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Having dried his tears and collected the assorted toys from outside his pram, a l’Arse-supporting chum earlier this week sent a message my way, the gist of which was that he was scratching his head in bewilderment trying for the life of him to remember the last time Spurs had enjoyed a week of quite so much good news. The man has a point. The derby win was followed by Champions League knock-out qualification, which was followed by an approving nod for a new Tottenham-based stadium, which has been followed by news that Michael Dawson is back in training, and even the rumour that Ledley is gingerly lifting himself from his wheelchair, sellotape and blu-tac duly applied to his balsawood limbs.There is talk in some quarters that our heroes really have turned the corner, and that those mentioning Spurs as potential Premiership or Champions League winners ought not necessarily to be thrown into a dusty spot of land and given a damn good thrashing for crimes against reason and common sense. A cautionary note echoes around the walls of AANP Towers for sure, as there remains a strong chance that we will finish the season not only empty-handed but also trapped in the arid and unforgiving wasteland that is the Europa League. As such, the policy around these parts is not to speculate too wildly about how the world might look come May 2011, but simply to wring every last drop of enjoyment from the present moment.
The abacus has been dusted down, and all manner of rigorous arithmetic drills undertaken, the upshot of which is that AANP can confirm that in all competitions it is now three wins and counting for our lot – and in a spirit of bonny, blithe and gay optimism I am rather inclined to think we will have our fourth come Sunday evening. The danger after a good Champions League win is that the next pre-match huddle actually consists of the players patting one another on the backs for a midweek job well done, rather than spitting, snarling and straining at the leash in preparation for the forthcoming 90 minutes. No such danger this Sunday I would hazard. The time for complacency was probably Wednesday night, with the memory of the Emirates still fresh, but Liverpool at home represents a bigger kettle of fish, the importance of which is unlikely to be underestimated.
VDV may again miss out, and the list of other absentees remains longer than a gangly limb of Peter Crouch, but there is positive news in both the return to fitness of young Master Defoe, and the sparkling efforts of Aaron Lennon on Wednesday night. If both he and Bale could hit top form simultaneously cracks would probably appear in the High Road N17 as Mother Earth struggles to cope with the thrill of it all. The bubble will burst eventually, but I have faith in our heroes to maintain the winning habit for at least one further week.
Ahoy-hoy! Still in triumphant spirits I hope? Floating hither and thither about your business aboard Cloud Nine? Excellent stuff.A more rigorous examination of the potential pitfalls and glories of Sunday’s encounter is imminent on this very corner of the interweb, but until then do pour yourself a cheeky little something from your finest bottle of bourbon, and have a look yonder. The Liverpool Offside is to football blogs on the red half of Merseyside what Mrs Van der Vaart is to footballing WAGs the world over. With Spurs – Liverpool on the horizon, The Liverpool Offside and All Action, No Plot settled down to chew the fat, and if you click right here can indulge in the entire ruddy conversation!
The Liverpool Offside: I have it on good authority that Gareth Bale is in fact more powerful than seven Super Messis and that his merest glance can destroy worlds, or at the very least Brazilan fullbacks, a species of footballer we find ourselves in possession of. I have also been lead to believe that he will be sold to Guangzhou FC in January. Is there any truth to this?
Spurs 3-0 Werder Bremen: Have You Ever Seen Anything Like It?
A strange old evening for sure. There have not been too many occasions on which I have lamented the fact that Jenas has been forced to depart early, yet he has been in relatively steady form in recent weeks and made an eye-catchingly positive start last night, so I rather felt for the chap when he limped off. Moreover, with Hudd off radar for a few months we can ill-afford to lose another central midfielder for any length of time.
That said, this was one of the best days Sergeant Wilson has had in months. Every tackle seemed perfectly-executed, and (almost) every pass distributed simply and accurately. Further curiosity was to be had in the serenading of William Gallas with the strains of “Yiddo! Yiddo!”, as he effortlessly outmuscled the German mob. In so many respect things are a-changing at the Lane these days.
That said, it was the usual scintillating stuff from young Master Bale, who added a Cruyff-turn to his super-human repertoire. Personally I am convinced that he was actually aiming for the cross-bar with that second-half free-kick, for the very best players set themselves those sorts of challenges, and as for the penalty – well, like forearm tattoos and the pre-match huddle, missing from the spot is just a trend amongst the current crop of heroes in lilywhite. It will pass.
And while I’m grumbling, perhaps this is a good opportunity to draw attention to the manner in which my heart-rate quickens whenever Benny Assou-Ekotto goes near the ball. He is not a particularly bad player, simply maddeningly lackadaisical about just about everything he does. I’m not sure there has ever been another Spurs player at whom I so constantly want to bellow “CONCENTRATE, you loon,” as he attempts shoulder-dinks and the like on the edge of his own penalty area, whilst working assiduously to pick out opposition players with every pass.
All things considered however this was probably as serene a Tottenham victory as I can remember. It may not prove the most thrilling of our commemorative DVDs, but it is probably worth purchasing simply for the variety of rare bonus features thrown in – a clean sheet, a sprightly Aaron Lennon, a Kranjcar cameo and, taken in its entirety, a Tottenham performance that was just about the epitome of professionalism. Admittedly Bremen were woeful, but we threw away a two-goal lead against them before, and conceding at any point until we scored our third (the 80th minute) would have made for a nervy finish. Instead we were dominant and efficient from start to finish – I frankly cannot remember the last time I ever saw that from Spurs. Whatever next?
Spurs – Werder Bremen Preview: Last Ever Champions League Night at the Lane?
It has been so much fun watching l’Arse fall apart at the seams over the last few days that I had almost forgotten we have our latest Biggest Game In Recent Memory tonight. Victory tonight would guarantee qualification to the knock-out stage of all things, and another chance for ‘Arry to shoehorn a mention of “Two-Points-Eight-Games” into his post-match press rounds. Of course in theory if things go awry on the pitch tonight – and off-pitch in the coming months – it could actually be White Hart Lane’s last ever Champions League night, which is a slightly gloomy thought. That really is a worst-case scenario however, for it seems far likelier that one way or t’other we will be reconvening in the spring for more of this floodlit revelry.These continue to be heady times for the Band-Aid manufacturers of N17, as Bale, VDV and Kranjcar are the latest injury doubts. In fact the curse of wearing a Spurs shirt and promptly collapsing in a bloodied, mangled heap has even reached AANP Towers (broken foot in Monday’s 5-a-side, since you ask). As it happens, on paper at least our team retains a look of some adequacy, for 12 months ago we would have fancied our chances with Lennon – Jenas – Palacios – Modric lining up across the midfeld. Moreover Defoe is back, looking sharp and sprightly, and now having added Aerial Bohemoth to his list of attributes, judging by his performance on Saturday. This being the Champions League, and they being foreign opposition, tonight ought also to see the transformation once again of Peter Crouch from gangly halfwit whose only value is in assisting defensively at set-pieces, to unplayable goalscoring machine who leaves opposition defenders gibbering in awe, unable to fathom which limb they should approach first.
Apparently Bremen’s recent form has been of the variety to leave their fans rushing for the nearest high ledge off which to hurl themselves, but if they are in the Champions League they can pack a punch, and in the second half in Germany they made us all sweat. No doubt they will come armed with some sort of stifling, hard-working game-plan, and if we really are minus both Bale and VDV, as well as Hudd, our attacking prowess might be a little more laboured than that to which we are accustomed.
Nevertheless, Champions League nights at the Lane have so far tended to result in goals a-plenty, at least one dodgy penalty and a handsome victory, so I anticipate that it will be a cheery mob crowding the White Hart Lane train platform come 10pm tonight.
And all across the lovelier half of North London, grins remain, just lingering in the air. What a marvellous weekend’s work.
Fully aware that we had failed to win away at the top four since the last Ice Age, ‘Arry ordered our heroes to adopt The Lazarus Approach that has served us fairly well on a couple of occasions this season on our travels in the Champions League. Accordingly, our lot just did not bother in the first half when things began at 0-0, instead opting for the challenge of overturning a multi-goal second half deficit, against a ticking clock and away from home, because it’s just much more fun that way. With the second half comeback in mind, the central midfield of Jenas and Modders diligently avoided doing anything that might be interpreted as gaining a semblance of control of the game in its opening 45 minutes, and also surreptitiously made their excuses whenever the back-four needed help in that lamentable first half.
All of which set things up nicely for the latest chapter in the ongoing 4-4-2 vs 4-5-1 debate. How easy it is to forget how at the start of the season ‘Arry was derided for the gung-ho 4-4-2 away to Young Boys. No two ways about it, on Saturday the half-time switch to 4-4-2 helped to prompt the about-turn. Amidst all the excitement and nerves, from my lofty perch I must confess that I rather ignored some of the subtler tactical nuances of the game, and opted instead for the more Neanderthalic approach of screaming and cursing at the TV whilst slurping beer, spearing wild animals and making fire. Nevertheless, on reflection it did seem that the addition of Defoe made the world of difference, not least by giving the l’Arse back-four reason to break sweat; while our 4-4-2 featured a distinctly narrow midfield four, which mightily effectively nullified the other lot.
Van Der Vaart – Huzzah!
VDV remains convinced that the boundaries of the pitch are marked by electric fences rather than white paint, and consequently spent his time as a right-winger ploughing straight up and down the centre of the pitch – but given that he created/scored all three of our goals, I think he earned the right to sit down on the centre-spot and smoke Amsterdam’s finest for the rest of the game if that is what he wanted. The chap’s technical mastery and love of the game was epitomised in his assist for the first goal, when I’m pretty sure he actually kissed the ball as it dropped from the sky, before letting it roll down his chest and flicking on to Bale.
A propos Bale, the slick manner in which he collected the ball without breaking stride was worth a goal in itself, at least in terms of downright dreaminess. As luck would have it the equally slick manner in which he then flicked the ball past Fabianski was worth a goal in the more commonly-recognised literal manner. Aside from the magnitude of the occasion, in terms of pure quality, it was a cracking little effort – as most of his goals tend to be.
However, while VDV and Bale did the glamorous stuff, the hero of the hour and a half was back at the other end of the pitch. In recent weeks on this very corner of the interweb the commitment of Gallas to the lilywhite cause has been under great scrutiny, with suspicion rife at AANP Towers that while picking up his pay-cheque from Daniel Levy he still packs his sandwiches in an Arsenal lunch-box. Yesterday however, Gallas turned in the performance of a man possessed by the spirit of an indomitable blue and white cockerel. In the first half in particular, while his lilywhite chums fell over themselves to let l’Arse do whatever they jolly well pleased, Gallas shook a clenched fist and did his damnedest to keep those rotters at bay, with all manner of crunching tackles and dogged harrying. Whatever next?
We tend not usually to bother with the opposition around these parts – ‘tis a Spurs blog after all – but having watched the game in the company of a couple of gooner chums the sweet smell of Schadenfreude has been wafting through the corridors of AANP Towers all weekend. Sometimes a memorable win is marked by a performance practically perfect in ever way (Inter Milan, or Chelski last season, par example). This time however, I’m happy to accept that we were awful in the first half, and hardly vintage Tottenham Hotspur in the second. It was not so much a game that had me beating my chest with pride as crying with laughter come the final whistle, for the glory glory of this occasion was to be found in the quite magnificent manner in which l’Arse imploded. Within spitting distance of the top of the table they completely lost the plot, with their handshakes and handballs and whatnot. To nab game, set and match, from two-nil down, and on their own patch – it was just too much fun.
While our heroes no doubt charged off to Faces to celebrate, ‘Arry ensured that everyone associated with the club kept their feet on the ground by talking up our title prospects. It is possible for sure, mathematically and all that, but AANP is not going to grab its latest pay-cheque and charge down to the bookmakers quite just yet.
As with Saturday’s win, success this season seems likely to be aided as much by the shortcomings of others as by our own good work. One startling feature of this campaign has been the fact that every five minutes one of the genuine title-challengers is losing to a non-descript team from somewhere in that grey mid-table area. One or two good wins by any of the top five and over-excited types start making breathless noises about winning the title – which is actually a Man City reference. Opportunity certainly knocks for someone or other, and for all our dropped points against Wigan and West Ham, another top four finish remains very much within our grasp (although the return of the Champions League this week will presumably dent our league form once again).
Still, even if the season ends in the ignominy of failure to win the Premiership, we have already ticked off more boxes than I would have dreamed possible a few months back. Wins at home to l’Arse and Chelski last year; and sealing our top-four spot; and beating Young Boys; and beating Inter; and beating l’Arse on their own pitch – in isolation all of these are just commemorative DVDs, but add them together and our heroes are trundling along in the right direction, make no mistake.
Seasoned visitors to these parts will now that on three occasions each year we simply cannot prophesy doom quickly enough. Away games at l’Arse, Chelski and Man Utd – absolutely positively guaranteed to find the famous “AANP Cheery Optimism Counter” stuck at zero for the duration of the weekend. It’s not just at AANP Towers either – I haven’t met a Spurs fan this week who gives us hope of any more than a draw. In fact, having watched the England match on Saturday I rather fancy I have glimpsed the future and already seen how Saturday’s game will pan out – lots of chaps in white shirts scurrying about with noses in air, trying desperately to get a sniff of the ball, as various French types exchange a few too many slick one-touch passes around our penalty area.The remaining 35 league games of the season I genuinely think we ought to win – all of them – but this is one of the unholy trinity, and I don’t see the pattern changing until I’m grey and old. One never knows though, and while as a fan of many years I have the prerogative to settle down into a grump ahead of this one, I expect nothing less that fire in the belly and passion stirring the souls of the eleven in lilywhite out on the pitch.
Presumably Monsieur Wenger has hired a sniper, or my conspiracy-theorising, Spurs-supporting chum Ian is right, and William Gallas really is still on the l’Arse payroll with strict instructions to search and destroy, because the Hudd is now out of action too. Forever, from what I can glean.
