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Actor Charlie Sheen is attacking presidential hopeful Donald Trump, noting that anyone would be better in the White House than Trump. The notorious HIV-positive playboy claims that despite telling fans just months ago that he wanted to be Trump's VP, he thinks Trump would make a terrible president. Sheen hints that a Trump presidency would be a "tragedy" and that America needs to "wake up."
Gossip Cop reports that actor Charlie Sheen is no longer offering any form of support to GOP presidential candidate and businessman Donald Trump. The actor has flip-flopped on the issue numerous times but took to Twitter today to make it clear that he feels that Trump would be the worst presidential choice available. Sheen told America to "wake up" and used the hashtag #AnyoneButTrump.
hey Trump,
"A farce or comedy is best played; a tragedy is best read at home"
Abe Lincoln
America please
— Charlie Sheen (@charliesheen) February 27, 2016
The comments comes just a few months after Sheen took to Twitter to offer support to Trump claiming that if Trump would have him he would love to be his Vice President. Sheen made the VP offer to Trump on August 27, 2015. However, Sheen's Trump love didn't last long despite fan support tweeting #TrumpSheen16.
O. Wilson
they took ur comment
out of context!
I'm honored!
thank u!
If Trump will hv me
I'd be his VP
in a heartbeat!
— Charlie Sheen (@charliesheen) August 27, 2015
For those still hoping for a Trump/Sheen ballot for the presidential election, the recent attack on Trump may not be Sheen's final word on the issue as he has flip-flopped on his Trump stance numerous times. In fact, just five weeks before declaring he would be Trump's VP "in a heartbeat" he had called the business mogul "as poignant as a sack of cat farts." Yup, Sheen called the businessman "sad and silly" before making the sack of cat farts comparison.
"Trump you're a sad & silly homunculus your words as poignant as a sack of cat farts You're a shame pile of idiocy © http://t.co/voYaI7L2lZ
— Charlie Sheen (@charliesheen) July 19, 2015″
However, it seems that Sheen had a big change of heart as he pulled the tweet from his account and proceeded to offer his assistance as VP just five weeks later. Therefore, it would not be completely out of character if Sheen deleted the latest "#AnyoneButTrump" tweet and replaced it with an offer to be Secretary of State for the business mogul.
The change could be due to the fact that Donald Trump never acknowledged Sheen's VP offer so the actor is retaliating for his lack of commitment to the #TrumpSheen16 cause, or the more likely reasoning for the change in stance was that Sheen's VP comment was a joke in response to Owen Wilson's interview with the Daily Beast in which he compared Trump to Sheen noting that people like him because he isn't following a script and it is entertaining.
"You can't help but get a kick out of him [Trump], and I think part of it is we're so used to politicians on both sides sounding like actors at press junkets — it's sort of by rote, and they say all the right things. So here's somebody who's not following that script. It's like when Charlie Sheen was doing that stuff — like, wow! He's answering a question completely honestly, and in an entertaining way. You sort of feel he could be a character from Network."
What do you think of Charlie Sheen's recent attack noting that anyone would be better than Donald Trump for president? Would you support Sheen on any ballot?
[Image by Chris Pizzello/AP Photo]


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The Cronut Arrives in Houston
New York City is going crazy over the new obsessed-about dessert, the cronut. People have been paying upwards of $100 dollars for the delicious blend of a donut and croissant. Culture Map Houston reports that now the sweet treat is also available in the Houston area.
At Penas Donut Heaven and Grill in Shadow Creek Ranch, baker Raymond Pena has created his version of the dessert, the "dosant." At just $3.50 apiece, the spin off is flying off the shelves.
Pena is a 20-year firefighter veteran who attributes his baking skills to his mother, who he assisted while she owned and managed a Shipley Donut franchise. Pena had not heard about the cronut until his brother-in-law told him about it. He searched for it online and then began working on perfecting his own version.
His concept took him a week and a half long to perfect, and he is now producing about 70 'dosants' a day, all of which are selling out. As of now, there are two flavors available: cream cheese and strawberry cream cheese. Because of the high demand, he hopes to increase production and add more flavors.

subset: commoncrawl


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I. Interview – As we learn about what you want for your space, we'll start to identify strategies that a permaculture design might include. If you like our suggestions, we'll give you a quote for a full design.
II. Design – Designs are crafted to meet your holistic goals in a profoundly sustainable manner. Imagine yourself producing the foods you love to eat, even while reducing time and money spent on conventional lawn care and maintenance.
Common design features include:
- Perennial Food Forests
- Annual Garden Bed Installation
- Rainwater Catchment (Barrels) & Rain Gardens
- Cold Frames
- Greenhouses
- Grey-water Systems
III. Installation – Once you have your design in hand, you can hire us to implement the whole design, or just get you started with a few select features. Or, if you're a DIYer, you can jump right into it yourself!
Contact us today to schedule an on-site consultation and interview.


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KWin's window management powers are not as discoverable as they could be--particularly tiling, which by default has no visible UI and no keyboard shortcuts. Resolving this issue is highly relevant to T6831: Top-notch usability and productivity for basic software.
This patch re-assigns the Meta+arrowkeys shortcuts that are currently used for move zoomed area (which are pretty esoteric, infrequently-used actions), adding ctrl to their shortcuts. This allows us to use their valuable Meta+arrowkeys for more useful and commonly-used window management actions:
- Meta+←: quick tile window to the left
- Meta+→: quick tile window to the right
- Meta+↑: quick-tile window to the top
- Meta+↓: quick-tile the window to the bottom
The patch also sets some default shortctuts for minimize and maximize:
- Meta+PageDown: minimize window
- Meta+PageUp: maximize/de-maximize the window


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Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Review: Halo 2
Posted March 22, 2009on:
Well I bought an Xbox last week, and now have played a game on it. The only one too ^.^
Halo 2
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Platforms: Xbox Only
Rated M for Mature. Blood and Gore, language, and violence.
Halo 2 is a great game, most likely the best Xbox game. Master Chief if back. This time however, you get to watch many cutscenes and a second side to the story. The Arbiter (sp?) is the second side, a Covenant. The Arbiter and Covenant are forced to work together with Chief and the Humans to save the universe from the Brutes, a race that swore allegiance to the Prophets (Covenant leaders). They turn on them and the Covenant. Of course the Flood (infested something, humans maybe) is trying to kill everyone. Thankfully, you can sit back and let the enemies fight each other a lot of times.
All in all, the ending is a bit screwy and confusing. Probably the only bad part to the game.
Music: 10/10. Music can tell you whats about to happen. It can be very calm or very adventurous, even downright creepy.
Graphics: 9/10. The details are great, especially on the Flood. *shiver*
Plot: 8/10. If it wasn't for the ending, it would be better. Still, its a good story!
Gameplay: 9/10. The buttons can be hard to get used to for newbs, heck for anyone. The weapons are awesome too, the fact that you can have dual weapons.
Overall Average: 9/10.
Once again, sorry
Posted March 15, 2009on:
- In: Blog | game | Reviews | Uncategorized | Video Game
- Leave a Comment
Hello everyone, George here. I said sometime the other day Id start adding more reviews. Well belonging to so many websites has finally caught up with me. Before it was easy. Now its gotten to be a challenge. My forum is reopening on Monday, and Ive been putting all time into it. I do not have school Tuesday. Already then I will be getting an Xbox and updating my blog. The extra time Im sure I will have I will add some reviews and what not.
Again, sorry.
Posted March 8, 2009on:
In case you have not noticed, I do not post reviews for online games, as does Gamezo does. I post reviews for Gamecube. Soon however, my reviews will expand into some N64 and Wii games, aside PS2 games. I'll be adding some more reviews tonight and tomorrow.
Remember! The much loathed (by most Americans that is >.>) starts tomorrow at 2AM. We loose as hour (This is the USA only), so go to bed an hour early!!!! Well do whatever, just remember to set your clocks.
Posted March 6, 2009on:
- In: Blog | Cheats | game | Uncategorized
- Leave a Comment
Its George here. I just wanted to say sorry for not posting in a long time. Being so busy got away from me and I forgot about being a user on this blog.
Tomorrow I'll add some more Gamecube reviews.
I may not post much after that as Im busy working from scratch on a forum, in a huge plan that Im not going into detail about, and have been spending more time with friends (nothing wrong with that, except it gets annoying sometimes) and have been exceptionally busy.
Once again, very sorry.
Posted February 1, 2009on:
Roller Coaster Tycoon Review
Posted January 31, 2009on:
- In: game | Reviews | Uncategorized
- Leave a Comment
Roller Coaster Tycoon
Platform: PC
Rated E for everyone
RollerCoaster Tycoon you could say is a strategy game. You have to add on to existing parks or start from scratch, beating the objective(s) given. There are around 20 total parks on the original. If you have one of the (or both) Expansion Packs, there are 40 more parks, a 'real park' section, and an extra. There is always complications, money hazards, and safety of the guests. Its a very addictive game, and you need to think wisely to accomplish the objectives within the given time.
Music: 10/10. Only a few rides had music in original, with EP there is tons!
Gameplay: 10/10. All you need is the mouse from your computer!
Plot: 9/10. Some parks are super hard and it can get confusing sometimes
Graphics: 8/10. Sure, there from 1999. But there still insanly awesome
Overall Average: 9/10
One final Club Penguin Party
Posted January 8, 2009on:
- In: game | Uncategorized
- Leave a Comment
Alright all you Club Penguin fans!
I would like to go on CP one final time, so Im planning a party.
Right now this is the time:
Saturday, January 17, 2009 at 3PM Club Penguin Time (which is uh…still Pacific Time right?). Well these are the time zones split up: (starting from furthest ahead)
Australia: 7AM Sunday the 18
Europe: 11PM
Atlantic: 7PM
Eastern: 6PM
Central: 5PM
Mountain: 4PM
Pacific: 3PM
Alaskan: 2PM
Hawaiian: 1PM
On the server: Snowy River
Spot: Since Im a non member (I wear member clothes though), it will be at the Cove.
All that good?
Snowy River, Cove, Jan 17, 3PM (CP time)
Remember, my penguin name is Gjmc784.
This is only because before I completely hate Club Penguin, I'd like one last party, well I do, but before I forget all the good old days 100%
Im gonna clear off my buddy list for this, to add some new faces.
I wear this: Purple Hoodie, Gold Viking Helmet (from when it was out in 07 >:D), green sunglasses, whistle, and I forget what else.
This is not mean I am coming back. I just want a party to say goodbye, as I will probably forget about the game and the fun I had soon.


