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Shanghai's historical evolution from a sleepy fishing and textile port on the Yangtze Delta to a fully fledged world-class city has been formed by lucrative Chinese-Western trading relationships, cheap and plentiful labor from impoverished rural areas and the city's relative peace compared with the rest of China in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Shanghai emerged as a popular export centre for the British East India Company in the 18th century as Chinese silk, porcelain and tea became popular in Great Britain. However, the isolationist Qing Dynasty had no desire for Western goods, thus creating an unacceptable trade imbalance. To rectify the situation, the British took advantage of the Chinese penchant for opium smoking by cultivating and importing a superior product from India. When China resisted by seizing the opium and restricting trade access, the industrialised British army overpowered the Chinese in what became known as the First Opium War. In the resulting 1842 Treaty of Nanking, the Chinese ceded Hong Kong and extraterritorial concessions in five cities, including Shanghai.
The British named their new autonomous settlement along the Huangpu River the Bund, which was later consolidated with the American community to form the International Concession. The French and Germans also carved out sovereign concessions, where they were not subject to Chinese law and could trade freely. Throughout the second half of the 19th century, while most of China was suffering from internal conflict and poverty, Shanghai blossomed as foreign residents built up an impressive infrastructure. While the rest of China was entrenched in civil strife, Shanghai developed some of China's best roads and hotels, its first gaslights, electric power, telephones and trams. The city continued to prosper throughout the first decades of the 20th century, welcoming Japanese, Russians and other Europeans, each bringing their own customs and culture. By the 1920s and 30s, Shanghai had grown into the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan city in all of Asia. It wasn't just British financiers and Japanese industrialists that were getting rich; gangsters and thugs from all nationalities were able to establish a foothold. The city became legendary for debauchery. At one time the International Settlement alone boasted nearly 700 brothels, earning Shanghai the dubious titles of 'City of Sin' and the 'Whore of the Orient'.
The Japanese invaded the International Settlement in 1942 and interned Allied nationals in detention centers until the Japanese surrendered to the Americans in 1945. Soon after, the Communists liberated Shanghai in 1949, and ensured that the party was over. The city immediately became considerably greyer. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Shanghai was the headquarters of the Gang of Four, who purged the city of the 'Four Olds': old habits, old culture, old customs and old ways of thinking. By the time they were finished, the only evidence of Shanghai's earlier prosperity and decadence was the crumbling infrastructure left behind. When Richard Nixon visited Shanghai for his historic meeting with Premier Zhou Enlai in 1972, the city was completely dark after nightfall. Even in 1988, ten years after Deng Xiaoping launched the economic reform era, the tallest building in the city was the Park Hotel, built in 1934.
In 1990, however, the government in Beijing decreed that Shanghai was to be the epicenter of China's ambitions of becoming a global economic powerhouse, allocating national revenues to store up neglected infrastructure and subsidise business development. Pudong, consisting at the time of a few settlements and rice paddies, was declared a Special Economic Zone. The city quickly changed beyond recognition as it rushed to make up for the 40 years it had lost during Communism. Tens of thousands of foreign and Chinese investors poured money into new enterprises and infrastructure, while hundreds of thousands of Chinese laborers migrated from their homes across the country to Shanghai to build it.
By the time Shanghai was awarded the 2010 World Expo in 2002, it was a modern megalopolis with a population approaching 20 million. The city spared no expense to impress visitors to the 2010 Expo, inspiring a building frenzy that included a new terminal in Pudong International Airport, upgrades to the Nanjing Lu Pedestrian Mall and the Yan'an Elevated Expressway, new bridges and an underground public transportation system that has now overtaken London's in size. Shanghai has truly regained what many feel is its rightful place on the world stage.
For a visitor from the recent past, Shanghai would be virtually unrecognisable. Basking in its boomtown exuberance, 21st-century Shanghai emanates a feeling of energy and adventure. This is a city which has no time for nostalgia as it blasts off into the future, never slowing and certainly not stopping for a moment to smell the roses. Then again, making money through economic adventure and old-fashioned industriousness is nothing new to the Shanghainese. The original characteristics that created Shanghai prosperity are still prevalent today: Chinese-Western trading relationships, innovative and entrepreneurial Chinese and Asian migrants, cheap, hard-working and plentiful labour and relatively hands-off government policy.
Behind Shanghai's modern glitz, there are plenty of relics of the past. The architecture and street ambience of the Bund and the French Concession offer visitors a glimpse of Shanghai's colorful past, and any visitor who compares the elegant villas of the French Concession to the crowded quarters of the Old City can quickly imagine the historic income disparities of 1920s Shanghai.
While at times spectacular, Shanghai's incredibly rapid rise can make it feel like the latest thing, a city about the here and now rather than a place with its own character; and at times it just feels like a giant construction site. Either way, Shanghai is sure to dazzle and intrigue any visitor, and it's worth taking a moment to reflect on where it came from, and where it might be going – since it's evolving daily and what remains of its past is fast disappearing amidst a sea of change.
Want to see more great images of Shanghai past and present? Visit our Pinterest page


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GT86 – Opticoat Paint Protection
Opticoat continues to make great looking cars Stunning, time and time again. Here is a perfect example. This GT86 is 2 years old and was kept in good condition, but still had a light build up of fine scratches and swirls. The entire car received a single stage Paint Correction with Opticoat Primer. Then we layered 2 coats of Opticoat to all painted surfaces. After stepping out of the car after reversing into the sun, I was once again stunned by the level of depth and gloss this Paint Protection produces.
Opticoat is a world leader in the Paint Protection field. The technology behind it continues to be advanced and improving. It provides unmatched durability and protection for your vehicle. Make your car turn heads for years to come.

subset: commoncrawl


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eople recognize that websites offer a practical way to make lots of money, either as an extention of an existing business or as an online business. However, like any other business, one of the most critical and time-consuming tasks is building a relationship with the customers. This is more difficult in many ways for online businesses because they aren't able to see their customers physically. As such, the easiest way to establish and build on that relationship is through regular emails.
AWeber Communications develops and manages online opt-in email newsletters, follow-up automation, and email deliverability services for small business customers around the world. Customers access AWeber's website 24/7 to manage and send their newsletters to recipients who have specifically opted in on their website to receive that information. Not only does the AWeber follow up autoresponder increase profits and save time, but telling others about this fantastic online marketing tool can make you money, too! AWeber realizes that it is absolutely impossible to reach every single person who could benefit from their technology. So, they are more than happy to let affiliates/partners help spread the word, and then share the profits!
When you sign up for an AWeber Affiliate Membership, and then refer customers to their web site using your unique affiliate link, you'll make a 20% commission on each sale! Not only do you get a commission on the original sales, but also on the recurring payments made by each customer that you refer. The longer that customers that you refer maintain their accounts, the more money you make!
In order to encourage affiliate sales, AWeber also pays affiliates a 10% commission on all of the sales of their sub-affiliates. When you refer Joe Marketer to AWeber, you earn a 20% commission on Joe's payments to AWeber for as long as he is a customer. Also, if Joe decides that he would also like to be an AWeber affiliate, then you also earn a 10% commission on payments made by any customers that Joe refers to AWeber. This structure makes it extremely beneficial for you to tell all of your friends and associates about AWeber.
Click here to visit AWeber.


