text:
The Dark Side of Cinema: Irreversible
The Dark Side of Cinema: Episode One: Irreversible
This is the first of a short series examining films that are often booed for their graphic and explicit content, but really have an important tale to tell.
Gaspar Noe's Irreversible caused an uproar of controversy following its release at the Cannes film festival in 2002. Hundreds of people walked out of the film before it had finished, finding it too shocking, violent and disturbing to watch. I was not at Cannes, but I felt similarly when I did see it. I did not turn it off, however. I continued playing the DVD and when I reached the end I was not relieved that it was over or anything like that. No, rather I put it back to the beginning and watched it again. This is a dangerous thing to say, but I don't want you to get the right idea. I did not get some kind of sick thrill out of Irreversible, but the reason I watched it twice was, as silly as it may seem, to make sure what I'd just watched was completely real, and that none of it was my exaggerated imagination projecting images on to the screen. Oh, no. I can assure you, this is all very real. To a degree, of course. The film itself is just a film, but it is a brutally honest film. Most brutally honest movies are dramas about suburban life (American Beauty, Blue Velvet, Ghost World, etc.). This does not explore suburban American life. This is the life of two men and a woman living in France. They are happy. They are together.
The woman, Alex (Monica Bellucci) is dating Marcus (Vincent Cassel), ages after breaking up with their mutual friend Pierre (Albert Dupontel). The three of them go to a party, but it does not end well. Marcus is drunk and annoying, and after an argument, Alex leaves the party. She goes to the road and attempts to hail a taxi. A woman standing nearby tells her to take the underpass ("It's safer.") She does so, and in a brutal, controversial, terrifying extended sequence, she is raped and beaten to near-death by a shadowy figure named La Tenia (Jo Prestia). Following this, Marcus and Pierre decide to get revenge and hunt down La Tenia, travelling through a dark, shady S&M sex club called The Rectum. They find who they believe to be La Tenia and Pierre smashes his face in with a fire extinguisher. The end.
But, alas, that is not how the story actually goes, and allow me to inform you of what makes this R&R (rape and revenge) story so special and distinct from the other bloody, gratuitous films like it.
For starters, the events I've described to you are not told in chronological order. No. Rather, each scene appears in reverse order, so that we are presented with the final bloody vengeance at the beginning of the movie, and the calm before the storm at the end. This technique completely changes the way we look at the film, and makes it even scarier and more effective than if the events were in normal, forward order of time.
It helps us to understand and grasp the horrible nature of the human soul and the amazing lengths to which we would go to avenge the assault and violation of a loved one. Of course, not all of us would go as far as Marcus and Pierre, but it just goes to show that you never really know what you'd do in such a situation until it arises.
If the film were in order, then we would just be presented with a useless TP (torture-porn) movie about rape and revenge. Reversing it changes the aspect. We see this man beaten in with a fire extinguisher toward the beginning, and we ask why? What has he done to deserve this? Then later on we find out and this completely changes the way we look at the scene. This is why I watched the film twice.
The first hour or so is completely different from the last thirty minutes. All the blood, gore and violence is presented, and then we are given a half hour period of calmness, fun and laughing for the viewer to meditate and think about what they've seen. We are shown extensive footage of Marcus, Pierre and Alex as good friends, which makes the events they've already committed (from our POV, anyway) even more disturbing. It's a clever effect.
As well as the excellent plot structure and character development, the film also has several other things going for it, namely Gaspar Noe's awesome cinematography. Throughout the first half hour, the camera swoops and turns all over the place, creating a sense of disorientation and vertigo. He also uses low-frequency sound effects which are inaudible to the human ear, to create an uneasy and sick feeling to make the viewer feel even more affected. These are clever and memorable techniques, and enhance the amazing experience that is this film.
It is extremely ignorant to label this film a violent snuff-fest of rape and murder. It is so much more than that. It is a message about the human mind, and a very well-done one. In the film's haunting final scene, which takes place before any other events have occured, the camera shows Alex relaxing in the sunshine as the camera swoops around the outdoor landscape and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A Major (also used in The King's Speech) plays and a series of bright, rapid flashing lights occur on screen and a final title appears: Le Temps Detruit Tout. Translation: Time Destroys Everything.
Posted on March 17, 2011, in Movie Reviews, Movies and tagged 2002 films, Cannes films, Controversial Movies, French films, Gaspar Noe, Irreversible, movies, The Dark Side of Cinema. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
Pingback: Irreversible. | The Flea Marcat


text:
2006: Swedish police raid The Pirate Bay website and shut it down.
"Pirate Bay was a huge source of pirated films for people around the world, and today they are no longer."
That was a statement issued exactly five years ago Tuesday by Kori Bernards, a spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Association of America.
After all, Swedish police that day had just raided the file sharing site's offices and carted away a boatload of servers.
Dan Glickman, the MPAA's chairman at the time, also said something ironic that day.
"The actions today taken in Sweden serve as a reminder to pirates all over the world that there are no safe harbors for internet copyright thieves," he said.
But the site was back online three days later, after finding hosting in the Netherlands.
And today, after playing cat-and-mouse games to defy court orders to shutter, the site is hosted by the Pirate Party — despite the raid leading to the arrest and convictions of the site's four founders who face prison and multimillion-dollar fines.
The Pirate Bay, now 8 years old, sports some 25 million unique users. The site, at one point up for sale, acts as a conduit enabling the online pirating of videogames, movies, music and software, using the BitTorrent protocol.
Torrent Freak notes that the site is upgrading its hardware, housed in an undisclosed mountain cave in southern Sweden, "in order to keep serving the ever-growing number of users."
Pirate Bay administrators Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg and Peter Sunde were found guilty of facilitating copyright infringement in 2009, along with Carl Lundström, who was convicted of funding the operation. They were each sentenced to a year in prison and $3.8 million in fines. They said the court system was biased against them.
The Stockholm prosecution was brought by the Swedish government and Hollywood, in what's best described as a joint civil-criminal trial. The defendants were charged with facilitating copyright infringement. They remain free, pending appeal to Sweden's highest court.
See Also:
- Appeals Court: Pirate Bay Admins Still Guilty
- Pirate Bay Verdict: Pirates Win Either Way
- Seeking World Record, Pirate Bay Claims 22 Million Users
- Pirate Bay Says It Can't Be Sunk, Servers Scattered Worldwide
- Pirate Bay Torrent Feeding Frenzy Growing
- Jan. 26, 2006: End of an Era: Last Telegram
- Feb. 26, 2006: World Population Reaches
6.5 Gigabods
- March 21, 2006: Twitter Takes Flight
- Aug. 24, 2006: Pluto Deplanetized
- Dec. 12, 2006: It's All Over for the Baiji Freshwater Dolphin
- May 31, 1977: Trans-Alaska Pipeline a Source of Oil … and Worry

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Art Therapy for Autistic Children
How can one use creative mediums like art to help children with autism express themselves? People on the autistic spectrum are highly motivated and the goal is to find what motivates them and basing their art around that focus.
Watch this informative video with Deb Shoemaker on the benefits of art therapy for individuals with autism.
Santa Gets Down On The Floor To Make Sure Autistic Boy Feels The Christmas Spirit: Click "Next" below!
The Autism Site is a place where people can come together to support people who are affected by autism spectrum disorder. In addition to sharing inspiring stories, shopping for the cause, and signing petitions, visitors can take just a moment each day to click on the red button to provide therapy for children and families living with autism spectrum disorders. Visit The Autism Site and click today - it's free!


