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$HOT {{ '2016-03-18T13:34:14+0000' | timeago}} • Announcement

$HOT said its BoD has determined that it considers an Anbang consortium proposal to buy $HOT to be a "Superior Proposal" to $MAR's existing merger agreement with $HOT. Also, $HOT has informed $MAR that it plans to terminate merger agreement with $MAR unless $MAR and $HOT agree on revisions to their merger agreement.

User Amelita Yates {{ '2016-12-09T01:04:30+0000' | timeago}}

Guys, it’s finally official. $MSFT has closed the $LNKD acquisition. Way to go :)

User Lissie Sanders {{ '2016-12-09T00:25:25+0000' | timeago}}

$MON shares dip slightly; I wonder this is because of the environmental lawsuit filed by the Washington state against the production of PCBs.

User Irene Grennan {{ '2016-12-08T23:31:02+0000' | timeago}}

My bet is that $FR will reach $32 in the short term. It’s time it broke the 52-week high and had its fair share of growth.

User Floyd Jenks {{ '2016-12-08T23:18:11+0000' | timeago}}

Read a media report stating that good times are coming to an end for Dollar stores. If you ask me, there appears to be no cloud on the horizon and major Dollar stores like $DG and $DLTR are doing well for sure.

User Ted Owsley {{ '2016-12-08T22:55:10+0000' | timeago}}

$WYNN got bruised up by China after its decision to cut withdrawal limit in Macau ATMs. Wynn Resorts shares went down by more than 11%! Well who could have guessed that right?

$UNM {{ '2016-12-09T11:49:00+0000' | timeago}} • Announcement

$UNM said non-executive Chairman Thomas Watjen has informed its BoD of his decision to not stand for re-election at Annual Meeting in May 2017. Watjen's retirement marks the completion of a two-year leadership transition that began in 2015 when he stepped down as CEO of the company and Richard McKenney assumed the role.

$WRB {{ '2016-12-09T11:45:43+0000' | timeago}} • Announcement

$WRB appointed Miklos Kallo as president of Berkley Regional Specialty. He succeeds Paul McAuliffe, who will retire at the end of the year after 15 years of service with the company. The appointment is effective immediately.

$GVA {{ '2016-12-09T11:43:37+0000' | timeago}} • Announcement

$GVA's BoD declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.13 per common share. The dividend is payable on Jan. 13, 2017 to all shareholders of record on Dec. 30, 2016.

$TEL {{ '2016-12-09T11:42:35+0000' | timeago}} • Announcement

$TEL's BoD approved a recommendation to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.37 to $0.40 per share, for the four fiscal quarters starting in April 2017, the beginning of 3Q. The recommendation would raise annual dividend from $1.48 to $1.60 per share, and will be presented for shareholder approval at its Annual General Meeting on March 8, 2017.

$COO {{ '2016-12-09T11:25:02+0000' | timeago}} • Webcast

$COO stated that for FY17, the company expects gross margins to improve to around 64.5%, while operating margin is expected to improve to 25%. On the interest expense side, $COO expects it to be around $28MM for FY17, which includes the additional debt from the Wallace acquisition along with an assumption of 125 BP rate increase.


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$VSI {{ '2015-12-10T11:41:02+0000' | timeago}} • Announcement

$VSI said that it has closed its previously announced offering of $125MM aggregate principal amount of its 2.25% convertible senior notes due 2020. The convertible notes will bear cash interest, payable semi-annually on June 1 and Dec. 1, beginning on June 1, 2016, and will mature on Dec. 1, 2020, unless earlier repurchased or converted.

User Amelita Yates {{ '2016-12-09T01:04:30+0000' | timeago}}

Guys, it’s finally official. $MSFT has closed the $LNKD acquisition. Way to go :)

User Lissie Sanders {{ '2016-12-09T00:25:25+0000' | timeago}}

$MON shares dip slightly; I wonder this is because of the environmental lawsuit filed by the Washington state against the production of PCBs.

User Irene Grennan {{ '2016-12-08T23:31:02+0000' | timeago}}

My bet is that $FR will reach $32 in the short term. It’s time it broke the 52-week high and had its fair share of growth.

User Floyd Jenks {{ '2016-12-08T23:18:11+0000' | timeago}}

Read a media report stating that good times are coming to an end for Dollar stores. If you ask me, there appears to be no cloud on the horizon and major Dollar stores like $DG and $DLTR are doing well for sure.

User Ted Owsley {{ '2016-12-08T22:55:10+0000' | timeago}}

$WYNN got bruised up by China after its decision to cut withdrawal limit in Macau ATMs. Wynn Resorts shares went down by more than 11%! Well who could have guessed that right?

$GVA {{ '2016-12-09T11:43:37+0000' | timeago}} • Announcement

$GVA's BoD declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.13 per common share. The dividend is payable on Jan. 13, 2017 to all shareholders of record on Dec. 30, 2016.

$TEL {{ '2016-12-09T11:42:35+0000' | timeago}} • Announcement

$TEL's BoD approved a recommendation to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.37 to $0.40 per share, for the four fiscal quarters starting in April 2017, the beginning of 3Q. The recommendation would raise annual dividend from $1.48 to $1.60 per share, and will be presented for shareholder approval at its Annual General Meeting on March 8, 2017.

$COO {{ '2016-12-09T11:25:02+0000' | timeago}} • Webcast

$COO stated that for FY17, the company expects gross margins to improve to around 64.5%, while operating margin is expected to improve to 25%. On the interest expense side, $COO expects it to be around $28MM for FY17, which includes the additional debt from the Wallace acquisition along with an assumption of 125 BP rate increase.

$COO {{ '2016-12-09T11:05:33+0000' | timeago}} • Webcast

Geographically, $COO said its EMEA region posted a strong quarter in 4Q16, up 12% in constant currency. Growth was driven by Biofinity and 1-day silicone hydrogel franchise. Asia-Pacific region also had a strong quarter, up 13% in constant currency. In Japan, $COO added that its MyDay, Sphere, and Toric launch is progressing well.

$COO {{ '2016-12-09T11:02:16+0000' | timeago}} • Webcast

$COO's CooperVision segment posted strong results in all key areas of its business in 4Q16, resulting in 10% as reported & 11% constant currency revenue growth. This is the fastest CooperVision has grown in 11 qtrs. CooperSurgical also had another strong qtr. posting revenue growth of 20%, while Fertility was the highlight posting a growth of 74%.

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If You’re Interested In The Dana Loesch Vs. Breitbart Story…

December 29, 2012

I highly recommend reading the three reports by Robert Stacy McCain linked below.

I’ve stayed away from the story because I don’t know the facts and I like the people involved. Stacy McCain has managed to report the story as objectively and factually as anyone could, proving once again why his experience as a hard news man serves him so well as a blogger. There are so many historic details I forgot, such as the contentious relationship Andrew Breitbart had with Glenn Beck.

I spoke to Stacy McCain on Christmas Eve and thanked him for his reportage. While this story is disappointing for anyone who likes Dana Loesch and the Breitbart news organization, the right side of the blogosphere shouldn’t ignore it.

We’re lucky to have Stacy McCain who’s doing a great job of sorting it out.

Read these reports in order for clarity.

Dana Loesch, Indentured Servant?

Newsroom Management Training Video

Credit Where Credit Is Due: Breitbart, Beck and the Dana Loesch Lawsuit

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Title: The Smart Grid in Action: Increasing Renewable Energy Penetration
Url: http://ateec.org/the-smart-grid-in-action-increasing-renewable-energy-...
Creator: Patti, Julie Zinn
Publisher: Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center
Description: The Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center (ATEEC) provides this presentation from Julie Zinn Patti on smart grid technology. The material compares the traditional energy grid to the smart grid, looks at models in other countries and also discusses workforce development in the area of smart grid certificate programs.

Users must download this resource for viewing, which requires a free log-in. There is no cost to download the item.
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Education -- Special aspects of education -- Types of education -- Career education
Education -- Special aspects of education -- Types of education -- Vocational education (General)
Technology -- Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering -- Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
Technology -- Mechanical engineering and machinery -- Renewable energy sources
Technology -- Technology (General) -- Technical education. Technical schools
GEM Subject: Science -- Engineering
Science -- Technology
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Key Concept: Environmental engineering -- Energy sources
Date Issued: 2012-06
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iButterflies icon

iButterflies APK

147 votes, 4.6/5

The description of iButterflies

A product of Ladybird Environmental Consulting (LEC) is a series of nature based Mobile apps developed to promote nature study widely across Indian cities. This butterfly mobile app covers 50 common Indian butterfly species found in metros such as Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi and Hyderabad. The app has been developed to study climate change impact on urban biodiversity in Indian metros. Butterflies being indicator species, a seasonal variation in their sightings will provide indication whether climate change is affecting Indian Butterflies.

These mobile apps are being developed under the U.S. State Department's International Exchange Alumni programme- Alumni Innovation Engagement Fund's Project- Mobile Apps 4 Climate Change. Dr. V.Shubhalaxmi has been the sole winner from India who won the global competition wherein 1000 proposals were submitted and only 53 finalists were chosen world over. She alongwith her four team members; Dr. Swayamprabha Das, Dr. Ashutosh Richarriya, Dr. Anirban Gupta and Mr. Isaac Kehimkar have launched student citizen science programme in 10 schools of New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkatta and Mumbai. For this endeavour, they have partnered with WWF-India and Greenline.To learn more about this initiative visit our project website www.inaturewatch.org

The app is targeted towards young students who have taken fancy to gadgets such as smartphone and tablets. The idea is to engage students by use of technology and assist them in their project work which could involve documentation of local butterfly fauna. This app is also a tool for environmental educators specially teachers who sometimes do not have access to natural history resources or persons. The app brings butterfly identification of Indian Butterflies to finger tips of its users thus providing an additional tool besides an expert or field guide.

