text:
Joshua Jenkins and the company of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (Photo: Brinkhoff/Mogenburg)

Joshua Jenkins and the company of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (Photo: Brinkhoff/Mogenburg)

Last chance to see: 15 shows leaving in April

Eleni Cashell

By Eleni Cashell First Published 2 April 2019, Last Updated 2 April 2019

With the Olivier Awards taking place this month, April is an exciting time to be in Theatreland. But amongst the celebratory mood is a few tears from closing productions, as we say goodbye to 15 amazing shows leaving in April.

From an English National Opera (ENO) series and dark dramas to family-friendly shows and memorising cabaret performances, there’s a variety of shows to see this month, and not long to catch them!

Rotterdam tickets at Rose Theatre Kingston

Closing: 6April

Speaking of the Olivier Awards, in 2017 this show won in the Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre category. If that wasn’t enough, the show was part of an Off-Broadway season and even embarked on a UK tour.

Rotterdam is a tender show about Alice, and her girlfriend Fiona. Set over the New Year period in Rotterdam, Alice is about to email her parents to tell them she’s a lesbian. But before she gets a chance to hit the send button, Fiona reveals she wants to start living as a man.

A play that focuses on a transgender drama, Rotterdam is a bittersweet comedy about gender, sexuality and being a long way from home.

Against The Stream

Against The Stream at London Coliseum (Photo: Britt Lloyd)

Closing: 7 April

This show is a one-off dance production, featuring an incredible cast of world-class ballet dancers and a live orchestra.

Against The Stream celebrates choreographers who made massive contributions to the world of dance. This includes Robbins and Balanchine in New York, Lifar and Nureyev in Paris, Vaganova and Vainonen in St Petersburg, and Ashton and MacMillan in London.

On this unmissable night, you’ll witness work by the artists whose creativity helped shape the world of dance.

The Magic Flute (ENO)

The Magic Flute at London Coliseum

Closing: 11 April

Sung in English (with surtitles above the stage) the story of The Magic Flute is about the search for truth, reason, love and enlightenment.

A Mozart classic, the story follows Prince Tamino and the bird-catcher Papageno on their quest to rescue Pamina. They’re given magical musical instruments to help them on their adventure, which they can use to conquer anything in their way.

Jack The Ripper: The Women Of Whitechapel (ENO)

Jack The Ripper: The Women Of Whitechapel at London Coliseum

Closing: 12 April

This is the world premiere of Ian Bell’s new opera production. Set in London in the 1888s, the infamous Jack The Ripper is stalking the streets, so a disadvantaged group of working-class women band together, in a bid to survive the Whitechapel murderer.

Told over a century after the event, the show explores important themes of community, struggling against the odds, and poses questions about the hypocritical attitudes which society can hold.

Jack The Ripper: The Women Of Whitechapel is sung in English, with surtitles displaying sung words above the stage.

Home, I’m Darling

Katherine Parkinson and Richard Harrington in Home, I'm Darling (Photo: Manuel Harlan)

Closing: 13 April

Nominated for five Olivier Awards this year, including Best Actress for the show’s lead, Katherine Parkinson, Home I’m Darling has captured people’s attention. Since its early beginnings at Theatr Clwyd, it’s since transferred twice, first to the National Theatre and now at the Duke Of York’s Theatre.

The show is about wannabe domestic housewife, Judy (played by Katherine), who longs to be the perfect 1950s wife. But can her marriage survive it? And is life as sweet as it seems in the 1950s?

The Merry Widow (ENO)

The Merry Widow at London Coliseum

Closing: 13 April

The Merry Widow opera is a comic masterpiece with a familiar score, including the Vilja Song and the Merry Widow Waltz.

The story is all about the relationship between a wealthy young widow called Hanna, and a womanising, wine-drinker called Danilo.  As this unconventional love story unfolds, their romance is hampered by mishap, intrigue and comedic misadventure.

The Merry Widow is sung in English, with surtitles above the stage.

Liza Pulman Sings Streisand

Liza Pulman Sings Streisand at Lyric Theatre

Closing: 15 April

Singing the unforgettable songs of Barbara Streisand, witness singer and comedienne Liza Pulman’s musical talents as she showcases some of Streisand’s biggest hits.

Liza previously appeared in the internationally renowned comedy trio Fascinating Aida, and is also known for her performance in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (where she starred alongside Michael Ball) and in the UK tour of Doctor Dolittle.

Liza Pulman Sings Streisand has already sold-out an off-West End run at The Other Palace, and now you’ve only got a short time to hear Liza’s flawless vocals in action for an evening of storytelling and breath-taking vocals.

Expect to hear such hits as Evergreen, People, New York State Of Mind, The Way He Makes Me Feel, Don’t Rain On My Parade, The Way We Were, Second Hand Rose, You Don’t Bring Flowers and more.

Motown The Musical

The cast of Motown The Musical at Shaftesbury Theatre (Photo: Tristram Kenton)

Closing: 20 April

After nearly three years performing some of the most iconic classics, it’s time to say a very teary farewell to Motown The Musical.

This high-energy production tells the story of Motown founder Berry Gordy and the creation of his musical empire. The show is set on the 25th-anniversary celebration of Motown, as Berry reminisces on his career and all the stars he helped launch, including Diana Ross and the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and The Temptations.

To see this content you’ll need to allow us to set some additional cookies!

Update your cookie preferences here and enable ‘social and advertising cookies’

The show features over 40 songs you’re bound to want to dance along to, including My Girl, What’s Going On, Dancing In The Street, I Heard It Through The Grapevine and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.

Cry Havoc

Cry Havoc at the Park Theatre

Closing: 20 April

This tender story explores whether love can conquer even the widest of cultural divides.

Set in present-day Cairo, Cry Havoc explores the relationship between the Western world and the Islamic Middle East through two men; a spirited young Egyptian and an idealistic British writer.

As they explore their relationship, they are forced to confront their identities and traditions against a repressive government.

The Cat In The Hat

The Cat In The Hat tickets at Rose Theatre Kingston

Closing: 21 April

Looking for a show for your little ones this Easter? Then The Cat In The Hat is ideal.

Based on the children’s book that has dominated thousands of parent’s bedtime readings, this feline family-friendly show is only around for a few weeks.

The Cat (and of course, his hat) will be joined by his acrobatic accomplices Thing 1 and Thing 2, for a show full of riotous rhymes, humour, a little bit of mischief and some spectacular circus!

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time

Joshua Jenkins in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (Photo: Brinkhoff/Mogenburg)

Closing: 27 April

Another well-loved show leaving the West End this month is The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time.

The show has seen several homes since it initially arrived in the West End, It started at the National Theatre, before transferring to the Apollo Theatre, then the Gielgud Theatre, and now at the Piccadilly Theatre. And thanks to the UK and international tour, over three million people worldwide have seen this spectacular show.

To see this content you’ll need to allow us to set some additional cookies!

Update your cookie preferences here and enable ‘social and advertising cookies’

Based on the best-selling book, this seven times Olivier-award winning show is all about 15-year-old Christopher. Christopher has an extraordinary brain, but he doesn’t always know how to interpret the world around him. But when he finds the neighbour’s dog dead, he begins detective work, forbidden by his father, which takes him on a journey that upturns his world.

The Price

David Suchet and Brendan Coyle in The Price (Photo: Nobby Clark)

Closing: 27 April

This show is up for three Olivier Awards this year, including in the Best Actor category (David Suchet) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Adrian Lukis).

The Price is a revival of Arthur Miller’s dramatic story of two brothers, Victor (played from Brendan Coyle) and Walter Franz. Now estranged from each other, Victor is a New York cop who’s close to retiring, and Walter is a successful surgeon. Reuniting in an attic of a condemned building, the brothers are called together to sell family furniture.

But as they sift through the memories, revelation follows cutting revelation, and both brothers come to realise the true price they have paid over generations.

Scary Bikers

Scary Bikers tickets at Trafalgar Studios

Closing: 27 April

A brand-new comedy making its West End debut, the Scary Bikers limited run is almost over.

The show is about the relationship between retired miner Don, and former private school teacher Carol, who meet at a support group after both suffering a loss. Starting a new beginning together, the pair decide to go on a bike ride across Europe, but it soon tests their budding romance, and the roads ahead of them become rocky.

Starring the double BAFTA and Olivier Award-winning partnership of Godber and Thornton, The Scary Bikers is one not to miss.

My First Ballet: Sleeping Beauty

Closing: 27 April

An enchanting take on a classic children’s story; this family-friendly production is perfect for introducing the kids to ballet.

Created by the English National Ballet and performed by second-year students of the English National Ballet School, the show features a narrator to help little ones understand what’s going on. The show also features a shortened version of Tchaikovsky’s beautiful melodies, ideal for the first encounter with dance.

Part of the My First Ballet series, this is the perfect introduction to the beauty of ballet, and a fantastic family day out for kids and parents alike.

Where Is Peter Rabbit?

Where Is Peter Rabbit? at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Closing: 28 April

The kids will be hopping around in excitement if you take them to see Where Is Peter Rabbit? at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

Bringing the much-loved stories by Beatrix Potter on stage with handcrafted puppets, the show features 14 brand-new songs for your little ones to sing all the way home. With appearances from Jemima Puddle-Duck, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, the mischievous Peter Rabbit and the mean Mr McGregor, you’ll see fond favourites come to life on stage.

The show also features voice-overs from two national treasures: the BAFTA Award-winning actress Miriam Margolyes, and the Olivier Award-winning Griff Rhys Jones.