text:
Contrastique Meets Silvercreek!
This carefully hidden project finally saw the light of day and now the light of my blog 🙂
21st of June
I received a call. I hardly ever pick up my phone so I had to return the call. Menno picked up when I did, marketing manager at the B32 group. He said he saw my website and was excited about the collodion imagery. He asked me to have a cup of coffee with him as he wanted to talk about an interesting proposal he had in mind. The 27th of that month we sat down in a bar in Maastricht and he began to tell the story of Silvercreek, a clothing brand under the flag of Open32 / Blue32, with 65 shops in the Netherlands.
They are in the process of putting Silvercreek into the market as a stand-alone brand, like Levi's and G-Star for example, with their dedicated stores. Silvercreek used to be a small mining town in America, now used by artisans who gave it new life after the mines closed. Inspired by this, Silvercreek thought it would be a great idea bring back craftsmanship and let 'New Artisans' tell their story.
So the first season they approached a furniture maker with whom they worked together. The second season they worked together with Evelien van Zonneveld from Werfzeep, who they visually followed in her process of soap-making, wearing clothes by Silvercreek. They also worked together with Frank Abbenhuis from Witloft, who they also followed in his process of apron-making.
In short "New Artisans" are asked to tell their story in front of the camera while wearing Silvercreak clothing. But also to create something in collaboration with Silvercreek. Evelien designed a special soap together with Silvercreek to be sold in their stores. Frank designed a special apron for them.
Back to the coffee… "So…,Menno continued his story, this brings us to the point why I am here. Would you be interested in being our next "New Artisan" for the FallWinter collection of 2016?"
Wow… I remembered him asking if I wanted to sleep a night over it before answering. No need for that, I replied. Of course I want to do this! He had a thing for black-and-white photography and the craftsmanship involved in making the wet plate collodion imagery. The mood in the collodion images fitted their look-book perfectly so I immediately felt a click with their approach. The only thing was that they were in a bit of a hurry as the new collection would hit stores in September. If I were able to plan a date soon where he would get the entire team together to shoot the event… The rest is history 😉
14th of July
9 0'clock in the morning, the bell rang. The make-up artist, Judith Pronk, arrived. It took the rest about half an hour more to gather. The rest of the team was made up by: Renee Ferron (stylist), Gijs Spierings (photographer), Sherman Emers (videographer) and of course Menno himself. At first hair & make-up, then clothing. I will let the images speak for themselves, but it was a great day. Lots of laughing, laughing until the tears rolled down my cheeks. Let's say Judith had some work that day 😉 We shot images while me playing around with some of my cameras, some posed, some not so much. But the most cool part was that I was going to shoot a wet plate, and that they could follow the entire process of making them.
Explaining the process from start to finish took up a lot of time, including cleaning and everything. We first decided to do a portrait of me, the camera handled by Erik (focusing and exposing), while the chemistry and handling of the plate remained with me. We then planned to do a shot of the new jeans in their collection to make the circle round but time simply went too fast. When the clock hit 8 in the evening we all said goodbye and a truly wonderful day came to an end. To be continued.
We all kept in touch, I received all images from the shoot (wow), and Menno and I talked about the jeans some more. We both liked the idea to do an actual proper wet plate exposure of both new jeans models, copper for men, and amber for the ladies. So, it happened. On the 24th of August Menno arrived in my studio again, to shoot the jeans. Fantastic! Fabric looks so dead-gorgeous on wet plate! Everyone was happy. The images are going to be used as the campaign shots for these jeans, which is fantastic! They will be shown in a lot of places, even in bus shelters (sorry for all the exclamation marks haha)!
On top of that shoot, he had another proposal for me; As I was now the female "New Artisan" using old photographic techniques, they figured it would be awesome to put Gijs opposite of me as the male "New Artisan" using modern photographic techniques. And that it would be cool if I were to shoot Gijs for these series. WowWowWow! Never expected that to happen! So, I had to shoot a part digitally, funny as I ended up using a Canon EOS 5ds (I don't like working with Canon AT ALL, but it was okay ;-)) But I was also asked to shoot a wet plate of Gijs, one with one of his cars, and one portrait just like mine.
Images of my shoot:
26th of August
I took of to Veghel where we planned the shoot at the "Koekbouw", an awesome industrial spot there. The even more cool thing about this shoot was that Gijs normally photographs cars, Mercedes for example. And I just happen to love cars so it all came together! He arranged two cars for this shoot and I would follow him while photographing these. One was a Ferrari 348TS, and the other an old Mustang from 1965, both in impeccable condition. Both awesome as hell! Once again a great day! For collodion however, it was quite hard; temperature that day was 31 degrees. Still issues with my fixing bath giving spots, as became clear after the shoot; rinsing capabilities were limited and no KCN anymore for me. So, not a perfect shoot wet plate-wise but awesome nonetheless!
Apart from the story of Gijs and me, there were two more artisans asked for this edition: a couple working together as blacksmiths under the name of Atelier 79. They designed and produced a special coin for Silvercreek which will be in the pockets of the new male jeans when you buy one. This refers to the coin in mine-workers' jeans to identify the deceased. And a cool necklace for the ladies in the shape of a paroquet, which were used in the mines to warn for gas leaks. Great people to have met and I'm looking forward seeing their atelier in person!
Images of Gijs, shot by me and edited by Gijs, the man himself
12th of September
The big national presentation of the FallWinter Collection 2016 🙂 Everyone, every employee in their stores, all who helped, all who modeled, got invited to join the presentation party which was held at the Koekbouw in Veghel. Of course we went too, and it was fantastic beyond words. Menno told me a little of what was going to happen but he kept the best part silent. We got there at around 7 in the evening. Got something to eat and drink, and watched all people walk in Silvercreek clothing, which was a pretty surreal sight on its own.
The jeans on wet plate collodion, 8×10″:
An official opening speech, live music, and a place where all new collections of all brands they represent at Open32, were shown. At a little over 10 we got to the special event that was announced earlier on that evening. It's where they were to introduce their new jeans line in a spectacular kind of way. We were invited by Menno for a little sneak-preview before that moment. Luckily. Because what I saw when we entered that space…it was quite moving. This space is huge, about 100 metres in length, and impressive on its own. It was the same space we used for the shoot a few weeks back. To dress it up properly is quite the challenge. They succeeded. Big time. The space was entirely empty except for 4 HUGE drapes hanging from the ceiling behind each other in the middle of the space. Each drape spanned 5 by 3 metres… and contained my wet plate images! The first was the portrait of myself, the second the amber version of the jeans, the third the portrait of Gijs and the fourth the copper version of the jeans. I was stunned and overwhelmed. I never expected anything like this.
After that private sneak-preview everyone was invited into the hall, and the jeans were presented in a different coolish manner-style. Menno bought an SRV-wagon about a year ago and completely revitalised it, turning it into an actual driving Silvercreek selling point, which contained all the new jeans. Everybody received a special coin upon arriving that evening and with that coin, it became clear that it was to be used as a voucher for a free pair of new jeans for everyone! Cool huh! Everybody jumped the wagon of course 😉
The evening ended with some lovely dancing on beats and strings from the band. And with that this story also comes to an end. For now that is. This story is anything but over so….to be continued 🙂
Above images of the presentation courtesy of Erik Slangen.
Check this link over here —> sc-fw-2016-magazine-3108_lres_spreads for the original pdf of the new Silvercreek Magazine and knock yourself out!
Credits: All images where I am on, unless stated otherwise, copyright by Gijs Spierings Photography.
The Fotokemika Project
One other project I ran into, yesterday that was, again via Facebook, is the Fotokemika project. Fotokemika, known for the production of eFKe films were forced to seize production, presumably monetary issues, and in the summer of 2012 the factory closed their doors.The factory is in danger of being destroyed and with it lots of valuable information will be lost forever.
This is where two female photographers jump in. Sanja Harris is a photographer living in The Netherlands and Ana Cvetković is a journalist and pr marketer living in Croatia. Their goal is to save the factory and its heritage. In the past both their families have put heart and soul into their work at the Fotokemika factory in the Croatian town of Samobor. This probably formed the root of their passion to save it.
As can be found on their website dedicated to this project and hefty endeavour they have set up a couple of goals:
Phase 1
- To save the factory and all that is inside it: the machines, the furniture, the thermometers, wall posters and all the archives.
Phase 2
- To convert the factory into an authentic museum.
Phase 3
- To expand the archives by documenting as much information as possible, as a lot of valuable knowledge of this historical filmmaking has not been recorded and is known to no other then Fotokemika's specialized former employees.
Phase 4
- To set up exhibitions unveiling the history of the company, the techniques and showing how Fotokemika was part of the employees working and private lives.
- To create a visual overview showing the export lines and how the films were part of people's lives all over the world, covering the fields of commerce, industry, fine arts and the social aspects of an era.
Phase 5
- To work together with local and international artists, combining the old techniques and knowledge with the magnificent possibilities of today, as history is part of the present and the future.
- To organize events and manifestations.
I'm always up to support these kind of interesting projects which try to save and preserve heritage for future sake. Although at first I thought they had planned to start up the production of eFKe films but after a brief email exchange I found out that quite a bit of the machinery had been removed from the factory despite their efforts to save them. Because of this production of the film is, at this point, impossible. However, the future holds many things unknown to us, and this might be one of them! The plans they have for this facility sound exciting on their own anyway.
As of yet this has not been turned in a crowd funding project. "Once the factory is safe from harm", they say, "we can start a concrete crowd funding action".
They will need funding to renovate the factory and turn it into a museum, but firstly they need to convince people to save some bricks, interior and papers, convince them of their importance.
I'll keep following the project and when they do start a crowd funding project I'll surely post it here!
You can also follow them, via Facebook or Twitter or their Blog.
Kickstarter – Travelwide 4×5″ Camera
I ran across this Kickstarter project on Facebook today and it looks really cool! I will certainly be a backer to support their efforts.
Travelwide is meant as an ultralight thus highly portable 4×5″ camera. 4×5″ is a wonderful format, a lot bigger than 35mm with a far smaller depth of field than 35mm (yuyy) but if you want to take that on the go it's going to be either big, lug, heavy and maybe reasonably affordable or small, compact but expensive. Depending on your demands this might be the right-in-between you're looking for.
Personally I'm still looking to buy a 4×5″ field camera to shoot collodion negatives on location, or better said, still looking for that fortune well filled with mighty shiny golden coins. For me, this camera isn't going to work. I'm looking for a decent GG, the options for tilt-and-shift and sturdy material that will outlast the biting fury of the collodion chemistry, mostly the silver nitrate. But I'm a spoiled little brat anyway so who cares 😉
The other upside of this camera besides obviously its weight (630 g fully loaded) and portability is its price…there's not much else you can get for $99,- that will allow you to shoot 4×5″! For this price you will get a camera, sport finder, a pinhole thing and..I think that's it.
There are also two models to choose from: 1 is the Travelwide 90 and the other is the Travelwide 65. The 90 is designed to use with an Angulon 90mm lens while the 65 is designed for an Angulon 65mm lens, for the uber-wide angle lovers.
Anyway, the people from Wanderlust Cameras are far better able to tell you what the project and cameras are all about so have a look at their Kickstarter Page.
Shooting with the Travelwide from Ben Syverson on Vimeo.
Oh, and in case you're wondering (although I would be offended if you were):
I am in no way affiliated with Wanderlust Cameras or Kickstarter. I don't get paid to tell nice stories about people, projects etc. I just like to tell and share nice stories if that's okay with you 😉
"The Mask Series" – Wet Plate Collodion International Collaboration
At the end of 2012 I joined the project "The Mask Series", an initiative started by Shane Balkowitsch, which is an international collaboration of artists working with the wet plate collodion process photographing the same object, in this case, a Czech M10 gas mask (see image above).
The Goal:
The goal for this series is to raise awareness of the historic wet plate technique as an art form. This will allow artists that normally do not have a chance to share their work to participate in a collaborated effort with other artists from around the world. The ultimate goal is to have the collection shown in a gallery as a complete body of work or have it published in a book.
The Prop:
The prop that must be used in each image is a vintage Czech M10 gas mask. This ambiguous prop from decades ago is perfect for this series. It levels the playing field for each artist. It also highlights and allows the perspective, composition and personal taste of the artist to be the focus. Some artists may find it an inspiration, while others may view it to be a crutch or hindrance. The end result will be the unique vision of each individual artist.
Gas masks have historically been used to protect people and citizens usually in times of war. In other situations a mask can be used to hide the identity of its wearer. The gas mask is also very symbolic to the wet plate process since many hazardous and caustic chemicals are used during the development of the images and most wet plate studios use gas masks on a daily basis. This type of vintage gas mask also has a presence and cannot be easily ignored. If the prop used for this process was a shirt or hat for instance, someone may not draw a line from one artist image to another's. With the gas mask, the viewer will quickly realize the common thread amongst the pieces of work, and can then identify and understand the purpose of the collection.
If you have any questions, comments or want to participate as an artist, please contact:
Shane Balkowitsch
Nostalgic Glass
4419 Centurion Dr.
Bismarck, ND 58504 USA
Phone: (701)223-9936
Or check his website about the project.


