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Has "Star Wars" become too politically correct?
The question has been raised before, as George Lucas' 40-year-old franchise has become more racially and gender diverse in its casting — and as thin-skinned conservative critics, in particular, detect what they see as increasingly unsubtle liberal political messages.
Of course, as a longtime fan, I know that criticizing "Star Wars" movies is part of the fun of watching them. We are like boxing fans who shout our advice at the fighters in the ring, only to feel frustrated when they don't take it.
Criticisms surrounding the latest offering, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," raise alarms, as they appear to oppose what I think is one of the franchise's strengths: the racial and gender diversity of the cast.
Early signs of unrest appeared on the Rotten Tomatoes movie review website in the wide divide between the approval of professional critics (91 percent as the New Year's Day holiday weekend began) and the audience score (only 51 percent).
A shadowy self-described alt-right group, calling itself "Down With Disney's Treatment of Franchises and its Fanboys" in a Facebook page, claimed responsibility for flooding Rotten Tomatoes with negative reviews.
Huffington Post quoted a "moderator" for the alt-right group, who did not want his name revealed, as saying the group has been using bots to significantly bring down the film's Rotten Tomatoes user score. Rotten Tomatoes denies that, but what I find more unsettling is the group's promotion of what looks to me like its own version of political correctness, even as its members criticize the "PC" of those who disagree with them.
According to HuffPo, the group is upset with "Star Wars" for "introducing more female characters into the franchise's universe" and putting such manly heroes as Poe Dameron (the star fighter corps pilot played by Oscar Isaac) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in danger of being "turned gay."
Men should be "reinstated as rulers of society," the "moderator" reportedly said, adding that's why he voted for President Donald Trump.
Although the "moderator" would not give HuffPo his name, the website said, his sentiments follow closely those of alt-right leader Richard Spencer, who infamously organized the notorious Tiki torchlight march in August in Charlottesville, Va., that began a weekend of racially charged clashes and resulted in one woman's death.
In a video chat that went viral on YouTube, Spencer mocks the mega-hit movie as the latest product of liberal "SJWs," aka social justice warriors, and the entire "Star Wars" series as "racialized as it never was before." Among other gripes, he knocks the movie for featuring a "girl … who acts like a man" in its lead (Daisy Ridley as Rey), a "black guy with a heart of gold" (John Boyega as Finn) and villains who are all "men, mostly white and ancillary." Message? "Wise SJWs," says Spencer, "can't trust these high-testosterone flyboys."
Everyone has his or her opinion, but hearing Spencer's opposition to "The Last Jedi" made me enjoy the movie more.
I'm old enough to remember when the only people of color in major science fiction movies were green or purple and came from other planets.
I was excited when the "Star Trek" television series broke the medium's color line in the 1960s with a racially diverse crew on the Starship Enterprise. I was also relieved. Hollywood was recognizing that, yes, earthlings of color have a future too.
Nor was this a trivial matter among true social justice warriors. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a fan, as multitudes of us were, of Nichelle Nichols who played Lt. Nyota Uhura on "Star Trek," the first space-oriented series to integrate its cast.
She almost left the show after its first season to pursue other offers when King, calling himself her "greatest fan," talked her out of it, as she told National Public Radio in 2011. Thanks to "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's decision to integrate the cast, she recalled King's telling her, "For the first time we are being seen the world over as we should be seen."
Positive images matter. TV often is the only opportunity many of us have to be exposed to people who come from races and backgrounds unlike our own. The biggest value to science fiction, in my view, is its ability to free our minds from present-day realities to experience a taste of how things could be.
Clarence Page, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/pagespage.
Twitter @cptime


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I read Goethe's Faust in the original German. I don't speak a word of German so that makes my accomplishment even more impressive.
I told my English teacher that I was a fatalist. She recommended I read The Oresteian Trilogy. I shrugged and went home and read it because, what choice did I have?
My favorite part of Anna Karenina was when she destroyed the Infinity Stones, although I might be confusing it with the last Avengers movie…
Greek myths leave a lot of unanswered questions. For example: Is it harder to teach Cerberus an amusing trick because you need three times as many dog treats?
Cicero, in De Legibus, wrote "Let the punishment fit the offense". But, if the offense is breaking someone out of prison, what would the punishment be?
A lot of postcolonial African scholars think that Conrad's Heart of Darkness should not be considered a classic because it has a strong air of white supremacy. After all we've done for them…
In Ovid's Metamorphosis, a hunter spies on the bathing huntress goddess, Diana, and she turns him into a stag to be torn apart by his own hounds. A horrible death, to be sure; but, better than escaping the hounds, coming back home and having to admit that you are a voyeur who now needs a salt-lick.
I read Moby Dick every few years and, each time I read it, I get something different from it. I think it's because I'm getting older and my thinking is more mature; but, some of my friends think it's because I've been accidentally reading the wrong book. That would explain those puzzling parts with Jack Reacher in them.
The director explained that he wasn't going to change his production of As You Like it to address my preferences. I thought that was pretty ironic.
In Blake's poem, The Tyger, he contrasts the strength and deadliness of the tiger with the lamb which was good because, up until that point, people kept getting those two animals confused.

subset: commoncrawl


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Turin / Contesto Alimentare: crossroad trattoria
There are few places with such a strong culinary identity as Piedmont.
An entire region that seems to be moving at the same pace, strong of the traditional imprinting and the excellence of its ingredients.
Restaurant menus become the well-aware consequence of this and their proposal does not run away from agnolotti, tagliolini and vitello tonnato.
And that's totally fine because Piedmont IS a beef stew trapped in a pasta dough with few pinches; it IS dozens of egg yolks beaten, swallowed by few grams of flour and cut in narrow stripes; it IS pink veal, tuna and capers.
There are some places though that decided to use another ingredient of the Piedmontese tradition: contamination.
In the same way anchovies made their way into a region with no access to the sea, urban trattorias bring to the table tradition and urban influences, either in the shape of inevitable acknowledge of the multi-regional and multi-ethnic society we live in or personal experiences: travels, lovers, life.
In Contesto Alimentare, a cubic 'white' restaurant sitting in the front space of an older shop, cous cous, codfish and cardamom have the same citizenship right as tajarin, Carmagnola grey rabbit and Capriglio peppers.
And watch out: this is not following trends or confusion. This is a conscious decision: a spice to freshen the flavour, an ingredient to balance the texture, a smell to enrich the dish.
It's a contamination that requires passion, not bravery. Competence, not magic.
The service is carried along like in a restaurant: with elegance and courtesy without being overwhelming.
The prices, like in a trattoria: approachable and fair.
An alternative culinary proposal that should not be missed to live a contemporary Piedmont.
Our favourites:
Turin - Dakar: ravioli filled with veal 'spezzatino', veggies, chilli and hazelnut cream. Mild but punchy, elegant but pop.
In coda in tangenziale: stewed beef tail (incredible lightness despite a 'traditional' oven cooking), cardamom, cabbage. Not the best looking due to the chromatic consistency but one of the most rounded dishes.


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Exterminating termites takes more than just pouring insecticide on an infested location. That is why exterminators get paid to handle these issues. Unfortunately, just one exterminator cutting corners can cause you big problems.
What can go wrong during a termite extermination? And how can these issues potentially impact your overall health?
Who can you contact?
The Environmental Protection Agency talks about what to do if something goes wrong during the extermination process. First, know that you can register a complaint about the misapplication of any pesticide. You can do this by contacting the pesticide regulatory agency in your state.
You can also contact the National Pesticide Information Center. They have experts on staff ready to answer any question you may have about pesticide application, use and the potential health effects that may stem from them.
Seeking compensation for your health
Of course, you have the option to litigate as well if you hired a professional exterminator who applied pesticide incorrectly. This means taking them to court for any potential health damages, property destruction or overall risks that their incorrect use of pesticide caused.
Note that the improper application of pesticide can have many lasting effects. For example, if soil barriers get placed poorly, it does not prevent termite infestation. Worse yet, this may create a seepage situation where pesticide soaks into ground and well water. This water might supply you or your neighbors with what you drink or use in daily life. Thus, contamination can make members of your family seriously ill.
This can happen with any method of pesticide application done incorrectly. Thus, many people in your shoes have pursued compensation for the damages suffered.


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SiteMap Generator in Shared Web Hosting
If you would like to have a sitemap, but you do not have much experience with websites as a whole, you will be able to use the sitemap generator that we provide with our shared web hosting plans. As part of the Hepsia Control Panel, the software instrument shares the very same simple and intuitive interface, so it will take you several clicks to generate an in-depth sitemap which will be search engine friendly. The generator allows you to select the highest number of links the sitemap must include and how many levels down the webpages these links have to go. You could also select exactly what file extensions to be included, so in case you offer certain website content for example music, e-books or some documents, you can type their extensions before you generate the sitemap and our instrument will include them in addition to the standard web pages.


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Your Life in the Bush of Ghosts
Those of us that bought the original album back in 1981, would never have dreamt anything like this would ever be possible…:
To celebrate the re-release of Brian Eno & David Byrne's "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" there's an opportunity to remix two of the tracks yourself.
From the special remix website, you can download track-packs for "Help me Somebody" and "A Secret Life" and start working on them yourself.
Re-upload your mix, and you're in..!


