From The History of England from the Accession of James the Second By Lord Macaulay (1899 edn.), ii. 410-13.
This change of men produced an immediate and total change of system: for Bohun was as strong a Tory as a conscientious man who had taken the oaths could possibly be. He had been conspicuous as a persecutor of Nonconformists and a champion of the doctrine of passive obedience. He had edited Filmer's absurd treatise on the origin of government, and had written an answer to the paper which Algernon Sydney had delivered to the Sheriffs on Tower Hill. Nor did Bohun admit that, in swearing allegiance to William and Mary, he had done anything inconsistent with his old creed. For he had succeeded in convincing himself that they reigned by right of conquest, and that it was the duty of an Englishman to serve them as faithfully as Daniel had served Darius, or as Nehemiah had served Artaxerxes. This doctrine, whatever peace it might bring to his own conscience, found little favour with any party. The Whigs loathed it as servile: the Jacobites loathed it as revolutionary. Great numbers of Tories had doubtless submitted to William on the ground that he was, rightfully or wrongfully, King in possession; but very few of them were disposed to allow that his possession had originated in conquest. Indeed the plea which had satisfied the weak and narrow mind of Bohun was a mere fiction, and, had it been a truth, would have been a truth not to be uttered by Englishmen without agonies of shame and mortification. He however clung to his favourite whimsy with a tenacity which the general disapprobation only made more intense. His old friends, the steadfast adherents of indefeasible hereditary right, grew cold and reserved. He asked Sancroft's blessing, and got only a sharp word and a black look. He asked Ken's blessing; and Ken, though not much in the habit of transgressing the rules of Christian charity and courtesy, murmured something about a little scribbler. Thus cast out by one faction, Bohun was not received by any other. . . .
There was then about town a man of good family, of some reading, and of some small literary talent, named Charles Blount. In politics he belonged to the extreme section of the Whig party.... He was an infidel, and the head of a small school of infidels who were troubled with a morbid desire to make converts. He translated from the Latin translation part of the Life of Apollonius of Tyana, and appended to it notes of which the flippant profaneness called for the severe censure of an unbeliever of a very different order, the illustrious Bayle. Blount also attacked Christianity in several original treatises, or rather in several treatises purporting to be original; for he was the most audacious of literary thieves, and transcribed, without acknowledgement, whole pages from authors who had preceded him. His delight was to worry the priests by asking them how light existed before the sun was made, how Paradise could be bounded by Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates, how serpents moved before they were condemned to crawl, and where Eve found the thread to stitch her figleaves.. . .
Little as either the intellectual or the moral character of Blount may seem to deserve respect, it is in a great measure to him that we must attribute the emancipation of the English press. Between him and the licensers there was a feud of long standing. Before the Revolution one of his heterodox treatises had been grievously mutilated by L'Estrange, and at last suppressed by orders from L'Estrange's superior the Bishop of London. Bohun was a scarcely less severe critic than L'Estrange. Blount therefore began to make war on the censorship and the censor. The hostilities were commenced by a tract which came forth without any licence, and which was entitled A Just Vindication of Learning and of the Liberty of the Press, by Philopatris. Whoever reads this piece, and is not aware that Blount was one of the most unscrupulous plagiaries that ever lived, will be surprised to find, mingled with the poor thoughts and poor words of a third-rate pamphleteer, passages so elevated in sentiment and style that they would be worthy of the greatest name in letters. The truth is that the Just Vindication consists chiefly of garbled extracts from the Areopagitica of Milton. . . . The Just Vindication was well received. The blow was speedily followed up. There still remained in the Areopagitica many fine passages which Blount had not used in his first pamphlet. Out of these passages he constructed a second pamphlet entitled Reasons for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing. To these Reasons he appended a postscript entitled 'A Just and True Character of Edmund Bohun'. This Character was written with extreme bitterness. Passages were quoted from the licenser's writings to prove that he held the doctrines of passive obedience and non-resistance. He was accused of using his power systematically for the purpose of favouring the enemies and silencing the friends of the Sovereigns whose bread he ate; and it was asserted that he was the friend and the pupil of his predecessor Sir Roger.
The 'Just and True Character of Bohun ' could not be publicly sold; but it was widely circulated. While it was passing from hand to hand, and while the Whigs were everywhere exclaiming against the new censor as a second L'Estrange, he was requested to authorize the publication of an anonymous work entitled King William and Queen Mary Conquerors. He readily and eagerly complied. For there was between the doctrines which he had long professed and the doctrines which were propounded in this treatise a coincidence so exact that many suspected him of being the author; nor was this suspicion weakened by a passage in which a compliment was paid to his political writings. But the real author was that very Blount who was, at that time, labouring to inflame the public both against the Licensing Act and the licenser. Blount's motives may be easily divined. His own opinions were diametrically opposed to those which, on this occasion, he put forward in the most offensive manner. It is therefore impossible to doubt that his object was to ensnare and to ruin Bohun. It was a base and wicked scheme. But it cannot be denied that the trap was laid and baited with much skill. The republican succeeded in personating a high Tory. The atheist succeeded in personating a High Churchman. The pamphlet concluded with a devout prayer that the God of light and love would open the understanding and govern the will of Englishmen, so that they might see the things which belonged to their peace. The censor was in raptures. In every page he found his own thoughts expressed more plainly than he had ever expressed them. Never before, in his opinion, had the true claim of their Majesties to obedience been so clearly stated. Every Jacobite who read this admirable tract must inevitably be converted. The non-jurors would flock to take the oaths. The nation, so long divided, would at length be united. From these pleasing dreams Bohun was awakened by learning, a few hours after the appearance of the discourse which had charmed him, that the title-page had set all London in a flame, and that the odious words, 'King William and Queen Mary Conquerors', had moved the indignation of multitudes who had never read further. Only four days after the publication he heard that the House of Commons had taken the matter up, that the book had been called by some members a rascally book, and that, as the author was unknown, the Serjeant at Arms was in search of the licenser. Bohun's mind had never been strong; and he was entirely unnerved and bewildered by the fury and suddenness of the storm which had burst upon him. He went to the House. Most of the members whom he met in the passages and lobbies frowned on him. When he was put to the bar, and, after three profound obeisances, ventured to lift his head and look round him, he could read his doom in the angry and contemptuous looks which were cast on him from every side. He hesitated, blundered, contradicted himself, called the Speaker My Lord, and, by his confused way of speaking, raised a tempest of rude laughter which confused him still more. As soon as he had withdrawn, it was unanimously resolved that the obnoxious treatise should be burned in Palace Yard by the common hangman. It was also resolved, without a division, that the King should be requested to remove Bohun from the office of licenser. The poor man, ready to faint with grief and fear, was conducted by the officers of the House to a place of confinement.
As a result of Bohun's foolish mistake the Licensing Act, when it was due for renewal, was extended for only two years. When it came up for consideration again in 1695, it was allowed to lapse, and the press was henceforth free.


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Gov. Whitmer sits down with News 10 for exclusive interview
Whitmer pushes for new roads plan
NEWS 10 Exclusive Interview with Gov. Whitmer
By Kylie Khan |
LANSING, MI (WILX) - What will be done to break the road funding roadblock?
Governor Gretchen Whitmer spoke exclusively with Kylie Khan.
Both Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the republican leadership haven't come close to a deal after a year.
Wednesday, she hopped in an MDOT van with Kylie Khan to talk about what comes next.
Here's that interview:
Kylie: What are some of your thoughts riding around today?
Governor: I think it's very apparent, Michiganders know our roads are in terrible condition. There's no magic to it. We have to make the investment to fix our infrastructure. It's about the safety of our families traveling our roads. It's about our ability to lure investment in Michigan. It's about businesses' bottom lines, and so that's why as we continue to look toward spring, that is going to be very difficult and create a lot of problems. I'm going to continue to press forward on fixing these damn roads.
Kylie: Speaker Chatfield says we don't need any new revenue. What do you think of that?
Governor: The problem is we've had eight years of phony fixes and the roads are worse than they've ever been. They're more dangerous than they've ever been, and the average driver is spending. We're paying a road tax. It's in the form of new tires, alignments, new windshields, higher insurance rates because of bad roads, and so we're paying in the worst way because it's not actually even fixing the problem. So I'm going to continue to move forward. This legislature has not been helpful. The republicans have put no alternative solutions on the table, and inaction is not an option.
Kylie: You did put a solution on the table and it didn't go very far. How do you think that you can compromise going into your second year?
Governor: I think that everyone should be furious that the legislature never got serious about fixing this problem. It's the number one issue on people's minds, and when we fix it, we all benefit from this. So I'm going to press forward. You'll learn more at the State of the State, and we're going to fix these roads.
Kylie: You're already working on your next budget, correct?
Governor: Yes.
Kylie: Anything we can expect in there?
Governor: The budget will be introduced seven days after the State of the State. Lots of work is being done to finalize both right now, but I'm going to stay focused not on all of the toxic political issues. I'm going to stay focused on the fundamentals, making sure we're cleaning up drinking water in Michigan, getting better results for our kids in education, closing the skills gap and fixing our infrastructure crisis. That's what all the focus is that I'm putting on.
You can watch the full interview here.
Copyright 2020 WILX. All rights reserved.
UPDATE: Senator files sexual harassment complaint against fellow senator
How a D.C. hotel played an important role in Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech
Senators prepare to become the jury in upcoming impeachment trial
New turn for Women's March as movement looks to keep momentum
Candlelight vigil held at Michigan State for Kobe Bryant

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Bothaella is een muggengeslacht uit de familie van de steekmuggen (Culicidae).