Sign up

against the stream cry havoc english national opera home i'm darling Jack The Ripper: The Women Of Whitechapel last chance to see liza pulman motown the musical my first ballet sleeping beauty rotterdam the cat in the hat the curious incident of the dog in the night-time the magic flute the merry widow the price the scary bikers where is peter rabbit

Related articles


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
Gabriel Descending

Gabriel Descending © Alexander Deprez

’19 20:00

Kunsthal Gent
Lange Steenstraat 14, Gent

The film will be screened several times during the evening.

Gabriel, a young caretaker, seems to be slowly sinking into madness.
But is that really so?
Or is he just the one who sees what others refuse to see?

Alexander Deprez (° 1995) was born in Kortrijk. His voyeuristic and raw photos often provide an insight into his personal life. With Gabriel Descending he makes his debut as a filmmaker.

Programme: Atelier OFFoff

Alexander Deprez

Gabriel Descending

BE • 2019 • 30' • colour • digital

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2021-31
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for July/August 2021
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-216.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.18 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.2-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:
Event Branding

ALUSB 2018

An event brand that celebrates of the first group of graduates “ Built for the African Century.”

The ALU School of Business

The African Leadership University (ALU) was established in 2015 with the mission to build educational institutions across the continent. Working in-house at ALU, I defined the core visual language and concepts that continue to serve the organisation. One of such projects was the visual identity that I designed for the institution’s first graduation ceremony. As this event marked a major milestone for ALUSB, my aim was to design an event brand that would be memorable for the institution and the students : a celebration of the first group of leaders “ Built for the African Century.”

Logo & Tagline

The tag line, “Building Leaders for the African Century” is matched with a typographic “Class of 2018” logo. Both of these form the core elements for the event brand. The enclosed rectangular frames on both logos capture the idea of grouping together the first community of leaders that the institution has nurtured. They form part of a community that is ready to make significant impact through their education.

Brand Pattern

The pattern created for this brand identity was inspired by “The ALU Step Device.” It signifies the wisdom of making the right choice, as Africa’s youth, by choosing ALU for their advanced education. It was first designed as part of ALU’s visual identity system by Kyle Wilhelm, creative director of The Lattitude Group.

The accompanying pattern created for the event brand is the Step-Device in gradient form. With the starting point of a singular Step Device as a motif, I mirrored, repeated and rotated the unit to generate a single pattern.

The outcome is an expanded visual identity system that was applied throughout the event and brought the event to life.


text:
Assets in My Small Town
July 22, 2019

              With this being the third blog, we are asked to look around and explore our communities to search for the what is considered by the Ogallala Commons the 12 Key Assets of Commonwealth. When I first think about Hart, Texas. I think of something small and unknown, but its there and it does have some great assets. You’ll definitely have to search for them but some where they are there.

              When thinking of the assets there are some that are prominent in the community. With one that stands out the most of all of them is Spirituality. Hart has many churches in the town, the numbers are more than what I believe there should be. With so many in the area you have your preference of churches to choose from. The community is entrenched in the various religions that are in the area!

              One unique thing that Hart does have for a small community is a medical office that has dental capabilities as well. It is something that should be expanded and could possibly be a stepping stone to make this small town something greater. It opens a lot of doors for the community because many residents do come to this community just for that.

              This is a small town and needs some perspective that it will take a different view to make it as great as it possibly can. It’s a great community and hopefully it can keep not just surviving but begin to prosper.


text:
Lubbock is the place to be!
July 10, 2014

pic indexLubbock is a city full of commonwealth assets. For starters the cotton industry is a huge business in this area. This area has the largest contiguous cotton-growing region in the world. Much of the water for these crops are irrigated from the Ogallala Aquifer.

For recreation we have the South Plains Mall, different movie theaters, and several more shopping centers located all over town. There are many parks in Lubbock as well. Mackenzie Park is one of the main parks and is home to Joyland Amusement Park.

This city is rich with art and culture. One event that I recently attended was the annual 4th on Broadway, an Independence Day festival. There is a morning parade, food stalls lining a street fair that goes on for several blocks, live music, a street dance, and finally a spectacular firework show at the end of the night. The best part is that this event is entirely free to participate in. Lubbock is well known for being the birthplace of rock and roll legend Buddy Holly. There is a Buddy West Texas Walk of Fame to honor musicians from the area. The National Ranching Heritage Center, which is a museum of ranching history, features many authentic ranch buildings, railroad depots, and other historic buildings.

Lubbock is full of education opportunities from high schools to private schools, or higher education. Texas Tech University is the place of higher education that Lubbock is known well for. It houses an undergraduate program, law school, and medical school. Other school of higher education in Lubbock include South Plains College, Wayland Baptist University branches, and Lubbock Christian University, which is where I attended to obtain my pre-requisites for Covenant School of Nursing. Another source of higher learning that I am currently enrolled in.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the commonwealth assets Lubbock has to offer.


text:
Literally, a Haunted House 2014 Review

Literally, a Haunted House at Culbertson Mansion (New Albany, IN)
Celebarting 30 Years of Classic Terror”
By Noah Wullkotte:

When there’s no room left in Hell, the dead will walk the earth. Rain beats down on a large carriage house shrouded in mystery and believed to be truly haunted. An evil clown has a smaller clown attached to him as he torments people waiting in line.

The nearby cemetery is quiet until something evil rises from its grave and wants a little nibble. The carriage house is very intimidating and you must enter in order to witness its true horrors. An old woman wants to put an end to the evil that has inhabited this place of torment, but she instead brings back something that’s not quite human. Escape through the fire place and hope that there’s a way out of this place.

Literally, a Haunted House celebrates their 30th anniversary by featuring the best rooms of the past and some new rooms that are sure to scare the pants off of you. Two scenes this haunt is well known for is its unique coffin ride and its spinning box. Enter a box where you must hold on to the bars as an actor on the outside spins it around and around. Unfortunately I’ve never been chosen to lay down in the coffin for a ride like no other. A person in your group will be chosen to lay down in a padded coffin before an actor pushes it. It’s like nothing else you’ve experienced. You’ll be transported to a room with a 3 headed freak and more.

Literally, a Haunted House has a variety of scenes that are sure to raise the dead and make you wonder if evil really exists. Their exorcism room is pretty unique because it doesn’t just focus on the battle between the priest and the possessed girl. There’s also some creature that’s hiding underneath the bed that wants to grab your leg.

Literally, a Haunted House lasts around 13 minutes, but there’s not a dull moment. The dentist scene is both scary and humorous. A poor patient gets a little more than she bargained for as she’s bludgeoned to death. The dentist’s bald assistant has a nice collection of bloody teeth and wants you to donate some of your pearly whites.

Literally, a Haunted House doesn’t have a specific theme this year, but just about every scene will entertain you in some way. A mental patient moves violently in her padded room and a lonely clown squirts you in the eye with his flower. This is definitely a spooky haunt with scenes that will have you shaking your head in disbelief. Why does that girl keep beating her teddy bear against a school desk and is that really a corpse mother holding her corpse baby? Did that statue just come alive and what’s that sound I’m hearing in the distance?

Literally, a Haunted House is a charity haunt, but don’t let that fool you. It’s one of the scariest places in the area. There’s a reason why they keep track of personal dampenings, quitters, pukers, craptastrophies, criers and those who black out. Tickets are $14 a person which makes it one of the cheaper haunts in the area. Throughout the season, there are other events that take place at Culbertson Mansion such as storytelling, Full Moon Ghost Tours and Halloween Tea. Please visit for more information on these events.

Over the years, Literally, a Haunted House at Culbertson Mansion has quickly become one of our favorite attractions in the area. The actors don’t let up, the design is unique and its hard to replicate the spooky atmosphere of the carriage house. Literally, a Haunted House is one of the longest running haunts in Indiana and one of the best.

Length-7  Design-8  Props/Animatronics-8  Acting-9  Scare Effect-9
Final Stab: 8.2


text:
October 12, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – “For the Children” Weekly Column

Contact: Joe Dorman, CEO – Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy

Telephone: (405) 833-1117

Email: jdorman@oica.org

For the Children: A Weekly Column by Joe Dorman, CEO – OICA

State Questions Contain Important Decisions for Voters

Oklahomans will have two state questions voters will have the chance to approve or reject. As with all questions of public policy, it is important for us to examine each question and the impact so we can decide whether a “yes” or a “no” is best for the state.

State Question 805 would amend the Oklahoma Constitution to end the use of sentence enhancements for people convicted of nonviolent crimes. Supporters of SQ 805 claim sentence enhancements have no proven public safety benefit. If passed, the measure would continue to allow someone to get the maximum sentence under current law, and those maximums could still be changed.

SQ 805 simply disallows longer sentences than the maximum because of a prior nonviolent conviction. A fiscal analysis of SQ 805 by the Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs estimates that the ballot measure would reduce the prison population by about 8.5 percent and save the state up to $186 million over the next decade.

Opponents of SQ 805 state this would prevent future legislative changes to add to the list of offenses classified as violent for the purposes of sentence enhancements. Among those offenses are domestic assault and battery in the presence of a child by strangulation or attempted strangulation, on a pregnant woman, stalking, hate crimes, soliciting sex from a minor using a computer (on-line child predators), cruelty to animals, poisoning an animal, cattle theft, and vulnerable adult abuse (physical, sexual, financial, neglect), other than in a nursing home.

State Question 814 would change the way Oklahoma’s tobacco settlement money is distributed.  This proposed constitutional amendment would allow the Oklahoma Legislature to allocate 75 percent of funds for coverage of Medicaid expenses, rather than the current 25 percent lawmakers are allowed to appropriate.  Currently, 75 percent is distributed by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) for health programs under their purview and toward grants (OICA receives one annually for our fall conference).

