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104 New To Me Movies: Austenland(2013)
March 30, 2022 March 30, 2022 / Reenie / Leave a comment
Title: Austenland
Directed By: Jerusha Hess
Written By: Jerusha Hess & Shannon Hale, From the Novel by Shannon Hale
Recommended By: Valerie Hardt, Alessandra Vecino-Gazabon (If you don't know who Aless is read, just…any other era of this blog. She's been pushing this movie on me for YEARS) Also, It's Bridgerton week, and I wanted some Regency fantasy goodness!
Star Rating: 4
Sometimes it feels like there are movies that were just made for me. A quiet, small casted, romantic comedy about Jane Austen fandom, starring Keri Russel, Jennifer Coolidge and Bret McKenzie? DID I MAKE THIS MOVIE UP?
No, I didn't make Austenland up, but I very much enjoyed it. The movie centers around Jane Hayes (Russell), an Austen obsessive who spends her life savings to go to an immersive Austen experience to "get it out of her system" and become a more normal well adjusted person. It gets out of her system pretty quickly, when she realizes that the fantasy she's had all her life is pretty dull. Luckily that dullness is broken by equally bored coachman Martin (McKenzie) and actual chemistry from the experience's resident Darcy, Mr. Nobley (JJ Field). There's a few twists from there, but you can probably guess how this goes.
I loved this movie. It was so nice and fun, and comfy. I'll probably be watching it again at some point.
And of course Jennifer Coolidge is perfect and hilarious as she always is. Oh! And Jane Seymour is also in this movie. And she is also great.
This is a good movie.
What I Was Drinking
I was back to my Sparkling Vouvray. I'd opened a bottle for Bridgerton. 'Twas nice.
104 New To Me Movies: Crimewave 1985
Title: Crimewave
Directed By: Sam Raimi
Written By: Sam Raimi, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen (Yes, those Coens)
Recommended By: Blank Check With Griffin And David
Star Rating: 3.5
Every once in a while, I am reminded that for all of my normal presentation, the country club family weddings, prep school education, summers at the Jersey shore and pink hued cocktails, I'm not actually a normal person. I have a broken nerd brain. And not even an average broken nerd brain. It's one that's broken by years of classic television and movies that my nerdy peers didn't care about.
I was reminded of that as I watched Crimewave because I was utterly delighted by it. It just hit my stupid broken brain in a way that I couldn't explain. It was like a child's imagining of what an old fashioned movie is, with Looney Tunes violence and weird night clubs and strange voices.
It's hard to review or describe Crimewave, because it's not a movie that makes any sense at all. But I was SO HAPPY while I was watching it. And once again, I am just completely floored by Bruce Campbell here playing smarmy heel Renaldo. (Sure he's a heel, but he's not such a bad guy.)
I loved Crimewave, and there are probably only like three people I would recommend watch it and two of them are blood related to me.
Ropiteau Bourgogne Pinot Noir, which is a good strong Pinot Noir, if you're into that sort of thing. I was using to to braise beef, which is why I opened the bottle. It's not my favorite and I probably won't buy it again, but it did it's job.
104 New To Me Movies: Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Title: Driving Miss Daisy
Directed By: Bruce Beresford
Written By: Alfred Uhry, from his Play
Recommended By: Best Picture Winner 1990
Another Best Picture winner with a weird reputation! Here we go. This time it's because it's a movie about a black servant and a cranky old white lady that beat Do The Right Thing easily one of the greatest movies ever made about race relations.
Driving Miss Daisy is…fine. I gave it three stars because it's deeply watchable. It tells the story of an old Jewish widow in Atlanta in the 50s, (Jessica Tandy) who's son (Dan Ackroyd) hires her a driver, Hoke, (Morgan Freeman) when she loses her car insurance, and over the course of the years they bond and grow and don't, and I dunno, it's Atlanta is the 50s, and things kind of suck for both Daisy and Hoke.
Tandy and Freeman are really wonderful in the film, subtly shifting their dynamic as they become more comfortable and as the world changes around them. Ackroyd is also good, and his snotty, trying to assimilate into Christian society wife is played by Patti LuPone, so HEY! It's Patti LuPone! Being kind of bitch! I like that.
Overall it's an interesting character study that isn't particularly great but very easy to watch and somewhat interestingly written. Incredibly well performed.
Just water. I'm fighting a monster cold. No alcohol because then I can't take Nyquil.
104 New To Me Movies: The Evil Dead (1981)
March 22, 2022 March 22, 2022 / Reenie / 1 Comment
Title: The Evil Dead
Written By: Sam Raimi
First and foremost, I understand that The Evil Dead is basically a masterpiece, that it was made for the same amount of money I pay for rent every year and that it's a beautiful tribute to what a buncha kids who just love movies so much can do when they decide to do it.
It also scared the ever loving crap out of me to the point where it took me four days to even start writing this review.
I've gotten better about watching and especially reading horror in the past few years, but deep in my soul, I'm still that girl who found Escape From Witch Mountain too intense in middle school and made my mom pick me up from my friend Laura's sleepover birthday party because I was worried about having nightmares. (I know OK?)
