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My 2015 in Film

This year I saw 17 new releases (US release in 2015), mostly action blockbusters and animated family films, with a few outliers. As always, I didn’t see nearly enough to offer a comprehensive ranking (as subjective as those things are to begin with), but I can at least point to some of my favorites. (Also, I’m terrible at ranking things, so this could easily change tomorrow, and in fact has already undergone changes since I started drafting this.)

5. The Duke of Burgundy
I loved a lot about this movie, the story of a troubled dominant-submissive lesbian relationship. Director Peter Strickland’s appropriation of a 1970s European soft porn aesthetic, all soft focus and chanteuse-style pop music, is right in my postmodern wheelhouse (one of the opening credits, after “Dress and Lingerie” is for “Perfume by Je suis Gizella“). And there is a surprising streak of dry humor amidst the angst-filled meditations on control and the rigid boundaries we set for ourselves and each other. However, too many of the visual and auditory flourishes were straight out of David Lynch, particularly a sequence that felt uncomfortably indebted to Mulholland Drive, crossing the line beyond “homage.” I still liked the movie, but it may have been a victim of my high expectations.

4. Crimson Peak
After Guillermo Del Toro’s previous film, Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak was a welcome return to focus on human characters and their problems, while still featuring the director’s trademark grotesque monsters (this time the bloody ghosts that haunt the titular mansion). A gloriously gloomy gothic romance, it starred a perfectly cast Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain as siblings with a dark secret, and Mia Wasikowska as the innocent caught in their web.

3. Mad Max: Fury Road
I was as surprised as anyone to see the post-apocalyptic Mad Max series come roaring back after a thirty year absence from the screen, but director George Miller had clearly spent the time away thinking about the logistics and meaning of his future-primitive setting. Tom Hardy is fine as the title character, but it’s really Charlize Theron’s show as the bad-ass Furiosa. In addition to updating the setting in light of concerns about environmental collapse and climate change, Fury Road gives a fiercely feminist reading of the traditionally testosterone-filled “road warrior” genre (here’s what I thought immediately after seeing it).

2. Inside Out
A return to the daring conceptual heights of Ratatouille and Wall-E, Inside Out is simply the best Pixar film in years. Unsurprisingly, Inside Out was written and directed by Pete Docter, who also created Monsters, Inc.: there’s a similar fascination with factory-like spaces and a unique “backstage” interpretation of Pixar’s usual “secret life of ______” formula. Although the focus is on Joy, Sadness, and the other personified emotions inside eleven-year-old Riley’s head, the film benefits from the animation studio’s increasing confidence in creating expressive human characters that don’t resemble creepy dolls. I doubt it would work as well as it does if Riley and her parents didn’t hold up their end of the story in their scenes.

1. What We Do in the Shadows
I already talked up this one as the funniest movie I had seen all year when I saw it in October, and in the two months since I haven’t seen anything to topple it from my top spot. In addition to its humor, however, What We Do in the Shadows is as tightly-plotted as an Edgar Wright film while appearing as off-the-cuff as a Christopher Guest mockumentary or The Office. It also turns out to have some clever (and often poignant) observations about family, friendship, romance, and ambition (the last represented by Jackie van Beek, a “thrall” who hopes to ascend to vampirehood, a process that resembles an unpaid internship and virtual slavery to her vampire “master”).

Honorable Mention: Speaking of Edgar Wright, like many I was disappointed when Wright left Marvel’s Ant-Man, citing creative differences. But the movie we got, directed by Peyton Reed, still has Wright’s fingerprints all over it, from the fast cutting and clever narrative tricks to the visuals, which play with scale in a number of humorous and dramatic ways. In general I’ve enjoyed the free-standing Marvel movies more than the big team-ups: as exhilarating as it is as a comic book fan to see stories overlap and interact on screen just as they do in the comics, there’s a limit to how many characters and plot lines can comfortably fit in a feature film before I stop caring about any of them.

Surprisingly Good: Home did very well for itself at the box office and mostly got decent reviews. But unless you saw it you wouldn’t know how visually inventive it is and how its sense of humor is frequently a lot weirder than the clips of Jim Parsons as an overly-literal alien shown in the trailers suggested. (I’m willing to believe that the film’s stranger touches are drawn from the book it was based on, The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex, but I haven’t read it.) I also appreciated the film’s emotional stakes and the revelation that Inside Out wasn’t the only family movie this year to stress the importance of empathy and accepting that sadness and grief have their place as healthy emotions. Finally, props for the good use it made of Steve Martin, who should really be considered more often as a voice actor.

Best Reboot (non-Mad Max category): I was pretty high on Star Wars: The Force Awakens after I saw it, and even after cooling off there’s still a lot I like about it. Under the new management of corporate owner Disney and director J. J. Abrams, The Force Awakens feels like a Star Wars film, visually and aurally. The return to largely practical effects is appreciated, and the new characters and their stories have some compelling hooks. As a passing of the torch to the new generation, it’s much more successful than, say, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which did little to make me care about Jones’ son Mutt. In fact, I liked just about everything about The Force Awakens except the plot, which is just too much of a rehash of the original 1977 film (especially considering the Death Star had already been redone in 1983’s Return of the Jedi). Considering that The Force Awakens‘ planet-sized Starkiller follows Star Trek Into Darkness, which used the same ploy of “like the Enterprise, but bigger” for its bad guy’s ship, I’m glad Abrams will be stepping aside for the next installment of the Star Wars saga. After the much-maligned prequel trilogy, however, this was probably just what was needed to right the ship and get audiences excited again.

Most Forgettable: Fortunately, this year I haven’t seen any new releases that I really hated, so I don’t have a pick for “the worst.” However, at the bottom of my list is Jurassic World, which delivered the big dinosaur action it promised but was lackluster in all other respects, both derivative and lazy. I also didn’t get much out of Avengers: Age of Ultron (see my above comments about team-ups), but unlike Jurassic World it at least had compelling characters and the advancement of the ongoing Marvel plot going for it.

2015 was also another big year for catching up on movies from the past. In addition to the second summer of exploring serials in my Fates Worse Than Death series and my successful attempt to take in 31 horror films in October, I took advantage of repertory screenings, DVDs, TCM, Netflix, and YouTube to watch a variety of older films throughout the year.

First-time non-2015 movies that I liked were (in no particular order) El Hombre y el Monstruo (a Mexican riff on Jekyll and Hyde featuring a classical pianist who has sold his soul to the devil: whenever he plays a particular piece he transforms into a murderous wolfman), Polyester, The Man Who Laughed, The Thing, Repo Man, The Wicked Lady (1945), and the double feature Grindhouse (particularly Planet Terror, Robert Rodriguez’s half, but I appreciated the spirit of the whole project). I also caught up with a few movies from 2014 that I had missed the first time around, among them The Babadook, Under the Skin (a film I respected more than loved, but which isn’t looking for my approval anyway), and Edge of Tomorrow (aka Live/Die/Repeat), which did something I wouldn’t have thought possible: delivered a military sci-fi movie that both held my interest and made me care about its characters.

Worst non-2015 movie: This is easy. After seeing Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead last year, I wasn’t exactly a fan: the movie was pretty hard for me to take, both extremely gory and nerve-wracking in its disregard for conventional plotting. Still, that’s one way to make a memorable horror movie, and although I didn’t love it I was willing to explore Fulci’s filmography further. Unfortunately, the next Fulci movie I watched was 1981’s Conquest, a dismal sword-and-sorcery picture that was clearly made in work-for-hire mode. It has some stylish character designs and graphic fight scenes, and the trailer puts enough cool moments together that I expected a passable Conan the Barbarian rip-off. Alas, those moments are doled out in an extremely stingy manner and the rest is filled with walking and talking scenes that have almost no energy, resulting in a dull, lifeless slog. (As far as Fulci goes, I also ended up seeing The House by the Cemetery recently, and while I didn’t care for it much, it was a lot better than Conquest.)

That’s about it for my look back at 2015. Happy New Year, and see you in 2016!

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1. A nucleic acid, found mostly in the cytoplasm of cells, that is important in the synthesis of proteins. The amount of RNA varies from cell to cell. RNA, like the structurally similar DNA, is a chain made up of subunits called nucleotides. In protein synthesis, messenger RNA (mRNA) replicates the DNA code for a protein and moves to sites in the cell called ribosomes. There, transfer RNA (tRNA) assembles amino acids to form the protein specified by the messenger RNA. Most forms of RNA (including messenger and transfer RNA) consist of a single nucleotide strand, but a few forms of viral RNA that function as carriers of genetic information (instead of DNA) are double-stranded. 2. A nucleic acid associated with the control of chemical activities inside a cell. One type of RNA transfers information from the cell's DNA to the protein-forming system of a cell outside the nucleus. Some viruses (e.g., HIV) carry RNA instead of the more usual genetic material DNA. See also Cytoplasm; DNA; Retrovirus.
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MegaGear Patreon MegaGear
Strip 594, Volume 4, Page 70

Tokyo Threat Documentation Project
A Fredart banner S-Words
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< Piro >

Ping and Miho, cover art for MT volume 3

"coloring quickly"

Thursday - August 12, 2004

[Piro] - 12:48:00 - [link here]

Well, the past month sure has been, uh, interesting. Seraphim and I have seen so little of our apartment that we think the cats are forgetting who we are and have started to develop the behavioral patterns of abandoned kitties. The level of rampant devastation is such that we are going to have to mount a reconstruction campaign this weekend. At least now we might actually have time to do it, as things have finally settled down a little and the biggest crunch of the year is (hopefully) behind us.

