text:
Actor, international Talent
Actor Shvan Aladin Continues to Gain Recognition Across the Globe
July 24, 2015 lgreenbaulm	Leave a comment
So much of establishing oneself as a successful actor in the world of film and television comes down to an actor's ability to be chameleonic in their pursuit of a role in order to make a casting director believe that they aesthetically fit the character.
While the mark of a great actor entails a level of finesse and understanding of the human condition that extends far beyond the depths of one's surface appearance, when it comes to initially breaking out on the silver screen, looks tend to have a lot to do with who gets cast and who doesn't. This seemingly unfair truth gone awry is apparent in the careers of many actors who seem to have fallen victim to the dreaded typecast, forever struggling to break out of that one role in which they've been ushered into playing over and over again.
Actor Shvan Aladin has created a diverse repertoire of work over the past decade that proves the extraordinary capacity of his craft. Through the wide range of roles he's already portrayed across genres, Aladin has made his mark as an actor who cannot be pigeonholed into one role; but, being from the Middle East, more specifically, from Kurdistan, has endowed him with features that are easily stereotyped.
Over the years the actor, who moved to Sweden at the age of 9, has been strategically selective about his roles on the screen, but when you're good at what you do and you look a certain way, ethnic stereotypes, like the "terrorist" in his case, just seem to weasel their way in.
If he wasn't such a professionally seasoned actor, being called in for roles like this might get a little annoying, but he says, "I try to look at the human being that I'm playing as being different from the ones I've played in the past. Because every character is different from each other, just like in life. One of the most valuable lessons I was taught during my training at the Stella Adler academy was to never judge a character while playing it."
He adds, "It doesn't mean that I personally would approve of the actions some characters (such as the terrorist ones) I play do, but I try to put my personal emotions on the side while researching and trying to understand the brain of that specific human being and his justifications for doing what he is doing."
In the past year audiences across the globe have seen Shvan Aladin star in a national commercial for the U.S. Army, the feature film Always Faithful, where he plays a terrorist, and the Swedish television series Blå ögon, also known as Blue Eyes.
While all of these productions in one way or another emphasize his ethnic appeal, the actor brilliantly transforms himself from one character to another without ever encroaching on clichés.
About acting in the commercial for the U.S. Army's campaign "Tunnel Special Forces," the actors says, "It was an amazing experience, and the director, Peter Berg made it even better. It felt wonderful being directed by a director whose movies I've been watching since I was a child, it really made the entire experience unforgettable!"
A two-time Emmy nominee, Berg was also the director of the recent hit film Lone Survivor starring Mark Wahlberg.
Elvin Ahmad (left) and Shvan Aladin (center) during a protest on the SVT series "Blå ögon" shot by Johan Paulin
In the new political drama Blå ögon, Shvan Aladin plays the dynamic and challenging role of Sharhyar, a young Persian teen who is the only true friend that Simon, one of the other lead characters in the series, has. However, due to the fact that Simon's mother Annika Nilsson, played by the Guldbagge Award winning actress Anna Bjelkerud, happens to be a political candidate for the openly racist party, Trygghetspartiet, some begin to question the authenticity of Simon and Sharhyar's friendship.
"My character was a hard working young man with a beautiful heart," explains Aladin. "In the show Sharhyar is the only one who stands up for Simon because he knows that Simon doesn't share the same opinions as his mother."
Over the course of the first season, Aladin's character Sharhyar is framed for the murder of Simon's mother– a perfect example of how stereotypes can turn an innocent man in to a falsely accused criminal.
"The political drama 'Blue Eyes' is about racism taking over in Sweden; but the subject is globally relevant. It's a subject that has always existed unfortunately, especially in Europe today," admits Aladin. "I want to be a part of those who fight against racism, and I believe that you can change people through art. My passion in life is acting and that is my art."
Early on in his career, Aladin starred in the Swedish television shows Andra Avenyn also known as Second Avenue, and Riverside. And while he has undoubtedly made his name known on the screen, the actor's talents extend to the stage as well. In fact, even with all the glitz and glamour that come along with being a film and television star, the actor marks his role as Ruckley, a lobotomized patient, in the theatre production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest in Los Angeles as one of his most memorable to date.
Aladin recalls, "It was the best play that I have been a part of in my life, and playing someone with a mental disability is something that I researched a lot… I will never forget the things I learned during the production. I remember thinking during closing weekend: I will remember this character when I'm on my deathbed."
The actor has also taken the spotlight in the theatre productions of The Hasty Heart directed by Harry Mastrogeorge and J.B directed by Oscar winner Milton Justice, as well as Our lady of 121st Street, and the remake of the Opera Carmen, which was held in Sweden at the Backa Theater.
With an accomplished repertoire of work with world-renowned directors spanning both the American and European entertainment industries already under his belt, Shvan Aladin does admit that there is one director that he has a strong desire to work with.
"I have always had a dream of working with director Bahman Ghobadi so I will also try to include my third country Kurdistan, which is where I'm originally from and so, hopefully I will get to work with him sometime soon," says Aladin. "I remember watching his movie 'A Time for Drunken Horses' as the first movie I saw in the cinema in Sweden after moving there. I immediately fell in love with the movie and his directing, and I was only 10 years old at that time."
Currently, you can catch Shvan Aladin in the role of Jacob in the horror film Mansion of Blood, which was directed by Mike Donahue (Surge of Power, Pooltime) and was released earlier this month.
Actor Shvan AladinAlways Faithful filmBlå ögon TV SeriesMansion of Blood filmRiverside seriesSwedish television
Producer, Reality TV, Television
Tone Innset: The Producer Behind some Of Norway's Favorite TV Shows
Producer Tone Innset shot by Mark Newton
Documentary series producer Tone Innset has been wildly successful as the creative force behind some of Norway's best reality television shows. For the past five years she has continued to produce the kind of work that glues audiences to their TVs with the captivating and often intimate personal accounts of those whom she presents with the honed expertise of a storyteller.
As Norway's top showrunner in the docuseries genre, Innset has produced more than 160 episodes of an array of titles, including 118 episodes spanning 12 seasons of Unge Mødre, the Norwegian version of MTV's Teen Mom. Much like its American counterpart, the show gives viewers a glimpse into the lives of young women and teens who are either pregnant or have given birth as they deal with the day-to-day blessings and adversities of their newfound family lives.
Filming a show like Unge Mødre comes with its own difficulties, which is one area where Innset's knowledge and expertise prove how valuable an asset she is to the entire production.
"These are young adults and teenagers with a lot of responsibility on their hands and a lot on their plate," Innset said. "You also have to remember that in these kinds of series you follow someone's life, and the most interesting things in a person's life doesn't necessarily happen between nine and five."
Innset was also the producer of 12 episodes of Charterfeber aka Charter Fever, a series that follows a group of real-life Norwegian vacationers as they travel to exotic locales in southern Europe. The show documents their lives as they prepare for the trip, their time on holiday and their return home at the end of the journey.
"I loved that because it was really funny," Innset said. "You know Scandinavians love to escape the cold weather and go to southern Europe to have fun… We filmed for two months on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria. It's a humorous and edgy series, and a lot of people relate to the characters and have a laugh."
Her intense hands-on work on Charterfeber made the show's 2013 premiere the highest-rated premiere on the TV3 Norway channel in four years. Charterfeber's widespread popularity garnered the series a nomination for the prestigious Gullruten Norwegian Television Award. The show is also known for having helped launch the career of one of Norway's hottest celebrities, Svein Tore Ostvik.
Innset's latest project is the second season of the food series Norges Grillmester aka Norway Grill Master, a star-studded cooking show, which sees contestants facing off through challenges to be named the titular Grill Master. The popular docuseries is hosted by Norway's golden boy, actor Stig Henrik Hoff (The Thing, Into The White, Lilyhammer), and world-renowned chef Jonas Lundgren.
As a producer with a reputation for being someone who is always on-call and prepared to handle any curve ball in order to keep a production running smoothly, Innset was quick to respond when logistical complications threatened the filming process of Norges Grillmester. After an unforeseeable obstacle arose where a massive tent that had been specially designed as the set for one of the episodes was erected without all of the necessary pieces, it was Innset who came to the rescue.
"Well, on Thursday, we saw that a quarter of the floor in the tent was missing; it never got delivered, and that kind of flooring was very hard to come by," explained Innset. "Somehow we miraculously managed to find a place where we could get a material similar to the floor we already had, so we painted it to look the same and it all worked out."
This is only one out of hundreds of examples of the way Innset's quick thinking and experience has helped to keep one of her productions on track. This particular season of Norges Grillmester premiered April 13 in Norway, and has been an exciting ride with unpredictable twists and turns from contestants Per Thorvald Thorgesen and Terje Inngjerdingen dropping out for health reasons to Sylvia and Luis Vavik winning the title earlier this month.
Innset is also working on the next season of Unge Mødre, which is set to premiere this fall. Her passion for the documentary series genre, which has made her a prolific name in the field and shines in the quality of her productions, stems from a human-interest perspective.
"I strongly believe that when people feel that they are seen and heard they feel a kind of ownership over the project, and when you feel ownership you put a lot more energy into it," she said. "I have a great passion and love for telling stories, and I am a curious people person."
Charterferber TV SeriesUnge Modre TV series
Actor, Canadian Talent, Child Actor, Film, Television, Theatre
Alexander Davis: A Child Actor That Needs to Be On Everyone's Radar
July 15, 2015 Seth Perlstein	Leave a comment
Alexander Davis shot by Denise Grant
To find one's calling can take a lifetime, but Canadian actor Alexander Davis found his in acting when he was just three years old.
Since then, the eight-year-old prodigy has already played lead roles on stage (A Christmas Story, The Little Mermaid) and in film (The Closet, Volition).
Davis portrayed the lead character of Randy Parker in A Christmas Story, which ran for 48 shows in just six weeks at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Davis' portrayal of the quirky Parker was so well done that it earned him a 2015 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in Live Theatre.
Though Davis' work in A Christmas Story was a resounding success, it was not without its challenges. Just before intermission of one of the shows, Davis fell on the set's stairs and hurt his leg. He was bleeding, in pain, and his next stage direction was to walk out the door. That's when he learned the meaning of "the show must go on."
"My acting mom was amazing. She just carried on with the show and picked me up to carry me out the door," Davis said. "I don't know if the audience knew what had happened was real or not. During intermission, I put ice on my leg and went back out and finished the show. Now that's show business."
Despite working through injury, Davis was hungry to act again when the show's run ended. On the flight home from Halifax, he asked his mother if he could go back for more.
"I feel like I was born to perform," Davis said. "I loved performing to sold out audiences and making the crowd laugh. I think my role at the Neptune Theatre really prepared me well."
But Davis's budding brilliance has not been confined to just the stage. He played the lead character in The Closet, a film in which he flawlessly executed the difficult proposition of playing his own twin.
"I had to be exact with where I stood to make sure the shot worked with both of us in the scene," Davis said. "They edited it or layered the scene to make it look like there were two of me. You learn a lot being an actor."
Davis's rapidly expanding reservoir of acting knowledge continued to expand when he played the lead character in Volition, a film about a terrorist who saw the world through a different lens after he met Davis' character on a train.
The film's production schedule forced Davis to adapt, which he did with flying colors.
"We filmed late every night on the train, so I had to change the time I went to bed," Davis said. "It was worth it and so much fun."
Volition co-star Romaine Waite (Antisocial, One Night a Stranger) liked Davis' performance so much that he asked the emerging star to be in a music video for rapper Pas Da' Millz that Waite would later direct.
From stage to film, Davis has achieved more before his ninth birthday than many actors do in a lifetime. But the young Canadian has barely scratched the surface of his brilliance, and is already taking his career to the next level.
While in L.A. to receive his Young Artist Award earlier this year, Davis caught the attention of veteran Hollywood executive producer Irene Dreayer (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, The Suite Life on Deck, Smart Guy).
Dreayer's known as an honest-but-tough executive producer who's often told parents of young actors that L.A.'s not a starting point for a growing career, but rather an end result of a successful career. She's usually recommended to families they go home, but that was not the case for Davis, according to the young actor's parents.
Instead, Dreayer spent a lot of time convincing Davis' parents that L.A. was where the sought after actor should be, according to Davis.
Most recently, the young thespian used his voiceover chops to portray the characters Brownie and Checkers in the animated TV series Super Why!, a popular, animated kids show about the magical adventures of reading-powered superheroes on PBS.
Whether on stage, film or television, Alexander Davis has proven himself to be a talented, reliable and dedicated actor who will no doubt make his presence felt in Hollywood and beyond for many years to come.
A Christmas StoryActor Alexander DavisChild ActorSuper Why!Volition filmYoung Artist Award Winner
Actor, Featured Actress, Film, international Talent, Television, Theatre
Born to Be a Star: Australian Triple Threat Jessica Waters
July 11, 2015 Scott Prewitt	Leave a comment
Actress Jessica Waters
Born into a family of entertainers, actress Jessica Waters has been in the spotlight her entire life. Together with her four siblings and her father, the lead singer of a local band, she was playing music, dancing and acting beginning at just five years old. By the time she was eight she had her heart set on acting professionally, and in the years since she has grown from one of the most promising young Australian talents into an international powerhouse of the screen.
In 2014, Waters joined the cast of The War That Changed Us, a four-part documentary drama series recounting the stories of real-life Australians who fought in World War I. Waters played a nurse traveling with soldiers on the front lines, and said she fell in love with the role.
"This has to be one of my favorite TV shows I have worked on," Waters said. "I loved the costumes, and dressing in all the lovely clothes they wore really made me feel like I was back in that time, and I had to do some nurse training for the role."
The War That Changed Us aired by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2014 to commemorate the centennial anniversary of Australia's entry into the war.
Recently, Waters acted alongside Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator: Salvation, Clash of the Titans) in Paper Planes. The film tells the story of a young boy who, after suffering the loss of his mother, finds solace and hope in a competition to design the ultimate paper airplane. Filmed in her hometown of Perth, Waters played the mother of one of the children competing in the whimsical tournament and said it was a fun project to be a part of. The film received nominations at both the Australian Directors' Guild Awards and the Berlin International Film Festival.
In her latest television role, she plays an American reporter in the SyFy Channel adaptation of the Arthur C. Clarke classic novel Childhood's End. As an Australian, the role was a unique challenge for her, and required a great deal of intensive voice training to master the accent required for the part.
"I've been training my American accent for a year," she said. "They loved my accent, and I got the part on the spot."
Childhood's End is the first screen adaptation of the science fiction masterpiece. Following the arrival on Earth by a race of mysterious but benevolent aliens, the human race begins to thrive and prosper; however, almost immediately suspicions begin to grow among people about their new isolationist neighbors. As a reporter, Waters is on the scene to cover their arrival. The series airs on SyFy later in 2015.
Waters played a reporter once before in The Great Mint Swindle, the true story of a massive 1982 Australian heist where more than $2 million in gold bars were stolen from the Perth Mint. The crime remains unsolved, adding to the mystery and making it one of Western Australia's greatest and most famous true crime stories.
"I love being in true stories," Waters said. "The set was very Australian, and I enjoyed being a news reporter because if I didn't decide to be an actor, I was going to be a TV reporter."
Not limited to film and television, Waters' experience as a performer shines in her work onstage as well.
"I have spent three years working with the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Western Australia," Waters said. "I was not only an actor, but I was also the dance choreographer and a singer."
