text:
  • Please do not ride if you feel sick or have had a known recent exposure to Covid-19.
  • If you are not completely vaccinated, please keep 6 feet of separation in the parking area and rest stops.
  • Please continue to carry a mask during the ride (in case of a mechanical or a store stop that still requests masks).

< 2020 >
June 04 - June 07
  • 04

    Smuggler's Notch

    6:30 pm-8:00 pm
    June 4, 2020

    M & W Clifton, S Messier

  • 05
    No events
  • 06

    Sat Training Rides

    All day
    June 6, 2020

     Specifics for each ride (e.g. mandatory sign-up link, start time, weather, parking) are announced through the GMBC email list.

    Start times vary during the year. Riding with front and rear lights is recommended all season.

    For more information, please see Sat Training Rides.

  • 07

    Hinesburg Hollow

    9:15 am-9:20 am
    June 7, 2020
    Williston Central School
    195 Central School Dr, Williston, VT 05495, USA

    This route travels south through Huntington via the beautiful Hinesburg Hollow Road. The short route is 25 miles (M) and returns to Williston via North Road (and a little bit of dirt) while the long one is 47 miles (M/S) and continues through North Ferrisburgh to the lake and back through Hinesburg.

Everyone, regardless of membership status, must have a signed GMBC Rider Waiver on record to participate in any GMBC event. You only have to sign ONCE a season and then all rides are covered.

Always click refresh (on your browser bar) to be sure that you are seeing the most recent version of all events. This is especially important for race results and cue sheets! Calendar event dates, times and venues are approximate until schedules are finalized in Spring of each year. Ride times listed are MEET TIMES only because the actual ride time will depend on riders, route chosen, changing weather, etc. Evening training ride start times will vary as the sunset time changes and will be earlier in spring and fall and later in midsummer. Saturday (VP) training rides are the opposite and tend to start earlier in midsummer to allow for longer and cooler rides. Check the latest information on the GMBC email list for the most updated information.

Users may change the full calendar view as well as the view on the sidebar menu. Options include: full, week, day, list, 4-day, and posterboard. Tours, time trials, crits, training rides and meetings are each color-coded for easy identification. Clicking on an event will provide full information including a map to the start site and ride leader contact information if relevant. Mouse over (hover) an event to see the same information but with smaller text and no map.

Please report problems with the calendar information to the webmaster. If you would like to have your bicycle-related event in Vermont or upstate New York included on the GMBC calendar, please contact the webmaster.


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
Supreme Court cases that shaped black America

african kings

Throughout U.S. history the Supreme Court has played a crucial role in shaping the ideological identity of America. The court’s ruling today on President Obama’s health care reform law is yet another example of the court having a major impact on the lives of everyday people. From civil rights to affirmative action and now the future of the health care for American citizens — the Supreme Court routinely has stepped in to try to address issues that lay at the heart of where this country is heading. The slideshow above is a trip back through some of the most momentous cases in the court’s history that have helped shaped Black America.

Follow Caryn Freeman on Twitter.

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2022-33
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for August 2022
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-91
software: Apache Nutch 1.18 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.4-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: https://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


text:
Fight over right to sue nursing homes heats up

Consumer groups are making a last ditch effort to stop the Trump administration from stripping nursing home residents and their families of the right to take facilities to court over alleged abuse, neglect or sexual assault.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced plans in June to do away with an Obama-era rule that prohibited nursing homes that accept Medicare or Medicaid funds from including language in their resident contracts requiring that disputes be settled by a third party rather than a court.

Public comments on the CMS proposal to do away with that rule are due Monday, and groups are urging the agency to reconsider.

More than 75 consumer, health and advocacy groups have come together to form the Fair Arbitration Now Coalition to stop CMS from reversing what they claim is a critical protection for the elderly.

Remington Gregg, counsel for civil justice and consumer rights at Public Citizen, said the rule change is not only unnecessary, but shameful.

Gregg said the provisions, known to lawyers as pre-dispute arbitration agreements, create an unequal balance of power between the nursing home and its elderly patients or the family members caring for them.

“When you are trying to get someone in a nursing home, often time it’s stressful or an emotional time. Often times loved ones can’t take care of themselves, so for a nursing home to say in order to get in you have to waive your right is shameful,” he said.

“We’re talking about everything you may have a problem with — abuse, neglect, sexual assault, a wide variety of things — they are now saying you are waiving your right to full justice.”

CMS said it decided to reconsider the rule after a federal district court judge in Mississippi issued an order in November temporarily blocking the rule from taking effect.

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and a group of nursing homes had sued CMS and the Department of Health and Human Services in October, claiming that the rule violated the Federal Arbitration Act and that the agencies had overstepped their statutory authority in issuing the law. The AHCA said Congress has repeatedly rejected legislation to invalidate arbitration agreements.

In June, the federal judge agreed to the parties’ joint request to put the case on hold while CMS revises the rule.

Under its proposed revisions, CMS said nursing homes would be required to write the arbitration agreements in plain language and explain the agreement to the prospective resident or his or her representative. Residents would also be required to acknowledge they understand the agreement.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is also backing the rule change. The nation’s leading business group fought against the original rule, claiming that restricting arbitration would raise the cost of nursing home care and make it harder, and more costly, for residents to resolve disputes.

“For many individual disputes, litigation in court is simply impractical. Litigation in court is procedurally complex, which means that non-lawyers need legal representation to have any hope of successfully navigating the system,” the chamber said in 2015 comments to the agency it provided The Hill.

“But many plaintiffs’ claims are too small to justify paying a lawyer to handle the matter and, in any event, most people do not have the resources to do so.”

The AHCA did not comment but provided a fact sheet outlining its position, which said arbitration is faster and cheaper than litigation. It also claimed there’s no limit on the monetary award that residents can receive.

The Fair Arbitration Now Coalition, though, is making a full-court press to save the rule.

AARP, which is part of the coalition, argued in comments it submitted to CMS on Thursday that the agency lacks the statutory authority to eliminate a protection that was properly written.

“To the extent that CMS may be relying on the authority to promulgate regulations ‘to promote the effective and efficient use of public moneys’ the regulations still need to be for the benefit of Medicare and Medicaid nursing facility residents and not to their detriment,” wrote the nonprofit group for Americans 50 years and older.

In its proposal to revise the rule, CMS said “upon reconsideration,” it believes “that arbitration agreements are, in fact, advantageous to both providers and beneficiaries because they allow for the expeditious resolution of claims without the costs and expense of litigation.”

But AARP claims that statement contradicts evidence the agency cited in 2016 when it issued the rule.

Carolina Fortin-Garcia, a CMS spokeswoman, said the agency will respond to public comments received when it issues the final rule.

Opponents of the rule change are also weighing legal action.

Gregg said it’s never a good idea to threaten litigation but that Public Citizen will explore all of its options if CMS ultimately decides to allow arbitration agreements in nursing home contracts.

“Any agency action must meet a high bar for ensuring the action taken isn’t arbitrary and capricious,” he said.

“Simply making the argument that we are a new administration and want to make sure corporations don’t have regulations that are forcing them to be accountable is not a good enough reason to change a rule that underwent extensive review.”

Most Popular

Load more

See all Video


text:
Puppies find purpose in ‘Pick of the Litter’

Following the birth of five puppies at Guide Dogs for the Blind, Pick of the Litter follows their journey to becoming a blind or visually impaired person’s guide for life. The documentary—co-directed by Don Hardy Jr & Dana Nachman with a screenplay by Nachman—explores this difficult path, but fails to look deeper than the numerous tests the puppies must pass before becoming guide dogs. (KC: 3.5/5)

Read FF2 Media’s interview with filmmakers Dana Nachman and Don Hardy.

Review by FF2 Intern Katharine Cutler

Pick of the Litter pushes the viewer into the world of guide dogs. Proving that it is not an easy task to raise, or to be, a guide dog, the film follows five dogs from birth through their journey with Guide Dogs for the Blind. The film follows each dog as it moves from the home campus to a raiser’s home and then back to campus to complete training.

The film begins with a delicate scene of the birth of five puppies in the ‘P’ group: Patriot, Potomac, Poppett, Primrose, and Phil. Even from birth, the dogs are carefully inspected and watched for any signs of ineligibility. Their first steps are scrutinized—are they curious enough? Are they too anxious? Each action they take can qualify or disqualify them from becoming guide dogs.

When the dogs leave the home campus, they are placed with individual puppy raisers (volunteers that train the dogs from about two months to about fifteen months old). As each person or each family that takes in one of the five puppies is introduced, the personal nature of the job is revealed. That is, until the dog is quickly ripped away from a raiser who isn’t doing it right. A few of these situations are shown in the film, including one scene with a high-school aged boy.