As most of you are aware, the new MegaGear store is up and running and we would like to thank everyone who has shopped with us. :) Aside from problems with the website software (which i will touch on in another rant) everything has been going fine. Lotsa store stuff to talk about, but i'm trying to keep this particular rant short -- i gotta get to work on friday's comic. :) Oh, yeah, must do a little shameless pimping: Please go buy stuff or kimiko will cry. You don't want that on your conscience, do you?

Aside from the store, there were three other things that had been looming over me. There was San Diego Comic Con, which went really well (I haven't yet had a chance to rant about that either. Sheesh, i need to rant more), then Tim from Dark Horse gave me the wonderful news last month that I needed to have the cover artwork for book 3 done by August 8th... a week after the store was scheduled to open. Gee, thanks Tim :P Actually, not Tim's fault, It HAD to be done by the 8th, or they would not be able to release the book in January. So... after recovering from SDCC, rolling into the logistics and brute panic of getting the store off the ground and running smoothly, i had to turn around and produce the cover art for book 3 in less than two days.

It actually didn't come out too bad :) I've posted the artwork over on Fredart, and a mockup of the cover you can look at here. There are some problems with it, but it will do. There had been some speculation as to who would be on the cover of book 3, well, now you know :P

I had planned out the cover sequence for MT books last year, and so far, i think the set is starting to look nice. Book 3 should be pretty cool - it contains some of my best work so far on MT (IMHO) and i'd really like to do something special for the omake this time... we'll see what i can come up with.

The last project I have had to deal with, and the one that is currently slated to take up a chunk of my time this month is a poster for the American Library Association. The ALA has asked me to do a poster for its series of posters and bookmarks for libraries. You know those READ posters you see in the library? Yeah, stuff like that :) They seemed to really like the concept sarah and I pulled together on monday, so hopefully i will be able to finish it by the deadline at the end of the month. All proceeds from sales of this poster will go to support programs and initiatives of the American Library Association, including literacy programs, etc. Sarah and I feel honored to have been asked to do this, so i hope i can do a decent poster for them.

Need to get cracking on the next comic. I wasn't really happy with the art for the last comic, so i'm gonna try to focus more - still a lot to do in this chapter.

< Seraphim >

kinda looks like Domu-kun...

Friday - August 6, 2004

[Seraphim] - 02:25:00 - [link here]

Piro and I returned from San Diego Comic Con to an absolutely stuffed mailbox. It is partly our fault because we forgot to leave the key for the kitty sitter, but that aside, we are totally inundated with credit card applications, offers and mailings. With two individuals and two businesses we get 20 applications per week between us. That's not to mention the credit companies we do business with sending blank checks in the mail. I just love the apps and checks floating around in the mail system. We don't use credit and haven't for years and they just can't wait to get their greedy hooks into us at their mafia interest rates. I haven't used their card in years and they think I'm going to be enticed by their 0% interest for 3 days and then the rate being jacked to double digits greater than my age. Silly sillies.

I bought a commercial shredder to deal with all of it. I really want a shredder that will handles the entire envelope without even opening it and multiple at one time. I want something that will chew it up and spit it out. I need a wood chipper. Maybe I will put my credit to use. It seems like poetic justice.

We do use a piece of plastic that you have to pay off every month to pay for groceries and gas to earn reward points. We have been doing this for eight years and we still can't afford anything! I was looking around the point redemption site and saw under the 'other travel' rewards that for 1 million points you can take a Zero Gravity Parabolic Flight or for a mere 3 million points you can an MIG-25 Edge of Space Flight and for a whopping 20 million reward points you can take a suborbital space flight. That's really great - space travel just almost within the reach of the average consumer with a credit card. We'll isn't that how NASA is essentially funded?

I'm also not extremely fond of people who still write checks in stores. It is SO old technology. Have these folks heard of debit cards? I do still write checks to pay bills because I don't think the utility company that was involved in the great black out of the East should really have automatic billing access to my bank account. I write checks in the privacy of my own home. And if you are wedded to the idea of getting the float from the delay in depositing checks, be careful because some nasty companies are skipping the whole bank business and manually debiting your bank account electronically upon receipt. This just recently happened to us. I really enjoy how the transaction wasn't marked with anything to identify it - like corresponding check number or who initiated the transaction. It was just a big ole anonymous withdrawal.

I think Piro and I will just start bartering on the black market for goods. We'll use manga, comics, computer parts, and anime fansubs to conduct trades. We know a lot a people who would trade the necessities of life for these goods.

megatokyo the comic - copyright © 2000 - 2020 fred gallagher. all rights reserved.

'megatokyo' is a registered trademark of fredart studios llc.


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Beauty | Review

Empties : January 2017

Hi guys, hope you are doing well. I can not tell you how glad I am that I could empty my “empties” box. And the funny story is, I already start filling it again. Empties is one of my favorite videos to watch. It gives me an insight into other people’s skincare routines and it […]

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October Rubybox 2014

I love receiving my Rubybox every month. It’s like getting a prezzie every month from a friend that has put some thought into what to give you. This is my 5th box and I have not been disappointed once. Recently Rubybox has changed alot of their features so that it will be more convenient for their clients […]

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larger key melodica build

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  • #9213
    AvatarEric Siegel

    Sorry for the cross posting, I put this on another forum as well, but this might be more appropriate:

    Hello, all: I just came back from a week at Brazil Camp in Cazadero CA, which was amazing. Hermeto Pascoal, Jovino Santos Neto were two of featured teachers. Anyway, there were several keyboard players there, and some of us brought melodicas, ranging from cheepish hohners to spendy suzuky/hammond 44. We were talking about the challenge of transferring keyboard technique to the melodica, and I started to wonder. Has anyone made–or would anyone be willing to discuss–a melodica with the same keybed as an accordion, and maybe even two reeds like an accordion. To keep weight and size manageable there are a number of potential compromises, like maybe it needs to be played with a flexible hose mouthpiece, or needs a shorter keybed. I think there would be a lot of interest in this kind of keyboard from keyboard players. If anyone has any leads to this or ideas for who might be willing to design a prototype, please contact me at Thanks in advance!

    wow, this is the first time I have heard of this camp, I Would have loved to have participated. I will need to check it out for next year. In regards to your other statement, though many do not see the difference in the melodica from other keyboard instruments besides fingering technique the melodica should be played like a wind instrument and not like a piano using articulation from your mouth rather than from your hands to crate a more human feel to the melody. This was the basis of creating a melodica that could bend a note upwards as well as downwards like brass instruments or human voice. Basically You need to take the mechanical sound out and insert the human factor. The use of dual reeds has been used such as in the Vibrandoneon and recently in the melodica that Tatu Salmela here on Melodica world creating a melodica with Vibrato that incorporates two reeds slightly out of tune with each other to create the vibrato effect. Unfortunately creating a melodica is extremely expensive 🙁

    Daren BanarsëDaren Banarsë

    Eric, what do you mean by the same keybed as the accordion? Do you mean a heavier action? Otherwise, I can’t see too much difference in the keyboard?

    As MM says, 2 reeded melodicas have already been made – I have a couple of Vibrandoneons with 2 sets of accordion style reeds. I actually prefer a more standard melodica to them, as they’re easier to play.

    I also think we should be looking at technique – the melodica is unique, and has many advantages over its free reed cousins because of the wind control, and the light reeds which enable so much expression.

    How do you envisage your ideal instrument? And how would you describe the potential musical advantages? How would it be different from the Vibrandoneon or similar models?

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Life happens.  Ready or not hear it comes.  This past year has been a doozy in the realm(s) of family dynamics, emotional stressors, and  physical and mental weaknesses. I’m not better than a year ago, or still the same. I’ve declined a bit.  And then, a few days before a great family weekend, I get sick.  Laryngitis presented as the first symptom, followed by days of chills and fever, disorientation and the blahs.

I hate the blahs. There they are, in my face. For ‘blahs’ they certainly are mobile.  No matter which way I turn my head, there they are, blocking my view of the good stuff, the fun stuff, the merry-go-round full of people laughing and having a great time together.  Humbug. I hate merry-go-rounds.

