The year is 2008. The Dark Knight, the second flick in Christopher Nolan’s expertly crafted Dark Knight Trilogy, has just premiered in theaters, to resounding positive response from fans and critics alike. The picture is a stunning piece of filmmaking, not only from a technological standpoint but from the perspective of the acting, directing and editing. Since The Dark Knight‘s release, it’s been upheld by comic book movie fans and cinephiles as the gold standard for what the comic book genre should have—complex, nuanced storytelling, characters taken seriously, and worlds built the way any other thriller would. The Dark Knight, arguably, is a mystery thriller/drama first, and a comic book film second.
Throughout the years, several flicks have tried to repeat its success. Though many of us enjoyed DC’s rebooted effort of the character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, others did not. While the film did really well at the box office, it equally disappointed critics and failed to reach the mark that The Dark Knight held. Audiences purported that the new direction DC had gone in was far “too dark” in an era where cookie-cutter, by-the-numbers Marvel films ruled the box office. Light and funny was perceived successful for audiences; dark and gritty was not.
Calling DC “dark” and Marvel “light” is a bit of an oversimplification, but it’s not entirely false to state. From its inception, DC’s stories have been more epic, more grandiose and on a larger scale. Marvel has always gone for a more light, scenic route and this has worked for both companies. The Dark Knight was the first comic book film to gross over $1 billion and be well received by both critics and audiences, while The Avengers was a start of an entirely new era for comic book filmmaking. Both routes have their flaws; both have their bonuses.
Though I loved Batman v Superman, the true crowning jewel of DC’s Extended Universe at its inception, in my opinion, was Man of Steel. The Zack Snyder flick dug down deep into what made the character of Superman tick, what his motivations were, and retconned the more tongue-in-cheek, Boy Scout themes for an epic, godlike warrior who is torn between saving his people and reviving his home. Unfortunately, critics did not totally agree. The film also didn’t preform up to expectations like previous Superman pics, (adjusted for inflation, the first Superman film staring Christopher Reeve would’ve made $1 billion in today’s dollars).
The DC Universe has always been polarizing, and the discourse around it has always been passionate. Either you really love DC’s films and understand the intention of what they’re going for, even if they don’t always succeed (I’m in that camp), or you really, really hate them. It seemed, for a while, that the DCEU’s fate was to go in a direction more akin to other, smaller franchises, like Fast & the Furious or Transformers—critically maligned movies that do amazingly at the box office.
Then, a movie called Wonder Woman happened.
The origin picture, starring Gal Gadot in her first major role and directed by Patty Jenkins, was already a history-making event before it hit theaters. It was the first major tentpole superhero property to be directed by and star a woman; it was the first big-screen endeavor for the character of Wonder Woman; and it was the first large-scale female superhero flick in today’s cinematic universe driven landscape. When the reviews hit, they were glowing. Critics praised Gal Gadot’s performance, the visuals, the action and the tone. And audiences responded, going out in droves to support the picture. It grossed $818 million worldwide, and brought fans of DC together. Whether you’d enjoyed the previous DCEU films or not, most people could agree: Wonder Woman was damn amazing.
Going back to the earlier comment I made about The Dark Knight being the standard: that film was a true statement in its day and age, because not only did it have something to say politically, but it took the characters of Batman and the Joker seriously, giving them real, nuanced dialogue with message-heavy plot points and chances to do some real acting. The film, dark as it was, had the perfect mix of theme and action, drama and spectacle. And the same holds true for Wonder Woman. Both films balance the tropes of the genre perfectly, while also managing to introduce complex and thorough discussions. In fact, I would argue that Wonder Woman is DC’s updated version of The Dark Knight—complete with sophistication, real-world storytelling, and character development.
The big difference: Wonder Woman made me cry. In fact, it made me sob, and that sobbing continued for nearly ten minutes straight. Here’s why:
When Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince turns to Steve Trevor (played expertly by Chris Pine), her face contorted in confusion as a woman cries into the folds of her cloak, and tells him: “Steve, these people are dying. They have nothing to eat, and they’re in the village, enslaved! Women, children!”, Steve, who has been in this war for years, has become desensitized to the violence, the killing, simply sighs and says, “It’s not possible. This is No Man’s Land, Diana! No man can cross it! This is not something we can do.”
And Diana turns, the silhouette of her all we can see, her dark hair billowing in the cold wind as she drops her cloak, revealing her gauntlets and her full Wonder Woman costume for the first time, and says, “No, but it’s what I’m going to do.”
The conviction on her face there is so mesmerizing, so awe-inspiring, because in Wonder Woman’s heart, she truly believes that this is something she can do. She is willing to risk her life, and reveal her identity, to help save the people of Veld. And no matter what, she is going to help people because it’s her purpose; it’s what she was created for. To have not only a superhero say these lines, but a woman, was earth-shattering. And when she climbs up through the trenches and onto the battlefield, a single shiloh of simultaneous destruction and grace, you can’t help but want to follow her.
The true definition of a hero, to me, is someone who acts not because they are told to, not because it would make them look good, but because they want to. Who saves people not because of who they are, but because they’re people. Who surges into the battle not knowing if they’ll survive, but caring more about the lives of others than their own. And all of this, to me, applies to Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. As she jogs through the battlefield, dodging bullets and straining her best to keep them all at bay and protect her friends, I get chills. Every single time.
In all the discussion about cool action sequences, super cameos and Easter eggs for the next film, the true purpose of superhero movies—to depict heroes, larger-than-life people, saving those who cannot fight for themselves—has been lost. But Wonder Woman reignites the discussion. Diana is more than just a hero. She’s a woman, through-and-through—from the incredibly gripping No Man’s Land scene, to invading a party to search for General Ludendorff, to protecting the world from Ares and tapping into her godly powers to stop the war, to deciding to leave Themyscira in the first place because she knows her talents would be better suited in man’s world than in the safe comfort of her island.
The imagery of seeing a woman say, “I’m not going to listen to you. I’m going to fight anyway, because these people need help.” I have the chills just typing it. It was so desperately needed in 2017, specifically, when a man who faces numerous rape allegations is the President of the United States, when Hollywood is crumbling within because of similar allegations coming out about its top tier talent. Seeing a woman fight, and be brave despite what the men in her life say, was life-changing.
Moreover—in a world where “DC is too dark” is the spun narrative, Wonder Woman swoops in, lasso twirling, and shows the a new shade to the “darkness.” Wonder Woman is a dark film. The color palette has some of the same desaturated hue as Man of Steel and Batman v Superman—in man’s world, at least—and its themes about war, killing and violence are as heavy as they come. In the middle of that gray, hopeless battlefield, Wonder Woman comes surging in, her red-and-blue costume glistening in the light, a signal of hope, and all her allies follow her. That sequence alone is a metaphor not only for the character of Wonder Woman, but for the film itself. It’s peppered throughout with levity, light and optimism. And when the credits finally roll, you just can’t help but smile.
But not to downplay all the traditional comic book stuff—that’s awesome too. The first battle on Themyscira’s beach was jaw-dropping, and Diana’s third act fight with Ares (despite some sloppy CGI, but I’m not complaining, I’ve seen far worse) was thrilling to behold. The battle in the village, following Diana’s true transformation into Wonder Woman, is exhilarating and effortlessly cool. The villains were smaller characters but still juicy to watch, and the powers Diana had on display were not only accurate to her character, but enhanced her power set.
And not only does Wonder Woman have messages about hope and faith in humanity, but it’s chock full of encouraging discussions about feminism. The scene where Wonder Woman addresses a British general made my entire theater cheer, and it’s an experience I’ll never forget—because here was a woman, in the twentieth century, telling a man how it was, and making him see how unbelievably stupid his plans were. And when a man asks Steve Trevor why he brought a woman into the council room, the confusion and frustration on Diana’s face is almost comical. Why shouldn’t there be women in the council room? As Diana has lived in a world where everything is equal her whole life, the idea that women are lesser than or barred from anything dumbfounds her.
Lastly, Wonder Woman‘s emotional and heartfelt handling of its central male character, Steve Trevor, is incredibly satisfying. Not only does Chris Pine play the hell out of this role, but the romance between he and Diana is wonderfully developed. In so many ways, they’re equals. He acts on her lead, and she follows his. Never once while watching the movie did I feel that he felt he was better than her, or more equipped to do his job than she was to do hers. The dynamic between them is so idyllic, so perfectly woven together, that it must be seen to be believed.
All of these factors combine to create an experience that is one of my best moviegoing adventures of all time. Wonder Woman is a revelation. It’s an event in pop culture, and a true lesson in how to do superhero movies justice. When it comes to ranking films, for me, I go by how they make me feel. Wonder Woman brings about an emotion in me that no other superhero film (except for Black Panther, of course) has been able to do. So when I think of the best DC film ever made, it will be the image of a golden lasso, swinging through the air, a female warrior’s sharp cry, and the badass guitar-riff of Wonder Woman’s triumphant musical theme.
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Finally someone in public life has stated an important truth. On Insiders today, Gerard Henderson said, as an apparent side issue, something like: 'The only way wages can go up is for productivity to increase'. Barry the boss failed to pick up the point but it is one that needs to be publicised widely and understood by the voters. Of course, Treasurer Scomo will not make the point because the Turnbull government is making no real attempt to introduce policies that will raise national productivity. This attitude is best described as 'unfathomable stupidity'.
'What happens when a Shorten government introduces wage increases unbacked by productivity increases? Jobs growth will slow, gentle readers, and, if unbacked wage increases are large enough, job numbers will fall. Such a response was proven by the Whitlam government and endorsed by Prime Minister Hawke in briefing the 'Sherpas' preparing the modelling for the National Economic Summit and endorsed by the ACTU Sherpas. And the ACTU accepted a cut to real wages by not demanding compensation for cuts in real wages resulting from the fall in the Aussie dollar during the 'Banana Republic' episode.
Australia is at risk of Banana Republic # 2. Lots of factors are similar. Here is Henry's attempt to point out the possible scenario facing Australia and Australians.
In 1986 Australia's international debt was growing far too quickly for comfort. After prodding by the RBA's Head of Research, and a fiery interchange in the presence of top teams from Treasury and the Reserve Bank, Treasurer Paul Keating resolved to follow relevant recommendations. These were to convert the budget deficit to a surplus, convince the ACTU to cop a cut in real wages due to a falling exchange rate and to allow the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates.
These policies were all implemented and (after a substantial fall in the value of the floating dollar) the economy moved to a better configuration. Soon however, as the dollar began to recover, the RBA top leadership resolved that this was equivalent to a tightening of monetary policy. While the board was advised of the need to tighten monetary policy by raising cash interest rates, and seemed to agree with this advice, the opposite happened month after month.
The economy began to overheat and, perhaps by coincidence, a new management was installed at the RBA. In quick time cash interest rates were raised dramatically almost to 20 %, creating the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. This recession was not as dramatic as depicted in the painting (see Image below), but the next Great Recession might well be. Again government debt is growing rapidly and interest rates are very low and supposedly to remain that way even as USA rates rise. Additional factors are that household debt is unsustainably high, real wages and productivity growth are zero or very low and the global boom (also built on borrowing) is likely to end soon.
The unfathomable stupidity of the Australian cricket team has appropriately been labelled as 'worse than the underarm bowling incident'. Worse because it was decided at a partial team meeting over lunch, whereas the underarm bowling was an act of passion. Worse because the youngest member of the team was fingered to do the deed. Worse because it was a furtive act that was just as certain as an over of underarm bowling to be seen on television.
Send the Mont Albert Fourths to play the Fourth test, or at least pick an entirely fresh team lead by Aaron Finch, current best performing Aussie opening batsman. And all the other good performers in Sheffield Shield, with a sprinkling of Victorian players who get no joy from the NSW-biassed selectors. Why are we surprised that descendents of the NSW Rum corps are cheats?
Good news. The AFLW final was a beauty with the doggies winning despite their leader being unable to play due to an unfair tribunal decision designed, it is said, to impose a softer set of rules on the wimmin. It was alleged on ABC TV this morning that the mighty AFL are going to impose a softer set of rules on the poor, weak wimmin players. What rubbish, gentle readers. Let the Hunger Games begin!
More good news. Caaaarlton! jumped out of the starting gate to blitz premiers Richmond with 5 goals in the first few minutes. Faster than last year, stronger - think Cripps as the most obvious - and above all confident with the new attacking flair that has been created by coach Bolton in his third year rebuild. Finally toward the end of the third quarter gas was being lost, and severe injuries saw one player off for the game and only ruckman Mathew Kruezer hobbling about on the forward line. The Premiers went on to a win they will be relieved to have got.
Image of the week - Banana Republic, as it might have been, or could be.


