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Tag: Newt Gingrich
Sacred Beliefs Here and There
Now that Newt Gingrich has suspended his campaign for president, I hope he will have more time to write and think about policies. I read his last column in Human Events and I am afraid that Newt simply does not understand the difference between sacred beliefs in Afghanistan and here in America and why those beliefs must be respected there but not here.
The Obama administration may have adopted a formula that will come back to haunt it.
In an effort to appease religious elements in Afghanistan it has established a standard that could become a major defeat for secular extremists here in America.
In response to Afghan outrage over the inadvertent Koran burnings by the U.S. Military in February, the Obama Defense Department created a mandatory training for military service members in the region. It is entitled, "Proper handling and disposal of Islamic Religious Materials: Service Members/Civilian Training."
You can read the 11 slides in the briefing here.
The most fascinating slide is the last one. There the Obama administration asserts: "We will hold sacred the beliefs held sacred by others."
Apparently to President Obama, the sacred beliefs of Islam in Afghanistan must be held sacred by the U.S. government, but Christianity in America is a nuisance to be reshaped by ObamaCare, the courts and the bureaucracy with no regard for its beliefs.
Americans are noticing. Consider this protest from a Catholic group as reported to me by my friend and co-author Bill Forstchen:
"Without doubt the most powerful ad, aimed straight at Catholics, to take a political stand based upon our most basic beliefs. This one is incredible and you know I rarely forward such things."
You can see the video here.
The ObamaCare war against religious liberty extends far beyond Catholics. As the president of Louisiana College, a Baptist college dedicated to right-to-life principles told me, "If Obamacare forces us to violate our religious beliefs we will close the college."
Let's challenge President Obama's assertion that "We will hold sacred the beliefs held sacred by others".
If we must hold sacred Korans being used by Afghan terrorists to pass messages back and forth, then certainly we can hold sacred religious symbols held sacred by law-abiding Americans here in the United States. We can put back up the crosses and the Ten Commandments courts have forced us to take down—right?
If President Obama doesn't object to Afghan children praying five times a day in school (he cited his own childhood memories of studying the Koran at school in Indonesia and hearing the call to prayer), why isn't he open to allowing American school children to pray once a day, if they choose?
By its own words the Obama administration has set the test for defining itself.
Is Obama prepared to "hold sacred the beliefs held sacred by others" if those others are Americans?
Congress should put President Obama to the test and him to his new rule—first by passing legislation overriding the Health and Human Services Mandate that was an overt attack on the Catholic Church.
Silly Newt. There is a very good reason that religious beliefs in Afghanistan must be respected while in America we are free to disparage and ridicule them. You see Christians don't usually blow people up when they are disrespected. Moslems have been known to do that.
Koran burning: Taliban calls for revenge as Obama apologizes (rt.com)
Second day of protests in Afghanistan over burning of Koran (telegraph.co.uk)
Let the Wookie Win (David's Commonplacebook)
Author David HoffmanPosted on 3 May 2012 Categories Politics, Religion of Peace, Tongue in Cheek, What's HappeningTags Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Christianity, Islam, Newt Gingrich, obama, Obama administration, religion, United StatesLeave a comment on Sacred Beliefs Here and There
Santorum's Out
Rick Santorum ended his campaign today.
After calling Mitt Romney to concede the race for the Republican nomination, Rick Santorum suspended his campaign Tuesday during a press conference in Pennsylvania, his home state.
"We will suspend our campaign effective today," Santorum said surrounded by members of his family in Gettysburg.
Santorum spent the weekend off the campaign trail with his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder, after she was rushed to the hospital Friday.
"We made a decision over the weekend that, while this presidential race for us is over, for me, and we will suspend our campaign effective today, we are not done fighting," he said. (Yahoo News)
Since Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are behind Santorum, it looks as if Romney will be the Republican candidate for president. He is not the one I would have preferred and I am not sure he can beat Obama, but I will vote for him and do what I can to see he is elected. I hope that every Conservative will do likewise. It might be tempting to hope Romney loses in the expectation of getting a more truly Conservative candidate in 2016, but I don't think this country can recover from another four years of Barack Obama.
Rick Santorum Drops out of Presidential Race (ferrellgummit.wordpress.com)
Santorum suspends campaign (theesposito.com)
Santorum Ends Campaign "Family Decision" He Says (thepracticalvegetarian.wordpress.com)
Author David HoffmanPosted on 10 Apr 2012 Categories Politics, What's HappeningTags mitt romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul4 Comments on Santorum's Out
Romney won big in Illinois, Obama's home state. Second place Santorum didn't come close. Romney now has 560 delegates compared to Santorum's 246, Gingrich with 141 and Paul with 66. I wouldn't declare Romney the nominee just yet but since he has more delegates than the rest combined, it is beginning to look that way.
Mitt Romney widens lead with victory in Illinois (independent.co.uk)
Romney wins Illinois GOP presidential primary (newsok.com)
Author David HoffmanPosted on 22 Mar 2012 Categories Politics, What's HappeningTags Illinois, mitt romney, Newt Gingrich, Republicans, Rick SantorumLeave a comment on Illinois
Alabama, Mississippi, and Hawaii
Rick Santorum won Alabama and Mississippi with Gingrich in second and Romney in third. After his Super Tuesday wins, this must be really frustrating. He did win in Hawaii, though, and he is far ahead in total delegates. Romney is the likely nominee but we're not making it easy for him.
Romney Wins Hawaii and American Samoa, Santorum Wins Alabama and Mississippi (themoderatevoice.com)
You: Rick Santorum sweeps Mississippi and Alabama in blow for Mitt Romney (guardian.co.uk)
Author David HoffmanPosted on 14 Mar 2012 Categories Politics, What's HappeningTags Alabama, Hawaii, Mississippi, mitt romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum3 Comments on Alabama, Mississippi, and Hawaii
I know it's late but I have been busy. Anyway, Romney won Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. Santorum won Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Gingrich won Georgia and South Carolina. Romney clearly won the most states and he did better in the south than I might have expected. The fact that Gingrich only won his native Georgia and South Carolina signals that his candidacy is essentially finished.Santorum did well, almost winning in Ohio, but I don't think he will be able to compete with Romney much longer. Still, the fact that he only got 60% of the vote in Virginia with Ron Paul as his only other competitor shows how many Republicans would rather somebody else were the frontrunner
As far as delegates go, Romney now has 429, Santorum has 169, Gingrich 118, and Paul 67. They need 1144 to win, so the race is not over just yet, but I think Romney is all but certain to be the nominee.
How Would Santorum Do Without Gingrich? (fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com)
CBSNews.com: Romney carries 5 states, Santorum 3 (donny-wise.com)
The big loser on Super Tuesday was Newt Gingrich (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
Author David HoffmanPosted on 8 Mar 2012 Categories Politics, What's HappeningTags mitt romney, Newt Gingrich, Republicans, Ron Paul, Santorum, Super TuesdayLeave a comment on Super Tuesday
Momittum
I have been remiss in not mentioning the results of the primaries this week. Mitt Romney won all three, Michigan and Arizona on Tuesday and the Wyoming caucus on Wednesday. Santorum was second but Romney won by a comfortable enough margin. He leads on delegates too, with 154 versus Santorum's 69, Gingrich's 33 and Paul's 26. I guess Romney is the inevitable nominee, at least for now. Super Tuesday is next week and we'll see what happens.
Mitt Romney Wins GOP Wyoming Caucus (thehollywoodgossip.com)
What's at stake on Super Tuesday (dailykos.com)
Michigan Primary Results: Mitt Romney Ekes Out Win Over Rick Santorum, Carries Arizona as Well (thehollywoodgossip.com)
Author David HoffmanPosted on 2 Mar 2012 Categories Politics, What's HappeningTags mitt romney, Newt Gingrich, Republicans, Rick SantorumLeave a comment on Momittum
Romney Wins Maine Caucus
Now it's time for Romney to win one. This one being the Maine caucus. He won 39% of the vote with Pon Paul in second place with 36%. Romney also managed to win the CPAC straw poll with 38% against Santorum's 31%. By number of delegates, which is the only number that really matters,Romney is way ahead with 98 delegates. Santorum is in second place with 44, Gingrich in third with 32 and Paul last with 20.
There is some question whether or not this long, hard-fought primary campaign is good or bad for the GOP. I have a feeling that the millions of dollars these candidates are spending to attack each other might be better spent against Obama. Still, it's a whole lot more interesting this way.
Mitt Romney Wins CPAC Straw Poll (mediaite.com)
Mitt Romney Wins Maine Caucus (timesunion.com)
Santorum: Romney May Have Rigged CPAC Vote (outsidethebeltway.com)
Author David HoffmanPosted on 13 Feb 2012 Categories Politics, What's HappeningTags Conservative Political Action Conference, Maine, mitt romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Ron PaulLeave a comment on Romney Wins Maine Caucus
Romney Wins Florida
I should have posted on this yesterday, but I was out of town all day. Anyway Romney won the Florida primary by a fairly large margin. He got 46.4% of the vote to Gingrich's 31.9% and Santorum's 13.3%. The pundits and commentators have all had their say and I don't have much to add. I would like to point out the gender gap that really hurt Gingrich. As Dick Morris put it,
Here's the reason Mitt Romney won in Florida: Women turned against Newt. In the primary Tuesday, Romney carried men by only 5 points, according to the Fox News exit poll, while he won women 52 percent to 28 percent — a 24-point margin!
Did women turn against Gingrich because of his personal baggage or the interview with his second ex-wife? Did they just dislike his aggressiveness or feel that he couldn't win? We don't know. But what we do know is that a gender gap that was not much in evidence in South Carolina surfaced with a vengeance one week later in Florida.
Some theorize that it took a few days for Marianne Gingrich's allegations to sink in. Others suggest that women might just have gotten an uneasy feeling about Gingrich. But the fact that the gender gap led to Newt's defeat is incontrovertible.
I think this will become a real problem for Newt Gingrich in future primaries and the general election. I think that a lot of women will look at Newt and his three marriages and be reminded of all the selfish or immature men in their lives.
It would be one thing if Gingrich's indiscretions were nothing more than a quiet affair. His divorces and infidelities suggest a lack of constancy, an unwillingness to follow through on commitments, even a lack of self-discipline that could be fatal in a President. His actions say something about him, and not something good.
Florida Women Remember That Newt Gingrich is a Dick [Politics] (jezebel.com)
Mitt Romney: Newt Gingrich never calls to congratulate (kaystreet.wordpress.com) He also gives the impression that he is a sore loser.
Author David HoffmanPosted on 2 Feb 2012 9 Nov 2012 Categories My Life, Politics, What's HappeningTags Florida, Gingrich, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum1 Comment on Romney Wins Florida
A Appeal from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
I continue to get fund-raising e-mails from the Democrats. Here is one of the latest from last week.
President Obama just laid out his path for America. Last night, the Republican presidential candidates laid out quite another.
We can fight like mad to help the president lead our nation toward economic fairness. Or we can let Newt and Mitt seize the White House and Congress – and hand it over to the 1%.
Economic fairness? That's a dirty word to them. Middle class families? Fend for yourselves. Mitt would pay NO TAXES under Newt's plan. None.
Which plan will you choose: President Obama's, or radical Republican's? Our FEC deadline is 7 days from now, and we still need $444,000. If we fall short, President Gingrich takes the oath of office before a Republican-controlled Congress. And America's middle class will be finished.
Decision time. Can you chip in $5 to stop a total Republican takeover?
President Obama said it best tonight: "We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules."
I'm not willing to settle. No way will I allow these fanatics to undo all Democrats have accomplished in the past three years – or the past century, for that matter. Please give what you can, and join me in the fight.
Guy Cecil
Executive Director, DSCC
I am not sure which is the more disturbing thought; that people like Guy Cecil are cynical enough to believe (probably correctly) that the majority of Americans are simple enough to fall for this sort of nonsense, or that they really believe it. Their idea of "fairness" seems to be to take from the people they think have too much and give to the people, generally their supporters, who have too little.
If Obama wants to know why a growing number of Americans are just getting by, he can look in a mirror. I also think it is a little strange that the man who hands out waivers from his policies and subsidies to green businesses while canceling the Keystone Pipeline should speajk of everybody getting a fair hot and playing by the same set of rules.
I wonder if the Republican fund raising letters are this stupid and dishonest. I imagine so, but perhaps they do not exhibit quite the level of ignorance of economics.
Here are some excerpts from an email I just recieved.
There are a lot of Americans asking the same question right now: are these Republicans kidding?
Corporations are people? The way to create jobs is to give rich people more money? Super PACs decide who gets elected?
I'm not buying it, and I don't think you are either. But our skepticism is not enough — especially in a world where the Koch Brothers have $43 billion to throw at us. We need strong People-Powered campaigns to call out all these Tea Party Republicans, for trying to destroy the middle class in the country we all love.
I was under the impression that the Tea Parties were made up of middle class Americans. And, who else is going to create jobs but rich people. Maybe if they were able to keep more of their own money, and were not punished for getting ahead, there would be more jobs available.
This isn't just about hitting the DCCC's $500,000 grassroots goal, before tomorrow night's deadline.
This is about the 22 million people in this country who can't find a full-time job. This is about the 50 million people in this country who can't see a doctor when they're sick. This is about the 47 million people in this country who need government help to feed themselves (and no, Newt, the answer isn't to demonize them).
The Republicans sure won't help the jobless, the homeless, the sick, the poor and the hungry. So that job falls to us. We need champions in Congress who will fight for the middle class, and everyone aspiring to get there.
Suggesting that government policies encourage people to be able to take care of themselves rather than encouraging lifelong dependence on the government is not really demonizing them. I suppose it all depends on just how you define help and whether you want the American people to be free and independent or government serfs depending on handouts from their lord and masters.
By the way, whose fault is it if so many people can't find a full time job? Who has been in the White since 2009? Who had control of both houses of Congress from 2007 until 2011, and who still has control of the Senate?
Author David HoffmanPosted on 30 Jan 2012 30 Jan 2012 Categories Idiocracy, PoliticsTags Barack Obama, Democratic, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, mitt romney, Newt Gingrich, RepublicansLeave a comment on A Appeal from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Mitt or Newt?
Here is a cartoon in USA Today that neatly illustrates the dilemma I feel about the two frontrunners for the Republican nomination.
I feel like a woman who must choose between two lovers. Mitt is the nice, dependable boyfriend. He seem to be the steadier, safer of the two. Newt is the bad boy. He is more exciting, but maybe more dangerous. I should prefer the safer choice. But, I keep having the nagging feeling that these are not the times for safety.
Meanwhile, Ann Coulter has been spending the last few columns promoting Romney. She clearly has no use for Newt Gingrich. She makes a good case but the truth is that neither man is clearly superior in terms of Conservative credentials or even, I think, electability. Coulter is right in noting that Gingrich is far more the Washington insider than Romney, but that isn't really the point. Romney is the clear favorite of the Republican establishment, whoever that might be exactly, simply because they feel he is more electable. They may well be correct, but they really haven't had a stellar record in picking winners in the past.
Coulter concludes her column with this observation.
Romney is the most electable candidate not only because it will be nearly impossible for the media to demonize this self-made Mormon square, devoted to his wife and church, but precisely because he is the most conservative candidate.
No, it won't be impossible for the media to demonize this Mormon. The Mormons have a number of beliefs and practices that to non-Mormons seem weird or even cultish. There are certain aspects of the history of the LDS church that are not very positive. Something like that could perhaps be said of any religion, which is why decent people today do not mock other peoples' religions. The liberals in the media feel no such decency. The only religion they are reluctant to criticize is Islam and that is out of cowardice. They have never forgiven the Mormon church for supporting Proposition 8 in Califoria This is, of course, no reason not to vote for Romney, but if he ends up being the nominee, we had better be prepared for media exposes of the Mormons and late night comedians making jokes about magic underwear.
Also, for a look for what might have been, check out Mitch Daniel's response to Obama's State of the Union address.
I wish he had chosen to run.
Quote of the Day: Ann Coulter Argues for Romney and Against Gingrich (themoderatevoice.com)
Pastor Introducing Newt: Mormonism Is A "Cult" That Had "Death Squads" (alan.com) They actually did! That was over 150 years ago and they have mellowed considerably since then.
Author David HoffmanPosted on 26 Jan 2012 Categories PoliticsTags Ann Coulter, Mitch Daniel, mitt romney, Mormon, Newt GingrichLeave a comment on Mitt or Newt?
David's Commonplace Book Blog at WordPress.com.


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Q: Salesforce internal server error - SSO through OAuth 2.0 external provider I am configuring Single Sign On for my application through OAuth 2.0 server.
I used the next recommendations:
https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sso_provider_plugin_custom.htm&type=5#plugin_setup
Following this link I created my custom Auth. Provider which uses:
1. CustomPlugin extends Auth.AuthProviderPluginClass
2. CustomRegistrationHandler implements Auth.RegistrationHandler
Provider contains Test-Only Initialization URL and Single Sign-On Initialization URL.
When I send a request using the Test-Only Initialization URL I get a response with UserData in xml format:

It means that interactions between salesforce and my OAuth server work as expected.
Then I try to use Single Sign-On Initialization URL. The response is the next:

I tried to debug my Plugin and RegistrationHandler classes.
It looks likes Plugin is correct.
Logs for RegistrationHandler operation name is RegistrationHandlerUserUpdate(even if I log in external app as a new user - why update and not create?).
I have System.debug('message) at the first string of every method(create/update and canCreate).
Debug level is relevant(I use the same debug level in Plugin debug and I see such messages in Plugin logs).
But I don't see these messages in RegistrationHandler logs.
RegistrationHandler debug logs ends with:

Could you give me a hint how I can resolve it?

A: For me it worked:
UserData should contains at least an empty Map of attributes(the last paramter in constructor). Otherwise you will recieve Internal Server error.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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New Adventures productions available through BroadwayHD
BroadwayHD, the premier streaming service for live theatre will be bringing four New Adventures productions on to their platform.
On June 17, fans can enjoy the releases of two award-winning and compelling works, which put a spin on beloved classics, including The Car Man, based on Bizet's popular opera Carmen, and Bourne's innovative Tony and Olivier Award-winning production of Swan Lake*, the longest running ballet in London's West End and Broadway featuring an all-male cast of dancers.
From July 22, audiences can experience Matthew Bourne's invigorating reinterpretations of Cinderella*, the timeless love story, and Romeo and Juliet*.
Matthew Bourne said: "I am thrilled that New Adventures and BroadwayHD are working together to make our productions available to audiences around the world. Through BroadwayHD's digital platform, we are able to bring our productions to completely new audiences as well as enable audiences familiar with our shows to revisit some of their favourites."
Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane, co-founders of BroadwayHD, commented, "As we continue to grow our roster of dance performances, audiences will not want to miss out on these electric and unique takes on classic stories. Matthew Bourne's work is exquisitely done and we are thrilled to bring this collection to a wider audience through our platform."
*Swan Lake, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet are not available to audiences in the UK. The titles are available as digital download, rental and DVD through our partner Illuminations.
Sign up to BroadwayHD and enjoy our titles and much more from the comfort of your home

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), is a herbaceous perennial plant in the Daisy family (Asteraceae), native to temperate regions of the northern hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and North America. In New Mexico and southern Colorado, it is called Plumajillo (Spanish for 'little feather') from its leaf shape and texture.
This plant likes dry soil and direct sun exposure; the more sun exposure, the higher the content in essential oils. Bio-active ingredients include chamazulene, pinen, caryophylen, achillizin, sesquiterpenlactones, polyines, flavanoids, caffeine acid, salicylic acid, choline and multiple tanning agents (with properties similar to camomile). All in all, Yarrow alleviates cramps, regulates mentruation, both relaxes the stomach and stimulates appetite, promotes blood circulation and coagulation.


