text:
You can scroll the shelf using and keys

About Metropolitan

Metropolitan Partnership, Ltd. is a U.S. development firm, with principal operations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and the Eastern U.S. It was formed in 1984. Among its projects are the historic [[Washington Star|1101 Pennsylvania Avenue/Evening Star Building]], Tysons International Plaza and [[Fairfax Square]], all designed by [[David Childs]], FAIA of [[Skidmore, Owings and Merrill|SOM]] as design principal.

After completing graduate programs at Cornell and Harvard in 1979, Cary Euwer joined the established and well respected development firm of Cabot, Cabot & Forbes in Boston, Massachusetts. With initial training on the completion of 60 State Street, Euwer then set up CC&F’s Washington, D.C. office to develop 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue. With the completion of this 427,000 square foot landmark, Euwer obtained the development rights to a prime block in Baltimore’s inner Harbor. That development, known as 250 West Pratt Street commenced construction of it’s 26 story tower in 1983.

With five years of valuable training and development of nearly a million square feet, Euwer founded Metropolitan Partnership in 1984. The initial projects in planning were 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, Tyson’s International Plaza and Fairfax Square. Together, these projects totaled over one million square feet and were completed by 1991.

With the development of Fairfax Square which involved 150,000 square feet of high end retail, Metropolitan forged relationships with a number of luxury retailers. These relationships led to developments from Florida to New York for clients such as Tiffany & Co., Hermes of Paris, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lacoste.

As Metropolitan’s expertise in retail grew, further opportunities followed. In 1998, Metropolitan was contracted to provide the development skill necessary for the retail repositioning of 1500 Broadway located in the heart of Times Square. The three year long project culminated in the five floor construction of the studios for ABC and the Disney Studio.

In 1998, Metropolitan formed a joint venture with Koll Development Company, the nation’s fifth largest office developer, to develop over 400,000 square feet of first class office space in Northern Virginia. As the nation’s strongest office market, these developments quickly pre-leased and became the corporate headquarters of XO Communications and Net2000.

Expanding on it’s retail relationships, Metropolitan developed a 900,000 sf open air center in Richmond, Virginia anchored by Target, Regal Cinemas and Golds Gym.

In 2011, Metropolitan joined with Hilton Worldwide [[link]] in response to the General Service Administration’s request for proposals to redevelop the Old Post Office at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C.  The Hilton-Metropolitan submission to the GSA includes Hilton’s iconic branding as a flagship Waldorf Astoria hotel joined by many of  Metropolitan’s retail relationships.

%d bloggers like this:


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
Meet Pancho, an elephant seal that has spent the last week on a Nayarit beach. Meet Panchito, an elephant seal that has spent the last week on a Nayarit beach.

Elephant seal makes itself at home on San Pancho Beach, Nayarit

It's not known which species it is. No one has dared get too close to the large animal

An elephant seal peacefully stranded on a beach in Nayarit for the past week has been enchanting visitors and locals and raising questions by environmental officials about its extraordinary appearance so far from home.

It is not yet certain what subspecies of elephant seal it is that suddenly appeared on the shores of San Pancho Beach on July 5. No one has got close enough to the animal — named “Panchito” by delighted locals — to take a blood sample and risk being bitten, nor have experts been willing to risk its health by moving it.

However, whichever subspecies Panchito is, sea elephants are cold water animals, and its closest natural habitat to Nayarit would be the northern part of the Baja peninsula.

Authorities have cordoned off Panchito’s location to protect the animal, and marine experts continue to observe without further interference for now. They estimate it weighs between 200 and 300 kilos.

The seal has been seen entering the ocean multiple times and then returning to the beach, and environmental officials say that, at the moment, Panchito appears to be in good health and merely resting.

“It could be that he returns to the sea and leaves [for good], or his state of health could take a turn for the worse, and that’s when we would intervene,” said Roberto Moncada, a marine biologist at the Bahía de Banderas Technological Institute.

Despite the hands-off approach, Panchito has been a popular attraction since arriving, making a splash on social media.

Elephant seals, are carnivorous mammals and there are two types — northern and southern. Northern elephant seals, scientifically known as Mirounga angustirostris, normally live in an area stretching from the Gulf of Alaska to the northern Baja peninsula.

However, southern elephant seals, or Mirounga leonina, come from much farther away in the southern Atlantic, off the coast of Argentina. Some colonies of southern elephant seals exist as far south as Tasmania and New Zealand.

While elephant seals are known to take long journeys in search of food, if Panchito turns out to be a southern elephant seal, a journey this far from home would be extremely unusual.

“If it is indeed [a southern one], this animal is far, far away from its habitat,” said Moncada. “Its arriving here would be a record.”

The elephant seal Pancho on the beach in San Francisco, Nayarit.
The elephant seal Panchito on the beach in San Francisco, Nayarit.

Sources: El País (sp)

Reader forum

The forum is available to logged-in subscribers only.

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2020-34
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for August 2020
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-111.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.17 (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: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


text:
Artists go where PC angels fear to tread

South African theatre dance retains its international reputation for cocking several snooks at conventions and political correctness in its pursuit of fresh expression.

Yet all too rarely in this maelstrom — often caused by issue-based experimentation — is there salient critical commentary or engagement about the ethics involved in the production of theatrical or site-specific performance. The late John Matshikiza set this ball rolling with his article headlined “White art, black themes” (Mail & Guardian, May 6 1999).

The introductory blurb poses the question: “The use of black iconography by white artists has angered many people. Is it exploitative or informative?” The writer focuses on Robyn Orlin’s Life after the Credits Roll — a Piece for Five Performers and the Spirit of Makana, staged that year in the Market Theatre Laboratory.

This year’s Dance Umbrella programme features an exciting lineup of new work, as well as some classics of South African contemporary dance.

Dropping names
Matshikiza takes issue with the director choreographer’s use of the 19th-century Xhosa warrior and prophet for her own artistic whims. He quotes the text in which the characters are searching for the spirit of Makana and asks the questions: “But how does this justify using Makana’s name at all? Is it for the shock value once again? Orlin’s audience is mostly white and middle class. What is Makana to them, apart from an exotic provocation?

“There is still a perception in certain parts of the black community that black images are too easily appropriated for white amusement, without any respect for the deeper meaning these images may have for the black community.”

Matshikiza then addresses the ritualistic work of theatremaker Brett Bailey and quotes Orlin asking what black artists are doing about historical icons.

Fast forward to Dance Umbrella 2012 for some answers. Gregory Vuyani Maqoma may be a descendant of Chief Jongumsobomvu Maqoma, but drawing on that history is no less controversial. The theatre-dance work Exit/Exist is a collaboration by Maqoma, theatre director James Ngcobo, fashion designer David Tlale, composer Simphiwe Dana (who transposed her music for a capella), animator Mileta Postic and set designer Oliver Hauser.

Existential questions
A programme note states: “The core of this piece is memory, rephrasing the notion of existence and notion of simply existing in order to exist. Exit/Exist takes a moment to pause, look back; to rewind the tape to the days when the tapestry of South Africa was about the collision of biographies.”

True to Maqoma’s research-based choreographic approach, this creation is not simply a regurgitation of historical facts or oral history, but also a reinterpretation born out of deconstructing what the artists have encountered and perceived.

They have created a performance piece woven out of language (both recited and sung), myth, improvised and set movement, and ritual and symbolic design. Spectres of appropriation, authenticity and respect hover in the wings.

New questions to add to Matshikiza’s list: Who has the right to explore any country’s history or living heritage? Is it acceptable for non-South Africans, or non-Africans, to be involved in exhuming the past? Exit/Exist entails Maqoma’s border wars with the British in 19th-century Eastern Cape over the right to land and the ownership of cattle. One of these storytellers is the smoking-hot Italian rock guitarist Giuliano Modarelli. The choreographer is adamant that it is his right to work with whomever he chooses to serve his artistic vision.

Dismantling old forms
Similarly, is it appropriate to play the race or gender cards when artists tackle the annual reed dance? In her installation Uncles & Angels, Nelisiwe Xaba is joined by filmmaker and professional animator Mocke Jansen van Veuren, a white male who collaborated with the fearless provocateur on her Black! — White?

In the experimental voyage of discovery, do artists have the right to go the non-literal route to dismantle old forms, play with them and then produce fresh iconographic language and performance prototypes, no matter the cultural context?

Technology is also firmly part of this equation — video, film, live video feeds, motion capture and animation are contemporary dance staples. While Xaba is dealing with sensitive issues such as virginity testing and the mass objectification of the black female, Van Veuren is manipulating software to multiply Xaba’s supremely articulate body in an interactive video montage.

Curiously, in his deliberations Matshikiza ignored Orlin’s other 1999 piece, Daddy, I’ve Seen This Piece Six Times Before and I Still Don’t Know Why They Are Hurting Each Other, which premiered in the Wits Downstairs Theatre at the FNB Dance Umbrella on March 13.

Daddy, subsequently Orlin’s ticket to international recognition, returns to Dance Umbrella 2012.

On reflection, perhaps it is not odd that Daddy was omitted from “White art, black themes”, because the performers and characters all speak for themselves, using their real names — aggrieved post-1994 South African artists. And central to that racially charged aesthetic fracas is the director-choreographer — the uber-manipulator herself — who never appears but constantly dictates by cellphone.

There is a serious subtext to this anarchic extravaganza that references Hollywood, the classical ballet canon and so forth. Politics of the body and of the skin are explored in vignettes captured by photographer John Hogg. One, of Xaba in a white tutu sifting white flour over her black, moving feet, won a 1999 World Press Photo prize. Who owns this iconic image? Bring on the debate.

Subscribe to the M&G

These are unprecedented times, and the role of media to tell and record the story of South Africa as it develops is more important than ever.

The Mail & Guardian is a proud news publisher with roots stretching back 35 years, and we’ve survived right from day one thanks to the support of readers who value fiercely independent journalism that is beholden to no-one. To help us continue for another 35 future years with the same proud values, please consider taking out a subscription.