PHOTO – Trey Phillips had a goal and an assist in last night's 4-3 victory over Calgary. Photo courtesy of Julie Wilson
The Canmore Eagles picked up their first Alberta Junior Hockey League victory of the 2013-14 season last night as they relied on a rookie goaltender and their veteran players to rally back from a 3-1 first period deficit to defeat the visiting Calgary Canucks 4-3. The game was played before 338 fans at the Canmore Recreation Centre.
Saturday night’s come from behind victory certainly helped take away the sting from Friday night’s 5-1 home loss to the Drumheller Dragons and evens the Eagles early season record at 1-1.
After surrendering two goals on the first two shots he faced, Eagle starting netminder Cameron Barnes was given the hook before the five minute mark of the first period and was replaced by rookie Ryan Ferguson. The 18 year-old Calgary product was up to the challenge as he proceeded to stop 28 of the 29 shots he faced, picked up a rare assist, and was named the Eagles “Star of the Game”.
Fourth-year defenceman Trey Phillips, who was the Eagles “Star of the Game” in Friday night’s loss, continued his fine early season play as the 20-year-old assistant captain had a goal and an assist on Saturday night. Fellow 20-year-old veterans Luke Simpson, Jeremy Margeson and Bryan Arneson also chipped in with their first goals of the year.
Unlike Friday night’s opener, the Eagles specialty teams were also very effective as they went two-for-four on the powerplay, and the penalty killers successfully killed all 7 minor penalties.
“It was truly a character win for the boys,” said Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne afterwards. “Ferguson came in off the bench and held the fort for us defensively, which gave our veteran players the opportunity to battle back and eventually win the game for us. It’s tough for a back-up goalie to enter a game at the five minute mark, but Fergy was mentally prepared to go and he bailed us out. Phillips had another strong game for us offensively, while Margeson was outstanding on the penalty kill and also scored a huge goal for us.”
The Eagles next game action will be Friday, Sept. 13 when the Calgary Mustangs pay a visit to the Canmore Recreation Centre. Game time is 7 PM.
NOTEBOOK: The Eagles welcomed back captain Nils Moser to the lineup last night as the big forward missed the league opener on Friday due to a 1-game AJHL suspension from a pre-season altercation. Moser is the first ever Canmore boy to wear the “C” for the Eagles. . . Despite being an AJHL rookie, last night’s victory for Eagle goaltender Ryan Ferguson was actually his 2nd AJHL win as he backstopped the Eagles to a 3-2 victory over the Canucks on Jan. 3, 2013 when he was an emergency call-up from the Calgary Royal AAA Midget club. . . Drumheller goaltender Curtis Skip, who stopped 36 of 37 Eagle shots in Friday night’s 5-1 victory over the Eagles, will certainly be a candidate for the AJHL Canalta Hotels “Player of Week” award as the Dragon netminder stopped 43 of 44 shots on Saturday night to lead the Dragons to their second road win in as many nights defeating the Camrose Kodiaks 3-1 in Camrose. . . Registration for the Canmore Eagles Golf Tournament next Saturday (Sept. 14) at the Brewster Kananaskis Ranch Golf course will close on Monday, Sept. 9. The entry fee is just $129 per person, or $450 for a 4-some, and includes 18 holes green fee, power cart and deluxe BBQ dinner. Contact email@example.com to reserve your spot.


Sairat, the movie released on 29th April 2016 and the film was one of the Marathi movie which is directed by the talented person who had a great experience and did well for the movie and puts his great efforts to create the movie in a real version.Story of the movie is written by Nagraj Manjule and Avinash H. Ghadge. Film featuring Marathi language romance in the story and the script of the movie shows a great lovable script.
Its featuring Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar in the leading roles and it cames under the banner of Aatpat Production, Zee Studios and Essel Vision Productions. Music of the film was released on 6 april 2016, and given by Ajay- Atul. Producers had discussed to create the remake of the film and as per the response of the film.
Film has the story of a young boy named Parshya , who belongs to a low caste and he fall in love with a upper caste girl named Archi.
who is very rich in class and his father is a landlord. when their relationship got discovered, the couple faced many problems and had challanges for them regarding their relationship.Film had released with English subtitles in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, NCR, Kolkata, Bhilai, Raipur, Bhiwadi, Karnataka, and Telangana and got screened on more than 450 theaters in India and had done a great collection worldwide.
Parsha is playing a character of a cricket team captain and the brightest student of his college but Aarchi is out of his reach because of her prettiness and confident. Her family is so rich and her father is a king of the local politics, and has great fame in the city.
Director Nagraj Manjule, gtake risk of selecting the new comers as they don’t have any experience to face the camera and big screen, but they both Akash Thosar and Rinku Rajguru got succeeded in attracting the audience with their awesome performance and their acting, film has done a great collection from the box office and on the first day of release it earned Rs. 3.60 cr.
The box office and non the next day film collected Rs. 4.3 cr. and did it well on the next days , now created a record in Marathio film industry by earning Rs. 75 crore in four weeks and adding the fifth-weekend earnings, the collection would go up to more than Rs. 76 crore. Now its 2 months or approx 60 days after releasing the movie and it crossed the mark of 100 cr. and has a great collection of approx Rs. 123.45 cr. worldwide.


