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Let's face it: life as a digital marketer is tough. There are so many pitfalls out there that it's almost impossible to miss everyone. Plus, as an entrepreneur with no experience, you're learning on the job which only exacerbates the problem. It's no wonder that you want to turn to an agency in your time of need. After all, they have all the tools and resources to make your life much easier. More importantly, a good one does what they say and gets results. And, this is a results-driven world that we live in nowadays.
But, before you whip off your clothes and jump into bed with one another, it's important to look into the future. Mainly, it's smart to think about the working relationship and how it is likely to pan out over time. Otherwise, the relationship could end before it even begins.
With that in mind, here is an insight into what it is like working with a digital marketing agency.
Stress Relieving
The first thing most companies notice when they outsource their marketing duties is a wave of relief. Because a digital marketing agency is going to shoulder most of the pressure, there is a lot less to worry about. The cold sweats that keep you up at night aren't going to be an issue, nor are the flashes of rage when it all goes wrong. Thanks to their expertise and organisation, you can leave them to their job and check in at regular intervals. As long as they deliver on their promises, there is no reason to worry about anything digital marketing related again. Okay, maybe that's a little facetious because every boss suffers from fear from time to time. Still, the pressure to deliver shouldn't be anywhere as intense with a partner holding your hand.
But Not Stress-Free
Sure, the daily struggle to come up with creative and impactful ads is over. But, that doesn't mean that the tension is going to dissipate altogether. After all, you still have to deal with the agency, and that can be troublesome. Now, you should know that the majority of outsourcers are transparent and value communication. Indeed, they are the pillars of their success and the reasons why you hired them in the first place. Unfortunately, some agencies aren't as open or as talkative once they secure your business. If you're a person that likes daily updates, just getting hold of them can be stressful. Also, there's the fact that your company's reputation isn't in your hands, but someone else's.
More Insightful
What happens when two firms pool their resources? There is a flood of ideas and creative thinking. People start to bounce off one another and come up with ideas that no one else could imagine. And, both firms use this to their benefit to strengthen their position in the market. Well, something similar happens when you outsource digital marketing tasks. As an amateur, the odds are high that you don't know the first thing about running a successful campaign. But, it is possible to learn by watching and studying your partner. Of course, they won't reveal all of their secrets because that would be professional suicide. Still, the basics will be on show, so there is no reason for you not to learn and adapt. In the long-term, it is conceivable to take in enough information to internalise the task once again.
Increase In Output
The major benefit of hiring a third party is the reduction in cost. Quite simply, an outsourcer can do the same job at least two or three times cheaper. As a result, the company is going to have more money in the coffers. Now, you can use this newfound wealth to splash out on toys and accessories that you don't need, or you can put it back into the business. Those that reinvest the cash into the firm are the ones that see a boost in productivity levels. It isn't hard to see why. All of a sudden, an area like marketing which was an issue is running smoothly. And, the other problem areas are improving thanks to the excess money. When the entire business benefits, there is bound to be more output.
A Power Struggle
It is worth noting that an agency isn't going to organise a coup to take over the company. No, the power struggle is within your head and relates to you as an individual. To be frank, bosses are power mad as they have to deal with and control every aspect of the business. Even if you delegate, you will probably have the final say because you are in charge. Once you hire an agency, the dynamic changes. From nowhere, you have to listen to their advice and follow their instructions. Sure, they may not be the boss, but they do have more power than most higher-ups like. Regardless of whether they hit their targets, you will question the new dynamic. Some people can rise above it, while others hate it and want to take back control. What you do is your decision.
Business Growth
If all goes to plan, the strategy should engage more customers into choosing the company. Of course, this is a good thing in most cases because it means more sales and higher revenues. But, it is also a poisoned chalice of sorts. When you start to generate more leads and make more conversions, there is a risk of expansion. In the end, the business should want to grow and expand, but it can't do it too soon. If it does, there is a good chance everything will crumble to the ground. An agency that delivers is one that is going to increase the likelihood of business expansion. The question you have to ask is: are you ready? Those that aren't need to come up with a contingency plan to grow at a steady place. The others should embrace it and use it as a vehicle to continued success.
Hopefully, these tips will help you adapt to life with a marketing agency.


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I've toyed with the idea of setting up a blog for absolutely ages and now I've finally done it. But this is where it gets scary – are people going to want to read what I write?
I suppose, as a writer, I shouldn't think like that – after all I do hope to have my novel published in the not too distant future – but nearly every writer I know has suffered from this panicky thought at least once. So, how to get past it?
Believe in yourself: If you don't, how can you expect anyone else to? Think about it this way – if you believe in the world you create on paper/screen, if you believe in the characters you've so painstakingly crafted, if you believe in your plot lines and your story as a whole then you should also believe in yourself. As writers, we pour so much of ourselves into our stories/novels/poems – we have to so that our readers can connect with our characters – therefore, it stands to reason that maybe, just maybe, we have more self-belief than we are aware of.
Think positive: Alot of people believe in the power of positive thinking and I'm certainly one of them. Sure I have days where I just want to bury my head under the duvet and gorge myself on chocolate (knowing damn well I'll beat myself up for it later), or I'll allow nagging doubts to creep into the labyrinthine corridors of my mind when something goes wrong. Yet, I strongly believe that negative thinking attracts negative energy and vice versa so I try my hardest to be an optimist. I do find that I write better when I'm in a positive frame of mind!
So, now, with a smile on my face and a steady pulse, I'm ready to push the button on this, my first post on my new blog.
Welcome to my world.

subset: commoncrawl


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Millions of people in Yorkshire could be set to benefit from new train services to London within three years, bringing up to £150m of economic benefit to the region.
As passengers were rocked by the announcement of sharp rises in rail fares yesterday, plans were submitted to link Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden to the capital via a new service, which would also see increased direct trains being offered between Leeds, Bradford and Halifax.
Alliance Rail Holdings, the York-based business behind the proposals, says the move will create more than 100 jobs in the region and plough around £150m into the region's economy if approved.
The company is headed by Ian Yeowart, former boss of York-based Grand Central which successfully introduced direct services from Bradford Interchange and Halifax to London as well as increased services from York.
His new firm plans to provide more links from Yorkshire to London's Euston station. Yesterday it formally submitted plans to the Office of Rail Regulation and anticipates a decision by the end of the year.
If approved, Mr Yeowart said he expected services to begin operating as early as 24 months afterwards.
The new routes, which will also see new services rolled out in the North West and permit onward connections for Yorkshire travellers to Wales and the South West, will mark a £200m investment for the company which includes a fleet of new 125mph bi-mode tilting trains.
Alliance Rail hopes to be operating more than 60 trains every day across its network which it believes could deliver £3.5bn of wider economic benefit to those areas served.
Mr Yeowart told the Yorkshire Post: "There is a solid business case for doing this. Places like Bradford now have a direct service. After Bradford the biggest location with no direct link was Huddersfield. The new direct service we propose will be as quick as having to go into Leeds to change.
"We're talking about places which in the recent past have not had a good service to London. Local businesses and leaders have been supportive."
He added Network Rail had been very helpful in the dealings it has had with Alliance so far.
The news, however, came on the same day commuters were told they will have to fork out an average of eight per cent more for their rail tickets in the new year following last month's inflation figures.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the increase would be necessary to fund rail improvements but opposition politicians and passenger groups decried what they said was unfair rises.
The rise comes on top of the 10 per cent increase announced earlier in the month by West Yorkshire transport body Metro as it seeks to bring in extra carriages to increase capacity.
David Sidebottom, director of rail consumer watchdog Passenger Focus, said, "Passengers in West Yorkshire who are already paying higher fares for more carriages will find it deeply disappointing to be asked to pay more.
"Having some fares regulated is clearly in passengers' interests. However, the way that train companies are allowed to set fares on individual routes is deeply unfair. Some passengers who may have seen no investment or improvements can get hit year after year. We will forcefully advocate change to this system in the Government's forthcoming fares review."
Labour said the "eye-watering rise" would burden families, and customer watchdog Passenger Focus said the increase was "deeply unfair".
Mr Hammond said: "We are now embarked on one of the biggest programmes of rail investment for 100 years, delivering more than 2,700 new rail carriages, a £900m programme to electrify more lines and the vital Crossrail and Thameslink projects in London.
"Due to the scale of the deficit, these investments would simply have not been possible without the difficult decision we have made to increase rail fares. I know this decision has not been popular, but I hope passengers will appreciate the improvements it allows us to make."
But Shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle said the increase showed the Government was "totally out of touch with the cost of living crisis facing commuters".
"The cost of getting to work is for many people the biggest single item in the monthly budget.
"With train fares set to rise four times faster than wages in the next year, ministers should think again and give commuters a break."


