Professional coaching is a process by which an individual or team engage their specific set of skills, knowledge and actions to achieve successful results for their relevant responsibilities under the direction and support of a qualified coach. Whether an individual or a team, a professional coach supports the goals set by the individual or team leading them to achieve successful results.
Energy Leadership reaches the entire organization by developing an effective leadership quality and style to create positive change by influencing individuals, teams and leaders within the organization.
The effective support, skills, and methods of a professional coach applied to the individual's or team's determined actions, goals and choices lead to compelling results and success. Coaching prepares the individual for achievement by focusing on their desired future and the path they are willing to take to get there. Individuals and teams develop more effective decision-making by achieving a greater focus of the possibilities surrounding each choice they make.
Most coaching strategies strive to achieve greater success, momentum and capacity by increased individual execution, ability and discovery of untapped strengths. Uniquely, Executive Coaching produces quality executives and business owners by addressing their specific needs both personally and corporately through obtaining a clear focus on corporate and personal goals, visions and values.
Encouraging coaches and mentors are a common denominator amongst the most successful owners, executives, managers and individuals. The unbiased support, feedback and advice of a neutral coach inspires confidence and sound decision making when faced with obstacles or hardship.
Participating in a coaching relationship yields personal enhancements and fresh perspectives when faced with challenges and opportunities. By developing personal decision-making and interpersonal skills, individuals gain confidences resulting increased productivity, life and cooperate satisfaction and marked achievement for personal goals.
experience leading to an increased rate of personal and professional growth.
Learn from Personal Experiences. Top performers regularly seek out the advice and counsel of a coach to support their learning experience at all levels of their life.
Develop Heightened Self-Awareness. Through implementation of well-planned personal processes, coaches can assist executives in gaining the most of their coaching experience by focusing on what is, not on what should be.
Establish Personally Relevant Learning Goals. Identifying personal learning goals is enhanced with the support of a qualified coach for executives and individuals.
Balance the Demands and Needs of Others. Coaching provides individuals and executives assistance to develop an effective balance between professional and personal needs. Proper prioritization of commitments, goals, projects and obligations lowers stress and allows personal fulfillment from both work and personal responsibilities.
Empower by Shifting Perspective. Like a growing cobweb of personal experiences we develop a web of assumptions, beliefs, expectations, morals, and opinions about our lives, personal experiences and work.
Often external influences are the most effective way to reevaluate long-held beliefs, habits and expectations. A coach provides invaluable guidance to break down and clean out these perspectives that cloud new ways of tackling problems and making decisions.
result of downsizing, restructuring and mergers.
talented employees in some industries.
daily tasks their current jobs require that is often far removed from what they were originally trained to do.
Heightened fears surrounding pressure to perform and job security create cooperate unrest.
Developing comprehensive work environments that encourage collaboration to continue a high level of customer and employee satisfaction.
What is the Return-On-Investment of Coaching?
The universal acceptance of coaching by management for all levels of business including executives, teams and departments underscores the value of the coaching experience through proven ROI. Fortune Magazine underscores these beliefs finding that Fortune 1000 companies utilizing executive coaching saw 53% production in overall productivity, 32% increase in retention of senior personnel, 23% reduction in costs and 22% increase in bottom-line profitability resulting in an effective 600%-700% return-on-investment.
Kirkpatrick's "Four Level Evaluation Model" is the standard widely accepted for evaluating development programs.
Retention-Turnover costs are often estimated to be 100%-300% of the base salary of the replaced employee.
Engagement-Opportunity for learning and development.
solutions and smaller group forums can lessen the cost and increase ROI.


text:
Cardiff 1-5 United: 5 Things We Learnt From The 5-Star Victory .
Cardiff city played host to a new and refreshed Manchester United side led by Sir Alex Ferguson's super-sub and baby-faced assassin, Ole Gunar Solskjaer.
Here are five things ManUtdNaijaFM learnt from this this five-star victory.
1.....LONG TIME NO SEE
For the first time in a long time, United had 75% possession, outran her opponents, and scored three goals in 1st half.
More interestingly, the last time United scored 5 goals in the Premier league was in Sir Alex Ferguson's final match against West Brom....Indeed, Long time no see!!
2. FREEDOM AT LAST
Watching Martial, Lingard, Rashford, and Pogba, it was obvious to see that the boys had been given license to express themselves and rattle the opponents.
Little wonder, there were 17 goal attempts with 9 shots on target.
3. TRAINING HAS CHANGED
It was crystal clear that during the week, the team did not focus on the abilities of Cardiff. Rather they focused on their weaknesses which were maximally exploited today.
That's the way it's supposed to be. They are a much smaller club so they should train on how to defend while we train on how to attack and crush them.
4. PAUL 'IKENNA' POGBA
The Swaggerlicious midfielder was in the spotlight today following Josè's sack as 'bad bele' people waited for him in the 'corner' .
The French man took the pressure well and dished out a superlative performance . He iced it with 3 assists and selflessly allowed Lingard take the penalty.....Team spirit!!.
5. IT WAS JUST CARDIFF
Yes, it may have been 'Ordinary' Cardiff, a team not close to United's standard. But United played them like they were Enugu Rangers.
In recent past, United struggled with teams even smaller than Cardiff, often using a 'grinding stone' to churn out results.
IN THE END, all we can say is Ole! Ole!! Ole!!!.....The team is happy, the fans are happy, there is a breath of fresh air. The scoreline aside, Long time no see beautiful football.
MAY THE GLORY GLORY DAYS RETURN.
What did you think about today's game?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The PCI DSS 3.1 FIM requirement 10.5.5 only applies to Windows/UNIX.
The Payment Card Industry Data Secrity Standard, or PCI DSS, 3.1, requirement 10.5.5 states: "Use file integrity monitoring (FIM) to secure audit trails." This is not so easily done in a z/OS environment since all FIM solutions are Windows- and UNIX-based.
But much like Windows and UNIX, a mainframe does have a secure state of its operating system when it is initially installed. This initial program load or IPL, can be "watched" for changes to its secure state that can indicate malicious activity by a user. There are other event sources you can monitor for ensuring the secure state of your IPL and other mainframe data, and we give you several of them in this highly-informative mainframe file integrity monitoring or MFIM whitepaper.
How to download the CorreLog MFIM whitepaper?
Fill out the download form to the right.
An inline link will appear that you can click to get the paper.
Save to your local drive and learn about MFIM.
If you need further assistance or would like more information on CorreLog solutions, please click here. Visit the CorreLog website here.


text:
ios x rounded copy
noun_menu_865860
| 9.17.19
Will California's Gig Economy Bill Hurt Freedom of Press?
Does AB-5 provide enough protections for newspapers and journalists? Tell your representative what you think.
If you've heard anything about California's Assembly Bill 5 you probably recognize it as a fight to classify Uber and Lyft drivers as employees. The bill — often cited as a move to protect "gig economy" workers from exploitation at the hands of large corporations particularly big tech companies — passed in the California Legislature last week, and is expected to be signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.
While protecting worker's rights is typically a positive thing, good intentions can have negative consequences.
Article: Gig Economy Bill Threatens Freedom of the Press in California
Freelance journalists and press organizations are worried that the rules proposed by AB-5 would constrict journalists and make it difficult for smaller press outlets to maintain a functioning staff. The most notable effect would be on so-called "citizen journalists" – writers and photographers who are not professional journalists by trade. Even with existing journalist provisions, AB-5 says that media outlets can only hire journalists operating with an official business license, and would limit freelancers to 35 articles per year.
This means that amateur journalists who provide all sorts of vital content — photographs from wildfires, expert guest columns from scientists or professionals, and amateur first-person accounts from migrant caravans or natural disaster survivors — cannot legally be paid for their work if they don't operate a "journalism business."
Article: AB 5 the most serious challenge to journalism
Some industries have been able to lobby for broad AB-5 exceptions. The newspaper industry claimed a small victory this weekend through an add-on bill, AB-170, that pushed the rule change to 2021 for newspaper delivery services. But even this bill garnered significant controversy.
Article: How Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez was Forced to Author AB 170 and Voted NO on Her Own Bill
Free press advocates are pushing for an amendment or an expanded "journalist exception" to AB-5 so that the bill could still protect vulnerable gig economy workers without hindering free speech.
If signed by Governor Newsom, the law will go into effect on January 1st, 2020. It's worth noting that, although this bill only applies to California, new legislation in one state often serves as a model for similar legislation in other states.
Do you think California should pass a revised journalist exception to the gig economy bill? Tell your reps what you think.
Dancers, writers, caddies: the gig workers who could benefit from California's historic bill
Editorial: California legislators could save gig workers — or ruin the part-time economy
A Call for Mavericks
Our nation's founders were mavericks when they built a new type of government that sought to defend liberty and justice for all read more... Short Video
read more... Quotes
Is Trump's Confusing Syria Policy Setting Up a Human Rights Disaster?
President Trump's approach to foreign affairs has always been unorthodox, but his recent decision to withdraw troops from Syria read more... News
Quote of the Week: September 24th, 2019
"Nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself, something that encompasses you but is not read more... Quotes
US Firms are Helping Build China's Orwellian State
The Chinese government is leveraging American tech to build and maintain a massive civilian surveillance network. The Communist read more... News
Join we hold these truths and take action on human rights
Copyright © 2019 McCain Institute. We Hold These Truths is a nonpartisan effort of the McCain Institute. It does not support or oppose any political candidate or party.
The McCain Institute
MavericksNeeded.org
Powered by Countable