Supporters of SQ 814 say this change would allow the Oklahoma Legislature to allocate close to $50 million annually to help fund Medicaid expansion without raising taxes. Additionally, the endowment fund currently has over $1 billion dollars, so supporters claim TSET should be able to continue funding research, prevention, and health initiatives in Oklahoma. Also, using the settlement payments to help fund health care in Oklahoma could help keep the state from having to cut existing patient services or reduce the amount paid to health care providers.

Opponents of the amendment note TSET is funding important health initiatives, and if SQ 814 passes, this ability will diminish, as a smaller deposit to the trust fund will mean lower interest earnings in the future. They also feel that there are other ways to fund Medicaid without tax increases. Additionally, the language does not specify that the funds must be used for Medicaid expansion, leading to concerns that the funds could be used to simply replace existing Medicaid funding. This is especially true if the United States Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act in November, as expected by many experts.

Please study these issues and do not forget to vote on all items on your ballot on November 3!  Also, if you are not comfortable with voting in-person this year at the polls with the increased number of COVID-19 cases in the state, it is your right to request an absentee ballot and vote by mail.  The link is https://okvoterportal.okelections.us/ for the Oklahoma Voter Portal to verify you and process your request.


text:
Vantage named Kelowna’s best
Sponsored Content - Nov 07, 2019 - Think Local

Photo: Contributed

Vantage West Property Management looks out for both its investors and its tenants, which is why founder AJ Hazzi believes the company is now feeling the love.

VW Property Management was recently named Consumer’s Choice Award’s best property management firm in Kelowna, which Hazzi didn’t even know his company was in the running for until he found out it had captured the honour.

“The credit obviously goes to the awesome property managers that we have at the property management office,” Hazzi says. “It feels awesome to be recognized.”

Hazzi points to his company’s vast number of five-star reviews on Google as testimony for a job well done. Hazzi says it only made sense to bring the best to an industry that has mostly underserved the public.

“The bar is pretty low in property management from a service standpoint,” Hazzi says. “For us, on the sales side, everything is about creating a five-star experience for our clients. The real competitive advantage from my perspective, as an investor, is that we are managing real estate rental properties for an investor from an investor’s vantage point. We’re investors ourselves. We know how to maximize returns. We know what keeps investors up at night. And we’re managing with that in mind.”

On the other side of the coin, Vantage West Property Management works with its tenants as much as possible to build the relationship. It also offers a rent-to-own program with the goal of turning renters into buyers.

“We’ve repaired that adversarial relationship between landlord and tenant, because we truly see tenants as clients,” Hazzi says. “If they’re going to stay in a rental property for five years and pay off our seller’s mortgage and care for their asset, they are truly a client who should be valued.

“And on the flip side if they are planning on eventually buying a home, we want to empower them and educate them and help them along that process. We see them as clients in training from that perspective.”

As a reward for hitting their 2019 goals, Hazzi is sending his team members to the Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico, on an all-expenses-paid trip.

VW Property Management also puts out a quarterly update on average rents for various property types in an effort to keep clients and the public informed along with its list of available properties.

This article is written by or on behalf of the sponsoring client and does not necessarily reflect the views of Okanagan Edge.

All Think Local Stories


text:
Black lesbian dating site

Experience: Tinder is the cyber-equivalent of standing on a street corner, pointing at passers by, and asking “What about that one? Apparently Tinder thinks gay women are just going through a phase, maybe working through some daddy issues, and all we need to do is look at enough pictures of men and we’ll gave an go back to our God-given place on the D.

Tinder might be stylish and based on an essentially good idea (matching via friends of FB friends/similar interests), but this is 2013 and it is not ok to treat gay women like second class users in any context or medium. I see so much potential here, but the site needs a makeover and more filters/amenities to really be a competitor. Furthermore, by allowing LGBTQ women to remain invisible to straight users, Ok Cupid allows you to date online without male harassment.

Tinder treats LGBTQ users as second class users because it views LGBTQ sexualities as second class sexualities; we are not the norm and therefore not worthy of even the most basic of consideration. In addition to sharing the name of unlikable female television characters everywhere, Brenda struggles with style and utility. I would like to put as much distance between access to my lady-bits and men as possible, even on the internet.

Tinder graciously allows LGBTQ women to sign up for their service, but don’t expect them to treat us as anything other than straight. Virtually nothing offends me, but being treated as if my sexual orientation is irrelevant offends me. First of all, who in God’s name decided “Brenda” would be a good name for a dating application? Underneath a depressing palate of cheap lavender and dreary grey, Brenda does really seem like a sweet, well meaning application. Amenities: Brenda can boast the awesome honor of being the only lesbian dating app in the app store. Other features Brenda boasts include: Experience: One thing I love about Brenda is the girls online.

Dattch I cannot rate Dattch the lesbian dating app because I cannot download Dattch the lesbian dating app. So go ahead, make a profile, and if you see me feel free to tell me I’m pretty.

I searched high and low in the app store but alas, Dattch eludes me now as much as it eluded me the day Trish told me to download Dattch. Whatever the reason, Dattch hella snubbed me and I will not forget the insult.

Search for black lesbian dating site:

black lesbian dating site-22black lesbian dating site-1black lesbian dating site-41

Leave a Reply

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

One thought on “black lesbian dating site”

  1. Fashionistas and gem lovers today, covet both vintage and vintage styled Emerald jewellery, as well as the contemporary counterparts, as sold at Rocks & Co. Simply tell your friend to call our Customer Service Team on 08, state your Customer ID Number & discount codes will be issued to you both.


text:
Hopeless (the finale)

To get a fuller picture of this post, you may want to first see Hopeless (the prequel) and Hopeless (the 2nd installment). Well, here’s the finale on Hopeless

… So lost, she is so lost
Hope is so lost and still she’s so sought…
after at no cost. on the map there’s no ‘X’
And still she so lost and so on and so forth but
Seekers are finders, finders keepers
Take off the blinders, the mind’s in creepers
It’s time to delve deeper, steeper, be a believer
Be awake and still be a dreamer
Have you seen her? She’s in the open
Hoping you see her, she is so keen
She’s a token for the taking, she’s glowing
But apparently your line of sight is broken
So frozen, we keep roaming
We lost the signal and still we’re homing in
We are groping for a solution and…
Barely coping, we keep hoping, groping, choking,….

And then a miracle, hope finds us
It was inevitable, she was always behind us
Seemingly invisible, sightings at a minimal
With impaired visuals, we’re specimen for blind trust
A one man strike force came and took us away
Bled hope as His life force faded away
Christ’s life was the price that was paid
I’m no more afraid, I found hope when my whole life I laid
At the foot of the cross, with heaven’s applause…
The OST, Christ wrote off all the scores
The chorus crossed out all the laws
And at this clause Christ crossed out all of my flaws
Jesus is hope for the lost, He fought for our cause
Won us victory at the cross
And the cross is a plus, just a little less short
And at 45 degrees, ‘X’ marks the spot!

At 45 degrees, 'X' marks the spot

The spot where hope was, is and forever will be
I find that I’m not hopeless,
In Jesus is where my hope is….
So where’s yours?

Simply what my own experiences have taught me and where I’ve learnt to put my trust when all hope seems lost. But don’t take my word for it, try it out for yourself. Certainly worked for me. We can’t but thank tha Good Lord for His mercy and provision towards His shidren. To say He neva send ‘PP’ aka ‘Private Practice’ aka ‘Freelance work’ boku come awa side, na im be say man pikin eye for don see redder, make awa blood come hot weller. But thank God, he haf not allow His shidren become a weist nor our daily journey to be in vain.

Oh, and jus so you know, ‘they’ paid yesterday….
Guess the next thing now is “So when is May Pay-Day?!”

Hopeless (the 2nd installment)

And so, as promised, here’s the follow up to yesterday’s post. In the event you missed out on it check out Hopeless (the prequel), should give you some insight into the thinking behind the following piece….

I’m really focused yet my vision is blurry
I’m headed nowhere but I’m still in a hurry
It’s funny my palms aren’t sweaty, they’re furry
My forehead is gory with worry, I’m sorry…
If I bore thee with the (w)hole of the story
But what’s interesting is the stew in your curry
Like your eba was lacking in garri
The picture bleak, all action a flurry
And the current footage is now played in rewind
The loop constantly cycling, trying to refine
The idle mind in idle times with vital signs
But in fact lying that crime is fine
We need a remedy, no, we need a malady
For the cavities and calories in the powers that be
They eat our salaries carelessly, the calvary’s hungry see
And yet, they’re expecting a strategy….

But it’s hopeless, haven’t you noticed
How these hypocrites have got us so pissed
They think we’re novice, they are so clueless
They lost they’re focus and now we’re so lost…

That I’m blinded, trying to get finded
Constantly forgeting, but somehow reminded
How we lost our way and now want to pathfind it
Refine it, it’s fading away… please outline it
Please paint the lines red, please change our mindsets
before we end up with a couple more mind-dead kindred
How did we stop stopping to have the signs read
Now it’s apparent how we ended up so wynded
Dem wyne us say no way
Monkey work, dem no pay
We talk say “You know since when we don dey?!”
E don tey but all they say is go away…
And pray for better days like when the sun shone
We’ve waited many days and still the storm drums
And we think to return to where we’ve come from
Seems we’ve begun to come undone
And still it’s hopeless, we stand in line…
For days at a time, we are not so inclined
It’s hopeless, please show me where hope is
We’re so lost….

Tomorrow, the third installment and finale. Stay tuned.