SingaporeMotherhood | Family Fun
Where’s WALTER? – What’s On: 17/18 Sept 2011
Chances are, the kids have already met WALTER, the ‘Curious Colossal Bunny’, at 8Q at SAM (Singapore Art Museum) during the museum’s Children’s Season. If they missed him, or miss him, here’s an opportunity to start a beautiful relationship or revive a flagging one.
Who’s WALTER, you ask? Well, he’s only our nation’s most celebrated buck and local artist Dawn Ng’s very big (literally!) pet project. Guerilla installations of this plus-sized mammal pop up in unexpected locations across the island, challenging our perceptions of the overlooked and the familiar while dodging men in blue and (so the press release says) people born without a sense of humour.
So hop down to Marina Bay this weekend to rendezvous with WALTER at the Marina Bay City Gallery from 12pm to 9pm. And yes, we’re about to dangle some carrots to get you going…
1. Kids can take part in a colouring competition, story-telling sessions, visit a mobile library on rabbits, enjoy a picnic… and more!
2. Free HP activities
• Pictures: A HP photo booth where you can take a photo with WALTER, then email it to the ePrint-enabled printer via your smartphone for an instant printout. Complimentary printouts for the first 200 people daily.
• Craft: A showcase of kid-friendly print apps — from Sesame Street and Dreamworks® Animation printables to Crayola activities — on HP’s latest Photosmart range. Just what you need to keep the little ones occupied at home!
• Win: Walk home with a HP printer! All you have to do is check-in to “Marina Bay City Gallery” on Facebook Places or Foursquare this weekend or next (Sept 17-18 and Sept 24-25), leave a comment or a photo and stand a chance to win a prize in an instant lucky draw. Present the check-in post at reception and you’ll be in the running to win one of 50 prizes, which include two HP Photosmart Wireless B110a printers (worth $199 each) as well as WALTER and Marina Bay memorabilia.
• Shutterbugs: Photography enthusiasts, simply upload a photo taken with WALTER to Marina Bay Singapore’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/marinabaysg), together with an interesting caption by October 2. Garner the most “Likes” to win a HP Photosmart Premium C310a printer (worth $369). The top three photos with the most interesting captions will win WALTER merchandise.
Where it’s at Marina Bay City Gallery, 11 Marina Boulevard (see map below).
++ WALTER photographs are from his creator’s website at http://www.dawn-ng.com
All content from this article, including images, cannot be reproduced without credits or written permission from SingaporeMotherhood.


A new sign that Target is making broader efforts on style came over the weekend with the launch of a new men’s design collection online.
“It’s surprising to see Target go after men after focusing so much on women,” said Leon Nicholas, senior vice president at Kantar Retail. “The new collection is clearly an effort to zero in on style.”
Six brands make up the collection: Billykirk travel bags and accessories, Owen & Fred soaps and accessories, Locally Grown T-shirts and caps from Iowa, Terrapin stationery, Taylor Stitch slacks and shirts, and Minnesota-based Duluth Pack overnight and messenger bags. Prices range from $10 to $270, with most under $100.
All items are made in the United States, a nod to the “Made in USA” retail movement. “Men are more likely than women to adopt it,” said Target spokeswoman Jessica Carlson.
That’s part of the reason that many of the items are priced on the high side for a discounter, including a $36 tee from Locally Grown, Taylor Stitch pants for $98, and a bar of vegan soap with cedar tray for $16. The highest-priced item is a Duluth Pack bag for $270.
It’s part of the retailer’s ongoing effort to move to higher prices and higher-margin items, Nicholas said. “If we lose penetration, let’s double down on where the money is,” he said of Target’s strategy.
Carlson described the line as universal but geared toward the millennial customer who is more likely to be researching and buying online than in stores. Instead of traditional advertising, the company is using social media to reach younger men.
Compared to the announcement of the Lilly Pulitzer line in January, the men’s design collection received little fanfare.
It was given no “heads up” in Target’s Sunday circular. The dominant ad online on its release date Sunday was not the men’s collection but the “spring home sale.”
“We kept it low-key,” Target’s Carlson said. “This program is a new twist on the traditional designer collaboration. It’s a test and learn.”
The new collection will remain online until midsummer. Most of the items are Target exclusives, co-designed by Target and the brand. Some of the Billykirk items will be available in 160 stores in May.


A strange phenomenon popping up all over dating apps: dudes holding fish.
For some reason, men across the country love to flood their online dating profiles with pictures of themselves showing off their big catches.
It might not sound that bizarre, but wait till you see tons of these photos side by side. The tumblr page Men With Huge Cods shows screenshots from dating apps of guy after guy after guy falling victim to the fishy fad.
Our own Kevin Roth has even shared a similar fishy photo. However, it was not on a dating app, but on Facebook. He’s off the market, people!
We’re not saying there’s anything particularly wrong with taking and sharing your fish photos, but considering the fact that there’s an entire tumblr account dedicated to ridiculing guys, fellas, it may be time to lay off a bit.
Also, if anyone can explain this trend, please let us know.


Apple's new iPad mini with retina display will be available later in November, retailing at £319 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model.
The 32GB model is expected to cost £399, while the 64GB model will retail at £479. The 128GB version will be available at £559.
The iPad mini comes in silver or space grey and all prices include VAT.
More top news
Strong winds, heavy rain and snow forecast across the UK
Police are hunting a man suspected of trying to set Finsbury Park Mosque on fire earlier this morning
A company which specialises in electronic toys and educational material for children has revealed it has been the victim of a cyber attack.


In a statement released Friday, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) condemned the “existence” of Hamas terror tunnels passing under “two adjacent Agency schools in Maghazi camp the Gaza Strip.”
UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness said the tunnels were discovered “during the summer vacation, at a time when the schools are empty, and in the course of work related to the construction of an extension of one of the buildings.”
“UNRWA condemns the existence of such tunnels in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way,” he added. “The construction and presence of tunnels under UN premises are incompatible with the respect of privileges and immunities owed to the United Nations under applicable international law, which provides that UN premises shall be inviolable. The sanctity and neutrality of UN premises must be preserved at all times.”
Based on UNRWA’s statement, one would be fooled into thinking that the Agency had no prior warning of the existence of such tunnels.
For a number of years now, Israel has warned the world of these terror tunnels to no avail. In the past, Israeli jets have struck sites near UNRWA precisely because of the fact that many of these schools double as arms storage facilities. These carefully coordinated precision strikes have nonetheless drawn the wrath of the United Nations, the same organization that has suggested that Israel is engaged in a campaign of gratuitous slaughter against perpetually victimized Palestinians.
But now, UNRWA’s own findings back what Israel has been saying all along.
In fact, Israeli officials told the United Nations point-blank last year that Hamas has been siphoning off 95% of cement originally transferred into Gaza for rebuilding homes and other humanitarian projects
“From our own investigations we found that out of every 100 sacks of cement that come into the Gaza strip [from Israel], only five or six are transferred to civilians,” Israeli Foreign ministry director-general Dore Gold stated at the UN World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul. “A hundred sacks is what is necessary to rebuild a home, the rest are confiscated by Hamas and used for military purposes.”
As The Daily Wire reported, Hamas uses the bulk of the cement to construct terror tunnels from Gaza into Israel in order to attack civilians. Weapons, explosives, and commandos are routinely transferred through these tunnels with startling efficiency.
Fortunately, many of these tunnels are poorly constructed and architecturally flawed. Not surprisingly, Gaza doesn’t produce the world’s best engineers as most academic resources are poured into Hamas' propaganda materials calling for “armed resistance” and another Holocaust.
Thankfully, Gaza’s brain drain has negatively impacted Hamas’ ability to successfully carry out terror attacks. An astounding number of Hamas terror tunnels have collapsed as a result of faulty engineering, burying militants underneath piles of cement and rubble.
Since Israel relinquished full territorial control of Gaza in 2005, the area has been under the authoritarian control of Hamas. The terror group’s political wing makes virtually all spending decisions. From what it looks like, they’re spending most of their money on killing innocent Israelis.


The couple are as much part of Kollywood too and hence, invited the media and hosted a party for them in Chennai. Here are the pictures:
Don’t they look gorgeous together? We wonder if they would host a reception for all the stars in Tollywood and Kollywood since that has been the trend for a while now. Arya and Sayyeshaa met on the sets of ‘Ghajinikanth’ and fell in love then. The couple is currently doing a film with Suriya and Mohanlal titled ‘Kaappaan’!