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3 Apr 2012
Rip It Up And Start Again
As you may or may not have heard we got completely and utterly screwed over by our venue of six years Retro in Malmö. So while we get another permanent home we will be doing some pop-up appearances here and there. Moriska Paviljongen has kindly offered us the 4th April, yes that is indeed a Wednesday, and we hope all of you regulars can offer your support and party even though it is a school night. Hopefully if everybody turns up and makes it a good old proper So Tough! So Cute! night we can convince the venue to move us to weekends and business as usual. Anyway here's the details and we hope to see you!
So Tough! So Cute!
Wednesday 4th April
Moriska Paviljongen, Bistron, Folkets Park, Malmö
22-03 | FREE | 20 yrs (email us to get on the under-20 list)
Facebook event
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Please choose variations from the table bellow and than click "Add to Basket".
Note! Colour chip indications may not be true to colour.


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Subscribe To The New Girl Celebrity Cameo That Had To Be Cancelled Because Of Prince Updates
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In the time since Prince passed away at the age of 57, a lot of celebrities have come forward and told weird and wild tales about spending time with Prince. While a lot of these stories have a sort of mystique surrounding them, none may be funnier than the story Zooey Deschanel recently told Conan O'Brien. It's all about the time Prince appeared on her Fox sitcom New Girl and the show had to write out some Kardashian cameos that had been planned.
The New Girl episode in question aired in 2014 and featured leading ladies Jess and Cece getting invited to a Prince part through a random sequence of events. Random shenanigans ensued, and a slew of celebrity cameos occurred, including swimsuit model Alessandra Ambrosio and Dogers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. In the original draft of the script, Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner were written in and even showed up to film a cameo when disaster struck in the form of one of Prince's assistants. Here's exactly what happened:
Someone was friends with some of the Kardashians and had made a phone call and they had kindly come on to shoot a little kind of cameo part where they were at Prince's party…I get there the day that Prince is supposed to arrive and I'm studying my lines and one of the PA's come in and say, 'I need all of the sides.' She takes mine from me and then takes everyone else's… She takes them all. I walk outside and she has a bonfire; she's burning all the scripts and the call sheets. It turns out that someone from Prince's camp said 'Who are the celebrities? I hope it's not a Kardashian.'
We'll never know if Prince himself had a particular aversion to the Kardashian clan, but assumedly the comment wouldn't have been made without a reason. Deschanel did go on to elaborate that she personally felt bad about the Kardashians making time in their busy schedule, only to get ushered on to and off of the set as quickly as possible. It was a pretty good PR move on her part, as much of the audience seemed amused that Prince wasn't exactly down with the Kardashian clan.
There's more to the story, so if you want to catch it in its entirety from Zooey Deschanel's lips, you may do so.
As Zooey Deschanel related on Conan, Prince was running the show, as he was apt to do whenever he appeared places, like the SNL 40 aftershow. You can catch more stories like this when Conan airs on weeknights at 11:00 p.m. ET, only on TBS. In addition, you can check out what TV is coming up this summer with our TV premiere schedule.


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It all reminds you of a Vegas boxing match. "In this corner, the mother of the missing baby, who keeps changing her story, who doesn't look or act desperate enough, Deborah Bradley!" Faint applause from the cheap seats with boos and sneers from the those at ring side.
"And in this corner, the attorney who shows up only on network TV, from New York and Itally, who doesn't always have his script accurate, Joooooooooe Tacopina!"
And the show continues.
The parents of missing Baby Lisa Irwin, Deborah Bradley and Jeremy Irwin, were on The Today Show this morning. We were all curious rubber necks waiting and watching what made this news worthy. In speaking with local reporters in Kansas City, the timing couldn't be worse. Their attention is focused more on the one year anniversary of the devastating Joplin, Missouri, tornado and the President's appearance at a local high school commencement there tonight.
Now, the parents are saying that Jeremy's debit card information was stolen back in November and the card was used to make a $69 purchase on a website that changes names. But, the site now belongs to a stationery company who claims not to know what they are talking about.
Folks, this is not new news. I knew about this back in December 2011. Remember when Kansas City figure head attorney John Picerno went on the Fox News Channel and claimed there was a new tip. This is that tip. I was told that Jeremy's banker shared the information with him and Jeremy, in turn, contacted the FBI.
So, they are just now bringing it to public attention some six months later. Why have they held this "card" up their sleeve?
Further, if law enforcement has been given this information and they know the site where the card was allegedly used, they should also know where an order for a new ID shipped, if it occurred?
And why would you change the name of an infant and leave a paper trail? Why not get a whole new birth certificate with a new name and date of birth?
The optimists, or Deborah-huggers, would say today's appearance is to keep Lisa's name out there. Really? If that were the case, wouldn't she be annoying law enforcement on a daily basis, out combing the streets doing just that?
In my opinion, this does not appear to be anything at all. Watching The Today Show interview today is five minutes of my life I will not get back.
During today's interview in New York, family attorney Joe Tacopina again brought up the alleged phone call from Deborah's phone to that of Megan Wright's phone the night Lisa was last seen. He mentioned that Megan was the "on-again, off-again" girlfriend of who he called "Jersey Joe". Who the hell is "Jersey Joe"? Come on, Tacopina. Either keep up with this case like the rest of us or get briefed before you go on the air. Tacopina, you are Joe. The alleged person of interest you speak of is Jersey or John Tanko.
In the segment this morning on NBC, it was referenced that a neighbor saw a man with a baby early that morning. Prior to discontinuing active work on this case a few months back, I was told that this neighbor was no longer convinced that was "Jersey" and may have just been caught up in the hype.
Ann Curry, the Today host in this morning's interview, pointed out that Deborah was crying while the "set-up" piece ran summarizing the case's story. As the camera cut to Bradley, she was misty. In the five hours I spent with Bradley, the only time I saw her cry was when she complained about what people were saying about her on Facebook and admitting she was using aliases to be a part of it.
Which is this? Is it Munchausen or narcissism?


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You don't have to go far to find beautiful scenery on Hawaii's second-largest island. The Pools of 'Ohe'o popularly called the "Seven Sacred Pools" are the most popular attraction in East Maui. Beautiful waterfalls, pools, in an absolutely stunning setting. The Seven Sacred Pools comprised of over a dozen small freshwater pools that have grown along the banks of a mountain stream, Palikea.
Seven Sacred Pools and waterfalls is absolutely spectacular! 'Ohe'o Gulch is a string of pools and waterfalls, starting many miles up the mountain, that flow one after another, cascading over dramatic waterfalls, leading to the rugged Kipahulu coastline and the deep-blue Hawaiian ocean.
The pools are very popular, so you should expect the place to become more and more crowded as the day progresses. The most accessible pools are also the most particularly suited for swimming, cliff-jumping. For the sane, there are also several less suicidal places to jump from – just be sure to get good information on where it is safe to jump, or better yet, survey the landing area yourself. There are many reminders of the risk involved, including a notice-board by the ranger station that contains clippings of newspaper articles describing accidents.
The pools can be closed to swimming for either excessive water flow or stagnant water depending on the rainfall in the forest. If you happen to be in the pools, and the water starts to rise, get to higher ground immediately. It's rare, but rains in the mountains above can cause a flash flood in the pools.
The Pipiwai Trail begins from the park entrance at Ohe`o Gulch and is a 1.8 mile hike from there to Waimoku Falls. The hike can be slippery, and muddy in parts, but it is well worth the 800′ climb. Several waterfalls can be seen along the trail, and the bamboo forest is a site to behold all on it's own.
There are full National Park facilities at 'Ohe'o, including a Ranger Station, newly constructed bathrooms, expanded camping facilities and large parking lots. The nearest parking is the large lot at Mile Marker #42. There is never a charge to enter the park, and it is open all the live-long day.


text: goldendoodles for sale in oregon "Goldendoodles" are nothing more than mixed breed dogs. Goldendoodles of whatever generation are usually friends of everyone and strangers to no one, which makes them an ideal choice as a family dog. Due to their affable, outgoing personalities, Goldendoodles also make excellent companions for people with disabilities. They are cheerful, trustworthy, gentle, affectionate, smart and highly trainable animals that have a keen desire to please. When properly socialized, Goldendoodles get along famously with kids, strangers and other companion animals. They don't have a particularly strong prey drive and can be quite compatible with cats and smaller dogs, when introduced in a good way. These are social dogs that thrive in the presence of people and crumble if they are not given enough time, attention and affection. Like any dog, Goldendoodles can get into mischief and develop behavioral problems if they are left alone for long periods of time. Goldendoodles require a moderate amount of exercise and can live happily in urban or rural environments. This is a "breed in progress," whose temperament and other traits should become more consistent and predictable as time goes on. The Goldendoodle is an active, highly energetic dog suitable for all types of athletic activities, such as flyball, agility, hide and seek, fetch and retrieve and other outdoor canine sports.