The Evil Dead is about five friends who go to a creepy old cabin in the woods. While there they discover some artifacts that lead to them awakening an ancient evil that takes each of them in turn, save for the heroic and stalwart Ash, played by the legendary Bruce Campbell. Campbell isn't a legend yet, just a kid from Michigan who agreed to be in his high school friend's movie, but he's really great in this. He's vulnerable and kind and strong all at once. It's really impressive.
Anyway, as a film, I give The Evil Dead 4 stars because it's truly a remarkable work. I will never watch it again, because I am a big fraidy cat and I never want to deal with how scared I was from watching a movie again!
I made Blue Hawaiins, because I realized I was this close to being finished with my bottle of Blue Curacao. I'm glad I did because that stuff is disgusting except in this one drink and it was a bottle that took up a bunch of space on the bar.
104 New To Me Movies: Rebecca (1940)
Title: Rebecca
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Written By: Robert E. Sherwood & Joan Harrison, From the Novel by Daphne DeMaurier
"I dreamed last night I went to Manderley again…"
I've reviewed both Daphne DeMaurier's novel and the 2020 adaptation of same. I also knew that Hitchcock's version had a reputation as a "perfect movie" and I was reasonably sure, I'd at least seen the back half on TCM at some point.
This movie rules. It is such a good adaptation of DeMaurier's book. Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier have sexy ass chemistry from their first moment on screen together. Judith Anderson is fantastically creepy as Mrs. Danvers, and obviously, Hitchcock's ability to make even the most mundane feel terrifying just super suits this material.
Rebecca is a tricky story, the horror is so interior and odd. The hero did in fact murder his wife. (Even if it turned out she was manipulating him to do so, so that she wouldn't die of cancer) The heroine is kind of a whiny little mouse. But it's so thrilling and compelling. It's spareness only adds to it's ability to propel you forward through it.
I made frose! Does it go well psychological drama? Kind of! But mostly I was just psyched it's finally warm out. Freeze a cup of rose, squeeze one lemon, add a shot of limoncello and a shot of simple syrup to a blender along with the frozen wine. Blend until smooth.
104 New To Me Movies: The English Patient (1996)
Title: The English Patient
Directed By: Anthony Minghella
Written By: Anthony Minghella
There are very few things that annoy me more than when the film bro consensus is right about a movie. But oh boy, does The English Patient suck.
I should love this movie. It's so much stuff I love. The collapse of the British Empire during World War II, and the ennui of the white people who it's collapse effected, tragic romance, sumptuous costumes and interpersonal drama writ on the world stage.
But this is a bad movie, that actors who I really love are bad in. Ralph Fiennes. Bad in this movie. Willem Dafoe. Bad in This movie. Colin Firth. Bad and UNDERUSED in this movie. Juliette Binoche and Naveen Andrews, pretty good but also underused. (If this movie had been about their characters I would have liked it more.)
It's ploddingly structured, over acted, over edited, and to put insult on to of injury beat Jerry Maguire and Fargo, actual great movies.
I sat on my couch just furious about how bad this was. And that everyone was right about that.
Bellini Chianti, this is a pretty straight forward weekday wine. It's not really my favorite, but I'd made lasagna and it's good for that.
104 New To Me Movies: Chariots Of Fire (1981)
Title: Chariots Of Fire
Directed By: Hugh Hudson
Written By: Collin Welland
The best sports movies aren't about the sport at all. Which is good news for Chariots of Fire because it's about track and track is really really boring. (I say this as a former long distance runner. I love running, but boy is it dull) But Chariots of Fire, which is about the British Olympic track team for 1924. But it's focus is split mainly between Harold Abrahams, who dealt with all that fun casual antisemitism of the era, by becoming driven to be the fastest man alive, and Eric Liddell, a Scottish minister who refuses to run on the Sabbath which is a problem, because that's when his gold medal race is.
It's also about Britain between the wars, class stratification, Gilbert and Sullivan and all kinds of other stuff that's just catnip to me. And it's about sports and the human spirit and how it's lifted up by them. It has a few fun training montages. (One of Abrahams's is set to "He Is An Englishman" from HMS Pinafore!)
It's an effective film and a pretty fun one to watch. I was nervous it was going to be a bit of a slog, since it's famous for beating Raiders Of The Lost Arc in the best picture race. And while it is most certainly, boring in comparison to the most exciting movie ever made, it's not a boring movie.
Borrasca Cava, it seemed like the kind of flick that called for Champagne. I didn't have any champagne, but I did have Cava, which is Spanish champagne. HURRAY!
104 New To Me Movies: The Lost Weekend (1945)
Title: The Lost Weekend
Directed By: Billy Wilder
Written By: Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder from the novel by Charles R. Jackson
I'm a little obsessed with Billy Wilder. If I had to pick any pre 1970s director as a favorite it would be Wilder. He was stylish and clever and fun in a way that I just absolutely love. He made my favorite movie, Sabrina, and a few other greats, you know, like Sunset Boulevard and The Seven Year Itch.
Meanwhile, there's a lot of his movies that I just haven't seen. And this happened to be one of them. Considered the first mainstream depiction of alcoholism that makes it feel real and dangerous, The Lost Weekend also has a lot to say about the sad male artist, (none of it flattering) pride, and redeeming love.
We've got more flashbacks and non linear structure going on here, as Don, the writer in question looks back on how he got to the point where he's pawning his girlfriend's coat to buy a few drinks at the corner bar. We learn about the "two Dons" and how there has to be a way for him to stop drinking.