Soorten
B. alongi (Galliard & Ngu, 1947)
B. brownscutuma (Dong, Zhou & Dong, 1999)
B. eldridgei (Reinert, 1973)
B. helenae (Reinert, 1973)
B. kleini (Reinert, 1973)
B. manhi Harbach & Cook, 2010

Steekmuggen

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Our mission:Providing basis for decisions
Biafra deserves self-determination
Nigeria's Igbo people, who mainly live in the country's southeastern oil-producing regions, have been repressed and marginalized for decades. With this discrimination ongoing, it is understandable that independence movements have gained momentum, especially considering how the area's oil revenues all wind up in federal coffers while its needs remain neglected. Biafra deserves self-determination, either through a strong local government or independence.
Biafra, January 1970: Starving Igbo children at the hospital in Okporo (now in Imo State), at the very end of the Biafra war (source: dpa)
Just over 50 years ago, on May 30, 1967, Biafra, a region in southeastern Nigeria, declared its independence. A few weeks later, the government of Nigeria began a bloodthirsty war against the secessionist area. In the course of this two-and-half-year conflict, in which the Nigerian army committed unspeakable atrocities, some 1.5 million people died, mainly members of the Igbo ethnic group. Some 80 percent died due to famine.
Nigeria was formed as a colony by Britain and received its independence in 1960. Today it is a presidential republic. It calls itself a federal state, but in fact, it is strongly centralized. It has a population of some 190 million, made up of about 500 different ethnic groups.
Deep divides
The largest of these are the Hausa-Fulani, who mostly live in the north and account for about 30 percent of the population. Other large groups include the Yorubas in the southwest, with more than 20 percent of the population, and the Igbos in the southeast, also accounting for about 20 percent.
The Hausa-Fulani are nearly all Muslims, the Yorubas practice Christianity and Islam with strong influences from traditional religions, while the Igbos are mostly Catholics. The overall literacy rate is about two-thirds, but it is very low in the north and very high in the southeast.
The Igbos were an easy target – they were better educated, more industrious and they were Christians
The southeast is prosperous. As the region of the country where oil and gas are produced, it is crucial for the Nigerian government. All revenues from fossil-fuel exploitation go into federal coffers, leaving the southeast only with the environmental repercussions.
Gowon's repression
When Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon, a northerner, took power in Nigeria in 1966, a murderous pogrom against Igbos in the north began. The Igbos were an easy target – they were better educated, more industrious and they were Christians. Some 30,000 to 50,000 men, women and children were massacred under the auspices of the federal government.
The repression that followed under the regime of then General Gowon led the Igbo-inhabited southeast to declare its independence as the Republic of Biafra. The result was a murderous war and the intentional starvation of Igbos.
General Gowon had the support of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the Arab countries and diplomatic backing from the United States, despite his horrific tactics. France (at the time under President Charles de Gaulle), Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Israel, Taiwan and especially the Vatican tried to help Biafra's people. United Nations Secretary-General U Thant deliberately closed his eyes to the suffering.
The defeat of Biafra and the murderous revenge the federal troops took in 1970 did not close this dark chapter in Nigerian and African history
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a supporter of the Gowon government, said at the time: "All is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war. I don't see why we should feed our enemies fat in order for them to fight harder."
Still marginalized
The defeat of Biafra and the murderous revenge the federal troops took in 1970 did not close this dark chapter in Nigerian and African history. Igbos continue to be marginalized. They are underrepresented in nearly all top government positions. The southeast is thoroughly neglected by federal authorities, except in the quasi-confiscation of oil revenues.
President Muhammadu Buhari received few votes from the southeast in the 2015 elections. When, during a trip to the U.S. later that year, he was asked what he would do to help the region, he responded: "I hope you have a copy of the election results. Naturally, the constituencies that gave me 97 percent cannot, in all honesty, be treated [in the same way] on some issues with constituencies that gave me five percent. I think this is a political reality" – indicating a willingness to give the areas that support him preferential treatment.
Last year, at a gathering of Igbos commemorating the start of the Biafra war, federal police killed some 50 people. The 50th anniversary will take place this year, and we can only hope that there will not be a repeat of such a massacre.
No wonder new secessionist movements in Nigeria are gaining momentum. Nnamdi Kanu is the leader of a growing group demanding Biafran independence. "Nothing seems to be working in Nigeria," Al-Jazeera quoted him as saying. "There is pain and hardship everywhere. What we're fighting [for] is not self-determination for the sake of it. It's because Nigeria is not functioning and can never function."
Corruption trap
Nigeria, with its geographic, ethnic and institutional structure, is a political and economic monster – a real "Frankenstein." The wish for self-determination is natural and understandable under the circumstances, with such discrimination ongoing. A peaceful separation would be the best outcome.
The only way out of Nigeria's corruption trap is for the regions to have strong governments within a true federal system, or to secede
Unfortunately, since Nigeria's corrupt federal state apparatus lives off the oil revenues and has neglected non-oil-related economic development, it is unlikely to agree. If a situation like the one 50 years ago recurs, we can only hope that the international community will act more responsibly, and not try to maintain the integrity of an inherently corrupt state at any price.
The only way out of Nigeria's corruption trap is for the regions to have strong governments within a true federal system, or to secede. The problem is that not only the federal government, but many of the regions depend on the oil revenue earned in the country's southeast.
In doing business with Nigeria, it must be kept in the back of one's mind that Biafra's secession would drastically change Nigeria's financial situation. In terms of the country's politics, one has to consider the possibility that Nigeria could become much poorer than it is already.
ethnic division
Failing governance is destroying Africa
By attacking large families and ignoring failed states, Europe is tackling African poverty and the roots of its migration problem from the wrong end.
Now Nigeria's neighbours face terror threat from Boko Haram
The crimes of the Boko Haram terrorists who have taken over a large area of northeastern Nigeria are many. They include murder, rape, kidnapping, forced religious conversion and suicide bombings. But this is not a regional rebellion only affecting Nigeria: it is part of a much broader geopolitical destabilisation movement. ...
Charles Millon
Growing cities pose challenges for African economies
Africa's future is tied to its growing cities. However, in most of them, economic resources are not keeping pace with the speed and scale of urbanization. Unprecedented population growth, huge infrastructure gaps, a lack of investment and poor governance pose challenges to sustainable development.
In Nigeria, things fall apart
Nigeria and its president, Muhammadu Buhari, are having a rough year. Thirteen months after taking office, the 73-year-old former general is struggling to cope with a battered economy, increasingly violent secessionist agitations and mounting frustration with the status quo.
Remi Adekoya
Sub-Saharan Africa faces long-term effects of famine
A complex web of factors has caused varying degrees of food crisis across sub-Saharan Africa. With Western donor countries focused on internal problems, the disaster shows no signs of abating – even in the long term – bringing with it a vicious circle of displacement, state instability and violence.
Global Outlook 2017: Sub-Saharan Africa
Political instability will be the norm for sub-Saharan Africa in 2017. Crises will range from rocky political transitions to mass protests, electoral violence and – in the worst case – even genocide. The region faces these challenges at a time when realpolitik is replacing liberalism.