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Once great again! I got more award, I feel good. For what this Award? Of course for My SEO. More change for increase My Link Popularity and My Friendship. Because I feel My Blog still in the down. I must follow up my Blog. You must do this too.
This is The Rule, please read:
Received this award from David Funk, who is one of the kindest and enthusiastic blogger I've met on-line.
He is also a good friend of mine. I recommend checking his site out if you haven't yet, and he will gladly return the favor.
Thanks again David for the passing on this award and I really do appreciate it.
Uber (synonym to Super) Amazing Blog Award is a blog award given to sites who:
* inspires you
* makes you smile and laugh
* or maybe gives amazing information
* a great read
* has an amazing design
* and any other reasons you can think of that makes them
* uber amazing
The rules of this award are:
* Copy the badge and put the logo on your blog sidebar or post.
* Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing!
* Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.
* Share the love and link to this this post and to the person you received your award from.
* Come back and comment here so that your link could be added to the master list of awardees.
And the next 5 receiver are:
1. Sweetalia : http://www.sweetalia.com/
2. Ade Herlina : http://www.adeherlina.blogspot.com/
3. Najlaa Raihana : http://najlaaraihana.blogspot.com/
4. Phie : http://phiee.blogspot.com/
5. Tian : http://sweetheartmt.blogspot.com/
Hope you receive This Award from me for our friendship... Thank You...


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The Principle of Hope
Thomas G. Weiss, Governing the World? Addressing 'Problems without Passports' (Boulder & London: Paradigm Publishers, 2014), 150 pp.
Reviewed by Franz Baumann (Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management United Nations)[1]
Tom Weiss's book is published in the International Studies Intensives (ISI) series which is addressed at students and intended "to offer an intensive introduction to subjects often left out of the curriculum." Organized in five crisp chapters, it achieves this objective, and more, by providing an introduction to the state of the field of International Relations (IR) studies and helpful bibliographic leads for more intensive reading. As a survey book, Governing the World? amply illustrates the ever increasing chasm between pressing global problems and the woefully inadequate institutions charged with resolving them. Weiss, as an optimist, succeeds in showing that and why the myriad problems must be solved. Explaining how they could be solved – or, more concretely, which obstacles need to be overcome – is out of scope. The reader, consequently, oscillates between inspiration and desperation.
The five chapters are sensibly arranged. Starting out with a review of governance issues, Weiss touches on the implications of state sovereignty for global governance, then moves on to the global commons and its governance requirements. Thereafter, Weiss discusses the efficacy of existing intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and concludes with a tour d'horizon of the enormous array of global challenges, the existing instruments to tackle them and the vast gaps remaining.
Governing the World? is formulated as a question, whereas the subtitle Addressing "Problems without Passports" as a statement, perhaps more for stylistic than for substantive reasons. Alas, this not being his fault, Weiss can marshal scant evidence that the problems he so lucidly runs through are being addressed, let alone effectively
Weiss plausibly frames the issues in terms of governance. Several definitions are offered, ranging from the academic to the practical. "Global governance" is for him (short version) the "collective efforts to identify, understand, and address worldwide problems" (p. 4) and, more elaborately, "a set of questions that enable us to work out how the world is, was and could be governed, how changes in the grand and not-so-grand patterns of governance occurred, are occurring and ought to occur" (ibid). Some pages on he avers that "global governance is the international capacity at any moment to provide government-like services in the absence of world government" (p. 38). While I agree with this definition, as far as it goes, it seems to me that a serviceable conceptualization of governance needs to go beyond capacity. Instead, it needs to relate responses to challenges and encompass the extent to which instruments and actors are adequate for the tasks they are supposed to carry out. After all, the effectiveness with which problems are resolved depends both on the appropriateness of the tools and on the motivation as well as skills of their users. A Beethoven symphony requires an orchestra with excellent instruments and expert musicians. A high school band won't cut it.
The book's leading question is "Can humanity formulate a plausible and affirmative response to whether we are capable of governing the world?" Weiss's answer: "We already do … but we can and must do better" (p. 5). His conclusion is that "we require a three-pronged strategy in the decades ahead: the continued evolution and expansion of the formidable amount of practical global governance that already exists; the harnessing of political and economic possibilities opened by the communications revolution that began late in the twentieth century; and the recommitment by states to a fundamental revamping and strengthening of the United Nations system" (p. 6). There is no doubt in the desirability of this scenario, only in its practicability, considering that much of international politics does not (yet) transcend the prevailing conflicts between unreasoning wills. Tom Weiss, believing in – or hoping for – reason, rationality and goodwill as dominant forces in international politics, outlines in many declaratory statements what needs to be done for the survival of the world as we know it.[2]
What stands in the way of sensible global governance arrangements? Weiss does not tackle the question frontally, although he devotes an entire chapter, "Sacrosanct Sovereignty No Longer," to state sovereignty and the Westphalian order, both of which need to be overcome for global problems to be adequately addressed. "Legitimacy challenges" in his words (e.g. human rights, responsibility to protect, secessions and border disputes) as well as "economic and technological challenges" (e.g. climate change, financial instability, terrorism, epidemics etc.) reveal state sovereignty as obsolete. This may well be so, yet it does not catalyse states into withering away. Since states will be around for a while, some strong, effective and legitimate, others fragile, weak, failing, poor, autocratic, oppressive, oligarchic or kleptocratic (or any combination thereof), it would be worthwhile for a survey of global issues to peek into the black box of sovereign states and to explore the internal dynamics which underlie state behaviour in the international arena.
Sadly, sovereign states are not prima facie good instruments to solve global problems, not least because of their inward-looking and rather short-term vision. Following the discussion of international affairs in the United States, for instance, does little to build confidence in a foreign observer, such as myself. On the one hand, it seems that a very significant international issue is Benghazi(!) On the other, one notes with wonderment that a reasonable politician like President Obama is caught, paradoxically, in a situation where his restrained foreign policy corresponds to the mood of the country (polls find no support for robust US interventions in Iraq, Ukraine or Syria) while there is palpable disappointment with his foreign policy leadership: 58% of Americans in a recent CBS/NYT poll disapproved of his handling of foreign policy (Peter Baker, "As the World boils, fingers point Obama's Way" The New York Times, Saturday, 16 August 2014). The risks emanating from armed conflict, nuclear proliferation, Climate Change, population growth and pressures on resources as well as on the environment are not debated in the US with much sophistication, and presidential leadership is exercised somewhat from behind. It is too painful perhaps, the unfortunate memory of President Jimmy Carter, who told the US public the harsh truth – and was defeated by the charming confabulator Ronald Reagan.
Whatever their weaknesses, there is no reason for students of IR blithely to write off sovereign states, just because they stand in the way of world government. As Michael Ignatieff argues with reference to the economist Dani Rodman, the "survival of sovereignty is not vestigial; it turns out to have economic survival value. …states that maintain their own 'policy space' do better than states that give it away" ("The Return of Sovereignty," The New Republic, 16 February 2012, p. 27).[3]Moreover, in terms of legitimacy, as in the management of staff, there seems a span-of-control optimum, beyond which the effectiveness of both decrease. The Westphalian system became truly viable only in the nineteenth century with the emergence of nation states and the integrative forces of culture, language and symbols, whose emotional power is palpable every four years during the World Cup. Here nations compete as much as teams, and it matters not that the players are an international workforce wearing today the jersey of AC Milan, tomorrow of Arsenal FC and next week that of Real Madrid C.F. or FC Bayern München. In short, even though it would please Internationalists like Tom Weiss (or me, for that matter), no way has yet been found for political interests and loyalties to be aggregated effectively at regional, let alone global levels. The European Parliament, although a serious and encouraging experiment, is not the poster institution for the obsolescence of Europe's Nation States. How, then, is it realistic to expect voters to extend their loyalties to the global level or States to surrender their sovereignty?[4] Europe has no common foreign policy, and suggestions to have France and Great Britain surrender their permanent Security Council seats in favour of a single European one have not been supported by or in the two countries. This points to the need to blend national impulses with international necessities, to satisfy voters' aspirations while contributing to global solutions. The former take precedence over the latter, and the challenge articulated by the late Ken Waltz rings true as ever: Since the anarchic structure of international politics continues intact, to expect states to remain reliably at peace would, unrealistically, require their durable perfection (Man, the State and War, New York: Columbia University Press, 1959).
Which brings us to something of a blind spot. I fear that Tom Weiss may be caught in the functionalist trap, which means the assumption that governments do what theory, logic and national interest demand. They don't. And, even if some politicians wanted to, they couldn't because states are not unitary, rational actors. Instead, one needs to consider the impact of factors (to list only a few), such as:
- internal checks and balances between executive, legislative and judiciary;
- lunatic right wing parties in many Western countries;
- serious capacity constraints or blunders even in wealthy countries (just consider that the CIA was blindsided by Iran's Islamic Revolution, confirmed non-existent WMD in Iraq and foresaw neither the fall of the Berlin Wall nor 9/11);
- power moving away from states to non-state actors;
- far too many fragile states;
- rampant Islamic extremism as well as sharp conflicts within Islam;
- President Putin's popularity at home soaring as a result of foreign policy actions of dubious legality.
Where will, under the circumstances, the focus and power derive from to integrate this multitude of diverse actors as well as interests and to tackle, say, the enormous challenge of de-carbonization which is to leave in the ground much of the known fossil fuel reserves: "In order to preserve a roughly inhabitable planet, we somehow need to convince or coerce the world's most profitable corporations and the nations that partner with them to walk away" from trillions of dollars' worth of wealth (Christopher Hayes, "The New Abolitionism," The Nation, 22 April 2014). Australia's July 2014 decision to repeal a carbon tax on its biggest greenhouse emitters – from mining to aviation to power plants – is disheartening yet not surprising.
The obvious question (not asked by Weiss) is: Do states as they are, not as they should be, have the analytical, conceptual and tactical capacity, let alone the power commensurate with existential challenges? Can they reasonably be expected to overcome free-riderdom, parochialism and short-termism? Or is muddling through, i.e. cleaning up, the best that can be expected? Is it symptomatic or a fluke that the US federal government spent more money in 2012 repairing the damage from extreme weather than it did on education? (cf. Bill McKibben, "Collapse & Crash" The New York Review of Books, 20 June 2013, page 54).
Tom Weiss wanted "to write a provocative brief book"(page X) and he has, to this reviewer's mind, certainly succeeded, even if his subtitle implies a book with a broader scope than he delivers. He highlights the inadequacy of the existing institutions and attributes much of their inadequacy as resulting from lacking financial resources. This is true yet unhappily reflective of the level of interest in and support for multilateralism. With Weiss, I wish it were not so and that, instead, the United Nations would be more widely viewed as a useful embryonic framework, and forcefully strengthened as well as used as a valuable instrument to tackle global problems. But what are the chances to overcome intergovernmental gridlock? "Reform of the UN must move from tinkering to real restructuring, but achieving it may take a crisis. Only tragic events of some kind seem to bring countries to the table, ready finally to do business and cut a new deal" (Mark Malloch-Brown, The Unfinished Global Revolution: The Pursuit of a New International Politics. The Penguin Press, New York, 2011, pp. 191-192).
In his farewell speech in September 2006 to world leaders gathered at United Nations headquarters, Secretary-General Kofi Annan pointed to the ever sharper challenges of:
an unjust world economy, world disorder and widespread contempt for human rights and the rule of law. I remain convinced that the only answer to this divided world must be a truly United Nations … most of the world's problems have acquired a global dimension that can only be matched by global action, agreed and coordinated through this most universal of institutions.
Tom Weiss, writing in the same spirit, eloquently and encyclopedically surveys challenges, as well as the solutions which are evident and not mysterious. Solutions, however, remain painfully elusive, and the prospect unnerving that meaningful reform can happen only in the aftermath of a catastrophe.
[1] All views expressed in this review are personal and do not reflect those of the United Nations.
[2] "To rein in proliferation, to slow down runaway climate change, or to manage the global economy, there simply is no alternative to cooperation" (p. 33).
" … especially the wealthy West as well as elites elsewhere need to nurture values of solidarity and fairness" (p. 43).
"Burden sharing worldwide and locally means that rich populations should pay more to offset the burden of adaptations" (p. 44).
"Industrialized countries should in fairness shoulder responsibility for previous damage from toxic emissions – and none more so than the United States" (p. 51)
" … our common interests and aversions could be strong enough to find solutions to dilemmas, and these solutions will be, essentially, systems of global governance" (p. 58).
" … global problems require global institutional structures that have the scope and the capacity to attack them" (p. 71).
"The planet … requires a strong but restricted central authority that accommodates as much local diversity and initiative as possible" (p. 95).
"Humanity collectively is capable of better and more fairly governing the world" (p. 101).
[3] "Canada, for example, sends 75 percent of its exports south to the United States. Few economies are more globally integrated or trade-dependent – but Canada thanks its lucky stars that it maintains its own currency, interest rates, fiscal policy, and system of bank regulation. If it had folded these into those of its neighbour next door, its unemployment rate would be 2 percentage points higher and its mortgage market would be underwater" (ibid).
[4] "… until now modern constitutional democracies have developed only within the context of sovereign nation-states. There is a reason for this. The nation-state represents a compromise of sorts between the politics of empire and the politics of the village: it is large enough to encourage people to think beyond their local interests, but not so large that they feel they have no control over their lives." (Mark Lilla, "Our Illegible Age: How we declined into libertarianism," The New Republic, 30 June 2014, p. 45).