Related stories

The art of the virtual experience

The live magic may be gone, but the National Arts Festival showcases some exhilarating work

Review: ‘Swan Song’, a brutally vulnerable performance

Buhle Ngaba’s ‘Swan Song’, showing online at the virtual National Arts Festival, explores the rawness of heartbreak, and of life

Dancer and queer rights activist Kirvan Fortuin’s final farewell

The slain dancer and choreographer was so much more than an internationally celebrated artist. They were also a proud queer rights activist and a beloved child and friend

Get your quarantine on — the best in virtual entertainment

With everyone settling into an indoors routine or starting to lose it because of cabin fever, this guide should remind you that creativity and beauty still exist, virtually represented but there, nonetheless.

Dance Umbrella finds new home

The South African State Theatre will house Dance Umbrella Africa, which will be funded by the state

Nyamza’s hatchling comes into his own

The choreographer transforms mundane acts such as chores, interacting with her son, self-doubt and receiving love into a 55-minute moving biography

Vaccine trial results due in December

If successful, it will then have to be manufactured and distributed

White men still rule and earn more

Women and black people occupy only a few seats at the JSE table, the latest PwC report has found

The PPE scandal that the Treasury hasn’t touched

Many government officials have been talking tough about dealing with rampant corruption in PPE procurement but the majority won't even release names of who has benefited from the R10-billion spend

ANC still at odds over how to tackle leaders facing...

The ANC’s top six has been mandated to work closely with its integrity committee to tackle claims of corruption against senior party members

press releases

Loading latest Press Releases…

The best local and international journalism

handpicked and in your inbox every weekday


text:
Chiefs tire of cheap frills and sackcloth

They want security details, luxury vehicles, cellphone allowances and state-owned accommodation "fit for living or working" for some of the more senior leaders, fully furnished with, among other things, tumble dryers and dishwashers.

The department of traditional affairs this week presented a draft framework for the provision of resources for leaders to the parliamentary oversight committee on traditional affairs.

Masenjana Sibandze, a deputy director general in the department, said the resources were necessary to enable members of the national and provincial houses of traditional leaders and other traditional leaders to perform their duties efficiently.

"They are commonly referred to as tools of [the] trade," he said.

Sibandze said the committee had found that there was an inconsistent application of resources in the provinces.

He said four traditional leaders in the Eastern Cape, for example, had qualified for Mercedes-Benz MLs as well as double-cab bakkies, and had R10 000-a-month petrol cards, car services and insurance at the state's expense, but those in the Free State had only qualified for a Mercedes-Benz of a "lower level" E class with an unlimited petrol card.

Traditional leaders in Mpumalanga were also driving Mercedes-Benz MLs, but paid for the servicing of the cars.

Sibandze said some traditional leaders receive R2 000 monthly cellphone allowances, and others have an unlimited cellphone allowance.

"You can see there is no uniformity. Each province does what it wants. These frameworks seek to standardise and come up with an approach within affordable resources of the state."

When the document was presented to a meeting of ministers and members of executive council (MinMEC) on August 16, it was rejected and the department was told to re-examine it with a view to decreasing "the financial implications on the state".

"MinMEC was very scared that what the department was presenting was not affordable. We were told [to] go back to the drawing board, look at your model again and provide something that will be affordable. We have done that'," said Sibandze.

It is still not clear how much this will cost the state, if approved, but Sibandze said the provinces would foot the bill.

'Kings and queens'
The document will be resubmitted to MinMEC on September 26 for consideration.

MPs did not seem to be buying into the idea, saying the "tools of the trade" are luxuries and that it was pathetic for "kings and queens" to drive luxury cars when their communities struggled in poverty.

They pointed out that traditional leaders do not have a specific term of office, and the proposals would mean giving them a state-owned house for life. They also said their functions were a duplication of what ward councillors and ward committees were doing.

ANC MP Dumisile Nhlengethwa said: "Even at the MinMEC, it was pointed out that traditional leaders are custodians of African customs and culture. When you want all these modernised things, where are the customs and culture issues?"

ANC MP Mntwabantu Matshoba was even more scathing and said it appeared that traditional leaders wanted to be treated like ministers.

"When we were fighting for liberation, we were not fighting for the liberation of a certain group. The resources that the government has are to improve the lives of the people," said Matshoba.

Inkosi Sipho Mahlangu, an executive member of the national house of traditional leaders, shot back, saying it was Parliament that had decided to make traditional leaders public office bearers, and that in 2011 the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers had made a determination for all public office bearers.

A political decision
Mahlangu said traditional leaders, as presiding officers of a structure, should be able to carry out their work effectively and there should be tools of the trade that would allow the structure to do its work.

"What has been determined by the commission doesn't give traditional leaders anything more than what it has given to public office bearers.

"I'm not sure if as a traditional leader earning R170 000 I can get myself a house for R170 000. I could say 'why doesn't an MP use his money and get himself or herself own accommodation in Cape Town?' It could be the same argument," said Mahlangu.

"From some of the MPs' comments, I thought maybe I should be wearing ibheshu [a loincloth], coming here in a donkey cart. That's what I could gather, that as a traditional leader, I should living in a guqasthandaze [hut] or what is it that am I supposed to do?"

Mahlangu said when the country had transitional authorities in 1996, some councillors were earning about R1 000 a month, but now councillors earned R400 000 a year.

"Was it affordable? That was not a decision we could make, but it was a political decision. We are hoping that as politicians we need to allow the institution to evolve."

There are about 8 000 traditional leaders in South Africa. About 7 400 are headmen and women, and the others are more senior leaders.

Subscribe to the M&G

These are unprecedented times, and the role of media to tell and record the story of South Africa as it develops is more important than ever.

The Mail & Guardian is a proud news publisher with roots stretching back 35 years, and we’ve survived right from day one thanks to the support of readers who value fiercely independent journalism that is beholden to no-one. To help us continue for another 35 future years with the same proud values, please consider taking out a subscription.

Related stories

Nigerian town is ‘twins capital’ of the world

The town recently hosted its second festival, attracting hundreds of sets of twins dressed in traditional clothes

Greater co-operation between CoGTA and Gauteng Traditional Leadership

'When unregistered initiation schools are identified they will be closed'

KZN’s traditional councils can’t explain ‘lost’ R27m

They were also unable to account for more than R15-million in property under their control

Bad governance at the heart of Ingonyama Trust issues

Trusts are often used to manage property when beneficiaries are unable to do it properly themselves. The Ingonyama Trust is different

Traditional leaders in Zimbabwe must toe the ruling party line — or else

Chiefs in Zimbabwe have always played a major role in politics, and this election is no exception

Professor’s mark is on land, democracy

Lungisile Ntsebeza’s research has ignited a movement challenging the authority of traditional councils

Vaccine trial results due in December

If successful, it will then have to be manufactured and distributed

White men still rule and earn more

Women and black people occupy only a few seats at the JSE table, the latest PwC report has found

The PPE scandal that the Treasury hasn’t touched

Many government officials have been talking tough about dealing with rampant corruption in PPE procurement but the majority won't even release names of who has benefited from the R10-billion spend

ANC still at odds over how to tackle leaders facing...

The ANC’s top six has been mandated to work closely with its integrity committee to tackle claims of corruption against senior party members

press releases

Loading latest Press Releases…

The best local and international journalism

handpicked and in your inbox every weekday


text:
At Home: Connecting to Jonathan Jones

Jonathan Jones, like other contemporary artists, works with whatever materials best communicate his needs. So far, he’s been leaning heavily on the fluorescent tube, with all its ubiquity and hard buzzing light and uses them to plug us directly into a conversation about what it means to be Aboriginal in a eurocentric culture.

Take for example his piece white poles, with its clutch of vertical fluorescent tubes leaning casually against a wall. The positioning of the tubes imitates the geometric patterning so significant in Indigenous traditional design. Jones chooses marks specific to those of his ancestors, the Kamilaroi and Wiradjuri peoples. White Poles extends the circle of influence that Indigenous cultural practices have on Australian art and throws much needed light on those connections.

The work takes more than its title from Blue Poles of Jackson Pollock fame with its casual mimicry of the lazy lean of Pollock’s poles. The work also calls into view White over red on blue (1971) by Tony Tuckson painted in response to a visit to Melville Island where he saw carved Indigenous burial poles. By doing this Jones reminds us that many Modernist artists were themselves directly influenced by Australian Indigenous culture and saw fit to appropriate it. Then he spins the picture around and inserts himself back into the frame reclaiming both story and imagery and making it relevant to our contemporary world.

Jones’ current work continues to explore the idea of illumination – both as material and as a signpost to viewers to look harder. His piece untitled (posts) 2013, shines a torch light on the topic of colonisation. Jones collects and stacks weathered fence posts into a towering monolith, illuminating it from below. The structure simultaneously mimics bridge pier and funeral pyre, and stands as sentinel, calling to mind colonial preoccupation with construction to indicate civilisation.

Jones has chosen heavy Red Gum posts, a timber of endurance–some of the specimens date back to the 1800s–to describe how colonialists claimed ownership of land. This process exiled Jones’ ancestors from their Country as their land was divided into ever diminishing pieces; states into shires–into farms–into paddocks and finally into blocks of land sold to strangers. And with each division Indigenous people were pushed further away and apart.

Jones is an artist everyone can enjoy – his works are refreshingly accessible, both playful and astoundingly serious. And they are a fitting showcase for the full throttle growth and development within Aboriginal contemporary art today.

Editor’s note: Jonathan Jones is the co-author of home: aboriginal art from new south wales, an important resource for our column featuring Aboriginal artists in NSW.  He was a selected artist in the 2012 Biennale and in unDisclosed: 2nd National Indigenous Art Triennial in 2013.

Last week on the ABC’s program Art + Soul, Hetti Perkins talked to Jonathan Jones. You can catch it on iView

In this article


text:
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – South Florida residents had the opportunity to learn more about hurricanes to help prepare their families for the 2014 season.

For the first time, Fort Lauderdale hosted the Hurricane EXPO 2014 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The goal of the expo was to prepare thousands of people and families in the event a storm were to hit South Florida.

During the expo, there were raffles, giveaways and presentations designed to be educational.

Special response vehicles were also on display.

CBS4’s meteorologists were on hand to answer questions and meet members of the community.