The organization cares little for the emotions of the raisers, instead focusing on raising as many guide dogs as possible. The film, however, peppers in relationships between the dogs, their raisers, and their potential partners. It explores the difficulties and benefits of the guide dog program’s unreliable placements. Patriot is consistently moved back and forth between raisers and eventually fails to become a guide dog, returning to one of his raisers. The moment of their reunion was quite heartwarming, yet still a reminder that the dog’s emotions and needs have little impact on the process.

Even so, very few dogs actually become guide dogs—only about 300 of every 800 puppies become working guide dogs. Otherwise, they become breeders (giving birth to more puppies), or they are “career-changed” (a nice way of saying they aren’t good enough to be guide dogs). The film does show that the dogs can gain interest from other agencies like Dogs4Diabetics if they are career-changed, or they can become someone’s pet.

While this documentary does thoroughly explore the path of dogs through guide dog training, it doesn’t do much to follow the many questions raised by emotional situations that arise. What happens to the breeders after they give birth? How do the dogs breed? Why are all the dogs purebred? States like California are beginning to outlaw puppy farms that only breed purebred dogs. How does Guide Dogs for the Blind ensure that the breeders are treated well, and that the puppies aren’t inheriting negative traits?

How are raisers chosen? In the film, there are many raisers, some first-timers and some who’ve raised up to ten previous puppies, but what are the criteria for the raisers, especially when some have had no previous success? It’s clear that Guide Dogs for the Blind has no problem separating dogs from raisers, but with such a low success rate, have they thought about being more selective in choosing who raises the puppies?

Most importantly, the film fails to answer the question: where does all the money for these dogs come from? Purebred dogs and breeding purebred dogs are expensive. The inner workings of the charity are not explored at all in the film, despite the film serving as promotional material for this one non-profit. Why this non-profit and why not explore whether this non-profit is truly benefiting all people?

Obviously dogs are cute and this film capitalizes on that tremendously. It also works to provide some insight about the difficult training dogs go through to become a guide dog. Sadly what it misses are the many human aspects of the process. Its surface level scenes of dogs and owners don’t provide the necessary deep dive into whether this is the best way to raise guide dogs and whether this is the best charity to donate to.

© Katharine Cutler (08/31/18) FF2 Media

Top Photo: One of the dogs rides the bus, a tricky task to stay focused and calm.

Middle Photo: A poster for the film.

Bottom Photo: A poster for Phil, one of the five puppies.

Photo Credits: Sundance Selects

Q: Does Pick of the Litter pass the Bechdel-Wallace Test?

Although all conversations are shown “on the go,” Pick of the Litter contains many women who talk about the fates of the dogs as well as their own experiences as Guide Dogs for the Blind employees, volunteer Puppy Trainers (at multiple stages), and lucky recipients. In fact, from beginning to end, there are probably more women in this film than men.

Also, for the record, two of the five puppies are female, as is their mother (of course) and they certainly “converse” in their own way 😉

Tags: FF2 Media

Related Posts

Previous Post Next Post

Leave a Reply


text:
Name Your Price

The recent article in the FT regarding a potential change in benchmark cobalt pricing, made me think back to a conversation I had with a MF Global broker back in the late 90’s. The broker relayed the story to me of a conversation he had with a very large fund manager, whereby the manager called to inquire about the “tick size” in the Lead Futures contract. After relaying this information to the manager, said manager promptly sold short the equivalent of 10% of the world’s current lead production. The article in the FT, which discusses a  potential shift in cobalt benchmark pricing from a MB based price system to a LME based price, made me think of this story because we feel it is a inherent mistake to simply assume that exchange pricing is always superior to physical transactional pricing. ETF activity, cash and carry trades, as well as the explosion in HFT has left exchange pricing often divorced from the real underlying market fundamentals. While we do agree that a benchmark price based on a loose canvassing of market participants is fraught with problems, we feel that an exchange price involving the aforementioned exchange driven activity is just as problematic. Given today’s technology, it would seem that market participants could devise some kind of pricing system which utilizes anonymous input pricing backed up with  some verifiable volume metric.

1 Comment

  1. hello mr allen i converse occasionally w/ pat at the health club. like your blog. when you state buy stuff are you referring specifically to gold e.g and if so in what form do you employ that strategy? regards mike cullen

Leave a Reply to mike cullen Cancel reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a request from Palm Beach County and the City of Boca Raton for an en banc (by all the appellate judges) review of a decision by a three-judge panel that previously struck down laws in 2020 that ban counselors from providing and minor clients and their families from receiving any counsel to reduce or overcome unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors, or gender confusion.

The case of Otto, et al v. City of Boca Raton, FL et al, found that the laws were both content and viewpoint based and violate the First Amendment right to free speech. This is the first federal Court of Appeals decision on such laws since the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision in National Institute of Family & Life Advocates v. Becerra (NIFLA).

Liberty Counsel represents Dr. Robert Otto, LMFT and Dr. Julie Hamilton, LMFT and their minor clients who challenged the constitutionality of ordinances enacted by the City of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County which prohibit minors from voluntary counseling from licensed professionals. These licensed therapists provide life-saving counseling to minors who desperately desire to conform their attractions, behaviors, and gender identities to their sincerely held religious beliefs.

Judge Grant, joined by Judges Branch and Lagoa, wrote a concurring opinion expressing agreement with the denial of review.

They wrote, “The perspective enforced by these local policies is extremely popular in many communities. And the speech barred by these ordinances is rejected by many as wrong, and even dangerous. But the First Amendment applies even to—especially to—speech that is widely unpopular…The panel opinion thoroughly explains why a fair-minded and neutral application of longstanding First Amendment law dooms the ordinances.”

“Because ordinary First Amendment law will displace these speech bans, creative thinking is required to save them. In its attempt to persuade the reader otherwise, the dissent misreads First Amendment precedents. Take National Institute of Family & Life Advocates v. Becerra (NIFLA). Judge Rosenbaum cites that case as showing that the Supreme Court permit[s] governments to impose content-based restrictions on speech with persuasive evidence . . . of a long (if heretofore unrecognized) tradition to that effect.”

In today’s decision, the court recognizes that National Institute of Family & Life Advocates v. Becerra (NIFLA) abrogated cases regarding help to reduce or eliminate unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors, or gender confusion.

“Read correctly, NIFLA emphasizes that content-based regulation is heavily disfavored and that there is no tradition of regulating professional speech.”

“Those rebukes should always be enough to induce caution. But they carry even more force here because in NIFLA the Supreme Court was specifically criticizing other circuit courts’ approval of ‘professional speech’ bans just like the ones we now consider…(upholding a therapist speech ban virtually identical to the ones here after concluding that ‘a licensed professional does not enjoy the full protection of the First Amendment when speaking as part of the practice of her profession’), and Pickup v. Brown, (upholding a similar ban, again on the rationale that it regulates conduct, not speech. Nor can we forget that the Court specifically ‘stressed the danger of content-based regulations in the fields of medicine and public health.’”

The appeals court continued, “The dissent suggests that we give special treatment to speech restrictions prohibiting ‘licensed professionals from practicing, on populations from whom informed consent cannot reliably be obtained, treatment techniques that (1) do not meet the prevailing standard of care, (2) are not shown to be efficacious, and (3) are associated with a significant increase in the risk of death’—in short, restrictions that apply only to what the dissent calls ‘Life-threatening Treatment Techniques.’ This is not a category at all. It is a description of disfavored speech that bears no resemblance to the other analytical brackets set out by the Supreme Court. It privileges the current views of certain professional organizations. And it requires significant work to even decipher. As a ‘category,’ this misses the constitutional mark by a mile.”

“The government cannot be trusted to prohibit only bad speech. And our role as an independent judiciary is to enforce the First Amendment, not to decide which ideas are worthy of immunity from government regulation—or which professional groups can make that decision for us.”

“What this Circuit has done—indeed, all it has done—is uphold the protections of the First Amendment for unpopular speech. That can be hard to do. But if the First Amendment only protected speech that judges and politicians approved of, it would not be of much use. We concur in the Court’s decision not to rehear this,” wrote the court.

Four of the 11 active judges joined in written dissents and would have voted to grant rehearing of the three-judge panel decision. However, a majority of the court voted to deny the rehearing request and the original decision stands.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “This is a huge victory for counselors and their clients to choose the counsel of their choice and be free of political censorship from government ideologues. This case is the beginning of the end of similar unconstitutional counseling bans around the country. Under the laws that were struck down, a counselor could encourage a client to take life-altering hormone drugs or even undergo invasive surgery to remove healthy body parts but could not help a client who seeks to overcome unwanted same-sex attractions, behavior, or confusion. Clients have the right to self-determination. They have the right to select a counselor. Counselors are like a GPS helping the client to reach the desired objective. Yet, these counseling bans injected a government mandated ideology to override the counselor and the client. These laws clearly violate the First Amendment.”

Author: Liberty Counsel

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here


text:
Only 20 percent of likely U.S. voters said they will watch all the TV coverage of the Jan. 6 Committee hearings, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national phone and online survey.

