text:
In a recent essay, Marilynne Robinson described the work of a writer as the continual attempt to "make inroads on the vast terrain of what cannot be said." If we can take our cue from Ms. Robinson, John Donatich's first novel, The Variations, attempts inroads into this terrain, but does not always succeed. And for this simple reason: with The Variations Donatich has attempted to stitch two books into one.
The first is the less compelling of the two. It deals centrally with Father Dominic, a member of that endangered species, the American-born, middle-aged Catholic priest, as he struggles to live the life of faith. At the outset of the novel, Dominic is the associate pastor of Our Lady of Fatima, a rundown parish in a rundown section of New Haven, Conn. Although a talented writer who earns a book deal on the strength of his written sermons, Dominic is an unsettled, anxious man, a frequent drinker and visitor of prostitutes. By turns pastorally sensitive to a young waif who seeks his help and yet tired of his aging parishioners, learned enough to quote Wittgenstein and yet given to fits of road rage that lead to his arrest, Dominic remains a difficult character to grasp.
All of these paradoxical traits certainly can coexist in a person, but in a fictional character they need to fit around some stable core, and the core of Dominic is inconsistently drawn. As a result he provides a rather weak gravitational pull for the minor characters who orbit around him, and I found myself relieved whenever Donatich allowed him to exit the stage.
Perhaps the difficulty in understanding Dominic comes from the fact that Donatich wants him to represent a question that many, myself included, feel quite poignantly: Is there any need for faith in our secular age? I could not agree more with Donatich that this topic is worthy of serious exploration, but much of the success of the exploration hinges on the extent to which the central character can evoke the same struggle in us.
The descriptions of Dominic's struggle are not compelling. Donatich's prose here is choppy, repetitive and stylistically overwrought. In the effort to describe spiritual drought, for example, Donatich piles descriptive sentences one atop another. This creates the impression that he lacks a firm grasp of the experience of faith slipping through one's hands. With the challenge of conveying the struggle with faith unmet, the reader is left understanding neither Dominic nor why losing contact with the divine might move the heart. Without this tension to drive the novel, the story of Father Dominic's departure from the priesthood lacks the cathartic mixure of feelings over something lost and something gained.
It is certainly possible that any priest may lose both his faith and his vocation, and to my mind Donatich's questions press upon many today; but the first of the two books in The Variations maps little of that vast terrain we call the struggle to believe.
The same cannot be said, however, of Donatich's second book. It tells of James, a young African-American pianist at an Ivy League conservatory, and his teacher, the aged and increasingly forgetful Signora Rosa. Together they rehearse Bach's "Goldberg Variations," whose name is one source of the novel's title. It is here that Donatich's real voice and narrative skill emerge.
An example: Describing James practicing passages from Bach over and over, Donatich writes that he "corrects his posture in the way that Father Dominic advised their parish choir—'Imagine that a string from the top of the sky was attached to your spine and was lifting you up higher and higher'—as if the discipline of good posture didn't deliberately push itself up from the abdomen but was an involuntary response to a pulling from above. To live life less as a burden and more like a submission to the force that would lift you." If Donatich's writings about the spiritual life of Father Dominic showed precision like this, the novel would have been stronger by far.
In the essay mentioned earlier, Ms. Robinson describes her personal library, saying, "I love the writers of my thousand books." She even loves "the large minority of the writers on my shelves who have struggled with words and thoughts and, by my lights, have lost the struggle." It seems that this is what has happened in The Variations. Donatich has lost the struggle not because he is not a good writer; rather he has lost it because, as he said of himself in a recent interview, he is "somewhat like Dominic, a person for whom the spiritual impulse has outlived its day-to-day utility."
A novel that attempts to depict the variations of the life of faith cannot succeed if it forgets that, as in classical music, variations are developments of the original aria. In the same way, it will remain difficult to write about variations on the life of faith if the conclusion has already been drawn that the original is outdated. It is difficult for any of us would-be writers—Donatich included—to tell an engaging story about a struggle in which we are no longer engaged.