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Living in the Future
Category Archives: Natural Building
May 17, 2018 Community, Culture, Documentary, Meditation, Yoga and Spirituality, Natural Building, Nature, Sustainability & Environmentart, community, ecology, environment, nature, social-justice, spirituality, sustainability, writinglivinginthefuture
Circling in…re-tuning and re-attuning…this is a key foundation for sustainable living.
To keep growing and learning, we all need to find our edge…
Back in 2008, Living in the Future began as a project documenting ecovillages and low impact communities in the UK and beyond. It was hard not to be concerned about the way things were going but as well as saying 'no', I wanted something to which I could say 'yes'! Our team set about recording positive alternatives to mainstream lifestyles and twelve years on, Living in the Future engages in all aspects of this question, from natural building and offgrid living to food, health and nature connection. As well as the physical impact of this way of living, the human context is becoming increasingly evident. Society is facing a collapse in emotional and mental well-being and we find ourselves embracing an eco-spiritual edge. In permaculture, the edge effect describes how there is a greater diversity of life in the region where two adjacent ecosystems overlap, such as land/water, or forest/grassland.
Where is the fertile ground between ecology and spirituality?
Sustainable Living is more than an eco-house, more then a veggie garden, more than planning laws and turf roofs, though all of this is relevant and necessary. Sustainable living has to encompass the whole of it. The soul of it. The way we live includes our humanity, our community and our relationships – with ourselves, with the land and with each other. Filmmaker, writer, environmentalist and human rights advocate, I am also a yoga teacher and a meditation guide and my lifestyle encompasses all of these aspects. Many years ago, I made a commitment to earning my living through Right Livelihood and with your support, the Living in the Future project has helped me do that. Part art, part activism, we endeavour to bring fresh conversations, fresh inspirations and a fresh perspective.
The data laws in Europe are changing and whilst we understand from our providers that we are fully compliant and feel comfortable that you do not object to receiving these updates, we're taking this opportunity to reach out with a question that those who publish always ask themselves. What you want to hear from us?
We'd love this to be an opportunity for constructive feedback, so we've created this little survey. If you have 5 minutes to spare, please help us refine our content to keep you curious…
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July 11, 2016 Culture, Natural Building, Nature, Permaculture, Sustainability & Environmentbarcelona, brexit, home, renewable energy, retrofit, sant-pere-de-ribes, sitges., spain, sustainablelivinginthefuture
Have you ever said "yes" to something and then, when you realise the amount of work that's involved, wondered if you've done the right thing after all? In the wake of Britain's Brexit vote to leave the European Union, I'm sure many 'Leavers' are watching the value of their savings/ pensions/ homes/ wage packets plummet and thinking that perhaps they jumped when they should have stayed put. Myself, I'm having the same kind of thoughts about the cottage we just bought in Spain. Before you condemn me as a someone who has abandoned the UK like the other rats from a sinking ship, or grabbed myself a luxury second home, let me explain…
The casita sits on the side of a shady hillside, surrounded by tall pine trees. One of only eight houses in the tiny urbanizacion, it has been empty for more then ten years. The rooms smell of neglect. The water supply has been cut. The garden is unkempt. When we first spot it on the Fotocasa web page in January, we are living amongst the noise and haste of Barcelona city. This small patch of countryside seems a far cry from that and indeed, it takes us an hour's bus ride and a half-hour walk to get there. Following sketchy directions, we take an unsealed track off the main road and find it sitting there. Is it waiting for us? We clamber over the wall and perch on the abandoned swing, looking at the crumbling facade. The stairs and banisters that lead to the upstairs living space are falling away but when we peer in through the shuttered windows, the space inside seems free from structural damage or damp. It just needs to be loved.
The decision to renovate a house, even a tiny one, can not be taken lightly. We consult a lawyer, talk endlessly around all the options but it appears that the casita already has us in her sights. In the Spanish language, the way you express that you like something is to say that the object likes you. Me gusta means, literally, it likes me. I have to conclude that this house likes us. So we find ourselves saying 'yes'. One hour from Barcelona, fifteen minutes from the pretty beach town of Sitges and five minutes from the authentic Catalan pueblo of Sant Pere de Ribes, we decide to create not just a home, but a refuge. A refugio. In undertaking the retrofit we intend to be as eco-friendly as possible. Natural and recycled materials, renewable energy, capturing the precious rainwater and re-using the grey waters from our sink and shower. Growing as much food as we can.
As I write this, the thermometer reads thirty degrees, the barometer firmly wedged towards 'sun'. There's a cool breeze wafting through the forest and I've laid down the hammer and chisel I've using to prise the tired tiles from the bathroom walls. Broken shards of sharp ceramic lie in piles on the floor and it strikes me that in order to create the change that's needed, we sometimes first need to make an unholy mess. Before we can make something new, we need to get rid of the old. As I drift off into my afternoon siesta, it occurs to me that maybe Brexit was a way of doing this, of bringing the old ways crashing down like broken tiles and leaving the space open for a fresh new look. It may look like there's a lot of work to be done but it seems clear that we can't go back. It's time to start imagining what a new Britain might look like and I'm pretty sure what's needed is more than a fresh coat of paint. I think what's needed is a complete retrofit.
Earthaven Ecovillage
April 19, 2016 Community, Natural Building, Nature, Sustainability & Environmentcommunity, deep listening, earthaven, Ecovillage, empathy, natural-building, north-carolina, nvclivinginthefuture
Arjuna da Silva is someone I have never met, and yet I know we have a lot in common. Arjuna lives at Earthaven Ecovillage in North Carolina and was one of the most enthusiastic (and generous) supporters of the crowd fund campaign for our latest film – Deep Listening. She is a veteran of intentional community and I thought it would be lovely to get some insight into her world…
When she appears in my Skype window, I see an older woman, framed by silvery hair befitting to her name. In the background, a beautiful archway hugs around a living flame. From my city apartment in Barcelona, I feel an ache for the countryside and for her cosy wood-burning fire. She tells me how her journey toward living in Earthhaven began…
"I have lived in several intentional communities. In the early 1990's I was living in Florida and I had two close friends – we were friends and housemates – and we were all communitarians. We were a networked, small town extended community of people who didn't live together but who were very connected through their meditations and social lives. We used to dream about 'what would we do if we bought a piece of land?" In the 70's, when everyone was looking at maps of the country and asking 'where would you go if you wanted to avoid disaster?' , it always came to western North Carolina or the southern Appalacian mountains. This was the place…
After a couple of years visiting other communities, gathering advice and information, one woman who just had lots of energy put out a message to say that one of the pieces of land they had seen was the best choice and if anyone wanted to do this then now was the time."
So far, so familiar, right? A networked group of people, a wish to live on some land together, a search for the "right place" and a forward thinking, dynamic individual…It's a story I must have heard a hundred times whilst making the Living in the Future series! Arjuna tells me that the story told in our Lammas film was the one which resonated most with her, and I can see why…
"There are people here whose homes are totally according to the outside codes. There are some who have very nice homes but didn't bother with the codes. And then there are lots of buildings here that technically people are not supposed to live in. They don't have a toilet, for instance. These people are pushing the edge of "what will they let me alone to do?" They see that we're making no trouble…this is a good thing, not a bad thing…. The plus side of the economic downturn in this county is that officials don't have the budgets to spend time investigating every nook and cranny of development. The truth is that we who started Earthaven were willing to push the envelope. We could have gone down to the local authority and said "this is what we intend to do and let's work together." One day we might just do that, but in the beginning we were following advice Peter Caddy from Findhorn gave us early on when he told us about how Findhorn first developed, and how they decided they would be best off if they would 'ask forgiveness, not permission.' We decided we would do that too."
Deep Listening talks much ore about the way we communicate with each other and how we deal with conflict. What was it about this that spoke to you?
Everyone who comes to Earthaven, comes with a different picture of what they're coming to and what they want it to be like. We do our best to be clear about what's going on here, but we could do better at making sure people learn what to expect, otherwise they're going to think whatever they want to think. That's what I've discovered. People with very different values from the founders have come. They might share the idea that they want to live close to the land or be healthy or this or that or the other. But their feelings, their protectiveness about their investments, especially those who had a much more mainstream lifestyle than many of us…. So in the last few years we have had some very serious twists in the community guts over these issues. I think it's looking like we're going to come out of it and people on both sides will still be here and have something to say about what was learned. One beacon or shining light that continues at Earthaven that we started with was relationships and communication. There are a core of people interested in this who learn and then teach, learn and then teach, learn and then teach. We have worked our way through Radical Honesty and Process Work, all kinds of things. It's maybe 10 years now since people started getting serious about NVC. I'd say it's had more of an effect on individuals – people who are working on their own needs, but it ripples. When people are aware of what's going on for themselves inside, the languaging starts to shift in the whole community. Empathy and all the kinds of things in your movie that people are talking about, are part of the conversation."
Save Steward Wood Community
February 26, 2016 Community, Documentary, Natural Building, Nature, Permaculture, Politics, Sustainability & Environmentcampaign, community, crowdfund, devon, low-impact, natural-building, permaculture, planning-permission, steward wood, supportlivinginthefuture
"I'd never built anything before I came here. I was Mr Bean with a power tool."
This was John, speaking to me on my visit to Steward Wood, many years ago. He had just given me a tour of their project – a co-operatively owned woodland in the Dartmoor National Park in Devon. It was green and lush, and very quiet. They had communal gardens where they were growing vegetables and a tumble of shacks and chalets which clung to the side of a steep hill.
This kind of settlement was not new to me. As part of the Living in the Future series, I was used to visiting people who lived in fields or in the woods, in homes they had built themselves from found materials. I was familiar with compost toilets, solar panels and 12 volt inverters that turned sunlight and running water into energy for lights and small electrical appliances. I was used to a warm welcome, too. A lot of the time, the attention such people receive is negative, even hostile. But I was trying to document the importance of low impact projects. I was trying to show that on a personal level, there is an alternative to a large mortgage and a lifelong nine-to-five; and that on a planetary level, something other than fossil fuel guzzling mansions is not only possible, but viable and yes, even enjoyable!
After my tour, we gathered in their small community shelter and used some of their solar-made electricity to power a tiny projector and show one of my documentaries – Ecovillage Pioneers. People were inspired to see others like them, carving out an alternative, which was entirely the point of me making the film.
Now I hear that Steward Woodland is under threat of eviction. That the National Park has decided, in their wisdom, that their project is not longer something they want on their patch of land. In Wales, the planning laws have moved on a little, and projects such as this can apply under a ground-breaking policy known as One Planet Development. In England, the planners have no such document to guide their decisions, but that doesn't mean they can't allow the project to remain. They just need a little more help to see the advantages and to figure out the reasons why projects like this are important. Steward Wood have a great lawyer who is helping to take their case to court, but they do need your help. This is what you can do:
1. Take 4 minutes to watch this great little crowdfunding film.
2. Donate what you can afford to their campaign to save their woodland home.
3. Share widely.
Thanks and good luck to Steward Wood! The world needs more, not less of you.
Christie Walk Co-Housing Adelaide
August 5, 2015 Community, Natural Building, Sustainability & Environmentadelaide, Australia, city, co-housing, community, straw bale, sustainabilitylivinginthefuture
It's a cold winter day in Adelaide when we take a ten minute stroll from the central market to keep our appointment at Christie Walk. It feels colder still for us, because we've just come from Alice Springs, where it's cold at night but in the day, the temperate is a balmy twenty-two degrees. We came down to Adelaide on the Ghan – the famous locomotive which began as a camel train and takes its name from the Afghan cameleers who were the first to carry supplies from Adelaide to the desert interior of Australia.
Adelaide is not much known for its innovations. It has a reputation in Australia as a sleepy little place – more village than city – where everyone knows everyone else. Perhaps that cosy vibe is why it has now become home to an innovation in community living – a co-housing settlement slap bang in the city centre.
Christie Walk embodies much that is revolutionary about the co-housing movement. As resident Sue Gilbey tells me as we walk around – " You have an intention to have a community first and you build around that intention. So you begin with the end in mind." Architect Paul Downton certainly had a vision. His vision included not only community, but sustainability, taking into account elements such as the embodied energy and energy usage; retention and recycling of water; land health and soil fertility through restoration and encouragement of biodiversity and promotion of human and environmental health through limiting use of polluting or damaging products.
The result is a compact settlement of 27 homes on half an acre, including two apartment blocks, four individual cottages, a community room and shared laundry facility. We approach from Sturt street through an covered passageway decorated with a mural on one wall. Sue explains that the mural has been created by the residents and tells the story of the building and all the people who have lived here, including a reference to the traditional owners by the presence of the Rainbow Serpent. It gives a friendly flavour to the entrance way.
