text:
HomePosts tagged 'andy warhol'
The Last Post – Of 2013.
December 31, 2013 December 31, 2013 fasab Current Events, Factoids "100% beef", 000 Feet, 2013, 31st December, 90 Minutes at Entebbe, A Man Called Intrepid, A Stir of Echoes, A Streetcar Named Desire, actor, Aflatoxin scandal, AK-47 rifle, Alec Baldwin, andy warhol, Anthony Weiner, Are You Being Served?, astronauts, AT&T, Atlantic basin, Atlantic Ocean hurricane season, Attorney General Eric Holder, Australia, author, Babylon 5, Bangladesh, Becket, Ben Affleck, Benny Goodman, Bid Time Return, Biogenesis of America, Bodie, books, boxer, Brian O'Conner, britain, British sitcoms, Bryan Forbes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Button, C. Gordon Fullerton, California, Calvinism, Canadian, Capitain Peacock, car accident, car design engineer, Carribean, Catholicism, Central US, central US states, Chaplin, Charles Bronson, China, Christian Evangelist speaker, clandestine, Clear and Present Danger, coastal areas, congress, Conrad Bain, contaminated milk, corruption, cults, Current Events, Dale Robertson, Dana Andrews, Daniel Galván, Danielgate, data mining, Dave Hunt, David Frost, David Niven, Days Of Our Lives, Death Valley, Death Wish, Dennis Farina, Department of Justice, departures, Diff'rent Strokes, diplomatic staff, director, Dirty Little Billy, Dropmire, drought, drought conditions, Drug Enforcement Administration, drugs, Duel, e-mail data in bulk from the computers and mobile telephones of foreign countries' citizens, Ed Koch, Ed Lauter, education, Edward Snowden, Eight Below, Eileen Brennan, Entebbe Airport, Entertainment, Espionage Act of 1917, Europe, Ever Decreasing Circles, Fairview, fantasy, Finland, firefighters, first woman Prime Minister of the UK, food industry, foreign embassies, Four Weddings And A Funeral, Fox News reporter, Frank Thornton, French citizen, Galaxy Quest, Gary David Goldberg, GCHQ, Google, Gosford Park, Government Communications Headquarters, Gulf of Mexico, Haiyan, Hal Needham, Happy New Year, Harrison Ford, heatwaves, heavy rainstorms, Hell House, Hemisphere, Hervé Le Gloannec, horror, horse meat, hottest month on record, hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth during June, Hours, House of Representatives, Hugo Chávez, human growth hormone, Humberto, Hungary, hurricane strength, I Am Legend", India, Indonesia, infested, Ingrid, internet, Internet communication, Internet companies, Into the Blue, Intrepid's Last Case, Iranian Embassy siege, IRS, Islam, Israeli commandos, issued a pardon, Jack Ryan, James Gandolfini, James Rosen, Jessica Lange, Joy Ride, Ken Norton, KGB, killed, land of the free, largest snowfall from a single storm, Larry Holmes, Last of the Summer Wine, Lawrence of Arabia, Lewis Collins, Lisa Robin Kelly, Lou Reed, Love Is All Around, major depression, major flooding, Major League Baseball, major scandal, major weather events, Malaysia, Margaret Thatcher, Married With Children, mass electronic surveillance, Mayor of New York City, MGM, Michael Winner, Mikhail Kalashnikov, military officer, minimum, Mohammed VI, monsoon, Mormonism, Morocco, movies, Muhammad Ali, Murphy Brown, MUSCULAR, music, NATO allies, new year's eve, New Zealand, Nightmare at 20, North Africa, North Sea, North-eastern United States, NSA, obituaries, Oklahoma, Operation Entebbe, paedophile, Palestinian militants, Patriot Games, Patti Andrews, Patti Page, Paul Newman, Paul William Walker, performance-enhancing drugs, Peter O'Toole, phone, players, politics, Ponzi scheme, popular outrage, Portugal, Prescot Arizona, President, PRISM, prison sentence, Private Benjamin, prophecy, Pubishing, radio commentator, Reach Out Worldwide, Reg Presley, rejuvenation clinic, Richard Briers, Richard Griffiths, Richard Matheson, Richard Nixon, Rob Ford, Robert Kee, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Robin Sachs, Roy Brown Jr, Running Scared, Russian arms designer, Saradha Group financial Group, scandal, science fiction, science fiction stories, Scott Carpenter, screenwriter, secret mass surveillance program, secret surveillance program, serial child-rapist, sex, sexting, She's All That, Sisters and Silk Stalkings, smoking crack cocaine, snooping, Somewhere in Time, South-East Africa, southern Phillippines, Soviet Union, spain, Spin City, sports, spying, steel, Steve Forrest, Steven Spielberg, Steven Utley, stuntman, supermarket retailers, Takers, tax-exempt status, telephone company, television, television Westerns, Texas panhandle, The Andrews Sisters, The Fast and the Furious, The Good Life, The Hunt for Red October, The Iron Lady, the King of Morocco, The Last Picture Show, The Lazarus Project, The League of Gentlemen, The Lion in Winter, The Professionals, The Shrinking Man, The Sopranos, The Stepford Wives, The Sting, The Sum of All Fears, The Troggs, The Velvet Underground, The X Files, theology, tidal surge, Tom Clancy, Tony Soprano, topic of conversation, tornado, Toronto, Toronto Mayor, toxin, tropical cyclone, Tropical Cyclone Mahasan, Troy, True Romance, Twilight Zone, typhoon-strength, Uganda, UK, US Government, Varsity Blues, Venezuelan politician, WBC world heavyweight champion, weather, western-north Pacific, Wet Wet Wet, What Dreams May Come, whistleblower, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Who Dares Wins, widespread flooding, William Stevenson, winter storms, WWII, XKeyscore, Yahoo
31st December has rolled round again and so it's time to bring 2013 to a close.
This is always an appropriate time to reflect on what has happened during the previous twelve months.
These are just some of the things I remember about 2013. It's a personal choice and you may have thought of other things that could have been mentioned, but, in spite of the fact that the time seems to fly, a lot happens in the space of a year so only so much can be included.
Hope you find something of interest.
As good a place as any to start since the weather is a constant topic of conversation at all times of the year.
Statistically 2013 appears to have been a year where major weather events were at a minimum. Not much comfort to those at the extreme end of that distribution curve and who suffered hardship and discomfort as the result of extreme weather.
But here are some of what I think are the most memorable weather events of 2013.
In January Malaysia, Indonesia and South-East Africa saw major flooding events caused by monsoon and other heavy rainstorms. It also saw Australia's hottest month on record.
February saw the largest snowfall from a single storm ever recorded in the North-eastern United States. Major winter storms also affected central US states and even the Texas panhandle.
In March New Zealand saw its worst drought in more than 30 years. China had its second warmest recorded March temperature, while in usually sunny Spain they had their wettest March on record with three times the average for the previous three decades.
Contrast was the name of the game in the US in April with California experiencing drought conditions while in the Central US there was widespread flooding.
May was the wettest ever seen in China for forty years. Indeed it was a month of extremes with more than 1 million people evacuated from their homes as Tropical Cyclone Mahasan struck Bangladesh, while in the US the widest ever observed tornado hit Oklahoma bringing more than 20 deaths and widespread devastation.
June was the hottest ever, Portugal, China, Hungary, Finland, and Britain, all recorded heat-waves, and the temperature in Death Valley, California hit 129.2F (54.0C), the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth during June.
In July in the US 19 firefighters were killed trying to contain wildfires in Prescot Arizona.
More contrasts later in the year with the 2013 Atlantic Ocean hurricane season being one of the weakest recorded in 50 years, with no major hurricanes in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic basin. Only Ingrid and Humberto out of the 13 named storms reached hurricane strength.
In the western-north Pacific on the other hand, 30 major storms had been recorded by early November, 13 of them typhoon-strength. The biggest was typhoon Haiyan, possibly the most powerful tropical cyclone to make landfall in recorded history, which smashed into the southern Philippines, killing at least 6,000 people and wreaking massive damage.
The end of the year saw the focus change to Europe, where a major depression moved eastwards from northwest Scotland to southern Sweden bringing strong winds of up to 142 mph and a massive tidal surge that affected coastal areas around the North Sea. In the UK thousands of people had to evacuate their homes along the east coast, where the coastal surge was the worst since 1953 with local flooding and some houses being washed into the sea as cliffs gave way. At least six people died by the time the winds moved finally down over northeast Europe.
2013 has been noted as a great year for scandal and corruption. Here are some of the highlights (or low lights perhaps?).
In the food industry we had the Aflatoxin scandal, where throughout much of Europe contaminated milk and other food products were found to be 'infested' with this toxin.
Major supermarket retailers were the subject of another major scandal in the UK when they were found to be selling meat products labeled "100% beef" which were actually horse meat.
In sport several Major League Baseball players were accused of obtaining performance-enhancing drugs, specifically human growth hormone, from the now-defunct rejuvenation clinic Biogenesis of America.
However, undoubtedly the biggest scandal of 2013 was perpetrated by the US Government.
It was discovered during 2013, as the result of documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden, that US Government agencies, in particular the NSA, had been guilty of a widespread snooping and spying campaign, even on its own citizens.
It was reminiscent of the old Soviet Union and the KGB, but it was happening in the "Land of the Free". The snooping projects included "PRISM", a clandestine mass electronic surveillance data mining program that collects stored Internet communications based on demands made to Internet companies such as Google; "Dropmire", a secret surveillance program of surveillance of foreign embassies and diplomatic staff, including those of NATO allies; "Fairview", a secret mass surveillance program used to collect phone, internet and e-mail data in bulk from the computers and mobile telephones of foreign countries' citizens; "Hemisphere", a mass surveillance program conducted by US telephone company AT&T and paid for by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Drug Enforcement Administration; "MUSCULAR", a surveillance program jointly operated by Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the NSA that was used to secretly break into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world; and "XKeyscore", a formerly secret computer system used by the United States National Security Agency for searching and analyzing Internet data about foreign nationals across the world.
In 2013, the United States Department of Justice, under Attorney General Eric Holder, also came under scrutiny from the media and some members of Congress for subpoenaing phone records from the Associated Press and naming Fox News reporter, James Rosen, a "criminal co-conspirator" under the Espionage Act of 1917 in order to gain access to his personal emails and phone records.
And the IRS was also condemned when it was revealed that it had targeted political groups applying for tax-exempt status for closer scrutiny based on their names or political themes.
All in all a bad year for the reputation and standing of the US Government.
In other countries perhaps the worst scandal of 2013 was "Danielgate", a political scandal in which Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco, issued a pardon for a Spanish convicted serial child-rapist named Daniel Galván who was serving a 30 years prison sentence for the rape of at least 11 Moroccan children in Kenitra—a city where he had been living in since 2004.
The Pardon sparked unprecedented popular outrage in Morocco where several protests were held denouncing the monarch's decision.
It was revealed later that this wasn't the first time Mohammed VI had pardoned a convicted foreign paedophile, having pardoned Hervé Le Gloannec, a French citizen convicted of child rape and child pornography in 2006.
In India a Ponzi scheme operated by the Saradha Group financial Group, a consortium of Indian companies that was believed to be running a wide variety of collective investment schemes, collapsed causing an estimated loss of INR 200–300 billion (US$4–6 billion) to over 1.7 million depositors.
In politics there was the usual sex and drugs scandals during 2013. In May videos were exposed that showed Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine and commenting on political issues. Rob Ford consistently denied the existence of the video, and denied that he uses crack cocaine, remaining Mayor despite calls for him to step down. On November 5, 2013, Ford eventually admitted to smoking crack cocaine "probably in one of my drunken stupors", and to hiding his drug abuse from his family, his staff and the people of Toronto, but pledged to continue on as Mayor.
Back in the US former member of the United States House of Representatives from New York City, Anthony Weiner, was involved in another sexual scandal relating to sexting, or sending explicit sexual material by cell phone. First caught in the Weinergate scandal in 2011 that led to his resignation as a congressman, this idiot has learned nothing. During his attempt to return to politics as candidate for mayor of New York City, Weiner admitted having sexted again, after more explicit pictures were published in July 2013.
As every year, 2013 saw many departures. Here are some of the better known faces that passed on during the year.
Astronauts, C. Gordon Fullerton and Scott Carpenter.
From politics, Ed Koch, U.S. Representative from New York (1969–1977) and Mayor of New York City (1978–1989), later a television judge in "The People's Court".
Margaret Thatcher aka "The Iron Lady", daughter of a greengrocer who became the first woman Prime Minister of the UK.
Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan politician and military officer and President since 1999.
Television and the movies also lost many well known characters including,
Conrad Bain, Canadian born and usually cast as the erudite gent, advice-spouting father or uptight, pompous neighbor, included roles in "Diff'rent Strokes".
Michael Winner a director best known for dramatic and violent movies like "Death Wish" starring Charles Bronson.
Richard Briers, television comedy actor well known on British sitcoms such as "The Good Life" and "Ever Decreasing Circles".
Dale Robertson who, after service during WWII in North Africa and Europe, became an actor and made his name in television Westerns in the 1950s and '60s.
Richard Griffiths, a British character actor who came from radio and the classical stage.
Steve Forrest began his screen career as a small part contract player with MGM and made his name as an action man in the 1960's and 70's. He is a brother of star Dana Andrews.
New Jersey-born James Gandolfini began acting in the New York theater, making his Broadway debut was in the 1992 revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire" with Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin. James' breakthrough role was his portrayal of Virgil the hitman in Tony Scott's "True Romance", but the role that made him a household name was as Tony Soprano in the award winning television series "The Sopranos".
Gary David Goldberg was born in Brooklyn, New York but moved to Hollywood to try to make it as a writer. He was responsible for the hit series "Spin City".
Although Dennis Farina did not start acting until he was 37 years old, he achieved success as a character actor, often being cast as a cop or gangster.
Eileen Brennan was a supremely gifted, versatile player who could reach dramatic depths, as exemplified in her weary-eyed, good-hearted waitress in "The Last Picture Show", or comedy heights, as in her sadistic drill captain in "Private Benjamin". Perhaps one of her best remembered performances was in the hit movie "The Sting" with Paul Newman and Roberts Redford and Shaw.
Lisa Robin Kelly first made her acting debut, at age 21, in a 1992 episode of "Married with Children", and went on to guest-star in many popular television shows, such as "Murphy Brown", "The X Files", "Sisters and Silk Stalkings". She got her biggest break in "Days Of Our Lives".