text:
Flint Water is a short section of water that is located near Fallen Tree, Beacon Hill, The Panopticon and the FleischBerg brewery in Blueberry. It is part of the water system that connects the body of water near the Easter Bay International Airport to Los Santos Inlet. A short river also connects Flint Water and Fisher's Lagoon, another prominent body of water in the countryside.
Flint Water appears to be loosely based on Big Bear Lake, California.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|2007-05-02, 15:37
|Link #21
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Netherlands
Well.. I started with lynda.com's essentials tutorial which you can get the same you way you can get after effects. I didn't understand a thing about how selectors and stuff work when i started, and it took me a while to do so :P
I'd just give it a try, and if you need a couple of examples (.aep wise) or help with an effect or whatever.. just ask
|2007-05-03, 00:59
|Link #22
Translator, Producer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Age: 39
|2007-05-04, 09:35
|Link #24
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Well, it seems like you're all interested or something, I haven't gotten the chance to read through every messages, since I'm more of an IRC guy - who likes short messages ;p
I came across about Naruto by SD. It's a very simple karaoke. They basically did the karaoke in ssa and overlay on top of a video overlayed on top of the black strip. The overlay video appears to be random motion (it doesn't base on the tunes or lyrics).
Secondly, I have used quite a few ae effects, and they all work... like Turbulence Displacement (the name is 'turbulentDisplacement' - I'll have to give a short tutorial of how to make up the names for the effects and properties since it's not written clearly in the ae scripting manual)
Thirdly, as for particles and explosions, I just got my hands on Trapcode Particular. I should be able to use that in the karaoke, but I'm not quite sure about the rendering speed since I only own a Pentium-4 3GHz with 1 or 2GB of RAM. Of course, those exotic ones aren't meant for me to run
|2007-05-04, 10:42
|Link #25
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
The full functional program will include a separate gui exe program to generate .jsx on top of a separate include .jsx file (read and eval) for easy-to-use routines. I think that will be the best choice.
Last edited by pichu; 2007-05-04 at 10:54.
|2007-05-04, 17:20
|Link #26
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Netherlands
Well.. in that case why even bother opening AE up.. just let a script write a project file and render it with aerender. That should be doable with an external program like you want.
For me.. I just like AE as it is.. and every effect can be done in .ass and AE, i just depends on what you like working with. I don't like .ass cause i feel that it's not meant for the karaoke we have today, and because i like the overview i have of my effects and layers in AE (So I personally don't want to see hunderds of layers in AE).
Quite possibly (that means if you're skilled enough), you can make a program that 'virtually' makes hundreds of layers in AE, but those are visible as one or two layers in your external program.. I'd like to see that Then I'd be able to understand what I'm doing, and able to easily change stuff (because that's what costs a lot of time.. finetuning)
And if you want some help with particle effects or whatever you think i can help you with, I'd be glad to help (that is, if it's about an external program using the render engine of AE to render it, /me not like the idea of seeing hundreds of layers in AE, making it impossible to see what you're doing and impossible to change).
btw.. i've got nothing against plugins or effects that virtually make hundreds of layers.. as long as i don't see them
|2007-05-04, 18:23
|Link #27
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Yes, unfortunately... you need to create layers in AE (basically, I don't have the mood to make a separate AE interface - it will be easier for me if I use pre-existent interface)...
Well it's basically like this...
Select the text layers you created (with text styles and lead-ins/lead-outs effects and in-syllable effects) varied by the names (Kanji 1, Romaji 2, etc)
(You can also select image layers or video layers [for other overlaying effects], etc)
Run the script
then you'll get hundreds of layers (you can UNDO and ram preview if you want to)
Render it
(You don't need to save this product, only save your version before it gets generated)
I just started writing the script, and it will be based on objects (KRK object) because it's easier to organize.
though, it might save some ram issues if you don't display all the layers, but I'll give that a consideration if this is good to go.
The problem now is that SDK only runs on XP, not Windows Server 2003 (I only have that installed), which I find it stupid. I haven't gone through the documentation, but I'm not sure if I can use that to make use of .aep, or it's only for the plugins.
And, thanks for the suggestion
Edit: another thing that comes into mind, I can make a script such that you don't even need to deal with javascript at all. You just need to template your layers and effects, and it will do the rest.
|2007-05-05, 05:02
|Link #28
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Netherlands
Well.. i once made a script that goes from ssa/ass to hundreds of layers (and solids :P), but i didn't know how to get the xy-position of a syllable so i needed to that by hand. But basically it's the same as you want to do. And I have to say I didn't really like making hundreds of layers.. it was all in precomps and whatever.. but when i didn't like the font i had to through all precomps to change it >_< (blame adobe for not making font properties expressable).
And for effects (like particular)... you can just save a template of that effect (ffx) and use the applyTemplate function to apply it to a layer in a script.. that may come in handy
|2007-05-05, 08:11
|Link #29
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
|2007-05-05, 18:17
|Link #30
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Netherlands
Well.. you could make a script that makes one syllable at a time visible.. and motion tracks it, to find the position of all syllables
For particles.. it's really easy however.. just don't use point emitter, use layer or layer grid emitter.. The precomped text layer must then have one syllable visible at a time (or for one solid with particular per syllable, just one syllable visible all the time), and prolly the precomp (the composition size itself.. not the size it has within another composition) should be shrunk somehow.. grid layer with the max of 200.000 particles per second means.. with a 300x300 grid.. ehmm.. well.. one syllable every 0.45 seconds or so.. (it does emit particles where there are no visible parts.. that means that with a normal comp size of 704x396 there is rougly 1 particle emitted for every 2 vertical pixel.. and 1 per horizontal).
Of course, this isn't a problem when using one solid with particular per syllable.. however (as i experienced myself), it will render 90.000 particles (300x300 grid) for every syllable.. as long as the particles.. or the layer is visible (dont know that.. ) Rendering the few particularized lines in my Noein OP cost me, using 3 pc's, 2 to 3 hours to render :P
So i usually use just one solid per.. well.. everything.. as you can just put more text layers in one precomp, and use it as an emitter for all of your lines
It does really suck that font properties cant be set with expressions yes.. would've saved me a lot of time with that Noein OP :P (with all those precomps).
Anyway.. good luck I'd like to see how it's going to look like..
|2007-05-05, 20:02
|Link #31
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Ok, thanks for the idea. Motion trackers would have been nice... but, this is from AE CS3 scripting manual:
As for font properties, it's not a problem as long as you're not changing the font and basic alignments (essentially not needed in karaoke), since you can use rangeSelector and textAnimator to modify or simulate most of the font properties.
|2007-05-06, 05:45
|Link #32
Computer graphist
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Paris, France
Age: 35
You know, putting keyframes isn't that long either
In order to make an "automated tracking" you would have to precomp the layers, track the precomposition... can't remember if you can track with scripting...
|2007-05-07, 16:59
|Link #33
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
As I was thinking, I can't do tracking at all. But, precomposing [precompose()] might help a bit in terms of displaying all hundreds of layers, so that you only see one layer consisting of the karaoke effects in your original composition.
There is one reason why using keyframes alone won't help at all, but first I'll discuss about the timings, as I have watched quite a few Karaoke as well as making some karaoke on my own (SSA and AE).
There are seven (7) timings I can think up of, and I'll let the user to set basic timings using the slider control or the markers (so no coding is ever needed, and you'll be able to see each timing keyframes right on the screen instead of thinking about it).
[TODO] (I think this will be the main core of implementation)
Timings Chart:
Timings Description:
There are two types of timings: one is absolute timing, and one is normalized timing (it will be normalized based on Timing #4 [Syllable or Line - depending which part you're on)
Okay, so what does this have anything to do with keyframing effects? A lot. First of all, when doing such effects based on keyframes instead of multiple layers, you can't have any effects on Timing #3 and Timing #5 (Lead-in/Lead-out Syllable). Unfortunately, most fancy karaokes tend to abuse Lead-in and Lead-out effects. However, some effects may allow you to create smaller sizes to fit into the appropriate region, but I'm not going to go through that mess since one will have to tweak them quite a bit. However, I can decide to let the user to take out Timing #3 and #5, allowing them to improve drastically in rendering speed, since they only need one or two (one for display and one for the effects) layers per line. (Text Animator and some effects [like bulge, etc] can use one line) The settings will be described in the Layer comments, and the name of the Layer is determined from the SSA styles and layer #.
In addition, there will be two types of effects, one is effects on the text, and one is via the layer (moving images/videos or effects [like Trapcode Particular for Particle Effects]). I haven't thought about how to approach this yet. Each syllable will be displayed not based on the position but based on the range selector (alpha to hide the rest).
In my case, since I wasn't able to find the position data using just AE alone, I have created a separate javascript (using IE, Firefox, or Opera) to get the width and height from each syllable. I recommend Opera though since it seems to display most of the Kanji properly. But, this is a temporary solution for me. I noticed in AE CS3, there's calculateTransformFromPoints, which probably allows me to transform any 3 points in the 3D coordinate system to what the layer depicts. That might be helpful.
|2008-10-14, 08:37
|Link #34
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
The script is almost ready for public testing once I finished applying on one more karaoke that involves particles on positional keys. I need some suggestions about embeddable script. I'm planning to have the script embedded into the project, so that you only need to execute the script once. I have a few designs. I would like to embed scripts into the project.
1. Have a new comp called INFO, and have a text layer with the Karaoke JSON as the source text. Then the script can be anywhere in that layer as an expression (= icon is checked off so that it won't get evaluated)
What do you think? [IMPLEMENTED: it's named "KRK" Comp, and the expression has to be under Source Text and can have the Expression disabled (= is checked off): the source text can either be your codes or the karaoke json, and the same goes for the expressions. It pretty much works as you just need to run that script on your current project file, and then your script will be run.]
I'd like to talk about the structure of the framework. The script is about 2300+ lines on about 60kB... It misses some features like vector manipulations (path [text and other filters like trapcode particular, vector draws, and our favorite: masks), and some parts need to be fixed like Bezier curves renormalization. Also, I need to design the easiest way to precomp the layers within KRKComp as individual-base, or as a group, or as a whole. Then have the script to rename the layer link as the correct layer (it will be very useful in effects like Trapcode Form -- where dispersable effects are set by layered composition rather than text layers). As far as I know, there are no scripts available to handle those unsupported features unless you write one yourself.
var K = { ... Karaoke JSON ... } ; var a = new KRKProject( K ) ; a.add( "Karoake" ) /// This will add a KRKComp into the project, and you can get it through a.comps.Karaoke (note, no semicolon ";") .add( "Romaji" ) /// This will add in an AFX Layer called "Romaji" in Karaoke Comp (there are options too but the options haven't been tested yet)
add( "Karaoke" ) .add( "Romaji" ) add( "Particle" ) .add( "Romaji" ) // Note, on a different comp, you need to copy the same layer there, since duplicate( ) function does not duplicate to a different comp--unless I precomp() it. comps.Karaoke // This is how you're going to go back to the original karaoke comp. .add( "English" )
Yes, let's move on to KRKLayer public methods. Note: they're all single letters acronyms
add( "Karaoke" ) .add( "Romaji" ) /* The following adds layers */ .l( "romaji" ) // romaji is the .ass style you want to add in. .l( ['romaji2',0] ) // romaji2 is the .ass style you want to add in, "0" is the layer number (Dialogue: 0, ...) /* The following adds text animators (Karaoke): Make sure they have been disabled: I'm thinking of disabling all the animators from the beginning. */ .a( ["in","out"] ) // Lead-in and Lead-out effects using Text animators "in" and "out" are the names of the Animators you selected. .a( ["kon","on"] , true )
/* The following adds properties (make sure you have them set with keyframes) */ .p( "Effects.Glow.Intensity" , true )
Finally, you need to do this before everything else is applied, or else no layers will be created:
a.commit( )
Final script summary:
add( "Karaoke" ) .add( "Romaji" ) .l( "romaji" ) .a( ["in","out"] ) .a( ["kon","on"] , true ) .p( "layerStyle.outerGlow.size" , true ) comps.Karaoke .add( "Romaji" ) .a( ["in","out"] ) .a( ["kon","on"] , true ) .l( "romaji" ) comps.Karaoke .add( "English" ) .a( ["in","out"] ) .l( "english" )
I think that wraps up about the script. There are some options like un-normalizations, which will allow the script to generate keys using absolute times. Oh yeah, one more thing I should mention. The script can also generate syllable per layer basis... This will indeed take a lot of time to run it, and you need to make sure it's been set correctly or else this will appear wrong.
Before wrapping up, to use this script, you need to add markers (if you don't, then lead-in, start, lead-out, and end time will be assumed as in-point and out-point times)
The markers must have chapter names like: in or <, start or [, end or ], out or >. Then you can play around with your keyframes to match up with the markers or in-point/out-point. Line and Syllable-based keyframes will be treated relatively to keyframes you created.
Other than that, I'll try to make template project for you to use to get started.
Then, I'll provide a few animators presets so that it will be so easy to use, and sample scripts for those presets.
As a side-note, this script does not contain presets (unlike Sh's and PT's and some other script I tried before) or anything that can produce karaoke. It only generates the stuff you created. So be creative
Before releasing this to the public, I wanted to add one more feature. Basically it will automatically create the codes for you. So that you just need to edit the part that needs edited. How it works:
Last edited by pichu; 2008-10-14 at 16:29. Reason: Added Autocode Plan
|2008-10-18, 10:34
|Link #35
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Okay, I fixed out most of the bugs, and is ready for public testing. The whole project is to allow one to automate karaoke easily just like Auto4 for .ass, and you have one for AFX. Since there are no presets in this script, you can't make Karaoke without knowing AFX. I also wrote a getting start guide on that page. You can learn how to make a very basic Karaoke. The script behaves like Shinji's script.
Here's the settings:
To add one layered effect:
To add two layered effect using opacity (on and off syllables) [make sure you disable them when generating]
Note: all use advanced.mode=Add. I have not added "before" and "after" syllable handling yet, but they'll be around when I have the time to design the inputs. It should be easy, and it can be added into part of the codes. You can also cheat this part with Line effect using Ramp Up and Ramp Down in advanced.shape.
edit: To add Before and After syllable effect, use Ramp Up and Ramp Down MODE for syllable effect. Play around with this, since I haven't done so.
Codes guidelines
There are two types of timings. Syllable and Line (usually the default).
Under KRK Comp:
Under KRK Text Layer in each Comp:
Now you're finished. Tell me what do you think. Note: You must be good in After-Effects, understanding how properties and text animators work. Or else, you won't be able to use this script at all.
Last edited by pichu; 2008-10-18 at 15:18. Reason: Before and After syllable effects using RAMP modes
|2008-10-18, 13:31
|Link #36
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Home
I'm with ya, pichu. We use AFX because it's a way to entertain ourselves and leechers. Good AFX users don't fill in half of the screen with suppaa heebii FX, they try to be in harmony with the animation. If I knew scripting, I'd automatize so many stuff, but since I can't right now, I can't help it but wait for someone superior (like Shinji or pichu theirselves) to create something awesome that helps us doing our stuff as fans and amateurs.
I'm gonna try this, pichu, and I'll let you know something about it. I managed to understand most part of your fixed-length script. Awesome tool, man.
|2008-10-18, 13:42
|Link #37
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
See my ef karaoke, which uses fixed-length time (life cycle is 1.5sec for the chorus, and 3sec for nonchorus) and syllable-per-layer for the feathers. To use this feature, you'll have to define in your marker:
The first marker:
Again, I haven't tested one more part. Fixed time can be done locally rather than globally (unnorm in marker), where you define like this:
{syl: true, unnorm: 'start'} in .p or .a.
But yes, you need to understand AFX really well to use this script, since there are no easy-to-use presets made for you. I hate people coming to me said that they want to do AFX karaoke, but they have not done anything in AFX at all.
PS: before public beta release, I was testing zero-space word timing (idea taken from Shinji's script), where you define "Spacing" as a slider in your template. The script will automatically add a space between the syllables and set the tracking value to your slider control in your original template. You can then adjust it and compare against each other. It's useful in syllable zooming, where it will be moved properly. Note: you'll have to set the mode to "Word" if you want to see the effect. The script doesn't adjust this for you.
The syllable timing mode supports: Character, Character Excluding Space, and Word. Just a note, word will not work out that well if you don't use Spacing control. I didn't implement the last mode (Line) because I don't see a point doing this one.
Last edited by pichu; 2008-10-18 at 13:56.
|2008-10-18, 14:07
|Link #39
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
The keyframe definitions (in text animators/ first range selector, and properties), text typeface are all designed in your text layer. The script duplicates your template layer and generate based on your specifications in the 'code section' (I already made the coding a lot easier to write--the front-end methods do not require so many arguments) Currently, the script won't work with curves because I didn't normalize it correctly; so you can only have two types of keyframes: HOLD and LINEAR. The curve keyframes (Auto-Bezier and Bezier) may work for fixed-length time settings with fixed values, because the timings are not normalized.
There's one feature I'd like to implement later on, but it will require a very powerful system (yay getting Core 2 Quad 2.83GHz next week) to run it.
Basically I would like to precompose generated layers individually (.c), and modify the .p so that it can set run through the script to set the property to that layer (aka property using layer as a value). Why is this interesting? Heard of Trapcode Form? That's an effect I'd like to try and enable. It basically allows particles at the layer level. It means that if I get the text layers (syllable by layer - precomposed). By doing so, I can have the particles at the syllable level or line level, instead of faking it with text to particles stuff. This way, the effects can be shattered and merged for real. The shatter effect can do that, but it's very limited; Trapcode Form has this requirement, and no other scripts can do that, and you don't really want to precompose 300 layers manually... It will be a waste of time.
Last edited by pichu; 2008-10-18 at 15:35. Reason: TODO
|2008-10-19, 09:33
|Link #40
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Okay, sample project file is up (requires After-Effects CS3):
It shows you the following:
Note: the Karaoke timing is taken from Shuffle! Memories OP1. The font used is Arial Unicode MS.
I wrote up more stuff too. Go Read on:
I hope this script makes your karaoke a lot easier to create now.
Join in #gwi-afx @ irc.rizon.net to discuss more about this script. I thought a few new additions to the methods (including time-remap features, and so forth) Please Join in, as this project is still active.
Last edited by pichu; 2008-10-19 at 11:40.
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Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, (born 1935, Zefat, Palestine [now in Israel]), Palestinian politician, who served briefly as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority in 2003 and was elected its president in 2005 following the death of Yasser Arafat.
Abbas, born in the Arab-Jewish town of Zefat, fled with his family to Syria during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Despite the family's refugee status, Abbas earned a law degree from the University of Damascus. In the late 1950s Abbas was one of the early members of Fatah, which spearheaded the Palestinian armed struggle and came to dominate the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). As head of the PLO's international department in the late 1970s, Abbas was instrumental in forging contacts with Israeli peace groups. In 1982 Abbas was awarded a doctorate in history from Moscow State University; his dissertation, which examined Nazism and Zionism, later was decried by Jewish groups as a work of Holocaust denial, and in the 1990s he distanced himself from some of its more controversial elements.
In the early 1990s Abbas shaped Palestinian negotiating strategy at both the peace conference in Madrid (1991) and in secret meetings with the Israelis in Norway. Through the resulting Oslo Accords (1993), Israel and the Palestinians extended mutual recognition to each other, and Israel ceded some governing functions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to a Palestinian Authority. Abbas was a senior member of the Palestinian delegation to the Camp David peace talks in July 2000; he adamantly rejected Israel's peace offer but opposed the violent Palestinian uprising called the intifāḍah (Arabic: "shaking off") that followed. In 2003, after intense international pressure, Abbas was installed as Palestinian prime minister as an effort to circumvent Arafat, who was considered an impediment to peace by Israel and the United States. Abbas quickly renounced terrorism, called for an end to the intifāḍah against Israel, and resolved to create a single Palestinian armed force, but he soon resigned from office, claiming he had been undermined by Israel, the United States, and Arafat.
Following Arafat's death in November 2004, Abbas was named head of the PLO. In January 2005 he easily won the election to succeed Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority, garnering more than 60 percent of the vote. Abbas was forced to confront deep divisions within the Palestinian Authority in 2006 after candidates backed by Hamas, a militant Islamic party, won a majority of seats in legislative elections. A short-lived Fatah-Hamas coalition government gave way to violence, and in 2007 Hamas established exclusive control in the Gaza Strip.
Abbas participated in direct peace talks with Israel in 2010. However, the talks quickly came to a halt over the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Following the talks' failure, Abbas shifted his efforts toward gaining international recognition for a Palestinian state. In September 2011 Abbas submitted a request to the United Nations Security Council asking for the admission of an independent Palestinian state to the United Nations. The action—which was opposed by Israel and the United States—had become necessary, he argued, because the U.S.-mediated peace negotiations had placed too little pressure on Israel to make concessions for peace.
In May 2011 Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement calling for the formation of an interim government to organize legislative and presidential elections in 2012. After months of negotiations over the leadership of the interim government, the two parties announced in February 2012 that they had selected Abbas for the post of interim prime minister.
A year after the failure of the Palestinian bid for full membership in the UN, Abbas announced that he would seek the UN General Assembly's implicit recognition of Palestinian statehood by submitting a draft resolution to the UN General Assembly requesting that the status of the Palestinian mission to the UN (officially called Palestine within the UN) be upgraded from "permanent observer" to "nonmember observer state." The designation, while falling short of full UN membership, would allow Palestinians to seek membership in international bodies such as the International Criminal Court. The resolution passed on November 29, 2012, with 138 countries in favour, 9 opposed, and 41 abstentions. The resolution also urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume stalled negotiations toward a two-state solution. Israeli officials opposed Abbas's bid for recognition, saying that such unilateral actions by the Palestinians would hold up negotiations with Israel.
In September 2015 Abbas announced in a speech to the UN General Assembly that Palestinians were no longer bound by the Oslo Accords, which he accused Israel of repeatedly violating. The practical effects of his declaration remained unclear, however, since he stopped short of naming specific actions to be taken, such as dissolving the Palestinian Authority or ending security coordination with Israel.