We then wind down a narrow alleyway past a row of tall, colourful buildings, two of which are made from straw bale. "They're possibly the only straw bale buildings in the world that are built in the inner city and in an intention community", says Sue. "It's one of the best building materials because of its insulating factors but also, providing it's rendered properly, it's one of the safest. It's vermin proof and fire proof and it allows for minor movement, where most houses would crack."
Sue points out a circular area with a seat where people tend to pause for a chat. "One of the really beautiful things about it here is when you get to the centre, you don't know that you're in the city. You're surrounded by bird life and there's a sense of serenity about it that you just don't get in the city."
Another unique feature is the community room, which has a fully functioning kitchen. Every month the community meets for a shared meal. Meetings are all held there. There is a piano. They have film nights and talks. And if Sue wants to host a dinner party, she can bring people here. So as well as supporting the sharing economy, it helps people live with less. Sue's apartment is just 55 square metres, smaller than the average suburban home but with all the advantages of space afforded by a much bigger home.
The population of Christie Walk varies between 42 and 48 and 30% of the properties are rentals, where people have bought as an investment, or moved on and rented their house out. Sue says this helps to maintain diversity. "The good thing about it is that we have just about every age group. I was always fearful that it was going to end up like a retirement village. and it might still do, because we are all ageing."
As Sue tells me about the decision-making process, which is based on democratic voting, I ask Sue how she finds living in community.
"When I first moved here, i moved here for the environmental credentials, not the community. I was used to living with family or on my own or with people that I chose to live with not people who just happened to be there. It took me a long time to get to grips with the fact that there were people who I wouldn't normally have in my circle that were living close. You examine yourself and the way that you react to things and that's a good thing. That's a really healthy thing to do."
Climbing up to the communal roof top garden, Sue plucks a handful of kumquats and we survey the view over the city towards the Adelaide hills. For a city centre apartment block, Christie Walk does seem to offer the best of everything.
Fryer's Forest
February 24, 2015 Community, Natural Building, Nature, Permaculture, Sustainability & EnvironmentAustralia, castlemaine, david holmgren, Ecovillage, fryers forest, goldfields, mudbricklivinginthefuture
Fryer's Forest is a small ecovillage about an hour and a half from Melbourne in rural Victoria. To get there on this January morning, I leave the house at 6.30 am. It is already warm, and before I reach the tram stop, I have removed my cardigan.
The train edges out of the city, passing a series of old factories that no doubt Melbourne was built upon. It was the fashion, back then, to erect huge images on top of the building and I watch as "Uncle Toby", his round-bellied image twenty feet tall, sweeps by.
Through the mottled sky, a plane ascends gracefully. A glint of bright morning sunlight catches its length, making it shine like a bright bullet.
We roll out of the city and the landscape turns from uniform gray to shades of yellow-brown and green. Parcels of property flash by. Homesteads with fenced paddocks. A lone donkey lifts its head, mouth open in song. I can only imagine the sound. A ring of goats stands in a scrubby field. A duck house, complete with moat and a drawbridge. A stand of olive trees. Camels!
How much is it likely to be?" I ask the taxi driver, when he turns up outside the station at Castlemaine. "Oh, about twenty, thirty, forty dollars", he says, cryptically. He settles on about thirty, after we discuss exactly where I'm going. "It's that little community up in the bush, right?" he confirms. We career up the winding unsealed road and I can see him checking the meter. As it clicks over thirty, he slows down, pulls up. "Just about on budget!" he says.
Stewart is already coming towards the car and he takes my backpack. "You're travelling light!" He comments. "Couldn't have done that twenty years ago!"
Stewart is a long-time film maker like me. He and his partner Cath are two of the first residents here. Together with another family, they built a large wooden house on two storeys, facing out across the dry woodland. This whole area was settled during the gold rush, which brought prospectors from all over the world in the 1850's. Remnants of the mining still remain, but the most significant legacy is the decimation of native forest, something that the Fryer's Forest community is working to put right.
After a quick tour, we gather at the communal house for their Wednesday coffee morning. There is a real coffee machine and Stewart turns out flat whites frothy with steamed milk.
The conversation gathers in corners, where some women sit in comfy chairs; and around the table, where a couple of older men share magazines on miniature railways.
"The coffee morning is not just for Fryer's Forest, but for the wider community as well. We have a few members who are in the local Community Fire Service and this is a chance for them to catch up with some of the volunteers from the local town. Fire is a big risk up here."
The room quickly fills with people. It's still the school holidays and there are teenagers here, as well as littlies and young parents. Everyone seems at ease with each other and the noise level rises with chatter and laughter.
The day is hotting up. Deep blue sky stretches high and on the pathway, shiny blocks of quartz glare back to my squinting eyes. I make my way up the hill to Tamsin's place, accompanied by her husband, Toby, whose only resemblance to the icon I passed on the train is a solid stature and a friendly smile. "This is for Toby's home brew" says Tamsin, pushing open the door to a cave-like space. The temperature inside makes the hairs on my arms stand up and I feel the sweat under my armpits pause. The walls are constructed from thick, local stone, which, on a day like today, makes its secondary use even more poignant. "It'll serve as a fire shelter, too."
In a spark of ingenious design, (along with load-bearing floor-to-ceiling bookcases and double-skin mud brick walls) there is a cool cupboard which goes underground and draws cool air up into the kitchen. And indeed, the kitchen is cool. I sip gratefully on a china teacup filled with chamomile tea. It feels like a gentle moment after the high of the coffee and chatter, the heat of the day outside. Tamsin is slight, with a tangle of carefree hair over twinkling eyes. Her gentle voice rises as she gets passionate.
"We bought in when we were 23 and we're 41 and 42 now. I still remember that we joined for the sake of fences. We recognised the artificial nature of saying, "Right, there's a fence there. This is my bit and that's your bit so whatever you're doing over there is none of my business and vice versa. We wanted accountability to our neighbours of what we were doing on our land and we expected accountability from other people as well…. " She grins wryly. "We actually found we had to put up lots of fences to keep the wallabies out, but we've tried to keep it more as a way of protecting veggie gardens than separating ourselves from each other." she says.
Tamsin takes me on a tour inside the house. She shows me the mudbrick walls washed with lime and stained with organic colours. The shower room is warm lichen green and the bedroom is a cheery sunflower yellow. "It's a natural protector against mould" she tells me.
I ask about how the ecovillage works. "It's an owner's corporation, which can involve voting to get things done. But we don't vote, we rely on very deliberate consensus decision-making and we talk through needs, wants and concerns until we've found out what people want from decisions, and what they're afraid of, and what people don't want. And there have been occasions where we've talked for eight months to get to the bottom of particular obstructions that people had about making decisions."
After my interview with Tamsin, I head back down the hill. Although there are only 11 plots here, I feel a bit disoriented. I think it's the sun. It's two o'clock and I walk slowly, enjoying the feeling of the breeze on my ankles. I think about the shots I need and spend some time just filming the environment. Dry, cracked earth at the edge of the diminishing pond. Brown, spare eucalypts standing patiently in the parched ground. The houses are like little oases, where green shrubbery and bright flowers nestle close and keep the occupants from shrivelling up.
The communal house offers a brief respite. I put my flask to my lips and the warm water slides down my parched throat. I guzzle, and refill. When I lift my arms, the scent of fresh sweat rises to meet my nostrils and I run a wet hand under the water once, twice, hoping to lift any smell which might be offensive to others. It's refreshing. I plonk my hat back on my head and return to the day.
When I arrive at plot 4, Hamish is pleased to take the opportunity for a rest from digging. This is the plot which was allocated to David Holmgren and Su Dennett when they helped establish the ecovillage, but they had their hands full at their own place Melliodora, and never developed the site. Now, Hamish and his family will be sharing the land.
"We didn't have the capital to be able to undertake this project on our own and so we were looking for the opportunity to work with someone. When David and Su came along, that was a fantastic opportunity for us."
Hamish shows me two huge concrete-sprayed water tanks, which they have dug into the hillside. The tanks store water not just for domestic use, but for use in case of fire and what's more , they've managed to design them so that they create the front of a fire shelter. Hamish walks me between the monster tanks an immediately, I get that same cool relief that I got in Tamsin's cellar. If I lived up here, I'd want a space like that as well!
On my way down again, I bump into Stewart and Hazel as they leave their house. Hazel is wearing a swimsuit and straddling her bike. At the lake, a gentle breeze strokes my skin. I watch as Stewart rows out a boat, with Hazel swimming ahead. The scene has an element of ritual and of serenity. It's not everyone who has their own private lake to swim in at the end of a scorching day.
When they are done, Hazel heads back to the house and Stewart sets off for a walk with the dog. I undress furtively and slide off the slippery step into the dark water. I swim out into the centre, where patches of cold water swirl amongst the warm. Emerging refreshed, I set my damp underwear on a stone to dry. Even now, at six o'clock in the evening, within half an hour, it is bone dry.
November 17, 2014 Community, Events, Indigenous, Music, Natural Building, Nature, Politics, Sustainability & EnvironmentCommonground, festival, G20, Groupwork Institute, indigenous, intentional community, Mandy Connell, Melbourne, music, Northern Territory Intervention, Robbie Bundle, seymour, social change, Tony Abbott, Uncle Larry Walshlivinginthefuture
"I've never been to a festival like this before", says Sarah-Jane, her blue eyes twinkling. "Where you start from an assumption that everyone is your friend".
And it's true. What is extraordinary about the Commonground Festival in Seymour, near Melbourne, is not the beautiful red gum landscape; not the soul-scoring music; not the delicious home-grown, home-cooked food; not the inevitable problems with blocked toilets… All these are already festival favourites. What is extraordinary here is the intense feeling of connection; the strong sense of purpose; the deep, meaningful conversation; the sparkly, convivial atmosphere. It's like a huge family party, without the starched formalities which often accompany such events.
The festival is opened by indigenous elder Uncle Larry Walsh, who welcomes us to country in the lyrical language of the Taungurung people. "Wominjeka. Pallian beek." He explains that the words are a welcome from his tribe, which stretches from East to West across this part of the Kulin nation. In my volunteer role documenting the weekend, I film him, my camera on a borrowed tripod, since I managed, somehow, to leave my tripod on the tram on the way here.
Uncle Larry, his grey hair flowing free like the many rivers in his part of the world, congratulates Commonground on their thirtieth birthday. Thirty years since a small group of radical, like-minded health professionals pooled their resources to buy this block of land. Thirty years since they camped out, small children and all, and began to cook up a dream. They wanted to both create an intentional community and to support social change makers in their work for a more just and sustainable world. They hand built a rambling rabbit-warren of a building to house not only themselves, but groups who wanted a space to come together in. Fashioned from mud brick and recycled materials, it sits comfortably in the hillside overlooking hills and bushland. A tour takes us around the property, taking in the abundant veggie gardens, the apple orchard and the quirky octagonal structure which was their first attempt at construction.
It's ironic that this Festival takes place the same weekend as our appointed world leaders take the stage for the G20 summit in Brisbane. Despite Tony Abbott's encouragement for them all to be in first name terms, there are few genuine friendships there. How different might the world look if power was in the hands of those who really cared? If all our governments were working for a more just and sustainable world? Instead, Abbott is calling for focus to be kept on economic growth – a concept which has long since proved itself to be out of step with the needs of both people and planet.
Uncle Larry shares the stage with Kate Lewer, one of that small group of founders. Kate glows as he reminisces with her about the collaborations between Commonground and the Aboriginal community to decide how they could best work together to manage the land. It's clear that he holds a fondness for these people and he stays around all night and all the next day – enjoying a yarn around the smoky fire as the music from the bands sings out across the tall gums. Whilst it's true that this is a mostly white-face festival, there's a general feeling that we are all on the same page when it comes to how to get along. And if we want some help with that, the workshops run by Commonground's sister organisation, the Groupwork Institute on "Emotional Resilience" and "Working Collaboratively", give us ideas and skills to take away.
Part of my job here is to talk to a few of the musicians about the role they feel music has in social change. I take them up onto the stony hill overlooking the festival site and frame them with the stage in the background. Mandy Connell is a singer-songwriter from Melbourne. She sits on a log and plays me a plaintive folk song which questions the suspension of human rights for the Northern Territory Intervention and asks who might be next under "Abbott's Inquisition." Her voice is clear and strong and those nearby lean in to listen. "Last time I read about the NT Intervention, I figured when they finished, they'd be comin' for the nation…"
Robbie Bundle is an indigenous musician from West Footscray. He strums a song called "My Sacred Place" and it's clear that for him, land rights and sense of belonging is one of the important social issues that music can help to articulate. "Take me back to my sacred place, take me home…"
Lying in my tent and listening to the rain on Sunday morning, I switch on my phone and pick up some news about how the G20 is going. Tony Abbott has embarrassed himself once more by boasting about his regressive policies on carbon emissions, on asylum seekers and on health care. Vladimir Putin, although not shirt fronted, leaves the gathering early. Here at Commonground, though, we are reluctant to leave. We want to live always in this warm bubble of possibility. Weekends like this show us a way to be which is inclusive, considerate and conscious.
As if to prove the theory, when I call Yarra trams to see if my tripod has been handed in, the man in the phone is delighted to tell me that they have it there waiting for me. Perhaps the bubble of possibility is, after all, for more than just a weekend.
February 21, 2014 Community, Events, Natural Building, Sustainability & Environmentchanging gears, co-housing, critical mass, Living in the Future, Melbourne, murandaka, projector bike, sustainable living festival, tasman ecovillage, Urban Couplivinginthefuture