An additional 14 percent said they expect to watch most of it, but 22 percent said they’ll only watch some of the hearings.

Thirty-nine percent said they will not want any of the coverage.

Unsurprisingly, Democrats are more interested in the hearings than most. Sixty percent of Democrats said they’ll watch all or most of the coverage while just 22 percent of Republicans and 21 percent of unaffiliated voters said they’d watch that much.

Fifty-seven percent of Republicans and 47 percent of unaffiliated voters will not watch any of the hearings.

Fifty-seven percent of likely voters consider the investigation important, a number that hasn’t changed much from last August when 59 percent considered it important.

Twelve percent of voters said it is “very likely” they’ll change their opinion and just 14 percent believe it is “somewhat likely” the hearings could change their opinion.

Forty-four percent said it is not at all likely that their opinion will change based on the hearings while 26 percent said it is not very likely the hearings will change their minds.

While 78 percent of Democrats view the Capitol protest as a threat to democracy, just 28 percent of Republicans and 43 percent of unaffiliated voters agree.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here


text:
SUMO Vapor Vape Shop Close To East Dennis 02641 MA

SUMO Vapor Vape store based in East Dennis 02641 MA

SUMO Vapor CBD Wholesale in East Dennis 02641 MA . Shop CBD Capsules, e-liquid from top labels just like Berry Twist E-Liquids, Full Chubs E-Juice as well as Phillip Rocke Signature Series

The Perks You Obtain by Making Use Of the CBD Vape Oil

Vape pens and also e-cigarettes are advancing as a much more secure option when contrasted to typical cigarettes. Cigarette smoking is injurious, and also can generate a number of wellness concerns. Hence, you require to change to vaping, which not just makes certain a longer as well as healthier lifespan, but additionally you get the exact same kick as from cigarette smoking cigarette cigarettes.

Vape pens are often utilized for leisure function. You'll discover a selection of CBD Vape oil tastes, you can appreciate vaping. Numerous individuals that are enduring from anxiety, pain, anxiety, and others select to vape CBD oil, over other products like CBD gummies, casts, cookies, and also also lotions.

If you are trying to find an excellent location to acquire CBD items, see It is your one-stop-shop. They have an exclusive collection of premier CBD products. The group has years of experience in production and also dispersing their genuine as well as test items on the market.

Now let us in-detail know about the advantages of making use of vape oil frequently

Fights Epilepsy

Utilizing this get more oil everyday by people that are influenced by epilepsy, are shown to be decreasing the threats of getting a seizure. This illness is primarily seen in kids, it can additionally be made use of for youngsters as it is easy to use. It can come to be a great alternative to a little recoup from epilepsy.

Stress and anxiety and also Anxiety

Typically, individuals that experience anxiety discover here as well as anxiety do not obtain sleep at night as well as they may require some drugs to decrease their anxiety as well as get good sleep. By making use of vape oil, several individuals have claimed that they can obtain a good night's rest, as well as additionally anxiety can be reduced partially. So, vape oil can be used to treat stress and anxiety and clinical depression.

Does not hurt your lungs a lot

Several individuals think that lungs are influenced when we vape. As long as you make use of a good vape oil, there will certainly be see here now no health results.

Cancer cells therapy

It is been claimed that vaping usually when a person is taking radiation treatment can aid the private to get rid of the experience of nausea as well as discomfort during the therapy. There useful reference are study carried out on how effective marijuana is to battle cancer.

The Various Other Alternative to Cigarette smoking

Picking vaping can become an excellent selection and also you might not believe that you might enjoy vaping a whole lot contrasted to smoking. It is likewise proved that CBD can assist in eliminating addiction. So, if you wish to quit smoking cigarettes, you can select vaping as a prospective therapy.

As research is being performed on the specific advantages of vape oil. You can pick to use this to obtain relief from a few of the above stated medical conditions. Prior to getting vape oil make certain you buy it from a certified manufacturer with the best CBD portion amount present in it.

Many individuals who are enduring from stress and anxiety, pain, depression, and also others choose to vape CBD oil, over other items like CBD gummies, casts, cookies, as well as also creams.

By using vape oil, many users have claimed that they can get an excellent night's sleep, and also anxiousness can be decreased partially. Vape oil can be made use of to deal with anxiousness as well as clinical depression.

As long as you utilize a great vape oil, there will be no health and wellness impacts.

Before getting vape oil make sure you get it from a qualified manufacturer with the ideal CBD portion amount existing in it.

h2o and Liquor liquefy the combination. The Nicotine is in the shape of the nicotine liquid which enhances the strike (sensation of contraction inside the throat when the vapour passes by means of).

not long ago, Caps GT tasked check out your url the experimental toxicology device at the INERIS Continual Risks Office to perform two substantial-scale reports about the harmfulness of its goods for oral and cutaneous use.

discover to Mango enthusiasts, the Mango E Liquid is a strong all day long liquid, an ideal stability of a sweet and clean Mango.

Accuracy: this is the strawberry and milk e-juice, hitting on an Just about unanimously well-liked taste mix for vapers. The end result is just what you’d be expecting. The strawberry will be the Hot Sips dominant flavor Observe, well-captured and strong adequate to return via with every puff without the need of remaining overpowering.

Over-all: This is a superb e-liquid, providing a fruity sweetness underpinned with gentler, softer components in the milk. The two flavors are beautifully-well balanced, with the strawberry more notable in the mix although not on the price on the milk.

If you’re trying to find real premium e-juice, they are the seven highest high-quality e-juice manufacturers based upon complete testing.

For me, it’s been so long considering that I’ve in fact smoked that my comparison is from distant memory so just take that which has a grain of salt. It does style fairly reliable to me however.

The minimal buy get quantity for your item is one Hot Sips Kit DV pod Innokin Innokin Innokin unveils its new pod kit Together with the DV Pod 500mAh... Innokin unveils its new pod kit With all the DV Pod 500mAh 2.8ml! It's a compact pod, pods are booming in current months and manufacturers contend ingenuity to offer at any time a lot more compact and sophisticated tools.

Cookies are tracers placed on your Laptop and / or study from it throughout session from an internet site or cellular app. They enable it to be feasible to collect facts referring to your searching on the Alfaliquid site and guaranteeing you the best possible expertise. you may control your Choices underneath.

T-Juice would be the historic e liquid range of your British producer Cuts Ice, proprietor from the well known Halcyon Haze variety. Present considering the fact that 2012 thanks to T-Juice, Cuts Ice has managed to get the game by specializing from the outsourcing of e liquid manufacturing utilizing the marketing and advertising and financial evolution of the T-Juice and Halcyon Haze ranges being a product sales argument.

guidebook to the top high quality e-juice models and what makes a true top quality e-juice determined by years of experience and screening.

for anybody nevertheless making click to find out more use of either refillable cartridges or ego design and style products, the Wow Hot Sips Vapor line is surely a single to check out.

belief your personal instincts although, if you're thinking that you’d love tobacco taste by all usually means go with you intestine (Specially to start with). chances are you'll obtain like did that you just no more crave tobacco following a couple of weeks and then you can begin experimenting with a few far more exotic flavors. Hope that assists! delighted vaping! Reply

offered in a lot of nicotine power, this collection agrees with all of those who would like to vape basic, refreshing, fruity or yummy flavour liquids.


text:
Houston Rockets Reportedly Prefer Jalen Green in 2021 NBA Draft

The Houston Rockets have the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and with just over a week remaining, many are wondering who will be their preferred choice with the pick.

According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Conner, the Rockets have a preference for G-League Ignite guard Jalen Green with the second overall pick.

Green opted out of playing college basketball, electing to join the G-League Ignite team, and showed why he’s one of the best players in the draft in the process. While showing a knack for making highlight plays as a prototypical shooting guard prospect, Green averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game for the Ignite while shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from 3-point range.

The Rockets will certainly have their hands full with options, even if they decide not to take Green.

Projected top-three pick Evan Mobley showed the potential to be a dominant two-way center in his freshman year with the Trojans, while a projected top-five pick in explosive guard Jalen Suggs helped lead the Gonzaga Bulldogs to the NCAA Championship Game as a freshman.

Both Mobley and Suggs will be serious contenders for Houston, assuming the Detroit Pistons select Cade Cunningham with the first overall pick, as many anticipate.

The 2021 NBA Draft will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, July 29.

The post Houston Rockets Reportedly Prefer Jalen Green in 2021 NBA Draft appeared first on SLAM.

Source link

You might like

About the Author: kelter_21

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


text:
32.6 C
New York
Monday, August 8, 2022

When Hope Calls Season 2 confirmed or renewed?: Release Date, Cast and Characters, Plot and Much More.

Must read

When Hope Calls is an American family drama shos. The television series is a spin-off of the 2014 series When Calls the Heart that is still running on prime television. Both the drama is based on the Canadian West novel series by a Canadian fiction author, Janette Oke.