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High Country Treasures has joined the Evergreen Design Center on Meadow Drive.
The shop, in the space where Rocky Mountain Log Furniture used to be, has a trove of high-end antiques and vintage and designer items.
Owners Deb and Jake Robinson moved the store from Conifer to be in the Design Center to complete the ensemble of home décor businesses. In the center, you'll find furniture, carpets, wall décor, gardening accessories and floral arrangements.
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Canyon Courier, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.
|ZIP Code:


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Why does the smell of apples cooking speak to us so deeply? When an apple dessert is in the oven, the entire household becomes enchanted with the smell. Indeed, house-sellers are advised to have a pot of apple cider with cinnamon on the stove to make the atmosphere homey.
The crisp, firm texture of a fresh apple is one of its best qualities, but when it is cooked, the texture is transformed into silky softness. My grandmother made baked apples, which would emerge from the oven deflated and brownish-green. She didn't do anything fancy to them; just a sprinkling of brown sugar and cinnamon. What they lacked in beauty they made up for in taste and texture. The best part was the flesh that clung to the skin. I would eat the insides and save the skin for last, rolling it into a neat cylinder and popping it into my mouth where I would chew and savour the leathery texture combined with the sweet and sour flavour.
When I was a kid, the only variety of apples available in supermarkets was the McIntosh, which was hit or miss - they were great in the fall, but became mealy and tasteless as winter progressed. A Red Delicious was a real treat and I had my first real Red Delicious from a gnarled tree in Waterloo, Ont. I still remember that tiny apple sitting in my hand and the way it tasted. So crisp, light and with an intoxicatingly pure apple flavour.
Nowadays, a well-stocked Montreal supermarket at this time of year will offer five or six varieties of Quebec apples, but you can find as many as 13 kinds in some stores.
The bestsellers are Cortland, Empire, Lobo, McIntosh, Paulared and Spartan.
Cortland is the best choice for cooking because it keeps its shape. It's also tops for salads and fruit cups because it is slow to turn brown when cut. Paulared and Lobo are firm apples, making them good choices for cooking, too.
McIntosh used to be considered the all-purpose apple, but it has a soft, watery characteristic when cooked. For applesauce, McIntosh, Empire and Gala are good choices. Empire and Spartan are tops for eating fresh.
I still think a good baked apple is one of the best desserts. But also in the "best" category are apple cakes. They're easy to make, and good to have on hand.
- - -
Okanagan Apple Muffins
Makes 15
These muffins are a great excuse to eat cake without calling it cake.
1/2 cup (125 mL) brown sugar, firmly packed
6 tablespoons (90 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 mL) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup (150 mL) vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
1 cup (250 mL) water
2 teaspoons (10 mL) apple-cider vinegar
21/2 cups (625 mL) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) sea salt
2 cups (500 mL) unpeeled, cored apples, chopped into 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces
Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 C). Spray a 15-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray, or line with paper cups.
Topping: Combine brown sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix with your fingers until crumbly. Set aside.
Muffins: Beat brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla together in a large bowl. In a measuring cup, combine the water and vinegar. Sift the flour, soda and salt together and blend into the oil mixture alternately with the water. Add apples and mix until just combined. Spoon into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the topping. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
Approximate nutritional
content per serving:
Protein.....................................3 g
Fat..........................................12 g
Carbohydrates........................76 g
Dietary fibre..............................1 g
Sodium..............................175 mg
Rustic Apple Cake
This is one of the simplest apple cakes, and one of the best.
1/4 cup (50 mL) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup (50 mL) vegetable oil
2 cups (500 mL) sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 mL) sea salt
1 tablespoon (15 mL) cinnamon
3 large apples, unpeeled, cored and chopped into 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Line the bottom of a 10-inch (25 cm) springform pan with parchment paper and spray the pan with nonstick spray.
Beat together butter, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until blended. Whisk the flour with the baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to the wet mixture. Mixture will be thick. Fold in apples. Turn mixture into pan and spread evenly.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack and remove from the pan.
Approximate nutritional
content per serving:
Protein.....................................3 g
Fat...........................................8 g
Carbohydrates........................57 g
Dietary fibre.............................2 g
Sodium..............................315 mg
Apple Streusel Cake
Serves 12
Dense and moist with a slight crunch from the streusel.
3/4 cup (175 mL) softened butter
2 cups (500 mL) sugar
8 ounces (250 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
3 eggs
1 tablespoon (15 mL) pure vanilla extract
2 cups (500 mL) whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons (10 mL) baking powder
1/3 teaspoon (1.5 mL) sea salt
11/2 teaspoons (7 mL) cinnamon
11/2 teaspoons (7 mL) cardamom
3/4 cup (750 mL) brown sugar
3 cups (750 mL) apples peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) dice
Oatmeal Almond Streusel (recipe follows)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Line the bottom of a 10-inch (25 cm) springform pan with parchment paper and spray the pan with nonstick spray.
Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the cream cheese and beat until light and fluffy. Beat the vanilla and eggs together; slowly dribble into the cream cheese mixture, scraping down the bowl until well combined.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to creamed mixture and beat until just combined.
Toss the cinnamon, cardamom and brown sugar together. Reserve a third of this, and mix the rest with the chopped apple. Fold the apples into the batter.
Spread half the batter, then the streusel, then the remaining batter into the pan. Sprinkle with the reserved brown sugar and spice mixture. Bake for 1 hour and 20-35 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack and remove from the pan.
Oatmeal Almond Streusel:
1/4 cup (50 mL) whole almonds
1/4 cup (50 mL) flour
1/2 cup (125 mL) brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon (5 mL) cinnamon
1 teaspoon (5 mL) cardamom
1/2 cup (125 mL) rolled oats
1/4 cup (50 mL) butter, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes
Combine the dry ingredients. Toss with the butter. Pulse in the food processor to combine (the almonds should still be chunky).
Spread out onto a rimmed, parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 C) for 15 minutes, stirring once, until golden and crunchy. Let cool.
Approximate nutritional
content per serving:
Protein.....................................7 g
Fat.........................................25 g
Carbohydrates.......................123 g
Dietary fibre.............................3 g
Sodium.............................395 mg


