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Now available for the first time on DVD, Shameless Screen Entertainment brings us this guilty pleasure that is Ratman, The critter from the shitter. A tale of science gone mad, topless models, beautiful locations and marauding midget monsters, were nobody is safe from the poisonous claws and teeth of Ratman.
For my first step into the world of Shameless, I thought Ratman, The critter from the shitter, would be the best place to start, because with a title and tagline as good as that, where else was I going to? And I have to say I was not disappointed.
The story starts with a genetic scientist crossing rats with monkeys, as you do, ending up with his greatest creation and his ticket to the Nobel prize, Ratman (Nelson de la Rosa – The Island of Dr. Moreau and Fuoco incrociato), which the scientist has named Mousey, how sweet. Meanwhile a photographer and his group of models are doing a shot on the island, where the scientist has been working. So now we have our monster, which has escaped, and our prey, just one piece left, our scooby-doo investigators.
These come in the form of an American writer, Fred Williams(David Warbeck – The Black Cat and Twins of Evil) and sister of one of the murder models, Terry(Janet Agren –Red Sonja and City of the Living Dead). Who do little more than annoy the local police and the car hire people.
Tension builds throughout the film with body counts rising and the constant scratchy screechy sound that Mousey makes has he gets ever closer to his prey. With this effect used to great effect in the final third of the film, where our Scooby-doo pair are held up in the scientist's house as Mousey goes about his business.
Nelson plays the role of Mousey with great zeal and adds a real sense of menace and creepiness to the role and along with the standard Italian horror requisites, gore, gore, boobs and more gore, Ratman really does have the equipment to be an effective horror movie. Though for me I have to say I couldn't stop grinning throughout the whole film, as just the notion of a monkey-rat running around after topless models was just too funny for me to take seriously and therefore see the horror in the film.
Though for my first outing into the world of Shameless I couldn't have asked for better, it has to be one of my most favourite of recent guilty pleasures that I have come across. One to dig out after the pub on a Saturday night I say, just remember to check the toilet before you go.
David Warbeck … Fred Williams
Janet Agren … Terry
Eva Grimaldi … Marlis
Luisa Menon … Peggy
Werner Pochath … Mark
Nelson de la Rosa … Mousey (as Nelson De La Rosa)
Directed By … Giuliano Carnimeo
Nelson de la Rosa (September 6, 1968 – October 22, 2006), a.k.a. Mahow, was one of the shortest men of the twentieth and twenty first centuries
Get The Movie


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Tamilnadu, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and many more states have declared the higher secondary class 12 results. The hype and hoopla, although receded, have not rested still as the anxiety of what next prevails. For students who have topped the scores, heartiest congratulations! For those who have missed their target and those who have failed, wait, you too have a reason to celebrate because you have foot the year-long journey of pressure and stress.
How to deal with the post results anxiety and still be successful?
Face the music
You know you have not studied or something went awry that you could not perform well in exams. Now, there is no magic that could have happened with your results, so why act abnormally? Accept the fruit of your work, no matter if it is sour or sweet because you have sowed it. There is no use crying over spilt milk, so move on with life. Get thinking about what best you can do next.
Talk your parents into reality
There is no reason to blame parents for their expectations for all they mean by doing it on you is to see you happy always. Sit with them and explain to them what has happened and what can be done. Low marks can never buy you happiness, but high spirits can. Not that you should not repent for your mistake in underperforming but too much of guilt could kill your next performance. So it is better to frankly talk about it to your parents and discuss your future career plans.
Also Read: 4 Tips to Make Up When You Don't Get the Required Cut Off in Exams
Every cloud has a silver lining
Worst case, you might have flunked in the exams. Does that mean that your life is doomed? NO! You still have multiple choices to move ahead. You could either take up the re-exam and get serious with its preparations or apply for some diploma courses that demands only a class 10 graduation. Again, diploma is not going to undervalue your career prospects because you could still go for a degree after diploma.
For further course of action, it is the best option for you to research about the career opportunities available for courses by browsing, asking the experts, people around, reading magazines, books and watching videos. This activity will guide you into what exactly you can do next after this disappointing results.
Stop comparing
You would have now been used to being compared with other bright students and marked as a loser in their yardstick. It is time to weed out such negative people from your life and realise that you are unique. Haven't you heard that Bill Gates was a school drop out? Get equipped with good come back statements like that and get the confidence to grow in life. On the contrary, it is advisable to remember the mistakes and stay humble than turning over confident and arrogant. Just work on getting better than looking at how good or bad the people around you have fared and comparing yourself with them.
Not everything in life gets executed just the way you want all the time. Hardworking is in your hands and the later effects are not. So be practical and stay calm to take sensible decisions whenever life puts you into a toss. Each one is special and unique. After all most of them pass out, why do the same thing?! Be different and be successful! Studying gives you a foundation for education but experiences give you lessons for life, take risks and face the consequences!
Also Read: How To Stay As A Motivated Student? 4 Tips For You

subset: commoncrawl


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'Ain't Them Bodies Saints': A Return to 'Badlands'
Ain't Them Bodies Saints floats by with an eerie, remote timelessness, maybe occurring in the past, or maybe metaphorically stuck there.
Ain't Them Bodies Saints never announces its time period. David Lowery's film begins with a title card explaining that it takes place in Texas, and the cars we see on screen, along with a lack of cell phones, place the story somewhere earlier than now, maybe the late '60s or early '70s. But the movie floats by with an eerie, remote timelessness, maybe occurring in the past, or maybe metaphorically stuck there.
In this way, the film evokes Terrence Malick's universe. Its stylistic markers are everywhere, from the dusky cinematography and long shots of fields to voiceover tracks and outlaw lovers, Bob Muldoon (Casey Affleck) and Ruth Guthrie (Rooney Mara), who vaguely recall Kit and Holly, the Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek characters from Badlands. Saints opens with Bob and Ruth in mid-spat; she threatens to leave, then tells him she's pregnant. The scene cuts to the couple together, happier, with Bob promising to take care of his new family. A few cuts later, they're in a shoot-out with the police.
What separates Bob and Ruth from Kit and Holly is their approximate pragmatism. Bob steals for money rather than killing for fun, and when Ruth wings lawman Patrick Wheeler (Ben Foster), Bob decides they will surrender and he'll take full blame for the incident so that she and their unborn child can go free. When the movie jumps ahead some years, Bob is in prison, writing letters to Ruth every day, while she and her young daughter Sylvie (Kennadie and Jacklynn Smith) live together under the watchful eye of their neighbor Skerritt (Keith Carradine) as well as Wheeler, who has taken a liking to both mother and daughter.
Foster may have the toughest job in the movie, as he submerges the dirt-bag menace that has become his character-actor stock in trade. Wheeler must show that he cares for Ruth and Sylvie without making creepy overtures or sacrificing his duty as a police officer, especially when Bob breaks out of prison (off-screen, after several attempts) in order to, everyone assumes, reunite with Ruth and the daughter he's never met. At this point, Saints becomes an inversion ofBadlands: in Malick's movie, the young lovers went on the run from everyone, destination nowhere, while in Lowery's, Ruth stays put as Bob races home.
Lowery's film is also more internal than Malick's. As misguided and sometimes opaque as Bob may be, doesn't have Kit's trigger-happy psychosis, and Ruth has a clearer inner conflict than Holly. If Ruth doesn't express her lingering love for Bob, Mara yet gives the distinct impression that she may not be so unhappy in her new life, that her daughter may add meaning to her existence that Bob Muldoon couldn't on his own. To emphasize the mother-daughter closeness, Lowery uses slow push-ins on Ruth and Sylvie cuddled together, giving their scenes a touching, understated intimacy.
Shots like this emphasize as well the intelligence of Bradford Young's cinematography, beyond its pleasing aesthetics, although it is also, at times, stunningly beautiful. His vision of Texas doesn't fall back on clichés of broad daylight over wide landscapes. Rather, many of Bob's scenes take place in or near darkness and many of Ruth's mornings and afternoons look faded and elegiac.
Not a whole lot happens in many of these scenes, which may be why it's so tempting to compare Saints to Badlands, even as it stakes out its own territory. Ultimately, Ain't Them Bodies Saints is a movie about waiting: Bob waits for the right time to sneak back to Ruth; Ruth waits to sort out her conflicted feelings; the police wait for Bob to reveal himself. It's thematically unified, but sometimes verges on dullness. Lowery's filmmaking is more accessible than that of present-day Malick (To the Wonder), but it doesn't add the unexpected digressions of, say, David Gordon Green, who also carries a heavy Malick influence in movies like Prince Avalanche. Ain't Them Bodies Saints looks gorgeous and feels emotionally real, but it's too studied too.


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As part of our corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint. As part of that, we have invested in a fleet of new Ford Transit T-200 Connect 1.6 TDCi 95 PS Trend models that feature JM Security Systems new corporate livery as well as its new logo and service icons.
At JM Security Systems, we are committed to helping our customers enjoy peace or mind by ensuring the things that mean the most to them are protected. As part of this we also want to ensure our work is matched by our desire to be a truly social responsible Company, not only from an environmental perspective, but also from our involvement by giving back to the community we work in, e.g. working closely with CrimeStoppers.
The ethos of our Company is:
Re-use, Re-cycle, Re-think
For JM Security Systems, working responsibly has become second nature, we are always looking at ways we can reduce our environmental impact across the following areas:
- Reducing our carbon footprint on the road
- Waste management
- Sustainable practices
- Sourcing quality products from Companies that have quality standards themselves
Our environmental improvements:
- Reducing the use of paper, adopting electronic systems
- Ensuring vehicles are well maintained, to ensure less carbon footprint
- Ensuring packaging is recycled
- Electronic items are disposed of appropriately
At JM Security Systems we are always looking at ways of improving our systems to make sure we are providing a quality service to our customers.
JM Security Systems is the only security company working in partnership with Crimestoppers to reduce property crime.
Crimestoppers Trust is a Registered Charity.