David Frost achieved success on both sides of the Atlantic, first in the UK and then in America. He is most remembered for his political interviews, particularly those with former US President Richard Nixon.
In a film career that has extended for over four decades, Ed Lauter has starred in a plethora of film and television productions since making his big screen debut in the western "Dirty Little Billy".
Hal Needham was the highest paid stuntman in the world. In the course of his career suffered many injuries breaking 56 bones, including his back twice, punctured a lung and knocked out a few teeth. His career has included work on 4500 television episodes and 310 feature films as a stuntman, stunt coordinator, 2nd unit director and ultimately, director. He wrote and directed some of the most financially successful action comedy films.
Robin Sachs, 61, was an English actor who made it into American television series such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Galaxy Quest" and "Babylon 5".
Frank Thornton, was a British actor best remembered fot his role as "Captain Peacock" in the long running sitcom "Are You Being Served?". He also appeared in "Last of the Summer Wine" and "Gosford Park".
Bryan Forbes, was another Briton and an accomplished actor ("The League of Gentlemen"), director ("The Stepford Wives") and screenwriter ("Chaplin")
Lewis Collins, was most famous and best loved for his role as action man "Bodie" in the television series "The Professionals". He also starred in the terrorist hostage movie "Who Dares Wins" loosely based on the dramatic Iranian Embassy siege in London in 1980.
Paul William Walker who was killed in a car accident was an American actor and the founder of Reach Out Worldwide. He became famous in 1999 after his role in the hit film "Varsity Blues", but later garnered fame as "Brian O'Conner" in "The Fast and the Furious" film series. His other well known works are "Eight Below", "Running Scared", "The Lazarus Project", "Into the Blue", "Joy Ride", "She's All That", "Takers", and "Hours".
Peter O'Toole, was a British-Irish actor with a reputation as a bit of a hell-raiser. Among his movie credits he starred in "Lawrence of Arabia", "The Lion in Winter", "Becket", and "Troy".
The music scene too has lost a few well known names during 2013. They include,
Patti Page (born Clara Ann Fowler) toured the US in the late 1940s with Jimmy Joy, and notably sang with the Benny Goodman band in Chicago.
Patty Andrews and her sisters, Maxene and Laverne, were "The Andrews Sisters", an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. They accumulated 19 gold records and sales of nearly 100 million copies.
Lou Reed formed the group "The Velvet Underground" with Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, second guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Maureen Tucker in New York in 1965. The group soon became a part of Andy Warhol's Factory scene, which housed a great number of experimental artists at the time.
Never as famous as his namesake Elvis, Reg Presley was a British singer and songwriter. His group was called "The Troggs" and among many other hits, he composed "Love Is All Around" which was first a hit for the Troggs but made real fame by the group "Wet Wet Wet" when it featured in the movie "Four Weddings And A Funeral" and spent 15 weeks at number one in the UK charts in 1994.
Sports best known departure during 2013 was former WBC world heavyweight champion boxer Ken Norton, remembered for his trilogy of fights with Muhammad Ali. He defeated Ali in their first bout by a fifteen round split-decision, a fight in which Norton famously broke Ali's jaw. Norton also fought a classic battle with Larry Holmes over fifteen brutal rounds in 1978, a fight which ranks as one of the greatest heavyweight contests in boxing history.
The world of Pubishing & Books saw several famous departures during 2013.
Tom Clancy whose fiction works, "The Hunt for Red October", "Patriot Games", "Clear and Present Danger", and "The Sum of All Fears", have been turned into commercially successful movies with actors Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck as Clancy's most famous fictional character "Jack Ryan".
Robert Kee, British writer, journalist and broadcaster best known for his historical works on World War II and Ireland.
Steven Utley, was an American writer of poems, humorous essays and other non-fiction, but best known for his science fiction stories.
Dave Hunt was a Christian Evangelist speaker, radio commentator and author, in full-time ministry from 1973 until his death. He wrote numerous books on theology, prophecy, cults, and other religions, including critiques of Catholicism, Islam, Mormonism, and Calvinism, among others.
Richard Matheson, was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. Known best as the author of "I Am Legend", a 1954 horror novel that has been adapted for the screen four times, five more of his novels or short stories have also been adapted as major motion pictures, namely "The Shrinking Man", "Hell House", "What Dreams May Come", "Bid Time Return" (filmed as "Somewhere in Time"), "A Stir of Echoes" and "Button, Button". Matheson also wrote numerous television episodes of "The Twilight Zone" for Rod Serling, including "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Steel". He later adapted his 1971 short story "Duel" as a screenplay which was promptly directed by a young Steven Spielberg, for the television movie of the same name.
William Stevenson, was a British-born Canadian writer, whose 1976 book "A Man Called Intrepid" was a best-seller and made into a 1979 mini-series starring David Niven. Stevenson followed it up with a 1983 book titled "Intrepid's Last Case". He published his autobiography in 2012. Stevenson is also noted for having set a record with another 1976 book, "90 Minutes at Entebbe", about Operation Entebbe where Israeli commandos secretly landed at night at Entebbe Airport in Uganda and succeeded in rescuing the passengers of an airliner hi-jacked by Palestinian militants, while incurring very few casualties. The remarkable record is that in the pre-internet age Stevenson's "instant book" was written, edited, printed and available for sale within weeks of the event it described.
Other notable people who died during 2013 include,
Mikhail Kalashnikov, a Russian arms designer responsible for the AK-47 rifle, millions of which have been produced.
Roy Brown Jr., an American car design engineer responsible for designs such as the Edsel, and the much more successful Ford Consul and Ford Cortina
Monday. Quiz Day. Go On, Have A Go!
October 14, 2013 October 2, 2013 fasab Questions, Tests 1940, 22 October 2015, Allied Troops, American Declaration of Independence, American town, andy warhol, Audrey Hepburn, Bernardo O'Higgins, birthday, breakfast, Burt Lancaster, car crash, celebrity, city, Clam Variation, common name, communist manifesto, confrontation, country, cult members, Deborah Kerr, East of Eden, education, Entertainment, ephemeral condition, evacuated, expression, fame constitute, federal agents, film, Frank Sinatra, Frasier, Frederich Engels, French town, From Here to, general knowledge, Giuoco Piano, Greek, HBO, history, join the American Union, killed, King's Indian, last state, leading roles, magnesium sulphate, minutes, Misc, Miscellaneous, Monkey's Bum, movie, movies, Name, New York City, organization, Oscar-winning, questions, quiz, Quiz Day, quizzes, Random, root, ruled, Ruy Lopez, Scotch Game, Semi Tarrasch, Sicilian, South American, star, Strait of Messina, syn, synonym, syntax, Taiwan, television, test, tests, Texas, The Good The Bad and The Ugly, The Graduate, The Newsroom, The Sopranos, town, TV series
Time for twenty more questions. A mixture of general knowledge, history, television, movies, etc., so there should be a few in here that will suit you.
As usual the answers can be found waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please, NO cheating!
Enjoy and good luck.
Q. 1: When was the American Declaration of Independence?
Q. 2: Who wrote the communist manifesto with Frederich Engels?
Q. 3: Where did Audrey Hepburn famously have breakfast in New York City?
Q. 4: From which French town were more than 330,000 Allied Troops evacuated in 1940?
Q. 5: The 70th birthday of which organization will take place on 22 October 2015 in New York City?
Q. 6: In which American town or city was the TV series Frasier set?
Q. 7: In which town in Texas did 70 cult members die in a fire after four federal agents were killed during a confrontation?
Q. 8: What does the Strait of Messina separate?
Q. 9: Who was 'The Graduate' in the movie of the same name?
Q. 10: What was the last state to join the American Union?
Q. 11: Most of us have probably watched and enjoyed 'The Sopranos' and 'The Newsroom' both aired on HBO, but what does 'HBO' stand for?
Q. 12: The Greek root 'syn', found in words like synonym and syntax, means what?
Q. 13: From Here To where is the Oscar-winning movie with Deborah Kerr, Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra?
Q. 14: What is the more common name for magnesium sulphate?
Q. 15: What was the former name of Taiwan?
Q. 16: Which young star of the movie 'East of Eden' died in a car crash aged only 24?
Q. 17: According to the expression coined by Andy Warhol, how many minutes of fame constitute the ephemeral condition 'celebrity'?
Q. 18: Which South American country was ruled by Bernardo O'Higgins?
Q. 19: 'Ruy Lopez', 'Monkey's Bum', 'King's Indian', 'Semi Tarrasch', 'Sicilian', 'Clam Variation', 'Scotch Game' and 'Giuoco Piano' are all examples of what?
Q. 20: In the movie 'The Good, the Bad and The Ugly', who played the three leading roles? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get all three.)
A. 1: 1776
A. 2: Karl Marx
A. 3: At Tiffany's.
A. 4: Dunkirk
A. 5: The United Nations
A. 6: Seattle
A. 7: Waco
A. 8: Mainland Italy and Sicily
Q. 9: Who was 'The Graduate' in the film of the same name?
A. 9: Dustin Hoffman
A. 10: Alaska
A. 11: Home Box Office
A. 12: It means 'with' or 'together'.
A. 13: Eternity
A. 14: Epsom salts.
A. 15: Formosa
A. 16: James Dean
A. 17: 15 minutes of fame.
A. 18: Chile
A. 19: Chess openings.
A. 20: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef
Clever Celebrity Caricatures
December 2, 2012 December 2, 2012 fasab Humour, Photos, Uncategorized, Unusual actor, actors, actress, actresses, Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, andy warhol, Angela Jolie, Angela Merkel, Arnold Schwarzenegger, art, artists, arts, Barack Obama, Bette Davis, Bill Clinton, bill gates, Bill Murray, Bjork, Brad Pitt, Bruce Lee, Bruce Willis, businessman, businessmen, caricature, caricatures, celebrities, celebrity, Chet Baker, Christopher Walken, Clint Eastwood, David Bowie, Dolly Parton, Donald Trump, drawings, Duke Ellington, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton. James Brown, face, faces, famous people, George Clooney, George W. Bush, Gerhard Schroder, Gordon Brown, Harrison Ford, Humor, Humour, Humphrey Bogart, illustration, Jack Nicholson, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Lenon, John Wayne, Karl Lagerfeld, Katarina Witt, Keith Richards, Klaus Kinski, Kylie Minogue, Lee Marvin, Lou Reed, Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Meryl Streep Nicolas Cage, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Misc, Miscellaneous, musicians, Neil Young, Orson Wells, Pablo Picasso, Paul McCartney, Paul Newman, Penelope Cruz, People, pictures, politician, politicians, Pope Benedikt XVI, Prince Charles, Quentin Tarantino, rich, rich and famous, Robert de Niro, Roman Polanski, Rowan Atkinson, Salvador Dali, Sarah Jessica Parker, scientist, scientists, Sean Connery, Sophia Loren, Steve Tyler, Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, Tina Turner, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Uma Thurman, Vladimir Poetin, Vladimir Putin, Whoopi Goldberg
As most of you know, the main focus of this blog is on the stupidity of the politicians and bureaucrats who do all that they can to make our lives less enjoyable and free than they could be without such unwanted and idiotic interference.
Occasionally, however, I like to feature quite the opposite, things and people who are exceptional in their chosen field, whether that be science, sport, engineering, music or whatever.
Today's post is one of the latter and is a wonderful selection of caricatures that I received in a recent email. Unfortunately I don't know the names of the exceptional artists who did these drawings, otherwise I would be more than happy to acknowledge them. Nonetheless I think as wide an audience as possible deserves to be able to view their work and what follows I hope will be a small part of that.
Enjoy, I think you will. And if you feel the urge please let me know you favorite or favorites.
(Copyright to all drawings belong to the original artists)
Significant Number Factoid Friday – 15 Fifteen
October 12, 2012 fasab Factoids, Numbers, Uncategorized, Unusual +15 Skyway, 112, 15, Air Force, Alberta, andy warhol, Apollo 15, architect, army, astronauts, atomic number, backgammon, Beatrice, beautiful numbers, big numbers, Boss Puzzle, Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, Brad Davis, Calgary, canada, checkers, Chinese calendar, church choir, Coast Guard, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, emergency number, fifteen, fifteen minutes of fame, Game of Fifteen, Gem Puzzle, Genesis Rock, Green Bay Packers, GSM, gun, guns, Hall of Fam, Harold Hanen, hebrew, Hispanic girl, Irwin, Lieutenant Generals, Lunar Rover, Madadgar, Major League Baseball, Marine Corps, mobile phones, Moon, Mystic Square, Navy, NBA, Nebraska, New York Knicks, New York Yankees, NFL, NHL, Nisan, Pakistan, Passover, pedestrian skywalk, Philadelphia Eagles, phosphorus, Plus 15 Skyway, quinceañera, rugby union, rugby union team, salute, Scott, significant numbers, sliding puzzle, Space Exploration, Spanish culture, sports, super-bowl, tarot cards, tennis, the 15-puzzle, Thurman Munson, Tom Heinsohn, unusual numbers, Vice Admirals, Vinnie Johnson, Worden
They've been 'beautiful', they've been 'big' and they've been 'unusual'. Today we have another 'significant' number, fifteen, so-called because of their use and the beliefs surrounding it.
15 Fifteen
The number fifteen is perhaps best known today because of Andy Warhol's fifteen minutes of fame statement.
Other facts about fifteen include,
in mathematics fifteen is what is known as a triangular number, a hexagonal number, a pentatope number and the 4th Bell number;
fifteen is the atomic number of phosphorus;
15 Madadgar is designated as an emergency number in Pakistan, for mobile phones, similar to the international GSM emergency number 112, if 112 is used in Pakistan, then the call is routed to 15;
Passover begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan;
in Spanish culture 15 is the age when a Hispanic girl celebrates her quinceañera;
it is the number of days in each of the 24 cycles of the Chinese calendar;
it is the number of guns in a gun salute to Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force Lieutenant Generals, and Navy and Coast Guard Vice Admirals;
it is the number of checkers each side has at the start of a backgammon game;
and it is the number corresponding to The Devil in tarot cards.
In sport,
there are 15 players on the field in each rugby union team at any given time;
in tennis, the number 15 represents the first point gained in a game;
the jersey number 15 is worn by the starting fullback;
the jersey number 15 has been retired by several North American sports teams in honor of past playing greats or other key figures: in Major League Baseball the New York Yankees, for Thurman Munson: in the NBA the Boston Celtics, for Hall of Famer Tom Heinsohn; the Dallas Mavericks, for Brad Davis; the Detroit Pistons, for Vinnie Johnson; the New York Knicks have retired the number twice, first for Dick McGuire, and then for Earl Monroe; the Philadelphia 76ers, for Hall of Famer Hal Greer; the Portland Trail Blazers, for Larry Steele: in the NHL: the Boston Bruins, for Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt: and in the NFL: the Green Bay Packers, for Hall of Famer Bart Starr; and the Philadelphia Eagles, for Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren.
The 15th President of the United States was Democratic Party candidate James Buchanan (1791–1868) who was in office from March 4, 1857 to March 4, 1861. His VP was John C. Breckinridge.