Glide is a revolutionary cross string that dramatically reduces the sliding friction between strings creating spin, power and comfort. Get up to 300 RPM's more with a single string job! Glide Hybrid with Moto provides the spin potential, power and comfort of Glide Cross String with the ball bite of GAMMA Moto. For best results, string Glide Cross String 10 percent higher than your normal cross string.
Color: Moto = Black. Glide = Natural.


text:
Dark Asylum \ Tag: cartoonist Charles Addams
Tag: cartoonist Charles Addams
Adult Wednesday Addams" Pulled From YouTube Over Copyright
Apparently there's such a thing as a parody web series being too good. The hit series "Adult Wednesday Addams" created by Melissa Hunter has disappeared from YouTube after the original creators of "The Addams Family" flagged it.
The web series shot to fame recently when an episode about Wednesday Addams getting her revenge on catcallers went viral and earned her international press coverage — enough to catch the attention of the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation, who hold the copyright for the work of American cartoonist Charles Addams.
The decision may be connected to an upcoming reboot of "The Addams Family" as an animated film from MGM, announced last Halloween.
Melissa addressed the show's disappearance on Facebook. "Thank you for the outpouring of support and concern about the disappearance of Adult Wednesday Addams from the internet. As many of you have seen, the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation flagged the show and, for now, it is off of YouTube. I am working actively on coming to a resolution and will not let Wednesday be caged in internet purgatory. I appreciate your patience and support while I sort this issue out!"
Judging by the flood of dismayed comments, "Adult Wednesday Addams" fans are not going to accept this decision easily.
I don't understand why this isn't covered as parody?
nope if it's parody. The problem is that this isn't a parody of the universe or character, but a direct, logical progression in the form of a fan made
but a direct, logical progression in the form of a fan made sequel. It's why Scary Movie can copy all the movies they did, so this is the issue "Wednesday Addams" is (c) by MGM
This the response I received:
Dear Michael Goodwin,
Thank you for your comments concerning the suspension of Melissa Hunter's The Adult Wednesday Addams©. Unfortunately for all involved, it is not as simple as you are thinking it might be: The Establishment versus the artist - on the contrary.
We have a contract with MGM to produce a full-length animated feature film of The Addams Family® to look exactly as Charles Addams originally painted them. That contract prohibits anyone from portraying those characters in any media during the life of the contract.
Regardless of her talent or the breadth of her audience or the entertainment it gave you, the online series is a violation of that contract, something for which both Ms Hunter and this Foundation could have been sued heavily. You can thank Melissa Hunter for not having understood the need to contact us so as to obtain a license to protect her show. Now it is too late and she will have to wait to resume her career as the Adult Wednesday Addams© until a year after the film has been released.
Hopefully, she realizes that she already has an audience and merely needs to change the title of her show and her appearance.
With best regards, Tee and charles addams foundation P.O. Box 424 • SAGAPONACK, NEW YORK 11962 (T) 631-537-4554 www.addamsfoundation.org www.charlesaddams.com
Tee & Charles Addams Foundation
CHARLESADDAMS.COM
Tags: ........., 720X120, Addams Family, Addams Foundation CHARLESADDAMS.COM, Adult Wednesday Addams, artist, attention, cartoonist Charles Addams, change, character, characters, charles addams foundation, comments, connections, contract, Facebook, fans, film, Flood, for., galerie-sakura.com | Facebook, gastowntattoo.com | Facebook, Internet, issue, jamesdoranwebb.com | Facebook, Life, look, media, movie, movies, New, New York, No., patience, problem, Revenge, series, share_buttons, sniffer, thing, Wednesday Addams, work, xyz-ihs, You., |LIKE2.4k Marilyn Manson


Published 04/20/2019 06:13:07 pm at 04/20/2019 06:13:07 pm in Cleaner For Electric Stove Top.
cleaner for electric stove top hands cleaning an electric stovetop self cleaning electric stove nikitazhilyakov self cleaning electric stove top drip pans.
cleaners for electric stove tops,cleaning electric stove top with baking soda and vinegar,cleaning electric stove top burners,how to clean electric stove top drip pans,cleaning under electric stove top,cleaning electric stove top with baking soda,how do you clean electric stove top burners,cleaning electric cast iron stove top burners,cleaning whirlpool electric stove top,best cleaner for electric stove top,cleaning electric stove top drip pans.


The Board of Education met on July 09, 2018 and established the regular meeting schedule for the 2018-2019 school year as the second Monday of each month at the Board Office, 29020 Mission Belleview Road to begin at 6:00 PM. . . .
Louisburg USD 416 Board of Education Board of Education Office - 29020 Mission Belleview Louisburg, Kansas 66053 . . .


text:
Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome, pubblicato in Giappone con il titolo , è un videogioco di ruolo strategico sviluppato e pubblicato dalla Nippon Ichi Software per console PlayStation 2. È stato pubblicato nel 2005, mentre una conversione per PlayStation Portable è stata distribuita esclusivamente in Giappone il 6 ottobre 2011. Il gioco fa parte della raccolta Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 2 per Nintendo Switch e Microsoft Windows che include ZHP: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman.

Collegamenti esterni

 Scheda di Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome sul sito GameFAQs