If there is a silver lining to this, or indeed a straw at which to be groped with blind hope, it is the curious trait developing in ‘Arry’s reign for all manner of prodigal sons to come racing back into the fold, make themselves at home and transform into uber-beings of their former selves. This time last year Vedran Corluka was still waddling around the White Hart Lane turf, and Gareth Bale was about to shipped off to Nottingham Forest, while as recently as this summer just about 50% of Spurs fans had wiped Alan Hutton’s very existence from their memories. Since then Bale has become the white Pele and Hutton has established himself as the pick of our back-four, whilst possibly the last two chaps we ever thought would form our central defence have formed the bedrock of a win over Inter.
The point of this little warble is that Hudd’s absence will neatly open the door to some other lucky blighter, and history suggests that the next three months might therefore be the making of Jenas, Sergeant Wilson or Sandro. Indeed, whisper it, but Jamie O’Hara is still officially a Tottenham Hotspur employee. The mind boggles.
The merits and less meritorious facets of 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 were given a slightly lop-sided airing on these very pages last weekend, but the question now has a cunning twist, as the messenger pigeons come bearing news that Jermain Defoe has been sighted with jaws locked in a chomp around what is widely known as the bit. Marvellous news I’m sure you will agree, but how does this fit with the head-hurting permutations of 4-4-2 and 4-5-1.
Earlier this season on England duty Defoe played atop the formation, with Rooney in a VDV-esque position in the hole, and the entire thing turned into a neon-lit success – yet it seems rather unlikely that such a vertically-challenged type as Defoe will be asked to lead the line as lone striker in a 4-5-1.
A more feasible scenario would be Defoe trotting out with a bona fide striker alongside him, which would suggest Princess Pav or the wretched Crouch in a 4-4-2 (with VDV adopting that suspiciously central “right flank” role once more). Not tomorrow perhaps – away to l’Arse it seems almost certain that we will go with 4-5-1, and quite probably shunt Sergeant Wilson or Sandro into the midfield, in a desperate effort to get close to Fabregas and his chums as they triangle themselves to death -, but longer-term the return of Defoe gives us a fresh option, and a forward who is a darned sight better than Crouch when it comes to thumping the ball goalward when presented with a chance.
Defoe or not, there is doleful morbid pessimism around these parts, but by jove I hope that this defeatist stance proves wildly wrong come tomorrow afternoon.
Spurs 4-2 Sunderland: 4-4-2 or 4-5-1?
Blessed relief. With the 4-4-2 formation, flowing pass-and-move stuff and hatful of chances throughout this was vaguely akin to the glory glory days of way back in season 2009-10. Seeing Paul Robinson look on forlornly as the ball crashed repeatedly into the net really did give the afternoon a retro feel, but after our recent run of form the priority was three points in any manner possible, and they have accordingly been lapped up most gleefully around these parts.
For all the doom and gloom of poor form and lengthy injury-lists in the build-up to this one, I was thrilled to bits to see our heroes trot out in good old-fashioned 4-4-2 formation. It served us jolly well last season, both at the Lane and on our travels, but the kids these days are all peddling some variant of 4-5-1, and with VDV blazing magnificence in every direction we have duly adopted it ourselves. It is understandable enough away from home on big European nights, but at home to Blackburn ‘Arry quite rightly decided to revert to the more attacking set-up of yore.
It all worked fine and dandy. Jenas and Modders took turns at loitering deep, but by and large all four across the middle merrily wore their attacking hats; and with two bona fide strikers on the pitch we did not face the difficulties of previous weeks, of lacking presence in attack. Here at AANP Towers we whisper snide remarks and begin malicious hate-campaigns against one-man attacks, and stomp our feet in rage when that one-man attack consists entirely of Peter Crouch, but conversely, nothing soothes the savage beast around these parts quite like a two-pronged forward-line, and so it proved yesterday.
Of course, the flip-side of a 4-4-2 is that it leaves VDV homeless. Presumably he was the nominal right winger on the teamsheet, but by and large his contribution to the right flank amounted to little more than an occasional glance in its direction, as he took up residence further infield near familiar chums like Modders and Bale. By accident or design VDV’s general neglect of the right flank proved not to be a problem, as Alan Hutton seemed quite happy to do the job of two men, bombing up the flank and sprinting back to defend faster than you could say “Vedran Corluka”.
I can grudgingly admit that there is indeed a time and a place for 4-5-1, but not at home to colourless mid-table fare of the ilk of Blackburn. Given that we beat l’Arse, Chelski, Man City and Liverpool at the Lane last season with 4-4-2, I quietly hope that more often than not at the Lane (that is, in matches in which our heroes amble out onto the pitch as favourites) we retain this approach, and find a way to accommodate VDV accordingly.
On the subject of our two forwards, what a curious old bean our resident Russian is. He seems dashed determined not to score unless the finish involves high levels of complexity and a jolly good hammering of the laws of physics. As such straightforward penalties and one-on-ones do not interest our Pav, but the less-than-entirely-straightforward chance presented yesterday was positively gobbled up with minimal fuss. All told it was a good lively showing from the Russia, moaning and fussing about the nasty Blackburn rotters ‘tis true, but also demonstrating a laudable willingness to scurry to all four corners of the lush green turf.
I would like to think that long after the game has finished and fans have departed, Modders remains out on the White Hart Lane turf simply for love of the game, continuing to control the ball immaculately, dip his shoulder and look for a pass. Not as headline-grabbing as some of his peers, but a joy to behold and currently looking like a man thoroughly enjoying life.
As for his central midfield partner – lo and behold. No doubt the entire global membership of The Society of All Things Sideways and Backwards watched on aghast yesterday, as their leading proponent repeatedly broke the habit of a lifetime. Jermaine Jenas has generally edged the better side of average on his appearances this season, and it was most pleasing to observe yesterday that every time he received possession he seemed determined to push forward in search of glitz and glamour. He is hardly in the same class as Messrs Modric and VDV when it comes to caressing the ball as if it were a svelte brunette in a revealing dress, but his energy and attacking intent were most impressive, and he helped give our midfield fairly healthy balance – quite a feat considering that we were without either a genuine right-sided outlet or deep-lying holding type.
Having already proved himself adept at dribbling, crossing, shooting, as well as boasting the ability to hurl in a throw-in like a man possessed, young Master Bale has now ticked “Scoring With Head” off the list of attributes required by a bionic footballer. His questionable fashion sense remains however, the man who once sported a hair-clip pin thing (to give it its technical name) in his mop yesterday opting for bright pink tape across his thighs. Still, whatever works for him.
A bird? A plane? For those scratching their heads in utter bewilderment I can confirm that it was indeed a Tottenham goal from a corner. My oh my, whatever next?
We threatened to throw away a 4-0 lead, but 15 minutes proved not quite long enough for the Kaboul-Gallas comedy routine to hit top gear (I should retract that actually, as both made cracking goal-line clearances), and in truth we ought to have won by far more than a two-goal margin. With l’Arse, Liverpool and Chelski all rapidly approaching on the horizon, a win yesterday was an absolute necessity, so give yourselves a round of applause chaps. The league remains such that the current occupants of the top four positions have been dropping points with gay and fairly frequent abandon, so fret not at our current state, behind Bolton and Sunderland. Despite the mishaps of recent weeks our heroes are by no means out of the running just yet.
Heavens above, have you seen our injury list? What the blazes are they doing to the players in between match days – wrestling with tigers? Jumping through fiery hoops? Just standing in a big circle thrashing each other with great big iron bars? Whatever the training drills, something has gone horribly wrong, as Bentley, Hudd, Lennon, Keane, Giovani, Daws, Ledders and O’ Hara are all out, and whinging Princess Pav is a doubt (although I am willing to wager that he’ll be tickety-boo come Saturday afternoon).
No further injuries amongst the back-four, which I suppose is a good thing, although given the madness of recent games I’m not entirely sure how to greet the news that Gallas and Kaboul will be strolling out shoulder to shoulder on Saturday.
Scavenging amongst the bloodied limbs at the training ground, ‘Arry and chums have actually managed to rescue a midfield that retains a rather exciting look, which is a pleasant surprise. Bale, Modders and VDV have all been cocooned in cotton wool, and will be carefully unwrapped and delicately placed out on the pitch. They ought to be joined by Niko Kranjcar, who has been quietly shuffling towards the exit door in recent weeks. The chap’s grumblings of discontent are understandable, but it was unfortunate that he performed quite so anonymously when granted his neon-lit chance at Bolton last week. I fervently hope he excels tomorrow, because although it is difficult to accommodate him within the current starting XI he did enough last season to indicate that he is a quality player, and one very much carved in the Tottenham mould.
One way or another we really ruddy well absolutely have to pick up three points tomorrow. Concerns about our striking deficiencies, the startling regression of Sergeant Wilson and the cracks in our back-four can probably wait for another day. The eleven who take to the pitch are likely to be the only ones not covered in bandages and supported by crutches, so we will jolly well have to accept and support them. The suspicion here at AANP Towers is that l’Arse and Man City will keep dropping points every now and then, but it won’t matter a jot if we grind to a halt at home to the likes of Blackburn each week. Three points, I beseech ye, three points.
I suppose that after Saturday’s relentless barrage of thwacks at the Self-Destruct button by the esteemed members of our back-four, we good members of the N17 public ought to have expected one more seismic defensive catastrophe on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, the Kaboul-Gallas Chuckle Brothers audition was so wince-inducingly, jaw-droppingly awful it is probably destined to join Rob Green’s summer howler by being immortalised in Lego.
A dashed shame too, because that aside we had looked fairly sturdy value for three points. It was by no means a performance of such riveting gung-ho that it made me want to scamper atop the Empire State Building and beat my chest with pride, but we rather rudely hogged the little round yellow thing from our visitors for most of the night, and made reasonably good use of it too. Scythe them open relentlessly we did not, but regularly prod and poke at them we did, our heroes giving their goalkeeper a good, honest work-out. It was the sort of display that ought to have secured a 1-0 win on a Tuesday night.
Instead it seems that if we are going to finish in the top four we are going to take the scenic route. All is not lost quite yet, for while Chelski might hit top gear soon and go motoring away from the rest, it is difficult to envisage the current top four making a clean break from the rest. L’Arse and Man City can be relied upon to drop points every few weeks – perhaps not in such belief-defying manner as our lot, but one way or t’other nonetheless – and a run of three or four successive victories at any point between now and the festive season ought to set us up nicely for a fresh implosion come spring.
Back to the game, and while it rather got lost in the fine print, I would happily have stayed at the Lane overnight and beyond, with eyes closed, simply replaying over and over in my mind’s eye that shot from Hudd. The technique of the young man makes me want to cure the blind, just so that they can observe, and then be blinded afresh by its magnificence.
I’ll give young Master Bentley a nod of approval too, for his efforts. Not a pat on the back – he wasn’t that good – but a nod of approval. A different sort of bean from Aaron Lennon, Bentley does seem to dovetail quite well with Alan Hutton (which I realise is possibly just a euphemistic way of saying that Bentley is rather slow). He knew the drill, and unencumbered by the vat of hair-gel atop his crown he did his best to whip in crosses, mixing things up with the occasional shoulder-drop and dink inside.
Plenty of grumblings have been grumbled about the penalty, an incident which (when viewed on a TV replay) led me wondering if it is possible both to award a spot-kick and book a player for tumbling in the same incident. Anyway, given that our nation’s finest might well have disallowed VDV’s goal for sneaky use of the arm, it seems that in this particular instance ying and yang have reached a healthy compromise.
Two points, four games. Mercifully the next fixture is just five minutes away, and a fine, flowing, three point-earning display on Saturday ought to paper over some of the cracks. Nevertheless, we natives are, if not quite restless, certainly discombobulated, as to how to reconcile a win over Inter with one point from games vs the combined might of Bolton and Sunderland.
Spurs – Sunderland Preview: Consecutive Wins? Why The Devil Not?
One point, three games. Generally the solution at AANP Towers when things are not quite tickety-boo is to drink plenty of water and wait it out. In extreme circumstances we have even been known to chew on some raw garlic. However, something a little more drastic will probably be required from our heroes tonight, to shake them from the alarming torpor that characterized Saturday’s performance.
Things have gone so wildly awry in the league that we are now level on points with Liverpool, who I’m pretty sure were about to sack their manager and explode in a ball of flames a moment ago. There is nevertheless a salutary lesson to be gleaned from their fortunes, in providing evidence of the wholesome benefits of a string of consecutive victories. Three wins on the bounce has Liverpool back in contention for the top four; we now find ourselves playing host to Sunderland and Blackburn within the space of a week, a double-header that suggests that if we play our cards right by Saturday night we could find ourselves breathing down the necks of those rotters from l’Arse and Man City once again.
No Aaron Lennon, which suggests that Niko Kranjcar or David Bentley might be invited to watch in awe as Alan Hutton goes surging beyond them on the right. If fit, VDV and Hudd will presumably return to central midfield, while I imagine Jeans has also risen up the midfield pecking-order, simply by virtue of not being Palacios or Sandro; and Pav for Crouch is the logical but by no means certain alteration in attack.
It appears that Darren Bent is absent for the other lot tonight – bad news for my Fantasy League team, but good news from a lilywhite perspective, as Bent, like Kevin Davies, is one of those types who always seems rather likely to find our net one way or t’other. This means that the dashed exciting Asamoah Gyan ought to be in action for Sunderland tonight, representing another useful test for Younes Kaboul. I am beginning to grow quite fond of the boy Kaboul. He blinking well needs to iron out those lapses in concentration – sliced clearances and whatnot – but it’s nice to see someone big, strong and quick on the prowl in our defence. As that evil Emperor chap noted of Darth Vader when he was still a fiendishly annoying young whippersnapper, I shall watch his career with interest.
With the Champions League anthem removed from the playlist for the next week or two I have supreme confidence in our heroes tonight, and indeed on Saturday. A return to our daring, doing best ought to do the trick, for when our lot start to purr, particularly at the Lane, few sides in Christendom can live with us.