Following the release of its first season, fans gave been sitting on pins and needles for the release of When Hope Calls Season 2.

When Hope Calls Season 2

About: When Hope Calls

When Hope Calls has been created by Alfonso H. Moreno. On the other hand, Brian Bird, Brad Krevoy, Susie Belzberg Krevoy, and Michael Landon Jr., Amanda Phillips Atkins along with Jimmy Townsend, Eric Jarboe as well as Mike Rohl alongside Moreno served as the executive producers of the series. The series was mainly shot in Powassan, Ontario, Canada.

The western Canadian series debuted with its pilot episode on 30th August 2019 on Hallmark’s streaming platform, Hallmark Movies Now. The drama released its finale episode on 25th October 2019 and completed the first season. The series was also marked as the network’s first original show. After its initial run, the series then aired on the Hallmark Channel on Sundays from 23rd February 2020 at 9 pm ET.

When Hope Calls takes place in the year 1916 in the western Canadian town known as Brookfield and follows the story of two orphan sisters, Lillian and Grace who got separated when they were young. Regardless, the two sisters get reunited when they are adults and decide to run an orphanage in a small northwest ranching town called Brookfield.

Does The Amazing Actor Tom Felton Have A Wife? | 5+Facts, Relationships, and Everything You Need To Know!

When does Hope call Season 2: Release Date- When will it happen? Confirmed or Canceled

When Hope Calls aired their first season in August 2019 on Hallmark Movies Now and later in early 2020 released it on the Hallmark Channel.

As for When Hope Calls Season 2, no statement was released by the creators or network regarding its development.

The first season of the series had managed to take up a place in the viewer’s heart and created a strong fanbase which seems to be gradually growing with each passing day. And though the completion of the first season pretty much closed the doors on many topics, there are still unsettled issues surrounding the leading characters.

Also, in early 2020 the series fans received great news from the author When Hope Calls, Janette Oke who is reportedly occupied with three-part books series which will be based on When Hope Calls.

Oke has already published two books of the series which comprised of Unyielding Hope that was launched on 5th May 2020 while the second book titled Sustaining Faith was released this year on 1st June. This has further strengthened the hopes of fans to get  When Hope Calls Season 2.

However, we have to face the fact that though When Hope Calls obtained a moderate response it was in no way closer to the widespread love and reception that the series When Calls the Heart has been amassing. The difference between the series says it all that while When Calls the Heart is still up and running for the past seven years, the spin-off series couldn’t grab the audience’s attention to rewatch it.

When Hope Calls Season 2:

When Hope Calls Season 2: Cast and Characters

No official announcement has been stated that will confirm the production and the characters that will appear in When Hope Calls Season 2. With no confirmation from the crew members, we don’t know for sure which cast will reprise their original role in When Hope Calls Season 2.

Regardless, we can certainly take a look back at the ensemble that appeared in the prior seasons of When Hope Calls that included:

  • Morgan Kohan as Lillian Walsh
  • Jocelyn Hudon as Grace Bennett
  • RJ Hatanaka as Constable Gabriel “Gabe” Kinslow
  • Greg Hovanessian as Charlie “Chuck” Stewart
  • Wendy Crewson as Tess Stewart
  • Michael Copeman as Ken Newsome
  • Neil Crone as Ronnie Stewart
  • Kim Roberts as Pearl Mayfair
  • Elizabeth Saunders as Eleanor Winters
  • Hanneke Talbot as Maggie Parsons
  • Jefferson Brown as Joe Moody
  • Jonathan Potts as Ben Mendelson
  • Marshall Williams as Sam Tremblay

When Hope Calls Season 2:

When Hope Calls Season 2: Plot and Storyline

The first season of When Hope Calls concluded with Mike Sinclair finally being captured by Gabriel and Tess. Besides that, Chuck and Grace come clean about their feelings for each other, however, to accompany Helen to her grandfather’s house Grace flees to London.

If When Hope Calls Season 2 happens, then we can assume Chuck and Grace’s relationship to make certain resolutions. Also, since we have seen Tess giving her best to keep her son, Chuck, and Grace away from each other and even manipulating Chuck to spend time with Lucie. She was even seen acquiring a mysterious report and we are curious what it contains and what is the real objective of Tess. Helen will also be seen reconciling with her grandfather in London.

On the other hand, by the end of the season, we have witnessed Lillian shooing Sam as she believes he is only friendly with her due to Gabriel’s order. Will Sam be able to tell Lillian about his real feelings? Will Lillian give Sam a second chance?

Everything You Need to Know About Jay Shetty’s Amazing Wife Radhi Devlukia Shetty| Bio, Wiki, Age, 5+ Facts

Frequently asked questions

A. How many episodes are there in When Hope Calls?

When Hope Calls has premiered only one season which comprises of ten episodes. Each episode has a runtime between forty to forty-three minutes.

B. Where can we watch all the seasons of When Hope Calls?

The first season of When Hope Calls can be easily streamed on international streaming networks such as Hallmark Movies, Hallmark Movies Now Amazon Channel, DIRECTV. You can also buy it on Apple iTunes, Google Play Movies, Vudu as well as Amazon Video.

C. Why was When Hope Calls Season 2 canceled?

When Hope Calls Season 2 was canceled by Hallmark due to its decreasing audience stats.

Keep yourself updated and follow the latest news on The Market Activity.

More articles

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest article


text:
Skip to content

5 Steps To Setting Life Altering Intentions

Setting Life Altering Intentions

When you are working on yourself, and towards positive self-development, the practice of intention setting can tremendously help you in that process.

Intention setting is a life-changing practice. Becoming intentional is to become “on purpose.” By setting intentions, you start to become more aware of thought and behavior patterns each day.

Eventually, the pathways of the brain shift, and throughout the day you will see your intentions manifest. The more energy you put towards your intentions, the more aware you will become.

Getting intentional is an important part of change.

So what is an intention? A lot of people have confusion about what an intention actually is. An intention is different than a goal. A goal has a specific outcome. “I want to be promoted this year” is an example of a goal.

Intentions are more about awareness than they are achievement. “I want to be more present at work” is an example of an intention.

I find intentions are especially important in creating habits. Before I start any new habit I make an intention for it to be part of my life. Setting intentions is an intuitive process that everyone does differently but I’ll share my process with you here.

Here Are 5 Steps For Intention Setting

1. Promise yourself 5 minutes to set intentions every single morning.

When you first get out of bed before you look at your phone or get involved in your morning grind, spend 5 minutes where you are most comfortable. Tell your family you’ll be doing this and ask for respect at this time. Commit to this for 30 days. This space in the morning is where you will set intentions.

Related: The Power of Intentions: Scientific Evidence on How Thoughts Can Change the World

2. Get an intention journal.

For those 5 minutes in the morning start thinking about what emotions you want to experience and what behaviors you want to shift. If you’d like to find more calm throughout the day your intention would be “I will find calm in tense situations.”

If you’d like to experience more joyful moments your intention will be “I will find joy throughout my day.” Writing helps connect the mind with your intention.

3. Stay aware of your intentions.

Think about them throughout the day. Put reminders on your phone. Use post-its on your computer. Just thinking of your intention a couple of seconds throughout the day will shift the pathways of the brain. It’s important to give yourself convenient reminders.

4. Celebrate moments where you are being intentional.

In moments where you are present and aware of the intention you’ve set, reward yourself. Take a moment to honor the fact that your intention is in your mind and that you’re having newfound awareness.

Related: 3 Things You Need To Start Believing in Yourself

5. Start with small intentions and build foundation.

If you’ve never set intentions before, it will take the mind a period of time to adjust. It’s best to start with a small intention that you feel fully confident you can see through.

After the first 30 days, you can start with a new intention and continue creating intentions. This will get you into a flow and you’ll start to see your intentions manifest more quickly.

Written By Nicole LePera
Originally Appeared In The Holistic Psychologist

Intention setting can help you get a better understanding of yourself, develop many positive habits, and overall help you to be a calmer and more grounded person. This practice will instill self-confidence, and self-belief, which will help you progress and be a better version of yourself.

If you want to know more about intention setting, then check this video out below:

Setting Life Altering Intentions pin
5 Steps To Setting Life Altering Intentions

Dr Nicole LePera

Dr. LePera views mental and physical struggles from a whole person perspective and works to identify the underlying physical and emotional causes. She understands that balance is an integral part of wellness and empowers individuals to heal themselves, supporting them on their wellness journeys. Dr. LePera founded the Mindful Healing Center in Center City Philadelphia. She recently expanded her work online creating a platform for teaching these often overlooked components of mental wellness to individuals and practitioners around the world.View Author posts


text:
August 8, 2022

14 migrants die as Canary Island-bound boat capsizes amid fire outbreak

Photo Credit: ResearchGate

A boat carrying between 140 and 150 migrants trying to sail to Europe off the coast of Senegal capsized following a fire outbreak inside.