Disgaea

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Month of Horror 2017: Dealer's Choice – Sub-R Horror: Ouija
10/07/2017 – Sub-R Horror: Ouija (2014)
Directed by Stiles White
Nearly 100 years ago in 1922, the Motion Picture Association of America (better known as the MPAA) was founded ostensibly to protect against censorship (especially that which occurred on a regional level) and to help maintain a good image for the film industry. Its existence has been a source of frustration for film fans as the organization (which is voluntarily supported by the studios) has managed to keep the US from being censored by moralistic crusaders at the national level but also set film back decades and still causes issues to this day. Starting with the Hays Code, created as response to protests, from 1930 (with 1934 being the year it really kicked in) to 1968, the MPAA neutered and censored films for content. By 1968 though, films such as Psycho and Bonnie and Clyde along with the work of directors such as Otto Preminger and Elia Kazan had broken the Code's strict hold over the industry.
The MPAA we know and love (sorry the word I was looking for was hate) pivoted to a more modern system that on the surface makes sense. By giving each film a rating it would help keep the public more informed going in on content and serve as a good deterrent to protestors complaining about corrupting kids. The original ratings were G (general audiences or everyone), M (mature or everyone but with some caution), R (restricted or no one under 16 admitted without a parent), and the informal X (no one under 16 admitted period). M was soon turned into GP and then PG and two years in the 16 was bumped to 17. The first issue arose when X (not being trademarked) was coopted by the porn industry (hence the common XXX association with porn because porn creators are nothing if not eager to tell you how explicit they made things) and changing the meaning of adult film from "film for grownups" to "film to watch grownups fucking". The 70s Golden Age of Porn effectively killed the X rating the as something usable for non-porn film meant for mainstream leaving three ratings.
Steven Spielberg (both through films he directed and produced) was the biggest cause in the creation of a fourth usable rating, PG-13. He proposed it for films such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins which were clearly aimed at an older target audience. The PG rating wasn't the only part that fell under fire as the R rating still allowed kids who were accompanied by parents (though this restriction was frequently ignored by apathetic theater workers or gotten around somewhat easily) to see movies many felt were meant for adults only. That left movies like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (a fantastic movie which I saw as a teen trauma free) and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover without a rating and unable to get a proper release. The X rating was rebranded as the NC-17 rating in 1990 but instead of theaters accepting it with open arms, many just rejected films given that rating and many places refused to advertise anything rated NC-17 meaning the rating was just as much a death knell as being unrated. This was rendered even worse by the inconsistent, major studio favoring, anti-sex, misogynistic, homophobic, etc. board which created a new moralistic system for film.
This is all just backstory though for the main point of this discussion. Horror, almost necessarily graphic and/or violent by its very nature, almost always falls into one of three ratings: PG-13, R, and NC-17. This is the era I want to talk about, focusing especially on American titles.
The divide between R and NC-17 is the subject of another discussion but can basically be summed up as "any film that wants even a modest sized release better be R or less" with NC-17 being an almost nonentity as films just generally go unrated (you may recognize this from the "unrated" written in big red letters on the DVDs for shitty horror movies that want to seem extreme but are almost always barely different from the theatrical versions). That leaves the decision between PG-13 (or PG before the creation of that label) and R. Through the 80s, the R wasn't really too much of a negative for a horror title from the studio's perspective since as I said before, the R rating was at best casually enforced. The switch in 1990 though was accompanied by a push towards more strict checking of IDs. This meant from the studio's perspective (and this isn't limited to just horror) an R rating meant they were cutting off the lucrative unattended kid market. What was ostensibly meant as a useful consumer guide was now truly impacting the most important thing in film, money.
This all meant that PG-13 went from just describing a horror film like Gremlins which didn't need R-level content to work as a film to describing a film that had been clearly cut down or marketed to the mainstream by the studio. While on the one hand it functions like the Parental Advisory label on CDs to make R seem like the cool rating, it does stifle films that must embarrassingly make the violence bloodless or hold back (see also my discussion of TV movies). Horror can work when you hold something back to increase the tension and sometimes even the horror in the unseen (see The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) but it is very obvious when that is a studio choice and when that is a creative one. It also led to situations where someone like the now disgraced (for unrelated reasons) Harvey Scissorhands would come in and chop up a foreign movie to make it fit American rating standards (or perceived American interests or his own stupid whims).
The sub-R rating went from being able to describe such films as The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Gremlins, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Night of the Comet, Poltergeist, Sugar Hill, The Stepford Wives, Tremors, and freaking Jaws to the stuff of interchangeable forgotten big opening weekend and a crash films. The great horror films which did manage to succeed in this era have been few and far between. Even horror-comedies which can always just lean more heavily on the comedy part are led by the likes of Eight Legged Freaks and Fido (which isn't even American) which may be enjoyable but should not be your defining movies. Borderline horror-thrillers like 1408 (until It it was the highest grossing King adaptation) and The Others can make do but largely by leaning on the thriller part.
The three more traditional movies that succeeded despite the rating all still have major question marks. Drag Me to Hell was a big controversy at the time since it was Sam Raimi's big return to horror and he was reduced from Video Nasty director to a broad mainstream one but the biggest question is how he got away with some of that on a PG-13. Still it's biggest fault was that it felt like Sam Raimi's take on mainstream horror and not the next Evil Dead. Insidiouswas clearly hampered in its ending whatever the hell it was going for while The Ring was mostly just held back by public assumptions of it since it was far closer to something like The Others than the trailers or popular belief held. I'm sure I missed something good (blame IMDB for not picking it up or your taste being different than mine) but even tripling the number or great PG-13 horror is still sad and there's not a modern classic among them (The Others admittedly comes close).
All those words bring us to the main attraction. A board "game" adaptation with a PG-13 rating is the kind of thing that just screams "We aren't even trying to pretend this is about quality". It's a well-known name aimed at the broadest possible audience. Even looking at the first two production companies says it all. Hasbro Films was an ill-fated effort in conjunction with Universal to make a seven films based on Hasbro products. Five of those failed to come to fruition despite accidentally having talent attached to a few, while Battleship was a big old bust in 2012 (a hilarious one that I highly recommend watching/mocking from mediocrity machine Peter Berg). Platinum Dunes is the company founded by Michael Bay responsible for crapping out terrible horror remakes for every classic franchise. The third name on the list is far more interesting. I talked about Blumhouse Productions plenty and its collaborations with James Wan but Ouija was an early studio effort to try to learn the lessons from their success. Make the movie cheap and low risk (the budget was $5 million), spend a bunch on marketing, rake in the box office ($103.6 million) success.
About the most interesting thing heading into the movie is that it stars Olivia Cooke who when she wasn't being great on Bates Motel was busy making me wish Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was just Earl and the Dying Girl and being in the solid but interesting The Signal. Shelley Hennig was also fine in fellow Blumhouse film Unfreinded but let's not pretend that film was interesting for the acting. I'd say I never owned a Ouija board, which is true, but my sister had one. I never saw her use it or even out of the closet but technically that meant one was in my house. Still I know enough about those stupid things from movies and pop culture and they always struck me as dumb even by people who believe in ghost standards.
The movie really wants us to think that the Ouija board is some incredibly creepy thing with so much ominous music on it. Which I guess could be used to sell the board but the rest of the movie seems really determined to call anymore who has one an idiot. A character wants to get rid of it because it is just such an evil ide, other characters regularly criticize the premise of the movie, and there even is a video in the middle of it explaining why Ouija boards are stupid. I can't imagine this is good brand synergy since the movie advocates not using and burning Ouija boards. It doesn't even challenge you to try "if you dare". Hell, it seems to be implied that the only reason it even works is that the walls between two worlds are collapsing SPOILERS (albeit from an unreliable source) END OF SPOILERS which just makes me think of Fringe and how much better that is.
The actual plot of the movie involves the mysterious suicide of Cooke's childhood friend (who was actually killed by using a Ouija board). Cooke must look after her generic, rebellious teen sister while getting to the bottom of this mystery. SPOILERS Or doing nothing which actually would have solved the whole movie. END OF SPOILERS She starts to feel her presence from the Ouija board and must gather together her group of friends cannon-fodder to fight this evil. Someone keeps sending messages of "HI FRIEND" written out which is supposed to be scary but sounds rather friendly. My actual thoughts written out were "Maybe they are the ones jumping to conclusions here. Maybe if they didn't freak out about it and acted the way they would if Casper showed up, maybe the dead wouldn't be so angry" which SPOILERS turns out I was basically right and it was trying to be friendly. Maybe next time send a more useful message like "Burn the body and the Ouija board please <3 Your friendly neighborhood ghost". We get the generic séance scene, Ouija board edition, and if you are trying to help, maybe don't just go scaring people and learns some damn manners. Oh well, you live and you learn or I guess not in the case of Mother since she's dies before she tells them anything useful, ha ha. END OF SPOILERS
In other things I basically guessed correctly, I negatively comparted the ghost design in this to the film Mama in look and how bad they were, adding that Andy Muschietti got his ideas from it for It only for them to reveal the name of the ghost is "Mother". It's like we have a closed loop of hacky work. Also, there are so many jokes to be made about the dialogue "Who's coming?" "Mother" and this just reminded me that it's rare to see a movie have so little of a sense of humor. David Goyer would have lightened it up. Also there's a part where it is revealed that you have to cut to open a mouth and in doing so gets the blond to scream the tall figure to death which just made me think "So I guess someone else loved 'Hush' too".
The movie isn't even trying though. It has has to have the laziest false jump scares I've ever seen as they frequently have characters jumping at things in brightly lit rooms when people slowly walk in. These people are the jumpiest fucking people ever that if there was ever a spider in the house, I bet there wouldn't be an uncacked pair of pants in the house. It must also think the whole sewing the mouth shut thing is super clever cause the movie keeps going back to it despite the fact that it is a super tired premise in general. Considering the fondness for the whole eyes going white thing, maybe this movie is trying to steal from enough sources that it can Frankenstein together a better movie.
Ouija met all my extremely low expectations. I didn't expect it to be good or even funny but I hoped for the latter at least in spurts. It's not even hilariously bad though, just a dull compilation of all the weakest tropes of modern horror. I can't even get too mad at it though. If I was to use my magic movie Ouija board to ask the movie why it wasn't better, it probably would just respond "Why bother, what fan of good horror movies would watch a novelty toy adaptation?" Might as well make Magic 8 while they're at it. They can even cast Channing Tatum as an aging stripper.
There is a clear prequel hook here with Olivia Cooke visiting someone in a psychiatric hospital detailing her experience battling Mother before and it talking her sister and all I wanted to do was yell at her to stop spoiling the movie that is supposed to be good SPOILERS and hopefully with the twist making her an unreliable narrator, Flanagan just did whatever the heck he wanted. END OF SPOILERS There's also a half-assed sequel hook almost as a hedging there bets so they could pick either option but if they do I hope Cooke doesn't pick up the phone. I can compare the film to Bates Motel in one respect, I just wanted to run in and save her. Except, in Bates Motel it was her character I wanted to save, here it is Cooke herself.
Bonus Episode #5 – Sub-R Horror: Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
Directed by Mike Flanagan
I got burned by a critically acclaimed Mike Flanagan movie once before just this week with Gerald's Game so I will admit my confidence for Ouija: Origin of Evil has dissipated. I knew the first movie was going to suck, but if the sequel turned out well, I wouldn't care at all. Making a sequel good after a bad first movie isn't impossible, Friday the 13th Part VI, The Devil's Rejects, and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End all prove that, but it is really hard.
As was made very obvious from the prequel tease, we get to see just how the woman in the hospital and the woman in the basement got into their current predicaments. Aside from plot, the films are much more different from each other. Sqouija is a late 60s period piece and a real The Conjuring vibe compared to Ouija's modern setting and tone. Overall it just looks and sounds like a quality film, taking cues from indie horror (despite having double the budget) which disguise the series origins as a cynical mainstream cash grab. But looking like something out of my beloved indie horror boom isn't enough as proven by plenty of other pretenders to the title.
The film actually holds back the horror instead of just blowing its load in the first scene the way its predecessor did. Almost every time the movie looked like it would be giving into its baser instincts, the film would pull back and instead offer a more sensible response even with the mounting horrific events. The trio at the backbone of the film consists of a mother (played by Elizabeth Reaser of Sweet Land and recently of Manhunt: Unabomber) who conducts fake seances at home to support her family and her two daughters who both appeared in the original (though obviously at different ages) in more minor roles. The daughter is slightly cynical and rebellious but like the horror, the film surprises by pulling back on both any time either threatens to dominate. Her relationship with her mother is rather well done as evidenced by when she is caught (reluctantly) playing with a Ouija board with her friends, the mom mocks the Ouija board use but is more annoyed (not angry) at the pot use. I appreciate the continued denigration of the board but this time they at least throw in a good bit of copy (sure it's fake as hell but it's fun none the less).
The younger daughter on the other hand is a small blond girl in a horror movie and they are only rivaled in power by long haired Asian girls. But instead of the generic creepy kid (okay, the film does dabble in that), when she starts talking to a projector and later to the Ouija board, the film just plays into the innocence (similar to how Curse of Chucky does it). Instead of just making everything supposed to be spooky, the first time the Ouija board starts exhibiting supernatural properties, she actually thinks it's cool and seems happy to help use it and not really understanding death is excited by the whole prospect. Instead of generic teen drama and crappy, drawn out mysteries we get an actual family dealing with financial and emotional stress from having lost their father. The teens are much more believably written instead of just feeling like college students going to high school. Seeing a dead figure doesn't make them flip out, it just startles them. Everything is just more natural.
As with my Cult of Chucky review, the rest of this review until the final paragraph will feel free to spoil Ouija so if you would like to remain unspoiled for it, skip down there for final summations.
Anyone who saw the first one knows how this will play out, but for the most part it left my head since the films feel so disconnected. But, I do give the film credit for not just pretending that didn't exist. They make the convoluted mythology mostly work. It just crafts that film from spooky ghostfest to something more akin to the creepy child or possession genres. The daughter starts exhibiting signs of being able to talk to the dead as she gets help with homework from a new friend who she "lets use her hand" and talks to her father using the board to find wall money (the best kind) which is certainly better than finding pork chops SPOILERS or skeletons of past residents END OF SPOILERS in there. Instead of freaking out about the whole Ouija board thing being real, the mother and older daughter are more shaken by the prospect of their fakery being real, and actually think to use it for good (and to stay afloat) instead of some boring murder mystery shit. We also got a priest who instead of moralizing about the occult or making a living off of it, just thinks it's kind of dangerous but mostly doesn't want to talk to the dead because he doesn't need to.
SPOILERS The scene of the demon or whatever actually reaching down into the little girl's throat is great and signals that shit is gonna go down even as the film continues to be patient. Patient that is until the priest is able to prove she is actually channeling evil (if the gaping maw and white eyes when no one is around didn't make the clear enough). END OF SPOILERS The film pulls a Blumhouse (which makes sense since well… look at the people producing and who has an earlier credit this time out) and finally gives in to the horror element and I can't say it is the best move for the movie. Kids running on the walls has become such a boring inevitability and killing people by yelling at them is still stupid even if at its best it looks like something out of the video for Come to Daddy.
The elements from the first that have been retained have generally been improved on across the board. Jump scares haven't gone away but they have gone down in quantity and up in quality. SPOILERS That body dropping down being hung was so much more effective this time out and keeping the shot wide takes away the cheese from it. Also, sewing your sister's mouth shut is pretty hardcore and certain shots of it look straight out of an Evil Dead movie specifically in the second one where Ash is assembling his chainsaw gauntlet.
The end is an inevitability as the older daughter is left possessed and kills her mother, being sent to the psychiatric facility we meet her in later. The biggest problem I had with the ending was it was one shot too long. If the film had ended with the daughter over the world's most badass Ouija board, made from her own blood and a lens from a pair of glasses, it would have been a bit silly sure but awesome. We did not need to then show her staring out the cell door as some random person (her?) walks along the ceiling. END OF SPOILERS
Ouija 2: Demonic Boogaloo (thanks for that goes to the lovely DoU) is a huge improvement on the original. It's no classic and you can feel the forces of the need for mainstream appeal holding it back at times. Like the first it's no original, but I'll give it credit for knowing what to pull and how to tie that all together well. It's just about the best-case scenario after the worst-case scenario of the previous title and both works together with and as a standalone title the way a sequel should.
Next up: I knock off one of the countries whose work I haven't spotlighted yet in China with the take-off of the Phantom of the Opera, Song at Midnight. If I'm feeling generous I'll link to every other country's writeup thus far.
Partial Schedule
October 8, 2017 May 21, 2018 A Winged PotatoHorror, Month of Horror, Movie Reviews
Previous Previous post: The Simpsons, Season Three, Episode Six, "Like Father, Like Clown"
Next Next post: Month of Horror 2017: Dealer's Choice – China: Song at Midnight