In her time with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, she's worked on iconic Shakespearean plays including A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest and Comedy of Errors.
Audiences can catch Jessica Waters in her upcoming feature film Reality, a satirical comedy in which Waters plays the lead.
"I just know it's going to be a fantastic film. The script is amazing," she said. "I have a lead role and it's a film that kind of makes fun of reality TV shows."
Reality is currently in the process of filming so eager fans will have to wait to learn more about the project. However, it's guaranteed to be a fresh look at a genre, which provides a goldmine of comedic fodder.
Actress Jessica WatersAustralian ActressChildhood's EndPaper Planes filmThe Great Mint SwindleThe War That Changed Us
Actor, Actor Interview, Reviews, Interviews & Features!
Q & A With Actress Sarah Wessendorf from Eitan Sarid's New Film "CPH"
Actress Sarah Wessendorf shot by Callum Leo Hughes
Though different actors have a plethora of diverse personal reasons for choosing to take on a particular role or another, many will agree that there are some stories that just need to be told, ones that they just couldn't pass up. Amongst other factors, that is one of the driving forces that drew actress Sarah Wessendorf, who's originally from Germany, to join the Israeli film production of "CPH" directed by Eitan Sarid earlier this year. Wessendorf, who's been acting since she was a child, recognized that "CPH" carried the potential to be one of those rare stories that could have a real impact on audiences. And she was right.
"CPH," which was chosen as an Official Selection of the Jerusalem Film Festival where it was nominated for the prestigious Best Picture Award, depicts the postwar trauma a soldier often face years after they've left the battlefield. The film follows a former Israeli soldier who, along with his wife Pia played by Wessendorf, relocate to Copenhagen in hopes of starting a new life and leaving the past behind. If only it were that easy.
Shedding light on a topic that many soldiers across the globe continue to face, "CPH" is brought to life in a way that allows audience members to understand the very real traumas soldiers and their families face after the battle is over. For Wessendorf, this was a hugely important subject to dive into, and her performance as Pia in the film is simply flawless. She is caring and supportive of her husband through his trials and tribulations, yet she never fails to reveal her character's vulnerabilities and the overwhelming difficulties that come along with being his wife and main support system.
Wessendorf says, "At some point you can not avoid facing your past. That being, said some places and people give us the strength we need to work through those painful experiences."
An eye-opening film about trauma, healing and love, "CPH" is not to be missed; and lucky enough for us we got the chance to interview the film's lead actress, Sarah Wessendorf.
Hey Sarah, thanks for joining us! Can you tell us a little bit about what happens in the film "CPH"?
SW: "CPH" is about an ex Israeli soldier who moves to Copenhagen to escape from his traumatic past in Israel. He moves there with his wife Pia, who I play in the film. When he gets to Copenhagen he gets a surprise visit from his army friend who breaks into the apartment when no one is there. When these old friends finally see each other they are faced with all the trauma and fears that my husband was trying to avoid all this time. In a way, his friend breaking into the apartment symbolizes the way that trauma will find a way to break through over and over again if we are not willing to take the time to sit down with it and to look it in the eye in order to accept and transform it.
Sounds like a very heavy story– what was it that made you want to be involved with this project?
SW: I have a deep admiration for Eitan Sarid as a director so when I saw that he was casting for the movie I immediately contacted him, and it worked out beautifully. I never shy away from a difficult or complex topic in movies. I think that those are the most important movies to be made. The only importance is to portray these topics in a respectful and sensitive way.
What is it about Eitan Sarid's work that you admire? What was it like working with Eitan on set?
SW: Eitan Sarid is a wonderful director who gives the actors the space and freedom to bring their own ideas, knowledge and experience to the set. He has a clear idea of what he wants, but he is also open and interested to hear his actor's own sense of the scene and the character, and then let it all come together. Working with Eitan feels safe, there is a lot of mutual respect. We became very good friends through the process of working together. I deeply respect his vision and his ability to tell stories and I'm very much looking forward to working with him in the future.
Can you tell us about your character in the film?
SW: I play Pia, the wife of the lead. She is from Denmark and so that aspect also signals a new energy that is not connected to the heaviness her husband experienced in Israel. She is next to him to help him build a new life and create a new identity. But when her husband is faced with his past trauma she too has to come to terms with the fact that she didn't fully know her husband and that in order to love him fully she has to understand his pain and trauma.
What was it like working with Doron Amit who plays your husband in the film? How was the chemistry on set?
SW: Working with Doron was a real treat! He is a very talented actor and together we created this safe space where we both felt free to improvise and trust each other, we motivated each other to go even deeper into our characters' feelings, fears and ultimately the bond the characters have.
What does Pia bring to the story? And how did you feel about playing the character?
SW: Pia's role is a vital one, she adds an element of love and support to the film. She is the one who accepts and loves her husband no matter what. She is determined to have unending and unconditional love for her husband, and this is an active choice she reinforces over and over again, which gives her husband the strength and trust to, for the first time, look into his pain and try to heal.
I think that this is something that we as humans need in order to be able to move past certain traumas, to know somehow that there is a deep well of love underneath. A love that will catch you when you fall. No matter how we think we have it, I think it is a must to have that in order to open up and become vulnerable. This well if you will, is Pia in the film for her husband.
When you were creating your character and really becoming Pia, were there any experiences from your personal life that you looked to, or any other places that you turned to for inspiration?
SW: Definitely, I very much rely on a spiritual power to give me the strength and courage to look into childhood experiences which might not have been super and that I wanted to heal. I feel a very strong unconditional love from a higher wisdom, call it God if you will. I was very much comparing this to the unfailing love and patience that Pia has for her husband. Also I saw someone who deeply admires her husband for his strength and I've definitely felt this in previous relationships too, this immense respect for the life path that someone had been on.
Can you tell us about any challenges or memorable experiences from this project?
SW: Shooting in Israel was definitely very interesting for me. I could tell that the story was also a very personal one for the director and the other cast members since in Israel it is mandatory to go to the army. There of course you are prey to many traumatic experiences, which you will not be able to shield yourself from. Then it becomes the ultimate goal to somehow heal these experiences from the army which proves to not always be that easy. Especially when there are no therapists offered and therapy can be very expensive. It is up to the individuals to learn to cope as best as they can with those dark memories and then somehow learn to live with them.
What are your personal feelings on the fact that is so difficult for the soldiers to get approved for free therapy once they leave the army?
SW: That is of course unfortunate since a country greatly benefits from having mentally healthy citizens. It is a very complex topic though, one that could take hours to discuss. And I don't think it is fair to a country to judge it without deeply diving into its history, its values and its hopes.
Was there any point during the filming where you felt like the story was too heavy to handle?
SW: No never. I was very much convinced that this was an important story to tell. And as a German I was very happy to be a part of it. I don't shy away from heavy situations or topics. So this for me was rather a film that I felt honored to be a part of!
What was your favorite part of being involved in this production?
SW: There is something very special to be working as a German in an otherwise all Israeli cast. I feel very fortunate that I got the opportunity to work with such talented actors such as Yona Rozenkier and Doron Amit. Also I completely trusted Eitan Sarid's vision. I felt very lucky to be part of a meaningful Israeli story in a film that also received such amazing reviews and feedback. But my favorite part was hands down the people. For some reason I always felt very connected to Israel and being surrounded by so much Israeli talent was a complete blast for me.
What do you hope audiences take away from this film?
SW: My biggest wish would be that people realize that it is not always the way it seems when we see a fellow human being. From the outside everything might look wonderful, carefree and easy. But we can never really know where this person has come from, what scars he or she carries, what traumas they've experienced. I would love for the audience to understand that we need to foster a society of compassion and empathy, and a deeper love for each other. We all run through life with our own experiences, some are joyful and some painful. No one can run away from that. My wish is that we all learn to treat each other with more care and more love.
How do you feel about the film being chosen as an Official Selection of the Jerusalem International Film Festival and the Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival?
SW: It was such thrilling news! I am so proud of all of us, because I know how hard we worked to make the movie what it is! I was not surprised that it has gotten the recognition that it did though. With all that talent around, it was easy to foresee that this movie would be an important one.
Actor InterviewActress Sarah WessendorfCPH FilmEitan SaridGerman ActorsInternational FilmIsraeli filmsJerusalem International Film FestivalSarah Wessendorf
Actor, international Talent, Interviews & Features!
One of Canada's Hottest Stars: Actress Jessica Huras
July 3, 2015 lgreenbaulm	Leave a comment
Over the last decade Canadian actress Jessica Huras has established herself as a sought after talent for high profile theater productions, TV shows and award-winning films. While her versatility and capacity for seamlessly tapping into even the most challenging roles have definitely helped her create the dazzling reputation she has today, it doesn't hurt that she is undeniably beautiful as well.
Early on in her career Huras appeared on the two-time Gemini Award winning series This Is Wonderland. Shortly after she went on to guest star on the Lifetime TV series Missing alongside multi-award winning actress Vivica A. Fox. An investigative crime series that focuses on finding missing persons, Huras played the roles of Caroline Dunn and Luke Thompson, two characters who at first appear to be separate and unrelated, but over the course of the episode are revealed to be one in the same.
When it comes to choosing one role over another, Huras says, "I look for smart scripts that feel original in some way and that have interesting and complex roles for women."
In Missing, Huras gives a heart wrenching performance as a transgendered college student who struggles to find his identity as a man born in a woman's body, a challenging role that only further proves the actress's affinity for tapping into complex characters.
Audiences across the world will also recognize Huras as Leandra from the first season of the hit television show Being Erica, where she starred alongside Erin Karpluk (Rookie Blue, Reasonable Doubt, Supernatural, Saving Hope, Flashpoint) and Reagan Pasternak (Masters of Sex, Heartland, Cake).
"This was a very theatrical role, allowing me to tap into my darker side and channel my inner Goth," explains Huras about her character on the three-time Gemini Award and Leo Award winning series.
Similar to the way that Jamie Lee Curtis has become synonymous with the horror genre through her role as Laurie Strode in Halloween, Huras has also become something of a notable "scream queen" on film.
Through films like The Deadly Pledge where she played the role of Nikki Evans alongside Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester, James Isaac's action packed 2006 horror film Skinwalkers, and NYC: Tornado Terror, Huras has displayed a rare talent for evoking fear within audiences through her believable performances.
Although she has carved out her place as an actress in film and television productions starring alongside some of the best in the industry, the silver screen has by no means taken away from her work as a dedicated performer in the theatre.
In 2009 Huras starred alongside Sebastien Heins from the TV series The Listener, Cracked and Darknet, and Mikaela Dyke from the films Blood Boars and Sight Unseen, in the production of David Levine's "Reflections On Giving Birth to a Squid." The production, which opened in Montreal and toured across Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton as part of the Fringe Festival, received the Centaur Award for Outstanding Production from the Montreal Fringe Festival.
In 2010 the actress also founded Heart in Hand Theater company in Toronto – a revolving collective producing rare plays in need of a comeback, as well as developing new works of their own. Through Heart in Hand, Huras has produced "The Commune," "Cowboy Mouth" where she played the starring role of Cavale alongside Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett, and "Trout Stanley" where she played the role of Grace Ducharme.
About what drives her to perform, Huras says, "I love telling stories and sharing the human experience. I think it's the most palpable way of connecting and it's never dull, not for a second. I'm forever challenged and inspired in this field."
With each of her characters being completely different from the next, Huras's dedication to continually pushing herself beyond her comfort zone as an actress has allowed her to amass a wide range of roles on both the stage and screen.
With an astonishing career already under her belt and several productions being released this year, it is clear that we will be seeing a whole lot more of Jessica Huras for years to come. Currently, you can check Huras out in the role of Natalie on the History Channel series Gangland Undercover, which began airing in February. She also wrapped production on the films Anxietyville and Teeth earlier this year, both of which are set to debut later this year.
Actress Jessica HurasAnxietyville filmCowboy MouthGangland Undercover TV seriesHeart in Hand theatreJason CollettTeeth filmTheatreTrout Stanley
Actor, Film, international Talent, Theatre
For Actress Alli McLaren, Performing Runs in Her Blood
July 1, 2015 Scott Prewitt	Leave a comment
Actress Alli McLaren shot by David Lee
The vast array of roles masterfully portrayed by Alli McLaren are a testament to the striking technique she's spent her entire life honing, both onstage and in front of the camera. Following in both her mother and grandmother's footsteps, the Australian dynamo is a third generation actor in whom the art of performance is deeply engrained.
McLaren's unique talents stem from so much more than the impressive combination of her inherited genetics, for her upbringing in the theatre and her years of rigorous and dedicated training have put her far above the rest. One of her strongest and most valuable assets is something too many actors lack – real-life experience.
In addition to her acting prowess, McLaren is also a talented and accomplished writer for the screen. McLaren wrote the upcoming film My Year of Silence based on her own experiences. The film follows McLaren as she plays Callie, a role that shines a spotlight on the painful reality of those who cope daily with mental illness and depression.
For years, McLaren fought tirelessly to overcome long and difficult battles with illness and depression. Through that struggle, she gained an intimate and personal understanding of the peaks and depths of human emotion and an insight into the human psyche that is clearly displayed in every part she's played. From the masterful way that she has transformed herself into the mind and body of every character she has taken on, audiences can expect yet another dazzling performance from the actress as Callie in the upcoming film My Year of Silence, which is being produced by White Night Films.
Though her dramatic flair is impeccable, her recent role in A Writer's Block, also produced by White Night Films, gave her a chance to show off both her action and comedic chops. The project centers around two writers as the plot of their latest film begins to come to life. McLaren's character Sophie, one of the characters in the two writers' script, is kidnapped, and the ensuing rescue mission her older brother embarks on to save her forms the backbone of the film. The quick-action, fights and shootouts were a far cry from her other more cerebral and introspective roles, but in no time she mastered the dance-like combat moves with grace and professionalism — and a little bit of fun, too.
"There was a lot of stage fighting choreography involved in this shoot, which was new to me," said McLaren. "But I felt like a ninja doing it, which kind of rocked."
In one of her most powerful roles, McLaren played the lead in Infidelity, directed by Emmy Award-winning actress Blanche Baker. Based on a French script, the film centers around an experiment meant to study the faithfulness of men versus women in committed relationships.
McLaren's character, Gretchen, is the person responsible for conducting the experiment, and as such, she holds complete control over its success. "Gretchen was really the female power in this film," McLaren said. "It felt great to play a character with so much power and so much control."
An exceptional actress by anyone's standards, McLaren's upcoming projects include the 2016 release of My Year of Silence as well as a likely sequel to follow, in addition to a planned sequel to A Writer's Block. The young starlet will no doubt continue to raise the bar for fellow actors across the industry as a whole; and as audiences flock to My Year of Silence, they'll no doubt witness the internationally sought after talent set new standards for dramatic writing as well.
A Writer's Block filmActress Alli McLarenAustralian ActressInfidelity filmMy Year of Silence filmWhite Night Productions