In February each year, Melbourne hosts its Sustainable Living Festival. It's a celebration, an education and an invitation. We celebrate innovative ideas which bring the possibility of a sustainable future into focus. Films, speakers, presentations, exhibitions, installations, gatherings, debates and demonstrations educate on the theme of living with a more aware, conscious and environmentally friendly approach. We are invited to be inspired.
Last year, I was very new to the city. We arrived only 2 weeks before the Festival began and although I went to several events, I felt very much like a tourist. I wandered the Green Market, popped my head into a few tents and watched a film or two in Fed Square. As a newcomer to Australia, what impressed me most was that it was baking hot, but that wasn't really the point!
This year was different. For one thing, I've managed to arrange a screening of one of my own films as part of the Festival, so I'm not just a spectator. When I arrive on Friday to drop off some flyers, I am struck by how different this feels. On the stalls are people I know. On the Simplicity Institute stall sits Sophie, who rode across Australia with her partner, Greg, who wrote a book about "Changing Gears" and how to downsize our carbon footprint. On the Co-Housing stall sit Urban Coup members Janice and Yesvira and I bump into Iain from Murandaka. They are here to promote shared living in the suburbs – a great way to reduce our use of energy and resources whilst gaining all the benefits of community life.
A little further on I find Karen, from Tasman Ecovillage, which I visited last Easter. The ecovillage is a new venture down on the beautiful Tasman Peninsular. In a perfect example of re-purposing, this project has taken an existing motel site, sold the chalets to members and have created a community. They grow their own veggies and are planning a range of natural homes on the site, which nestles cosily between the hills and the sea.
In a talk on permaculture economics at Under the Gum I find that I know the person sitting next to me – something which never happened last year – and I realise that after a year of homesickness, disconnection and struggle with city life, I live here now. Before I came, people told me it would take a year to "find my feet" and they were right. When it comes to making friends and feeling like you have a place somewhere, it takes time.
The comfort I feel in my home town of Swansea is because I have lived there so long. I can't walk down the street without meeting people I know and if I need something, I know exactly where to go.
At the Sustainable Living Festival, I started to feel like I have a place here in Melbourne. Although it is a huge, sprawling city, there are pockets of people who are working towards a more connected and caring lifestyle and I'm pleased to count myself amongst them.
Later that night, we are able to take part in the projector bike ride, which we missed last year because we didn't yet have bikes. A huge swarm of people on bicycles rode en masse through the heart of Melbourne. It was the biggest Critical Mass I've ever taken part in and it was great to know that it was in the name of art, not politics! Imagine if the morning rush hour looked like this, not a crush of cars bumper to bumper.
We landed at Argyle Square off Lygon street, where the Italians of the area were taking an evening stroll and enjoying some of the amazing ice cream sold in this part of town. The films were projected from a converted bicycle and we sat and ate our picnic supper in the warm evening air. Is this how life could be all the time?
Earth Rites
October 31, 2013 Community, Meditation, Yoga and Spirituality, Natural Building, Nature, Permaculture, Sustainability & Environmentlivinginthefuture
I knew it felt odd to be celebrating Hallowe'en and now I realise why…
This spooky festival is an interpretation of the Celtic festival of Samhain, a time when we mark the end of summer and celebrate the gathering of the harvest. It's a time to recognise the eternal relationship between life and death – the endless cycle of renewal and decay. At this time, the veil between the worlds is understood to be thin and it's an appropriate time to remember our departed loved ones and our ancestors. My Mum died at this time of year and it's always felt right to be thinking of her at this time.
But in the pagan ways, for people in the South this is Beltaine, the fullness of Spring; not Samhain, the end of Summer, beginning of Winter. Instead of turning inward for the long, dark days, we are turning outward for the warm, light evenings!
People in Australia are caught not only in the ways of the "old country", but in a Christian calendar which has usurped traditional land-based rites and the shenanigans of the media, who promote anything and everything that sells. And Hallowe'en sells, as does Christmas, Easter, Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day and Valentine's Day.
At Djanbung Gardens, a permaculture training centre in Nimbin, New South Wales, facilitator Robyn Francis has created a new version of the pagan calendar, accounting for the differences in time zone. Thus, Samhain becomes Beltaine and Lammas, which in the North is a celebration of harvest in August, becomes Imbolc, announcing the imminent arrival of Spring. For those of us Northerners living in the South, it can really help us connect to the land if we tune in to these ancient festival times.
Making rituals to mark these occasions can be a simple thing, practised with a group of friends or alone. At Samhain, light a candle and remember your ancestors. Tell a story about your loved ones and prepare warm food to comfort and sustain you and your friends.
Or if your time is Beltaine, take some soil in a container and plant some seeds. Be thankful for the long days returning after the dark Winter nights and rejoice in the light which helps our food grow and all living beings survive. Prepare a simple meal of fresh vegetables and salad and make a wish that all beings need never be hungry.
This mindfulness can help us remember our place in the order of things, as well as develop a compassion to reach out to others. And this is useful because we need to do both in order to live in a healthy, sane and balanced world. Don't you think?
Mudbrick Houses of Eltham
October 29, 2013 Natural Building, Sustainability & EnvironmentAlistair Knox, Eltham, mudbrick, natural buildinglivinginthefuture
Last weekend we had a surprise insight into the mud brick world of Melbourne. The district of Eltham (that's El- tham, not Elt-ham) was hosting a "Practically Green" environmental festival, but we got much more than we bargained for when we ended up on an organised tour of local mudbrick houses.
Now I know nothing about mudbrick, as it's a technique not really used in the UK, or in Europe for that matter. I've come across lots of cob and rammed earth, of course, but this is a bit different, since the mud/straw mixture is actually shaped into bricks before its used. Maybe it needs a warmer climate to dry the bricks?
The Tour started at Montsalvat, an artist community founded by Justus Jorgenson, who designed and built the Great Hall using pis-de-terre (rammed earth) and mudbrick techniques. Montsalvat was also home to Alistair Knox , who inspired several of the houses on the tour. In fact, one of the houses was his own which was built in the early 1960's and continued to be his home until his death in 1986.
Even though the technique itself was unfamiliar to me, what did seem to resonate was the the beautiful gardens and the way the outside was invited in by way of large window openings. I also the appreciated the way the houses sit snugly in the landscape – often dug into the side of a hill. Huge round timbers held up decorated gables and coloured glass in the roof let in sunlight to warm and brighten the rooms. Knox was obviously pioneering an environmental design which we can see in many natural homes today, like those built by Tony Wrench or Simon Dale in Wales.
A Veteran of over 1000 house builds, Knox was not an architect by trade, in fact, his first job was in a bank. On his release from the navy in 1945, he began a course in building construction and at the same time, started work on two houses. At that time, materials were in short supply, but Knox was interested in trying out new techniques and had a particular theory about "bringing the building and the natural environment together into one indivisible whole". Ah yes, that makes sense now. Knox even got the banks to finance one of his builds, by quoting an academic study submitted to the Commonwealth Experimental Building Station which vouched for the safety of mudbrick walls.
At Alistair's house, we bumped into a student of Knox, Bohdan Kuzyk, who designed another of the houses, home of artist Jenni Mitchell. Jenni's home sits in a mature orchard garden. The scent of citrus blossom alone makes it feel tropical. The house is home not only her and her partner, but also her luminous paintings. These homes definitely invite one to live with soul inside them.
The Eltham Mudbrick Tour has been going since 1964 and so far, it has only been cancelled once, following the fatal Black Saturday bush fires of 2009 in Kinglake, Victoria. At present, it is organised by the Nillumbick Music Support group, and promoted by the Nullumbick Mudbrick Association, who promote mudbrick building, particularly in the Eltham area.
Because we got caught up in the Tour, we missed the demonstration of mudbrick making which was happening at the "Practically Green" environmental festival. I'll try to find someone to show me and make a little film about it soon for the Living in the Future series.
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Score Study
Articles to read:
Going beyond the notes: Conducting with Expression
Want to go from being a human metronome to embodying all the emotions in the music? We need to know the music, and know ourselves.
Are you creating or obeying? What I learned about conducting from theatre director David Mamet
The vast majority of our musical training is spent in pursuit of an impossible perfection. Deluged by the demands of technique, we forget the entire purpose of our art is to connect. To move people. To change people.
Giving an A - How to Immediately Embody Who You Want to Be
If, one year from now, you were to give yourself an 'A' grade for how you showed up in life as a person, partner, conductor, teacher - who would you have become to earn it?
Lessons with Ben Zander #1: I'm diffident?
How one conducting lesson helped me see and unravel what had been holding me back, not only as a conductor, but as a person.
Listening for Who Has the Melody
Even though we're not playing together, we can still practice listening for who has the melody in our ensemble music. Plus, how to turn this into a 5-minute score study activity.
Conducting Success in 2020: How to ditch old conducting habits, and make new ones
Do you have a bad conducting habit that's been annoying you for a long time? That thing that you remember once for 3 seconds when you're on the podium, then then next time you think of it is an hour later? Here's how to solve that problem, for good.
Top Holiday Gifts for Conductors ($10-$100+)
What does every conductor wants under their tree this year? Whether someone's buying for you, or you're buying for yourself, here are my top picks for last minute conductor gifts to suit every budget.
Three grade 3 pieces to promote independence and creativity
So much of our job is telling players what to do and how to do it. It's so easy for us to get stuck on the podium, dictating to students every element of what and how to play. It feels good - we say something and the sound improves! Yay! But this method is actually really inefficient. What if the students could be making their own judgements about the music, adjusting in the moment and, essentially, rehearsing themselves? Sound impossible and idyllic? It's not.
Podcasts to listen to:
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Audiobooks > Fiction > Erotica > Twisted50 Volume 1
Download Twisted50 Volume 1 Audiobook
Author: Caroline Slocock, Diana Read, Dylan Keeling, Jacqui Canham, Joh , Karen Sheard, Kendall Castor-Perry, KK Rickcord, Lucy V Hay, Marie Gethins, Nick Twyford, Scott Merrow, Stephanie Wessell, Stephen Deas, Steve Pool, Steven Quantick, Susan Bodnar, Troll Dahl, various authors Narrator: Claire Cordier, Claire Wyatt, James Cameron Stewart, Jenny Hoops, Kat Rose Mart, Anne Parker Naples, Ann Richardson, Charles Constant, Greg Wagland, Joan Walker, Susie Riddell, Jane Copland, Gary Furlong, Dawn Murphy, Daniela Acitelli, Cassandra Wilson Publisher: Author's Republic Audio Length: 11.25 hours Release Date: February 2017 Format: Unabridged Audiobook Delivery: Instant Download ISBN: 9781518941849
50 stories from 50 disturbed voices of modern horror… Twisted 50 volume 1 is a deliciously dark slice of contemporary horror literature. Reading it is like attending a late night secret banquet where you know each course will serve up something unexpected, forbidden and unforgettably chilling. Take your private seat now for 50 luscious courses of terror, from 50 of the strongest voices in modern horror.
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About the Narrators
Ann Richardson is an Earphones-winning narrator who studied broadcast journalism and Spanish at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Years later, the desire to take up a creative yet productive career lead her to narrating audiobooks and founding Great Plains Audiobooks, an audiobook publishing company focusing on bringing Midwestern literature to audio.
Charles Constant is an actor whose professional storytelling career began at the age of thirteen, when he became an Actors' Equity Association apprentice. An accomplished audiobook narrator, he has recorded many popular titles, including How to Win at the Sport of Business by Mark Cuban.
Greg Wagland is an actor, audiobook narrator, and voice artist. His audiobook credits include classics, fiction, history, poetry, biography, nonfiction, science fiction, as well as young adult and children's fiction.
Joan Walker is a voice talent and an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator.
Jane Copland has over twenty-five years' experience in broadcasting and voice-overs. Working mainly in television, she has been a BBC newsreader, presenter, and continuity announcer. She has narrated many documentaries for BBC 2, Channel 4, and the History Channel. For her first audiobook, The Palace of Curiosities by Rosie Garland, she played both female and male roles and a host of accents from posh to cockney, Dutch to Italian.
Gary Furlong grew up in Wexford, Ireland. Throughout his life he has worn many hats working as a teacher, puppeteer, improv artist, actor, and singer. He can perform in general British, general American, and an Irish accent to a native level and can speak Japanese fluently. He now works full time as an audiobook narrator and voice actor from his home in Ireland.
Dawn Murphy is a British actress and voice artist, who trained at Drama Centre London. When she was chosen to represent her drama school in the BBC Carleton Hobbs Radio Award competition, she discovered her aptitude for and enjoyment of recording books and audio drama. As well as being a Theater, TV and Film actress and a regular narrator of audio books for the RNIB, Dawn has played Cordelia Crozier in the audio drama Doctor Who: Antidote to Oblivion for Big Finish Productions, voiced TV promos for the Discovery Channel and TLC and recorded many corporate videos and ads for clients such as Dermalogica, Pure Beauty Online and the Met Police.
James Cameron Stewart is a veteran actor whose performances include roles in theater, film, and television. He was trained at Hull University and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His credits include Outlander, Jericho, Flying Blind, Golden Years, Emmerdale, London's Burning, Eastenders, Coronation Street, and Holby City.
Jenny Hoops is a versatile audiobook narrator. With degrees in psychology and biology, she relishes science-related nonfiction and complex whodunnit fiction. Jenny loves acting, and excels at many accents, including American (Standard, Midwest, New England, Southern, Texas, West Coast), Canadian (French and English), British (RP, Cockney), Spanish, Italian, and German. Her nonfiction work includes biographies as well as current events and news. Jenny's varied career: environment inspector, event coordinator, motivational speaker, soccer mom, and now narrator. In her spare time, she visits nursing homes with her friendly dog, and cheers for her sons at biathlon races. Jenny lives in rural Alberta, Canada, and records from a professionally equipped home studio.