text:
If there's one thing I think we all need to make more time for, it's self-care. In the fast-paced world we're living in, with everyone striving to be successful, busy and constantly achieving, self-care is one thing that always seems to fall by the wayside. Even for those of us who aren't always on-the-go, finding the time to make self-care a priority is still a rare occurrence. Particularly if you struggle with mental health, which is often when self-care goes well and truly out of the window, I think it's so imperative to force yourself to take time to unwind and look after yourself.
I'm definitely guilty of neglecting my self-care. I might spend my weekend watching Netflix, which I'm sure for some people would be classed as self-care, but for me it isn't. I'll become so ensconced in what I'm watching that I'll forget to look after myself. I'll forget to have a healthy lunch, forget to step outside and breathe in the fresh air and when the evening comes, forget to do my skincare properly. Sometimes, we need to sacrifice the things we enjoy doing to practise self-care, as odd as that might sound.
As this week is Self Care Week, I thought I'd put a little list together to give you some inspiration on the ways you can practise self-care on a daily basis...
Rise early
Now, I will openly admit it: I really, really love a lie-in. Sleeping is one of my favourite things ever, and so when the weekend comes around and I get a chance to have an extra-long snooze, I usually do. However, I don't really think it does me or my mood any good at all. I often wake up feeling more tired than I would if I'd got up earlier, and my day ends up being wasted. This being the case, my first tip for self-care has got to be rising early. As hard as it might be (and trust me, I know) getting up earlier (even on the weekend!) can really do wonders for your wellbeing. I love having so much more of the day stretching out in front of me, and there's nothing better than a crisp walk in the autumn air early in the morning when the world around you is still sleeping. Try it - I promise you won't be disappointed.
I am the queen of putting off exercise. I will literally come up with any excuse not to - I'm too tired, I have too much to do, the gym will be too busy... the list goes on. The funny thing is, once I've actually completed my workout (and sometimes, would you believe it, during my workout) I feel so good. They say exercise boosts your endorphins and I couldn't agree more - I just need to convince pre-workout me that this is the case! Whether it's taking your dog on an extra-long walk, hitting up the gym or even doing a little at-home workout, moving your body will definitely boost your self-care.
Get organised
I think I go into a little meltdown when my surroundings are a mess - I'm moody, stressed-out and rarely productive. This is why I think having an organised, tidy space to live in is so very important when it comes to self-care: you're never going to feel great if you're not happy with the environment you're in! So, I'd suggest giving your home a spring-clean, and look at ways to keep yourself more organised. A tidy house is a tidy mind, after all.
Write it down
If things are getting too much for you, almost as though there are too many tabs open in your head, get out a pen and paper and write it down. This is something I definitely need to do more often - I over-think everything and often have so many different things going on at the same time I feel a little bit all over the place. Writing down how you're feeling can be really, really helpful in helping you straighten things out in your mind. I definitely need to do it more often!
Step away from social media
Social media... ah, it brings us so much joy and yet causes so much pain too. When it comes to taking time for yourself and really, truly practising self-care, I think it's so important to put your phone away. Aimlessly scrolling through social media doesn't do anyone any favours (read my post on that here) and seeing pictures of Insta-famous girls with their so-called "perfect" lives isn't going to make anyone feel good. So, turn your phone off and relish your time spent away from the online world. It'll make you feel so much better - I promise!
Treat yourself
Okay, so I don't mean go and do a crazy £100 shopping spree round Primark, but more like taking the time to treat yourself to things when you know you deserve it. If you've been working your arse off at work, why not buy the Topshop bag you've been lusting after for months? If you're feeling tired and run-down and in need of a serious pamper, why not book a spa weekend with the girls? Even treating yourself to a meal out with your other half can work wonders. We need treats to get us by sometimes, and as long as we don't do it so often it loses all meaning, I definitely think it helps our self-care.
Let me know what your tips for self-care are!


text:
Drupal in a Day!
Get a solid introduction to Drupal 7 in one day. Learn about the most essential features and concepts of Drupal through hands on activities. By the end of this day you will be familiar with Drupal terminology and be able to identify how Drupal sites are constructed. You will know how to identify and choose modules to get the functionality you need.
This course serves as a prerequisite to Acquia's Drupal for Site Builders course.
An understanding of a Content Management System is helpful. Experience using and building websites using systems such as Wordpress, Joomla!, or HTML and CSS.
Because this class will be an overview and not an in-depth course, it is perfect for people who are on the fence about using Drupal or who are looking for a hands-on introduction.
- Configure and set up a basic Drupal site.
- Select, install and configure modules and themes from Drupal.org
- Create content and configure content types, Create listings of content.
- Manage user roles and accounts.
- Manage aliases and URL paths.
- Create blocks and place them in the layout
Drupal introduction
- Part 1: Understand fundamental Drupal concepts
- Part 2: Getting Started with Drupal
- Part 3: Modules: extending Drupal functionality
Drupal Overview: Hands-on tour
Together, we'll navigate through the core functionality in Drupal for content management, and peek at the advanced configurations possible to customize Drupal for you.
- Part 1. Creating content on your site, adding nodes
- Part 2. Finding and managing content
- Part 3: Organize your content with taxonomy
- Part 4: URLs and Paths to content
- Part 5: Comments
- Part 6: Users, roles and permissions
Drupal Essentials: Content, navigation and layout
We'll touch on content management, navigation and beginning layout of content. We'll do hands‐on activities to see the most essential Drupal features and modules in action for you.
- Part 1: Control where content appears with Regions and Blocks
- Part 2: Navigation and the menu system
- Part 3: Control how your site looks with Themes
Advanced Configuration
There are many useful modules to enhance and improve the functionality in Drupal to suit your own case. We will look at advanced content management and control; user registration and management; SEO and site search with ApacheSolr.
- Part 1: Create a custom content type
- Part 2: Create a view block of that content
- Part 3: Place that block on the page
- Part 4: Create a role for who can create and edit that content
- Part 5: Improve find-ability and Configure Search
What is provided:
Students will need to use their own computers, with an up to date web browser.
How to Register:
Fill out the Course Sign Up form and we will be in touch within 1-2 business days.