DYNAMOS interim coach Lloyd Chigowe has praised the work ethic demonstrated by his charges at training and is hoping to transform the zeal into results when they face army side Black Rhinos in a Castle Lager Premiership soccer match at Rufaro tomorrow.
The Glamour Boys are engaged in a desperate fight to survive relegation in the last five games of the season.
Chigowe, who has so far presided over three competitive matches, winning two and losing one, believes the Dynamos players have been warming up to his football philosophy ever since he took over the reins from his former boss Lloyd Mutasa.
DeMbare are in high spirits following the 2-1 win over city rivals CAPS United in the Harare Derby last week.
"When you come into a crisis-like situation, you have to quickly try to change the mindset of the players and I think they have responded magnificently.
"Like last week we had asked them to absorb the pressure against CAPS United because our observation had been that CAPS United normally tire in the second half, just like what they did against Highlanders. I think they put up a good performance in terms of work rate. They were workaholics in the first half and then the second half they went out and did the job. So with a little bit more of time, I think they will gel. But I think we are coming up right. After the win last week, the self-belief is now there," said Chigowe.
Dynamos will, however, be missing a number of players tomorrow, who include James Marufu, Godfrey Mukambi, Ocean Mushure and Jimmy Tigere. There are also doubts over Phamakani Dube and Denver Mukamba due to lack of fitness. Chigowe, who is being assisted by Murape Murape, began his tenure with a 2-0 defeat at champions FC Platinum, just two days after they had taken over from Lloyd Mutasa. But he has since helped DeMbare reach the semi-finals of the Chibuku Super Cup while also leading them in the relegation dogfight.
Their opponents Rhinos have been unpredictable in a season they have blown hot and cold. The army side won 7-1 against Mutare City in one game and then lost the next heavily when they were thrashed 4-1 by newboys Herentals. Rhinos bounced back with a 3-1 win over in-form Triangle in the following assignment before the 1-1 draw against Harare City last week.
Maruwa, who once worked under Callisto Pasuwa at Dynamos during the trailblazing run when DeMbare bagged four consecutive titles, said a lot has changed since he left the club.
But he fears DeMbare could be difficult opponents, especially when pushed into a corner. "It's always tough when playing against a team that is in the relegation mix. So we need to be at our best to collect points against Dynamos. Of course I worked at Dynamos at some point, but many things have happened since I left. We won four championships, but now they are fighting relegation.
"So this is going to be a different ball game altogether. Dynamos are always Dynamos, they are fighters, especially when pushed into a corner," said Maruwa.
ZPC Kariba v CAPS United (Nyamhunga), Ngezi Platinum Stars v Chapungu (Baobab), Nichrut v FC Platinum (Ascot), Chicken Inn v Bulawayo Chiefs (Luveve).


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Political Cinema & Television
Organiser: Dr Gregory Frame
This module will explore, in the broadest sense, politics in film and television: how film and television can be understood politically (i.e. how they say particular things about the societies they represent); how they have represented and, in some cases, commented upon specific political events and changes in the US, UK and further afield; how certain films and film movements have been produced in order to act as agents of political change and activism; how film and television have addressed questions of identity politics, particularly race and sexuality; how film and television have represented the democratic process itself. We will be looking at different genres, modes and styles to examine how we can understand the interaction of film, television and politics.
Topics that will be covered in this module include: Marxist film theory; political genres of filmmaking (e.g. thriller, satire, documentary); Third Cinema; European art cinema; American independent cinema; representations of democracy and the political process in the US, UK and Denmark; identity politics in film and television (race, class, sexuality); film and television directors/producers/writers including Ken Loach, Alan Pakula, Aaron Sorkin, Jean-Luc Godard, Bernardo Bertolucci, Jafar Panahi, Debra Granik, Kelly Reichardt, Armando Iannucci, Joshua Oppenheimer, Michael Moore, Leni Riefenstahl, John Grierson, Jonathan Lynn.
Threshold: D- to D+ Submitted work is adequate and shows an acceptable level of competence as follows:
Generally accurate but with omissions and errors.
Assertions are made without clear supporting evidence or reasoning.
Has structure but is lacking in clarity and therefore relies on the reader to make links and assumptions.
Draws on a relatively narrow range of material.
Excellent: A- to A* Submitted work is of an outstanding quality and excellent in one or more of the following ways:
Has originality of exposition with the student's own thinking being readily apparent.
Provides clear evidence of extensive and relevant independent study.
Arguments are laid down with clarity and provide the reader with successive stages of consideration to reach conclusions.
Good: C- to B+ Submitted work is competent throughout and may be distinguished by superior style, approach and choice of supporting materials. It:
Demonstrates good or very good structure and logically developed arguments.
Draws at least in parts on material that has been sourced and assessed as a result of independent study, or in a way unique to the student.
Assertions are backed by evidence and sound reasoning.
Accuracy and presentation in an appropriate academic style.
The student will be able historicise political approaches to film and television.
The student will be able to combine these readings with close textual analysis to articulate the specific political viewpoint/s of particular films and television programmes.
The student will be able to understand the major political approaches that have been taken in the study of film and television.
The student will have developed an understanding of the generic traditions from which much political film and television are drawn.
The student will be able to provide a coherent and well-argued essay using relevant theory and criticism introduced on the module.
The student will be able to apply these approaches in order to conduct political readings of films and television programmes.
ESSAY A 3000-word essay. Answer one of the set questions. 60
ESSAY A 2000-word essay that addresses the theoretical background of the module 40
1 x 3 hours screening x 11 weeks
1 x 2 hour group workshop x 11 weeks
Private study 134
1 hour formal lecture x 11 weeks
Bruzzi, Stella, New Documentary (2nd edition) (London: Routledge, 2006). Cahiers du Cinema editors, 'John Ford's Young Mr Lincoln', in Bill Nichols (ed.) Movies and Methods: An Anthology (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976), pp. 493-528. Comolli, Jean-Louis and Jean Narboni, 'Cinema/Ideology/Criticism', in Movies and Methods, pp. 22-30. Cook, David, Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000). Frame, Gregory, The American President in Film and Television: Myth, Politics and Representation (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2014). Friedman, Lester D. (ed.), American Cinema of the 1970s: Themes and Variations (Oxford: Berg, 2007). Gray, Jonathan, Jeffrey P. Jones and Ethan Thompson (eds.) Satire TV: Politics and Comedy in the Post-Network Era (New York: New York University Press, 2009). Guneratne, Anthony R. and Wimal Dissanayake, Rethinking Third Cinema (London: Routledge, 2003). Fielding, Steven, A State of Play: British Politics on Screen, Stage and Page from Anthony Trollope to The Thick of It (London: Bloomsbury, 2014). Hill, John et al, 'The Prospects for Political Cinema Today', Cineaste 17:1 (2011), pp. 6-17. Jameson, Fredric, The Geopolitical Aesthetic: Cinema and Space in the World System (London: British Film Institute, 1992). Kennedy, Liam and Stephen Shapiro (eds.) The Wire: Race, Class and Genre (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2012). Lev, Peter, American Films of the 70s: Conflicting Visions (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000). McCabe, Janet, The West Wing (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2012). Ortner, Sherry B., Not Hollywood: Independent Cinema at the Twilight of the American Dream (London: Duke University Press, 2013). Solanas, Fernando and Octavio Getino, 'Towards a Third Cinema', in Movies and Methods, pp. 44-64. Williams, Linda, On the Wire (Durham: Duke University Press, 2014). Winston, Brian (ed.) The Documentary Film Book (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).
Core Viewing:
The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012) All the President's Men (Alan Pakula, 1976) The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966) The Battle of Chile (Patricio Guzman, 1975) Blood of the Condor (Jorge Sanjines, 1969) Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore, 2002) The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) The Daily Show (Comedy Central, 1999- ) Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004) The Hour of the Furnaces (Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino, 1968) In the Loop (Armando Iannucci, 2009) Inside Job (Charles Ferguson, 2010) Klute (Alan Pakula, 1971) The Look of Silence (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2014) Memories of Underdevelopment (Tomas Gutierrez Alea, 1968) Night Mail (John Grierson, 1936) Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938) The Parallax View (Alan Pakula, 1974) That Was the Week that Was (BBC, 1962-63) The Thick Of It (Armando Iannucci, 2005-12) Three Days of the Condor (Sidney Pollack, 1975) Saturday Night Live (NBC, 1975- ) Shoah (Claude Lanzmann, 1975) Taking Liberties (Chris Atkins, 2007) The Spirit of '45 (Ken Loach, 2013) This is Not a Film (Jafar Panahi, 2012) Treme (David Simon, 2010-13) Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, 1935) Veep (Armando Iannucci, 2012- ) The Wire (David Simon, 2002-2008) Yes Minister (Jonathan Lynn, 1980-88)
W622: BA Film Studies with Game Design year 2 (BA/FSGD)
R2P4: BA German with Media Studies year 2 (BA/GMST)
T125: BA Film Studies and Chinese year 2 (BA/FSCH)
P3W8: BA Film Studies and Creative Writing year 2 (BA/FSCW)
3P3Q: BA Film Studies and English Literature year 2 (BA/FSEL)
PQ3J: BA Film Studies and English Language year 2 (BA/FSELAN)
PR31: BA Film Studies and French year 2 (BA/FSFR4)
PR32: BA Film Studies and German year 2 (BA/FSGER)
P3V1: BA Film Studies and History year 2 (BA/FSH)
P0R3: BA Film Studies and Italian year 2 (BA/FSI)
PR34: BA Film Studies and Spanish year 2 (BA/FSSPAN4)
WW36: BA Music and Film Studies year 2 (BA/MUSFS)
W6W8: BA Professional Writing & Film year 2 (BA/PWF)
VP23: BA Welsh History and Film Studies year 2 (BA/WHFS)


Home / interviews / Interview with HADES The Violet!!
Interview conducted via email in May, 2013.
WULF: Thank you so much for doing this interview! Would you like to tell us a little bit about yourselves? Who are you? What does your band name mean?
HADES THE VIOLET: We are a Korea-based Hybrid Gothic Band called Hades the Violet. The band name has two combined meanings: Hades, as you know very well, is the god of underground in greek myhology and he has a power of darkness, but also sad sensibiliy following to his love story with Persephone. Basically our music is much similar to this contrary image of the God. The color of viloet, which is followed to Hades, has a mysterious and beautiful image and this is the image that our band wanna add up on our music.
WULF: How would you describe your sound? What other artists are your biggest influences?
HADES THE VIOLET: There is no specific musician who effects on our music. We pursue the sensibility of opposite extremes : Masculity of powerful and fast rythme of drum, guitar and bass and Femininity of beautiful, but sad melody of vocal and keyboard.
WULF: Can your recommend to us any specific films or literature that are especially influential in the creation of your music?
HADES THE VIOLET: More or less, our music has been effected by fantasy novels, gothic arts or greek mythology, not by any specific film nor literature.
WULF: You are playing a gig at the Asia Metal Festival 2013 here in a few days. What can your fans expect to see from your live performance? What are you hoping to accomplish?
HADES THE VIOLET: As we already mentioned above, we would like to show the harmony of power and beautiful, and gloosy perfomance.
WULF: What are your plans for the near future? Any more shows, or perhaps a tour? Also, are you going to be releasing any music?
HADES THE VIOLET: We are currently producing our EP and as soon as this will be completed, we are planning to have a solo concert. After that, we will have a concert in Japan.
WULF: That's all the questions for now!! Any final comments?
HADES THE VIOLET: Our music is based on Gothic Metal, but we would like to be a band which shows its own color of music and isn't stereotyped. We hope to have your support and interest on our music. Thank you!


text:
Virtual Songlines
Mon 21 Sep 2020
Preserving Indigenous culture through VR: Brett Leavy's Virtual Songlines
AustraliaCraftImmersive technologiesInterviewPreservationRepresentationVideogames
Your museum of screen culture
Learn how Brett Leavy, Creative Director and "Virtual Heritage Jedi", is using VR, AR and "serious gaming" to preserve First Nations culture through his monumental Virtual Songlines project.
Some embedded content has been omitted:
Games Talks 2020: Virtual Songlines creator Brett Leavy | Preserving Indigenous culture through VR by ACMI
View here: https://youtu.be/sbTLJa0VRd0
It's about really immersing people in the culture. We want to gain better respect, understanding, knowledge about our mob. And I just think this medium is the best.
Brett Leavy
About Brett Leavy
Brett Leavy is a First Nations, Digital Aboriginal and descends from the Kooma people whose traditional country is bordered by St George in the east, Cunnamulla in the west, north by the town of Mitchell and south to the QLD/NSW border. Brett's dedicated his working life to cultural knowledge recording and the industry of communications. His digital work seeks to represent the arts, cultural stories, heritage, traditional knowledge and histories of First Nation people using new, immersive and interactive technologies.
For over three decades, Brett's researched how to "build a time machine" to take people back to places where the traditional knowledge of First Nations people originated. Guided by Traditional Owners, anthropologists, archaeologists, botanists and the interactive games industry, he is inspired to create entertaining and engaging systems to represent the interactions between first settlers and traditional peoples. His studies inspired him to establish a business that sought to deliver virtual reality products that merged traditional knowledge with 3D virtual landscapes to present pre-colonisation Australia with all its embedded traditional Aboriginal culture, language, artefacts, community, trade and much more.
Watch a trailer for Virtual Songlines
Virtual Songlines by Brett Leavy
View here: https://youtu.be/7c3RlyG0V28
"While we may no longer be the title holders to this land across which Maiwar meanders, the Jagera, the Turrbal and the Yuggera are still connected in a spiritual way to this country. The land is special as it holds the memories, the traditions, the culture and the hopes of our first peoples. We will remember and not forget that below the bricks the mortar, the concrete, and the asphalt, that this land was, and always will be, the traditional country of the original custodians. The flag of the watch tower pays respect to the Elders, past, present and future. To the Turrbal, Jagera and the Yuggera people. The traditional custodians, they're the couvntry for its values, its resources, for its culturally significant places. And the stories that interweave amongst the obligations to areas and its landscape features."
Vincent Trundle: Welcome Brett
Brett Leavy: Vincent, how are you going, mate?
VT: I'm good.
BL: I don't if you heard, but there was a big Kookaburra going off, so he must be here to welcome me to speak as well; there is one outside the window. Those are pretty amazing.
VT: Excellent. I've got a three Kookaburras here too. They're going off in unison.
I'm gonna introduce Brett Leavy properly now. Brett Leavy created [Bilbie Virtual Labs] a company that makes a range of products called Virtual Songlines and Brett's joining us from up in Brisbane at the moment, where his company is. Let's perhaps first, Brett, talk about where you're originally from. You're a Kooma man. Can you tell me about where you grew up and your land and your people?
BL: Well, I was born in Sydney actually, when my mum was down there, but my traditional country is from Western Queensland. The centre point of my land is actually the town of Bollon, which is just West of St. George and East of Cunnamulla. So that's the centre of our country. Our country's basically mulga. So, if you remember the stories about the old history of that space, Major Mitchell came up our way and he was an explorer. Way back he opened up that space for grazing. Major Mitchell was a big redhead. And I think he actually liked our women because some of our family have got red hair. I'd say it's from Major Mitchell.
VT: All right. Okay. And so going back sort of just a bit more, we'll go talk about last century, what you were doing last century before you really started to the more digital life.
BL: Yeah, well, yeah, I started last century ... Make meet feel old, big fella. But I remember back in the 90s ... I mean, I like playing games, all right? All through uni and you know, booking computer time in 1983 at Griffith University and I used to book it at about 2.30 in the morning and the reason why 2.30 was good because by about 3.30, when I had the off, the next guy would be booked in. And most of the time he didn't turn up, but sometimes didn't. So I got an extra hour on this computer mainframe at Griffith, where I also played this wireframe dungeon crawl. I can't remember the name, but I used to go down and down and down and just be immersed in this experience. Now, that was great. But then after you play games for a long while you're thinking, what can you do? How can you get involved? How can you make a better game? And naturally I'm a strong Aboriginal fella in my culture and I want to see that shared, understood, respect and all. So, the marriage between games and culture began there.
VT: I was definitely gonna ask you what your first videogames were. I thought maybe I might not ask, but yeah, it's important. I think it really sort of suggests where you've come from and where you're gonna go to. And that, 1983, booking 2.30 in the morning in a computer lab is pretty amazing, I think. And so, you sort of hinted at it there, you've talked about being a "digital Aboriginal". You've talked about what digital Aboriginal is. Can you tell us a bit more about what that means to you?
BL: Oh, listen. It's for me, it's pretty straightforward. I mean, it's about knowledge sharing. It's about telling stories; digital storytelling is part of it. It's about really immersing people in the culture. We want to gain better respect, understanding, knowledge about our mob. And I just think this medium is the best. And right from the very start, when we talked about that history, what we just yarned about, the vision hasn't changed. The vision of what I wanted to achieve hasn't changed, but the technology has, and it's become for all of us, anybody in game design, a lot easier to become a storyteller. That's the people that want to become storytellers. Some people might want to just make a game. That's important, but I want to do something that I think not many people are doing this is it. There is something in it.
VT: Yeah. And you mentioned it's like a totem behind your company.
BL: Are you talking about my Bilbie? My Bilbie Songlines ... you got that flashing up?
VT: No, no, not yet. Let me just sort of come back a bit still. I want to find out what the first actual game that you made was.
BL: Well ...
VT: Before Bilbie labs.
BL: Well, I had a company called Cyber Dream, and back then I had a company that was doing lots of digital work, like web design, a little bit of graphic design. We try to make that artistic. We wanted to use arts and ... [sound of Kookaburras calling in the background] there the Kookaburras are again ...
VT: Yeah. Loving it. Yep.
BL: And that is what the design was all about. Making it work. Way back then when we were trying to dabble in this digital space with the design of a website for a city or city council, back in 2000 where we did things with flash that they said couldn't be done. And we did it. So we were always innovative and groundbreaking back then. And then in that sort of documentation of knowledge in a website, which was word-based, it was really boring. But if I come back and step and say, on native title, you might know about cultural heritage, you would know about, cultural heritage is about the land. Is about Indigenous peoples' connection to land. And whenever I go to my meetings with my people, we would sit down and we put a map on the table and people would gather around that map. And there'd be things and stories that will be told about that map, where people are imagining being on their country, where sometimes there might be a cattle property or a farm or a cotton farm. Like you can imagine which cotton farm I'm talking about. But we couldn't get there. We couldn't get to the sites of significance or the objects of significance we could couldn't get to. They might've been taken away or confiscated or things like that. And all I wanted to do was make a statement in these games about that connection to country. And really this is what I see this digital storytelling is about. Another way of describing it is "serious games". It's serious games for some purpose. Now, I love making games like that, but then also gamifying it and then giving people a purpose in that world to walk in the footsteps of their ancestors. That's the nature of the beast in this.
VT: Right, and so you started, Bilbie Labs in turn of the century – 2003, I think you said. There's the logo [logo on screen]. I want to find out what that is, what's the object in that logo. Apart from the Bilbie of course.
BL: The thing in the front is the Virtual Songlines product. So, that's the stone with the water inside the stone with the fire inside the water. So it's all the elements of the earth. That's what that logo means. And behind it is Bilbie, that's my totem.
VT: And it's great. I love it. It's really excellent. And so with Bilbie labs you've started Virtual Songlines. Can you explain us a bit about whatVirtual Songlines is?
BL: Well, Virtual Songlines has been a lot of things. It's been PC games initially. It's been AR type games recently, most recently. And in between that we've been doing a lot of VR type work. And we just try to dabble with those mediums to tell the stories more immersively, more interactively, and just to really wow people, because I think that wow factor was really great to achieve, but then I think the wow factor also makes them look a bit harder at the knowledge or the content. And there's lots of examples I can talk about that as well, but at the moment we're really busy with Virtual Songlines. Now Virtual Songlines is in effect is a toolkit. It's a virtual heritage toolkit for in a sense, serious game design. And so we're trying to build that toolkit better. We've been on that toolkit for a long time. It started, like you said, back in 2003, and that started with the help of the University. When we really weren't knowing what we were doing, a lot of R&D, a lot of mistakes, a lot of learning from our mistakes more to the point, and then iterating slowly as we went. We don't have a lot of investment. We don't have a lot of money. It's a lot of blood, sweat, tears, all nighters – a lot of all nighters. And, and as a result of that, we learned from others. We ride on the shoulders of giants and we look at what they've done and see how we can adapt that in the Virtual Songlines toolkit. And with that toolkit, ultimately now this is the crux of it all, we want to build an interactive multi-user game that relates to every capital city and regional town across Australia.
VT: Well, that's, I might come back to that in just a sec. I wanted to talk about how, when you first start looking at making a particular Songline for a particular area, what do you do? What's the first step in the process?
BL: Well, the first step is the land. So how do you get the landscape right? And it took a while to work it out, but then we found out we could get that landscape from shuttle mission satellite data. It's now a bit different, but that data gives us the proper view of the land. And then we found that companies or government departments like Geoscience Australia, were doing soil maps. That soil maps will help a farmer. Where it might help, some other manager of the land. So we will use those soil maps to determine the vegetation that fell on that landscape. So if we're in an urban centre and we don't know, historically we don't really have accurate data. The geology of the landscape tells you what it could be. And that's what we use to determine what tree would be there.
VT: That's really interesting. That's incredible use of the technology. You mentioned that you get to the heart of the stories of the land and you go and out and speak to people?
BL: Yes.
VT: Actually, we might just play a video that you've made just recently.
Donald and myself, from the Yuggera people, I'm from the Turrbal clan and Donald's from further West of the bidder.
He's acting out particular scenes that our messenger men used to do via sending the smoke signals from the highest points around in the mountains and ridges and different areas throughout Brisbane. Then the next tribe would send their signals and their signals and all the tribes will come in. And on the 4th of September, we'll have the Corroboree. We're doing it exactly how my grandfather Mooken. He was a messenger man. Last one known of the tribe, he would carry the message sticks for different countries. And it was the host of the ceremony that would actually smoke the area, make sure that it was a clean and ready to go for the mobs. That was their responsibility you see? There's a lot of history that still remains around Brisbane, even though the buildings are up. And even though we're settled in some places, we'll hold it all dear in our heart.
VT: Yes, that's a really interesting, important sort of factor to the stories that you craft, isn't it, Brett?
BL: Yep. Well, see that video there. Many people ask me, like when I have a client that's a council or a government department, say, or anybody who might sponsor our work. They say, "Do I talk to the community?" And am I engaged with the community. And I could say yes, but do you believe me? So what I do is, everybody I talk to, rather than just yarn to them and say, "This is what I'm doing" and getting them onside – they always agree. Don't get me wrong. I've got no centres that I'm aware of ... if they are, come and talk to me because I'll get you onside – I do a video on them, and I produce it like that and I give it to them like a gift, then I pay them to do the video. And that's how I consult. Now, I've got 72 people. I've done videos like that for. You can imagine, I can only do so much with as much as I've got, but that's the type of work we do. Now I think that's a really good way of doing it. I also think that when you look back in a photo album and you imagine your old people long time ago, you know those black and white photographs? So a become a black and white video in a hundred years time. Alright. And then we're talking about those values. And I don't think those values will change. Shannon Rusk is a subject there, and the other fella's Don, he's from the west out toward Bramwell way. And I've done it with so many others. So everywhere I go, I try to get at least a half dozen, I suppose, speakers, and I capture the knowledge and then they help me. They empower and strengthen the work we do in Virtual Songlines.
VT: And so, I think you've mentioned that it's what the Songlines exactly are. So you're telling the stories of the people as opposed to you telling a story, describing what they say. It's, it seems very important part of it. So perhaps in terms of the more technical side, say, and I might just get an image up of the ... the Sydney Harbor bridge overlaid over it, how do you go about getting the overlays of the city? So you've talked about getting the geography and geology there. How do you go about getting those buildings?
BL: Well, the first time we did those buildings, we actually went to an engineering company and we bought them. And at the time ... actually, that's not true. I didn't buy them. I got a client to buy them for me. And that helped because it was a lot of money back then. So they shelled out, I think at the time, $50,000 for that city model of Sydney. And it was a lot of money and it was money for other people to do it. We didn't know how to do it back then, but nowadays, it's become a lot easier as you probably can guess. So, if you remember a while back, would have been 10 years ago, councils were buying city models remember? if you can recall an old paying, I think, with all due respect, I might be off the market, but a million dollars for that type of work. A million dollars. And the city is important. I think that's important for town planning and all those things that go with it. The point for us though, is that we wanted the ghostly forms of the cities. To show what happened after. At the time of first settlement and up to the present. We wanted to say that where your city is below those bricks and mortar is a connection for First Nations people, whoever that might be in Sydney, it's Gadigal, in Brisbane it's the Turrbal, Yuggera people, Melbourne we know who that mob is. In Perth, it's the Wajuk, the Nyoongar people and others. In every town is traditional and the group that we want to honour. And we want to say that, "Hey this city is here," but now don't forget First Nations were there before. And the point of the city models is they were hard to get. We're focused on those urban areas. People think of Indigenous people being out there somewhere. They celebrate Ayer's Rock or Arnhem Land, but I feel like the vast majority of our people, 70–80% you'll find them living and trying to make a go of their lives in the cities and regional towns. And their connection and their identity is just as important as anybody else, which we're all striving to make sense of in this difficult time.
VT: And it's quite striking to say, there's the ghost of the present. And then as they disappear, you actually really get a sense of where you are. And I think it's a really strong point to say it wasn't there all the time and for a hell of a long time before they were there, it's ...
BL: If I could just add, we spent a lot of time doing historical research and of place, of sites, of objects of significance, trying to grab the recipe and put them back in the context of country where they belong. And so the work we do is not Mickey Mouse. It's very carefully thought of, we're trying to, when we talk about a Songline, we're talking about a track that might have been walked. A track that might've been sung. And if we were to play a dozen of those videos that you saw – you just saw one from Shannon – if I show you a dozen, there's a recurring theme that comes out of these speakers, my countrymen, about that connection to country, in all different ways. There's one moving one, which I should have shared with you Vincent, about Aunty Beverly Head who hugs a bunya tree. Now bunya tree is a feasting space. Have you heard about the bunya nut festival up in Queensland, up in the hinterland there, the Great Dividing Range. And it's a wonderful story she told. It is moving and even though we do this work, this serious game work, it's that depth of knowledge, that depth of the story that we want to capture, and that instills a sense of identity in the virtual that we're reconstructing.
VT: Well, I think let's sort of move, into that a bit deeper. We just have, I might play the video for Barani video that depicts the Sydney area now. And we'll talk a bit about that. [Plays video]
I've got, I've got a range of questions coming in, but I want to talk about the production. I want to focus on the tech side here, Brett. I know there's a mixture of in game footage and animation and other images that you put in there, but I want us to look at some of the technical aspects. I know you've included some motion capture in there. Is that right?
BL: Yeah. Well, all the characters that you see moving are all motion captured. You see the second dancer on that dance? With the curly hair? That's me.
VT: I recognised you, sorry.
BL: Well, they're all different dancers and we brought them all in doing the same dance at a different pace and you can notice them out of sync, so they're not the same person. And so they will do different things, it's all good. It's fun. That was so rewarding. If you you'll see there's a shot there. I think I sent you about the motion capture suits. We put all the little dots on our bodies and the guy – I don't know who was singing that one – one of that fellas was singing, but I haven't seen that for a while. It looked pretty good. I think the work about [inaudible], I think is important too. What we did with, those words were planted on site. So that was the surveillance photography of the day, those oil paintings. And then I just took these painting as a guide and then created the work around it. And I think there was a criticism of that. People said, "did I get the rights to do it?" And I said, "Yeah, I should have." The other thing I should have done is got the written releases from the Aboriginal parties as well, who were present, but I didn't get the written releases either.
VT: That would have been tricky. I think if we got images of the MoCap, we can show people. I think they're pretty fascinating. They sort of talk about the production process in game-making quite nicely. We've not? That's okay. We can move on.
BL: It's the MoCap stuff, so....
VT: I think it was quite nice seeing you there working with the performers, actors, I suppose, dancers?
BL: Yeah.
VT: And it speaks a lot to the storytelling process, I think, because you're actually, you're really getting down to the nuts and bolts, if you like in their niche. There's you?
VT: Dancing?
BL: Yeah. [inaudible], I call it "blood in the digital". So it's proper Aboriginal people doing it and then making it work, making it authentic. Literally while we're doing this show, I just got another call from three groups who want to do the motion capture sessions. All right. So that might, I think too, seeing it at the end is really important, but the journey of getting there is also important. There's a real healing. I find if you ever want to get to one of these sessions, Vincent, see it. It's really quite important. And I feel so chuffed when the feedback I get from my own people, when we do this, it is just important. I mean, it's good to do the storytelling and sharing with others, but I just love the process too.
VT: It's great to get the real essence in using the technology to what we go in and play in the end. It's fantastic. I think also you getting that technology use going like crazy. And I think you've also used weather data is that right? You've got live weather data?
BL: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I mean with the sky, you see the clouds and the blue skies and whatnot, looking at your phone, we all know that you can get weather data on your phone. When you want the whether you can get the weather data. So it was just not very far removed to actually link the sky to the time of day. And then thinking about what weather patterns might have been. So we can actually program the weather, based on previous weather types. And you can go back over the span of it even a year and look at that data. And then it tends to be, it tends to be the same sort of weather, for us here in Brisbane, it tends to get really windy around August. I don't know about you guys down there. It gets really windy. So you know that there's a big wind blowing and you can always ... generally at the Brisbane Ekka, people sell kites because it's always windy. Weather does affect the emotions. But for the work that we're doing, having real weather data does matter. Because you know that we want to see rain falling at a certain time a year, because at a certain period of time, you would go off to the trees where they've had a big soaking, then cut the back away for a canoe. So even though people say, "What are you bothered with the weather now?" Well because it's culture, it reflects the authenticity of our cultural activities at that particular point when the weather's like that.
VT: Right. Yeah. Yeah. I think we've got some images of some of the animals that you've got. You've got quite a lot of animals and with the AI. And I think we saw they've got some great physics as well, I've noticed.
BL: Yeah. Yeah. We're trying to make the snakes in the world attack you if you get too close. We're doing very rudimentary AI for the animals. All right. But what we want to do is we want to look at ... my dream is that each one of the animals actually respond as they might do in the wild. Just with a bit of authenticity. You know how at certain times a year, you're not to walk in the bush because the snakes are a bit more cranky than usual? You know what I'm saying? You get it? So we want to reflect that now that might be good for us in real-time today that we are concerned about when we go bush-walking, to be weary what time of the year it is, as snakes are around. But for First Nations people, we also knew that. That was our own science. We knew when to be wary, or to be more careful to make sure that our Jarjums were carefully on the track and not wandering off where they shouldn't be. There's logic in that. And then once you deal with that animal you can deal with many others. So all our animals are looking pretty good. We're trying to deal with fur shaders, w're trying to look at poly counts as you can guess. We're trying to get as real as we can, within the limit of the technology that we have to manage carefully. Which is like in any game development has the same problem. If anybody's got better ways, I'm all ears as well.
VT: You've mentioned before that you're now moving into VR and AR, which I imagine is a further technical technological leap. Can you tell us what VR and AR that you've been making lately?
BL: Well, that video shot of Barani, that's actually a VR experience. So that video was just something to promote for the event, but the true experience is VR. And that's all those works. You actually walk in there and you actually throw the spear with those two fellas on the rock bed at I think it's a mullet along the Parramatta river. The actual people in the dance who're actually on the outskirts of that dance watching those dancers. And then at that fireplace, when the [inaudible] is coming up, you're actually sitting at the fireplace, watching the [inaudible] come up and then be offered. Every one of those scenes we tried to break down the social order, the cultural social order of those events. And that was in VR. So, we did that show at Australia Day this year at the overseas visitors terminal, back in January, not March if you get my drift. And it was a good event, we had nine tantrums. People didn't have enough time in there – that wasn't the kids, it was the adults.
VT: And so you've got AR now ... you've created Maiwar AR, is that, right?
BL: Yes you did. Yeah. That's been developed. It's looking good. We don't have it really launched yet. It's a bit more work with ... the beauty of this building virtual worlds is that the assets you build within it, the planes or the landscapes that you're building them, can actually be taken out of that extract and then put in another ... or repurposed in a sense. So, it's not really too much more work. It is some work, but not a whole lot of work given that we've got the assets there to be used. So, that dance you saw in the, one of the videos, we've got about 12 of those dances done. So we can pick any number of those dances at the right time of day and then put them into the AR. And then you can see those dancers perform on country, where there might have been like ghosts from the past.
VT: Can I just ask when you talk about AR, so people can grab their phone ... and is that right? And be on land and get the real experience?
BL: Get to a site, put the camera up and that camera will trigger an AR experience.
VT: That's pretty exciting. So I think we've got a video of the, Whadjuk, is that the most recent AR?
BL: Yeah. That's a VR project actually.
VT: Oh yeah. Okay. Yeah. And if people want to visit the website, your website, it's virtualsonglines.org. You can find links to all these works. Can we just see that video that indicates that sort of overview of the experience? [plays video].
BL: Yep. That work actually, Whadjuk, that was on show and it's still on show anywhere in Perth. That's in Perth. That actually is touring in Digi Native, in Canada at the moment. Is in a big VR international film festival. So I think we're up for an award, I'm led to believe.
VT: That's a "serious game" award. Is that right?
BL: It's for cultural games. Yes.
VT: I understand that they do what they called docu-games as well?
BL: Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's it. Yeah.
VT: Okay. We haven't got that much more time, Brett, but I've got a bunch of questions that people have asked that I'd like to get to. And definitely let you say your piece too, if you wish. But, so I've got a lot of people are really interested in what's being published and when stuff's being published. You might want to indicate what might be coming up.
BL: Yep. Well, the big push we're going for at the moment is a project with the town of 1770 up at Agnes Waters. Now we're gonna do that showcase at a festival up there. So that's a Queensland thing. You know what I'm saying? That's a good show. The other one that's in Brisbane, if anybody's in Brisbane, there's a showcase at the Cross River Rail Experience Center that's in Albert Street in the city, in the CBD. If you actually want to see one of our videos play out, there's a show down in the Australian National Maritime Museum. And that's a showcase. And there was obviously a video that was on show at William Station as well, that we're working for, knowing that we're in this difficult time, is that we've done this pivot at the very beginning of the year where we're trying to make a multi-user serious cultural heritage game for a number of our regional towns and capital cities. So the very first one of those will be really ready to go I feel in December. So we've been on it for a while. So we've taken all these assets. So if people have got some patience, that'll be when we're gonna have it ready. We'll have it there earlier we're hoping, but we've got to do a bit more work on testing and refinement and you can get the guess how difficult that might be, and as you know, Vincent, we're talking to you about Kulin as well, doing something in Kulin, which is similar with a fella down there called Jayden Williams. So all up, once we get the drop on 1770, you'll see that in a very short amount of time, even though we're gonna do is change the terrain, we'll have 1770, Sunshine coast, Brisbane, Sydney, Lake Macquarie, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth as multi-user virtual heritage environments. Even Ipswich and Oaky as well. And that's a big suite of landscapes, a whole lot of cultural heritage survival guide activities. And we're really hoping for the first week launch in December.
VT: Right, so we've also got questions: when do you think the cultural survival games will be able to be used in schools? And so they're talking about being implemented in education.
BL: I think around that same time. We are working with schools and we are talking to teachers. The thing about this, the games, we really have to make sure that they align as closely as we can to the ACARA curriculum framework and we're literally working on that as we speak and looking at the alignments. And most people will tell you that they fairly well fit, but we just want to be doubly sure. And in playing the game, it's not as simple like hour or so play. We're making a persistent world that plays out over the span of a month. 28 days. That's a long time and we're going from full moon to full moon. So the learning outcomes in an immersive three-dimensional world where you can walk in any direction and in a sense, follow a hero's quest, there's a real learning in that for any young person. And I think the next question might people ask is, "Which years might I be focusing on?" We're focusing on upper primary and lower secondary, in the first instance. I think those ones, we can easily fit in no time.
VT: That's really valuable and exciting. I've got quite a serious question in relation to that. It's how are you ensuring the knowledge passed on to non-Indigenous audience is one, allowed and two, respected and not performed? And so I'm keen to learn about how you're tracking those things.
BL: Yeah. Well the first thing is that when we take any knowledge, we're taking what might be public domain in the first instance. So the question might be that, "What about sacred, sacred?" That's always ... we want to be careful on that. We don't want to do anything that's not allowed. And secondly, whenever I do a project for any one of the regions that I deal with, I go to the TO's (Traditional Owners) originally. I generally go to land councils and get them onsite. I did a lot of work, setting up a lot of Indigenous media things in the past. So I'd been around for a while. So most people know me as Brett, in Indigenous media. I've worked since the 90s on that. And plus, I'm just an Aboriginal fellow and you gotta be careful on that. I think there's no doubt that we have stories to tell. And this is only one medium. It's not the only medium. If someone wanted to write a book, they can write a book. If someone wanted to write a poem, they could write a poem. If they want to do a play, they can do a play. If they want to do a film, they can do a film. My stuff is just this game's medium. And in effect I'm working with local people is whatever I can and asking them, "Hey, what do you think you want to be involved?" And if anybody's out there who wants to be involved, please tell me. But let me say this. If there's any concern, any problems with me working in an area and people don't want it, I won't do it. I'll just go somewhere else. And eventually as they see that we do it right over time, I hope that they'll come around. I'm not in a rush. There's a lot to do. There's a lot to do. So hopefully I'm doing it proper. With protocol, with respect, with authenticity. I'm trying.
VT: Well, on a less deep note, what platform are you using to create the world?
BL: We're using Unity mostly and we're using Unity and a lot of other tools. So it's 3D Studio Max, Maya, we're using Photoshop on occasions or with the textures naturally. We're using Premiere for video production. We're using a GH5 camera with a very good lens for the video recording. We're doing motion capture. We're using software. There's like a plethora of things we're using. But Unity is a game engine we're using at the moment. It is the fastest way to go forward. And it's a pretty well enhanced Unity with about 30 or 40 different packages. And then once we use Unity, then we code a lot of our own code. So we might put VS in front of a piece of line of C+ or I'll just say C# code. And then we've adapted lots. There's a lot of coding that we use. I've got five people coding as we speak. Yeah.
VT: Right. Someone asked about how you get to capture the music or the audio?
BL: Yeah, this is another yarn if you want one. I've just got a guy called Simon Woods at the moment and I'm really happy to work with him. I don't really want music in there. I've got some music in the videos, but what I want is ambient sound. I'm trying to build a ... the music is a real struggle for me. I'm trying to get an idea of what that might be and it's actually not music. It's more like a sound. I really love Hans Zimmer. And I think that sort of stuff works, but I'm trying to do it where there's no instrument. So try to pick a thing that's taking away those constructions, to a sound that is more spiritual of the land. Now I've been grappling with the sound question for literally longer than I have been with the game design. And so how do you respect not only the sound of the space, but how do you geospatially and temporarily manage the audio at a site over time and space? We're going too far now?
VT: That's a great area. I'd love delve just into that. I don't think we've really got enough time. I've got one more question. Whereabouts are you doing MoCap. Are you doing it around the nation?
BL: I'm doing it at QUT at the moment. That's the easiest way. I did have plans to do it across the nation. We did some over in WA at Perth at Curtin, I believe. And we're looking at other Universities that can collaborate because that's where the kit is. Everyone knows in MoCap that studios can be very expensive. And we certainly don't have the money to set up a MoCap studio. But then again, when you do set up a studio, it's about the authentic dancers from space or place. So when you get the dance, you got to fly someone up from Sydney or Melbourne or Broken Hill, or Columella or South Australia, Port Augusta even. You know what I'm saying? It's very hard. Everybody should realise we're not funded. We're not grant funded. You know that? We don't have a grant for what we do. It's all pulled up by the shoes ... How do they say that? What's the word?
VT: Shoe strings? Shoe laces? Yeah.
BL: It's all sponsored. So we get a bit of money from here and a bit of money from there, and we just slowly interact and live along step-by-step. So you see what you're seeing from the smell of an oily rag. Yeah.
VT: Well, Brett, I've got to say, it's incredibly fascinating seeing what you've done and what you're doing. And it's really exciting to see that the progress you're making with ... well, it's huge progress with the smell of an oily rag, as you say ... but I'd like to thank you very much for telling us all about it tonight. And yeah, I think all of us will wish you all the best for the future and looking forward to seeing your work out there when we can.
BL: Happy to share it, always happy to share, love it. Thanks, Vince. Appreciate it.