PATCHES SHOWN ARE EITHER A U.S. BORDER PATROL LED OPERATION OR THE USBP WAS A DISTINCT PART OF THE TASK FORCE/SPECIAL OPERATION.
Do you have any patches to add? Please email me and hopefully we can work out a trade.


The Future of Manufacturing in Europe is a pilot project proposed by the European Parliament and delegated to Eurofound by the European Commission (DG GROW). The project commenced in April 2015 and will run for four years. It is comprised of seven sub-projects.
'Reshoring' is the relocation of previously offshored value chain activities back to the EU and can be an important source of new manufacturing employment in Europe. Monitoring the evolution, magnitude and motivations of reshoring is crucial in understanding the drivers of reshoring decisions, to learn the way reshoring is implemented, and to evaluate the role of policy in encouraging this development. The European Reshoring Monitor is a regularly updated online database set up in 2015 to collect information on individual reshoring cases identified in media articles and other sources. The Monitor will run at least until the end of 2018.
Manufacturing is geographically much more regionally concentrated than most other economic activities. Thus, the regional policy dimension of manufacturing is of particular importance. While it certainly is the case that some regions do have the knowledge and institutional capacity to orient their strategies and instruments towards a sustainable economic structure and labour market under consideration of core industrial activities, this is by no means the case throughout Europe. The aim of this research project is to map the existing industrial policy capacity in selected EU regions, to identify elements and processes of regional policy design and implementation and the identification of good practice.
The project includes five separate studies, each one focusing on a (potentially) 'game changing' technologies in European manufacturing: advanced robotics, 3D printing, electric vehicles, biotech and the industrial Internet of things. The methodology is based on desk research, in-depth interviews and workshops where innovators, employers, trade unions and policy makers discuss the future of the technology in their specific sectors. Each of the reports investigates the possible impact of these technologies on production processes, working conditions, and employment in terms of skills, competences and tasks. The horizon of the studies is 10 years into the future.
The project investigates the status of the current national apprenticeship provision, particularly advanced manufacturing, in five European countries, the USA and Australia. Moreover, it aims at investigating good practice examples at company level in adapting apprenticeship systems to new demands, restructuring and technological change in the advanced manufacturing sector.
This research project focuses on a subgroup of internationally active SMEs: born globals. These companies, which intensively engage in international activities briefly after start-up, have been found to outperform other young firms both in terms of their economic and employment growth. As currently little is known on their specific roles in global supply chains, and the effects of this cooperation on other companies, this is the main research focus of this project. Furthermore, the driving and hindering factors for born globals' activities will be investigated, as will be potential support needs. The project is mainly based on qualitative case studies on born globals' supply chains and an analysis of illustrative support instruments for SME internationalisation, supplemented by an in-house literature review.
The project will, by means of global macroeconomic model examine, the employment implications (number of jobs by sector, occupation, wage profile and task content) under various possible scenarios. These scenarios will focus on various possible developments in global trade and energy policies and technological progress. The scenarios will run to 2030.


