cut shape in the ground provides the facility to walk the pattern in quiet contemplation. Except that this particular labyrinth has a lively and uplifting feel, quite distinct from the usual meditational sensation at such a place. The feature was not located specifically with earth energies in mind, but it has certainly attracted its fair share. Perhaps the presence of an ancient line of consciousness, linking it with their house – and the remanence of a long lost trackway just off centre of the goal, might have led the builders to choose this particular spot.
Towards the middle of the field is a circle of willow. Providing welcome shade on a sunny day (and presumably shelter on a windier one) this is a place with a very different kind energy – a place of healing, of learning, of coming together. It has yet to find its true purpose, but the energy here is quite strong and again the line of consciousness may provide the link to its destiny.
Further round the field we encountered a ceremonial site, used with great sincerity by local druids and pagans. The prayer circle already seems deep in the forest, even though it is only a few metres from open ground. With symbolic ornaments and clouties dangling from the branches, it is clearly afforded much veneration by the regular users.
Our last port of call was to try to find the site of a former well, which is known to have existed somewhere near the cottages in historical times, but has vanished without trace. Like most 'good-lifers', Nick and Jo are keen to become self-sufficient, whenever they can. We discussed the various options for power generation - and finding their own source of water would be a welcome bonus. However, our dowsing only discovered that the former well had a very weak flow, was quite deep and that the quality of the water was questionable. We then altered the dowsing question to ask for the best place to site a new well. We were guided to a place directly beneath a willow shelterbelt in the vegetable garden, which seemed promising. But it, too, only had a slow flow and a quality of water that might be useable in an agricultural context, but not for domestic purposes without a lot of expensive cleaning and filtering.
As we returned to the tent for very welcome drinks and delicious cakes, the conversation turned to a real dowser's conundrum. At some point the Wizewoods field had been the site of a bizarre event. A full size lorry had been buried there. We were pretty sure it wasn't anything to do with Viking ship burials, but was it true, and if so, why? After much waving of rods and pendula, we came to the conclusion that the deceased vehicle had been the remnants of a steam lorry, built around 1910 and last used as a superannuated static steam engine during WWII. In the 1950's, the rusted and useless hulk was of no value, not even as scrap, and had gradually been engulfed by the field in which it had spent its last years. Rather than waste time and effort dismantling it, a farmer had merely covered it with soil and left nature to do the rest. An odd tale with which to end a most enjoyable visit.
Many thanks indeed to Nick and Jo for hosting this field trip - and to all those who turned out to support the event on the day that Andy Murray became Wimbledon champion!
Some TDs have already taken part in one or more of the Wizewoods gatherings, but anyone wishing to know more about the work and events run by Nick and Jo can contact them on nikwandmaker@aol.com. Their wonderfully peaceful and out-of-the way field is available for hire for low impact gatherings and events.
We wish them well with their endeavours and would like to return on another occasion to continue our conversation with them - and their trees.


Visitors, this is for you: If you haven't landed in Napa yet this year, there's no time like the present. You'll love how we're growing and expanding to make your experience better than ever!
You still have four amazing weeks in August, as well as most of September and October, to enjoy the beautifully warm weather. Napa in fall and winter is every bit as spectacular too, with gentle occasional snowcaps and snuggling by the fire.
No matter what you're doing or when you come, having the right supplies on hand will help you make the most of your vacation Print this packing checklist out and keep it with you to stay prepared.
Seriously – create an itinerary first. Lay out where you'll be going, how long you'll be there, and what you plan to bring with you. This will help you structure your checklist around your specific and individual vacation needs even before you head out.
More importantly, don't leave this step to the last minute – if you do, you might find yourself rewriting your checklist all over again.
Napa is stereotypically warm in the summer; it's why we have such fertile ground and spectacular grapes. But we do sometimes experience rain and temperature tips, especially trending into September and October. Be sure to bring outfits suitable for both weather types if you come on the off-chance that weather is mixed.
As you wander around Napa experiencing all we have to offer, you will undoubtedly come across treasures you can't bear to leave without. Having a decent-sized tote with you will ensure you have a place to store these treasures until you get back to the hotel. Plus, it's also a fantastic place to carry along water, snacks, medicine, and other necessities on your outings.
One of Napa's most beautiful benefits is our beautiful surroundings. If you plan to spend a significant amount of time walking and exploring, bring a comfortable pair of trainers or sneakers – something designed with proper support. Pack a pair of pretty dress shoes, too, for fine dining meals, dancing, and other entertainment venues. Or, shop for both when you arrive at one of Napa's fabulous boutiques.
Last but not least, don't forget to bring along a great camera. Napa is filled with incredible photo opportunities, making it the perfect destination for Instagrammers and retirees alike. Save and treasure your memories for life, even after you leave.
Coming to Napa this year? We can't wait to see you! For assistance booking accomodations, or to ask about Napa's many amenities and locations, call Napa Valley Hotels & Suites.


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

using Xamarin.Forms;
using UtahOpenSource.Clients.Portable;
using UtahOpenSource.DataObjects;

namespace UtahOpenSource.Clients.UI
{
    public partial class MiniHacksPage : ContentPage
    {
        MiniHacksViewModel vm;
        public MiniHacksPage()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            BindingContext = vm = new MiniHacksViewModel();
            if (Device.OS == TargetPlatform.Android)
                ListViewMiniHacks.Effects.Add (Effect.Resolve ("Xamarin.ListViewSelectionOnTopEffect"));

            if (Device.OS == TargetPlatform.Windows || Device.OS == TargetPlatform.WinPhone)
            {
                ToolbarItems.Add(new ToolbarItem
                {
                    Text = "Refresh",
                    Icon = "toolbar_refresh.png",
                    Command = vm.ForceRefreshCommand
                });
            }

            ListViewMiniHacks.ItemTapped += (sender, e) => ListViewMiniHacks.SelectedItem = null;
            ListViewMiniHacks.ItemSelected += async (sender, e) =>
                {
                    var hack = ListViewMiniHacks.SelectedItem as MiniHack;
                    if(hack == null)
                        return;

                    await NavigationService.PushAsync(Navigation, new MiniHacksDetailsPage(hack));

                    ListViewMiniHacks.SelectedItem = null;
                };
        }

        protected override void OnAppearing()
        {
            base.OnAppearing();
            if (vm.MiniHacks.Count == 0)
                vm.LoadMiniHacksCommand.Execute(false);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub