Opportunity Villages' Very Important Arts (VIA) Program serves children with disabilities ages 3-22 in arts and recreation.
The program is designed to provide opportunities for artistic expression in the areas of art, music, dance, and more. Classes are taught by a qualified Music and Movement Mentors. The VIA program allows children to work in solo and group settings, and also enhances their cognitive and social development to keep them active. Classes are monthly and are 30 minutes each. Classes are free of charge to all participants and take place on site at your school.
Throughout the school year, we occasionally have the opportunity to sponsor field trips! Our most popular is spending a special day at the Magical Forest – just for VIA participants!
The VIA Program also partners with the Down Syndrome Organization of Southern Nevada, Nevada Blind Children's Foundation, Miracle League, East Las Vegas Community Center, and more!


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Home / Iraqi Voices
Will a New Force Emerge in Iraq?
The fact that political entities have not yielded anyone with an alternate vision reflects the nature of post-2003 Iraqi politics and of its political classes
By Fanar Haddad Gulf News
There is little cause for anticipating major structural changes after Iraq's forthcoming elections. The most likely result would be business as usual: another 'national-unity' government rather than a majority government and, at most, a change of faces rather than a change (or even reform) of the system. Even then, it seems that a reordering, rather than a change of faces is the limit of Iraqi electoral potential. The central issue in 2014 is Nouri Al Maliki's premiership, not that Iraq is bereft of more pressing concerns, and whether or not he will be able to secure a third term. While it is never wise to bet on Iraqi politics, initial indicators seem to favour Al Maliki's chances.
As with every round of Iraqi elections, 2014 has seen heightened violence, increasing sectarian entrenchment and a conveniently timed pre-election crisis. With the exception of the provincial elections of 2009 and perhaps the run up, though certainly not the follow up to the 2010 elections, the electoral process has consistently worked to accentuate rather than soothe Iraq's divisions. Despite fierce intra-sectarian rivalries – never more so than in the upcoming elections – there seems to be an ingrained limit to intra-sectarian political competition. Would Shiite political forces, despite all their infighting, rivalries and even hatreds, countenance a non-Shiite prime minister? Or would they, if push came to shove, close ranks to ensure Shiite continuity in the prime minister's office even if it meant swallowing the bitter pill of an Al Maliki third term?
The elections of 2010 justify significant scepticism regarding the sabre rattling that precedes the vote. In 2010, it seemed unthinkable for the Sadrists to support a second Al Maliki term, yet that is exactly what they ended up doing. Today it seems even more far fetched for the Sadrists – or for Hakim's Muwatin list for that matter – to support a third Al Maliki term. Yet, I for one would not be surprised if that happens once the post-poll political bazaar opens for business and ministries are doled out and loyalties and alliances go up for sale.
Rare is the Iraqi who does not recognise the failings of today's political order and rarer still is the Iraqi who does not recognise sectarian politics as a cannibalistic parasite in the Iraqi body politic. So what is stopping a new force from emerging? Firstly there are the structural impediments facing new entrants into any established political field. There are entrenched interests and established political and economic structures that present near-insurmountable obstacles to any aspiring new entrant with a truly reformist agenda. This is not necessarily nefarious or Iraq-specific but is the fate of electoral politics worldwide. With time politics turns into an increasingly closed shop to outsiders who lack the financial capacity, media presence, established voter base or political networks to compete in the system. However, the difficulties that confront an aspiring third party, in for example, American politics are magnified in the case of aspiring new entrants into Iraqi politics by institutional weakness, political polarisation, corruption, security concerns, authoritarianism and the opacity and uncertainty that so characterise the system.
So any serious challenge to the political statusquo has to come from within or, if emerging from without, has to be adopted by an established political actor – Gorran being an example of the former and the Tea Party an example of the latter. In Arab Iraq, there is no shortage of political offshoots; indeed, over the years just about every political entity has metastasised beyond recognition. The fact that all these divisions have not yielded anyone with an alternate vision, someone, who if successful will seek genuine reform rather than simply assuming the incumbent prime minister's role, reflects the nature of post-2003 Arab Iraqi politics and of its political classes.
Despite the democratic veneer that elections bestow, the political classes are relatively immune to the concerns of their supposed constituencies. How else can we explain the fact that Iraq has no functioning political opposition? There is a dangerous, destructive and militant insurgent opposition but not a political one. When it comes to national politics, Iraqi political actors are partner-competitors, rather than opponents, in a rentier political marketplace all too familiar to the developing world. For example, for all their talk of marginalisation and exclusion, Sunni politicians have yet to opt out of the system or to form an opposition simply because to do so would mean losing access to the rents and funds that come with a seat at the political table. This also explains how the deputy prime minister can believe that the government he serves is so genocidal that he feels compelled to block the much-needed development of Iraq's airforce but not genocidal enough to compel him to resign.
For the political classes what is at stake is not what the electorate might feel is at stake: security and by extension the lives of the hundreds who die every month, good governance, services and state-building. For the political classes what is at stake is access to rents and the size of their ministerial and executive share – which, in turn facilitate the strongest tangible overlap between the political classes and the electorate, namely, the provision of jobs and handouts in the form of various entitlements. This is what explains the ludicrously incoherent national unity government that came into existence in 2010 and that seems set for a reincarnation later this year. This is what explains the emptiness of 'reconciliation'. After all, the political classes may work against one another but, so long as the petrodollars continue to flow, they are nevertheless partners in a political order that benefits all, from the prime minister to those bemoaning his dictatorial tendencies.
Another reason behind political stagnation is a lack of basic trust at the political level. The trust needed to build inclusive and effective elite bargains simply does not exist in Iraq. As a result, there is no real will or ability to transcend identity politics or to reform a system that benefits its participants. To break ranks and challenge the statusquo, political actors need to have either the legitimacy-based confidence that would allow one to forgo the marriages of convenience that perpetuate the system (as Al Maliki briefly did in 2009/2010) or they would need to have a bare minimum of trust in other political actors – otherwise one will not countenance the possibility of being subsumed by a most-likely hostile other.
The other force sustaining and perpetuating Iraq's broken politics is popular polarisation. Yes, rare is the Iraqi who sees any good in sectarian entrenchment but it is nevertheless an unwanted fact of political life rooted in fears and suspicions that have mutated over the past 11 years into a highly corrosive and as yet inescapable self-perpetuating dynamic. The fact that there is almost no meaningful cross- sectarian political campaigning in 2014 is reflective of societal realities. To be clear: 'Shiite' and 'Sunni' are not two coherent electoral constituencies; rather they are two sets of constituencies separated by an ever-thickening demarcation of mistrust. In such a political landscape it makes little sense for a politician associated with sect X to campaign for the votes of sect Y. Furthermore, playing on this divide provides a soothing alternative to political accountability. And thus political and societal division cyclically reinforce each other.
It is these contingent factors, rather than the electoral process itself that have made elections as much a curse as a blessing for the new Iraq. The elections of 2009 and the run up to the elections of 2010 clearly illustrate this: after years of bloodshed and having just emerged from the peaks of civil war, Iraq seemed to be on the road to recovery. Violence had been reduced to tolerable levels and even the political system seemed to be maturing. Sectarian politics were in clear retreat with Al Maliki turning his back on sectarian alliances and running a robust campaign on nationalist and strongman credentials. Al Qaida was on the defensive and the Mahdi Army was broken after a series of operations in 2008. There was a sense that Iraq was over the worst and that a new beginning was at hand.
Alas, the contentious results of the 2010 elections were the beginning of the end of this brief period of hope. Sectarian coalitions were reconstituted further sharpening the zero-sum nature of Iraqi politics. In the end, the shadowy Erbil Agreement ushered in an all encompassing and completely ineffective government of 'national-unity' at the expense of institution building and the legitimacy – such as it was – of the post-2003 electoral order. With such an inauspicious birth, one should scarcely be surprised at the dysfunction and ineptitude that have characterised this crisis-ridden government. Ultimately, an electoral system is only as democratic as its representatives.
Fanar Haddad is a Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore and is author of Sectarianism in Iraq: Antagonistic Visions of Unity. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@fanarhaddad
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RTC foods has been exporting meat worldwide as well as serving the Australian domestic market with quality Australian and New Zealand meat since 1987. Our dedicated team work tirelessly within the market to ensure both customer and supplier are kept up-to-date with trends. Whether it be procuring beef, chicken, pork, exotic meats or creating specialist products to satisfy consumer's needs. Our staff will always endeavour to provide the best quality of service available.
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text:
import type { ValidationMessageProps } from '@looker/components';
import type { UserAttributeWithValue } from '@looker/filter-expressions';
import type { FilterProps } from '../Filter/types/filter_props';
/**
 * Options for computing and returning filters related errors.
 */
export interface FiltersErrorsOptions {
    userAttributes?: UserAttributeWithValue[];
    useLongMessageForm?: boolean;
}
export declare const useFiltersErrors: (filters: FilterProps[], options?: FiltersErrorsOptions) => ValidationMessageProps;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Having an SQL Error or I'm missing a syntax? I'm having a problem on using this SQL Query
DELETE FROM `acc_reg_num_db` t
WHERE EXISTS
       (SELECT 1 FROM `acc_reg_num_db` tt
         WHERE t.account_id = tt.account_id
           AND t.key = tt.key
           AND tt.value > t.value)
   AND t.key IN ('#betaminutes', '#online_minute')

You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that
corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use
near 't WHERE EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM acc_reg_num_db tt WHERE t.acco' at
line 1

Can anyone help me with this please? Thanks

A: MySQL requires that you list the table being deleted from.  And, you cannot re-use the table being deleted from.  So, try this:
DELETE arn
    FROM `acc_reg_num_db` arn JOIN
         (SELECT account_id, key, MAX(value) as max_value
          FROM acc_reg_num_db arn2
          GROUP BY account_id, key
         ) arn2
         USING (account_id, key)
    WHERE arn.value < arn2.max_value AND
          arn.key IN ('#betaminutes', '#online_minute');

A: You have a couple issues here:

*

*You cannot alias the table acc_reg_num_db you are deleting from

*You cannot delete from the table you are selecting from in the subquery -> you need a derived table

Assuming there is an id column, this is what you need:
DELETE FROM `acc_reg_num_db`
WHERE id IN (
    SELECT id
    FROM (
        SELECT id
        FROM `acc_reg_num_db` t
        WHERE EXISTS
        (SELECT 1 FROM `acc_reg_num_db` tt
            WHERE t.account_id = tt.account_id
            AND t.key = tt.key
            AND tt.value > t.value)
            AND t.key IN ('#betaminutes', '#online_minute')
    ) as x
)
;

Also, key and value are reserved SQL keywords and you should avoid using them in column names

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


U.S. Route 31W (US-31W) is the westernmost of two parallel routes for U.S. Route 31 from Nashville, Tennessee to Louisville, Kentucky. At one time, it split with U.S. Route 31E at Sellersburg, Indiana, crossing into nearby Louisville via the Kentucky & Indiana Terminal Bridge.
US 31W begins in Nashville, at an interchange with Ellington Parkway and US 31 / US 31E. The route continues west as Spring Street, signed with US 41, US 431, and SR 11. US 31W, US 41, US 431, and SR 11 continue north onto Dickerson Pike, closely paralleling I-24 through Nashville. At an intersection with Trinity Lane, all the routes but SR 11 and US 41 split from US 31W and continue west, while US 31W continues north, away from I-24. The roadway has an interchange with I-65 and SR 155 before an intersection with SR 45 in Bellshire Terrace. The highway passes through Goodlettsville, where US 31W splits from the other two routes and crosses I-65; it also passes through White House, Tennessee.


LISAA : High School for Decorative Arts, Paris.
Dpt : 2D & 3D ANIMATION & DIGITAL IMAGING.
Traditional technique : Anatomy, morphology, illustration, traditional animation, movement study.
Culture and concept : Synopsis, script, story-board, animation study, cameras movements, film study, film direction for animation, semiology.
3D Animation & digital imaging : 3D production unit , modeling, post-production, compositing, editing, special effects.
Project : Application of the knowledge in a personal project / film direction.
Film study (from concept to production & working-out).


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Dangerfield slams Robinson tweet: 'Angst among the players'
Written By Jack McAnespie
https://images.performgroup.com/di/library/sportal_com_au/cc/23/patrick-dangerfield_1mf4n621c195s10xb5i7emr720.jpg?t=-1478050121&w=500&quality=80
Patrick Dangerfield has fired back at footy writer Mark Robinson over an insensitive tweet the Herald Sun journo sent out last week in relation to Alex Fasolo's mental health battle.
MORE: Gold Coast Suns player charged with drink driving, teammate victim of an assault
Robinson's tweet included a picture of Fasolo at Collingwood's training facilities and the words, "Good drugs - clinical depression on Tuesday, training Thursday". It sparked furore last last week, especially throughout the playing fraternity.
And the Geelong midfielder was in no mood to mince words when he appeared on Channel Seven's Talking Footy program on Monday night.
"I was really disappointed, especially given Mark really has been the judge, jury and executioner of footballers that make mistakes," Dangerfield said.
"So for it to be put on the back burner the way it was - and I've had quite a few players calling me from numerous clubs voicing their displeasure in it, and how disappointed they were - so there's a fair bit of angst among the players because I think [Robinson] is pretty misinformed with that sort of tweet."
Dangerfield plainly expressed why the players were so aggravated with the handling of the issue.
"Just there was no follow up…if it had have been a player, every time that player was mentioned for probably the next six to 12 months, it's mentioned," Dangerfield said.
"The chief football writer of the Herald Sun, I felt it could have been handled a fair bit better than the way it was.
"You've got to get used to [the media] as a player because if you put your hand out for the big dollars, which we have done as a collective… there's the speculation that comes with it, there's the coverage that comes with it, so be prepared for it."
https://images.performgroup.com/di/library/sportal_com_au/8c/7f/mark-robinson-robbo-tweet_1jdq2jxqm65ru16a22dpq1r8x3.jpg?t=1736822196&w=500&quality=80
Robinson was forced to apologise for the tweet, with the Herald Sun making formal apologies to both Fasolo and the Collingwood Football Club.
However, many fans, players, football commentators and officials believed not enough had been done to rectify the situation.
Robinson again apologised for his action on Monday's edition of AFL360, and revealed he was in the process of writing a letter of apology to Fasolo directly.


If you are searching for a Cedar Rapids PHP Development team, then you have come to the best place. We have worked to produce the best resource online in relation to PHP Development and the website development company that can help assist with any project. Our objective was to develop an easy to use site that would help summarize the high-level options for PHP Development, but in addition provide access to a group of expert and experienced PHP developers who can help evaluate and discuss your project. Our Cedar Rapids PHP Development agency can help refine your ideas and process to build a realistic go-to-market plan and budget.
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Cedar Rapids /ˈsiːdər ˈræpɪdz/ is the second-largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, 20 miles (32 km) north of Iowa City and 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. It is a part of the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor of Linn, Benton, Cedar, Jones, Johnson, and Washington counties.
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"..some of the lushest deep-house and psychoactive techno we've heard in years, deep-seated jacking tunes and contemplative drifters with unparalleled club firepower."
"One of the most consistent producers in contemporary club music."
There's a patient consistency at the heart of Alexander Berg's work as Dorisburg. The Swedish producer has made ten EPs and one album over the past six years, and put simply, each one is something to be proud of. His catalog, which encompasses both dreamy, melancholic melody and hypnotic drum tracks, maintains a quality and singularity of personality both on record and in the live setting, performance being a deep focus for Berg with his solo project. His debut album, Irrbloss, and EPs for Northern Electronics, Aniara Recordings and Bossmusik, display dizzying sonic range. While he shifts through stylistic lanes with ease, all of his tracks are anchored by a lush atmosphere that adds an otherworldly magic to even his toughest beats.
Berg creates this same enveloping feel in his masterful live shows and DJ sets. This is where the countless hours in the studio, the trove of tracks that have not yet or simply won't be released, serve a transportative purpose. Along with a trove of unheard material, Berg mixes deep cuts from across the house and techno spectrum, weaving together a breathless, hallucinogenic web of rhythm and melody.


Becky Baur - Super Cute Kawaii!!
I love these new animal cushions by Becky Baur. They're cute and colourful with lots of nice texture. You can buy them from her website very soon, but there's plenty more cuteness to look at while you wait, including stationery and ceramics.


The good, old days that upland game hunters in North Dakota enjoyed in the mid-2000s are fading into history, if results from the state's July and August roadside grouse and partridge surveys are any indication.
Following the downtrend, ruffed grouse numbers in North Dakota's forested region in the northeast and north-central parts of the state also declined. Kohn said Game and Fish wasn't able to survey the Pembina Hills area this past spring, but drumming counts in the Turtle Mountains were down 40 percent to 50 percent.
"I would imagine if a guy just likes to walk in the trees, it's probably a nice time, but I don't think productivity-wise it's going to be all that good," Kohn said.
Read the rest of the Grand Forks Herald article to find out about Sharp-tailed Grouse and Hungarian partridge.


Russia Today has put together this incredible documentary on Burning Man - the annual festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. I've yet to go myself, but I know many who have gone and I've attended regional Burns in and around Chicago. The experience is like nothing anywhere else. Burners come from many walks of life, but they can be hedonistic, creative, passionate, caring and responsible - as you see here.


There is no doubt that black bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, are some of the most popular sport fish in North America. That is true in Nebraska too, but do not make me pick favorites. I love 'em all and have a lot of fun fishing for a variety of species of fish. Nebraska is a great state for that! However, I have a confession to make: You may think less of me when I say this, but the truth is I do not spend a lot of time fishing for largemouth bass. Oh, there absolutely are times each year when I am targeting bass, no doubt about it. But, there are a lot of other times when I am targeting other species and expect to catch some nice largemouths as "by-catch". I hate it when that happens!
My attitude is completely different when "brown bass", smallmouths, are involved. I love smallies, and will readily admit to you that I wish we had more smallmouth bass habitat and smallmouth fisheries in Nebraska. My first Nebraska Master Angler fish was a smallmouth bass caught with my Dad and Gramps from the shores of Merritt Reservoir. I once caught a smallmouth and largemouth of nearly identical size, a couple of pounds, within a an hour of each other, and will never forget the difference in the sporting qualities of those two fish–if tied together, the smallie would have pulled that largemouth around, easily.
I cannot tell you the last time I harvested a bass of any kind, especially a smallmouth. Love 'em too much, and they are worth a whole lot more in the water!
Growing up in North Platte, I had a buddy or two who all summer long would ride bikes with me to the canal on the south edge of town. If I caught one smallmouth bass out of that stretch of canal, I have caught hundreds, maybe thousands. Any of those fish larger than 12 inches were good fish, and a 14-incher was one to brag about, but two or three days a week during "summer vacation" I would be pulling smallmouth bass out of that canal. I have dried off a few smallmouth bass.
When the interstate lakes were constructed in Nebraska and first stocked, many of them were initially stocked with smallmouth bass. I am just old enough to have experienced the tail end of some of the interstate lake smallmouth fisheries and they were fantastic. In my high school and early college days, I spent many early summer mornings paddling my old float tube around those lakes catching smallies up to 19 inches. Those were great days.
My Dad and I helped an old perch fisherman and his wife land a BIG smallmouth from one of those interstate lakes one time. I am betting that fish weighed 5 pounds or more if it weighed an ounce. Didn't mean nothing to the old couple that caught it, just a bigger fillet for the frying pan! Ugh!
A blast from the past. A nice interstate lake smallmouth from a few years ago.
Smallmouth bass can be very successful in small pit and pond habitats. That was proven on Nebraska interstate lakes. Unfortunately, it has also been discovered that largemouth bass do a lot better in those small habitats, and if largemouth bass show up in a pit or pond where smallmouths have been successful, the largemouths out-compete and eventually replace smallmouth bass. I have several interstate lakes now where I can catch some beautiful, big, largemouth bass that years ago used to be some of my favorite smallmouth haunts.
Since then, I have explored many other Nebraska waters in my quest to catch smallies. McConaughy, Merritt, Sutherland, Maloney, Johnson, even Red Willow and Enders all have a few smallmouth bass; just look for the rocky habitat. I wish I could spend years exploring and fishing the unchannelized Missouri River above, below and including Lewis & Clark Reservoir in northeast Nebraska–by far the state's best smallmouth bass fishery.
Smallies are more of a cool-water fish than their green-colored, big mouth cousins. In theory that should mean they are easier to catch in early spring. I continue to practice that belief, and in the past few years have taken several early spring opportunities to try to catch some smallmouth bass. I have struggled. My latest effort was a couple, three weeks ago, back on an interstate lake (if you want to know exactly where I was, do your homework! 2016 Fishing Forecast). Again, I struggled but late in the day finally realized that a fish was "chewing" on my bait. "Wake up, stupid! Set the hook!
A 17-inch smallmouth. First bass of the year. It is going to be a good year!
I love neutrally-buoyant crankbaits for a variety of fishing situations, one of them being cold-water, early spring, and fall bass. Man, I tried to feed those baits to the smallmouths again this early spring, spent most of my fishing time trying to do that. Finally, switched up to a jig and caught a fish which promptly puked-up a recently-eaten crayfish. Duh, wonder why I could not trigger any fish on the crankbaits no matter how slow I fished them?
Then I only had a little bit longer to fish before dark. Next time. . . !
Brown bass in the late afternoon sun. It is going to be a good year!


text:
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Number of unaccompanied or separated children arriving by sea to Italy doubles in 2016
UNICEF/UN020031/Gilbertson VII Photo
Download photos and b-roll here: http://uni.cf/2jcMLgQ
LAMPEDUSA, Italy, 13 January 2017 – Some 25,800 unaccompanied or separated children arrived to Italy by sea in 2016 – that's more than double the 12,360 who arrived during the previous year. These children account for a staggering 91 per cent of all the 28,200 children who reached Italy's shores in 2016 as refugees or migrants.
"These figures indicate an alarming trend of an increasing number of highly vulnerable children risking their lives to get to Europe," said UNICEF Senior Emergency Manager Lucio Melandri. "Current systems in place are failing to protect these children who find themselves alone in a totally unfamiliar environment. Because they are on the move, a coordinated European response is needed to keep them safe."
The majority of these unaccompanied or separated children who arrived this past year originated from just four countries: Eritrea, Egypt, the Gambia and Nigeria. While most of the children were boys aged 15 to 17 years, younger children and girls have also been among the new arrivals. Girls in particular are at risk of sexual exploitation and abuse, including commercial sexual exploitation by criminal gangs. Several girls interviewed by UNICEF staff earlier this year in Palermo reported being forced into prostitution in Libya as a means to 'pay off' the cost of the boat travel across the Mediterranean. Whilst many of the boys who arrive in Libya are forced into manual labour.
The Central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy is unique for the incredibly high proportion of unaccompanied and separated children among the refugees and migrants. By comparison, only 17 per cent of the child refugees and migrants who arrived to Greece by sea in 2016 were unaccompanied by adult family members or guardians.
"The presence of so many unaccompanied or separated children along the Central Mediterranean route is unprecedented," said Melandri. "And it is obviously clear that we have a serious and growing problem on our hands. Apart from addressing the factors that are forcing children to travel alone from their homes, a comprehensive protection, monitoring system needs to be developed to protect them."
UNICEF continues to advocate for six specific actions that will protect and help displaced, refugee and migrant children:
• Protecting child refugees and migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, from exploitation and violence.
• Ending the detention of children seeking refugee status or migrating by introducing a range of practical alternatives.
• Keeping families together as the best way to protect children and give children legal status.
• Keeping all refugee and migrant children learning and giving them access to health and other quality services.
• Pressing for action on the underlying causes of large-scale movements of refugees and migrants.
• Promoting measures to combat xenophobia, discrimination and marginalization.
UNICEF Media Team
Email: media@unicef.org
UNICEF works in some of the world's toughest places, to reach the world's most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.
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Migrant and refugee crisis
Hellish conditions threaten families in Rhoe camp
UNICEF is working with partners to support displaced families in a remote camp in Democratic Republic of the Congo
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ЮНИСЕФ на Русском


I f you market a product or service, your reaction to the following statistic shows where you are located in the digital divide.
If this scares you, it should.
Yet, too many business owners, marketing consultants and know it all's still pine for the past. You can wax nostalgic all you want and get upset when people click past you, won't return your phone calls and box you out while cold calling. The truth is that if you don't have significant digital awareness, you might as well be living back in the 1950's along with Fonzie and Ritchie Cunningham.
One rule which the greased back and saddle shoe marketers can't shake is the overwritten copy about how great they are. I know they know that it's about the customer, but they want their solutions to sound so grand and majestic. A small X in the upper right corner is the true sign of their demise. One click and they are gone to ad and marketing Valhalla where all great and important marketing campaigns go to die.
Crisp copy that engages a decision maker, then creates engagement and ultimately converts their interest it into a sale is the key. If you are reading this, you know this. But the problem is too many digital marketers want to look like they are wearing a cashmere sweater, but pay the price of an acrylic knit. Invest in your digital strategy. Don't just pretend that a weekly dabble is enough. Don't lie to yourself that having personal social media is the same as having a campaign based strategy with good metrics and A/B testing. If these terms are Greek to you, work with someone who knows how to create the outcomes you want by using the tools available.
You have to adapt to the technology or your business will die. It's really that simple a choice: adapt or die.