The app describes 50 common Indian species of butterflies along with their pictures, common English and Latin name, wingspan, geographical range, habitat preferences, host plants, life cycle, similar species and interesting facts if any. The language has been kept non-technical however incase of unavoidable technical words, a glossary if provided to explain these terms. Once you download, please keep updating your app as we will be improvising and rectifying some of the technical and information errors. In case you come across a butterfly which is not available in this app, we have provided list of books and online resources wherein you could get your butterfly identified. Happy Butterflying!

This app is a brainchild of Dr.V.Shubhalaxmi so saw the gap between learner and educator, plus apathy towards environment by urban people. Having worked for BNHS for 21 years, she left to start her own social enterprise- Ladybird Environmental Consulting . Her company specializes in environmental CSR. To learn more visit her website www.ladybirdconsulting.co.in.

This app is a hard work of 37 people who worked on it besides the principal content developers; Mr. Isaac Kehimkar and Dr. V.Shubhalaxmi, the creative team of LycodonFx did an excellent job of converting a dream idea into a reality. In the domain of environment there are very few vendors who are equipped with natural history know how and product execution. This regard LycodonFx is highly recommended to all those who wish to develop new environmental products. Visit their website www.lycodonfx.com and see for yourself.

Copyright (C) 2015. All rights reserved with Ladybird Environmental Consulting. Any reproduction of any part of the mobile apps in print/electronic without appropriate permission is not allowed.

Vaylure, Shubhalaxmi, Isaac Kehimkar (Eds), Sameer Kehimkar, Alisha Kehimkar, Amit Kehimkar (2014), Mobile Apps for Climate Change (v.1.0 iButterflies)- U.S. State Department's Alumni Innovation Engagement Fund, Ladybird Environmental Consulting, Mumbai.

iButterflies for Android official Trailer

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iButterflies APK Version History
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iButterflies 1.1 for Android 3.0+ APK Download

Version: 1.1 (11) for Android 3.0+ (Honeycomb, API 11)

Update on: 2015-12-28

Signature: 0f8c73aa5d2042283cc4f2dceb8d63fc3fb19b5f iButterflies 1.1(11) apk safe verified

APK File SHA1: 314b3f18b50eda39178eebd4066d4e231707614d

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iButterflies 1.1 for Android 3.0+ APK Download

Version: 1.1 (10) for Android 3.0+ (Honeycomb, API 11)

Update on: 2015-09-13

Signature: 0f8c73aa5d2042283cc4f2dceb8d63fc3fb19b5f iButterflies 1.1(10) apk safe verified

APK File SHA1: 643bd7f7dceeab7c7fa0d6caa1678caa15cc3ec9

What's new: Minor bugs fixed Images added & replacedAdvanced quiz added to fun More...

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Richemont: Less Great

There aren’t many retailers growing the top-line by +29% that Richemont pre-announced this morning, which is even more impressive given last year’s compares, but the fact of the matter is that sales are slowing on the margin. Here some additional takeaways:

  • Take a look at the SIGMA. Sales growth was impressive up +29% on top of +37% growth in the same period last year. While underlying 2Yr sales trends climbed steadily higher across all four regions, Europe was the only region to post sequentially stronger yy sales growth. Incidentally, Europe is also the company’s largest region accounting for ~38% of total sales.
  • While the pre-announcement only highlighted sales trends, keep in mind that input costs (Gold, Silver, etc.) have headed sharply higher up 40%-50% over the last 6-months. With a typical 3-4 month lag embedded in product costs, inventory value is headed higher at a faster rate than top-line sales trends suggest and is likely to result in continued contraction in the sales/inventory spread as well as margins.
  • Importantly, the preannouncement captures the first five months of F12 through August – a month that we feel strongly has seen a meaningful slowdown in high end spending in addition to seeing a backup of diamond inventory in parts of the supply chain.
  • Don’t mistake this as a negative call on Richemont. As was the case with TIF (which raised prices on its engagement ring business by 20%, which alone is 20% of sales) there are company-specific factors that might allow Richemont to wade through any kind of slowdown. But the fact is that this is yet another nugget related to the high-end consumer that we’d call ‘consistently inconsistent, ’ which is a negative divergence from the across-the-board strength we’re accustomed to seeing.

Richemont: Less Great - Richemont 9 11

Richemont: Less Great - Richmt RegSales Trends 9 11

A weekly look at commodity trends pertaining to our space.  Over the last week, dollar strength and concerns surrounding economic growth have helped drive overall commodity prices lower.

Beef prices led the way over the past week, gaining 2.6% along with rice and chicken in what was a muted week for the gainers.  To the downside, Milk led the way with a -12% move and grains, soybeans, sugar, and coffee also declined week-over-week.

Cheese prices stayed flat week-over-week but have declined -17% since August 1st.  Prices have been extremely volatile this year but, for companies that have exposure to cheese prices (like DPZ, PZZA, TXRH, YUM and others), the recent leg down in dairy prices is encouraging.

Below is a selection of comments from management teams pertaining to cheese prices from recent earnings calls.

DPZ (7.26.11): “Given higher than originally anticipated cheese prices, we currently expect our overall market basket for 2011 will increase by 4.5% to 6% over 2010 levels. This was up from our previously communicated range of 3% to 5%.”

HEDGEYE: We recently highlighted the fact that DPZ’s last earnings call took place during a trough in cheese prices and we expected a change in tone from the commentary in early May.  It remains to be seen if cheese prices will remain above 2010 levels for the remainder of the year but CAKE’s guidance for inflation in 2011 recently became much more realistic, although not a sure thing.

TXHR (5.2.11): “We've also got a lot of flow in the dairy markets, in cheese, so there's other things beyond produce that do move around throughout the year.”

HEDGEYE: In 1Q09, TXRH called out favorable beef and cheese prices as being primary drivers of cost of sales being down 126 bps in the quarter.  Cheese was a contributor to a cost of sales increase in 2Q11, as we predicted.  For the remainder of the year, barring another (possible) spike in prices, TXRH could see some margin relief from lower dairy costs.

CMG (4.20.11): “As we move into 2011, we're expanding our use of cheese and sour cream made with milk from cows that are raised on open pastures rather than spending much of their time in confinement, as most dairy cattle do.”

HEDGEYE:  For CMG, the lower levels of dairy costs, if they persist, will offer some food costs relief on the company’s P&L.

Corn and wheat prices have been moving higher over the past couple of months as adverse weather conditions depress sentiment surrounding the upcoming planting season.  Russia increasing its grain exports is offering some relief as crops have been coming in worse-than-expected in the U.S. and Europe.   Besides the strength in the dollar, decreased demand as global economic growth concerns stemming from the accelerating European sovereign-debt crisis is also weighing on grain prices.

One interesting article we read today highlighted that Cropcast, a well-known agricultural weather firm, projected U.S. farmers will harvest 4.3% less corn than last year due to poor weather.  Cropcast cut its output forecast because it expects many acres planted with corn will not be harvested due to flooding around the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and a severe drought in Texas, said Don Keeney, senior agricultural meteorologist for Cropcast.

Below is a selection of comments from management teams pertaining to grain prices from recent earnings calls.

PNRA (7/27/11): “Just to note on the cost of wheat, in 2011 overall, the per-bushel cost will be about the same as 2010 due to our laddering purchasing strategy.”

“We are going to take price in the fourth quarter. This price will offset dollar for dollar the per-bushel inflation of wheat of approximately $3 a quarter that we're going to see in the fourth quarter of this year and then across next year”

“We do continue to expect significant inflationary pressures in 2012, 4% to 5% food inflation, $10 million of unfavorability on wheat costs, which means that we don't expect operating margin much better than flat to full-year 2011 in 2012.”

HEDGEYE:  Wheat costs have come down but it remains unclear whether or not the current easing of grain prices will continue.  Weak global demand and a stronger dollar are currently trumping the adverse impact on supply due to weather and fires in the U.S.  Slowing demand may also mean lower sales for PNRA, so it remains to be seen if margins improve from this effect, even if high wheat costs come down.

DPZ (7/26/11): “We're fairly locked in on our chicken, locked in on our wheat into – partway into next year.”

PZZA (8/4/11): “We're actually covered through Q1 from a contract standpoint. So from a supply chain disruption or even significant price impact we don't anticipate anything between now and the end of the year.”

Beef prices gained by 2.6% week-over-week as unfavorable conditions persist for cattle farmers.  The USDA has rated 90% of the pasture conditions in the Southern Great Plains as very poor.  To make matters worse, as the website CattleNetwork states, most livestock water sources are drying up or have reached a point where water quality is a major concern.  Beef producers are now being faced with a difficult proposition: liquidate the herd or maintain the herd until pastures are – hopefully – renewed in April or May of 2012 and take on the implied cost of feeding the herd with feed prices far higher than a year ago.  The following link walks the reader through the logic of the decision facing producers. [herd liquidation story ]

Below is a selection of comments from management teams pertaining to beef prices from recent earnings calls.

RRGB (8/11/11): “We're still buying ground beef on the spot market… If you recall, we said 5% to 6% commodity inflation on the last call and we dropped that to 5 to 5.5. Again, that's mainly ground beef driving that.”

HEDGEYE:  Live cattle prices are up 22% YoY and, we believe, will continue to be a negative for RRGB’s P&L going forward.

WEN (8/11/11): “That's one of the reasons why as we've talked about our margin guidance, we do not expect to see much relief on beef cost this year.”