He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor, and the last president born in the 18th century.
James Buchanan 15th President of the United States of America
The 15th Amendment to the Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Although ratified on February 3, 1870, the promise of the 15th Amendment would not be fully realized for almost a century. Through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests and other means, Southern states were able to effectively disenfranchise African Americans. It would take the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before the majority of African Americans in the South were registered to vote.
Special Field Orders, No. 15 were military orders issued during the American Civil War, on January 16, 1865, by General William Tecumseh Sherman, commander of the Military Division of the Mississippi of the United States Army. They provided for the confiscation of 400,000 acres of land along the Atlantic coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida and the dividing of it into 40-acre parcels, on which were to be settled approximately 18,000 freed slave families and other Blacks then living in the area. Brig. Gen. Rufus Saxton, an abolitionist from Massachusetts who had previously organized the recruitment of black soldiers for the Union Army, was put in charge of implementing the orders. The orders had little concrete effect, as they were revoked in the fall of that same year by President Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Abraham Lincoln after his assassination.
Apollo 15 was launched on July 26th, 1971, and landed on July 30th, 1971, at Hadley Rille. Splash Down was on August 7th, 1971. The crew was David R. Scott, James B. Irwin and Alfred M. Worden. At the time, NASA called it the most successful manned flight ever achieved.
Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon, and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of the longer "J Mission" expeditions to the moon, where the terrain was explored in some detail, and there was a much greater emphasis on science than had previously been possible.
The flight of Apollo 15 featured the first use of the Lunar Rover, which permitted Scott and Irwin to leave the Lunar Module "Falcon" behind and drive around over more than 27 kilometers of lunar ground.
The astronauts found and brought back the "Genesis Rock,", a chunk of ancient lunar crust that has been extensively studied for clues about the origins of the moon and the Earth.
During the return flight aboard the Command Module "Endeavour," Alfred Worden became the first man to perform a space walk outside of earth's orbit as he went outside to retrieve some film from the side of the space craft.
Although the mission accomplished its objectives, this success was somewhat overshadowed by negative publicity that accompanied public awareness of postage stamps carried without authorization by the astronauts, who had made plans to sell them upon their return.
The best known aircraft with this designation is the F-15 Eagle. It made its first flight in July 1972, and the first flight of the two-seat F-15B (formerly TF-15A) trainer was made in July 1973. The first Eagle (F-15B) was delivered in November 1974. In January 1976, the first Eagle destined for a combat squadron was delivered. The single-seat F-15C and two-seat F-15D models entered the Air Force inventory beginning in 1979.
The X-15 is perhaps the most ambitious aircraft ever created. It was built to push the limits of flight and explore the possibilities of space travel. During its research program the aircraft set unofficial world speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7 on Oct. 3, 1967, with Air Force pilot Pete Knight at the controls) and 354,200 ft (on Aug. 22, 1963, with NASA pilot Joseph Walker in the cockpit).
In the course of its flight research, the X-15's pilots and instrumentation yielded data for more than 765 research reports.
The X-15 had no landing gear, but rather skidded to a stop in a 200 mph landing on skis. It had reaction controls for attitude control in space, and was a major step on the path toward space exploration. Much of what was learned on the X-15 was applied to the Space Shuttle.
The record breaking X-15
The AR-15
With the exception of the Kalashnikov, the Armalite AR-15 is perhaps the best know assault rifle in the world. It is a lightweight, 5.56 mm, magazine-fed, semi-automatic rifle, with a rotating-lock bolt, actuated by direct impingement gas operation or long/short stroke piston operation. It is manufactured with the extensive use of aluminum alloys and synthetic materials.
The AR-15 was first built by ArmaLite as a selective fire assault rifle for the United States armed forces. Because of financial problems, ArmaLite sold the AR-15 design to Colt. The select-fire AR-15 entered the US military system as the M16 rifle. Colt then marketed the Colt AR-15 as a semi-automatic version of the M16 rifle for civilian sales in 1963. The name "AR-15" is a Colt registered trademark, which refers only to the semi-automatic rifle.
Unfortunately its characteristics also made it a favorite weapon of terrorist organizations.
AR15 assault rifle
15 Gun Salute
A 15 gun salute is accorded to a 3-star General
The Plus 15 Skyway
The Plus 15 or +15 Skyway network in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is the world's second most extensive pedestrian skywalk system, with a total length of 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) and 59 bridges. The system is so named because the skywalks are approximately 15 feet (approximately 4.5 metres) above street level. (Some Plus 15 skywalks are multi-level, with higher levels being referred to as +30s and +45s.)
The system was conceived and designed by architect Harold Hanen, who worked for the Calgary Planning Department from 1966 to 1969. It provides a pleasant alternative to the cold streets in the winters which can be harsh.
Plus 15 walkways, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The 15 Puzzle
One of the most famous puzzles, the 15-puzzle (also called Gem Puzzle, Boss Puzzle, Game of Fifteen, Mystic Square and many others) is a sliding puzzle that consists of a frame of numbered square tiles in random order with one tile missing. The puzzle also exists in other sizes, particularly the smaller 8-puzzle. If the size is 3×3 tiles, the puzzle is called the 8-puzzle or 9-puzzle, and if 4×4 tiles, the puzzle is called the 15-puzzle or 16-puzzle named, respectively, for the number of tiles and the number of spaces. The object of the puzzle is to place the tiles in order (see diagram) by making sliding moves that use the empty space.
And finally, The Church Choir
But one of the most unusual occurrences of the number concerns fifteen members of a church choir in Beatrice, Nebraska, due at practice at 7:20, were late on the evening of March 1, 1950.
the minister, his wife and daughter were delayed while his wife ironed the daughter's dress;
another girl waited to finish a geometry problem for homework;
one couldn't start her car;
two waited to hear the end of an exciting radio program;
one mother and daughter were late because the mother had to call the daughter twice to wake her from a nap;
All the reasons seemed ordinary. In total there were ten separate and quite unconnected reasons for the lateness of the fifteen persons.
It was rather fortunate that none of the fifteen arrived on time at 7:20, for at 7:25 the church building was destroyed in an explosion.
Life Magazine reported that the members of the choir wondered if their delay was "an act of God."
The Mathematician Warren Weaver, in his book, 'Lady Luck: The Theory of Probability', calculates the staggering odds against chance for this event as about one in a million.
August 15, 2012 September 26, 2012 fasab Business, comedy, Computers, dogs, Factoids, Humour, Numbers, Pets, Politics, Uncategorized, Unusual andy warhol, angelina jolie, astronaut, barn, beard, beard second, big mac, Blogs, Comedy, dog, donkey, education, Entertainment, folk expression, funny, helen of troy, horse, hubble, Humor, Humour, internet, jake garn, jiffy, kim kardashian, measurement, mickey mouse, Misc, Miscellaneous, moment, Musings, nasa, nuclear physicists, outhouse, Random, richter scale, rictus scale, shake, shed, stoddard, the fonz, Thoughts, wil wheaton
Did you ever wonder where some of the every day terms we use actually came from? Well, even if you haven't, I have and I've put this post together to highlight some of the most interesting and unusual.
One of the most peculiar categories are units of measurement. For example, with regard to 'time' we often say things like "I'll be back in a jiffy," or, "Just a moment."
Here's the list.
Although used frequently by many people to denote a short but unspecified period of time, a jiffy is actually a real unit of time measurement. It is 0.10 seconds.
Another fairly commonly used term, again for an unspecified period of time, for example, "I'll be with you in two shakes", a shake is also a real specific measurement, namely, 10 nanoseconds.
Both Shakes and Jiffies are used for convenience in nuclear engineering and computing respectively.
How long is a moment? It is 90 seconds long.
Beard-second
A beard-second is a unit of length inspired by the light-year, but used for extremely short distances such as those in nuclear physics. The beard-second is defined as the length an average beard grows in one second, which apparently is exactly 100 angstroms (or 10 nanometers). However, the Google calculator uses the beard-second for unit conversions of the value of 5 nanometers. It would be splitting hairs to say who is right and who is wrong.
Barn, shed, outhouse
A barn is a serious unit of area used by nuclear physicists to quantify the scattering or absorption cross-section of very small particles, such as atomic nuclei.It is one of the very few units which are accepted to be used with SI units, and one of the most recent units to have been established. One barn is equal to 1.0×10−28 m2. The name derives from the folk expression "Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn", and is used by CERN-type particle accelerator physicists to refer to the difficulty of achieving a collision between particles.
An outhouse is 1.0×10−6 barns and a shed 1.0×10−24 barns.
Barn-megaparsec
This unit is similar in concept to the attoparsec, combining very large and small scales. When a barn is multiplied by a megaparsec (Mpc) – a very large unit of length used for measuring the distances between galaxies – the result is a human-scaled unit of volume approximately equal to 2⁄3 of a teaspoon (about 3 ml).
Hubble-barn
Similar to the Barn-megaparsec, the Hubble-barn uses the Barn mentioned above with Hubble Length, which is the length of the visible Universe as derived by using the Hubble Constant and the Speed of Light. This amounts to around 3.45 Gallons (13.1 L).
Donkeypower
Everyone is familiar with the term "horsepower" particular with regard to vehicle engines. Donkeypower is a facetious engineering unit is defined as 250 watts, or about a third of a horsepower.
donkey power
Rictus Scale
Earthquake intensity is normally measured on the Richter scale. However, a guy named Tom Weller has suggested a humorous alternative, the Rictus scale, which is a measure of earyhquake intensity linked to later media coverage of the event.
Rictus Scale #1 (Richter Scale Equivalent 0-3) Media Coverage Small articles in local papers
Rictus Scale #2 (Richter Scale Equivalent 3-5) Media Coverage Lead story on local news; mentioned on network news
Rictus Scale #3 (Richter Scale Equivalent 5-6.5) Media Coverage Lead story on network news; wire-service photos appear in newspapers nationally; governor visits scene
Rictus Scale #4 (Richter Scale Equivalent 6.5-7.5) Media Coverage Network correspondents sent to scene; president visits area; commemorative T-shirts appear papers
Rictus Scale #5 (Richter Scale Equivalent 7.5+) Media Coverage Small Covers of weekly news magazines; network specials; "instant books" appear.
First used by author Isaac Asimov, Helen is now a measurement. It is named after Helen of Troy who apparently had a face so beautiful that a thousand ships were launched to rescue her.
Thus 1 Helen is equal to this number.
A face that could only launch one ship would therefore be a milliHelen.
A face that would sink ships would have a value of -1 milliHelen!
Helen of Troy: The face that launched a thousand ships
MegaFonzie
The MegaFonzie is a fictional unit of measurement of an object's coolness.
It was invented by Professor Farnsworth in the Futurama episode, "Bender Should Not Be Allowed On TV". A 'Fonzie' is about the amount of coolness inherent in the Happy Days character Fonzie.
The Fonz – So cool
The celebrity Wil Wheaton is a keen user of Twitter, and when he attained half a million followers this number was deemed to be '1 Wheaton'. As few Twitter users have millions of followers, the milliwheaton (500 followers) and microWheaton are more commonly used.
Wil Wheaton – Wesley Crusher, Star Trek The Next Generation
A 'Mickey', named after Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse, is the smallest computer mouse movement that a computer can detect, less than 0.1mm.
Mickey Mouse Mouse
Nibble
Still with computers, a Nibble is half a Byte.
NASA is well acquainted with a problem called 'space adaption syndrome', more commonly called space sickness. It is the result of some astronauts finding it difficult to acclimatize to unusual gravities or pressures. One astronaut who was particularly prone to this type of sickness was named Jake Garn, who apparently vomited 'explosively' on an orbital flight. 1 Garn means a person as sick as Mr Garn was, with a corresponding scale for those less afflicted.
Jake Garn, the sickest astronaut in the universe!
A 'Warhol' is a unit of fame or hype, that is derived from Andy Warhol's famous pronouncement that "everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes". Thus
1 kilowarhol — famous for 15,000 minutes, or 10.42 days. A sort of metric "nine-day wonder".
1 megawarhol — famous for 15 million minutes, or 28.5 years.
Andy Warhol's infamous Campbell Soup
A 'Jolie' is unit that denotes the amount of international aid a country receives when it becomes the cause celebre of a prominent celebrity. In 2005, International Rescue Committee calculated that Darfur received $300 per capita in aid, while DRC received $11 per capita. Hence, a Jolie can be thought of as a 27x increase in aid receipt.
The 'Kardashian' is the amount of global attention Kim Kardashian commands across all media over the space of a day.
The mind-numbingly boring Kim Kardashian
Horses are used to measure distances in horse racing – a horse length (shortened to merely a length when the context makes it obvious) equals roughly 8 feet or 2.4 metres. Shorter distances are measured in fractions of a horse length; also common are measurements of a full or fraction of a head, a neck, or a nose.
Horsey
Nanocentury
A 'Nanocentury' is a unit of time measurement sometimes used in computing. The term is believed to have been coined by IBM in 1969 from the design objective "never to let the user wait more than a few nanocenturies for a response". A nanocentury is approximately 3.155 seconds although Tom Duff is frequently cited as saying that, to within half a percent, a nanocentury is pi seconds.
Dog year
A 'Dog Year' is a unit of measurement equal to one seventh of a year, or approximately 52 days. It is primarily used to approximate the equivalent age of dogs and other animals with similar life spans. It is based upon a popular myth regarding the aging of dogs that states that a dog ages seven years in the time it takes a human to age one year. (In fact, the aging of a dog varies by breed; dogs also develop faster and have longer adulthoods relative to their total life span than humans.)
The Stoddard is a measurement used by political campaigns to determine the density of a canvassing area. It is measured in doors per acre.
Mac Index: purchasing power parity
The Economist's 'Big Mac Index'compares the purchasing power parity of countries in terms of the cost of a Big Mac hamburger.This was felt to bea good measure of the prices of a basket of commodities in the local economy including labour, rent, meat, bread, cardboard, advertising, lettuce, etc.
A similar system used in the UK is the 'Mars Bar' (US readers think 'Milky Way'). Tables of prices in Mars Bars have intermittently appeared in newspapers over the last 20 years, usually to illustrate changes in wages or prices over time without the confusion caused by inflation.
The Big Mac Index