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What is it?
It's difficult to describe what the Swivl is so perhaps easier to show you what it is, how it works and what you can do with it in the classroom. Watch this video where I go through the basic features.
If you didn't watch the video, here's a quick summary: the Swivl is a small rotating cylindrical base with a space inside it for your mobile phone or tablet. It connects to your device via bluetooth and then connects to something called a 'marker'. This is a small rectangular device that acts as both a tracker for the device and as a microphone for the presenter/teacher and is worn on a lanyard round the teacher's neck.
Now, this is the clever part. As the teacher/presenter moves round the room, the Swivl follows the marker and so does the mobile phone/tablet.
Why is this cool?
It's cool because you can record lots of things going on in a classroom without the need to have someone stood behind a camera at the back of the class. This can be distracting for the students or cause general awkward or inauthentic behaviour from both students and teachers. It's not very big either, it can be put onto a desk or a shelf and doesn't get in the way at all.
What can it be used for?
Lots of things, initially we bought it to record internal workshops as it wasn't always possible for all the teachers to attend and we wanted a way to be able to share them later. Having someone awkwardly man a camcorder in the class was always a little off putting for the presenter and audience so this seemed like a suitable compromise. However, as we started using it, we realised there were many other use cases.
For example, teachers started using it to record their own lessons for their own professional development, this is not something that they could normally do as it would require another person in the back of the room.
Related to that, it also became a tool for peer observations, this is something that's strongly encouraged in our centre but it's not always logistically possible given that most teachers have lessons at the same time. A few teachers took to using the Swivl and they could then easily share their videos with fellow teachers. This also meant, I think, that the teachers shared a more 'typical' lesson since there was noone in the back of the room forcing them to perform.
As a manager at our centre, I'm required to observe some teachers as part of their annual review. On one occasion, my own classes clashed with those of one of the teachers I needed to observe, so instead she just recorded the lesson with the Swivl and I gave feedback based on my review of the video. I actually found it less stressful doing it this way as I could go over the lesson at my leisure and scrub back and forward through critical moments to look at them in more detail.
On the CELTA course I teach on, I recorded all my trainees lessons using it and it was incredibly useful in feedback to be able to have the ipad in front of me with their recordings on and to be able to show effective (and sometimes not so effective) classroom practice. I was a little concerned how the trainees might feel having all their lessons videoed but at the end they were incredibly positive about the experience saying that they often watched over it later – however painful that might be sometimes – to connect my feedback notes with what they see on the screen.
On the same course I also videoed myself doing a demo lesson with the practice students and this was useful to refer back to during the course to highlight particular classroom skills such as group management and giving instructions.
We've also used it to record student presentations in class both for practice and assessment purposes. Again, you can sit it unobtrusively on a desk at the front while they do their presentations and you then have a useful record for yourself and for them for development.
How well does it work?
Incredibly well. Scarily well in fact. Go back to the video I recorded using it. Audio is often the biggest issue with videoing lessons, the microphone used is normally on the camera at the back of the class and it often fails to pick up what the teacher and the student say. Having the microphone on a lanyard round the teacher's neck makes a lot more sense, the quality is excellent and it picks up what the teacher is saying as they go round the room monitoring groups. It also seems to pick up student voices better as well, mainly because the mic is actually in front of them rather than behind them. I wanted to show some real examples from the classroom but I'd have needed to get permission from all the students or teachers involved and it was just too complicated.
Battery life seems decent as well, both the base and the marker have internal batteries and can get through several lessons before needing to be recharged. You can install an app on your phone or tablet that will let you know the actual percentage left.
Any issues with it?
No real issues but some things to be aware of. One of the first things to do through the Swivl app is to disable the up/down tracking on the base. By this I mean how the device will move up and down to follow the teacher when they sit down and stand up or when they crouch down to speak to students. This seems cool at first but the reality can be jerky and distracting if the teacher moves around a lot in class (as I've discovered I do!). The left/right tracking will capture pretty much everything assuming you place it far back enough in the class.
The Swivl app is useful for disabling things like the tracking and checking the battery but can be annoyingly obtrusive at other times. Every time you pair the device, it tries to open it up for you to use. A key thing to remember is that you don't need to use the Swivl app. It works perfectly well using the internal video recorder of the phone or tablet and is a lot less confusing. Just close it down when it pops up and just use the camera to record it.
How much does it all cost?
Now, depending on your budget, you might think this is either stupid cheap or ridiculously expensive. We bought it from a company called the Fowndry and it cost about £350 (I've got no links with them but they are Swivl's official partners in the UK and were kind enough to send a demo model to trial so happy to recommend). For this you get the base, one marker, as well as a variety of inserts that will help different size devices fit into the base.
It is possible to buy an additional marker for £70 and you might choose do this, for example, if you want to record both the teacher and aspects of group work during the lesson. You can move the marker round during group activities and it will pick up the audio as a second stream on the video.
The other thing you're going to need of course is a mobile device to put into the Swivl. It is possible just to use your own device or the device of the teacher being recorded but it's probably more hassle than it's worth. You'd have to do the bluetooth pairing each time, check that there is enough storage space on the device and also install the Swivl app to disable the tracking. Not to mention potentially exposing your own personal data to other people.
The Swivl seems to work better with Apple products and the cheapest options for that would be either the ipad or ipod touch. I'd go for something with at least 32gb as long classroom recordings can take up to 4–6gbs so you need to have plenty of space to spare. You don't necessarily need the latest or greatest model, so you're probably looking at £150 to £250 depending on whether you get an ipod touch or ipad.
So, assuming your school or centre doesn't already have some kind of device available, you're probably going to have to spend £500–600 to be able to start using the Swivl, not cheap I appreciate.
Is it worth it?
For us it is, but obviously you have to decide whether it solves a problem or fulfils a particular need first and then whether that justifies the outlay. We've been using it for nearly a year now and must have made dozens of classroom recordings with it. I think if you do a lot of CPD or teacher training in your centre, it's definitely worth it. Just the convenience of being able to quickly record a lesson or training session with minimal set up and fuss and without having someone sat behind the camera is enough in itself for me.
Is this a tool that would get some use where you teach? Can you think of uses for it beyond the ones I've mentioned here? Please share your thoughts in the comments.