Without debating the merits of the loop project, which I still don’t support, let’s look at the politics of it.
John Key has just taken this debate off the table, he has taken all the cards, stacked the deck and dealt the cards into his own hand and Labour are all chuffed by this.
It is a brilliant move and one that the morons in Labour are yet to realise. Even today they are going to continue crowing in parliament with several questions on Transport.
The full details haven’t even been released yet and I think that they may well feel like the proverbial lemmings rushing for the cliff and suddenly realising that they have been pushed over it by John Key. Read more »
I’m finding it somewhat perplexing that the council on the one hand refuses to consider spending $6 million on a rail link that cannot guarantee sufficient business (and quite rightly so) but on the other is prepared to put Auckland into hock for $7.3 billion for a highly speculative central city link.
Auckland’s northwestern settlement of Waitakere is to lose passenger trains after more than 130 years.
In a move condemned by rail enthusiasts and local politicians as short-sighted, Auckland Transport intends axing the final 3.9km Swanson-Waitakere section of its network when electric trains start running on the western line in 2016. Read more »
The result is that the party has now probably lost everything in the region; the message they just don’t get is that carving seats up based on union heavies personal whims, factional membership and the sex of the candidate is a bad idea.
Another bad Labor idea is recycling old pollies – it almost never works.
This election has put Labor in a very bad place and the light on the hill that Ben Chifley spoke of, if not quite extinguished, it certainly has the dimmer on low.
There are lessons for Len Brown too. Labor campaigned on a new expensive, gold plated, rail line to the airport…voter simply didn’t like their grandiose spending plans.
The Metronet rail network is the centrepiece of Labor’s plan to snatch an unlikely victory over Premier Colin Barnett at next Saturday’s election.
It involves building rail lines to connect Perth’s suburbs in a bid to ease congestion.
Last month, Mr Buswell released documents from the Public Transport Authority which put the cost of Metronet at about $6.4bn. He stood by the estimate today, saying the Treasury costings had not included a $1.2bn section of rail between Bayswater and the CBD.
Mr Buswell said a $5.2bn injection into Perth’s rail system was not warranted. “It’s a lot of money,” he said. “I don’t think you can justify that investment.”
As we now know Labor bombed, and the Liberals increased their majority.
I see the Auckland public transport people are slashing their wrists because the use of the rail system is DROPPING. Their solution is to
subsidise it some more…
Auckland Transport have provided a multitude of excuses for the patronage dip over the past few months – some more plausible than others (they blamed the World Cup for some of the declines in August and November, even though the World Cup was only in September & October 2011). Read more »
The first train line in Sydney to be paid for and built under the Rudd and Gillard governments opened on Monday, $700 million over budget and three years after it was promised to be finished.
The 36km Southern Sydney Freight Line will allow extra freight trains to run between Macarthur and Chullora in the city’s south west and will increase rail freight capacity along the entire Australian east coast.
But the project ended up being vastly more expensive to build than when it was first promised by the federal Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, in 2009. Read more »
Labour has said they have spoken to Len Brown about their vision for more affordable homes.
Len Brown wants more people living in shoe box apartments near rail corridors…so people can “live, work and play in the world’s most liveable city”.
Wr know this works elsewhere…and thanks tot he wonders of Youtube we can see Len Brown’s vision in action…where communities, relaxed urban planning rules and having commuters and businesses near rail corridors works well:
The Hillside engineering workshops are a national asset and their future must be secured to protect skilled jobs and flow-on economic benefits to dozens of other businesses, Labour Leader David Shearer says.
“It’s time we got patriotic about our manufacturing industry. It is one of the pillars of our economy and it’s an area where we can shine in terms of innovation and building a clever, modern economy.
“It also keeps New Zealanders working here rather than heading across the Tasman looking for jobs and better opportunities.
Unfortunately that isn’t the view that David Shearer shared in this interview in December 2010 with rail cheerleader Mike Lee, and activist Jeremy Harris from the Campaign for Better Transport.
Here is the short clip of his statement:
The key parts of the interviews are:
SHEARER: (laughing) Maybe we should be maybe we should be looking looking at the Taiwanese to come and do it for us. I can imagine that ah that with the same sort of problems that the the same sort of issues that came up with the ah trying to build the the electric trains here in in in down in Dunedin anyway that there was a um you know a bit of a a bit of a fuss of that I mean I think I think Auckland while everybody would like to see that this expertise is resides in New Zealand I think Auckland is saying gee how long is this really going to take to be able to do this.”
SHEARER: No I think I think Aucklanders would would sort of I mean I was ahh sort of looked at that at that prospect and sort of thought oh no no don’t tell us it’s going to take even longer much as everyone was very sympathetic about them being build built um in in in in New Zealand.
Imagine being Clare Curran and Trevor Mallard. Clare was proudly showing Shearer off to the Hillside workers yesterday and now she finds out that her Boss actually believes the rail workshops at Hillside and in Woburn (Mallard’s electorate) really aren’t up to it, contradicting the spin Labour is currently running on behalf of the union sponsors.
This is an own goal of the highest order.
Coincidentally, the interview recently appears to have been disabled. Does this mean Shearer’s team knew he’d said he thinks the trains should be built overseas… and they tried to ‘reframe’ the issue by removing any evidence of his previous view? Luckily nothing is ever lost online. From about 9 mins some of NZs biggest rail advocates (including David Shearer) suggest how much quicker rail can be built overseas.
With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that the measure lost 63% to 37%. This 26% margin of loss was nearly three times the margin shown in most recent poll by the Journal-Constitution. Proponents had claimed on the weekend that the measure was “dead even” three days before the election.
The tax issue failed in all 10 counties. The defeats were modest in Fulton County (the core county, which includes most of the city of Atlanta) and DeKalb County (which contains the rest of Atlanta). Huge “no” vote margins were recorded in the largest suburban counties. In Gwinnett County, the no votes prevailed by a margin of 71% to 29%. In adjacent Cobb County, the margin was 69% to 31%.


Count Tom Hanks among the Buzz Lightyear truthers for whom Chris Evans just doesn’t make the cut. In a new interview, Hanks expresses his confusion over the fact that Tim Allen did not return to voice the brawny astronaut in Lightyear that he originated in 1995’s Toy Story.
“I don’t understand that,” Hanks tells CinemaBlend.
The topic came up when the interviewer asked Hanks if it was “strange” to see Elvis going up against a Buzz Lightyear film in the 2022 summer blockbuster championships. According to Hanks, strange isn’t exactly the right word; in fact, the actor says he had actually been excited about the prospect of some friendly Elvis v. Lightyear competition—that is, when he thought Allen was still involved.
“I actually wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen and then they didn’t let Tim Allen do it,” Hanks explains.
Though Allen himself has stayed mostly mum on Evans’ casting, he did share a quick quip with Extra on the news Lightyear film.
“I’ve stayed out of this ’cause it has nothing to do [with my character],” he explained at the time. “There’s really no Toy Story Buzz without Woody… It just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy.”
Although Hanks shares Allen’s confusion over where exactly the Allen-less Lightyear fits in the Toy Story galaxy, he isn’t about to protest Hollywood over it, either. Hanks says the most important thing the film, and any movie in theaters now, can do is bring movie lovers “back to the motion picture theater.”
“I want to go back into the theater with a bunch of strangers and leave with something in common. That’s what I want to do. And going to see a movie with them, I’m looking forward to that,” Hanks shares.


This is the moment just after The Farm’s lead guitarist Keith Mullin was smashed over the head with a hammer.
Photos taken by shocked onlookers show the 55-year-old appearing stunned and holding his head following the random attack in New Brighton.
Another picture revealed the suspect - a 57-year-old woman - being led away in handcuffs.
Mr Mullin was assaulted without warning during an unprovoked assault at around 6.15pm on Victoria Road.
It is believed the musician, whose band are known for their chart-topping album Spartacus which included the smash hits Groovy Train and All Together Now, was getting money from a cashpoint when he was viciously set upon.
Mr Mullin suffered a gash to his head, described as a small laceration, as police patrols were dispatched to the incident on Monday evening.
The musician did not know the woman or why she would have any reason to attack him.
Passers-by recorded footage of the aftermath, which included a woman seemingly hurling abuse at a shell-shocked Mr Mullin, standing 10 yards away from her.
Ryan Price, who saw the attack happen, said: “Some woman just hit a random guy across the back of the head with a hammer while he stood at the cash machine on Viccy road.
“She then pulled a knife and started shouting abuse at people including me.
“The police and ambulance were called and the situation is under control.
“Scary stuff. Glad I left the kids at home while I went the shop.”
Mr Mullin was back with students at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts , this morning, where he works as a lecturer.
The female suspect was also armed with a kitchen knife, Merseyside Police have said.
She is in custody and will be quizzed by detectives on suspicion of affray, assault and possession of a bladed article.
CCTV footage of the attack is being sought for by officers and a forensic search of the scene has been carried out.
Anyone with information can call officers on 0151 777 2260 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.


Microbrew festival aids ball field improvements
As anyone who has ever attended a pro baseball game or played in a casual ball league knows, baseball and beer have a long association. The Tri-City ValleyCats baseball team and Brown's Brewing Company, both based in Troy, will tap into that history on Saturday when they jointly present the Capital Region Craft Brewer's Festival -- the first major festival of its kind in the Capital Region to be sanctioned by the New York State Brewers Association.
The festival will be held from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on the Hudson Valley Community College campus in Troy. It is a fundraising benefit for the New York-Penn League Charitable Foundation. Proceeds will be used to help provide safe and well-maintained baseball fields for children throughout the area.
"This is the first time we've done this event, but it benefits a cause we've supported before," said Matt Callahan, business development manager for the ValleyCats. The ValleyCats are a member of the New York-Penn League. He said the baseball league's charitable wing typically renovates one or two fields locally year.
He added that the festival will also allow the ValleyCats to showcase their stadium in a different way.
For Brown's Brewing Company, the festival provides another avenue for getting the word out about their craft beers.
"We've been to a lot of festivals ourselves," said Gregg Stacy, vice president of Brown's Brewing Company. "We said this is something we should have in our area. The brewers festivals are a good way for brewers to come out and meet the customers face to face."
Brewers from around the Northeast, including New York, Massachusetts and Vermont, will be in attendance at the festival, which will also feature food, live music and a home brewing demonstration.
Ticket packages range from $25 to $40, and all include 10 coupons to redeem for beer samples. Tickets are available at the ValleyCats box office, Brown's Taproom, online at http://www.capitalbrewfest.com or at the gate the day of the festival.
The festival will take place rain or shine.