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This CD version was released in 94 on Dan Burke's (Illusion of Safety) Complacency label and is actually a reissue of the LP from 1988. Both are OOP but I managed to snag this at the Helen Scarsdale garage sale, along with the CD version of Sumac and an old Troum tape. Needless to say, I was stoked. Most of the more desirable titles have been snatched up, but there is still some great stuff available. View the items here.
Clocking in at a modest 37 minutes, Submission treads similar paths as older Organum work- Horri and Crux come to mind, but with Chalk's keen hand and Stapleton's production ingenuity, the album summons the likes of space and time infusing these tactile compositions with a listful patience.
The first track, Cowl, is a 6 minute offering of densely layered metal scrapings (Always note worthy), bowed cymbals and fluttering Japanese flute drenched in the mix. The track crawls along eventually giving way to the harsher, drone heavy The Expelled, a short but sweet track, sounding like jet planes soaring over a post-apocalyptic sky as mountains crumble in the distance, very reminiscent of older Organum material. Submission, the third track, is the clearest example of Chalk's involvement, and my personal favourite. It sounds very low-fi and warm, birds chirp in the distance as... something... like a golf club maybe, is whipped through the air. All the while random objects get tossed about as a very slow, elongated metal scrape relentlessly plows forth. You can also make out an engine being revved from far away, most likely from a Kawasaki KH400 or one of the other various bikes that Jackman used to own. Actually, a lot of the sounds from 'Tower of Silence' can be traced back to Jackman's motorcycles. Renunciate, the fourth and final track is the longest and although probably the most minimal seems to incorporate a wide range of sound sources: metal, bells, flute, voice/breath and probably a bunch of indiscernible things. A very good track and an appropriate close to this brilliant album. As with anything by David Jackman, this is highly recommended listening.


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10:00am PT by Rebecca Ford
First Look: Vivica A. Fox Plays U.S. President in Sci-Fi Film 'Crossbreed' (Exclusive Image)
Vivica A. Fox will be the first African-American actress to play the president of the U.S. in a feature film, and here, debuting exclusively at The Hollywood Reporter, is the first image of her taking on the role.
Fox stars in sci-fi film Crossbreed, which is centered around a group of retired military war heroes who are sent to retrieve an extraterrestrial being from an illegal medical facility using its DNA to manufacture weapons. Fox plays the president, who was a colleague of the team leader and handpicked him to lead the retrieval mission.
In the first image from the film, Fox is seen opposite Daniel Baldwin, who plays Secretary of Defense Weathers. The film, described as a throwback to action films of the 1980's, also will star Gotham's Stink Fisher, Devanny Pinn, Vernon Wells and John T. Woods.
Brandon Slagle directs the film from a script he wrote with Robert Thompson. It's produced by Liz Cuppie and Slagle and executive produced by Donna and John Kopp.
Rebecca email@example.com beccamford


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Take a look at how my one little Aloe Vera plant has grown since last year! It spent the summer last year out in the potted garden, mostly in the shade, then when the weather turned cold, it went into the greenhouse. I just shoving it on a bottom shelf, watering it occasionally. This thing has outgrown it's container, and has so many little babies around the edges. I'm going to have to re-pot it, and break out many of the little plants.
My mother always kept an Aloe Vera plant around in case of burns, and it is also good for skin irritations.
After I've re-potted these, they are going right back in the potted garden in the same place as last year. This plant obviously likes it there!


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Photo: AirbusReading Time: 2 minutes
Singapore Airlines has taken delivery of the first of five new A380 aircraft scheduled to join the carrier's fleet over the coming year, at a special ceremony hosted by Airbus in Toulouse, France. The aircraft delivered is the first in the airline's fleet to feature its recently launched on-board cabin products and innovations.
In addition to the five new aircraft, Singapore Airlines will also retrofit 14 A380s already in service with its new cabin products. The retrofit work is expected to begin late in 2018 and will be undertaken by the airline in conjunction with Services by Airbus. All 14 aircraft are scheduled to be retrofitted by 2020.
The new Singapore Airlines A380 offers more personal space in all classes, accommodating a total of 471 passengers. The cabin features six private Suites and 78 Business Class seats on the upper deck and 44 Premium Economy Class and 343 Economy Class seats on the main deck. The aircraft also features the latest in-flight entertainment systems and full connectivity from every seat.
"The delivery of our newest A380 with all-new cabin products is indeed an exciting occasion, and we are pleased to be celebrating this important milestone with our great partner Airbus," said Singapore Airlines CEO Mr Goh Choon Phong.
"When we put the world's first A380 into commercial service in 2007, it set new industry benchmarks for premium full-service air travel. A decade later, the Singapore Airlines A380, featuring our flagship products and legendary service, remains a customer favourite, and we continue to receive highly positive feedback about the travel experience on the aircraft."
"We are proud to deliver the first of five new A380s to Singapore Airlines featuring the carrier's beautiful new cabin design," said Tom Enders, Airbus Chief Executive Officer.
"Singapore Airlines was the first to fly the A380 and has operated the aircraft with the highest levels of technical excellence since day one. The aircraft has proven to be a huge commercial success in service with the carrier, flying passengers efficiently and in comfort on the airline's long haul and regional network."
"We thank Singapore Airlines for its ongoing strong commitment to the A380 programme and look forward to working together with the carrier as it renews and refreshes its fleet."


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Trawling the depths of forgotten fiction, films, and beyond, with yer pal, Joe Kenney
Thursday, August 15, 2013
The Black Gold of Malaverde
The Black Gold of Malaverde, by Richard L. Graves
November, 1974 Bantam Books
I've recently been watching the old Mission: Impossible TV series, something I've wanted to do since I caught a few episodes in syndication as a kid in the late '80s. The show lasted for seven seasons, running from 1966 to 1973, and most fans prefer the first three seasons, when the IMF team took on spies from fictional ComBloc countries. But I much prefer the later seasons, where they took on "the Syndicate," ie the mob in all but name, and the IMF fashions took a funky '70s turn.
As mentioned, the series came to an end in 1973, which coincidentally enough is when The Black Gold of Malaverde was published in hardcover. I'm willing to bet that author Richard L. Graves was a fan of Mission: Impossible, as this novel follows the same sort of caper approach, with a highly-skilled covert team running a con on foreign soil. The protagonist, Hugo Wolfram, is not only an emotionless mastermind of plotting, but he's also described as a tall, lanky individual with a shock of white hair – sounds like Jim Phelps (aka Peter Graves) to me. (And if that isn't enough…I mean, Richard Graves!)
Wolfram doesn't even appear until about 80 pages in, though. The first quarter of The Black Gold of Malaverde focuses on the political turmoil in Malaverde, a fictional country in South America. Mercado, the self-proclaimed "Liberator" of Malaverde, has wrested control of the country and is kicking out the "imperialists," ie the Americans who in fact created the country in the first place, Malaverde being nothing more than a banana republic. Mercado has the backing of DePrundis, an obese Greek pirate in all but name – a powerful but shadowy figure in the economic world. As the novel opens they take control of an oil field, imprisoning Bradford, the American head of the oil operation.
Bradford's here in Malaverde overseeing his company's oil interests, which both he and his father developed. DePrundis wants control of the oil, thus his backing of Mercado. The Liberator meanwhile proves to be a thoroughly despicable character, a diminutive bastard who tries to act like a big man as he screams orders at his underlings and threatens Bradford. To be honest this sequence goes on much too long, with Bradford enduring a farce of a trial. At the end though he is sentenced to death, and hung, the US government not even bothering to intercede on his behalf.
Bradford Senior meanwhile has been trying to save his son. First he approaches the Bank, a mysterious economic intelligence group, who tell Bradford he should comply with Mercado's ransom demands. Bradford does, but Mercado just ends up taking the money and going on with his planned murder of Bradford Jr. This time the Bank puts Bradford Sr in touch with Wolfram, with whom Bradford has before worked – in a background Graves leaves mysterious, the two men were covert operatives in WWII, and in fact Bradford trained Wolfram, "removing his conscience," but Wolfram far exceeded his teacher in plotting and ruthlessness.
Wolfram currently works as an explosives expert, helping companies destroy and dismantle properties. This dovetails with the mission Bradford desires of him; Bradford wants Wolfram to basically destroy Malaverde's economy, blasting away the oil rigs Bradford's company created. He also wants the country's sole shipping line destroyed. Plus he wants it all to look like an accident. Wolfram goes to work putting together his plan, and Graves undercuts the later suspense here, with we readers learning every element of the scheme in blueprint detail.
The narrative starts to move as Wolfram next puts together his team. True to genre form it's an unusual bunch: a Japanese actor, a black American ship captain, a Cuban scuba diver (who insists upon bringing along his former prostitute of a "sister"), and a jaded helicopter pilot. Wolfram, very cool and aloof, respects each of them because they are technical experts. He's worked with them all before, and there's another mysterious backstory in that a diver on his previous mission got killed, so the team is understandably concerned that history might repeat itself.
The caper itself unfolds in the final quarter of the novel. Magraw, the ship captain, manages to crash a vessel in Malaverde's port, thus blocking it, and Wolfram and the helicopter pilot pose as representatives of the Cosmo Construction Company (another element Graves leaves mysterious; the intimation is this fictitious company is just a CIA front). Meanwhile the two scuba divers create the waterway diversion which allows Magraw's ship to block the channel.
But here Graves doles out the laziest killing off of a character I've yet encountered, with Esposito, the lead scuba diver, deciding for absolutely no reason not to wear his wetsuit! After being cut up by barnacles he's later attacked by a small shark and thus bleeds to death. It's supposed to be a "complication" Wolfram must work around, but instead it comes off as comical, given how avoidable it was – especially when one considers how anxious Esposito had been about the mission, given that a diver died on the previous one. I mean, you'd figure the guy would be overly cautious.
One of the many things that was great about Mission: Impossible was that it followed the time-honored "show don't tell" philosophy; other than a very brief planning scene early on, each episode unfolded with the caper playing out for the audience the same way it did for those being conned. Graves however both tells and shows; Wolfram painstakingly unveils his plan for Bradford early in the book, and when the caper finally goes down later on, it goes down exactly like Wolfram outlined it. Hence, other than the stupid death of Esposito, there are no complications, no surprises. Also there are no intricacies to the plot, none of the elaborate disguise work or role-acting of Mission: Impossible; instead they just crash a ship, blocking Malaverde's port, and set it to blow up!
There isn't much characterization; Wolfram is notorious for his emotionless nature, and about the most we get is a little squabbling among his team. Mercado is the only memorable character in the book, mostly because he's so cartoonishly evil, a "midget" blowhard who stomps around blathering over his own self-importance. Also the book is basically rated G; no cursing, no sex, and minimal violence. (Once again just like Mission: Impossible!) The end is also a bit anticlimatic; we spend the entire narrative wanting to see Mercado get his comeuppance, but Graves delivers it off-camera.
Overall I found The Black Gold of Malaverde an entertaining read, but I do wish there had been a bit more tension and suspense. At any rate Hugo Wolfram returned for three more novels, which I will be reading eventually.
Posted by Joe Kenney at 6:30 AM
4 comments:
- Tim Mayer said...
Note that the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE show was canceled the same year as the Watergate revelations. Seems like a covert government task force was suddenly not a fun topic.
- August 26, 2013 at 11:52 AM
- Joe Kenney said...
Good point, Tim, and thanks for the comment. Who knows, maybe that was the one mission the IMF team failed -- bugging Watergate.
- August 27, 2013 at 10:06 AM
- Marty McKee said...
Did you read those other Hugo Wolfram books?
- December 19, 2016 at 10:49 AM
- Joe Kenney said...
Thanks for the comment, Marty. No, I haven't read any more of these books yet, but I intend to one of these days.
- December 20, 2016 at 7:37 PM
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SIREN – Charter availability in Norway!
Fresh from a full winter shipyard period, the multiple award-winning 73m SIREN is available for charter in Norway during the month of June. Take advantage of this rare opportunity and embark in historical Bergen to experience the magic of the Fjords.
SIREN accommodates 12 guests in 5 double cabins and 1 twin. The yacht's minimalist interior creates a true sense of balance and harmony, where dark oak floors are complimented by light elegant furnishings. The generous deck spaces offer an inspired platform for outdoor living.
Refined interior design combines form with function throughout the yacht's open, spacious living areas to create an understated and elegant atmosphere of modern, muted tones. Large floor to ceiling windows and the use of shoji screens fill the interior with light and keep a sense of perspective and place.
Phenomenal deck spaces offer guests the chance to relax in privacy or dine and entertain in company and style. A host of facilities including outdoor and indoor cinemas, a beach club/gymnasium and spa, heli-capability and an elevator have made SIREN a sought-after choice for charter cruising.
There are tens of thousands of islands across Norway from top to bottom offering stunning views across varied coastlines. Take a helicopter or seaplane ride over the stunning waterfalls and glaciers or try some skiing or reindeer and dog team sleighs. Taste homemade cheeses and creams straight from the traditional farms and order private performances of musicians and artists on coastal islands. It's quite simply a perfect cruising destination
SIREN is available to charter for the first two weeks of June 2013 from Bergen, Norway at the special discounted rate of EUR 400,000 per week (usually EUR 476,000 per week).
For more information on this spectacular superyacht, please contact your Burgess broker now.