Image Title: Homelegance Shapel Round 42 Inch Counter Height Dining Table 1129C Inside High Plans 1. Filename: homelegance-shapel-round-42-inch-counter-height-dining-table-1129c-inside-high-plans-1.jpg. Image Dimension: 901 x 900 pixels. Images Format: jpg/jpeg. Publisher/Author: Macey Hoeger. Uploaded Date: Saturday - May 05th. 2018 06:29:07 AM. Category: Architecture. Image Source: homedecor.com.
Tap The Thumbnail Bellow to See Related Gallery of "Homelegance Shapel Round 42 Inch Counter Height Dining Table 1129C Inside High Plans 1"


text:
Hawke's Bay 'Before and After'. The Great Earthquake of 1931. An Historical Record.
Reproductions of the Daily 'News Bulletins' issued first on the day following the disaster and subsequently. Acknowledgements. The text in five columns. News cutting pasted to end paper 'Congratulations from the Governor-General'. The earthquake struck on February 3rd. 1931 causing great destruction and resulting in many fatalities.
# 25887. Weighs c.1.23kg.
Author Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.
Date 1931.
Binding Paper covered boards over half dark green cloth.
Publisher The Daily Telegraph Co. Ltd., Napier, New Zealand.
Illustrator Black and white photographic illustrations throughout.
Condition Foxing to end papers. Ink message on end paper to 'Mother & Father' from 'Tom' (evidently involved in the production). Creasing to title page and final leaf.
Pages pp. 182+16. 27 x 34cm. (landscape).
Offered by Peter Moore
William Morris. The Marxist Dreamer.
Meier, Paul. (Translated from the French by Frank Gubb. With a Preface to the English edition by Robin Page Arnot).
The Harvester Press, Sussex.
First Twenty Years of Australia. A History Founded...
Bonwick, James (FRGS)
Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, London.
Mexico. A Revolution in Art 1910-1940.
Locke, Adrian
Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Report on A Journey to Riyadh in Central Arabia (1...
Pelly, Lewis
Oleander/Falcon. Cambridge/Naples.
Nearshore Marine Resources of the South Pacific. I...
Wright, Andrew & Hill, Lance (Eds)
Institute of Pacific Studies, Suva, Fiji.
Old English Colour Prints.
Salaman, Malcolm C. (Edited by Charles Holme).
'The Studio', London.
The Camera as Historian. Amateur Photographers and...
Edwards, Elizabeth
Duke University, Durham (USA) & London.
Pedro S. Ciruelo: Una Enciclopedia Humanista del S...
Miguel, Cirilo Florez (and others).
Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Salamanca, Espana.
Substance of the Speech of Mr. John Fenwick at a G...
Fenwick, John.
E. Charnley and others, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Early Sea Charts.
Putman, Robert.
Abbeville Press, New York.