Sad and shocking news popped up earlier today as member of straight edge hardcore punk act TRIAL posted a message that the band is ending their adventure later this year! Founded back in 1995 in Seattle, disbanded for the first time in 2000 and then re-united in 2005, TRIAL are calling it quits for good! They will play an insane final US show with the legendary BURN, Vancouver’s TRUE IDENTITY and California’s PURE on October 10th, 2015 at the legendary 924 Gilman St venue in Berkeley, California (buy tickets at this location).
Photo by Matt Miller.
The band released a statement to let us know it is the end of the road:
This is not a joke…even though The Hard Times posted it and they are promoting the show, this is not satire.
Trial is calling it a day and our last show in the US will be on October 10th, 2015 (10 Years and a day after our Seattle Reunion Show on October 9th, 2005). We’ll be playing one of the greatest punk clubs of all time, 924 Gilman St., with the greatest Hardcore band of all time, BURN! Also joined by True Identity and Pure. It can’t get much better than that.
This is absolutely the last show that I will be playing with Trial in the US, word is bond.
TRIAL released “Through the Darkest Days” in 1996, “Foundation” in 1997 and “Are These Our Lives” in 1999.
The band’s frontman Greg Bennick did an extensive interview for IDIOTEQ in December 2014 – GO HERE to check it out.
TRIAL have just wrapped up their European tour with BY THE GRACE OF GOD.


Let tracker schemes do all the hard work for you
Savers are ditching actively managed funds for low-cost alternatives. We assess the wisdom of this strategy
Tracker funds are steadily eating into the market share of actively managed funds. In the past ten years their share of total funds under management has almost doubled, from 6.6 per cent to 12.3 per cent. If you look at the most recent figures, the rise of the trackers, which aim to mimic the performance of a specific stock market index, is even more dramatic.
Figures from the Investment Association, the trade body for the fund industry, show that in the 12 months to March private investors bought a net £4.97 billion of tracker funds — 33.6 per cent of all net fund purchases. Last month tracker funds, which are largely equity-based, attracted net inflows of £393 million while equity funds as a whole, mostly


The striker was signed from Heart of Lions in the off season and the Phobians have to spend on his surgery although he is yet to kick a ball in their shirt
The burly forward has been on the sidelines and is yet to kick a ball in the jersey of the Phobians due to injury which Hearts of Oak now have to cough up thousands of cedis for him to undergo surgery.
“Fred Crentsil [former CEO] did a very big mistake in signing Gilbert Fiamenyo who was injured. Were there not fully fit players around?” a board member of the Phobians inquired when he spoke to Goal.com Ghana.
“We paid GhC 50,000 to Heart of Lions for his services and another ridiculous GhC 30,000 to the player as enticement fee and now we have to find another money for his surgery, Crentsil did not help us at all.”
The Fiamenyo episode and a host of others have limited the interest of the board chaired by Togbe Afede who might be tempted to put the club on sale.


Spotify's third-quarter (Q3) earnings report was good, but not great for investors. The stock of the music streaming company dropped after it released its revenue report.
Spotify’s slow revenue growth
Spotify was expected to be a major stock since initial public offering [IPO] went public earlier this year. While the stock peaked in the summer, it’s been fluctuating in Q3. The company’s revenue in Q3 was $1.54 billion, an increase of 31% from 2017.
‘The quarter was largely in line with our expectations and our guidance range, except that Operating Margin outperformed our forecast’, said Spotify.
Spotify still top music provider
The corporation said that it gained more monthly active users, adding four million subscribers to its paid premium service for a total of 87 million dedicated listeners.
Despite competition from Apple Music and its 50 million customers, Spotify is still the most dominant music streaming provider in the world. The corporation reported that the service is raising its customer numbers in Latin America.
Spotify helped to lift its subscriber base by offering discount plans for students and families. The corporation also had profits predominately through its free, ad-supported service.
Spotify’s plans for Q4
Spotify plans to expand its entertainment options through new partnerships. The corporation will join with Hulu and Showtime, two other streaming services, to offer more content to customers.
Spotify warned that profits may decrease in Q4 because of its synergy with Google Home. The company will provide the voice-activated system to new subscribers as part of its family plan. As a result of the discount, the service expects that its future profits will diminish.
‘We anticipate that this partnership will have an adverse impact of approximately 50 basis points on our Gross Margin profile in Q4,' noted Spotify in an address to stockholders.


Mumbai: Railway police arrests 2 including minor for performing stunts on train
While three-four boys managed to flee, the police managed to catch two of them. Later on, the police released them after counselling and handed them over to their respective parents
Two people, including a minor, were arrested by Wadala Government Railway Police (GRP) in Mumbai for performing stunts on a local train, in a bid to make TikTok videos.
They were later produced before a court and sent to two days police custody. A few months back, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) had taken into custody two minor boys after a video of them performing daredevil stunts went viral.
The incident took place on June 6. Around five-six boys boarded the train from Mankhurd railway station and started performing stunts as soon as the train left the station for Kurla. A person sitting in the back coach made the video of these boys and sent it to Kurla RPF. As soon as the train reached Kurla railway station, the RPF team started looking for the boys.
While three-four boys managed to run away, the police managed to catch two of them. Later on, the police released them after counselling and handed them over to their respective parents.
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Mumbai youth arrested for performing stunts on local train


Early on December 10, 2020, Taylor Swift announced the release of her ninth studio album to be titled evermore. This was not even five months after her Grammy nominated album folklore was released, shocking fans. She said that she and her team (Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff, and Justin Vernon) were unable to discontinue their exploration of the “folklorian woods” and decided to keep creating what she calls folklore’s “sister album,” implying that the songs are primarily rooted in fiction and follow similar themes. evermore includes features from HAIM as well as from The National. The day after she announced evermore, the album dropped on December 11, two days before Swift’s 31st birthday.
The album has one single track: “willow”. On the date of the album’s release, a music video was released to the album opener. The song is ethereal and romantic to perfectly set off the theme of the album.
The album’s 15 tracks cover a variety of emotional stories reminiscent of folklore. Whereas folklore featured a trilogy of songs telling the fable of a high school love triangle, evermore tells stories of broken marriages and of more mature relationships. “no body, no crime” featuring the HAIM sisters tells the tale of a girl whose friend goes missing at the hands of her adulterous husband, only for the narrator to kill the husband. “ivy” describes a tortured narrator in love with someone other than their spouse. Finding love after the end of a seven year long relationship is displayed in “happiness.” “champagne problems” details a couple out to dinner. One is preparing to end the relationship while the other is planning to propose.
Swift has a tradition of putting her most poignant works as the fifth track on each of her albums. evermore’s track 5 is a personal favorite. A persistent narrator works to please their merciless lover in “tolerate it”. Some theorize this song was meant to describe Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales until Diana’s death. According to this theory Diana is begging for Charles’s affection only to be met with indifference and ambivalence. This theory has been thrust into popularity following the release of season four of The Crown which features their relationship.
“dorothea” probably is the song with the most fan speculation. Some say the track is about Swift’s long-time best friend Selena Gomez. The more popular opinion is that the song reveals the name of Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik’s September-born child. The couple still has yet to reveal the name of their daughter. This theory stems from the folklore song “betty” where many fans believe that Swift revealed the name of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’s third daughter, Inez.
Some of the tracks take a more personal route. “marjorie” is dedicated to her late grandmother who was an opera singer. Her voice is snuck into the backing vocals of the song. Swift’s relationship with long time boyfriend Joe Alwyn is suspected to be the theme of “long story short,” detailing her fall from the spotlight and eventually finding love.
While the meaning of the title track “evermore” featuring Bon Iver (Justin Vernon) is unclear, my personal belief is that it is an ode to 2020. Swift describes a depressive period of pain against the backdrop of “the violence of the dog days.” 2020 was a violent, painful year of isolation and fear. Many are struggling as a result of the pandemic and economic downfall. Swift writes that she felt as though her pain would be evermore until she found light. Each of us has had to search for spots of light to survive and to remind ourselves, as the narrator realizes at the end of the song, that “this pain wouldn’t be for evermore”.
Many are considering evermore to be Taylor Swift’s most sophisticated, mature work. It is introspective and exhibits the complexity of human emotion. She definitely delved deeper into “the folkarian woods” and created an album overflowing with passion, etherality, and grief. Simply put, it is a musical and lyrical masterpiece.