Hopeless (the prequel)

Today is the 16th May, 2011, exactly the middle of the month and five days till The Rapture (JK). I presently serve as lowly staff in one of the ‘big’ *rolling eyes* Lagos advertising agencies and for whatever reason I haven’t been paid my hard-earned wages for the month of April. Delayed pay, I’ve noticed, seems to be the trend with so many organisations in our beloved Naija and I find it extremely sickening. I’ve, perhaps by someone up/out/down there’s sick sense of humour, experienced this my entire working life. From a shortlived television acting career in my early college days, to a very prominent entertainment outfit which, until very recently, also housed a certain, highly demanded and in equal measure, seemingly insensitive werey of a presenter *Hint! Hint!!*…. Heck, I’ve got to rant a bit more here. These people noh try at all, at all dat time o. Imagine: after resigning at the point at which I couldn’t take it anymore, a point at which I was being owed 3 months pay and was still expected to show up daily at an office half-way across Lagos from my abode, a point at which the mumus that labelled themselves ‘management’ were still issuing queries for people coming late or absenting themselves, I didn’t get my pay until 6 months after! The nerve of them people!!

…Anyway *ahem* *straightening hair and clothes* moving on with the resume of sorts, I got called up to serve my fatherland barely a month after I resigned (you go fear strategising nah) and experienced the same shamelessness of delayed pay working for government while my Nigerian Youth Suffering Continued in faraway Katsina… Yep, that’s where I served. Don’t look at me funny, I can also be somewhat patriotic when I wanna be *muttering* like say I no try redeploy Die! No luck *shrug*. Closely following that, I resumed work at my present place of work, where things had seemed rosy until… *Ghen! Ghen!!*… Now.

You see, for me, the issue is and has always been- Would these idiots, my fellow employees, whose job description says ‘mangement’ or ‘human resources’ do their frigging jobs like I’ve done mine over the past month(s) and manage the human resources of this slow and lumbering organisation?!” We’re human beings for goodness sake, we’re not farm animals to be used till we’re useless and then slaughtered to be used as feed for our fellow livestock without being given reason. I’ve no grouse with there allegedly being no funds to pay salaries at the very moment, ish happens. My grouse is: “Would you just send us a memo, perhaps a mail, put som’n on the notice board, call a general meeting, look us in the face and explain to us, lie to us, console us, beg us, psyche us…
Just. Frigging. TALK. TO. US!!! *pant pant pant* *pause* *regains composure*

Anyway sha, this one na advanced warning. Boys’ eyes don dey redder for dese zones and if dem no dey careful, we go soon para on top anoda levelz. All dese under-G whispers for corridor and on top staircase say “When dem go pay our money nah?” nor dey work again. E be like say na until we release yawa gas for dis atmosphere na I’m dem go come begin understand the P. Just in case sha, I might just put my cv up on my next post so in case of in casity, if anyborry is finding a mad hatter of a an art director, I shall just indicate my availability (like play, like play, this whole post done turn to long-version of my work experience sha).

Well, it was while I was at Soundcity…. Yeah, I said it! Sue me!! >:p *mscheeew*… Soundcity Blast magazine, to be precise, that I began writing the ‘following’ piece. Concluded it at some point during my service year, erratic writer that I sometimes am. Well, I’ll be sharing the piece with y’all in three pieces (pun intended)… starting with this one, an appetizer of sorts. The first course shall be served tomorrow *now ignoring the glares and pissed off stares that I can’t kukuma see you giving me*

In the meantime, please enjoy the rest of my temporarily very short and measly blog and if you’ve been led here by a mutual friend or a retweet on twitter or from facebook please subscribe so you can receive fresh and first-hand the subsequent posts or/also follow me on twitter (@Olatoxic) to see me rant further (well, not likely :p)

Please fell free to use the comment boxes below. Share your experiences (or the lack thereof) with us. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

My Mama’s kids

So, this would be my first ever blog-post. I’ve been nagging me into opening my own blog after being ‘oppressed’ by a little sector of blogosphere of recent…. Shout out to @Ms_Dania, @KevinWithAnL, @CapoeiraPanda, @FreshPrinceVick, @SamanthaSiren, @JCphoenixx, @UberBetty, @MallamSawyerr, @Adm3on, @JibolaL, @ThePervNerd, @NappyHairedPoet, @theToolsman, @RealistXX, y’all inspire me on a daily. *bows low*

Well, it’s Mother’s Day today in the land in which my mother birthed me; It’s also the birthday of my mother’s last two babies, Funto and Tobi, today. The perfect reason to put up a post if you ask me, how much more my first. So this here is “Happy Birthday” to my beautiful brother and sister, born on the same day, only two years apart, “Happy Mother’s Day” to my beautiful mama, the person who’s made the most positive impact on my life, even in her absence, and “Welcome to my world” to the rest of the world. Enjoy…

Fifteen years ago my mama died
Death raised his ugly head in a victory cry
He thot he’d won but the battle had just begun
The fight was handed over to her daughter and three sons.
The legacy goes on…

So just once more
Show me that gap-toothed wonder
Bring it from yonder, for longer
I see it now but it’s frozen in place
Behind a glass pane but stolen away
I’m here, you’re not
You found me, I’m lost
You fought, won the cause and
Walked into the cross
Leaving me behind

I miss you
You’re irreplaceable
Bloated up, shriveled
Yet so graceful, I’m ever grateful
I was almost hateful, had to emulate you
Had to get that shine
You did, so it’s possible
I too can shine, will shine
Whether I rhyme
Or not…
All you had to do was SMILE

And we miss you
Pelumi, Funto and Rachel too
Through us all she knows you
And Tobi sort of into you grew
He loves clothes too, turned out right
Becomes you when he draws all night
I look at us and swell with pride
Four more yous still shining bright
So we cried, we sigh, we’ll grin
Sure we shine, maybe a little dim
We glowed a little under your wing
And now you are the dream
And we will not wake, not even slowly
We will not return to Ikoyi
You left there a long time ago
Back into our hearts in a blaze of glory
And we’re SMILING

Because that is what you’d have us do
Through tears, fears, jeers, blues
Like you, just SMILE it through
And someday SMILE with you

In loving memory of my dear mother
the best ever
Mrs J.F. Aworinde (110453 – 050896)


text:
Select Page

Natalie Young’s Old Soul Warms Up World Market Center

Mar 29, 2019press0 comments

Good food for good people.

That’s been Chef Natalie Young’s tagline since she opened Eat in 2012. If you’ve dined at the Downtown breakfast and lunch favorite, you know Young makes food that warms from the inside out. And if you haven’t, well, where have you been the past seven years?

Young later launched a Chinese-ish spot, Chow, Downtown and a second Eat in Summerlin. The former transitioned into a catering and pop-up business, but that hasn’t stopped the chef from making moves. Young’s latest venture, an American eatery called Old Soul, feels like the perfect addition to her catalog—the equivalent of an older, more refined sibling who ends the day with a barrel-aged whiskey and a medium-rare steak.

That isn’t to say Old Soul isn’t playful. There are nods to Prohibition-era Americana, projections of silent films featuring Charlie Chaplin, a handsome oak bar surrounded by taxidermy foxes and deer horns on exposed brick, and enough Southern charm to impress your grumpy uncle. The space itself feels large, but the location-the World Market Center spot once occupied by Mundo—could provide a built-in crowd of Smith Center showgoers and beyond. And the food is well worth supporting.

Old Soul’s menu is approachable without being predictable, blending East Coast dishes with Southern-style flair. For example, the smoked trout appetizer ($14) swaps corn cakes in place of traditional latkes. That nod to soul food pops up throughout the menu, in starters like fried green tomatoes ($8) and fried oysters ($17) and entrées such as liver and onions ($20). Don’t fret if you didn’t grow up on these old American staples; there’s plenty more to explore, like grilled branzino ($27) with wilted arugula and house-made chimichurri, or braised short rib risotto ($24) with English peas and truffle oil. The bread pudding ($8) with pineapple and vanilla ice cream is killer, too. Order one with a French press to share—or skip dessert and go straight for an after-dinner cocktail, like a true old soul.

Old Soul 495 S. Grand Central Parkway #A116, 702-534-0999, Monday-Saturday, noon-9 p.m.

visit us

make a reservation

visit other locations

chef natalie young homepage

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This


text:
Behind the Bar, Wining & Dining

Behind the Bar – Hannah Blackerby

Bartender Hannah Blackerby at Flying Fish, Photo Credit © Chester Simpson
Bartender Hannah Blackerby at Flying Fish, Photo Credit © Chester Simpson

Hannah Blackerby
Flying Fish
815 King Street
Old Town Alexandria

Hannah is serving a, “Peachy Lychee” and is behind the bar Monday through Thursday 5 pm to midnight.

How did you get started in the Bartending business?
Bartending and the service industry in general, was never something that crossed my mind when I thought of a career path. About a year and a half ago I applied as a simple hostess at Flying Fish Restaurant, but after only a few short months (and with a lot of encouragement from my coworkers) I started serving tables. Then I learned to be a cocktail waitress and that gave me the opportunity to see some of Old Town’s most amazing bartenders in action. I was hooked. I began with asking them questions, such as how they pour, drink ingredients and how they each deal with customers in their own way. I was very lucky to have multiple points of view and bartending styles to guide me through this process of learning. After a while I felt comfortable enough to ask for official bar training. I am very happy that I watched and asked questions first, it truly helped me to feel more comfortable in those first few months and now I’m happier behind my bar than just about anywhere else.

What is your bartender pet peeve?
Obviously most bartenders have a lot of pet peeves in common. We don’t want to be snapped at, treated rudely, or under tipped but all those things are things that we can’t let ourselves get upset about because they happen every day. For me I think the biggest pet peeve I have is when I run out of a necessary item, ingredient, or liquor and there is no more to be found. “Sorry, no mojito for you. All the mint has vanished.”

That being said, have found that the number of pet peeves I put up with in a day are greatly outweighed by the awesome people I get to meet, great conversations and the environment of constant learning.