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As a PhD candidate in the Communication & Culture graduate program at York University and Ryerson University, my research seeks to analyze the contemporary and historical relationships between knowledge, technology, and publics. More specifically I am critically investigating how the affordances and constraints of media have influenced the constructions, attentions, and performances of knowing in general encyclopedias like Wikipedia and the Britannica.
My masters thesis, Encyclopaedism & Wikipedia: a generic analysis of epistemic values began this trajectory as it compared the epistemic values of encyclopedias to those of wikis. The purpose was to understand the difference and similarities between these different forms of knowledge production. I anticipate that my PhD research will more broadly evaluate and critique emerging trends in digital epistemologies in order to envision what kinds of knowledge will be valued in the twenty-first century.


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The man regarded as the world's fastest racing driver has struggled to adapt to Ferrari following his move from McLaren as replacement for Michael Schumacher.
The 27-year-old has looked anything but the favourite for the world title, a status he enjoyed at the start of the season.
Limping from one disappointment to another, Raikkonen - signed on a reputed stratospheric salary of £25m - has been a tiger without teeth.
Yet Raikkonen's convincing victory in last Sunday's French Grand Prix suggested Lewis Hamilton's hopes of making history as the first rookie to win the world title may yet be facing a serious threat.
As far as Hamilton is concerned, Raikkonen - and team-mate Felipe Massa - are the rivals he cannot control.
Hamilton's team-mate Fernando Alonso is the rival closest to him in the championship.
But formidable as he is, the Spaniard is in the same car as Hamilton, so unless the Englishman runs into problems, Alonso is unlikely to be able to make big inroads into his 14-point lead.
If that continues, Hamilton could be looking at third as a best-case scenario at each race - and will lose chunks of points at a time.
It is every man for himself at Ferrari, and Massa remains marginally the best-placed of their drivers in the championship.
But it is clear who is potentially the most dangerous Ferrari driver as long as the man Di Montezemolo calls "the real Raikkonen" has indeed finally emerged - there have already been murmurings from within the team that Raikkonen has forced them to re-evaluate their understanding of what is possible, even with Schumacher as their reference point.
Raikkonen's inconsistent form this year has gone a long way to underlining why, while he is regarded as the fastest driver in F1, it was Alonso who started this year regarded as the best (a position which will be under threat from Hamilton if things carry on as they are).
Raikkonen's dominant victory at the first race in Australia hid the problems he was having adapting to Ferrari - and particularli to Bridgestone's tyres.
Alonso had similar problems at McLaren, as the Japanese rubber is designed with a different philosophy from the Michelin tyres they had grown used to over the previous years and requires a fundamental change in driving style.
Those difficulties affected Raikkonen's performance in Malaysia and Bahrain, where he was off the pace.
Since the following race, Spain, he has been Ferrari's faster driver, but a broken suspension forced an early retirement in Barcelona.
Nevertheless, a close examination of Raikkonen's pace before France had suggested that he was now on top of his new car and that another win was not far away, as long as Ferrari could erase McLaren's advantage.
And in France, where Ferrari's pace was improved dramatically by some significant developments that improved the way it worked its tyres, he proved it.
Raikkonen's race engineer, Chris Dyer, diplomatically describes his problems as part of the "natural process" of a driver fitting into a new team.
"It's just a constant process of trying to understand him better, trying to understand the car better and get the most out of both of them," Dyer says.
Raikkonen himself says: "We had a bit of a hard time but I kind of expected to have a bit of a difficult time.
"In the last races [before France] we just couldn't get it together. I think it seems to have good speed now so we must keep it up in the next races."
That seems an eminently achievable aim. Hamilton says he expects McLaren to be more competitive at Silverstone than they were in France, but it is difficult to predict whether they will be a match for Ferrari.
On the one hand, the long, fast corners in the first half of the lap will favour the red car, but the slower, shorter ones later on will suit the dynamic direction change of the McLaren.
After Silverstone, there are a number of races that can be expected to favour Ferrari - Germany, Turkey, Italy, Belgium - but others that could suit McLaren.
"We knew what our problems were," he said. "We try to improve all the time and I think the work is starting to pay off now. It maybe took longer than we expected but we're kind of back in the right place now.
"We just need to keep it up and improve."
Whether that will be enough to peg back Hamilton's lead is another matter, but at the very least an on-form Raikkonen would guarantee some drama trying.