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Yes, it's that time of year again for me to talk about goals. We all have goals and there are certain times of year where it's extremely important we get laser focused on those goals. Obviously, most people make a lot of New Year's Resolutions and write their goals down then. Unfortunately, many of them don't look at them after January 2nd and by January 15th they are as if they never existed.
As we kick off the second half of 2015, it's important to go back and look at your goals for the entire year but it's equally important to take some time to perhaps adjust your goals and focus on what you want to accomplish by December 31.
Here are three things that I want to accomplish, that I'm going to write down (other than here) that I want to see to fruition by the time the calendar rolls over to 2016.
Revenue Goals For B2 Training & Development
I have set a specific dollar amount of revenue I want to generate through my business between now and the end of the year. There are two sides of my business: active income and passive income. Active income includes speaking, training, coaching and writing while passive income would be things like book sales, online product sales, digital downloads, virtual training courses and so forth. I have written goals on what I want to target in the second half of this year; very specific numbers in each area.
Remember it's important to know where I am in three months—I should be halfway to those goals.
Books I want to read
My goal is to read a book a month for the balance of the year. I've gotten behind on my reading though I've read some really good material this year, I've let that particular part of my personal development slip. So, I am going to read one book each month and I've already picked out the ones I want to read:
July: 7 Day Startup by Dan Norris
August: The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
September: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
October: Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hannson
November: The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload by Daniel J. Levitin
December: The Suitcase Entrepreneur: Create freedom in business and adventure in life by Natalie Sisson
There are some I've been wanting to get to that I've had on my iPad for months or maybe even a year, but for whatever reason I got sidetracked. But now that I've gotten them written down—one a month already on my calendar—I want to get them all in by the end of the year.
Group Coaching/Mastermind Program
I've had an idea for a while for a Group Coaching/Mastermind Program made up of sales professionals. It will be a small, closed group—it won't be a lot of people, but my goal is to launch it by the end of this year. There's a lot of work to be done behind the scenes with a Virtual Assistant I have working for me and my Project Manager, Jill who has been a Godsend in helping me grow my business. I have the goal written down, know what I have to do and know what results I want.
I've began with the end in mind and am working my way backward to get each step on place prior to launching it later this year. (I hope to have some more information soon on how you might be able to get involved in that program).
I would love to know what you have planned for the balance of 2015. Do you have a specific goal? Do you have something you want to accomplish? A specific amount of money you want to make? Write it down. You can even share it in the comments below and we'll hold you accountable.
You can even email me at butch(at)butchbellah.com and I'll hold you accountable! I've put mine out here for the world to see and you can hold me accountable, too!


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Judge warns of dangers of super strength cannabis as man robs mum at knifepoint to pay for drug
PUBLISHED: 18:07 28 March 2018 | UPDATED: 18:07 28 March 2018
A judge warned about the dangers of using super strength cannabis after a son admitted robbing his mother at knifepoint because he was so desperate for cannabis.
Alexander Hibbs, 24, had no cash so he pulled out a knife and got his mother to give him £10 for the drug, Norwich Crown Court heard.
Hibbs, of Southtown Road, Great Yarmouth admitted robbery and criminal damage and was jailed for two years.
Judge Andrew Shaw said that cannabis was getting stronger and more addictive and was leading people to commit crimes.
He said that Hibbs was lucky to still have the support of his mother and said: "It is not less serious because it is your mother."
Judge Shaw said Hibbs should use his time in jail to become drug-free.
Matthew McNiff, for Hibbs said that his mother accepted that her son had now learned his lesson.
He said Hibbs had written to the court to say how he aimed to now be a good son.
If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the Eastern Daily Press. Click the link in the orange box above for details.


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Two members of the School of Media Art and Design have a new chapter on animation and class in an edited collection.
July 2017
George A. Romero Appreciation
Dr James Newton offers an appreciation of the American director, George Romero (1949-2017)
- July, 19
- 1062
- Film, horror, horror films, Obituaries
- More
Doctor Who?
Senior lecturer Andrew M. Butler considers the reaction to the casting of the first woman to be the star of Doctor Who.
On Sunday afternoon, the BBC tried to break the internet.
- July, 18
- 915
- Television
- More
To Be Beside: RESORT Studios Group Exhibition
Rob Ball, Senior Lecturer in Photography, will have a new installation piece showing at the Sidney Cooper Gallery.
- July, 14
- 1077
- Art, coast, Event, Events, Exhibitions, Photography, seaside, Sidney Cooper Gallery, Social history
- More
Wanted: The Outlaw Robin Hood
James Frost has devised a mummers play for the Sandwich Folk & Ale Festival.
Rob Ball Exhibition: The Itinerant
Senior Lecturer in Photography, Rob Ball, has an exhibition of tintypes opening as part of Margate Festival.
- July, 7
- 1159
- Archive, coast, Event, Events, Exhibitions, Heritage, Margate, Photography, Projects, The Shop Front
- More


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By Tony Adams, Sports Editor
Twenty-five Top 25 lifters in the Texas High School Women's Powerlifting Association rankings in 2015. Five Top 5 lifters. One state runner-up.
The 2015 Belton Lady Tigers Powerlifting team had a banner year. They put lots of hardware in the trophy case.
The 2016 team has all sorts of potential to do the same.
Belton returns many of their ranked lifters for this season, all with state championship hopes. The training has been intense, with weights, calisthenics; duck walks around the building and other muscle building, strength and conditioning techniques.
"I am very pleased both with the number of lifters participating and the effort they are putting into workouts," Belton head coach Jason Moffett said. "We have a total of 47 girls lifting right now and they are doing a good job. Many of them are newcomers, so we are kind of starting from scratch with those, but I have already seen good improvement.
Dana Young, who was a runner-up at the state meet in the 148-pound weight class, lifted a personal-best 800 pounds (310 squat, 175 bench press, 315 dead lift) last season. A two-sport athlete (volleyball and powerlifting), she is already working towards a return to state glory under the 148 umbrella.
"With playing volleyball, we work out during the athletic period, so it helped keep me in shape," Young said. "I made sure I got to the weight room during the Christmas break to stay toned and in shape.
Young was solid in all three disciplines leading up to the big meet last year. But early on in the preseason, the junior has worked towards improving her squats.
"With the workouts that I have been given early in the season, I feel like the attention is really on my squats," Young said. "I trust my coaches and they want to get me where I want to be. They have been working with us on legs, which will work on ankling."
With the 148-pound class being one of the state's toughest, Young, Kamryn Rodriguez and Lady Tiger softball catcher Sydney Andrews will be up for the task. There is also a chance that Young could drop down into the 132-pound class (at the 2015 state meet, she competed at 139), but that remains to be seen.
"We have a great meet schedule," Young said. "We recently got Sydney and right now she is lifting more than me. So I am excited for her. She has some pedigree behind her (sister Ashleigh Andrews, who is a World-Class Powerlifter) and I know she will compete well. I am weighing in the 128-130 range right now, so we will see if I stay at 148 or drop down to 132. I will battle to place first or second at every meet."
"Well, Sydney is most certainly going to be in the running at the state meet in the 148's," Moffett said. "She has the pedigree and the work ethic to accomplish great things. Dana has actually cut a little bit of weight and it looks like she is going to wind up being a 132 this year. I think that will benefit her and our entire team. It gives us a chance to be top finishers in two different weight classes at most every meet we attend."
With having the state experience in her corner, Young is one of the Lady Tiger lifters that brings leadership and discipline into the team's mindset, as well as individually.
"We have a lot of discipline and I feel like I am approachable and encouraging," Young said. "It's not as much a team sport, but we are a team. Everyone thinks differently and different things work for different people. It's a mental game."
Maria Martinez was the only Belton lifter that was state-ranked in two weight classes: fifth at 114 (225 squat, 80 bench and 265 dead for total of 570) and 17th at 123 (185 squat, 90 bench and 265 dead for a total of 540). She teetered between the two weight classifications, but had more success at 114. She plans to compete at 123.
"I worked on my dead lift and on my hips, strengthening them," Martinez said. "I have done a lot more squat-work and overall small details. My bench was pretty bad last year and I have worked hard to get it better. I am up over my body weight now, so that really helps."
Martinez is another example of team leadership, but is quick to point out that the team supports one another.
"The team is the best support system you can ask for," Maria Martinez said. "Our team is great with constructive criticism and they push us all."
Arianna Garcia is another two-sport athlete (cheerleading and powerlifting) who has benefitted from workouts in other sports. She was ranked fourth in the 105-pound weight class in 2015 and cheerleading helped keep her in shape.
"I've gone to all the practices that there are and continue to put more weight on the bar," Garcia said. "I feel like I am getting better each day. For cheer, we work out our abs and we do the same in powerlifting as well. I am a base in cheer, so we work out our arms and that also helps out in lifting."
When it comes to meets, the girls admit that they scoreboard watch a bit, watching the score sheets at the meets they are participating in and the rankings on Texas High School Women's Powerlifting Association's website.
"During the season, we work hard and are constantly watching what others are doing and aiming to hit the regional qualifying mark," Martinez said. "Once we get to regionals, it's all about making state from there."
Moffett, assistant coach Stacy Meyers and the team are looking forward to the challenging schedule, which starts on Wednesday at Midway Invitational. The Belton Tiger Invitational will be at Lake Belton Middle School on Saturday, January 23. Copperas Cove, Waco Reicher and Temple are the other stops along the schedule before regionals on March 5 at Kyle's Lehman High School and the state meet at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi.
"Of course, we always look forward to our own invitational because you have a great opportunity to demonstrate your excellence for a home crowd, so that meet is always big for us," Moffett said. "We also scheduled a meet at Reicher this year and I am planning to bring a predominantly younger, less experienced group of lifters to that meet, so it will be interesting to see what that group of lifters can do when they are in the spotlight. My main focus is on getting ready for the Regional and State Meets, because that is where you have a chance to really set yourself apart from other schools."
Among others to watch out for will be Morgan Callin at 181 (fourth-ranked, 735 in 2015), McKenna Thompson at 132 (10th ranked, 615 in 2015), Danessa Ruiz (eighth-ranked at 198, 655 in 2015), Alicia Goodridge (ninth-ranked at 198, 635 in 2015).
"I'm expecting big things from them," Moffett said. "We have some returners that were very successful last year, including McKenna Thompson, Kamryn Rodriguez, Alicia Goodridge and Danessa Ruiz who should be even better this year. Some newcomers to really keep your eye on are Sydney Andrews, Maggie Dolan, Destinee Bautista and Serenity Yates. I expect all of them to contribute, and I believe Sydney (Andrews) will turn out to be a very outstanding lifter."
The goal is simple: to win a regional championship.
"For the girls, we want to win the regional championship," Moffett said. "That is our goal every year. After that it will be on to the state meet, where we would like to prove that we are among the best lifters in the state."