It's All About Me | Less. More. Abundantly.
I've had people tell me all my life, "Wow, you went through a lot. The Lord must really love you." And I grew up believing that somehow my suffering related to God's love for me. Maybe sometimes I thought I was loved less because of it, because I watched all my friends in their comfortable lives and tried to hide the pain in mine.
It's not until the past few years that I've begun to understand that whoever came up with that idea 'is messed up' by it. They just don't understand. God's love for me has nothing to do with trials or lack thereof.
Thanks Katie. I forget sometimes, in my struggle to not make it all about me, that it could be all about them and their mess. We all are working on our own mess. I own my reaction, not theirs.


Usborne history books help children learn about Britain's past, and that of the wider world, with flap books and sticker books packed with historical detail, and beautifully illustrated encyclopedias and narrative histories. Take a look at A Short History of the World, or scroll down for more highlights.
Ruth Brocklehurst, co-author of A Short History of the World, reveals how they condensed such an enormous subject into 160 pages.
Take an illustrated journey through thousands of years of history in these fascinating books – including A Short History of the World, a fast-paced trip through time.
Many Usborne history books have links to carefully selected websites, including virtual tours of ancient cities and palaces and video clips about the people and events described in this book.
Get a head start on a key curriculum topic with these fun and informative books on the early history of Great Britain.
Find out all about the pharaohs, mummies and pyramids of Ancient Egypt, or immerse yourself in Ancient Rome, with its gladiators, centurions and amphitheatres.
A lavishly illustrated picture book about Ancient Egypt, packed with illustrations and photographs of historic locations and artefacts. Readers can discover pyramids, temples and mighty kings and examine Egyptian games, jewellery and cosmetics. Includes contents and index pages for easy reference, and internet links to websites to find out more.
Did the Romans have parties? What was the Roman Army like? These questions and more are answered in this fascinating introduction to Ancient Rome. Colourful illustrations and surprising facts help to uncover the Romans, from powerful emperors to gladiators, senators and slaves. Contents and index pages are included, plus internet links to learn more.
A colourful information book packed with illustrations and photographs that bring the history of Ancient Rome to life. Brightly illustrated pages describe how the Romans entertained themselves, the fashion trends they followed, why the Roman Empire fell apart and much more. With pictures of fearsome weapons, magnificent buildings and ancient artefacts on every page. Includes a contents list and index, and internet links to websites to find out more about the Romans. An inspiring history book for home, school and library.
Many Usborne world war books are produced in association with Imperial War Museums, with internet links to carefully researched websites where readers can find out more.


text:
import { baseUniDriverFactory } from 'wix-ui-test-utils/base-driver';
import { dataHooks } from './constants';
import { checkboxUniDriverFactory } from '../Checkbox/Checkbox.uni.driver';
import deprecationLog from '../utils/deprecationLog';

export const tableListItemDriverFactory = (base, body) => {
  const getColumnAt = index =>
    base.$$(`[data-hook="${dataHooks.tableListItemValue}"]`).get(index);
  const getCheckboxDriver = () =>
    checkboxUniDriverFactory(
      base.$(`[data-hook="${dataHooks.tableListItemCheckbox}"]`),
      body,
    );

  const getColumnTextAt = async index => {
    const column = await getColumnAt(index);
    return column.text();
  };

  const getColumTextAt = index => {
    deprecationLog(
      'getColumTextAt is deprecated and will be removed in next major release, please use getColumnTextAt instead',
    );
    return getColumnTextAt(index);
  };

  return {
    ...baseUniDriverFactory(base, body),
    getColumTextAt,
    getColumnTextAt,
    isCheckboxExists: () => {
      const driver = getCheckboxDriver();
      return driver.exists();
    },
    isCheckboxChecked: () => {
      const driver = getCheckboxDriver();
      return driver.isChecked();
    },
    toggleCheckbox: () => {
      const driver = getCheckboxDriver();
      return driver.click();
    },
  };
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Herman Cain Wins Tea Party's On-Site Presidential Straw Poll
CP Politics | Monday, February 28, 2011
By Stephanie Samuel, Christian Post Reporter | Monday, February 28, 2011
Former Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain won the on-site presidential straw poll at a Tea Party convention in Arizona this past weekend.
Between the on-site and online straw polls, there were 1,600 votes cast for the Tea Party Patriots' American Policy Summit presidential straw polls. Tea Party activists attending the event in person at the Phoenix convention center favored Cain over more popular GOP candidates such as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Texas Rep. Ron Paul.
Cain, a conservative talk show host, took the top spot with 22 percent of the on-site votes. Trailing behind him is former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty with 16 percent, and then Paul at 15 percent.
Paul, however, won the majority of overall votes cast in online and on-site straw polls. Paul's supporters are well-known for their online activism. In the online poll, Cain came in a close second with Palin in third and Pawlenty in fourth place.
Cain is the only name on the ballot that has officially declared his candidacy for the 2012 presidential election.
On the website of his presidential exploratory committee, Cain parlays his leadership in the business world into a platform.
He writes in an introductory letter, "The American Dream is under attack."
Cain contends he can save that dream using his experience. He is a Georgia native who, as he states, has achieved the American Dream for himself and his poor African-American parents by earning his bachelor and master degrees and rising to leadership positions in the Coca-Cola and Pillsbury companies.
By contrast, President Barack Obama's administration does not understand business, he contends.
"Only 7 percent of his appointees, or the people he surrounds himself with, have actually worked in the private sector. They don't understand how business works or how to go about solving the biggest problem we have which is stimulating this economy," he expressed during a Feb. 17 television interview.
If elected president, Cain says he would preserve the American dream for others by reigning in government spending and excessive taxes.
He pushed for tax reform during the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this month.
"The only way to fix our messed up tax code is to throw it out and put in a whole new system called the Fair Tax," advocated Cain at CPAC. The fair tax system would, among other things, abolish the Internal Revenue Service and institute a national retail sales tax.
Although the poll may be a boost for the largely unknown candidate, national polls show that Republicans have not chosen a clear favorite in the race.
The percentages in the polls show only a 4 percent difference at most between the top candidates. In the absence of a strong leader, former governors Palin, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas have consistently been at the top of the polls.
Huckabee led in the most recent Gallup poll with 18 percent of the 1,326 Republican and Republican-leaning independent responders. Palin and Romney both trailed behind him with 16 percent each. Cain was at the bottom of the poll with less than 1 percent.
Pro-Life Activist Insists Seriousness of Presidential Run
CPAC Presidential Candidate List Offers Limited Selection, Says Bishop Jackson
Huckabee's Lead in Polls Lends New Confidence
Protesters demonstrate against vaccine mandate in nation's capital: 'This is loving your neighbor'
New Jersey governor signs bill legalizing abortion up to moment of birth
Biden admin. to list employees seeking religious exemptions to vaccine mandate in new database


Fourteen of us enjoyed a beautiful morning. We spent some productive time in the first one-half mile of the upstream portion of the wash where there was water. Farther up the wash and the major side canyon were dry, so we spent the remainder of the morning in the downstream portion of the wash. We finished the morning at Sears Kay Ruin, where we added four species to the list during the hike up to the Ruin. We recorded a total of 34 species for the morning. Fun was the discovery of Arizona Sister, usually found at a higher elevation, and Mexican Yellow. A large gray skipper sitting in the shade gave us only a short glimpse before disappearing… considering the time of year and habitat, it must have been a Sheep Skipper. Species recorded: Pipevine Swallowtail, Two-tailed Swallowtail, Checkered White, Sleepy Orange, Orange Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Dainty Sulphur, Mexican Yellow, Gray Hairstreak (Sears Kay), Marine Blue, Ceraunus Blue, Spring "Echo" Azure, Acmon Blue, W. Pygmy Blue, Mormon Metalmark (Sears Kay), American Snout, Elada Checkerspot, Variable Checkerspot, Sagebrush Checkerspot, California Patch (Sears Kay), Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Empress Leilia, Arizona Sister, Mourning Cloak, Common Buckeye, Red-spotted Purple, Monarch, Queen, Funereal Duskywing (Sears Kay), Sheep Skipper, Northern White-Skipper, Common Checkered-Skipper, Orange Skipperling. Four species were found on the scouting trip the day before that were not seen on the field trip: Giant Swallowtail, Reakirt's Blue, Variegated Fritillary, and Bordered Patch.