text:
North Carolina HB2 Boycott Goes Totally South
In a shocking turn of events, it seems the NCAA has fallen for a bait and switch maneuver by the North Carolina legislature and has granted permission for the state to once again host high profile sports tournaments.
Following an NCAA ultimatum to North Carolina to repeal its controversial House Bill 2 that required transgender individuals to use public bathrooms corresponding to their birth sex or risk losing all high profile sports tournaments for five years, the state finally took action. On March 29 Roy Cooper, the new Democratic governor of North Carolina finally reached an agreement with the Republican-controlled legislature to repeal the bill. However, the new so-called compromise bill, HB142 simply replaces one discriminatory, anti-transgender bathroom bill with another.
While meeting the NCAA's minimum requirements to allow the state to once again host high profile sports tournaments, according to HRC and Equality NC, the state's general assembly "reserves total control over bathroom access throughout the state – no city, state agency, public university or school board can ever adopt a policy that ensures transgender people have access to restrooms consistent with their gender identity." They continue to say that "Further, no city can even consider passing any protections for LGBTQ people until 2020. At the end of this discriminatory 'moratorium,' cities will still be prevented from ensuring transgender people are able to use facilities consistent with their gender identity."
Rather than even considering any hint of wrong thinking on their part, the vitriolic response coming from the NC Republican-dominated legislature has been fast and furious. It filed HB728 that says if an intercollegiate athletic association boycotts the state, then the University of North Carolina (UNC) campuses that belong to that conference are prohibited from extending to the conference the grant of media rights. Additionally, it requires the UNC campuses to then provide written notice to that conference of their intent to leave the conference once those media rights expire. Only Duke and Wake Forest would be unaffected since they don't receive state funds.
So it appears that the NCAA, despite their once-fervent claim to continue the boycott, has blinked. And the repeal of HB2 has been enough for the Justice Department under U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to voluntarily withdraw the lawsuit filed last year by former Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Now the NBA is also open to returning its All-Star Game to the state in 2019.
Groundbreaking Marathoner Katherine Switzer is Still in the Race
Marathoner Katherine Switzer ran in this year's Boston Marathon, finishing the race in 4:40:50. Not bad for a 70-year-old who quit running for 30 years, taking it up again just eight years ago. Particularly impressive is that her current time is just 10 minutes off her original 1967 run time. It was that year that the 20-year-old journalism student decided to change history – and she did. The ugly sexism on display that day for all to see launched her career as a women's sports advocate.
It was 50 years ago when Switzer first decided to run in the iconic … and all-male … Boston Marathon by registering using just her initials – K.V. Switzer. Roberta Gibb had run the race the year before but she hadn't registered and had kept her gender a secret by wearing a hooded sweatshirt. But Switzer, openly wearing lipstick and earrings, ran beside her boyfriend, making it clear to everyone that she was a woman competing against a field of men.
In her memoir, "Marathon Woman," she recalled that just a few miles into the race its director Jock Semple chased her down and tried to take her official race number 261 while shouting, 'Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!' Thanks to interference from fellow runners, she finished the race and in 2012 went on to form 261 Fearless, a foundation to empower women through running.
Sports Icon Magic Johnson on Supporting Your Gay Children
Basketball legend Magic Johnson, whose son EJ came out in 2013, sat down with Ellen DeGeneres and shared his thoughts for parents of gay children. Talking about EJ, Johnson said: "It's all about you not trying to decide what your daughter or son should be or what you want them to become. It's all about loving them no matter who they are, what they decide to do. And when my son came out, I was so happy for him and happy for us as parents and we love him, and EJ is amazing."
He added: "So you gotta support your child because there's so many people who try to discriminate against them so they need you to support them because if you don't support them, who's going to support them and love them?" To watch the video, go to:


text:
About Us
Training Program
Chesapeake Litters
Lab Litters
Puppy Reservations Form
Contact Us
Next Generation
Gun Dog Training
2019 Hunt Test Results
See More
Hunt Test Results
Next Generation Gun Dog Training (NGD) is a full service training, boarding, and breeding facility. We are conveniently located on 100 acres right out side of Rochester, MN. We train all types of gun dog breeds. We run AKC and UKC Hunt Test. NGD prides ourselves on treating and training our client dogs as they are our very own. We are dedicated breeders of Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and Labrador
Retrievers. Breeding Healthy and Trainable dogs is our HIGHEST priority!
Copyright 2014.
Next Generation GunDog Training
. All rights reserved.
View on Mobile


text:
VIENNA, VA, October 5, 2011 – Trowbridge & Trowbridge (T&T) recently won the recompete of its $9.3 million contract supporting the Base Telecommunications System (BTS) at Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB) in Missouri. The company has provided BTS operations and maintenance (O&M) support for the base since 2005. With this award, T&T will have the opportunity to continue its successful partnership with Whiteman AFB until 2016.
"This is a very important competitive win for us and validates our strong ongoing performance," said Karen Trowbridge, T&T President and CEO. "We are delighted to continue supporting our Whiteman customers and the critical mission of the base."
As the home of the 509th Bomb Wing, which operates and maintains the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, Whiteman AFB provides global strike and combat support capabilities to geographic commanders.
T&T is a woman-owned and managed small business providing premier IT, telecommunications, and management consulting services to the federal government.


text:
International Workshop in Sydney
Meryl Kenny and Fiona Mackay (Politics and IR) are off to Australia for an international workshop on feminism and institutionalism in Sydney, March 23-25.
The workshop, entitled Rethinking the dynamics of political institutions: integrating gender and neo-institutionalist perspectives brings together political scientists from the US, UK, Canada, Sweden and Australia to debate common interests in the role of institutions in political life. The workshop is the latest international event organised under the auspices of FIIN (Feminism and Institutionalism International Network) which is based at University of Edinburgh.
The workshop is supported by the Universities of New South Wales, Sydney, Sheffield and Edinburgh, and was funded in part by a British Academy - Australian British Academy - Academy of Social Sciences in Australia Joint Project Fund. It is organised by FIIN co-directors Louise Chappell (Sydney and NSW), Fiona Mackay (Edinburgh), Georgina Waylen (Sheffield) and FIIN co-ordinator Meryl Kenny (Edinburgh). See www.femfiin.com for more details.


text:
Bail trap, sentence enhancements ensnare people of color
California's money bail system keeps thousands of people in jail before they get their day in court, because they cannot afford to post bail
Bail bonds sign Photo: Flickr/Steve Huang
SB 10 will ensure that everyone is free from the bail trap with equal access to justice; SB 620 will revise excessive sentencing enhancements
By NATASHA MINSKER
More than five million American children have had a parent incarcerated at some point during their childhood, including 503,000 children here in California. Overreliance on incarceration is tearing families apart and wreaking havoc in our communities, disproportionately affecting people of color.
While California has begun to make significant strides to address this problem and alleviate the toll it has taken on families throughout the state, there is much more we must do to ensure that California's justice system is fair and equitable. Nowhere is that more apparent than with California's unjust money bail system and sentencing enhancement schemes.
Every year, California's money bail system keeps thousands of people in jail before they get their day in court, all because they cannot afford to post bail and buy their freedom. Basing people's freedom on their wealth – not public safety – denies people equal access to justice and fails to protect communities.
Unable to afford money bail, many people stay in jail for weeks, months, and sometimes years while their case moves forward, or plead guilty to a crime they may not have committed. Some people pool their limited resources to pay a for-profit bail bonds company a non-refundable 10 percent fee based on their total bail amount, a fee they do not get back even if their case is dismissed or they are found innocent. Meanwhile, wealthy people buy their freedom, even if they pose an actual safety risk to the community.
Because Black and Latino people are more likely than Whites to be stuck in jail while their case moves forward, money bail fuels already egregious racial disparities in the justice system. In fact, research shows that Black men are assigned bail amounts 35 percent higher than White men accused of similar offenses. Research also shows that when people are jailed while their cases move forward, they run a higher risk of being convicted, taking a plea deal, and receiving harsher sentences. With this in mind, it is easy to see how people of color are more likely to be ensnared in money bail's mass incarceration trap. It is time to put an end to this.
What is needed are individualized assessments of each person's case to make sure that no one is in jail simply because they cannot afford to post bail and buy their freedom. In other states, judges make individualized assessments in each case, ensuring that people are detained based on public safety concerns not the size of their bank account. SB 10 will make that happen in California and ensure that people have equal access to justice and freedom.
Similarly, it is time for California to revise its excessive sentencing enhancements which stack decades of prison time on top of the sentence imposed for the underlying crime. We should start with our mandatory gun enhancement law which bars judges from taking into account someone's individual case and circumstances during sentencing. For most other sentence enhancements, judges can decide whether to apply or not apply the enhancement when it's fair and just to do so, based on the circumstances of the case. But with the 10-20-life gun enhancement, California law expressly forbids judges from exercising any discretion to consider the facts of the case forcing them to impose the enhancement even when they think it's not fair.
These mandatory extreme enhancements do not make Californians safer and disparately affect people of color. Although originally created to deter gun crime, years later there is still no evidence to show that enhancements have done that. Instead, research has shown that enhancements like these have led to overcrowded prisons and more incarceration without reducing gun-related crimes.
Research also shows that prosecutors are more likely to charge people of color with mandatory sentence enhancements than Whites, even for the same crime. Like with money bail and pretrial detention, prosecutors leverage the threat of enhancements to extract guilty pleas from people who are eager to return to their families, jobs, and homes, including innocent people.
Together, California's money bail system and excessive sentencing enhancements have compromised the integrity of our justice system and perpetuated the state's mass incarceration crisis. SB 10 and SB 620 can help right these wrongs.
We ask Assemblymember Mike Gipson, D-64th District, to act in the name of fairness and equity and vote YES on both bills.
Natasha Minsker is director of the California ACLU Center for Advocacy & Policy.
READ ALSO: ACLU Bail Reform fact sheet


text:
We run the bar at our public ceilidhs in
Lauriston Hall and in other venues such as Greyfriars Kirk and the Southside Community Centre
If you need a basic, cheap bar for your function
(whether we are providing the band or not)
just contact us.
Drinks prices: soft drinks £1, alcohol £3
You need an Occasional Licence.
We can arrange this for you for £10,
but you must pay this to us at least 2 months before your event
as the Licensing Board needs 2 months warning.
There is no other setup cost - we make our profit from the drinks sales - so we are not interested in a situation where you also provide some free drink to your audience.
To make a booking inquiry
Either ring 0131 339 5374 (24 hours) or complete the following form with required date(s), times and venue (if you don't get an answer within 2 days it may be because we're travelling and out of range of wifi in which case you may want to leave a message on 0131 339 5374 which we check every day).