2014 Hurricane Guide  – English

2014 Hurricane Guide – Spanish

Hurricane 2014: Surviving The Storm

[display-posts category=”hurricane-news” wrapper=”ul” posts_per_page=”5″]


text:
Pulsed photoconductivity of chlorophyll a

H. Kassi, S. Hotchandani, R. M. Leblanc, N. Beaudoin, M. Dery

Research output: Contribution to journalConference article

1 Scopus citations

Pulsed photoconduction study of Al/Chlorophyll a/Al sandwich cells has been carried out in order to investigate the charge transport in chlorophyll a (Chl a). The charge carriers are generated close to the electrode by laser pulse (800 ps) of strongly absorbed wavelength 750 nm by Chl a. The results suggest that the trapping of photogenerated charge carriers is quite significant. The electron transient current is practically absent, and the hole current signal rapidly decreases due to deep trapping. The signal shows a biexponential behavior in time period of approximately 50 μs which could be related to the presence of two trapping species. In millisecond time range, the hole current shows a long tail in addition to the fast component. The analysis of the long tail seems to suggest the dispersive hole transport phenomenon in microcrystalline Chl a.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)58-67
Number of pages10
JournalProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
StatePublished - Jan 1 1991
Externally publishedYes
EventPhotochemistry and Photoelectrochemistry of Organic and Inorganic Molecular Thin Films - Los Angeles, CA, USA
Duration: Jan 23 1991Jan 24 1991

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Pulsed photoconductivity of chlorophyll a'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

  • Cite this


text:
Journal Entry 368 – Quarantine Continued…

It has been about two months of quarantining so far. For some strange reason, “cabin fever” has not really hit me too hard. I think it’s because I’m still working full-time during this period of time. If I had been laid off, then I likely would be getting a bit bored by now. But with working full-time, I almost look at this period of time as an opportunity I don’t want to waste. Working from home for me has been really nice and I likely won’t get another chance like this again. Going on walks, sitting on the deck, and yardwork has gotten me out of the house, so I don’t feel like I have been “stuck in the house” all the time.

Last week, Sarah and I took a couple of days off for our Anniversary. We didn’t go anywhere due to the quarantine, but we had a nice meal at Red Salt which is Sarah’s favorite. It was also nice just to be off from work and spend more time relaxing.

Knocked out another book called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. 2 out of 10. Not good. I heard about this book from Joe Rogan, who loved it. I’m not really sure why. It had a really strange format and really seemed pointless with tremendous amounts of fluff. The main point was basically to figure out what you are meant to do in life and avoid resistance which is almost anything or anyone that is keeping you from your goals. The author started talking about Professional vs Amateurs. Professionals being regarded as much higher in his opinion. He used an example of Tiger Woods as the utmost professional in professional Golf, which is so dumb, I literally laughed when I read it. Tiger Woods has cussed people out, snapped his clubs in half, thrown his clubs across the golf course, made several enemies, ruined his career by cheating on his wife, and was also diagnosed with sex addiction. His former caddy wrote a book about him and it was not a favorable one. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Tiger Woods and I really enjoyed watching him win the Masters again, but to use him in that example was hilariously bad. The author then continued on with some pointless ancient literature references and some new-age religion talk. It seemed like the book could have been finished in like 20 pages but was over 170 pages long. I don’t know man haha. This book was weird and contradictory.

Recently beat God of War on PS4. Another good game for sure. Besides some slightly annoying puzzles you need to complete and a bit of repetitive fighting, the game was very well done. Kratos is a likable hero with a really deep back story and it’s fun to fight with his son Atreyus who shoots enemies with a bow and arrow from a distance. I’m a story mode player and not a “completionist” meaning I don’t need to do everything the game has to offer to enjoy it or consider it complete. The cutscenes and graphics are also really great. 8 out of 10

Been tipping the scales at around 177lbs recently. Diet has been pretty balanced with probably less protein than usual and WAY less processed food from protein bars, protein chips, etc.. Peanut butter has cured me of my protein bar addiction haha. Sarah and I have gotten good at keeping dinner interesting each night and eating at home way more often has been another benefit of the quarantine. We usually rotate between Asian style, Mexican style, Italian style, etc… each night so we don’t get bored. Lunch for me is almost always a chicken and avocado salad or eggs and toast. Also, been working out daily with bodyweight movements consisting of pushups, chin-ups and squats.

Journal Entry 345 – Can’t Hurt Me – By David Goggins / End of Game of Thrones

On the way back Scotland, I started reading a book from David Goggins called “Can’t Hurt Me.” I actually finished reading the book this morning. I would give it a 10 out of 10. I first heard about David Goggins on Joe Rogan’s podcast and he was one of the most motivational and unique people I have ever heard. Here is a brief summary/review:

David Goggins is a retired Navy Seal and ultra-endurance athlete. The book is about his life and the challenges he faced and overcame. He had a horrible childhood with a very abusive father, but a very supportive mother. They left his father when he was young and they were dirt poor. His father had a clear impact on his psyche and it clearly affected his pain tolerance, which he would push to the brink several times in life. He was not a good student in high school and faced some discrimination due to the fact that he grew up in a very rural area in Indiana. He did not use this to become a “Victim” or become part of the “Victim” mentality that is common in today’s society. He admitted at the time he felt like one, but quickly realized this was a long path to nowhere and used the experience to “callous his mind” and make him stronger. After high school, he had a period of time where he gained weight to the point of obesity and was working a very uneventful job that provided some money and job security but little else. He wanted to seek more meaning in his life, so he joined the Navy Seals. Prior to joining the Seals the first time, he had to pass two tests. One was a written exam. The second was to lose over 100 pounds in 3 months. He was able to do both. The first two times he joined the Seals he was discharged due to injury. But Goggins desperately wanted to become a Seal and had to pass Hell Week 3 times and was the first person to ever do so. After becoming a Seal, Goggins became an ultra-endurance athlete. This came about as a result of running for charity to raise money for the military, specifically for families of fallen soldiers. Goggins realized ultra-endurance races required an immense pain tolerance and insane levels of physical and mental strength to complete. So he was all about it. During the novel, Goggins recalls several stories of mental toughness and pushing himself to the edge. He completed several ultra-endurance races, winning several, became an Army Ranger in addition to being a Seal, a famous recruiter for the military, a wildfire fighter, broke the pullup record and several other accolades. Some more interesting facts about Goggins is that he said stretching and flexibility literally saved his life. Due to exercising at such an intense degree, his body had become as tight as “steel cables.” Goggins had reached a strange point, where he was beyond fatigued every day so much that he thought he was going to die. Stretching out his tight body, resurrected the blood flow in his body and literally released knots of tension he had throughout his body. I found this very interesting. Also, while Goggins has a very large Social Media following, he literally hates it and follows no one. He mainly uses it to inspire people as it is easy to reach a large number of people by using it. Overall, his drive is very inspiring and considering he is now currently 44 years old, has a whole lot more he plans to accomplish. He’s already accomplished more than 99.9% of people will in an entire lifetime. My review is very much a summary and the book is about 364 pages. I certainly can’t do justice with a short summary, but I highly recommend reading it.

After reading the book, I don’t plan to join the military or run in ultra-endurance races, but I really connected with several tips he was saying. The exercise he did was a tool he used to get his “mind right.” I do plan to start stretching more, implement some of the tools he uses and probably start doing a lot more pushups and pullups.

Today is also the end of Game of Thrones. A lot of people hate this season. My biggest criticism is that it does indeed feel rushed, which is a shame. I want to give the show a chance to finish, before ripping it apart, however. A lot of whiny people I hear complaining about it did so in the third episode. The season is not over. Once it is over and everything is resolved then you can start whining about it. I expect the series finale to be a good one and HOPEFULLY resolve the show in a positive way. I will admit that I am very excited about it.

This was my first full week back from Scotland. I hit the gym 3 times lifting heavy and also won my first tennis match in our tournament at work. My diet has been pretty low carb and very high protein. Overall, I have felt pretty good this week. After reading Goggins book, I plan to keep reading and likely will try to read at least one book a month.

Journal Entry 306 – Almost Wedding Time

The new schedule is in full effect and it’s been pretty busy at work. Along with the new schedule, my wedding is coming up this week, followed by the honeymoon. Soon after we need to move out of the apartment and find a new house! We have a lot on our plates at the moment. Really looking forward to the wedding and honeymoon though. Sarah and I have been together a little over two years at this point and we are very ready to get married.

My routine this week has been simple. No cardio, 4 days of lifting on a Push/Pull split. My calories have been pretty low during the week to cut some fat before the wedding. Scale is down to about 178-179lbs and my pants are definitely fitting looser. My diet has been almost exclusively protein for the past week and half with pretty low carbs and moderate fat. I’m not doing a ton of exercise though, so I really don’t need to eat a ton and I’m also trying to drop fat. That being said my lifts were down a little this week. I’m also pretty stressed at work, because of the greatly increased workload, but that will just take some getting used to. My sleep has been great though. Getting at least 8 hours a night.

I’ve been eating a ton of egg whites recently. In the morning before work, when I get home from work and sometimes after dinner if I’m still hungry. They are basically a perfect food right now though for me, because they are super low calorie and all protein. I also just really like the taste and texture for some reason. I usually eat Our Little Rebellion Protein Crisps as well during the day. These are 80 calories per serving (24 chips) 10g protein, 10g carbs (4 fiber) and 2.5g fat. Pretty much epic in terms of macros and you get a lot for the calories. They also taste really good. I also do a protein shake during the day at some point. I have protein powder at my desk, so this is pretty easy to make. Dinner is always a super high protein meal and usually some kind of vegetable. I then follow this with a protein shake before I go to sleep at night.

I never take lunch to work or even breakfast anymore. I really enjoy it. I don’t have to prep anything. All I take with me is coffee. Everything else is either at my desk at work or is a bag of chips, so nothing to prepare. Dinner is the vast majority of my calories and is essentially my only meal except for high protein snacks during the day. It’s been working so I’m sticking with it.

Journal Entry 292 – End of the Holidays / New Year

Due to the holidays, I haven’t had much free time recently. Yesterday was the first day I’ve had to myself in a long time. I was still playing catchup with certain things I needed to get done and didn’t have a ton of time to relax until the end of the day.