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Fasthouse represents a lifestyle that is energized and full of passion for motorcycles and motorcycle racing. The Fasthouse mission is to represent that passion to its fullest; as designers of apparel, racewear and hardware, as promoters and creators of events and parties, and always, as the purveyors of good times. Find out more at www.thefasthouse.com.
Click on images to enlarge
Photos by Debbi Tamietti and Chris Alamangos
Preston Tilford won the 450 Pro class with a 1-2 score. Tilford was one of two Pasha Racing riders in the top three. Dennis Stapleton (184) not only won the Vet Pro class, but he holeshot the first moto and led all the Pros for a couple laps.
The weekly moto wars at Glen Helen continued as REM held round two of their Summer Series. Since REM races 40 times a year, it should be no surprise that they will be holding races at Glen Helen for six straight weeks before taking a break on August 30th. This weekend saw lots of impressive battles in virtually every class on a track that was surprisingly rough—even for REM (which has a rep for being very bumpy). REM will race again next weekend. But for now, enjoy Debbi Tamietti's and Chris Alamangos' photo gallery. For more info go to www.remsatmx.com
16-year-old Jeremy Byrne (55) was close to the front all day long and ended up second overall in the 450 Pro class with a 2-3.
Justin Jones (48) raced MXA's 2015 KTM 450SXF and went 5-1. He raced most of the first moto after getting a flat front tire while leading. MXA borrowed a front wheel from Will Harper for the second moto (because there was a rock gash in Jones' front tire). Last week Jones raced MXA's 350SXF to first overall in the 450 Pro class.
Kordel Caro (672) won the 250 Pro class with a 2-1 over Cole Seeley (194) who went 1-3.
Nathan Cernicky swept both motos of the 450 Intermediate class in front of a top three of Edward Denton and Stuart Robertson.
MXA test rider Willy Musgrave hasn't raced since he finished second overall in the Over-50 World Championships back in November (behind Doug Dubach). Willy has been busy racing karts, but he had a weekend off and came out to win the Over-50 Elite class with a 2-1 in front of Willy Simons' 1-2.
We are not quite sure what normally stylish Jon Ortner is doing here, but he jumped out of the rut, locked up his rear brake and did a reverse Hoppalong Cassidy. Either way, he went 3-3 behind Musgrave and Simons in the Over-50 Elite class.
Andy Jefferson had a weekend off from managing the Husqvarna offroad racing team, so he came to REM to race. Andy went 4-4 in the Over-50 Elite class.
Val Tamietti (31) won the Over-50 Expert class for the second week in a row on his YZ250 two-stroke. Robert Reisinger was second, Dean Adkins third, Dave Eropkin fourth, Luther French fifth, Willie Amaradio sixth, Will Harper seventh, Joe Sutter eighth, Phil Dowell ninth and Bob Rutten tenth.
Heading into the second turn Robert Reisinger (96), Jon Ortner (10), Randy Skinner (383) and Ron Lawson (35) eat dirt.
Ron Shuler (33) swept the Over-40 Intermediate class in front of a top five of Mark Bowen, David Cincotta, Scotty Walker and Pasha Afshar.
Mark Bowen (126) grabs a little air on his way to second in the Over-40 Intermediates.
Pete Vetrano (37) double-classed it. Pete finished second overall in the Over-40 Novice class and ninth in the Over-50 Intermediates. For those unfamiliar with SoCal Vet class structure, a rider can move down one skill level for every ten-year age group. Thus, an Over-50 Intermediate can race the Over-40 Novice class.
Todd Sibell (130) gives Robert Marino (58) a rubber nudge. Marino's foot in under Sibell's front tire.
Tyler Gray (432) gets his rear wheel clipped by Todd Sibell (130) in the Novice race — which is a lot better than getting your foot run over.
Swedish rider Gustav Gustafsson (862) is one of a large contingent of Scandanavian riders who race at REM — Fredrik Noren, now at Team Honda, used to be one of the regulars.
Syd Woods (489) won the large Over-50 Novice class in front of Robert Pocius, Lonnie Paschal, Eric Swanson, Ted Kukla, Brian Underdahl, Scott Singer, Paul Crouch, Don Wallace and Ian Pederson. Over-50 Novice regular Brian Martin crashed and dislocated his shoulder in moto two.
Cade Matherly won the 125 Two-stroke class and finished second in the 85 class.
Find out more at www.thefasthouse.com.


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Gabrielle and her "lizards" note,
how the anole is attentive to the block
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Good Luck In College
Gabrielle has finished her project in which she was evaluating the visual acuity of Anolis evermanni. This project was part of her senior thesis at the the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. To test the visual acuity of the lizards, she used the same behavioral paradigm that we developed to demonstrate associative learning and cognitive abilities in anoles. As is the case with most behavioral projects there were a few bumps in the road. Nevertheless, Gabrielle was always excited about what the lizards will do and it was great to have her as part of the team.
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Two Bedroom Ground Floor Holiday Cottage near Bennar Beach Snowdonia | Bwthyn-Bennar
Bwthyn is the end cottage in a row of 4 converted barns in Dyffryn Ardudwy, Snowdonia. This two bedroom ground floor holiday cottage is perfect for that traditional seaside holiday.One double bedroom and one twin combined with a large lounge and fully functional kitchen means Bwthyn is ideal for families looking for a quiet break by the sea.
Large floor to ceiling windows down one side means the lounge is nice and bright as well as being spacious. A comfortable sofa and armchairs face a romantic cast iron fire set in the original stone surround. At the other end of the room there's a large dining table. Great if you're better than us at persuading the family to sit down together at meal times.
A step up leads to an open plan kitchen. Smaller than the lounge but everything you need is there. Cooker, microwave, toaster, kettle etc. Then two bedrooms, one double one twin. Both bedrooms are spacious and immaculately furnished. That perfect combination of quality period furniture combined with new and clean bedding and linen.
The bathroom has a modern white suite and shower. Here to, the original and exposed oak beams add character and a sense of luxury.
We all agreed that Bwthyn was one of those houses that has a really comfortable feel to it. A space where everyone can relax. Slumped in front of the TV, slouched over a good book, preparing a picnic for our afternoon excursion or just looking enviously out of the window at the perfectly manicured gardens. One day my lawn will look that good.
Property Details
Sleeps 4
Pets No
Smoking No
Bed Linen Provided
Towels Not Provided
Cot and High Chair On Request
Bedrooms One Double one twin bedroom all on ground floor.
Bathrooms One bathroom with shower over bath
Facilities Flat Screen TV, Digital TV, Music System, WiFi, Ground Floor Bedrooms, Fridge Freezer, Microwave, Oven, Hob, Shared Washing Machine, Designated Garden
'Bwthyn' is located, in my opinion, in one of the nicest parts of the 840 square miles that makes up the Snowdonia National Park. You're certainly in the heart of the park here. Glorious sandy beaches a stones throw to the west and un-spoilt mountain wilderness to the east.
Travel north and you come to Harlech with it's famous castle and the impressive Royal St Davids links golf course. Further north for Portmeirion, Betws y Coed and of course Snowdon itself. Barmouth and the magnificent Mawddach estuary winding its way past the foot of Cader Idris is a 5 minute drive to the south.
Lots of outdoorsy things to do in the area including the new Mecca of mountain biking, Coed Y Brenin. Definitely worth a trip, whether you're a complete beginner or one of the world class racers that visit regularly. If you consider other pursuits like white water rafting, mountaineering, wakeboarding and coasteering there's certainly plenty of opportunities for adrenalin junkies to get their fix. Personally, I prefer to stick to building sandcastles on the beach, but each to their own.
Prices and Availability
Prices and Availability
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Monday, August 28, 2017
Art in State Finalist Presentation: Nancy O'NeilCenter for Emerging Media
Finalist Presentations for project UCF-578 Dr. Phillips Academic Commons at the UCF Downtown campus The Art Selection Committee has invited the following artists / artist teams to give presentations on their work. Nancy O'NeilNew Orleans, LAwww.nancyoneil.com Additional finalist presentations will be held on August 23 and August 31 at 10:30. The University of Central Florida will install permanent public art …Events at UCF View Event
Fulbright Information Sessions (Recurring Event)The Burnett Honors College: Room 130
Discover the world on a Fulbright Scholarship! The Fulbright Program fully funds students of all disciplines to live abroad for an academic year to conduct research, pursue graduate study, or teach English. Come to one of our general information sessions or step-by-step application workshops for more information on how to apply for this incredible opportunity. Lunch is provided. Click the …Events at UCF View Event
CEL Orientations: Unlock Your Entrepreneurial Mindset (Recurring Event)Student Union: The Blackstone LaunchPad
Want to know what this entrepreneurship thing is all about? Are you interested in gaining an entrepreneurial mindset that can help you to start your business or land your dream job? If so, join us in the Blackstone LaunchPad for an introduction to entrepreneurship, startup and disruptive forward thinking! Grab some pizza with us and gain insight on all of …Events at UCF View Event
Biology Seminar - Dr. Charlie Hughes, Dr. Curt Lisle, & Anthony WehrerBiological Sciences: 209
"Arbor: Workflow Tools and Interfaces for Comparative Biology." presented by Dr. Charlie Hughes, Dr. Curt Lisle, & Anthony WehrerEvents at UCF View Event
SPA Teaching Circle: Social Media 101Health & Public Affairs II: 247
Want to learn the tips and tricks for using social media for your professional development? Join the School of Public Administration for its first teaching circle of the year, "Twitter and LinkedIn 101 for Professional and Program Growth." Associate Professor Staci Zavattaro will be the guest speaker.Events at UCF View Event
Marine Corps Pilot ProgramCareer Services and Experiential Learning: 121
Marine Fixed-wing Pilots fly some of the most advanced aircraft in the world. These officers perform essential functions of Marine Aviation—assault support, anti-air warfare, offensive air support, electronic warfare, control of aircraft and missiles, and aerial reconnaissance—to support missions around the world. Marine Rotary-wing and Tilt-rotor Pilots fly aircraft in coordination with ground forces to execute the missions of the …Events at UCF View Event
Meditation Class (Recurring Event)RWC @ Knights Plaza
Just Be Meditation Class - Take time to Just Be and join WHPS in a guided meditation class! Students only. Come reduce your stress and learn the basics of meditation.Events at UCF View Event
Multicultural Psychological Student Association's First Fall MeetingPsychology Building: 301Q
Come learn about the Multicultural Psychological Student Association! We'll be discussing how to make the most out of your major, prepare for your career, as well as network with your peers.Events at UCF View Event