text:
Now part of the North Cornwall Heritage Coast, and mostly owned by the National
Trust, Boscastle and the surrounding countryside are one of the North coast's major
tourist attractions. The South West Peninsula Coast Path runs along the spectacular
cliffs, formed by the rocky drop of green farmers' fields into the Atlantic Ocean.
Follow @BottreauxHouse
Bottreaux House Boscastle
Ideally situated to explore the
breathtaking coastal scenery of North
Cornwall, the enchanting village of
owes its existence to two main
factors. The unique, sinuous natural
inlet, which forms one of the oldest and
most famous fishing ports in North
Cornwall; and the Norman de Botterell
family, who built Bottreaux Castle
overlooking the Jordan Valley and gave
the village the name which has
survived, in its corrupted form, to the
present day.
The village itself stands in a
deep coombe created by the
convergence of the valleys formed by
the rivers Valency and Jordan. The
captivating, wooded valley scenery is
crossed by numerous paths and is rich
in wildlife. The Boscastle woodland,
well protected by the steep sides of the
Valency Valley, is considered to be a
remnant of the original tree cover of
All content © Kestrel Solutions / Bottreaux House. All Rights Reserved. 2014-2018.
Bottreaux House Boscastle - Luxury
Self Catering Accommodation
01840 250231


text:
Algeria: The 2018 budget bill expects a parity of 1 dollar for DA 115
- 22 October 2017 / News / 968 / Emerging Africa
Algerian Finance Minister, Abderrahmane Raouya, said on Thursday in Algiers, that the draft finance bill for 2018, is based on a forecast of a maximum parity of 115 dinars per 1 US dollar for a period of three 3 years, APS reported on Friday.
"The dinar is going well, at the level of the Bank of Algeria, we maintain our national currency and it is paramount (…) I reassure you, that the budget bill for 2018 table in anticipation, of 115 dinars for one dollar, on a forecast of three years until 2020, "said the country's first financier.
In response to the concerns of entrepreneurs about the strength of the dinar against the currencies, the minister has expressed himself during debates with entrepreneurs organized in the framework of the 3rd edition of the Summer School of the Forum of Chiefs of Entreprises (FCE) and this, at a panel dedicated to Islamic finance, capital markets and taxation.
"Trust is there, the government has confidence in business, and businesses need to trust the government, we are working together for the good of the country," said the Minister.
source: APS
See too
Algeria: Foreign exchange reserves to reach $ 85 billion by the end of 2018
- 23 October 2017
- News
Algeria's foreign exchange reserves are expected to fall to $ 85.2 billion at the end of December 2018 and to $ 76.2 billion by the end of 2020, Finance Minister "Abderrahmane Raouya" said Sunday.Spea...
Algeria : Finance Minister predicts a sharp fall in Algeria's foreign exchange reserves for 2018
- 23 October 2017
- News
The Minister of Finance, Abderrahmane Raouia, has presented, on Sunday, the draft Finance Law before the Finance and Budget Committee of the National People's assembly.During his presentation of the b...
Algeria : CNEP, BADR and BDL banks to engage in Islamic banking before end of 2017
- 22 October 2017
- News
Three public banks CNEP, BADR and BDL are set to engage in the Islamic banking before the end of 2017. Those banks will propose alternative products, which are compliant with the Islamic Shari'a, said...


text:
That latter question is where this post will focus. Generally, more data is better than less data. Nate Silver fans' ears will prick up at that simplistic statement as his excellent book The Signal and the Noise is full of instances where too much data can cloud our judgement, but for our purposes let's say that when trying to judge the quality of a team you'd prefer to have data for 10 games rather than 5 (data from every game in Liverpool history would start to be too 'noisy' as Bill Shankly or Ian Rush have little bearing on the current crop of players).
After two games last season, Everton had amassed 42 shots (26 SiB) giving them a crazy 21(13) average. While the team played well the rest of the way, their totals of 14 shots and 8 SiB were considerably below that initial surge, which could have led to a couple of panic buys as managers sought to get 'coverage' of 'must own' teams. Looking at this season to date, what should we make of West Ham's 35 shots (22 SiB) or Swansea's 15(7) efforts?
More learned statisticians will likely be able to analyse this question with more certainty and skill, but for our purposes, we are just looking for a quick guideline as to when we can believe what the data is showing us.
For simplicity, I have simply plotted each teams' average shot totals (both in total and those only in the box) for the season against the rolling average on a gameweek-by-gameweek basis. These lines will obviously converge as the season progresses but the speed at which this happens is less obvious. The data is plotted below with some quick analysis below the chart:
It's dangerous to draw too many conclusions through six weeks, especially when further splitting the data in home/away games but ultimately we can't wait until we're absolutely sure (if that day ever even arrives) as decisions on transfers need to be made sooner rather than later. Still, six weeks feels like a good benchmark to start taking things a bit more seriously and putting some weight behind any big revisions to impressions you had coming into the year. From memory of Silver's aforementioned book, I think this is something akin to Bayesian inference, where our initial hypothesis should be impacted by new data but to varying degrees based on how strong our initial opinion was. Thus, if you loved Alexis Sanchez coming into the season, his somewhat disappointing three shots in two games should move the needle less than David Nugent's zero SiB, as you were probably less sure on the Leicester man's prospects initially (though even there, two weeks is probably too early to panic unless you've seen any real issues with his or Leicester's gameplan).
After being away for a few months I'm sure everyone is thrilled to read a piece which basically tells you what you already knew, but hey, I had limited data to play with while on a recent flight and this is what I managed to cobble together. This also ties in well with my plan to launch the new graphics and forecast tables right around the GW6 mark. Next up is some actual analysis of the new season.


text:
Healthcare Industry News: aortic dissection
News Release - August 28, 2006
Abbott Northwestern Partners with Regional Hospitals to Improve Recognition and Treatment of Aortic DissectionsMINNEAPOLIS--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Aug. 28, 2006--Abbott Northwestern Hospital and several regional hospitals are working together in an effort to improve treatment for people with acute aortic dissections, a deadly and difficult-to-diagnose heart condition. Through the partnership, cardiologists with the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern are available 24 hours a day to consult with physicians from regional hospitals and arrange emergency transfer to Abbott Northwestern's Heart Hospital for patients with aortic dissections.
Unfortunately, many patients never make it to the operating room table. Because some aortic dissection symptoms are similar to those of a heart attack and include pain in the chest that spreads to the back or neck, sweating, confusion and nausea, the condition is often misdiagnosed. Delays in diagnosing a dissection can be catastrophic for patients; the mortality rate for people with torn aortas is one to two percent for each hour they go without surgery. Each year, 25,000 Americans die from the condition.
The most reliable way to confirm an acute aortic dissection is to have a radiologist or cardiologist, who is familiar with the condition, examine a CT scan of the patient's chest. Cardiologists at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern treat many patients with aortic dissections each year and are highly skilled at recognizing the condition.
Under the new partnership, physicians at regional hospitals are able to leverage their colleagues' knowledge by taking a CT scan of patients they believe have a dissection. Then they can send digital images of the scan to Abbott Northwestern, where radiologists or cardiologists read the scan and determine if it is a dissection.
If it is an aortic dissection, patients are transferred by ambulance or helicopter to Abbott Northwestern's Heart Hospital. At the same time, a surgical team including a cardiothoracic surgeon, is summoned to the hospital. When the patient arrives, he or she is taken directly to the operating suite where emergency open-heart surgery is performed.
Putting in place systematic protocols to quickly diagnose the dissection and transfer the patient to the operating room has the potential to improve survival rates, according to Kevin Harris, MD, the medical director of the Minneapolis Heart Institute's Ascending aortic dissection Program. The Minneapolis Heart Institute is part of the International Registry of aortic dissection, a group of centers around the world that evaluate better ways to diagnose and treat aortic dissections.
"Getting to the operating room as soon as possible is extremely important when a patient is having an acute aortic dissection," said Harris. "By putting in place a standardized approach to care, we can improve recognition of the condition, transfer times and save more lives throughout the state."
The protocols for treating aortic dissections build upon the success of the Level 1 Heart Attack Program, a first-of-its-kind patient transfer program for heart attack patients developed through the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. Like the Level 1 Heart Attack Program, the protocols for treating aortic dissections rely on the cooperation of health care professionals from a range of disciplines, including regional hospital emergency department personnel, medical transportation professionals, emergency department personnel at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, cardiologists, radiologists with Consulting Radiologists, Ltd., cardiothoracic surgeons with Minneapolis Cardiothoracic Surgery Consultants, anesthesiologists, nurses and others.
Regional hospitals involved in the program include Cambridge Medical Center, Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria, Hutchinson Community Hospital, Northfield Hospital, Ridgeview Medical Center in Waconia and St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee.
Minneapolis-based Abbott Northwestern Hospital is part of Allina Hospitals & Clinics, a non-profit network of hospitals, clinics and other health care services. Abbott Northwestern is found online at www.abbottnorthwestern.com.
Source: Allina Hospitals & Clinics
Issuer of this News Release is solely responsible for its
Please address inquiries directly to the issuing company.


text:
Last year, for the first time, we extended our Season to include November – this year we are staying open for November and December for tents, touring caravans, motorhomes and for the use of our Pods.
Our onsite Bar/Clubhouse will also remain open over these two months at weekends (Friday 7.30pm – 11.00pm, Saturday 7.30pm – 11.00pm and Sunday 2.00pm – 10.00pm). This includes Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve (last orders to be decided on the night!).
We hope to welcome our Seasonal Tourers to join us for this extended period and also our night stop guests too!


text:
Location: Marina Cay
Today started off at 6:30. The first thing we did was eat breakfast and Mike the director joined us. After that, we went downstairs and played a game that described us with cards. After cleanup, we started to sail. I was the skipper. During sailing, we started to practice for the final sailing test. While sailing, we played card games. After a couple hours of sailing, we went to Beef Island. We had some island time. We got to call our parents and eat some lunch on the island. On the island, there was an art gallery thing. There was a giant hammock, a pottery maker and many other things. After we sailed to another island to get water. Then we ate dinner. Then we did the squeeze. After we went ashore to Lifeworks. After we came back and went to bed. That's it, goodnight.