Finance minister Pascal Donohoe's Summer Economic Statement and the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council's (IFC) 'Fiscal Assessment report 2018' have been published in the last couple of weeks.
According to the minister's statement, corporation tax rose by 25pc (€414m) in annual terms and the establishment of a "rainy day fund" is important in enhancing the resilience of the public finances. The fund's main purpose is to mitigate against future external economic shocks "including by setting aside some of the historically high levels of corporation tax receipts which can be drawn on in the event of such a shock". Legislation is being drawn up and it's proposed to capitalise the fund in the coming year with €1.5bn from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. Annual transfers of €500m from the Exchequer will commence in 2019, so that by 2021 the rainy day fund will amount to €3bn.
The IFC's report gives an example of the impact of a large foreign-owned multinational firm exiting Ireland. Previously this may have been said in hushed tones, but we're big boys and girls now. Indeed, it was noted at the Committee on Budgetary Oversight that the risk to companies leaving is probably over the medium- to long-term with the primary concern surrounding the tax base changing.
The report illustrated the impact on macroeconomic, employment and budgetary figures in Ireland due to a large, foreign-owned multinational firm exiting the economy using a 'stylised' example. It uses a scaled-up firm based on the relative tax liabilities of a top-10 case compared to a firm in the top 96 foreign-owned corporation taxpayers. The report notes that the stylised direct impact of a large firm leaving Ireland would be to reduce government revenues by more than €330m. This is mostly due to lost corporation tax. The exit would simultaneously directly reduce Gross Value Added (GVA) by 1.9pc, whereas the reductions to employment, employee earnings and taxes would all be considerably lower with all under 0.5pc.
The report notes that these impacts consider only direct and stylised consequences. The overall effects would be larger when considering other consequences such as higher unemployment payments, lower Vat from consumption, potential reskilling of specialised labour supply, and other indirect impacts. In summary, the impact of a typical large, foreign-owned multinational firm exiting the Irish economy would be largest in percentage terms for corporation tax, followed by GVA, employee taxes, net earnings and employment.
So what to do on tax? We should ensure there are no chinks in our armour from an inward investment perspective and make it more attractive for entrepreneurial companies to get and stay off the ground.
One of the threats mentioned by IFC's report is the international tax environment. We, like all other EU members, have to implement Controlled Foreign Companies (CFC) legislation as part of the EU's anti-avoidance initiative later this year. That deals with the position where a company diverts income artificially abroad so that it doesn't pay tax on it here. Where that happens, then the Exchequer can reach out and pull that income back home.
The key will be ensuring that we don't attack genuine commercial arrangements where tax wasn't an essential purpose of the transaction; the European courts have given the necessary guidance there. Ireland being a good student is one thing; a swot is something else.
On a related note, I eventually got around to reading Haskel and Westlake's text Capitalism without Capital, which was mentioned by the Finance Minister at a conference earlier this year. It deals with various issues surrounding intellectual property, but it makes a point previously raised in this column regarding how a company finances its operations. Granted the book discusses that in terms of intangibles (the text's focus), but I'd argue that relying more on equity than debt is broader in approach. The authors note that most developed countries' tax systems favour debt over equity finance by allowing interest expenses to reduce tax liabilities but not the cost of equity – the so called "debt bias". This can be "fixed" by removing the favourable tax treatment of debt (not good, if for no other reason than what we see our competitors are doing in this area) or allowing a tax deduction for equity.
Portugal has taken measures to address the debt bias granting its Allowance for Corporate Equity (ACE) to all companies (not only SMEs). Belgium, Italy and Cyprus also have ACE regimes. Right now, we don't have that ACE. Even the proposed Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) contains an "allowance for growth and investment" which gives a form of equity deduction.
The minister in mid-May in the Dail said that "I will not support any change that infringes the tax sovereignty of this country or poses any challenge to our ability to create and attract jobs here" – and we'd all agree.
However, the former Finance Minister Michael Noonan noted that the CCCTB proposal for a form of ACE "makes an interesting case for giving tax relief for equity investment in a business, which is something which should be examined further".
This wasn't addressed in the Finance Act 2017 and it can be seen that many countries have examined this and played their ACE. Haskel and Westlake say "Now would be a good time for policymakers to bite the bullet and do it"; not quite Richard Branson's "screw it, let's do it" but you get the gist.
The authors also look at the issue of taxing capital. They note that capital gains have since the 1990s been taxed at a lower rate than income. They say that the reason is that capital is mobile and so taxing it will "according to a large body of economic research encourage its owners to shift their capital to a lower tax jurisdiction". Our Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rate is currently 33pc. It was 20pc back in 1998 having decreased from 40pc before that; when that rate dropped its yield increased substantially. I make this point because right now our CGT rate is one of the highest in the OECD. What goes up must come down and now is the right time for the "downward" motion in CGT rates. A swot we are not.
When I was a kid, I watched a sci-fi programme every week and one line that stuck with me was that "we were flying fine until the ground came up and hit us". As always, we are ground-breaking (rainy day fund) not ground-hitting in our approaches. We got this.