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It's easy to gain a little extra weight in college but there are ways to defy this weight gain trend. It won't work without will power but you can limit your unhealthy food intake and sneak in some unconventional exercise routines.
Every college student dreads those three little words. Here's how to lose the weight without losing your social life.
You Will Need
* Iron will
* Textbooks
* Moderation
* Alarm clock
While this video is awesome, it didn't go to medical school. Always consult your doctor for actual medical advice.
Step 1: Eat smarter
When it comes to your pizza intake, you're going to have to take drastic action: No pepperoni for breakfast, get veggies on at least one slice a day, and nothing – not even breadsticks – after 2 a.m.
Step 2: Hit the books
Remember the beginning of the semester, when you bought all those big, heavy textbooks? It's time to finally put them to use – doing curls and overhead presses.
Forget lightweight Shakespeare plays – go for some power lifting with Econ and O-Chem.
Step 3: Plan limited meals
That unlimited meal plan you have isn't really a command to eat till you vomit. Try limiting yourself to one entree per meal.
Step 4: Break up
Breaking up with your high-school sweetheart? That's nothing compared to ending your relationship with the dining hall's soft-serve ice cream machine. Be gentle, but firm.
Avoid the cafeteria entirely for a couple weeks after your split. It'll be easier for both of you.
Step 5: Don't do laundry
Doing laundry is, obviously, the very worst thing about college. So put it off. For as long as possible. Carrying that enormous laundry bag to your car – to drive it home for someone else to do – will provide an excellent workout.
Step 6: Get moving
Ditch the video-game console and get a job as the college mascot or streak through the quad. Whatever you do in your free time, keep that bod moving.
Step 7: Dash for class
Every night,
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"Naaman became angry and went away, saying, 'I thought that for me Elisha would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!' He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, 'Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, 'Wash, and be clean'?" - 2 Kings 5:1-17
General Naaman has an itch. The Bible calls it leprosy but really it was more like psoriasis, because it didn't prevent him from active military duty. It just drove him completely bonkers, and everybody around him too.
He heard that the prophet Elisha had a gift with things like itches, only when Naaman gets to Elisha's house, Elisha won't even come out to see him. He sends out a servant, who says in a bored voice, "Elisha says you should go wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be made clean."
Naaman leaves in a fury. The fury of the proud. The fury of those whose power has availed them nothing. The fury of the itchy.
He is all set to go back to Syria and scratch some more, when another servant pipes up. "What's the big deal? If Elisha had asked you to do something hard, you would have done it, right? So why not do this easy thing that he's suggesting?"
When we come to God for healing, how we complicate things that are so simple. It seems as if we can't accept elegant solutions to what seem like very complicated problems. We know ourselves to be intensely complex creatures, steeped in drama. It will take years of therapy to cure us. It will cost tens of thousands of dollars. Sometimes, when I am sitting with someone who is in a lot of pain, I will ask them, "Have you prayed about it?" About half the time, they say no. They are embarrassed. That seems like too simple a solution, right? It can't possibly work.
The other half of the time, they say yes. They are usually lying. I know why they are lying - I have done it myself. They lie because they want to be the kind of people who pray to God when they have a problem, but they know themselves to be too complicated, and probably unworthy. They don't want to put God to the test, and be disappointed. They don't want to find out they are the one person God doesn't really want to heal.
God of Healing, give us a chance to notice something that is itching us. Maybe it is an unconfessed sin. Maybe it is a nagging doubt or anxiety. You invite us to turn to You. Please convince us that maybe, just maybe, it really is that simple. Amen.
Molly Baskette is lead pastor of the quirky, loveable and truth-telling First Church Somerville UCC in Somerville, MA. Read their personal testimonies in her latest book, Standing Naked Before God: The Art of Public Confession.
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text: Alexia Lisa Drake (alexia_drake) wrote in lj_userdoc, 2009-06-22 13:15:00 Alexia Lisa Drake alexia_drake lj_userdoc 2009-06-22 13:15:00 Previous Share Flag Next No mention of "Tell A Friend" in any FAQ I was about to answer a request on the Support Board, but the FAQs seems incomplete. The user wants to know if there is a limit of message we can send with the "Tell A Friend" feature. I searched the FAQ but that feature it is not even mentioned anywhere.I think it should be added in the FAQs about the Accounts benefits for all Account Type, the "Private Messages" feature is also missing from those FAQs.FAQ #38 for the Basic AccountsFAQ #263 for the Plus AccountsFAQ #131 for the Paid Accounts Tags: cat-notifs, faq302, faqadd, status-resolved Subscribe Post a new comment Error Comments allowed for members only Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal We will log you in after post We will log you in after post We will log you in after post We will log you in after post We will log you in after post Anonymously switch LiveJournal Facebook Twitter OpenId Google MailRu VKontakte Anonymously default userpic Your reply will be screened Your IP address will be recorded Post a new comment Preview comment Help 12 comments Post a new comment 12 comments


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Beautifully ornate square vintage style picture frame to suit a 4″ x 4″ picture.
These unusual frames look super cute standing alone, or in pairs. Fabulous on the mantlepiece as well as part of a stunning wall display.
Can be freestanding or wall hung using the attached fixings.
External frame size measures 6″ x 6″ (15cm x 15cm)
Available in black, gold gilt, silver gilt, ivory, or white
Other sizes also available


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In this video, Reynald guides you in the process of coding what's left and required on the client side to execute the program. He then demonstrates the finished code by running it and providing a summary of the results. The intent of this exercise is to provide you a chance think through and see how all the pieces come together for the Proxy pattern.
- So we are now ready to code the client to demonstrate the Proxy Pattern. So let's go to our Main method. And the first thing that we're going to do is to Create our math proxy. So we'll do this by instantiating a new instance of this proxy that we call CalculateProxy. And the next step is to do some math.
So, just to be neat, I'll write out to the console that we are spitting out some calculations. Throw in a little neat divider there. And for the first one ...
Why don't we go ahead and do addition on a new line? And we will add ten plus five equals. And we will use our proxy to add. And this is the method that we created. We don't need to see anything else beyond that. We'll pass in our doubles.
The values of ten and five. Beautiful. I'll copy this line and then paste, paste, paste. And modify them. So that, we can have some different calculations. We'll subtract five. Then multiply by five. And then, divide by five.
Subtract Modify our third proxy with multiplication. And then our last with division. That's it! Then we'll wait for the user by pausing the screen. So again, we're providing functionality through our proxy.
And all the implementation details regarding how that functionality is done is not known to the client. I'll go ahead and run by hitting the bug button. And there's our calculations and results. So, all in all, this pattern provides the local proxy class to give specific functionality of some class without sharing implementation details to the client. And the proxy also dictates how the client will access the functionality.
So consider this pattern whenever you want to give a client access to functionality without sharing details.
- Why use design patterns?
- Prototype pattern
- Bridge pattern
- Façade pattern
- Flyweight pattern
- Proxy pattern
- Memento pattern
- State pattern
- Strategy pattern
- Template Method pattern


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For those who have awakened to the realities of polarity and the illusions that have been constructed to maintain our collective slumber, many feel a sense of urgency to "spread the word" to others who are still "sleeping". Those who have responded to and embraced the call for Light Work feel "charged" with the responsibility to shed light in the dark regions that still permeate our planetary existence – but how?
While we each strive to manifest light in our own unique ways, we all share in common the purpose of raising the collective consciousness above and beyond this misguided and deliberately constructed illusion we call "daily life". And because we must honor the dictate of "free will" – many find themselves frustrated, confused and bewildered as to how best communicate light to those who don't fully realize the extent of the darkness.
For me, my approach has been to facilitate critical thinking and the personal investigation of the truth. I am not interested in "swaying" public opinion to conform with my own – but rather urge individuals to substantiate their beliefs, lifestyles, values and behaviors with a concrete and mindful examination of facts. While some enlightened readers may respond to this statement with the sentiment that "spiritual" domains can not be "evidenced" – as a social scientist, I realize that in order to prompt a change in perception – one must first stimulate a question in the mind of the perceiver.
Therefore, we must ask the question – why would someone who is sleeping want to wake up? What would be the motivation? It's not enough that we would like to bring others into a state of wakefulness. We must address the causes of the "readiness to wake" in the sleeping individual.
Perceptions are like cognitive anchors. Once in place – they are difficult to move. When one is faced with information that appears in extreme opposition to one's anchor (i.e., chemtrails, ET's, Ascension, etc.) – the result is typically the "digging in" of one's heels. But if the newly presented information offers a "gentle nudge" – as opposed to an aggressive "shove" – individuals are far more likely to be receptive to ideas that challenge their views of reality. The idea being that an anchor may only be realistically hoisted and relocated at the hands and free choice of the perceiver.
The struggle for many Light Workers is how to balance their own personal sense of urgency to facilitate the shift in collective consciousness with the respectful and delicate approach that aligns with free will – realizing that there are many methods to issuing a "wake-up call". We can whisper their names, we can gently jostle their bodies, we can throw cold water in their faces or we can sound the emergency alarms and sirens. Naturally, given the choice, most of us would rather be awakened with a gentler method that eases us into consciousness rather than scaring us half to death. But herein lies the paradox.
What if we are, indeed, in a state of emergency? If we notice that our sleeping neighbor's house is on fire – do we gently whisper their name or do we shout from the roof at the top of our lungs? While I still struggle with the answer – I know that we must ask this question and adopt an approach to our work that is simultaneously dedicated, pure and spiritually motivated while avoiding methods that send shock-waves through the sleeping system.
A difficult balance, at best. And indeed, waking up is hard to do. But do, we must.