Howard Penney

Managing Director

Rory Green

Some details on Chinese shadow banking

There is an interesting article on “shadow banking”  in China.  See the link below.  We’ve written about this being a potential negative for junkets in Macau.  These “banks” are offering yields higher than those provided by traditional banks and may compete with rates paid by junkets for capital.  Liquidity fuels the junket business and serious competition for capital could have negative implications on junket liquidity.

Of course, we first started writing about this as a potential risk months ago and junket volumes have only accelerated since.  At this point, it is only a risk factor, but one we are monitoring closely as we continue to analyze weekly Macau data.

Daily Trading Ranges

20 Proprietary Risk Ranges

Daily Trading Ranges is designed to help you understand where you’re buying and selling within the risk range and help you make better sales at the top end of the range and purchases at the low end.

Notable macro data points, news items, and price action pertaining to the restaurant space.

Food Retail is has outperformed over the last day, week, and two weeks as Food Processors continue to lag peer food, beverage, and restaurant spaces.

THE HBM: MCD, SONC, CMG, DRI - subsectors fbr

  • MCD Canada is to spend $1 billion to renovate all of its locations in Canada in effort to take market share.  Testing has already proven a success with traffic in reimaged restaurants growing close to double-digits.
  • SONC was cut to “Market Perform” at William Blair.
  • CMG’s second London location is now open on Baker Street in the Marylebone district.

  • DRI preannounced 1QFY12 EPS at $0.78 versus $0.87 consensus but reaffirmed FY12 EPS guidance of 12-15% EPS growth.  Sales trends were disappointing at Olive Garden in June, July and August (prelim. August number).  See our post from this morning for more details.
  • DRI was cut to “Outperform” from Raymond James versus “Strong Buy”.  The price target was cut to $52 from $62.

THE HBM: MCD, SONC, CMG, DRI - stocks 97

Howard Penney

Managing Director

Rory Green

TODAY’S S&P 500 SET-UP - September 7, 2011

As we look at today’s set up for the S&P 500, the range is 42 points or -1.65% downside to 1146 and 1.95% upside to 1188.

THE HEDGEYE DAILY OUTLOOK - daily sector view

THE HEDGEYE DAILY OUTLOOK - global performance

  • ADVANCE/DECLINE LINE: -1402 (-2155)
  • VOLUME: NYSE 1124.29 (+15.3%)
  • VIX:  37.00 +9.08% YTD PERFORMANCE: +108.45%
  • SPX PUT/CALL RATIO: 1.85 from 2.02

  • TED SPREAD: 32.54
  • 3-MONTH T-BILL YIELD: 0.0254%
  • 10-Year: 2.01 from 1.98
  • YIELD CURVE: 1.81 from 1.79

MACRO DATA POINTS (Bloomberg Estimates):

  • 7 a.m.: MBA Mortgage
  • 7:45 a.m./8:55 a.m.: ICSC/Redbook weekly sales
  • 10 a.m.: Jolt Job openings
  • 11:15 a.m.: Fed’s Evans speaks in London
  • 11:30 a.m.: U.S. to sell $30b 4-wk bills
  • Noon: DoE short-term energy outlook
  • 2 p.m.: Fed Beige Book
  • 4 p.m.: Fed’s Williams to speak to Seattle Rotary Club
  • 4:30 p.m.: API inventories

  • Yahoo! fired Carol Bartz as CEO, replaced her with CFO Tim Morse on interim basis, starts strategic review
  •  Bank of America shook up its top ranks, ousting wealth-mgmt head Sallie Krawcheck, consumer-banking head Joe Price
  • Constitutional challenges to Germany’s participation in the euro rescue funds were rejected by country’s top court today
  • Anglo American said to decide against takeover offer for MacArthur Coal
  • NY prosecutors said to issue subpoenas to Morgan Stanley as probe of Goldman sale of mortgage-backed products widens: WSJ
  • SEC said to probe effect of ETFs on Aug. market swings: WSJ
  • S&P said to have met with some bond investors before U.S. debt downgrade: WSJ
  • Trial on patent lawsuit by Teva Pharmaceutical over multiple-sclerosis drug Copaxone set to begin today
  • FDA briefing docs due for 9/9 panel on use of bisphosphonates in light of possible link to osteonecrosis of the jaw; makers include MRK, WCRX, Roche, Novartis
  • Saab Automobile applied for protection from creditors today in bid to raise money to restart ops; reorganization process will last at least 3 months, can be extended up to a year
  • AT&T can lower the price it pays for T-Mobile USA if remedies requested by regulators too expensive, people familiar said
  • Google’s Seoul office said to be raided by South Korea’s antitrust regulator as part of probe into whether company unfairly blocked competitors in mobile-search market
  • United Technologies said to receive potential buyer interest for unit Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, considering sale: Reuters
  • Archstone said to get acquisition offers from four suitors including Blackstone and Brookfield Asset Management: WSJ
  • Hurricane Katia, now a category 1 storm, continued to move between East Coast and Bermuda; second system advanced west across Atlantic Ocean, may reach Puerto Rico by this weekend
  • No IPOs expected to price today

THE HEDGEYE DAILY OUTLOOK - daily commodity view

  • Commodities Rebound as Low Interest Rates May Help Boost Demand
  • Corn, Soybeans, Wheat Advance as Dry Weather May Damage Crops
  • Sugar Rises in New York During Lull Before Crops; Coffee Rises
  • Pawnbrokers Thrive as Rising Gold Price Entices Hard-Up Britons
  • India May Ship Raw Sugar First Time in Four Years on Supply
  • Libya Oil Resumption May Take at Least 18 Months, BofA Says
  • PhosAgro to Renegotiate Indian Accord to Match Prices of Rivals
  • Afghan Hajigak Iron Ore Gets Bids From India, Iran, Canada
  • Aluminum Will Stay in Surplus for Fifth Year, Sumitomo Says
  • Vale Says Sale of World’s Largest Ore Ships ‘Won’t Carry Loss’
  • Whole-Milk Powder Slips to 13-Month Low on Supply Boost
  • Gold Price Retreat May Prolong Bull Run, Top U.K. Investor Says
  • Oil Supply Falls in Survey on Storm, Imports: Energy Markets
  • Coffee Demand Rises on Single-Cup Sales, StudyLogic Data Shows

THE HEDGEYE DAILY OUTLOOK - daily currency view

THE HEDGEYE DAILY OUTLOOK - euro performance

THE HEDGEYE DAILY OUTLOOK - asia performance

Howard Penney

Managing Director

Hedgeye Statistics

The total percentage of successful long and short trading signals since the inception of Real-Time Alerts in August of 2008.

  • LONG SIGNALS 80.33%
  • SHORT SIGNALS 78.49%


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Jorplace Beach Hostel

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Prices will be charged in EUR Full Rate Fri 09 Dec 2016 Sat 10 Dec 2016 Sun 11 Dec 2016 Mon 12 Dec 2016 Tue 13 Dec 2016 Wed 14 Dec 2016 Thu 15 Dec 2016 Fri 16 Dec 2016 Sat 17 Dec 2016 Sun 18 Dec 2016 Mon 19 Dec 2016 Tue 20 Dec 2016 Wed 21 Dec 2016 Thu 22 Dec 2016
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Property Information

Jorplace Beach Hostel
Keizerstraat 296
Den Haag Netherlands 2584 BN
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Welcome to Jorplace Beach Hostel, the first and only beach hostel in Scheveningen, the Hague.

Jorplace Beach Hostel offers a wide variaty of accommodation from private rooms to large dorms perfect for the budget travellers and groups. Bedprices start from € 15,00 pppn.

All the facilities are available to make your stay more enjoyable:
- free smiles, WIFI & sheets included!
- guest & professional kitchen
- breakfast & BBQ's
- sunny garden with fireplace
- funky bar & party basement
- longboard & bike rental
- free lockers (padlocks for sale or bring your own)
- luggage room
- free parking 5 minutes from Jorplace & public transport around the corner
- fun activities and much more...

GROUP. 6 pax or up?
Please check our special group form on the website.

Property Features

  1. BBQ Area
  2. Games Room
  3. Tour Desk
  4. WiFi Internet
  5. Free Parking
  6. On Site Restaurant
  7. Non-Smoking Rooms
  8. Street-Side Parking (Charges Apply)

Accommodation Details

Terms & Conditions

When a booking is made the whole amount of your stay including € 1,55 tourist tax pppn & € 1,- service charge will be charged.
Prices include free wifi & bedlinen.
Prices exclude € 20,- cash deposit pp*
Check-in from 4pm until 10pm.
Check-out before 11am. Late check-out (till 1pm) is possible for € 3,- extra and needs to be booked & paid up front.
Between 10am and 4pm we have a daily cleaning.
Drugs are not allowed.

No refund is provide when:
- departing for the booked departure date
- guests are banned from the hostel
- cancelling your booking that is combined with a promotion codes
- no show (the amount equal to the full stay will be charged)

*A part of the deposit will be kept when:
- bedlinen are not used due to hygenic reasons
- food and drinks are kept inside the rooms, due to hygenic reasons a guestkitchen is available for your use
- smoking inside the building
- keys are lost
- check-out after 11am (late check-out possible if reserved and paid up front)
- damaging or unnecessary triggering the fire alarm system
- in case of misuse, violation or damage

Cancellation terms**
In case of cancellation more than 31 days before arrival the first night is non-refundable.
In case of cancellation more than 21 days before arrival we charge 25%of the total reservation (including the first night).
In case of cancellation more than 14 days before arrival we charge 50% of the total reservation (including the first night).
In case of cancellation more than 7 days before arrival we charge 75% of the total stay (including the first night).
In case of cancellation less than 7 days before arrival we charge the full amount of the reservation.
** Different terms & conditions apply for groups from 6 guests and up.

We may use third-party service providers to process your personal information on our behalf for the purposes of this booking. For example, we may share some information about you with these third parties so that they can contact you directly by email (for example: to obtain post stay reviews about your travel experience).