How well do you know these first lines from classic books?
Take the quiz to test your knowledge! To get started, scroll down just a tad and click the purple button that says "Next."
"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents"
"A surging, seething, murmuring crowd of beings that are human only in name, for to the eye and ear they seem naught but savage creatures, animated by vile passions and by the lust of vengeance and of hate."
"Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
"I will begin the story of my adventures with a certain morning early in the month of June, the year of grace 1751, when I took the key for the last time out of the door of my father's house."


You almost certainly already know that g 6m27n72ruvfr2ttb5ev4ha0 has become the most popular topics on the web at this time. According to data we acquired from adwords, g 6m27n72ruvfr2ttb5ev4ha0 has a lot of search in google search engine. We think that g 6m27n72ruvfr2ttb5ev4ha0 give fresh thoughts or references for readers.
Weve learned lots of sources about g 6m27n72ruvfr2ttb5ev4ha0 but we believe this is best. I hope you would also accept our opinion. This picture has been posted by our team and is in category tags section. Youre able to download this image by simply clicking the save link or right click the image and select save.
We hope whatever we give to you can be useful. If you want, you could distribute this content to your companion, family, network, or you can also bookmark this page.


The source code for the Project Management Infrastructure will be made open source at some point (likely under the Eclipse Distribution License). If you have questions regarding the availability of the source, please contact EMO.
We are tracking issues for the Project Management Infrastructure using the public Eclipse Bugzilla instance. All bugs are recorded under the "Community/Project Management & Portal" component; the subject of records that concern the Project Management Infrastructure is prefixed with '[pmi]'.
Where possible, we stick to established Drupal coding conventions.
Creation of wrapper classes for custom content types is encouraged.
Wrapper class implement a getInstance method that can take a node, or node id as a parameter and answer a corresponding instance. Multiple calls to getInstance for the same node result in the return of the same object. The parameter can take other forms as makes sense for the content type.
All functions names are prefixed with the name of the module.
Functions that do not implement Drupal Hooks separate the module name from the function name with two underscore characters (e.g. projects__do_something). Note that we do this to avoid having functions collide with the current or future hook namespace.
Use underscores to separate words in function indentifiers.
Function comment should include an @see entry that names the hook in the comment.
This page was last modified 23:39, 10 December 2012 by Wayne Beaton.