The great family weekend was a great family weekend. Twenty-two adults and children in a great house in a great area. I loved the noise of them playing and cooking together. I loved the quick wits. I loved when I got to go into a cool bedroom and sleep while twenty-one people went into town. I loved when they came back and watched a movie while I went back into that bedroom with two sleeping young ones. When  I was back at home I hit the bed and slept most of the next thirty-six hours.

Getting rested up has brought more of the events and activities back into my poor stuffy head, and will probably be a complete picture after Christmas, which I may have slept through… HUMBUG!

Enjoy the holidays. Take pictures. Good-night.

It was the day after Christmas and all through my house

Not a creature was stirring, not a cat, not a mouse

The dog was all settled with me in my bed

And visions of family danced in my head.

The house had been full, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day,

Adults sharing gifts, children at play.

Then came the next day, all quiet and calm

Which to my twitchy soul should have been a great balm.

Instead a great weight fell, rimmed with a dark border

I call the Post Christmas Depressive Disorder.

I’m better today, though, I’m pleased to say.

Two beautiful children are coming to stay.

TV and popcorn and a kiss and a hug

We snuggle together like bugs in rug.

And then tomorrow all through this bright house

Adults and children, maybe even a mouse.

After they leave there returns the dark border

I call the Post Children Depressive Disorder.

Denise A. Carr


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Conference Session

!Earshot Charts

Over the last year at CITR 101.9 we have been developing, in conjunction with a group of engineering students, a new online digital submissions program. This includes a digital submissions page on our website which connects with our online catalogue/podcast/membership program known as “DJLand”. In this session, we’ll chat about a variety of topics such as, CITR’s new digital submissions process, strategies for structuring and maintaining a digital archive, pros and cons of digital libraries, incorporating volunteers and outreach to local artists.

You Can Here the Session Here


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Strawberry picking

Strawberry picking in the North West.

Strawberry picking has become a little family tradition .All three of my little ones love strawberries, so of course each year they love to grab a basket and pick their own.

We originally went a few weeks ago – but moments after arriving heavy rainfall started. As you can imagine it was a little bit of a nightmare. Shouting, crying and no time to pick strawberries!! We ended up back home wet and empty handed.

Yesterday with its bright blue skies and hot sunshine we decided to try again and stock up on our favourite fruit. Strawberry picking is lots of fun. The strawberries looked and tasted amazing! In fact they have almost all been eaten and we might have to pop back again today.

Have you been strawberry picking yet?

strawberry picking at Claremont Farm

12 thoughts on “Strawberry picking in the North West.

  1. I have been trying to go all summer and just not made it. It is such a lovely summer activity and in the sunshine after the rain they will be delicious. It sounds like this was the visit you were hoping for the first time, I’m glad you had your successful visit and some beautiful photos to remember it.

    Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids

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Home > News > 5 Things to Do Before the Semester Ends

5 Things to Do Before the Semester Ends

Alexandria Kasper ’14, Staff Writer

1.Explore the Area- Merrimack College is in the perfect location; we are in the center of everything. If your not familiar with the Boston area (and even if you are), take the train in and spend an afternoon exploring the city. While there is still snow on the ground, take advantage of how close we are to several slopes! Don’t feel like traveling far? Downtown Andover is one minute away and a great place to shop and eat. Get to know your college town!

2. Go to a Sporting Event- Beautiful weather is right around the corner (though it might not seem like it). Springtime is the perfect time to check out a lacrosse, baseball or softball game! There is still time to go to a basketball or hockey game too! Get out there and support your fellow Warriors!

3. Attend a Guest Lecture- Merrimack frequently brings many interesting speakers to campus. Take advantage of it!  Orange is the New Black fans – Piper Kerman, author of the book which inspired the series, will be speaking on March 26th! It is free and open to all.

4. Get Active-  (And running to class does not count). Take a Zumba or Body Pump class in the gym. Looking for a change of scenery? Pure Barre on Turnpike Street in North Andover is the perfect place for girls to get a great workout -beware, its addicting!  In that same plaza is the newly opened, Title Boxing.

5. Seniors- Figure Out Post-Grad Plans -Graduation is in LESS than 100 days! Before all the fun starts (senior formal, senior week, graduation festivities) it is important to have your after college plans figured out. Visit career services if you have questions regarding the job search. Sophomores and Juniors – start looking for internships!

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A Devotion for Monday, April 20, 2020

Scripture Reading:

 Psalm 114 (NRSV)

 1 When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

2 Judah became God’s sanctuary,

Israel his dominion.

3 The sea looked and fled;

Jordan turned back.

4 The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like lambs.

5 Why is it, O sea, that you flee?

O Jordan, that you turn back?

6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?

O hills, like lambs?

7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,

at the presence of the God of Jacob,

8 who turns the rock into a pool of water,

the flint into a spring of water.

Thoughts from “The Word in Season”

 Remembering Reverence

 ” Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.”

It is thought that this psalm was used as part of ancient Israel’s Passover celebration.  The writer highlighted God’s hand in history in contrast to the mythology of Israel’s neighbors, Mesopotamia and Egypt.  In light of God’s wonderful presence with God’s people throughout history, the psalmist reminds readers to have reverence before such an amazing God:  “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.”

How might we give daily reverence to God?  By pausing to praise God for a shimmering sunrise?  By seeking reasons to be grateful to God?  By praying for guidance as to how we can honor God above all each day?  I think you would agree that God is worthy indeed!

Prayer:  Holy, holy, holy God, help me remember to give you daily praise, honor and reverence.  Amen.

 Scripture Reading for Personal Reflection:

 John 20:19-29 (NRSV)

                 19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

                24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin ), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Personal Reflection:

For your personal reflection:  As you read this passage, try to put yourself in that locked room, in the company of the disciples, one of them, and reflect on what you hear – and experience.  Read the passage aloud once, let it settle in your mind.  Then read it silently, to yourself.  Again let it settle in your mind, and in your heart.  Then read it aloud one more time, and reflect on what it might mean for you, and for living your faith – especially in these days.  What peace does our Lord give to us?  What peace do we yearn for?

If you like, do a journal to write down your thoughts.  If you can share this with a spouse or other home companion (child, parent), you can take turns reading the passage aloud – one reading the first time, the other the second time – then after the second reading aloud, you could share your thoughts with each other.

Hymn for Reflection:
“Blessed Assurance” (ELW #638, WOV #699)

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!  Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

       This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long:

       This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.

 Perfect submission, perfect delight; visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love.   Refrain

Perfect submission, all is at rest; I in my Savior am happy and blest,

Watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love.  Refrain

 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

                                                                                – John 14:27 (NRSV)

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor Wayne

Want to do something positive in this uncertain, anxious time?

 Write an encouraging card, note or letter for our elderly friends at Senior Star (there’s a bin in the breezeway where you can place them) – or for one of our shut-ins (Ken Bechtler, Myrtle Danielson, Helen Randall and Barb Morphew) which can be brought to church for delivery.

Or, make some cheerful, simple artwork – for others and for yourself – that can be put in a window to cheer you up, and those who may see it in your neighborhood.

Sign up to ring the church bells to send the message to our community that God is with us in the midst of this time, and that we at Messiah are praying for those who are affected, and for an end to the pandemic.

Do you Quilt?  How about making Masks out of quilting fabric?  It’s supposed to be one of the best fabrics to use, and there are patterns online to make them.

For those affected in any way by the Covid-19 pandemic.

For our congregation in this time of separation, that we would yet be held together.

Have another idea?  Let me know, and I will share it here!


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Technical Death Metal Icons Gorod Reveal Drum Recording Video

New Full-Length Album, Aethra, out October 19, 2018 via Overpowered RecordsGorod

Technical metal icons GOROD recently announced their upcoming 10-track album, Aethra, set to be released on October 19, 2018 via their new international label,Overpowered Records. The album is available to pre-order digitally and in several physical formats via Overpowered Records’ merchandise site.
Today, GOROD revealed a brand new drum recording video featuring drummer Karol Diers. Watch the video and read all about Karol’s recording process on Aethra via Modern Drummer:

Karol tells Modern Drummer:
“This studio recording was a crazy challenge for me because I was actually composing my own patterns and fills during the tracking sessions. Mathieu, the main composer of GOROD, finished writing the last song of the whole album less than one week before I started recording drums!”

Each Monday The Metal Report sends out a list of all stories, interviews, reviews and features we’ve posted for the previous week. You can sign up for it here


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I Ramble: 16 October 2018

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

So turns out my period began yesterday so I couldn’t touch the Quran. Nonetheless, I read up the meaning of Al-Faatihah and watched a lecture on the tafsir or elaboration of that chapter in the Quran. It is a long video, close to an hour but I only watched like 10 minutes of it probably so I’m hoping to resume it tonight.