The migrants were hoping to reach the Spanish Canary Islands through the Atlantic route.

According to Senegalese Red Cross, the incident occurred on Monday, June 27, 2022 off the Senegalese coastal town of Cavontine.

David Diatta, the mayor of Cavontine region of Casamance said though the death toll is likely to rise but they have recovered 14 dead bodies, adding that the passengers include Guineans, Nigerians, Gambians and Senegalese.

Diatta said survivors informed him that a person smoking a cigarette near a gas tank in the migrant boat caused the fire.

He stated that 90 identified passengers survived and dozens are still missing.

Health workers in the Casamance region said 21 people were injured, including four with second-degree burns.

The distance from Cavontine in southern Senegal to the Canary Islands is more than 1600 kilometers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


text:
This week the EU’s much anticipated new chemicals strategy for sustainability was launched. Here representatives from The Natural Step’s chemicals coalition give a summary and share their views on what it means.

This strategy is one of the milestones for implementing the European Green Deal to create a sustainable, climate neutral circular economy by 2050.  Its a big deal because it provides a long-term vision for reviewing and updating EU chemicals policy for the first time in 20 years. The goal is ”a toxic-free environment, where chemicals are produced and used in a way that maximises their contribution to society including achieving the green and digital transition, while avoiding harm to the planet and to current and future generations”.

The strategy is also a strong signal that Europe continues to take the global lead in tackling the growing impact of chemicals on human health and the environment. As noted in the strategy, Europe already has one of the most comprehensive and protective regulatory frameworks for chemicals. Yet it is clear that more work needs to be done to address the too slow progress substituting hazardous chemicals, to streamline regulation, ensure its enforcement and promote sustainable development. We welcome the strengthened leadership from the EU on chemicals.

What’s it about?

The EU strategy covers more than 50 actions to better protect citizens and the environment from the harmful effects of chemicals while also promoting innovation and competitiveness of the EU industry. In particular, it emphasises new demands to create chemicals that are ‘sustainable by design’, more life cycle thinking, higher standards and information exchange to ensure safe recycling within the circular economy, attention to greening and digitizing chemical production and securing Europe’s autonomy over critical supply chains and chemicals. Measures to restrict substances of concern in certain product categories – designed to protect consumers and vulnerable groups – will now also include assessment of combination effects of chemical mixtures.

There are other improvements to the EU’s chemical legislation including a simpler “one substance one assessment” process for the risk and hazard assessment of chemicals. This signals a move away from assessing and regulating chemicals substance-by-substance to regulating them by groups. Finally, the strategy emphasizes that the EU wants to play a leading role globally in championing and promoting high standards on chemicals, including not exporting chemicals banned in the EU and ensuring they are not introduced to the common market.

A more upstream approach. Generally-speaking, the EU chemicals strategy for sustainability suggests a shift from seeking to control chemicals once they are on the market to a more preventative and upstream approach. This is a positive development, though there will be challenges to ensure that the competitiveness of European industry is secured as the strategy is implemented over time. So far the response from industry has been somewhat positive even while concerns and missed opportunities are also highlighted (CEFIC).

Striking the right balance? The strategy appears to be looking for a balance between designing for sustainability in new products, breaking the ‘take-make-waste’ model by allowing for recycling of waste from ‘linear products’ and encouraging measures to decontaminate materials containing substances now restricted by more recent regulation. While continued dialogue with stakeholders will be needed to find the right balance, we see this as a sign that knowledge domains on the regulation of hazardous substances, circular economy and achieving sustainability goals such as the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are starting to align.

Accepting the need to do more to tackle chemical pollution. The EU strategy also seems to acknowledge the central issue that despite much progress, chemical pollution is still alarmingly out of control even as the global sale of chemicals is expected to double by 2030. The United Nation’s Global Chemicals Outlook II Report – to which our team contributed – has highlighted this issue clearly:

Large quantities of hazardous chemicals and pollutants continue to leak into the environment, contaminating food chains and accumulating in our bodies, where they do serious damage. Estimates from the European Environment Agency suggest that 62% of the volume of chemicals consumed in Europe in 2016 were hazardous to health. The World Health Organization estimates the burden of disease from selected chemicals at 1.6 million lives in 2016. The lives of many more are negatively impacted.

UN Environment Global Chemicals Outlook 2019

Areas for clarification

While we are positive to the ambitions of the EU strategy, The Natural Step is seeking clarification and suggests that greater attention in needed in a few key areas:

1. Unclear definitions such as a ‘sustainable chemicals’ devoid of context. The strategy refers to the terms like ‘sustainable chemicals’ and ‘sustainable by design’. Our view is that substances themselves can be classified, restricted, prioritized (preferred) and managed in the context of achieving a sustainable society but are neither intrinsically sustainable or un-sustainable on their own. There is bound to be confusion in this area if the differing interpretations of what is ‘sustainable’ are not addressed from a scientific and systems-based perspective. This must also recognise the dynamics of sustainable development as a journey, taking into account the contribution of chemicals to achieving sustainable outcomes throughout their full life cycle and the need for progressively higher standards.

2. Chemical management from a systems perspective. As the Earth is a closed system with respect to matter, we believe it is important to foster the mindset and capability to manage ALL chemicals and materials sustainably. While the strategy aims to promote sustainability, it appears to be largely about moving away from today’s known problems (addressing the ‘bad apples’). In our view, substances of concern should be seen as the highest priority but with continued discovery of new chemical impacts and combined effects this should be recognised as a moving target.

In our view, what we really need to see is more education and guidance on how to innovate for sustainability at the chemical level. By this we mean taking a wider and more preventative view of all chemicals that goes beyond what is currently known or suspected in terms of toxicity and hazardous properties. This also means defining the potential for all substances to be sustainably managed under the strictest regimes while also recognising that even ‘non-hazardous’ chemicals can have large impacts on the systems we depend upon. For example, systematically increasing concentrations of ‘non-hazardous’ greenhouse gases are the main driver of climate change.

3. Innovation beyond regulation and compliance. While regulation is a key driver for change, we know it is not enough on its own. It is also widely acknowledged that industry hates uncertainty but can adapt to higher standards when the trajectory of new regulation is clear. What we would like to see is EU policy-makers engaging with corporate sustainability pioneers, responsible investors and other stakeholders so that efforts to go ‘beyond regulation’ are rewarded and incentivised.

The use of chemistry and chemicals will be key to solving challenges such as restoring our climate, cleaning our air, soil and water, feeding and providing materials and shelter for the world and regenerating ecosystems. It is therefore also important that new regulation is aligned with more progressive, voluntary frameworks to avoid confusion. Ultimately we would like to see universally accepted chemical and sustainability indicators being used as thresholds in regulation also being integrated into voluntary sustainability tools and disclosure frameworks in mainstream use by industry.

4. The need for a science-based definition of sustainability. As suggested above, this strategy is a chance for policymakers to address regulatory conflicts between chemicals and waste legislation, neither of which were developed with a holistic view of circularity and sustainability in mind. It will be important now to build long-term alignment on how the use of chemicals contributes to the creation of a flourishing and sustainable society. Ultimately, we believe that policymakers need to be guided by a shared and science-based definition of sustainability, the lack of which is one reason why objectives of a non-toxic environment and the circular economy have been seen to be in conflict. We also also note that there will need to be alignment between the EU strategy and the work by UN Environment on ‘Manuals for Sustainable Chemistry‘.

Implications for industry

While it will take some time for the new EU strategy to fall into place, now is the right time for actors within industrial value chains to evaluate their level of preparedness for future demands and to develop their own chemical strategies for sustainability.

The Natural Step has been a long-time champion of an integrated approach to chemical management as part of sustainable development, and we’re here to help. We use a science-based definition of socio-ecological sustainability that can be applied to any endeavour related to achieving sustainability – including chemical management.

Our experience coaching proactive organisations using a well-published Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), demonstrates there is great potential in using sustainability principles as a shared language to establish goals and roadmaps, and to evaluate and prioritise the use and circular management of chemicals and materials in the transition to sustainability.

We invite you to contact any of our representatives to learn more about how to integrate the principles of sustainability into proactive chemical management practices as part of an integrated sustainability strategy.

%d bloggers like this:


text:
Events at The Ninja's Edge

The Ninja’s Edge hosts a variety of events including Family Fun Nights, Competitions, and open gyms.  If there are no events listed, check back again soon!  Starting in the Fall 2021, we will have monthly in-house competitions!  They are a great first step for anyone wanting to test their skill at completing a course.  Online registration through our PARENT PORTAL will be available under EVENTS.


text:
Discover Our Story

The Nutcracker Country Venue is situated on the farm Schurwedraai outside Parys in the heart of the Vredefort Dome.
From the early 1920s, the Farm housed a school that was attended by the local children who would be seen walking for miles or carried by horseback to get to class.