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Matt Baier: Alleged Sexual Assault Victim Committed Suicide Following Attackby Tyler Johnson at .
Earlier today, we reported that Matt Baier - the fiance of Teen Mom star Amber Portwood - was accused of sexually assaulting an ex-girlfriend in 2014.
Now, Radar Online is reporting that the alleged victim committed suicide not long after the attack, just weeks before Baier started dating Portwood.
Sources say that the accuser - whom Radar has chosen to identify only as "Michelle," out of respect to her family - became even more frightened after the attack, when she discovered that Baier had lied to her about a number of important matters over the course of their relationship.
She immediately severed all communication and filed for a restraining order against the 44-year-old Boston native.
"She did some research on him, and found out a lot of what he told her wasn't true," says Michelle's mother. "She left, and filed a restraining order to protect herself."
No criminal charges were filed against Baier, but a judge did grant an order of protection requiring Baier to remain at least 100 yards away from Michelle, her home, and her place of business.
A source close to Baier claims that he complied with the order, saying, "He did not keep in touch with her, and did not know she had passed away."
Less than six months after the alleged assault, Michelle took her own life, leaving behind a young son.
Baier has been caught lying about his past on previous occasions, and he was recently sued for child support by five women who claim he failed to provide financial support for their seven children.
He has thus far declined to comment on today's developments.


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Yasalam - ETC finalists
All Day
Oct 27 2016 - Oct 27 2016
An unmissable opportunity for local musical artists, the Emerging Talent Competition will land at Yas Mall with ten finalists performing acoustic sessions. The live shows will act as a core component of the ETC which aims to offer a performance platform for local stars of the future.
1. 10 performers, 2 songs each.
2. MC Saif and Sound will be presenting the show


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Executive Summary: Today, in Announcement 2014-32 (the "Announcement"), the Internal Revenue Service clarified the rules that will apply going forward when an owner of an individual retirement arrangement (IRA) seeks to roll over a distribution when a prior rollover has been made within the preceding one-year period.
In January of this year, the U.S. Tax Court decided Bobrow v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2014-21 ("Bobrow"),in which it decided that the once-per-year limit on IRA rollovers that is imposed by the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") prevents an individual from making more than one tax-free IRA-to-IRA rollover in any one-year period, even if the rollovers are made to or from (or to and from) different IRAs. Shortly after the Bobrow decision, the IRS issued Announcement 2014-15, 2014-16 I.R.B. 973, in order to address the way in which the Tax Court applied the one-rollover-per-year limitation of the Code. Announcement 2014-15 pointed out that Proposed Regulation §1.408-4(b)(4)(ii) as well as IRS Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), provided that the once-per-year limitation was applied on an account-by-account basis, and only limited multiple rollovers involving the same IRAs. (That Proposed Regulation has since been withdrawn.) Since the Bobrow decision effectively created a new rule, the IRS said that it would not apply the Court's interpretation to transactions occurring before January 1, 2015. However, beginning in 2015, the once-per-year limitation would be applied by aggregating all of an individual's IRAs, effectively treating them as one IRA for this purpose.
In the new Announcement, the IRS reiterates that it will apply the Bobrow interpretation to IRA distributions that occur after 2014. However, it also states that a distribution from an IRA received by an individual during 2014 and properly rolled over to another IRA (in either 2014 or 2015) will not limit any subsequent 2015 distributions and rollovers involving other IRAs owned by the same individual. In other words, a 2014 distribution that is properly rolled over will be disregarded when determining whether a 2015 distribution can be rolled over, provided that the 2015 distribution is received from an IRA that neither made the 2014 distribution, nor received (or receives) the rollover of that distribution.
Although a post-2014 eligible IRA distribution that is properly rolled over by an individual to another IRA will still be tax-free – even if a pre-2015 IRA distribution had been rolled over within the preceding one-year period (as described above) – a subsequent distribution from any of the individual's IRAs (either traditional or Roth) that is received within a year after that distribution will not be eligible for rollover. In addition, a rollover between Roth IRAs will be applied to prevent a rollover between traditional IRAs within the succeeding one-year period, and vice versa. However, Roth conversions (even if effected via rollover from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA), are disregarded for this purpose, as are trustee-to-trustee transfers.
If you have any questions regarding this Alert, or how the Announcement or the Bobrow decision affects you or your employees, please feel free to contact the author of this Alert, Jeffrey Ashendorf, at firstname.lastname@example.com, or any member of FordHarrison's Employee Benefits Practice Group. You may also contact the FordHarrison attorney with whom you usually work.


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How to Install Tomcat and Java on CentOS 6.7
Verified and Tested 1/21/15
This tutorial will take you through installing Tomcat 8 on CentOS 6.7 x86_64. Tomcat is an application server that is used to execute Java servlets and publish web pages that include Java coding. Tomcat requires Java to be installed which will be covered in this tutorial.
An Atlantic.Net Cloud Server with the CentOS 6.7 x86_64 operating system. If you do not have one, consider one of our many affordable VPS hosting solutions.
Installing Java and Tomcat on CentOS 6.7
The first step to installing Tomcat is to first install the Java JDK. At the time of this article, the most up-to-date version of Java is Java SE 8u25. It is very likely that Java will have updated from this point, but the process is the same. You can find the available JDKs from the Java website.
Once on the website, click the Download button under JDK to go to the JDK's download page. Once there, choose and copy the link location for the OS that you need (in our case the Linux x64 version) and on your server type:
wget --no-cookies --no-check-certificate --header "Cookie: oraclelicense= accept-securebackup-cookie" "http://download.oracle.com/otn-pub/java/jdk/8u25-b1 7/jdk-8u25-linux-x64.rpm" -O jdk-8-linux-x64.rpm
This will download the JDK to your server where you can then install it by running:
rpm -Uvh jdk-8-linux-x64.rpm
Once that is installed, you only need to install Tomcat now. You can find the latest version of Tomcat on the Tomcat website. At the time of this article, the latest version of Tomcat 8 is Tomcat 8.0.15. You can install it by running:
wget http://psg.mtu.edu/pub/apache/tomcat/tomcat-8/v8.0.15/bin/apache-tomcat-8.0.15.tar.gz
Once downloaded, run the below to extract and essentially install it.
tar -xzf apache-tomcat-8.0.15.tar.gz
After extracting Tomcat from the download file, you have essentially installed it and it is ready for any configuration you'd like to do. Once the extraction is done, you can rename or move the freshly extracted folder "apache-tomcat-8.0.15" to anything/where you'd like. Be sure to keep track of it's location, as to start/stop the service, you will need to use the startup.sh and shutdown.sh scripts that are contained in the /bin directory within the folder. Finally, to perform any configuration, you will need to edit the server.xml which is contained in the extracted folder's /conf directory. You do not need to edit this to see if Tomcat is working. All you would need to do is run the startup.sh and the server will start Tomcat without any configuration changes being made. (Make sure you have the port open in your firewall!)
Congratulations! You have just installed Tomcat and Java on your CentOS 6.7 Cloud Server. Thank you for following along in this How-To, and check back with us for any new updates. You may want to follow the guides on changing the CentOS 6.7 hostname or spend some time learning the initial Centos 6 setup. For more information on our reliable VPS hosting solutions, contact us today for a consultation.
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A few excerpts from a 10 minute, one man live performance piece.
Using projection mapping onto street furniture, a dandypunk travels through various fantastical worlds, interacting with strange characters and treacherous landscapes, in the hope of unfolding the secrets and learning the techniques from the ancient book of "The Alchemy of Light".
Direction, illustration*, animation* and performance of all characters* by a dandypunk
*Sacred Geometry in logo by Grahame Gardner (used with permission)
*Falling silhouetted man performed by Roger Fojas
Eternal thanks to facebook.com/dollskills for many many things..
Music by Edit -Ants