I love looking in my fridge and cupboards and finding ingredients and flavours to try together. Recently I wanted to try adding chipotle chillies to more than just chilli con carne and I thought it would be worth trying a pinch with sweetcorn. This chipotle sweetcorn hash came out of a mish mash of ingredients I happened to have to hand and the end result was delicious. Sticky, sweet, spicy and moreish I'll be making this one again soon!


Does your library serve a diverse community? Are you serving patrons who do not speak English as their native language? In our service and information focused economy communication has become a hallmark of success. Whether your patrons work in the service industries of restaurants, hotels or healthcare or in the information industries of technology, they need to be able to communicate clearly to succeed.
You can now offer interactive, customized software programs for prices that fit your budget. Patrons can learn pronunciation in a sheltered environment and break away from the barriers to success that an accent can often cause.
Our software programs are customized to meet the specific needs of the user. Each program contains specific information on the phonemic carry-over from the user's native language.
We offer a pro-edition which includes over 20 language backgrounds, as well as a general edition. The general edition is the entire phonemic system of English and is good for the languages that are not one of the ones included.
We also offer the option of buying just the languages that the majority of your patrons speak. For example you can purchase a program that teaches English pronunciation to people whose first language is Spanish, Portuguese, or Russian. You can purchase any number of languages and any combination.
Each computer that is licensed to use our software is permanently licensed. There are absolutely no additional fees.
Discounts begin at 2+ copies purchased.
Copyright ©2005-2009 AccentMaster.com. All rights reserved.


text:
Sala Sudasiri Sobha: Why Chatuchak is becoming a vibrant art hub
On the edge of Chatuchak District, the award-winning piano master Nat Yontararak found the perfect neighborhood for his dream concert hall, Sala Sudasiri Sobha.
Brought to you by Sansiri. Find out more about living in Chatuchak at thelinebkk.com
By ASIACITY STUDIO | Apr 03, 2015
By ASIACITY STUDIO
Chatuchak is fast becoming Bangkok's most vibrant art hub. It's long been known for the weekend market's bustling "Art Zone" (see right), which is an unprentetious answer to the high-brow galleries of Silom and Sukhumvit. But the neighborhood's green spaces and quiet atmosphere is now attracting top-level institutions, too. MOCA opened further to the North, gathering the kingdom's foremost artists in one stunning structure. Numthong Gallery is showcasing today's edgiest names in contemporary art. And Sala Sudasiri Sobha is the city's most refined concert hall.
Sala Sudasiri Sobha was founded by Nat Yontararak, an award-winning classical pianist, composer and teacher. Loogtan, Nat's daughter and the concert hall's manager, says that the character of Chatuchak played a big part in the choice of location. "We decided to build it here because the area also has a peaceful atmosphere. It's tucked down a dead-end lane, not too far from the main road but quiet enough for our music-related activities like concerts, training and sound recording, none of which can happen if you're near a noisy, bustling road."
Loogtan adds that it sits in a neighborhood known for its well-cultured residents—affluent and educated classical music admirers. It's also not far from the Thailand Cultural Center and Muangthai Ratchadalai Theater, Bangkok's two other main performance halls. "And the new train station will be right beside us too, bringing more like-minded people to the area," says Loogtan.
Music isn't the only art represented in Chatuchak. Narate Kathong's Artlover Gallery is just one of the many galleries at the Chatuchak Weekend Market. Narate has been exhibited throughout the world and has won multiple awards.
With a cultural range that spans affordable art at an open-air market to refined classical concert halls and avant-garde galleries, Chatuchak and its environs are now Bangkok's most exciting playground for art enthusiasts.
Where to admire the visual arts
So you know where to indulge in music? Now check out these places to both look at and purchase the work of Thailand's hottest artistic talent.
Chatuchak Weekend Market "Art Zone"
JJ Market is vast, but art lovers know where to go: Section 7. At this remote section at the farright corner of the bazaar, young and veteran artists gather to display everything from old paintings to watercolors, etchings, charcoals and sculptures. Prices vary depending on your bargaining skills. Phahonyothin and Kamphaeng Phet Rd. Open Sat-Sun, 10am-7pm
Numthong Gallery
This is the new location for one of Bangkok's best-known dealers, Numthong Sae Tang. With years of experience in the art business, he curates masterpieces from both established and emerging Thai and international artists, including Montien Boonma, Chatchai Puipia, Vasan Sitthiket, Kamin Lertchaiprasert and Michael Shaowanasai. Ari Soi 5, Phahonyothin Soi 7, 02-617-2794. Open Mon-Sat 11am-6pm. www.gallerynumthong.com
Further to the north on Viphavadi-Rangsit Road, you'll find telecom tycoon Boonchai Becharongkul's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Here, he displays his vast collection of paintings, drawings and sculptures from notable Thai contemporary artists. The highlight is the country's largest collection of Tawan Duchanee paintings. 499 Kamphaengphet 6 Rd., Ladyao, Chatuchak, 02-953-1005/-7. Open Tue-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat-Sun 11am-6pm. www.mocabangkok.com


The Resource Annual report of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress for fiscal year ..
Annual report of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress for fiscal year ..
The item Annual report of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress for fiscal year .. represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Cleveland Public Library.
Data Citation of the Item Annual report of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress for fiscal year ..


JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AFNS) -- For more than nine days, 12 civil engineer Airmen from several Pacific Air Force bases recently participated in a secondary operator training course as a part of the newly adopted Rapid Airfield Damage Assessment System here.
RADAS, one of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center's latest research and development projects, is designed to significantly reduce hazardous exposure Airmen might encounter, as well as reduce the time the airfield recovery and assessment process takes.
This new innovative technology, currently adopted by the Pacific Command and fielded through PACAF, cultivates the region's long-term capabilities of competing, deterring, and winning by saving lives and cutting flightline recovery times in a real-world scenario.
Throughout the first week of training, the Airmen focus on learning to fly the Aeryon SkyRanger Small Unmanned Aircraft System. During the second week, they learn to fly the RADAS mission while using the SUAS systems.
In operational use, the SUAS is capable of quickly deploying and locating airfield damage as well as unexploded ordnance, left after a base attack. The real-time view gives both engineers and base leadership the ability to have a stitched-together mosaic of flightline images instantly, in addition to the rewind and zoom in or out controls while viewing the airfield during an assessment.
Throughout the training course, operators overcame the cold temperatures faced and it was proven the SUAS operates well in harsh environments and demanding weather conditions, said Nabors.