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Visit Syracuse
Syracuse is a very important historical center and now also a substantial modern town to the south-east of Sicily. It has an almost unbroken history that stretches back 2500 years, with artefacts to be seen in the town from each historical era.
The town is now one of the most visited on Sicily, and because of its monuments and historical importance Syracuse is now listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Geography of Syracuse
You can think of Syracuse as being divided into four separate regions:
- Ortigia, the ancient town on the peninsula, where most of the interesting historic monuments are to be seen
- Achradina, which is now in the centre of modern Syracuse
- Tyche, now best known for the Paolo Orsi Archaeology Museum
- Neapolis, with an archaeology park based around several Ancient Greek temples and monuments
- Above the city there was a place called Epipoli, with fortified city walls.
Ortiga with the historical old town and the wonderful Baroque buildings is an island connected to mainland Syracuse by two bridges. Wandering around the old town you will see many beautiful buildings and really the whole of this part of town is a highlight. Below we comment in more detail on a few of the specific buildings you won't want to miss.
Syracuse Cathedral
Among the most remarkable artefacts in Ortigia, the ancient town of Syracuse is the beautiful Syracuse Cathedral on the Piazza del Duomo. The cathedral was erected on the site of an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Athena (Minerva) and the ancient temple was retained as part of the new building and the columns can be seen inside the cathedral.
The cathedral façade was rebuilt in 1728 in baroque style after the earthquake of 1693. Inside it has three naves, and a baptismal font of white marble which was found in the catacombs of San Giovanni and bears the name of the 7th century Bishop Zosimus.
In the two side chapels you can see a beautiful picture by the painter Agostino Scilla (1629-1700) and a statue of Saint Lucia, the Patron Saint of the city, adorned with gems donated by believers, by Pietro Rizzo (XVI century). Among the other precious objects in Syracuse cathedral are a calyx of amber and a book of parchment decorated with golden letters.
In Norman times, the cathedral was transformed with the raising of the walls of the nave and new window openings being added, and the apses were also covered with mosaics.
Also noteworthy are the statues (the Virgin of the Piliere in the centre, Saint Lucia on the right, San Marziano on the left), and works by Ignazio Marabitti. Particularly remarkable is the Sacrament Chapel (XVII century), attributed to Giovanni Vermexio ('-1648): the chapel is polygonal and has a barrel vault with frescoes by Agostino Scilla (1657) and a ciborium by Luigi Vanvitelli (1752) [1700-1773].
Nearby is the Chapel of the Crucifix, with a rectangular plan, from the 17th century. The high altar, added during the Baroque period, is also attributed to Giovanni Vermexio.
Bellomo Palace & the regional Gallery
Another highlight of your visit to Syracuse is the 13th century Bellomo Palace. Here you can visit the Regional Gallery, which includes several sections with Byzantine, Medieval and Renaissance sculptures.
The Art Gallery is well stocked with works dating from the 15th and 16th century and also including paintings of the 14th-17th centuries and, in particular, the "San Lorenzo", attributed to Lorenzo Veneziano (1356-1372) and the "Annunciation" by Antonello da Syracuse (1430c.-1479). There are also furniture, textiles, ceramics, potteries and works of jewellery in the gallery.
Other highlights in Ortigia, Syracuse
Another impressive example of a medieval building in Ortigia is the Maniace Castle, built by Frederick II of Swabia (1194-1250) and named after George Maniace, a Byzantine General who opposed the invasion of the Arabs in 1038. It has a square plan with angular cylindrical towers. It juts out into the sea adding to the drama of the castle and setting.
The Gothic style entrance portal was originally flanked by two bronze sculptures of rams (one is now exposed at the "Salinas" Museum in Palermo).
Places to visit elsewhere in Syracuse
At the end of the fifth century BC, after the Carthaginian threat had passed, Dionysius very quickly expanded the city walls to include the entire Epipoli hill overlooking the city.
The new fortified walls stretched for approximately 28 kilometres, crowned on the highest point by the Euryalus Castle, the most comprehensive military work of Greek Sicily.
The Euryalus Castle stands on the Epipoli hill a few kilometres north of Syracuse and was built by Dionysius the Elder (430-367 B.C.). Under the castle there are many tunnels which were originally used for troop movements and a cistern for maintaining the water supply.
This Syracuse castle gives us the most magnificent and interesting examples of Greek military architecture in the whole of Sicily.
Next you can see the monumental complex of the so-called "Gymnasium", built in honour of Timoleon (411 c.-337 B.C.) and originally a place where they put a lot of statues of famous people.
In the Archaeological Park of Neàpolis you will find the most important ancient sights of the ancient city of Syracuse.
First of all the theatre, the largest on Sicily and attributed to Demokopos dates from the 5th century B.C. and could hold 15 000 spectators. It was built in several stages from the sixth century BC, at which time the stage was still made of wood. Excavated into the rock, the theatre is semicircular with a diameter of 138 metres and 46 rows of stairs.
Under the stairs there is a semicircular auditorium for the chorus and opposite is the esplanade where the stage was situated. Next to it there is a huge altar for public sacrifices, and a late Roman Amphitheatre, possibly of the fourth or third century BC, dug in the rock.
Elliptical in shape and measuring 70 x 40 metres, the centre was occupied by a tank into which water arrived by two channels. The stairs were originally covered with slabs of stone with two entrances ,while under the stairs there was a corridor which allowed the entry of wild beasts and gladiators.
Another place of great archaeological interest is the Latomie Caves Paradise. These catacombs consist of a series of corridors and thousands of tombs of both aristocrats and commoners. Most of them were stripped and violated throughout the centuries, by the Geiserics Vandals, Totilas Goths (549) and Arabs (878).
Among the most curious things to see here is the famous Ear of Dionysus. The name comes from Caravaggio, who visited the cave in 1586 and named it after its resemblance to the human ear. From this was born the legend that Dionysus had originally dug the cave to use as a prison and to listen to the speeches of the prisoners, given the acoustics properties of the cave.
Landolina Villa Museum
In the garden of the Landolina Villa (on Theocritus Avenue) there is a Museum which covers two levels and has artefacts dating back to prehistory.
The rich pre-Hellenic (pre Ancient Greece) items are from the civilization of the ancient Sicilians, with various collections of vases from the necropolis of "Fusco" and Megara Hyblea, which was razed to the ground in 482 BC by Gelo.
The statues, though not numerous, are representative of their period. There are two statues, the famous Venus called Landolina and an ephebic torso from Lentini - a very beautiful marble statue of Kouros from the fifth century BC. The torso represents a young athlete in the prime of his physical vigour.
There are also some finds from the Doric colony of Megara Hyblaea - votive statuettes of Demeter and Kore, a Gorgon and the Venus Anadyomene. This is a statue which has aroused considerable interest because of the great accuracy of the anatomical details of the back and hips. It represents the traditional Praxiteles ('-326 B.C.) view of the goddess as slightly 'bent forward' with a dolphin beside him, while he is out of the water and is covered with a mantle shaped-shell.
You can also see the collection of coins and of pottery, which are also among the main attractions of the museum.
Syracuse - ancient monuments
As mentioned, Syracuse originally developed on several different sites, the first of which was the island-peninsula of Ortigia, which has handed down for posterity the two oldest temples in the city:
(1) The Temple of Apollo (VII-VI century BC, almost 60 meters long, with 17 columns on the long sides). The cell was separated by two rows of interior columns in two rows of three naves, a structure that confirms the antiquity of the temple and
(2) the Temple of the goddess Athena, in Doric style (V century), which was always the most revered temple,built to commemorate the victory of Imera against the Carthaginians in 480 BC.
Related article: the history of Syracuse
Syracuse restaurants and cuisine
The city of Syracuse overlooks the sea and is surrounded by a fertile plain rich in citrus fruits and vegetables. It therefore abounds in fresh products and its food reflects this.
Among the starters try pasta with walnuts (a pasta with meat sauce and walnuts) and the 'fried pasta from Syracuse' (spaghetti with a sauce of olive oil, garlic, anchovies and breadcrumbs). Also very tasty is the tuna cooked with potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and onions; and a dish made of rabbit meat, green olives, celery, tomatoes and capers.
Popular local desserts are made of marzipan, also the 'Eyes of Santa Lucia' (cookies); the 'Buccellati' (with candied orange, figs, raisins), the 'Cassata', Sicilian cake or ice-cream with candied fruits (sponge cake, marzipan, ricotta and candied fruit) and the 'Cubbaita' (nougat made of sesame seeds).
The almonds from Avola are also held in high renown as are the 'shells' of Noto (marzipan shaped shell filled with jam). Fine wines produced in the region include the "Moscato from Noto" and Moscato from Siracusa.
General Information
While Syracuse is an unmissable highlight when you visit this part of Sicily, it is also true that it can be very hot and tiring to visit during the summer and it is also not easy to find a decent beach. As a result we would be inclined to stay somewhere else nearby if you are visiting for more than a day or two and looking for a beach holiday, and then visit Syracuse as an excursion or day trip.
Cassibile has a good beach and some good river beaches nearby. The town of Noto has some great Baroque buildings and makes for a great day out.
You can find more local travel ideas in the Sicily guide.