I have more or less memorised the meaning of the chapter because I was forced to during my religious classes so now it’s a matter of increasing my concentration during the five daily prayers by going through the meaning in my head while reciting it.

What I took away from watching the ten minutes of the video was that as we recite Al-Faatihah, especially the first part of it, we are actually conversing with Allah and He is responding to us. The problem is we often pay lip service to the verses because we most probably didn’t know that He is responding to us with every verse recited. I didn’t know to be honest. So now that I know, it definitely changes the way I view the five daily prayers from simply routine to actually facing my King and engaging with Him.

So that’s about keeping up with my daily Quran. I am happy to say that I washed the dishes last night but kan, I only had a cup and a teaspoon to wash. LOL. Because we Grabbed food last night. Le husband is still sick and was too drowsy to cook.

So tonight’s mission is to keep up my routine and I’ll see if I can manage to do another chore.

Boring, right, my life? But I know you are addicted to the way I write because I simply have a good flair for writing, even on the most mundane things. *flips pen*

Nyohoho! Did you catch that?! I flip pens instead of hair. Wakakaka!

And Allah is Al-Jabbaar, the Compeller. – MM

Published by Baeda

Born 1989. Female. Metropolitan Muslimah. Songstress. Teacher in the Early Childhood Care and Education sector in Singapore. Gooner since the signing of Mesut Özil on 2 September 2013. We won two back-to-back FA Cups since. Made my first trip to the Emirates on 10 May 2015 followed by my first home game against Swansea City on 11 May 2015, which we lost 0-1.

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Get A Quote Now

Travel in a new bus with seat belts
FL Department of Transportation & Safety certified
Official Port Miami tour operator
Bad weather guarantee protection

Planning a private tour just got a lot easier in Miami. Fill out the from below and get a quote in 3 hours

Travel in a new bus with seat belts
FL Department of Transportation & Safety certified
Official Port Miami tour operator
Bad weather guarantee protection
Our Team is staffed by smart and kind people. We've earned the trust of some of the most demanding event planners and travel agents around the world, with our safe driving and efficiency.

No plan or group manifest is too complex. And because we own the buses - our customers get low prices and have less stress - with no "middleman" to get in the way. To request pricing, fill out the form or call (305) 260-6855.

Here's how it works

A quick guide to booking a charter with Miami Tour Company
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for planning a great trip... It's as easy as that!
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(305) 260-6855
The Tour
every day
Customize your schedule
Service all Florida

We provide transportation for all occasions:

  • Airport & cruise ship transfers
  • Bachelor & bachelorette parties
  • Business conventions
  • Church groups
  • Chartered sightseeing
  • Educational tours
  • Family reunions
  • Party bus rental
  • Scavenger hunts
  • Shopping mall trips
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  • Wedding parties

View photos

About the tour

Intimidated by the planning process? Don't worry about a thing. You just found the best tour company in Miami. We own a fleet of new vehicles and will help you save time and money, and make the most of your day!

Because this is a private tour, you choose the start time, pick-up, and drop-off places. To get started, fill out the online form and one of our team members will contact you with the proposal.

Our service area

We can drive anywhere in Florida, but specialize in transportation around Miami, Fort Lauderdale, The Keys & Key West.

When you fill out the form, it allows you to choose multiple dates and locations. This means, the entire trip is fully customized just for you!

Fully licensed & insured

MIAMI TOUR COMPANY maintains passenger liability coverage through National Specialty Insurance. Each vehicle is fully insured.

We are licensed by Florida Department of Transportation (DOT: 1787989FL)

Certified to operate by the following regulatory bodies: MIA (Miami Airport), FLL (Fort Lauderdale Airport) Port Miami, Port Everglades.

Choose the best type vehicle for your needs

56 Passenger Motor Coach40 Passenger Mini Coach14 Passenger Mercedes Van5 Passenger SUV
  • New bus
  • Safe driver who speaks English
  • Low doorway for easy entry
  • 3-point harness seat-belts
  • Secure luggage compartment
  • In-seat USB & power outlets
  • Blue mood lighting
  • Air-conditioning vents
  • Big windows for sightseeing
  • Quiet cabin
  • Clean and odor-free
  • Bottled water
  • Souvenir map (a $5 value!)
  • Sunscreen
  • Fun audio tour with music
  • Custom itinerary

Customers love us because...

Safe driving
Brand new bus
Outlet & USB charging

Attention cruise ship passengers

It's easy to take a tour with us, before or after your cruise.
  • We GUARANTEE you won't miss your boat or flight
  • If your cruise is late or canceled, you get a full refund
  • Your luggage is stored safely on the bus
  • Port Miami Official Tour Operator
  • Certified by Department of Transportation & Safety
  • Higher quality than generic cruise ship tours

Things people like about us

Safe and efficient
Genuine hospitality
Low prices
No hidden fees

What happens after you send the form

You'll receive a proposal in about 3 hours.

Gus & Michelle Moore
Operated by Michelle & Gus Moore
Started July 2008
A+Rating by Better Business Bureau
Michelle and Gus Moore have worked in hospitality their entire professional lives. Their experience ranges from managing the The Miami Tour Company Team to planning corporate events for Microsoft and Gap. They've also been featured as a Small Business Success Story at Google.

They love the outdoors, hot yoga, raising their daughter, and exploring new places with friends.

Any questions, contact us; we are quick to reply.
2020 HALL of FAME

2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020

Consistently great feedback from 1,103 reviews.

Customer reviews

I booked a private tour for 8 after we disembarked from a cruise in Miami January 2016. Our group ranged in age from 16 to 84. A private tour was the best option as it allowed us to pick what we wanted to see and where we wanted to stop. The booking process was easy. We were booked for 6.5 hours with Jeffery as our guide. The tour bus was a Mercedes Benz Sprinter which was perfect, easy to get in and out of and very comfortable. Jeffery was fabulous: he was knowledgeable, funny and polite. He took us to all the hot spots and showed us all the gorgeous homes around Miami ~ a big hit for the ladies on board. At the end of the tour we were delivered to the airport. Thank you Miami Tours for making our last day of our holiday one of the highlights.
Posted by NeedaHoliday from Kitchener, Canada
Verified purchase
Visited January 2016
only wanted to see the Art Deco buildings in Miami, but I got so much more! Jeffery, my personal tour-guide, was very knowlegeable and informative - it was actually more like taking a drive with a good friend. We chatted and shared stories - it was a lovely experience! I wish I could've had more time to see and experience more of this wonderful city!
Posted by sandi262, Kuwait
Verified purchase
Visited August 2015
We have just returned to Italy, and I wanted to thank you on behalf of the whole group for helping to make our vacation unforgettable in Miami. All tours were punctual, very professional drivers, zero problems for us, we do not speak very much your tongue, and so that we could 'in a relaxing way to visit everything' that was in our dreams. Good luck in your work,
Posted by Concetta Maulenull
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Hi Michelle, Thanks for support and help! We enjoyed very much the day trip! Best regards.
Posted by Shaullnull
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33 Delisle Ave 201

$1,149,000, 1 + 1 BED, 2 BATH

The Condo Unit You Have Been Waiting For!! 1035Sf In The Sophisticated And Luxurious 33 Delisle, This Unit Boasts 2 Parking Spaces, Large Master W/ Stunning Ensuite, Lrg Windows, Private Balcony O/Looking Quiet Courtyard & Lots Of Space To Host. Den Is Perfect Space For A Home Office! Spectacular Building W/ All The Amenities Including 24H Concierge, Pool, Gym, Courtyard, Party Room And Lots Of Guest Parking. Located In The Heart Of Yonge And St Clair!

With an ever changing market you need to trust your home to a professional that is honest, experienced and intelligent.

Let me connect you with a network that gets results.


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Under the Same (Shooting) Stars

Under the Same Stars by Fire Fighter's Wife

Under the Same Stars by Fire Fighter’s Wife

“When you fall asleep tonight just remember that we lay under the same stars.”
~Shawn Mendes

C-Net’s report on how to see the annual Orionid Meteor Shower says that:

The Orionids are considered a major meteor shower based on the amount of visible meteors that can be seen racing toward inevitable doom during its active period, which runs roughly from the first week of October to the first week of November.

The show is already active and the American Meteor Society forecasts that a handful of meteors per hour may be visible over the next several days, leading up to the peak on Oct. 20 and Oct. 21, when the number could increase to 20 per hour.

The Orionids are really just bits of dust and debris left behind from famed Comet Halley on its previous trips through the inner solar system. As our planet drifts through the cloud of comet detritus each year around this time, all that cosmic gravel and grime slams into our upper atmosphere and burns up in a display we see on the ground as shooting stars and even the occasional fireball.

Here’s another gorgeous photo & thought from Beth. See more in her Explore gallery on Flickr!