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VIEWS ! This brand new executive family home in lower Chartwell offers excellent ocean and city views. Located on a quiet and desirable cul-de-sac within walking distance to Sentinel Secondary School, Chartwell Elementary school & Hollyburn Club enjoy a sensational entertainment sized deck with amazing views offering a relaxing & peaceful place to unwind. This home features rich hardwood flooring & luxurious carpets throughout. Breathtaking views from the living & family rooms & kitchen & bedrooms. This home offers the perfect family lifestyle on the best street, Open floor plan, 4 ensuited bedrooms upstairs and media room and two guests bedrooms in lower floor. The garden is lovely & includes fireplace & fountain in the patio and pitch & putt in your own backyard. Pleasure to show !

industry_corpus2: Real Estate & Construction


text:
Dale DeNardo and Nico Franz are offering a new, advanced undergraduate course “Tropical Biology” in the summer of 2014. The course is scheduled to take place from June 07-27, 2014, on location in Gamboa, Panama (Canal Zone, Soberanía National Park). It is part of ASU’s Partnership program with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Interested students can contact Dr. Franz, and should also follow updates on ASU’s Study Abroad Office website. Below are links to two pertinent PDFs and a general text introducing the course.
Update – November 26, 2013: We now have an official SAO Web Brochure for the course at https://studyabroad.asu.edu/?go=TropicalBiology. Students can apply using this link.
Update – December 04, 2013: The course is now officially SAO approved, with a course program fee set at $4370. The Flyer has been updated. On-line applications now possible via the SAO link above.
Update – December 06, 2013: ASU’s Study Abroad Office has a comprehensive summary page regarding student financing options – Financial Aid, Scholarships and Grants, Community-Based Funding, etc. – for participating in the Tropical Biology course. Students are strongly encouraged to explore this resource and/or contact SAO directly to learn about specific financing options. More information on this soon.
Update – June 28, 2014: The trip to Panama has ended successfully. See Tropical Field Biology – Panama 2014 in Review.

industry_corpus2: Subject Education


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Posted by Brynn Cahalan on Wednesday, July 18th, 2012.
You can’t call yourself a true garlic lover until you’re daring enough to try garlic ice cream…and like it. I fell in love with garlic ice cream back in 2006 at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, one of the largest food festivals in the United States with food, drinks, arts & crafts and live entertainment. It’s a garlic lover’s paradise with garlic-enhanced dishes like calamari, scampi, garlic fries, and of course, garlic bread.
Posted by Alexia Detweiler on Tuesday, July 10th, 2012.
I’d like to preface this post by saying that Americans are all wrong about food. All of our individually-packaged, single-order meals create a society that’s all about selfish eating (this one is mine and that one is yours). We even have individually-wrapped cheese! “Family-style” is a generally associated with eating at home or hokey, themed restaurants. But we’re wrong, food shouldn’t be hoarded, it should be shared down to the last bite.
Posted by Alexis ZK on Tuesday, July 10th, 2012.
Early last week, I returned to the United States for the first time in a year. After a year of adapting to other cultures, I was ready to unleash my inner American. And what better time to do so than the Fourth of July?
Posted by Alexis ZK on Wednesday, July 4th, 2012.