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Edward Burger is a documentary filmmaker. He grew up in a small Ohio town, spending long days in forests and fields. His microscope was his favorite toy. He would trade it in for a camera lens much later in life. Edward studied Religious Studies at The College of Wooster and studied Buddhism abroad with Antioch University in Bodh Gaya, India. During that time he travelled to Myanmar and temporarily ordained as a monk for one month's time, a common tradition for young Burmese men of his age - and a pivotal experience that fueled his fascination of and commitment to East Asian culture and spiritual practices.
Following graduation, Edward moved to China, where he would live for 12 years, and learned to speak and read Mandarin. Hired once as an interpreter on a film set, it was then that he picked up his first camera and learned about film production. Edward then convinced his parents to buy him a now classic Sony PD-150 DV camera and he went off to the Zhongnan Mountains to direct his first feature documentary film - Amongst White Clouds. Since that time, Edward has directed a second feature documentary - A Life in Shadows and is producing a series of short films including Vows and Alms. Currently in production are two feature documentaries, One Mind and River Dhamma.
Since 2012 Agnes Lam has collaborated with Edward Burger as both producer and writer in her work with Commonfolk Films. But that's just what keeps her busy on evenings and weekends. From Monday to Friday she's a humanitarian aid and development professional working with International non-profits on issues threatening the safety and dignity of vulnerable women and children in developing countries.
After moving to Asia in 2008, Agnes began practicing vipassana meditation, which has radically changed the way she sees her work. She believes that it is essential to ground social action in contemplative practice if we hope to build a kinder and healthier future for humanity and for Earth. As a filmmaker Agnes enjoys helping people find their voice. She produces films that empower through telling stories with dignity and authenticity. Most recently she acted as both producer and writer for Commonfolk Films' newest film, One Mind.


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The MySQL sys Schema is a cool thing and was mostly developed by Mark Leith and Jesper Wisborg Krogh from Oracle/MySQL.
More and more MySQL users want to switch from MySQL/Percona Server to MariaDB over time or, more rarely, the other way around. This is mostly caused by the change of the default in the Linux Distributions (RHEL/CentOS 7, SLES 12, Debian 8) to MariaDB.
Up to MySQL/MariaDB 5.5 everything was quite easy, both Branches claim to be a drop-in replacement of each other. But after the separation into different forks (MariaDB 10.0 ff. vs. MySQL 5.6 ff.) we expect more and more problems migrating from one branch to the other what we call sidegrade.
Since January 2019 FromDual tries to contribute actively a little bit against global warming too.
The best for the climate would be to NOT travel to the customer at all! For this cases we have our FromDual remote-DBA services for MariaDB and MySQL.
In the recent MariaDB DBA advanced training class the question came up if MariaDB can make use of an index when searching for NULL values... And to be honest I was not sure any more. So instead of reading boring documentation I did some little tests:
First I started with a little test data set. Some of you might already know it:
In unserer FromDual Schulung MariaDB/MySQL für Fortgeschrittene vom 12. bis 16. November in Köln hat es zur Zeit noch 3 Plätze frei.
Anmelden können Sie sich direkt bei unserem Schulungspartner GfU in Köln.
MariaDB 10.3 was released GA a few weeks ago. One of the features which interests me most is the MariaDB Oracle PL/SQL compatibility mode.
So its time to try it out now...
FromDual as a neutral and vendor independent database service company also provides various services for the MariaDB database.
MySQL has introduced the PERFORMANCE_SCHEMA (P_S) in MySQL 5.5 and made it really usable in MySQL 5.6 and added some enhancements in MySQL 5.7 and 8.0.
The Chemnitz Linux Days 2018 in Chemnitz (Germany) 10/11 March 2018 are over for more than a week now and IMHO it was a huge success.
I was following many very interesting talks, met a lot of interesting people and learned a lot!
The Docker version of the distributions are often quite old. On Ubuntu 16.04 for example:
shell> docker --version
Docker version 1.13.1, build 092cba3
But the current docker version is 17.09.0-ce (2017-09-26). It seems like they have switched from the old version schema x.y.z to the new year.month.version version schema in February/March 2017.
Some of our customers still want to have old-style MariaDB master/master replication clusters. Time goes by, new technologies appear but some old stuff still remains.
The Security-Enhanced Linux is an extension to the Linux Kernel, made by the NSA (National Security Agency). It implements Mandatory Access Controls (MAC), which allow an administrator to define, how applications and users can access resources on a system.
MySQL is well known and widely spread because of its philosophy of Keep it Simple (KISS).
We recently had the discussion that with newer releases also MySQL and MariaDB relational databases becomes more and more complicated.
As you probably know MySQL is an Open Source product licensed under the GPL v2. The GPL grants you the right to not just read and understand the code of the product but also to use, modify AND redistribute the code as long as you follow the GPL rules.
If you have already Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 (RHEL 7) or CentOS 7 in use you probably found out, that it is not that easy to install MySQL Enterprise Server because there are already pre-installed MariaDB 5.5 libraries:
FromDual bietet zusammen mit der GFU Cyrus GmbH in Köln vom 17. - 21. Oktober 2016 eine MySQL und SQL Schulung für Einsteiger an.
Anmelden können Sie sich unter Schulungstermine für MySQL und MariaDB.
MariaDB 10.2 has introduced some Window Functions for analytical queries.
See also: Window Functions, Window Functions, Window function and Rows and Range, Preceding and Following
FromDual has the pleasure to announce the release of the new version 1.0.1 of the FromDual Nagios and Icinga plug-ins for MySQL, Galera Cluster and MariaDB.
Sie sind bereits Datenbank Applikations-Entwickler oder auf dem Weg dorthin. Nun wollen Sie mehr darüber erfahren, was MySQL und MariaDB alles an Funktionalität zu bieten hat, welche Sie anschliessend verwenden können um Ihre Anwendung noch besser zu machen, effizienter zu entwickeln und schneller auf dem Markt zu bringen.
You are already a database application developer or on the way there. Now you would like to learn more about, what MySQL and MariaDB features are available which you can use later to build even better applications, to develop more efficiently applications and shorten your time to market.
Wir bieten unsere MySQL und MariaDB Schulung zusammen mit renommierten Schulungsunternehmen an: Dem Linuxhotel in Essen, der Heinlein Akademie in Berlin und GFU Cyrus AG in Köln.
We offer our MySQL and MariaDB trainings together with well-respected training organizations: The Linuxhotel in Essen (Germany), the Heinlein Academy in Berlin (Germany) and GFU Cyrus AG in Cologne (Germany).
FromDual bietet verschiedene MySQL, Galera Cluster und MariaDB Schulungsmodule an. Unsere Schulungstermine finde sie unter MySQL und MariaDB Schulungstermine.
Diese Schulung ist für all diejenigen, welche die Grundlagen der Sprache SQL erlernen wollen. Zukünftige DBAs, Datenbank-Entwickler und Daten-Analysten.
FromDual offers different MySQL, Galera Cluster and MariaDB training modules. For training dates see our MySQL and MariaDB training class schedule.
This training is made for all who want to learn the basics of the SQL language. Future DBAs, database developers and data analysts.