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Immaculate Heart
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Weekend Retreat on Simplicity and Peace
Weekend Retreat on Simplicity and Peace
The Simple Care of a Hopeful Heart
Dr. Robert Wicks
Dr. Wicks, an expert on the prevention of secondary stress (the pressures experienced in reaching out to others), offers insights into how we can extend our warmth to others without losing our own inner fire in the process. $204 per person, $318 couples, and $118 commuters
(includes two nights lodging and 5 meals) This retreat is silent.
Please do your best to purchase Dr. Wicks' book,
Night Call: Embracing Compassion and Hope in a Troubled World
, for your retreat. Dr. Wicks asks that participants not read the book previous to the retreat.
Bio. Dr. Robert Wicks
Dr. Robert Wicks has helped people take measure of their lives for more than 30 years. Together, he and his clients have taken the perspective that "difficult times can offer graced moments in a more striking way than the good times can." As a faculty member at Loyola University Maryland, as well as a speaker and teacher at other universities and professional schools of psychology, medicine, nursing, theology, and social work throughout the world, he has guided students and professionals in discovering how to value their strengths, develop a practice of mindfulness, and take charge of their self-care. He received his doctorate in Psychology from Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital.
Dr. Wicks' major area of expertise is the prevention of secondary stress which encompasses the pressures encountered in reaching out to others. He integrates sound psychology and basic spiritual truths to set the stage for profound personal transformation. He has cultivated this experience through research and clinical practice with psychotherapists, physicians, nurses, educators, relief workers, lawyers, corporate executives and persons in full-time ministry.
Popular Speaker
Dr. Wicks has presented extensively on this subject to a variety of audiences:
Members of Congress and their Chiefs of Staff
NATO Intelligence Fusion Center in England
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Harvard's Children's Hospital
Harvard Divinity School
10,000 educators in the Air Canada Arena in Toronto
FBI Academy
Sellinger School of Business and Management and Institute for Private Investors
U.S. Bureau of Prisons
He spoke at the Boston Public Library's commemoration of the Boston Marathon bombing. He has led a weeklong course in Paris and addressed care givers in South Africa, Beijing, China, Guatemala, Hanoi, Vietnam, Malta, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. He has also been the Commencement Speaker for Wright State School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio, as well as the Visiting Scholar and the Commencement Speaker at Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago. He gave the Commencement Address and received an honorary doctorate from Caldwell College in New Jersey.
Dr. Wicks has delivered presentations on self-care at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and Walter Reed Army Hospital. He spoke with health care professionals who were responsible for Iraqi and Afghani war veterans evacuated to the U. S. with multiple amputations and severe head injuries.
Over a period of several years, he debriefed professionals in Cambodia who supported the Khmer people in rebuilding their nation following years of terror and torture. He was also responsible for the psychological debriefing of relief workers evacuated from Rwanda during that country's bloody civil war.
Prolific Author
Dr. Wicks has published over 50 books including
Overcoming Secondary Stress in Medical and Nursing Practice
The Resilient Clinician
for professionals and
Bounce: Living the Resilient Life
for the general public (all from Oxford Press). Two of his most widely-read books are
Riding the Dragon: 10 Lessons for Inner Strength in Challenging Times
Everyday Simplicity
(both from Sorin Books). His latest books for professionals are
The Inner Life of the Counselor
Primer for Posttraumatic Growth
in collaboration with Dr. Mary Beth Werdel. His most recent book available for the general public is
Perspective: The Calm Within the Storm
Honored Professional
In 2006, Dr. Wicks was honored with the first annual Alumni Award for Excellence in Professional Psychology from Widener University and was also the recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the American Counseling Association's Division on Ethics and Values. In 1996, Pope John Paul II awarded him with a papal medal for his service to the Catholic Church
Retreat on Simplicity and Peace
Individual $204.00 USD
Couple $318.00 USD
Deposit $25.00 USD
Commuter $118.00 USD


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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has proposed that Russian, American and U.N. officials meet the Syrian government and opposition delegations at peace talks in Geneva, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted as saying on Monday.
Bogdanov said the Russian, U.S. and U.N. representatives could hold a single meeting with both Syrian sides or separate meetings with the government and opposition, state-run news agency RIA reported.
In any case, a three-way Russia-U.S.-United Nations meeting is planned for Friday in Geneva, Interfax quoted Bogdanov saying. He said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov would meet U.S. diplomat Wendy Sherman and U.N. Syria peace mediator Lakhdar Brahimi.
Russia and the United State have supported opposite sides in the three-year-old civil conflict in Syria but jointly called last June for an international conference that would bring the government and opposition together for talks.
The meetings began last month ion Geneva and a new round got underway on Monday, but Brahimi planned to meet the government and opposition delegations separately for the next two to three days.
Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Thomas Grove


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Come on in! I've been decorating for Christmas this week–have you? Several of you have asked if I'd be hosting my Hooked on Holiday House Tours party again this year, and the answer is yes. In fact, I'm going to have THREE of them. That way you can jump in and post your photos whenever you're ready–starting today!
That's right–it's an impromptu linky party. If you're not ready to post anything today, just come back next Thursday…or the Thursday after that. We'll spread the holiday inspiration around a little that way.
This year I went with silver and gold in my dining room, as you can see. My family room is red and white, so it was fun for me to try something kind of different.
I went a little crazy with the mercury glass–mercury glass Christmas trees, candlesticks, votives, and ornaments on my new white tree. (You may recall I also used mercury glass for fall–you can see how my dining room looked last month here if you missed it!)
I'll show you my new white tree and the rest of the room next Thursday (December 9). And the Thursday after that I'll give you a gander at my red and white family room (December 16).
Between Naps on the Porch's Deck the Halls party is in full swing, Southern Hospitality is hosting a Christmas Vignette linky, and The Lettered Cottage is throwing a Christmas Mantel party, so you might want to link up to theirs, too! The more the merrier, right? 🙂
If you've got a holiday post to add to the party, all you have to do is:
- Add the permalink to the specific blog post (not your general blog address).
- Link back to this post from yours (feel free to use that button, created for me by Amy!).
- Start clicking!


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Late For The Sky
Jackson Browne
Asylum 1017
Released: September 1974
Chart Peak: #14
Weeks Charted: 29
Certified Platinum: 5/16/89
Late for the Sky, Jackson Browne's third Asylum album, is his most mature, conceptually unified work to date. Its overriding theme: the exploration of romantic possibility in the shadow of the apocalypse. No contemporary male singer/songwriter has dealt so honestly and deeply with the vulnerability of romantic idealism and the pain of adjustment from youthful narcissism to adult survival. Late for the Sky is the autobiography of his young manhood.
The album's eight loosely constructed narratives rely for much of their impact upon stunning sections of aphoristic verse, whose central images, the antinomies of water and sand, reality and dreams, sky and road, inextricably connect them. Browne's melodic style, though limited, serves his ideas brilliantly. He generally avoids the plaintive harmonies of southern California rock ballads for a starker, more eloquent musical diction derived from Protestant hymns. Likewise his open-ended poetry achieves power from the nearly religious intensity that accumulates around the central motifs; its fervor is underscored by the sparest and hardest production to be found on any Browne album yet (Late for the Sky was produced by Browne with Al Schmitt), as well as by his impassioned, oracular singing style.
"Farther On" and "The Late Show" complete the first part of the song cycle. Locating the sources of Browne's exacerbated romaticism "in books and films and song," "a world of illulsion and fantasy," "Farther On" defines Browne's quest as a "citadel" in "a vision of paradise." Its desolate conclusion finds Browne alone and older, "with my maps and my faith in the distance, moving farther on." By "The Late Show," Browne is so absorbed in despair that if he "stumbled on someone real" he'd "never know." Midway in the song, however, he meets a lover and in an impulsive gesture they drive away from the past in the "early model Chevrolet" pictured on the album cover.
- Stephen Holden, Rolling Stone, 11-7-74.
Bonus Reviews!
Possibly the best thing this long time successful writer and, over the past few years, successful singer has come up with. Mixing in a few rock tunes with his always sensitive and skillfully handled ballads, Browne offers a bit of something for everyone. While the rock material is good, it is on the ballads that he excells. The lyrics are meaningful and come as close to poetry as any one else making music today, the music is well handled and the vocals improve with every album. Several cuts here that are possible single hits, but this album really transcends any categorization, which is one of the highest compliments that can he paid an artist. Best cuts: "Late For The Sky," "The Late Show," "For A Danger," "Before The Deluge," "The Road And The Sky."
- Billboard, 1974.
Browne reminds me of Nixon: no matter how hard I listen to his pronouncements -- important socialogically if nothing else, right? -- my mind begins to wander. They're getting longer, too: the eight songs here average over five minutes. I admit that the longest is also the best, an intricate extended metaphor called "Fountain of Sorrow." But his linguistic gentility is inappropriate, his millenarianism is self-indulgent, and only if he sang as good as Dylan Thomas I might change my mind. B-
- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.
On his third album, Jackson Browne returned to the themes of his debut record (love, loss, identity, apocalypse), and, amazingly, delved even deeper into them. "For A Dancer," a meditation on death like the first album's "Song For Adam," is a more eloquent eulogy; "Farther On" extends the "moving on" point of "Looking Into You"; "Before The Deluge" is a glimpse beyond the apocalypse evoked on "My Opening Farewell" and the second album's "For Everyman." If Browne had seemed to question everything in his first records, here he even questioned himself. "For me some words come easy, but I know that they don't mean that much," he sang on the opening track, "Late For The Sky," and added in "Farther On," "I'm not sure what I'm trying to say." Yet his seeming uncertainty and self-doubt reflected the size and complexity of the problems he was addressing in these songs, and few had ever explored such territory, much less mapped it so well. "The Late Show," the album's thematic center, doubted but ultimately affirmed the nature of relationships, while by the end, "After The Deluge," if "only a few survived," the human race continued nonetheless. It was a lot to put into a pop music album, but Browne stretched the limits of what could be found in what he called "the beauty of songs," just as Bob Dylan had a decade before. (In 1993, DCC Compact Classics licensed Late For The Sky form Elektra Entertainment and reissued it as a 24 karat gold campact disc [GZS-1036]. The DCC version, unlike the Asylum package, contained a lyric sheet.) * * * * *
- William Ruhlmann, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.
Late for the Sky is a bit mopey, but it hangs together as Jackson Browne's strongest and most melodious album, with a couple of rockers thrown in to perk up the listeners. The best song, the fondly reflective "Fountain of Sorrow," is typical of Browne's ability to make personal experience seem universal. * * * *
- Gil Asakawa, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.
On his dark third album, Browne explored, in the words of one Rolling Stone reviewer, the "romantic possibility in the shadow of the apocalypse." There's an undercurrent of dread on Late for the Sky, from "Before the Deluge" to "For a Dancer" -- not to mention a lot of obvious songwriting genius.
Late for the Sky was chosen as the 372nd greatest album of all time by the editors of Rolling Stone magazine in Dec. 2003.
- Rolling Stone, 12/11/03.
Jackson Browne has the ability to sing about fantastic tangles of emotions and make it seem as if he's been there -- or, more impressively, is there still. His songs examine messes in progress, and relationships that unravel unexpectedly. The action might be limited, but Browne keeps close watch on the emotional temperature: By the end of one of his epics (like, say, "Before the Deluge" here) you may feel wrung out, like you've just lived through a two-hanky feature film.
And at the same time you're enriched, because Browne, the most introspective of the California singer-songwriters, has a way of drawing illumination (if not consolidation) out of painful circumstances. On the classic Late for the Sky, his third effort, the songs are the surprisingly unself-conscious thoughts of a lost seeker -- someone who's out there by himself, running down the big questions. This inquiry leads him into the minefields of memory ("Fountain of Sorrow," in which a photograph opens the floodgates) and extended voyeuristic character studies ("For a Dancer," perhaps the most beautiful song in Browne's book).
If you only get to hear one Browne song in your life, make it "The Late Show," which suggests that Browne, known primarily as a word guy, has a knack for the cinematic. The mood is all pent-up restlessness. Browne's protagonist is waiting in the car ("let's just say an early model Chevrolet"), trying to convince his lover that it's time to escape.
"You go and pack your sorrows," he tells her. "The trash man comes tomorrow/Leave it by the curb, and we'lljust pull away." At that culminating moment, where you'd expect a massive swell, the music becomes eerily placed. A piano plinks calmly. The next sound is a perfectly timed car door slamming, which kicks things into overdrive. Skies part. Motor revs. And guitarist David Lindley, Browne's secret weapon, serves up poignant weeping leads that send the couple riding off into the L.A. sunset, destination unknown.
- Tom Moon, 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die, 2008.
Main Page | The Classic 500 | Readers' Favorites | Other Seventies Discs | Search The RockSite/The Web