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James reports on his visit to Malaysia and the World Congress of Malacology:
Discussing Molluscs in Malaysia
"Sitting in Heathrow Airport waiting for my connection back to Brussels is a perfect time to look back on a fantastic couple of weeks in Malaysia, and jetlag makes 5 am a very productive hour all of a sudden! I was there with my colleagues Yan and Thierry presenting on my project, and CACHE, at the World Congress of Malacology in Penang.
Specialised meetings are always a great place to foster new ideas, and I came out of it with plenty floating around my head: from the biomimicry potential of previously uncharacterised shell pigments and their potential ulterior functions; to the differences in potential utility of majority calcite1 shells in comparison to all-aragonite1 Chiton2 shells; and the ecosystem services of giant clam reefs.
I presented on the pros and cons of using shells in biotech applications versus simply returning them to the sea in order to gain from the many services they can provide to the environment. It is a question that has become central to my project and one I am still struggling with. I was happy to hear that plenty of people were interested in the concept of shell biomimicry, and I have made some interesting contacts including a group in Hong Kong, a part of the world particularly relevant to my project: over 83% of world oyster production is carried out in China by small-scale farmers, and thus the vast majority of the world's shell waste is produced there.
Malaysia is a wonderful country: vibrant, full of life, and packed with delicious food. The food was something that I particularly capitalized on, almost certainly to the detriment of a race I have in a few weeks time. Energy reserves won't be a problem though!
1Calcite and Aragonite are different crystal forms of the calcium carbonate that mollusc shells are made of. The different crystal shapes can give them quite different mechanical properties.
2Chitons are an often forgotten group of Molluscs that have 8 interconnected shell plates, and as I discovered at the meeting, can also have thousands of small 'eyes' (aesthetes) embedded in their shell with aragonite lenses!"


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Customer Reviews
Looks great. A gorgeous color. It was very easy to put up.
I love this mantel so very much. The quality is great. The service was as well. No complaints. Thank you so much! :)
Very solid Shipped on time.
This mantel is really beautiful. We love the reclaimed wood and appreciate the custom size. It looks wonderful in our dining area!
absolutely Love this Mantel. Thank you so much for a Beautiful job!!!! I haven't painted the wall it's on but would like to be able to post a picture when it's done


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Max Tennis Box League
Four players of a similar standard will form a "Box". These players will play singles matches against one another over 3 weeks (1 match per week). At the end of those 3 weeks, the top scoring player will move "up" to the Box above and the lowest scoring player will move "down" to the Box below. Players in 2 and 3 position will remain in the same Box.
Matches are 2 full Tiebreak sets with a "First to 10" Tiebreaker if sets are even. Matches will go for no longer than 90mins.
Hills District Saturday Morning Junior Competition
Representing Max Tennis, this weekly competition sees you playing home and away against other clubs in the area. These matches are playing on a Saturday morning and use the Yellow "adult" ball.


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Safety of students studying in the Middle East
Brandeis is monitoring events in the Middle East that have the potential to affect our students studying in the region. While there are no Brandeis students currently participating in any Study Abroad program in Egypt, we do have students studying in several other countries in the region and we have been in contact with those programs. Given the outbreak of violence in Egypt and the fast-moving pace of events there and in other nations in the area, the safety of Brandeis students is our first concern.
J. Scott Van Der Meid
Assistant Dean of Academic Services and Director of Study Abroad
Return to the BrandeisNOW homepage


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Can you believe how fast January went by? This time of year is busy for me at work, as the weather is so perfect. I realize that sounds just a little snarky, We have had a few days in the 80's, now we're back to a seasonal chill of mid 60's. You really can't beat Phoenix for winter.
Of course, I have managed a few very small projects. It started with Las Vegas. I met up with some dear friends and my daughter to celebrate a birthday. Naturally I was packing every item of clothing I own that is covered in things that sparkle. It just wasn't enough. So I pulled a not-so-favorite shirt from the closet and got to work. The best thing about a shirt like this is that you're not too emotionally invested. If the project goes South you won't lose any sleep over it.
I stitched on the paillettes and glued on the sequins. Done in about an hour. I received impromptu complements from strangers (gotta love that!) Now it's one of my favorites.
This started it. While my daughter and I were shopping it seemed grey with sparkle was everywhere. Who knew? I'm never on trend. A wacky coincidence. When I got home I got to work on project number two. This sweatshirt was less than $6.00, Do you still have your 'Bedazzler'? Get it out.
Then there was the end of year sale, and coupons and other such temptations. I did start with what I had, but it was lacking… Isn't that what we all say as we justify our fabric store purchases? It started with the birthday in Vegas (not mine). My friend celebrated 60, momentous. She had just come back from a trip to Ireland and so I thought a St. Patrick's Day quilt would be so lovely. Here's what I've got so far. The plan is for a 'Double Irish Chain'.
Oh, and I couldn't resist a little of this…
And, last but not least, I have completed the edits on my manuscript and submitted it to a writing contest. I cannot tell you the stage fright this has created. Crazy. We'll see what happens. I've signed up for a couple writing conferences where agents and publishers and writers all assemble in one place. I never realized how scary putting one's work out for public consumption could be. Keep your fingers crossed.


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Top Ten Best Indian Rappers 18 Years Old or Younger In 2015Based on voting of more than 10000 netizens and rap groups the list has been published
The Top Ten Best Indian Rappers 18 Years Old or Younger In 2015
Till I hear him I don't think so that he should b at top.
He's an amazing rapper havin grt lyrical flow! One of the two Indian outlawzmember thus number 1 he's got rhythm, speed, and flow!
A rhyming genius! He can make word go fluidic with the grt meaning. After MBR he's the second Indian in outlaw. Got speed, got flow, got rhythm and does got second place
He's an emerging rappe. Much of the people haven't heard him but his lyrics makes u think deep and reconsider it, a that's his speciality
A member at TGR with Vic-t! M, speedy yet flowful. A powerfula multilingual rapper with a very masculine voice they makes his rap go hardcore!
The Contenders
Mastar rapper music director, song writer in 18 year age.. Watch his fredom song on YouTube just rock it.
The best rapper under the age of 18 yrs belonging to sharma family of Ahmedabad, Gujarat
His flow is just amazing


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Promoting community and women's leadership in building resilience: Lessons from the Ready for Anything project
This is a summary publication of the main lessons learned from ActionAid flagship project Ready for Anything that was implemented from July 2013 to December 2016. The project promoted a holistic approach to building community resilience in rural communities in Afghanistan, Malawi, Myanmar and Nepal. It aimed to equip women in the target communities with the skills, knowledge and confidence to lead community resilience building. Women and families were supported to adapt farming practices to tackle climate change, using a Climate Resilient Sustainable Agriculture approach. Communities were also supported to diversify their livelihoods and implement Disaster Risk Reduction strategies. At policy level, the project aimed to influence government institutions to adopt policies and practices which support community resilience.
The lessons presented here are the outcome of an independent evaluation of the Ready for Anything project. This evaluation revealed a few important strengths of the project, including:
- A community-led and holistic approach to resilience building increased the project's impact
- Empowering women is a critical investment to build their resilience and challenge gender norms
- Working through strong partners and structures contributed to the effectiveness of the project
- A design that promoted flexibility to explore a multitude of approaches in different contexts
This lessons learned document is intended to guide ActionAid programming, fundraising and policy staff in most effective resilience building approaches. It is also hoped that the wider sector will use these findings in designing and implementing resilience building programmes.


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The brand H&M has presented the Christmas collection, whose main star became Katy Perry. For now, the company has shown only the pictures, but at the end of November they'll show the video, where Katy becomes a fairy.
In the pictures, Katy has tried on clothes from the new collection of the brand: dresses, sweaters, tuxedos and other clothing items. The singer also starred in the video and recorded for H&M a bright and positive song Every Day is a Holiday.
In the video, which promises to be presented on November 23, the singer will appear in the role of fairy, who uses magic to revive various fairy-tale characters – gingerbread man, teddy bears and others.
"I had fun filming this fabulous video with Jonas Akerlund, as well as a festive garment, my favorite is the sweater with the inscription Elfie Selfie. From my 13th anniversary of H&M was part of the development of my style, and now I integrate affordable items from H&M in your vintage wardrobe. Can't wait for you to be able to add to your wardrobe a little Shine with this magical holiday collection", – told the singer.