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Today is Independence day here in the U.S., a day where we celebrate our establishment as a free nation. It is difficult, even for one day, for our country to set aside our differences to rejoice in what binds us together as a nation. Liberals and conservatives are at each other's throats, and I expect the divisions to worsen in the coming days. We still haven't figured out how to meld our increasingly multicultural country into a working whole. Racism, sexism, ageism, and all the other isms still roam our streets and tear up lives. We still allow those with money and power to wield their influence over those less fortunate.
Yet I'm proud to be an American. Proud to live in a country where we can bicker, snipe, and sneer loudly; where we can still criticize our government without fear of reprisal; where we can, if we stop bickering, sniping, and sneering for a few minutes, actually hear what the people think--all the people, not just those in power. Yes, our way of life is messy. It can be loud. It definitely can be frustrating. But at its heart, it also, I believe, stays true to the wise words of our founding fathers:
- We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
These guys knew of what they spoke. The real message America sends to the rest of the world is not about McDonalds, or TV and movies, or a culture of excess. It's that governments are accountable to the people, not the other way around, and that when a government forgets that, the people have a right to bring it down and set up a new one that will be accountable to them. No one is so rich, so powerful, so omnipotent that a determined group of people can't make change happen. Our forebears did it, with some help from our friends (even back in 1776, our nascent country understood that it was fighting to become one self-governing piece of an interdependent whole). But freedom is never free--you have to want it bad enough to bear the unspeakable costs.
The other day, an online discussion group was talking about what they think defines patriotism. For me, it's loving your country so much that you'd be willing to die for it. It's not forgetting that bad things can happen in your own backyard, and that you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to keep your land, your people, and your ideology safe. But it's also respecting the many cultures, subcultures, species, environment, systems of thought, politics--all the physical, spiritual, and ideological things that make your country the unique place it is--the place that's worth fighting for. Even the parts we don't personally like or agree with, because without the warts, we'd be a different frog altogether.
Another important piece of being a patriot, to me, is ensuring that you keep working toward "liberty and justice for all." For me, "all" doesn't just mean "all Americans," and independence doesn't mean solitude--hand in hand with independence are responsibility and accountability as independent nations who inhabit the same planet, whose actions and inactions have a profound impact on the rest of our global network. Within our own country are worlds of differences, and within our world, universes of differences. But liberty and justice for all is something I think we can all agree with as a worthy pursuit of a true patriot, whatever country you reside in. When all people are free and treated justly, all our nations are freer and more just.
So wherever you live, please join me in a round of applause for all who cherish freedom, manifested in both small ways and large. Please join me in celebrating not only our independence as individuals and nations, but even more so our interconnectedness with and responsibility to each other. In the midst of all the flag-waving and fireworks, let's remember just what it is all the bunting is about. And if you disagree with me, let's talk about it. That's the beauty of America, all these disparate voices coming together to make a song. That's the beauty of humanity, all these disparate voices coming together to make a symphony.
Happy Independence day.


text:
Love, your dearest spammee
In the course of February, Spam Karma saw 2932 spam attempts here.
Out of these, 18 made it through and landed online (including a set of ten at once). That's not a 100% score, just over 99.3%.
What really amused me with comment spam attempts was the neverending flow of "compliments". There was just something ironic about a bot thanking you for your efforts over and over again, in dozens of ways.
So from day one I kept a mailbox full of compliments I received, and finally yesterday I went through the e-mails and compiled a list of the 83 ways spammers love me.
Without further ado, I bestow upon thee visitor, The Automated Guestbook!
(See also: Philosophic interlude.)


text:
An Irish singer who had made it through on 'American Idol' has been kicked off the show after it was found that he did not have the necessary visa to take part.
Keith Semple won a ticket to the final stages of the contest in Hollywood, but show producers later queried his green card status.
"You have to be a permanent resident to enter the show, I was trying frantically to get everything done in time and unfortunately it was a postal error which cost me," said Semple.
"I am extending the visa I already have while applying for my permanent status."
However it was too late for the Larne, Northern Ireland singer and he was booted off.
He had moved to Chicago in 2006 after a band there, 7th Heaven, saw him on a MySpace video and invited him to join them.
"I plan on living in Chicago for good, although I will always come home from time to time." he told the BBC.
"Home will always be Northern Ireland. I love and miss Larne, however, for my music I have no choice but to live in the USA.
"I could never be as busy, or play to as many people or make as good a living back home in the music scene. I have played to twice the population of Northern Ireland since I arrived here."
"The biggest crowd (we have played to) to date has been 62,000 people opening up for Huey Lewis in Chicago, the year before we played to crowds of between 10,000 and 20,000 at festivals almost all summer long."
Semple said he might enter next year's American Idol, but hopes the band makes it before that.
"We could make it that big, any band could. It's nothing to do with the band after a certain point, they can have the talent, the stage presence and the songs, but it's up to the people with the money after that - it's an unfortunate part of the business.
"I have an amazing career here in the USA. I play to more than a million people a year in over 225 shows and make a good living.
"This is all I have ever done since I was 16 and wouldn't ever consider doing anything else, I will go on performing until I am 90."


text:
HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. - After the first two rounds of the F&M APSU Intercollegiate, the Lipscomb men's golf team is tied for sixth place after shooting 575 (-1) for the day.
The tournament is a 54-hole format, with 36 being played on Monday and the final 18 on Tuesday.
When the first round came to a close, Lipscomb was in second place, six shots behind Belmont. After the second, it slipped to sixth.
Mikey Feher tied the second-lowest round of the day when he carded a 67 in the morning round. The second round, Feher shot a two-under par 70 for a 36-hole total of 137 (-7). He leads the Bisons and is third overall.
Sydney Chung and Stoney Crouch are tied for 24th after each fired a 144 (E) on Monday. Chung shot 70 in round one then played round two at two-over par (74).
Playing in his first round of competition play in over a month, Crouch started the day with a 71 finishing with a 73 in the second round.
Paul Klein-Kracht ended the day in a tie for 58th after posting scores of 76-74.
Dustin Wilder had his two highest rounds of the year after shooting 79-77. He is tied for 80th.
As an individual, Dowling Armstrong carded a 79 in round one before shooting even-par 72 in the second. Entering the final round on Tuesday, Armstrong is tied for 66th overall.
Belmont leads the APSU Intercollegiate at 21-under par, (555). Eastern Kentucky is second at minus-18. Host Austin Peay stands in third and trails EKU by eight strokes.
Taylor Riggs of EKU leads the field at 10-under after shooting rounds of 70-64.
The third and final round will be played on Tuesday at The Links of Novadell, a par-72 course covering 7,132 yards.