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- Home
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Start making a difference today - for an informal chat or to arrange a visit.
call us now on 01440 731731
We hold a direct contract with the Skills Funding Agency, giving us guaranteed access to funding for apprenticeships. We can deliver most training either absolutely free, or at highly subsidised rates.
All our early years assessors have practical experience of working in settings as well as assessing. Ross and Alison, our owner-directors, previously set up and managed a chain of three 'outstanding' day nurseries . They recently acquired a failing nursery and achieved another outstanding Ofsted grade in less than eight months.
Our experience and our determination to deliver quality, backed up by our innovative use of technology, make PBD unique in the sector.
We have delivered level 2 and 3 qualifications to over 1000 learners in settings ranging from village playgroups to major national chains and Sure Start centres. Employers often comment on our professionalism, flexibility and good communication, which set us apart from many other training providers.
I am finding my Level 5 challenging and I am learning and gaining more strengths and information. My tutor is very supportive and helpful and responds to my questions very quickly. I am very happy that I have chosen this path to further my career.
I am finding that the course is already having a positive effect on my practice. The resources are excellent and my tutor is doing a fantastic job in supporting me.
I have found this course very exciting. I have found my tutor to be really lovely and helpful and the eQual site is extremely helpful. The assessments set have been very clear with lots of information to help me fulfil the requirements.
OMG! Five years ago I vowed that one day I would qualify as a nursery nurse and work on the special care baby unit. In that time I qualified at level 2 and level 3 , holding down 2+ jobs and juggling childcare. Today my dream came true. Thank you to everyone who has helped me!
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Although our base is in the East of England, we have learners (and tutor/assessors) in most regions (London, SW, SE, East, W Midlands, E Midlands, Yorkshire & and Humberside and the North West). In regions where we don't have a presence, we are still happy to take on new learners provided there is enough demand to justify recruiting a locally based tutor/assessor who can provide learners with face to face support.


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Today in literacy we planned out our Shakespeare stories (our own) and we all worked in groups to help us with ideas. We we're put into different groups depending what our story was based on such as: love, tragedy, greed, betrayal and magical.
Today in maths we went on the iPads and played games related to maths , but we didn't just go on the iPads all maths session we also ordered percentages, decimals and fractions this was one of mine (Zoe) and Molly's questions : order 0.345 , 56% , 2/3 , 3/4 , 75% ( which is the same as 3/4) and 0.123
From Zoe Beaman and MOLLY !


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Modi confident Sri Lanka will achieve genuine reconciliation
Tuesday, 15 September 2015 - 15:05
Reflecting growing congruence in ties, India and Sri Lanka today (15) held extensive talks on sticky fishermen issue, ensuring justice to Tamils and ways to deepen trade and defence engagements besides resolving to intensify cooperation in combating terror and securing the maritime neighbourhood.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe, after their delegation level and restricted format talks, said the countries were determined to take the relationship to the next level as the two sides signed four agreements to deepen cooperation in health care and space science.
Thanking Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe for choosing India for his first overseas trip after becoming Prime Minister for the fourth term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoped that the country will achieve "genuine reconciliation" and development so that all people including the Tamil community can live a "life of equality, justice, peace and dignity" in a united Sri Lanka.
The Prime Minister said both the countries will intensify cooperation in combating terrorism and work together for security and stability in the maritime neighbourhood.
"We recognise our closely aligned security interests and the need to remain sensitive to each other's concerns. We both reaffirmed our commitment to deepen our defence and security cooperation," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the first Prime Minister to visit the island nation after Rajiv Gandhi's trip in 1987, said Sri Lanka is India's largest partner in defence training programme and it will continue to expand cooperation in this area.
On the fishermen issue, the Prime Minister said it was agreed that fishermen's associations on both sides should continue their efforts to find a solution.
"I conveyed to him that this should be seen as a humanitarian issue that affects livelihoods. I informed him of the steps we are taking to encourage Indian fishermen to take up deep sea fishing," he said.
The issue of comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the two countries figured in the talks and the Sri Lankan Prime Minister hoped that it will be finalised by next year.
"Your (Sri Lanka's) progress is important for our two countries, South Asia and our maritime region," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
He said the relationship between the two countries touches the hearts of ordinary Indians and Sri Lankans and that both the countries have a "huge stake" in each other's success, and in stability and development in the region.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena had also chosen India as his first overseas destination after being elected to office in January.
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Thursday 29 June 2017
7.00 for 7.30 pm
We are delighted to announce that in collaboration with the Association of WRNS, the club is celebrating 100 years since the formation of the WRNS. We will be holding a three course formal dinner at the club open to all former Wrens and Association members and Royal Scots Club members & guests.
Our guest speaker will be Commodore Inga J Kennedy QHNS QARNNS, who is Inspector General at Headquarters Surgeon General and also the Queen's Honorary Nursing Sister. She will be speaking about how life for Servicewomen has changed beyond all recognition since the formation of the WRNS, with its original motto of 'Never at Sea'. As we know, today's women of the Royal Navy serve alongside their male colleagues at sea, in conflicts such as the first Gulf War, the Balkans, the 2003 Iraq War and, more recently, in Afghanistan.
Do come along and celebrate these wonderful women and their extraordinary achievements.


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Dongeun (Dan) Huh
Wilf Family Term Assistant Professor
Bioengineering (BE)
Research Expertise: Bioengineered Therapeutics and Devices and Drug Delivery | Cellular Engineering | Tissue Engineering
Huh's laboratory aims to develop innovative bioengineering tools and technologies using biologically inspired design principles and micro/nanoengineering approaches to improve human health and promote environmental sustainability. Huh's research focuses primarily on developing i) microengineered biomimetic models of human organs (organs-on-chips), ii) self-assembled tissue/organ scaffolds, iii) cell-based self-regulating "smart" biomedical devices, and iv) efficient biomimetic transport systems. Huh explores the use of these bioinspired engineering systems for a variety of biomedical, pharmaceutical, and environmental applications.
PhD Biomedical Engineering 2007 - University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
MS Mechanical Engineering 2002 - University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
MS Biomedical Engineering 2001 - University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
BS Mechanical Engineering 2000 - Seoul National University


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MasterPan Stovetop Grill Pan
This kitchen gadget works like an oven you can place on your stovetop, thanks to the uniquely-designed lid. It traps heat inside, while releasing steam at the same time, so you can more quickly cook the stuff you'd usually toss into the oven. Save 15% in The Awesomer Shop.