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Mwe Ugandan bloggers!
Please let's get serious about this blogging that some of us claim as a job title, occupation or symbol of our social and intellectual status.
Let's actually blog, not in the original sense of the word where we just log our every activity on the web (surely, you must know this – 'web-log' turning into 'blog' probably via 'we-blog'), but by blogging – coming up with interesting notes and comments published on personal pages on the web and attracting much commentary.
These thoughts came to me last Thursday while I was being held hostage by the blog of a fellow Ugandan.
It found me minding my own business, traipsing through my digital forest with it's lush tropical trees of client reports, overdue presentations and requests for proposals, occasionally kicking listlessly at the little flowering mobile phone apps by the side of the path.
For hours that day, I had managed to resist distractions from the wildlife – the ugly trolls under timelines and the cute, friendly fauna that social media presents in numbers so large that one wonders why we're not all engaged in the tourism business.
But then I spotted that blogpost and couldn't resist it's allure. It held me rapt in the corner of the blogclub, looking so deep into its eyes I couldn't hear the soundtrack the office DeeJay was playing until it was too late and the blogpost's doors slammed shut behind me. Without ceremony, the blogger passed me on to one of her mates who kicked me on to the next…
…an hour later, I was being kicked to another blog, my mind bruised and battered by the kicks of wit and my skin stinging from the acidic drops of satire…
I was eventually released, sides aching from bouts of NN (Nsesse Nnyo), after the intervention of a rather impatient client who reminded everyone that he was paying the bills for my time. <—See? We are allowed to do this while blogging; with no regard for the reader or our english grammar teachers or even our parents, if we choose not to care.
Which is why I am asking, nay, BEGGING! Mbasaba n'obuwoombeefu. Tafadhaali.
Write. Blog. Post. MORE!
Blog, banange! Write more blogs, Ugandans! Post stuff the way you want to post it fwaaaa or even fwaaaaa-ga!
You guys are interesting. Some of you are hilarious. Some of you are funny. Some of you are just there. A few of you are downright boring, but worth reading all the same, so that the trolls can bare their ugliness, because what else is a troll to do but troll?
But please: Write. Blog. Post. MORE!
Look at the Kenyans for inspiration, if you must. Of course they are more than we are in number, and because of that they seem wittier, but I swear there are nights I get mesmerised by my Twitter TimeLine because of ordinary Ugandans saying ordinary things in such an extraordinarily funny way that I wonder where you guys were when those comedy shows began.
From today I will be reading as many blogs as possible written by Ugandans.
My Thursday is now called #UGblogDAY.
For me.
Send me all the blogs you've written and I'll read them and comment under them and tweet the links to them.
If you're shy, use a pseudonym (NOT Simon Kaheru). But write.
We've tried this before, in many different ways, but for some reason the energy keeps fizzling out.
But we can't keep bursting out in occasional good ideas then going back into literambulance. That ka-word there is supposed to be a combination of literacy and somnambulance but it has come out looking like literature inside an ambulance – which is where we honestly are on the road of global online intellectual expression.
Inside some ambulance that is caught in the traffic of Kenyan bloggers, Nigerian musicians, American commentators on YouTube videos and trolls of indeterminate origin. We are as-if on life support.
We occasionally blaze our hazard lights and sound a siren to try and create space but they see us coming and ignore us with that, "Ah! You jump over!" signal.
We've got to take control. Grab the internet by the blog. Unsheath your words deep into the belly of the blogosphere and kill it!
Like that, like that. (I told you, blogs come with ZERO rules except – BLOG!)
There is no kawunyemu here.
Don't force yourself to write in english only – especially if you aren't proficient in the use of the language or familiar with Partridge's 'Usage and Abusage'.
Don't feel constrained to write about politics and what not – there is enough of that to go around already.
You don't need to write about sex, drugs and alcohol – even though those three provide the fuel for the best of our (polite) most entertaining activities.
Kwegamba, lose yourself in kaboozi of a written nature on the internet.
And, most of all, make your blogpost public with the hashtag #UGblogDAY – on Twitter, on Facebook and in emails.
At the very least, write a blog post telling other Ugandans to write blog posts and to use #UGblogDAY.
Then, after that, go to as many Ugandan blogs as possible and make the comment #UGblogDAY under any or every one of their posts so that they know about it, and get others to know about their blogs.
My day is Thursday – join me or choose your own day.
But let's get more Ugandans writing blog posts!
9 thoughts on "#UGblogDAY – today and every Thursday"
Hi Simon, i honestly want to learn how to blog. I've tried to google how to do it, but for some reason i can't get to write what's in head. How do you maintain the consistency to keep writing?


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Federal and state environmental regulations and sustainability guidelines require companies to manage and report a wide range of data such as air pollutant emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, stormwater discharges, water usage, wastewater discharges, waste treatment and disposal, or other sustainability metrics. Organizations subject to mandatory or voluntary environmental and sustainability reporting need a simple solution that is agile, intuitive, and user friendly.
Predict360 Environment & Sustainability
Capture, calculate, analyze and report environmental data required for environment & sustainability reports.
The Challenges
Our Solution
Predict360 Environment & Sustainability is powered by DREEM Solutions. The solution brings simplicity and power to the day to day tasks of environmental management and compliance. Its intuitive interface was built with end users in mind. It leverages the familiarity of a spreadsheet to minimize the learning curve and reduce the amount of effort required to set up and use the application. With a powerful calculation engine, it easily handles calculations to estimate emissions from storage tanks, combustion devices, and a host of processing equipment. It also contains a business intelligence and analytics tool that allows users to create sophisticated reports, graphs and charts that convey complex relationships and trends. With just a few clicks users can drilldown into data underlying the graphic summary charts.
Key Features
Predict360 modules are flexible and adaptable enough to align risk management with business strategy and create industry specific compliance workflows. They provide:


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|Looks a little bit like Oklahoma, doesn't it?
"Here I am Lord, send me."
I have prayed that prayer many times in my life, but there are two specific moments when my world quieted and I felt the clear, quiet, voice of God overcome any of my thoughts and leave words within my head as an answer to my cry.
This prayer has not been said lightly. I have pleaded with God, begging Him to "send me". I have listened to my missionary family and longed for the call to enter into the mission field. I have reasoned with God, telling him the many reasons why I am so willing to go.
And He has told me to wait.
The first time that I remember praying that prayer was in high school. I remember being very surprised and surprisingly frustrated to hear "wait" as a response...because it seemed to me that a willing and ready body would be in high demand.
In that period of waiting, I didn't just sit around. I did things. Big things. Challenging things. Life altering things. If I had to wait, I was going to wait while being productive. I chose International Business as a major because I decided that if being a "missions major" was not the direction I should take, I would choose the one other major that focused on a global perspective, if only from a different sort of starting point. And that's where I've spent my time over the last 2.5 years...skipping between the Business building and the Poli-Sci department...learning cultures, history, languages, and applying business to the world.
A few months ago, I found myself praying that familiar prayer again. "Here am I Lord, send me." And surprisingly, another answer appeared. "I know."
I have wanted a giant voice to come from the sky and tell me "GO" and I have never had that giant voice come. Yet the still and calm reminder that God has heard my prayers and He knows my heart has filled my soul with peace.
In hindsight, my path over the past few years has God's fingerprints all over it. My passions have been molded into something more beautiful and my desires to serve God have been magnified by my experiences in ways that I could never have imagined. He has taken me places that I would have never gone on my own so that I can serve Him in ways that I would have never imagined if left to my own devices. Yesterday, as I talked to a local pastor, he found out that I come from a family of "designated missionaries" (I say missionary in the formal sense, because I am a firm believer that we are all missionaries, even if our "occupation" says differently.) He asked how many generations of missionaries are in my family...and I counted backwards...my great great grandparents, my great grandparents, my grandparents, and my uncle & aunt are now in the mission field. So he turned to me and said, "So you're a 5th generation missionary!"
His words took me by surprise, because that is not how I have classified myself here in Belize. Yet, as I looked around at what we're doing, I understood the comparison. My name tag might not officially say "missionary" here...but God is sure using us and changing us and revealing Himself through our experiences in Belize. I would have never imagined Belize to be an answer to my prayer, "Here I am Lord, send me." Yet, as I sit here with a vibrant sunset off to my right and my handsome husband sitting on my left...I am finding my "mission field" to be here. I don't know where our futures will lead us, but I am fully expecting the hand of God to lead and guide us into deeper waters. If you had told me just two and half years ago that I would be sitting here with a boy named Blake, serving God through business training centers and by establishing relationships with the local Mayans, I might have laughed out loud. Thank goodness that I don't know what comes next.
The prayer will always remain the same. "Here I am Lord, send me." To Belize, to Africa, to Orlando...wherever I can serve, that's where I want to be. Right now, I am finding so much purpose in this little corner of the world. God knows and he has heard my heart, and quietly, gently, he has led me here.