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Please Read My Affiliate Disclosure Here!
You know me a little, and I am always for the natural health approach and sustainability because God has given us everything we need here on Earth.
In most countries nowadays, you will mainly find a bad quality of water due to toxic farming, producing medications, industrial waste, people consuming medications, hormones, and antibiotics, etc.
Most water coming from the tap is filtered but still of low quality due to the flood of toxins in the water that can't be filtered enough. If you drink that water daily, you are becoming intoxicated regularly.
Water is life, and we need to drink about two to three liters of pure water per day to keep up the water levels in our body; otherwise, it will not properly function.
It depends where you are located if you receive water from a pure water fountain or a kind of brackish water that needs a lot of purification. Pure water is life-giving, and all people in the world should have access to pure water.
However, the industry is allowed to pollute most of Earth's water resources, and the populations have to pay the price. I don't know about other countries, but in the Netherlands and Germany, we pay taxes for our water. If governments allow industry using huge amounts of water, they should force the industry to pay high taxes and take care of the population by providing them with a high-quality water filter.
However, stop polluting our resources is essential to recover the natural fountains.
This blog post is a review of a high-quality water filter.
May I Introduce to You Aquasana Water Filter Systems?
Company Name: Aquasana
Website: Visit Aquasana.com
Location: Austin, Texas
Rating: Interesting, it is all over the place, while 60 % of Amazon customers rate Aquasana 5 stars, whereas customers rate them on trust pilot with 2 stars.
– Aquasana believes in healthy water and a healthy environment, making them a great company to purchase a water filter. They want people to have a great experience drinking high-quality, healthy water and showering in soft water.
– Aquasana Drinking Water Filters use best-in-class filtering technology to provide maximum reduction in water contaminants while leaving beneficial minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium in the water. The result is healthy, great-tasting water that provides optimum hydration for the human body.
– Their drinking water filters are NSF Certified to reduce 77 common water contaminants, including over 96% of chlorine and chloramines as well as over 99% of lead, asbestos, turbidity, and VOCs.
– Innovation is a high goal of this company to provide affordable, sustainable water filter technology to the customers.
– Environmental health is a must. The products are created to be reused and recycled, also made of compostable materials to avoid waste on the environment.
– Aquasana sells glass instead of plastic bottles.
What I can read as a red line in the negative reviews is:
– The installation is not easily done.
– Some customers had negative contact with the customer service.
However, the negative reviews have been only about 14 % of 100%, making Aquasana an excellent company. They are well-known in the States of America.
Aquasana offers a wide range assortment of products.
- Whole House Water Filters
- Whole House Water Conditioners
- Under Sink Water Filters
- Countertop Water Filters
- Shower Filters
- Replacement Filters
- Glass Water Bottles
- Parts and Accessories
This is a plus point because customers can buy everything they need in this company, where the filters and single parts are all fitting due to the systems they sell. Customers are always safe to get the right articles for their purchased system.
Customer service
Aquasana provides customer service where people can get the information they acquire. This service is located in Austin, Texas. Customers can reach out via telephone or email what is very convenient.
My Opinion
A water filter system is a must nowadays to provide your family with pure, clean water. If a company has more positive reviews than negative ones, it is a good company. I like it the most because they are passionate about the health of their customers and the planet. Their innovation is directed to a healthy technology that works sustainably, which is, for me, a must for an excellent company. We don't need more waste in our environments. People who drink this filtered water will experience healthily physical processes, which are essential.
I would certainly recommend Aquasana!


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I have this Firefox profile that is shared. I may use that very same profile in Linux or Windows.
The issue is every time I switch OSes I have to log in again to Stack Overflow/Stack Exchange because it will invalidate the session cookies just because the USERAGENT/OS in the HTTP cookie header has changed.
This issue won't happen to any other site I visit, except Stack Overflow/Stack Exchange.
Can that be somehow fixed?


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SxSW Weird Photos
Oh and this guy's video is waaaaay cooler.
I took part in 'No Shave November.' It started as an effort to have facial hair/look dumb for the Warrior Dash I took part in … but then two of us (the bucket list buddy) decided to keep it going. So, inspired by fun gif's I've seen, like this one … I decided to make a dumb 'beard' shaving video. I'm also going to put up a quick slide show or a gif if I look up how to make one of the 30 days of beardliness.
Anywho, the videos are dumb but I didn't want to shave tiny patches and take pictures like the above link. (Basically I'm saying his video is cooler than either of mine.)
I did two videos because I thought of two different ideas … simple enough. Hope you enjoy them. Today is video numero uno. Tomorrow will be … well I don't want to spell out EVERYTHING for you.


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The comfiest one of our essentials, shop this tank if you are looking for a lazy weekend quick style fix, or want to go for a run in comfort. This one is for all you hustlers who don't want to think too much but get things done. Pair it with a stylish pant and you are good to get on with your day. Made in 100% cotton, this will keep you cozy & comfy throughout the day.
- Model wears size XS | Height 5.7" | UK6


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Vaccines are making many holiday gatherings possible this year. But not everyone agrees on the acceptable level of risk.
Last year, the advice was simple, even if it was difficult to take: It was too dangerous to have a normal Thanksgiving. Instead, many of us bunkered down—we celebrated with our pods or we stayed home with our immediate families. The decision, though grim, was pretty black and white: Gathering outside of our households could present serious, even deadly risks to ourselves and others.
Now, a year later, there are infinite shades of gray, all depending on each person's individual risk assessments and mitigation strategies. Vaccines, for instance: Is it OK to have unvaccinated kids at the holiday dinner? What about kids who have only had access to their first shots? Do all or some of the adults need boosters? Then there are questions about how many people are invited, where they're traveling to and from, when and how to test, what kind of ventilation is most effective, whether that throat tickle is an early symptom.… It's exhausting. Read more at The New Republic.
Categories: Freelance Articles


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A first hand account on how Sainsbury's use Wordnerds to handle massive quantities of qual data and how allows them to spot trends in what customers are saying - that they wouldn't know to look for. Plus find out how they use it the qual insight along side quant metrics to inform change and champion the voice of (all) their customers.
A huge thank you to Kat and Amelia for taking the time to chat with us.
When you're serving the widest demographic of customers in the UK, across multiple channels, thousands of products and categories, for customers with very different and personal needs - it calls for a platform designed to really understand what customers are saying.
Explore Wordnerds dedicated text analytics for Supermarkets.


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Can there can ever be too many of the exquisite small red, purple, and blue fruits — all the berries? Unlikely. When there are not enough, they can be mixed with apples (as sauce, pie, etc.) and their flavors will still shine. While they are all wonderful, and fresh is the way to live while they're in season, for the next few weeks I'll cover timesaving and preserving innovations for a less celebrated variety, black currants.
BLACK CURRANTS, aka cassis, are a powerful food ally and worth the extra trouble if you can grow your own, or the expense to purchase. Three or four bushes will provide plenty of fruit per person per year. They are relatively slow to pick, generally ripen in two big bursts, and really need cleaning before eating. No matter how careful the picking is, they arrive in the kitchen with a lot of little stems and leaves sticking to them.
Here is the fastest way to clean them I have found:
Put two capacious bowls in the sink and fill with water that is any temperature your hands would like to spend some time in. Set a colander over a third suitable receptacle for draining.
Pour currants into bowl A, to about one third the depth. Set water to slowly run into that bowl. Lift and stir currants a little, and pour off much of the astonishing amount of crud that has started to float up. Keep water gently running in so that debris, but not fruit, keeps exiting with the overflow. When the water is reasonably free of debris, lift handfuls out and drop into the second bowl. When all are transferred, dump bowl A, rinse and refill to start cleaning more currants.
While A is filling, skim the surface of second bowl, then lift fruit out and place into colander to drain. Dump and refill bowl B and repeat the process until you or the harvest are done for the day. It's not a bad task, it's more a matter of remembering to do it before bedtime (as things seem to go during July and August). Unwashed cassis keep well in the fridge for a few days if necessary. Once clean and drained, they can be frozen right away, but next week we'll cover an alternative gustatory delight.
Laurie Goodhart and her husband co-founded and operated two certified organic artisanal goat fromageries, Nettle Meadow in Warrensburg, NY from 1990 to 2005 and Domaine De Courval in Waterville, Quebec from 2006 to 2017. She created and trademarked the multiple award-winning cheese, Kunik. For more about her how her life experience brought her to develop time-saving ways to eat as much nutrient-dense food from her local environment as possible, see this previous post
Goodhart lives in upstate NY and continues her work as a professional artist and avid home gardener. Since 2007 she has devoted most of her studio time to an extensive body of work collected under the concept, Remnants And Residents Of A Lost Sanctuary Of Aphrodite.
Laurie can be reached through her website, lauriegoodhart.net


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A sleek, form fitting high waist legging engineered to fit every curve and flow with your workouts. The ultra luxe Airweight fabric has a supremely soft hand and second skin comfort.
BEST FOR: hot yoga, barre, Pilates.
- High waist legging
- Calf length, form fitting, true to size
- Supremely soft hand
- Second skin comfort
AIRWEIGHT: 81% nylon/ 19% spandex
Moisture-wicking & Quick-dry technology.