It may sound negative, but I’m looking forward to the New Year and the end of the Holidays. It’s going to be a big year for Sarah and I since we are going to get married and buy a house in the not too distance future. It’s also expected to get busier at work which may or may not involve a shift change. I have a feeling time is going to fly by.

The Holidays were good though and we kind of had two holidays. One with Sarah’s family and one with mine. We went to Sarah’s for Christmas Eve / Day and went to my parents for New Years Eve / Late Christmas. It was fun and involved a lot of eating. Sarah and I are trying to lose a few pounds in the coming months before the wedding. This includes any weight we gained during the Holiday and some extra.

I also ended up paying my car off with money I saved from work and gift money for Christmas. I now have zero debt (as soon as the slow a$$ credit union processes the payment I sent them a week ago), which feels great. I wanted to get rid of all debt and maximize my savings for the future and for the house we are going to get. Mortgage payments will likely be way less than our rent payment at the moment, provided we can put down a big enough down payment.

My exercise and diet will likely continue the same as it was last year. I honestly have not put a ton of thought into a new plan for 2018. Other than the fact that I will reduce my calories and stop having so many cheat days on the weekends. I got Sarah to finally start tracking calories. Since she is so small to begin with, she has less “error calories” to play with and needs to be more strict to see results.

Journal Entry 251 -Weekly Update

Weekly Update

A big snow storm last weekend canceled my trip to Chicago. We tried to rebook the flights 4 times, but all of them were canceled. I watched the airport website periodically through the day to see what time the flights started to take off and it wasn’t til about 7:30 PM before the first flight left from Richmond. Although, even if the flights didn’t get canceled, I still wouldn’t have been able to get to the airport. The Giants ended up getting destroyed by the Packers so I really didn’t miss much. I also didn’t have to freeze to death in Wisconsin as I watched my favorite team’s season came to abrupt end. So there was some positive to the whole situation.

I ended up spending the weekend with Sarah snowed in. We didn’t go anywhere all weekend, except the gym, which we can walk to her from her apartment. I just ended up doing some cardio. Considering we couldn’t really go get food, we basically cooked all of our meals. I think it’s the most cooking we have done in a long time. I didn’t mind at all being snowed in. It was relaxing to just to stay in and not go anywhere. Especially with my favorite person ;).

I did a leg workout for the first time in a long last week. My legs hurt so bad I could barely walk down the steps. Going on a decline hurt worse than going on an incline. I also had a hardtime even standing up from the couch. I was somehow able to do cardio pretty easily though and the cardio actually helped to recover my legs quicker than complete rest.

This week my setup was the same as the previous 3 weeks, but I missed my leg day on Wednesday this week. Sarah and I had to go sign an application for a new apartment, which we will be moving into in a couple of weeks. Really can’t wait for that. I decided to skip leg day though after that brutal aftermath of my last one.

My setup this week was:

  • Monday – Chest / Tris
  • Tuesday – Back / Bis
  • Wednesday – Cardio (Morning)
  • Thursday – Push (Shoulder focus)
  • Friday – Pull
  • Saturday – Cardio / Abs
  • Sunday – Cardio

Strength was good most days, although a couple of workouts I felt gassed out very quick. I have only done cardio 3 days a week too.

Next week I plan on doing 2-3 miles cardio every morning (30 minutes max) and then lifting at lunch. I want to work on increasing my speed (MPH) when running, so I think I’m going to cap it to a 2 mile run and just slowly increase speed each day.

Still been taking the moderation approach. Calories still in the 2000-2500 calorie range. Protein has been lower recently at around 120-140grams. I used to average in the 180-200gram range. Carbs have been in the moderate range of 150-250grams. Fat is usually around 50-70 grams, but usually in the mid 60’s. Nothing has really been off limits. Panda Express and Chipotle are probably my two new favorite places to eat.

Journal Entry 250 – Holiday Break

My first post in almost 3 weeks due to the Holidays. I’m also going to Chicago this weekend and then driving to the Packers vs Giants game on Sunday for the playoffs. My brother is a Packers fan and I’m a Giants fan, so the game should be very interesting. I have a feeling it will be very close. The temperature should be about 5 degrees, so I can’t wait for that. (sarcasm)

These past few weeks have featured a LOT of overeating on all kinds of crappy food. I’m almost glad the hectic holiday season is over, so I can get back on track and ditch some of the excess weight I have accumulated. I have what I consider to be a very good plan going forward and it’s the most organized I have been in terms of routine in about a year. I really wanted to create something that was basic and very simple in terms of programming.

My plan is as follows:

  • Monday – Chest/ Tri
  • Tuesday – Back/ Bi
  • Wednesday – Shoulders/Traps – AM Cardio
  • Thursday – Legs/Abs
  • Friday – Arms
  • Saturday – Cardio – Abs
  • Sunday – Cardio –  Abs

This is the basic layout. I will lift every weekday on my lunch break. I have been doing this for 2 weeks and really enjoying it. I drive to the gym and change (10 minutes), lift for 40 minutes then change and head back to work (10 minutes) and get done easily in an hour. By lifting with only two muscles I can easily finish in 40 minutes. I also do no cardio before to minimize sweating, so that I do not need a shower. I do not want to get rid of all cardio though and plan to do it 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes. During the week I plan to do it once on Wednesday in the morning and 2 times over the weekend, when I’m resting from lifting weights. I’m really looking forward to this setup and I honestly plan on keeping it for the entire year. And yes it’s a Bro split, but many use these with great success contrary to new research saying it’s very ineffective. Anecdotal evidence shows otherwise.

My goal this year is very simple; keep getting stronger with key lifts and keep my routine simple and consistent. I want to gain muscle and keep fat gains low consistently throughout the year.

As for nutrition, I plan to monitor gym performance and go from there. I do plan on eating less protein this year, because I think I always overdo it, but other than that my diet will be very balanced overall and not excessively high or low in calories. It will also include a lot of vegetables.

I also plan on maintaining consistent supplementation this year:

  • 3g of fish oil per day
  • 5000IU Vitamin D
  • 5g Creatine Monohydrate
  • Animal joint supplement (as needed)

Journal Entry 246 – I’m Engaged!

I got engaged to my girlfriend Sarah last night! This is something we had talked about for awhile, but I wanted to do it before the Holiday’s and before we moved in together. I had the luxury of meeting her family multiple times(which is much bigger and closer than mine) and she has met my parents several times. We were practically living together now anyway, as I would stay at her place half the week and she would stay at mine. I’m really looking forward to starting our life together and just have to stick it out for a couple of months until we get our own place. Depending on where we move I may change gyms, but not sure yet. I love Golds, but there’s a chance that a huge ACAC may be right next to where we live and since I workout in the morning it would be within walking distance.

In terms of training and eating, my weight has been higher on the scale than I would like to be. I weighed in at very high 180lbs earlier this week. I think this is due to my training, to be honest. I also had a BIG eating weekend last weekend, but my training could also use some work. I love making strength gains, but I hate waiting 2 minutes between sets and the neural fatigue that comes with heavy weights. Sometimes it’s hard to motivate myself to go to the gym. Neural fatigue does not mean strength and size gains. Your muscles are well equipped to take a beating, but neural fatigue just makes your body tire not your muscles. I love the rush of moving and sweating when I workout. Going to the gym for an hour and sitting on the bench to lift a heavy a** weight for 5 reps is really losing its luster for me. I do plan to include some heavy sets of barbell bench once or twice a week, but I will probably superset this with a back move and get back to my higher rep training. I will admit even though my strength wasn’t going up when I was doing my lift everyday experiment, my size gains did appear to be way better. I could also eat with reckless abandon and it just didn’t seem to negatively affect me.

So I plan on moving into a daily lifting plan with higher reps and smaller rest periods. Also, I want to run 1-2 miles before each workout. I have been sticking to 6 mph, but I think I’m going to increase this to a 7-8mph to get my speed up. I was talking to someone at work who ran a marathon in 3 hours and 30 minutes, which he said was about 8 mins a mile. That was shocking to me. 8 mph is not easy and to maintain that for an entire marathon is very impressive. I always liked running and was pretty good at it, so I’m definitely keeping running in my workouts. I may take a couple days off from lifting and do some long runs, but I will play that by ear. I also like the luxury of lifting from whatever gym I’m at instead of feeling forced to go to Gold’s to lift heavy wieghts. Sarah’s gym is WIDE OPEN in the morning before work. There is like a max of one person in there and they are usually on the treadmill. An open gym is like a playground for me. It just instantly puts me in a good mood.

As for eating, I don’t plan on changing that much to be honest. Still largely winging it, but I like eating a lot and putting into good use in the gym. The heavy training (at least only heavy training) wasn’t having the effects I was planning for on nutrient partitioning and I just seemed to be gaining body fat.

Journal Entry 244 – Getting Organized

First week of the regular schedule. The first two days I went to the gym after work and hit the gym around 6:15. Monday wasn’t bad at all and I was shocked. Then I realized it was Halloween and lot of people were with their kids. Tuesday night came and it was PACKED. My workout was still good though because all I did was cardio that day anyway. On Wednesday, I had dinner plans at 730 PM so the gym wasn’t really an option because I had to shower after and I wouldn’t have time. So I got up at 645 AM and there was like 10 people in the entire gym. So I think I found the time I plan on going. My strength was fine early in the morning, but I did do some cardio to heat up my body temperature and loosen up the joints.

I plan the schedule to look like this:

  • Monday – Cardio
  • Tuesday –  Push
  • Wednesday – Pull
  • Thursday – Cardio
  • Friday – Cardio
  • Saturday – Push
  • Sunday – Pull

As for my lifts, Barbell Bench is up to 195lbs already from 185lbs. I’m touching the bar all the way to my chest for better form and range of motion. I got 5, 5, 4, 4 reps with 195lbs last Push workout. Pull workout I got the 115lb Db’s for 5, 5, 4, 3. I dont remember ever breaking the 115lbs with this exercise so looking forward to the 120s.

Cardio is a steady state jog for 40-50 minutes. On days I know I’m going to eat a ton and those days happen to fall on non-lifting days, I will also throw in some high rep (20 reps) depletion work on the machines. I also do 10-15 minutes of running before each lifting day.