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Please note: All fields marked with a * are obligatory.
Data protection: Your personal data will of course be treated with the utmost confidentiality and not passed on to third parties.
Prices and route
Prices of the apartments will be charged depending on the season, occupation, length of stay, number of children and number of adults.
If you are interested in spending your holiday in our house, we will gladly send you a non-binding offer by e-mail.
- Prices including Kitchen & Bad Bedlinen & tabs for the dishwasher
- final cleaning Apartment in Winter € 65,-
- final cleaning Apartment in Summer € 40,-
- € 1,80 for the local tax per Person per night from the age of 15.
Check-in: From 15:00 your Apartment is ready for you.
Check-out: We ask you your apartement not later than 9.00 clock release.
On the A12 take the exit Achensee-Zillertal. Follow the B181 direction B169 / Zillertal federal highway.
Continue on the B169. On the B169, take the exit Aschau im Zillertal.
Then turn right and cross the railway line to the intersection (Cafe Hoadacher). Turn left towards Zell am Ziller (2.7 miles), follow the road to Zellberg (2.5 km).
On the right side you will pass a car-dealership named Huber (Audi/VW). Just continue the road, you now pas Landgut Zapfenhof. Follow this road (Zellbergeben) after 150 mtr. turn right and then after 100 mtr. the first street to the left.
The fourth house on the right side is Haus Franka.
If you have a navigationsystem or GPS available you can also enter the geographic coördinates directly into the system:
Latitude: 47°13.'34.17"N
Longitude: 11°52'7.13"E
Have a save and pleasant journey!
We are open all year!
Familie Berentsen
Zellbergeben 90
6277 Zellberg
Telephone 0043 664 101 7603
E Mail firstname.lastname@example.com
Familie Berentsen
Zellbergeben 90
6277 Zellberg
Telefon +43 664 101 7603


text: Frequently Asked Questions I welcome folks of all genders, sexual orientations, relationship structures, ages, body types, abilities, races, and ethnicities.What can I expect during a sex coaching session with you? Sessions vary a lot depending on your special case: from talking about your emotional struggles, guilt or shame to practicing erotic touch to how to communicate your fantasies, talk dirty, be dominant, address libido/arousal mismatch, orgasms, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, cultural issues, or any other sexual concerns. Expect the hands-on clothes-on instructions on how to be better at touch, seduction, and passion.I would like to schedule a session, but not sure if you can help me. Please schedule your complimentary 30min Sex & Intimacy Coaching Consultation, so that we could assess your desired goals and how we might work together to get your sex, relationship or dating needs met.Can we do somatic sex and relationship coaching online? While some concerns are best addressed in person, a lot of my clients benefit greatly from virtual sex coaching sessions.How many sessions will I need? Different people process emotions, feelings, learning and coaching differently. How much time it will take to create a real change and fulfillment will depend on your particular case and how much you are willing to commit to this process.How is working with you different from working with a psychotherapist, a certified MFT or a traditional sex therapist? More often than not psychotherapists and MFTs will not address sexuality and sexual challenges in depth. More importantly, certified therapists (including sex therapists) are not allowed to touch their clients. I am specifically trained to work hands-on and provide a safe, boundaried space to explore your sexuality. Book Your Free Consultation Now


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Vodafone Hutchison Australia has announced that it has chosen Indian consultancy Tech Mahindra to supply managed IT services to the telco for the next five years.
Tech Mahindra was chosen in a competitive panel process and will largely replace work formerly contracted to Ericsson (level two support), HP (IT infrastructure services), Tata (retail support and provisioning) and to a lesser degree, IBM (application maintenance).
Local IT service provider ASG, which had provided IT services to Hutchison 3 since 2004, has escaped the cull after signing a five to seven year deal to provide corporate IT (desktop) services to VHA in mid-2010 at the expense of Unisys.
Michael Young, chief technology officer at Vodafone said in a brief statement today that the Mahindra Satyam deal will provide VHA with "a single point of accountability for IT systems performance and management."
Ruth Bradley, general manager of business support systems and IT at VHA told iTnews today that Tech Mahindra replaces a complex myriad of providers that formerly serviced the Vodafone and 3 businesses prior to the 2009 merger.
Agreements with these suppliers are at varying levels of completion, with Ericsson not scheduled to hand over level two support services until later this year.
IBM will lose its dominance of application development and maintenance services - with the latter transferred to Tech Mahindra and application development work to be put to tender via a panel process for any significant new work required in the future.
Bradley said Big Blue was "still a valued partner", with "quite a lot of work" remaining in terms of financial systems.
Bradley said that vendors chosen for the application panel, ASG and Tech Mahindra, will report directly to VHA's IT team.
She said the company expects a smooth transition process and knowledge transfer between old suppliers and new.
She also nipped in the bud any suggestion that the Tech Mahindra deal would lead to more work going offshore. "Tech Mahindra will operate precisely in line with how the incumbents do today," she said.
"What we are looking for is operational efficiency - dealing with four suppliers can be quite complex," she said. "We are looking for some consistency."
Tech Mahindra's IT muscle was strengthened in April 2009 when it purchased IT service provider Satyam at auction – saving the latter from collapse after its founder and chairman, plus representatives from its auditor Pricewaterhouse Coopers, were charged with fraud after over-stating profits to the tune of US$1.5 billion.


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Sight & Sound. Summer 1968.
Sight & Sound. Summer 1968.
Posted in cinema, context, dig the critics
George and Olivia Harrison. circa 1975.
Tim O'Kelly in Targets. Bogdanovich. 1968.
Kirk Douglas and Brigitte Bardot at Cannes. 1953.
Posted in cinema, context, festival time!
Harnessed in Slums/ Telepathic Traffic 45. Archers of Loaf. 1995.
Posted in context, music, record labels
John Cassavetes hangs out with Ben Gazzara and Peter Falk while planning the filming of Husbands. 1970.
June 14, 1917.
Posted in hundred-year-old headlines


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By Jim Barbee
To the Editor,
Bipartisanship is alive and well, and the N.C. House demonstrated how it can benefit communities across our state when it voted 77-39 to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction. A diverse team of groups, including Justice Fellowship, the NC Faith and Freedom Coalition and NC Child, came together to encourage legislators of all stripes to back the bill. The result is the kind of commonsense reform all North Carolinians can be proud of.
Currently, North Carolina is one of only two states that automatically handle 16- and 17-year-olds charged with misdemeanors in the adult justice system. This is bad policy. Kids prosecuted as adults for low level offenses have trouble finding jobs and getting into college, and are more likely to get into additional trouble. The juvenile system is more attuned to both firmly teaching kids a lesson and getting them back on track.
This is one reason we established the Robeson County Teen Court & Youth Services in May 2013 as a nonprofit agency to address these 16- and 17-year-old first-time misdemeanor offenders. Legislators from the speaker of the House to the House minority leader as well Reps. Ken Goodman, Charles Graham and Garland Pierce supported this smart-on-crime change — and set a shining example for their colleagues in the Senate.
I applaud them.
Jim Barbee
Center coordinator, NC Center for Youth Violence Prevention Interim
Executive director, Robeson County Teen Court & Youth Services
NC House was wise to raise age for juvenile jurisdiction, The Robesonian (6/8/14)