The general rule of thumb is to check back with your plastic surgeon at about the 10-year mark after your breast augmentation. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is to make sure you're still happy with your results. Pregnancy, fluctuations in weight and the natural aging process can all affect the appearance of your breast implants over the years.
Another reason for a 10-year check-in is to make sure that there aren't any safety or quality issues with your implants. Although not all breast implants necessarily have to be replaced after 10 years, it's helpful to check back every 10 years or so since they're not lifetime devices.
Finally, even if you're still happy with your breast augmentation results, you might want to see what new implant options are available to you now that may not have been 10 years ago.
The latest in breast augmentation trends is going for a smaller, natural look rather than dramatic, unbalanced implants.
What are the latest breast augmentation options?
What can I expect during and after breast implant revision?
When do breast implants have to be replaced? Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Daniel Kolder of Camarillo, California has the answer, plus shares some tips.


OBJECTIVE: Maximize density on smaller lots with this alternative to traditional apartment living.
OVERVIEW: This premium rental option lives like a single family home, perfect for new residents or those downsizing, in a building that can be expanded when needed to meet site specifications.
Unit square footage: 1,487 to 1,800 sq.ft.


The main focus for the day was the release of the minutes of the last FOMC meeting. The dollar was relatively flat after the publication as it provided few surprises. The committee saw the economy as being robust enough to withstand a rate increase (possibly in September) while concerns over Greece were raised as expected.
Traders were mindful that the minutes are from June's meeting, before the turmoil in commodities markets and the latest developments over Greece.
This week the IMF also raised concerns for a second time over the US raising interest rates too soon. The fund cited global and political threats as a reason for the Fed to hold off on rate rises this year. Also of concern to the IMF is the rising dollar and its impact on emerging nations with heavy dollar dominated debt obligations.
EUR/USD consolidated at the 1.10 range with sentiment leaning towards the bullish side. Support was found at 1.0975 and the pair moved upwards towards 1.1090. The next resistance lies around 1.1154 which coincides with the 50-day moving average line.
The yen has experienced something of a turnaround this week and has been one of the strongest performers. The Japanese yen is benefiting from safe haven flows as well as a correction of a prolonged bear rally. USD/JPY pushed back down to the 120 range reversing the strong move that pushed it up towards a thirteen year high at 125.85. EUR/JPY dropped over one percent to 133.45. Support is likely at 133.13.
Japan saw an unexpectedly high surplus on its current account in May due to stronger exports. The latest eco watch survey was below expectations in June, at 51 against a consensus of 53.2.