Symmetry of tidings buildings, sold under agreements equity increased to 15%, capable 2010 was already 25%, and in 2011 at the Federal Law № 214 sold about 35% of thriftiness-buildings, "- expression ekspert. "The agreement of a reefer expression is registered in the Federal Readjustment Serve, which makes it insufferable to doubling the sale of housing and often more," - emphasizes the Roman Semchishin. But about developers are famed hurry to fulfill clients at the law and command it. Tod, it is celebrated as life-threatening a job as it was pentad age ago nazad. When it is the maturity of a beak, the marketer trades a protection of the apartment. Why notable leastwise half? Ekaterina Simonova (Bonton Immovable) sees the principal intellect is that many developers are illustrious frame approvals, hence, famous potential to exit nation adjustment. "Decelerate Drive deystviyaZastroyschikov marketing at the trump 214-th law becomes greater, but in general, the experts, as we consider that such a dire one-third of the commercialize. So, in conformity with paragraph 2 of Art. Samy nadezhnyyNavernoe, has been known to anyone eventide slenderly concerned in the real estate commercialize, which is the almost reliable and commodious shipway for buyers buying apartments in the building - done fairness participation concord (at the Federal Law № 214), since according to him involvement-holders bask a routine of safeguards. Legalise methods against the gy schemes"). A compromise is potential only it comes to concessions in footing of the abbreviate, ie speech of the textbook, explanations and clarifications of points, etc." HBC: aught of the Soviet, self-colored kapitalizmProdazha housing through HBC - another new and legitimatise sales outline, which has cipher to do with the Soviet housing structure cooperatives. Around schemes will be discussed podrobnee. The developer has the rightfulness to acclivity money from the participants of communion expression but later receiving the certification of nation readjustment of possession or charter of the commonwealth, construction countenance and the official publishing of Project Resolution. And to taunting the dealing are committed to conceal another minutes. Vasily Sharapov ("City-XXI Century") believes that the intelligent for the unpopularity of preschool institutions in the fact that the sale of housing below twist on such contracts shall for developers increased effectual requirements. Kak explained Roman Semchishina, commercial manager TEKTA GROUPING, today in the elementary commercialise are fin patterns of sales of apartments in newsworthiness buildings: for fairness instruments (DDU) - regulates the accomplish of the Federal Law № 214 "On Participation in the communion building of flat buildings and former immovable", primp-sales contracts (PDKP) on note schemes, housing certificates and done the lodging and building ( HBC) and Housing and savings cooperatives. In this cause, the purchase and sale of notes application the sale of the flat. Hence, buyers mustiness either issue risks or looking sites where the sales are below contracts that protect potentiality log dolschikov. Roman told Semchishina (TEKTA GROUP), according to this schema the developer ingress into a prelude understanding with the emptor of aim, which spelled expedition the flat features, footing, conditions, and its acknowledge by the intended engagement of the underlying shrink. (Details of the sale of flats in HBC system, WNC and caparison certificates, eyesight the article "Intentional-how from developers: buy done the HBC buildings. According to grocery search conducted, in the well-nigh "operative" the districts of Moscow - the 3rd Beltway to the Bypass declaration equity engagement is 34% of cases in the Moscow suburbs (up to 5 km from Moscow) and the regions out-of-door Moscow - 45 %, and mean (5-30 km from Moscow), their percentage - 56%." Sales FZ-214 from among the companies surveyed likewise collateral in the TEKTA GROUPING and GC "Domostroitel. "Experience exhibit that the client reason why the flat below the abridge may be equity, though slimly more expensive than the conterminous building, but practically more fasten" - Gregory Altukhov, Adviser to the Chairman of Funds and Building Tummy "Leader. Promissory notes in a outline goes proshloePokupka buildings on the note strategy is exceedingly treacherous. Gregory Altukhov (FGC "Leader") notes that enceinte fines for non-FZ-214 is renowned yet bylo. Still, up to 2007 cases of catching the equity in the basal mart were set-apart. "You - a phallus of the concerted, you figure shelter himself accordingly, and he is responsible for all risks" - complements Alexander Zima (Penny Lane Realty). According to Viktor Kozlov, Oecumenical Manager of "DEMESNE AVGUR" at the second the society lone uses the equity abbreviate.