The 1996 Constitution states that the Bill of Rights is the cornerstone of democracy in South Africa and that it enshrines the rights of all people in the country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom (section 7). The Constitution provides that the Bill of Rights applies to all law and that it binds natural and juristic persons to the extent that it is applicable (section 8) and that the courts must promote the spirit, purport and objects of the Bill of Rights when interpreting legislation and when developing the common law and customary law (section 39).
The relationship between the Bill of Rights and the development of private law is complex and contentious; some commentators are sceptical towards what they refer to as the constitutionalisation of private law and would restrict direct influence of the Constitution on private law to the minimum. According to their view, reforms that are required by post-apartheid transformation should be effected by legislation or constitutional remedies (including legislation to abolish apartheid laws), while further amendments to the common law should take place by way of small, incremental developments according to the 'normal' logic of uncodified private law. In effect, case law has shown that this could leave the larger part of the common law unaffected by reforms, unless a particular principle or institution of the common law is directly or indirectly in conflict with the Constitution. Other commentators disagree with this approach, arguing that the large-scale social and political reforms foreseen and required by the constitutional transformation of South African society, combined with the fact that the apartheid regime was totally discredited, indicates that the Constitution intends to bring about and inspire wide-ranging changes in the law and in social arrangements, which must have a fundamental effect on private law. In this perspective, the common law cannot be left entirely or even largely untouched by post-apartheid transformation.
As far as property law is concerned, it is clear that the new constitutional dispensation brought about by the 1993 and 1996 constitutions must have visible and lasting effects on private law because of the effect that apartheid land law had on widespread social and economic marginalisation and poverty. The substantive social and economic reforms foreseen by the new constitutional order can only be realised if reformist goals and norms find expression in the rules and practices of property law. Legislative reforms have to play a large part in this process, but legislation cannot do all the work and therefore judicial and doctrinal development of the common law and customary law is equally important. It is therefore necessary to consider the direct and indirect effect and the implications of the Constitution for the whole of existing property law, including uncodified common law, case law and legislation.
Juta's South African Property Law Libraryis aimed at revisiting and reassessing the whole of South African property law, including the uncodified common law that is mostly embodied in case law and academic writing, in order to establish how each aspect of property law was influenced by apartheid law, how it responds to the new constitutional dispensation (including land reform), and whether it could make a contribution towards the transformation of South African law and society.
For this purpose, the South African Property Law Library will eventually consist of a number of monographs, each of which is focused on one specific aspect of property law. A list of existing and future publications in Juta's Property Law Library can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
This volume is dedicated to the law of neighbours and written from the perspective that reconsideration and development of property law, in and for post-apartheid South African society, require and imply a completely new vision of what it means to live together in an open and democratic society built on the founding values of human dignity, equality and freedom.
Alternatively, click here to access the publication online.
This volume is dedicated to the sectional titles and other fragmented property schemes and written from the perspective that reconsideration and development of property law, in and for post-apartheid South African society, require and imply a completely new vision of the value of fragmented property holding in the new democratic society in South Africa.
This volume on constitutional property law is an updated third edition of an existing book with the same title, now published as part of the series. The book analyses the meaning and role of the property clause (section 25) in the Constitution against the background of the Constitution's reformist agenda and transformative goals. It also analyses the requirements for deprivation of property and expropriation, with reference to South African and foreign case law. The interpretation of reformist property law legislation and the development of common law property principles and institutions are discussed against the general backdrop of the new constitutional dispensation.
This new edition of Planning Law reflects the major changes that have taken place over the last decade and it has been revised, enlarged and entirely reworked for publication in the series. It gives detailed attention to the core of planning law that comprises spatial planning, land use management and land development management. It introduces some basic principles, addresses the roots of planning law in South Africa as well as some of the results of apartheid history and the prospects of change in view of the new Constitution. Since planning law is multi-faceted, the book also deals with related administrative, environmental, local government, housing and informal settlement issues. The relevant legal principles and legislative provisions are amplified by discussions of the major court decisions.
Juta's Property Law Library Catalogue can be downloaded below.


text:
Home » World News » 'Lonely' man, 64, avoids jail for sexually assaulting schoolgirl, 14
'Lonely' man, 64, avoids jail for sexually assaulting schoolgirl, 14
'Lonely' man, 64, avoids jail for sexually assaulting schoolgirl, 14, after squeezing her bottom while he was dressed up as a pupil wearing a wig, blazer and tie
Michael Wilson, 64, masqueraded as a pupil of a school in Bridlington, Hull
He was caught by a staff member standing in an out of bounds area of the school
Police searched his home and found a secret room containing school uniforms
A 'lonely' 64-year-old has avoided jail after sexual assaulting a 14-year-old girl while dressed in school uniform.
Michael Wilson masqueraded as a pupil at a school in Bridlington, Hull, when he squeezed the bottom his victim on January 8 last year.
He was later caught by a member of staff standing in an out of bounds area of the school, which he had attended, wearing a wig, blazer and tie.
After his arrest a day later, police searched his home in Bridlington, where they found a secret room which contained a story written by Wilson titled 'My Life As A 13-year-old Schoolboy', Hull Crown Court heard.
Michael Wilson, pictured outside Hull Crown Court, masqueraded as a pupil at a school in Bridlington, Hull, when he squeezed the bottom his victim on January 8 last year
They also found blazers containing the crests of different schools plus the uniform he had been wearing on the day he sexually assaulted his 14-year-old victim.
Prosecuting barrister Richard Thompson told the court that two schoolgirls saw Wilson approaching them on the morning of January 8, 2019.
He said: 'The defendant was walking towards the school wearing a wig, a white shirt, a blazer and a tie.
'The defendant approached and without asking anything he squeezed one of the girl's bottoms before walking towards the school.
'He was seen by a member of staff in an area close to the school building clearly marked as out of bounds.
'The staff member initially thought this was a student but when he approached closer he noticed he was not.
'The defendant said he was looking for someone but immediately walked off down the driveway. The member of staff managed to take a picture of the defendant.'
After he was arrested on January 9, officers found a fake school identification card which contained an old picture of the defendant.
Wilson pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault and appeared at Hull Crown Court on Friday, March 6 to be sentenced (pictured)
Police also conducted a search of his home where they found a number of school uniforms and a document titled 'My Life as A 13-year-old Schoolboy'.
Wilson pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault and appeared at Hull Crown Court on Friday, March 6 to be sentenced.
Mr Thompson told the court that the impact of the incident had caused the victim to overdose on two occasions.
Addressing Wilson in the dock, Judge David Tremberg said: 'She has become anxious, introverted, lost confidence, self-conscious, she has self-harmed and become a very unhappy young lady.
'She should not have to bear that burden and you are responsible for it.'
Sentencing Wilson to 12 months in prison suspended for two years, Judge Tremberg said it was an 'unusual' and 'sad' case.
'It is also one that has troubling features,' he said.
Sentencing Wilson to 12 months in prison suspended for two years, Judge Tremberg said it was an 'unusual' and 'sad' case. Pictured: Hull Crown Court
'On the one hand you are clearly an intelligent 64-year-old man with no previous convictions and have a very good work record.
'On the other hand the evidence and the content of the pre-sentence report indicates you have as the years worn on become a lonely, isolated, socially inadequate member of society and against that background you developed an unhealthy preoccupation of a life as a schoolboy.
'You acquired school clothes, kept a story of life as a schoolboy, dressed as a schoolboy and attended the facility of your old school.
'As far as the future risk is concerned the probation service say they can help to address the risk you pose by forms of treatment in the community.'
Wilson must adhere to a sexual harm prevention order for seven years in which he is prohibited from purchasing school clothing.
He must also not go within 100m of the perimeter boundaries of a school and is prohibited from having contact with any child under the age of 16 who is unrelated to him.
Wilson must also complete 31 sessions with the Horizon programme to address his offending.
Two Florida children are dead after car crashes into canal
Los Angeles bar owner rips Garcetti, Newsom over double standard on outdoor dining
Mistrial declared at federal trial of accused CIA leaker Joshua Schulte
Virgin Atlantic boss will take a 20% pay cut over coronavirus
UK's coronavirus death toll jumps by record-high 854
Tagged 64, av, Lonely, Man
Six people charged after allegedly plotting to abduct, kill Michigan Gov. Whitmer
Off-duty deputy killed suspect after Houston club shooting
Canaries, Mykonos, Maldives and Denmark on quarantine-free travel list
Love Island winners Paige and Finn reveal they'll start a family 'quickly' as they talk plans for TWO weddings – The Sun
Colin Firth's Raindog Films Eyes TV Move With New Hire; Receives Backing From UK's Creative Content EIS Fund
In the Mood For New Denim? Old Navy Has the Best Jeans at Affordable Prices
'RHONY': Andy Cohen and Heather Thomson Confirm Her Return for Season 13 — Will She Be Full-Time or Just a 'Friend'?
Mom Whose Son Spent $16,000 Playing Sonic Forces Won't Be Getting A Refund
Pope criticises Russia over cruelty but says war 'perhaps provoked'
Trump slams 'gangs of anarchists & looters' for tearing down statues and says FBI is investigating 'HUNDREDS of people' – The Sun