Gwadar looks safe. With the Prime Minister around, it feels too safe. The historic Gwadar Expo 2018 earlier this week was termed a resounding success – by organizers. The only thing close to historic about the show was the fact that it was the first ever expo in Gwadar, a feat that can certainly not be repeated.
If the motive behind the expo was to showcase Gwadar, its potential and development to the 'world', it was most certainly not achieved. Unless of course the 'world' is now confined to a few hundred real estate builders, developers, and brokers. The shocking absence of media, except for the state TV, further strengthens the point that it was not meant for the 'world' to see. BR Research unsuccessfully attempted to solve the mystery behind a media blackout – only to be casually told that the Chinese are not exactly fond of too much media.
The event still got reported alright in the leading newspapers. Only that the coverage looks more of a press release coming from the organizers, than a much-better on-the-ground reporting, which could certainly have been more extensive and served the purpose.
And if the idea was to provide a platform for businesses to interact with potential clients and have more business-to-business interaction on the sidelines, anecdotal evidence suggests that purpose was not achieved either. Some exhibitors stated they were there just to show presence. Others were looking for more interactions, only to be left high-and-dry, thanks to the real-estate heavy audience.
This is not to say that the expo could not achieve a thing. The impressive Business Centre as part of the Free Zone built in less than a year – shows there is commitment to the cause. Surprisingly, the Chinese participation was much lesser than one had anticipated. Whether the exhibitors are just eying to set-up shop in the free zone to trade with Pakistan or actually put in investments to build industries, remains unknown.


text:
Q: Enforcing an "end" call whenever there is a corresponding "start" call Let's say I want to enforce a rule:

Everytime you call "StartJumping()" in your function, you must call "EndJumping()" before you return.