Make an enquiry

We can help you even better if you inform us about
- your arrival & departure date
- the amount of guests
- nationality
- reason for your stay

  1. Enquire


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Falling Bullets and the Density of Air

Matt discusses a Mythbusters episode where they drop a bullet and shoot one horizontally from a gun, and see which falls first. I want to take this up where he left it off

They find that to within their experimental error, the two bullets hit the ground at the same time. It doesn’t matter how fast you move in the x-direction; gravity still gives you the same acceleration in the y-direction.

It turns out that with standard assumptions about air resistance, this is not true. What I hope to do here is, by assuming that bullets falling and shot horizontally fall at very nearly the same rate, put a bound on the density of air.

First we need a model for air resistance. If the bullet is a non-rotating sphere and air is non-viscous, then the bullet slows down because air smashes into it. We can imagine the bullet leaving a cylindrical trail behind it as it flies. Let’s say that as the bullet flies through its path, all the air it encounters gets brought from rest up to some set fraction x of the bullet’s speed, and that x does not depend on the bullet’s speed v.

Then in one incremental unit of time \Delta t, the bullet intersects a mass of air that is the density of air times the volume of its path over that time, and the volume of the path is given by the velocity of the bullet times is cross-sectional area. This is \rho \pi r^2 v dt grams of air, where \rho is the density of air, v is the speed of the bullet, and r is its radius.

The momentum imparted to the bullet is the same as that imparted to the air. The momentum imparted to the air is the mass of air encountered times the speed it’s being sped up to. This is (\rho \pi r^2 v dt) x*v = dp.

The force on the bullet is the time derivative of its momentum, so dp/dt = F = x \rho \pi r^2 v^2. For the time being, set k = x \rho \pi r^2 so the force on the bullet is just kv^2.

Now let’s make some simplifying assumptions. We imagine that air resistance plays a minor role, because otherwise the Mythbusters would not have found so close to a tie as they did. This means the bullets have very nearly the same y-height at any time, and that it’s the same as the normal, physics 1a parabola falling under gravity. Let the bullet fired out of the gun have the same horizontal velocity throughout its flight. Also assume the bullet goes much faster in the horizontal than in the vertical direction. Using these assumptions, we’ll try to find the relative acceleration of the two bullets, rather than finding both of their paths and then subtracting.

For the bullet falling straight down, all motion is in the y-direction, and the upward force is kv_y^2. For the bullet fired out of the gun, the total force is k(v_x^2 + v_y^2), but only part of this is in the y-direction, so the force in the y-direction is k v_y\sqrt{v_x^2 + v_y^2}. That can be simplified to k v_y*v_x because velocity in the y-direction is small.

Because air resistance plays a minor role, assume the bullets fall for almost the same amount of time, t_f = \sqrt{\frac{2g}{h}}. Over that time, there is a difference in the force on the bullets given by F_{shot} - F_{drop} = k(v_xv_y - v_y^2) = kv_y(v_x - v_y) = (kv_x)v_y. Notice that this is equivalent to assuming the dropped bullet doesn’t get slowed down at all. The shot bullet experiences so much more air resistance that we are essentially assuming only air resistance on the shot bullet matters.

The bullets are in free fall, so v_y = gt and the total distance between the two bullets when they fall comes from integrating their relative acceleration once for their relative velocity, and again for their relative displacement. When the mass of the ball is m, we have

v_{rel}(t) = \int_0^t accel_{rel}(t')dt' = \int_0^t kv_x v_y(t')/m dt' = \frac{k v_x}{m} \int_0^t gt' dt' = \frac{1}{2m}kv_x g t^2

y_{rel}(t) = \int_0^t v_{rel}(t') = \frac{1}{6m} k v_x g t^3.

Plugging in t_f, the falling time, for t gives the distance between the bullets as they land. Dividing by their speed at that time gt_f, gives the difference in their falling times. This comes to

\Delta t = \frac{x \rho \pi r^2 v_x h}{3mg}

To check, the dimensions work out to time. The difference increases with the density of air, with the radius of the ball (for fixed mass), with the horizontal firing speed, with the height dropped, and with the x factor of air resistance. It decreases with increasing gravity and mass of ball (for fixed radius). All that seems plausible enough.

We can solve this for \rho, the density of air. Since \pi = 3 I can cancel those.

\rho = \frac{\Delta t m g}{x r^2 v_x h} .

Let’s make some guesses. They fired the bullet from about 1m off the floor. It traveled some 300m down the hall in the 1/3 s it had to fall, so v_x = 1000m/s. g = 10 m/s^2, m = 100g and r = .01m. x = .5.

That gives

\rho = \Delta t \frac{20 kg}{s m^3} .

The Mythbusters think \Delta t < .1s (they said 39 milliseconds), which implies

\rho < \frac{2 kg}{ m^3} .

And it turns out the density of air is indeed less than this – about 1 kg/m^3.

I should admit, though, that the first time I crunched through these numbers, I got that the density of air should be less than 0.1 kg/m^3. That was plugging in 5g for the bullet weight, thinking of a 1cm^3 bullet about as dense as a typical rock. But the bullet I hypothetically used had radius 1cm, not diameter, and also bullets are made of metals that are pretty dense. I googled "bullet weight" and learned that google automatically interprets that to mean the weight of rugby player Tom James, nicknamed "The Bullet". (His weight was 15 st 8 lbs).

Incidentally, I think my calculation worked by accident. The aerodynamics of a bullet are probably much more complicated than I've assumed here, since the bullet spins and probably entrains air and makes eddy currents and does all kinds of ungodly things. v_x isn't constant, but according to my model it should drop by less than 50m/s in the time it takes the bullet to fall. I guessed kind of wildly on things like the height of the drop and the factor by which air is sped up when the ball passes through. Also, the experiment has error in terms of simultaneous dropping and how level the gun is. But things seem to have worked out to order of magnitude.

2 Responses to “Falling Bullets and the Density of Air”

  1. Ken Clark Says:

    three matters, one, the bullet is spinning on its axis of travel at about 1400 rpm, not sure that makes much difference, but the big one is the flow over the bullet is supersonic, also, the bullets starting place while on an apparent plane with the landing location, was actually a little ways around a sphere, introducing even more error ;)

  2. Search Job Says:

    I must say this is a great article i enjoyed reading it keep the good work

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text:
for this game

Young, Wizards top Blazers

Feb 15, 2012 - 7:10 AM Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Nick Young dropped in a game-high 35 points as the Washington Wizards posted back-to-back wins for the first time this season with a 124-109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.

John Wall added 29 points and nine assists, while Jordan Crawford contributed 21 points off the bench in the Wizards' first win in Portland since March 28, 2005, snapping a six-game losing streak.

"It just felt good (tonight)," said Young. "Seeing my teammates excited and them hitting shots and us gelling off each other, I feel like we're turning into a good team. We just have to keep learning from it."

Nicolas Batum led the Blazers with 33 points and Gerald Wallace had 25 in Portland's fourth loss in five games. Marcus Camby recorded 13 points and 12 rebounds in Portland's first three-game losing streak at home since March 29- April 6, 2008.

Portland's leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge left the game less than two minutes into the first quarter with a left ankle sprain. After sinking a fadeaway jumper from the right elbow, he rolled his left ankle as he made his landing. He immediately fell to the floor and was looked at by team trainers before being helped into the locker room, where x-rays were negative.

The game's opening seven-plus minutes saw three lead changes and three ties until a 7-3 spurt by Portland put them ahead, 26-20, with just under two minutes left in the first quarter.

But the Wizards recorded the final eight points of the first and took a 28-26 advantage into the second on Jordan Crawford's tip-in inside the final second.

Jamal Crawford opened the second quarter with a three-pointer to put the Blazers back on top before Washington reeled off a 16-4 run to jump out to a 44-33 lead.

Portland managed to close the gap to six on two separate occasions in the remaining six minutes, but the Wizards responded each time with a three- pointer and held a 58-46 advantage at the break.

Washington held at least a seven-point lead in the third as the Wizards continued to quell any type of Portland run en route to a 91-82 lead after three.

That lead stretched to as much as 17 in the fourth quarter before an 8-0 swing by Portland cut the deficit to single digits, 108-99, with less than six minutes left in the game.

The Wizards answered with a 7-0 spurt to extend its lead back to 16 points, but another 8-0 run by the Blazers closed the gap to 115-107 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.

That would be as close as the Blazers would get, though, as a Young three- pointer followed by a JaVale McGee dunk extended the lead back to double digits with less than a minute to go in the game.

"They just outworked us," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said. "Somewhere along the line, pride has to show up. We just looked like we were waiting for someone to rescue us, and we have to do that ourselves."

Game Notes

The Wizards improved to 2-16 against teams with winning records this season...McGee finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for Washington...Portland scored 28 points off 16 Washington turnovers...The Trail Blazers turned the ball over 11 times, resulting in 20 points by the Wizards...Washington outrebounded Portland, 43-31.


text:
Thursday, May 28, 2009

Keith Waldrop: Below the Earth

My ﬁrst glance takes in
an army, tens of thousands ready
armed. As a mirror reﬂects
indistinctly and with a feeble
light, so it cracks and
soon fades. From its surface a clear
image of the beholder.
In these paintings: harbors, promontories,
shores, rivers, fountains,
fanes, groves, mountains, ﬂocks, and of
course shepherds. Sometimes mythological
episodes, ﬁgures of the gods, the
battles at Troy, wanderings of Ulysses.
Scorned in these days of bad taste.
Now we have frescos of mon-
strosities, candelabra supporting
shrines, stalks with human heads.
Malachite green, Armenian
blue, red earths in
abundance, vermilion like a drug.

From Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy by Keith Waldrop. Copyright © 2009 by Keith Waldrop. Used by permission of University of California Press. All rights reserved.

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text:
Ashita no Anime

Anime of Tomorrow

Tag Archives: supernatural

Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo? Ep. 1

The Black Rabbit is caughtInitial impression – rough-edged, but good-hearted heros

Winter 2013 (10 episodes) (more info) (title literal translation – The Troublemakers Are Coming From Another World, Right?)

When someone is stuck between a rock and a hard place, it’s good anime logic to call for heroes from other dimensions.  Mondaiji-tachi is still in the early stages, but is showing plenty of the traits associated with a good action / adventure with a worthy cause.  The cast is full of colorful characters with superpowers of suspect origin, but they have enough flexibility to be put to some creative uses.  My biggest complaint about the series so far is the fanservicey design behind the orchestrator of this setup, the Black Rabbit who happens to be a literal bunny girl.  She feels very much like an unnecessary cry for attention from a series that is actually interesting enough in its own right.  Like many series before it, I wish writers would have more confidence in their work to not devalue it with characters like this.  But as she’s the only issue I’m having with this series thus far, I can overlook her and enjoy the battles that may not be keeping me on the edge of my seat, but still have excellent flow.

Code:Breaker Ep. 1

Initial impression – overly simple (4/10)

Autumn 2012 (13 episodes) (more info)

Code:Breaker is one of those anime that’s just trying too hard.  It’s got this gritty, edgy attitude pushing a punishing level of violence that feels out of place with its art style that resembles a series geared towards a younger audience.  It has potential because the story so far is showing good pacing; meshing a little mystery with misdirection.  Then there’s Rei, the male lead who is feeling very much the antihero—believing death to be both just and merciful.

However, the female lead, Sakura, is showing signs of poor characterization between her hot/cold personality that’s both tenacious while at the same time tending to give up too easily.  Misunderstandings about her interest in Rei inevitably can only go in one direction—presumed romance, leading to a comedic relationship—possibly with the heroine exhibiting tsundere traits—that ultimately leads to a real romance.  The stink of cheese isn’t too bad, but it’s strong enough for me to comfortably send Code:Breaker to the recycle bin.

K Ep. 1

Initial impression – fast action, slow story (4/10)

Autumn 2012 (13 episodes) (more info)

You can go ahead and accuse me of having a short attention span if you happened to watch more and reach a different conclusion, but I’ve learned to trust my instincts when it comes to series that cannot encapsulate the heart of the story in the first episode.  Yes, K looks really nice—the tall and skinny character designs and pretty boys are reminiscent of Clamp (even though this isn’t a Clamp work).  It’s ok to leave some details up in the air to reveal later, but I need more than K has offered so far in order to get invested.  I don’t like being left hanging to such a degree that I’m confused or simply left in the mood, “So that’s it, huh?”

There’s certainly an interesting mystery as to why the main character Yashiro is being hunted by multiple parties and yet doesn’t seem to know why, but the pie that is K has too much icing and not enough filling.  It really lollygags on plot development in its first episode compensating— unsuccessfully—by filling itself with overly dramatic fights and chases that would make a Final Fantasy fan proud.  And while that may be enough for some, I’ve seen enough of K to let it go here.

Medaka Box Abnormal Ep. 1

Initial impression – mostly the same, but a little different

Autumn 2012 (12 episodes) (more info)

Picking up exactly where it left off in season one, Medaka Box Abnormal is showing signs of making a big deviation from the storytelling methods it used during its previous iteration.  Where the first season was very episodic and jumped between a terrific variety of colorful characters, the start of Abnormal seems very focused on Medaka to the detriment of the rest of the cast.

Changing things up is not always a bad thing—using previous set pieces as a stepping stone for a new idea can work wonders to put energy into a tired series—but if too much gets mixed up, then can you still call it the continuation of the same story?  The thing is, the first twelve episodes of Medaka Box always kept things fresh enough that I never felt the concept needed to be expanded upon.  It’s kind of like how The World God Only Knows introduced a new major character in its second season when there was still plenty of material to work with using the formula that made it interesting in the first place.  And that’s what I’m fearing will happen to Medaka Box.

This unnecessary change of pace could be distracting and I worry it might devalue the series as a whole.  I’ll continue to watch Medaka Box Abnormal, but I’m going to be biting my lip in apprehension.

Zetsuen no Tempest Ep. 1

Initial impression – revenge served with a side of saving the world

Autumn 2012 (12 episodes) (English title – Blast of Tempest) (more info)

Some Japanese writing, whether it be JPRGs or anime has a tendency to be lacking in backstory at the start.  But I think Zetsuen no Tempest is one of those stories where it’s ok to not disclose all the details up front.  After all, who in their right mind among the common folk could predict the coming of a supernatural disaster?  I really like the immediacy of the conflict because being forced to pick a side with little knowledge of the core causes of the conflict is a great way to force someone’s hand into making a decision they’re going to regret.

There’s also a great lesson to be learned about dealing with dangerous and determined enemies—isolation may not be the most permanent solution to getting rid of them.  Hakaze’s resourcefulness has a fantasy-esque MacGuyver feel to it that resonates with me on a couple of different, seemingly disconnected levels.  The overall feel has a bit of a Guilty Crown vibe to it, but so far while none of the characters are coming out as likeable just yet, they all have unique and exciting personalities—being neither jerks nor wimps.  But if the setting is still a bit of a mystery after the first episode, the motives of the characters are very clear and most of their goals overlap along the theme of recovering something that was lost.  The way they have all managed to coincide to create a web of comradeship despite how their personalities constantly clash gives moments for some lighthearted chemistry to take off the edge.

If the first episode of a series can leave me in the dark about little details, encapsulate the cast’s overarching motives and make me interested to know what’s going to happen next, then it’s done its job quite well and Zetsuen no Tempest nailed each of those points perfectly.  I also have a part of me that loves characters who meld justice and vengeance into one mouth-wateringly satisfying vendetta.  And since it’s made by Bones, it’s probably going to be pretty good; even if it doesn’t turn out to be a masterpiece, I’m doubtful I’m going to be disappointed.

Shin Sekai Yori Ep. 1

Initial impression – doesn’t waste any time getting into the story

Autumn 2012 (12 episodes) (title literal translation – From the New World) (more info)

Shin Sekai Yori doesn’t have even one second of introduction as to what the heck is going on.  Right away we’re tossed into the deep and expected to start traversing dangerous waters.  And while I’m definitely interested in the mythos of the setting, the fact that so much of the first episode remains unexplained has left me very confused.  But I’m not going to hold it against the anime just yet because it’s only the first episode, the writing and pace are quite good and there’s still plenty of time to get everything sorted out.  In a lot of ways I can see the motives of Shin Sekai Yori already taking shape, so I’m fine with not understanding for now.

On a metaphoric level there are some really strong themes about the fear of growing up and the uneasiness of being trapped between the worlds of child and adult, not knowing how to move forward but at the same time being unable to go back.  For these young people—heroine Saki Watanabe in particular—it seems the stakes are quite high because if you can’t become an adult properly, bad things can happen.  This adds a really tense horror element to the atmosphere that has me excited to see what happens next.  With sharp visual and setting designs as well as a strong theme involving Shinto, I know that Shin Sekai Yori is going to be worth a closer look.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia (review)

Impression – playful and surprisingly touching (8/10)

Spring 2012 (12 episodes) (title literal translation – Dusk Maiden x Amnesia)

Teiichi Niiya heard the stories of the cursed ghost that haunts the old school building, but he never expected her to be so beautiful…or playful.  After discovering her remains hidden beneath an old classroom, he and Yuuko decide to found the Paranormal Research Club. On the surface it’s nothing more than your standard occult-themed student organization, but its true motive is to find a way to help Yuuko recover her lost memories.  Joined by the perky Okonogi and the only other person who can see Yuuko—her great niece Kirie—the four of them set to work solving the supernatural mysteries of their maze-like school.

As Dusk Maiden starts, it’s just oozing with creativity—whether it’s new ways to think about how an incorporeal spirit interacts with the world or how to adequately tell the story of said ghost without being pathetically blunt about what’s going on.  The flow of events at the beginning is a little questionable at times with long flashbacks seemingly taking place out of proper order.  But it never stops being entertaining with something fresh in every episode. It makes you think and smile all the while saying, “that was really smart. I’d never thought about it that way before.”

Probably the best thing about Tasogare Otome is its ending.  It’s very emotionally moving but still manages to keep the generally lighthearted style that made the rest of the series so much fun.  This delicate balance between heart wrenching and comedic elation could have been such a messy let down if it hadn’t been constructed in such a smartly arranged crescendo.  Rarely do I find myself nodding at the end of a series while saying, “I couldn’t have imagined it finishing any other way.” With that kind of reaction, I’m going to call Dusk Maiden of Amnesia a resounding success.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous Ep. 1

Initial impression – a lot of interesting talk

Summer 2012 (11 episodes) (title literal translation – Summer Snow Rendezvous) (more info)

Natsuyuki Rendezvous—an anime about a ghost who is playing interference to keep a guy away from his own widowed wife.  Right away I must say the concept for this romance-drama is pretty original and smart.  The writing is good at conveying feelings and it definitely needs to be because heroine Rokka isn’t particularly attractive with her hair cut so short you might mistake her for a 12 year old boy.  It’s an interesting stylistic choice to depict the leading lady so unaesthetically because her charming points that protagonist Ryuusuke finds appealing feel more innocent and genuine than if he was just after her for her looks.