It's an engrossing film, if a bit didactic. But Wilder does things with the straightforward script and his actors that's just undeniable. He was so good at making even the most archetypal characters feel like real people. And I'm glad to know it.
I didn't drink while watching The Lost Weekend. That would be heinously perverse.
104 New To Me Movies – The Hurt Locker (2008)
March 7, 2022 March 7, 2022 / Reenie / Leave a comment
Title: The Hurt Locker
Directed By: Kathryn Bigelow
Written By: Mark Boeal
I've watched a lot of masterpieces these past two months. And it's been great. The Hurt Locker was always a movie that I've been vaguely embarassed about not seeing. It looks at the Iraq War with nuance! It introduced the world to Anthony Mackie! IT WAS THE FIRST MOVIE A WOMAN WON BEST DIRECTOR FOR!
But, I just hadn't gotten around to it. Since I'm sticking with Best Picture winners for the month, I figured I should. And I'm glad I did. I needed to marinate on it a little bit, but it's an incredible film. It's warm and human in a way I really didn't expect. (Talking about it with friends on Saturday, my friend John said, "Great film, I never need to watch it again." An excellent point that I totally get.)
The Hurt Locker tells the story of a the end of a tour of duty for a bomb squad in Iraq. Jeremy Renner (watching this movie absolutely explains why he is a thing) plays Sergeant Will James, who is basically, addicted to the rush of war, and has never quite been able to make it as a civilian. He's a prodigy at bomb diffusing and not good with people. Anthony Mackie (YEAH!) plays JT Sanborn who is also a good soldier, but much more human, the two clash over a series of episodes in their final month in the desert, before Sanborn decides not to reenlist and James chooses to stick around.
It's a hard movie to sum up, but it's just stunningly made. I developed a small obsession with Bigelow's follow up to this film, Zero Dark Thirty, but this is a much much better made movie. Truly, a masterpiece.
I could of course rant that the first time a woman won Best Director it was for a movie about masculinity and a woman only has like 2 lines, but that's not Kathryn Bigelow or this very very good movie's fault.
For this very male and intense movie, I appropriate drank Grand Sud Rose. It's refreshing and easy to drink and not too sweet. We're hitting spring friends, so it's time for me to just drink all the rose! Get excited!


Conferences, trade fairs, banquets as well as travel all have an impact on the world around us, which we hold ourselves accountable for. Therefore we make a sincere effort to decrease our carbon footprint as much as possible. Sustainable thinking is an important factor to our operation at large.
Our goal is to be at the forefront of sustainable conference facilities in Sweden.
Our goal is to help you create as sustainable arrangement as possible. Regardless if you want help to climate compensate, eco-label your event or consultation we will make sure that you will get the inspiration and guidance that you need.
There are different tools and certifications to choose from depending on the extent and focus of the event. One example of eco-labeling is "Eco-Labeled Event" that the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation has developed.
With the help of a checklist and personal guidance you as the organizer will be able to take more consideration to the environment.
Another way for you to get an overall picture of your sustainability work in planning and implementation is the Sustainable Event tool. This is an online tool, which will give you inspiration and support in your work with sustainability. Beyond your environmental work this tool also includes the social sustainability during planning. This is done by answering questions in the tool during the planning process.
We aim to inspire our general line of business in terms of sustainability, and we try to do so by regularly organizing breakfast seminars on that theme. You will find useful information regarding those seminars under 'Organic breakfast'.
Choose a location with easy access to public transportation, and encourage your attendees to take advantage of it!
Hire local businesses and vendors. Request vehicles that run on renewable fuel. Use bicycle delivery services for short transports.
Choose certified establishments, favour businesses that make an effort to be sustainable. Also make sure they can conveniently accommodate disabled guests.
Oversee your need for printed material/give aways. Choose reusable/recyclable materials for your merchandise and give aways, and recycle as much as you can. Make lanyards and name tags in eco-friendly materials and reuse them if possible!
Make your menu seasonal and offer participants a vegetarian option. Serve tap water instead of bottled water. Request organic/local/certified/fairtrade products.
The purpose of our breakfast seminars is to inspire our line of business to work towards sustainability. The following information is a recap of a few of the seminars we have done in the past, and some that are coming up.
Next breakfast seminar will take place on November 17, it is fully booked but waiting list is available here.
2017-09-08 Sustainability journey with Max Burgers.
Kaj Török and Lars Anderson tell the story of Max's award winning sustainability plan. Photos here.
David JP Phillips gives his lecture on how traditional lectures are undergoing change, followed by trend forecasting with moderator Camilla Zedendahl, president of Kungliga Djurgården's Intressenter. A panel of representatives from Visita, Herr Omar, Hyper Island and Svenska möten etc.
2017-02-10 Good habits – more time!
Kajsa Asp Jonson, dietician and health expert, speaks of prerequisites for efficient meetings from a health perspective.
Kristin Lundén, Sustainability manager, shares how Münchenbryggeriet communicates their sustainability work.
Joel Lindefors of Futerra speaks of the importance of transparency in terms of sustainability work in businesses.
Cecilia Sjöholm of Oatly shares her sustainability story, followed by a panel discussion with representatives from Oatly and Svanen etc.