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Lawas is a small frontier town in the northeastern corner of Sarawak state in Malaysian Borneo. The town is located in a strip of Sarawak territory sandwiched between the Temburong district of Brunei and Malaysia's Sabah state. It is cut off from the rest of Sarawak and is more easily accessed from Sabah.
The town does not have many attractions to interest the traveller but you may find yourself here if you are travelling overland between Sabah and Sarawak. Quiet and peaceful, Lawas is quite pleasant if you have to stop for a day or two.
Lawas is also the starting point for the logging road to Ba Kelalan in the Sarawak Highlands.
Get in
By air
Lawas has an airport (code LWY)(Tel: +60-85-211200) which is served by the rural air service provided by MASWings [1] which took over from FlyAsian Xpress (FAX) on October 1, 2007. Twin Otter planes link Lawas with Ba Kelalan, Kota Kinabalu, Limbang and Miri.
By road
The road network in Lawas is directly linked to Sabah while access to the rest of Sarawak requires you to travel through Brunei. You will most likely find yourself in Lawas if you are travelling overland between Sabah and Sarawak. See Kota Kinabalu to Brunei in a day. Lawas is also the starting point for the ex-logging trail to Ba Kelalan.
By bus
Minivans and local buses operated by the Lawas Bus Company Sdn Bhd link Lawas neighbouring towns like Trusan, Punang, Sundar and Merapok as well as Beaufort in Sabah. Most minivans leave in the morning. Air conditioned long-distance express buses connect Lawas with Kota Kinabalu and towns in between like Sipitang and Beaufort. Sipitang Express Bus Sdn Bhd [2] (Tel: +60-(0)16-8326722 in Lawas, +60-88-213722 in Kota Kinabalu) runs one daily bus to Kota Kinabalu, departing at 12:30. From Kota Kinabalu, buses depart at 07:30. Journey is about five hours (two hours to Beaufort) and the one way fare is RM20 or RM11 for Beaufort. The Lawas Bus Company runs a daily express bus service to and from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah leaving Lawas in the morning and returning from Kota Kinabalu at 1pm, arriving in Lawas at about 5pm. RM30 one way.
To get to Ba Kelalan, private four-wheel drives usually offer seats to passengers. They cost around RM40 one way. Check around where buses and taxis stop.
By boat
Boats connect Lawas with Brunei, Labuan and Limbang.
Get around
Lawas town is small enough to get around on foot. There are local buses and minivans linking Lawas with neighbouring towns and villages like Trusan, Sundar, Awat Awat, Kuala Lawas, Long Tuma and Merapok on the Sabah-Sarawak border.
kuala lawas
Tau chio char mi, Gong tau pem bao
Get out


text:
Have A Bloody Good Time On Xbox Live Arcade
Ubisoft announced today that Bloody Good Time, a new intellectual property being developed by Outerlight, will be released on Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360 this Fall.
Bloody Good Time takes a new and irreverent approach to multiplayer shooters and will run on Valve's Source engine, a well-known specialized 3D game engine for classic multiplayer shooters. Bloody Good Time puts players on a Hollywood set, where they get to choose their thrill. From a spring-break beach house, to a horrifying Vegas hotel, players will discover the merciless world of movie studios where anyone can star in a scary Hollywood blockbuster film. There is an option link up to eight players online in this first-person shooter and to have a multiplayer experience like no other.
In Bloody Good Time, players can be as devious as possible by killing other competitors in nasty and unexpected ways. Players can use an arsenal of wacky weapons including guns, a frying pan and even an exploding remote-controlled rat to transform the movie set into real mayhem. In addition, players will be able to choose from a variety of stereotypical B-movie characters, such as the bikini beach babe, the creepy clown and the super jock.


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Prime Minister Julia Gillard will personally introduce legislation for a new school funding system and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) into parliament this week.
"These will be the defining issues for 2013," Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
She said education was the foundation stone of her plan for Australia's future while the NDIS, like Medicare, would be a "Labor instrument of fairness".
The two bills are likely to be put to parliament on Wednesday or Thursday.
But Ms Gillard said while she was focused on the nation's future, the opposition would continue its campaign of "sleaze and smear" in parliament this week.
"There is a reason that the opposition has adopted that as their political strategy for this final sitting week," she said.
"The opposition's political strategy ... since the 2010 election has been to use negativity to try and bring this parliament to an end and have an early election."
That particular campaign had "run out of huff", she said, as Australians found Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's predictions about the consequences of pricing carbon did not eventuate.
"In this situation Mr Abbott has led the Liberals to where they've got nowhere else to go.
"They've got no positive plan for the nation's future.
"So in those circumstances they've got to insert something into the vacuum and what they've determined to insert in the vacuum is smear and sleaze."


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and I've noticed,
that without really thinking about it,
I've got a design trend happening.
Can you see it?
I think I'm having a natural attraction to
all things black and white and garden inspired.
It's great when things just kind of fall together like that! I love looking at your pictures.
What is your favorite black paint? I've used multiple brands but I just haven't found "the one."
I prefer a satin finish on my items. When I use spray paint I use Rust-oleum premium satin black or the Rust-oleum American Accents in Canyon Black satin which is a little less $$ but still gives a nice finish. I've tried other brands, but they don't seem to cover as well or have the finish I like.
Love my black spray paint I also use a lot of heirloom white. I think I may go a little bold with red paint on a outdoor bench. Still not sure if that might be a little to bright.
Have a great weekend.
I think you could close your eyes, blindly pick 5 random things from your house and they would all look fantastic together!
I am always surprised how stuff I have and love goes so great with other stuff I already have and love!
You got it going on... Love that birdhouse! Want to sell it, hehe... Susie H
i heart black spray paint.
As an avid thrift store and curbside shopper, spray paint is my best friend. It does wonders doesn't it? I love all your groupings I find them interesting to look at and very soothing.
Oh, I really, really, love black spray paint. It makes everything look better, curtain rods, old chairs, new chairs, you name it. I'm with you on using Rust-oleum. Ya get what you pay for with spray paint. Love your decorating.
Joy, everytime I visit your page you add another item(s) to the list of things I MUST have to decorate my house. You're contagious!


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Kitsap County is a county in Washington near Seattle. Silverdale is one of the cities in Kitsap county where large beastly women wander around the mall and other strip malls that have stores with size 16 and above selections. These women are also known as KitSilverbacks. Large and hairy, these beasts are known to waddle through parking lots toward food, sales and usually have a cloud of kids floating near its calves. See also bremelo.
I went to Ross today to try to find a fondue pot but a KitSilverback was waddling in front of me and taking up the whole row. I got tired of hearing her wheezing so I left.
by magicconch333 October 24, 2009
buy the domain for your diy blog


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WeRdoZe - We R Gold At The Top [Unsigned Artist]
Talented trio WeRdoZe x Mistah Sharp jumps into the scene on two hot industry beats to show the public they have what it takes to be noticed.
Credit is due, and props are given to original artists. In saying that, check out their second Mixtape "WeiRder", with 5 Mistah Sharp beats at
and follow their twitters @WeRdoZe x @MistahSharp
and the WeRdoZe consist of @SpreezTheTeacha x @B_Meadz
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


text:
Residents and Property Prices
|Last sold
|Occupier info
|35, Kilnside, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 5TW
|View Details
|Shangri La, Kilnside, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 5TW
|View Details
|34, Kilnside, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 5TW
|View Details
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Businesses in CA14 5TW
Sorry, we have no records of businesses located within this postcode
Demographic Area Profile - CAMEO Summary
Area: CA14 5TW
Area Type: Poorer Family & Single Parent Households
Comprising singles, couples and families, these neighbourhoods are exemplified by council and housing association tenants. However some of the types within this group are mortgagees. Situated in poorer suburbs and small towns they typically reside in low rise flats, semis and terraces. Poorly educated, these residents are mainly employed in low paid unskilled and blue collar occupations, with some working in offices. There are many households with a single income, some of those being single parents. Levels of unemployment and payment default feature significantly in these areas.


text:
When Blizzard reintroduced Detection via the Glyph of Detection, I was ecstatic. Trap detection had been baked into the class when Detect Traps was originally removed, but that didn't stop rogues from waxing nostalgic about Swirly Ball. Warlocks wanted their green fire, warriors were trying to use Titan's Grip with polearms, and rogues begged for Swirly Ball back. The Glyph of Detection is the perfect minor glyph because it's fun and it's purely cosmetic. Or is it?
Balarak, who is unfortunately a hunter, discovered a secret rogue event while infiltrating Ravenholdt Manor. Nobody expected what he found there. Ghosts and spirits, a hidden tribute to the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, a rogue-only item with amazing capabilities, and the implication that maybe, even in this age of data mining, we haven't found everything WoW has to offer.