What Are the Health Benefits of Wearing Gaming Glasses as an Adult?
Oct 01, 2023
While it is well known that our eyes are in danger from UV rays produced by the sun, there are other ways our eye can be harmed. Many people are in front of screens all day, whether it’s for entertainment and work, which is terrible for our eyesight. Be wary and understand the health benefits of wearing gamming glasses for adults.
Blocks Harmful Blue Light
The main reason why video game glasses are so effective is because they manage to block the blue light that is emitted from smartphones and TVs. Blue light can cause considerable eye damage when you are exposed to it for long periods. Video games typically require a lot of time to complete, which means you will be exposed to blue light over many hours. Luckily gaming glasses can preserve your eyes.
Gaming glasses not only block blue light, but also all the side effects that come with it. When you are affected by blue light, it can disrupt your circadian rhythm. Our circadian rhythm allows us to naturally develop a sleeping routine and get a healthy seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Therefore, exposing yourself to blue light before you go to bed can make it harder to fall asleep. The ability to remove blue light from the equation by wearing glasses is an essential step in improving your sleep—which is critical for your wellbeing.
Reduces Eye Strain
An essential health benefit of wearing gaming glasses as an adult is that they help reduce digital eye strain. As we age, more problems arise due to macular degeneration. You can, however, delay those symptoms by protecting your eyes early on. Eye strain might be the most common side effect of blue light and can cause the following symptoms:
- Blurred vision
- Neck pain
- Back pain
- Dry eyes
- Bloodshot eyes


SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry scored 22 points and moved within nine 3-pointers of tying Ray Allen’s career record, and the Golden State Warriors held off the injury-depleted Portland Trail Blazers 104-94 Wednesday night.
The reigning NBA scoring champion shot 6 of 17 from beyond the arc, missing his initial four 3-point tries before connecting at the 5:55 mark of the first quarter. Curry went 4 of 12 in the first half as Golden State held a 47-45 edge at the break.
Norman Powell scored 26 points but went 1 of 7 from deep, and the Blazers were just 8 for 30 from long range. Star guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum sat out because of injuries.
“Strange,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before the game. “I don’t think we’ve ever faced Portland without both of them, so they’re in a tough space right now.”
Curry is closing in on Allen’s mark of 2,973 regular-season 3s made from 1996-2014.
Kerr fully expected Curry to shoot as many times as he could from deep to try to get this done for the home fans at Chase Center before the team hits the road for five games.
“I feel like it will be special no matter what because I’ll make it special and it will be an amazing experience for me and my teammates,” Curry said this week.
Draymond Green had 10 rebounds, eight asissts and five points, and Jordan Poole scored eight of his 20 points in the third quarter as Golden State started to pull away.
Jusuf Nurkic had 12 points, 13 rebounds and six assists before fouling out late. Nassir Little scored 18 points for the Blazers, making all five of his first-half shots.
Earlier in the day, Lillard reiterated he doesn’t want to be traded by the Blazers.
“It’s the truth,” he said while heading into the locker room after warmups.
Not that anyone was surprised he still feels so strongly about staying put with Portland.
“He’s said it numerous times,” coach Chauncey Billups said. “He’s a Trail Blazer, period. He doesn’t want to go anywhere, he’s not going anywhere. He believes in what we’re doing here. That says a lot, because we’ve been going through a ton, on the floor and off the floor, we’ve been going through it a little bit. He’s the type of player and superstar that every team wants to have. … I thought it was beautiful.”
Billups noted that the moment Curry crosses midcourt “he’s got a bullseye on him” as a threat to shoot.
“I just think he’s just the greatest combo guard to ever play the game,” Billups said.


There are some new developments in fashion that take me back to my summer in the Himalayas.
While in Northern India a few years ago, my usual fashion sensibilities went out the window. It didn’t take more than a few days in American garb to make me feel painfully plain, out of place, and worst of all un-feminine. Soon after my arrival I sought out a local seamstress who whipped me up a custom fitted Punjabi suit (basically a tunic over baggy pants), in a yellow and hot pink decadent fabric. It was glorious.
The suit was a bit too loud back in the US, but eastern clothing still has its draw on me; there is a soul in them; the rich textiles and jeweled opulence can make one feel like a walking goddess on earth. There’s a vogue article about how several major labels are using rich jeweled upholstery inspired textiles in modern ways suited for urban girls of the west. Here’s a super affordable outfit I put together from Zara that I just love. It feels like there’s a history to it while still feeling modern.
You can’t not feel great in an outfit like this. This will be perfect for an upcoming traditional Chinese wedding that I’ll be attending.
Each piece can also be worn separately with basic solids for more everyday occasions.
[outfit: zara jacquard tunic dress, zara trousers, kork ease myrna sandals, APC half moon bag, Essie tortoise & caicos nailcolor, H&M embroidered top]


So now we want to ban gas blowers in Aspen? Can we please get a grip on reality? What’s next? How about a ban on people who have nothing better to do than complain about someone keeping their property clean.
Get a life and leave the rest of us alone.


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David's using an iPad to improve his memory, attention, processing and reading skills. How? Watch to see the Fast ForWord exercises in action.
Fast ForWord has always been at the forefront of technology, helping millions of children and adults improve their language, reading and cognitive skills through computerized learning. Now it can reach even more people -- through the iPad®, the tablet that makes content accessible to learners of all ages and abilities.


GBP/USD's pull back from 1.5777 was contained at 1.5484 last week. Subsequent rebound suggests that rise from 1.5268 is ready to resume. Initial bias remains on the upside this week for 1.5777 first. Break will target 61.8% retracement of 1.6300 to 1.5268 at 1.5906 next. On the downside, break of 1.5484 is needed to indicate completion of such rally from 1.5268. Otherwise, we'll stay cautiously bullish even in case of retreat.
In the bigger picture, price actions from 1.3503 (2009 low) are treated as consolidations to long term down trend from 2.1161, no change in this view. Such consolidation could be in form of a triangle that's completed at 1.6300 but this is not supported by a break of 1.5234 support yet. Hence, outlook remains neutral. On the downside, break of 1.5234 will add much credence to the case of long term down trend resumption and should at least target a test on 1.3503/4229 support zone. Though, break of 1.6300 will bring further rally to 1.6476 and above to extend the consolidation pattern.
In the longer term picture, the corrective nature of the multi-decade advance from 1.0463 (85 low) to 2.1161 as well as the impulsive nature of the fall from there suggests that GBP/USD is now in an early stage of a long term down trend. Another low below 1.3503 is anticipated after consolidation from there is confirmed to be completed.


Mosquito saliva may be increasing the severity of diseases.
The virus is similar to those which caused the SARS and MERS outbreaks.
A specific chemical in rat poison called brodifacoum may be tainting synthetic marijuana products.
"It's unprecedented that we're seeing such deep responses in a such a high proportion of patients."
"'What's your zip code?' is fast becoming one of the most important things your doctor could ask you.
The judge ruled that coffee companies had failed to demonstrate there was no significant risk from a by-product of the coffee bean roasting process.
The latest measles case "underscores the importance of following vaccine recommendations and being up-to-date on vaccines."
The number of days when smog posed a high health risk have doubled in the last year.
Some believe Trump's hostile attitude toward migrants and his immigration crackdown have created a public health crisis among potentially millions of children across the country.
"This is not just an opioid use crisis of historic proportions...There is a more general drug misuse crisis."
An executive order could change the lives of people living with HIV.
Public health officials report that at least 39 people have become ill from Campylobacter infection linked to puppies from the retail shops.
"There were some lessons to be learned from Katrina."
Close quarters make transmission of communicable diseases likely and health care services can become challenging.


A love story about the love-hate relationship between Mike and Mao Xiaotong.
Zhou Yiwei seeks for the truth in a dangerous situation.
The striker girl falls in love with a genius.
Sharp-tongued Girl Tames the Wild Mermaid
The Fox's Veil
Song Yun and Jiang Chao's Romantic Comedy Love Story
Jiao Junyan fights against sexually harass in workplace
Jiang Shuying and Liu Mintao, Ladies of Law


A Revolution is coming
Can you feel it? Revolution is in the air and the U.S. Government itself is going to bring it over its Convid 19 Psyop. When enough people see through the lies there will be a rebellion such has not been seen in America since the 1960\’s. I will be doing my best to help light the fuse.
The Establishment has severely overreached and underestimated the American people as blind dumb sheep who will believe whatever lies they are told.
Although many Americans are brainwashed to believe, enough people are going to be forced awake by the Convid 19 Economic reset that there will be a violent response against it. We are entering a period in America and the world where everyone is losing faith in the System and for good reason, because the System is completely morally bankrupt. Its based on lies and deception.
Convid 19 is an unpredictable pandemic : LIE!
9-11 was a Terrorist attack on America – LIE!
Sandy Hook was a real school shooting with real victims – LIE!
The Apollo space program landed American Astronauts on the moon – LIE!
This Emperor is wearing no clothes. It relies upon our ignorance and trust to continue to exist. Now is the time to Rise up and overthrow the Machine. We can do it together and there is nothing they can do except try to impose martial law to stop us. Let\’s see how well that works out for them. Second Amendment, Bitch! Sandy Hook didn\’t do anything except to wake people up to the Snakes running the government and the media.