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Driver involved in road rage incident with Teen Mom star Jenelle Evans says the actress was 'close to getting shot'
Jenelle Evans seems to be losing her cool way too often. Latest is this episode where the Teen Mom star was caught up in an intense altercation with another driver on the road in Bolivia, North Carolina, last week. Although the reality star has been accused of allegedly pulling a gun on the driver, her team claims that they have proof that she is in the right.
However, the driver, who was involved in the incident and who wished to remain anonymous, told in an interview with Radar online that the TV star came close to 'getting shot' during the episode which took place on April 26, while Evans had her 8-year-old son Jace in the car with her the whole time.
"It was something out of this world. I really couldn't believe it," he told Radar. "It was a road rage incident, she lost her cool." He described Evans driving, saying: "She was running on the outside lane, texting on her phone, when other cars would try to pass her she would speed up. I don't think she realized how she was driving because she was on her phone."
He shared with the publication that even after he had slowed down his car, Evans continued to follow him up to his private property road in rural North Carolina.
"She drove down my dirt road, way down in the woods to my house. I didn't know who was inside the car at the time. It could have been a carload of guys…the windows were tinted."
The driver was sure that something would eventually go wrong and made sure he informed his family about keeping themselves safe if the need arose. His cousin who is a law enforcement officer saw Evans with the gun in her hands, which he told police according to the report filed with regards to the incident.
"If she pulled that gun out she wouldn't have made it," he said. "She don' know how close she came to getting shot!"
However, a source close to Hollywood Life, who is also a rep for Evans, has come forward and said that Evans is in no way to blame for the incident and that she has concrete evidence on the same.
The reality star's rep even confirmed that they have the whole incident recorded on tape, saying "Jenelle followed the instruction of law enforcement and 911 operators and will let the footage speak for itself when it airs."


text: Cristina Bigica, one of the most valuable young players from Romania, is talking about the 3×3 basketball, but also about her first year at Marquette University. Cristina is an important member of the Sport Arena Streetball family, and last year she won Tournament 3 together with her teammates from Sparks Team. About Sport Arena Streetball… The thing I like the most is the atmosphere. Every time I was at home, in Bucharest, and the tournament was going on, I was there, because I like to spend time with the people…Read More


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While the Community Shield is often a slightly fluffy affair, the fact that is usually is kicks off the whole season brings with it some level of interest in the hopes of getting a sneak preview at how your team is going to play this year. Pitting the previous year's FA Cup winner versus the League winner, those two teams' supporters can see their new players in action, things the team has worked on over the summer, and have a chance to pick up a little prize before the league kicks off.
This year, that is thrown out the window. Between the matchup's timing with two weeks before the actual season opener, the proximity to last years' wrap up just four weeks ago, and the amount of players just coming back from their brief holiday, chances are this game feels a lot more like a pre-season friendly than a statement game to open the season.
Arsenal are coming off a friendly in the middle of the week against MK Dons in which they won 4-1. Liverpool are coming off a friendly against RB Salzburg in which they drew 2-2 on late goals after conceding two early.
Arsenal trotted out a lineup in Arteta's 3-4-3 formation that consisted of: Leno; Saliba, Holding, Tierney; Soares, Elneny, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles; Saka, Nketiah, Aubameyang and I think today we could see something very similar. In fact, if I had to guess, that is exactly the same lineup we will see again today to start.
By all accounts, this game will be filled with both team's youth players and non-regulars. It's something that could alright for the viewers. Last time these two teams played heavily rotated lineups filled with youth players it turned into a goal scoring festival of highlights that ended in a 5-5 draw with Liverpool advancing on penalties. If this game is half as open, I don't expect many complaints.
But if this is the case, why are we excited? What is the intrigue? Well it's a fair question because it's not very clear. The obvious answer is that it's a chance to watch your Arsenal team, regardless of who is playing on the field, take on a Premier League rival, and that is always intriguing.
But I wanted to offer a few other reasons:
- If Saliba plays, it is another chance to get him minutes within the team and this time against better competition to see how he fares
- With Arsenal's current transfer window overhaul moving a bit slow, this could be the midfield that starts the years, whats that like?
- Kieran Tierney. He is just great to watch and no matter the affair you know he is putting in 110%. Love him.
- Arsenal have won 15 of these, why not make it 16!
- For some, this could be their final Arsenal appearance
Finally, this presents a pretty great opportunity for Arsenal and Arteta, in particular. He could collect a second piece of silverware in his young coaching career with little risk to his clout if Arsenal don't manage it. It's almost a "no risk" scenario. If they win, its a huge moment for Arteta to show the footballing world what he can do, what his team can do, and where their rebuild is heading. If not, no one will fault an Arsenal side for losing against Liverpool with half their squad still on holiday.
Let's talk about if they win. What a great message it sends. It would men that Arteta has won two finals and trophies in a month, he has put together two tactical gameplans to beat good teams to do so, and that he is continuing to have his Arsenal side vastly over achieve. If ever there is a good look to have when your club is in the midst of trying to convince better talent to come to London, it's showing them that you just won another game against Liverpool – even if in irregular circumstances.
I am really looking forward to it. Low pressure, mostly fun, lots of youth, with only a few stakes on the line. It's been a while since Arsenal has played a match without high stakes on the table. Last year finished with a race to try and manage the top 5 spots and then with an FA Cup run and even as a supporter it's nervy moments. These early games are a couple we can enjoy with a little more easy and I am here for it!
Hoping you are able to enjoy it without the pressure as well!
Predicted Lineup:
Leno; Saliba, Holding, Tierney; Soares, Elneny, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles; Saka, Nketiah, Aubameyang
Hoping for a 2-1 win from Arsenal or maybe another goal scoring affair that ends in penalties… but Arsenal win this time.


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At a time when state education reform has very much focused on improving teacher quality, the state's colleges and prospective teachers are being let off the hook temporarily.
Legislative committees have voted to delay for a year the enacting of proposals that would:
- Require a prospective teacher to have at least a B+ GPA;
- Increase the amount of time spent student teaching;
- Begin the process of rating state universities' teacher-training programs.
"We do not want to invite unintended consequences," Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor told legislators recently on why the Malloy administration supports putting off these initiatives.
This comes against the backdrop of a highly critical report by the former president of the state's largest teacher college calling for drastic changes at Southern Connecticut State University's teaching program.
"The future success of our educational system is at stake … Education redesign is critical," Cheryl Norton, now president of Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, wrote in her final sabbatical report in 2011. She highlighted 21 systemic changes that she said were needed at the New Haven-based school.
But legislators and the administration believe they need more time to overhaul the teacher preparation programs.
"Maybe we do need to make it more difficult to become a teacher. We need to look at what the impact would be, though," said Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, co-chairman of the Higher Education Committee.
The "unintended consequences" could include districts' having an even more difficult time filling certain teaching slots. A month after the start of the current school year, 4 percent of the 3,267 open teaching positions remained vacant because of a lack of qualified candidates, according to the State Department of Education.
Districts routinely have a hard time filling positions in special education, billingual education, math, science and remedial reading.
"We will find out what the impact will be after we do the study," said Sen. Andrea Stillman, D-Waterford, co-chairwoman of the Education Committee.
When Malloy rolled out his initiative to revamp the state's 17 teacher colleges and "raise the bar", no information was available on the number of students statewide that were accepted into teaching programs who were earning less than a 3.3 GPA. Half the students Central Connecticut State University has accepted in the last two years would not have made the cut.
The education commissioner and president of Board of Regents that oversees the the four Connecticut State Universities will lead this study panel. Their deadline is next April.
Change is slow
This is not the first time colleges have faced increased scrutiny over the 3,600 new teachers they graduate each year.
Principals and superintendents have complained for years that colleges do not adequately prepare future teachers. That view was echoed by three in five education school graduates responding to a national survey that their colleges did not prepare them for the realities of the classroom.
"We hear frequently from superintendents that they are not pleased with the product," said Allan B. Taylor, a longtime member of the State Board of Education and the current chairman.
"Not all teacher preparation programs are equal," said Sen. Toni Boucher from Wilton, ranking Republican on the Education Committee. Her proposal to increase admission requirements and mandate more in-classroom student teaching experiences, both things Malloy has said he supports, failed to make it out of committee.
Such a system of accountability could land the state new federal money. The Obama administration has proposed regulations that would direct more money to teacher colleges that can prove that their graduates have better student success.
Changes the state will consider include grading programs by their rigor, and the performance of new teachers in the classroom as determined by evaluations and student test scores. They will also look at program graduates' retention, turnover and dismissal rates when they enter the profession.
Many of the state's colleges have been reluctant to have their programs graded.
Eastern Connecticut State University earlier this year boasted about being ranked a top regional university by U.S. News & World Report. But CSU has tried to opt out of the magazine's coming plans for the first time to rank teacher colleges, and several private colleges also have been reluctant.
Nearly half of those who earn a teaching degree in the state's public and private colleges each year attended a Connecticut State University.
Critical report
Norton, the former president of Southern Connecticut State University, wrote that a drastic change is needed to ensure that the school graduates quality teachers.
"The University must acknowledge its role in contributing to the solution," Norton, now president of Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, wrote in her final sabbatical report in 2011. "There is no consistency in student teaching, clinical practice is not well-defined, there is no accountability of what should occur in field experiences and no specificity about…the role and/or requirements of a mentor."
She also wrote that much of the delay in launching increased requirements and accountability measures can be attributed to the "culture of the institution that acts independently from public schools" as well as the role tenured faculty enjoy.
"No longer can the teacher preparation programs stand in isolation from the communities they serve."