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A med & grad student who used to work the line in LA, NYC, SF and Napa talking about the science of cooking and cooking with science. Harold McGee's On Food And Cooking - The Science and Lore of the Kitchen never satisfied my kitchen curiosity and more than one Chef grew exasperated with my asking "Why?" I'll try to stay on topic, but you may see a kvetch or two about the school & hospital.
My posts are presented as opinion and commentary and do not represent the views of LabSpaces Productions, LLC, my employer, or my educational institution.
Please wait while my tweets load
It has been 33 years since San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk was shot and killed in his office in San Francisco City Hall, along with then Mayor George Moscone. Harvey was elected in 1976, to represent the Castro District, and in 2 years he helped focus and change San Francisco and California politics. Most famously, in 1978 he fought against the Briggs Initiative. The Briggs Initiative would have made it mandatory to fire any gay teachers or any public officials who supported gay rights. The initiative went on to pick up opposition from then Governor Jerry Brown, President Jimmy Carter and future President, and former Governor, Ronald Reagan. The latter opposing the Briggs Initiative because it may infringe upon individual rights. In a year where gay rights in the US lost ground, the Briggs Initiative lost by more than a million votes in the state of California.
And what few remember is how much Harvey fought for the individual neighborhoods in San Francisco. He felt each neighborhood was its own community. And should offer the same services and opportunities. He fought against closing an elementary school, even though the majority of his district were gay men without any children. He helped pass an ordinance that required dog owners to pick up after their dogs. He was a small business owner who fought tooth and nail to help Mom and Pop's in San Francisco thrive. Pot holes filled, stop signs put up, cross walks re-painted. He encouraged other Supervisors to do the same.
But perhaps most famously, Harvey Milk was known for a single quote. "If a bullet should ever enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door." Unfortunately it was 5 bullets that were put into Harvey Milk, but those 5 bullets united a City and made it a tireless fighter for Civil Rights. A fight that continues to this day.
Still, I like to remember a different quote of Mr. Milk's. It was a speech he gave in 1978, when he was fighting the Briggs Initiative and debating John Briggs up and down the state of California. It was his "Hope" speech. It is a speech that can be adapted for every minority group. Everyone who has ever faced some measure of persecution, ridicule, abuse or bigotry.
Thank you, Mr. Milk.
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Alan Carr would like to make it clear that he is not, and never has been, remotely cutting edge. 'Oh no,' he says, sipping on a dainty cup of green tea and lifting the saucer politely as he does so. 'What's the point?'
It is true that Carr, 31, one of the UK's most promising young comedians, does not exactly fit the mould of a foul-mouthed stand-up, the kind who out-heckles the audience and swaggers about on stage knocking back cans of lager in a haze of spittle and sweat. Carr, with his neatly buttoned shirt and non-skinny jeans, his sensible glasses and toothy smile, looks more like a kindly nephew in his first year of an accountancy course.
We are sitting in one of London's most exclusive nightspots, a place so painfully fashionable that the lavatories have no signage on the door, presumably because everyone who is anyone will know where they are simply by word of mouth. Carr is perched on a golden leather banquette in a curious breast-shaped dome. He gazes around with a mystified expression, appearing slightly out of his element.
'I don't really like being a celebrity,' he admits. 'It's like, you get invited to a party and say of course I'll come and then you get the invite, and it says Hello! or OK! magazine will be hosting it and you're just like, well I can't get as pissed as I want to get now because I'll be photographed with Jodie Marsh or Dean Gaffney.'
As a comedian, Carr prefers to mine the rich seam of the mundane. He made his name on the circuit with acutely observed anecdotes that poked fun at his own hapless interactions with everyday life (on the theft of his Tesco Clubcard: 'Half of me was fuming, half of me was thinking, "What about the points?"'). On television, he has crafted a popular persona that manages to be simultaneously waspish and endearing, like a particularly camp version of Dot Cotton holding forth in a neighbourly way over a glass of sherry. He won the BBC new comedy award for stand-up in 2001 and since then has become comfortably ensconced in the mainstream as the host of two of Channel 4's big-ticket entertainment programmes - Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong and The Friday Night Project, with Justin Lee Collins. The DVD of his 2007 stand-up show, Tooth Fairy Live, was a Christmas bestseller.
Openly gay, Carr insists he is perfectly at home in Middle England, despite his detractors pigeonholing him as the anachronistic lovechild of John Inman and Frankie Howerd. On stage or television, his demeanour is coy and mischievous. His voice - shrill, giggly, nasal - is so ubiquitous that when he called up Kwik-Fit a few weeks ago to get his tyre changed, the mechanic recognised him over the phone. 'He started going all camp on me, like Danny La Rue.' His act makes no overt reference to his sexuality, but his critics accuse him of being a throwback to the limp-wristed homosexual stereotypes of the 1970s.
'Gays hate me,' Carr says, affably. 'I just think gay people need to get over themselves. Just because you're gay and on the telly doesn't mean you're a role model. I'm just a comedian. That's all I am. If you find me funny, good. But they look at me like, "Oh, you're letting the side down."
'I've done the circuit, I've won competitions and awards and this wasn't just in some tired old drag act. I haven't just minced on to the stage and said, "Ooh I've got the willies up me." Please, give me a little bit of credit.
'What am I meant to do? Do I go down the Julian Clary route and talk about fisting and poppers? I don't talk about being gay and I think what better equality for gays than that?'
In fact, being accused of any kind of edginess makes Carr terribly defensive, as if he has just been wrongly issued with a parking ticket by an overzealous traffic warden. 'I go and see some comedians now and in the world of comedy, rape is the new black,' he says, putting down the teacup as it begins to clatter tremulously in his hand. 'Everyone's got a rape joke. So if that's cutting edge, joking about rape, then I'd rather be "Middle England" - that's just another way of saying popular, isn't it?
'I don't know what's up with people. Maybe I'm showing my age, but everyone's got a Madeleine McCann joke, a rape joke or a paedophile joke. You go to a comedy club now and it's like a barrage of people outdoing each other seeing how close to the bone they can get.'
His engaging humour and lack of pretension has, none the less, served him well: on the day that we meet, it is announced that Carr and Lee Collins have been shortlisted for best comedy performance at the British Academy Television Awards for The Friday Night Project. He's already dreading the thought of the red carpet. 'You kit yourself out in a nice suit from Alexander McQueen and then you get there and someone from Hollyoaks comes along with two Post-it notes over her nipples and that's it - you never get in the paper. It's not glamorous, it's awful.'
It is clear that the trappings of celebrity are not for him - on a recent holiday to the super exclusive Shore Club in Miami, the paparazzi snapped him poolside with a ballpoint in hand, filling out a word search.
'I just want to be trendy!' he screeches. 'With Heat and Closer magazine, people want to see the bad facelift and Botox gone wrong. I think familiarity breeds contempt. I mean, we'll never get another Greta Garbo will we? Someone would go in with a camera Sellotaped to the bottom of a tray trying to get film of her with no make-up on.'
Perhaps Carr is just too nice to be famous. When I ask him whether Elle Macpherson, the recent guest host of The Friday Night Project, is secretly hideously ugly in the flesh, he says he searched her for flaws ('I thought there's got to be something wrong with her; I even looked for a tache') but dispiritingly found there were none.
Unlike many performers, Carr shies away from unnecessary cruelty, instead relying on his own authenticity to win over his audience. His on-stage persona is simply an extension of his own and therein lies the source of both his charm and his talent. 'When I was starting doing stand-up, I'd get people saying, "So I'll just leave you 10 minutes so you can get into character" and I'd be, like, "Pardon?"'
At a recent gig in Runcorn, a woman came backstage, gave him a tearful hug and told him she'd just found a lump. 'It was a mixture of, "Oh I'm so flattered. It's lovely that you think you can tell me something as personal as that" but the problem was that my jokes are all right but they haven't got that sort of power. They're funny but they can't beat cancer.'
I suspect that part of what people like about Carr is his empathetic nature. As a child growing up in Northampton, he was chubby, bespectacled, gay and rubbish at sports, so he knows what it's like to be bullied. 'I get white van drivers shouting out "Faggot!" - I haven't been called that since I was at school, so actually I get all nostalgic,' he says, giggling. To make it even worse, Carr's father, Graham, is a real man's man: the manager of Northampton Town Football Club who is now a scout for Manchester City. Growing up, Carr recalls his father coaching him from the sidelines, stopwatch round his neck, shouting: 'Faster, you fat fairy!' Carr was never enamoured of the beautiful game.
Many of these formative experiences make their way into his stand-up. Tooth Fairy Live includes a sketch where Carr told his father he was going to do a performing arts degree at Middlesex University:
'Alan, why are you doing this to me?'
'I don't know, Dad, but I think I can show you through expressive dance...'
His father has never been to see him perform, but Carr insists this doesn't worry him. 'He's not interested in comedy or anything like that. He's the simplest man you could ever meet. He's football mad. There is nothing else that interests him in the world apart from football. My mum has come to see it and she loved it.
'Everyone's always asking, "What do they feel?" I was always coming through the door with a new idea; I wanted to be a detective, I wanted to be a forensic scientist, I wanted to be an author and they just rolled their eyes and said, "Oh, it's Alan." So with what I do now, they just roll their eyes, "Oh, it's him again."
But after so many years being the brunt of the family joke, I wonder whether it is especially important to feel he has finally earned his parents' respect? 'It is,' he says, lapsing into seriousness for a split-second. 'I think everyone wants to please their family, don't they? I rang my mother up to say I got nominated for a Bafta today and she was over the moon and that's nice, isn't it? It's better than a grandchild, which Mum's rooting for. I keep saying a Bafta's for life - it never cries, you never need to change a Bafta's nappy, do you, Mum?'
He never told his parents or his younger brother, Gary, that he was gay. Partly, he says, it was 'just there' and partly it was because they simply weren't that kind of family. They didn't sit round the kitchen table leafing through self-help books and emoting; they just got on with things.
'There was no "Everyone, I'm ga-ay!" There was none of that. People sort of knew before I did. I remember sitting down when I was about eight and writing to Jim'll Fix It asking to meet Wonder Woman; you know, so it was there. My mum once said to me, "Why aren't you like other boys?" so I just said, "I am like other boys" and continued reading my Agatha Christie. It's such a tough time when you're growing up that you don't know what to do. I mean, role-model wise, I didn't see any gay people on the telly.'
Does it ever come up now? 'No, it's never mentioned and I wouldn't want to embarrass my dad. My mum will never ask if I'm seeing anyone; I'm not that kind of person anyway. I'm very private.'
Carr is not dating ('This is going to sound so showbiz - I'm so busy at the moment I wouldn't have the time'), but admits that he would like a boyfriend, particularly when he finds himself on his own during dreary Sundays in his house in Crouch End, north London. 'I'm at a difficult stage because people come on to me because they think I live this wonderful life. The civilians think we're all off to Elton John's St Tropez house with Duncan James from Blue and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson. And, actually, I just sit at home reading.'
But in spite of his private nature and his professed distaste for the vacuous nature of fame, Carr is currently undergoing the modern celebrity's rite of passage and is penning his autobiography. Unlike Jordan, he is writing it himself. And unlike most of the dross spouting forth from erstwhile Big Brother contestants, it promises to be rather good.
'It's cathartic going back and looking at stuff, remembering it all. I just like writing. The publisher [HarperCollins] went, "It's so well written for a first draft" and that's so important to me because another criticism I get is that it's just the face and the voice that make people laugh, so I wanted to write a book which is funny. Unless I've written it in a pink font, there's no way they can slag it off.'
Due out in October, his publishers no doubt hope to capitalise on the extraordinary popularity of comedians' autobiographies - when Peter Kay wrote The Sound of Laughter in 2006, it sold 600,000 in the first two months and was nominated for book of the year at the British Book Awards.
Has he read Kay's book? 'I'm steering clear because I'm one of those people who starts absorbing other people's experiences and thinking they're mine. I'd be saying something to my mother: "Oh, do you remember when that happened?" And she'd say, "No Alan, that was Poirot."'
But he confesses that he likes good historical biographies. He particularly enjoys Peter Ackroyd and we have a long conversation about the Claire Tomalin biography of Samuel Pepys, which vividly recounts Pepys' excruciating operation to remove a bladder stone. 'Cutting him open without anaesthetic,' says Carr, flapping his hands in horror. 'I can't even imagine!'
I'm looking forward to reading Carr's book, even if it contains a distinct lack of bladder stones or pink lettering. He is such an engaging, easy presence and extremely funny company, even though the target of his acerbic humour is, more often than not, himself rather than other people. After years of not fitting in, of not being picked for his school sports teams, it seems that Carr has turned this nerdy uniqueness to his advantage. It's not clear whether he's quite worked out how he feels about his sexuality, but perhaps this discomfort is what makes him so likable - people can understand his flawed insecurity.
On his website, there is a section called 'Ask Alan' where you can log on and ask him a question. He says he used to answer them all himself, but now there are too many to deal with individually, particularly as he shares his name with the late Allen Carr, the anti-smoking guru who died in 2006. 'I'd get people writing in saying, "I'm on 20 Benson & Hedges; should I choose the patches or one of those plastic things?" And I just got sick of it in the end. People ask you all kinds of stupid things like, "Where do you live?"; "Can I come round for dinner?" and I get lots of people saying, "I'm like you".'
He rolls his eyes in mock-horror. But for all that Alan Carr is a one-off, he knows that his audience like the feeling that they can relate to him. He might not get back to you about the nicotine patch, but that's not because he doesn't care.
Carr parts: The life and times
Early life
Born 14 July 1976 in Northampton.
His father, Graham Carr, played for and later managed Northampton Town FC.
.Studied drama at Middlesex University. Worked in a call centre and a supermarket before turning to comedy.
Ran his own monthly show at Manchester Comedy Store, Alan Carr's Ice Cream Sunday
Won the BBC New Comedy Award in 2001.
Has taken three one-man shows to the Edinburgh Fringe: Me 'Ead's Spinnin' (2001), I Love Alan Carr (2002) and Alan Carr (2005).
Co-hosts Channel 4's Friday Night Project alongside Justin Lee Collins.
His own game show, Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong, was launched in February.
Life saving
In 2006, Carr and veteran entertainer Lionel Blair stopped a man committing suicide while filming on Blackpool Pier.
He says: 'You can get so much material from a Nando's. Go round Poundland, go on a night bus. It's there for the taking.'
They say: 'One day Alan Carr will host The Generation Game. I think he's the new Larry Grayson.' Justin Lee Collins
Matt Bolton