industry_corpus2: Hospitality & Catering


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A little outing for a little grey kitty.
I think the leash was a precaution. They brought a crate, so I doubt they take him out walking.

industry_corpus2: Agriculture & Fisheries


text:
The metacoder package. It's crantastic!
Tools for Parsing, Manipulating, and Graphing Taxonomic Abundance Data.
A set of tools for parsing, manipulating, and graphing data classified by a hierarchy (e.g. a taxonomy).
metacoder_0.3.1. Released 3 months ago.
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metacoder_0.2.1. Released 12 months ago.
metacoder_0.2.0. Released over 1 year ago.
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Search for metacoder on google, google scholar, r-help, r-devel.
Visit metacoder on R Graphical Manual.

industry_corpus2: Computing & Telecommunications


text:
Chemicals are part of our daily life. All living and inanimate matter is made up of chemicals and virtually every manufactured product involves the use of chemicals. Many chemicals can, when properly used, significantly contribute to the improvement of our quality of life, health and well-being. But other chemicals are highly hazardous and can negatively affect our health and environment when improperly managed. Heavy metal pollution and contamination can arise from many sources but often arises from metal purification processes, such as the smelting of copper and the preparation of nuclear fuels. The water run-off from these industries can result in contaminated soils.
Arsenic (1): Arsenic is a chemical element present in the environment from both natural and human sources, including erosion of arsenic-containing rocks, volcanic eruptions, contamination from mining and smelting ores, and previous or current use of arsenic-containing pesticides.
Arsenic may be present in many foods including grains, fruits, and vegetables where it is present due to absorption through the soil and water. While most crops don’t readily take up much arsenic from the ground, rice is different because it takes up arsenic from soil and water more readily than other grains.
Long-term exposure to high levels of arsenic is associated with higher rates of skin, bladder, and lung cancers, as well as heart disease. The FDA is currently examining these and other long-term effects.
It’s important to note that all arsenic is bad. However, Clean Label Project tested for total arsenic and did not speciate into arsenic types.
Mercury (2) : Mercury exists in various forms, and people are exposed to each in different ways. The most common way people in the U.S. are exposed to mercury is by eating fish containing methylmercury. Other exposures may result from using or breaking products containing mercury.
High exposure to inorganic mercury may result in damage to the gastrointestinal tract, the nervous system, and the kidneys. Both inorganic and organic mercury are absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract and affect other systems through this route.
It’s important to note that all mercury is bad. However, Clean Label Project tested for total mercury and did not speciate into mercury types.
Cadmium is an extremely toxic metal that results from iron or other types of ores being mined, processed, or smelted and the nuclear industry. Studies have shown that it can have adverse effects on the heart and digestive system.
Lead is a toxic substance present in our environment in small amounts. In the United States people may be exposed to lead when it is present in dust or dirt, drinking water, or food. Lead in soil can be deposited on or absorbed by plants, including plants grown for food.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has called for stricter regulations when it comes to lead levels. AAP says that the science shows that there is no safe level of blood lead concentration (2) linking it to lower IQ scores and academic performance, inattention, impulsivity, aggression and hyperactivity.
A final product is only as good as the sum of its parts. When it comes to food production, the quality and purity of the raw ingredients matters. In many cases, brands, knowingly or unknowingly, source ingredients from suppliers that may not have sufficient quality control/assurance program in place preventing the use of unacceptable chemicals (e.g. pesticides and residual solvents).
Pesticides (1): Pesticides are chemical compounds that are used to kill pests, including insects, rodents, fungi and unwanted plants (weeds). Pesticides are used in agriculture, to kill pests that damage crops. By their nature, pesticides are potentially toxic to other organisms, including humans and animals, and need to be used safely and sparingly to minimize contamination to food stuffs.
Residual Solvents (2): In food processing, residual solvents, as the name suggests, is the remaining solvent that is present after doing some type for extraction. Residual solvents usually occur when the required processing and solvent-purging methods or steps are not properly utilized. For example, hexane is a petroleum by-product of gasoline refining and a common solvent used by conventional grain processors to extract oil from different grains such as corn, soy, and canola. Most soybeans are processed through a hexane bath to separate soybeans into oil, protein and fiber. Soybean processing releases this highly explosive, neurotoxic chemical into the environment where it reacts with other pollutants to create ozone, which is a serious human health and environmental hazard. While solvents can be important tools in the food manufacturing process, they should not be present in the final product.
Mycotoxins (1): A toxic substance that is created from molds growing on wheat, corn, nuts, and grains.
Melamine (2): Melamine is a chemical used in making plastics, adhesives and industrial coatings. In the U.S., melamine is used to manufacture plastic products, paper, paperboard and kitchenware, including bowls, plates, mugs and utensils, as well as other products. Melamine is also the very same chemical found in tainted baby formula that killed six babies in China in 2008 and sickened thousands more.Melamine and its analogues have been used as a way to “trick” testing to reveal higher nitrogen content and therefore its apparent protein content.
Melamine alone causes bladder stones in animal tests. When combined with cyanuric acid, which may also be present in melamine powder, melamine can form crystals that can give rise to kidney stones.
Antibiotics (3) : The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a report on the rise of antibiotic resistant superbugs resulting from the overuse of antibiotics in livestock to preemptively treat illness and disease. The CDC referred to antibiotic resistance as the single biggest threat to public health and safety.2 Repeat low-level exposure to antibiotics can render them useless when an illness or infection occurs in a human that necessitates the use of an antibiotic. Clean Label Project tested for the presence of residual antibiotics in the food products.
BPA/BPS (4): Bisphenol A (BPA) and Bisphenol S (BPS) are industrial chemicals that are widely used in the production of plastics (used in food contact materials, such as baby bottles and food containers) and epoxy resins (used as protective linings for canned foods and beverages and as a coating on metal lids for glass jars and bottles). These uses result in consumer exposure to BPA via the diet. These chemicals have been linked to hormone disruption.
Whether you use protein powder to bulk up or lose weight, everyone that drinks protein powder is looking to complement their already healthy lifestyle choices. Let’s be honest, you’re using protein powder because you want more protein. That’s why when looking at the Ingredient Quality for Protein Powder, we benchmarked the quantity of protein you get per serving. In other words, what products are giving you the most bang for your buck when comes to the actual protein content of each protein smoothie/shake you consume. A 5-star rating means that the product was among the best of top selling protein powders when it comes to actual protein per serving. A 1-star rating means that the actual protein is low in comparison to other top selling protein powders in the marketplace.

industry_corpus2: Petrochemicals


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You are here: Home / Sports / #Royals fan can brag that they have the best catcher in baseball.
#Royals fan can brag that they have the best catcher in baseball.
Salvador Perez made it to the Major Leagues because of his arm. Perez could clock throws at 1.85 seconds glove-to-glove. The Major League average is two seconds flat. In his major league debut in Tampa, Perez picked off Casey Kotchman at first base in the fourth. In the eighth, Perez threw to third base to nab Sam Fuld, on a failed squeeze play. He also picked up his first major league hit in his first game off Wade Davis.
In fact, Perez should have been on the field to receive Davis’ strike three pitch to end the 2015 World Series, but Perez was lifted for pinch runner after Salvy led off the 12th inning with a base hit. That opened the flood gates to a five-run inning, allowing the Royals to coast to their first World Series title in 30 years.
We all know and appreciate Perez for his amazing defense and his incredible arm, but his offense has made huge strides in the last three seasons, clubbing 60 homers and 204 RBIs. Finally, Perez is recognized as one of the best offensive catchers in baseball.
Perez picked up his fourth straight Gold Glove Award and on Thursday was awarded the Silver Slugger Award. Despite hitting just .247, lowest of his career, he topped his career best by one with 22 homers and had his best OPS in three seasons at .725 in 2o15. Perez broke his own Royals franchise record for home runs.
Royals fans can say with pride, they have the best catcher in baseball.

industry_corpus2: Sports


text:
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Read what satisfied customers have said about Bennett Insurance Agency.
Whether you’re looking for a local agent to discuss your policy, or to bypass the confusing automated systems of large firms, the Bennett Insurance Agency can customize your service to fit your specific needs.
We can assist you in shopping for insurance for your home, auto, business, employees, life, or even securing health insurance for your family!