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
PASSION INTEGRITY PRIDE
Club Logo
CCF Player Pathway
Junior Representative Leagues
Junior Representative League Trials
JRL Team Houses
Shop CCU
North Construction
Wyong Leagues
Brightfield Services
FNSW Policies
CCU Code of Conduct
Match Reports for Sunday April 29th
20's team after their 3-2 win!
18's boys after their 2-0 win!
Round 6: Seniors VS FC Gazy Auburn
U18s: 2-0 WIN
A last minute change saw the boys once again play at Pluim Park. A solid defensive display laid the platform for some good attacking football, with goals to Pete Stewart and Matt Zucconi giving the 18's a 2-0 half time lead. Although not adding to the score board in the second half, the boys continued to control large parts of the game and created many more goal scoring opportunities, which they were unable to convert. Coach Alex Powell said, "with some tough games coming up in the next few weeks, it is important that the boys continue to train hard and remain focused."
Goalscorers: Peter Stewart, Matthew Zucconi
The 20's started very well and with some extra experience in the midfield and defence, they dominated for the most part of the game. Some of the boys best play this season was on show, however they missed a couple of chances to convert in the final third. We had a bit of a scare late in the game but the players did well to finish of the win. The 20's look to continue this form into next week's match against South Coast Flame FC.
Goalscorers: Kyle Price, Jayden Jackson, Julian Nakhoul
1st Grade: 7-0 WIN
This fixture was reversed at late notice due to the opposition pitch being unavailable and the boys took full advantage playing at home with an electric start. The two Adam's combined for the first goal, Blunden bursting down the wing and supplying the perfect ball for Woodbine. The boys ball speed and forward running was very good and only decision making for the final pass was limiting further chances being converted. The pressure eventually showed in the opposition, and Cade Mapu scored his first of the season from close range to take us into the break with a 2 goal lead.
The opposition pushed higher after the break and CCU didn't really get going for the first 10 minutes of the second half. Captain Daniel McFarlane relieved the pressure heading in a third goal and this broke the opposition. Coach Stu Davis says, "I was very pleased that the boys continued pushing forward for the full 90 minutes resulting in Adam Woodbine getting his hatrick, Daniel scoring another header from an Alex Arbelo corner and Oscar Torres scoring a fine volley from the edge of the box to also get himself on the golden boot leaderboard for the first time this campaign." The boys look to continue this form next week against South Coast Flame FC.
Goalscorers: Adam Woodbine x3, Daniel McFarlane x2, Cade Mapu, Oscar Torres
Round 8: AYL VS Manly Warringah FA
U13s: 2-1 LOSS
Our 13's were the first to play at Cromer Park on Sunday afternoon, and they played a skilful match against a great opposition. Both teams were playing forward with good team work and combination plays. With chances on both sides, Isaac Broomfield scored a free kick for a late surge in the match. An unlucky result but good play by the boys.
Goalscorers: Isaac Broomfield
U14s: 2-2 DRAW
The 14's were next to take the field and like the 13s, struggled against a tough Manly outfit. The boys struggled to find their rhythm in the game, and saw a number of passes not completed, and chances at goal missed. CCU struggled to create space during the game, however, they still managed to net two goals and come away with a draw. A good effort by the team. Coach Chris O'Connor said of the game, "sometimes you have to go through the highs and the lows", and the boys will use this game as a way to build at training during the week, and prepare for next week's game.
Goalscorers: Ryan Brown, Bailey Holt
The 15's boys were up next to face Manly, and don't be fooled by the scoreline, their 15's team was also very strong. Our CCU boys had a tough game to play, and the defence did well to lift to the standard of the match and withhold the pressure placed on them by Manly. The team worked well under pressure and made the most of fluid movement of the ball and working as a team. Some great combination work resulting in great strikes at goal, followed in and finished by quick tap ins. A great performance by all.
Goalscorers: Luke Dargan, Mason Fitzgerald, Jack O'Callaghan x3
The 16's boys were the last team to take the field against Manly and were looking to come away with a result like the 15's before them. The team played an incredibly good game against a very strong opposition. Manly's strong attack made it difficult to play out and keep possession. Their style of play worked our transition by using a quick counter attack style football. The score doesn't reflect the level in which the boys played, as they were unlucky not to finish on a number of occasions. All in all a good performance against a benchmark side. Coach Jake Gomez said, "this week's training will focus on attacking play and refining our decisions in the final third to get those results". The boys look forward to another tough match against Blacktown next weekend.
Goalscorers: Mason Lavery
Wyong Leagues Join the Central Coast Family
Central Coast United are proud to announce their partnership with the Wyong Rugby League Club Group for the 2019 season!
"The Wyong Rugby League Club Group has numerous club sites around the coast that serve as a valuable attraction to work with as many of our members live in and around all areas of the coast. Their venues will be excellent for CCU presentations and team function nights. Look out for the WRLCG logo on the sleeve of this season's kit. We're looking forward to a great partnership with Wyong Leagues and their team."
— Central Coast United General Manager Matthew Crowell
WRLCG
Central Coast United, Tuggerah Street, Lisarow, NSW, 2250, Australiam- 0401 015 953 p- 4314 2543info@ccutd.com


text:
Beans & Brews Delivers Bold Omnichannel Loyalty With 36% Program Participation Rate
With Punchh's robust platform, we can easily communicate and deliver personalized offers to guests while controlling the message, timing, and items we're promoting—all while maintaining a consistent brand image. All this has driven spikes in traffic and sales and given us a competitive edge.
Carrie Mongold, Vice President of Marketing Beans & Brews
Outdated loyalty card approach
Incomplete understanding of the guest
Lacked robust campaign & tracking capabilities
Create a loyalty mobile app with digital payment capabilities
Develop a clear understanding of every guest
Easily manage, communicate, and deliver data-driven marketing campaigns
Punchh Loyalty with Gift Cards
Mobile app, web, and in-store channels
Integration with POS (Aloha)
Loyalty program participation rate
Overall check lift
Visit frequency increase
A bold move to increase loyalty
Beans & Brews Coffeehouse is a Utah-based company with over 50 locations in the Salt Lake City area as well as Idaho and Nevada. Since 1993, Beans & Brews has been the original home of High Altitude Roasting. Refining the local process, until they got it just right, they've earned the reputation for a uniquely smooth coffee served in a friendly neighborhood setting. Over the years they've learned how to create not only fresh and delicious coffees, teas, smoothies and a menu of food items, but also a House environment that welcomes their guests and keeps them coming back over and over again.
That's because Beans & Brews has always understood the value of creating loyalty among their guests. Beginning over 20 years ago, first with a punch card and then a magnetic swipe card, their loyalty program has evolved over the years just as the process of administering loyalty has been defined and redefined over time.
With mobile technology gaining popularity in usage, Beans & Brews made the initial move to an app from LevelUp. However, they were disappointed that in order to do loyalty, their guests would have do payments through LevelUp's app, according to Carrie Mongold, Vice President of Marketing. "We didn't want to force our customers to be tied to any one particular payment method. We wanted them to have the choice of how to pay, and also still be rewarded for their loyalty."
Punchh platform delivers flexibility and ease
Punchh offered Beans & Brews the robust loyalty solution they were looking for, explained Mongold. They signed on in December of 2016 with plans to offer mobile payments and tipping features that would facilitate faster, easier and more secure methods of payment right from their customers' smartphones. The technology to deliver mobile payment and Punchh's integration already being established with their POS system, Aloha, made it easy for them to see they would now have all the important capabilities to engage customers and increase loyalty.
Beans & Brews got up and running utilizing a points-based loyalty program that allows them to increase spend lift compared to a discount approach that often hurts spend lift. They make the most of Punchh's loyalty campaigns to regularly reach customers with weekly offers that increase their point accumulation to help them attain reward levels more quickly.
They've also been able to effectively capitalize on reported U.S. news events such as when a national competitor closed for an afternoon in 2018. Beans & Brews delivered a campaign offering triple points for visits after 1 p.m. to anyof their locations and enjoyed a 60 percent bump in sales during that time period, explains Mongold.
We immediately experienced the value of Punchh's cloud-based customer platform as we were able to create customer engagement journeys that increased valuable guest connections and increased participation and frequency among our various loyalty segments.
Beans & Brews appreciates the ease of creating, sending and tracking campaigns on Punchh's customized and user- friendly dashboard. It helps provide them with a data-driven profile of who their guests are, and gives them ultimate control over which hours, items, locations, etc. they promote, according to Mongold.
They also appreciate how easy and simple it is for their customers to participate in their loyalty program. "We are able to communicate with our loyalty members through numerous channels such as our app, emails, and push notifications whenever we need to. Our customers don't want to keep track of a card today, they simply want to have their phone on them so we can be in contact together," says Mongold.
Driving value for the long-term
Beans & Brews is excited for their recently relaunched app that supports their new mobile payment and tipping framework designed to give customers an engaging, digital brand experience. Mongold reports immediate favorable feedback from customers, who are enjoying the rich messaging and history timeline features on the new interface. "With our branded mobile app we have the power to build customer lifetime value by making it easier for our customers to pay with their phones, but also to join our loyalty program and start earning and redeeming points immediately."
More Stories from Punchh Customers
Schlotzsky's Delivers Personalized Experiences to Build Customer Loyalty
Teriyaki Madness Increases Loyalty Traffic 10% YoY


text:
import asyncio
from typing import Optional

import pytest
from expression.core import pipe
from expression.system import AsyncDisposable

import aioreactive as rx
from aioreactive import AsyncObservable, AsyncObserver
from aioreactive.testing import VirtualTimeEventLoop

@pytest.fixture()  # type:ignore
def event_loop():
    loop = VirtualTimeEventLoop()
    yield loop
    loop.close()

@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_map_works():
    xs: AsyncObservable[int] = rx.from_iterable([1, 2, 3])
    values = []

    async def asend(value: int) -> None:
        values.append(value)

    def mapper(value: int) -> int:
        return value * 10

    ys = pipe(xs, rx.map(mapper))

    obv: AsyncObserver[int] = rx.AsyncAwaitableObserver(asend)
    async with await ys.subscribe_async(obv):
        result = await obv
        assert result == 30
        assert values == [10, 20, 30]

@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_map_mapper_throws():
    error = Exception("ex")
    exception = None

    xs = rx.from_iterable([1])

    async def athrow(ex: Exception):
        nonlocal exception
        exception = ex

    def mapper(x: int):
        raise error

    ys = pipe(xs, rx.map(mapper))

    obv = rx.AsyncAwaitableObserver(athrow=athrow)

    await ys.subscribe_async(obv)

    try:
        await obv
    except Exception as ex:
        assert exception == ex
    else:
        assert False

@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_map_subscription_cancel():
    xs: rx.AsyncSubject[int] = rx.AsyncSubject()
    sub: Optional[AsyncDisposable] = None
    result = []

    def mapper(value: int) -> int:
        return value * 10

    ys = pipe(xs, rx.map(mapper))

    async def asend(value: int) -> None:
        result.append(value)
        assert sub is not None
        await sub.dispose_async()
        await asyncio.sleep(0)

    async with await ys.subscribe_async(rx.AsyncAnonymousObserver(asend)) as sub:
        await xs.asend(10)
        await asyncio.sleep(0)
        await xs.asend(20)

    assert result == [100]