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Trudy Green
Associate Professor of Practice
- Program:Music Industry
Trudy Green, associate professor of practice in the USC Thornton Music Industry program, has managed the careers of many top music artists across the globe, such as Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Perry Farrell, Aerosmith, and many more.
Born in England, Green studied at Queens College in London and earned a degree in Business. After landing her first post-graduation job at Apple Records working for the Beatles, she went on to work for EMI Records before leaving to start her own company, Crunch Promotions.
Green later became head of press and promotions for Fly Records, an independent record label owned by the Essex Music Group. One of the most successful labels in the U.K., Fly Records' artist roster included T. Rex, Procol Harum, The Move, Joe Cocker, Joan Armatrading, and John Kongos.
Green relocated to Los Angeles to work as publicity director for Gibson and Stromberg, with KISS becoming her first client. She then worked with Irving Azoff at Frontline Management before joining Bob Ellis Management, where she was involved in managing Ronnie Wood, Chaka Khan/Rufus, and Stephen Bishop. Green eventually formed her own management company, Trudy Green Management. Her clients included Stephen Bishop, Al Stewart, and Randy Meisner.
Don Passman, author of All You Want To Know About the Music Business, introduced Green to manager Howard Kaufman of HK Management and they remained partners for over 30 years.
Green has managed A-list artists and personalities, including Heart, Janet Jackson, Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Joe Perry, The Hollywood Vampires, Perry Farrell, Janes Addiction, Whitesnake, Slash, Velvet Revolver, Brett Michaels, Sam Kinison, En Vogue, The Fugees, Lauryn Hill, Grace Slick, Jefferson Airplane, Jon Anderson, YES, John Gray (Men are From Mars Women Are from Venus), John Waite, Bad English with John Waite, Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain, Oscar De La Hoya, The Bee Gees, Wilson Phillips, Orianthi, Jay Shetty, Diane Warren, and GOLDN.
Green has her own record label with Kobalt, and GOLDN is the first artist signed to her label. Hailed as the most successful female manager of all time, she is currently finishing her autobiography which will be published in the near future.


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Kevin Sambrano human rights Toronto
Tribunal orders pharmacy to pay $8,000 as a result of racial profiling
Under section 46.3 (1) of Ontario's Human Rights Code, an employer may be vicariously liable for the discriminatory acts of their employees. Such was the case in the recent Human Rights Tribunal decision.
Howell v. United Steelworkers, Local 7135: No reasonable prospect of success
Rule 19A of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal's Rules of Procedure, allow the Tribunal to hold a summary hearing to determine whether the Application should be dismissed in whole or in part on the basis that there is no reasonable prospect that the Application or part of the Application will succeed. This was the case in Howell v. United Steelworkers, Local 7135.


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S. Korea says mockery sparked conscript's killing spree
SEOUL - A South Korean conscript who went on a deadly shooting rampage last month was humiliated by fellow soldiers who mocked him and drew cartoons depicting him as SpongeBob SquarePants, military officials said Tuesday.
The 22-year-old sergeant surnamed Lim opened fire on members of his own unit at a guard post near the tense border with North Korea on June 21, killing five and wounding seven.
He was captured alive two days later after he shot himself in the chest in a failed suicide attempt following a 24-hour standoff with thousands of troops.
Announcing the result of a formal probe into the case - including lengthy interviews with the shooter - senior military investigator Seon Jong-Chul said Lim had faced repeated mockery by both lower and higher-ranking members of his unit.
On the day of the shooting, he had been especially enraged by cartoons drawn on the back pages of the unit's daily border patrol logs, depicting Lim as a series of goofy, immature cartoon characters, including SpongeBob.
"Other troops saw it as a small joke, but (Lim) said he had been greatly distressed by it," Seon said, adding that the cartoons had "triggered a flashback" to when Lim was bullied in high school.
Although other soldiers in the unit were also caricatured in the log book, Lim took the cartoons depicting him as a personal attack.
Lim joined the army in 2012 and was only three months away from being discharged.
He had difficulty adapting to the army and psychological evaluations had advised senior officials to pay special attention to him.
The South Korean armed forces rely heavily on the military service system, with conscripts - most in their early twenties - accounting for the lion's share of its 690,000 active personnel.
Psychiatric experts say the pressures facing the young servicemen can be daunting when, after what is often quite a cosseted childhood and teenaged youth, they are suddenly plunged into a world of harsh military discipline.
Barrack-room bullying of fresh conscripts used to be rampant and has been blamed for a number of suicides and similar shooting sprees in the past.
Following hospital treatment for his self-inflicted gun wound, Lim was formally arrested earlier this month on multiple charges including murder, attempted murder, and stealing military equipment.
Before shooting himself, Lim had written a brief note - released by the military Tuesday - which reflected feelings of persecution and inadequacy.
"Anybody would have felt that life was more painful and difficult than death if they were in my shoes," he wrote.
"Like little children who kill insects without feeling guilty... they do not know how much pain they can give to someone," it added.
Sun said the investigation had identified six surviving members of Lim's unit who had participated in the bullying and would face disciplinary punishment.
Last week, Lim himself filed a lawsuit against a senior officer in his unit for insulting behaviour.


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More than 1,500 users have downloaded pan-European data from EuroGeographics since its 1:1 million scale topographical database, EuroGlobalMap was released as as Open Data.
A survey examining how EuroGlobalMap is being used revealed a wide range of applications including air traffic analysis, emergency services accessibility studies, mobile mapping, demographic and socio economic analysis, hydrology and ferry line mapping. It has also helped to create archaeological distribution maps and energy and environment models, and been well received by those working in the education sector.
"We want as many people as possible to use our Open Data as a first step in discovering the wider benefits of pan-European geoinformation," says EuroGeographics' Operations Manager, Sallie White. "Feedback from users indicates that they greatly value free data from authoritative sources that is up to date and covers a range of European countries. We are therefore delighted to announce that EuroGlobalMap's coverage has now been extended to include the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as well as updated administrative and road network information and enhancements to the hydrology theme."
Providing EuroGlobalMap free of charge under an Open Data licence as part of a Freemium model has introduced hundreds of people to the benefits of EuroGeographics pan-European products:
- EuroBoundaryMap – a seamless geo-database at the scale 1:100 000 covering 41 countries;
- EuroRegionalMap – seamless and harmonised topo-geographic information at 1: 250 000 scale covering 33 European countries;
- and EuroDEM – a digital elevation model.
The initiative is an important part of EuroGeographics' commitment to provide easy access to – and encourage increased use of – data from National Mapping, Land Registry and Cadastral Authorities. It has also helped to raise the Association's profile, further establishing EuroGeographics and its members as a trusted source of geoinformation. EuroGlobalMap can be downloaded free at www.eurogeographics.org/form/topographic-data-eurogeographics.
For more information about EuroGeographics' pan-European products, visit www.eurogeographics.org/products-and-services
endsFor further information please contact Rhian French on +44 1264 300126, +447892 698 350 (mobile) or email: email@example.com.
About EuroGeographics Products
EuroBoundaryMap is a seamless geo-database at the scale 1:100 000 covering 41 countries It contains geometry, names and codes of administrative and statistical units continuously updated by members and links to the updated statistical LAU- and NUTS-codes for all local administrative units of the 28 member states of the European Union. EuroGlobalMap is a 1:1 million scale topographic dataset covering 46 countries and territories in the European region. It can be used as a background for many applications from planning, monitoring and network analysis to presenting environmental policies. EuroRegionalMap provides seamless and harmonised topo-geographic information at 1: 250 000 scale covering 33 European countries: 26 EU member states (Bulgaria not included), 4 EFTA states (Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland), Moldova , Serbia, and Georgia.
It is ideal for a wide range of uses, including spatial analysis, cartographic publishing and backdrop visualisation, or in combination with other datasets for marketing planning and socio-economic analysis, environmental analysis, and transport management. EuroDEM (digital elevation model) describes the distribution of terrain or 'bare earth' heights, not including 'first surface' elevations such as vegetation and man-made structures. Its uses include environmental change research, hydrologic modelling, resource monitoring, monitoring mapping and visualisation.
To find out more about EuroGeographics, please visit www.eurogeographics.org To see our members' geographical information in action, please visit our showcase atwww.youtube.com/eurogeographics