industry_corpus2: Finance & Economics


text:
THERE ARE SOME ARTISTS WHOSE ART MAY BE EXAMINED WITHOUT MUCH STUDY OF THEIR BIOGRAPHIES, OR REFERENCE TO THEIR LOVED ONES, WHILE WITH OTHERS THEIR WORK IS SO CLOSELY LINKED TO THEIR FAMILIES THAT IT BECOMES ESSENTIAL TO ANY ANALYSIS OF THEIR OEUVRE. MIKHAIL NESTEROV (1862-1942) IS AMONG THE LATTER: THIS ARTICLE, WHICH INCLUDES MATERIALS, LETTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHS FROM VARIOUS ARCHIVES, EXAMINES THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ARTIST'S FAMILY AND HIS WORK. THESE LETTERS HELP US SEE WHAT IS USUALLY HIDDEN FROM THE VIEWER'S EYES - THE DIFFERENT ROLES THAT AN ARTIST'S FAMILY PLAYS IN HIS LIFE. NESTEROV'S FAMILY MEMBERS OFTEN INSPIRED HIM TO CREATE HIS PAINTINGS, OR SERVED AS "PROTOTYPES" FOR THE SUBJECTS OF HIS LARGE-SCALE WORKS, EVEN FOR THE FRESCOES THAT THE ARTIST CREATED FOR VARIOUS CATHEDRALS. WITHOUT DOUBT, THIS WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE ARTIST; HE WROTE THAT "...IF THERE IS A FACE, THERE IS A PAINTING. IF THERE IS NO [FACE], NO EXPRESSION THAT I SEEK <...> - THERE WILL BE NO PAINTING. LIKE SEROV, IT IS THE HUMAN SOUL THAT I NEEDED FIRST AND FOREMOST." IN MAKING THE ACQUAINTANCE OF NESTEROV'S FAMILY MEMBERS IT IS NOT ONLY HIS LETTERS AND PAINTINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT, BUT ALSO THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT HAVE BEEN PRESERVED, WHICH SOMETIMES REFLECT MUCH ON NESTEROV'S CREATIVE PROCESS. THE LEGACY OF THE ARTIST'S DESCENDANTS, WHOSE LIVES WERE PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCED BY THE PERSONALITY OF THEIR FATHER AND GRANDFATHER, IS ALSO REVEALING.
On May 31 (19) 1862 a baby boy was born in Ufa, who would be remembered in the history of Russian art as Mikhail Va-silyevich Nesterov. But back then, Misha was a little mischief-maker who was as far from being respectfully called by his name and patronymic as he was from art. The only son of a merchant, he was his father's single hope of preserving the family business. when his parents sent the twelve-year-old Misha to study in a secondary school in Moscow, the only thing that betrayed the boy's future as an artist was the fact that he was quite fond of drawing. Misha's passion for drawing was so strong that it impressed his teachers; it was on their advice that his father Vasily Nesterov (1818-1904) gave the boy permission to leave the school and start, in 1876, his education at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
In making this decision, Vasily Nesterov was also making a sacrifice: he realized that there would be no one to take over the family business, and it was not long before he closed it down. However, he did not just send his son "sailing" out on his own: he warned Mikhail that he would only consider him an artist when Pavel Tretyakov acquired one of his paintings for his gallery. This happened in 1889, when Tretyakov purchased "The Hermit" from Nesterov, and a year later, the gallery acquired "TheVision of the Young Bartholomew". Thus, Mikhail Nesterov had succeeded as an artist in the eyes of his family.
Nesterov remained grateful to his father for the rest of his life -for letting him take "the chosen and beloved path" , and for financing his education. His mother Maria (1823-1894) provided a different kind of support, described by Nesterov in his memoirs: "I have always felt, and still feel that no one ever listened to me or understood my childish, young dreams, my fears, my plans like she did; though uneducated, she was so caring and considerate, she lived entirely for me and through me - my darling mother." Images of Nesterov's parents survive in their portraits, now in the Tretyakov Gallery, which he painted while still an art student in the 1880s.
Nesterov's letters to his parents and sister cover the period from the end of the 1880s through the 1890s. written by a young artist at the beginning of his career, they often read like notes from a diary; the reader is able to get an idea of some events of Nesterov's life, as well as his intentions and plans. He often shared his thoughts with his loved ones and asked them for help and advice. His correspondence reflects one such "family council" - in 1897 the artist wrote to them about his desire to donate his series of paintings dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh to the Tretyakov Gallery; he was asking for their opinion and was prepared to change his mind should they disagree. His sister and his father (in spite of being a merchant) supported Nesterov in his decision to donate art worth a few thousand rubles, and it is thanks to this that the paintings are now housed at the gallery.
However, his parents' influence on Nesterov's art was indirect. The inspiration he received from his beloved first wife, Maria Marty-novskaya (1862-1886), was much more profound. The artist met her in Ufa in the summer of 1883. Later in life he described meeting his future wife for the first time: "The young lady kept walking; I followed her slowly [on horseback]. we went on like this for a while, and I noticed that the stranger had guessed that the rider was not just out and about, but rather had a purpose, so she began watching him through a small hole in her umbrella..." The artist made a drawing depicting this encounter and called it accordingly "The First Meeting". It was the first of a whole series of Maria Martynovskaya's images; more than that, it was in that summer that the female image itself became part of Nesterov's art - before then, it had been absent from his drawings, studies and paintings.
In the autumn following his acquaintance with Maria, Nesterov returned to Moscow to continue his education. The love-struck couple only saw each other again the following summer; Nesterov worked with renewed tenacity between his visits to Ufa. He finally obtained the long-awaited title of a "free (independent) artist" in 1885 and married Maria in the same year.
what was the artist's first wife like? "She was not beautiful in the ordinary, conventional way. what she did have was elusive charm, innate originality <...> and amazing femininity, which was so attractive not only to my father, but everyone who knew her. [Like] a first spring flower with its delicate scent," wrote Olga , Maria and Mikhail's daughter.
The birth of Olga, Nesterov's eldest and favourite daughter, was the source of great joy for the couple, but Maria developed complications after childbirth, and soon died. Shaken, Nesterov poured his grief into art: "That bitter-sweet feeling still upon me, I drew a lot back then, and the image of my deceased [wife] would not leave me; her features were everywhere, the peculiarities of her face and her expressions came back to me and found their way into drawings and sketches. <...> It felt like she was with me then." Nesterov captured his late wife's image in a posthumous portrait (which he later destroyed) in her wedding attire, as well as in his painting "Bride of Christ". In the same way that the first meeting of the young couple was reflected in Nesterov's drawings, his last farewell to his dying wife was depicted in his watercolour "The Last Sunday. June 1 1886."
"My love for Masha [nickname for Maria] and losing her made me an artist, brought substance into my art that had not been there before, gave it feeling and a living soul - in a word, everything that people came to value, and still value in my art," Nesterov wrote to describe the important role his wife played in his development as an artist.
Unfortunately, very few of Maria's letters survive today; Olga, the eldest of Nesterov's children, gave some letters to the Tretyakov Gallery but requested that they not be published. Nesterov's letters to Olga are marked with special warmth; they give the reader a chance to appreciate his attitude towards her mother. One letter helps us clarify the date of Maria Martynovskaya's death. Many researchers have mistakenly stated the date, which is never clearly indicated in the artist's memoirs, as May 29. However, in his letter to Olga of June 1 1906 Nesterov wrote about marking the anniversary of her mother's death on that day. Another fact pointing to June 1 is the name the artist gave to the watercolour depicting his dying wife, "The Last Sunday. June 1 1886." Also, it was June 1, not May 29 that fell on a Sunday in 1886 - it was indeed on a Sunday, according to Nesterov's memoirs, that Maria died.
Nesterov painted many portraits of his oldest daughter, who reminded him of his beloved late wife, the most famous of which is "Portrait of O.M. Nesterova" ("woman in a Riding Habit", or "Amazon"), executed in 1906; he painted it in between two dangerous operations that Olga had to undergo, expressing his fear of losing her and his desire to preserve her features in his art. Nesterov's friend Sergei Durylin wrote to Olga about this portrait: "In the same way as 'the girl with peaches' (Vera Mamontova) is the best, the fairest Russian young woman of the 1880s, so is 'the girl in a riding habit' (you!) the best and fairest Russian young woman of the early 1990s. <...> How marvelously did he [Mikhail Nesterov] combine here his love for his daughter with his admiration for the young Russian woman." Quite justly, the artist considered this portrait among his best works, and viewers mainly know his daughter Olga from it.
It is less known that Olga Nesterova continued her father's work and became an artist herself. An intriguing note from Nesterov to his very young daughter, written in block letters, is kept at the Tretyakov Gallery. The artist is asking her to have her photograph taken for a portrait and includes a rough sketch with a note that says "You can colour it"; indeed, the drawing is "finished" with coloured pencils. It seems it was with such "colouring" and "collaborative work" that little Olga started drawing. She did not receive any formal art education; however, from Lyolya Prakhova, a friend of the family who was briefly engaged to Nesterov, she learned to create silk embroidery using a special stitching technique of the 16th-century embroidery masters, and her works were indistinguishable from watercolour.
Mikhail Nesterov met Lyolya Prakhova after he moved to Kiev, where he was invited to take part in painting the interior of the Cathedral of St. Vladimir. It was there that he became close to the family of Adrian Prakhov, who was in charge of the work on the cathedral; Prakhov's daughter Elena (1871-1948), who was nicknamed Lyolya, became a dear friend. The artist found Lyolya to be talented, uncommonly pure and kind, and chose her as his model for painting the image of St. Varvara in the cathedral. As a result, the small saint in the fresco had such a likeness to Lyolya that one of Kiev's grandes dames declared: "I cannot pray to Lyolya Prakhova!", and Nesterov was required to re-paint the image, making changes to the saint's pose and face.
The artist was convinced that Lyolya Prakhova was someone who understood him very well: "That part of my soul, or my spirit that was the source of my art, the source of 'Bartholomew', 'Tsarevich Dmitry' and my other paintings, that corner of my very nature, my creative soul was not known to many - maybe two or three [people]. My late mother knew it, and Lyolya Prakhova guessed..." In 1899, "after ten years of friendship", Nesterov proposed to Lyolya, and was accepted; however, the engagement did not last, which did not prevent them from remaining lifelong friends. In one of the letters (included here) Nesterov wrote to his daughter Olga fourteen years after he and Lyolya Prakhova broke their engagement, he remembers Lyolya not as a friend, but as someone who was once his muse.