The land along with a simple 2-bedroom house, out-shed, and lister diesel generator was purchased by the Van Der Merwe Family in 1995 from a dear old lady in Potchefstroom who was adamant about passing on the land to people she felt would honour and appreciate the area.

Plans were soon drawn up to establish a pecan nut orchard, of which the first trees were planted in 1997.
This year will see the first of our new arrivals of boerbokke onto the estate.

The Nutcracker Country Venue was established in May 2010 after one of the sons who had previously married on the lawns where the chapel now stands,
thought it best to let guests share in the splendour and beauty of the farm.

Over the past 10 years, we have witnessed the marriage of over 450 couples and celebrated in their union. We have witnessed fond memories being created,
fed many bellies, and seen the dancing into the late-night hours. We owe our success to the passion and hands-on involvement of all family members.

Please view our Gallery – There are hundreds of photos and our Virtual Tour provides you with a detailed overview.

Download our Brochure


text:
Alex Ballew - The Open Mind Center
Loading Events

← Back to Events

Alex Ballew

August 2022

Sound Immersion- In Person

August 27 @ 11:30 am - 12:45 pm
The Open Mind Center, 1425 Market Boulevard, Suite 500
Roswell, GA 30076 United States
+ Google Map

Sound Immersion is the practice of using deep tones, gentle melodies, and soothing vibrations to bring yourself to a relaxed and centered state. Join us for a special sound immersion event. You will be surrounded by the energy of a crystal harp, a gong, singing bowls, rain sticks, bells, drums and more. Drift into the stillness below the mind and access the parasympathetic nervous system for an opportunity to let go, rejuvenate, feel grounded and become deeply relaxed. You will…

Find out more »
+ Export Events


text:
The Witching Hour is Nigh!

halloween orangutan0007

Some of you may be getting dressed up around about now, some of you might be stuffing your face pre-emptively with sweets and some of you are getting cosy and planning to watch Hocus Pocus (I know I am 😉). Wherever you are, I think we can all agree that we need some spooctacular book recommendations! And what better topic than talking about *witches*? Yup- I’m giving you a list of some of my favourite witchy books! (NB I had to resist the urge to not just tell you to reread Harry Potter, cos obviously that’s an option… but I guess I kinda just did that… ah well 😉) Without further ado, pick up your broomsticks and let’s get this kicked off!

wicked deep

Wicked Deep– one of my favourite spooky reads last year, this spellbinding, atmospheric read with a historical edge definitely cast its spell over me!

winter of the witch

Winter of the Witch– such a captivating series set in medieval Rus! Though I could’ve picked any of the books in this series, but this is where Vasya has fully come into her powers, journeys through Midnight and shines in her greatest glory. This is how to tell a witchy tale!

witch's daughter

The Witch’s Daughter– this fantastical take on historical fiction was fun and brimming with entertainment!

The Crucible– if you’re on the hunt for something about the Salem witch trials, then look no further! Well, I say that, but this isn’t really about that at all 😉 It’s very intense and will transport you in time though!

Circe– there’s something utterly bewitching about this book- it’s the perfect retelling of Odysseus, the characters shine and the writing is exquisite. Most importantly for this list, it has one of the most unique takes on witches I have ever seen.

northern lights

Northern Lights– speaking of unique takes, everything about Lyra’s Oxford (and extended world) is different and interesting. So, it’s no surprise that his take on witches is *brilliant*.

Doomspell– I always vividly remember this book as well for its *stand out* witches. Although, be prepared for things to get a little creepier… And on that note…

The Witches– yes, this list wouldn’t be complete without Dahl’s Witches. Terrifying to adults and children alike, these are the kinds of witches to keep you up at night!

chronicles of narnia

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe– another absolute *classic* book starring a witch! In this case, the White Witch is the epitome of evil, enticing you in with Turkish Delight… only to try and turn you to stone if she gets the chance!

good omens book

Good Omens– of course, however, if you (like me) prefer your spooky reads not-so-spooky, then look no further. This quirky and hilarious book has everything spooky from witches to the devil to the four horseman of the apocalypse… and yet miraculously manages to be a good time!

equal rites 2

Equal Rites– sticking with the fun vibes, this was one of the first Discworld books I ever read and it completely charmed me! The humour and the characters were top notch- and this is definitely a great starting point for people looking for some girl power! And just so you know, the series gets better and better! (Maskerade is probably my favourite!) Pratchett always draws brilliantly on classics as well, which brings me to…

Macbethhubble bubble toil and trouble… this is the quintessential play with witches! Whether you’ve seen it/read it/heard about it vaguely- you can’t go wrong with this ambitious drama!

worst witch

The Worst Witch– and finally, I thought the best way to end out this list would be to talk about a fun family friendly witch… who happens to not be very good at it. Though she may not fail in the Shakespearean sense, it’s rather comforting (and hella entertaining) to read about a heroine who struggles to *shine* and whose finest quality is her big heart.

And that’s all I’ve got for tonight! Have you read any of these? Do you have any other witchy reads to add? Let me know in the comments! And Happy Halloween!

Classic Spooky Reads that *Gave Me the Shivers*

spooktacular reads

Hello all! Just a quick post today to celebrate spooktober! In the last year (and beyond), I’ve been reading quite a few classic spooky read and some of them really hit the spot (and by hit the spot, I mean made my blood run cold, freaked me out and made me duck under my duvet for cover!) Here’s some books you may have heard of that really live up to the hype:

we have always lived in a castle

We Have Always Lived in a Castle– oh man, Shirley Jackson reallllly nailed the creepy vibes with this one. The mystery builds and builds and you don’t get total closure… which is exactly how it should be in the best scary stories! Speaking of which…

turn of the screw 2

Turn of the Screw– this is one of the *best* gothic tales I’ve ever read and there are multiple ways to read it. Ambiguous, brilliantly written and so terrifying I had to turn on my big lights so I could finish it!

the woman in black

The Woman in Black– ooh this one was freaky! This ghost story will definitely keep you up at night. An unsettling mist descends from the moment I turned the first page and doesn’t let up until long after you’ve turned the last. I’m just hoping she never makes an appearance in my life…

Rebecca– on the note of enigmatic women, the titular character is too dead to make an appearance in this book, yet that doesn’t stop her making her presence felt 😉 This book has a hint of the gothic and is a wonderfully atmospheric read!

haunting of hill house

Haunting of Hill House– this was another solid book from Shirley Jackson and perfect if you’re too chicken to check out the Netflix version (like me 😉)

Wieland– this is a weird book… and yet isn’t that perfect for this time of year? A strangely captivating gothic tale, I was taken aback the first time I read it and it still haunts me to this day.

Confessions of a Justified Sinner– this mad little Scottish classic is a hidden gothic gem and guaranteed to take you to a dark place… which of course meant I had to include it 😉

Frankenstein– in many ways, this isn’t as scary as the other stories on this list. While it does venture into the subject of monsters, it’s more about humanity and hubris and the terrible things we’re capable of… so in many ways it’s the scariest book on this list by far.

jekyll and hyde

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde– coming back to London, this classic tale is pure entertainment and a sign that sometimes the darkest creatures can be closer to home than we think…

And on that note, I’ll be bringing this list to an end… *MWHAHAHAHA*! Don’t know if that’s the most appropriate place for a “MWHAHAHAHA”… Moving swiftly on! Have you read any of these? Do you love any classic scary stories? Let me know in the comments!

Spine-Tingling Thrillers for Spooktober!

spooktacular reads

Well, I don’t know about you, but this time of year definitely makes me drawn to creepier reads. Now, I don’t tend to gravitate towards horror, but a good thriller is right up my street. And having stalked a few lately, I figured I’d share a fast and fun list… before the authorities catch up with me 😉

lock every door

Lock Every Door– in the last couple of months, I’ve quickly become a fan of Riley Sager (as you’ll notice from this list)- and for good reason! I was locked in place with this modern gothic novel. Prepare yourself for a creepilicious, entertaining and addicting read!

death of mrs westaway

The Death of Mrs Westaway- in a similar vein, if you’re looking for a thriller with a claustrophobic feel, look no further! This modern take on Rebecca will lead you to familiar and unfamiliar territory. Expect the unexpected from Ruth Ware’s masterful retelling.

ice twins

Ice Twins– moving north now, this excellent atmospheric read will get you in the mood for winter. Warning: may cause a shiver to run down your spine.

last time I lied

The Last Time I Lied– I read a lot of thrillers last month and this slightly-summery mystery was my favourite! Set after the disappearance of three teenage girls, with an unreliable narrator trying to piece together what happened to them, this will take you down a dangerous path to a killer plot twist!