Sustainability and food waste. Jens Dolk of Restaurang K-märkt shares innovative ideas on how to reduce food waste. Fredrik Holmstedt, Production Manager at Luger, tells the story of the concept of Way Out West, and how to estimate an event's carbon footprint.
How do we make our events more sustainable? Experiences shared by sustainability consultant Simon Strandvik, Jan-Peter Bergqvist of Sleep well, and Yasuragi's Sustainability manager Caroline Strindmar. Followed by a workshop.
Kaj Török of Futerra tells us how to increase sales by offering conscious deals. Panel consists of sustainability consultant Jan Peter Bergkvist, Filippa K's sustainability manager Elin Larsson, and Carola Magnusson of Carola's Eko.
Our restaurant and facilities at large are certified to guarantee our work for sustainability. We strive to exclusively use certified products in our daily operation, including our suppliers and subcontractors.
We constantly work to decrease our carbon footprint, and our facilities all run on electricity from renewable sources such as wind, water and biofuel. To choose certified electricity is one way of caring for our environment, climate, animals, plants and human beings.
We have replaced our table cloths with polyurethane coated table cloths which has reduced our laundry by 37%, not to mention facilitated the task for our staff.
We encourage all methods that help minimize waste, one way in which we contribute is separating our waste. Aproximately 80% of our waste is recycled, and our food waste is composted to be turned into biogas which for instance contributes to the running of our own facility.
Thresholds, elevators, restrooms and meeting rooms – our facilities are all planned out to safely and easily accommodate everyone, regardless of individual needs.
Our team of staff members is our most important resource, and we all do our best to contribute to a place of work to be proud of. We value each other's differences, knowledge and experiences and aim for everyone to thrive, perform well and feel good!
It is our duty to make sure our visitors have a safe and secure experience with us. We achieve this through strict routines, clear directives, surveillance and well trained staff. Your safety is important to us and we continuously update and develop our proceedure.
Our goal is to be Sweden's most sustainable conference venue.
See our sustainability plan below.
We strive to cook with local and organic ingredients as far as possible, and we do our best to meet all dietary needs. Organic house wines and beer are always on the menu. Any food waste is turned into biogas, and our goal is to reduce our food waste by 20% in 2018. We have replaced bottled sparkling water with taps from Still Sparkling to avoid glass consumption, -transportation and -handling.


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Cleora serrata är en fjärilsart som beskrevs av Fletcher 1953. Cleora serrata ingår i släktet Cleora och familjen mätare. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Mätare
serrata

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


"My thinking about intelligent design actually germinated here in the UK [at Cambridge] when I studied …the scientific method of investigating the remote past, which Darwin himself pioneered.
Vaar strides to the desk in a corner of the cylindrical room and waves a hand over the desktop. Lines of Sanskrit appear in the air beside her. Three-dimensional words I can't read. She turns toward my cage.
The ghosts in my veins scramble for their own immortality, not mine. Pointless to let this woman make me a liar.
I grab her wrist with both hands and shoot my feet up the cage wall beneath her arm. The cuffs dig into my forearms.
She doesn't react at all.
I pull her arm further into the cage and twist it counterclockwise.
"What do you ordinarily weigh, a hundred pounds?" Her biceps tense. She lifts me off the floor in the Moon's gravity and slams my feet into the cage ceiling. My ankle cuffs clack against the metal grid. "You're about twenty-pounds up here." She swings me down, slamming my knees on the floor.
I've still got her wrist. Does that surprise her?
I bend at the waist, plant my feet on the cage wall below her shoulder and pull with more force.
She struggles to free her arm but I'm not letting up. She raises the needle gun in her left hand and tries to jab my feet, but the needle hits the metal cage and bends before it finds me.
"You're an ape," she gasps.
I hyperextend her elbow over my hip, trying not to break her bones yet.
Her body thrashes against the cage. She shouts foreign sounds.
A heavy signet ring falls off her middle finger and snaps against the metal floor. It's odd that her fingernails are purple at the bases. So soon. And not just any purple.
There's only one thing I know that turns nail beds that color.
This is our exit pass.
"What do you eat?" I ask her.
"What kind of food do you keep in this tin can?" I pull her shoulder halfway through the grid and twist her arm clockwise. She tries to hide the pain, but can't.
Maxwell's on his feet. He slides his cuffs up, squeezes a hand through the grid and grabs her throat. "Where's the key?" He kicks the cage wall.
"On a line," she says, raising her chin. "Here." With her left hand she finds a silver chain on her neck and pulls it. A dark key comes up, then a small silver one pops up over her sweater and twirls up the chain toward her hand. Maxwell grabs them both and pulls them in, snapping the chain.
Vaar's skullcap falls to the floor.
The full length of her head is unnerving at this range, but it's intrinsically beautiful. The work of an Artist, the grace of the original genetic code. I don't see that sort of thing everywhere. Not in the face of a chimpanzee, for instance, not even the cutest one who ever lived.
The arching buoyancy of Vaar's cranium brings a sense of responsibility for a nearly extinct species.
Maxwell unlocks his cuffs and then the door.
"Get Vedanshi into The Ganga," I shout, pulling Vaar against the cage.
Maxwell runs to Vedanshi's cage.
Keys jingle, but I can't see him through the ivy. Metal slams metal, hopefully a cage door.
Yes! Vedanshi's out. She runs to the dental chair, leans over my brother and tries to wake him.