Diet is as follows:

  • Supplements before work with a can of spinach
  • Meal 1 – Coffee > Protein Pudding/ Berries >Lenny and Larry Cookie (small size)
    • (400 cals – 30 grams of protein)
  • Meal 2 – Bag of Rice Cakes or Pop Chips (usually change the flavors up)> Protein Bar
    • (550 calories and – 25 grams of protein)
  • Totals around 1000 calories and 55 grams of protein at this point
  • Meal 3 – Lifting Days
    • Pretty much anything I want for around 1000-1300 calories
      • Chipotle helps a lot with this. So much customization options to hit the amount you want. It also tastes phenomenal and it really affordable for the food you get.
  • Meal 3 – Cardio Day
    • Pretty much anything for around 800-1000 calories
  • Meal 4 – Usually protein pudding, cottage cheese or ice cream
    • 100-200 calories
  • Totals – Lifting Days – 2500+ calories / Cardio Days – 2000 calories

So my diet is structured during the day because I find it keeps my hunger at bay nicely. Then very flexible at night, because I can pretty much eat anything I want. I usually go to Chipotle, but I may start throwing in small pizzas and subs as well. These tend to be loaded with protein, carbs and fat, which is what I want at that point. Macros are very balanced at the moment. Protein is around 120-140 grams, carbs is close to double that and fat is around 60-70 grams most days.

Journal Entry 243 -Push/Pull

So this was the first week, I finally got back to a normal routine. I’m doing a 4 day Push / Pull split with two heavy benching sessions each day. DB rows are my heavy move for Pull. Here is the routine:

  • Day 1 – Push
    • BB bench 4x 4-6 reps
    • Inc DB Bench 45 degrees 4x 6-8 reps
    • DB Shoulder Press 3×8-10 reps
    • Ez Skull Crushers 3×8-12
  • Day 2 – Pull
    • DB Rows 4×4-6 reps
    • Chinups 4xMAX (with bodyweight)
    • Cable Rows 3×8-10 reps
    • Db Curl 3×10 reps
  • Day 3 – Push
    • BB bench 4x 4-6 reps
    • Inc DB Bench 30 degrees 4x 6-8 reps
    • Dips 3×8-10 reps
    • Ez Skull Crushers 3×8-12
  • Day 4 – Pull
    • Db Rows 4×4-6 reps
    • Netural grip chinups 4xMax with bodyweight
    • Smith Machine Shrugs 3×10
    • EZ curls 3×10

That is it. Very simple on paper, but very demanding in the gym. I also allow myself one move at the end of the workout to do whatever I want. This is usually abs, lateral raises, rear delt raises or flys. It just kind of depends on what I’m feeling. I already got my bench up to 190lbs after stagnating on 185lbs. I really want to increase this a lot over the coming months. I also really enjoy heavy benching twice a week. Once just isn’t enough and more than two is overkill. Its time I moved back into what has been shown to work for gains in strength in size for intermediate lifters like myself. I was also very sore after every one of these workouts. I also do cardio on the other days, which is usually just an easy jog on the treadmill for 30 minutes to an hour. I also run 1-2 miles before each lifting day to fire me up.

I’m moving back to a 9-6 shift Monday through Friday. I’m not sure of the exact days I will do this routine, but it will be done at some point during the week. Either way I will go to the gym everyday. I will more than likely go after work though and battle the crowds. This way I can feast at night and take advantage of nutrient partitioning. I will probably lift 3-4 days during the week and maybe once on the weekend. I actually like running on the weekends, because I can just sit there and watch football while I’m doing it. Makes time go by a lot faster.

Been taking my creatine and I already notice a very positive difference. Food is (and will be) structured during the week with the post I wrote about last week. Dinner will be a very large meal that I will probably buy out. Chipotle will be a main stay and I will probably just buy less groceries to counteract the cost, which is very fairly priced based on the food you get. I will also probably get some steak and cheese subs, which have about 1000 calories and good balanced between carbs, fats and protein. I’ve been eating a lot of Halo Top, which tastes amazing, but its also pretty expensive, so I will probably switch to more normal ice cream.

Journal Entry 242 – New Shift

Starting on the 31st of this month, I have been told my hours are going back to 9-6 Monday – Friday. This has several advantages from a lifestyle standpoint with my girlfriend, because I will get to see her every night. It does prevent an interesting challenge for the gym though. I wrote last weeks post undecided on what I was going to do and I can honestly still tell you I don’t know haha. I will either have to go early in the morning waking up about 7 or after I get off work at 6 PM. I prefer the night approach as of right now because after making a list of pros and cons, the night shift has more positives. The only huge negative of the night shift is the amount of people that will be in the gym at that time. This makes certain exercises very hard to do. The main problem with the morning shift though is I hate the feeling of being rushed in the gym and the only way to avoid this is to wake up really early. Then I feel like I’m forcing myself to get up, when I don’t want to. I also feel the night before I have to go to bed super early, so that I don’t wake up extremely tired. With the night shift I can avoid this by simply getting up at 8 AM or so and just go to bed by 12 AM. This still gives 8 hours of sleep and I can just hit the gym later in the day when I’m more awake. I can also schedule my dinner to be the postworkout period, which I plan on having a huge feast at this time.

Since I will be doing this schedule 5 times a week, I actually have figured out an eating plan that I plan to do with this setup. Basically a modified intermittent fasting plan, that I think will work very well. It’s also very simple:

  • Wake up – 8AM – Coffee
  • Meal 1 –  10 AM – Protein Pudding with berries – 200 calories
  • Meal 2 – 12 AM – Coffee and Quest Bar – 200 calories
  • Meal 3 – 2 PM – 1 bag of Popchips Ridges and Diet Coke – 350 calories
  • Totals 750 calories
  • Workout 6:20 PM – 7:30 PM
  • Meal 4 – 8 PM – 12 AM – Dinner / Postworkout Feast (Mixed Carbs, Fats and Protein) 1000-2000 calories

So no matter what I’m doing in the gym (workout wise) this will likely be the way I eat during the day. As for the feast at night, it will vary probably every day. This is what I call having structure, but also a lot of flexibility. I tend to snack during the day, so that bag of Popchips can last me awhile and kind of fuels me while I work. I also really like having something salty around lunch and I’m trying to avoid meal prep and preparing food during the day, so this is a really good alternative. Also I’m getting about 50 grams of protein during the day, so if there is any advantage of “stoking protein synthesis” then it will be taken care of. The only days this layout wont be in place is on Saturday and Sunday, but that calories will be similar.

As for workout, I have some ideas running through my head, but I don’t want to update the blog until I know for sure that’s what I’m doing. It will include a lot of barbell benching though ;).

Also I want to do a supplement update that I haven’t done in awhile:

  • 5 grams of Creatine Monohydrate
  • 5000 IU of Vitamin D
  • 1 Digestive Enzyme
  • Food Staples daily:
    • 1 can of leaf spinach (for magnesium and many other micros)
    • 3 eggs a day (eaten at anytime during day – for micros)
    • 1 bag of broccoli (micros)


text:
The Mighty Girl Mighty Kit is a downloadable printable kit for creative girls aged 7-12 with enough art power and girl power to bust the boredom blues!

Nobody likes to be bored especially creative girls who deserve fun activities that engage and inspire them to create happily and independently

Mighty Girl Mighty Kit Product

If you don’t have a game plan your summer is going to sound like this…

I'm bored speech bubble
There's nothing to do speech bubble
Whatever speech bubble

Stop boredom right in it’s tracks and make this summer her best summer with the FREE Mighty Girl Mighty Summer Kit.

Here's What's In The Kit

What's so special about the Mighty Girl Mighty Kit?

It's girl empowerment through art!

Hey mamma!

Boredom is no fun for anyone especially on holidays. Creative girls need fun activities that keep them engaged, happy and doing what they love most which is to create.

I’m an art teacher, life coach and tween expert and wth more than 30 years of experience I’ve found that art is my greatest coaching tool to empower girls to believe in themselves. The Mighty Girl Mighty Kit is the first step for girl empowerment!

A girl who believes in herself is unstoppable and that’s exactly what I want for your daughter.

Alejandra ChavezCreator of Mighty Girl Mighty Life

Read about Mighty Girl Mighty Life

Mighty Girl Mighty Life Logo

Mighty Girl Mighty Life is a unique and fun girl empowerment program that uses art to engage and inspire girls ages 7-12 to be happier and more confident in themselves.

© Mighty Girl Mighty Life 2020 - All rights reserved.
Scroll to Top


text:
Mighty Men of Mouse

The first half of this week's episode is the boys taking on the Listener Interaction Satchel.  Topics include child sleep and Len, Victoria and Albert's, signature cocktails, more bar ideas, difficulties booking DVC, chafing again, and Dylan McDermott.  The second topic is $40/day at Downtown Disney.  Dutch has an anger-fueled Backpage.  We answered questions from the following listeners:

Direct download: MMOM_Episode_0133.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:00am EDT

Adding comments is not available at this time.


text:
Betrayed: An Open Letter to the Church

As many of you know, I have been writing and posting on this blog since 2006 and CRN since 2007. Over the years we have covered the “Great Downgrade” going on in the visible Church in the U.S. trying to put the pieces together. The following article is a long one, but well worth reading. Man, it took me back. Those names are the same ones we have been covering from the beginning. Even so, there are so many today who don’t want to believe that their favorite Christian leader is part of the Downgrade. Well, read it and then pray about it and ask God what to do.

Betrayed: An Open Letter to the Church

3 thoughts on “Betrayed: An Open Letter to the Church

  1. I was deceived until about 11 years ago, and then Christ “woke” me up to this demonic movement. Unfortunately, I fear that in the next decade, our society and our supposed to “brothers” will shut us up and shut us down, as God turns people over to the delusion.

    He’s right, we must proclaim the true Gosoel and denounce the false teachers, or we have no chance.