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Ensuring a database system has been properly designed, implemented, and tuned requires expertise and ongoing management. Atmosera provides managed Database (DB) services designed to help you get the most out of their systems. Our DB experts are available 24x7x365 to perform any task from basic day-to-day maintenance to complex architecture design.
We maintain and proactively troubleshoot your databases 24x7x365.
Together we partner to deploy the latest database and storage technology.
We actively help your team better leverage your database tools.
"Atmosera has been more than a infrastructure as a service for Navos. Their DBA team have become trusted partners supplementing our internal staff with deep specialized skills. Their experts have helped us drive additional improvements with our other technology partners. Atmosera brings talent to our team that we would not otherwise have access to and they care about our success."
– Jim Rudnick, Vice President & Chief Information Officer


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Welcome to our website! As we have the ability to list over one million items on our website (our selection changes all of the time), it is not feasible for a company our size to record and playback the descriptions on every item on our website. However, if you are an American with a disability we are here to help you. Please call our disability services phone line at (203) 968-1515 during regular business hours and one of our kind and friendly personal shoppers will help you navigate through our website, help conduct advanced searches, help you choose the item you are looking for with the specifications you are seeking, read you the specifications of any item and consult with you about the products themselves. There is no charge for the help of this personal shopper for any American with a disability. Finally, your personal shopper will explain our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, and help you place an order if you so desire.
Curved Top Commercial Ice Cream Freezer With Sliding Glass Lid, Digital Thermostat, Novelty Baskets, and 9.5 CU.FT. Interior
Summit FOCUS106
Regular Price $1,315
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Flat Top Commercial Ice Cream Freezer With Sliding Glass Lid, Digital Thermostat, Novelty Baskets, and 16.6 CU.FT. Capacity
Summit NOVA53
Regular Price $1,638
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Regular Price $1,246
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Chest freezer with 6.4 cu.ft. capacity and lock
Summit CF07ES
Regular Price $372
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Full-sized Commercial Storage Freezer With Sliding Glass Lid and Digital Thermostat
Summit SCF1712DT
Regular Price $1,572
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Full-size Glass Door Beer Froster for Commercial Use, With Frost-free Operation and Digital Thermsotat
Summit SCFU1330FROST
Regular Price $2,267
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Price From:
Mahe Island
The legendary hotel at the ocean holds the center of the best beach and offers comfortable modern rooms and atmosphere of belonging to the unique community. Here you will be able to enjoy the untouched nature of the Seychelles at the Beau Vallon Bay. It has a special culture of its own with history, traditions and many returning guests.
Rooms at Coral Starand Hotel feature furnished balconies or patios with ocean, beach, or mountain views. The 174 air-conditioned guestrooms at Coral Strand Smart Choice Hotel include laptop-compatible safes and minibars. Beds have Egyptian cotton sheets and down blankets. Wireless high-speed Internet access (surcharge) is provided. 32-inch plasma TVs are equipped with satellite channels, free movie channels, and TV Internet access (surcharge).
Bathrooms offer showers with handheld showerheads, and rainfall showerheads. Bathrooms also include makeup/shaving mirrors, hair dryers, and complimentary toiletries. All units feature refrigerators and coffee/tea makers. Additional amenities include complimentary newspapers and windows that open. Housekeeping is offered daily.
- Direct-dial Phone & IPTV with international channels and internet TV (2 IPTV in Deluxe Suites)
- Balcony
- House-keeping service
- Shower
- Tea and Coffee making facilities
- Safety deposit box laptop suitable
- Minibar on request
Diving Centre
We have an 5 Star Underwater Diving Centre just beside the Hotel. Since 1976 the Centre is working with the Hotel. The Centre has an excellent reputation and is very popular. Diving courses and excursion to the coral banks, wracks and night diving excursions are offered.
Opening: Daily from 8.30 h to 17.00 h. If you have never experienced the beauty and excitement of the underwater world, the friendly and polyglot staff of the Centre invites you to join an introducing "Exploration Diving Course or to acquire an International Padi Licence in four days.
The Underwater Centre gives an 10% discount on all diving courses and one free training our in the Hotel swimming pool to our Hotel guests.
Diving equipment : The Underwater Centre also offers a special shop where you can buy diving equipment and where one takes care of your own equipment.
Relaxation- Program : On Wednesdays you are offered the opportunity to renew your strength and to pamper your body and soul with a holistic treatment.
Aroma-Therapy at Coral Strand Hotel.
Deep Sea Fishing
Catch The Big game! We're good at it!
High Speed Catamaran Boat Trip
9 Metres / Fully Equiped half day / full day
Fishing to Silhouette with barbeque included
We also promote catch and release
We specialise in saltwater tackle.
Rods and Reels and full range of bait provided
Swimming pool
Our swimming pool has fresh water and is open every day. The children pool with is just beside it.
Just beside the Hotel you find the Leisure 2000 Water Sport works very well with the Hotel and will provide you with non motorised water sports as snorkeling equipment, belly boards, wind surfing, hobby catamaran, paddle skis for free. Motorised watersport is also offered. Our guests get a 20% discount on waterskiing, parasailing, water banana and water scooter.
There is a 9+9 hole golf course on the island. You can rent the necessary equipment at the course
|24 Jul - 31 Aug 2018
|7 Nights / 8 Days
|R 17,155.00 p.p.s.
Traveler Rating: Not yet reviewed by any member...
You can be the first one to write a review for Coral Strand Hotel!
Coral Strand Hotel is located in Seychelles Mahe Island. We provide accommodation, hotel information, holiday specials, packages, photos, rates and Coral Strand Hotel reviews. Book Coral Strand Hotel online and Save!


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Assist with activities to help parents interact in educational ways with their children. Learn more.
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Cut and paste this note into your Facebook "Need Help? Spread the word, dial United Way's 2-1-1 helpline for information & resources in your community." Go to facebook now.
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The primary technique used by our Thrive by Five partners is to give parents and caregivers the training they need to be effective teachers.
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United Way's free Born Learning materials give
parents tools to expose their kids to colors, shapes,
letters and numbers, in fun everyday activities.
Thrive By Five partners work throughout Westchester and come together four times a year to highlight successes, share resources and define measurements.
Our Thrive By Five 2013-2014 Partners:
- Child Care Council of Westchester
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- The Guidance Center
- Westchester Children's Association
Download a Thrive by Five flyer.
For more information about our Community Impact programs, call 914-997-6700 x753.
1UWW Education Action Plan Book: US Department of Education – National Center for Education Statistics 2001


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pq66.mp3 18:47
Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.
This week's rounds are Music(Mangled by MIDI), Science Fiction, Literature, and Television.
The music is from Pearl Jam with a song called Life Wasted.
Bruce Murray (The Zedcast)
2006-05-26 19:48
Hey James,
I guess it's a comment on my reading habits as a kid that I got the Sci Fi questions but not the poets :^) only 12/20 this week (never heard of the Flying Doctors) - Cheers james - Bruce
Lacey family
2019-01-05 20:43


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The upcoming HTC
smartphone, based on Google's Android OS will be named "Dream".
The handset will measure about 5" long and 3" wide, and
will feature a large touchscreen with a full sliding (or swiveling)
QWERTY keypad underneath, and Internet navigational controls.
release is expected in the end of the year.
Add comment


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I agree to spay/neuter by the date indicated
I agree this cat/s will NEVER be declawed
I agree to keep this cat/s INDOORS only at all times
I agree to have this cat/s examined yearly by a licensed veterinarian, and will seek immediate veterinary care in case of illness or injury
I agree to maintain a flea-free environment and regular flea prevention if necessary
I agree to keep this cat/s as a household companion providing affection, play, fresh food, fresh water, identification, clean litter, clean environment and an abuse free home for life
I understand that this cat/s may live up to 20 years and am prepared to take on this commitment. If I move, I agree to acquire pet-friendly housing. In the extreme circumstance that I am unable to care for this cat/s, I agree to contact Saving Grace rescue with at least 5 days notice. I agree to NEVER relinquish this cat/s to a shelter or Humane Society. I agree to NEVER have this cat/s euthanized unless a licensed veterinarian determines the cat/s to be terminally ill or injured.
I agree that Saving Grace Rescue has the right to remove this cat/s from my home at my expense if the above agreements are not met or if the spay/ neuter agreement has not been satisfied


text: The latest version of ASM8 is priced at approximately 4000 dollars and has multiple options for payment as well. Matt Clark and Jason Katzenback are its owners. ASM8 is an online training program in the field of E-commerce that helps the people establish a rock solid online business by selling products on Amazon. Click Here to get an idea about amazing selling machine. You can check the Full List Here, I mean the list of pros and cons and the way ASM8 works in reality. This course was launched in 2012, and the full version came out in 2013 and was revamped again in 2017. All the aspects of E-commerce can be learned in this course in a detailed way. With the strong experience of selling products online on Amazon, these guys have launched this course. They are making a seven-figure amount on Amazon, and their students who have taken up this course have already reached the five and six-figure marks. People with little or no experience are reaping profits after joining this course. Their testimonies prove the value and versatility of this course structure. The amazing selling machine module consists of eight weeks training sessions, study on nine software and permanent membership in the Facebook private group. Amazon is an E-commerce giant and is already well established. Amazon provides the right platform for growth and success. Using the Amazon fulfillment, we can buy the products from wholesalers and send them to FBA. From then on, Amazon will take care. Let us go through the various modules. Module 1- We will learn how to pick the right product amongst hundreds of options. Module 2- We will know how to pick the product with high volume and low competition. The aspects of packing like labeling and designing will also be taught. Module 3- Here, we learn about the keyword search as to how to achieve the best ranking and rating. Module 4- We can know about correctly listing the product so that the brand will get established on Amazon. Module 5- This module is significant as it teaches us tips to provide the right traffic to our product. Targeting the buyer traffic is the most crucial aspect to be learned. Module 6- The tactics by which we can enhance our brand name will be taught in this module. Module 7- Managing inventory, maximizing the profits and working on positive reviews will be taught here. Module 8- The emphasis here will be on outsourcing. The only disadvantage of ASM8 is its high price. The advantages are: 1) Heaps of positive reviews. 2) Availability of free trial without payment. 3) Eight-week training sessions with live Q and A session. 4) PDF modules that can be downloaded and can be studied in leisure at one's own pace. The Amazing selling machine has tools like the E-mail tool, Promotion tool, and the Press release tool. Many other websites offer discounts and bonuses on the purchase of this product. Success will be at your doorstep with the ASM training module.