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Not what they expected
By Chris Umscheid
North Liberty Leader
FT. DODGE– It wasn't the finish they were expecting.
The Clear Creek Amana (CCA) Clippers varsity softball team, under the leadership of coach Jim White, defeated Washington 6-2 Friday afternoon at the Class 4A state softball tournament. The win earned the squad the third-place trophy after a 3-0 semifinal loss to Indianola Thursday knocked them into the consolation bracket.
The tournament appearance was the 33rd for the team overall, its fourth consecutive and White's 13th. A 2009 3A championship was followed by a fourth-place showing in 2010. Last year, the team won the 3A championship before moving to Class 4A this season.
"It's tough to repeat anything, I think" White said.
The team came to Rogers Park with a 41-1 record and the No. 1 ranking. The Clippers showed their dominance on Tuesday in a first round game, pounding West Delaware 10-0 in five innings. Mallory Neubauer and Mariah McKinnon led at the plate with three hits each; Fran Strub had two hits including a two-RBI home run in the fifth inning. Maliah Fligg, Jazmyne Neely and Mara Jones had one hit apiece. Fligg pitched all five innings, striking-out three and giving up two hits. The Clippers put up five hits in the top of the second, one in the third and four in the fifth.
For CCA: 10 runs, 11 hits, 1 error.
For West Delaware: 0 runs, 2 hits, 3 errors.
Thursday's Semifinal game against Indianola was a shocker for many as the Clippers picked up only their second loss of the season (the first coming from Class 5A Ankeny). Coach White found no fault in his team's effort. "If anything, we tried too hard. We were just trying too hard to win; they worked so hard, they wanted it (the championship) so badly."
The Indians put up two runs in the bottom of the third inning and one in the fifth. McKinnon, Fligg and Mallory Madsen had CCA's three hits with a double in the fourth for McKinnon. Fligg and Miranda Hochstetler shared the pitching, working three innings each. Fligg struck-out one, walked one and gave up five hits and two earned runs. Hochstetler struck-out two, walked one and gave up two hits and one earned run.
For CCA: 0 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors.
For Indianola: 3 runs, 7 hits, 2 errors.
While they would have rather been on Diamond One Friday facing Dallas Center-Grimes (which lost 1-0 to Indianola), they regrouped and took-on the Demons.
"The girls showed a lot of heart today," White said after the game. "Coming back was really tough, but the most important thing is, we stuck together as a team."
The Clippers scored one run each in the top of the second and third innings, three in the fifth and one in the sixth. The Demons struck in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings. Strub had an RBI single in the second scoring Tara Walls, while Wnek scored on an error in the third. In the fifth, Wnek singled and advanced on a Fligg single. Madsen singled, scoring Wnek while a Neeley single brought in pinch-runner Amy Brant (running for Fligg). Mallory Neubauer grounded-out to second, but Madsen was able to score. Wnek knocked a solo home run to left field in the sixth.
Wnek and Madsen led with three hits each and an RBI apiece. Strub, McKinnon, Fligg, Monika Bevans, Neely, Neubauer and Kara Brant all had one hit each with RBIs credited to Strub, Neely and Neubauer. McKinnon pitched six innings with Hochstetler closing-out the game. McKinnon struck-out four, walked four and gave up seven hits and one earned run. "She did a nice job," White said of the senior. Hochstetler had no strike-outs, walked one and gave up one hit and one earned run.
For CCA: 6 runs, 13 hits, 1 error.
For Washington: 2 runs, 7 hits, 1 error.
The Clippers finished the season with a 43-2 record and a lot of memories. White said he told the seniors "they made coaching fun for me again." He explained with the program's success "everyone is expecting you to win a state title, it gets tough. Our program is set on winning state titles."
White loses six seniors: Strub, McKinnon, Wnek, Jones, Cassie Downes and Kara Brant. McKinnon, Strub, Wnek, Jones and Neely will go on to play college softball. Strub and McKinnon were also named to the Class 4A All-Tournament Team.


text: What a mixed bag of news – up then down. I wish I could come to your launch night but doubt I will be anywhere near! And shame about the writing group, what a pity. And grrrh about 4 months' wait for a lit mag – I presume you contacted them to enquire and heard nothing? Grrrhh again!How about this: I submitted a story to a lit mag's story competition, and paid my money, over a year ago. Nothing, nothing, nothing… and now I hear the mag has folded. Where's my money???


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Are you wanting to do a small change to brighten up or add color to your living room? Bedroom? TV Room? Or kids room?
Are you wanting to make a room more beautiful and homely?
Want an idea on a budget?
Decorative pillows or decorative pillow covers can transform the entire room's decor. Smooth, printed, with or without textures, pillows are made not only to decorate but to make each room more comfortable and cozy. They are most used to decorate living rooms and bedrooms, highlighting each room with individuality of their own.
They are not just used for comfort, but they provide that home decor 'feature' or 'pop' of color needed in each individual room of the house.
What You Will Know After Reading This:
- How Decorative Pillows Can Transform Your Room's Decor
- Which Decorative Pillows You Need
- How to Arrange Accent Pillows on Your Bed (NEW)
- How to Arrange Accent Pillows on Your Sofa (NEW)
- Picking the Right Decorative Pillows for Dark Sofas & Furniture
- Decorative Pillows for Light Sofas & Furniture
- Decorative Pillows for Patterned Sofas & Furniture
- Decorative Pillows for Colored Sofas & Furniture
- Most Popular Decorative Pattern Pillows
- Decorative Pillows for Summer
- Other Decorating Tips Using Pillows & Cushions
How to Arrange Accent Pillows on Your Bed
Please see below detailed bed pillow arrangement diagrams for different ways you can arrange both your pillows and accent pillows on your bed.
How to Arrange Accent Pillows on Your Sofa
Please see below detailed accent pillow arrangement diagrams for different ways you can arrange accent pillows on your sofa.
Decorative Pillows for Dark Sofas & Furniture
It's important to harmonize the colors of the sofa with the color of the pillows and the color of the wall. For example, a navy sofa should have navy included in the pillows and you can mix with other solid color pillows. It's always important to include a light colored pillow with a dark sofa, for example, a white, cream or beige decorative pillow is highly recommended.
For dark colored sofas, such as black, dark navy and brown, it is not recommended to mix bright colored pillows that are patterned, unless you have a piece of furniture with a matching color. Instead, if you want to brighten the sofa, try to mix with different pillows, both solid monotone bright colors and with colored pattern pillows. As you can see in the following images, only mix in a solid color if you have a pattern pillow to complement it. You must be careful with the mixture of patterns and colors you include. Also, pillows that add depth can break up the monotony of dark colors, such as the red feather pillow as featured below. Refer below for some pillow decorating tips.
Click Images Below for More Information and Best Prices
Featured: Faux Fur Pillow // Sequin Pillow
Featured: Zig Zag Pillow // Sequin Pillow // Feather Pillow
Decorative Pillows for Light Sofas & Furniture
If you have a lighter colored sofa and surrounding furniture, generally it is easier to decorate using throw pillows. There is more colors, patterns available that complement lighter colored sofas. When, pillows have different shades and patterns, this helps to add depth to the room. Adding depth and activity to a room which has a lighter sofa is what should be achieved because generally if you have a light sofa color, the room is predominately all the same color also; the pattern pillows break up this monotony. Additionally, matching the pillows with another object in the room such as a rug, light or table centerpieces, adds a lot of personality to the room.
Patterned pillows are the most popular. Feature pillows such as quotes or wordings are useful also. Fur and glitter pillows also complement the look in its entirety. It's also good to use solid neutral colors with pillows made of velvet, plain fabric or linen to break up the pattern look also.
Click Images Below for More Information and Best Prices
Decorative Pillows for Patterned Sofas & Furniture
If you have a patterned sofa, you generally have less options that the above two options. This is because you don't want the area to be 'too busy'. Try to match the color of the sofa with the rest of objects in the house. Generally, if you have a patterned sofa, you need to choose accent and decorative pillows that don't contrast too much with the pattern. Therefore, you are recommended to use primarily solid colored accent pillows and quotation pillows. Vibrant colors are perfect and a great opportunity to use them! You can either choose neutral colors of white, beige and cream, or solid bright colors such as red, green, blue, yellow etc.
Click Images Below for More Information and Best Prices
Decorative Pillows for Colored Sofas & Furniture
If you sofa already have a vibrant color, don't worry. You can mix and match pillows and create a unique style! As you can see in the images below, it's important to incorporate the color of the sofa, bed or furniture as the predominate color of your throw pillows.
In the featured images, the color of the furniture is the predominate color of all the throw pillows. Choose pillows with the same kind of stamps, but different colors. If you don't want to use different patterns, try to mix and match different shades of the color. They will brighten the sofa, bed, chair or piece of furniture in that room. and the room.
Click Images Below for More Information and Best Prices
Featured: Signature Throw Pillow (Front) // Red Pattern Pillow (2nd Front) // Red & White Flower Pattern Pillow // Flower Branch (Back)
Most Popular Accent Pattern Pillows
Here, we have some examples of decorative pillows you can use to decorate the room. These are busy patterns that are recommended to be placed on sofas, beds, chairs and any furniture which are neutral toned. Printed patterns, in blue and white and black and white and the one with the word "love" written, will augment the unique style of your room.
Click Images Below for More Information and Best Prices
Indoor Outdoor Throw Pillows
Outdoor patio pillow are dual purpose in that they are manufactured with the highest quality and fabric that resists all weather and they don't fad in direct sunlight. Equally they are manufactured to be able to be used indoors also. With top quality fabric that ensure longevity, these outdoor indoor pillows in particular are made with superior quality to be used for many years. All are easy to clean and care for, they require spot cleaning or hand wash with mild detergent.
Click Images Below for More Information and Best Prices
Featured: Blue Rectangle Pattern Pillows // Green Square Pillows
// Blue Pattern Square Pillow (Back)
Summer Throw Pillows
Bring the outdoors, indoors with these naturally inspired decorative throw pillows to complement your sofa, chairs or bedroom! Using these colorful and naturally inspired throw pillows for summer allows you to experiment with brighter and happier colors to complement the season. These pillows will refresh your home decor with only a little effort (deciding which type you like) and with not very much to spend either!
Click Images Below for More Information and Best Prices
For More Decorating Tips, You Might Find These Articles Useful:
Floating Shelves
Enliven Your Indoors With These Indoor House Plants & Trees
- Affordabililty10
- Ease of Use10
- Variety Available10