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Time: 128 Minutes
Age Rating: Offensive Language and Content that may Disturb
Mark Ruffalo as Michael Rezendes
Michael Keaton as Walter "Robby" Robinson
Rachel McAdams as Sacha Pfeiffer
Liev Schreiber as Marty Baron
John Slattery as Ben Bradlee Jr.
Brian d'Arcy James as Matt Carroll
Stanley Tucci as Mitchell Garabedian
Director: Tom McCarthy
In 2001, editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) of The Boston Globe assigns a team of journalists to investigate allegations against John Geoghan, an unfrocked priest accused of molesting more than 80 boys. Led by editor Walter "Robby" Robinson (Michael Keaton), reporters Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Matt Carroll (Brian D'Arcy James) and Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) interview victims and try to unseal sensitive documents. The reporters make it their mission to provide proof of a cover-up of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church.
Spotlight had my interest ever since I saw the huge and talented cast involved but the story behind it also interested me, and it sounded like a story that should be told. The large amount of Oscar nominations also increased my interest in seeing this film. With the great performances and most importantly the fantastic script, Spotlight really is a must see movie and is one of the best movies of 2015.
First off let's get it right out of the way, the script by Tom McCarthy is excellent. The dialogue, the way the story moved, the plot points, everything fell nicely into place in telling this very fascinating story. The pacing is also set at just the right speed and the entire movie is so captivating the entire runtime, despite its lurid subject matter. Another thing is that everything felt so real, at some point this movie started feeling less like a movie and more like a well put together documentary. There isn't really anything noticeably wrong with the movie, but if I had to be a little nit-picky, I would say that the beginning of the movie, like the first 5-10 minutes was a little slow. This beginning segment didn't bother me a lot but I did feel like it could've been paced a little faster and it does take a little while before the plot starts happening. Aside from that aspect, everything fell nicely into place. I can't say for certain how accurate this entire movie was to the events that took place, but the way it was done made it definitely seem credible.
The cast in this movie is big and talented with Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber and many others being a part of this movie. All of them do excellent work and get to shine. I said earlier how this movie felt so real and at some point felt like a documentary, this also applies to the performances. There aren't any moments where the actors gave 'an Oscar moment'. Instead they are all thankfully subdued and feel much more like real people, they really felt like journalists trying to find the truth.
There isn't much to say about the actual direction of the scenes as it's mostly the script and the performances that are the highlights of Spotlight but I will say that the film and scenes are very well directed by Tom McCarthy. The soundtrack by Howard Shore was also good and fit the rest of the movie perfectly.
Spotlight is one of the best movies of 2015 and in my opinion it is actually a pretty important movie. From Tom McCarthy's great direction, to its grounded performances from its huge and wonderfully talented cast as well as its realistic and fantastically written screenplay, Spotlight is a great movie that succeeds on just about every level. Definitely check it out when you have a chance, I know that it's not an easy movie to watch given its subject matter, but even so, I still think that it's really worth seeing.


text: I will participate in Uppsala international photo festival 26-29.9 with a series of portraits of women artists and artisans. It is a first of its kind for me, and it has been very valuable to work with these persons, to learn their stories. I will show some of the portraits here in the upcoming weeks. More on the event right here: http://eng.uppsalafotofestival.se/


text: Key features: Modern Design: Modern design with Z shape metal leg gaming desk is suitable for all kinds of decors. It can be a good view in your room. Carbon Fiber Surface: The carbon fiber surface is more tactile and easy to clean. It is very comfortable to your touch. Gamer Friendly: Come with a headphone hook, a rota-table cup holder which helps you keep your equipment at hand with no worry. Easy Assembly: This desk is very easy to assemble, you can finish within 30 minutes. Specifications: Package Dimension: 45.9" W x 28.4" D x 3.9" H Height: 29.3" H Desktop Dimension: 43.6" W x 23.6" D Max Capacity: 220 lbs Item Weight: 41.55 lbs Color: Red


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Top World Stories
2 comments
I wonder when did Sakshi start eating her own :)
Sodom and Gommorah: the fall of the Roman empire. The God, Creator, of the Holy Bible says it is a sin!
I am writing a paper against gay rights, against gay marriage to persuade the US not to implement these policies. Our US Declaration of Independence and Constitution were based on the Bible, not the Satanic Bible. We have all these problems now in the US because "dummies" started forgetting God. Hindu's run out motels now and they are awful, cheap, and junky. Find the generosity of Christ.


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"Jason Bourne" is a spy movie for imbeciles. The entire film feels like it's written using nothing more than the vocabulary of a 12 year old and consists of two very tiring hours of repetition. Bourne gets chased, throws some punches, and gets away. Shoot, bleed, run, escape. Shoot, bleed, run, escape. Shoot, bleed, run, escape. Repeat to infinity.
I actually felt bad for the actors having to deliver such dreadful dialogue; their onscreen characters literally describe everything that's happening as it unfolds ("It's Bourne!" and "I'm going to shoot!" and "He's running upstairs!" and "The files are downloaded!"). At some point it started to get funny.
Matt Damon is back as Jason Bourne and it feels like he's sleepwalking through the entire movie. Even the talented Alicia Vikander phones in her questionable performance (is she supposed to have an accent or not?) and Tommy Lee Jones plays yet another scowling caricature of a sinister government official. There's little in the way of character development and the only actor who's enjoyable here is franchise veteran Julia Stiles. What a pity that she's not given much to do.
Even the action sequences are inexcusably incoherent. Paul Greengrass is one of my least favorite directors, mainly because he loves that fast cutting junk where I can't tell what is going on in the movie. It's a filmmaking style for those with short attention spans and it's a sign of extreme laziness.
Greengrass sucks all the fun out of what should've been a spectacular car chase down the Las Vegas strip. Instead of taking his time and showing off the pageantry of stunt driving with a steady hand (see the legendary cinematic car chases in Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof," William Friedkin's "The French Connection," Peter Yates' "Bullit," Justin Lin's "Fast Five," or hell, even Michael Bay's "Bad Boys II"), Greengrass once again opts for the lazy way out and gives us a messy commotion of three second snippets that seem to be edited together in a blender on the high setting.
None of the elements work: the film covers no new ground, it lacks any energy, and it simply feels tired, making "Jason Bourne" the lamest of all in the series.
"Conversation" with 5-word sentences using spy and techno-jargon. Quick cut to person typing on computer: Beep, boop, beep. Quick cut to shaky cam conversation. Another five-word-sentence conversation and more shaky cam. Cut to shaky-cam motorcycle chase with no sense of geography. Cut back to computer.
Cut, cut, cut. Shaky cam, shaky cam, shaky cam. "Jason Bourne" might as well have been shot and assembled by a seven-year-old with ADD that hasn't taken his Ritalin. It wasn't so much edited as jammed together. So little artistry went into making this movie that it's hard to even call Paul Greengrass its "director."
One of my recurring rants is on the use of quick cutting and shaky cams in action films: it's the hallmark of lazy filmmaking. When your action sequences are constructed by using cut after cut after cut, you don't have to worry about storyboarding (contrast "The Raid: Redemption"). You don't need actors who have any training in fight choreography (contrast "The Raid 2"). You don't have to concern yourself with geography or spatial relationships. In other words, instead of having to WORK at creating a compelling action sequence, you can hack your way through it. And boy, there is NO ONE working in film now that loves hack action better than Paul Greengrass. And nowhere has Greengrass's hackiness been on display more than in "Jason Bourne." It's his masterpiece of hacketry. I can continue making up new word forms using "hack" to describe this movie and director, but I think you get the idea.
In addition to the bad direction and editing, "Jason Bourne" stinks because it's a poor excuse for a spy thriller. We are subjected to scene after scene of dreadful acting. Julia Stiles (Nicky Parsons) is the worst of the lot, but Matt Damon (Jason Bourne), Alicia Vikander (Heather Lee) and Tommy Lee Jones (Director Dewey) are only marginally better. The script is abysmal, with the characters not so much dialoguing with one another as speaking spy techno-jargon while they type on computers that are constantly beep-bloop-bleeping (no computer I've ever used makes so many noises when scanning files). Using words that sound cool does not make a scene interesting. And the plot? It's barely even there.
I found only three things enjoyable about this movie. The very first fight scene between Bourne and some nameless guy — the one you see in the trailer. The story thread featuring the Silicon Valley billionaire that refused to screw over the public in the name of national security. And the final vehicular chase scene down Las Vegas Boulevard — which I liked in spite of the terrible editing (which, incidentally, got the geography of the Strip all wrong).
Please don't make this movie a hit, because then we will get lots of imitators (like we did after "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum", when quick cuts and shaky cam were used in 95% of all action pictures).
Demand more for your money. There are so many movies that do it better than this one. Do you want an engaging, twisty techno-spy thriller? Check out the "Mission Impossible" series. Do you want a well-written story of international espionage and intrigue? See "Our Kind of Traitor." Do you want well-choreographed fight sequences? Watch "The Raid" movies. Hell, even this summer's "Warcraft" did a better job with its fights and action that this film.


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"We Belong" Art PrintRegular price $20.00
Sloth buds for life.
An archival print from Ryan Berkley's "Nothing But Hugs" series. This new collection was created in response to Covid-19, Ryan says "I wanted to create some connection, even when humans can't be close together."
Perfect for a kids room, living room, hallway, and look great in a gallery wall.
This is an archival print created from an original pen and ink drawing printed by the Land Gallery in Portland, Oregon.


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Markus and I rise together and go to bed together. For such a small gesture, this habit does a lot to strengthen our bond. Do you practice this with your partner, too? This time I thought about sharing our evening routine for better sleep.
I read that people are sleeping worse following the coronavirus crisis. It is definitely not easy. But pandemic or not, I suspect tips on improving quality of sleep are always useful. I hope our simple habits can inspire and help you.
1. We have a light dinner.
Because we eat plant-based, most of our meals are light and easy to digest. Of course, we have savory and treatly stuff, too, but we rarely fall into a post-food coma. Eating fresh, whole food every day sure makes a difference. Some days we have dinner as early as 6 PM, like the retired old couple that we are, but we like it because it gives us more time to relax inside the tiny house.
2. Followed by warm drinks.
Part of our evening routine are warm drinks after dinner. We particularly enjoy herbal tea, such as chamomile or a mix of fresh herbs, flowers, and leaves – so calming. Other times we have oat milk with honey or hot chocolate from scratch when we are feeling indulgent. There is the added benefit that these drinks support better sleep and encourage tired eyes naturally.
3. We talk about our day and list to-dos for tomorrow.
As simple as our days are, we still ask each other 'How was your day?' every night. Most of our hours are spent doing individual things, like studying, learning foreign languages, reading, working, gardening, and so on, and it is always nice to hear about something new that the day brought.
We add to our running to-do lists as well. We find that this helps us get more things done the next day because we know our high value activities. It is also much easier to relax because our minds can let go of concerns and chores, knowing that everything has been noted.
If we had any misunderstanding during the day, we talk about it, too. We listen, address the issue, and never attack each other personally. We are on the same team, after all!
4. And make time for evening cuddles.
Physical touch and quality time are high on our love language list so we make time for it, every day, before sleeping. Some days this is as simple as cuddling while catching up on our favorite videos on YouTube. Often, Markus watches politics, history, and video games, while I indulge my love for plants and food. We are also greedy for belly rubs, back rubs, and head massages. How can anyone not sleep well after that?
5. We do not use our phones in bed.
This is a big one. After showering and brushing our teeth, we go to bed and place our phones on flight mode. Sometimes we do not even carry it to the loft of the tiny house where we sleep.
It is just easier to wind down and disconnect. We are not tempted to look at anything and the chances of anyone pulling us away from sleep are gone. See, when we give our eyes and brains the opportunity to wind down correctly, sleep will definitely be close by! But we have to consciously create these moments for better sleep.
6. Rinse and repeat.
Having an evening ritual is a powerful tool for better sleep. Doing these things every night signals our body that we are heading for bed soon. It creates a healthy rhythm and the more we are able to do it, the better rest we have.
Of course, after saying good morning when we wake up, the next question we ask each other is "How did you sleep?" More often than not, we are able to enjoy restorative sleep that feels really good for the mind and body. We hope you are able to experience quality sleep more frequently, too!