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Difference between revisions of "Merzouga"
Revision as of 10:12, 30 April 2011
Merzouga is a village in the Sahara Desert in Morocco, on the edge of Erg Chebbi, a 50km long and 5km wide set of sand dunes that reach up to 350m. Most people are here to take a camel safari into the dunes, and to get a taste of remote (tourism-influenced) Berber life.
The local population is mix of Arabs and Berber, and generally welcoming and friendly.
Get in
From Marrakech, drive East to Erfoud (2 days drive, stop for the night in or near Ouarzazate). From Fez, drive South to Erfoud (1 day).
From Erfoud, continue South 14 km (11 miles) to Rissani, carry on through the village and follow the road Southeast for 40 km (24 miles) to Merzouga. In recent years, the road to Merzouga has been asphalted and also to Taouz, a southern military border town (foreigners cannot cross here). The short access roads (1 or 2 km long) from the main road to the hotels alongside the sand dunes are normally not asphalted, but well maintained. There is now an asphalt road to Hassi Lybed, a smaller village about 4 km before Merzouga.
From Rissani to Merzouga, a grand taxi or van is 10/12dh. If you don't want to wait for other people to fill your grand taxi, pay 60dh. If you arrive before sunrise (if you come in the 9pm bus from Fez) you can pay up to 100dh for a grand taxi.
Beware of guides in Rissani or Erfoud who offer to take you to Merzouga for 5 dihram each, but instead strand you at their auberge 20 km north of the village. If you decline their offers of camel rides and lodging, it is often quite difficult (and expensive) to make your way back to town.
You can also fly to Ouarzazate from Casablanca, then continue to Erfoud, Rissani and Merzouga.
There are also weekly flights into Errachadia, about 2 hours north of Merzouga by car.
If you're continuing on to one of the small villages nearby, such as Hassi Labied, the usual tourist price is a fairly steep 50 dirhams (total, not per person) for the short 5 km drive. Beware that overnight busses may sometimes arrive more than an hour early, putting you in Merzouga before sunrise. If this happens, you may find yourself with no cabs available, so be prepared to wait for someone to arrive.
Tour operators can arrange 4x4s with driver/guides from Marrakech or Casablanca and back.
Get around
The only way to get around Merzouga is on foot. It's fairly small and easily walkable, but you'll likely want to avoid the midday heat.
Sunrise/sunset over the dunes. Folk dances and black G'naui music. Visits to villages near Merzouga inhabited by Senegalese musicians and dancers such as Khamlia can be arranged with some guides, ask at your hotel.
Most people eat meals at their lodge, but a few basic restaurants are scattered around the town if you are in need.
Merzouga Tours 4x4 and camels
http://www.MouhouTours.c.la moved a large tour around Morocco, private visits to Morocco, in Morocco desert adventure, new year's eve in Morocco, the week of Easter in the desert of Morocco, Morocco desert journey .........
Rooms at the hotel in Merzouga 25 euros per person (dinner breakfast room) Oasis in the dunes
Overnight in nomad tent tour with Oasis Camel 30 euros per person (tour camel nomads of the Sahara tent small dinner shower)
Sunset - Sunrise camelride 15 euros per person (camel camelman each person - guide)
Round 4 × 4 × 4 4 Merzouga Erg Chebbi tour Dunes = 100 euros per vehicle (the price may be split up to 6 people).
For More Info Visit Our Website: http://www.MouhouTours.c.la----
There are about 50 small hotels of varying categories along the sand dunes, and most of them own camels or can at least arrange your trip into the dunes.
Get out
Riadnezha: Pour contacter le Riad Nezha, vous pouvez remplir ce formulaire ou nous joindre directement par téléphone au +212 61 98 79 77 +212 661 536 558
Merzouga 4x4 tours , camel trekking , night in desert
Website : www.MoroccoExcursions.com
Phone : +212 673 555 408


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Championship Fight Crystallizes After Four of Ten Races At 2014 Melges 32 World Championship in Miami
5 December 2014
Miami, FL - With four of ten scheduled races in the bag at the 2014 Melges 32 World Championship, and after a shifty, unpredictable day of racing, the crowded top of the leader board is beginning to thin out. With less than half of the regatta finished, there remain epic battles ahead for anyone looking to make – or stay on - the podium.
Seventeen teams from eight nations took to the water this morning for the second day of championship racing aboard the Melges 32, one of the world's highest-performance sailboats.
Race Three started clean, with the left side of the course — to the North — looking strong indeed. A gaggle of European boats tacked out to the right, led by Edoardo Lupi and Massimo Pessina's Torpyone, including Alessandro Rombelli's STIG and Richard Goransson's Inga From Sweden. Lupi would successfully hang on for the wire-to-wire win, an impressive feat in this stacked, competitive fleet while current regatta leader, Monaco's Pierre Casiraghi at the helm of Robertissima sailed their worst race of the week – a ninth place.
Like Miami's usually consistent trade winds, Casiraghi has proved himself reliable on the starting line, fighting for the left end of the line in four of four races. It's paid off handsomely, and the 27-year old skipper is the only competitor at the World Championship to have won two races this early in the week so far. Clearly his pin-end prowess is paying off. He now leads just 6 points over second-place Goransson, who seemed to be passing boats all day. "If there's one thing that characterizes this team, it's an ability to always battle back from any adversity," said Goransson. "These guys actually do not know how to give up."
After more than an hour of postponement during which some of the fleet was lit up by a seemingly private rainbow, Race Officer Anderson Reggio waited for a squall line to pass.
Race Four got underway in slightly less breeze and light showers, and with a huge right shift just before the start, Casiraghi battled for the pin again and it was looking disastrous, alongside of William Douglass' Goombay Smash. And just when Casiraghi started to get close to running out of room, another shift came in, paying the left side like a slot machine and vaulting him into the a lead he wouldn't relinquish.
Riding Casiraghi on the port tack layline was class cinderella Chris Wientjes on Stormvogel, who put together a nearly perfect beat on the left to round in second; rarefied air for a relatively new team and something to savor – and unfortunately, did not last.
Meanwhile, Casiraghi extended his lead to over a minute by the final mark of the day to over a minute on the next boat by the final mark of the race. Like many teams in the confused seas and moderating breeze, a gybe could prove tricky – even for a crew full of champions. "The tackline came off in the middle of the last gybe, something that I have not seen before on our boat," said German amateur racer Gunnar Bahr, mastman aboard Robertissima. "We had to bring in the pole, untangle the tack line, it was really slow!" Meanwhile, carving through the fleet was young Dalton Devos' Delta, now in striking distance for the win if Casiraghi's crew couldn't get their sails drawing. With their lead more than halved in just seconds and the skipper looking over his shoulder, the crew efforts finally paid and they launched down the face of a wave as she built speed toward the finish line. As Casiraghi escaped, Jason Carroll's Team Argo flubbed a gybe on the final approach to the finish line while trying to stay on top of DeVos' air, with a potential second or third place finish turning into a sixth place finish in less than a minute.
Opening day leader Naofumi Kamei's Mamma Aiuto! had an unexpected drama after a port-tack approach during Race Four. Kamei tried to break through a hole that wasn't as big as he thought it was, forcing Goransson above close-hauled. Kamei chose not to take a penalty on the course, the post-race jury hearing found Kamei had fouled Goransson, therefore he was disqualified from the race – perhaps the first chink in Kamei's armor.
While some teams were left with their heads spinning at the end of a tricky, blustery and long day, the majority of this diverse fleet of professional and amateur racers gathered in the Regatta Tent for wine tasting with Stella Rosa Black, daily awards, VOR presentation with Mark Towill and Charlie Enright, and some great food and drink in at Miami Beach Marina. This is a group that battles as fiercely on the water as it enjoys food, fun and friendship together on shore.
Steadier and stronger breeze is forecast for the third day of racing — Hedgehog Day and with a chance for lighter winds on Sunday, there is some potential for a grueling three-race day on Friday. Teams will discard their worst score after Friday, with the anticipation of a major shuffle in the standings.
Please LIKE our Facebook Page for up-to-the-minute coverage of the Melges 32 World Championship, including photos, videos, interviews, and much more.
TOP TEN RESULTS (After Four Races)
1.) Pierre Casiraghi/Vasco Vascotto, Robertissima; 1-3.7/RDG-9-1 = 20
2.) Richard Goransson/Morgan Larson, Inga From Sweden; 3-10-2-5 = 20
3.) Jason Carroll/Cameron Appleton, Argo; 7-1-12-6 = 26
4.) Dalton DeVos/Jonathan McKee, Delta; 2-7-16-2 = 27
5.) Naofumi Kamei/Manu Weiller, Mamma Aiuto!; 4-2-5-18/DSQ = 29
6.) Ryan DeVos/James Spithill, Volpe; 6-8-6-9 = 29
7.) Edoardo Lupi & Massimo Pessina/Lorenzo Bressani, Torpyone; 8-14-1-7 = 30
8.) Alessandro Rombelli/Terry Hutchinson, STIG; 5-6-3-16 = 30
9.) William Douglass/Chris Larson, Goombay Smash; 18/DNF-5-4-4 = 31
10.) Alec Cutler/Richard Clarke, hedgehog; 10-4 -7-12 = 33
View Full Results
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View Full Crew List
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View Complete Video Gallery of Promos, Previews and Interviews
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text:
- Inside Athletics
- Tickets
- Fan Zone
- Media Zone
- Social
- Shop
- Donate Now
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 17, 2004) - The East Tennessee State University men's basketball team took time out from its 2004-05 competitive schedule to visit the Children's Hospital at Johnson City Medical Center on Friday.
Appropriately, the Buccaneers were offering gifts during this holiday season, as head coach Murry Bartow presented a check for $1,000 to the Children's Hospital on behalf of the team. The Bucs raised the money through proceeds from ticket sales to the Blue-Gold Scrimmage held earlier this year.
"Our players understand the importance of spending time with the children here, but this was a way we could help financially as well," said Bartow, whose team makes monthly visits to the Children's Hospital throughout the year. "We think part of our job as coaches is to not only help our players become better on the court, but better people away from the court also. This is part of that development."
Despite a tough non-conference opponent in Old Dominion looming on Saturday, the Bucs visited the hospital early Friday morning. The team planned to practice later in the day and then leave


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Friends of the Libraries' Workshop: Present Your Life Story
Saturday, March 9, 2013, 11:30 am to 2 pm
Paul Laurence Dunbar Library, Room 241
Current Students
The public
Event Webpage:
Learn to create an interactive 'online scrapbook' of family photos and letters from instructor Will Davis, Coordinator for the Student Technology Assistance Center (STAC). Participants are asked to bring 3 (three) scans of family photos. Cost is $12 for Friends' members and $15 for non-members. Pre-registration and payment is required. Fee includes lunch, handouts, and takehome materials (cds or thumb-drives containing your digital files). This is the third in a monthly series of workshops featuring Libraries' specialty topics. You can attend one, any, or all four workshops. Please see more information on the Libraries' website.