"Pick him up and get him into The Ganga," I shout at Maxwell as he unlocks Vedanshi's handcuffs.
She puts the side of her head against James chest, wraps her arms around him and lifts him over her shoulder. Her arm isn't broken after all. Sweet.
The alarm cycles through a brief pause and I hear pounding feet.
Vedanshi bolts for The Ganga with James on her shoulder and Maxwell trailing.
"You sure you got him?" he asks.
Double doors beyond the dental chair fly open. Two men in uniform bound in with weapons high, arm's-length. Double-barreled handguns shaped like horseshoes with a grip. Pewter and chrome.
I twist Vaar's wrist and extend her elbow near a breaking point. "Stop your men," I tell her and twist a little more.
"Let 'em go!" she shouts.
Vedanshi reaches The Ganga and flops James on top. She puts her forehead against the hull and covers her ears.
Maxwell faces the two men. They're side by side, six feet from him with weapons trained on his head.
One of them turns and looks at me with small eyes, wide face and no expression. He comes toward me, stops near my cage and aims his gun at me. "How do we proceed?" he asks.
"We got a deal?" I ask Vaar.
"I didn't say I was staying." I dig my nails into her wrist. "I said I'd get your mind up to baseline. We'll be doing it over the phone." She knows I'm not lying. That's my power.
The Ganga's upper hull changes to light blue and James' unconscious body falls through it. Vedanshi looks startled and goes through the hull after him.
Maxwell sees The Ganga waking up, but holds his ground and looks across the room at me.
"Get in that thing!" I yell at him.
The Ganga disappears, then an instant later, Maxwell vanishes in mid-stride.
She purses her lips, nits her brow, draws a breath and Venus appears in a sky that's silver with stars. My feet shoot out and my hands hit my chin. The cuffs are gone.
Maxwell's arms must have been straight out, ready to catch me, but it's not a catch. More of a perfect landing.
I can't help these feelings now, looking into his eyes. I could almost kiss him. On the mouth, I mean. But it's dangerous. He's used to beautiful girls with really long legs. He must be, right?
He puts me down gently. The texture of The Ganga's carpet is comforting.
The surface of the Moon zips beneath the carpet and I see a crater with a vertical cylinder in the center. It looks manmade.
James is still out, but Maxwell is bright-eyed for the first time today.
I check my pockets for his pills and feel them retreating from my fingers when I pinch the plastic bag. I should throw them away.
Vedanshi's on her knees beside James. She puts her forehead against his chin, then kisses his lips.
"Vedanshi?" I say in my head, wondering if she can hear.
"If I had lips, I'd kiss him, too," The Ganga says.
"They're too young," I say.
I think that's a sign of free will. Amazing. But I'm more concerned about my leukemia. And all the ancient cures Vedanshi can read to me now! I want to live long enough to do something meaningful.
The Moon shrinks beneath us, then moves in an arc above and behind. At the same time, the Earth grows to fill the space out front.
Free will. I wonder… "Does your brain have hemispheres?" I ask The Ganga.
That makes sense. No white matter, so no corpus callosum. In that case, you wouldn't expect there'd be a job for a corpus callosum, such as connecting two hemispheres.
But what's that like? To have no dual interpenetrating awareness?
There's a PhD neuroanatomist, Jill Bolte Taylor, who lost her left cerebral hemisphere to a bleeder near Broca's and Wernicke's language centers.
She was 37 when she became a right hemispheric "infant," but she lived to climb back. Eight years, it took. The experience gave her insight into the peaceful mood of the right hemisphere and its overarching vision of unified reality.
Marisa Peer tells of a depressed actor who wrote "I am enough" on every mirror in his house. It pulled him from the Vice-Grips of depression.
Doctor Taylor implores her friends to "run the deep inner peace circuitry of our right cerebral hemispheres." For personal and world peace, she says. Anxiety, harsh self-judgement and fear come from the linear Story Teller we identify as the self. But it's a small part of who we are, a part that needs the calming joy of the right hemisphere. A part that needs to be quieted by giving attention to the concrete senses of our bodies in the present moment. Breathing. Listening. Relaxing the scowl and jaw muscles. Yoga. Ti Chi. Drawing Angels with profound names.
So the corpus callosum could be the Einstein-Rosen Bridge from yoga to nirvana. I know wormholes, but I need Vedanshi for the yoga.
I risk a sideways glance. Her mouth is still inches from James' lips.
His eyes flutter and begin to open.
"I was 13," she says to him.
Maxwell's abdominal muscles shiver against me in a prolonged one-arm hug that I'll never forget… no matter how hard I try.
"My boy's coming around," Maxwell says.
Vedanshi sits up, crosses her legs, puts her hands together and bows her head.
Here's a link to page 1 of this ongoing story: Hapa Girl DNA.
Be sure to click on the orange words in the story. They're links. Some of them blew me away. Outbound links are, of course, suicide to a website because people leave and don't come back. That's the opposite of traffic. So try to come back if you can. Or maybe read the story first and then go back and click on the links? I don't know. Maybe links are dumb in a story, but I had to show you all this amazing stuff. Truth is stranger than fiction, for sure.