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The 17-story office building at 175 Federal Street in Boston's increasingly popular Financial District is getting a bit of a makeover.
Deka Immobilien, the German real estate fund that owns the 227,360-square-foot property, has filed initial plans with the city to add a street-level glass enclosure around the lobby. That enclosure would create roughly 12,000 square feet of new retail and restaurant space, and reorient the building's frontage toward the Dewey Square-South Station area.
The enclosure—which CBT Architects is designing—would be canted and encompass 175 Federal's first three floors. Along with the retail and restaurant space, it's due to include a raised platform accessible to the public, with views of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.
Speaking of the Greenway, the new front, at the corner of Purchase and Summer streets, is also due to provide direct access to the ribbon park.
"The objective of this project is to better integrate this iconic building with downtown Boston and to upgrade the quality for the tenants and retail customers," Gabriele Gottschalk, senior project manager of construction and development at Deka Immobilien, said in a statement. "Boston, and the Financial District in particular, have gone through tremendous growth and change since 175 Federal's initial construction."
Indeed, the building went up in 1977. Other buildings have popped up since, and still others have gone or are undergoing major renovations themselves. The owner of One Post Office Square, for instance, is spending around $300 million to basically sheath the 41-story skyscraper in glass and make other changes. And, at 225 Franklin Street, the owner has converted much of the basement to event and amenity space, including a golf simulator.


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Iraqi oil recorded the highest price among OPEC
Iraqi oil recorded the highest price among OPEC
Shafaq News / Basra Light crude climbs, today, Tuesday, to more than 64 dollars per barrel.
Basra Light Oil for Asia rose to $ 64.41 a barrel or 2.97% over last week, while Basra Heavy Oil prices rose 0.69% to 61.5$ per barrel which is the highest price compared to other OPEC oil.
On the other hand; Saudi Arabian Light oil stead at 62.66 dollars per barrel, Emirati Murban mixture recorded 61.48 dollars per barrel, Algerian Saharan mixture scored 63.39 dollars per barrel, while Nigerian Binny Light oil scored 63.83 dollars.
International oil prices have risen recently, Brent crude scored $ 65.13, while West Texas crude at $ 62.38.


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GitLab has an integrated Dependency Proxy which caches upstream Docker images. Formerly a premium feature, Dependency Proxy was open-sourced and made available to all GitLab versions in November 2020 as part of GitLab 13.6.
The Dependency Proxy behaves as a pull-through cache for Docker images stored on Docker Hub. Setting up the Dependency Proxy can accelerate your pipelines and helps you stay within Docker's rate limits.
Enabling The Dependency Proxy
Dependency Proxy's availability is controlled by an instance-level setting. Enabling the Dependency Proxy requires GitLab to be reconfigured. This will cause a brief period of downtime.
To enable the feature, add the following line to your installation's
/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb file:
gitlab_rails["dependency_proxy_enabled"] = true
Save the file and run the following command in your terminal:
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
The instructions above are for GitLab Omnibus installations. If you installed from source, the dependency proxy must be enabled within your
config/gitlab.yml file.
Using the Dependency Proxy
Dependency Proxy only works with GitLab groups. You can't currently use it with standalone personal projects.
The feature is normally used within CI pipeline scripts. When referencing an image within a pipeline, prefix the image's Docker Hub name with the
CI_DEPENDENCY_PROXY_GROUP_IMAGE_PREFIX variable. This variable automatically resolves to the Dependency Proxy URL for your active GitLab group.
image: ${CI_DEPENDENCY_PROXY_GROUP_IMAGE_PREFIX}/nodejs:latest
This pipeline will run its job within a
nodejs:latest container. The image will be pulled through the Dependency Proxy. Subsequent pipeline runs won't need to hit Docker Hub unless the upstream image actually changes.
You can also access the Dependency Proxy manually, outside of GitLab CI. You must authenticate with
docker login first. You'll need to use your GitLab username and password, or your username and a personal access token.
docker login gitlab.example.com --username username --password password
Once authenticated, you can
docker pull using the GitLab Dependency Proxy. Replace
example-group in the URL below with the name of the group you want to use. The pulled image will be cached into that group's Dependency Proxy.
docker pull gitlab.example.com/example-group/dependency_proxy/containers/nodejs:latest
If you also use GitLab's Container Registry (to store images you build), take note that Dependency Proxy is entirely separate and has a different URL. Whereas Container Registry is normally exposed on its own subdomain (e.g.
registry.example.com), Dependency Proxy is accessed via the same hostname as the GitLab web UI.
How The Dependency Proxy Works
The Dependency Proxy presents itself as another Docker registry. When you want to use the proxy, you
docker login to it and then
docker pull as normal.
If the Dependency Proxy has already cached the image, it'll return it directly without using Docker Hub. Otherwise, the image is pulled from Docker Hub, cached in the proxy and returned to your Docker CLI.
GitLab will try to contact Docker Hub for every
docker pull, even if a cached image is available. This is because the proxy must check whether the image has been updated on Docker Hub.
This procedure does not affect Docker's rate limiting. Docker permits free
HEAD requests to compare image manifest versions. If Docker indicates the cached image is outdated, GitLab will pull the fresh version (incurring a rate limit hit). Otherwise, the cached image will be returned, without adding to your Docker Hub rate limit tally.
These characteristics make the Dependency Proxy ideal for CI pipelines. By logging into the proxy, you can safely
docker pull on every pipeline run, without hitting the Docker Hub rate limit.
Configuring Dependency Proxy Settings
Dependency Proxy can use a substantial amount of storage over time. You're caching images from Docker Hub; those images might be quite large depending on what you're using.
GitLab lets you customise the storage location. Set the
dependency_proxy_storage_path setting in
/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb if you want to use a dedicated storage drive.
gitlab_rails["dependency_proxy_storage_path"] = "/mnt/my-storage-drive"
Source installations should set the
storage_path property within the
dependency_proxy section of
config/gitlab.yml instead.
You can also store your cached images on an object storage service such as Amazon S3. Here's an example Omnibus configuration in
gitlab_rails["dependency_proxy_object_store_enabled"] = true # This is the S3 bucket name gitlab_rails["dependency_proxy_object_store_remote_directory"] = "gitlab-dependency-proxy" gitlab_rails["dependency_proxy_object_store_connection"] = { "provider" => "AWS", "region" => "eu-west-1", "aws_access_key_id" => "AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID", "aws_secret_access_key" => "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY" }
To improve performance, GitLab will cache images locally and then upload them to S3 in the background. If you'd rather upload directly to S3, set the
dependency_proxy_object_store_direct_upload setting to
You must reconfigure GitLab (
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure) after making changes to the storage settings. The Dependency Proxy will then store cached images using your new configuration.
Freeing Up Storage
GitLab never deletes cached Dependency Proxy data. You can view the contents of a groups cache by selecting Packages & Registries > Dependency Proxy from its sidebar. This screen lets you enable or disable the Dependency Proxy for the group and see the total size of the stored data. However, you can't use the UI to clear old blobs.
If you need to free up storage, you must use the GitLab API. There's a single endpoint which lets you clear all the Dependency Proxy data stored for a specific group.
Create a personal access token by clicking your profile in the top-right, clicking "Access Tokens" in the left sidebar and adding a new access token with the
api scope.
Next, use
curl to delete a group's Dependency Proxy cache:
curl --request DELETE --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <Access-Token>" https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/<Group-Id>/dependency_proxy/cache
To find your group ID, visit the homepage of the group you want to cleanup. The group's ID will be shown next to its name.
Enabling the Dependency Proxy is a straightforward step which improves the resiliency of your pipelines. If Docker Hub goes down, the proxy will still provide your pipeline with cached image versions.
The Dependency Proxy also helps you stay within Docker Hub's rate limits. You'll only need to pull images from Docker Hub when they actually change. For an active team running many pipelines each day, this can help you avoid having to upgrade to a premium Docker Hub plan.