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Public Enemy Trying To Get A Little Help From Its Friends
from the holding-songs-hostage dept
Similar to efforts by Trent Reznor, Jill Sobule, Kickstarter and many others, SellaBand also has a system of fan-fundable tiers for its artists. For Public Enemy, supporters can buy into the project in $25 shares in order for Public Enemy to reach its ultimate quarter million dollar goal. And the more shares you buy, the more you get.
- 1 Part ($25) = "Believer" Level Incentive: Exclusive, numbered CD in Digipak
- 4 Parts ($100) = "Hype" Level Incentive: "Believer" Level, plus the opportunity to buy 2nd CD at 50% off, & Name in booklet
- 10 Parts ($250) = "Rebel" Level Incentive: All of Above plus Exclusive Limited Edition Public Enemy T Shirt
- 20 Parts ($500) = "Posse" Level Incentive: All of Above plus Autographed Copy of CD signed by Chuck D
- 40 Parts ($1,000) = "Terrordome" Level Incentive: All of Above plus Unlimited backstage pass for 3 years [Limited to 50]
- 200 Parts ($5,000) = "Bring The Noise" Level Incentive: All of Above plus Executive Producer Credit on Album [Limited to 15]
- 400 Parts ($10,000) = "PE Number One" Level Incentive: All of Above plus Studio Visit during recording session [Limited to 5]


text:
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Jan 14 (Reuters) - North Carolina
police have accused the 19-year-old son of U.S. Senator Rand
Paul of assaulting a flight attendant during an incident that
led to his arrest on disorderly conduct charges earlier this
month, authorities said on Monday.
Police arrested William Hilton Paul, who is also the
grandson of former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul,
on Jan. 5 at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, where
he had arrived on a US Airways flight from Kentucky.
Jail records at the time showed the younger Paul was booked
on three misdemeanor charges, including disorderly conduct,
consuming alcohol while underage and being intoxicated and
But Charlotte police also arrested him on a simple assault
charge involving a 22-year-old female flight attendant, an
incident report shows. Police confirmed the charge on Monday.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released few
details about the arrest. It was unclear from police reports
whether the alleged assault occurred during the flight or after
the plane landed.
A spokesman for US Airways previously said there was a
"passenger disruption" on the flight in question but that it did
not result from alcohol being served by the airline.
Rand Paul, a Republican, is the junior senator from
Kentucky. His office has asked for privacy on the matter of his
William Hilton Paul is due in court on the charges on Feb.
25, police said.


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Keeping farm families alive and well
IOWA CITY– According to the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), agriculture is one of the nation's most hazardous occupations. On average, 550 farmers die in agriculture related incidents every year. One-hundred kids, on average, are also killed on the farm. In Iowa, approximately 30 deaths per year occur, with three to four of those being children.
Obvious dangers include machinery, livestock and chemical exposure. However, death also comes from chronic conditions built up over time.
Roger Stutsman of Hills knows the dangers all too well.
Almost three years ago, his son Mike was killed while working on a piece of machinery. Today the memory and anguish are still so intense, Stutsman can barely talk about the incident. However, the tragedy of burying his son and would-be heir to the family farm, 150 years in the making, has spurred Stutsman on a crusade– and he's found a willing band of agricultural health and safety warriors to join his cause.
Working in conjunction with Iowa's Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (I-CASH), the Johnson County Public Health Department, Iowa State University Extension, and various Iowa farm safety and health organizations, Stutsman and his board of directors plan to open the Johnson County Agricultural and Rural Health Service and Training Center. The facility housed in the new Johnson County Extension Office at the county fairground will serve as a "one-stop shop" for the safety and health needs of farmers, their families, and those they employ.
Discussion of the new center began in March of last year. Working with the Johnson County Health Department, a recommendation was made to the County Board of Supervisors for appropriating start-up dollars for the project. With the supervisors solidly behind the endeavor, the plans quickly moved forward with an expectation from the Board that services would be expanded beyond Johnson County.
The center, scheduled to open in early October, will have a half-time nurse trained specifically in the relatively new specialty of "agricultural medicine." Shalome Tonelli, the nurse, will talk with clients about a total wellness package including injury/illness prevention on the farm, use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), screening for ag-related illnesses and treatment of occupational injuries. In addition, Tonelli will be able to test pulmonary function and help clients properly fit test respirators for working around grain dust or chemicals.
A "mother box" filled with PPE and first aid supplies will be available for purchase as a centralized supply bin on the farm. Additionally, personal PPE/first aid kits will also be available in a size similar to a common fanny pack. The goal is that anybody working on a farm will have the proper equipment with them, regardless of the task to be performed.
Expanding PPE use means convincing farmers to carry more than just a pair of work gloves. With skin cancer rates higher among farmers, the kits will include sun block. Constant exposure to loud machinery means higher rates of hearing loss, so a variety of ear protection will be included. Dust and mold are prevalent in grain handling, which leads to high rates of chronic lung conditions, so Tonelli will help farmers with respirators.
Specialized equipment, such as fall-protection harnesses will be available for rent, thus reducing the out-of-pocket expense to a farmer for rarely needed items.
The center will also heavily promote an I-CASH initiative known as Certified Safe Farm. By request, a health and safety audit can identify potential hazards and recommend a course of action. Stutsman and his board hope insurance companies will take notice and consider offering discounts to farmers who have earned the certification.
"If you build a program reducing the risks, you should be able to get a discount," said board member Andy Winborn, who said insurance companies are always looking for ways to cut costs.
"The bottom line will drive this," Stutsman said of the effort to get farmers– typically a fiercely independent group not keen on outsiders telling them what to do– to embrace changing how they operate.
Looking at the death and injury rates, Donham said there has been about a 40 percent decrease over the past several years, but "our work isn't done.
"It's getting better, and we've made some progress," said Donham.
The center plans to rely on a combination of donations, fundraising and membership sales to become a self-sustaining organization. Sales and rental of PPE as well as ala carte services are also in the plans. Membership would entitle a client and his family to the array of educational, health and on-farm services. The center will also actively pursue grants.
"We want to build an income stream," said Kelley Donham, Director of I-CASH. "We fully expect the agricultural community to pay for this," he added, looking at an approximately $100,000 annual budget. At least half, Donham says, is expected to come through payment for services rendered.
The Stutsman family knows investing in safety on the front end could ultimately spare someone else the dearest cost of all.
"I know it's what Mike wants," Stutsman said of the effort. "If I can just save one person from what I'm going through."
For information, contact Roger Stutsman at 319-325-4675.


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Glastonbury Festival was founded in 1970, long before people began to become concerned about climate change. Yet even then all the milk and the cider and the straw came from the farm. We were "green" then, and we are just as green now.
These days, of course, everyone has woken up to the fact that we really have to do something about protecting the environment and reducing our impact on it. But, as a Festival, we've been highlighting new – and sometimes unpopular – ideas about the issue for as long as I can remember. Different ways of looking at and doing things, which we always hoped people would take notice of.
Glastonbury Festival has always been the first to host "alternative" solutions to environmental concerns, and over time, we've watched as those "alternatives" have become mainstream.
In fact, to me, one of the greatest benefits of Glastonbury Festival has been in giving people the chance to "open their eyes" and see something better, even if it is only for one weekend in the year.
We hope that we can continue to lead the way by making Glastonbury as green and as sustainable as we are able to, given the restrictions of the site, and also by spreading the word to Festival goers about what will really make a difference to the environment.
And, as always, the work begins at home here at Worthy Farm.
My family have farmed this land for generations – since the 1860s when they walked here with their cows from Dorset to set up at Park Farm – and looking after the fields and the hedges and the livestock has always been our number one concern.
Our big campaign now is 'Love Worthy Farm… Leave No Trace' because, for me, that's what life here is all about.
We have to work as hard as we can on the practical things: today, we are releasing a whole list of environmental issues that we are addressing on site, from encouraging people to travel by public transport right through to great new initiatives on recycling and more efficient ways of powering the festival activities.
Today, just as much as in 1970, we have to work hard on our message. Glastonbury Festival is a Midsummer celebration of life and joy, but we must not lose sight of our undertaking to achieve the best possible balance of nature and resources.
Michael Eavis
Worthy Farm


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In addition to water use, summer is also the time of peak energy use. With almost the entire country trying to stay cool with air conditioners and fans, the electricity grid is over-taxed and electricity bills are soaring.
To make matters worse, most of our electricity comes from thermoelectric power plants, which usually require a lot of water for operations. These power plants impact aquatic life and can cause water bodies to heat up. Saving energy will also help to save water, which is especially important concerning this summer's drought.
Here are some tips to lower your energy bills, save energy and, indirectly, save water too:
- Turn off air conditioning before you leave your home for extended periods of time. Or at least turn up the thermostat. It's a straightforward way to use less power. Also, make sure the filter is clean. Dirty air conditioning filters cause the units to run harder, thus sucking up more energy.
- Keep the refrigerator doors closed whenever possible. Also, avoid placing hot items in the fridge — let them cool to room temperature first.
- Nuke it. A microwave is much more efficient at cooking than using an oven, especially if you are trying to stay cool with air conditioning.
- It's curtains for you. Curtains, blinds and shades help keep the sun's hot rays out of you house. So keep them closed on sunny days. Also, planting deciduous trees near your house can produce a similar effect with the added bonus that once it sheds its leaves the sunlight will return in the winter.
- Buy Energy Star. Energy Star appliances and other products use less energy without giving up on performance.
- Solar power your laundry. Skip the dryer and go for the old fashioned clothes line. You can't beat free energy from the sun — just make sure there is no rain in the forecast.
- Keep your car tires properly inflated. Tires that are under-inflated reduce performance. Keep them full of air to increase gas mileage.
- Go Solar. Photovoltaic energy has never been more affordable. Solar companies, like Solar City and Sungevity, make it easy for homeowner to use solar panels and save money on energy bills.
Saving energy and water in the summer helps improve our collective well-being. While we cannot control high temperatures, we can take some measures to save precious resources. (And save money on our energy bills!)