Comments are closed.


text:
Karolina Figura

Karolina Figura is a licensed legal advisor (radca prawny), resident director of the firm’s Wrocław office. She graduated from Wrocław University, Faculty of Law, Administration and Economy in 2006. She has broad experience in providing legal assistance to companies. She provides legal advice to Miller Canfield’s Polish and foreign clients in matters relating to their business activities, starting from establishing a company, through day-to-day legal support, and in case of winding-up – assistance in liquidation proceedings. Ms. Karolina Figura specializes in matters relating to business and civil law, including contract, labor as well as administrative law. She also represents clients in litigation proceedings before the common and administrative courts and arbitration panels. She is fluent in English, speaks also German.


text:
Ohana Tenor TK-15WG Laminate Willow Ukulele m728

  • $169.00
    Unit price per
Shipping calculated at checkout.

If you want the stability of a laminate, with the quality of an Ohana, with a beautiful wood-grain, then this ukulele is for you! It is beautiful and well made!  All Ohanas have great frets, a good build, and are an amazing value for your money! This one will have a nice full and loud sound with great projection but will not be effected by humidity and temperature changes as much as an all-solid ukulele will! And did I mention it is beautiful! It is a great looking ukulele with a great feel and playability. Great for the beginner, or someone looking to add to their ukulele collection.  It will be set up with low and comfortable action!

• Willow Wood Top, Back & Sides
• Rosewood Fretboard & Bridge
• Sound-hole Rosette in Ribbon Style
• Pearloid Dot Inlay Markers on Frets # 5, 7, 10, 12 & 15
• Closed Chrome Geared Tuners
• Aquila Strings
• Gloss Finish
• 14 Frets to Body; Total 19 Frets
• Scale Length = 17”
• Body Length = 12”
• Overall Length = 26-1/2”
• Upper Bout Width = 6-1/2”
• Lower Bout Width = 9”
• Body Height = 2-11/16”
• Overall Body Height = 3-3/16” (including bridge & saddle)
• Nut Width = 1-7/16”

*International Buyers – Please Note:

Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.

Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.


text:
A RESTful API service may throw exception in many cases. It’s important to handle them properly, so that we can provide a right HTTP response to the client, in particular a right status code (4xx or 5xx errors) and a correct entity. In this article, we will focus on « Exception Mapper », understand it’s mechanism in regards to exceptions.

After reading this article, you will understand:

  • What is an exception mapper?
  • How to declare an exception mapper in JAX-RS application?
  • Exceptions matching mechanism
  • When exception mapper throws an exception…

As usual, the source code is available for free on GitHub as mincong-h/jaxrs-2.x-demo. You can install and run the demo as following:

~ $ git clone https://github.com/mincong-h/jaxrs-2.x-demo.git
~ $ cd jaxrs-2.x-demo/exception
exception $ mvn clean install
exception $ java -jar target/exception-1.0-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar

Exception Mapper

Before talking about exception mapper, we first need to understand the concept of provider. Providers in JAX-RS are responsible for various cross-cutting concerns such as filtering requests, converting representations into Java objects, mapping exceptions to responses, etc. By default, a single instance of each provider class is instantiated for each JAX-RS application, aka singletons.

Interface ExceptionMapper<E extends Throwable> defines a contract for a provider that maps Java exceptions E to Response. Same as other providers, exception mappers can be either pre-packaged in the JAX-RS runtime or supplied by an application. In order to create your own exception mapper, you need to create a class which implements interface ExceptionMapper. Here’s an example for mapping ExceptionA in your application:

package io.mincong.demo;

import javax.ws.rs.core.Response;
import javax.ws.rs.ext.ExceptionMapper;

public class MapperA implements ExceptionMapper<ExceptionA> {

  public Response toResponse(ExceptionA ex) {
    return Response.status(400)
        .entity("Mapper A: " + ex.getMessage())

When an exception of type ExceptionA thrown by a JAX-RS resource, this exception mapper can catch the exception and transform it into a HTTP 400 response, with the origin exception message as entity.

Exercise time: given the following JAX-RS resource method newExceptionA1(), use command line tool cUrl to observe the HTTP response and verify the exception mapping.

public Response newExceptionA() {
  throw new ExceptionA("Exception A");

Command cUrl in terminal:

$ curl -i http://localhost:8080/a
HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
Content-Type: text/plain
Connection: close
Content-Length: 21

Mapper A: Exception A

So we successfully verified that MapperA is used for handling ExceptionA coming from resource method.

Declare Exception Mapper in JAX-RS Application

Providers implementing ExceptionMapper contract must be either programmatically registered in a JAX-RS runtime or must be annotated with @Provider annotation to be automatically discovered by the JAX-RS runtime during a provider scanning phase.

Programmatically registered example. In JAX-RS application “MyApplication”, add exception mapper “MapperA” as a singleton. Now, Mapper A is programmatically registered in a JAX-RS runtime.

package io.mincong.demo;

import java.util.HashSet;
import java.util.Set;
import javax.ws.rs.core.Application;

public class MyApplication extends Application {

  public Set<Object> getSingletons() {
    Set<Object> set = new HashSet<>();
    set.add(new MapperA());
    return set;

Automatic discovery example. Add @Provider annotation to Mapper A, so that it can be automatically discovered by the JAX-RS runtime during a provider scanning phase:

import javax.ws.rs.ext.Provider;

public class MapperA implements ExceptionMapper<ExceptionA> {

Exception Mapping Mechanism

Exception mapping providers map a checked or runtime exception to an instance of Response. When choosing an exception mapping provider to map an exception, JAX-RS implementation (e.g. Jersey) use the provider whose generic type is the nearest superclass of the exception. If two or more exception providers are applicable, the one with the highest priority will be chosen. (Spec §4.4)

Mapping = nearest superclass + highest priority

For example, in our demo, 2 exception mappers are available:

  • MapperA for mapping all exceptions of class ExceptionA or its sub-classes
  • MapperA1 for mapping all exceptions of class ExceptionA1 or its sub-classes, where ExceptionA1 is a child class of ExceptionA

and the following exceptions:

└── java.lang.RuntimeException
    └── io.mincong.demo.ExceptionA
        ├── io.mincong.demo.ExceptionA1
        └── io.mincong.demo.ExceptionA2

The mapping will behave as the table below:

Exception Mapper A1 Mapper A General Mapper
ExceptionA1 x
ExceptionA2   x
ExceptionA   x
RuntimeException     x
Exception     x

Is is possible to have infinite loop when handling exception?

According to Spec §4.4 Exception Mapping Providers, JAX-RS implementations use a single exception mapper during the processing of a request and its corresponding response. So this should never happen.

A Failing Exception Mapper

What will happen if exception mapper throws an exception?

If an exception mapping provider throws an exception while creating a Response then, then a server error (status code 500) response is returned to the client (Spec §3.3.4 Exceptions).

We can verify it using the following resource method and exception mapper:

public Response newFooException() {
  throw new FooException();
public class FailingExceptionMapper
    implements ExceptionMapper<FooException> {

  public Response toResponse(FooException exception) {
    throw new IllegalStateException();

Verify using cUrl in terminal:

$ curl -i http://localhost:8080/failing
HTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error
Connection: close
Content-Length: 0

We can see the response is 500. And the following stack trace can be observed in the server log:

Dec 03, 2018 9:46:47 PM org.glassfish.jersey.server.ServerRuntime$Responder mapException
SEVERE: An exception was not mapped due to exception mapper failure. The HTTP 500 response will be returned.
	at io.mincong.demo.DemoResource.newFooException(DemoResource.java:38)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
	at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
	at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498)

In this article, we learnt the definition of exception mapper, how to register it in JAX-RS application (programmatically or via annotation). We’ve also seen the matching mechanism (nearest-superclass). At the end, we verified that a failing provider is handled by JAX-RS implementation.

As usual, the source code is available for free on GitHub as mincong-h/jaxrs-2.x-demo. Feel free to download it and give it a try. Hope you enjoy this article, see you the next time!


text:
2 min readDisease-Causing Nibbling Amoeba Hides by Displaying Proteins from Host Cells

Davis, CA — A parasitic amoeba that causes severe gut disease in humans protects itself from attack by biting off pieces of host cells and putting their proteins on its own surface, according to a study by microbiologists at the University of California, Davis.

“We’re very excited about how this ties into amoebic infection and into broader themes in cell biology,” said Katherine Ralston, assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, College of Biological Sciences. A paper describing the work appears today (April 30) in the journal mBio

Entamoeba histolytica causes severe diarrheal disease, mainly in tropical countries. It lives in the gut, causing ulcers and bleeding. In severe cases it can break out and invade other organs.

Ralston studied Entamoeba during postdoctoral work at the University of Virginia. Amoebae and many other cells — including some that protect us from disease — are known to “eat” other cells by engulfing them completely, a process called phagocytosis.

Ralston discovered that Entamoeba could also pinch off small pieces of human cells. She called this process trogocytosis or “cell nibbling.”

“The amoeba quite literally takes bites out of other cells,” Ralston said. “This nibbling is how it attacks individual cells, and we think this is how it causes ulceration and damage to the human intestine.”

Cell nibbling has also been described in other parasitic amoebae — and also in multicellular organisms. Immune system cells, for example, can swap pieces of their surface with each other by biting them off.

“We thought that if amoebae can take proteins from host cells and put them on their own surface this would have a functional effect on how they survive in the body,” said graduate student Hannah Miller.

Camouflage from complement

The body produces a set of proteins in the blood, called “complement,” that can attack parasites and bacteria. Your own cells carry proteins that prevent them from being attacked by complement.

Miller, Ralston and Rene Suleiman, another graduate student in the lab, found that when the amoebae were put in contact with human cells, they could take these protective proteins and put them on as a sort of “complement camouflage.” Regular Entamoebae were killed by human serum, but amoebae that had camouflaged themselves survived.

This camouflage could protect them from complement as they migrate through the blood around the body, Miller said.

Miller and Ralston are now working to understand which proteins are transferred, how they interact with complement and what happens to these proteins after they are nibbled off another cell. Do they go straight into the amoeba’s membrane, or are they processed internally first?

They also want to know more about trogocytosis in general. Why are some cases benign, but others lead to cell death? The process may also be important for understanding behavior of cancer cells and how they can be killed.

“We’re really excited that this decoration with acquired proteins might apply to trogocytosis in general, because we’re realizing that it’s important in so many contexts,” Ralston said.

Article adapted from a University of California, Davis news release.