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Archive for » September, 2015 «
Duck Brand is hosting a contest. All you have to do is post pictures of jack-o-lantern decorated using duct tape for a chance to win $1,000. See details below!
I recently shared some of my latest creations on my Facebook, but I just realized that I didn't share them here, so I am doing that now! Just pics for now! I will be getting my eCommerce page going soon.
I love the pattern houndstooth. And if you don't know what that is, you surely will soon if you check out this post.
I pretty much buy anything I come across that is houndstooth, if I can.
I'm going to probably make this a recurring feature here, and share with you the cool houndstooth things I come across.
So here is your first installment.
First up a Slinky Brand Houndstooth Open Front Vest I found on HSN.com. Super Cute!
A very nice Cashmere Scarf at Harvey Nichols:
I'm not a man, so I don't wear pocket squares, but I think this would look great with a suit. Found at mrporter.com.
Until next time!
Here are just a few of the things that happened in the world of music on September 18 throughout the years.
1970- This is the day that Jimi Hendrix passed away.
1983- Kiss appeared on MTV without their make-up for an interview. Yikes! Eventually they got smart and put it back on.
1984- David Bowie won Video of the Year for China Girl at the first MTV Video Awards.
1996- Julian Lennon successfully bid on the recording notes to the song Hey Jude at Sotheby's in London.
2006- Willie Nelson's your bus pulled over in Louisiana. 4 members of his band are charged with drug possession. Surprise, surprise.
We all know duct tape is handy stuff and there are so many uses. It is definitely a great idea to keep some on hand, wherever you go. You never know when you might get stuck in a precarious situation. If you have a bug-out bag, or an emergency pack, make sure to throw some in there as well.
Now, I have a book, Duct Tape 911, which gives directions on how to use the sticky stuff for medical emergencies.
Here are a few other ways you can use duct tape when you are in a sort of bind. I didn't necessarily come up with all these ideas, but scouted them out online.
- Tent Repair– What if you pull out your tent and discover there is a hole in it? Well just patch it up! Or maybe the zipper or pole is broken. Duct tape to the rescue.
- First Aid– Check out that book I mentioned above for additional tips, but you can always use duct tape to make a sling, bandage strips, or wrap a sprained ankle.
- Glasses Repair– What could be worse than breaking your glasses while stuck in the wilderness? Duct tape would definitely come in handy there.
- Protection– Duct tape your knife to a pole and make yourself a spear!
Those are just a handful of ideas. There are tons more of course!
And check out this link for a video of some other Duct Tape Life Hacks.
Hey Hey! It's Collect Rocks Day!
I have no idea when this originated and I can't find much detail about it, but it seems like as good a day as any to go and collect some rocks!
Here are some river rocks I collected recently. I am planning on getting a rock tumbler and making jewelry with them soon!
I just posted last week about 90 Minutes in Heaven. Now I have an opportunity to share another faith-based book-turned-movie with you. This time, it is Captive by Ashley Smith (originally published as Unlikely Angel).
This is directly from the press release:
CAPTIVE: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero, based on a miraculous true story that drew the attention of the entire nation, is a thrilling drama about the spiritual collision of two broken lives. When Brian Nichols – on the run as the subject of a city wide manhunt and desperate to make contact with his newborn son – takes recovering meth addict Ashley Smith hostage in her own apartment, she turns for guidance to Rick Warren's best-selling inspirational book, The Purpose Driven Life. While reading aloud, Ashley and her would-be killer each face crossroads where despair and death intersect hope.
The film stars Kate Mara and David Oyelowo, who played Martin Luther King, Jr. in the recent film, Selma. It is being released September 18th.
Here is the official movie trailer.
From the Back of the Book:
In March 2005, Ashley Smith made headlines around the globe when she miraculously talked her way out of the hands of alleged courthouse killer Brian Nichols after he took her hostage for seven hours in her suburban Atlanta apartment. In this moving, inspirational account- now a motion picture from Paramount- Ashley shares the details of her traumatic ordeal and expands on how her faith and the bestselling book The Purpose Driven Life helped her survive and bring the killer's murderous rampage to a peaceful end.
My Thoughts
This was definitely an engaging read, as Smith brings us along on her difficult, but remarkable journey. I must say though, that I would point the focus more to the fact that she prayed for the man and shared the Word of God with him and a little less on The Purpose Driven Life specifically. Yes, that is the book she was reading at the time and no offense intended. I just think it's important to remember the most important thing.
Find out more at the following links:
I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. My opinions are 100% my own.
Some of you may be glad to know that you have something to celebrate today, and a reason to eat some chocolate!
It's International Chocolate Day!
It is celebrated today because it is the birthday of Milton Hershey. So have some chocolate today and don't feel guilty about it!
I am always interested in random holidays and celebrations.
I bet you didn't know that today, September 12, is National Hollerin' Day. Or maybe you did know that.
Anyway, there is also a National Hollerin' Festival being held today in Spivey's Corner, North Carolina. I guess there will be live music, food, demonstrations, a car show, vendors, and of course, the 46th Annual National Hollerin' Contest!
Here is a little info on the History of Hollerin'.
And also the history of the National Hollerin' Contest.
Check out the schedule. It actually looks pretty fun.
And all that fun for only $5! If I was anywhere near that, I would definitely stop by and check it out.
8:00: Car Show Registration begins
11:00: Kid's Zone Inflatables: $1 per play or $20 arm band for all day
*Quilting Exhibit, Making Craklins, Naval Stores Exhibit, Blacksmithing Demonstration & Ferrier Demonstration are all ongoing throughout the day.
11:15: BBQ Cook-off Trophy Presentations at the main stage
11:30 – 12:40: The Walters Family on stage with bluegrass gospel music
11:30: *Homemade Butter Making, Churning demonstration
11:45: *Homemade Biscuit Making
12:15: *Traditional Hollerin' Lessons with 2014 NHC Champ Tony Peacock
12:30 – 3:00: *Plowing Demonstrations by the NC Workhorse & Mule Assn.
12:00: -Car Show Registration Ends-
1:00: Clogging Exhibition by Kerry's Dance Beat
1:15: Dennis Cash Carolina Bluegrass, Gospel, Folk & Old Time music songman
1:30: *Homemade Sausage Making demonstration
1:40: Clogging Exhibition by Kerry's Dance Beat
2:00: -Hollerin' Contest Registration Ends-
*Tobacco Tying demonstration
2:05: Car Show Trophy Presentations on the main stage
2:15: *Corn Shelling demonstration
2:30 – 4:15: The Grass Cats on stage with great bluegrass music
2:30: *Homemade Butter Making, Churning demonstration
2:45: *Homemade Biscuit Making demonstration
3:00: *Tobacco Tying demonstration
3:15: *Corn Shelling demonstration
3:30: *Homemade Sausage Making demonstration
-Contests on the Main Stage-
4:30: Junior Hollerin', Teen Hollerin', & Conk Shell Blowin' Contests
5:00: Ladies Callin' Contest
5:55: Prize Drawing/Tractor Show Trophy Presentation
6:00: National Hollerin' Contest
Just wanted to share a couple of links.
These are crafts that you can do with duct tape and washi tape, and they are from one of my favorite websites.
So make sure to check them out!
22 Best Duct Tape Crafts to Make
We all know that I am a big fan of duct tape.
I wanted to share with you one of the most awesome websites I have found for purchasing tape of ANY kind. Every time I check them out I find something else!
They carry all the brands you can think of and have great prices! If it includes the word "tape" you can find it there!
If you need tape, check them out!
90 Minutes in Heaven is not a new story. It was originally published in 2004, so it may be one that people are already familiar with, as it has sold 7 million copies. However, there is a movie version being released, so the book has been re-released.
The movie is presented by Giving Films and will be in theaters everywhere September 11, 2015. The movie stars Hayden Christensen and Kate Bosworth, in addition to Michael W. Smith, Fred Thompson, Dwight Yoakam and Jason Kennedy. The film is rated PG-13 ( for intense accident and injury images).
This is the first film from Giving Films. They will be donating all of their profits to charities and ministries, such as Christian Alliance for orphans, Faith Bridge Foster Care, Hire Heroes USA, Hope International, LifeWater, Street Grace, and World Vision. When you see a Giving Films movie in theaters, you can visit their website and select which charities you would like to receive the profits from your ticket.
This is directly from the press release:
It's National Read A Book Day! I thought I would share with you what I have been reading lately.
The majority of them were books that I was reading for the purpose of reviewing, but I did get one in just for personal reading pleasure.
Amish Promises by Leslie Gould
Check out my recent review: HERE.
The Road Home by Kathleen Shoop
Review: Here
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
This is the one I read just for me. I haven't written a review, but I might! For now, you can check it out on Jodi Picoult's website.
And I have 2 more book reviews on the way!
This has been one of my most popular crafts. Made out of guitar picks and jump rings, I can make them in a variety of colors. I will soon have a link up here on my website where you can purchase them.
If you have any requests or would like to order one, contact me if I don't have online ordering ready yet!
Recently, I won a giveaway on another blog, Nuts 4 Stuff.
I received a $25 gift code to 100% Pure Cosmetics.
I have to tell you about one of the things I chose because it is my new favorite thing.
I picked out a 2 fl oz container of Vanilla Bean Hand Buttercream.
Oh my goodness! This stuff smells amazing. It smells like……dessert! I think I want to marry it.
If you look at the product on the website, check out the reviews and you will see that many people agree!
All of their products are 100% natural, and standard shipping is always free! Check them out!
I did also purchase a few other products but haven't tried them out yet! I am sure they will be great though!
Did you know that September is National Honey Month? Well it is, so in honor of that, I thought I would share with you some of amazing uses for honey. Some of these you probably already know about, but hopefully you will find out something new about the sweet stuff.
According to the National Honey Board, a tablespoon of raw honey contains 64 calories, is fat-free, cholesterol-free, and sodium-free and is composed of about 80% carbohydrates, 18 percent water, and 2 percent vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
- Allergies This one I know about personally. Some may say it's a myth, but I believe it works. Taking a spoonful of local honey can help relieve seasonal allergy symptoms. It also works as a cough suppressant.
2. Dandruff
Supposedly, you can apply honey, diluted with 10 percent warm water to areas affected by dandruff. Leave it on for three hours before rinsing though!
3. Treat Wounds and Burns
Honey is a natural antibiotic and can be used to disinfect wounds from bacteria.
4. Lip Balm
You can make your own with beeswax and honey or maybe pick up some Burt's Bees.
5. Remove Parasites I hope I don't ever have to test this one out, but apparently you can mix some honey, water and vinegar to get rid of parasites
6. Hangover Help Have some honey in the morning after partying too hard. The fructose will help speed up the metabolism of the alcohol.
Of course, there are many other uses, but there are a few to get you thinking.
Are there any other uses for honey that you would like to share?
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I'm currently working on a bunch of stuff to post, but wanted to give a quick shout out to September!
I have nothing against September. This is just the only song I know about the month.