text:
From rounds 1 to 22 in this season's Guinness Pro12, Glasgow Warriors had the best record. From rounds 2 to 22, that honour fell to Munster. So it's hard to deny that the two correct teams have reached the final.
Is it being played in the correct venue? Hmmm. Well from a perspective that's deep within the Irish bubble I'd say that Raven-span was due a final after the Ulstermen were denied their claim by fate in 2013, but this is the Pro12 and there are other bubbles to be considered. The Scots have a decent case to make that not only should topping the pile earn you home advantage, but it's about time the league's showpiece took place away from the Emerald Isle.
But as that annoying phrase goes, "we are where we are", so I best start harpin on how I think this match will go.
We know both teams rely on a cohesive 15-man plan. It's not about whether one man can do something spectacular, more that one man executes the basics well because he has quality support around him. This applies to both Glasgow and Munster on both offence and defence.
Either side can make some serious yardage whether it be by neat offloading in Glasgow's case or in Munster's a quick reaction to the number of bodies committed to the breakdown by the opposition. That can get them quickly into the opponent's 22 but then they'll be up against a pretty solid defence in each case.
This means that scoring could well be at a premium on the day and with Nigel Owens holding the whistle the odds are that refereeing decisions won't play a factor so it should boil down to good old-fashioned accuracy to decide who comes out on top, which is exactly how a top-tier rugby final should be.
Munster will of course miss their international duo of Peter O'Mahony and Conor Murray, both injured in the semifinal. Still, for all the complaints about Duncan Williams by Munster fans over the years I thought he did pretty well last weekend against the Ospreys and as for O'Mahony's replacement, Donncha Ryan certainly needs no introduction and Billy Holland can certainly do a job at lock.
On the Glasgow side, naturally the first name you look for is Niko Matawalu, and on this occasion Gregor Townsend has opted for a place on the bench for the Fijian - still, his introduction to this fixture could be a turning point - as for which direction the match will turn, your guess is as good as mine.
Many talk about his dive against Ulster but his performance was about much more than that for me. We saw the very best and the very worst from him - his behind-the-back offload helped Glasgow score their winning try yet a bit of naive defending allowed Ulster in for a 5-pointer in the first half.
As for the Warriors actually starting, it definitely seems like a solid selection and much will be expected from their back three of Hogg, Seymour and Van Der Merwe, not to mention outhalf Finn Russell, who has to be in a more confident frame of mind after the semifinals than his opposite number Ian Keatley.
Naturally you can expect any Munster pack to be strong and even without their injury list this tight eight is no exception. It will be sad to see the great Paul O'Connell wearing this particular shade of red for the last time but we can be sure that he will lead from the front.
At scrum time you can be sure BJ Botha will be looking for an angle to gain an advantage, though you can also be sure Nigel Owens will be well able for him. In the back row Paddy Butler has impressed at 7 but with Josh Strauss captaining the Warriors and keen to impress the Scottish selectors the breakdown should be some battleground.
The bookies are leaning towards Munster to capture their 4th title, though just by the two points. I think the Warriors have done extremely well to get to a point where they have reached two finals in a row but when I look at these two sides and try to imagine which will blink first in a contest that demands perfection, it's the Scots I see doing it.
I reckon it will be a close one until the final 15 minutes where Munster could pull away to a crucial 8-point lead which they are well able to bring home, though the margin could be narrowed down to 4-6 points by full time.
Here's hoping for two things : (1) that it's a battle that lives up to the occasion, and (2) that the league doesn't get too used to Leinster not being in the final as we'll be back next year ;-)
Best wishes to both sides and all their supporters...of course what with this being an Irish site I'm hoping my prediction is right and Paulie says goodbye in style. JLP
Venue: Kingspan Stadium, Belfast Date: Saturday 30 May Kick-off: 18:30
Glasgow Warriors: Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour, Richie Vernon, Peter Horne, DTH van der Merwe, Finn Russell, Henry Pyrgos, Gordon Reid, Dougie Hall, Rossouw de Klerk, Leone Nakarawa, Jonny Gray, Rob Harley, Ryan Wilson, Josh Strauss (captain). Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jerry Yanuyanutawa, Jon Welsh, Al Kellock, Chris Fusaro, Niko Matawalu, Duncan Weir, Sean Lamont.
Munster: Felix Jones; Keith Earls, Andrew Smith, Denis Hurley (captain), Simon Zebo; Ian Keatley, Duncan Williams; Dave Kilcoyne, Eusebio Guinazu, BJ Botha; Billy Holland, Paul O'Connell; Donnacha Ryan, Paddy Butler, CJ Stander. Replacements: Duncan Casey, James Cronin, Stephen Archer, Sean Dougall, Jack O'Donoghue, Cathal Sheridan, JJ Hanrahan, Ronan O'Mahony.
Live on Sky Sports/TG4/BBC Sport Scotland
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU, 127th competition game)
Assistant Referees: 1) Ian Davies, 2) Sean Brickell, 4) Gwyn Morris, 5) Wayne Davies (all WRU )
Citing Commissioner: Stefano Marrama (FIR)
TMO: Derek Bevan (WRU)


text:
Stars Believe In the 'Next Man Up' Strategy
February 10, 2021 by Sam Nestler
Adversity is a huge part of any hockey season. The team that can overcome it the most, is usually set up to make a run. For the Dallas Stars, they go even further than just overcoming it. Over the last two seasons, the Stars have been forced to not only overcome adversity but to accept it. With the plethora of injuries, a sudden coaching change, and distractions all around, the team has bought into the belief of the next man up.
The belief is that the next man up needs to step in and fill the necessary role that an individual can no longer perform. It is based on the team having full faith in whoever fills that role, no matter their experience. This played a huge part in their Stanley Cup Final run last season and is key to their success this season.
Bowness is the Man
The Stars thought that they had finally found their future coach in Jim Montgomery in 2018. He was the youngest coach in the league at the time and had taken them to Game 7 of the second round in his first season. This would be the first time that players like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn have had a consistent coach in their time in Dallas. That all disappeared on Dec. 10, 2019, when Montgomery was fired due to acts of unprofessionalism. Then, 66-year-old assistant coach Rick Bowness was asked to step in and lead the team for the rest of the season.
Rick Bowness, Dallas Stars Head Coach (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Bowness had plenty of experience both as a head coach and as an assistant, but it was a tough task for anyone on such short notice. Bowness defied the odds, leading the Stars to the best win percentage in the entire league up until the COVID-19 league stoppage. His team found every possible way to win games. "He's probably the best coach that I've played for," said captain Benn.
The Stars would go on to stand behind their coach and deal with the adversity together in a tough bubble situation up in Edmonton. When the season ended, Bowness decided, with his teams' full support, to accept the job full time. Every player in that room has spoken up about how excited they are that he was returning to the bench. It has been so far, so good for Bowness, as he has the team off to a great start in this shortened 2020-21 season with a full training camp under his belt.
Dobby to the Rescue
Anton Khudobin has been a backup goalie his entire career and has excelled in that role behind some of the biggest names in the league. His newest role in Dallas is behind Ben Bishop, a former Vezina Trophy finalist. Khudobin was brought in due to the excessive number of injuries that Bishop has dealt with in his career. He went on to play roughly a 40-60 percent split the last few seasons, with some starting time when Bishop was injured.
When the 2020 Playoffs came around, Bishop was once again not available. Khudobin met this challenge head-on and started 24 of the team's 26 playoff games. While everyone was counting the Stars out early, Khudobin had an incredible playoff run with a record of 14-10, and a save percentage of .917. He consistently made key saves when his team needed it most, stealing a few sure-goals off the board.
Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
His teammates and coaches describe him as a hard-working guy that does everything he can to stop the puck. His attitude is contagious and he makes his teammates want to play hard and sacrifice for him. That is a huge part of what led the Stars to just two wins away from the Stanley Cup. Going into this season, the challenge continues as Bishop is expected to miss nearly ¾ of the season due to the same injury.
A New Playoff Hero
The big injuries to key players really began in the second round of the playoffs vs. the Colorado Avalanche. The Stars were without Andrew Cogliano, Bishop, and Stephen Johns heading into a Game 7 matchup. The biggest of those injuries at the time seemed to be Cogliano, who was part of the team's checking line that was responsible for keeping the top Avalanche players quiet. They were forced to insert rookie Joel Kiviranta for his playoff debut instead.
Joel Kiviranta, Dallas Stars (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
Kiviranta played 14:51 in the game and shocked the world. He tied the game at one with a nice deflection in the first period, scoring just his second NHL goal. Then, he tied the game late in the third just 10 seconds after the Avalanche scored what seemed to be the late game-winning goal. Last but not least, he found himself open in the slot in overtime for an incredible hat trick goal to push his team to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2008. He will now play a top-six forward role in the 2020-21 season with his confidence riding high.
Ain't No Big Surprise
These performances may come as a shock to the outside world, but inside the Stars' locker room, they are expected. The team looks to be impossible to rattle as they continue performing at high levels no matter how many players are missing from the lineup. That will be a massive part of this season as they have already dealt with COVID-19 outbreaks and plenty of injuries. Dallas will already be missing Bishop and Seguin for most of the season on top of any other injuries that come up.
Dallas Stars forward Justin Dowling excels in the role of 'Next Man Up' (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Overcoming adversity is even more important this season as there will be plenty of it for all teams with cancellations, injuries, and changes on a daily basis. However, coming off a heartbreaking Stanley Cup Final loss, the Stars seem to be perfectly built to accept and overcome it.
Sign up for our regular 'Stars Newsletter' for all the latest.
Sam Nestler
Sam Nestler is a Dallas Stars contributor for the 'The Hockey Writers'. Growing up in New Jersey, Sam has been playing hockey since he was 7 years old. Developing a love for writing in college, Sam uses his hockey knowledge to create analyses and articles on every aspect of the game. Sam also hosts his own podcast on Spotify, the "Slapshot Sammy' podcast, breaking down action across the NHL and NCAA. Check out the podcast here, and give his latest article a read!
Categories Dallas Stars Tags Anton Khudobin, Joel Kiviranta, Justin Dowling, Rick Bowness


Sporty, and one of the most Prestigious Luxury Watch brands.
Pre-owned, in LIKE NEW CONDITION, WITH ORIGINAL PATEK PHILIPPE PASSPORT WALLET & WARRANTY PAPERS. Stainless Steel, 36mm case including the crown guard, automatic movement, and date indicator, screw down crown, with see through sapphire glass screw back. Available on sporty black rubber strap, and stainless steel folding buckle.
PRICE $19,400. EXCELLENT BUY! To purchase this watch CALL US 956.687.2981.
NOTE: The Aquanaut model in stainless steel is one of the best investments as their value continues to increase.