Pets have been found to help aid in mental illness management based on research findings. Researchers from the U.K. surveyed over 50 adults with long-term mental illness to uncover the role which pets play.
The responses unveiled that 60 percent of respondents placed pets in the central and most important circle – above family, friends and hobbies. Twenty percent of respondents put pets as second.
For some, having a pet nearby offers an immediate sense of calm, and for others, pets help alleviate symptoms associated with mental disorders.
The study suggests that pets offer a great deal of support and can help manage mental disorders.


What is the difference among ViewBag, ViewData and TempData ?
In ASP.NET MVC there are three ways (ViewData, ViewBag and TempData) to pass data from Controller to View and in next request.
It is used to store only one time messages like error messages, validation messages.


Annual information update for the period from 25 November 2006 up to, and including, 22 November 2007.
Executive Share Incentive Plan 2003 – announcement of conditional allocation, under the Plan, of 103,494 ordinary shares to George Weston and 71,618 ordinary shares to John Bason, made on the basis of an allocation price of 905.85 pence per share.
Notification of major interests in shares from AXA S.A.
Announcement of joint venture with BP and DuPont to build £200m UK biofuel plant.
Lord Jay – appointment as a non-executive director of two overseas companies.
Announcement of appointment of Peter Smith as a non-executive director and resignation of Jeff Harris as a non-executive director.
The Company's Annual Report for the period ended 15 September 2007 and Notice of the 2007 Annual General Meeting (which were filed with the UKLA Document Viewing Facility on 9 November 2007) can be found on the Company's website, as can the Interim Report 2007 published on 26 April 2007.


text:
Portugal is for Lovers: Make It Your Romantic Getaway
Have you heard of Prince Pedro and Inês de Castro? I'm assuming no…but you should! They're Portugal's real life star-crossed lovers. The two lived a forbidden affair that ended in tragedy. The backdrop to this story was the royal palace of Quinta das Lagrimas, today a luxury hotel. A stone's throw from the charming city of Coimbra, this once-palace oozes romance. Portugal is indeed for lovers … (photo by JAIRO BD)
My four favorite spots won't measure up to Quinta das Lagrimas in terms of romantic melodrama, but they'll surely sweep lovers off their feet. These choices are also quite diverse, so there's something for everyone. Sea, mountains, forests or rivers—we've got you covered (Note: unless you prefer to rent a car, you can take the train from Lisbon to cities where you can hop on a cab to your final destination):
An Atlantic View: Azenhas do Mar
Though the seaside town of Azenhas do Mar is only about 20 minutes from the über touristy, and insanely beautiful, village of Sintra (another excellent choice), it'll feel as if you've traveled long distances to find this retreat. The town is tiny (about 800 residents), but its landscape is dramatic. Coastal bluffs give way to a breathtaking view. A particularly pretty setup is a restaurant, which bears the town's name, that feels carved out of the cliffs. On the lower level, there's a bar and a saltwater pool. It's quite spectacular to watch the waves bursting passionately against the rocks. Couples that can get a reservation on the restaurant terrace are in for a memorable treat. The waves are energizing and the sunset is one of the loveliest I have ever seen. But even inside the restaurant, you can hear the roar of the waves from the slightly open windows that let in the salty breeze. The menu is inundated with fresh seafood (go for anything shell fish!) including "Percebes" (goose barnacles) that the restaurant owner catches at his doorstep. It's a bit expensive (so are most of our other suggestions), but that's the price you pay for romance! Colares wine country is nearby, so make sure to pair your meal with the area's unique nectars. Getting there: Train from Lisbon to Sintra; cab to Azenhas do Mar.
In the Mountain: Monsanto
Have an outdoorsy lover that is a sucker for European villages? Then Monsanto in central-southern Portugal is a wonderful choice. Not only is it crowned Portugal's most "typical village," it's also a regular on international best village lists. From the distance you'll spot a blur of a village nestled into the mountain—that's Monsanto! Greeted by Jurassic Park-esque boulders, you'll wind your way to the top to find an open plaza, ideal to take in the sweeping landscape of this rugged region. This area is rife with exploration options (Neolithic parks and grottos; river beaches and spa baths; mountain climbing and hiking; and historic villages galore). Take your time discovering the nooks and crannies of this enchanting village, followed by a feast at Petiscos e Granitos (reservations recommended). Like most of the structures in Monsanto, the restaurant has been carved into gigantic moss-covered boulders. On its two-level terrace, you'll be surrounded by walls of bedrock with a magnificent view of the land. The food is comforting—start with mountain cheese followed by robust dishes (game meats, grilled chops and roasted octopus are favorites). Pair them with local Beira Interior wines. Getting there: Train from Lisbon to Castelo Branco; cab to Monsanto. (photo by Rosino)
Into the Forest: Bussaco Palace Hotel
This palace isn't associated with any star-crossed lovers, but it's by far one of the most romantic settings in Portugal. Constructed in Portuguese late Gothic (Manueline Gothic), you'll get lost in stone-carved roses, twisted ropes and lacy arches. Tip: Before catching your cab in Coimbra, pick up a few bottles of the area's champagne-style wine—"Espumante da Bairrada." Sips of this wine while viewing the gardens and forests of Bossaco from your room window will undoubtedly up the romance-o-meter! Bussaco's forest is as full of history as it is of trees. The monks that ran it planted all sorts of tree species from seeds that Portuguese navigators brought back from their discoveries around the world. This magical forest is lush with cypress, planes, evergreen oaks, cork and tons of other unique tree species. The Royal Restaurant (once the dining hall of kings and queens) puts a gourmet twist on local flavors. Bussaco also makes its own wine, aged in an ancient cellar on site. Brunch on the outdoor veranda is a must; the tables are set under a stone vaulted roof with views to the formal garden. Getting there: Train from Lisbon to Coimbra; cab to Bussaco.
On the River: The Yeatman Hotel
You could head straight to The Yeatman in Vila Nova de Gaia, home to the city's prized Port wine lodges. Or, you can stroll through Porto's riverbank district ("A Ribeira"), take the street elevator to the top, and from the iconic Dom Luís I Bridge see how the Douro River connects these two cities. Once you've pieced it together, it's time to take in one of the top views in Europe. It's incredibly romantic to cuddle up inside one of the cushioned alcoves peppered throughout the hotel terrace, while sipping Port with the city that inspired its name spread out magically in front of you. It's also perfect for smooching! It doesn't end there … The Yeatman serves up its signature views at its Michelin Star restaurant featuring 25,000 bottles on the wine list. The stunning views are also a highlight of the wine-named suites and the swimming pool, listed number ONE in Europe. Getting there: Two options. 1. Train from Lisbon to Porto; cab to The Yeatman. 2. Skip Lisbon, fly directly to Porto; cab to The Yeatman.
Now go and get your lovin' on …
Cheers to romance!
Sonia Andresson-Nolasco
About Sonia Nolasco
Born in Lisbon, Sonia grew up in the Ironbound, a vibrant Portuguese immigrant enclave in Newark, New Jersey. Sonia's passion for Portuguese culture, food and wine eventually led her to Catavino, where she has primarily focused on giving a voice to a Portugal less traveled. Sonia is the co-author of "Porto: Stories from Portugal's Historic Bolhão Market." Learn more about Sonia at www.portugallesstraveled.com and follow her on Twitter @reddishSonia, Instagram @sonia_a_nolasco, and facebook/sonia.nolasco.773
See more posts by Sonia Nolasco