When a developer is writing their code, they may simply forget to call EndSomething - so I want to make it easy to remember.
I can think of only one way to do this: and it abuses the "using" keyword:
class Jumper : IDisposable {
    public Jumper() {   Jumper.StartJumping(); }
    public void Dispose() {  Jumper.EndJumping(); }

    public static void StartJumping() {...}
    public static void EndJumping() {...}
}

public bool SomeFunction() {
    // do some stuff

    // start jumping...
    using(new Jumper()) {
        // do more stuff
        // while jumping

    }  // end jumping
}

Is there a better way to do this?

A: If you need to control a scoped operation, I would add a method which take an Action<Jumper> to contain the required operations on the jumper instance:
public static void Jump(Action<Jumper> jumpAction)
{
    StartJumping();
    Jumper j = new Jumper();
    jumpAction(j);
    EndJumping();
}

A: An alternative approach that would work in some circumstances (i.e. when the actions can all happen at the end) would be to create a series of classes with a fluent interface and some final Execute() method.
var sequence = StartJumping().Then(some_other_method).Then(some_third_method);
// forgot to do EndJumping()
sequence.Execute();

Execute() can chain back down line and enforce any rules (or you can build the closing sequence as you build the opening sequence).
The one advantage this technique has over others is that you aren't limited by scoping rules.  e.g. if you want to build the sequence based on user inputs or other asynchronous events you can do that.

A: Jeff,
what you're trying to achieve is generally referred to as Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP). Programming using AOP paradigms in C# is not easy - or reliable... yet. There are some capabilities built directly into the CLR and .NET framework that make AOP possible is certain narrow cases. For example, when you derive a class from ContextBoundObject you can use ContextAttribute to inject logic before/after method calls on the CBO instance. You can see examples of how this is done here.
Deriving a CBO class is annoying and restrictive - and there is another alternative. You can use a tool like PostSharp to apply AOP to any C# class. PostSharp is far more flexible than CBOs because it essentially rewrites your IL code in a postcompilation step. While this may seem a bit scary, it's very powerful because it allows you to weave in code in almost any way you can imagine. Here's a PostSharp example built on your use scenario:
using PostSharp.Aspects;

[Serializable]
public sealed class JumperAttribute : OnMethodBoundaryAspect
{
  public override void OnEntry(MethodExecutionArgs args)
  {
    Jumper.StartJumping();
  }

  public override void OnExit(MethodExecutionArgs args)
  {
    Jumper.EndJumping();
  }
}

class SomeClass
{
  [Jumper()]
  public bool SomeFunction()  // StartJumping *magically* called...
  {
    // do some code...

  } // EndJumping *magically* called...
}

PostSharp achieves the magic by rewriting the compiled IL code to include instructions to run the code that you've defined in the JumperAttribute class' OnEntry and OnExit methods.
Whether in your case PostSharp/AOP is a better alternative than "repurposing" the using statement is unclear to me. I tend to agree with @Eric Lippert that the using keyword obfuscates important semantics of your code and imposes side-effects and semantic menting to the } symbol at the end of a using block - which is unexpected. But is this any different than applying AOP attributes to your code? They also hide important semantics behind a declarative syntax ... but that's sort of the point of AOP.
One point where I whole-heartedly agree with Eric is that redesigning your code to avoid global state like this (when possible) is probably the best option. Not only does it avoid the problem of enforcing correct usage, but it can also help avoid multithreading challenges in the future - which global state is very susceptible to.

A: I don't actually see this as an abuse of using; I'm using this idiom in different contexts and never had problems... especially given that using is only a syntactic sugar. One way I use it to set a global flag in one of third party libraries I use, so that the change is reverted when finishing operations:
class WithLocale : IDisposable {
    Locale old;
    public WithLocale(Locale x) { old = ThirdParty.Locale; ThirdParty.Locale = x }
    public void Dispose() { ThirdParty.Locale = old }
}

Note you don't need to assign a variable in using clause. This is enough:
using(new WithLocale("jp")) {
    ...
}

I slightly miss C++'s RAII idiom here, where the destructor is always called. using is the closest you can get in C#, I guess.

A: We have done almost exactly what you propose as a way to add method trace logging in our applications.  Beats having to make 2 logging calls, one for entering and one for exiting.

A: Essentially the problem is:

*

*I have global state...

*and I want to mutate that global state...

*but I want to make sure that I mutate it back.

You have discovered that it hurts when you do that. My advice is rather than trying to find a way to make it hurt less, try to find a way to not do the painful thing in the first place.
I am well aware of how hard this is. When we added lambdas to C# in v3 we had a big problem. Consider the following:
void M(Func<int, int> f) { }
void M(Func<string, int> f) { }
...
M(x=>x.Length);

How on earth do we bind this successfully?  Well, what we do is try both (x is int, or x is string) and see which, if any, gives us an error. The ones that don't give errors become candidates for overload resolution.
The error reporting engine in the compiler is global state. In C# 1 and 2 there had never been a situation where we had to say "bind this entire method body for the purposes of determining if it had any errors but don't report the errors". After all, in this program you do not want to get the error "int doesn't have a property called Length", you want it to discover that, make a note of it, and not report it.
So what I did was exactly what you did. Start suppressing error reporting, but don't forget to STOP suppressing error reporting.
It's terrible. What we really ought to do is redesign the compiler so that errors are output of the semantic analyzer, not global state of the compiler. However, it's hard to thread that through hundreds of thousands of lines of existing code that depends on that global state.
Anyway, something else to think about. Your "using" solution has the effect of stopping jumping when an exception is thrown. Is that the right thing to do? It might not be. After all, an unexpected, unhandled exception has been thrown. The entire system could be massively unstable.  None of your internal state invariants might be actually invariant in this scenario.
Look at it this way: I mutated global state. I then got an unexpected, unhandled exception. I know, I think I'll mutate global state again! That'll help! Seems like a very, very bad idea.
Of course, it depends on what the mutation to global state is. If it is "start reporting errors to the user again" as it is in the compiler then the correct thing to do for an unhandled exception is to start reporting errors to the user again: after all, we're going to need to report the error that the compiler just had an unhandled exception!
If on the other hand the mutation to global state is "unlock the resource and allow it to be observed and used by untrustworthy code" then it is potentially a VERY BAD IDEA to automatically unlock it.  That unexpected, unhandled exception might be evidence of an attack on your code, from an attacker who is dearly hoping that you are going to unlock access to global state now that it is in a vulnerable, inconsistent form.

A: I'm going to disagree with Eric: when to do this or not depends on the circumstances.  At one point, I was reworking my a large code base to include acquire/release semantics around all accesses to a custom image class.  Images were originally allocated in unmoving blocks of memory, but we now had the ability to put the images into blocks that were allowed to be moved if they hadn't been acquired.  In my code, it is a serious bug for a block of memory to have slipped past unlocked.
Therefore, it is vital to enforce this.  I created this class:
public class ResourceReleaser<T> : IDisposable
{
    private Action<T> _action;
    private bool _disposed;
    private T _val;

    public ResourceReleaser(T val, Action<T> action)
    {
        if (action == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("action");
        _action = action;
        _val = val;
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        Dispose(true);
        GC.SuppressFinalize(this);
    }

    ~ResourceReleaser()
    {
        Dispose(false);
    }

    protected virtual void Dispose(bool disposing)
    {
        if (_disposed)
            return;

        if (disposing)
        {
            _disposed = true;
            _action(_val);
        }
    }
}

which allows me to do make this subclass:
public class PixelMemoryLocker : ResourceReleaser<PixelMemory>
{
    public PixelMemoryLocker(PixelMemory mem)
        : base(mem,
        (pm =>
            {
                if (pm != null)
                    pm.Unlock();
            }
        ))
    {
        if (mem != null)
            mem.Lock();
    }

    public PixelMemoryLocker(AtalaImage image)
        : this(image == null ? null : image.PixelMemory)
    {
    }
}

Which in turn lets me write this code:
using (var locker = new PixelMemoryLocker(image)) {
    // .. pixel memory is now locked and ready to work with
}