If you're a new writer, or curious about my take on things, download my new aging e-book, Writing Meaningful Page-Turners, here. The last chapter talks about how to meet a viewpoint character who will add joy to your writing process and new meaning to your life. For me, it felt magical meeting Johanna Fujiwara for the first time, years ago. My fiction writing became a pleasure. If you haven't met someone in your stories who does that for you, there's an amazing experience waiting in your imagination. My e-book might help you there.
To comment, please ignore the boxes that ask for your info. Sorry. I disabled them, but WordPress says I can't get rid of them. Maybe I'll go back to the free versions of WordPress that don't have communication killers. It would save three hundred bucks a year.


The D-backs take on the Padres in the third game of this four-game set Saturday night at Petco Park. Zack Godley (13-6, 4.20 ERA) will get the start for the D-backs, and the right-hander has been on a roll of late. Over his last three starts, he is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and has held opposing hitters to a .183 mark in those games. The Padres will counter with Clayton Richard (7-10, 4.98).
Who`s leading the crowded NL MVP Award race?


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Home Guest Columns T&I Committee Rejects Truck Weight Reform
T&I Committee Rejects Truck Weight Reform
by FRA, Neil Ward
On February 2, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee amended and reported out its Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, known formally as the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (HR 7), striking out, by amendment, language which would have authorized states to have the right to opt in to a 97,000-pound / 6-axle configuration for conventional semi-trucks, the terms FRA and our allies in other organizations and coalitions had advocated. The amendment to strike the provision authorizing truck weight (and truck size) flexibility, which T&I Chairman John Mica (R-Florida) had included in the Chairman's Mark, substitutes a provision for a three-year study of the safety and road-and-bridge wear impacts of a variety of size and weight configurations, as well as any changes in patterns of freight hauling, which such changes might bring about.
This amendment, introduced by Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pennsylvania) and Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Illinois), was an obvious attempt by railroads and certain aligned interests to put trucking productivity reform beyond the reach of policymakers for as long as possible.
For those who observed the 18-hour mark-up of the 800+-page House bill (via webcast), the half-hour debate over the size-and-weight provision was clearly the most hotly disputed "lightning rod." Our champions in the House, defending the Chairman's Mark language—Representatives MikeMichaud (D-Maine), Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), Bud Shuster (R-Pennsylvania), Don Young (R-Alaska), Frank LoBiondo (R-New Jersey), Reid Ribble (R-Wisconsin), and Frank Guinta (R-New Hampshire)—reiterated that the question of the impacts of truck weight reform had accumulated an objectively formulated body of study, based on both theory and practical observation, that left very few points of uncertainty about impacts. Rep. Michaud pointed to the 33% decline in truck-related accidents during Maine's 2010 "pilot" program, as well as to the similar results of the 2006 observations of a similar configuration in the United Kingdom. Rep. Costello inaccurately characterized these studies, and the affirmative studies conducted by the Wisconsin and Minnesota Departments of Transportation, as "industry funded" and stated that he could match them up with studies demonstrating the opposite—without, however, venturing to cite them.
The amendment to substitute this study for truck size-and-weight reform passed the Committee by a vote of 33 to 22. Individual Committee members' votes on this Amendment ("Yea" means substituting a three-year study; "Nay" means including reform in the House bill) are presented in this document.
In addition to the all-out campaign against trucking productivity on the part of rail, several factors contributed to this setback:
The Committee's decision to introduce truck weight and truck size reform into a single provision gave Rep. Costello the opportunity to project images of triple-trailer trucks "as long as a 737-700 aircraft" and imprint that allegation against the case for truck weight reform, which does not change a semi-truck's configuration, apart from the introduction of the additional axle.
The Committee draft's proposal to delegate to the Secretary of Transportation the responsibility to set an appropriate user fee for trucks under the program may have alarmed some conservative Committee members who feared giving a Cabinet officer authority, in essence, to set a vehicle use tax.
The spectacle of well-informed Committee members referencing credible studies, and Rep. Costello's disputing them, and hearsay statements from other Committee members about configurations that may or may not be in common use in other parts of the world, as well as the absence of members able to cite studies in support of the long-combination-vehicle configuration, served to create a spectacle of confusion that gave wavering members the cover they needed to vote to commission a study that is supposed to put all skepticism to rest.
However, the most significant factor influencing acceptance of this disastrous amendment was the railroad lobby, which is well-funded and views improved trucking productivity as a threat to its monopoly domination of certain marginal routes, in which more productive trucks might create competitive pressures. In order to preserve that domination, it has established and funded a "front group," Coalition Against Bigger Trucks, which disingenuously claims to represent the public interest.
On the day before the Committee vote, February 1, over 150 pro-trucking people, including FRAmembers, Coalition for Transportation Productivity members, AgHaul members, and American Trucking Associations members, covered Capitol Hill, making congressional contacts, arguing the case for trucking productivity, and obtaining statements of commitment from House offices. At the same time, in the hallways and elevators, our team met members of the rail lobby putting their influence at work, including the significant tactic of shuttling around local law-enforcement officials claiming to speak for a rubber-meets-road expertise on truck safety.
What's next for truck weight reform?
Short of waiting for the outcome of the study—which may be three years out but more likely five, since more than a literature review is called for—FRA and our allies are considering several options.
Working with the Committee leadership to intervene meaningfully during consideration of the Surface Transportation Bill on the House Floor later this month. For various reasons—including the ideological composition of the House Rules Committee, which would influence that option—working for significant improvements by that means would be both difficult and risky, but the option is not yet off the table.