text:
Q: Core dump file is not generated Every time, my application crash a core dump file is not generated. I remember that few days ago, on another server it was generated. I'm running the app using screen in bash like this:
#!/bin/bash
ulimit -c unlimited
while true; do ./server; done

As you can see I'm using ulimit -c unlimited which is important if I want to generate a core dump, but it still doesn't generate it, when I got an segmentation fault.
How can I make it work?

A: This link contains a good checklist why core dumps are not generated:

*

*The core would have been larger than the current limit.

*You don't have the necessary permissions to dump core (directory and file). Notice that core dumps are placed in the dumping process' current directory which could be different from the parent process.

*Verify that the file system is writeable and have sufficient free space.

*If a sub directory named core exist in the working directory no core will be dumped.

*If a file named core already exist but has multiple hard links the kernel will not dump core.

*Verify the permissions on the executable, if the executable has the suid or sgid bit enabled core dumps will by default be disabled. The same will be the case if you have execute permissions but no read permissions on the file.

*Verify that the process has not changed working directory, core size limit, or dumpable flag.

*Some kernel versions cannot dump processes with shared address space (AKA threads). Newer kernel versions can dump such processes but will append the pid to the file name.

*The executable could be in a non-standard format not supporting core dumps. Each executable format must implement a core dump routine.

*The segmentation fault could actually be a kernel Oops, check the system logs for any Oops messages.

*The application called exit() instead of using the core dump handler.

A: Make sure your current directory (at the time of crash -- server may change directories) is writable. If the server calls setuid, the directory has to be writable by that user.
Also check /proc/sys/kernel/core_pattern. That may redirect core dumps to another directory, and that directory must be writable. More info here.

A: If one is on a Linux distro (e.g. CentOS, Debian) then perhaps the most accessible way to find out about core files and related conditions is in the man page. Just run the following command from a terminal:
man 5 core

A: Check:
$ sysctl kernel.core_pattern

to see how your dumps are created (%e will be the process name, and %t will be the system time).
For Ubuntu, dumps are created by apport in /var/crash, but in different format (see inside file).
You can test it by:
sleep 10 &
killall -SIGSEGV sleep

If core dumping is successful, you will see "(core dumped)" after the segmentation fault indication.
Read more:

*

*How to generate core dump file in Ubuntu

*https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Apport

A: For systemd systems1, install the package systemd-coredump. Coredumps can be found via:
ls /var/lib/systemd/coredump

Furthermore, these coredumps are compressed in the lz4 format. To decompress, you can use the package liblz4-tool like this: lz4 -d FILE. To be able to debug the decompressed coredump using gdb, I also had to rename the utterly long filename into something shorter...
1 Debian 9 Stretch

A: Remember if you are starting the server from a service, it will start a different bash session so the ulimit won't be effective there. Try to put this in your script itself:
ulimit -c unlimited

A: Also, check to make sure you have enough disk space on /var/core or wherever your core dumps get written.  If the partition is almos full or at 100% disk usage then that would be the problem.  My core dumps average a few gigs so you should be sure to have at least 5-10 gig available on the partition.

A: Note: If you have written any crash handler yourself, then the core might not get generated. So search for code with something on the line:
signal(SIGSEGV, <handler> );

so the SIGSEGV will be handled by handler and you will not get the core dump.

A: The answers given here cover pretty well most scenarios for which core dump is not created. However, in my instance, none of these applied. I'm posting this answer as an addition to the other answers.
If your core file is not being created for whatever reason, I recommend looking at the /var/log/messages. There might be a hint in there to why the core file is not created. In my case there was a line stating the root cause:
Executable '/path/to/executable' doesn't belong to any package

To work around this issue edit /etc/abrt/abrt-action-save-package-data.conf and change ProcessUnpackaged from 'no' to 'yes'.
ProcessUnpackaged = yes

This setting specifies whether to create core for binaries not installed with package manager.

A: If you call daemon() and then daemonize a process, by default the current working directory will change to /. So if your program is a daemon then you should be looking for a core in / directory and not in the directory of the binary.

A: Although this isn't going to be a problem for the person who asked the question, because they ran the program that was to produce the core file in a script with the ulimit command, I'd like to document that the ulimit command is specific to the shell in which you run it (like environment variables).  I spent way too much time running ulimit and sysctl and stuff in one shell, and the command that I wanted to dump core in the other shell, and wondering why the core file was not produced.
I will be adding it to my bashrc.  The sysctl works for all processes once it is issued, but the ulimit only works for the shell in which it is issued (maybe also the descendents too) - but not for other shells that happen to be running.

A: Just in case someone else stumbles on this. I was running someone else's code - make sure they are not handling the signal, so they can gracefully exit.  I commented out the handling, and got the core dump.

A: In centos,if you are not root account to generate core file:
you must be set the account has a root privilege or login root account:

vim /etc/security/limits.conf

account soft core unlimited  account hard core unlimited

then if you in login shell with securecrt or other:
logout  and then relogin

A: Allow Dump from Daemons
To allow all daemons witch are started by systemd to core dump.
Edit: /etc/systemd/system.conf add following
DefaultLimitCORE=infinity
Edit: /etc/sysctl.d/core.conf add following
kernel.core_pattern = /var/lib/coredumps/core-%e-sig%s-user%u-group%g-pid%p-time%t
kernel.core_uses_pid = 1
fs.suid_dumpable = 2
more detail: https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Enable_Core_Dump_systemd

A: Our application stopped producing core dumps when a capability was set to it.
setcap 'cap_sys_nice=eip' /usr/bin/${our_app}

Removing it allowed the re-generation of coredumps.
setcap '-r' /usr/bin/${our_app}

See also: How do I get a coredump from a setcap executable?