Gone Girl– speaking of twists, if you haven’t read this already, seriously why not?! This husband vs wife drama is the perfect book for *Spooktober* if you haven’t read it yet!

suitable lie

Suitable Lie– looking for a good domestic noir? Then I have the book for you- this moving and melancholic read will show you dark secrets that can lurk behind closed doors. Rather than taking you a million miles away, this one hits close to home.

mountain in my shoe

Mountain in my shoe– another book filled with realism, this wonderfully written thriller will draw you in and persistently nudge away at you until you turn the last page.

Nemesis– for something a little different, there are some strong YA thrillers. This series is by far one of the more memorable books I read as a teen. Pacey and brilliantly executed, this story does not relent from the awakening of the first page!

dark matter

Dark Matter– another book that’s more action-based, this is a blend of sci fi and thrillers. With a sprinkling of interesting themes along the way. Provoking some fascinating discussions, this time-bending book is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

You– of course, if you are looking for a different kind of terror, then this horrifying reflection on social media is GUARANTEED to freak you out. You’ve been warned 😉

So have you read any of these? Do you plan to? Let me know in the comments!

SCARY BIG Book Haul!!!

Do you know that feeling where you can never walk into a bookshop/library/book event and not come away with *so many* more books than you planned? Do you know what it’s like to walk past a book you’ve not even added to your tbr, but have a vague interest in, and think “I must have it”!? Well, one side effect of going away for a while is that that crazy, insatiable thirst for new books is SO MUCH WORSE THAN NORMAL! All my former impulse control (pah like I ever had impulse control) went out the window and I just found myself hauling BOOKS, BOOKS and MORE BOOKS. Two days back and I was already showing off an insane library haul on twitter. And you know what? That haul has only grown since then! I mean, I’m not entirely to blame for this- I basically went through my entire physical tbr before I went away, so of course I had to replenish my stocks- right?!?! Plus, some of my hauling was (pretty logically) because it’s *SPOOKTOBER* and I needed wanted some spooky reads. Which is why I got these for starters:

scary book haul.jpg

I also thought it would be fun to finally try the Saga graphic novels- I don’t know why but their unusual feel felt right for this month- so I picked these up in the library:

saga haul (2)

Not totally related to this month, I also got a couple of books as a belated birthday present:

birthday book haul (2)

What’s a little uncanny about getting these books is that I got the first ones in those series last year– oooh! 😉 (also I have already read and reviewed Girl in the Tower if you’re interested- I just wanted a physical copy cos I LOVE IT!) Still, it’s not all freaky thrills. Since I’m a total scaredy cat, I had to get a load of romantic YA books to make sure I don’t get too freaked out this month:

romantic books.jpg

Plus, I also picked out a hefty classic, which, I’ll admit, I’ve been terrified of reading:

gone with the wind original version.jpg

And I almost forgot about this one, because it’s currently sitting on my bedside table waiting to be read, but it comes back full circle to the *creepy, suspensful* vibe I’ve been trying to get this month:

woman in the window

So as you can see I have plenty to be getting on with! I doubt I’ll be whizzing through all of this any time soon- which is why I want to hear from you about tackling this haul! Have you read any of these? Which ones do you recommend? Let me know in the comments!


text:
A dying pride

The Asiatic lion has only one habitat in the world – Gujarat’s Gir National Park where 23 lions have died in less than a month. This calls for immediate steps to repopulate the endangered species in an alternative abode

The only surviving population of the Asiatic lion resides in Gujarat’s Gir National Park (GNP)—Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state. The Asiatic lion is the face of the Make in India campaign. Ironically, in Gujarat, there’s a total ban on cow slaughter, but Gujarat’s lions are beef eaters—their staple diet is cow and buffalo reared by the local Maldhari tribe.

The latter don’t mind lions preying on their cattle, as the compensation is good; their presence is considered divine. Perhaps, that’s why their numbers have risen to 543 (barely a dozen left in the wild 100 years ago), which is unmanaged given the limited prey-base and the area of GNP—1,412 sq kms.

In less than a month, 23 lions have reportedly died in the Sarasiya Vidi area, a reserved forest in the Dalkhaniya range of GNP. At least four of them were found to be infected with a deadly canine distemper virus (CDV). Gujarat’s forest and animal husbandry departments have launched a joint operation to vaccinate dogs and cattle in the surrounding area to contain the spread of this deadly virus. The forest department has also initiated vaccination of some of the lions which were rescued from the Shemardi area and are kept under observation.

Nearly half of the lion population, as per the experts residing locally, live outside the protected area, alongside human habitations, or on the revenue land. They have spread far and wide, all over the Saurashtra, from Jamnagar to Bhavnagar. A few years ago, an incident of a man-eating lion was reported from Ambariya village, which is some hundred kilometres from the periphery of GNP. It is not unsual to sight a pride of lions crossing a highway or walking along a road in the vicinity of a city or a village in the evening, or sitting in the shade close to aMaldhari hamlet during a hot day.

Even though it is a healthy population, it is limited to a single habitation. Since many years, environmentalists have been warning, saying that this situation is akin to putting all eggs in one basket, albeit, in this case, the basket is really big. Therefore, it makes perfect ecological sense to create two or more populations of Asiatic lion in a different habitation, so that the entire population won’t be wiped out in case of an epidemic or due to any other reason. Also, the problem of plenty makes their relocation imperative. But Modi for many years, as the chief minister of Gujarat, assiduously opposed and scuttled any move to relocate lions out of Gujarat to protected areas in other states. Lions are the pride of Gujarat, and only Gujarat.

For instance, Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, is waiting for lions for more than a decade now, after 24 villages of Sahariya tribe were moved out to create a pristine habitat for lions. Gujarat lost an 8-year long legal battle to shift lions. Soon after Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister, in one of the very first communiqués, the BJP-government of Madhya Pradesh sent a proposal to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest, seeking a budgetary allocation of Rs 79 crore to shift some lions out of GNP to Kuno. Of course, nothing happened.

Any move or demand to rationalise lion population, in other words, to relocate, is scuttled. The recent deaths of lions indicate that these fears are not misplaced, a deadly contagious disease can wipe out the whole population of Asiatic lions.

One of the fears against shifting lions out of Gujarat is that unlike tigers, lions in GNP are fairly comfortable with local tribes and vice versa. While reporting in Gujarat two years ago, this reporter took an exhaustive drive of three hours inside the forest on a muddy road with potholes the size of a bathtub, to Aankol Vadi. It’s one of the 54 hamlets inside the core area of GNP —locally called ness—that houses one extended family of the Maldhari tribe with their livestock. Legally, the core area is supposed to be pristine, devoid of human presence and activities.

In this particular ness lives the extended family of Kanha Bhai Appa Bhai Gadhavi—the undisputed leader of the Maldhari tribe since decades. There’s no power supply, instead solar lamps are installed on bamboo poles. A diesel pump draws water from a well downhill. An extended, open enclosure, lined with a six-feet mud wall, is located on top of a hill. Inside the enclosure live some 200 buffalo in the middle of a forest full of lions.

The Gadhavi family has been living there since generations — their dominance in the area is no less than that of lions. So much is their influence, that Modi, Keshubhai Patel and other chief ministers in the past, have paid a visit to seek the support of this community during elections.

Vijay’s son, Subhash, who had just passed out of school, spoke perfect Hindi, making him a trusted interpreter. “We invite people, tourists also, to sight a lion, as the pride stays with the kill for a few days.” Lions don’t kill for greed, they do it only when hungry. And human presence does not bother them. Here, the predator and humanity have learned to live in perfect harmony.

Gadhavis have given names to some of the lions, as if they are their pets. Tiliya is the biggest lion they ever saw, it was as big as a buffalo. They are worried as “the numbers of lions have grown, but the forest is shrinking. Lions need our presence, they are dependent on us (Maldharis),” explains Vijay in Gujarati, adding, “We ensure easy food to these lazy predators,” In fact, he claims, lions also leave that forest area when Maldharis are forcefully evicted and relocated.

Lion expert and a fellow with the Wildlife Institute of India, Kaushik Banerjee, has carried out extensive field work for eight years in the Gir forests. He speaks the local dialects like natives, but doesn’t agree with Vijay’s optimism. “If the ecology of the forest is to be conserved, Maldharis will have to be moved out,” he says. He’s in favour of relocation of lions to increase the genetic pool.

‘I believe that the lions were irresistible and magical creatures and an alien imposter in the land of the tiger—a natural world that he didn’t know or belong,’ writes Valmik Thapar, environmentalist and author, in his celebrated book Exotic Aliens that he co-authored with Romila Thapar and Yusuf Ansari.

The pride of Gujarat—the prides of lions— which is becoming a potent symbol of nationalism, might not be Indian at all. Thapar describes Gujarat’s pride as the ‘khichdi lion’—a curious mix of North American and the so-called Asiatic lion.

In medieval times, the western coast of Gujarat was the landing ground, where the imported cheetahs and lions from Africa were quarantined and acclimatised to the new environment, almost domesticated, before they were released in the wild for the kings and nobility to indulge in hunting . The Indian lion is known for its tameness, docility and inability to behave as a predator in the wild; also its coyness with humans.