Monitoring the progress of the House bill, whatever its outcome on the Floor, in conference with the Senate. Depending on the fortunes of that process—which may render a five-year bill, a two-year bill, or failure to agree—new timelines and policy parameters may emerge.
Continuing to promote the benefits of the provisions of the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act and identifying other policy venues.
At a minimum, we strongly urge all FRA members to continue to advocate the provisions of the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (HR 763 / S 747) in anticipation of a new opportunity.
Neil Ward is the Vice-President of Public Affairs for the Forest Resources Association that represents diverse segments of the wood fiber supply chain, promoting forest products industry members' ability to compete successfully in the global marketplace.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
HomeNewsNewsArticles
Press Releases Connected Business
Lockdown leading to lasting business change, new figures suggest
The coronavirus lockdown is causing lasting changes to the way UK companies operate, new figures from the Institute of Directors suggest.
In a survey of hundreds of business leaders, four out of ten said their organisation had made adjustments that they intend to keep in place after lockdown. Increased working from home and a greater focus on digital services were common actions directors expected to continue in the long term.
Businesses have been innovating in response to the lockdown, with almost one in six of those polled reporting that they had launched a new product or service due to the circumstances. The majority of these were related to the country's medical response, from producing hand gel to procuring PPE.
Meanwhile, with digital skills being put under pressure like never before, more than a third of those surveyed were likely to use the next three months to pursue online training for their staff.
Edwin Morgan, Director of Policy at the Institute of Directors, said:
"The coronavirus crisis is throwing up colossal challenges for business, but directors are nothing if not adaptable. Lockdown means few businesses can operate as they used to and, as a result, many companies are finding a way to innovate through the obstacles. The solutions they create might just end up becoming the new normal.
"Some changes, such as distancing on production lines or providing PPE to staff are virus-related necessities, but others, in particular making services digital and more flexible working, bring benefits of their own. With it looking likely that restrictions will continue in some form for months, more and more directors will fundamentally change their business models.
"The country's digital and management skills are under the spotlight, and despite everything, there is still appetite among businesses to help their people continue developing. The government has a role to play here. The Department for Education has moved quickly with its new Skills Toolkit, but there are other steps that should be considered like helping firms use untapped Apprenticeship Levy funds on shorter-form digital courses."
Full survey results
Survey conducted between 17-24 April 2020
Which, if any, of the following apply to your organisation due to the lockdown? (464 respondents)
We have adapted to provide a different product/service, specifically related to the medical response to coronavirus
We have adapted to provide a different product/service, specifically unrelated to the medical response to coronavirus
We have made changes to enable us to continue our existing products/services that we intend to continue after lockdown ends
Over the next three months, how likely are you to pursue online professional development courses for your employees? (1003 respondents)
Quite likely
Quite unlikely
Tags Policy
Contact Press Office
Euan Holmes, Press Officer
@IoD_press
An error has occurred. Error: Related articles is currently unavailable.


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Are you using power when you don't need to? Even small changes to your habits can add up to savings on your electric bill. For more ways to save, visit our Saving Energy Center.
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text:
/**
 *
 * textSummarizer.test.js
 *
 * This module tests by running through the text in the sampleText.txt file
 * through the text summarizer, provides a default threshold value of 0.1
 * and checks that the length of the summarized version is less than the
 * original.
 *
 */

const fs = require('fs');
const { TextSummarizer } = require('./../lib-es6/textSummarizer');

fs.readFile('tests/sampleText.txt', 'utf8', (err, data) => {
    if (err) {
        return console.log(err);
    }

    const summary = TextSummarizer.summarize(data, 0.1);
    console.log(`Original Length: ${data.length}`);
    console.log(` Summary Length: ${summary.length}`);
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Samsung Family Hub Fridge Freezer features internal cameras that let you see inside the appliance even when you're away from home. Every time the door is closed, the cameras will snap an image so you can view exactly what's in the fridge.
You can even set expiry dates for food on the images, so you'll know what's still fresh. The image will be available on your Samsung SmartThings app, which means you can quickly check the fridge while you're out shopping.
To make life even easier, you can also do your shopping directly from the touchscreen, letting you manage your food without even leaving the house.
Make your kitchen a real family hub - the Samsung RF56M9540SR/EU Smart Fridge Freezer connects to 2015 Samsung TV models (6400 and above), allowing you to mirror your TV screen on its touchscreen display. Watch your favourite cooking shows while you're making dinner.
There are more than 100,000 radio stations available, and 100 million downloads available on the Play store - you'll always find something to dance around the kitchen to.
Make a shopping list directly from your fridge, then access it from the Samsung Smart Home app while you're at the store. You'll be able to add items using the touchscreen, or using voice commands - perfect for when your hands are full.
You'll always know what's going on thanks to the calendar - add notes and reminders or even share pictures with the family.
The bottom right-hand compartment can be changed to suit the type of food you're storing at the touch of a button. This large compartment can be converted to act as an additional fridge compartment, a chill compartment (-1°C), a soft freeze compartment (-5°C) or a freezer.
You can be sure of precise temperatures across all compartments of the Family Hub thanks to the Triple Cooling System, which maintains optimal humidity levels and keeps your food fresher for longer.