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"What are you studying, beta?"
I hate when people disturb me. I hate it the most when I am reading or studying. So, with a dash of anger, I looked at the old person sitting next to me, in that second class coach of that train, which I had boarded from Mumbai and would take me to Ahmadabad. After a failed attempt to crack CAT 2015, a couple of failed attempts to start my own company and 3 months of intense preparation (or maybe, just preparation), I had managed to (somehow) get an interview call from IIM A (nothing to be happy about, I screwed it up big time). I was happy as hell; But there was a problem: my interview was scheduled at IIM A campus, that too on the very first day of the interview season and I wasn't prepared for it at all. I had decided that I would prepare for my 8 hour train journey to Ahmedabad and crack the interview (well, I couldn't do the both) and I had started reading my notes, then as I said before, the old person sitting next to me asked me the above question (and also managed to anger me).
"Nothing Sir (his formal clothes, white hairs, and big specs suggested me to address him Sir), I have an interview tomorrow, so preparing for that".
"Job interview?".
"No Sir, I have got a call from IIM A. MBA interview".
As he had got my eyes out of my notes, I took a casual look at all the people sitting in that boggy. The old person (let's call him X), was sitting to my right and had a very pleasant yet authoritative voice. His wife and 10-year-old niece (he introduced them to me after some time) were sitting on the opposite couch and a fat, typical Gujrati looking man (call him Y) was sitting to their right. And to my left, there was another old man, who was 70 something, but his french beard and ponytail made him look 10 year's younger (let's call him Z. And sorry, I am an engineer, so I always stick with XYZ).
X was asking me random questions, and they were frustrating me. After some time, Y and Z also jumped into the conversation.
If anybody had told me, that 8-hour journey (actually just a few hours of that conversation) will change my whole perspective to look towards life, then I would have said that Mr Trump will win US elections (and both the things eventually happened).
Mr X had worked in a production company for 20 years and then started his own workshop after that. I told him about my aspiration to do an MBA from a reputed B-school and then start my own venture.
X: "Beta, It's good that you want to learn further and are ready to take effort's towards it. A person should learn as much as he can. But you should work for a few years before starting your own company. You should avoid taking such a huge risk".
Y: "Sorry to say uncle, but I don't think that is necessary. See, I am just 30 years old and I run my own textile mill. And I neither have any work experience nor any fancy degree (he is a commerce graduate). Abhishek (oh yeah, that's my name), take as many risks as you can and feel the rush of this 21st century".
For next hour, X and Y had an intense discussion about the right time to start a company, value of experience and mostly, the lifestyle of today's generation.
Y: "Sir, with due respect, I would like to say that your generation is very risk averse. My dad (who is a very wealthy trader) wasn't ready to invest in textiles. It took me 4 months to convince him. On the other hand, I take risks worth crores on daily basis."
X: "You might be right, beta, but our generation has always maintained a healthy work-life balance. We would work only for a fixed hours of time and devote the remaining time for our families. You see, in the end, it's your family that matters the most(this sentence has reserved a fixed position inside my mind). But today, our children are ashamed of us (ouch)."
At this point, Mr Z, who was also running a company (so basically, it was buggy filled with entrepreneurs), jumped into the conversation.
Z: "I guess Mr X is right. When I used to wear a dhoti and kurta, and my son, who works in an MNC, would not even allow me to come near his office. But, since I have changed my attire and grown a french beard and ponytail, my son takes me to all his office parties. You know, I don't like these attire or beard, but I do it just for the sake of spending some time with my son".
I remembered the time when I had not allowed my dad to come to an event in my college and I realised how he must have felt. I made a promise to myself, that I will try to involve my parents more in my life.
Y and Z got down at Surat (an intermediate station), but the conversation between me and Mr X continued for the entire journey. He told me some interesting stories of how he started his own company and ran it successfully for more than 20 years.
X: "The most important thing you should remember while running a company is: your company works because of your employees. You should always find the right people to do a job and make sure that they don't leave you. If you hire people just cause you know them or they are good friends of you, then your company will definitely fail."
My two startup attempts flashed in front of my eyes and I realised that I couldn't find a proper team for any of them.
X: "Also, your primary target should not be to earn money, It should be to solve a problem. If you manage to find a prominent problem, the money will follow. But earn only as much as you require to live a good life, but not a luxurious one. Luxury cripples you. Earn enough to buy a car, but not so much to buy a Ferrari or BMW. In the end, you shall use a car to travel, and not as a status symbol."
When I told him about many of my failures, he smiled and said: "See, the aim of life is to struggle. And everyone has to do that. All of us face failures. But the winner is the one who accepts those failures, learns from them and then work hard to achieve the success. Though success gives you a sense of satisfaction, but a failure makes you stronger. Actually, a failure prepares you for a success."
I tried my best to learn as much as I can from Mr X, but finally, that journey came to an end. We reached Ahmedabad and all of a sudden, it was a time to say goodbye.
X: "Don't panic, even if your interview goes bad (how did he manage to predict that?), you have an entire life to live. Work hard, never give up, help others and spend some time with your family. This is an ultimate way to achieve success. It took me 40 years to understand it."
The interview went bad. It was a terrible one. Perhaps, I should have prepared for it in my journey. But, then I'd have missed so much of wisdom and knowledge.
It took Mr X 40 years to understand the ultimate way to success, but he selflessly taught it to me within a journey of merely 8 hours.
A journey to remember……
"What are you studying, beta?"


text:
Without effective communication among employees and customers, even the most idyllic business strategy can fall apart. Learn why communications plans are vital in helping to achieve the future you've planned for your business.
Internal Strategic Communications
An engaged workforce drives ROI. Yet only 33% of American employees feel engaged at work — 51% feel neutral, and 16% are actively disengaged. Action-oriented messaging and transparency can help.
When leaders aren't seen as open communicators, only 8% of employees feel highly engaged. But with effective communication from leadership, 72% feel highly engaged — that's nearly 3 in 4 employees.
So how can employers ensure that their employees understand the company's business strategy and core values?
- Survey employees to determine their awareness
- Provide motivational visuals for key points
- Train on actionable ways to implement strategy
- Host internal events focused on values
- Listen to employees at every level
Engaged employees are 2x more likely to perform beyond expectations, more supportive of global change and less likely to leave.
External Strategic Communications
97% of consumers use the internet to find local businesses. 30% of consumers make purchases based on personal values — the same is true for 60% of millennials. Social media is key for community engagement, generating sales and boosting investor confidence, provided the messaging targets your business strategy.
Just 20% of COOs feel equipped to deliver on what the modern marketplace requires, while only 12% of communications teams feel their plan supports the larger business strategy. Take advantage of key tactics to build lasting relationships with external stakeholders:
- Keep business strategy at the core of marketing
- Create promotional graphics for company values
- Publicize strategy updates on social media
- Use a consistent company voice for all marketing
- Promote your strategy publicly
Learn the essentials of a strong communications plan for your business strategy. View the full infographic by USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism:
Infographic Sources:
Add This Infographic to Your Site

University of Southern California


text:
While visiting the Texas Hill Country we wanted to get at least one good hike in. A chance to explore and see new trails. Due to the pandemic we had to reserve our day pass a couple weeks in advance, $7 for adults, children under 12 are free. Guadalupe River State Park is divided into two halves by the Guadalupe River: the main side and the Bauer Unit. We decided to go hike the Bauer Unit, please note that for this portion of the park all day pass tickets must be purchased online a head of time. This part of the park is a day use area only with limited river access. You can get there but it is about a three mile hike down to the water's edge.
There is no permanent park staff on the Bauer side of the park and the parking lot is gravel. There are also no restrooms and only a single picnic table near the trailhead. The trails are well marked though and well maintained. Trail maps are available at the trailhead and the trails are open to both hikers and bikers
The river was not deep and only came up just a little past my knees. However the water was moving quite quickly in places and the riverbed in this area is rock that can be slippery. The river was perfect to wade in and cool down with after hiking for several miles. From the river it was a three mile loop back to the parking lot.
This is a beautiful state park and I can't wait to go back to hike the trails in the main portion of the park or maybe float down the waters of the Guadalupe River in a tub. Safe hiking.
Thank you KW Photography for allowing me to use your wonderful photos!