Nesterov's new love, and the mother of his middle daughter Vera , was Yulia Urusman (1877-1962), a teacher. Her images in Nesterov's art would later be referred to as "Nesterov's woman" - a refined and spiritual face, enormous sad eyes full of deep feeling... Yulia Urus-man's image became part of such works as "Thoughts", "Beyond the Volga", "Aksakov's Motherland", and "The Raising of Lazarus". Yulia also modeled for Nesterov's frescoes in the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy; her features may be discerned in the frescoes Nesterov painted for the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Abastumani. In Nesterov's "Holy week", one of the female figures is that of a woman holding a small light-blue coffin (coffins of this colour were used to bury male babies who died in infancy) - this image also likely related to Yulia Urusman and Fedya, her son with Nesterov who died at birth in 1902.
Nesterov also painted several portraits of his daughter with Urusman, Vera. The artist complained to Vera that her features proved "elusive" to him, that he was not entirely happy with his portraits of her; it was only his 1918 drawing of Vera that he praised: "...as good as Valentin Serov's."
Even though Urusman and Nesterov remained friends all their lives, his letters to her are little known. At the same time, much of his correspondence with his daughter Vera was preserved and can help us understand Nesterov's life in the 1920s and 1930s. The artist's granddaughter (Vera's daughter) Maria Titova published these letters in 2012. with Ms. Titova's permission, one of them is included here; in it, we see Nesterov not as an artist, but as a devoted, albeit strict father and grandfather, a witty man with a way with words.
In 1902 Nesterov married again - his bride, Yekaterina Vasilyeva (1879-1955), was a schoolmistress at the Kiev Finishing School, where Olga, Nesterov's eldest daughter, was studying. In a letter to Alexander Turygin, the artist described how they met: "About three weeks ago, I was told that a certain schoolmistress from the Institute (whom I did not know) was asking for permission to visit me and see my painting - young, beautiful, a favourite of the Countess Kono-vnitsyna , et cetera. I agreed... and now this young woman has fallen in love with me, passionately and with abandon, and I fell in love with her like a schoolboy. She is indeed beautiful, tall, elegant, very intelligent, and by all accounts, a wonderful, steadfast and selfless person."
The artist's second wife remained his faithful companion for 40 years, until the end of his life. Nesterov valued her "unusual, heartfelt and intelligent interest in his art", her "love for everything he holds dear" ; in his correspondence, he often mentioned that Yekaterina took care of household work. "My wife is in the kitchen, cooking, roasting, darning all sorts of things - and I keep painting," he wrote to his friend Turygin.
Yekaterina's portrait, which the artist painted in 1905 in their apartment in Kiev, was Nesterov's first portrait that he considered good enough to be exhibited. The sadness, sorrow and disappointment, the discord with the world that filled his earlier female images, in this portrait gave way to peace of mind and harmony, to a quiet delight in the world. Later, the artist would paint many more portraits of his wife and use her as a model for an icon and frescoes at the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent; thus, she served as the model for Mary listening to the words of Christ.
After a year of marriage Yekaterina gave birth first to a daughter, Natalya (another daughter, Nastenka, was born in 1904 but died in infancy), and then their son, Alexei, in 1907. Nesterov would paint numerous portraits of his children with his second wife, and his son Alexei would also serve as the model for the young boy who sees Christ in "In the Land of Russia (The Soul of the People)". For a long time the artist was looking for the right image and the right pose, so when one day he noticed all that in his son, he hurried to take a photograph (published here).
Mikhail Nesterov's correspondence with his second wife and their children is housed at the Tretyakov Gallery. The artist's letters to his wife Yekaterina are "active", so to speak. Many of his letters to his oldest daughter may be called lyrical, while his letters to Turygin are philosophical; his letters to his second wife may be called "epic" as it is narrative that prevails in them. written when they happened to be apart, these letters contain detailed accounts of Nesterov's everyday life, of his social meetings and impressions; they prove that the artist's wife did not only help him run the household - he often asked for her assistance in his work. In one such letter, Nesterov outlined Yekateri-na's role in their life together: "you are the wheel in our mechanism (but I am still the mechanism!)".
Nesterov's letters to Natalya and Alexei (Alyosha), his children with Yekaterina (in the Tretyakov Gallery Manuscripts Department), echo the impressions the viewer gets from their portraits. Natalya's letters are alive, vibrant and sharp, and that is how she comes across in the portrait "Young Girl by the Pond", painted by her father in 1923. In contrast, Alexei's letters are more measured and contemplative, very much like his image in his father's 1919 study "Portrait of Alyosha Nesterov". The artist was well aware of how different his children's personalities were - in a letter, he called Natalya "Master Natasha" and Alexei - "Miss Alyosha".
As for the future lives of family members: Irina Shreter (1918-2003), the daughter of Olga Nesterova-Shre-ter, became a production designer; her work in the cinema included such films as "Girls", "The Garnet Bracelet", "Master of the Taiga", "At Home Amongst Strangers, a Stranger Amongst Friends", and others.
Nesterov's other granddaughters, the children of his middle daughter Vera Nesterova-Titova, became successful scientists. Tatiana Titova (1939-2010), the younger of the two, earned a graduate degree in physics and mathematics and worked at the Institute of Physical Chemistry. The older one, Maria Titova (born 1937) is a Professor of Medicine at the Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery. Maria fulfilled her grandfather's desire that one of his relatives became a medical doctor; to this day she remains the guardian of her grandfather's legacy.
As fate would have it, the second husband of Nesterov's daughter Natalya (1903-2004) was Fyodor Bulgakov (1902-1991) , the son of the Russian philosopher Sergei Bulgakov, one of the subjects of Nesterov's painting "The Philosophers".
Alexei (1907-1942), Nesterov's son with his second wife, was a professional horse breeder, an amateur artist and photographer; he also wrote poetry, and one of his poems is included here. Alexei died the same year as his father after a long battle with tuberculosis.
Mikhail Nesterov himself remained in good spirits and continued painting until the end of his life. He was 80 when he died on October 18 1942 in the arms of his wife Yekaterina, who, along with his children and grandchildren, did so much to preserve the artist's legacy.
<...> Needless to mention, I will remember this trip well; I have seen a lot of things that would be hard to forget. I believe that it will not fail to influence my advancement as an artist, even if I am unable to paint anything, because I have seen so much, and there is still so much to see; so when I come back to Russia and study hard, it is my hope that the flaws that are so big now will gradually disappear.
Tretyakov Gallery Manuscripts Department, F. 100, item 1279, pp. 1-2.
MIKHAIL NESTEROV'S LETTER TO VASILY, MARIA AND ALEXANDRA NESTEROV, WITH HIS DRAWING COLOURED BY HIS DAUGHTER OLGA.
MIKHAIL NESTEROV’S LETTER TO VASILY, MARIA AND ALEXANDRA NESTEROV, WITH HIS DRAWING PAINTED BY HIS DAUGHTER OLGA.
MIKHAIL NESTEROV’S LETTER TO HIS SISTER ALEXANDRA NESTEROVA, WITH HIS DRAWING COLOURED BY HIS DAUGHTER OLGA.
How are you, my dear Olyushka!
I was expecting that you would send me a message today, while still on the road, but instead I got your telegram from Ufa. Thank you for remembering, and for your congratulations. I did indeed turn 44 today, and in a few days you will be 20!
A lot has happened through the years, some good, some not so good... one cannot live without that... I cannot be like "Demon" and say that I "do not miss the past" - I do miss it, I miss it a lot! One cannot bring it back - and it is hard to amend... Especially when one starts feeling that old age is approaching.
How is your embroidery coming along? I will not give up hope of receiving a gift from you one day, and I will do so with great pleasure.
MIKHAIL NESTEROV’S LETTER TO VASILY, MARIA AND ALEXANDRA NESTEROV, WITH HIS DRAWING COLOURED BY HIS DAUGHTER OLGA.
MIKHAIL NESTEROV’S LETTER TO OLGA NESTEROVA WITH HIS DRAWING COLOURED BY HIS DAUGHTER.
Noon today was 20 years since your mother passed away.
I just came back from the Danilov monastery, where we attended the memorial service, tidied up the gravesite, cleaned the monument; and I saw in front of my eyes, like it was happening now, those terrible days of 1886, impossible to forget.
Oh! How excruciating, how hard it was... <...> And, both you and I were equally helpless then.
Did you pray for your mother today?
I went to Petrovsky Park yesterday, walked by the church where we were married; then I walked by the house in Zykov Pereulok, where the poor folk used to live, and still live, and where your mother and I lived before the wedding. The little house is still standing, as is the attic with the single window where I lived.
It all has passed, all gone!
I have "grown up", have become "a famous artist", but am I happy?
Do not "overthink" it, as I always did, and always regretted later.
Tretyakov Gallery Manuscripts Department, F. 100, item 1453, pp. 1 (reverse)-2.
How are you, my sweet "oldest granddaughter"?
Tretyakov Gallery Manuscripts Department, F. 100, item 1470, p. 1.
I gave your letter to Vera. She <...> is so good-natured, so caring towards everyone, a sweetheart.
<...> Kisses from your loving father.
Tretyakov Gallery Manuscripts Department, F. 100, item 1464, pp. 1-1 (reverse).
My love and kisses to my granddaughters, whether obedient or not, and to you.
From the archives of Maria Titova.
Tretyakov Gallery Manuscripts Department, F. 100, item 1834, pp. 1-1 (reverse).
A DRAWING MADE BY OLGA NESTEROVA ON AN UNFINISHED LETTER [TO HER AUNT, ALEXANDRA NESTEROVA].
A DRAWING MADE BY MIKHAIL NESTEROV IN CHILDHOOD.
IN THE LAND OF RUSSIA (THE SOUL OF THE PEOPLE).
ALEXEI NESTEROV POSES FOR THE COMPOSITION “IN THE LAND OF RUSSIA”.
YEKATERINA NESTEROVA WITH HER CHILDREN, NATALYA AND ALEXEI.
YEKATERINA NESTEROVA AND NATALYA NESTEROVA POSING FOR IMAGES DESTINED FOR THE ICONOSTASIS AT THE MARFO-MARIINSKY CONVENT.
ARTIST’S COPY OF A MURAL ON THE NORTHERN WALL OF THE CHURCH OF INTERCESSION AT THE MARFO-MARIINSKY CONVENT IN MOSCOW.
OLGA NESTEROVA IN A DRESS MADE FOR THE GRADUATION CEREMONY AT THE INSTITUTE FOR NOBLE YOUNG LADIES IN KIEV.
VERA NESTEROVA, THE ARTIST’S MIDDLE DAUGHTER.
MIKHAIL NESTEROV WITH HIS SECOND WIFE, YEKATERINA, AND THEIR CHILDREN, NATALYA AND ALEXEI.
MIKHAIL NESTEROV AND IRINA SHRETER.
YOUNG GIRL BY THE POND (PORTRAIT OF NATALYA NESTEROVA).
MIKHAIL NESTEROV’S LETTER TO HIS FAMILY.
“YESTERDAY MY PAINTING WAS FINALLY MOUNTED [REFERENCE TO NESTEROV’S COMPOSITION “THE YOUTH OF ST. SERGIUS OF RADONEZH”], FLANKED ON THE WALL BY AP[OLLINARY] VASNETSOV’S LANDSCAPE (A LAKE) TO THE RIGHT AND GHE’S PORTRAIT OF MARIA TOLSTAYA TO THE LEFT (MIRRORWISE) <…> AT THE END OF THE LETTER I ATTACH A DRAWING FEATURING MY COMPOSITION AND OTHER NEIGHBOURING ONES AS VIEWED BY SPECTATORS FROM THE STAIRS”.
NATALYA NESTEROVA AND FYODOR BULGAKOV.
YEKATERINA AND MIKHAIL NESTEROV IN THEIR APARTMENT ON SIVTSEV VRAZHEK STREET.