The Samsung Family Hub features Bluetooth, so you can wirelessly connect it to compatible multi-room speakers and bring powerful sound to the TV programme or radio station you're enjoying from the fridge freezer.
Want your new appliance up and running? Experts from our service-partner Team Knowhow are at the ready. Simply select Let's install it and they'll provide the right connection for your purchase.
Our delivery service includes bringing your boxed fridge freezer to the room where you want it. If it must come out its box to get through doorways, tight turns or narrow corridors, you'll need our installation service.


text:
There is not a Buddha statue on Mars (probably)
It's so clear. (NASA/JPL-CalTech/MSSS)
Rachel Feltman
Freelancer, Editor at Popular Science Magazine
Oct. 19, 2015 at 3:53 p.m. UTC
One day I'll wake up and decide I'm done responding to crazy alien conspiracies from the Internet, but today is not that day.
The latest: A new shot of Mars, courtesy of NASA, ostensibly shows some kind of godlike figure, hewn from Martian stone.
Basically, someone thinks they spotted a naked lady on Mars. Again.
What, you don't see it? Let's zoom in.
No? Okay.
Long story short, if you zoom way, way, way in and squint, this kind of looks like a person. According to UFO bloggers, it's a relic from an ancient, intelligent civilization on Mars. Worth noting: Even on the UFO conspiracy Web site, some commentors are pointing out that this one is a bit of a stretch.
Most of you probably realize that this is just another case of pareidolia -- the human brain's tendency to find patterns where there are none.
[Stephen Hawking announces $100 million hunt for alien life]
That doesn't mean there was never life on Mars. In fact, recent evidence has made a pretty solid case for liquid water on the planet, which means it could at least hypothetically support some kind of microbial life. It's likely that Mars was once much wetter than it is now, so we really can't rule out something having evolved and survived there at one time.
Why would NASA cover up the existence of giant, humanoid statues on Mars when such structures would no doubt get the agency all the funding and public support it needs to launch a crewed mission there?
READ MORE STUFF THAT ISN'T PROOF OF ALIENS:
No, we haven't discovered alien megastructures around a distant star
Why NASA's top scientist is sure that we'll find signs of alien life in the next decade
The 'alien' found in a Russian nuclear power plant is not an alien, guys
The Curiosity rover spotted a 'floating spoon' on Mars
Mars once had great lakes and rivers, according to rover data


Chocolate brown and soft lambsuede crossover bag with braided strap.
I decided to use a beautifull wool and silk fabric from a man suit jacket as a linning.
There are two pocket inside the bag which are the original pockets from the jacket.
There is also one outside pocket which closes with a magnetic closure. This pocket is an original pocket from the jacket.
The handmade strap is made out of a braided leather belt and makes the bag to a crossbody.


Simple and essential, these onyx ear climbers are made in a minimalist style that is also very feminine. Each ear climber is made with a single piece of recycled Sterling silver wire that has been balled up with a torch and polished and filed by hand. The gemstone beads, 4 for each ear climber, are held in place by the shape of the earring, not by glues or other chemicals.
The ear cuffs modeled in the last picture is not part of the pair for sale. It is a slightly smaller ear vine with only 3 onyx beads instead of 4 (a model that is also listed on this site).


Have you accumulated so much debt during the course of the year that you avoid phone calls from private numbers to dodge one of the many creditors hunting you down after the festive season?
Burying your head in the sand is not a solution and will not make your debt disappear!
Thami Cele, Head of Savings & Investments at Absa Retail Banking explains, "The festive season should be a time for fun, laughter and happiness. Sadly, it is also the season where many consumers fall even deeper into debt by making the most common financial mistakes".
Below are some festive season financial tips that you can use throughout the year to ensure that you aren't adding to your debt.
Prioritise your expenses – Your bills need to be paid whether you celebrate the festive season in style or not. Avoid a situation where you have spent all your money on unnecessary items, prior to paying your essential bills such as your bond, school fees, debit orders, investments and clothes. Put away the money you need as soon as you receive it; or better yet, pay the necessary bills as soon as you can. This way you will be able to identify how much 'festive' money you have with the comfort of knowing that your day-to-day bills have been paid.
Avoid credit cards or purchasing on account – Were you tempted to increase your purchasing limit during the festive season? Keep in mind that the money you are spending is credit and does not belong to you and you will have to pay it back. Do you really want to start the new year drowning in debt? Tip: make sure you understand exactly how the interest-free period on your credit card works, so you can avoid paying interest.
Save towards your festive season (or any big) expenses – Have you ever thought about putting money away each month, starting in January, saving towards the next festive season or big holiday? If you put aside R600 a month from January to November, you will have R6 600 to spoil yourself and your family. And, if you put this money into a savings vehicle, you will add interest to the amount saved.
Maximise your bonus – You have become accustomed to living on your monthly salary and whilst some months may be tougher than others, you somehow make ends meet. When December rolls around and you are rewarded with a bonus, be clever – don't squander it but rather stick to your planned budget, invest your bonus or use it to pay off your debt.
"You work long hours and you deserve to treat yourself. But, this can be done sensibly and in a way that will allow you to start a new year without any financial stress. By being sensible about your spending habits and following the above-mentioned tips, financial mistakes can be avoided and you can enjoy any holiday season without it ending on a low," concludes Thami.