What’s the best line somebody has used to get a free drink from you?
I don’t really give free drinks to people who use lines. You don’t have to ask for it, be good to your bartenders and they’ll be good to you.

Photo Credit © Chester Simpson
Photo Credit © Chester Simpson

What’s the most memorable pickup line you’ve heard?
So….a guy walks into a bar and sits down next to a lovely lady. He orders a drink and sips on it for a moment. When the bartender comes back around he asks for one cube of ice and proceeds to finish the rest of his drink very quickly. The bartender looks at him kind of funny as he strategically places the ice on his beverage napkin, and the next thing you know he slams his empty glass down on the ice and crushes it all over the bar. The lovely lady turns and looks at the man in shock, and he says, “So now that I’ve broken the ice, can I get your name?”

Can you tell me an interesting story?
The same one I tell everyone who asks me to tell them a story…this is a story about an ugly duckling.

There once was an ugly duckling.
He was so ugly that everyone died.
The end.

Who would you want to have a drink with and why?
My dad. I haven’t seen him in about four years and I miss him a lot. He always has the coolest things to say and I would love to sit down at bar with him, share some good scotch and introduce him to the woman I have grown up to be.

Written by: Chester Simpson

If you would like to see your favorite bartender/mixologist featured here, send contact information to

0.00 avg. rating (0% score) - 0 votes


text:
Romania Missionaries Arrive to Bucharest

By the grace of God, missionaries Alan and Teodora Channer arrived safely at the Bucharest International Airport on July 15 which opens a new chapter of mission history in Romania.

Romania is expected to play a vital role in advancing missions in East Europe and the Balkans in conjunction with Ukraine, and Moldova mission that has been recently opened. With a population of nearly 20 million, Romania is the most populous country in the Balkan region. Its people are counted among the most religious in Europe and are among those that are more receptive to the Gospel in Europe.

Reflecting on their pioneering of Romania, Pastor Alan shared, “Even though I do not know Eastern Europe deeply, but God’s calling has come to me, so I wish to accept and obey. I feel this is the stretching of God’s tent, and personally, this is also God stretching my tent wider.”

Please pray for the Romania missionaries, in addition to the pioneering of the remaining countries across Europe; as the continent looks ahead toward a new season of mission revival where many lost sheep will be found and raised as fellow co-workers for God’s Kingdom.


text:
Alpha Ojini Ft. Ycee – One Knee

Alpha Ojini Ft Ycee One Knee

Very talented rapper; Alpha Ojini releases his sophomore album “Chvmeleon” as scheduled.

This is a follow-up to his debut, “Half-Price” which was released last year to rave review. It also contained standouts like ‘Ocean Boy‘, ‘Yahooboy Muzik‘ and the title-track, ‘Half Price‘.

Led by the high-spirited and cheeky ‘Pop‘, the 14-track “Chvmeleon” finds Alpha bringing along an Avengers-like squad of M.I Abaga, Ghost (SDC), Paybac, Blaqbonez, Psycho YP, Ycee, Bella Alubo, Oxlade, Goodgirl LA and Kemi Smallz.

Alpha Ojini Ft Ycee One Knee Mp3 download.

Oya knack Am!!!

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply


text:
4864 ELSA RD, SAN DIEGO, CA 92120

  • 3 beds
  • 1.00 baths
  • 1,102 sqft
  • Lot Size: 9,300 sqft
  • Built in 1956
  • MLS #NDP2108014
For Sale $739,900

Great opportunity to own in the highly desirable Allied Gardens neighborhood in San Diego!! This home shows true pride of ownership and features 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, wood flooring, granite counters, stainless appliances, dual pane windows, crown molding, recessed lighting, ceiling fans, 2 car garage, and a huge enclosed patio with tile flooring. Amazing yard with lush landscaping, artificial grass, bridge, and panoramic city views. Located in close proximity to freeway access, schools, and shopping.

  • Residential, Single Family Residence
  • Built in 1956
  • Lot Size: 9,300 sqft
  • View: City Lights
  • Cooling: Central Air
  • Parking: 2 spaces total

for more information on this property, please fill out the form below

* required field
Listing Provided by Chris Heller, Movoto Inc
Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of July 30, 2021. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.


text:
the sea

Dissolve Me

October 10, 2012 Uncategorized

Nothing like a moonlit swim in the freezing Puget Sound to remind you how exquisitely alive you are. Sitting on the bluff overlooking the water, jagged sharp foot-wide perch in between my legs dangling over the edge to sharper landings below, I sat air drying in the near-warm breeze with a towel slaked over my shoulders, staring at the reflections of the moon and lights of Canada and Bellingham and the sultry liquid darkness offering so sweetly to swallow meRead More


text:
april, 2018

04apr12:00 pm1:30 pmWestern Fairfax Church Coalition

Event Details

The Western Fairfax Church Coalition began with a tragic drug overdose and death of a local teenage girl. Her High School Principal was seeking a large venue for her memorial service, and Centreville Presbyterian Church (CPC) agreed to open up their doors to this grieving family and over 300 friends. In response, Fairfax County leaders asked CPC to help find ways to proactively respond to the burgeoning heroin problem in our community. CPC and OneHeartDC connected and began recruiting a coalition of local churches to respond to this community need.

The Western Fairfax Church Coalition was born.

Currently, seven local churches are engaged in offering a The Thriving Family Summit on March 11 as a first step in bringing awareness, resources, and real hope to the most challenging issues plaguing our community. While planning this event, we have forged a unified commitment to support one another and to jointly serve our neighborhoods. We are better working together than alone! We welcome more church leaders to join us in this event, and in forging a vision beyond the Summit for being One Body.

The coalition currently meets for Summit planning at Centreville Presbyterian Church. We will establish a regular meeting schedule after the March 11 Summit.

Contact Dean Luckenbaugh with interest in the Western Fairfax Church Coalition or the Thriving Family Summit: Email

(Wednesday) 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Centreville Presbyterian Church

15450 Lee Hwy

No Comments

Post A Comment


text:
Peru and the Inca Trail: Part 2 – Cusco

After several days exploring the coast and desert areas of Peru we took a flight to the city of Cusco, up in the Andes mountains to the East. We stayed at the Palacio del Inka (thank you credit-card points!) and our friends stayed at the Novotel, a short walk down the street. Both hotels were in good locations with very nice rooms and friendly staff. The food served at their respective restaurants was excellent, I’d easily recommend either hotel if staying in Cusco.

Plaza del Inka lobby

Most tourists looking to visit Machu Picchu, especially if hiking the Inka Trail are expected (if not required) to spend a few days acclimating to the elevation in Cusco.  Generally, a person can start feeling the effects of “high altitude” around 8,000 feet (~2400 meters) and the risks of altitude sickness include High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), brain injury and/or death. Mild symptoms of altitude sickness include nausea, headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath and fatigue. This is caused by rapid ascent into a low-oxygen environment that the body is not used to.  There are some medications like Diamox that can help with altitude sickness, so talk to your MD if planning a trip.  (I didn’t take any and was the only one to experience any problems, however minor). Gradual exposure will allow the body to adjust without suffering injury and Cusco is an absolutely wonderful place to hang around (at 11,200 ft/3,400 m) while your body adjusts.

To be sure, the altitude in Cusco is no joke!  Daniel and I and our friends trained for months before this trip, we were all afraid to be the “fat Americans” who couldn’t finish the hike or be the ones to hold the group up. “Just don’t be last” was our motto.  Our friends, who live in Florida, ran stadiums 2-3 times a week and took long hikes with their packs on to prepare.  The stadiums were the highest elevation they could find close to them.  Daniel and I in California were able to take our packs out on some pretty steep hikes in the mountains here – none higher than 8,000 feet though. We went every weekend we could and even took 2-3 mile walks around the neighborhood with our packs on during the week! We got a lot of questions from neighbors about that. I would say that we all were in above-average shape heading into this adventure, however Cusco kicked our collective rear-ends.

Just walking around the town on mild grades we were out of breath.  Our pace was more of a stroll than a walk and stairs…stairs were avoided if at all possible.  We took lots of rest stops and sucked on “coca candy”, coca-tea and coca-gum as much as our heart-rates could tolerate. The people who settled in these mountains had long been using coca leaves and by products to help with the altitude for hundreds of years, often just chewing the dried leaves straight like tobacco.  I tasted a leaf or two and the taste was bitter and unpleasant and whatever was in it also degraded the enamel on my teeth (like after eating a lemon) so I chose not to be as authentic as the locals.  Despite all that I still had a touch of altitude sickness, the nausea left me unable to eat very much and I had to sit down for breaks often. I was very glad we had planned 4 days to acclimate in the area before starting the 4 day trek to Machu Picchu.

The upside was getting to spend those days exploring Cusco and the Sacred Valley.  The city itself was charming. There were old churches, crypts and monasteries to see, lots of little parks, a few museums and of course touristy shopping areas.  I actually liked the shopping though, there were a lot of handmade products there like clothing made from llama and alpaca wool, pottery and jewelry, art…and of course all the trinket items you find at any touristy market.  The people were so friendly and we felt safe walking around town at all hours. There were some locals dressed in colorful, traditional clothes, some carrying or walking llama’s to pet and take photos with.

Palacio del Inka Lobby - 1 (3)

Cusco - 1Blue Door - 1

Local Culture - 1

The food there was very good.  Pastries, breads, roasted meats and traditional dishes like “Cuy” at some of the restaurants were all fun to try.  Yes, I ate cuy – guinea pig. I tried it both fried and roasted …I did not care for fried much, the taste was very gamey and there was so little meat it wasn’t worth it.  The roasted taste I had was much better because they had removed the bones and the flavor was better.  I also had roasted Alpaca and it was very very good! Lean like pork but darker in color and very tender (when cooked properly).  The flavor was like a light beef, close enough that if you weren’t paying attention you could mistake it for beef I think.