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|Scene Title
|She's pretty so there must be trouble
|Late night walks interrupted by a fire spitting scion
It's night time…
The moon's light shines down on the street the night life of Hell's Kitchen comes to… life. Standing on the edge of one of the small tenants with Abba perched next to her. "I don't know why.. But something…" She says shaking her head and walks out onto the power line, in the cloak in the night. She crouches down and watches the people below her. "Abba, sweetie… You know something I don't?" Her eyes skim the rooftops and the streets. "After the harpy attack.. I worry…"
From one of the joined rooftops, walks another figure - slowly pacing his way through his birds eye view of the alley. It's electric, that feeling of 'something to come'. "Oh yeah.. There' gonna be somethin' big happen' here tonight. Ah can taste it.." The figure mutters to himself, as he readjusts the strap that keeps a fairly mean looking electric guitar at his shoulder. For the moment, the figure stops pacing, patrolling, to just watch down below.
Holding the thick black security rope-like leash on his two Shilo Shepards John Wilco clicks his tongue and waits for the dogs to sit, "It is always so enjoyable to talk of the old times with you, Jamie. It's so good to see you again but I fear that we are on dark times. Have you heard from…Your father?"
Jamie follows alongside John, hands shoved into the pockets of his threadbare jeans. "Yeah, man. It's exactly why I looked you up as soon as I got to New York," he replies as he sweeps his gaze across the area cautiously, albeit with his eyes hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. When the subject of his father is broached, he grins briefly and shrugs his shoulders. "It's been a while. I should probably try to make contact, sometime. Know where I can get a live goat for cheap?" His tone is outwardly mirthful, but there's something underneath it that suggests he's not entirely joking.
She catches the movement barely out of the corner of her eye and she stands up on the powerline. "Hello again." Layla says spotting Andre again. She takes a glance around and walks across the powerline to the opposite side of the street from Andre. She glances down at the pair of men on the street and she frowns. "Dogs…" She bends down and picks up Abba and seats her on her shoulder. "I know you don't like them Abba.."
Andre takes a literal double take, as the hello is heard. And here he thought he was being sneaky, and super hero, like. "Oh hey!" He waves, lifting up the skull painted mask. "Ah seen you bafore. Tha' coffee shop, yeah? Where tha' girl appeared?" Andre grins widely, before looking down at the alley himself. "You feel it too yeah? That tingle in tha' air? Somethin's gonna happen, Ah can feel it."
Andre squats, shifting his guitar so it doesn't hit the roof, as he places the mask back on again. "Strange place tah walk dogs eh? Unless they some kinda supah dog - flyin' an' eating the face o' crime and wha' not.."
"I haven't seen mine in ages. He's probably raping some woman in the middle of the congo while walking up a pile of bodies." John Wilco says in a not-so-happy tone of voice. "Between your old man and mine we've got a lot of mess to clean up." Rome, the larger of the two german shepards, starts to paw at his ear, letting out a low whine. "They've gotten fat and lazy." John Wilco points out, smirking.
A cold flash illuminates the alleyway for a split second. It's no clash of unnatural thunder or blaze of smokeless fire, no - it's just a camera. Somewhere down the length of the garbage-strewn alley is revealed by that flash the source of it, Gene, camera lowering in his hands as he regards a particularly curious piece of graffiti spraypainted on the wall over a druggie that's slumped over unconscious beneath some newspapers. He frowns at it through a pair of shades, and lets the camera hang around his neck, pulling out a pad and pen to take a few notes, seemingly ignorant of the others who aren't vagrants.
Jamie crouches down next to the dogs and scratches the smaller one behind the ear. "I don't really mind it," he says, as his other hand comes up to rub his left eye, sunglasses pushed up onto his forehead by his knuckles. "Nothing like the smell of titanspawn blood in the morning, right?" He pulls his hand away from his face and his sunglasses drop back down onto his nose, and then he looks over to the other dog, Rome. "Is that one always so, uh, whiney? Or is something up?" he asks as he pushes himself back up onto his feet. His head jerks in the direction of the camera flash, but it's quickly dismissed as nothing to be concerned about.
Quickly going into action at the response of the flash, Layla moves across the power line again, before dropping into the fire escape and then down to the street level. She skims the alley and spots Gene. "Oh…" She relaxes, "It's just you.. I was expecting…" She offers a smile and then strokes Abba's chin absent mindedly. "What are you doing out here, Gene?" She walks over to him slowly.
"Finally!" Andre hoots. Layla skims down to the alley floor gracefully - but Andre? Unslings his guitar, his 'axe', holding the finger board with one hand, as he leaps from his rooftop vantage spot, towards the source of the flash. He's a flutter of jacket, and clothing one moment - before hitting the ground with a solid THUMP.
"Oh hey!" Andre calls in Gene's direction. "If it ain't tha sharp shoota' himself! You still lookin' for more signs of tha' Eni-hier-jer-thingy?" If Gene doesn't object or.. shoot him in the face? Andre'll actually move to pat the man heavily on the shoulder. "An' here I was jus' lookin' for somethin' tha do tonight! Now we got a bonified monster hunt!"
"No, since moving from New Orleans his flesh has been irritated. I assumed it might be because of the climate change but Latin remains unaffected. It has to be something in the air, or the feeling, of New York." John Wilco ponders, worriedly, before tugging on the leashes for the dogs to walk again. "I'm glad you came for other reasons. I've stumbled upon two others. We were ambushed by something. Something dark and wicked."
"I'm an investigative journalist," observes Gene rather dryly, not looking up from his pad before he's finished his note, "You should expect to find me in dirty, unpleasant places taking pictures of things. What's your excuse, Catwoman?" A lift of his head, a smile crooking up a bit at one corner of his lips, adding easily, "Andre. What's the word?"
"Catwoman.." Layla laughs a bit at that. "Funny." She shrugs, "I was attacked here by Harpies the other day.. I thought I would just keep an eye on it." She offers a shrug and nods, "Of course.. I forgot." She offers a pouty smile at Gene. Abba looks over to Gene and meows at him. She glances over to Andre and offers a smile, "Nice to see you a bit closer." She keeps her eyes moving around to be aware.
"Lookin' for some excitement for tha night." Andre chuckles, in that thick Creole accent. "Ah couldn't help but feel.. somethin' in tha hair 'round here, you know? An' here Ah find the sharp shooter takin' pictures. Ah'd say it's a good sign to me." The man continues, offering Layla a slight bow. "Ah'll tell you what though. All this patrolin' is making me hungry. Ah'd kill for a burger."
"Maybe he's got allergies," Jamie offers thoughtfully, rubbing the back of his neck as he falls back in step with John, head cocked to the side as he listens to the other man. "Wait, what? You've got a Band now?" he asks and then laughs, slinging an arm around John's shoulders. "No shit? You got room for another? Going solo has never been my thing, you know." When they pass the alleyway, though, Jamie comes to a stop, hand gripping one of John's shoulders in an attempt to get him to stop, too. "What's going on down there?"
"She is way too pretty to be in this part of town. Somethings up and I don't like the sights of it." Snarls the Scion of Ares as he slides a hand into the back of his business jacket and pulls out a shortsword from a concealed sheath.
And that's when a high pitched scream can be heard from one of the buildings. More perceptive characters would notice a bright light from the window before things suddenly become quiet. Eerily quiet.
"If we stick around long enough, someone'll try and rape her," Gene says with a casual tilt of his head towards Layla, "And then you'll have some excitement… no burgers, though. Hey, I think ther's someone— " Oops, nevermind that, there's a shriek from above! He looks up, brow twitching into furrowed lines between shades and fedora. "— ah, shit."
"Always looking for some fun at night. A girl's got to…" Layla stops upon hearing the scream and then she moves into action, grabbing on to the fire escape. She looks around and trying to figure her way over to the other building. "Fuck." The supermodel uses such a potty mouth. She then drops back down to the ground and starts to head toward the building.
"Well then maybe Ah can get ma' picture taken with a few hobos. Send'em back home ta the family. Show'em that Ole Andre's makin' somethin' of him.." And then the scream. "Where that scream come from?!" The man wonders, turning around a couple of times as he looks up. Layla starts to run, and Andre takes off after her, pulling his skull painted mask down once more. "Wait for tha rest of us, no?" He calls, while running.
The scream makes the hairs on the back of Jamie's neck stand up, and he instinctually turns to face the building it came from, eyes going up to the second floor. "What the hell was that?" he asks, mirroring John as his own hand goes around to his back and under his shirt, though he just grips something there tucked into his belt, not pulling it out yet. His attention turns to John, clearly waiting for some sort of decision from the older man as to what to do.
Soon enough, there's smoke from the second floor apartment of the same said building. Where there's smoke, there's fire..
Noticing the others running to the sound John Wilco makes a split second choice, "We don't know if they mean to help or harm. Move! Get there first!" His arm jerks down and his watch shimmers and expands into the thick Spartan Aspis shield. Sword and shield in hand John Wilco makes a run for it as well.
"Yeah, this can't be good…" The other two that Gene's familiar with go charging off, and he shakes his head; moving to follow behind them, just a hair slower, the camera bouncing against his chest with every long stride.
She stops short and glances around as she spots that fire hydrant. She looks over to the other guys as she reaches down and grabs a manhole cover picks it. "Someone here good with water?" She says heading toward the fire hydrant. With that she slams the manhole cover down on the bolt of the hydrant over and over, trying to break it. "Break dammit!" She says with a singular focus.
Ah hah! Smoke! "With Wata' nope!" Andre notes, before he leaps towards that second story window - his guitar held in one hand. Again, he's a flutter of jaket, and clothing. Hopefully he'll be able to hit a fire escape or.. something. Hopefully, he won't give the occupants the wrong idea, looking as he does. "Gene! Hurry up! Let's get these folks out, yeah?!"
As soon as John gives the command, Jamie takes off running across the street, moving so fast that he's practically a blur. He'll go into the building the conventional way, however; through the front door and then up the stairs. The hand that was behind his back comes out, holding an obsidian dagger with a carved handle, but he keeps it down at his side so it's partially hidden, in case he passes any normal folk trying to evacuate the building.
"I will not let Rome burn again!" Shouts John Wilco as he skids around the trash cans in the alley way and slides to a halt next to the fire hydrant. "Let me help you with that." He says before bringing his sword up to slice down on the fire hydrant port.
"Do I look like Aquaman?" A shake of the journalist's head as he looks up at the amazing flying cajun, shakes his head, and heads at a jog for the front door. The man shouting about Rome is given a curious glance, and then Gene's heading through the door after the blur of movement, following Jamie up with a shake of his head.
Alas, no one is coming out the regular exit. Most people who have realized there's a fire are going out their windows via fireescape. Amongst the people leaving are a quartet. There's three people. A young woman of Indian descent, pretty but petite. Then there's a muscular Hispanic male carrying an unconscious young woman of Asian descent over his shoulder. Finally, there's the third, a handsome and athletic young fellow who leaves last. "We have to get her out of here.."
A smile is given as the sword and manhole cover slams the water loose. Layla eyes the people come through window. "Catch em." She says as she moves into action to head toward the fire escape and help them down. "Come on.. I got ya." She says swinging up onto the ladder and then onto the first rung of the fire escape.
Slamming his metal shield down into the ground John Wilco carefully redirects the huge flow of powerful water by reflecting it off his shield. The water spews out hard, slams into John Wilco's shield and then to the building. With his arms bulging from the required strength John Wilco slowly aims it up towards the building.
Andre lands on the fire escape structure with yet, another heavy thud, a clang - as he grips the frame, and attempts to make his way through the window. "Hello? Anyone in here?" The man calls. "Ah'm here ta' help!"
There's the blast of water towards the source of the fire. Unfortunately, there's someone in the way of the window. The force of the spray would be enough to push Andre into the apartment itself where he'd see the fire is starting to spread quickly. It's a young woman's apartment from the looks of it with pictures that are now burning.
Meanwhile, outside, the young Indian woman smiles brightly towards Layla. "Thank you..we're going to get her to a hospital.." she says ushering the hottie mchottie athletic one and the former model along with her. "Thanks!" and they start rushing towards a sedan not too far away.
Jamie slides to a stop in front of the door to the burning apartment, the worn-down soles of his shoes doing little to aid in traction. He tries the doorknob once but hisses and pulls his hand away, palm and fingers bright red from the hot metal. So instead, he takes a step back, waving his hand in the air to cool it as he brings his leg up and kicks down the door. "Fucking door," he mumbles to himself as he steps inside, and brings up his arm to cover his mouth and nose with his sleeve as he looks around for anyone trapped by the blaze.
At the shout from the fire escape outside, Gene skids to a halt just inside the apartment door — hearing something, inflection, a dischordant note. "Shit," he swears, pulling back even as the other man heads in and leaping off the side of the steps. As he catches sight of the trio heading for the car, he side-steps over closer to the man with the shield, thrusting a hand in their direction and shouting, "Turn the fuckin' water on them, don't let them get away!" An odd request, but he seems pretty firm about it!
Layla looks down to Gene and then drops off the fire escape and turns to give chase on them. She calls out, "Abba come on." She looks toward Andre, "Come on big guy… It's time to kick their ass." She flashes him a smile and continues to chase em down.
He /was/ trying to be careful on his approach on the apartment - however, as he's hit in the back with water? He tumbles inside. "Ey! Damn!" The man yells, as he makes his way towards his feet. "Hey! Anyone home?" He's just about to turn back towards the window, to follow the sound of Layla's voice - when the door is kicked in. It can't be too bad of a scene right? A skeleton themed figure, standing amidst a burning apartment with some kind of axe weapon, right?
And as people start to run after them, the young Indian woman steps back, motioning for the other two to keep on going. "Why do people need to keep on playing hero?" she asks curiously, sighing softly as she lets out a soft chuckle under her breath as she reaches back into her pocket and pulls out a zippo lighter. She flicks it open and lets a waggle of her brows as she looks towards the others present outside. "Burn.." she says and the light from the zippo flashes out towards them. It's the exact sametrick that a certain Glowbug pulls out all the time, but this time, our heroes are on the receiving end.
The kicked in door? Doesn't seem to keep Andre's attention as the flash of light comes from outside. "Oh hell.." The Cajun grunts, before moving to spring off the couch, and jump down to the alley floor. "Hang on there chere! Ahm comin'!"
And the slash of the axe on the young Indian woman causes her to cry out in pain. Her blood congeals rather quickly as she spits some of her blood as she quickly moves back. A wry grin curls onto her lips as she raises her brows, wetting her lips hungrily for a few moments, tasting themetallic taste of her own blood on her lips.
"Mmmm, another hero. You sure you want to be on their side, sweetie? I could fuck you like no one else could.." she says matter of factly while bringing the zippo near his eyes. "Burn!" she cries out once more, the fire's light becoming nearly incandescent in front of his face..
Meanwhile, the other two look back towards Preethi, raising their brows a bit. "Should we help her?"
"No..Henri said to bring the girl.." the Hispanic says as he stuffs the body in the backseat..
His axe lands, and Andre's readying himself to strike again. "Yeah? Maybe you an' me talk once you seen what you —" And then that flash of radiance comes, causing to stumble back a step. "Hey!" Andre growls, before he lifts his 'axe' above his head and leaping at the Indian woman once more. He sees about two of her, hopefully he'll aim for the right one.
When Jamie lays eyes on Andre with his skull mask and axe standing in the middle of the flames, he brings his hand up from his side, and in a cloud of smoke the ceremonial dagger transforms into a long sword made of obsidian that he grasps in two hands. He moves into a defensive position, only to have Andre leap back out the window, so what does Jamie doe? He follows after him, landing with a soft grunt on the alley floor, and then out onto the street to find skull dude and some Indian chick fighting and John is apparently out of commission. "What the hell is going on?" he asks.
Pulling his shield up to meet the glare John Wilco's eyes water from the intense pain. "Bitch!" He yells into the battle as he twists his hand and pulls back to throw his spear at the woman with the lighter. His body tenses and then twitches like a high strung bow.
"Mother… fucker…" The sunglasses, they do nothing! The Scion of Discord grimaces as his vision's reduced to flickering spots for a few moments, and it only fades a little after a few more moments. "I must be doin' something wrong, the bad girls never hit on me," Gene mutters under his breath as he tries to clear his sight, crouching slightly beside John and the fire hydrant as he prepares to take evasive action if necessary.
She covers her eyes for a moment and growls. "Ok. Bitch. I can work blinded." Layla growls, literally, and she moves forward as quickly as she can. She looks back and makes sure everyone is ok, or sort of ok, and as she closes the gap she swings around and levels a sound roundhouse kick.. Hopefully it'll hit.
Preethi just laughs the entire time as she shakes her head moving out of the day. Amixture of her own blood and ichor continues to spill on the ground as she slowly starts to heal her wounds, grinning the entire time. "Mmm, we could've fucked so good..but alas, you had to be a hero.." and she starts running off towards the car.
"Dmitry! Juan! Prove your worth to Henri now..maybe if you do so, he'll save your asses.." and off she goes in the car, letting out a hearty laugh.
The athletic muscular Andy Roddick looking one grins wryly as he lets out a soft chuckle under his breath. "She's a bitch, but you gotta admit, that was hot.." and soon he starts walking towards Layla, trying to pull her close for a kiss..a hopefully paralyzing one at that.
"The blood shall spill.." he says softly before putting his hand towards towards him…"
Juan just facepalms as he looks towards Dmitry and shakes his head. "Madre de Dios.." he says softly as he pulls out a similar obsidian dagger and starts running down his arm. As his blood spills towards the ground his eyes start to swirl with a black inky darkness, as he looks towards Andre with murderous intent in his eyes.
"The blood shall spill.." he says softly before putting his hand towards towards him…
No one outright answers him, but John attacking the Indian woman is enough of a clue for Jamie to figure it all out. She's gone before he can get to her, but he'll settle for one of her lackies; the one trying to force himself onto the supermodel, in particular. "Get away from her, you fucking pervert!" he says, and pulls one hand away from the hilt of his sword so he can throw a punch at Dmitry's face.
That was one hell of a kiss.. Layla just sort of stands there with her eyes closed, lips puckered and well, pleased… She can't really do much else.
He can feel his skin starting to split, and it makes Andre take a step back, grunting behind that skull laden mask. "It ain't ma' blood that's gonna spill tonigh' my friend. Is yours!" He grunts, before dashing forward towards his new target. Andre holds his axe low, end of his guitar surely sparking off of the grimy ally pavement - as he swings upwards, two handed.
"Shit," Gene continues to mutter under his breath, reaching into his jacket and drawing his pistol; thumb drawing back the hammer with a cold, hard click of steel on steel. A smile just-crooks his lips, as he shakes his head, "This is gonna be a huge mess."
Layla just sort of stands there with her eyes closed, lips puckered and well, pleased… She can't really do much else.
John Wilco holds his hand out and the Pilum returns, his body gets ready to throw the spear again despite how his eyes feel.
And there's Preethi off in the car, she's getting it ready as she turns on the engine.
Meanwhile, the other two Scions start to move around the others, hoping to have a less change of being hit…
Jamie has his sights set on Dmitry, now, matching the Corrupted Scion's movements as it takes them away from Layla. There's a fierce expression on the Hispanic man's face as his long sword disappears in a cloud of smoke, returning to its dagger form as he makes a fist around the now smaller hilt and swings his arm around, aiming another punch to the face.
With the engine to the car starting, Andre curses softly under his breath. "You an' me gonna have to finish this some otha time.." He grunts to scion, as he takes to the air in another 'flying cajun' leap. This time? He's aimed towards the car. More specifically, the engine block, with his axe held high over head. "Not today chere!" The skull faced man yells, as he attempts to come crashing down on the hood of the car, axe first. El Kabong strikes again!
Meanwhile, John Wilco goes somewhere to diddle himself for five seconds.
Out, out damned spot! The spotty blur before Gene's eyes holds the wrath of his 'sister' - the gun in his hand - as he gives his head a sharp shake. As the glare slowly begins to recede, he rises a bit from that crouch, keeping his fedora'd head low as he breaks into a charge across the battlefield for the half-demolished sedan, building speed as he goes.
"Pardon me…" Just before he hits the vehicle that no insurance policy will cover, he leaps up, feet lifting as he twists in mid-air like a loosed arrow to try and dive through one of the shattered windows in the back of the car, reaching out to grab the attempted kidnapping victim with one hand as he tumbles through, "…do you have any Grey Poupon?"
Gene flashes a grin to Preethi as he lands atop the unconscious woman, taking advantage of her being stunned for a moment by the destruction of half the sedan. "Sorry, hot stuff. Business, y'know," he winks—and then rolls out the broken window on the other side of the vehicle, flipping the girl out of it and on his back as he keeps moving.
The fedora never budges.
Layla just sort of stands there with her eyes closed, lips puckered and well, pleased… She can't really do much else.
Preethi is mad. And upset. And lots of other things. However, it looks like fate isnt on their side today as their only mission was ruined. And with that, she disappears in an instant. Preethi..the Indian Flash.
Things don't look too good. Someone's gone off masturbating, and it's just the two left. Preethi's gone and she was their power house. With that, the other two dash and run away..lightning sprinter like..
"Where you runnin' off too chere?! You didn' even give Andre your number yet!" The man calls, as he tugs his guitar free from what's left of the front end of the car. "Oh well.. I guess we be seen' you an your looser friends again, no? We be ready next time!" Andre laughs, as he.. well, walks out of the exploded engine block.
"And Whatch'you doin' chere? Standin' there with your mouth all puckered like that. No hobo have to work to hard to take advantage of you like tha'." Andre belts, laughter at the edges of his tone, as he makes his way towards Layla.
Her eyes blink, slowly as she frowns. "What?" Layla says to herself. "What happened? Where did they go? Did we win?" She moves around, her movements slow. "Ouch.. I hurt in odd places."
"My regards to La Fromage Noir!" A taunt cast after the fleeing scions, Gene's lips curving in a quite contented smirk as he turns around, very carefully laying the woman he's pulled out of the sedan onto the vehicle's closed trunk with a relieved shift off his shoulders. Hey, he's no hulking Viking, carrying people around isn't exactly easy for him. The pistol's holstered as he checks her over for any obvious injuries, then digs out his phone.
"She'll be alright," he reports, flipping over his phone and thumbing speed dial, "Good work, everyone."