Where everything flows. In 3D.
One of the nice features of the Sony Vegas non-linear video editor is the ability to save the settings not just of individual filters but of entire filter chains as presets. It is also quite easy to export these presets to a file, and share this file with others, who then can install the presets to their own copies of Sony Vegas.
I have prepared seven color grading presets you can use to change the mood of your own films or videos. You can download the presets by clicking here.
To install the presets on your computer, you need the Sony Preset Manager. If you do not have it, you can download it for free by visiting www.sonycreativesoftware.com, then selecting downloads / utilities. Scroll down the download page until you see Preset Manager, then download the version correct for your operating system and install it.
Once you have downloaded the seven presets and installed Sony Preset Manager, simply open the SevenVegasPresets.zip file and double click the only file within, Adam's Seven.sfpreset. The preset manager will open automatically, with the presets already highlighted. Select Copy to System from the Edit menu, and you're done. Close the Preset Manager, and close the zip file. If you want, you may delete the zip file or you can keep it for the future.
The presets, in Unicode alphabetical order, are listed as Citrón, Dakota, Koliba, Stínadla, Unter den Linden, Zuzana, and 天安門廣場 (Tianamen Square). If your system does not have the right fonts to show all the names, you can simply click the name of a preset and type a different name.
Citrón, meaning lemon in Slovak, my language, gives the image a warm yellowish cast, which can make outdoor images appear as if shot in the morning, and just warm up all other images.
Dakota, named after the actor Dakota Sky, gives the image a warm reddish cast, possibly giving the impression of a sunrise or sunset.
Koliba produces the impression of an old faded film. The word koliba describes a hut in the mountains of Slovakia, where shepherds live.
Stínadla is a fictional place in the novels by the Czech writer Jaroslav Foglar. His heroes have had some unpleasant experiences in that dark and shadowy part of town.
Unter den Linden offers a cold greenish/cyanish look, very common in many movies, often setting a feeling of uneasiness and hardship.
Zuzana is blue. Named after the art student who painted my portrait decades ago. When it was finished, I asked her why my red hair was blue. She explained my blue shirt dominated the choice of colors, perhaps my first lesson in color grading.
Finally, 天安門廣場 (Tianamen Square) has a deep red cast reminiscent of the bloody massacre that happened in that square not so long ago.
You may download and use these presets free of charge. But a credit to me, Adam Stanislav, will always be appreciated.
Here are seven more presets. You can download them by clicking here.
The names of these presets are Bača, Bratislava, Čapek, Petržalka, Špenátový opar, Temnica and Upír.
Bača has the feel of a very old film, almost, but not quite, colorless, mostly warm. It is similar to the Koliba preset from the first seven presets I presented above. Indeed, it is derived from it by lowering its saturation even further. Its name reflects the relationship, as in Slovak a bača is a senior shepard who lives in a koliba.
Bratislava, the name of my home city, gives an almost neutral feel, yet it is slightly on the warm side. I named it Bratislava because for some reason it reminds me of growing up in that city. Perhaps that is because this preset is subtle, so it looks quite realistic, without calling for attention, unlike some popular looks that just scream, "Hey, people, notice how fancy I am!" Maybe I'm just getting old, but I have always believed that special effects should support the story, not detract from it.
Čapek, named in honor of the Czech writer and playwright Karel Čapek (who introduced the word robot into almost every language), is a somewhat film noir version of black & white. As a child I saw many film adaptations of Čapek's writings and they all had this look.
Petržalka offers a look complementary to that of Bratislava. Its hue adjustments are the exact opposite of those of Bratislava, while they both share the same adjustment to the brightness of the image. That makes them both opposite and same.
Špenátový opar, Slovak for Spinach Haze, is soft, hazy, green, expressing uncertainty, self-doubt, lack of confidence, indecision, perhaps even amnesia.
Temnica is the Slovak word for dungeon. I think its look is pretty self-explanatory.
Last but not least, Upír offers how I imagine the world might look like seen through the eyes of a vampire. Among other things, it tends to wipe out any expression from human faces, perhaps enraging the vampire and encouraging him to attack. All that accomplished by pure color grading with no other effects.
As before, you may download and use these presets free of charge, but a credit to me, Adam Stanislav, will always be appreciated.
And here is an undvertized bonus preset. I made it purely by using the Sony Color Curves effect, just to ilustrate its power to completely change an effect. The name of the effect is Psychedelic and you can download it by clicking here. Enjoy!
Sony Vegas Pro 11, released 17 October 2011, has a slightly different look from version 10. You still use the same Preset Manager as before, and to find your presets, click on Filter Packages from the Plug-In Chooser. All your presets will be listed there.
Copyright © 2011 G. Adam Stanislav.


Is there someone you need to reconnect with? Someone who you haven't talked to for more than 30 days, maybe 30 years? Was there a falling out? Do you recall what the rift was about? If yes, does it still matter. If no, did it ever matter?
Maybe instead of a rift it was a drift. You stopped having stuff in common… she got married/divorced/moved, you got a new job/car/girlfriend. Are the steps you are taking today as a result of the steps you took yesterday? Are you embarrassed by the time that has passed?
The call is in your court. If these two paragraphs raised a face or name to the surface, it is now your responsibility to reach out. The web makes tracking down old friends and colleagues fairly easy but even if there is a need for some effort, it is still your choice to make a move.
Once you find a contact or if you have a contact, don't hesitate or procrastinate. Pick up the phone and dial, send off an email, Facebook message, Twitter DM or knock on his door. No agenda, no rehearsal just a call to catch up. If an apology seems necessary, begin with that. If you feel you should receive one, forget about it. You get to be full of grace in every interaction and today you can gracefully forgive and forget.
Are you feeling fear, apprehension, excitement — go with it. You are entitled to and responsible for your feelings. Embrace them, acknowledge them, let them have space but don't allow them to suffocate you or demean you.
Today is the day to reconnect. Make it remarkable by taking the first step.