However, why Ryuusuke is suddenly able to see Rokka’s dead husband’s ghost, Atsushi after several months working part time at her flower shop isn’t explained and sort of comes out of left field.  All the same, the reveal is well-timed with a moment when Ryuusuke is starting to feel bold enough to pursue her more earnestly.  So far, everything is there that the series needs in order to work and I’m happy to see that the protagonist’s unrequited love isn’t going to be dragged out any longer than the first episode as anime are so prone to do.

At this point Natsuyuki Rendezvous is relying so heavily on its dialogue that it feels more like I’m reading a novel than watching TV.  The low-budget animation is done in that semi-realistic, glittering-eyed shoujo style that makes it immediately clear that this series’ target audience is probably not men (if that wasn’t already obvious from the premise and so-so attractive heroine).  I think I may be up for a more serious romantic story flavored with a slightly off-the-wall plot hook and if that’s also your thing I’m willing to bet that Natsuyuki Rendezvous is not going to be a disappointment.

Hagure Yuusha no Estetica Ep. 1

Initial impression – a good idea that’s not on a solid foundation

Summer 2012 (12 episodes) (title literal translation – Aesthetics of a Rogue Hero) (more info)

From what I can glean from Hagure Yuusha’s first episode, people are being taken from our world to another dimension where they are put to the task of fighting a war for the denizens of that realm.  Part of this process involves giving normal humans superpowers and naturally some people want to use their new abilities to find their way back home, as Akatsuki Ousawa has successfully accomplished.  Returners like our main character retain their abilities and are put through a training program called Babel to put their powers to use here on Earth.

Again, Hagure Yuusha is one of those anime with an interesting premise, decent writing and generally agreeable characters that messes itself up with unnecessary ecchi.  Akatsuki brings a naked girl back from the other realm in his backpack for as-of-yet undisclosed reasons and he has the ability to remove women’s will to fight by stripping them of their lingerie without removing their rest of their clothes.

Thankfully, I don’t have to pretend to enjoy this series too much in spite of its ecchi because it’s already starting to establish a typical list of character archetypes—the perverted protagonist, confused victim-girl who is posing as his little sister, arrogant student council president.  Cue blank stare as I sarcastically marvel at this list of revolutionary thinking.

If it could have taken itself more seriously and the creators had been more confident about their work, I’d be much more willing to like Hagure Yuusha.  As it currently stands I find myself trapped between a cool story and too much ecchi; disappointed at how many times I’ve had to concede that flaw over the years.

Rinne no Lagrange 2 Ep. 1

Initial impression – the same great enthusiasm

Summer 2012 (12 episodes) (title literal translation – Lagrange of Endless Rebirth) (English title – Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne) (more info)

Picking up after a few months of down time in the story, in the absence of her friends, Madoka has been down and is facing the decision of what she wants to do after graduation.  Lan is working with La Garte to push the limits of Vox Limpha and Muginami’s whereabouts are still unknown.

At first glance I thought this series would just be more of the same—a reflection of the first season, but after thinking about it a little more I’m inclined to think that there are enough new elements to tell a very different kind of story.  Most importantly a lot of the set pieces don’t need to be introduced and everyone’s role is slightly altered, even if most of the major players still have roughly the same motives.

To have Vox Aura reactivate right at the moment Madoka wills the machine back to life completely devalues having it inexplicably go offline at the end of the previous season.  It’s an excellent example of how the writing in this series is much more about feeling than substance.  It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but probably not everyone is going to appreciate this style that is very much about being in the moment rather than building up to something much bigger and grander by incremental steps.

Because of the nature of its storytelling, I don’t think Rinne no Lagrange 2 is going to attract any new fans who didn’t care for season one.  But those who liked the first half are going to enjoy reentering a world that’s starting to realize its potential.


text:
The West

Green laser allegedly aimed at police chopper
Green laser allegedly aimed at police chopper

A man has been charged after allegedly aiming a laser beam at a police helicopter in Mandurah last night.

The 39-year-old Mandurah man is alleged to have used a green laser beam on the helicopter several times while police were conducting aerial patrols over Halls Head at about 8.20pm.

The man was charged after police directed an infrared camera to the origin of the beam and traced it to the front yard of a property on Forward Street, Mandurah.

The man has been charged with using a portable device to direct a visible laser or other narrow beam or visible light at a conveyance.

The West Australian

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Pinterest • The world’s catalogue of ideas
from Men's Hairstyle Trends

Top 10 Men's Curly Hairstyles 2016

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Dessert May Come First–Or Not, Vol. 2

Welcome to the May 9, 2008 edition of dessert may come first —or not, A place to share experiences of the Autism Spectrum, whether a personal journey, or from the perspective of a family member or friend. We share stories and offer encouragement and advice to others on the path.

Good Fountain presents Reading – it?s what works posted at Good Fountain, where we learn how all those on our child’s team help design their learning process in a way that best suits the child’s learning style.

Julie James presents Grace, Please Find Me posted at a most imperfect paradise, a heartfelt story on the tough choices we have to make sometimes when we have children with issues.

For those of you who might not have seen this, here’s my story on ABA for $40 a month. And another on a new web browser for autistic kids.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of dessert may come first –or not using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: , .

CHECK OUT these other great carnivals as well!! The Carnival of Family Life at Write From Karen, the Carnival of Creative Growth at Energies of Creation, the Mom’s Blogging Carnival at Mrs. Nespy’s World, and Writers From Across the Blogosphere at the Writer’s Block. Enjoy!

Approaching equilibrium

You know, every once in awhile you just hit a real bump in the road.

So many of us “manage,” we do the best we can every day as spouses, as parents, to try to keep our fingers in the old dyck for as long as possible. But sooner or later, the water just gets too high, and your carefully-balanced house of cards is in danger of being washed away. When that happens, it’s time to stop and re-assess priorities before you lose touch with your life altogether.

Priorities in this house are: 1) safety and well-being of each person; 2) roof over head; 3) food on table. These are the same priorities I often share with my clients who are panicking about what to do. These three things you MUST have–the rest can come when they will.

No question here that everyone is safe. They have a home, a bed, their clothing, a wide selection of toys. (Grownups too.) The clothing is not always new. We buy, I’d guess, two-thirds of our clothes from Ebay, consignment and thrift shops for two reasons: the first, because they cost less, and second, because it conserves world resources. This is why we also donate our gently-used items back to the thrift shops as well. This may horrify some of my colleagues, whose children prefer to shop at Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister. Well, get over it.

We don’t drive new cars, though we each have a vehicle, because we work in different cities. Our house is over 100 years old and isn’t in a spiffy new subdivision. We may have eight computers in the house; all but one are recycled and repaired from someone else’s use. The adults can’t afford health insurance (the best quote we got was $800/month). We don’t vacation in the islands. For an attorney and a teacher, actually, the scope of our lifestyle is pretty narrow. The only real “luxuries” we enjoy, to rate ourselves against the news stories these days, is the privilege of dining out a couple of nights a week. That’s more to deal with the exhaustion of work and child care than the joy of something fabulous.

So the bills get paid, not much else, while both adults work out of the home, me about 5 hours a day, the Cabana Boy an average of 10 hours a day, Monday through Friday. (Even at that, my pay scale dictates I bring home about twice what he does.) He drives 70 miles a day to work–hello gas pump! Weekends are usually a blur, trying to catch up on all we didn’t get done through the week.

Now this is probably no different than many other two-career families in this “more, faster, now” society. But here’s the bump: we’re losing each other. The adults have almost no time together because of work hours and kid commitments, and resentments build over time when one or the other of us feels like we’re being neglected or put-upon– although we know the other is trying so hard just to keep up that we suck it down and try not to complain.

So what do we do? Someone has to be available to make sure all the therapy and appointments are made, prescriptions are refilled, kids everywhere they need to be. We can’t both work full-time, unless we had a nanny who lived in. Our needs are minimal; maybe we should both work part-time. It would put a pinch on, but we could deal with it. With summer coming on, there will be a lot of garden work to be done, again to save money and promote health, and kids out of school. Can we both keep up this schedule and still make it?

Where is the point at which life balances–enough time, enough love, enough resources? What can you give up and still survive? Who takes care of the ones who care for everyone else? Where do you get answers to these kind of questions?

I never thought I’d be quoting Martha Stewart, but this is apropos: “When I got married and had a child and went to work, my day was all day, all night. You lose your sense of balance. That was in the late ’60s, ’70s, women went to work, they went crazy. They thought the workplace was much more exciting than the home. They thought the family could wait. And you know what? The family can’t wait.”

So we’ll be talking about those priorities. We’ll see you on the other side.

What they say is true: parents, too are casualties of their child’s autism.

Mad About Memes

Am I mad? Or mad to go along with the madness? I’m not sure.

At any rate, I’ve been tagged by lastcrazyhorn, so I’ll play along and perhaps use this post as a metaphor for all the things my children have to do to fit in with the NT school population, even if they don’t see the point.🙂

Five Things Found in My Bag:
I’ll tell you. Monty Hall would die of disappointment here:
1) Checkbook
2) Keys
3) Stack of coupons I always forget to use at the store
4) Business card holder to carry all medical, bank and activity cards
5) Pad of paper and pen for those crazy ideas I get sometimes and want not to forget

Five Favorite Things in Your Room
I have lots of rooms; let me see:
1) Navy blue quilt made by some Amish women as a thank-you for work done
2) Pitcher of fresh cut lilacs
3) Best be including the computers; heaven knows I spend enough time on them
4) As of next week, our new tempurpedic mattress (yay!)
5) Many, many plants

Five Things You Have Always Wanted to Do
1) Travel all over the world
2) Become a novelist–fame not necessarily included
3) Have bright, interesting children
4) Be able to let someone else handle all the crap–bills, calendars, everything.
5) Have enough time to work at a marriage, not just keep sticking duct tape over rifts

Five Things You are Currently Into
1) Writing a new novel, an urban fantasy
2) Writing interesting tech stories for Firefox News
3) Getting ready for a writers’ conference next week (hmm, I’m detecting a theme)
4) Trying to get my last novel published
5) Oh yeah and once in awhile going to work and taking care of the family

Five people I’d like to tag:
Wantabetravelin, A Different Nest, Sparks and Butterflies, Ecky at Pure Thought, and Zaki at The Fruit Projects, who starred in my music story last week.