Support Michigan in Pictures with Patreon

Big Red & Lunar Earthshine

Evening Lunar Earthshine by Kevin

Evening Lunar Earthshine by Kevin

Our friends at EarthSky explain that lunar earthshine happens:

When you look at a crescent moon shortly after sunset or before sunrise, you can sometimes see not only the bright crescent of the moon, but also the rest of the moon as a dark disk. That pale glow on the unlit part of a crescent moon is light reflected from Earth. It’s called earthshine.

To understand earthshine, remember that the moon is globe, just as Earth is, and that the globe of the moon is always half-illuminated by sunlight. When we see a crescent moon in the west after sunset, or in the east before dawn, we’re seeing just a sliver of the moon’s lighted half.

Now think about seeing a full moon from Earth’s surface. Bright moonlight can illuminate an earthly landscape on nights when the moon is full.

Likewise, whenever we see a crescent moon, a nearly full Earth appears in the moon’s night sky. The full Earth illuminates the lunar landscape. And that is earthshine. It’s light from the nearly full Earth shining on the moon.

Read more at EarthSky.

Kevin captured the crescent moon hanging in the western sky over the “Big Red” Lighthouse at Holland State Park. See more in his gallery The Moon on Flickr.

More of and about the moon on Michigan in Pictures!

Support Michigan in Pictures with Patreon

Night Sky & Aurora from Empire Beach

Night Sky from Empire Beach by Imagination Works

Night Sky from Empire Beach by Nicholas McCreedy

The NASA/NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a G2 (Moderate) Storm Watch for September 28-29th. This means that folks in Michigan, particularly in the northern half, have a solid chance to see the northern lights!

Nicholas shared some tasty photos of the Northern Lights from Empire Beach in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Click to see them in the Northern Lights/Skies of Leelanau County NW Michigan group on Facebook & you can follow him at Imagination Works on Facebook as well!

Dig into our posts about the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) on Michigan in Pictures for all kinds of tips & science behind this beautiful phenomen!

Support Michigan in Pictures with Patreon

Painting the Night Sky

The Sky Grew Darker… by Fire Fighter’s Wife

“The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.”
― Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance

Beth shared this lovely photo & sentiment. See more in her Landscape album on Flickr.

Also, don’t forget to look for Perseid meteors tonight & for the next week or two!

Support Michigan in Pictures with Patreon

Chasing the 2020 Perseid Meteor Shower

Milky Way over Bond Falls with a dash of Perseids by Sathya

“I am beginning to love the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”
~Sathya R.

EarthSky explains that the annual Perseid meteor shower is one of the most beloved meteor showers of the year, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, where the shower peaks on warm summer nights:

No matter where you live worldwide, the 2020 Perseid meteor shower will probably produce the greatest number of meteors on the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. On the peak mornings in 2020, the moon will be at or slightly past its last quarter phase, so moonlight will somewhat mar this year’s production. Still, there are some ways you can minimize the moon and optimize your chances for a good display of Perseids this year. Here are some thoughts:

The Perseids tend to be bright, and a good percentage of them should be able to overcome the moonlight. Who knows? You still might see up to 40 to 50 meteors per hour at the shower’s peak, even in the light of a bright moon. Will you see over 100 per hour, as in some years? Not likely. Still …

Try to watch after midnight but before moonrise. If fortune smiles upon you, the evening hours might offer you an earthgrazer – a looooong, slow, colorful meteor traveling horizontally across the evening sky. Earthgrazer meteors are rare but memorable. Perseid earthgrazers appear before midnight, when the radiant point of the shower is close to the horizon.

Watch in moonlight, but place yourself in the moon’s shadow.

Consider watching after the peak. People tend to focus on the peak mornings of meteor showers, and that’s entirely appropriate. But meteors in annual showers – which come from streams of debris left behind in space by comets – typically last weeks, not days. Perseid meteors have been streaking across our skies since around July 17. We’ll see Perseids for 10 days or so after the peak mornings on August 11, 12 and 13, though at considerably reduced numbers. Yet, each day as the moon wanes in the morning sky, less moonlight will obtrude on the show. Starting on or around August 17, moon-free skies reign all night long.

You can read about the taking of this photo & purchase a print from Sathya in Chasing the Perseids at his blog Like the Ocean & see more in his awesome Showcase album on Flickr.

There’s more Bond Falls & more Perseids at Michigan in Pictures.

Support Michigan in Pictures with Patreon

Comet Neowise gets better & better!

Lake Michigan … trifecta! by Ken Scott Photography

Space.com says that those who have gotten up before sunrise to gaze into the twilight skies to see Comet Neowise have been greeted by the best comet performance for Northern Hemisphere observers since the 1997 appearance of Comet Hale-Bopp, emphatically ending nearly a quarter-century of lack of spectacular comets, and it’s only going to get better:

The first good opportunity for evening viewing begins on July 12, when the head of the comet will stand 5 degrees above the north-northwest horizon, 80 minutes after sunset (the end of nautical twilight). By July 14 its altitude will have already doubled to 10 degrees, and by July 19 it will have doubled yet again to 20 degrees up by the end of nautical twilight. By then it will have moved to above the northwest horizon.

So, we at Space.com feel that the best time to view the comet during the evening will come during the July 14-19 time frame.

We also strongly recommend that observers should seek the most favorable conditions possible. Even a bright comet, like this one, can be obliterated by thin horizon clouds, haze, humid air, smoke, twilight glow and especially city lights. We especially emphasize that last factor: the farther away you get from a metropolitan area, the darker your sky and the better your view of NEOWISE. Binoculars will enhance your view.

And more good news: No moonlight will brighten the sky, as the moon will be a waning crescent and visible only in the morning sky through July 20. On successive July evenings the comet will grow fainter, but it will be farther from the sun, setting later and visible in a darker sky. As we move into August, the comet will be very well placed for observers with small telescopes.

Read on for more tips & happy comet hunting to you all!

Ken was in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore looking towards the Manitou Islands & writes that he captured Comet Neowise, the Northern Lights and an Iridium Flare plus the bonus reflection on Lake Michigan!! The bright light to right of center horizon is the South Manitou Island Lighthouse. See it bigger on Facebook.

Be sure to follow Ken Scott Photography & view & purchase prints at kenscottphotography.com!

Support Michigan in Pictures with Patreon

See Comet Neowise in Michigan this month!

Comet Neowise by Lake Superior Photo

Comet Neowise by Lake Superior Photo

Shawn of Lake Superior Photo took this photo of Comet Neowise peeking through the clouds and fog yesterday morning. She shares that it’s visible to the naked eye & you can catch it the next few days in the northeast before sunrise!! EarthSky explains how to see Comet Neowise:

We still have to wait for another very bright comet, what astronomers call a great comet. There’s no strict definition for great comet, but most agree that Hale-Bopp – widely seen by people in 1997 – was one. Lesser comets are moderately frequent, though, and, right now, there’s a nice binocular comet in the dawn sky. Some skilled observers have reported that – once you spot it with binoculars – you can remove them and see the comet with the unaided eye. Using binoculars or other optical aid is a must, though, if you want to see this comet’s split tail. The comet is called C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE).

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) is up at dawn now; it will be highest in the dawn sky around July 11. Then it will gradually approach the horizon each day. By mid July (around July 12-15), the comet will become visible at dusk (just after sunset), low in the northwest horizon.

If the comet remains relatively bright, it might be easier to see in the second half of July during evening dusk, because, at that time, it will appear somewhat higher in the sky.

You can view the photo on the Lake Superior Photo Facebook, view & purchase work at LakeSuperiorPhoto.com & also check out this awesome video from Shawn’s YouTube!

Michigan’s 2020 Firework Shows Take a Step Back

Bay City's 'Big Show' - focus pulling by Tom Clark
Bay City’s ‘Big Show’ – focus pulling by Tom Clark

Few things in our normal lives have been untouched by the coronavirus pandemic, and public fireworks displays are no exception. Instead of the normal pages & pages of options, MichiganFireworks.com lists just a couple dozen 2020 shows still happening.

Tom took this photo at the Bay City Fireworks Festival back in 2018. He writes that “Focus Pulling is a technique of adjusting focus from out of focus to tack sharp during a firework explosion over 1 to 3 seconds. similar physical operation as zooming during exposure only you use the manual focus ring instead of the zoom ring.”

Pretty sweet effect! See more at www.tom-clark.net/fireworks!

Support Michigan in Pictures with Patreon

Broken Barn and the Galaxy

Broken Barn and the Galaxy by Jibu John

Broken Barn and the Galaxy by Jibu John

This photo is from July of 2017. See more in Jibu John’s showcase on Flickr!

Support Michigan in Pictures with Patreon

May the 4th be with Michigan!