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They are two of the loveliest films I've ever seen.
A movie that consists almost exclusively of two people talking is a rare and precious thing — lacking any kind of desperation to excite or manipulate an audience, content to share and observe. When Richard Linklater made Before Sunrise in 1995, this concept wasn't unheard of in cinema, but it still stood out (or rather, sat quietly) among the bulk of Hollywood and even independent films. Even so, something about the film stuck, both with a small but devoted audience and with the three people most responsible for making it: Linklater and his actors Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Nine years later, they got a sequel made, Before Sunset. With yet another sequel, my most anticipated movie of the year, just completed and taking its sweet time getting to where I can see it (it will open in my state on June 14 — at the moment it's playing in New York, L.A. and Linklater's hometown of Austin, Texas), there's no better time to catch up with these two films.
Before Sunrise and Before Sunset are about romantic love. They are about cross-cultural connections. They are about seizing opportunities before time runs out. Above all else, they are about great conversations. The stories, memories, dreams, ideas, theories, arguments, and jokes that Jesse and Celine share are a model for establishing and maintaining rapport. Particularly in the first movie, which I find I still prefer to the second (we'll get to why later), there really isn't a single part of their marathon discussion that I don't find memorable, evocative, poignant, or funny, and often a mix of those.
Here's the straightforward setup: an American man and a French woman, both in their early twenties, meet on a train to Vienna and start talking. When the train stops, he decides he wants to keep talking to her and asks her to get off the train with him, even though she's on her way home to Paris. She agrees, and they just walk around the city for the rest of the day and into the night, ostensibly killing time until his flight back to America the next morning. What they end up doing is pretty much the opposite of "killing time." They spend those hours falling for each other.
On paper, it's as slight as it can be, but as experienced on the screen, it's an ecstatic dream of a movie. And "dreamlike" is a good term for it. However young and naïve Jesse and Celine might be, they recognize just as well as we in the audience do how unlikely their situation is. There's a great moment just after they get off the train, and it's the only line from either film that I'll quote here: they're walking on a bridge, and Jesse says, "This is a nice bridge." These two people have just been talking at length about parents, growing up, death and the afterlife — the conversation never hit a snag even as they shared very personal stories and fears. Finally, they experience a little bit of awkwardness, a little everyday uncertainty as to what to say next. We've already seen these characters make an uncommonly strong connection practically at first sight, and now we're reminded that they're human. The awkwardness passes quickly, however.
The cast is my idea of perfection. Hawke is full of life, passion, and wit. I relate to his character in so many ways. Yes, there is some youthful arrogance to him (which matures into weariness in the second film), but he's getting over a break-up. Over the course of the movie, he must learn to abandon the naïve cynicism he picked up in the wake of that pain. So he's great, but Delpy always blows me away. She gets under his skin almost immediately, and her reaction shots on the train communicate the act of falling in love even better than the dialogue. She seems to have this reservoir of wisdom and experience within her that balances out his impetuosity. They're both immensely attractive, of course. One of the film's greatest strengths is its patience in allowing them to delve beneath each other's surface qualities and really learn about each other before the relationship gets serious.
I can count on one hand the movies I enjoy more than Before Sunrise. Its simple beauty and abundance of ideas always captivate me. Which holds the sequel up to an incredible standard. A great many people think Before Sunset is better than its predecessor. They might be right. I can see the argument. The sequel adds nine years to these characters' lives, making them more complex and mature — wounded from a life that could never live up to that one magical night, finding they cannot forget each other but have been forced to move on. The story is about two people slowly spiraling down toward the raw emotional wounds in each other's hearts. The scene in which they finally get there is the best scene in either film. But on the whole, I still hold the first film closer to my heart, although I love them both intensely.
Before Sunset makes the struggle with time even more intense than Before Sunrise. The first film meanders somewhat — one of its greatest joys is in exploring the beauty of Vienna. Although Jesse and Celine have only one day together, they're still both very young and are really only beginning their adult lives. Nine years later, they've had some time to acquire regrets and now realize just how rare is the connection they made in the first film. Time has already started to slip away. The events of the sequel transpire in real time, as the two try to catch up with each others' lives and Jesse keeps delaying yet another trip to the airport. With the added pressure of saying what they need to say in a little over an hour, they often come close to rekindling the old spark but then push too hard or back off. Their interactions are extremely volatile, particularly when compared to the first film, in which they often change the subject when they find themselves disagreeing. The question hanging over everything is where the relationship can go from here.
When I see one of my favorite movies, sometimes I can't help but feel just a hint of melancholy when it's about to end. Realizing that this great experience couldn't last forever, knowing that the next time I see it I'll be a little older but the movie will be the same, I'm drawn to think of the passage of time, how the past is always there in the memory but always out of reach. No movie I've seen directly addresses this sadness like these two. In both films, the plot calls for the two characters to part when the movie ends, having spent mere hours together. As the films approach their conclusions, the tension of the coming separation dovetails with the experience of the end of a story, compounding the emotional payoff. Both endings offer the hope of continuation, uncertain though the future may be. These movies are both wise and optimistic. I find that an irresistible combination — as irresistible as love itself.


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Not a review, really; just a few comments.
It's 1798, and Richard Bolitho is Commodore commanding a small squadron in the Mediterranean Sea, tasked with figuring out what the French fleet is up to and making recommendations. The squadron consists of three 74s, a frigate, and a sloop; most are commanded by folks we've encountered in earlier books. Thomas Herrick's the flag captain, George Probyn and Charles Farquhar command the other line-of-battle ships, and Francis Inch has the sloop. All in all the assignment's a frustrating experience; while they know there's an enemy fleet in the Med, they can't pin down its location. (I'm leaving out a lot of detail, here, as the story's largely about personality conflicts between the characters I've just mentioned.)
The alert reader will have recognized this plot is a small-scale version of Horatio Nelson's 1798; indeed, Bolitho's well aware of Nelson's efforts, but circumstances–not to mention the frustration of an apparently-failed search effort–prevent the two from actually meeting. Francis Inch manages to ferry messages between the fleets, to his delight, but they're inconsequential.
Bolitho eventually manages to communicate his belief (not quite knowledge) that the French fleet is at Aboukir Bay, so Nel can chase Admiral Brueys (and Napoleon) down and win the Battle of the Nile. Bolitho's ships have an encounter with the French just before the main battle and are therefor too damaged to actively participate in the victory.
Incidentally, this is the novel where Herrick's wife-to-be, Dulcie, first appears.
This review was originally published on LibraryThing.


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Craig David has had some amazing songs in his time! Since we featured his latest track 'One More Time' earlier this week, it seemed like a good idea to revisit some of his older songs for #ThrowbackThursday, coz man has the guy had some hits!
'7 Days' was released 16 years ago, back in 2000, and was taken from his debut album 'Born To Do It' and it reached Number 1 in the UK charts…that's because it's awesome! A true R&B song which shows off David' vocal abilities well, this song was destined for success, with a modest video too!
Craig David – '7 Days'
It was then in 2002 that Craig David released the first single from his follow-up album, 'What's Your Flava?' Many people might have found the lyrics a little cringy; comparing girls to ice cream flavours, but the song is catchy as hell!
It went on to reach Number 8 in the UK charts and saw him add a touch of dance to his R&B sound.
Craig David – 'What's Your Flava?'
Then in 2003, Craig David released his second song from the album Slicker Than Your Average, called 'Hidden Agenda'.
Although this song reached Number 10 in the UK charts (not as good as his previous releases), I have chosen to feature this as the third song, because I feel it was a bit of a hidden gem. It's much less obviously catchy than his other singles but is one of my favourite songs of his.
Whilst the song still remains R&B at heart, its use of guitar is calming and unique and really captivates me every time I hear it. It also saw Craig David team up with previous collaborator and Artful Dodger producer, Mark Hill.
It was then in 2010 that Craig David appeared to take a break from music, but thankfully, he's back and 2016 looks set to be an awesome year for him!
Craig David – 'Hidden Agenda'
Matt – Muzik Speaks