Designed to provide practical advice, support and networking opportunities for producers ready to take their shows on the road, this year’s workshop will include sessions on touring independently, removing barriers for your audience and working with venues to maximise marketing opportunities, plus breakout sessions on budgets, tech and touring models.
There will also be an opportunity to check-in with members of the Showcase Victoria team about the 2018 application process.
Attendees will receive an information kit produced specifically for the workshop and registration includes lunch and afternoon tea. Last year’s event sold out, so register now before it’s too late!
Prices include lunch.
Funded delegates: $40


I go to the gym for the first time in over a year.
Scared, I climb aboard the treadmill,
Ignoring the book in my bag,
Too frightened to do anything but
And grasp the sensors
And watch my heart rate rise and fall and rise and fall again.
Stealing a few more minutes,
I sit in the parking lot and open this book,
Filled with poetry
And a family
And dust that fell like snow.
Back at the gym again,
I walk and then I run.
Book in hand, I lose myself
In Billie Jo’s America,
I slow my pace,
Tears welling up as I weep with the characters.
I read the last page as the timer counts down the final seconds.
Victory, I realize,
Takes many forms–
Over defeats and over sadness.
And once again, a book has lifted me beyond my own limited world
To see the possibilities before me–
Hope beyond sadness,
Life beyond death,
Music after silence,
And spring despite the dust.
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, winner of the 1998 Newbery Medal.


Yes, it's my own fault. WHY did I think the kitsch factor of getting that Brady Bunch Have a Sunshine Day CD for a dollar at the thrift store, and adding it to my list, was a good idea? The songs didn't come up much---no individual song does. But yesterday, it played. Yes, "Time to Change", the immortal song from the episode where Peter's voice is changing. Here's a video of it, if you've never had the pleasure... Time To Change. Janey was electrified. The second it was over, she screamed out "TIME TO CHANGE!" And it continued, 6 lovely more times before we mercifully reached home.
And of course, I could have been selfish and not added it to her list. But in my determination to let her live as normal a life as possible, I put it on. Kids like music their parents don't. It's part of life. I've listened to more Black Sabbath in my life than any middle-aged woman should, thanks to William's fandom. And so, Janey deserves her one taste.
As I write this, the music plays on. It burns, oh how it burns. But Janey loves it, and I love it that she loves it, even if I don't.


The Snapchat app allows you to watch stories without a data connection. Simply make sure that the app is connected to the internet for a few minutes so that it can load the stories. Once the stories have fully loaded, switch to airplane mode for two minutes. After this period, you can then turn the app off and view your stories without the need for a data connection. The view is then automatically sent to the server when you get back online.
There are a couple of ways to view a story on Snapchat. First, you can sign in using your Snapchat credentials. Once logged in, swipe left until you reach the stories section. You can swipe down to load all of the stories. If you don’t see any stories, swipe left or right. If the page is not loading, tap back. You can also switch off mobile data and Wi-Fi so that you can continue to view your stories.
Another way to find out who views a story is to switch to airplane mode or manually turn off mobile data or WiFi. By doing this, you will be able to view the stories, but without an Internet connection, Snapchat will not be able to send the “view” to the server. Therefore, it won’t be possible to record a story if you don’t have an Internet connection. Once you have an Internet connection, you can check your stories again and post them to your story again.
There are also ways to see a story without an Internet connection. Once you’ve signed in, swipe left to see the stories section. To view a story, swipe down and select “all stories”. To view stories without an Internet connection, tap the story you’re interested in and wait a few seconds. Once the stories have loaded, you can start recording them. Obviously, without an Internet connection, Snapchat will be unable to send the “view” or record a story.
The only way to view a story on Snapchat is to be a friend with the app. To do this, you need to be a friend with the app. If you’re not a close friend, it will be impossible for you to view the other’s story. However, you can still view their stories anonymously if you’re on the same account as them. You can try to convince the other person to accept your request by posting a story with them.
In the same way, you can also disable the Internet connection in order to view your stories. While your phone is in airplane mode, you can easily turn off WiFi or mobile data. You can still view the stories if you have an Internet connection, but you’ll need to wait for the Snapchat servers to upload the video to their servers. Then, you can swipe left or right to view further stories. It’s the same process as with the apps you use every day.
To view the stories of your friend, you must first log in with the correct credentials. Then, swipe to the right. Now, you can see the stories of your friend. To do this, swipe to the left. Next, scroll down to see the list of your friend’s stories. Then, just tap on the story and read it from there. After that, you can start recording your story. So, do not be afraid of accidentally viewing your story.
You can also view a story of someone else if you’re not on the same network. The Snapchat app has an option to allow you to do this. After downloading the application, you can then follow the steps outlined above to see the other person’s story. If the user doesn’t allow you to view his or her story, you can choose to delete the content by deleting it. You can delete it after the expiration date.
The last step is to turn off your internet connection. The Snapchat app can’t be used in airplane mode. This means that it can’t be used to view other people’s stories. You can also view stories by turning off your Wi-Fi and mobile data. Then, you can view the stories of other people and see who’s viewed the most. It’s very important to know that you have the permission to view other people’s stories in order to access Snapchat.
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|01-12-2013, 09:37 PM||#11|
kickin' the tires'
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: formerly Hays, Ks.
What happened to you guys' today is everything what it's like to be a Chefs fan.
Sorry, initially I wanted & thought the Broncos would go to the big dance but softened up to see the killer Ray Ray make it one more time. Cause if he don't we're liable to suffer through a Favre process?


These lectures were organized in collaboration with the School of Design of the Catholic University of Chile and are part of the partnership between AZ and ChileDiseño A series of lectures on Intellectual Property were delivered by ChileDiseño and Albagli Zaliasnik throughout November and December. Their goal was to inform and train graphic designers and companies on the legal and administrative aspects of a design project in order to ensure the exclusivity of their products and creations.
This was made possible through the partnership between ChileDiseño and Albagli Zaliasnik enabling the law firm to provide legal support to the designers through sharing its knowledge base.
According to the Director of the Intellectual Property Group at Albagli Zaliasnik, Ariela Agosin, the legal team at AZ is committed to supporting and legally protecting innovation and design creations by offering their expertise on issues of trademark protection, patents, industrial design, domain names and Internet law, licensing, copyright and advertising law, among others.
She added that AZ is the only Chilean firm member of the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA) as a forerunner in the country on all aspects of national and international regulations of advertising, marketing, and promotions. It should also be noted that Ariela Agosin is the Regional President of GALA for the Americas.
Cristián Montegu, President of ChileDiseño, pointed out that this is an example of how two different institutions can come together and benefit from knowledge sharing of their respective fields of expertise.
"How to Protect your Creativity"
The lectures under the unifying...


Going out for a really good steak can be a costly affair, so what if we told you that you could get your red meat fix at half the price? We’ve rounded up some incredible credit card discounts and coupon offers that will make sure you can enjoy the most succulent, juicy and tender steak […]
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Compare and contrast the business and politics of the Gilded Age (late 1800's) with those of the present day.
The major factor that can be used to compare these two eras is the extent to which there is economic inequality that comes out of the nature of business in America. In the Gilded Age, factory owners made huge amounts of money while an oversupply of low-skill workers created a situation in which the workers made very little money. This is replicated today to some extent as "knowledge workers" can make a great deal of money while those who do low-skill jobs do not get paid well because of competition both from foreign countries and from all the other people in the US who lack the skills to make big money.
The main difference between the two eras is that politics today is much cleaner than it was in the Gilded Age. While people claim that government is controlled by big businesses today, it is a much less direct form of control (if it exists) than there was in the Gilded Age. In the Gilded Age, there was much more clear-cut corruption in which government officials were "bought" by the big corporations. This does not exist in today's world where the media is always ready to expose any such dealings.