Publication: Trogocytosis by Entamoeba histolytica Mediates Acquisition and Display of Human Cell Membrane Proteins and Evasion of Lysis by Human Serum. Miller, HW et al. mBio (April 30, 2019): Click here to view.

amoeba, Entamoeba histolytica, gut disease

Leave a Reply

© Mindzilla. All rights reserved.


text:
LINCS II control and monitoring system highlights:

  • Controls loader functions
  • Monitors vital operating parameters and gives real-time feedback
  • Transmits data for remote collection
  • Offers live data and troubleshooting ability
  • Enhances operational safety

The LINCS II network control system is designed to help operators meet the challenges of even the most demanding surface mining applications. The dash-mounted interactive touch screen displays:

  • Instant, real-time feedback, with a wealth of information to adjust performance according to conditions
  • Vital statistics, such as bucket height and angle, individual bucket payload, cumulative truck loads, elapsed time per loading cycle, total tons moved, available fuel, vehicle speed, coolant temp, etc.
  • An easy-to-interpret graphical format that can be easily configured to meet personal preferences

In addition, LINCS II increases safety by preventing the operator from executing inappropriate commands. For example, LINCS II will prohibit lifting loads that are beyond the safe loading weight. LINCS II then explains, via the interactive screen, which allows the operator to take immediate corrective action without confusion or wasted effort.

Color-coded alarms

Alarms and warnings are color-coded to reinforce urgency levels:

  • Red alarms indicate that something has failed that could result in catastrophic damage or personal injury
  • Yellow warnings indicate something that affects how the machine performs has failed or is out of tolerance
  • Blue preventive maintenance alerts indicate something is out of tolerance and should be repaired or replaced at the next scheduled PM

Fully-contained system

The system is fully contained in a low-voltage control cabinet, which acts as a centralized location for all I/O between the system and the equipment.

Key functionality access

The operator keypad allows immediate access to key functionality:

  • Alternate height setting
  • Return to dig target
  • Drive state (low, medium, high throttle)
  • Engine RPM setting (low, medium, high)
  • Manual lube
  • Alternate motor torque
  • Alternate motor speed

Integrated support software

In addition, the integrated support software offers the following tools:

  • Service tool: transfers updates and restore points back to the equipment when necessary
  • eLETROchart: shows the current status as well as the performance history recorded by each sensor
  • Log viewer: displays all load information, warnings, and alarms in log format
  • Remote monitoring: allows complete LINCS-related monitoring from a remote location
  • LINCS diagnostics: shows detailed information about each logged warning and alarm

Compatible with other monitoring systems

The LINCS II control system also interacts with the PreVail remote health management (RHM) system, using the powerful communication, command, and control capabilities to transform data and information into more refined knowledge of great value to your operations and maintenance management teams. This knowledge can be shown through:

  • Key performance indicator (KPI) dashboards
  • Graphical analysis tools
  • Predictive modeling and reporting tools


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Tag Archive: venting

I realize my blog posts keep veering steadily toward the insane lately. You know what? It’s my goddamn blog. You don’t like it, get out. I got good reason. Wanna know why?

I went to the doctor today, after two months of having so many problems with food I cannot eat, save in small doses maybe once or twice a day. It causes me physical pain. It makes me unable to focus, unable to walk, unable to do anything. I have to plan after attempting to eat something to feel as though there is a basketball wedged under my ribs and deal with the pain that pressure causes, like it or not, because I just had to break down and eat some crackers. The audacity I have, making my stomach serve its goddamn purpose. Horrifying.

No medications help. Heat doesn’t help. Rest doesn’t help. I finally got to the Gastrointestinal Specialist today. Here’s what I learned.

1. I lost ten pounds in the past two months without trying. The look on the nurse’s face when I told her that one was impressive. “Oh fuck” is generally not an expression you want on your medical provider’s face when you tell them something.
2. None of my symptoms, surprise surprise, are anything that the doc can go “A-HA!” and diagnose.
3. In the words of my doctor: “No twenty something should be losing weight from a gastrointestinal problem. You should have an iron gut like most kids your age, and be off drinking beer and eating pizza. Not this.”
4. There is some debate in the medical community if they should continue to have pagers or just use cellphones instead (hey, I saw he had a pager, I was amazed they still existed, and we talked a bit. It made the horrible pain and sick feeling go away for a minute, so he humored me.)
5. I get to go for a endoscopy and a colonoscopy on Tuesday of next week. Most people don’t have a colonoscopy until they are 50+ years old. I’m a wee bit concerned.

Actually, no. I’m not a wee bit concerned. I’m very concerned that they don’t know what’s wrong, and that they have to do expensive fuck tests to even try to have an idea of what’s wrong. And if there are any of you paranoid fucks out there going “THEY JUST WANTCHA MONEY! DON’T DO IT!” Fuck you. Fuck you in the face with a baseball bat with a sprinkling of go to hell. When a doctor I just met is visibly distressed at what is going on, telling me that while he’s doing bloodwork, even if he finds something there we’re still doing the tests to make sure there’s nothing really really bad going on, I FUCKING LISTEN TO THEM. I’m an arrogant little shit, but I don’t pretend to have a medical degree.

I get back from all this fun and games today with some new drugs to tide me over until Tuesday and maybe make my sad little life more bearable. Then guess what? I got hit with a migraine. I tried sleeping after taking some ibuprofen and lots of fluids, it got worse. I had to grope my way to the bathroom with one hand over my eyes because I was so light sensitive, and try a hot shower because the leftover narcotics I had resorted to taking because the pain wouldn’t stop didn’t work. I’m finally okay, but nauseous and still light sensitive after that.

And guess what. Come on, guess. 😀

I have a biology test tonight. I’ve already accepted I’m going to fail it because I can’t study for fear my migraine will come back and I won’t make it to the test at all, and as they say, 30% is still better than a zero.

So, yeah. I’m worried, I’m upset, I’m trying to find my way out of my dead-end job and need to fill out things for that, I’m having tests no twenty something should be going through, I’m scared I’m going to fail this bio class and have to take it again, adding another semester onto when I’m supposed to graduate, and on top of that, I know my parents and I are sitting here looking at the fucking bills my being sick keeps racking up and going “fuck.”

This blog is my only outlet for a lot of this because I don’t want a lot of the people that know me in meatspace (thank you, @patrickcentral) to know what is going on because I don’t want to deal with that. So I’m really sorry if it gets depressing for a while.

On the upside, at least all this miserable shit will probably be sprinkled with videogame references and morbid humor?

Or, you know, if you wanted the funny-ranty to come back, you could always try esunaga. I can’t find my white mage staff at the moment.

Okay, that was forced and sad.

I’m just going to stop now.

Thanks for reading, you guys. And whoever keeps searching “I, out of musical theory, have created order out of chaos” to find my blog? Leave a comment. I’m fascinated by your existence. No, seriously. I am. Please?

… I’ll stop for real this time, now. Bye, guys. I’ll keep you posted as I can.

When Crackers Make You Cry

So, I’m sitting here angry at crackers. This is how you tell you’re way too stressed out for your own good.

I should be happy, for all intents and purposes. I’m going to see My Chemical Romance tonight, giving me an excuse to dress up, and the ticket wasn’t even on my tab– it was a gift. And yet, I almost started yelling at an inanimate object because it, though no fault of its own, kept breaking when I tried to eat it, getting crumbs all over my keyboard.

Thus, I decided to start blogging. All of that looks a hell of a lot more absurd in text than it does when I’m on the verge of tears because I seem to keep spilling everything, because I perceive my cat staring at me as I eat as her judging me (in reality the little fluff ball just wants the tuna I’m eating), and NOW the goddamn crackers won’t stay together long enough for me to eat them and finish my pathetic little fucking lunch of sadness and despair because I’m afraid to eat anything else because if my stomach is upset at the concert tonight, I will be in hell. I contemplated just not eating at all today. I have contemplated not eating all together, not just today, but for the rest of however long I can manage it, because I’m tired of feeling sick. I may be crying from hunger, but hey, done that before– and that way I won’t bloat up so much my pants hurt me! YAAAAAY!

See all of that? That makes perfect sense to me right now. You guys are probably scrambling to find my IP address so you can send someone after me to pick me up for the loony bin. And if they arrived, right now, I would invariably reason my way out of it with this fucked up logic of “Well, I just keep getting sick when I eat– I’LL JUST NOT EAT FOREVER” as though it’s possible. I am the person who whenever I cannot speak correctly and keep stumbling over my words, will physically hit myself in the head. I am not reasonable. I am not sensible. And in my fucked up world where the crackers are just crumbling all over my keyboard because the universe believes I’m too fat and shouldn’t eat anyway, it makes sense.

However, I have a solution. A sneaky secret plan that will work even against my own mind. I can never shut up when I’m upset. I just have to tell someone. So I’m telling all of you and doing it in print. Verbally, the words disappear. In print, I read back through this and go “Fucking hell. Calm down. Things are going to be fine. Vindictive crackers? Time to go watch some cute cats for a while or something, jeezus fuck.”

Suddenly, because I’m telling you, my stress level is dropping. Suddenly Ginger is just the fat little fluff ball that wants my tuna, not some horrible being going “WHY are you eating THAT?” Suddenly the crackers were just damaged in the bag, not pre-broken by some conspiracy to spite me. And suddenly, I’m just another person with a strange pseudo-IBS WTF that my doctors are trying to diagnose and my stomach is testy in the meantime, not someone who should just never ever eat again.

Suddenly, things make sense again, and the tears are of relief. If I can do this, I actually am finally getting better at all of this.

So you know what? It’s okay that I’m doing this instead of the paper due tomorrow right now. It’s okay I’m not going to get home until three– I have my report drafted out, it’s just a question of piecing things together before 12:30 P.M. tomorrow. This benefited me a fuck lot more than trying to work on that in this head state would have.

Now, I’m going to go dress up as a Killjoy, stop worrying, and pick out what crazy ass make-up I’m going to wear.

Suddenly, I’m Miss Punk Rock, star of stage and screen… And I’m never coming back.