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When you love a West Highland White Terrier, be ready for a lifetime of play, curiosity, and the best snuggles ever. Silly, spunky, and one of the best buddies you'll ever have, Westies are pups with hearts bigger than their little bodies! And because your curly-coated cutie does so much for you, you'll do anything to protect them. And part of protecting your precious pup means guarding their health with regular veterinary checkups and staying on top of any issues that arise.
Westies are active and sturdy little dogs, but they still deal with health concerns just like any other dog breed. The common health problems in Westies, like joint and eye problems, Westie Lung Disease, Addison's Disease, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease, tend to create big vet bills that can leave you reeling. Or even force you to make difficult choices. But pet insurance might just save your Westie's life while protecting your finances from unexpected bills. And while finding the best pet insurance plan for your Westie used to be a confusing process, our plan comparison tool makes getting an easy-to-understand and detailed quote as easy as clicking and scrolling!
Compare The Top 9 Pet Insurance Plans for Your Westie Using our Free No-Obligation Quote Tool below
The simplest way to compare pet insurance prices is to use our tool below. The comparison tool will show you quotes from the top 9 pet insurance carriers, including Trupanion, Pets Best, Lemonade, ManyPets, FIGO, HealthyPaws, Prudent Pet, Spot, and Embrace pet insurance.
How Much Does Pet Insurance for a Westie Cost?
Below are some sample pet insurance plans for a 1-year-old male Westie using the zip code 75001 (Texas) as an example.
Ultimately, your plan's premium will depend on several factors, including your dog's age, size, and breed, as well as where you live. You also want to know what type of coverage your plan has and if it will help with Westie-specific health problems. Let's get more into those medical conditions and how much you can expect to pay to treat them.
Common Health Problems Associated With Westies
Joint Problems
Westies can suffer from joint and bone problems brought on by conditions like hip dysplasia, patellar luxation, and Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease. Each of these issues can cause pain and problems with mobility.
- Hip Dysplasia – This genetic condition occurs when the ball-and-socket joint in a dog's hip doesn't form correctly, leaving the joint to dislocate or the femur head to sit wrong in the socket.
- Luxating Patella – Known also as a dislocated kneecap, patellar luxation can be mild to severe.
- Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease – An issue typically found in smaller dog breeds, Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease occurs when the femur head turns necrotic and dies. This problem can occur from trauma or genetics, as it does within Westies.
RELATED: What You Need To Know About Hip Dysplasia
Westie Lung Disease
Because Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis occurs so regularly in this breed, it's earned the name Westie Lung Disease and occurs due to thickening and scarring in the lungs. This damage makes it difficult for the lungs to expand and take in oxygen, leading to strain on both lungs and heart. Onset typically occurs anywhere between middle age and senior years.
Eye Problems
Westies are prone to eye problems that require treatment or your dog runs the risk of permanent damage that could cause blindness. The two common eye problems in West Highland White Terriers are:
- Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (dry eye) – a condition in which the eye does not produce enough moisture or tears
- Hereditary Juvenile Cataracts – a genetic form of cataracts that presents in puppies and younger dogs
Addison's Disease
Known also as hypoadrenocorticism, Addison's Disease occurs when adrenal glands don't produce enough corticosteroid hormones, like glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids. When the body doesn't make enough of these "stress hormones," dogs can exhibit physical symptoms that range from lethargy to sudden shock.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
A chronic condition in which the digestive tract, particularly the lower portion, remains inflamed. This continuous inflammation causes digestion and nutrient absorption problems and creates symptoms such as diarrhea, stinky toots, vomiting, and weight loss. Cases of IBD can range from mild to severe.
RELATED: Stinky Dog Farts: Causes And Prevention Tips
Typical Costs Of Treating Health Issues In Westies and How Pet Insurance Can Help
West Highland White Terriers are happy and healthy dogs, but like any other breed, they're still prone to specific health problems, and emergencies can happen. Caring for ongoing conditions and emergency vet situations can create financial hardships in a hurry. But a small monthly payment for the right pet insurance plan for your Westie can save your bank account and give you time to care for your pup without worrying over bills.
- Joint Problems: To treat joint problems in your dog, the vet may prescribe medications and injections and even suggest physical therapy. Drugs can run approximately $300 a year, while physical therapy appointments can cost $50 a pop. Severe cases of hip dysplasia and luxating patella could require expensive surgery with costs ranging between $2,000 – $7,000. Treatment for Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease involves surgery to remove the withered femur head. Prices for a femoral head ostectomy can run between $1,000 to $4,000, depending on your location. Treating any of your West Highland White Terrier's bone and joint issues can wear away at your bank account, but pet insurance offers financial protection against the high costs of orthopedic problems in dogs by helping with vet bills and prescription medications.
- Westie Lung Disease Costs: Diagnosing Westie Lung Disease can get expensive because your vet may need to perform costly imaging scans that require anesthesia. Not factoring in the cost of the scan, anesthesia alone averages prices of $400 for the first 30 minutes, with every additional 15 minutes tacking on $150. Your vet could also recommend a lung biopsy at an average rate of $500. While there is no cure for this progressive disease, Westie Lung can be managed with medications like steroids, bronchodilators, diuretics, and cough suppressants. You can expect monthly prescription costs to start at $50 and easily track upwards. Multiply that buy a few years, and meds get pricey. The right pet insurance plan for your Westie will give your wallet a break when it comes to vital prescriptions.
- Eye Problems Costs: To relieve the dry eyes of Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca, the vet will prescribe eye drops to relieve symptoms. These drops will cost an average of $400 yearly and are a must to keep your Westie's eyes feeling fine. Cataracts can be corrected with surgery, but it's not a cheap procedure, tipping the financial scales with costs between $3,000 and $4,000. Pet insurance can help you save on prescriptions and surgery so your Westie's eyes will continue to sparkle their whole life through!
- Addison's Disease Costs: Unfortunately, Addison's Disease has no cure, and once diagnosed, Westies will need close vet monitoring and monthly prescriptions, which can be pills or injections. Westie parents can expect treatment to cost anywhere from $50 to $500, depending on which medicines are effective and their dosage requirements. Diagnosing Addison's Disease in Westies might involve an ACTH stimulation, typically averaging only $150, but for many dogs, diagnosis occurs after an emergency crash. Urgent care costs for dogs can range from $500 for outpatient treatment to $2,000-$3,000 for hospitalizations. Emergency vet visits for an Addison's Disease emergency can be an expressway to huge medical bills. These astronomical and unexpected vet bills can leave families facing financial catastrophe, but a quality pet insurance plan for your Westie can remove the money worries an emergency causes.
- IBD Costs: Diagnosing IDB in Westies could involve an endoscopy and colonoscopy, with costs starting at $500 and ranging up to $1,000. Once diagnosed, dogs will most likely need a cocktail of medicines, including steroids and immunosuppressant drugs. Between the initial costs of diagnosis and years of medication, you're potentially looking at an expensive disease. But if you have a pet insurance plan for your Westie before IBD erupts, your costs for expensive procedures and prescriptions could see significant reductions.
What Is Pet Health Insurance, And Why Do I Need It For My Westie?
Pet health insurance works very similarly to human health insurance. Your policy quote will range in monthly price, depending on your dog's breed, age, and where you live. Typically, you'll spend around $15-$62 per month as a pet parent.
Pet insurance is mainly about peace of mind, knowing you won't be totally overwhelmed in case of an emergency. Enrolling even when your dog is young and healthy will ensure you have plenty of coverage when they need expensive medical care later. If you choose a plan more suited to your dog's particular breed, you'll be more prepared when something happens later on in their life.
Some plans cover accidents and illnesses, while others only cover accidents. Certain plans do cover breed-specific illnesses, and others do not. It all depends on what type of coverage you choose. With our free pet insurance comparison tool, you can get quotes from multiple insurance companies with no obligation to commit.
Whatever plan you choose, you'll feel better knowing you can take care of your dog when they need you most. Plus, you won't have to suddenly shell out thousands of dollars. Learn more about how pet insurance works here.
Pet Insurance Carrier Comparisons
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Pet Insurance by State


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Congratulations to Thomas Desjarlais, the North's first-ever top prize winner on THE BIG SPIN lottery game. The Yellowknife man spun his way to a $275,000 prize at his Big Spin event.
The journey to the windfall began with a $5 Zing instant ticket. THE BIG SPIN combines a regular scratch ticket concept with certain prize amounts revealed on an animated prize wheel at a lottery retailer. If the animated wheel reveals a "Big Spin", the player wins $10,000 plus an additional amount to be revealed on a physical prize wheel at a Big Spin event.
"I was very surprised when it came up as a Big Spin" Desjarlais said.
Prizes on the physical wheel range from $100,000 to $500,000.
Desjarlais bought his winning ticket from the Shell Gas Station at 482 Range Lake Road in Yellowknife. He scratched it in the store and gave it right away to the clerk to check.
After receiving his initial $10,000 payment, Desjarlais travelled to St. Albert, Alberta, where he spun the wheel to reveal his $275,000 final prize amount.
The winner said he didn't have any plans for the windfall at this time, choosing rather to save it
for the future.


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Who else enjoys an old fashioned marriage of convenience story? Here are 5 recommendations for you.
When the widowed Lord Torrington agreed to spy for the crown, he never planned to impersonate a highwayman, let alone rob the wrong carriage. Stranded on the road with an unconscious young woman, he is forced to propose marriage to protect his identity, as well as his dangerous mission.
Trapped by not only the duty to her country but her limited options, Miss Elizabeth Cantrell and her illegitimate son are whisked away to Middlecrest Abbey by none other than the elder brother of her son's absent father. She is met by Torrington's beautiful grown daughters, a vicious murderer, and an urgent hunt for the missing intelligence that could turn the war with France. Afraid of what Lord Torrington might do if he learns of her son's true identity, Elizabeth must remain one step ahead of her fragile heart, her uncertain future, and the relentless mystery person bent on her new family's ruin.
It's a match made in heaven, as long as they don't fall in love!
The ranch Nolan Key has spent decades working for, even lost a leg for, is now his—or at least it should be. But an absurd clause in his father's will means he's in danger of losing the place to his lazy, undeserving cousin. Nolan finds himself scrambling to save his home—by proposing marriage to the town laundress.
Corinne Stillwater's hands have betrayed her. Numb from hours of doing the same work over and over, her hands will only heal, according to the town doctor, if she gives up the laundry and marries. But she's been stung repeatedly by love before, so that is one remedy she can't swallow.
When Nolan offers Corinne a marriage in name only, how can she refuse? Such a partnership could give them the security they seek, but what if the ranch isn't as secure as they believe, and their lives—and dreams—aren't quite as compatible as they thought?
Pretending to Wed is the second book in the Frontier Vows Series by award-winning Christian romance author Melissa Jagears. If you like marriage-of-convenience stories that deal with the nitty-gritty of making a relationship work, you'll love this authentic romance set in a time gone by that tackles issues still relevant for today.
In 1943, Private Clay Paxton trains hard with the U.S. Army Rangers at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, determined to do his best in the upcoming Allied invasion of France. With his future stolen by his brothers' betrayal, Clay has only one thing to live for—fulfilling the recurring dream of his death.
Leah Jones works as a librarian at Camp Forrest, longing to rise above her orphanage upbringing and belong to the community, even as she uses her spare time to search for her real family—the baby sisters she was separated from so long ago.
After Clay saves Leah's life from a brutal attack, he saves her virtue with a marriage of convenience. When he ships out to train in England for D-day, their letters bind them together over the distance. But can a love strong enough to overcome death grow between them before Clay's recurring dream comes true
A fake marriage is the answer to their problems, but love was never part of the deal.
Augustus "Gus" Schultz has always been the black sheep of the family, and he's earned that label with his playboy ways. His greatest desire is to prove to his father that he's put all that behind him and is worthy of taking on a bigger role at Schultz Chocolate. But when he's asked to step away from the company for appearances' sake, he must devise a plan to convince everyone he's changed.
Merritt Christiansen loves helping women feel pretty and confident, and her dream of taking her safe, organic cosmetics line global is about to come true. Until she doesn't secure the capital she was hoping for and is forced to consider a crazy alternative.
Gus thinks his proposal is ingenious. A fake marriage contract with Merritt, who is brilliant and respectable—not to mention beautiful—will demonstrate his ability to commit and fit in with the company's wholesome image. Merritt thinks he's lost his mind, especially since they can't stand each other. But how can she refuse when he offers to fund her business expansion as part of the terms of their marriage? And if pretend crosses the line to real, how will they come away with hearts unscathed?
Hallie Russell believes life should be lived to the fullest. For that reason, she sails to the gold rush town of Nome, Alaska to take her cousin's place as the mail-order bride of a respected shopkeeper. But when her aloof husband's wedding-night announcement rocks her plans for their marriage, Hallie sees her desire for a family to call her own vanish as quickly as the dreams of hopeful miners.
Tragedy led Rance Preston to repent of his rowdy ways and open a general store for the miners in Nome. He's content in his bachelorhood, but his two orphaned nephews deserve a proper and serious-minded mother. Duped once by a vivacious female, he's determined to never again let his heart overrule his head…until the high spirits of his new bride threaten his resolve to keep theirs a marriage of convenience.
When a misunderstanding comes to light, will they allow the gale force winds of insecurity to destroy what they each need most?
There are SO many more that ought to be on this list. What are some of your favorite Christian Fiction marriage of convenience stories? Did I list one of your favorites or something you want to add to your list?