This does the work I need and a quick search tells me I needed it in 186 places that I can guarantee won't ever fail to unlock.  And I have to be able to make this guarantee - to do otherwise could freeze a huge chunk of memory in my client's heap.  I can't do that.
However, in another case where I do work handling encryption of PDF documents, all strings and streams are encrypted in PDF dictionaries except when they're not.  Really.  There are a tiny number of edge cases wherein it is incorrect to encrypt or decrypt the dictionaries so while streaming out an object, I do this:
if (context.IsEncrypting)
{
    crypt = context.Encryption;
    if (!ShouldBeEncrypted(crypt))
    {
        context.SuspendEncryption();
        suspendedEncryption = true;
    }
}
// ... more code ...
if (suspendedEncryption)
{
    context.ResumeEncryption();
}

so why did I choose this over the RAII approach?  Well, any exception that happens in the ... more code ... means that you are dead in the water.  There is no recovery.  There can be no recovery.  You have to start over from the very beginning and the context object needs to be reconstructed, so it's state is hosed anyway.  And by comparison, I only had to do this code 4 times - the possibility for error is way, way less than in the memory locking code, and if I forget one in the future, the generated document is going to be broken immediately (fail fast).
So pick RAII when you absolutely positively HAVE to have the bracketed call and can't fail.
Don't bother with RAII if it is trivial to do otherwise.

A: Would having an abstract base class be helpful?  A method in the base class could call StartJumping(), the implementation of the abstract method that child classes would implement, and then call EndJumping().

A: I like this style and frequently implement it when I want to guarantee some tear down behaviour: often it is much cleaner to read than a try-finally. I don't think you should bother with declaring and naming the reference j, but I do think you should avoid calling the EndJumping method twice, you should check if it's already been disposed. And with reference to your unmanaged code note: it's a finalizer that's typically implemented for that (although Dispose and SuppressFinalize are typically called to free up the resources sooner.)

A: I've commented on some of the answers here a bit about what IDisposable is and isn't, but I will reiterate the point that IDisposable is to enable deterministic cleanup, but does not guarantee deterministic cleanup. i.e. It's not guaranteed to be called, and only somewhat guaranteed when paired with a using block.
// despite being IDisposable, Dispose() isn't guaranteed.
Jumper j = new Jumper();

Now, I'm not going to comment on your use of using because Eric Lippert did a far better job of it.
If you do have an IDisposable class without requiring a finalizer, a pattern I've seen for detecting when people forget to call Dispose() is to add a finalizer that's conditionally compiled in DEBUG builds so that you can log something whenever your finalizer is called.
A realistic example is a class that's encapsulates writing to a file in some special way. Because MyWriter holds a reference to a FileStream which is also IDisposable, we should also implement IDisposable to be polite.
public sealed class MyWriter : IDisposable
{
    private System.IO.FileStream _fileStream;
    private bool _isDisposed;

    public MyWriter(string path)
    {
        _fileStream = System.IO.File.Create(path);
    }

#if DEBUG
    ~MyWriter() // Finalizer for DEBUG builds only
    {
        Dispose(false);
    }
#endif

    public void Close()
    {
        ((IDisposable)this).Dispose();
    }

    private void Dispose(bool disposing)
    {
        if (disposing && !_isDisposed)
        {
            // called from IDisposable.Dispose()
            if (_fileStream != null)
                _fileStream.Dispose();

            _isDisposed = true;
        }
        else
        {
            // called from finalizer in a DEBUG build.
            // Log so a developer can fix.
            Console.WriteLine("MyWriter failed to be disposed");
        }
    }

    void IDisposable.Dispose()
    {
        Dispose(true);
#if DEBUG
        GC.SuppressFinalize(this);
#endif
    }

}

Ouch. That's quite complicated, but this is what people expect when they see IDisposable.
The class doesn't even do anything yet but open a file, but that's what you get with IDisposable, and the logging is extremely simplified.
    public void WriteFoo(string comment)
    {
        if (_isDisposed)
            throw new ObjectDisposedException("MyWriter");

        // logic omitted
    }

Finalizers are expensive, and the MyWriter above doesn't require a finalizer, so there's no point adding one outside of DEBUG builds.

A: With the using pattern I can just use a grep (?<!using.*)new\s+Jumper to find all places where there might be a problem.
With StartJumping I need to manually look at each call to find out if there is a possibility that an exception, return, break, continue, goto etc can cause EndJumping to not be called.

A: *

*I dont think you want to make those methods static

*You need to check in the dispose if end jumping has alredy been called.

*If I call start jumping again what happens?

You could use a reference counter or a flag to keep track of the state of the 'jumping'. Some people would say IDisposable is only for unmanaged resources but I think this is ok. Otherwise you should make start and end jumping private and use a destructor to go with the constructor.
class Jumper
{
    public Jumper() {   Jumper.StartJumping(); }
    public ~Jumper() {  Jumper.EndJumping(); }

    private void StartJumping() {...}
    public void EndJumping() {...}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


"Nick, did you bring the satellite phone?" Christie asked.
"She'll be right, mate, we'll be there in an hour or --" Bobby answered.
The car veered of the road, clashing into the buttress of a big tree, completely destroying the front of the car.
"Is every thing ok, is anyone hurt?" the worried voice of Christie was audible.
"Yes, we're all fine." Michael managed to utter.
"Oh, stop winging Sandy" Michael said.
"So what do we do now, Aussie, with no satellite phone and no reception?" Nick finally asked.
As they walked, Christie remarked the natural beauty of the landscape which could not be found in the American country side. The green trees and mountains, in contrast with the beautiful camp waters of the lake, and the true blue of cloudless skies, took her breath away.
Nick caught on occasional glimpse of an animal's tail, or a slither of a reptile on a rock. Occasionally moving into the sun, leaving the group to explore a few feet away, he could feel the sun's rays slightly burning his skin.
Michael studied the amazing curves of Sandy's body as she walked in front of him, thinking and smiling.
Sandy always hated the country side; she did not even know why she came. All she could think about was that beautiful hotel room in Miami with the beach, the surf and the cold ice tea, while she was sitting by the pool waiting for the night to start.
Christie and Nick were from New York, while Michael and Sandy from Miami. As an excursion all first year university students took, they had come to Tasmania for summer camp.
"It's getting dark, maybe we should stop." Bobby suggested.
After the long walk from the car, everyone was exhausted and all they wanted to do was to find a place to rest. They stopped under the shelter of a large tree.
Later that night, when Nick had to fulfil his earthly needs, he went away from the group. In the dark, he heard a soft crackle of dead sticks on the forest floor breaking. He froze.
I'm not afraid, there's nothing to be scared of anyway, right?
The footsteps quietly approached, and Nick made out a muffled growl.
Something is there and it's going to eat me, and I'm going to die, I'm too young to die. Panicked thoughts ran through his troubled mind, not letting his think properly. Heavy breathing and footsteps seemed to be the only things he could hear. His heart was pumping out of his muscular chest. The heat became intoxicating. He could taste his own fear. The darkness seemed to cave in on him. An angry roar killed the silence and the petrified Nick fell to the floor as the beast approached. He saw it. It opened its mouth and showed its sharp teeth, snarling at him, its pointy teeth ready to attack.
Back at the tree, Michael and Christie were getting suspiciously close. As Christie laughed, she would slap his arm, slowly and delicately, gradually inching towards him on the log they were both sitting on.
"Oh you are soo funny, did you know that, and cute too! Ha-ha!" she giggled.
"Aren't you still with Nick, Christie? You guys were going out when we left New York," Sandy asked, letting sarcasm creep into her voice.
"Fine, Michael, are you coming?!" Christie asked taking his hand in hers and standing up.
"Oi, mates, it's mighty dangerous out there, there's some animals that could kill you in a sec." Bobby warned.
"Yeah right, that's only on Animal Planet, nothing is gonna happen to us!" Michael laughed ironically and left with Christie and a torch.
They walked a while before stopping. The torch was the only thing producing light, without it, it would be pitch-dark.
"What do you think?" Christie inched towards him, and put her hands around his neck. The torch dropped and turned off, but that no longer mattered. She was with him, the hottest guy she had ever met, as well as the best kisser.
Michael suddenly shifted position, so he could take off his t-shirt. Christie felt something new, licking all over her face, ears and neck. She wondered what Michael was thinking. What on Earth is he THINKING?? I'm not an ice cream!!
"What did I do, I just moved over a bit," he replied.
Who was it then, she thought, terrified. Christie got up and tried to feel what it could have been. She heard a growl and shuffling of leaves in the distance. She heard panting, heavy breathing, small footsteps. She could feel the temperature rising, suddenly feeling the need for Michael, and human protection. She tried to touch Michael, but felt something else.
"AHHHHH!!!" she screamed, enough to make a chill run down Michael's back.
"STOP, Come, Sit!!" A calm voice was heard.
The dog obediently went and sat next to its master, licking his hand.
The terrified Christie and Michael got up and looked at Nick, who was curiously looking at them.
"Where did you find him?" Michael managed to blurt out.
"Actually, he found me, and scared me half to death." Nick answered.
"Come on, let's get out of here, I think I've had enough of animals for one night." Christie said, looking angrily at thew dog, as she started walking away.
"Agreed" the two boys replied and followed her, the dog staying close behind.
When the reached the camp, they found Bobby and Sandy sleeping. That night everyone except Bobby slept badly. The thought of another scare stayed in Michael's, Christie's and Nick's minds, while Sandy could not find a comfortable position on the forest floor. In the morning everyone shared their stories and promised to stay together no matter what. They had decided that even in the scariest situations, being with someone else is always better.
Irina, hello and welcome to Writewords.
You've not given any indication of the level of feedback you'd like and, as you're new, you might find that people are wary of commenting on your work.
Can I suggest you go to the Introduce Your Work forum and start a thread asking for feedback. If you also give a little information about yourself and the type of writing you do, and what sort of experience you've had, if any, it will help other members to help you.