By 1900, 15-20 lions of the ‘mongrel pack’, as Valmik describes them, were left in the Gir forests, half-fed and half–reared. It is thanks to the Nawab of Junagarh and later, the Gujarat government, that we have a large crop of docile wild lions in Gujarat.

Perhaps, in this second crisis, which is a potential threat to the lion population, ecological prudence is required, and not misplaced sentimentality.

+ posts


text: b'TMMULTIPLE-TIME WINNERVIKTOR HOVLANDPLD CUSTOM DS72MULTIPLE-TIME WINNERVIKTOR HOVLANDPLD CUSTOM DDSS7722A collection of four tour-validated models developed as part of our Putting Lab Design (PLD) Series, each with a history of winning and engineered to fit your stroke and eye. Precision-milled from forged 303 stainless steel, they represent a combination of standard-setting favorites like the Anser and newer, tour-inspired models like the DS72.2022 PING | P.O. BOX 82000 PHOENIX, AZ 85071'


text:
Sunday Reader Question: How to Extend an American Airlines EVIP Upgrade?

Dec 23, 2012

This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.

TPG reader Jeff asks:

“Many of us have American Airline e-VIP’s that are expiring at the end of February 2013 that we need to use up, or somehow extend.  American will NOT extend the expiration date, but you can use them on a ticket that is then cancelled and remains good for a year?”

Jeff is referring to the 8 one-way upgrade certificates you get when achieving American Airlines Executive Platinum Status (100,000 EQMs in a year). These upgrade certificates are extremely valuable- you can upgrade from the cheapest coach to business or domestic first class with no fees. An amazing value, but you need to use them by their expiration date or else you lose them.

And sadly, per the EVIP terms and conditions: “All travel using a systemwide upgrade must be completed by the expiration date. Upgrades will expire at 12:00 midnight (CT) on the date shown.”

Unfortunately, AA has made sure there's no way to extend the live of those EVIP SWU's.
Unfortunately, AA has made sure there’s no way to extend the live of those EVIP SWU’s.

So you cannot book a flight for future use or even change an existing one into the future. Remember, you book a coach fare and then they apply the upgrade. If you cancel the ticket or change it, you re-book back into coach and then you’d need to reapply it – it doesn’t turn into a business class ticket that can then be changed and ticketed into business class.

The only thing I can recommend is maybe finding another Executive Platinum friend who has certificates that expire in 2014 and if they need to use any before the end of February 2013, ask to trade some of your imminently expiring ones for theirs that expire in the future. You would obviously need to do this with someone you trust since it would be on an honor system (and you technically aren’t supposed to trade or barter your miles/upgrades), but I do know people who have done this successfully. And if you aren’t going to use your EVIP before they expire, donate it to a friend, family member…or favorite blogger :-)

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.


text:
BEST PREMIUM Fire Stick. amazon fire tv device 2022

Streaming devices are now a crucial part of the TV-watching experience. While most new TVs come with a smart TV platform built-in, you can easily swap it out for one you like better by adding a streaming stick or box to your TV via an HDMI connection. Roku makes some of the most popular streaming players, but the company is starting to face stiff competition from streaming devices by Apple, Google and AmazonAmazon in particular has pushed aggressively into the streaming market by producing a plethora of Fire TV-branded streaming devices. We’ve reviewed them all, and found that we tend to like Roku products best for their easy use and their platform-agnostic approach — Roku’s menus don’t favor one service (like, for example, Prime Video) over others. That said, Amazon’s Fire TV devices are highly capable too, especially if you want Alexa voice integration.

Enjoy favorites from Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV, Peacock, STARZ, SHOWTIME, Paramount+, and others. Stream live news, sports, and must-see shows, plus thousands of titles in brilliant 4K Ultra HD, HDR, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision. Access tens of thousands of HDR titles. Plus, play millions of songs through services like Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora and iHeartRadio. Subscription fees may apply.
Fire Stick
Amazon Fire TV DEVICE

Switch inputs and go from watching your favorite TV show to the big game. You can also ask Alexa to check the weather, set timers and reminders, and more—even when the TV is off.

“Alexa, tune to ESPN.”Fire TV Cube has eight microphones that hear you from any direction, making it easy to ask Alexa to adjust the volume or mute your compatible TV or soundbar. Fire TV Cube lets you control your compatible cable and satellite box. The Alexa Voice Remote is also included for those times you want to control your TV without making a sound. Brands this product is compatible with includes Samsung, Sony, LG, Vizio, Comcast, DISH, and DIRECTV/AT&T U-verse.With Alexa on Fire TV Cube, you can control a wide range of devices through the cloud, infrared (IR), and HDMI-CEC, with more being added all the tim

Speed and picture quality

One of the most noticeable differences between the 4K Max and the 4K stick is speed: Amazon claims that the former is “40 times more powerful” than the latter “with faster app starts and more fluid navigation.” The 4K Max stick is adept at switching between apps, such as Netflix to Hulu, Apple TV+ to Disney+; it was practically seamless when I used voice control with Alexa. The Amazon voice assistant also worked fast when I asked it to play a show on Netflix or a movie on Prime Video.

Design and user experience

The first impression you’d get with the 4K Max TV stick is how lightweight the remote is, similar to the 4K or past versions of the Fire TV Stick (it actually slipped out of my hand easily a few times). The streaming stick itself has to be plugged in — prepare to get an extension cord near your TV — something that might be slightly inconvenient for those who already have a smart TV and are used to their TV’s built-in streaming capabilities. Then again, rarely will those with a smart TV need an additional streaming device.

amazon fire tv device

Fire Stick

Amazon’s Fire Stick range is robust and runs the gamut from the basic Fire Stick Lite to the midrange Fire Stick 4K Max to the top-tier Fire TV Cube, as well as a bunch of models in between. If this sounds confusing, don’t worry. Our guide to the best Fire TV streaming device will help you pick out the right model for you.

Fire Stick

What is a Fire Stick ? Well, if you’ve ever wanted to have all the functionality of a smart TV but didn’t want to have to pay for a completely new television, then the Amazon Fire TV Stick is a great way to upgrade your existing TV.
— Last UpdaIf you’ve ever been streaming something on your phone or computer and wished you could watch it on your TV, you’re certainly not alone. Today, a number of smart TV options on the market offer just that, but there’s a way to turn any TV into a versatile smart TV: with a streaming device called a Fire TV Stick. If you’ve never heard of this and are wondering, “what is a Fire Stick?” then read on to learn more.

Key Takeaways:Fire Stick

  • The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a great way to turn almost any TV into a smart TV that can stream content from almost any platform.
  • The Fire TV Stick 4K can stream 4K HDR video and is compatible with Dolby Visin and Dolby Atmos.
  • All Fire TV Sticks currently on the market come with an Alexa-enabled voice control remote.
Fire Stick

Voice control

Another enticing feature to the Fire TV stick family is its ability to connect to Alexa and use voice control, and by most measures, that performance carries over to the 4K Max. It’s fast and quickly caught on to my demands without a long loading period. I asked Alexa to play Ted Lasso, and it automatically pulled up the Apple TV+ app right to the show’s page. Yet if you want Alexa to play something that isn’t available on streaming services and requires you to rent or buy it, it’ll automatically take you to Prime Video’s shopping page instead of a platform where you potentially have rented or purchased a movie or TV show. (For example, I had already rented Spider-Man: Far From Home from the Apple iTunes store separately and, therefore, the movie was available on Apple TV+ for me.)

Alexa also fell short in answering my questions when playing movies and shows. Although the Amazon Prime Video X-Ray feature that shows you cast and crew information, trivia, and scene secrets is a fun bonus for viewers, it’s less accurate when you ask Alexa about them. When I first set up my Fire TV stick, the device prompted me to ask, “Who’s that actor” while I was watching Spider-Man: Far From Home. Instead of telling me Tom Holland, Alexa pulled up a nonsensical answer I’d expect to get if I searched “Who’s that actor?” on Google with no context. Even when I tested it further and asked, “Alexa, who’s the director of this movie?” while streaming When Harry Met Sally on Prime Video, Alexa told me instead that “according to Wikipedia, Us is directed by Jordan Peele” — completely misinterpreting the question.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a simple dongle that plugs into the back of any TV with an HDMI port and turns it into a powerful smart TV with hundreds of apps for a huge variety of streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu. The relatively inexpensive device makes a great upgrade to almost any TV by adding voice command functionality, Dolby Vision and more.

Fire Stick
  • Is There a Monthly Fee for Fire Stick?
  • What Channels Do You Get With Fire Stick?
  • Is It Worth Buying a Fire Stick?
  • Do You Need Internet With a Fire Stick?
BEST PREMIUM Fire Stick. amazon fire tv device 2022
Scroll to top