"Midnight Light" Frankfort, Michigan by John McCormick

“Midnight Light” Frankfort, Michigan by John McCormick

May 4th is known as Star Wars Day – May the Fourth be with you – an annual celebration of one of our shared modern stories. If you’re up before dawn tomorrow, you can step out to see if you can see Eta Aquariid  meteors in the east. Earthsky notes that the forecast calls for the greatest number of Eta Aquariid meteors to fall before dawn on (or near) May 5. However, this shower has a rather broad maximum, so just as many meteors may be flying on the mornings after.

John took this photo of the Frankfort Light back in September of 2017. See it and more in his Starry Night gallery and be sure to follow Michigan Nut Photography on Facebook!

Here’s a supercut trailer to get you in the mood!

Support Michigan in Pictures with Patreon


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Hey y’all, Dux with AvePoint for another episode of Dux Quax. This time around I’m became a member of by my pal Praveen Maloo, Product Evangelist for Microsoft once we discuss everything Microsoft Teams. Where we’re where we’re headed, make sure to look into the video below!

Dux: Hi, everybody! Welcome to Microsoft Tech Summit Sydney. Praveen, it’s this type of phenomenal day, is it not?

Praveen: It’s. I had been here last year’s Tech Summit, and we’ve grown in dimensions a lot since this past year. This can be a brand-new space.

Dux: We’ve, what, like, 3-4,000 consumers?

Praveen: Yeah, between 3-4, yep.

Dux: Why do you not introduce yourself, Praveen?

Praveen: Hi, everybody! I’m Praveen. I’m an item evangelist for Microsoft Teams. Things I do is, basically, discuss how Office 365 and Microsoft Teams can definitely allow you to develop a modern workplace. We’re undergoing this type of huge change in the manner people work, the culture of labor, which just new method of working. Microsoft Teams can certainly help for the reason that journey. That’s things i discuss.

Dux: Look, Praveen. I know you’re so excited and ecstatic, because Microsoft Teams is really a new awesome kid, right? Within the last couple occasions, out of all keynotes, it’s usually about Microsoft Teams. Why all of this excitement around Teams? Why are lots of customers benefiting from it?

Praveen: Microsoft Teams really enables… It’s not only a tool. It enables a different way of working. It’s a cultural change, too. Such things as having the ability to operate in only one central hub, getting not to cope with ten different apps. It’s really critical, right? Enable that seamless method of working, finding yourself in one central hub, and all sorts of your apps, and files, and content, people, and conversations, whatever you need, in a single central hub. Cognitive overload goes really lower. Your emails go lower. Productivity rises.

Dux: Guess what happens? For all of us, we like Microsoft Teams. Generate income take a look at Teams, it’s my new Outlook. Sorry to individuals in Outlook, but, Microsoft Teams is my one-stop shop now, where I recieve the majority of my work done, frankly. With this week or this 2 days at Sydney, do you know the sessions that you’re associated with, and just what are the things you’re considering, and telling people about?

Praveen: There exists a huge presence this season. This past year, at Sydney, we was without a Microsoft Teams session. We simply, within the preview mode, however this year, we’re really big. We simply did a session today where they spoken about how exactly they’ve grown out, really big, with Teams users, about 3,000 users on Teams.

Really taking it one stage further with collaboration. The floor staff, and also the desktop workers, too, information workers. For the reason that session today, later within the mid-day there’s an architecture session, goes much deeper into how Teams is made. Using the very best of SharePoint, and OneDrive, and all sorts of these Office applications.

Then, tomorrow, we’ve sessions on building apps for Microsoft Teams. We’ve greater than 150 partners building apps. You are able to build one, too. If you are thinking about building enterprise dev apps, there is a session tomorrow, after which we’re carrying out a workshop at a lot of our customers too, just walking them through using Teams, telling how they may benefit, just really rapidly, by enabling a few teams to begin using Teams.

Dux: Phenomenal. Introduced, now, at Tech Summit Sydney, the good thing is each one of these sessions are recorded. You should check it on Microsoft Tech Community, watching individuals wonderful Teams sessions. Praveen, I must inquire. You travel the planet, you speak with customers. Any tales that stick out for you personally, on the need for Microsoft Teams, with customers you speak with?

Praveen: Certainly. Probably the most consistent tales that I have seen is the amount of teams using Teams to simply obtain work done, on the day-to-day basis. Artists are using lots of different applications, point-to-point solutions. They’re one vendor for, your house, project management software tools. Another vendor to many other tool. With Microsoft Teams, it truly lessens the ramp-up time for you to bring somebody new to begin using Microsoft Teams for product management, for instance.

Dux: Having a planner integration.

Praveen: Planner integration, PowerBI just searching at the dashboards every day, just keeping on the top of products, because make certain such fast-paced atmosphere, you’d should be really quick when it comes to ramping up. Developing, norming, from the team, is actually quick.

Dux: Developing, norming performing, right?

Praveen: That’s what I’ve been hearing consistently with many different customers at Ignite. We heard a great deal at Tech Summit. Today, I heard a great deal from your customers. Yeah.

Dux: We shouldn’t find yourself in trouble at storming. You want to reach performing.

Praveen: Performing.

Dux: Seems like lots of goodness is originating out, with Microsoft teams. Would you choose to share what’s coming, and also the recent announcement especially around Skype? I understand there’s many people are curious about that.

Praveen: Jeeze! Yeah! Where will i start? Skype for Business and Teams integration is most likely the right place to begin. At Ignite, we announced that. “Hey, we’re searching to getting communications abilities into Microsoft Teams.

Which means you’re already residing in Teams, doing collaboration work, and it is natural that you simply communicate for the reason that one hub. Getting such things as calling, and program, web conference, and conferences, a variety of it has already been there in Microsoft Teams today. We’re getting some advanced abilities during a period of time. Microsoft Teams become one central hub, one client for communications and collaboration needs.

It isn’t just getting everything we have today in Skype for Business. It’s infusing each one of these encounters with AI for instance. Searching at meeting existence cycle, transcription within the cloud, real-time translation. Really cutting-edge technology, and taking the very best of what we should been on Skype for Business, all of this great back-finish infrastructure, learning of worker, of 2 decades, and getting all of the goodness into Microsoft Teams.

That’s certainly the greatest bit of news, and I’ve been speaking to numerous customers here. Apart from that, at Future Decoded, handful of days back, we announced Go Local Strategies. We’ve began to create Teams data obtainable in local data centers, beginning with United kingdom and there exists a couple of new data centers coming within the next couple of several weeks, too.

Dux: And, within Australia, right? They their very own data centers, too.

Praveen: Totally.

Dux: How about each one of these other bulletins, round the connectors and PowerShell abilities?

Praveen: We’ve been doing lots of deal with helping you to, being an IT admin, seize control of steps you can take, manage in a scale.

Individuals individuals acquainted with what that’s, you can handle using partial scripts, quantity of teams you are able to, which are spinning in the business, quantity of channels, quantity of messages being sent, and permissioning, and all sorts of that stuff.

That’s being released. In education, we’re doing lots of great work, so integrating with notebook experience, for instance. Assignment notifications is which makes it the hub for the classroom work. Anything you need to have completed in greater education, or K through 12, lots of bulletins there.

We have launched a brand new application experience. I had been speaking about 150 partner integrations we have, from Hootsuite, Trello, and all sorts of these awesome, popular apps. We’re creating a new experience, where one can just ask these apps really rapidly, take it to make use of inside your day-to-day project management software, and day-to-day collaboration.

Dux: Awesome. For individuals that haven’t attempted Teams, or they’re searching to Teams, just how can they best get began? Exactly what do you recommend? Where whenever they go, and just how whenever they start?

Praveen: If you are a workplace 365 user, everyone has Teams. You’d get access to Teams. In case your IT organization has allowed Microsoft Teams for the tenant, you could sign in to Teams at

This is where you’re going to get began. I’ve found, in many organizations really, beginning there, just dealing with, getting in their… We team together, so, locating a team champion, really, and beginning to make use of Teams for chat activities. Doing backwards and forwards, and file discussing for instance, in Teams. That’s an excellent place to begin, after which it builds organically after that, where you’re getting in most other applications that you’re employed in your peripheral applications that you’ll require.

Dux: Awesome. Praveen, of course, it’s great to talk along with you.

Praveen: Best to talk to you, too, Dux.

Dux: Make certain everyone take a look at, and look for all of the sessions around teams at Microsoft Tech Summit. Apart from that, many thanks. Possess a great one, bye!

Praveen: Thanks!


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Microwave oven 1.1 cu. ft, TIBEK worktop microwave oven with clever sensor, contact management panel with ECO mode and sound on / off, popcorn button, computerized weight and time defrosting, youngster security, 900 W – The Union Journal

Price: $ 96.00
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Community Foundation Fund

    • $

CFMClogo_WebThe mission of the Community Foundation is to enable donors to give back to our community by establishing various types of charitable funds. We offer these services through a very small but efficient staff and a business plan that maximizes efficiencies while reducing costs.