@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_mapi_works():
    xs: AsyncObservable[int] = rx.from_iterable([1, 2, 3])
    values = []

    async def asend(value: int) -> None:
        values.append(value)

    def mapper(a: int, i: int) -> int:
        return a + i

    ys = pipe(xs, rx.mapi(mapper))

    obv: AsyncObserver[int] = rx.AsyncAwaitableObserver(asend)
    async with await ys.subscribe_async(obv):
        result = await obv
        assert result == 5
        assert values == [1, 3, 5]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Horn Camp
Rates + Dates
Winterlude
Horn Camp Connect
Kendall Betts Horn Camp
Cormont Music
Kendall Betts History of KBHC
25+ Years of Kendall Betts Horn Camp
Enrollment is limited in order to enable a participant to faculty ratio 4:1. This ensures that every participant has an unparalleled opportunity to improve their technique and musicianship.
This unique seminar and retreat offers intense daily schedules and the curriculum is tailored to the needs and goals of each individual participant.
Quality Instruction
Schedule includes private lessons, master classes, horn ensembles, mock orchestral auditions, informal performances and public concerts.
Perfect Landscape
A noncompetitive atmosphere of fun and camaraderie in the idyllic country setting of a White Mountains New Hampshire camp
World Class Instructors
The faculty of KBHC includes the top players and teachers in the country and beyond. Campers work with these renowned soloists, members of top orchestras, and faculty of illustrious schools of music in individualized settings. Our faculty spans genres and teaching styles, and includes specialists on solo works, orchestral playing, improvisation, jazz, and natural horn.
"I have made so many lasting friendships through KBHC"
—Jay Sewell, Alumni
Stunning Location
Located on 300 acres in the stunning White Mountains of northern New Hampshire with breathtaking views of Mount Lafayette, Camp Ogontz is where we call home. The camp is very rustic and includes log-cabin accommodation, meeting halls and lodges, a dining hall where wonderful home-cooked meals are served, a recital hall, tennis courts, a secluded lake, pine woods, hiking trails beside streams and waterfalls, and spectacular mountain views. The atmosphere is informal and conducive to study and relaxation.
Living space is quite varied and includes rustic "Adirondack" style log cabins, dormitory type cabins and lodges. All have electricity and some have indoor bath facilities. Shower rooms and toilet facilities are always nearby. Linens may be rented for a nominal fee or you can bring your own. Accommodations are assigned by age group by the KBHC staff. Ogontz is run on a cooperative plan; all KBHC participants, faculty and staff will be asked to help with food preparation and chores. These duties are non-demanding and generally contribute to the atmosphere of camaraderie and cordiality which pervades this unique enterprise.
From full two-week faculty to weekly staff, Kendall Betts Horn Camp welcomes the brightest and most accomplished instructors to camp each year.
Bernhard Scully
University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana
Folkwang Hochschule
Lauren Becker
Kendall Betts History and Philosophy of KBHC
History and Philosophy of KBHC By Kendall Betts (1947-2017) When I was elected to the Advisory Council of the International Horn Society in 1993, I began attending the annual International Horn Workshops where I became acquainted with many horn players of various ages, backgrounds, abilities and accomplishments. These musicians fell into four categories: Amateurs, Educators, Professionals and Students. In talking to the many individuals of these diverse groups, I discovered that most of them had a need for instruction in the various aspects of horn playing from the very simplest fundamental techniques to the most complex interpretive problems of the repertoire. Many said that they would be interested in participating in an intense program of study and performance. As I thought about their remarks, I created the concept of an intense seminar and retreat where horn players of all ages would gather for a period of time to study with the finest faculty and perform. It also occurred to me that this should take place in a pleasant and isolated location so to heighten the concentration levels of the participants and give them a truly unique environment in which to grow musically. I approached the administration of the White Mountain
Cormont Music is a New Hampshire nonprofit corporation founded in 1997 by A. Kendall Betts with the primary purpose of sponsoring the Kendall Betts Horn Camp. This incorporation came about due to the success of the first three camps in 1995, '96 and '97 as it became apparent to Mr. Betts that a legal structure for the enterprise was needed. Upon further research, he decided that a nonprofit corporation was the proper entity as this would enable him to establish a scholarship program and he would then be able to accept tax-deductible donations from the public. The legal process began to obtain the status of a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This status was granted by the Internal Revenue Service to Cormont Music in May of 1999.
The mission statement of Cormont Music is: "To promote the art of horn playing through education, performance, and publishing."
Sign up for KBHC news
KBHC 2021 Dates:
Week 1: June 12-19
Copyright 2021 Kendall Betts Horn Camp


text:
Space 448qm (56x8m); 6,50m ceiling height, barrier-free access
Capacity up to 500 pax, gala up to 300 pax, banquet up to 240 pax
Equipment Permanently installed background sound system, underfloor heating, W-LAN, modern toilets (disabled-friendly toilet), cloakroom setup in the Orangery Hall
Opt. extras stages from 24qm (6x4m, 40cm height) to 36qm (6x6m, 80cm height), bookable in-house orchestra and master of ceremonies, castle tour or special opening of the house
ABOUT THE WEST WING
Baroque stucco elements on the walls and the stone floor laid in a chessboard look are reminiscent of the courtly culture of Prussian princes and kings. The white walls and the high ceiling add to the flair of the west wing - and at the same time offer the possibility of transforming the hall into an individual event location with appropriate lighting and decoration concepts. Your possibilities as an organizer are correspondingly diverse - from classic to modern and from business events to private celebrations. The west wing of the Great Orangery is suitable for trade fairs and exhibitions, conferences, meetings and lectures, business and product presentations (including vehicle presentations), but also for anniversaries, birthdays, weddings and balls.
The rental of the west wing also includes the Orangery Hall, the central foyer of the Grand Orangery. With its domed ceiling and flanking columns made of red stucco marble, the hall offers a magnificent backdrop and makes an unforgettable first impression right from the moment you arrive.
West Wing of the Great Orangery
ABOUT THE EAST WING
Baroque stucco elements and arched windows designed according to historical models give the east wing its extraordinary character. The hall offers space for a wide variety of events and occasions, from trade fairs and exhibitions to meetings, conferences, lectures and presentations, balls, wedding parties as well as birthday and anniversary celebrations.
The rental of the east wing also includes the Orangery Hall, the central foyer of the Great Orangery. With its high and refined domed ceiling and flanking columns of red stucco marble, the hall offers a magnificent backdrop and makes an unforgettable first impression even at the welcoming reception.
East Wing of the Great Orangery
Orangery Hall
Space 260qm (20x13m); 8,50m ceiling height, barrier-free access
Capacity up to 150 pax, Gala up to 60 pax, high tables max. 150 pax
Equipment permanently installed background sound system, underfloor heating, W-LAN, modern toilets (disabled-friendly toilet)
Opt. Extras bookable in-house orchestra and master of ceremonies, castle tour or special opening of the house
ABOUT THE ORANGERIESAAL
The Orangery Hall is particularly suitable for large events that you want to celebrate on a small scale. The hall, which forms the central foyer of the Great Orangery, is lined with columns in reddish stucco marble and captivates with its domed ceiling with artistic paintings and the access to the 2,000 sqm large Orangery Terrace.
For larger events, the Orangery Hall serves as a foyer to the west and east wings of the Great Orangery and can be used for cloakrooms and reception areas.
Orangery Terrace
Space 2.000qm, barrier-free access
ABOUT THE ORANGERY TERRACE
The Orangery Terrace is available to you as an organiser within the framework of room rental and allows the erection of tents, e.g. for catering or special events and activities.
We would be happy to discuss your event ideas and your possibilities on the traditional Orangery Terrace with you.


text:
Sukanya Basu Mallik
Sukanya Basu Mallik is a multi-genre author, film and book critic. She has been published in various journals, magazines, and anthologies nationally and internationally including Reader's Digest, Times Of India,Sahitya Akademi Bimonthly Journal, Lucidity Int. Poetry Journal, SEAL (South East Asian Literature) festival anthologies and AIPF Int. Anthology (Austin International Poetry Festival). She has also received a number of awards; The Best Manuscript Awards for fiction & non-fiction categories (Mumbai Literature Festival 2018)etc. Her short story 'Healing of wounds' has been awarded a certificate of merit by National Children's Literature Festival led by eminent author, Ruskin Bond. Her latest releases include Mocktail and#Metoo. Her movie reviews have been published in various newspapers and journals of repute like 'Just film' magazine, Different truths, 'Creation and Criticism' ISSN: 2455-9687 (A Quarterly International Peer-reviewed Refereed e-Journal Devoted to English Language and Literature) And many more. Her research paper 'Voicing of perspective through creativity – an in- depth analysis of Devika Das's works'. has been published by 'The Expression: An International Multidisciplinary e- Journal', ISSN: 2395-4132 (Online)| A Peer-Reviewed Journal | Impact Factor: 3.9. She's the only undergraduate student to be considered for a research paper publication by the journal so far.
Movie Review: Meghnadbodh Rohoshyo (2017)
Meghnadbodh Rohoshyo (2017) is about a Professor of Oxford, who during his annual sojourn to home town receives a copy of the bengali classic from an anonymous source and wonders "whodunit, howdunit and most importantly whydonit"?
Movie Review: Stree (2018)
Stree (2018) is a Comedy/ Horror movie. In the small town of Chanderi, the menfolk live in fear of an evil spirit named "Stree" who abducts men in the night.
TV Show Review: Love, Lust and Confusion (2018)
Love, Lust and Confusion as a whole is a comedy of errors and a coming of age story - with a gamut of confusions and perplexities, love and desires, choices and dilemmas mixed with an ensemble of lovable characters that…
Movie Review: Kesari
Kesari (2019) Director: Anurag Singh Writers: Girish Kohli, Anurag Singh Stars: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra, Suvinder Vicky Truly Kesari Kesari (2019) Action, Drama, History Kesari (2019) is based on the true story of Battle of Saragarhi in which an…
Movie Review: Andhadhun
The story of 'Andhadhun' is inspired by the French short film L'ACCORDEUR (writer and director: Olivier Treiner). However, a lot of changes have been done which are praiseworthy.
Movie Review: The Social Network
The plot follows- as Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he was sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out…
Theme of the Month
https://youtu.be/d4jDh6GeK8w
ALL FILIPINO
This January TUW will feature some of the most talented Filipino content creators from various social media.
To kick-off the first theme for 2020, we would like to go back to our roots and display the uncanny talents from our homeland.
Catch up:
6 PRINCIPLES TOWARDS A SUCCESSFUL LIFE January 29, 2020
Indeed a mystery January 28, 2020
Man's Search for Meaning January 27, 2020
Tears of Sand January 26, 2020
The Luxury Pay Toilet Movement January 25, 2020
Last 365 Days Visits: 425,323
Beauty and Chaos
Missed Shots
Half-Empty Half-Full
The Ugly Writers provide monthly writing theme for guests and regular contributors allowing for eclectic reading experience for avid and casual readers alike.
Beauty & Chaos
Get updates right from your inbox
Copyright © 2020 The Ugly Writers - Powered by CreativeThemes


Okay so technically we don't have a basement but we do have a lot of great rain boot bargains right now. Gotta make room in our warehouse for incoming inventory so our 'closet cleaning' equals some really good deals for you!
Various styles of Capelli, Jeffrey Campbell, Sperry, Chooka, Emilio Pucci, Marc Jacobs, DKNY, Western Chief, Hatley, L'Atitude and Tamara Henriques boots and rain shoes are on sale. With 70 different styles, colors and brands, you are bound to find a pair (or two!) to keep your feet warm and dry.
Tamara Henriques - Women's Black Parasol Loafer: Reg. $74.95 On sale for $34.95!!
See? Lots of really good stuff! Go check it out at DLL Rainwear. Don't get stuck in a rainstorm without some kick a$$ rain boots. Especially when the prices are this good!
I Like Food And All But Damn!!