text:
MEC for Human Settlements
The Executive Mayor of Nkangala District Municipality,
Former Executive Mayor of Thembisile Hani Local Municipality, uBaba uNJ Mahlangu,
Speaker of Council,
Chief Whip of Council,
Traditional Leadership,
Members of the Mayoral Committee and Chairpersons of Council Committees,
Members of MPAC,
Fellow Councillors,
Municipal Managers, HOD's and Officials
Sector Departments
Members from the Business Fraternity,
Religious and Spiritual Leaders,
Youth Formations,
Media houses present here today,
Comrades and Compatriots,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Guests,
Lotshani, Dumelang, Sanibonani, Good morning.
Hounourable Speaker, let me start off by thanking our esteemed guests, for honouring our invite to this prestigious event. As the collective leadership of Thembisile Hani Local Municipality we are honoured and humbled to be in their midst here today.
Honourable Speaker, this year, we celebrate the centenary of the birth of Oliver Reginald Tambo the late leader of the African National Congress.
OR Tambo was the longest ever serving president of the ANC from 1969 to 1991. He has been described by his Excellency President Jacob Zuma as a "solution oriented leader who always sought to move forward on the basis of building consensus".
Tambo was relentless in his pursuit for a better country where all people irrespective of race and gender, lived in dignity and at peace with one another.
Let us remember that Oliver Tambo did not lead a struggle against one of the most brutal regimes in comfort and convenience. There were hard times, but hope and belief in a better South Africa inspired him to continue the fight for a different future.
In his honour, President Jacob Zuma and the ANC declared the year 2017, the Year of Oliver Reginald Tambo, and indeed this declaration is more than befitting and unreservedly welcomed.
The centenary celebrations will take place under the theme "Life and Legacy of OR Tambo" and are expected to run until December 2017.
The celebrations will be used to draw lessons from his life and understand the qualities that made him succeed in uniting the ANC.
On the same breath ladies and gentlemen, let us remember that the month of July marks a momentous occasion on which we remember and celebrate the life of u-Tata, u-Madiba, u-President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
U tata was born on the 18th of July 1918 in the former Transkei Region now known as the Eastern Cape.
Today we celebrate the 18th of July as an International Nelson Mandela day to commemorate the lifetime of service President Nelson Mandela gave to South Africa and the world.
Mandela Day calls on all of us, every day, to make the world a better place.
In our quest to make the world a better place, in our quest to make Thembisile a better place, let us remember the great scarifies U-Tata has made for our country. Let us remember his wisdom. Let us remember his compassion and fortitude. Let us remember his courage and most of all let us remember the ideals he stood for.
Honourable Speaker and esteemed guests I urge all present here today to act on his example.
This year, the theme for Nelson Mandela Day is Action Against Poverty.
I urge the esteemed house to make everyday a Mandela Day by celebrating Madiba's life and legacy in a sustainable way that will bring about enduring change.
Honourable Speaker, the State of the Municipality Address we are presenting here today, is our resolve as the governing party to inspire hope in our communities and to instil faith in their democratic and people-centred local government.
In presenting this State of the Municipality Address, let me point out that this address is within the context of the African National Congress's 2016 Local Government election manifesto.
In our Manifesto we set out to broaden access to municipal services and reduce outsourcing.
We set out to improve municipal governance and intensify the fight against fraud and corruption.
We set out to continue to put our people first by improving public participation and accountability.
We set out to ensure sound financial management.
We set out to improve and enhance the institutional capacity of the municipality.
And lastly we set out to strengthen the local economy and create jobs and promote job placements, especially for the youth.
These ideals and aspirations have been institutionalised through our integrated development plan and I can attest Honourable Speaker that we are making significant strides.
Honourable Speaker and esteemed guests, may I emphasize that our vision as Thembisile Hani Local Municipality is to "better the lives of our people through equitable and sustainable service delivery and economic development."
This vision embodies the essence of the aspirations of our people particularly as it relates to the need to access better services and economic development.
Let me remind this house that to deliver services to our people in a sustainable manner is a constitutional obligation that we as a collective leadership have pledged to achieve and should achieve beyond measure.
To enhance and promote economic development is also a constitutional obligation that we as collective leadership, together with our economic actors should work tirelessly to achieve in order to bring about prosperity and needed change to our people.
Distinguished guests this address takes lineage from the State of the Nation Address as delivered by his Excellency, President Jacob Zuma in February this year, the State of the Province Address as delivered by the Premier of Mpumalanga Province, Premier David Mabuza.
It is furthermore informed by the National Development Plan and the Mpumalanga Growth and Development Strategy, which are master plans initiated at National and Provincial Government aimed at combating the triple challenges of poverty, inequality, and unemployment.
The state of the municipality address is also given shape by the Back to Basics Strategy that demands of us to be a responsive, caring and accountable local government and to serve our communities in a better and more sustainable way.
Esteemed ladies and gentlemen during this occasion we want to reflect on our achievements as a municipality, to identify and acknowledge our shortcomings, and to put in place measures to address these shortcomings.
Honourable Speaker, in the 2016/2017 Financial Year, the ANC lead government of Thembisile Hani Local Municipality engaged our communities through intensive door to door programmes, general community outreach meetings, IDP and budget consultative meetings.
This was done to solicit the needs of the communities and our stakeholders in order for the municipality to set development priorities for the next five years in line with National and Provincial Planning Frameworks.
The council of Thembisile Hani Local Municipality has consequently adopted its 5 year Integrated Development Plan to address the key development challenges identified through the community outreach meetings.
The Municipality has set 12 service delivery priority areas as part of the Integrated Development Plan.
These priority areas are water, sanitation, public lighting, roads and storm water, environment and waste management, municipal facilities, spatial planning and land use management, local economic development and job creation, institutional development, good governance and public participation and most importantly youth development.
Ladies and gentlemen these priorities will be effected through our 7 development objectives approved by council during the 2016/2017 financial year.
As the collective leadership of Thembisile Hani Local Municipality we intend to:
Provide households with basic services including water, adequate sanitation, adequate public lighting and accessible roads
Create integrated and sustainable human settlements through the proactive planning and development of land
Create a safe, clean and healthy environment conducive for social development and recreation
Improve the financial status of the municipality through prudent budget planning, stringent financial management and improved revenue collection
Create a conducive environment for economic development, investment attraction and job creation.
Improve organizational efficiency and promote a culture of professional conduct in order to render quality services
Deepen democracy and promote active community participation in the affairs of the institution
Honourable Speaker, notwithstanding the significant service delivery strides we have made as a collective leadership and the achievements of the past five years, much more is still to be done.
Let us now take this opportunity to look at the progress we have made to date in our various service delivery areas.
Improving access to potable water in Thembisile Hani Local Municipality remains an apex priority. I am proud to say that there has been significant work completed on water infrastructure projects during the 2016/2017 financial year.
To benefit this house let me point out that we have made progress in relation to the water project of abstracting 5 Mega litres of water per day from Moses River.
This project most would remember as the Upgrading of existing infrastructure from agricultural project to augment borehole water supply in Bundu.
In the 2016/2017 financial year we have constructed a Concrete Weir and Abstraction Works and phase 1 of this project will be completed and commissioned before the end of August this year.
Honourable Speaker the construction of a Bulk Pipeline from Bundu to Boekenhouthoek has commenced in the 2016/2017 financial year and will be completed and commissioned before the end of September 2017.
Construction of the 2.5 Mega litres Water Treatment Plant in Bundu will commence in August 2017 and will be completed in June 2018.
This means that the people of Boekenhouthoek, Mathysenloop, Machipe and Bundu will receive 2.5 Million litres of water per day from July 2018, and what a glorious day that will be.
Esteemed guests the construction of the remaining 7.5 Mega litres of a Water Treatment Plant in Bundu will commence by July 2018 and will be completed by June 2019.
Further to the above, construction of the 10 Mega Litre Reservoir in Mathysensloop and Bulk Pipeline from Boekenhouthoek to Mathysensloop will commence in August 2017 and will be completed in June 2019.
In relation to the Kwaggafontein Water Scheme Project, we have commenced with the construction of a 6 kilometre bulk pipeline in December 2016 and the pipeline is to be completed by the end of the current month after necessary quality tests have taken place.
The construction of the 10 Mega litre Reservoir commenced in October 2016, and will be completed in December this year.
Esteemed guests, I would like to take this opportunity to point to to this house that we have experienced major delays on this project during the previous financial year including incidences of arson.
Let me point out to the fact that we strongly condemn such acts including the vandalism of municipal infrastructure and assets in general.
Incidences like this will not be tolerated and criminal charges will be laid against those who commit such offences.
Honourable Speaker you will remember that for a number of financial year's including the 2016/2017 financial year, our municipality had adopted the position of allocating our entire capital budget for water projects.
It therefore gives me great pleasure to stand here before you and announce that as of June 2016 expenditure on the Municipal Infrastructure Grant stood at 100%.
This is indeed a great achievement for the executive leadership of Thembisile Hani Local Municipality and our new Council.
Distinguished guests, addressing the current water supply challenges in Thembisile is not only a priority for our municipality but also a big priority for the province of Mpumalanga and the National Department of Water and Sanitation headed by our Minister U-Mama U- Nomvula Mokonyane.
U-baba u-Premier David Mabuza has indicated in his State of the Province address that access to basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity, and refuse removal is what makes our living spaces liveable.
This shows a commitment by all spheres of government in tackling our service delivery challenges particularly access to water and descent sanitation.
Plans are currently underway to abstract 20 mega litres of water per day from Loskop Dam by the Department of water and sanitation.
This project is currently at detailed design stage, and we are eagerly awaiting procurement processes to commence in order to begin the real work of lying pipes that will guide water to our people.
This project will not only benefit our communities in providing access to water but will also have positive spin-offs in the form of business and work opportunities for our local business people, our local youth and our local woman.
We here at Thembisile are steadfast in saying that local opportunities should be afforded to local people in order to plough back into the local economy and thereby reducing unemployment and eradicating poverty.
Honourable Speaker I am sure that Sanral can attest to our resolve.
During the 2016/2017 financial year about R 100 Million was spent on water purchases from our bulk water suppliers, namely, the City of Tshwane, Dr JS Moroka and Rand Water.
We have also provided all the residents of Thembisile Hani local municipality with free basic services irrespective of their income status.
The Municipality has developed an indigent register to target particularly those households that receive income that is below R1100 per month.
We further call on all indigent households to register on the municipal data base and those who can afford to pay for municipal services to do so patriotically.
Honourable Speaker, with regard to sanitation, the municipality has set aside about R 2.5 Million Rand in the 2017/2018 budget to initiate the construction of waste water treatment plants in Luthuli and Tweefontein K.
Our people have indicated at various outreach meetings that we need to afford them the same kind of service excellence as provided by neighbouring municipalities as far as sanitation is concerned.
We have indeed heeded this call as we are currently conducting studies to gauge the feasibility of a water borne sanitation system.
Madam Speaker our council has approved the 2017/2018 annual budget at the end of June 2017 and as it stands we have committed about 78% of the Capital budget for water and sanitation projects.
Because ladies and gentlemen, water remains a challenge not only for Thembisile Hani Local Municipality but for South Africa at large, we need to begin to consider looking at alternative interventions to providing decent sanitation to all our people.
Let me also appeal to all our people irrespective of their creed, situation, circumstance or environment to use the water that we have sparingly.
Together we are advancing the people's power in every community, for "Water is life."
In terms of Land and Human Settlements.
One of our key development objectives as a municipality is to ensure that we create integrated and sustainable human settlements through the proactive planning and development of land.
Hounourable Speaker let me remind this house that our municipality was greatly disenfranchised by the apartheid spatial planning system and unfortunately interventions at the advent of our democratic dispensation in 1994 did not gain much momentum until recent times particularly in areas like i-Thembisile.
We have a number of unplanned settlements and as a result, we are contending with increased demands for planned land with the associated infrastructure and amenities.
But we have however made advances in this area too.
As we sit here today I can confirm that township establishment processes have been completed for Muzimuhle (Gembok), Vlaklaagte View, Kameelpoortnek and the Township establishment in Buhlebesizwe has been conditionally approved and is awaiting environmental due diligence processes to be completed.
On the same breath esteemed guests, Township establishment processes for Kwamhlanga (Kings Park), Kwamhlanga C, Buhlebesizwe South, Buhlebesizwe East and Emlanjeni are still underway and will be completed during the 2017/2018 financial year.