City Waters Lodge Perth - 3 Star CBD Accommodation by the banks of the Swan. CITY WATERS LODGE is a 3 Star tourist class property of self-catering units. We cater for clients wanting a 3 star price. All rooms are fully equipped with kitchens and bathrooms with bath. The property enjoys a superb CBD Location on 118 Terrace Road, Perth, next to Langley Park by the banks of the Swan River. Because of the central location most of the City's attractions can be enjoyed without the need to hire a car.


text:
Journalism Can Never Be Silenced
Find us at newsroom@thepavlovictoday.com Twitter RSS
Good Morning DC
2020 TRANSITION
CORONAVIRUS BRIEF
Naked Opinion
Afterimage Review
Sunday Progressive
Ksenija Pavlovic McAteer
Ksenija Pavlovic is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Pavlovic Today, The Chief White House Correspondent. Pavlovic was a Teaching Fellow and Doctoral Fellow in the Political Science department at Yale University, Lead Instructor in International Affairs and Security and Politics Law and Economics programs at Yale Global Scholars, Head Writing Fellow at the Yale Graduate Writing Center, Fellow of the "Research and Travel Award in Grand Strategy" from International Security Studies (ISS) at Yale University, Fellow of the Roger Hertog Global Strategy Initiative in Religious Violence at Columbia University, a Doctoral candidate in Political Conflict and Peace Building Processes at Complutense University in Madrid, Fellow of the OSI Global Supplementary Grant Program, and a Visiting Doctoral Fellow at the Juan March Institute. She holds an M.Sc. in European Politics from the London School of Economics, an M.A. in American Politics, and a B.A. in Journalism and Communication from the University of Belgrade. She speaks English, Serbian, Croatian, and Spanish. Pavlovic has interviewed exclusively pivotal figures including Arianna Huffington, Sir Richard Branson, President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim, Karlie Kloss, filmmaker and founder of the Webby awards Tiffany Shlain, film director Lars von Trier, actors Adam Brody, Monica Bellucci, fashion designers Adolfo Dominguez, Tommy Hilfiger and Donna Karan, publisher and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes; the world No.1 tennis player Novak Djokovic; novelist Martin Amis, as well as big names in the governmental arena such as the former President of Serbia Boris Tadic, the leading members of the first democratic Serbian government and Milorad Dodik, President of the Serbian entity of BIH. Moreover, Ms. Pavlovic has exclusively covered the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, London Film Festival, Madrid Fashion Week, The Madrid Open, and a range of other international benefit and political events. Read more : www.ksenijapavlovic.com
By Ksenija Pavlovic McAteer | Published 04.10.2020.
EXCLUSIVE Interview: John Jovanovic On An Increased US Presence In Serbia And How DFC Plans To Facilitate Economic Cooperation Between Washington And Belgrade
As the implementation of the Serbia-Kosovo Agreement enacted at the White House on September 4, 2020, is on its way, the…
Read moretrending_flat
Trump's Surprise Visit To Supporters Outside Walter Reed Is A Showcase Of American Strength
An extraordinary scene in Bethesda, Maryland. President Trump took a short, last-minute motorcade ride to wave at his supporters…
'President Trump Is Doing Very Well' His Physician Says
Dr. Sean Conley emerged from the double-brass doors of Walter Reed medical center at 11:39 a.m. Addressing the press, he…
As It Happened: President Trump Transferred To Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
After the COVID19 diagnosis, president Trump is on his way to Walter Reed Military Medical Center. Marine One has arrived…
Three White House Journalists Test Positive For COVID-19
WHCA has informed the members of the press corps that the three White House journalists have tested positive for COVID19.…
Ksenija Pavlovic Mcateer: No Such Thing As "High-Stakes" In First Presidential Debate
During the impeachment trials, voters demonstrated their preference, and, as Election Day approaches, this trend strengthens.…
Exclusive Interview: Adam Boehler On New Era Of Serbia-US Relations Ushered In By Trump Administration's Fresh Approach To Diplomacy
HIGHLIGHTS ► Boehler on Serbia-Kosovo Agreement: It was President Trump's ability, Grenell's ability, Vucic's…
Interview With Rachael Baitel: Implementation Of The Serbia-Kosovo Agreement Puts Spotlight On Women's Role In New Era Of US-Serbia Relations
Today, Serbia is indubitably taking up space on the world stage, supported by the keen interests of U.S. government officials.…
Richard Grenell For The Pavlovic Today: The U.S.'s Focus On The Serbia-Kosovo Agreement Is Here To Stay
This morning, Richard Grenell and DFC's Adam Boehler, met with high-ranking officials in Belgrade, solidifying plans…
Trump Means Business: Rick Grenell And DFC's Adam Boehler Slated For A Number Of High-Level Meetings In Belgrade, Serbia
After the historic Serbia-Kosovo agreement came to life on September 4, 2020, at the White House, Special Presidential Envoy…
Richard Grenell And Adam Boehler Arrive To Belgrade
The plane landed at Nikola Teska Airport in Belgrade at 9:30 PM local time. Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic…
President Vucic Tells Trump He's Done A "Great Job" And Invites Him To Visit Serbia As The First US President Since Jimmy Carter
The pool was ushered into the Oval Office at 11:35. Kosovo's PM was on Trump's right and the president of Serbia…
In Pictures: Serbia-Kosovo Signing Ceremony
President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia: seated on the right side of POTUS. Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti of Kosovo: seated on…
This Is The Economic Normalization Agreement President Vucic and PM Hoti Signed At The White House
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 …
Richard Grenell Calls For Serbs And Kosovo Albanians To 'Put Politics Aside'
Ahead of today's historic talks between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians at the White House, Special Presidential Envoy for…
THE PAVLOVIC TODAY
Our Journalism Fundamentals
Voices of Gen Z
Masterhead • Privacy Policy • Terms of Use • About Cookies
© 2016 - 2021 The Pavlovic Today • All rights reserved. • Powered by NPlanet