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Mikhail Saakashvili's decision to resist authoritarianism and trust the democratic process, made amid his government's near collapse this fall, may not pan out as he had hoped.
With results trickling in at press time, it was uncertain whether the US-trained lawyer would outright win the snap polls he called in response to charges that he was behaving like a dictator by declaring a state of emergency in November.
But if Mr. Saakashvili manages to win at least 50 percent of votes in this election, or a runoff in two weeks – and overcomes the vocal opposition's protests of fraudulent polls – the result could be greater stability. Though his mandate would be weaker than when he won 96 percent in the Rose Revolution four years ago, Saakashvili could still get a second term, in which he has pledged to devote to fighting the tiny nation's desperate poverty, steering it into NATO, and bringing two breakaway regions to heel.
Monday is Orthodox Christmas, and in deeply observant Georgia, no major political activity is likely until after the festival. But at a small, snowy rally in Tbilisi Sunday, Saakashvili's main contender, Levan Gachechiladze, of the united opposition accused Georgian authorities of falsifying the exit polls and rigging the vote and vowed to fight the results in court. "We will tell Mikhael Saakashvili that it's impossible to defeat the Georgian people," Mr. Gachechiladze said. "We will defend our vote by legal means."
The Association of Young Lawyers, an independent Georgian watchdog, said it has filed about 95 complaints with regional electoral commissions in the Georgian cities of Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and Batumi. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which sent more than 400 election observers, noted that the campaign had been marred by "lack of trust and pervasive allegations of violations." But it certified the voting in Georgia's first fairly contested elections as "consistent with international standards."
But one opposition leader, Tina Khidasheli of the moderate Republican Party, says the OSCE has been wrong about Georgian elections in the past. "Look what happened in 2003, when the OSCE said the elections were free and fair," she says. "We had the Rose Revolution because we knew their results were false." She chalks up unexplained delays in preparing the final vote tally Sunday as a likely indication that officials are rigging the vote again.
In 2004, Saakashvili swept into office amid euphoria after weeks of street protests over an allegedly rigged parliamentary election that compelled former president Eduard Shevardnadze to resign. Experts give Saakashvili's first term a mixed report card, including good marks for fighting corruption, improving ties with the West, and persuading one of Georgia's three breakaway regions, Adjaria, to return to government control. Georgia's economy has grown by an average 10 percent annually despite a Russian embargo on the country's main exports.
But Saakashvili made little headway against Georgia's endemic poverty. His pro-Western stance has inflamed relations with neighboring Russia and, last November, Saakashvili imperiled his reputation as a democrat by sweeping nonviolent demonstrators from the streets, arresting opposition leaders, and closing critical media outlets during a state of emergency.
Saakashvili quickly backed off and called the snap polls. Some experts say he learned his lesson. "Saakashvili was energetic and seemed to realize and confront the mistakes he had made, while the opposition campaign was ... based on criticizing," says Alexander Rondeli, president of the independent Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies in Tbilisi. "[The opposition] are making a mistake in creating an atmosphere of mistrust. People are tired of conflict."
Others say Saakashvili's diminished vote puts him on notice. "Saakashvili will have to realize that ... he cannot claim to have outright support," as in the past, says Gia Nodia, head of the independent Caucasus Institute of Peace, Democracy, and Development in Tbilisi.
Saakashvili's campaign manager, David Bakradze, says the early elections were necessary to stabilize Georgia's government before an expected storm in relations with Russia. Moscow's backing for two breakaway Georgian territories, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, could turn into a crisis if the Western-backed Balkan territory of Kosovo declares unilateral independence – as is expected within several months, if not weeks. If the US and EU recognize Kosovo, Russia has hinted it may do the same for its Georgian protectorates.
But during the campaign, Saakashvili vowed to reunify Georgia "no matter what the cost" in 2008. This could be the key challenge of his new term, says Mr. Bakradze. "Kosovo's independence could directly cause a crisis in Georgia if the government were in transition at this time," he says. "However, with a new president and a new mandate, the risks have decreased dramatically."