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Episode 02: State of Horror Literature/
**Originally episode 34 from the old feed**
This week Michael and Jason chat about the horror and dark fiction books they've been reading along with the books they want to read. They do so in a from the hip sort of style. It was lots of fun, and you're invited to listen in.
**NOTE: The book by Greg F. Gifune I was trying to remember during this episode is titled THE RAIN DANCERS. Not sure why I keep forgetting that title.**
You will hear some music on this episode somewhere in the background.
The songs are:
Emotions by Clinic
Climbing Up the Walls by Radiohead
They are available wherever good music is sold.
Help spread the world! Please leave us a great review on iTunes.
And thanks for listening!


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< Back to Moments in Acacia History
Mascot Mania
The first mascot listed in the Journal of Acacia was "Bunch," an English bulldog at the Purdue Chapter of Acacia. This foreshadowed the fact that Acacians continued to pick man's best friend over any other animal, with bulldogs being the most popular breed. Other breeds favored included Irish setters, Airedales, Greyhounds, Great Danes, Boxers, Collies, Terriers, Spaniels, Chows, St. Bernards, German Shepherds, Huskies, Dalmatians, Dachshunds, one Scotty/French Poodle mix, and a mess of mutts.
The most common name — found at least three times — is "Pythagoras," sometimes shortened to "Thag." Besides that, Acacians can claim both a "Duchess" and a "Duke," as well as a "Baron," "Squire," and "Caesar." Some dogs were a bit "Dusty," "Smokey," "Rowdy," and "Rusty."
For protection, Acacia had a "Tank," a "Bomber," and a "Doc" to fix up the wounded. Both "Isis" and "Thor" may have had a god complex, while "Pete," "Sam," "Corky," "Amos," and "Ricky" are just the normal guys next door.
You could have said "Hi" to a "Pal" or spent a "Penny" on a "Sprig" (of Acacia in bloom?). For variety there were "Karloo," "Lanta," "Kee-la," and "Oomik." And you don't have to be a "Sherlock" to throw some "Pepper" on an "Eightball" but it helps if you're crazy like "Ophelia."
The slyest name is perhaps the tongue-in-cheek "Da Mit Von Acacia," and a good candidate for the most infamous name for a cur would have to be "Pledge."
As for the more unexpected side of mascots, the most common animal outside of canines is a tie between alligators and felines. Alligators were reported by both Cornell in 1939, and Rensselaer in 1954. Washington Chapter had a Persian cat named "Clarence" in 1956, and Washington State had twin purebred Siamese kittens in 1961.
One-shot mascots include "Goof," a black bear cub that the California Chapter owned in 1921 (according to the Journal they had to part with the bear after it mauled a car); "Gwendolyn" a deer kept by the Texas Chapter in 1922; "Poor Lil" a rabbit at the George Washington Chapter in 1954, and a turtle named "Mustard" at the Texas Chapter in 1948.
Despite all of these fine creatures, only one chapter earns the unofficial title of Best Mascot and that would be Purdue, who came up with the apt moniker "B.O. Plenty" for their pet skunk in 1945.


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|Colman, Geoffrey
Collecting together nineteen one-act plays, this volume presents never-before-published material. Abusive, shocking and endlessly surprising, these sharply written pieces showcase Berkoff's trademark controversy, black humour and dramatic dialectics.
Themes that haunt much of his work are present: his luxurious verbosity; his counterpoint of crude street-patter and elegiac proclamation; sex wars; class wars; dislocation and abandonment of love in a thankless and unyielding world. The selection of plays allows the performer and reader to experience Berkoff's fluid anarchic poetry at its most profane within the complete and pithy structure of the one-act play.
Established plays such as The Biblical Tales (which enjoyed success in their 2010 run at the New End Theatre, Hampstead) stand alongside previously unpublished material, giving the range of Berkoff's work full expression, from his established thematic concerns to his new and unseen work.
Perfect for student and amateur performances, this volume contains a full introduction by Geoffrey Colman, Head of Acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama. - See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/steven-berkoff-one-act-plays-9781408182482/#sthash.YWuUTDVl.dpuf
|Official URL:
|Item Type:
|Book Chapter
|Additional Information:
|Library Code: n/a ----- PBK ISBN: 978-1408182475 ----- EBK ISBN: 978-1408182499
|11 October 2012
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|Deposited By:
|Ms Research Administrator
|Deposited On:
|29 May 2017 10:24
|Last Modified:
|24 Jul 2019 15:27


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« Great George W. Bush video |
| Slinging ELMO like CRACK »
Yep....SKILLZ has dropped a new mixtape with J.PERIOD and you can download it free here.
May 15, 2008 in Music | Permalink
Thank you soo much! This tip is super useful!
Posted by:
Ariana |
July 30, 2010 at 03:20 AM
I think you are not quite right and you should still studying the matter.
Posted by:
RamonGustav |
August 30, 2010 at 07:56 AM
You write well will be waiting for your new publications.
Posted by:
JOBS_frend |
December 26, 2010 at 01:53 PM
Ooh baby, I love that Palenque comp. Great picks Jason!
Posted by:
Taobao agent |
January 16, 2011 at 06:30 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Pay The Bills


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Today we are very pleased to announce the birth of Linspire Systems Inc. Linspire Systems Inc. is a subsidiary of PC/OpenSystems. Linspire Systems Inc. will have its own management team.
First off, what is Linspire Systems Inc.? Linspire Systems will be in charge of hardware sales and partnerships and they will decide the path of our hardware unit going forward.
Second, their developers will help the Linspire team and the PC/OpenSystems OSS team to make sure we have the appropriate drivers for the systems we sell.
To help us steer our hardware team in the right direction we have partnered with Lenovo to supply PC hardware to our users and customers and we are pleased to have an industry leader such as Lenovo to aid us in bringing you the best Linux desktop experience on the market.
Each category only has two systems. One desktop and one notebook. In the Pro series and Consumer series the desktop systems are All-in-one systems. Less cables, space saving and performance systems. In our Power Systems categories we have a tower system for maximum expansion options. We will be adding a rackmount option to our Pro systems category because that has been a top seller among our customers.
To get a general idea of our products you can visit the different categories; Pro, Consumer and Power Systems here
Pro Desktops
Consumer Desktops
Power Systems
One of the concerns we have heard about is pricing. Our pricing is very competitive among our competitors. With our inclusion of a 4 year standard warranty, inclusion of battery backup and the luxury that we are producing the Operating System and environment makes Linspire Systems Inc. the leader in quality and service.
So lets go over our policies.
Payments are accepted through Check, Credit cards and PayPal. If needed we will send invoices for accounting departments.
We have a return policy of 30 days for a full refund. Anything after 30 days will be repair or replace ONLY.
All systems come with a 4 year full warranty by default. All systems also ship with an APC battery backup unit.
Sales locations
For right now we only ship to the United States. In July we will begin shipping to South America, Canada, England, Belgium and Germany.