text:
Q: How to seeInDatabase special characters \r and \n I have a legacy system which I'm implementing a new integrated feature. This feature is being developed under Laravel Framework and one of my tests relies on seeing a parsed email body inside the database.
    // Assert
    $this->seeInDatabase('ticket', ['title' => 'TDD', 'user_id' => $user->id])
        ->seeInDatabase('interaction', [
            'response' => 'message.\r\n',
            'user_id' => $user->id
        ]);

Problem is:
1) tests\Artisan\InboxTest::it_should_parse_valid_email_and_make_ticket
Unable to find row in database table [interaction] that matched
attributes
---> [{"response":"message.\\r\\n","user_id":12}].
Failed asserting that 0 is greater than 0.

Apparently, seeInDatabase escapes the backslashes and looks for message.\\r\\n, which it will never find because the information is actually message.\r\n.
I tried escaping it myself, but got the same result.
TL;DR: how do I get Laravel to see the characters in the database?

A: The trait:
InteractsWithDatabase

describes the seeInDatabase method:
protected function seeInDatabase($table, array $data, $connection = null)
{
    $database = $this->app->make('db');

    $connection = $connection ?: $database->getDefaultConnection();

    $count = $database->connection($connection)->table($table)->where($data)->count();

    $this->assertGreaterThan(0, $count, sprintf(
        'Unable to find row in database table [%s] that matched attributes [%s].', $table, json_encode($data)
    ));

    return $this;
}

As you can see, the where function works as it would normally without any data escaping. I would suggest adding a custom method in the trait that would deal with edge cases like yours. For example:
protected function seeResponseInDatabase($table, $response, $connection = null)
{
    $database = $this->app->make('db');

    $connection = $connection ?: $database->getDefaultConnection();

    $count = $database->connection($connection)->table($table)->where('response','like', '%' . $response . '%')->count();

    $this->assertGreaterThan(0, $count, sprintf(
        'Unable to find row in database table [%s] that matched attributes [%s].', $table, $response
    ));

    return $this;
}

So, instead of passing the array, just pass your expected response.
Instead of going on this route first, I would actually dd the $data array of the seeInDatabase method just to make sure the data is passed to the where clause as intended.
Hope this gives you some idea to resolve your issue.


text:
Mahalakshmi Iyer is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi, Assamese and Tamil songs. She has sung in many other Indian languages as well, including Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati and Kannada.

Career

Playback singing
Mahalakshmi made her playback debut with the film Dus in 1997, but the film never completed and released due to the sudden passing of the film's director. The album however was released in 1999 as a tribute. She sang the track Ae Ajnabee with Udit Narayan for A. R. Rahman in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se.. which was her first release as a playback singer and considered to be her debut. Mahalakshmi continued singing for Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and A.R. Rahman in many films which followed.

Since then she has also sung many serials, jingles, and original albums. She was part of several successful soundtracks such as Mission Kashmir, Yaadein and Saathiya and worked with some of the biggest music composers like A. R. Rahman, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Vishal–Shekhar, Nadeem–Shravan, Jatin–Lalit and more.

She has sung for many Yash Raj Films' biggest hits like Dhoom 2, Bunty Aur Babli, Salaam Namaste, Fanaa, Ta Ra Rum Pum and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

She was known for her performances in songs like "Kabhi Sham Dhale" from Sur – The Melody of Life (2002), "Har Taraf" from Rishtey (2002) and for hit songs like "Chup Chup Ke" from Bunty Aur Babli (2005), "Aaj Ki Raat" from Don: The Chase Begins Again (2006) and "Bol Na Halke Halke" from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

She sang on the Academy Award-winning song "Jai Ho" for A. R. Rahman in the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Specifically, she sang the Hindi words between the short "Jai Ho" chants, as well as portions of the verses (most of which were sung by Sukhwinder Singh).

In the past, she rendered background vocal to the very famous Ghazal of Pankaj Udhas named Aur Ahistaa. She has also rendered her voice to many private album remixes notably Aaja Piya Tohe Pyar and Baahon Mein Chali Aao, which was originally rendered by the legendary Lata Mangeshkar.

Television songs

In 2013, Mahalakshmi Iyer sang a song with Udit Narayan titled "Ek dil banaaya, phir pyar basaaya", penned by Raghvendra Singh music direction of Navin Manish for Rajshri 's TV show Jhilmil Sitaaron Ka Aangan Hoga on Sahara One.

Film songs

Assamese songs

Tamil songs

Telugu

Non-film songs

Awards and honors
 Grammy Award as Vocalist on the recording of "Jai Ho" from the film "Slumdog Millionaire"
Alpha award for Best Playback for Adhar
Maharashtra Kala Niketan Award for Suna Yeti Gharaat
 2016 Filmfare nomination for Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil – "Un Mele Oru Kannu" (Rajini Murugan)
 Best Play Back Singer Maharashtra State Award for Datle Dhuke (Time Pass)
Best playback singer - Orissa State Award for Dheu Kere Kule (From the film "Mimamsa")

References

External links

 An interview with Rediff.com
 OpenBeast interview
 An interview with indiaFM.com

Assamese playback singers
Bollywood playback singers
Indian women playback singers
Indian women pop singers
Kannada playback singers
Living people
Marathi-language singers
Marathi playback singers
Performers of Hindu music
Place of birth missing (living people)
Singers from Mumbai
Tamil playback singers
Women musicians from Maharashtra
1970 births
20th-century births
20th-century Indian women singers
20th-century Indian singers
21st-century Indian women singers
21st-century Indian singers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Winter Fun series of squares depicts exciting high energy winter scenes. Each square has a coordinating color applique on top of a black felt (two layer) base.
This kit features our Snowman Family at play in the snow fields of the High Sierra Mountains of California. It comes complete with falling snowflakes, pine or spruce trees, the snow family (of course), a snow dog and a snow cat plus a collection of snowballs to create a little mischief. Makes a 16″ × 16″ square.


text:
Q: Rails 3.2 jRuby deployment on Glassfish fails even a new generated RoR application without any controllers/models does not start on Glassfish (Version 3.1.2.2 runs on Ubuntu). My development environment: Windows8, jRuby 1.7.4). Java Upgrades to 1.7.0_40 in both environments did not solve the problem.
I use the Warbler gem to generate the war-file.
The problem in the production environment:
org.jruby.exceptions.RaiseException: (LoadError) Exception loading extension KryptcoreService: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Stream handler unavailable due to: null

A: I got rid of the error using an older jruby-openssl gem version


By 2050 the city of Columbus, Ohio and its expanding suburbs could more than triple the city's footprint, according to a new study examining sprawl around Ohio's capital. The Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), Columbus 2020 and ULI Columbus hired the planning firm Calthorpe Associates to assess the development impact of current trends and make recommendations aimed at curbing patterns that could balloon the region's environmental problems and its residents transportation budgets. From the current city land area of 223 square miles, said the study, Columbus and its suburban jurisdictions could swallow up an additional 480 square miles by 2050 if current trends continue. The culprits include large lots for single-family homes and traditional suburban-style development. If population growth continues—MORPC said the region will add more than half a million new residents by 2050—the study warns Columbus will lose its ability to attract new residents and jobs. "These trends raise important questions about the vitality and competitiveness of our communities and region," reads MORPC's website. The study is part of a larger effort dubbed insight2050 that hopes to chart a course for sustainable development in central Ohio. Calthorpe sketched out four development scenarios for projected growth in the region, which found effective planning could reduce that 480 square miles of new sprawl to just 15. Of course Columbus is not the only city to struggle with these issues. Last year The Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium made a similar assessment for the region emanating inland from Cleveland. Columbus' population and economic growth has come in part due to its expanding municipal boundary, which annexes small townships on the city's outskirts.
Marking the end of a design competition for the new home of its College of Architecture & Environmental Design, Kent State University has chosen Weiss/Manfredi's "Design Loft" over submissions from Bialosky & Partners of Cleveland with Architecture Research Office of New York; The Collaborative of Toledo with Miller Hull Partnership of Seattle; and Westlake Reed Leskosky of Cleveland. The college is moving from three separate buildings including Taylor Hall, where it has been for decades, and which served as a gathering spot for the 1970 Vietnam War protest that would end in four deaths. Kent State University has one of Ohio's four architecture schools, and the site of its new home is intended to engage the greater community of Kent. During a public forum at KSU in January, Michael Manfredi called the design "a three-dimensional diorama," connecting studio life to the outside at all times with continuous sightlines from one studio to the next. "The idea is that there really is no such thing as a circulation space, but always a place of interaction," Marion Weiss said. The team said they were investigating adjustable shading controls for the stepped glass box design. Richard L. Bowen & Associates of Cleveland will be the architect of record.