industry_corpus2: Literature & Emotions


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When it comes to looking younger, going under the knife is only one of many other options available. Medical spa treatments are generally quick, efficient and less invasive than surgery. Depending on what you’re trying to achieve, we’ve outline some of the most common medical spa treatments that can be performed to improve both your appearance and certain medical conditions as well.
BOTOX® can be a great way to smooth wrinkles and quickly improve the outward appearance of skin, making it look fresher and younger. One surgeon describes BOTOX® injections as the best way to relax muscles in the face to treat both cosmetic and medical issues in patients. You can think of BOTOX® as a shield between the brain and your facial muscles. When the brain sends a signal for the muscle to make a movement (and this is especially important when it comes to treating misfiring neurons), the muscle will not respond.
What about Other Injectable Fillers?
Injectable fillers (also known as dermal fillers) are wonderful to increase volume and fullness to your face. They can target the chin, cheeks, plump lips, and even be used to reshape your nose. They are sometimes injected into the chest area or into hands for a natural and more youthful appearance. A consultation with your specialist can give you the required information on what filler will most efficiently and successfully give you the desired results.
Another option that we have for improving the condition of our skin is with laser resurfacing treatment. At times age or our environment leaves us with scars, blotches, wrinkles or fine lines or some other discolouration. Laser resurfacing can improve all of these skin conditions by precisely removing layers of damaged skin and leaving you with a fresher and more youthful appearance.
If your skin is in great condition but you’d like to get rid of unwanted hair, the benefits of laser hair removal cannot be overstated. During this type of procedure, a laser sends highly concentrated light into the hair follicles, where pigment absorbs the light and subsequently destroys the hair. This treatment provides a fast result and the surrounding skin is left unaffected.
Many of us suffer unsightly veins, most commonly found on the backs of legs or on our face. Luckily, vein stripping is no longer the most popular or even the most common way of ridding this problem. Laser technology offers a non-invasive and relatively pain free way of dealing with spider and even varicose veins. It is more effective than most other treatments, and requires very little recovery time in the majority of cases.
Consult your specialist for details on the procedure that suits you best. Your specialist can outline the details and anticipated results from your chosen medical spa treatment.
Nina Wells from the Steam Shower Store has over 10 years’ experience in writing health related topics and specializes in the health benefits of saunas and hydrotherapy.

industry_corpus2: Health & Medicine


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Receiving aid with daily tasks can make a significant improvement in the quality of life for Arkansas seniors. For those who served the country bravely, the Veterans Administration Aid and Attendance Pension program is available to help make this level of improvement a little more attainable. Eligible Arkansas vets and their surviving spouses can qualify should they need aid in various activities for daily living (also known as ADLs). These tasks could include rudimentary functions like dressing, bathing, eating, transportation for errands and appointments, and medication management, although it should be noted that eligible applicants don’t need to require aid with everything in order to qualify. A&A recipients can also utilize these funds to help pay for costs associated with home care, skilled nursing home care, or assisted living.
While the application process for the A&A benefit could take several months to complete, it should be noted that applicants that get approved will receive retroactive benefits that track back to the initial application date. Furthermore, if you need assistance with getting the ball rolling on the process, there are plenty of sources that could help you out. Arkansas Veterans Affairs offers the state’s vets a wealth of services including assisted living homes, legal representation, assistance with VA claims, and much more. The organization also works with a full roster of County Veterans Service Officers (CVSOs) that can help vets and their families with benefits, referrals, and advocacy. To find the CVSO nearest you, visit the County VSOs page at www.veterans.arkansas.gov.
There is some variance in assisted living facilities. The facilities that are located in larger cities like Little Rock will be ideal for those that still want to be close to metropolitan perks such as restaurants, shops, and cultural activities. On the flip side, those who prefer the quiet nature of suburbia may gravitate toward an assisted living community in a bedroom community, where parks and familiar chain retailers rule the day.
What does assisted living cost in Arkansas?
According to data culled from Genworth’s 2016 Cost of Care Survey, the average cost of assisted living in Arkansas is $37,590 per year, which is far below the average nationwide cost of $43,539. This price tag translates to a monthly cost of $3,133 and a daily cost of $103. Precise costs will vary based on the city and the region that the facility is located in. The state’s annual home health care costs check in at $41,184 for homemaker services and home health aide services. It also represents a substantial savings in comparison to Arkansas’ nursing home care costs, which can break down to an annual cost of $58,856 for a semi-private room and $70,343 for a private room.
Arkansas Veterans Affair operates numerous programs that lend support and service to the state’s veterans. These can include housing services, e-mail updates on local events, and special support programs. Additionally, Arkansas is home to a wide array of tourist attractions that specialize in telling various tales tied to the American military. These attractions are ideal places to visit on a day out, an assisted living field trip, or for those times when the family comes into town. Many of these places also welcome veterans as volunteers, which could give vets the opportunity to share their insights and stories with visitors of all ages.
The most popular of these landmarks is the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. The museum, which is located in the birthplace of legendary General Douglas MacArthur in Little Rock, is dedicated to shining the spotlight on the men and women from Arkansas who helped serve the country greatly. Guests can expect to see exhibits filled with weapons, photographs, uniforms, documents, and other key artifacts.
Over in Fayetteville stands the Arkansas Air and Military Museum. This sprawling museum is home to various vintage aircraft, including several planes that pre-date World War II. Expect to also see various military artifacts that stretch back to a time before man-made flight existed, such as materials traced back to the Civil War.
There are also dozens of Civil War-related points of interest scattered throughout the state. These touchstones range from battlefields and forts to plantations and historic homes.


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fruity drumsynth live.dll is related to some functions and resources that allow your applications or PC games to run properly. If fruity drumsynth live.dll is missing or corrupt due to various reasons, you may encounter errors. When a .dll error occurs, you are usually notified via a pop-up error message that will inform you what kind of .dll error you have.
To fix the fruity drumsynth live.dll or other .dll files related errors automatically, download the DllKit, the .dll repair tool, and perform a scan for invalid or missing .dll files. DllKit will also check whether other .dll files are registered in your system and search for other issues that may be preventing your system from working properly. After the scan process is complete, DllKit will help you to get the errors fixed.


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Our care system is close to breaking down and debates about greater levels of funding are being accompanied by the start of some discussions about what else needs to be done. On the progressive wing, once the shouting from the poorly informed factions dies down, ideas are once again being put forward about Universal Basic Income (UBI). This is interesting but highly problematic as it could constrain the more productive thinking about universal services and even threaten the existing services – and the NHS is the biggest universal service.
UBI can easily be portrayed as a neo-liberal idea. It pools risks by giving everyone enough income, as of right, to pay for the costs of dealing with their needs whatever they are and whenever they arise. In one sense you can always buy the services you need in the market. It is predicated on the idea that there are many choices to be made about services and a plurality of supplies – a market where choice and competition reign. The state provides the money and may regulate the markets.
UBI does free citizens from imposition of solutions by the state and it is empowering at least in the market sense. It is deceptively simple, socially just, and frees everyone from any stigma about “welfare” or “benefits” and removes the barriers set for assessment of needs and intrusion. What it (probably) is not is very effective at redistribution of power, wealth or even income.
It is almost certainly impossible in this country because of the way we meet housing needs and deal with long term disability. If the level of UBI was set so that there was never any need for anyone to need help with meeting housing costs or support for independent living it would be totally unaffordable. If it is set below this threshold then there would still have to be systems for assessment and payment of other benefits, so it would not be universal.
And a serious additional objection is that it would be individualistic – actually needs are often more complex and involve families (in the modern sense) not just individuals.
Bringing this into the context of the NHS and social care we already have some personal budgets and are trying for more. Here there is still an assessment of needs, but money is provided as opposed to access to services. This has had mixed results but many on the left are very hostile to the whole idea – even some who also support UBI!
Policy development around care is generally moving towards removal of markets and competition from the NHS and progressively reducing the plurality of supply so there is less private sector intrusion. For social care the thinking is moving towards making more care free (into the universal service model) and also commencing the long journey to remove at least the worst aspects of private provision of both domiciliary and residential care. The end state would be some National Care Service on the NHS model; still with some variation in delivery but closer to a publicly provided model.
This is the best way to go, in my opinion. Moving to UBI and the shift in resources that this implies could destroy the universal service model. And we ought just to mention without further comment Universal Credit!! Be careful what you wish for – basically deceptively simple and sound on principle but impossibly complex when in operation.
Beyond care the case has already been made for universal free education – cradle to grave – not giving out money to allow education to be purchased. A far better housing offer would restore the idea of Council Housing on the old model even if that totally disrupts the current housing market dominated by buy to let ownership and dodgy private landlords.
Looking back, when last in power Labour invested £billions to improve public services and tactically their approach using more “market” type thinking did actually work. Labour then rightly saw many public service delivery models, especially local authorities, as very poor and unreformable – so we get ALMOS, Academies, Foundation Trusts which are like private organisations but are varieties of unaccountable quangos.
Though this was tactically successful it was strategically dangerous as it further eroded the usefulness of local authorities, demeaned the public sector as provider of services and lost the connection of services to local communities. Maybe effort was needed instead to make local authorities better and to give them far more funding and control, not less, over how services were provided. We can see in Manchester an attempt to roll back the years and make the local relevant again – let the big issues about WHAT is needed be determined nationally but decisions about HOW services are provided should be as local as possible.
All the recent research tells us that almost all of us are not too far away from needing support at some time in our life. The systems should be about redistribution of our tax and benefits over a lifetime. Few if any do not get some needs met without payment – we use state education, the NHS, or take the state pension when we reach the threshold. Bad luck can send illness or redundancy and bereavement or family breakdown can suddenly present a whole raft of needs. Our wider system for supporting everyone has to be founded on universal services; we all pay in based on ability to pay (would be a great idea!) and we can all get help without any intrusion or stigma when we need it.
It will be very hard indeed to remove current UBI- like components of our support system – things like the old age pension or attendance allowance, but this is the right debate to have. Would it not be better to pool some of the monies paid out in universal cash benefits and replace them with better universal services?