You are creating community impact when you support the work of CFMC. Behind every grant, fund, workshop, donor, event … YOU. You make our work possible and touch every thing we do to enhance and enrich the quality of life in Middlesex County – for everyone. Your support of the Community Foundation Fund a strong Foundation which supports and enhances the work of hundreds of donors and nonprofit organizations.

It takes leadership, compassion, and a dedicated staff to “Help Good People Do Great Things.” Your gift to the Community Foundation Fund helps sustain the Community Foundation’s continuing work of promoting philanthropy in Middlesex County.

Thank You.


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Inclusive Fintech to Respond to COVID-19

The Mifos Initiative and its global community can help the Base of the Pyramid absorb the severe economic shock of the pandemic through the innovation of inclusive fintech enabling the rapid delivery of G2P benefits, flexible and streamlined operations, and an accelerated transformation towards digital payments and branchless channels.

We provide an end to end open source banking architecture consisting of Open Building Blocks for digital financial services including composable and reusable components built as microservices, accessible via APIs, and deployed onto reference mobile apps.

The underbanked and members of the informal economy were already vulnerable but the COVID-19 pandemic has had an even more devastating impact on them and their ability to sustain their livelihoods while maintaining proper health.

With economies on lockdown and traditional forms of financial inclusion constrained, there is a critical need to:

  • Rapidly transfer cash and benefit payments directly to individuals
  • Extend additional credit to micro, small and medium enterprises.
  • Ease the existing debt burden of individuals
  • Reduce the amount of physical contact and usage of cash in delivering financial services.

Financial Inclusion can be a bedrock of this response, our open building blocks and global community enables inclusive fintech that:

  • Enable governments to rapidly open up bank accounts in the cloud through Mifos and make transfer payments via interoperable digital rails like Mojaloop
  • Digitize operations and increase the capacity and lower the costs of providing credit to MSMEs.
  • Utilize the flexibility of Mifos to nimbly respond to the needs of borrowers by rescheduling loans and putting moratoriums on payments
  • Go digital by enabling cashless transactions via mobile money and branchless operations via self-service channels  via mobile and online.

End to End Architecture Accessible via APIs

Open Building Blocks for Digital Financial Services

Virtuous Cycle Across a Global Open Source Community

Mifos can enable the rapid deployment of bank accounts across an entire country providing a modern, cost-effective, and highly connected banking infrastructure to reach the underbanked.

Opening these accounts and disbursing benefits is just the beginning as our digital financial services platform provides the foundation for a thriving FinTech ecosystem delivering innovative financial services. Each individual can be reached through a single point of integration via Open APIs.

Mifos Community in Action

Across our global community, our Mifos partners have been nimbly able to help the fintechs and financial institutions they support respond to the challenges of their customers by leveraging the configurability, extensibility, and ability to extend the Mifos codebase and data model.

Take Action

Here’s how you can get involved or begin using our stack.

Use Mifos in the Cloud

Experience how rapidly you can deploy accounts into the cloud by signing up for your own sandbox instance of Mifos X powered by Corent and Azure.

Digitally Transform

Are you ready to go branchless or provide self-service channels to your customers?  Explore our suite of mobile apps you can build on top of to extend your reach further to your customers.

Build New Innovation

Looking to build an inclusive fintech solution and don’t want to re-invent the wheel? Focus on your product and customer by building on our open core banking infrastructure.

Learn More

Read our Financial Inclusion 2.0 whitepaper to discover how to enable the rapid deployment of bank accounts across an entire country providing a modern, cost-effective, and highly connected banking infrastructure to reach the underbanked.

Make a financial contribution to help support us in hosting institutions in the cloud, creating and extending our building blocks, and cultivating collaboration across our global community.

Sharing your time and talent with our initiative is a priceless way to support our community. We need technical and non-technical volunteers alike who can strengthen our platform and product as well as business and fundraising advisors to grow our community and initiative.

Resources on COVID-19

Our peer organizations across the sector have done a great job compiling resources, articles, and discussion forums related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on financial inclusion and inclusive fintech.  Our very own, James Dailey, co-authored this article on the opportunities and challenges for the informal economy on


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Made from quality steel and improved grip for better control.
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Senior ID Program

The Miles for Memories Senior ID Bracelet App.

The Miles for Memories Senior ID Bracelet Thumb Drive.

Your loved one is missing and you need to notify the emergency responders. You tell them his/her name, but what do they look like, what medications are they taking, what special conditions do they have?

Another key component of returning a missing loved one is the Senior ID Program. It starts with an interview process, with a caregiver, that collects vital information first responders need when helping your loved one find their way back home. Basic identification information is gathered including a photo, video, and fingerprints. The information that is collected is given back to the caregiver in one, or all, of three ways: 1) uploaded to Senior ID app which only the caregiver has access to, 2) loaded on a thumb drive that is given back to the caregiver, and 3) printed out and given back to the caregiver for later reference.

No information (personal, photos, video) is saved from the interview process, except that what is given back to the caregiver.

Note: If the person and/or caregiver elects to participate in the Help Home Program also, most of the information will be entered and stored on local database managed by the Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority 911 Center.

Sign Up With The Senior ID Program

It takes approximately 15 minutes to complete the process when you come with a completed Help Home form. In order to complete all aspects of this program the person living with dementia should be present. For details on community programs visit us on Facebook. Pre-registration is suggestion to set an appointment time. There is no cost to participate in this program.


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Around the Web (Part 2)

Check out these recent articles from around the web:

Friends of Merton by Dan Horan: “Thomas Merton continues to exercise an ‘apostolate of friendship,’ bringing people together across many divides. If you haven’t met Merton and his friends yet, I encourage you to do so.”

The Five Lessons of Good Friday by Fr. James Martin, SJ: “If we do something sinful or make immoral decisions that lead to our suffering, we could say that this suffering comes as the result of sin. But most of the time, particularly when it comes to illness and other tragedies, it is assuredly not. If you still harbor any doubts about that, think about this: Jesus, the sinless one, suffered a great deal.”

Mary Magdalene, the Closest Friend of Jesus by Timothy Shriver: “In this man’s moments of his most extreme vulnerability, he was supported, sustained, and accompanied by one consistent friend: a woman, Mary Magdalene.”

Two Homeless People Freeze To Death Just Miles From The White House by Scott Keyes: “Though just an inconvenience for many, cold temperatures can be extremely dangerous for those with no shelter. Indeed, life-threatening hypothermia can set in even at temperatures well above freezing. Dozens of homeless people have died this winter from exposure to the elements, from New York to Chicago to California.”

A gesture of defiance by The Economist: “But in this election ordinary Afghans have sent a message: to their own politicians that stability is more important than sectional interest; to the rest of the world that their country is worthy of continued support; and to the Taliban that its claims to represent Afghanistan are hollow.”

Grisly torture photos from Syria stun U.N. officials by AP: “The U.N. Security Council fell silent Tuesday after ambassadors viewed a series of ghastly photographs of dead Syrian civil war victims, France’s ambassador said. The pictures showed people who were emaciated, with their bones protruding, and some bearing the marks of strangulation and repeated beatings, and eyes having been gouged out.”

The economic culture war over the minimum wage by Paul Waldman: “With the national debate over the minimum wage likely to intensify into 2014, Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin has signed a law passed by the Oklahoma legislature that would forbid any municipality in the state from passing its own law setting the minimum wage higher than $7.25. Not only that, it forbids cities and counties from requiring employers to provide paid sick days or vacation days. Above all, this is a reminder that in many ways, the minimum wage fight is taking on the feel of a culture war. Call it an economic culture war.”

Why atheism doesn’t have the upper hand over religion by Damon Linker: “The fact is that there are specific human experiences that atheism in any form simply cannot explain or account for. One of those experiences is radical sacrifice — and the feelings it elicits in us.”

Republicans and Democrats Both Claim to Be Pro-Family. Here’s How They Can Prove It by Matt Bruenig and Elizabeth Stoker: “We calculate that a child allowance of $300 per month per child would have cut child poverty by 42 percent in 2012. Such a reduction would have lifted 6.8 million children out of poverty, plus another 4.7 million parents.”

Just Friends by John Conley, S.J.: “In discovering other human beings as mature friends, we give the lie to our society’s myth that other people exist only to fulfill our economic or sexual ambition. The path to a truly humane life, one built on virtue, disinterested service and an ungrasping praise of God, is suddenly open.”

Victims of bullying live with the consequences for decades by LA Times: “Victims of bullies suffer the psychological consequences all the way until middle age, with higher levels of depression, anxiety and suicide, new research shows.”

Around the Web

Check out these recent articles from around the web:

Family values hypocrisy by EJ Dionne: “Politicians talk about family values but do almost nothing to help families. They talk about parental responsibility but do almost nothing to help parents. They talk about self-sufficiency but do precious little to make self-sufficiency a reality for those who must struggle hardest to achieve it.”