So there we go. Now I fit in. Even if I’m not sure just exactly why.

Getting around

While some may use a blog as a place to just spew all that awful emotional crap that you don’t feel your loved ones deserve to enjoy, most of us hope that our blog will be read by others, and the more “others” the better. This is one of the reasons to engage in the blog carnival. As you might remember, I hosted the Blog Carnival called Dessert May Come First–Or Not: The Many Flavors of the Autism Spectrum at the beginning of April. I had a lot of great responses, and I’ve decided to make it a monthly event.

Submissions are always open, as the carnival is ongoing. If you have a post in your blog that you feel might help others along their road, or give them a light moment, or connect with someone– or just open your blog to other folk who may not have had a chance to read it before– then enter your blog post here. If you’ve read a post elsewhere you really liked by a great writer on the subject of the autism spectrum, feel free to bring the carnival to their attention. Posts don’t have to be about children or for parents, or about adult Aspies, or classic autism, or coping, or NOT coping– but any of those are fine. Deadline for submission is May 7, for publication May 9.

This week, I’m welcoming readers from a number of carnivals, including today, the Rhythm of Write with more than 20 entries on the subject of writing. I’m also featured in two of the courses of the “Soup to Nuts” Blog Carnival which is a progressive dinner of goodness spread over five different blogs with enough topics to keep you well informed on every level: come by Health Plans Plus and Kilroy’s The Gonzo Papers and the other three to get all your good nutrients!


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Gotta Dig Dialogic

 Reading to a young child is one of the iconic and wonderful experiences of growing up, especially the “read to me” years.  Reading together offers countless rewards, from sharing a story, to learning things, to the pure joy of slowing down and spending time together.  Proven benefits include enhanced language development, attention span, and most measures of cognitive function and academic achievement.  These are correlated with access to books in the home, reading time per day, and days reading per week (a minimum of 3 is cited).   This often seems daunting, with so many emails to return, blogs to peruse, and IRL (in real life) chores to complete, but in our wired era where work-home-play are smeared into pixelated paste, it is more critical than ever to slow down and unplug for those precious 20 minutes (as below: me reading Baby Unplugged: Yard with a small but mighty friend on a recent trip).
The emergence of children’s e-books and “smart baby” media, often hailed as a renaissance, pose an insidious threat to this unplugged time.   Convenience and cool factor aside, their key selling point is emphasis on “learning,” adding academic blobs to smeary work-home-play childhoods.  Through overt marketing most toys, videos, and apps are advertised as developing skills we only recently had to advertise (consider this: did Dr. Seuss and the inventor  of blocks plaster their creations with “educational”?), discounting the critical role of human interaction.   This makes it easier to hand off an iPad/Leapster or turn on a DVD and then leave the child alone to “learn.”  For most electronic toys, of course, parents tend to retreat as fast as they can (or, sweet rebellion, remove the batteries), lest the cloying drumbeat of “A!  Apple! Good job!” drive them insane.   Ditto overeager cartoon characters and electronic tutors “teaching” children about words and the world.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work that way.

Whether by device or human, reading as a child listens is not an optimal scenario.  Though lap/snuggle trumps any gadget operating system via the human contact/warmth factor, by far the most robust benefits are via dialogic reading.Dialogic reading is a dynamic, even magical process, involving back-and-forth interaction between grownup and child.  Amazing concept: human communication requiring at least two actual humans.  It can be divided into four steps via the acronym PEERPrompt the child, Evaluate response, Expand response, Repeat prompt.  A nifty description of the process and its benefits is here.  An Example:
“What is that?”
(child responds – imagine a cute version of the Charlie Brown wah-wah teacher)
“That’s right, it’s a manatee!”
(the child beams)
“It’s a blue manatee.”
(the child nods and maybe says blue-wah-wah)
“Can you say, ‘blue manatee is the best?'”
(indeed they can, with much beaming and applause)

Alternate Scenario:
“What is that?”
(child runs their finger across a smudgy screen, presses some buttons)
“No, sweetie, don’t touch that.  Here, let me – no, that’s my email.  No, wait, not Angry Birds, I mean that…”
Oh, wait.  I forgot.  This doesn’t work so well with iPads (see my recent post “And eBook makes three’s a crowd”).  Scratch that.Unfortunately, the too-often scenario with them and other such gadgets is:
“What is that?  Look, he/she’s using my iPad!”
(silence, gazing, smudging…)
“He/she’s so good at it!”
(more silent smudging…)
“And so quiet!”
(more silent smudging, gazing…)
“Wow, that’s amazing.   I’m going to get some coffee…”

The benefits of dialogic reading were illustrated in a nifty 2011 study at Vanderbilt University.  Ironically, it was designed to test educational benefits of co-viewing videos.  81 parents watched video books with their 3 year-olds over several weeks, divided into 2 groups.  One group was trained in dialogic viewing, with PEER interactive questioning and feedback as described above.   The other group watched more passively, as is usually the case.The results were clear, validating the central role of humans.  Children with more interactive, dialogic parents showed dramatically higher reading skills and comprehension than those less interactive.   Of critical note, parents had to be trained in the dialogic process in this context, which did not come naturally with electronic media, per their report.   This makes sense, because movies and TV are typically passive “quiet time,” and apps and other games tend to be single-player focused, with the device assuming the role of teacher/caregiver.  Talking during movies and TV is generally shushed and considered annoying (assuming it penetrates the video trance), and few people enjoy someone directing them as they iSurf or play video games.

A suggestion from the study, best taken with a grain of salt, is that videos might offer educational benefit when co-viewed in a dialogic way, though these pale in comparison to dialogic reading.  Again, this requires practice and discipline.  It does not mean merely sitting on the sofa together, or intermittently pointing at Elmo.  It means fully engaging with the child.   And I deeply believe that due to its distracting format, e-media is and will always be an inferior means to fully engage a child.

Besides, if you’re going to go dialogic – why not just cuddle up and share a real book?

Speaking of dialogic: who’s got some favorite stories they love to share with kids?  Present!

One response to “Gotta Dig Dialogic

  1. As a lover of books, new mom and a librarian, we edlaary have a small collection of board and soft books for my 9 month old. I’ve been reading to her since she was about a month old. Hands down, her favorite is Good Night Moon. And she has become a master at turning pages. Lift the flap books are currently also a favorite. Although she sometimes crushes the flaps. Resolution for 2012: to keep reading!

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Tag Archives: Spice of Life

I’ve been embossed!

Went for a curry to recover from a day of wallpaper steaming at the lovely Spice of Life curry house, only to discover that they’ve put my review, and the reply on the back of their menus (the in-house ones, not the takeaways). What an honour!

Filed under blackheath, food

The Spice of Life, Curry House

The Spice of Life Curry House, Lee High Road, Lewisham

So, much like The Dacre Arms, The Spice of Life is a lovely place, just outside Blackheath. I had to investigate, after seeing so many positive comments about the place, on this blog, and on loads of other web sites. Comments along the lines of “this is my favourite Indian restaurant, I’ve been going there for fifteen years, etc etc”.

So off we went on Thursday evening. And it wasn’t empty, but it was quiet. It was smaller than I expected, but very welcoming and friendly looking.. To be honest, the decor looked as though it hadn’t changed since the mid eighties, (which matched the music nicely). But who cares, because the food was absolutely first rate.

Delicious and light, not too fiery, a really nice blend of flavours. We’re not meat eaters, so can’t comment on that, but the saag paneer, and vegetable dopiaza were lovely, along with some pilau rice, a chipati, and some yoghurt. Great stuff.

They also had a very mysterious looking orange sauce with the poppadoms. When we asked, we were told that it was the chef’s own invention, and that it was based on carrots. And the whole lot came to £25.60 including drinks for two people. The only downside is that they don’t deliver (but you can pick up a take-away).

260 Lee High Rd
London, SE13 5PL
020 82444770

Google map here.

Filed under food, Not Blackheath but nearby, restaurants


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Tag Archives: Dickens

Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations – an ‘enormously entertaining and vivid book’

Posted by Beth Whalley, Marketing Executive

A review of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations: A Cultural Life, 1860-2012 has been published in the Times Literary Supplement.

Charlotte Mitchell is honorary senior lecturer at University College London, and has worked on a range of nineteenth-century writers. She writes of Mary Hammond’s study:

‘Mary Hammond’s enormously entertaining and vivid book about Great Expectations approaches the novel from a variety of angles, all of them illuminating. At one moment we find her listing translations into forty-seven languages, at another looking at the occurrence of the phrase “great expectations” before and after its publication. She gives a detailed and humorous account of the history of its reception; its current high status among Dickens’s fictions is a surprisingly recent development. In relation to the vast number of adaptations she deals deftly with her multiplicity of sources and with the theoretical issues of adaptation and remediation. … Great Expectations has meant a lot of different things in its 150-odd years, and no one has teased out so many of them so acutely before. ’

Charles Dickens Great ExpectationsHammond’s book, the product of a 9-month AHRC Fellowship, follows the long, active and sometimes surprising life of Great Expectations since its first appearance in All the Year Round (1860-61). She covers the formative history of the novel’s early years, and analyses the significance of its global reach and its literature, stage, TV, film, poetry, art, popular music and radio adaptations over its 150-year history. It is revealed that the third most adapted Dickens story did not always possess its current influence and popularity, and that book’s identity as a ‘universal favourite’ or ‘timeless classic’ was dependent, to a great extent, on modern mass-media technologies.