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Whoa, it's been a while since I've posted on a Friday, eh? I've been meaning to but you know how good intentions slip away into darkness sometimes. This is post is going to be chalk full of random. Are you ready?
Remember my old Raves & Faves feature? I've decided to nix them. I found them difficult to pull together, I was always months behind and I felt like they were kind of boring to read (whereas the rest of my blog material is totally stellar). But since I've come across some amazing music this summer, I wanted to share: this gorgeous ballad by super singer Sam Smith (oh when the choir joins in…), this funny funky song by the talented Meghan Trainor, and Sia, who gives me chills with her vocals. Click through for some musical awesomeness.
Fall. Oh my goodness how I love the fall. The pumpkins, the warm drinks, boot weather, the smell of cinnamon and caramel. It's the very best. Remember the tree that I wanted cut down in our backyard but was talked out of it by Erik the Arborist?
Thankfully I have some sense to listen to professionals. Look at it now:
And way back during this blog's beginnings, I spray painted two faux pumpkins white. I discovered them in the Halloween bin while cleaning out the guest bath linen closet and now I've officially "decorated" for fall. It's not much but I love seeing them displayed on our kitchen table. Plus, it'll be easy to put away come Christmas time.
I'm not trying to skip too quickly past fall because it's my favorite time of year, but getting organized for the holidays since I am due mid-Dec has been buzzing around my brain. I'm brainstorming Christmas cards, decorations and gifts and trying to strategize a plan to get it done all well in advance. I need to start being more efficient with my evenings because nap time melts away into an endless cycle of laundry and cleanup-after-meals type of tasks and I feel like I can't make any head way. No matter what your circumstances, it doesn't hurt to give the holidays some forward thought. Here are two helpful posts on just that:
But before I gather up too much Christmas cheer, I have to work on Amelie's Halloween costume. It's the farthest thing from creative or elaborate. In fact, it's probably perfect because I imagine she'll wear the thing for about 26 seconds. I better have the camera ready!
Happy Friday everyone!


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Share a night that will last a lifetime with a gift certificate to Pancho's Backyard.
You can send your gift certificate by email or print out a copy for conventional mailing or person-to-person delivery. You may send the gift certificate directly to your friend's email inbox. It will typically be delivered within 1-2 business days. You'll be notified as soon as your friend views their gift.
How it works:
The perfect way to celebrate Mexico with the finest selection of handcrafts, jewelry, and souvenirs.


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Controversials plans which will see 18 key posts being cut from local schools will come into effect at the end of this week.
Restructuring – part of budget cuts necessary due to austerity measures – will see the normal practice of a traditional 'janitor' at every school being phased out, with cluster teams being put in to supervise a number of sites.
But this week East Dunbartonshire Council confirmed that while 18 members of staff in facilities management were leaving via voluntary redundancy by May 31, a new janitorial assistant was being put into every school from the beginning of June.
However, the new assistants will cover a variety of roles, including replacing school crossing patrols where they have been cut.
But this week angry readers questioned the cost to the public purse.
One said: ''Eighteen of them are being given voluntary redundancy from May 31, but paid 10 weeks in lieu of notice. How much is that going to cost? Why are they not being kept on until the summer break? They are just going to be spending their time playing golf but still on the council payroll!''
Director of neighbourhood Services, Grace Irvine, said: ""None of the janitorial activities currently carried out by site co-ordinators in schools are being lost – they will just be delivered differently with cluster co-ordinators and janitorial assistants working closely together. This approach gives us more capacity than before and enables us to develop a greater skills base across teams.
"These posts are graded appropriately in line with the Council's pay and grading policy to reflect the duties and responsibilities of the job."
"Within every school, a new role of janitorial assistant will be introduced from the beginning of June as part of the revised organisational model and this role will cover a wide range of front line activities within each school, including school crossing where required which will ensure continued and seamless delivery of the service levels throughout our education establishments. In terms of payments made to individuals, it would not be appropriate to comment."
Reader Kathy Chapelle said this week: "The current janitors who are not being moved or offered other jobs are staying put and taking a huge loss in salary!
"This is deplorable given the times we live in.... For some it can be up to £10,000 this is your rent, mortgage, or car."


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|girl playing jump rope image .jpg
|girl playing jump rope image .png
This is a delightful digital image of a young girl playing jump rope. I created this child clip art from an illustration in a vintage storybook. This is a very cute digital girl image that would be great as a design element in a project for a girl playing with her own jump rope or any of her toys. Her short dress and Mary Jane shoes are so wonderful. And, that big bow in her hair in enchanting. I hope you enjoy this digital girl image!


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Officials of the International Federation of Film Archives have expressed anxiety over the absence of news about the group's president, the prominent Polish film director. Prof. Jerzy Toeplitz, who was a recent victim of the ongoing purge of Jews from top posts in the Government-controlled Polish film industry. According to the Sunday Observer here. Prof. Toeplitz; was expected in London where he was due to chair the federation's annual congress which opens here next Thursday. Toeplitz was dismissed last month as rector of the Polish Film School in Lodz. The Polish Embassy here has declined to furnish any information about his whereabouts. It is assumed that the Warsaw authorities are preventing him from leaving Poland because they don't want to see him win any further esteem abroad, the Observer said. Prof. Toeplitz has been president of the federation for 20 years.
(Prof. Toeplitz and other prominent Jews purged from the Polish film industry were the subjects of a letter published in the New York Times over the weekend protesting the "current anti-Semitic actions in Poland." The letter was signed by 13 of America's leading film critics, all members of the National Society of Film Critics. They named Prof. Toeplitz, Aleksander Ford, Jan Rybkowski and Jerzy Bossak, among other leaders of Poland's film arts, who were purged because they are Jews.)
(The Times reported from Warsaw that the official Polish Press Agency, PAP, has renewed its charges that Jewish police and ghetto administrators collaborated with the Nazis in the extermination of Polish Jews during World War II. The charges were first published during the height of Poland's so-called "anti-Zionist" campaign when "Zionists" and "discredited Stalinists" were accused of fomenting student unrest. Today's PAP story however, said that the alleged collaborators "were in fact only a small fraction of the Jewish population, but did many irreparable wrongs." The Times' Warsaw correspondent Jonathan Randal reported that the Roman Catholic Church in Poland is highly sensitive to charges that the political crisis has produced anti-Semitism. "High church sources prefer to see the 'anti-Zionist' campaign, its attendant purge of some Jews and the repression of intellectuals less in terms of discrimination than as a settling of accounts among Communists," Mr. Randal wrote.)
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.


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Key Stage 4
During Key Stage 4, pupils use the knowledge, skills and understanding that they have gained in earlier Key stages, and their own experience, to take new and more adult roles in the school and the wider community. They are helped to develop the self-awareness and confidence needed for adult life, further learning and work. They have opportunities to show they can take responsibility for their own learning and career choices by setting personal targets and planning to meet them. They develop their ability to weigh up alternative courses of action for health and well-being. They gain greater knowledge and understanding of spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues through increased moral reasoning, clarifying their opinions and attitudes in discussions with their peers and informed adults and considering the consequences of their decisions. They learn to understand and value relationships with a wide range of people and gain the knowledge and skills to seek advice about these and other personal issues. They learn to respect the views, needs and rights of people of all ages.
Modes of delivery
In Years 10 and 11, PSHE is delivered via timetabled lessons. Students have one lesson per fortnight in Year 10 and two per fortnight in Year 11.
In Year 10, students are taught four core modules covering Citizenship (Political Awareness); Work Experience preparation; Dealing with Stress; Relationship and Sex Education.
In Year 11, the PSHE programme is divided into six modules each lasting five hours. The modules cover:
- Careers - including CV production, letter of application and interview technique
- Financial Capability
- Relationships & Sex Education
- Drugs Education
- Study Skills
- Religious Education
PSHE topics are also covered in form time, supporting our 'Themes of the Week'.