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National green energy firm reports record turnover and massive recruitment drive to coincide with new rebrand
Sutcliffe welcomes experienced executive associate to its team, as company continues to grow throughout the North West
BioGrad to open the UK's second largest biobank facility in Liverpool as part of a £7.6m investment into new headquarters
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BioGrad is to open the UK's second largest biobank facility in Liverpool, as part of a £7.6m investment into a new headquarters at Wavertree Technology Park.
The biobank has already welcomed up to 261,000 samples from the largest long-Covid study in the UK and further partnerships with Liverpool Women's Hospital and three private research companies will see BioGrad bank over one million human cell samples banked in its first year.
Biobanking is the process of preserving human tissue, either for research issues (such as Covid and long-term Covid studies) or for human application (taking cells out of a patient and putting them back in). This will allow BioGrad to take stem cells out of patients to store them for therapeutic use for other patients.
BioGrad's new 10,000 sq ft biobank building will also give all parents the chance to preserve their stem cells within the North West, and the provision of non-invasive, prenatal testing and pregnancy testing. The site will also be BioGrad's fifth location in the Liverpool City Region, in addition to buildings in Liverpool Science Park, Bootle, Warrington and Liverpool John Lennon Airport, in addition to satellite sites in Oxford and London.
Proudly founded and based in Liverpool City Region, BioGrad is leading the way in laboratory-based learning, diagnostics and most recently, Covid-19 testing, with a clear mission that everyone should have access to gold standard healthcare and education. This latest development sees the company pivot away from Covid operations and move towards stem cell and regenerative medicine research.
Dr Natalie Kenny, CEO, BioGrad, said:
"Our incredible new headquarters, which will house the second largest biobank facility in the UK, represents an exciting new era for BioGrad as we move into stem cell and regenerative medicine research, alongside our continued education operations.
"It also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the levelling up agenda – providing an open access biobank for the Liverpool City Region and North West, creating new jobs and opportunities in the sector, and in particular, supporting local, female-led businesses.
"We have always been fiercely proud to be a North West based business. The good will that BioGrad has received from Steve Rotheram, the Local Authority and local residents in response to our Covid work and education and bursaries over the last seven years, as well as the support that Liverpool China Partnership has given us by bringing international business and students to our city, makes Liverpool our preferred choice of location for continued expansion."
Officially opening the new BioGrad biobank, Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:
"The Liverpool City Region is home to some of the country's leading clusters of innovation in life science and infectious disease control. But I believe that we have the capacity, the capability, and the creativity to put ourselves not only at the forefront of the UK, but global innovation.
"To help make that happen, we're putting our money where our mouth is. We'll be investing 5% of our GVA in research and development over the next few years – that's nearly double the government's national targets.
"I want to harness the strengths and expertise of the countless innovative businesses, like BioGrad, that call our region home, creating well-paid, secure jobs and training opportunities and attracting greater investment into our economy. It's great to see BioGrad expanding its presence in our region and I look forward to working with it to help our region reach its full potential."
Adjacent to the new BioGrad biobank building, a second site measuring a total 33,000 sq ft, will house the BioGrad Innovation Centre, a new hub for the local community and a space for city region-based, female-led science and tech SMEs to thrive in.
Set to be an eco-friendly and sustainable business centre, the BioGrad Innovation Centre plans to take its energy usage off grid by 2024.
The centre will house BioGrad Education, the UK's leading laboratory-based learning provider for aspiring scientists who want to gain real experience in a real laboratory from real scientists, and which already has over 500 partner schools across Europe and is contracted to provide science and education for eight of the top ten schools in the UK, as well as the top 1% of schools in Europe.
The investment has also seen 40 members of existing staff upskilled and promoted into new roles at the new headquarters and the existing location at Liverpool Science Park.
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Axminster Tools & Machinery last produced a main catalogue over three years ago. Despite the advantages of digitalisation, many customers lamented the loss of the catalogue, like losing a trusty old friend. However, we here at Axminster listened to the comments, feedback and popular demand, and have taken the decision to produce another catalogue which will be launched in October.
The new look catalogue will concentrate solely on the popular Axminster brands together with a range of tools available exclusively from Axminster or our retail partners.
Whether you're a craft, trade or industrial user, a woodworker, woodturner, carver or simply keen on DIY, Axminster has the tools and machines for you.
Each item, sourced in the UK, from around the world or manufactured here in Devon, has been carefully selected to ensure you get top quality, high performance tools at competitive prices.
The new catalogue will contain more than 300 pages of some of the best tools on the market today, together with all the information you need to decide on the right tool for the job.
To reserve/request your FREE copy, please visit axminster.co.uk/catalogue. For customers outside of the UK, please email our export department export@axminster.co.uk to register your interest.


Beautiful, serene Chautauqua Lake is about to become an explosive aquatic pressure cooker.
That's because this fourth day of the event marks the beginning of the Sudden Death rounds at the Jack Link's Major League Fishing 2013 General Tire Summit Cup competition on the picturesque 13,000-acre Western New York lake.
With countless docks offering shots at largemouth bass resting in the shade, not to mention the temptation of schools of smallmouth bass swimming just off-shore, this could be a lightning fast sprint to the finish line.
"The cut-weight being 24 pounds, I think that's very achievable," said Mike Iaconelli, the 2003 Bassmaster Classic champion. "You really have no time for error. You really have no time to figure it out. You don't have time to catch a big one. You've really got to do it in one shot. You've got to fish hard and you've got to fish fast."
Hence, the pressure cooker atmosphere when you put Ike and five other competitors in the same zone, give them a highly achievable cut-weight to reach, and drop the checkered flag as boats and motors roar off.
Oklahoma's Jeff Kriet agrees, "The (cut) weight is a little lower than I expected them to set it at," said the angler affectionately known as "Squirrel" to his other competitors. "If you were to get on the right deal, I think you could max out in the first period."
With that thought in the back of his mind, Kriet is focused on surging out of the gate this morning.
"You need to get off to a quick start," he said. "The way (this round) is, you might not have the luxury of being able to go into the last period and be able to make a quick comeback."
But just adding the Sudden Death format to the mix, the top three anglers of the day or the first three to reach the 24-pound cut-weight first advance to the Championship Round, is only one part of the pressure-filled atmosphere.
In Zone 4, anglers will find 9.7 miles of bass infested shoreline. The diverse habitat more noticeable between the Chautauqua Lake Veterans Memorial Bridge and rocky bar at Cheney's Point.
There's also a noticeable weather change as the first real chill of late summer, early autumn grips Western New York.
"This is the coldest morning of the week," said New Jersey's Iaconelli. "I woke up and I'm shivering and my hands are cold."
Why such a big deal? It's because Chautauqua is loaded with shallow water docks that are housing potentially temperature sensitive largemouths.
"It's going to affect the early bite," Iaconelli said. "As much as I want to think that we can get this done pretty quick, it might be a later bite today."
Interestingly enough, Iaconelli's fellow competitor Denny Brauer doesn't think that the chilly morning will do much to turn off the fishing. "The further North you go, these fish don't seem to be affected by the fronts as much," said the 1998 Bassmaster Classic champ. "They are a little more used to it."
In fact, the Missouri pro suggests that just the opposite effect could happen with the morning's cool temperatures.
"It could be a positive," said Brauer. "A lot of times I've seen these fall fronts, especially the early ones, make the bite even better."
Brauer said whatever conditions the fish might like, he's really liking the mix of shallow docks and offshore features, including a big bridge, that the zone offers the Major League Fishing pros.
"This particular area that we'll be fishing has really got some of the best structure on the whole lake as far as good drop-offs, points, and things like that (are concerned)," said Brauer, the 1988 B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year.
And like his fellow pros, Brauer is convinced that the action could be fast and furious. "You've really got to make a decision fairly early in the game as to which direction you're going to go," he said. "I'm going to start out shallow, but if that's not happening, at least you've got an option in this zone."
Iaconelli isn't so sure that the smallmouth option is really all that viable however. "I think the smallmouth that swim in this lake can win the event outright," Iaconelli said. "But the problem is the limited amount of time (we have) that keeps us from finding those places that they live at this time of the year. It takes a lot of time to get offshore, use your electronics, and study the graphs."
And since the Major League Fishing pros aren't allowed any practice time or pre-tournament research - they don't even know which zone they are fishing until the night before - it's virtually impossible to find those aquatic veins rich with bronzeback gold, Ike said.
"With 15 minutes ahead of time (to look at the zone before the day's round begins) and 2.5-hour periods, you just don't have time to find those magic little sweet spots," he said.
Editors Note: The following quotes are from an angler that competed on Elimination Day 3. For people that are only watching the EXTENDED CAST episodes, the angler's name has been removed, "Day 3 Angler" inserted, so that a spoiler isn't created.
Even so, the knowledge that big schools of smallmouths could be out there on deeper structure is highly tempting, especially for Day 3 Angler, who plans to spend a good portion of his 15-minute run around the zone - the "Hot Round" - trying to find a few of those spots.
In his mind, when you've seen one dock, you've seen them all. So he will spend his 15-minute search time looking for something else that could help him advance to the Championship round.
"Specifically, I'm looking for offshore milfoil beds with good hard edges on them," said Day 3 Angler.
"You don't want those beds that (gradually) end in clumps. You want a good, hard edge. If the water was clear, you could see those with your eyes. But right now, you've got to really rely on your electronics.
"For the smallmouth, they'll really key in on that transition where it goes from heavy grass to no grass. They'll just swim up and down those weed lines although you have to get a little bit lucky and come through that zone right as a school comes through."
When they do come through, an angler in the right place at the right time could cause all heck to break loose on the real-time iPad scoreboards aboard every boat.
And with a field full of talented, fiercely competitive Major League Fishing pros eager to advance to the championship round where Summit Cup glory awaits, that could be just enough.
Just enough to cause the Chautauqua Lake pressure cooker to begin to shake, rattle, roll, whistle and overheat. And maybe even explode.
So be sure that you tune in to watch all of the fun Thursday at 9 p.m.