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Heather Moyse wants to add track cycling to a sports resume that includes an Olympic gold medal in bobsled and two World Cup appearances with the Canadian rugby team.
When Moyse takes on a sport, she takes it to the highest level. But the 33-year-old from Summerside, P.E.I., is in hurry-up mode to gain proficiency on two wheels. She wants to race for the Canadian track cycling team this winter.
"I'm not holding back. I have no time to hold anything back," Moyse said Tuesday from Toronto.
"It's basically just a steep learning curve. I don't have time to sit through all the pee wee pedalling, beginner classes, so I'm just going out there and doing it."
Moyse and pilot Kaillie Humphries won the gold medal in women's bobsled at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.
Within weeks of that triumph, Moyse joined the Canadian women's rugby team for her second World Cup tournament. Moyse was an all-star at the 2006 World Cup in Edmonton, where the Canadians were fourth.
Canada finished sixth in England in 2010. Moyse tore ligaments and suffered bone bruises in her right ankle in her final game Sept. 5 against the United States. That injury still lingers and has led her to track cycling.
When she returned to bobsled partway through last season, her ankle wouldn't allow to her train, lift weights or slide much outside of actual races.
She and Humphries won bronze at the world championships, but the impact of sprinting made Moyse's ankle swell up for two days after every race. She wasn't willing to hobble through another bobsled season, lose fitness and risk poor results.
"As a competitor, I don't think I would be happy," Moyse explained. "I was thinking 'Cycling, if I take a break from bobsleigh, this is a way I could keep up speed and power in my legs without that impact that would irritate my ankle further.' "
Moyse spent two weeks in September cycling with the Canadian team at a Los Angeles velodrome. She'll return to California this weekend and attempt the national-team qualifying standard this month. Moyse needs to complete a lap in under 20.4 seconds.
While she has the leg power for track cycling, Moyse discovered there's so much more to the sport than pedalling fast around an indoor track.
"It's not just riding a bike, but riding a bike with your feet clipped in, with no brakes and there's no coasting on a track bike so your legs are going the entire time, and it's basically up on a wall," she said. "It's more technical that I had anticipated, which makes a challenge that much bigger.
"The national cycling team will be deciding their World Cup team in the next few weeks. I honestly don't know if that's enough time for me to prove I can learn the techniques and stuff in time and not be a hazard.
"It is a dangerous sport. My mom wishes I was going lawn bowling or badminton or something like that."
One reason Moyse is successful in different sports is she doesn't expend energy thinking about competition beyond her next one. She's driven to reach short-term goals and her life is about qualifying for the national cycling team right now. The 2012 Summer Olympics in London are not on her radar at the moment.
"I'm not announcing I have a 2012 Olympic dream. If I don't make this team, there is no 2012," she said. "That's a full year away and it's a brand new sport. I've only been on a track for a total of 10 days."
When Moyse decided to give track cycling a try, the first person she contacted was Clara Hughes. Hughes, 39, won two Olympic bronze medals in road cycling followed by multiple medals in speed skating before returning to the bike.
Hughes put Moyse in touch with former track cyclist and Canadian coach Tanya Dubnicoff. She invited the Moyse to first observe the national championship in Bromont, Que., and then attend an August training camp in Pennsylvania where Moyse got her first taste of track cycling.
"When someone like Heather walks into the building and has incredible raw talent on the bike, you can't not take a look at it," Dubnicoff said. "The big challenge is to get her technically up to speed so she can do the effort that we're asking her to do.
"We want her to do these standing-start efforts, but she still needs to know the etiquette of getting on and off the track, the speed she needs to maintain, proper warmup for her. There's all these little things she's been finding out and dialing in before she has the experience to just do a lap."
The next Winter Olympics and Women's Rugby World Cup are both in 2014. Moyse says she doesn't know if or when she'll return to either sport.
"Those are tough questions," she said. "I'm a one-season kind of person.
"I'm considering this a one- or two-year hiatus from bobsledding. The main reason for this season is definitely my ankle, but I think mentally it is good for me. I know a lot of the focus is on Sochi in 2014. It's difficult for me to look at a three-year commitment, as opposed to a one-year commitment right now."
Moyse is accustomed to taking breaks and returning to sport. She didn't slide during the 2006-'07 bobsled season so she could finish her Masters degree in occupational therapy at the University of Toronto.
When Moyse travelled with the bobsled team to competitions and training camps, the team paid for accommodation, meals and flights. Trying a new sport means she will pay for training and equipment costs. Moyse is grateful Prince Edward Island Potatoes is sponsoring her and her bike.
She doesn't think it unusual to quickly switch sports. She played every sport she could growing up on Prince Edward Island, moving from soccer to basketball to rugby and track and field with ease.
"I think there is something to be said for variety," Moyse said. "That's how I was brought up. I was fortunate I grew up in a small town where I could do all those things. It's probably benefited me in the long run.
"I worry a little bit about kids now who are so focused and limited to one sport. There's a lot more pressure now from coaches and teams to focus mostly on one sport. How does a child at the age of 13 and 14 know what they're really going to be good at? Cross-training is extremely important."


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My Classroom
6 comments:
Getting ready to move into second grade with my year-round-homeschooled boy and finding inspiration here to keep organized and make things fun. Thanks. :)
- April 28, 2016 at 4:07 PM
- Lory said...
I'm so glad Elizabeth. Best of luck to you and your son. 2nd grade is such a fun year!!
- June 23, 2016 at 7:11 PM
Hi Lory!
I just found your blog looking for information on enter/exit slips (I'm a translator from Switzerland working on some teaching materials) and let me say that I'm inspired by these pictures of your classroom and all your pedagogic work. It seems like a lot of work done with even more passion; the world needs more great teachers like you!
Being close to some educators I know it's not an easy task, so kudos! Keep fighting!
Take care!
- April 12, 2017 at 12:58 AM
- Unknown said...
I am wondering what you have in the clear tubs with green handles under your daily 5 schedule (the bottom shelf)? Are these daily 5 centers that correlate with the topics you are teaching within Wonders? I am moving into a new classroom, and returning to 2nd grade after a few years off, and am looking for new organizational ideas!
Your website is great to read through and get more ideas to work on over my summer.
- June 4, 2017 at 4:40 PM
- Unknown said...
Hi Lory
I was wondering how I could find the trifolds for Wonders Grade 3. I can't seem to locate them anywhere. Could you email me the information? thanks !
- October 9, 2017 at 5:16 PM
- Erica said...
Hi Lory! I'm a 15 year teacher from Texas and we moved to earlier this summer! I am in second grade at South Weber this year. I read your blog years ago when I taught second and then was moved to kinder. I love being back in second this year. My little blog is Sprinkles to Kindergarten .:)
- November 16, 2018 at 9:53 PM


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Step one: Realise you need a bedside table for the guest room but have zero budget left. OOPS!
Step two: Scrounge around the house looking for a flat object that could feasibly masquerade as a bedside table in a pinch.
Step three: Find ancient trunk collecting cobwebs in a corner and paint the it linen grey so it disguises the fact that it is in fairly
rough rustic condition, and the white you tried painting it three years ago just isn't fooling anybody.
Step four: Bust out the low tack masking tape and make a geometric pattern on the top, throwing caution to the wind. As it can always be painted over if you screw it up right?
Step five: Apply white and gold in stripes to make life a little more interesting.
Step six: Step back, pour another wine and celebrate how you just solved a problem without spending any hard earned cash.


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Cardboard Gangsters Now Available on VOD
The Irish box office smash hit Cardboard Gangsters is now available across digital platforms today Monday 9th October including iTunes, Amazon, BT, Sky, Google, Virgin, Talk Talk, Wuaki and Xbox.
Directed by Mark O'Connor and starring John Connors (Love/Hate, King of the Travellers), Fionn Walton (Out of Here, What Richard Did) and Kierston Wareing (Fish Tank, East Enders) CARDBOARD GANGSTERS follows a group of wannabe gangsters as they attempt to gain control of the drug trade in Darndale, chasing the glorified lifestyle of money, power and sex. Jay Connolly (Connors) is a part-time DJ and low-level drug dealer. When his welfare is cut off he decides it's time for him and his gang to enter the big leagues. This attracts the attention of the local King Pin and sets Jay down a violent and bloody path.
The film which is also available to purchase on DVD was produced by Stalker Films and Five Knight Films in association with Filmbase and with the support of the BAI, Egg Post Production and TV3.


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For more definitive evidence of climate change and its catastrophic long-term consequences for the world, Paul Krugman points to two excellent graphics. First, the time series for the average annual global temperature since 1880 (shown as .01 degrees C deviation from the 1951-80 average), stripped off all the noisy fluctuations, an unmistakable upward trend - "the fitted line in the figure is a 3rd-degree polynomial, but any sort of smoothing would tell you that there is a massive upward trend".
Second, a comparison of the the satellite imagery of Arctic sea ice cover, which reaches its annual minimum in September, from 1979 and 2007 makes the extent of damage very evident.
And all this is brought out in great detail in a report prepared by the US Government's Global Climate Change Research Program, which finds that global warming is unequivocal, has increased over the past 50 years and is due primarily to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases. It finds widespread climate-related impacts which are expected to increase and interact (to adverse effect) with many social and environmental stresses - increase stress water resources, crop and livestock production will be increasingly challenged, coastal areas are at increasing risk from sea-level rise and storm surge, risks to human health will increase, large changes in climate and ecosystems. Krugman has a nice article on climate change deniers.
See also this
Update 1 (18/6/2010)
Time series on average temparature for 1880-2009 from NASA.
Update 2 (21/7/2010)
David Leonhardt points to the last two months being the warmest since scientists started keeping records. According to NASA, 2010 is on course to be the planet's hottest year since records started in 1880. The current top 10, in descending order, are: 2005, 2007, 2009, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2004, 2001 and 2008.
Update 3 (7/8/2010)
Economist has this graph of the increasing average global surface temperatures.


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