Fried Cuy (Guinea Pig)

Peruvians do not eat llama, they are revered in the culture there and are/were a critical resource for living in the Andes. Their wool was used for clothing, they are strong pack animals that are comfortable living at the altitude in the Andes so were important for helping carry goods and harvests from point A to point B.  Ancient Incan and other art from the cultures of the Andes depict the llama in paint, pottery and even gold figures. The alpaca, a related species very similar to the llama was domesticated for all the same purposes as the llama but also for food.

We spent time in the Plaza de Armas which has a beautiful fountain in the middle and has the Cusco Cathedral to one side.  There are also numerous eateries and shops nearby as well and lots of places to buy extra hiking gear if you’ve forgotten something important.  The city is very walkable, we never had to take a taxi except from to and from the airport.

Plaza de Arma
Cusco Cathedral - 1
Cusco Cathedral

Another interesting part of Cusco to see are the partially intact original Incan walls. The Inca who built the city of Cusco were eventually conquered by the Spanish in the 1500’s and the Spanish unfortunately tore down a lot of the city as they came through. Some of the walls were kept to be rebuilt upon with more Spanish style architecture.  It is amazing to see the stonework still standing and the precision that the stones were cut and laid. I’m interested in history and architecture so visiting these ancient cities and seeing parts of their original architecture was really exciting for me.

I would definitely visit Cusco again, even if not going to Machu Picchu. We did not get to see everything we wanted to and it was a really beautiful and wonderful place. I would encourage anyone traveling there to learn at least some basic Spanish, we spoke enough but our visit would have been more difficult if we didn’t speak some of the language.

Next, part 3: our visit to the Sacred Valley.

Leave a Reply

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

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

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google 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:
Georgetown University Law Center

O’Neill Institute Fall Conversation Series with Lawrence Gostin:
Mayor Bloomberg’s Public Health Legacy

Lawrence O. Gostin, an internationally acclaimed scholar, is University Professor, Georgetown University’s highest academic rank conferred by the University President. Prof. Gostin directs the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and was the Founding O’Neill Chair in Global Health Law.
He served as Associate Dean for Research at Georgetown Law from 2004 to 2008. He is Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University, Professor of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University, and Director of the Center for Law & the Public’s Health at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities.
Prof. Gostin holds a number of international academic professorial appointments. He is Visiting Professor (Faculty of Medical Sciences) and Research Fellow (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies) at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. Prof. Gostin is the Claude Leon Foundation Distinguished Scholar and Visiting Professor at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He serves on the Governing Board of Directors of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. Prof. Gostin serves on the WHO Director-General’s Advisory Committee on Reforming the World Health
Organization. In 2007, the WHO Director-General appointed Prof. Gostin to the International Health Regulations (IHR) Roster of Experts and the Expert Advisory Panel on Mental Health. Prof. Gostin holds numerous editorial appointments in prestigious academic journals throughout the world. His principal position is the Health Law and Ethics Editor, Contributing Writer, and Columnist for the Journal of the American Medical Association. He is also Founding Editor-in-Chief of Laws (an international open access law journal). Prof. Gostin has led major law reform initiatives in the U.S., including the drafting of the Model Emergency Health Powers Act (MEHPA) to combat bioterrorism and the “Turning Point” Model State Public Health Act. He is also leading a drafting team on developing a Model Public Health Law for the World Health Organization.

Global Health Law Health Governance

Upcoming events See All


text:
The Dangers of Focusing Only on the Negative in the Church

The video below, taken from a talk by Fr. Chad Ripperger — a traditional priest, psychologist, and exorcist of some renown — has been making the rounds since last year. I’ve always intended to listen to it, but at an hour in length, I never seemed to make it all the way through.

This past weekend I had to make a long drive alone, so I finally fired it up and patched it into the car stereo.

I’m glad I did.

I think this talk touches on some important points. I think it’s something we all need to hear. I keep mentioning that I want to highlight more of the positive aspects about the Catholic Faith, not just report on the seemingly endless wave of assaults on it from within. There is a reason for that. I know it’s toxic. I can feel it. (Still, focusing on the positive is easier said than done these days.) It doesn’t mean the bad news doesn’t matter, or that we shouldn’t be informed, or even that we here at 1P5 shouldn’t cover those things.

But we must seek a balance. If we focus only and always on what’s wrong, we habituate ourselves to seeing the bad in everything, and it becomes an impediment to our spiritual growth. As Fr. Ripperger says, we shouldn’t stick our heads in the sand, but we should only pay as much attention to these things as the duties of our state in life demand.

I think there’s a lot of food for thought here. If you can make the time to listen to the whole thing — and I do recommend that you hear all of it, to get the different pieces he covers throughout — it’s worth your time.

Please remember that Father Ripperger’s talks are licensed as “Penanceware”. What does that mean? I’ll let him explain:

These media files are PenanceWare, which require that you do one of the following: (1) $1.00 via Paypal, (2) offer up a decade of the Rosary, or (3) perform some form of penance for the intentions of Fr. Ripperger (for each individual media file downloaded). The same rule applies if you copy and distribute to friends. External links, e.g. the videos from Keep the Faith, etc. are not Penanceware.

If you’d like to hear more of his excellent talks and conferences, they’re available at his website here. I’ve included the video below for convenience, but it’s an unofficial copy, and you should treat it as though the same licensing applies. So grab a seat, have a listen, and fire up those rosaries and/or donations. It’s for a good cause.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email


text:
Sales Pipeline – Benefits, Phases and Misconceptions

The sales pipeline is one of the more common terms used in marketing.

It focuses on a company’s ongoing sales, and how well they’re converting.

Similar to when you use a pipeline to send resources from one place to another, the sales pipeline shows whether or not a sale is “traveling” to the intended location.

The tracking sales process is especially important for big companies with lots of orders.

As the orders start multiplying and become more complex, numerous things could go wrong. For this reason, you need to be in control at all times.

With a sales pipeline, you will have a breakdown of all the deals your sales team is making. Also, you will know how many they will close within a month or a year, and how much money they need to reach the sales quota.

Main benefits of the sales pipeline

Keep in mind that a sales pipeline can vary from company to company. The process can be modified to depict the inner processes within an organization better.

Like with any other financial or marketing analysis, it all comes down to improving the company’s growth and profit potential. You can use it to dissect various parts of the process and to check what’s working and what’s not to achieve higher sales volume and conversion.

Here are some of the main things the sales pipeline can help you with:

  • Analyzing current processes
  • Modifying processes, so they bring better yield in the future
  • Changing your marketing strategy on the fly
  • Allocating resources to achieve better results
  • Detecting salespeople who are overachieving or underperforming
  • Checking how you’re performing compared to the overall expected results
  • Analyzing conversion rate and why it’s so low or high

According to data, companies that have introduced a proper sales pipeline analysis have seen their sales go up by 20%!

With this method, you will be much more meticulous. It considers various areas of the sales process from finding the leads to closing them, and finally delivering the product or service.

Sales pipeline phases

As already mentioned, every company sets up a pipeline according to their particular needs.

This is great as it allows you to focus on certain factors while completely neglecting the rest. Still, you need to be very strict when defining the steps and parameters as things shouldn’t be left to chance.

In order to summarize, the process should go from market and customer research and analysis to decision making. Always remember that control isn’t necessarily a part of the process. If any changes were to be made, they are not part of the sales pipeline but are instead performed afterward.

Although it is hard to define the exact steps (due to the fact they might vary), here are some of the processes that always remain the same:

1. Prospecting

Like in any other industry, prospecting refers to a step during which you are finding potential leads. Various factors affect prospecting. A crucial phrase used during this step is creating the ICP or Ideal Customer Profile. It is used to help determine who is your ideal buyer. Of course, potential customers will vary from industry to industry and from product to product.

In general, the best way of profiling your ideal customers is by tracking and analyzing historical trends. People and companies that continuously buy from you are the best examples of ICP. It is only logical that individuals and organizations with similar needs will also give you a chance. If your firm is relatively new and has no track record, it is best to start the analysis by using your competitors’ data. You can also go wider when prospecting, but this means that you will waste a lot of time.

2. Qualification

Now that you’ve finished prospecting, you should have a better understanding of the market and its participants. But the fact you have gathered ideal leads doesn’t mean you will close them. There might be specific issues standing in the way and preventing you from making a deal. This is why additional qualification is needed. At this point, you should already be able to answer specific questions.

Nevertheless, you will have to learn more about the company’s budget, needs, long-term ability to buy from you, special needs (if they exist), and so on. If the qualification phase is going well below your expectations and projection, there is a good chance that you have made a mistake during the prospecting period. Keep in mind that prospecting and qualification are similar in many ways; however, during this step, you will make direct contact with a potential buyer.

3. Presenting an offer

At this stage, you should have a better understanding of your clients’ needs and how you can help them out. It is time to present them with an offer. Here, you will need to give them a quote, pricing, and all other information regarding your products and services. This phase goes two-way: your sales representatives have to find a solution that will be suitable for both sides. While you should squeeze as much as possible from this deal, you should also allow clients some leeway.

Always keep in mind that if your offer is too steep, they will give advantage to your competitors. There are lots of factors that will affect your offer. In particular, they might be affected by your company’s size, age, and long-term as well as short-term goals.

4. Last considerations

Now, even if a company has accepted your offer and it seems they want to work with you, that doesn’t mean you are fully secure. Often, deals fall apart at the last second, and only experienced salespeople understand what went wrong. For example, there are situations where a company is putting you on hold while they are finalizing a deal with another entity.