I look back at where I’m from,
Look at the woman I’ve become,
And the strangest things seem suddenly routine…”

%d bloggers like this:


text:
Madison Heights Meijer

Self-service kiosk

  • Credit Card
  • Debit Card

1005 E. 13 Mile Rd.
Madison Heights, MI 48071

Find another station near me.

Self-service Station available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Located inside the Madison Heights Meijer, the Michigan SELF-SERVICE STATION is a fast, easy way to renew vehicle registrations and license plate tabs and print them on the spot.

Simply scan the barcode on your renewal notice or type your license plate number and the last four digits of your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the touchscreen.

The ATM-like machine will accept your payment and print your registration and license plate tab on the spot!

Note: You may renew, but not print, watercraft registration renewals at the station. The registration will be mailed to your address on file. The registration will arrive within 14 business days.

Renew. Print. Go!


text:
Enchanted By Ella [Pinup Girl Clothing]

The Pinup Girl Clothing Ella dress was first released last year, named after  super PUG customer and gorgeous blogger Miss Victory Violet. It originally came in three colourways, pink, yellow, and blue. Neither colour really spoke to me, so I wrote it off as a pretty dress that wasn’t for me…Until my darling friend Sarah Forshaw got it and I saw these amazing pictures of her in it.

I mean, apart from taking the time to be stunned by how goddamn gorgeous my friend is, it was a wake up call that a dark red lip and dark hair looks beautiful paired with the vibrant blue of this dress, and hello, I have dark hair and love a rich red lip! And while Sarah is more olive of skin than my pale self is, I knew it would work with my skintone too. It was official: it was being placed upon my wishlist. I put this dress into my basket twice on PUG orders after making that Must Have It decision, then wussed out and removed it from my basket both times when my total purchase value ran too high. After that second time of bottling out I realised I had deep No Purchase regrets and I resolved that it would be a dress that I bought in May as a birthday gift. It stayed in my basket for several weeks until March when I decided I would buy it asap anyway, damn waiting for my birthday! The day after deciding this I went to place my next PUG order…and it was gone. Out of stock.

Total wardrobe devastation. My friend Giselle inquired on the PUG Facebook page whether this dress would be restocked soon, only for Team PUG member Ali to inform her that this style and colourway wasn’t due to be restocked into Spring 2016. I messaged my friends repeatedly about how sad I was about this for the next couple days. Literally. Luckily as huge PUG fans themselves they understood my obnoxiously fixated devastation and put up with me (thanks Sarah and Giselle, you babes get me!)

Pinup Girl Clothing Ella Dress Mary Blair Wonderland

This has forever taught me not to leave a dress you love to be purchased until a more ‘sensible’ time, so if there’s one thing I want you to take away from this post, it’s that (Enabler you say, me? Never.) Secondly, though, the Ella dresses are being released this spring in several new prints. Brand new to the Ella selection are two just released dresses featuring Mary Blair artwork in the Lips and Roses prints in both Lavender and Pink, as well as the Wonderland print featuring artwork by Stephanie Buscema.

But, wait, Amy, if this dress was out of stock how did you find it in order to review it? Apart from posting requests for help on the PUG Style Pinups FB page and website, as well as in the Looking for on the PUG Swap/Sell FB page, I also scoured eBay and all online stockists I could find, which, actually, wasn’t that many, because as anyone who’s ever googled a PUG item will know is that you end up with a lot of Pinterest search results and an infuriatingly small number of shop pages. I found it on Retroglam in the next size up, thinking I would have it taken in, and was thrilled it was available 15% off, but a few days later I received an email saying they had oversold and it wasn’t available. In the end a member of the PUG Style Pinups FB page posted about German website LuckyLola.de, mentioning that it had a lot of hard to get hold of PUG styles in stock, including some on sale. I had a quick look mostly to see how many were included in this sale that was mentioned, only to find my Blue Ella available in L. Using Google Chrome’s translate feature I was able to purchase my dress and had it in my little hands a few days later. So, behold, proof that dreams come true and that this dress is beautiful!

Pinup Girl Clothing Ella Dress Pinup Girl Clothing Ella Dress Pinup Girl Clothing Ella DressPinup Girl Clothing Ella Dress Pinup Girl Clothing Ella DressPinup Girl Clothing Ella Dressella8Pinup Girl Clothing Ella Dress Pinup Girl Clothing Ella Dress Pinup Girl Clothing Ella DressPinup Girl Clothing Ella Dress

First of all, you should know this dress has pockets. That’s always one of my favourite features in a dress, rare to find though it is. Secondly, the skirt is amazing. It’s fuller than a normal circle skirt but not as gathered as the Jenny dresses/skirts, so it’s a gorgeous, full middleground for you ladies who find the Jennies too much volume on your hips. In this picture set I layered two petticoats underneath, but I could have easily worn  fuller petticoats and/or also added a third, so ample is this skirt.

The bust on this dress features a pretty grosgrain bow ribbon detail and a gathered peasant bust neckline, which is flattering on all bust sizes. It also has, as with pretty much all Pinup Girl Clothing strapped dresses, adjustable straps, allowing you to customise your fit to suit your body. I also love that this particular print has something reminiscent of peacock feathers about the design of the floral print, as I feel it looks really unique and pretty.

I’m wearing a size L, which by the size charts is suited for 30-31 inch waists. PUG L sizes run to 31 waists but the XL sizes typically begins at 33, which is always awkward for us size 32 inch waist girls like myself as it begins a guessing game. Do I size up, do I size down? My rule for PUG, personally, has been that any swing styles that have some stretch can be sized down to L. Any styles that fit my hips (pants, wiggle dresses) require I size up to an XL, as I carry my weight lower on my stomach and swing dresses can skim over this but pants and wiggles need to accommodate that it-was-delicious cake chub.

The fabric of this dress has give and the top back of the bodice has elastic to allow for an easier zippering and fit, so even though my waist is nearer 33 inches right now I still fit into the L size and didn’t feel discomfort from it. If you have a smaller bust like I do and know you fit into stretchier fabrics when sizing down slightly, you can go for the L on this dress. If you have a more generous bust and carry your weight all the way up your torso without much of a defined waist, more like a ‘trunk’ style torso even with my same waist measurements, I would suspect you might need to size into the XL.

I’m hoping this has helped any Ella newbies who have questions about this style. In case you have any further doubts, you should know this dress may possibly have cat luring powers, as shown below. If that doesn’t convince you, nothing else will.

Have you ever been heartbroken by missing out on a dress you fell in love with? Were you able to eventually find it somewhere?

7 thoughts on “Enchanted By Ella [Pinup Girl Clothing]

  1. Well…I didn’t really get into pinup fashions until 2-3 years ago, but I’ve always admired the clothing. There is a shop near my home with vintage inspired fashions and they carry many of repro brands, including PUG. A friend and I went in and we try on clothes but normally wait for a coupon code on the brand’s website to buy. There was this one: http://pinupgirlclothing.blogspot.com/2008/03/back-in-stock-rita-swing-dress-in-black.html. By the time I discovered it, it was already on final sale on the PUG website but sold out in nearly all the sizes, including mine. 😦

    The Ella dress is beautiful, I loved all the colorways and the original floral print is just gorgeous. The Mary Blair and new Stephanie Buscema Alice print are great, too. I love that it is such a feminine style, so pretty.

  2. I will search tirelessly until I hunt down the Jenny in venitian landscape. I know they’re releasing it again later this summer, but I’m impatient, and want all the pretties now! 😫

  3. Who’s your kitty friend?

    I’m still waiting for my lavender Evengeline to arrive but shortly after I purchased it I wanted to get the pink lips and roses print too, so I have my eye on that Ella.

  4. Hi Amy,
    Am I misunderstanding your post? Is the blue floral Ella due to be rereleased in the northern hemisphere’s spring? I’m living in hope that I have understood this correctly. Cheers, Tulani 🙂

Leave a Reply

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

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com 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

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


text:
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design

In 2014, Milwaukee Film recognized the critical need to elevate Black voices in film, seeing the power of film to bridge racial and cultural divides. The Black Lens program was created to entertain, educate, and engage our community through cinematic experiences. Through our Black Lens program, Milwaukee Film created a month-long series dedicated to celebrating and honoring Black History Month in 2019. This year, we seek to go even further in engaging Milwaukee’s richly diverse population with a full schedule of films and events to inspire conversation, celebration, and community.

Thursday, Feb. 6
Black Women: Both Sides of the Lens
Oriental Theatre - 6:30 p.m.

Short films directed by Black women, about Black women.

Saturday, Feb. 8
Black Women Behind the Lens
Nō Studios (1037 W McKinley Ave.)

A companion screening and conversation to our Both Sides of the Lens event, featuring local and national Black women filmmakers discussing their work in-depth.

Thursday, Feb. 13
Love & Basketball (in 35mm!)
Oriental Theatre - 6:30 p.m.

Combining sports, romance, and comedy, Gina Prince-Blythewood's epic love story starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Latham has aged well, preserving its stature as a classic depiction of intimate Black relationships on-screen.

Thursday, Feb. 20
The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion
Oriental Theatre -  6:30 p.m.

One of the most talked-about titles of the 2019 Milwaukee Film Festival, The Remix returns! As architects of hip-hop fashion, Misa Hylton and April Walker have had an incalculable cultural impact in the male-dominated world of hip-hop style since the 1980s. Their iconic looks styled in influential music videos, inspiring a generation of would-be streetwear designers.

Thursday, Feb. 27
Devil's Pie: D'Angelo
Oriental Theatre - 6:30 p.m.

Boasting two platinum-selling albums and a sold-out world tour, legendary soul singer D'Angelo vanished at the height of his career in 2000 - descending into darkness for more than a decade. This is the story of his return to the public eye after 14 years of absence.

Saturday, Feb. 29
Groove Theory and the Band Bazaar present The D'Angelo Experience
The Cooperage (822 S Water St.)

This special edition of Groove Theory, curated by musical director Tim Ricketts and The Band Bazaar, features a collection of Milwaukee's hottest bands performing the music of D'Angelo live.

The Black Lens Lounge

Following both our Feb. 13 and Feb. 20 screenings, join us at XO Cocktail Parlor (326 E Mason St.) to meet and network with other film attendees while enjoying food, drinks, and music late into the night!