These are not merely subdivisions of land but well researched human settlements that will in future support the integration of social amenities necessary for social and economic development.
We are further working tirelessly with our Provincial Department of Human Settlements and Nkangala District Municipality to ensure that support services and facilities such as schools, clinics and other amenities are integrated into these townships in the near future.
To Amakhos' ekhethu in our midst here today, I pledge and request that we work together to resolve our land development challenges proactively in order to ensure that we achieve sustainable and integrated human settlements.
Ladies and Gentlemen with regards to our environment and waste management, as a collective leadership, we pledged that we wanted to create a safe, healthy and clean environment for our residents.
This is a constitutional mandate and therefore, there is really no lee-way here, it is what we must do.
I believe that it goes without saying that our environment is our future, and we need to ensure that we manage the waste that we generate safely and responsibly.
The Municipality has a waste collection programme and we have improved our waste collection means over the years by allocating a substantial number of our EPWP participants to assist on our waste management programme.
As of 2016/2017 the Kwaggafontein Landfill site was fully licensed and as the collective leadership we have approved R 9 Million for the upgrading of the Kwaggafontein Land Fill site in the 2017/2018 financial year.
Let us work in collaboration to protect our environment and contribute to the international calls to save our planet.
Moving on to the finances of the Municipality, we must indicate that we still have a long way to go in improving revenue collection and our short term aim is ensure we increase our revenue collection from the current 5% to about 15% by June 2022.
However I must indicate that there is nothing stopping us ladies and gentlemen from going beyond that aspiration.
Like u-Tata Nelson Mandela has said "it always seems impossible until it is done", so in our minds and in our hearts let us aim at achieving 110%.
Distinguished guests, it is important to reflect and make it known that our Municipality had serious cash flow challenges between 2013 and 2015 and this certainly had a negative impact on service delivery.
Through our collective efforts and the continued commitment by council the Municipality has shown improved financial stability, we are indeed able to meet our financial obligations.
As at June 2016 the municipality ended the financial year on a cleaner financial obligation slate wherein the municipality was able to pay all invoices that were due by the 30th of June 2017. We intend to continue to manage our finances strictly.
Our audit opinion has however not shown adequate improvement, in that our municipality has being sitting on a qualified opinion for the past three financial years.
However Honourable speaker we are confident and hopeful that progress will be made given the progressive work we have seen during the 2016/2017 financial year in strengthening our financial controls and adhering to our compliance parameters.
In the Local Economic Development front ladies and gentlemen, our council has adopted a number of strategies as part of the 5 year Integrated Development Plan that was adopted by Council in May 2017.
The aim is to ensure that we create a conducive environment for economic development, investment attraction and job creation.
Madam Speaker we are looking at reducing unemployment,
We are looking at providing investors with sound investment incentives and opportunities,
We are looking at facilitating the resuscitation of nature reserves and key tourist destination sites,
We are looking at enhancing the agricultural output of the municipality through local economic development initiatives,
Lastly, we are looking at enhancing the participation of the youth in the economy through targeted programmes initiated by public, civic and private sector organisations and institutions.
In 2015 our poverty and unemployment rates were sitting at a staggering 40.2% and 33.3% respectively.
Esteemed guests, I echo the sentiments of our State President, President Jacob Zuma in saying that we need "radical economic transformation" today.
The burden is on all of us to ensure that we contribute towards tackling the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment and this is one of the reason that we have converged here today.
So I invite you ladies and gentlemen to engage, to participate and to bring about change and lasting solutions to our Municipality, it is eagerly awaited and we are more than willing to hear you out and assist wherever we can.
Honourable Speaker, the current situation with regard to the limited economic growth estimates in the country requires more ground-breaking, more innovative and a more radical approach to public-private partnerships in order to bring about economic transformation and job creation.
Let me highlight that as far as private-public partnerships are concerned, we are working in collaboration with HCI Coal to realise the development of a 600 Mega Watt H2 Energy (Coal-Fired) Power Station in Loopspruit.
Once approved by the Department of Energy the power station will be a huge driver for socio-economic development in Thembisile giving us a much needed boost by creating jobs as well as supporting small, medium and macro enterprises.
The construction of the power station will require an investment of about R15 billion from the private investor.
Preliminary studies have indicated that approximately 2000 jobs will be created out of the project.
During the operational phase, which is envisioned to last for 35 years, the power station will employ approximately 300 – 500 people and cost about R 228 million per annum to operate and maintain.
Honourable Speaker let me point out that one of our key strategies as a municipality is to intensify the support for lucrative investors such as mining agencies through engaging them regularly through our Local Economic Development forum.
We are also working very closely with our businesses in order to address some of the key development concerns we face in order to grow the local economy and create more job opportunities.
Ladies and gentleman I hope that those of us who have travelled to this venue along the R573 road from Limpopo have taken notice of the construction work that is currently underway on Moloto road.
The Moloto road upgrade is no longer a pipe dream but a true reality.
Construction work has begun with major work currently under way at Vlaklaagte Number 1 and the Mathysensloop intersections and let me point out that more is yet to come.
For the benefit of the house let me point out that the Moloto Road Upgrade has 3 Sections.
Section 1 spans from Sefako Makgatho Drive (formerly known as Zambezi Drive) to Moloto Village.
Section 2, our section, spans from Moloto village to Moteti village in Limpopo and Section 3 spans from Moteti Village to Marble Hall.
R 1 billion has been allocated for section 2, that is the construction and work that will be happening in our Municipality.
As of June 2017, 40 local people were employed on the road and an estimated 110 people are still to be employed during phase 1 of the project.
In his 2017 state of the Province address, our Honourable Premier said that "as we reflect on our progress and our challenges, our inputs, outputs and outcomes, we must also question our own performance.
We must interrogate our systems and structures and ask our individual public servants, have we truly served our citizens to the best of our abilities? , have we done enough?
Distinguished guests it is our intention as the government of Thembisile Hani Local municipality to instil a sense of trust and confidence in our people and in their local government.
We must improve organizational efficiency and promote a culture of professional conduct in order to render quality services.
In shaping the outlook of our institution to deliver services to our people, our organisational structure has been restructured with the view of becoming more effective and efficient in responding to service delivery challenges.
Also, we have put in place measures and controls aimed at managing and monitoring our municipal fleet more closely and more effectively.
Furthermore building public confidence in the municipality requires a collective effort by all role players in the public service space, including our Councillors, Amakhos' ekhethu, the business sector, our religious organisations and most importantly our public servants who we employ to advance the aspirations of our people.
As Thembisile Hani Local Municipality we intend to deepen democracy and promote active community participation in the affairs of the institution.
During the 2016/2017 financial year we have conducted over 30 mayoral outreach meetings,
We have ensured that all 32 ward committee meetings are convened monthly and we promote effective communication with the public and our community through our various communication platforms such as radio and social media on an ongoing basis.
To reflect on our overall performance of the institution in the last quarter of the 2016/2017 financial year. The institution achieved 66% overall performance on planned targets.
It goes without saying ladies and gentleman that this is not enough and much more must be done to improve the performance.
We need to improve and we must improve.
Esteemed guests, at the end of June 2017, the Municipal Council approved its 2017/2018 to 2019/2020 MTREF budget following extensive consultations with all our stakeholders.
For the 2017/2018 financial year, the operational expenditure committed to the projected revenue amounts to R 411 Million and our total combined operational and capital budget amounts to R 557 Million.
In brief, our operational expenditure is composed of staff benefits which account for 27% of the budget, while councillor allowances account for 6.5%.
The repairs and maintenance allocation accounts for 9.2% and all other planned operational activities account for about 20% of our budget.
Distinguished guests, the biggest portion of our operational budget is set aside for bulk water purchases.
The current budget for bulk water purchases is R 137 Million and this accounts for 33% of our annual budget.
The cost of bulk water purchases and the increasing demand for water, while not duly receiving payment for services is unsustainable and hampers our ability as the municipality to render services effectively.
I therefore appeal to all our residents, our businesses and all private and public institutions to pay for municipal services patriotically in order to increase our revenue base and provide sustainable services to our people.
In our pledge to improve our current state ladies and gentlemen, our Council has approved a capital budget of R 153 Million for the 2017/2018 financial year.
We have allocated R 15 Million of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant to the New Reservoir and Pipeline at KwaMhlanga for Phola Park and Mountain View communities Phase 2 multiyear project. We are targeting to complete a 10 Mega Litre reservoir and a 2.5 kilometre pipeline by 30 June 2018.
R 71 million has been allocated to the Upgrading of Existing Infrastructure to augment borehole water supply in Bundu multiyear project and we are targeting to construct a 1 kilometre pipeline, a 2.5 Mega Litre per day plant module and a 10 Mega Litre reservoir by 30 June 2018.
R 7 Million has been allocated to the upgrading of the Kwaggafontein Water Scheme - Phase 2 Multi-Year Project and we are targeting to complete a 6 km pipeline also by 30 June 2018.
Lastly, we have put aside R4 million for the upgrading of the Enkeldoornoog B Water Infrastructure.
In addition to these water capital projects, I am pleased to announce that we had successful engagements with the Department of Water and Sanitation and we have received an allocation of R 45 Million through the Water Services Improvement Grant for the 2017/2018.
The allocation is to be used to advance our water cause through the upgrading of Vlaklaagte and Kwaggafontein Water Infrastructure,
Upgrading of Vrischgewaagd Reservoir Storage,
Upgrading of Tweefontein A Reservoir Storage,
Upgrading of Mathysensloop Water Infrastructure,
Construction of Reticulation in Kwaggafontein A (Emasimini), and the
Rehabilitation, refurbishment and maintenance of existing water infrastructure.
During our planning for the 2017/2018 financial year we took a slightly different approach in allocating funds for our capital projects.
As I highlighted earlier on, only 78% of our Municipal Infrastructure Grant has been allocated to water and sanitation projects compared to the 100% allocation in past financial years.
Madam Speaker, the remaining 22% of our capital budget was set aside to fund other priority infrastructure projects.
We have budgeted R 1 for the installation of High Mast Lights and Street Lights in Various Villages, R 3.5 Million was set aside for the construction of a road to Mabhoko Cemetery, and R 3 Million was set aside for the regravelling of roads in various villages.
A further R 5.9 Million has been set aside to construct the long anticipated multipurpose center in Phumula and R 9.2 Million was budgeted for the upgrading of the Kwaggafontein Land fill site.
Honourable Speaker and distinguished guests, as I move closer to the end of my address, allow me to echo the sentiments of my predecessor, U-baba uNdaweni Mahlangu in a statement he made on Ikwekwezi FM in June 2016.
"Thembisile Hani will never be the same again."
Let me further take this opportunity to congratulate Ms Lettah Sikhosana, a 22 year old young lady from Kwaggafontein who completed a Bachelor's degree in Education at the University of South Africa, cum laude with 27 distinctions in record time.
In her words and I quote "I come from a supportive humble background, my father is a truck driver and my mother is a domestic worker but their occupation did not hinder me to pursue my calling of becoming an educator."
And yes indeed ladies and gentlemen our circumstances should never stop us from aiming for the stars and reaching our full potential.
Ladies and Gentlemen I believe that a round of applause is in order.
Honourable speaker let me also point out that early this year Bob'Ezy one of our very own local artists received a nomination for a metro FM award in the category "best remix song" for his sound track "close to you" which is already topping charts on different radio stations throughout the country including Ikwekwezi FM, Metro FM, Ligwala Gwala Fm, Y FM and Gagasi FM.
We are very proud of our children and we thank them for putting I-Thembisile on the map.
Another round of applause ladies and gentleman.
Esteem guests on a sad note, let us take this opportunity to observe a moment of silence for the late Ray Phiri.
Raymond Phiri was a South African jazz, fusion and mbaqanga musician born in Mpumalanga.
He was a founding member of the Cannibals in the 1970s.
When the Cannibals disbanded Ray founded the very famous Stimela, with whom he conceived gold and platinum-selling albums like Fire, Passion and Ecstacy in 1982 and Look, Listen and Decide in 1986.
May his soul rest in peace.
Honourable Speaker what a productive day it has been for me.
I sincerely hope that the state of the municipality presented here today will provide all of us with a sense of the affairs of our institution and the current state of the municipality and that it will further pave the way to realising our constitutional mandate.
Much more is yet to be done and working together we can move Thembisile forward.
Let me take this opportunity to thank everyone present here today for the opportunity afforded to me this morning.
I would also like to thank the guidance and the trust the ruling party, the ANC, has bestowed upon me for the leadership of our Municipality.
Ke ya leboga.
I thank you.