Mount Maunganui-based WOODS Agency offers creative, design and marketing solutions that are business focused, customer-centric and results driven.
Define your internal business strategy and culture.
Establish and articulate your brand's values, including your purpose, vision and mission – engaging staff along the journey. Develop initiatives to align the organisation, improve performance, and raise team morale.
Create your brand positioning, story, messaging and visual identity.
Build a brand that's customer focussed. We design and develop engaging brands with a strategic approach that aligns customer needs with business strengths to create a unique position in the market.
Design your print, packaging, website and digital experiences.
Map out and align every touchpoint that connects your customer to your product or service to create consistency and clarity. Invent new touch points that have never existed and truly differentiate.
Maintain your ongoing marketing, advertising and digital content.
Extend your customer connection, drive sales and grow your business with long-term strategic marketing, advertising and digital content that's results focussed .


text:
Max Boyce, MBE
Max Boyce, singer-songwriter, poet and entertainer, was born in the village of Glynneath, south Wales, where he still lives with his wife, Jean. Despite the fact that his father was killed in a mining explosion a month before Max was born, Max went on to work underground in the local colliery at the age of sixteen – a profession he remained in for over a decade.
After releasing two records on a small Welsh label, in 1973 he recorded his iconic breakthrough album, Live at Treorchy, which went on to sell over half a million copies. Several gold and silver records followed, including We All Had Doctors' Papers, which went to number one in the UK Albums Chart and is still the only comedy album to attain this feat. He has since toured the world, playing sell-out concerts in some of the world's great venues, including the London Palladium, Sydney Opera House and the Royal Albert Hall.
His BBC television series attracted over twenty million viewers and merely confirmed Max's popularity among young and old alike. His exploits following the Dallas Cowboys, the American rodeo circuit and the 1985 World Elephant Polo Championship in Nepal were chronicled in the bestselling book In the Mad Pursuit of Applause.
In 1999, he was awarded an MBE by Prince Charles and in 2013 he received the Freedom of the Borough of Neath and Port Talbot, following in the footsteps of Sir Richard Burton and Sir Anthony Hopkins. In 2022, there are plans to unveil a bronze lifesize statue of Max in his hometown – a fitting and deserved tribute to a modern-day folk hero whose poems, songs and stories have become part of Welsh legend.
We were honoured to be able to interview Max and find more about his new publication, Hymns and Arias …
Many congratulations on Max: Hymns & Arias – tell us a little about the new book & what do you hope readers will take away from it …
Hymns & Arias was a natural title inspired by the song of the same name.
It is a collection of some of my favourite poems, songs and stories, as well as some cartoons of my songs by my old friend Gren, for we both drew with the same pencil.
There are also fine illustrations by Anne Cakebread, Fran Evans, Darryl 'Gren' Jones and Rhys Padarn Jones that accompany some of my songs like 'Close the Coalhouse Door', 'Is God in His Paint Shop', 'Rhondda Grey', 'When Just the Tide Went Out', 'The Glory That Was Rome' and 'Hymns and Arias'. They have given my work another dimension.
I'm sure many people will recognise themselves in the lyrics, for they have walked the same path and travelled the same journey. They have experienced the same joys and endured the same disappointments.
From such a wealth of material you've produced over the years, how did you go about choosing which stories, songs and poems to include in the book?
Much of my work is based on personal experience, born of a truth that gives me the credence to tell my stories and sing my songs.
Choosing what to include wasn't easy but I sincerely hope it is a collection that is representative of my writing over the years.
Some of my songs and stories are designed for 'performance' and need an audience to give them their 'life force'. Comedy is always in need of an echo and is constantly being judged by the barometer of applause, which the written word can't afford. Laughter can never be forced or cheated.
Other songs in this collection are more reflective and lie quietly listening to their own silence, only to be disturbed by the turning of the page.
What are your all-time favourite songs, stories & poems?
Hymns & Arias includes some of my favourite songs, such as 'Rhondda Grey' and 'Duw! It's Hard', as well as some unpublished poems, such as 'Is God in His Paint Shop', 'Aberfan' and 'With a Whistle in His Hand'.
'Rhondda Grey' and 'Duw! It's Hard' in particular mean so much to me, for they are songs of personal experience, having worked underground from the age of sixteen for ten years and experienced the love/hate relationship the miners had with their workplace… 'where they emptied all the hills to warm the world'.
Have music and stories always played a part in your life from a young age?
Music and poetry have always played a big part in my life and I loved Eifion Wyn's 'Cwm Pennant' and the monologues of my childhood, Abiah Roderick's (Trebanos) 'Hen Genuine' ('Old Genuine'), which should always be read in a Swansea Valley dialect (tafodiaeth Cwm Tawe). And then there were the epic poems 'The Green Eye of the Yellow God' ('There's a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Khatmandu…'), 'The Man from Snowy River' and 'The Song of Hiawatha' ('By the shore of Gitche Gumee…').
My poem 'The Incredible Plan' was inspired by these and I can still recite them to this day.
Your moving poem 'When Just the Tide Went Out' has been uploaded millions of times, tell us a little about how you came about writing it …
I wrote 'When Just the Tide Came Out' at the height of the first lockdown and it has been viewed millions of times since.
I received a letter from a nurse who asked me to write something to lift the spirits of the frontline workers of the NHS in the most trying of times.
It was difficult to introduce an element of humour at such a sensitive time and I was acutely aware of people's feelings when 'just the tide went out'.
The humour was gentle but, I hope, rang true and made people smile:
My neighbours are complaining
I've heard them scream and shout
With the sound the bins are making
When I took the empties out…
Are you glad to be able to watch sport again now that the restrictions are lifting?
I've really missed live sport throughout these pandemic times, but thankfully the situation has been restored to some normality.
Games are still being cancelled because of some players testing positive, but there have been some matches in fractured leagues.
There's nothing I enjoy more than watching my village side Glynneath play on a Saturday afternoon and soaking up the banter and the 'craic' in the bar afterwards when the referee is blamed for everything from petrol shortage to global warming.
I think everyone has missed live sport and this is indicative of the fact that attendances at our home games have significantly increased.
Despite the counter-attraction of televised rugby and soccer matches, there is no substitute for live Saturday afternoon sport, not even off the bench…
What books and music inspired you as a young person?
My earliest influences in songwriting were Ewan MacColl and Pete Seeger, who wrote and/or performed 'songs of the working man', such as 'Close the Coalhouse Door', 'The Shoals of Herring' and 'The Big Hewer'. These songs were a great influence on me and still are.
One of the first books I remember reading was Dylan Thomas' short stories, A Visit to Grandpa's, which featured recollections of his trips to Porthcawl watching families play cricket on the sands, particularly the poignant and beautifully crafted story of the 'friendless fielder, the boy uninvited to bat or to tea' who 'hungrily wait[s] at the edge of family cricket'.
This was so true, so sad and left a deep impression on me how powerful simple words could be in colouring a memory and painting a picture. A true wordsmith who 'carved words like jewels' and was an early influence.
Who are your favourite authors?
My favourite books and authors are A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart, one of the most uplifting books I have ever read; The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; The Book Thief by Markus Zusak; Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks; and last but not least, I Can't Stay Long by Laurie Lee – the book I chose to take with me to a desert island on Roy Plomley's radio programme Desert Island Discs way back in 1980.
Following the programme, which Laurie Lee had listened to, we met up in Cardiff, and I was overwhelmed to share a glass of red wine with him and listen to him tell of his reminiscences of the Aberfan disaster, 'When a Village Lost Its Children', and hear him read the first few lines of his beautifully crafted essay 'The Firstborn', which every new parent should read.
In what way have libraries influenced you during your lifetime?
In my early childhood we lived near the miner's institute in Glynneath. The Welfare Hall was built and paid for by the miners at a penny a week.
They saw education as a means to escape the inevitability of working in the pits, where men were robbed of daylight and turned to song and religion.
The 'Stiwt' – the Welfare – was my library, full to the top with words. I remember as a nine-year-old taking home books like Being and Nothingness (Jean-Paul Sartre) and Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) to impress the librarian, and I let the titles slip out on the way home on the bus.
Glynneath Miner's Institute
Are there any more books on the way?
Now I have completed Hymns & Arias, I would like to write my autobiography and a children's book (which I have already written in my mind), The Adventures of Morgan the Moon.
The librarian in the Welfare would have been well impressed…
Hymns & Arias is published 1 November 2021 by Parthian.
Photography by Luke Hodgkins.
Read our Get to Know the Author flyer for further information about Max Boyce and Hymns & Arias. See also our Author of the Month writing in Welsh.