There might be specific budget issues, patent problems, payment trouble, or something else that might affect the deal. No matter what, it is up to you to try and realize if everything is alright and whether or not the other side is ready to proceed. During this phase, you also need to finalize the price and prepare documentation.

5. Closing the deal

This is the final stage of the sales pipeline. A customer will sign the document according to the predetermined conditions. This is more of a legal matter, and you should have a good lawyer nearby who can confirm everything and give their approval.

When you finish this step, you can consider that the sales pipeline is complete and that you have closed the client. This is also the final step of your analysis.

With a proper pipeline, you can tell where things went wrong and where you need to make adjustments. Still, even the analysis can go wrong, and you might keep on missing opportunities. This is why you need to surround yourself with people who have experience working in marketing and sales of this particular industry.

Specific figures and situations may look bad on paper, but you need the experience to read them and understand whether you’re underperforming or overachieving compared to your competition.

Common misconceptions with the term sales pipeline

While sales pipeline is a common term for people working in sales, there are a lot of beginners who don’t fully understand the concept. In fact, some professionals see sales pipeline interchangeable with some other processes.

This is mostly because there are lots of similar concepts in sales. Furthermore, the pipeline is often used for the quantitative part of the sales process.

Most of these concepts and methods have certain similarities, but they might differ in a few crucial points.

Let’s start with a term that people commonly use in the same breath as the sales pipeline: the sales funnel.

  • Sales pipeline and sales funnel

The most common misconceptions come between these two popular terms. Funnel is a graphic depiction of a pipeline, showing each stage of the process with a V-shaped cone.

In the first stage, prospecting is the widest one becoming narrower and narrower as it goes downwards, towards its end. Between the two terms, one has to give a clear advantage to the sales pipeline due to its analytical and meticulous nature. The funnel focuses on general conversion rates without overthinking specific deals or performance. Instead, it uses the data to showcase quantity and not necessarily quality.

The sales funnel, as a concept, is more of a generalization that doesn’t always give you a decent picture of the process. For example, you can have high conversion rates or improve your conversion each year without making a significant improvement in terms of profit. This is because your sales representatives are closing a lot of deals at lower rates or are offering clients more than they should.

The sales pipeline is especially significant in helping you analyze individual performance and areas where your team could improve.

  • Sales pipeline and forecast category

The best way to explain these two is by saying that the forecast category is a broader category of the sales pipeline. In fact, the latter is oftentimes used as a forecast category.

Forecast categories, including things such as best case, pipeline, and commit. They are primarily used to determine whether or not you should include individual cases in your sales forecast. Different companies have different policies regarding forecasts and pipelines and how they’re using them against each other.

  • Sales pipeline and revenue forecast

Like with sales funnel, there are lots of misconceptions between a sales pipeline and revenue forecast. Both categories are used to analyze the deals that your sales team is making. But, unlike the sales pipeline, the revenue forecast is much more complex, taking into account various other factors that might better indicate your ability to make money. Similar to the forecast category, the revenue forecast is a more extensive section. It relies on various subcategories, one of which is the sales pipeline. The main reason why you use it is to find out what your revenue will be at the end of a specific period.

While these terms usually have to do with sales, they are much more common for finance departments. Nevertheless, if you are a salesperson with a certain number of years under the belt, you must understand them. In fact, you can use this data to your advantage to improve your own game.

How to utilize sales pipelines properly?

Although the sales pipeline may seem like a static category that people use for analysis, you can learn various things with it.

All this data can help you improve your performance. So, whether you’re a company manager or you’re just a sales rep who wants to up their game, these are certain things to consider: Place focus on ideal leads

I don’t have to tell you that ideal leads are the ones that are easiest to close. The whole sales process usually takes the same time for each company. However, there is no reason for you to invest the same amount of time for a bad lead as you would for a good one. Instead, you should take that extra time to research ideal leads and prepare for these particular meetings. That doesn’t mean you should neglect the lower quality leads as they can be closed as well. However, it is necessary to prioritize if you want to boost your numbers at the end of the year.

1. Stop using dead leads

This tip relates to the previous one. There is no need for you to invest too much time in leads that are dead. This might be hard from an emotional standpoint and is also something that might affect your ego. Most experts will tell you that the best salesmen are prepared to go the extra mile. They will also tell you that the majority of the deals are closed after several meetings, not during the first one. But this doesn’t mean you should continue working for a client if there is no interest on their side. In such situations, recognizing that a person is not interested in your offer is perhaps the hardest thing, but like everything else, it is the knowledge that comes with experience.

2. The process has to be standardized

As you have already figured out, based on the previous two tips, time is of the essence for people working in sales. This is why it’s necessary to have a standardized process, given how much time this can save you. While I have mentioned that it’s better to invest more time in good leads, that doesn’t mean you should invest that much time in each lead. If you think about it, ideal leads are already ideal, and they don’t require that much work to close. As such, it should be easy to figure out the average time necessary to close such a client. When you figure out what the optimal time for selling a product is, it will be much easier to standardize the whole process. This will make it more predictable, but at the same time, it would eliminate all the steps and minor processes that don’t yield results. Standardization is also crucial for scaling the whole process and reducing overhead costs that incur when a process isn’t optimized.

3. Sales cycles should be as short as possible

Depending on your customers, sales cycles can be long or short. No matter what, it is up to you to keep these cycles as short as possible. This is especially true when it comes to B2B sales, where cycles can take a long time.

According to stats, 75% of all B2B sales take at least 4 months. In many cases, the sales cycle can last for more than a year. There are lots of different reasons why this is a problem, but let’s focus on the most important one: inefficiency. Sometimes, the length of the process can even be counterproductive as it can lead to loss of clients.

Now, keep in mind that this doesn’t mean you should be overly aggressive with clients trying to close them sooner than you should. Instead, it mostly refers to having a more efficient process, which will make it easier for a company to choose you. They will have more information in advance, and you will have more channels of communication while reducing the number of contacts.

4. Emphasize sales pipeline

Let’s get back to the sales pipeline. If you want to be a good salesman, you should use pipeline metrics continuously. They are not only used to breakdown your periodic performance but can be used as a report showing you how you’ve done during specific sales.

The most important sales metrics include things such as the overall number of sales, the percentage of closed deals, the average time needed to close a deal, etc. The sales pipeline can be an excellent tool if used the right way. Still, you shouldn’t overly obsess about it.

5. Try to improve your sales techniques

Of course, all these metrics are useless if you don’t learn from them; if you can’t use them to your advantage. Sales pipeline metrics are especially beneficial in the long run. Like everything else, sales techniques and preferences change, and it is necessary to know what is no longer working.

There are also situations where you’re overdoing it with a certain method or cannot get the results you expected. By relying on metrics, you can figure out what is going well for you and what you can improve.

If there is something that has a terrible impact on your sales and negatively affects your ability to close clients, experts tend to call this a “blockage.” But, you don’t have to wait for the blockage to appear; metrics can also be used for continuous experimenting and tweaking your processes.

6. Your sales pipeline has to be updated regularly

Sales pipelines are very dynamic. In the end, they are usually used periodically and are meant to track various stages of sales as they go. This also means you have to be very meticulous and keep updating your sales pipeline all the time. Otherwise, things can get messy in no time.

Companies that are relying on pipeline data should update the information regarding every lead. You can make notes after every phone call; after every meeting or negotiation. This is especially important for companies that are working with a high number of clients and in particular, B2C companies.

7. Follow-ups are crucial

There is a good reason why companies put such a big emphasis on follow-ups. Sales are all about repetition and creating meaningful contacts. Furthermore, it takes a lot of time just to find leads and qualify them. Due to this, it doesn’t make sense for you to disqualify a company after making a single phone call.

Remember that certain owners will not have time for you at a particular moment or that emails may get lost. Follow-ups are especially crucial in these modern days as everyone is trying to sell something.

Organizations are investing heavily in marketing and has numerous teams dedicated to every step of sales. As a result, an average sale takes about 8 phone calls before closing. One of the best tips we can give you regarding follow-ups is to create a schedule. This is especially important during the initial sales phases, where you will have a lot of leads. You can easily forget all the phone calls you’ve made, so keeping track of them will definitely help out.

Last thoughts

The sales pipeline is an essential concept that all companies should use.

Even if your firm doesn’t have one in place, such a system may give you a competitive edge.

Hopefully, with this detailed guide, you will know more about how sales pipelines work and what the optimal practices are.

Good luck!

Related posts

11 Ways to Build Email Lists Successfully

12 Ideas to Get You Started With Your Seasonal Digital Marketing Campaigns

14 Customer Acquisition Strategies That You Can Implement in 2020

The Practical Marketer’s Self-Care Checklist

Ekalavya Hansaj

How to Survive as a Full-Time Freelancer

6 Ways to Cut Your Cost Per Lead on Facebook Ads

Leave a Reply


text:
Tara Sonali Miller

Yoga, for me, is everything. By which I mean it is pure bliss, it is heartbreaking, it is confusing and hard, it’s essential and rooting, it’s connection to lineage and ancestors in a way that is blurry and felt, it is energizing and exhausting in all the realms - mind, body, spirit. I come to yoga, and to my teaching, as a South Asian person, as a person of diaspora, more specifically as a Hindu, Mayalee person, as a mixed person, an Eastern European Jewish person. As able-bodied. As queer, genderfluid. As a survivor. My journey with the practices and teachings of yoga is intimately linked with these identities and experiences. I’m so grateful to my guides & teachers, and especially my ammamma, for always celebrating the importance of this path and my exploration. I approach the practices of yoga with an acknowledgement of their oppressive layers, both those inherent to yoga and the way it has been codified for centuries, and those created through co-optation in service to racial capitalism, genocide, colonialism, and casteism. At the same time, I feel and believe in the liberatory power and potential of yoga. In its capacity to move us deeper towards individual and collective healing, into true interdependence with each other and with the earth. In my personal practice and in my teaching, I strive to center this potential in all its complexities, and to create a trauma-sensitive container that facilitates curiosity, rest, stability, ease, play, connection, and release.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Class #1

    • Tara Be Like Water Class #1 5:25:21

  • 2

    Class #2

    • Tara Water Series #2 6:1:21

  • 3

    Class #3

    • Tara Water Series #3 6:8:21

  • 4

    Class #4

    • Tara Water Series #5 6:15:21

  • 5

    Class #5

    • Water Series #5 Tara 6:22:21


text:
By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Feb 13, 2008 at 5:00 PM

A few years ago, I stumbled upon “The Hip Mama Survival Guide” and other books by Ariel Gore, and I was so smitten with her honest, funny, edgy and compassionate writing that I pledged to steer clear of most parenting guides from that point forward.