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Star Wars: Tiny Death Star receives Imperial content update
Disney Mobile has announced the launch of the Imperial update in Star Wars: Tiny Death Star, allowing users to "go even deeper into the Dark Side" with an updated Imperial Assignments system. Instead of performing simple research in the floors below the base tower, this update will see users completing special events, dozens of new missions and more to earn rewards.
A new Imperial Assignments center offers 100 new missions for players, as the Emperor demands additional resources for his invasion of Rebel Bases. Weekly events will also be available in a limited time format, with special and exclusive rewards available for participation. These rewards include VIP bitizens, Imperial Bux (the game's premium currency), new character costumes, levels for the tower, and new characters.
In addition, the new Cargo Bay floor gives players easy access to all of the rewards they'll earn in this hefty new update. Finally, players can now login with Facebook to compare their progress with friends to see who has the best Tiny Death Star so far.
Developed in association with Tiny Tower creator NimbleBit, Star Wars: Tiny Death Star hit the market in November of last year with over 80 floors to build, hundreds of items to stock and a mission system to keep users pushing ever forward. The game is available to download for free on iOS, Google Play, the Amazon App Store and the Windows Phone Store.
Check back soon to follow Star Wars: Tiny Death Star on AppData, our tracking service for mobile and social apps and developers.


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In case you missed it a couple weeks ago, the latest issue of NEOTIE came out.
Headlines include:
Why Should Schools Invest in Technology? By Dr. Ken Veon
Pokemon Go Back to School By Giovanna Orlando
Poke a Stick at It: Being a Lifelong EdTech Learner By Eric Curts
Traditional vs. Progressive Education: Why the Battle? By Vicki A. Turner
Writing and Communication: The Importance of Conveying Message and Online Identity By Sean Whelan
eBook Creation using GAFE in the Primary Grades by Stephanie Sholtis
Tips Every New Teacher Should Know by Mike Daugherty
Also, the NEOTIE conference is coming up next Saturday, October 1! There are still tickets available (only $15!), and you'll get free coffee, breakfast, lunch and a t-shirt. More importantly you'll be collaborating with the best kind of professionals, those excited to learn about innovative technology on a Saturday.


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***Valentine & Stitch patterns are sadly no longer available in the marketplace***
Who doesn't love a free pattern?? I got to know the lovely Helen of Valentine & Stitch during the #sewapril17 challenge and I'm so happy that I did! Not only is Helen super friendly and kind but she and her husband are talented pattern designers so of course I was delighted when she announced that they would be releasing their first free pattern!
Lotus was recently released at the beginning of May. It is a versatile blouse in two versions. Version A being an off-the-shoulder tunic with a dipped hem while Version B has a narrower neckline and falls at the hip. It is an easy and satisfying sew that can be made an afternoon.
I sewed mine up in a lightweight jersey knit that I purchased at my local fabric store Fabric Planet. I picked a neutral gray because I want to be able to wear this with a variety of outfits. It has the right amount of stretch and drape for this pattern on top of the fact that it is really nice to the touch.
I decided to sew up Version B in XXS size and it fit like a glove around my bodice but I found that at this size for my body type the length did not hit me at the hip. That was totally fine though because it works perfectly with mid to high-waisted jeans which are very stylish right now. I went for this size because if I don't go for the smallest size I end up with a garment that is too big. However, there will be plenty more Lotus' in my future and the fun part is that I can play with the length to my liking. I think for my next one I will go for the XXS but cut the length at an XS or S instead. Either way I can't get over how cute Lotus is! 🙂
Don't miss out of this fun and easy pattern! Check out Lotus from Valentine & Stitch and give Helen some love on Instagram @valentine.and.stich
Happy Sewing!


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This picture looks best with just white crayon lines (no pencil) so my lesson plan uses mostly tracing of cut-out shapes instead of drawing them.
1. Each student needs to draw three trees on a smaller sheet of scrap construction paper and cut them out. They may use a small piece of double-stick tape to mount the three trees on a piece of watercolor paper. (Please note that the diagram to the right uses a gray paper only so that the lines may show.) The edges of the trees may go off the page, if necessary. A ground line is drawn with the white crayon below the trees.
2. Using the white crayon again, trace around the edges of the three trees, pressing firmly to make a thick line. A moon may be added to the sky, along with lots of dots for snow, and a yellow star (in yellow crayon) above the middle tree. The crayon lines may be hard to see at this point, so the students have to work carefully to not miss any steps.
3. I used watercolor that comes in tubes as the white will not be found on your average school watercolor tray. Each student needs just a bit of white and blue, and some water so they may mix a tinted paint color. After removing the two outside cut-out trees, the tinted blue may be painted over those trees, and the sky, and around the moon. At this point the white lines become apparent so that the last paint step is easier to do. Let the tinted paint dry.
4. A bit of straight blue paint is mixed with water and then painted around the trees to fill in the sky. The moon and middle tree and ground remain white. The star could be deleted to just make a non-religious winter landscape painting.
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Tinted Christmas Tree PaintingBy Kathybarbro @KathyBarbro
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Sons of Zion, who featured in Issue 66 of SPASIFIK Magazine, have released a new music video for their latest single 'Now' ahead of a summer 2016 tour with Katchafire, Aaradhna and sometimes KORA.
The boys have spent the year playing to audiences around the globe, including a recent tour in Hawaii, shows in Australia and their Hungover Tour of the North Island.
With a new album on the way, Sons of Zion have new tracks on offer along with their latest singles NOW + HUNGOVER as well as all their well-known hits.
Their new video is a fun lighthearted watch to match the summery tune.
Check out their new music vid below followed by their December tour dates.
Tour dates:
Mon 26 Dec 16 Mangawhai Mangawhai Tavern
Tue 27 Dec 16 Russell The Duke of Marlborough Tavern
Wed 28 Dec 16 Coroglen Coroglen Tavern w/ Kora
Thu 29 Dec 16 Whakatane Whakatane War Memorial Hall w/ Kora
Fri 30 Dec 16 Petone Beach McEwan Park w/ Kora
Sat 31 Dec 16 Oakura , New Plymouth Butlers Reef
Tue 3 Jan 17 Gisborne TBC w/ Kora & MORE TBA
Wed 4 Jan 17 Napier Sacred Hill w/ Kora
Fri 6 Jan 17 Opononi Opononi Hotel w/ Kora
Sat 7 Jan 17 Mangawhai Mangawhai Tavern w/ Kora


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In most cases, gratuity will be calculated in your contracts. But for other vendors, tipping is not an obligation, but is welcomed and highly recommended. The rules of wedding etiquette are constantly changing, which makes it difficult for modern brides, grooms and guests to find today's proper way to go about tipping the hired help. In many cases tips are included in the contract. However with a few exceptions, it's not required to tip your vendors, although many couples may choose to add gratuity after the event, with the amount depending on their performance. But how much is enough? Our … Read More →
With yet another season of autumn just around the corner, a beautiful time of the year when the leaves begin to change and great things are bound to happen. Why not plan an amazing occasion for you and your partner one in which you incorporate your proposal? Great idea you say? We were thinking the same thing! From a simple hike up the Rocky mountains, or a horseback ride through the valley, to a romantic hot air balloon ride, we have the perfect ideas for those of you who are planning on popping the question this fall! There is no … Read More →