About the Author: Mary Hammond is Associate Professor of Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture at the University of Southampton, UK. She is the author of a number of books and articles on nineteenth-century book history including Reading, Publishing and the Formation of Literary Taste, 1880-1914 (Ashgate, 2006).

Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations is one of the seven published titles in the Ashgate Studies in Publishing History: Manuscript, Print, Digital series. Edited by Ann R. Hawkins and Maura Ives, the series supports innovative work on the cultural significance and creative impact of printing and publishing history, including reception, distribution, and translation or adaptation into other media.

Mary Shannon’s book on Dickens’ social network launches at King’s College London

The close proximity of the London offices of Charles Dickens to a network of nineteenth-century publishers, including Dickens’ arch-competitor the radical publisher G.M.W Reynolds, has been revealed for the first time in a new study by Mary L. Shannon, Research Fellow at the University of Roehampton.

Mary Shannon signing copies of her book

Mary Shannon signing copies of her book

Joanne Shattock addressing the gathering

Joanne Shattock addressing the gathering

Mary Shannon’s book, Dickens, Reynolds, and Mayhew on Wellington Street, which is the latest title in Ashgate’s The Nineteenth Century Series, launched on the 20th May at King’s College London, and the event included an address from series editor Joanne Shattock and Director of the Menzies Centre, Ian Henderson. The 60+ attendees were delighted to have the opportunity to peruse information boards and illustrations revealing a selection of the author’s findings.

Commissioning editor Ann Donahue reflected upon some of these findings in a few words shared at the event:

“When I walk down the main thoroughfare of my hometown, I pass a mix of independent specialty shops and generic chain stores. The experience was very different for Londoners striding down Wellington Street in The Strand. If you were fortunate, you might observe Charles Dickens or G.W.M. Reynolds or Henry Mayhew taking a break from their labors. Great noticers themselves, these authors and editors must have had frequent encounters with their neighbors, and these chance meetings in turn could not have failed to remind them of how their competitors advanced print culture in Britain and beyond. Mary Shannon’s book has the effect of turning her readers into eye-witnesses to the ways in which the close proximity of nineteenth-century publishers affected their relationships with each other and with a network of readers in Britain and beyond. Like the nineteenth-century readers who influenced the direction of newspapers and periodicals, Shannon has written a book that cannot fail to shape the work of scholars whose research brings them to Wellington Street.”

‘Mary L. Shannon’s informative book offers an entirely new way to think about print culture. In focusing on Wellington Street off the Strand, where important Victorian writers such as Dickens, Mayhew, and Reynolds maintained their offices, she demonstrates the significance of geography for understanding the print networks that developed in midcentury London.’

Anne Humpherys, City University of New York, USA, author of Travels into the Poor Man’s Country: The Work of Henry Mayhew

Claire Tomalin on Beryl Gray: ‘Dickensians will love her book’ (The Guardian, 2014)

Posted by Beth Whalley, Marketing Executive

‘[Beryl] Gray is an intelligent and sensitive reader of Dickens’s work and her arguments are worth following. Dickensians will love her book’, writes award-winning biographer Claire Tomalin, whose book The Invisible Woman (1990) was recently adapted into a biographical drama directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes.

The dog in the Dickensian imaginationTomalin’s review of Gray’s The Dog in the Dickensian Imagination, which appeared in the Guardian in December, is testament to Dickens’ enduring popularity, as well as to the growing fascination with animals and their representation in fiction and art. Gray’s book shows how Dickens’ works frequently engaged with dogs, both real and imagined, during an era where canine company was a common characteristic of urban and domestic life. The dogs that Dickens kept and encountered became intrinsic to the author’s literary vision and to his representations of nineteenth-century London.

Beryl Gray’s book is the latest to be published in The Nineteenth Century Series, edited by Joanne Shattock and Vincent Newey. It was launched on the 20th November at a private function in Lumen United Reform Church, a hop, skip and a jump away from Tavistock Square, which served as Dickens’ residence for several years. Shattock, who spoke at the launch, declared herself ‘delighted to see the book in print – with its arresting dust jacket and its sumptuous illustrations.’ She added, ‘we are very pleased to have this book in the Nineteenth Century series, where, unsurprisingly Dickens has featured prominently. Quoting Claire Tomalin’s point that Dickens saw the world more vividly than other people, Beryl Gray suggests he saw dogs more vividly than other people … Gray offers insightful readings of familiar texts, and many astute readings of the illustrations, showing the way novelist and illustrator worked together, and instances of where they did not.’

Dickens, Sexuality and Gender – “superb, thoughtfully compiled and thoroughly absorbing”

Dickens, Sexuality and GenderThis superb, thoughtfully compiled and thoroughly absorbing collection considers the multiple ways in which gender and sexuality are represented, and overlap and interrelate, in Dickens’s fiction. For me, the volume is a much-welcome antidote to this year of Dickensian hagiography, reminding me, in contradistinction to the barrage of anodyne celebratory verbiage, of the extraordinary richness, complexity, expansiveness and effervescence of both Dickens – the man and his work – and Dickensian studies. The popular representation of Dickens as a sort of literary Father Christmas, dispensing universal warmth and wisdom and purveying snug domestic truths and cosy norms, was prominent during the bicentenary and it was certainly something Dickens himself cultivated and encouraged during his lifetime. However, this popular approbation of Dickens sometimes neglects or underplays his tremendous vitality, mutability and contradictoriness. There is often something radical, excessive and transgressive contained within Dickens – even during his most normative moments and pronouncements – and many of the pieces collected here convincingly, artfully and playfully explore this.

Reviewed by Ben Winyard, in Cercles

Read the full review

Dickens, Sexuality and Gender is edited by Lillian Nayder, Bates College, USA, and is part of Ashgate’s 6-volume reference series A Library of Essays on Charles Dickens

Prize for Catherine Waters

Ashgate would like to congratulate Dr Catherine Waters, who earlier this year was awarded The Research Society for Victorian Periodicals‘ 2008 Robert Colby Book Prize for her book, Commodity Culture in Dickens’s Household Words. The selection committee praised Catherine’s book as ‘an excellent in-depth study of major themes in Household Words’ and described the writing as ‘clear, lively and well-argued’. Catherine was invited to The Research Society for Victorian Periodicals’ annual conference in Minneapolis, to be honoured and presented with a plaque, and offered the opportunity to deliver ‘The Colby Prize Lecture’.

Last year, the Robert Colby Book Prize was awarded to Kathryn Ledbetter for her book Tennyson and Victorian Periodicals.


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iPad Art – accessible to all!

Nevil Jeffery, General Manager at Low Wood Bay has recently caught the Art bug, inspired to create digital art after meeting the iArt master J.A.C…

Twelve months ago I came across the guru of the “dark side” of iArt, Joseph Connor (J.A.C.) founder of #seensend. I love the concept – encouraging people to get out and about and capture an image on a mobile device. Once the image gets the J.A.C. stamp of approval, he rewards the photographer with a piece of art created on his iPad.

Children creating art at Artober
Children creating art at Artober

Sophia Newton, owner of the Loovre Gallery in Kirkby Lonsdale and founder of annual Artober festival embraced this new art medium and invited Joseph to attend the week long, interactive art exhibition at Low Wood Bay. This radical but simple method of producing art provides an accessible, affordable medium which appeals to all age-groups. Let’s face it, taking a hand-held electronic tablet into the great outdoors is a little more practical than a large canvas!

Tim Bell, Nevil Jeffery and Joseph Connor setting off on the Wild Camp
Tim Bell, Nevil Jeffery and Joseph Connor setting off on the Wild Camp

I was immediately smitten with iPad art and although my first attempts resembled some crude impersonations of impressionism, I was determined to persevere. To fully appreciate this concept and see the process from start to finish. During the week of Artober I organised a one night ‘wild camp’ where I could observe and learn from the master. Recruiting colleague, photographer and outdoor enthusiast, Tim Bell, Manager of Lancaster House to the adventure, the three of us set off for the summit of Loughrigg which affords an impressive vantage point with views overlooking Windermere, Grasmere and Langdale.

iart-linesWith only minutes of daylight remaining we put up our tents. Fortunately the pessimistic forecast did not fully materialise and, despite a couple of heavy showers, we were generally blessed with clear night skies. Our eyes had adjusted to the darkness. The villages of Ambleside and Windermere caused a delicate orange glow to illuminate from behind the dark lower-slopes of Loughrigg. sunsetThis I had to capture, and I frantically sketched the outlines on my tablet as Tim & Joseph turned in for the night. I was a man inspired, and I continued my I-painting long into the night from the comfort of my 4-season sleeping bag.

At 6am we were all awake. All 3 surrounding valleys lay thick with low-lying mist and the first rays of the sun illuminated the incredible autumn scenery, the sight holding us captive for the next hour and a half. Joseph, leaning on the summit cairn, concentrated the image to ipad whist Tim capturing the scene on camera from every conceivable angle. All I could do was look in awe at the unfolding scene.

I learned quickly with that with rare moments like this, you need to capture the sky in it’s outline form, leave it, then fill in the rest later, setting your pallet with the four most prominent colours for maximum effect. (Sketch attached). Then, one can turn one’s full attention to completing the “iArt” at a later stage.

Descending the hillside we met a family of four heading along the well-beaten path armed with digital cameras and tablets. For me, this summed up everything J.A.C is trying to achieve – people of all ages getting into the beautiful outdoors whilst still having the ease of mobile technology. Maybe they don’t realise the potential art-studio they hold in their hands!

One thought on “iPad Art – accessible to all!

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