With the exception of Jessica Mills.

Mills is the author of “My Mother Wears Combat Boots,” and she reads from this book on Monday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. at Broad Vocabulary.

Personally, I haven’t own a pair of combat boots in years -- I’m more of a cowgirl boot wearer these days -- but Mills’ support of co-sleeping, long-term breastfeeding and parents preserving their edge is enough for this mother to scribble the event on the calendar in big red letters.

Here’s more about Mills, ganked from her publisher’s Web site:

"Jessica Mills is a touring musician, artist, activist, writer, teacher and mother of two. Disappointed by run-of-the-mill parenting books that didn't speak to her experience, she set out to write a book tackling the issues faced by a new generation of moms and dads. The result is a parenting guide like no other. Written with humor, extensive research, and much trial and error, 'My Mother Wears Combat Boots' delivers sound advice for parents of all stripes.

"Amid stories of bringing kids (and grandparents) to women's rights demonstrations, taking baby on tour with her band and organizing cooperative childcare, Jessica gives detailed nuts-and-bolts information about weaning, cloth vs. disposable diapers, the psychological effects of co-sleeping and even how to get free infant gear. This book provides a clever, hip and entertaining mix of advice, anecdotes, political analysis and factual sidebars that will help parents as they navigate the first years of their child's life."

Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.


text:
Membership | Ontario East

Stay Connected and Informed

The Ontario East Economic Development Commission is committed to keeping our members informed about economic development initiatives and opportunities through training, sharing of best practices, and collaboration on investment opportunities.

You will receive our regular e-broadcasts about upcoming events and activities across Eastern Ontario and notices about upcoming training and workshops regarding Economic Development topics.

Networking Meetings and Workshops

Working with our partners at the Federal and Provincial levels, we ensure that municipal staff working in economic development has the skills, knowledge and ability to achieve their local goals.

You can attend networking meetings at a reduced price. These meetings are a chance for Economic Developers and municipal staff to meet and share economic development initiatives and to hear speakers/presentations on trends and opportunities.

Sector Teams Transition to Regional Marketing Committee

Ontario East helps members reach clients and potential investors that there is not budget to do alone. Collectively, we will help you leverage your economic development budget.

For an additional fee, members can collaborate with other members on initiatives that are specific to the significant sectors in their communities, leveraging both resources and opportunities.

Regional Marketing Committee members receive lead generation services and can share staffing at sector trade shows bringing down the cost of participating in these events. During 2020 we will be amalgamating the key investment attraction sectors that align with provincial and federal priorities, agri-food & food processing, advanced manufacturing &  technologies and logistics and transportation and we will work with regional partners such and the Rural Ontario Institute and Regional Tourism Organizations to support programming related to investment attraction in the rural and tourism sectors while providing direct programming support in workforce development and other important disciplines to all of our members. Ontario East will regularly review and adjust its employment sector focus to align with emerging market opportunities.

Agri-Food & Food Processing: Building upon partnerships with trade commissioners, the local food movement and educational institutions this team works to attract and retain businesses in this cluster. The sector-specific business directory and active tradeshow cycle help local businesses connect with investors.

Advanced Manufacturing and Technologies: This broad sector includes both advanced manufacturing and clean technologies, seeking to identify new opportunities to attract medical devices, energy, clean technologies, biotech and aerospace companies to name a few. Working with Provincial and Federal investment specialists and trade commissioners, this team capitalizes on strategic marketing to attract more of what communities need in this key employment sector.

Logistics and Transportation: Ontario East is home to a 30 million square foot cluster of distribution centres and a key investment attraction for the region. From analyzing global trends to conducting market research, this team helps communities highlight the benefits of logistics locations.

Ontario East Municipal Conference

Established in 1989, the Ontario East Municipal Conference (OEMC) has developed into the largest annual regional municipal and economic development conference east of Toronto.

This annual conference brings economic developers and municipal leaders from across eastern Ontario together for three days to share best practices and learn from other experts on topics of interest for economic development in their communities.

Ontario East Economic Development Commission is proud to organize this event.


text:
Detail on Crosby Stills and Nash’s First Album – Holy Grail or Audio Trap?

More Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Detail may be the Holy Grail to most audiophiles, but detail can be a trap we all too easily fall into if we are not careful. Tonal balance is the key. Without it no judgments about detail have any real value.

One example: As good as the Classic Heavy Vinyl pressing is, the guitar at the opening of Helplessly Hoping tells you everything you need to know about what’s missing. The guitar on the Hot Stamper domestic copies has a transparency that cannot be found on Classic’s version. The Classic gets the tonal balance right, but their guitar doesn’t have the subtlety and harmonic resolution of the real thing.

I’m laboring here to avoid the word detail, since many audiophiles like bright, phony sound because of all the wonderful “detail.”

The MOFI guys and the CD guys often fall into this trap. Get the sound tonally balanced first, then see how much detail you have left. Detail is not the end-all and be-all of audio. Those who think it is usually have systems that make my head hurt.

But most people will never know what they’re missing on Helplessly Hoping, because they will never have an amazing sounding copy of this song. The hot copies are just too rare.

Further Reading

…along these lines can be found below.

The most important advice can be found under the heading Hot Stamper Shootouts — The Four Pillars of Success.

Record shootouts are the fastest and easiest way to hone your listening skills, a subject we discuss often on the site and directly address in this commentary from way back in 2005.

Here are more entries in our ongoing Shootout Advice series.


text:
How to Care for Your Dreadlocks: Installation, Maintenance and Styling – OOLI BEAUTY

How to Care for Your Dreadlocks: Installation, Maintenance and Styling

 How to Install and Care for Your Dreadlocks

If you’re reading this, then chances are you already know what locs are. To some it is just a hairstyle, to others, it is a lifestyle and for a lesser percentage it makes up an integral part of the Rastafarian religion. This hairstyle is called by many different names, the most common of which includes locs, dreads, dreadlocks and jaata. But one thing is for certain and it is that Locs aren’t a fad or new trend. This hairstyle dates back to over 3000 years ago and was used by various cultures and civilizations.

In present day, there are many different types of locs to choose from. Depending on the type you choose, there will be differences in installation method, cost, time, maintenance and the styling options that are available to you. Let’s examine further and discover the best ways to care for your dreadlocks!

Traditional locs

These are the most popular type of locs and there are many ways to install them. You can achieve them through interlocking, twisting, backcombing, twist and rip (also known as twist and pull), crochet and even a technique called dread perm. One great thing about this type of locs is that they are pretty low maintenance. All you basically need to do is shampoo and re-twist post installation. However, when it comes to styling your options are somewhat limited. Traditional locs are heavier and bigger than most other types so they are not as easy to manipulate.

Freeform locs

The creation process for this type of loc is pretty simple and the installation cost is nada! Freeform locs are created by letting the hair loc naturally. There are no special products that are needed and very little maintenance is required. All you might need to do is separate the roots from time to time as the locs grow and that’s about it. The downsides to this type of locs are firstly, it takes time for the hair to loc and secondly, your styling options are even less than with traditional locs due to the bulk and heaviness of freeform locs.

Created by Dr. JoAnne Cornwell in 1993, these locs are very tiny and uniform in size. They are created using a trademarked locking tool and can only be installed by a trained and certified sisterlock associate. Furthermore, these locs take a very long time to be installed and maintenance is non-negotiable. All in all, it can cost you quite a few coins for this very unique and beautiful type of locs. However, sisterlocks are very versatile thanks to their small size and they have a loose-hair appearance that many people like.

As the name suggests, these are the male version of sisterlocks. The same installation technique and a patented locking tool is used but with larger sections of hair of about 400 – 500 individual strands. Although brotherlocks are bigger than sisterlocks, they are still smaller than traditional locs. Installation can take between 10 – 20 hours depending on hair length and the total number of locs required, and this type of locs is also costly. Maintenance is also non-negotiable and you are only limited in styling as your masculinity may deem necessary.

These are often confused with sisterlocks because of their small size, but they are not the same. A few essential differences between the two are that microlocs aren’t trademarked, they can be different sizes and they do not need to be installed by a certified professional affiliated with any specific organization. There are multiple ways to maintain these locs as there are multiple sizes to choose from. You can style these locs however you choose as you’re limited only by your imagination.

The decision of what type of locs to get is yours and yours alone. Just remember that some types have advantages over others and also keep in mind the size of the budget you have to work with.

Think you're now ready to begin your locs journey? Let us know in the comments below.

Leave a comment

All blog comments are checked prior to publishing
The cookie settings on this website are set to 'allow all cookies' to give you the very best experience. Please click Accept Cookies to continue to use the site.
You have successfully subscribed!