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About the Book
Journey along with nine women who find themselves on the move out of their comfortable lives and into the unknown as they set up new homes, take on new jobs, seek out loved ones, and encounter romance. Will their faith endure the hardships, and will love form when life is in transition? Written by nine inspirational romance authors who have a passion for American history and faith.
In Where the Heart is by Sally Laity, Leah Somerville is heartbroken when she finds out her brother will inherit her home, Laurelwood. Leah hoped and prayed her hard work and dedication to her family and Laurelwood would result in her being given the home, even though it wasn’t the norm in 1860. However, she realizes she must find another place to live when her younger brother boldly announces he is to receive the home immediately.
Rhonda Gibson introduces us to Polly Schultz in The Midwife’s Apprentice. Polly is traveling on the Oregon Trail after being forced from her home by her mentor’s new husband. She is journeying with a family expecting a baby. However, due to a misunderstanding, she has to abandon their wagon and stay with another family.
Murder or Matrimony, by Pamela Kay Tracy, puts us back on the Oregon Trail with Megan Crawford. Megan left her old life behind in the hopes of a new beginning but, she encounters multiple hurdles along the way.
Bride in the Valley, by Andrea Boeshaar, remains on the Oregon Trail. Dillon Trier and Penny Rogers are two young people we met in an earlier story. Miss Penny isn’t the best cook, especially over a campfire, but the few times Dillon eats with her family, he has no complaints. Dillon’s been ordered by his boss to stay away from the ladies and concentrate on his job of making sure his boss’ spoiled, pampered daughter’s piano makes it safely across the dangerous terrain.
New Garden’s Inspiration, by Claire Sanders, is set in Indiana in 1861. Leah Wall, a young Quaker, living with relatives since the death of her parents, feared she would never marry. Nevertheless, handsome Caleb Whitaker, a widower with two children, asks for her hand in marriage. However, Leah quickly discovers all is not as she thought or dreamed.
A Tender Branch, by Jane LaMunyon, takes place in 1874. Mary Sherwood is grown. However, she never forgave her father for letting the Civil War claim him on the battlefield. She also blames him for her mother’s death and the destruction of their home when she was six years old. Now, she finds out that her father is not only alive, but has the audacity to want to see her, and wants her to travel cross-country to where he has started his new life.
Erica Vetsch brings us the story of Evelyn in Knight and Day. Evelyn is one of four sisters forced out of their home upon their father’s death. The four have traveled to Wyoming in 1874 as mail order brides. Unbeknownst to Evelyn, her future groom has a child. Evelyn has a child too and hasn’t told her future groom either.
The story of Evelyn’s sister, Emmeline, is picked up in On a White Charger, by Erica Vetsch. Emmeline is a dreamer and fantasizes about a life as a cattle rancher’s wife. Her fantasies are fueled by dime novels and have ill-prepared her for life as a shepherd’s wife; adding insult to injury, the local cattle ranchers don’t like the sheep either.
Carol Cox finishes the collection with The Wonder of Spring. Charlene Matkin and her grandfather, Jed have been trying to support themselves by selling eggs to the town grocer. In her spare time, Charlene writes stories based on her grandfather’s life. She realizes her dream when an out-of-town newspaper wants to publish her stories. However, there is a catch-she has to have a masculine pen name. Charlene is torn between her desire to write and earn enough money to supplement her meager earnings, and her aversion to creating a pen name, thereby perpetrating a falsehood. After much consideration, she decides on the pen name, Charlie.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


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Is your brand’s mobile marketing strategy measuring up to the growing number of digital users? Today’s consumers are mobile-first, spending more time on the internet with their smartphone or tablet than a computer.
Your business or brand has to adapt to the changing times so that you can reach more mobile device-obsessed consumers and be one step ahead of the competition. One of the emerging mobile technology trends you can explore is artificial intelligence (AI). Considered the next big thing in mobile marketing, AI has started to create new marketing opportunities for various brands.
The potential applications for AI are hugely diverse, and innovative businesses are taking advantage of this. Ecommerce brands like Amazon are using AI to predict buying behavior. Even website builders like Bookmark are using AI to determine optimal web design. The possibilities are endless!
On the marketing side, Dresner’s 2019 Data Science and Machine Learning Market Study found that 40% of marketing and sales departments prioritized AI and machine learning higher than any other department in enterprises. A study by Gartner predicts that AI embedded in analytics and other marketing software will free up more than a third of data analysts in marketing organizations by 2022 through automating processes like personalization, lead scoring, anomaly detection, marketing performance management, and reporting.
With 64% of consumers expecting personalized shopping experiences based on their past interactions with a brand, AI offers a potential solution for hyper-focused marketing. It’s a matter of brands and marketers adopting the technology when the time is right.
Want to adopt AI for mobile marketing but not sure how to go about it? Take your cue from the five AI trends currently used by successful brands today.
Chatbots for a seamless brand-consumer engagement
Chatbots are computer programs that can engage people in human-like conversations through messaging apps to automate business transactions such as processing orders, booking flights and hotels, managing one’s personal finances, scheduling an appointment, and more. AI processes text or speech inputs and sends an appropriate response to the user.
These artificially intelligent messaging-based bots provide a huge opportunity for mobile marketers who aim to position their brand as a trailblazer in the industry. Adopting chatbots as part of your mobile marketing strategy can benefit your brand in several ways.
First, you can reach a wider audience. Acquire reports that approximately 1.4 billion people use messaging apps and are willing to talk to chatbots. Facebook itself has reported the creation of over 300,000 bots on their platform. While the exact number of bots being used for customer service has not been disclosed, businesses and customers exchange around 8 billion messages a day on Messenger.
Second, using chatbots helps reduce customer support costs (i.e., fewer customer service agents and less overtime hours) while boosting your operational efficiency. Research shows that as many as 64% of internet users see 24-hour service as the most significant benefit of chatbots.
Most importantly, this mobile technology trend makes seamless interactions between brands and consumers happen. With 47% of consumers willing to purchase consumer goods via a chatbot, customers see bot interaction as easy and reliable for their needs. The online conversation mimics the experience of shopping in a traditional retail store. Mobile marketers can further enhance user experience by creating customized recommendations for each consumer based on interactions with the chatbot.
Numerous businesses around the world either created their own messaging apps or tap existing platforms like Facebook Messenger, Slack, and Kik and have converted more customers by removing conversion barriers and allowing them to place orders by chatting or speaking directly through their smartphones. Some of the popular brands that use chatbots include Starbucks, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, and Spotify.
Building a chatbot for your brand is a lot easier and cheaper than it sounds. Businesses of any size can develop their own mobile technology. You don’t need a big development team, a massive budget, or extensive AI knowledge to develop an artificially intelligent chatbot. All it takes is using an open chatbot development platform to create a messaging-based bot in a matter of minutes.
Dynamic pricing for maximized profits
AI enables businesses to automatically set dynamic prices rather than fixed prices to maximize their profits. Dynamic pricing adjusts prices in real-time based on market demand and how much a customer can and is willing to pay.
This mobile marketing technology also predicts which consumers might need to be offered a discount before they convert and which ones might convert without the need for a discount. This way, price cuts are targeted only at consumers who will convert when offered a discount.
Online retail giant Amazon was well ahead of the curve in its early implementation of dynamic pricing. Nowadays, it finds major success with its deployment of AI to monitor factors like Key Value Items (KVIs) and Key Value Categories (KVCs) to set prices for certain goods and promote offers to specific users.
Your business, too, can leverage dynamic pricing for optimized profits by investing in a software that uses AI to manage your prices and revenues.
Consumer data analysis for better ad targeting
AI makes it easy for mobile marketers to craft more targeted and personalized marketing messages such as special offers and ads by spotting consumers’ behavioral trends and patterns. This mobile technology provides marketers with insights on consumer preferences and the best times for sending out those messages.
To understand and predict how a customer would behave, customer data is analyzed, including what they usually buy, what they’re talking or asking about, their demographics, location, and social behavior. In doing so, marketers find out which customers would make repeat purchases or the chances a particular prospect will convert.
This predictive analysis is well evident on the product recommendations of e-commerce sites like Amazon. For example, after purchasing dog food on Amazon, its algorithm will keep showing you similar or related products (e.g., dog accessories and pet care supplies) that you might consider buying.
Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify also have algorithms that work much in the same way to provide user enhanced experience through movie, video, and music recommendations that are relevant to every user.
Voice Search Recognition
There is much potential in voice search recognition for mobile marketing. Voiced-based devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home Mini are changing the way consumers interact with media and utility apps. Penetration of this technology and the sophistication of these devices are growing—Adobe reports that 36% of consumers own a smart speaker today, with 54% of owners saying their speakers accurately understand their spoken words. The same study cites nearly half of consumers (47%) use voice assistants on their smartphones most, with smart speakers coming at a close second (31%.)
These AI-based voice assistants continue to learn from customer interactions, queries, requests, instructions, media preferences, and more, giving marketers access to more data for profiling and segmenting users. This means you can offer more highly-personalized and hyper-focused messages when your customers are ready to hear them.
Your mobile marketing efforts can leverage voice search recognition through AI-powered voice analytics. With this, you can further optimize your content, improve user experience, and even rank in the voice search indexes.
AI and Blockchain
Another key AI technology to look out for is that which integrates with blockchain technology. Traditional AI is ripe with potential privacy issues, which is something that decentralization of data can help with. Blockchain can revolutionize the way we use AI to enhance mobile marketing campaigns while preserving the rights of individuals.
Here’s a quick infographic about some of the top AI blockchain projects in 2019:
Simply integrating AI into your mobile marketing efforts gives you a competitive advantage, especially if you’re the first in your industry to do it. What more if you manage to implement it successfully?
So, take advantage of its potential for customer engagement as well as time and cost-saving benefits before it goes fully mainstream.


A little less this time around but watch that podcast(to the few that haven't!) it was awesome and I feel for poor Meso ;-; even if he was wrong.
9/9, especially the Bingzak name bit...
Hey someone definitely said bean sack instead on bingzak somewhere in there! Seriously though, takabinga is an monstrosity of a name but still humorous.
Whenever Meso says, "With Absolute Certainty"
it actually means, "Citation Needed".
Better than any of my drawings!