text:
LimeChat 2.38
(2.31 MB) Safe & Secure
Latest Version:
Mac OS X 10.6 or later
User Rating:Click to vote
Author / Product:
Old Versions:
MD5 Checksum:
LimeChat is a free and open source IRC client for Mac OS X developed using RubyCocoa, intended to provide both novices who have very little knowledge of how online chat networks work and seasoned users with tools that can make their online communication as easy, as stable and versatile as possible. Created with the effort of the single developer Satoshi Nakagawa in 2007, this app originally run on RubyCocoa programming language and was in 2010 ported to Objective-C. With great user interface and free access under GPL software license, anyone can install this small and lightweight app on their Mac and become fully in control over their IRC chat.
Visually, LimeChat for Mac has a look of a very simple application that is more focused on providing functional breakdown of server and room status, than on pleasing users with its eye-catching design. App has only single window separated into several section that cover everything you will ever need. Because of the lack of the visual style, majority of its services and functions can be activated only via keyboard shortcuts, which represents only a bonus for professional users who are more used to solve all of their problems without using mouse.
Even though this app has almost zero on-screen tools for managing current IRC chat sessions, it has a fairly comprehensive Preferences screen that housed dozens of tweaks that make your chat sessions more attuned to your needs and tastes. Configuration options cover everything between text highlighting, interface options, themes, events and several advanced tools.
Some key features of LimeChat:
- One window for multiple servers.
- Rich keyboard shortcuts for your comfortable operations.
- Light speed and stable.
Note: Requires 64-bit processor.


text:
Oh Mei, I'm glad you like your picture taken! We get to see what a pretty bunny you are!
Congrats on being POTD! I hope you have a fun day!
Dog of the Day
Cat of the Day
Pet of the Day
Oh Mei, I'm glad you like your picture taken! We get to see what a pretty bunny you are!
Congrats on being POTD! I hope you have a fun day!
Forever in my heart...
Hi Mei! You are so adorable! It's too bad you don't like hugs, because I would love to give you one I hope you have a great day!
Owned by my baby and heart-dog Lolli.
If each pet we love takes a part of our heart and replaces it with a part of theirs, my heart is a very strange collection of pieces, but I wouldn't have it any other way
Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go, and then do it. --Ann Landers
Hi Mei! A very happy Pet of the Day to you, beautiful bunnster girl! Of course you love posing for pics! You're a natural, and doesn't the camera love you! (Though I'm sure that photo doesn't come close to doing your beauty justice!) Your *special person* sounds like quite the animal lover! And it's great to hear that once your person's mommy, umm, "caved," the floodgates were opened, with Klondike the bunny, Cookie the hamster and turtles Squirtle and Corrin following close on your heels! You may not be the most sociable bunny on earth, but it's clear you and your person share a vey special bond that goes far beyond a cuddle or kiss, and that makes you relationship all the more special! Nothing better than to be loved just as you are, unconditionally! Right Mei? Thanks to your person for sharing your beautiful bunny self and all of those precious pics with us, sweetheart! I hope you and Klondike, Cookie the hamster and the turtles Squirtle (great name)) and Corrin are all enjoying a very happy, fun filled Pet of the Day! You all deserve it!!! Lots of love to you, beautiful Mei!
Star,Tigg'r , Mollie and the10 Gallon Gang!
And my Rainbow Bridge Furangels...Jingles, Cody, Fritz, Chessa, Satin, Buddy, Lizzie, Oliver, Squeaker, Moonbeam, Rosie, Ruby~
I am so happy that Mei was chosen as POTD today! She could not be a lovelier rabbit, that's for sure. We all need a bunny rabbit as sweet as Mei! have the best day
Precious bunny Mei with your caramel-and-white coat, your long whiskers, and your cute straight ears! The camera sure likes you! I am sending you a gentle cyber-scritchie today, because you aren't a big fan of hugs. Happy, happy Bunny Pet of the Day, Miss Mei!
I've been Boo'd ... right off the stage!
Aaahh, I have been defrosted! Thank you, Bonny and Asiel!
Brrrr, I've been Frosted! Thank you, Asiel and Pomtzu!
"That's the power of kittens (and puppies too, of course): They can reduce us to quivering masses of Jell-O in about two seconds flat and make us like it. Good thing they don't have opposable thumbs or they'd surely have taken over the world by now." -- Paul Lukas
"We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays." -- Persius, first century Roman poet
Cassie's Catster page: http://www.catster.com/cats/448678
Mei what a beautiful bunny you are!!!
I loved seeing your wonderful pictures!!! They certainly brightened up my rainy day. I bet it's lots of fun having you for a friend. Please thank your family for sharing you with us. I hope you and your faimly are enjoying a fun day together.
Congratulations, sweet mei, on being our very special Pet of the Day!!!
No matter what anyone does, someone some where will be offended some how!!!!
Grandma (RB), Chester, Angel, Chip
Leonardo (RB), Luke (RB), Winnie, Chuck,
Copyright © 2001-2013 Pet of the Day.com


text:
A pair of movie stars rise to fame during World War II through alliances that taint their reputation in this historical drama based on a true story. As Fascism is on the march in Italy under the rule of Benito Mussolini, Golfiero Goffredo (Alessio Boni) is a well-respected movie director who is not afraid to share his left-wing views.
While shooting his latest picture, Golfiero notices a beautiful woman working as an extra, Luisa Manfrini (Monica Bellucci), and he's immediately convinced she has star quality. Taking Luisa under his wing, Golfiero gives her a new name, Luisa Ferida, and begins grooming her for a new career as a cinema idol.
As Luisa clicks with moviegoers, self-centered screen star Osvaldo Valenti (Luca Zingaretti) finds he's enamored of her, and the two become a couple both on and off screen.
With Osvaldo at her side, Luisa abandons Golfiero as her mentor and the lovers becomes close friends with Cardi (Luigi Diberti), a loyal fascist who helps oversee the nationalized film industry.
As Rome falls to Allied forces, Luisa and Osvaldo flee to still-Fascist Northern Italy, where they are welcomed as stars and attend a social event where they are guests of honor alongside Pietro Koch (Paolo Bonanni), well known as a go-between for the Italian and German forces.
When Mussolini's reign is finally put down in Italy, Luisa and Osvaldo discover they have a great deal to answer for as they struggle to convince others that while they may have rubbed shoulders with Fascists and Nazis, they themselves were never Axis agents -- an argument that rings hollow when the two are charged with war crimes.
Sanguepazzo (aka Wild Blood) was screened as a special presentation at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
|Marco Tullio Giordana


text:
I'm trying to write a nice binary mesh/model format, which I'll be able to read from a file quickly and easily. I have Assimp working, so I can import from other formats in order to save in my own, but I need some advice on how to organize everything.
One thing I want to avoid is a node/tree based file. I want everything in arrays, to make file reading as fast as possible. File I/O will likely end up being the main bottleneck in my game engine, so I want to make sure it's as fast as possible. If I'm wrong, and somehow node-based files are faster, please let me know.
So far I'm storing all of the vertices in a single packed array - No separate arrays for separate components, everything is together. My initial idea was then to have a single index array, and then use glDrawRangeElements in between each call (when I need to change materials, for instance), but I read that using glDrawRangeElements is quite a lot slower than simply glDrawElements, so I was considering putting each sub-mesh in it's own index buffer.
Question #1) Store sub-meshes together in a single index buffer, calling glDrawRangeElements, or in separate buffers, calling glDrawElements?
So far, for the vertex itself, I have 2 separate structures, each one a multiple of 32 bytes (I've read that it makes a big difference when transferring buffers to the gpu). The first, a minimalist vertex, contains 3 floats for it's position (x, y, z), 2 floats for texture coordinates (u, v), and 3 floats for the normal (x, y, z), a total of exactly 32 bytes. The second, which will probably be used most often for static geometry, contains everything in the first, plus 3 floats for a tangent (x, y, z), 3 floats for a bitangent (x, y, z), and then 8 bytes of padding, for a total of 64 bytes. The only advantage of the second over the first is that it supports tangent space normal mapping, and frankly, I don't enjoy having 8 bytes of padding. Is there something I could be using those 8 bytes for? Right now, it's wasted memory....
Question #2) Do the first 2 vertex formats look good? What could I use those 8 extra bytes for?
Next, I need to be able to support the following features:
- Transform animations (rotation, translation, and scale of an entire sub-mesh over a period of time)
- Skinning (hardware skeletal animation, with animations in separate files)
- Morph targets (both as an animation on it's own, and to be used alongside skeletal animation)
And, frankly, I have no idea how to implement any of those features, but I want to prepare my model files to be able to support it.
For transformation animation, the best idea I can think of is to store a "timeline" along with each sub-mesh. The timeline would be an array where each element is a keyframe containing a matrix and a time, and the game would interpolate between one matrix and the next based on the current time.
As for skinning... Frankly, I'm not sure where to start. I've done some Google searching, but most of the information I've found has been scattered and/or incomplete. Can somebody share a link to a comprehensive skinning tutorial in GLSL? I want to do it in the vertex shader, but I want to maintain compatibility with OpenGL 2.0 and 2.1, so I'd rather not use integer attributes (which are only available in GL 3+).
For morphing... My best guess is to store each morph target as it's own vertex buffer, and then send multiple vertices to the vertex shader, which will interpolate between them. How can I do that? I can't bind two vertex buffers at once, can I?
Any advice that you could share would be much appreciated!


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China hunts for 58 missing fishermen in storm
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Chinese airplanes and boats scoured parts of the South China Sea on Tuesday looking for nearly 60 people missing after a tropical storm sank three fishing boats.
In central Vietnam, people repaired homes and dragged away trees that were uprooted when Wutip slammed into the coastline late Monday. Two men were killed when a radio station antenna tower fell on them, Vietnam's disaster agency said. Another man was killed when a wall collapsed. Close to 100,000 homes were damaged.
Chinese authorities say Wutip, which means butterfly in Cantonese, sank three Chinese fishing vessels Sunday in the South China Sea.
On Monday, 14 people were rescued, leaving 58 still believed to be missing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. It said 22 boats and four airplanes were combing the area for survivors.
Wutip was the strongest storm to hit Vietnam this year. It had weakened from a typhoon by the time it hit land with sustained winds of 117 kilometers (73 miles) per hour, Vietnam's weather center said.
The most powerful Asian storm this year was Typhoon Usagi, which caused at least 33 deaths in the Philippines and China in September.