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Could you give me more informations for tag parameter ? Impossible to collect timeseries in InfluxDB.
I am also interested in this problem (but for 9600KBits / Linky TIC).


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Posted on May 1, 2012 by Chris Rider in Emergency Communication, Everyday Communication, MessageNet Connections, New Technology and tagged MediaPort, routing, way-finding.
Have you ever noticed how practically nobody asks for directions anymore? And why should they? Directions or maps are literally at our fingertips these days. With smart phones, GPS, and online mapping software, I think most of us are now empowered to know how to get somewhere; I believe there’s also a certain mind-set that develops along with that. I think that people are now becoming so accustomed to this information being readily available that they never expect to get lost or be unable to find their way around.
For example, on a recent trip out of town, I had to find a particular route to a specific place, only to be in the middle of a 3G dead-zone. So, with my maps app on my phone not working, I had to rely on my own intuition and sense of direction (which, pre-smartphone, was actually good) to find the highway. In retrospect, I realized that my entire way of thinking — my historical penchant for pre-planning a trip and visually memorizing all potential routes had nearly failed due to my neglect to regularly use it!
Well, for better or worse, this paradigm will probably never change back and, most likely, it will evolve even further, like augmented reality (Project Glass, anyone?).
So with this paradigm shift in mind, we’ve been developing a new feature for Connections which allows a MediaPort to display a map or floor-plan; on that, it will display egress routes in the form of a flashing line (straight or curved) with arrow. We’ve purposely left this feature as flexible as possible so that it can conceivably be used for nearly every type of situation. The really neat thing about this feature is that it’s location-aware — intelligent enough to know which LCD panel is being used, relative to a given floor-plan or map. Because of that, a single event can cause multiple LCD panels throughout a building or campus to each display their own locations (a map, literally with a “you are here” red X on it), with appropriate egress routes flashing, showing people where to go, specific to each location. It’s really something neat to see it working, in-person.
I think it’s obvious what kind of added value that might have for an existing safety and security system; but what about everyday use? One example immediately comes to mind: hospitals. Many hospitals have not had the luxury to be designed wholly from the ground-up. Instead, they are typically older buildings that have been repeatedly expanded and renovated over the years; as a result, they are virtual labyrinths. Just think how easy it would be if there were a digital sign at each fork and turn in the hallways, giving you personalized directions (literally with arrows) to your destination within the hospital. It might make all the difference in that first visit to someone’s hospital room or even just to find that great cafeteria food!
Well, we’re not quite there with that customized level of way-finding, yet — but we’re getting close. In the meantime though, Connections does currently support location-aware routing, which I think is a significant addition to Connection’s capabilities (and it’s fun to draw the routes, too).


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Cheap flights from Copenhagen or Oslo to Hong Kong in November and December 2019 from €370 both ways.
Flights are operated by British Airways with short layovers at London Heathrow Airport.
British Airways is the national airline of the United Kingdom. The company is the largest airline in the UK which serves over 160 destinations worldwide. British Airways were awarded as the Europe’s Leading Airline to Asia multiple times.
These are only some travel dates examples. To check prices for your preferred dates for the same routes visit Skyscanner.com.
To book accommodation in Hong Kong use Booking.com, the world’s leading accommodation booking platform. A great and simple interface, clear booking conditions and a 24/7 support in more than 40 languages makes Booking.com one of the most popular travel web sites in the world.

industry_corpus2: Transportation


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Insert Coffee ☕ to Begin!
For every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance.
Will You Join Me For a Holiday Season Song?
Christmas is the perfect time to celebrate the love of God and create memories that will last forever. Tis Holiday Season join the "Creative Junkie" for the Christmas Celebration?

industry_corpus2: Others


text: Woolworths has entered a new and innovative decorative food item in the Food Review/Symrise New Product Competition. Blooming Marshmallow Flower is a beautiful addition to hot beverages or for use as an ornamental treat. These handcrafted treats are made in small batches by local communities.


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"My Story" - "A Photographic Essay on Life with Multiple Sclerosis", is a book by Amelia Davis.
Amelia Davis is a photographer who has taken pictures of people who live with MS for her book. You see some of them in their wheelchairs. Others are walking or running. All of them doing the things they do in their everyday lives while living with multiple sclerosis.
Included in the book are 32 essays written by MSers, including Richard Pryor, the comedian. In fact the forward is by Richard Pryor's wife, Jennifer Lee. Here is a little excerpt from it.
"People often think that a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is the end of their ability to live a normal life. By watching my husband Richard, I know this isn't true. MS is simply the next chapter. Together we have found there is always something new to discover, even if it's just the dawn of a new day.
In a society where the disabled are often forgotten and left behind, it is important to remember that physical disability is just that -- a physical condition. Beyond the body, there is the mind, hungry for knowledge and wisdom. And beyond the mind there is the need for love.
Richard has shown me that the obstacles of physical limitation are challenges that we must circumvent and not surrender to. Despite it all, we continue to build our lives and have learned that joy lies in the simple things."
Most of the stories have an essay by the person with MS, as well as a caregiver or another family member. I have always enjoyed reading the stories of others who have learned to cope with MS. And this book has several.
You will get a birds eye view into the lives of people from all walks of life. Each with the common thread of MS running through their lives. I'm sure that you will enjoy reading their stories and that you will find many who you can relate to.
All information shared on this web site, is informational and for your enjoyment only. It is NOT meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Only your health care professional is qualified to diagnose or treat medical conditions.
Do not risk your health! If you feel that you may have multiple sclerosis or some other condition, the best thing to do is consult your Doctor. The things we talk about are things that have worked for us. If you decide to follow any of our suggestions, you do so at your OWN RISK.


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This paper is an analysis of the relationship between white and black persons in film, and the discrepancy between that relationship and reality.
The paper contends that, historically, the relationship between white and black Americans has been rough, but an onlooker would never realize that when watching American films. The paper postulates that "Buddy cop" movies such as Lethal Weapon create biracial police partnerships that never address the issue of race. The paper attempts to examine whether or not depictions of race in movies are truly realistic, or if they are pure fantasy.
"Extending the hand of friendship to other countries has always been the American way. The current conflict the United States is involved in is fought in a faraway land, because it is fought not for us, but for faraway people. Conversely, Americans have not always been quite so adept at extending that same hand to their fellow countrymen. At the same time many brave soldiers were shipped off to fight for Vietnam, the race riots of the 1960s were at their worst. In today's politically correct world, the media, particularly the motion picture industry, strives to turn its viewers against the truth of racism. ``Buddy films'' are released, creating biracial pairs in shining, flawless friendship. But because of the influence of these films, opportunities and lifelines are lost for the masses of people unrealistically portrayed on the silver screen. There are few films that go against ``the new orthodoxy of friendship'' (DeMott 571) that this paper sets out to prove."
DeMott, Benjamin. "Put on a Happy Face: Masking the Differences between Blacks and Whites." Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Maasik, Sonia and Jack Solomon. Boston: Bedford St. Martin's. Sept. 1995.
Green Day. "American Idiot." American Idiot. Reprise, 2004.
A discussion of the race relations in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.
This paper discusses the history of race relations from the standpoint of the Constitution and the court.
Book report on Nina Moore's book about race relations in 1960s America.

industry_corpus2: Film & Entertainment


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Special notice: Happy Landcare Week!
Happy Landcare Week! This week marks Landcare Week to encourage everyone, wherever they live and what they do to get involved in the Landcare community. Why? To help restore and protect our land and waterways, Australia’s natural assets.
On the Gold Coast, we are proud of the Landcare moment with many active bushcare, creekcare, beachcare and oceancare initiatives. Plus the array of citizen science organisations helping collect valuable information about the environment and its biodiversity.


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If you have a question, please check below first before contacting us. Below we have answered all of the questions that we are most commonly asked.
1. Do I need to log in to my account to receive your football tips?
No, we will send the tips directly to your email inbox.
2. Why do you email your tips?
We believe this is the fastest, most convenient way to receive our football tips.
3. Do I need to be a soccer expert to use your tips?
No, in fact, you can have no soccer knowledge at all and still succeed with our tips. Just follow the tips we send you, place your bets and count your winnings.
4. Do I need to do any match research?
No, we do all the research and then select the tips that offer the best winning odds. We then send these tips directly to you so you don't have to do anything other than place your bets and collect your winnings.
5. Do you predict only the top leagues or lesser known leagues as well?
We cover all leagues all over the world. Our only rule is we provide you with the tips with the highest probability of winning - no matter where that match might be played. Most of our picks are from the premier leagues though.
6. What payment methods are available?
Available payment methods include: Credit/Debit Card and Paypal.
7. Is there a range of odds for your tips?
Yes, tip odds fall into the following range: 1.65 to 2.15.
8. Can you recommend bookies?
Yes, thanks to our years in business we have developed relationships with many reputable bookies. We can help you find the best bookie for you.


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AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead premiered this past Sunday to a record breaking audience. Viewership reached over 10 million viewers for premier, making Fear The Walking’s pilot the most watched series launch in television history. People really do like their zombies. The Walking Dead’s 2010 premier only reached about 5.4 million viewers.
The show, which is set to act as a prequel of sorts to TWD’s Zombie apocalypse, takes place in Los Angeles, focusing on a family who is just trying to survive as society collapses around them. While the first season of Fear The Walking Dead is only set for 6 episodes, AMC is promising a full 13 episodes in seasons to come, similar to The Walking Dead.
Many fans were skeptical that a spin-off of a mega-popular show such as The Walking Dead could be successful, but if the numbers of viewers for the premier are any indication, AMC just might have another hit on it’s hands.


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Here's my first go at making an osculator template for touchosc and reason 5.
Page one has Kong drum pads but i've not assigned anything else yet. Page 2 is a mixer layout, not complete either but the mute, solo and aux sends work as do the aux return levels. Changing pages in touchosc should change templates in osculator for you and the <>inst buttons will move through the devices in your rack. the transport controls are universal.
Let me know if this is of any use to any of you and any requests/suggestions are welcome.
And if anyone can tell me how to get this working bi-directionally, i'd be grateful.