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


While in Monrovia last month I met with Tom Kamara, the Managing Editor of the New Democrat, one of Liberia's best known and independent newspapers. When we separated we agreed to meet again in the Netherlands, in June. However, we would never meet again. While travelling to the Netherlands last week, he suddenly collapsed at Brussels International Airport, went into coma and never recovered. On Friday, June 8 he was pronounced dead. He was 63 years old.
Tom Kamara was one of Liberia's most outstanding journalists, independent, fearless, someone 'who could not be bought'. He fought for freedom of the press, human rights, justice and democracy. His independent opinion and writings brought him into conflict with presidents, warlords and other powerful people. In the 1980s he was imprisoned by President Samuel Doe. In 1990 he was shot by warlord Prince Johnson. In the 1990s his newspaper offices were set on fire by Charles Taylor's forces. More recent, he displeased President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who even considered taking him to court.
Tom Kamara was a Kissi from Lofa County, in northwestern Liberia. He was born in a small village called Sodu, in the Foya chiefdom, Lofa County, where he attended primary school. He obtained his secondary school education in Tubman High in Monrovia, followed by the University of Liberia in the 1970s. He started as a reporter with the Liberian Star, one of the main newspapers during the Administration of President Tolbert (1971-1980). In 1981 he returned to Liberia from the USA where he had studied journalism at the University of Texas and became the editor of the New Liberian.
His criticism of Samuel Doe's People's Redemption Council and uncompromising writings led to his arrest but he managed to escape from prison of the National Security Agency, just hours before he was to be summarily executed by Doe's henchmen during his transfer to the notorious Bella Yella prison. I remember the article in The New African, a leading magazine in those days, narrating his miraculous escape. Unfortunately I did not succeed in tracing an electronic version of this article. The orginal version is in one of the trunks filled with Liberia related stuff somewhere in my attic.
In 1985 Tom Kamara was in Accra/Ghana, where he, James Fromayan - the former NEC boss – and Charles Taylor were in close contact – four Liberian refugees living in the same place. The fourth person was Charles Taylor's girl friend at that time ( 'Agnes'). To avoid any misunderstanding: neither Tom nor James shared Taylor's political ideas or were associated with his plans and undertakings. Charles Taylor had escaped from a US prison and arrived in Ghana with the help of Boima Fahnbulleh, a good friend of then Ghanaian president Jerry Rawlings. James Fromayan confirmed me this story and even gave me some additional interesting information when we met last month. It again shows a major characteristic of the Liberian political system: virtually all important actors know each other well.
Tom later moved to the Netherlands, it is not known why and how. It is interesting to note that in the same period another major Liberian political player, Togba Nah Tipoteh, had been granted asylum in the Netherlands after he fled Liberia following the execution of the vice-chairman of the PRC, Thomas Weh-Syen in 1981.
When the first civil war raged the country (1989-1996) Tom Kamara was at home. He was closely associated with the Interim Government of National Unity of Interim President Amos Sawyer, a close friend of his.
In 1990 Tom, James Fromayan and some others were on Bushrod Island, near the Vai Bridge, when they met Prince Johnson, leader of the Independent National Patriottic Front of Liberia (INPFL) – one of the warring factions – who was moving towards downtown Monrovia. I was told this encounter last month by both James and Tom. Prince Johnson questioned them what they were doing in the area and wanted to kill them, but they managed to escape though Tom was badly wounded. He was shot in his leg. He would never completely recover.
Immediate treatment in Monrovia was not successful due to the lack of qualified medical personnel. Tom was evacuated to the Netherlands for further medical treatment, but the damage caused by the lack of immediate effective medical treatment was irreparable. He was hospitalized for many months in the Netherlands, followed by a stay with Dutch friends for further recovery. During his stay in the Netherlands he made many friends and often returned to this country that he considered his second home.
Back in Liberia he formed the New Democrat making the newspaper one of the most popular and most informative newspapers in Liberia. His independent writing and criticism brought him into conflict with Charles Taylor. Supporters of the warlord looted and burnt down the newspaper offices in 1996. After Charles Taylor had become president he continued to harrass Tom and his newspaper team. In 2000 the Taylor Administration even shut down the newspaper and Tom's life was threatened. Tom again went into exile, first to Ghana then to the Netherlands where he started an online edition of his newspaper. In 2005 Tom and his wife Rachel returned home where Tom continued his work for more democracy, more justice and more press freedom.
One would expect that during the Administration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who strongly advocates freedom of the press Tom' s work in Liberia would be smooth sailing. The reality is different. In 2010 the New Democrat's website was brought down by hackers twice in one month time. The government brought multimillion dollar libel suits against the newspaper following reports on corruption by government officials. Even President Sirleaf once wanted to sue him, he told me in his Clay Street office on May 9, but he convinced her that he had used official sources for a publication that she disliked and the libel case was called off. Their relationship certainly was strained which though did not prevent him from contacting her occasionally by telephone, he emphasized. He was a true journalist, without any fear, independent, not ready for compromises and avoiding conflicts of interest.
Yesterday, friends of Tom Kamara in the Netherlands held a memorial service at St. Andrews Cathedral in the southern town of Heerlen where he spent many years of his life.
I will remember Tom Kamara as a great and independent journalist and an ardent defender of democracy, social justice, human rights and press freedom. His demise means that a great Liberian has moved from the present to the past.
This entry was posted in Amos Sawyer, Bella Yella prison, Boima Fahnbulleh, Charles Taylor, Civil War(s) Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Famous Liberians, Fromayan, IGNU, INPFL, James Fromoyan, Justice, Kissi, Liberia, Liberian History, Press freedom in Liberia, Prince Y. Johnson, Samuel Kanyon Doe, The Liberian Star, The New Democrat, The New Liberian, Thomas Weh-Syen, Tipoteh, William R. Tolbert Jr.. Bookmark the permalink.


Mr. Reeder is an Executive in Residence with AU's Center for Environmental Policy, visiting from the US Environmental Protection Agency where he most recently served as Deputy Chief of Staff. Previously, Mr. Reeder held several positions throughout EPA, including special assistant in EPA's Office of Water, director of EPA's environmental cleanups at federal Superfund sites, and director of EPA's Office of Congressional Affairs. He served on assignment to the US Senate during consideration of the 1990 Farm Bill, and again during reauthorization of 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act. He was awarded the Administrator's Gold Medal in 1997 for his work on safe drinking water legislative reforms. He has been a member of the federal career Senior Executive Service since 2002. Prior to government service, Mr. Reeder volunteered for active duty in the US Army. Serving in Germany, he was awarded the Army's Commendation Medal for "exceptionally meritorious service" upon completion of his tour. After returning from the military, he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BS degree in Agriculture and Applied Economics (1985), and an MA degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs (1987).


text:
Q: D3 js: handle mouse click event on bar chart being a novice in D3 js, I'm facing issue in the following Bar chart, hosted in Vizhub
https://vizhub.com/ahemdalssafi/6932eb6c88c949fe94054352dd0f7e37?edit=files&file=index.html
I can handle when mouse being clicked in a bar, the chart goes a level down!
however I need to implement when mouse being clicked in the blank area in the chart to go level up
 .on("click", function (d) {
                if (this._listenToEvents) {
                    // Reset inmediatelly
                    d3.select(this).attr("transform", "translate(0,0)")
                    // Change level on click if no transition has started
                    path.each(function () {
                        this._listenToEvents = false;
                    });
                }
                d3.selectAll("#" + id + " svg").remove();
                if (level == 1) {
                  //  TransformChartData(chartData, options, 0, d[xVarName]);
                    BuildBar(id, chartData, options, 1);
                }
                else {
                    var nonSortedChart = chartData.sort(function (a, b) {
                        return parseFloat(b[options[0].yaxis]) - parseFloat(a[options[0].yaxis]);
                    });
                    TransformChartData(nonSortedChart, options, 1, d[xVarName]);
                    BuildBar(id, nonSortedChart, options, 1);
                }

            });

Hope that I can get help on this.


It is wedding planning 101. Prior to selecting any of the decors for your wedding, you have to select the colours you want to use. A common way to handle this is for the bride to choose bridesmaid dresses and coordinate the rest of the event around those colours. After selecting the colours that will be used, the sky is the limit when it comes to wedding decor. One great way to get some assistance in this area is to use the mypantone app.
If you try your best to remember your parents and/or grandparents weddings, it is likely they used basic flowers as a centrepiece. These days, wedding planners and brides are making the decision to go outside of the box. It is common for the style of the couple to be showcased by their centrepieces, which may include props, candles, photos, flowers and other items that fit the theme.
The key to selecting the right centrepiece would be to figure out what purpose you want it to serve; expressive of the couple's style, showing off common interest or basic aesthetics. One example of showcasing a bride's love for shabby chic style along with a groom's love of horticulture would be displaying flowers inside vintage watering cans.
There is one question to ask yourself during the process: How do you want guests to interact with one another. If you have a very large bouquet, people will not be able to see over them, which means that chatting will be impossible. On the other hand, creating a unique centrepiece can give two perfect strangers something interesting to talk about.
White place cards with guests names written in a fancy font are the standard, but it is not imaginative at all. Many stationery companies will allow you to print cards that match the invitations you send out, so they will mesh with the theme you have chosen. Consider the fact that cards can be made tented so they stand alone or you can place them in a holder. The latter is where you can show off some of your creativity. For instance, if you have a nautical themed wedding, using a seashell to hold the card would be a wonderful idea.
It is possible to choose table settings that match your theme, decor and colour choices. If you are having your ceremony at a wedding venue, talk to someone there to see if they have any glassware, flatware, linens and dishes that are cohesive.
Wedding planners have a lot of ideas, but you have to remember that this day is about you. Do some research on great ideas before meeting with a planner so you can make sure you are on the same page. Sometimes they can take one of your suggestions and turn it into a masterpiece. Bridal magazines and websites like The Knot are filled with ideas, so make sure to use them when you are searching for ideas.
June 20th, 2018 | Comments Off on How To Choose The Right Chocolate Shop Melbourne?
March 8th, 2018 | Comments Off on How can cosmetic dentistry bring back your killer smile?