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Nutrition in the News: Saving money - Back to basics
Another budget is upon up and worse it came early this year; it seems there is endless talk about tightening our belts.
It is ironic therefore that people in debt often put on weight rather than loosing it. One of the reasons suggested is that healthy food can be pricey. But with a bit of forward planning we can rid out this recession with our health intact!
.Healthy lifestyle tips that will save you money:
* Shop around, competition has increased among our supermarkets and although there may be many of the offers are on high fat/ sugary foods there are also special offers on fruit and vegetables
* Planning your meals, writing a list and sticking to it, is key for saving money when doing food shopping
* Cooking from scratch, home made is often tastier and healthier than any processed meal that you buy in a shop.
* Buy cheaper cuts of meat, for example chicken thighs are cheaper but you can make a tasty dish for the whole family see below for tasty recipe.
* If you are cooking for one or two – make larger portions and freeze down leftovers
* Don't shop when you are hungry – hunger and willpower just don't really work together!
* Watch out for comfort eating – when we are down the best way to pick yourself up is to be more active – having a walk, putting on your music and dance round the kitchen, this will make you feel better than any chocolate can.
In these austere times it is safe to assume that most of us won't have as much money in our pockets. With a bit of planning this recession will turn us all into lean mean thrifty shopping and cooking machines.
For more recipe ideas see www.safefood.eu; www.bordbia.ie For more information or for more information on diet and nutrition, please contact: The Community Nutrition and Dietetic Service, HSE Dublin-Mid Leinster Tel: (044) 9395518 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.


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NKD Festival
Event created by Guest
Event details
We are pleased to announce a new major event for 2018 - NKD Festival
Location - A Secret Location near Poole in Dorset
Friday 25th - Monday 28th May - Bank Holiday Weekend
The event is designed for families, youth and festival spirited young adults.
Families and groups are encouraged to share pitches and make a weekend of it.
All passes to NKD INCLUDE a ticket to Splashdown Waterpark
There are separate camping areas for Families and Youth.
If you ask the question 'am I too old for this' then you probably are!
Festival spirited adults are welcomed particularly if you are joining extended family and friend groups.
We don't want to put a formal upper age limit on the event but please bear in mind this is a targeted youth and family event.
There are plenty of options from camping, glamping and more...
This will be a mad bank holiday weekend of family fun!
- UV Body Paint Disco
- Colour Paint Party - Holi Festival Style...
- NKD Slip & Slide
- Silent Disco
- Storytelling
- Campfire sing-a-long
- Family Games
BOOK ONLINE - www.nkdfest.co.uk


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The Nose will be staging its international premiere at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown this year. The musical was written by the prize-winning Kit Goldstein Grant, and will be directed by Cape Town-based Margot Wood for Anex Theatre Productions.
The musical…
The Nose is a new family musical based on the satirical short story by Nikolai Gogol. The play traces the miseries of a social climber who, in an absurd act of fate, loses his nose, which then acquires a successful social life of its own. The story has been seen as a precursor to modern magic realism and will provide entertainment to young and old alike.
The composer, lyricist, librettist…
Kit Goldstein Grant is a prize-winning New York City-based composer, lyricist and librettist. Her musicals have been seen at the Master Theater, the Midtown International Theater Festival, the Strawberry One-Act Festival, Calendar Boys Productions, the Emerging Artists Theatre New Work Series, the Musical Theatre Factory, and the National Opera Center. Kit has studied at Juilliard and the Tony-Award winning BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop, and is a founding member of NYC's Composers Collective. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild and ASCAP.
The director…
Margot Wood completed her undergraduate studies in Drama at UCT and holds an Honours in Acting and Directing (UKZN), a MDram (US) and a FTCL in Directing. She has directed more than 40 productions staged in and around Cape Town and at Festivals (NAF, KKNK, Woordfees, Suidoosterfees, Fugard Festival). Productions include People are Living There, The Captain's Tiger, El Grande de Coca Cola, Camino Real, The Glass Menagerie, The Diary of Anne Frank, WAM, Global Ballgame, The Miser, The Wizard of Oz, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
The pianist…
Peter Lewis started his musical career as a violinist in the UK as a member of the National Youth Orchestra. He has achieved his Grade 8 in violin, viola and piano. After his studies at Oxford, he toured the UK as director of music with a theatre company for seven years. After his move to South Africa, he taught class music at Trafalgar School in District 6. He performed in ensembles playing classical, African American jazz and African music. He has recorded a jazz/African CD. Peter teaches music in Muizenberg. He is also an accompanist and coaches small bands.
The cast…
David Wilke completed a Bachelor's degree in Screen Production and English Literature at UCT, followed by a year at the Waterfront Theatre Company where he honed his skills in Musical Theatre. David has performed in musicals at Artscape such as The Sound of Music, Oklahoma! and The Mikado, as well as various plays at the Masque Theatre.
Marzanne Kriek won the CATA award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Esmerelda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 2014. She has appeared in film and stage productions and was a member of the US choir. She has received training at the Byron Bure Academy of Theatre Arts, with Lynelle Kenned (singing), and Anton Luitingh and Duane Alexander (Musical Theatre).
Hilton Andries received his training at the Brueghel theatre in Stellenbosch whereafter he completed an Acting Refresher course at US. He has appeared in productions staged at the Woordfees, the Kalfiefees, the Baxter Zabalala Festival, the Brueghel theatre and the Klein Libertas theatre. He is an actor, playwright, singer and master of ceremonies.
Jared Ethan Blake was discovered on stage by Pieter Dirk Uys at the age of 7. This creator, writer and star of critically acclaimed online web series 'Gaze', went on to study music and sound production at COPA (Campus of Performing Arts) after he graduated school with Grade 8 in vocals from Trinity School of music. Following his studies Jared moved to work in the fashion media industry for Marie Claire but has since returned to his home, the stage.
Simthembile Gobeni studied Drama and Teaching at CADA in Cape Town and took part in the Sithi Drama and Life skills course at the Baxter Theatre, completing Level 3. He has appeared on stage at the Baxter Theatre, The Magnet Theatre and Artscape, and is a freelance actor and part-time facilitator of arts and culture in primary schools.
Dawie Fourie has appeared in a number of productions over the last decade, including People are living there, The Captain's Tiger, 2xBeckett, El Grande de Coco Cola, Camino Real, The Glass Menagerie, WAM, My Broer se Bril, Die Eend, and Die Dagboek van Anne Frank among others. He won the 2002 Stellies Youth and Student Film Award for Best One Minute Movie while studying Acting for the Camera at City Varsity.
The company…
Anex Theatre Productions is an independent theatre company based in Cape Town. The company was founded in 2006 and has staged plays at the National Arts Festival, the Fugard Festival and at theatres around Cape Town (the Rosebank Theatre, the New Space, the Klein Libertas Theatre, the Dorpstreet Theatre, the Fugard Theatre, the Mill Theatre). Productions include El Grande de Coca Cola, People are Living There,The Captain's Tiger, Global Ballgame, Happy Days, 2xBeckett.
Catch The Nose at the Masonic Front at the following times (full-price tickets are R90):
- Thursday 29 June at 16h00
- Friday 30 June at 14h00
- Saturday 1 July at 16h00
- Sunday 2 July at 12h00
- Tuesday 4 July at 20h00
- Wednesday 5 July at 22h00
- Thursday 6 July at 12h00
- Friday 7 July at 16h00


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In September over a dozen Coburg residents stepped up to help steer an Oregon Main Street program. "Oregon Main Street works with communities to develop comprehensive, incremental revitalization strategies based on a community's unique assets, character, and heritage." In short, the program is designed to help create a vibrant downtown while maintaining its vital character.
Preliminary meetings are being organized by the Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with Main Street program staff and the Rural Development Initiative. Information can be found at coburgchamber.com