text:
Yes, Riley Wallace's junior college transfers were troublemakers.
For the opposition.
Co-captains Matt Lojeski and Ahmet Gueye led the way yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center as Hawaii bounced Boise State 92-75 in Wallace's farewell game and their own senior night.
"I'm glad to see him go," Boise State coach Greg Graham said of Lojeski, after the sharpshooter scored a career-high 35 points.
While Lojeski and Gueye (17 points, game-highs of nine rebounds and three blocks) have created hassles for Rainbow rivals the past two years, they've been great teammates and citizens.
"You're not going to meet two better people than Matt Lojeski and Ahmet Gueye, on the court and off. They're both great leaders," junior guard Matt Gibson said. "I'm going to miss them a lot next year."
Some programs don't recruit many junior college players because they consider them academic and behavior risks. Wallace and assistant coach Jackson Wheeler have proven that is far from always true, as they've recruited a steady stream of good people from the JUCO ranks (including an academic All-American, Michael Kuebler), who happen to be outstanding players.
"They're great people and they were great players tonight," Wallace said.
He added that stereotypes about JC transfers are unfair.
"People who say that don't know. The kids we've been getting are pretty good students and they work at it," Wallace said. "I was a JUCO (coach) and I know exactly what it takes for them to succeed."
One transfer who would've celebrated senior night yesterday didn't make it because of personal reasons, but stories like those of Lojeski and Gueye have become the norm for UH.
"Two of the finest kids we've ever had in our program," Wheeler said. "People think because we have a lot of junior college guys we might have some crazy guys. But for the most part our guys are great guys."
"It was amazing, everything was falling," said Lojeski, who broke his previous game-high of 33 against Creighton in the championship game of this season's Rainbow Classic. "When I came out with about a minute left, I was glad I didn't miss."
Gueye said the Rainbows knew early on that Lojeski had the hot hand.
"He's an unbelievable player," Gueye said. "We know that when he's hot you just get him the ball. He just kept knocking them down."
Gueye has meant as much defensively to the Rainbows as Lojeski has on offense (and they are both good all-around players). When Gueye wasn't blocking shots last night, he was altering them, as well as the Broncos' halfcourt offense -- they rarely ventured into the paint other than on fast breaks.
Lojeski and Gueye played outstanding basketball from their first game for UH, an 84-62 upset of Michigan State to start their Division I careers last season -- dispelling another myth about JC transfers.
"Because we have a lot of repetition (in practice), we get at least a year-and-a-half or a year-and-three-quarters out of our JUCO guys," Wallace said. "A lot of coaches say you only get a year because it takes them a year to adjust."
Gueye has played well this season despite tearing an ACL near the end of last year. He could have taken a redshirt year, but decided to rehab as quickly as possible and play this season. He said he has no regrets.
"This has been an incredible experience for me," Gueye said. "I really want to thank the people of Hawaii."
Gueye said "it's very sad" that this is Wallace's last season as UH coach. Lojeski said he "changed the program."
"He's the face of Hawaii basketball and he made me a better person and a better player," Lojeski said. "He's definitely capable of coaching still."