Ideas From a Manger By Ross Douthat: “The secular picture, meanwhile, seems to have the rigor of the scientific method behind it. But it actually suffers from a deeper intellectual incoherence than either of its rivals, because its cosmology does not harmonize at all with its moral picture.”

The Case for Accomodating Nursing Mothers by Beth Haile: “Women who want to nurse shouldn’t feel like they are sacrificing their careers or a robust feminism if they choose to do so.”

Preparing a generation of ‘Francis bishops’ by John Allen, NCR: “If those postulates are correct, we can draw some early conclusions about what a ‘Francis bishop’ looks like — ideological moderates with the broad support of their fellow bishops and a real commitment to the social Gospel.”

Love my neighbour as myself? I don’t think so by Mathew Block, First Things: “The idea that poverty is someone else’s concern—that I bear no personal responsibility in caring for my neighbours—is a regrettable consequence of self-centered North American individualism: If it doesn’t impact me directly, then it’s not my problem.”

New Delhi: archbishop, priests and nuns arrested during peaceful demonstration by Asia News: “Police in New Delhi arrested Archbishop Anil JT Couto, as well as priests and nuns from his diocese, during a peaceful march for the rights of Dalit Christians and Muslims.”

The Bipartisan Pre-K Push by Conor Williams: “The debate over public early childhood programs isn’t going away anytime soon, so we owe it to ourselves to make sure that expansions of these programs are designed with both kids and their parents in mind.”

In Remembrance: Reading the Christmas Letters of Jean Bethke Elshtain (1941-2013) by John D. Carlson, Religion & Politics: “Elshtain’s Augustinian preoccupation with the limits of politics necessarily implies that there are other heights and hopes, other surges and swells, of human life that no polity can create—and that only morally deficient polities seek to destroy. What is so theologically revealing about the limits of politics is the capacious room left open for so much else: for life’s abundant ‘goodness that overflows the boundaries of the self and invites all to join in.’”

Eating Salt Together: The Real Life of a Home by John A. Cuddeback, Family Studies: “Home—the very word should resonate with feelings of warmth, belonging, togetherness. It should be the most reliable place of real personal intimacy, the surest antidote to the great bane of human existence: loneliness. But more and more, it is not.”

Capitol Exhortations by John Carr: “House Republicans are seeking major cuts in food stamps over reductions in agricultural subsidies, practicing priority for the rich and well-connected. Until the pope’s challenge, Washington had been silent about pervasive poverty and its structural causes, with apparent acceptance of high joblessness, stagnant wages and destructive pressures on families.”

Catholic education reflects shift from North to South by John Allen: “Of the 1.2 billion baptized Roman Catholics on the planet today, two-thirds live outside the West, a share that’s expected to reach three-quarters by mid-century. While Catholic populations in Europe decline, sub-Saharan Africa’s Catholics shot up by almost 7,000 percent in the 20th century and continue to grow. According to Vatican statistics released Thursday, the same broad trajectory runs through the enterprise of Catholic education.”

Political Strife in South Sudan Sets Off Ethnic Violence by NY Times: “After President Salva Kiir announced that his government had headed off a coup attempt by his former vice president last week, South Sudan was tossed into uncertainty and upheaval. Hundreds are believed to have been killed in the capital, Juba, with thousands more fleeing into the bush to escape the violence.”

Response to Samuel Gregg’s criticism of Evangelii Gaudium by Morning’s Minion, Vox Nova: “A whole political movement continues push for tax cuts for the rich combined with a weaker social safety net for the poor. The only justification for these policies is that they will “trickle down” in the form of growth and jobs. They have not. They never will. They lead to an economy of exclusion. The pope understands all of this, but I’m not sure Samuel Gregg does.”

Advent, Counterculture, and Prayer by Jennifer Owens, Daily Theology: “As a culture, we suffer from this consumerism, this compulsive desire to acquire more than we need that leaves the economically poor without enough and, ironically, leaves us feeling empty, the more we acquire.  It comes from a place of insecurity, of fear that we will not be seen as ‘good enough’ in the eyes of the world if we don’t have the right ‘stuff’ in life.”

Around the Web

Check out these recent articles from around the web:

2013 American Values Survey: Libertarians by Michael Sean Winters: “As you can guess, I would place myself firmly in the communalist camp. And, I am not alone. One of the happier findings of the study is that Catholics are only about 11% of libertarians, but a full 29% of communalists. Go Catholics!”

Food stamps will get cut by $5 billion this week — and more cuts could follow by Brad Plumer, Wonkblog: “The U.S. food-stamp program is set to shrink in the months ahead. The only real question is by how much.”

A Reason for Hope in Congo’s Perpetual War by NY Times: “By Saturday evening, after two straight days of pitched battle with artillery, tanks and mortars, the Congolese Army had driven the M23 rebels out of the strategic town of Kibumba.”

Kony 2013: U.S. quietly intensifies effort to help African troops capture infamous warlord by Washington Post: “U.S. troops have forged unconventional alliances, collaborating with members of the advocacy group whose viral Internet video last year made Kony one of the world’s most famous thugs and coordinating with two American philanthropists who are paying for teams of tracking dogs to accompany the African forces.”

Atheists Don’t Get God By Robert Barron: “I often tease the critics of religion who take pride in the rigor of their rationalism. I tell them that, though they are willing to ask and answer all sorts of questions about reality, they become radically uncurious, irrational even, just when the most interesting question of all is posed: why is there something rather than nothing? Why should the universe exist at all?”

A prime time for learning by Arnold Schwarzenegger: “There is a large and growing body of evidence showing that comprehensive after-school programs help inspire kids to learn and help working families. They also give children a safe place to be in the afternoon hours when school is out and parents are still at work.”

Communion(s) of Saints by Rev. Aaron Pidel, S.J.: “If we are now more aware of and articulate about social dimension of our faith, paradoxically, it may be that we are inwardly removed from community to such a degree that it now comes into focus as a conscious object of aspiration. In other words, we may thematize faith’s social dimension more precisely because it has ceased to be the very air we breathe.”

A Saint for Our Times by John Carr: “Who are the Catholic lay men and woman who sees faith as an asset, not a burden; public life as a vocation not war by other means; who stand against the tides to defend the weak, the unborn, the poor and vulnerable. They are there, but there will be more of them if we find ways to lift up the lives, faith, hope and love of people like Sargent Shriver.”

A War on the Poor By Paul Krugman: “So there is indeed a war on the poor, coinciding with and deepening the pain from a troubled economy. And that war is now the central, defining issue of American politics.”

To be in that Number: Death and the Communion of Saints by Andrew Staron: “We can find that in our love for our friends, we are freed from our fearful desire to be the exception and instead embrace the end shared by us all, not because it is inevitable, but because it is the end that comes to our friends.”

Around the Web

Check out these recent articles from around the web:

McDonalds’ suggested budget for employees shows just how impossible it is to get by on minimum wage by Robyn Pennacchia: “I don’t want to live in any kind of dog-eat-dog Ayn Rand erotic fantasy. Human beings are worth more than that. Anyone who works 40 hours a week (nevermind 74 hours) ought be able to take care of all the basic necessities in life. Corporations shouldn’t be able to pay their workers nothing, keep all of the profits to themselves, and expect taxpayers to make up the difference with social programs. It’s not fair to the workers, and it’s not fair to any of us.”

The Number One Thing we Need to Stop Doing in the Gay Debate by Sacred Tension: “Until we stop invalidating each other’s integrity, we will never have a productive, life-affirming, and Christ centered dialogue about homosexuality. As long as we create a moral caste system and put our supposed opponents one step below us, the gay debate will never be anything more than a war that destroys the church.”

Teens chase kidnapping suspect on bikes, save 5-year-old girl  by CNN: “Two teenage boys are being hailed as heroes after they chased a car carrying a kidnapped girl — on their bicycles.”

Hazel Hammersley, 2-Year-Old Cancer Patient, Gets The Sweetest Pizza Party Of All Time by Huffington Post: “More Reddit users sent pizzas — over 20 pies arrived! Lauren rushed back to the hospital, and the family invited Hazel’s friends to join the SWEETEST PIZZA PARTY EVER.”

America’s One-Child Policy by Brandy Zadrozny, The Daily Beast: “Right here in the U.S., many working-class women are being forced to give up their larger domestic ambitions due to the crippling costs associated with raising a family with more than one child.”

Tobacco Free College Campuses by Dr. Howard K. Koh: “The Tobacco-Free College Campus Initiative, a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the University of Michigan and the American College Health Association, encourages the voluntary adoption of tobacco-free policies at institutions of higher learning across the nation. These policies not only support the many people on college campuses who are trying to quit but also dissuade young adults from starting.”

Dear Jezebel: Real friends don’t count chromosomes by Secular Pro-life: “The solution to people being mistreated is to fight against the mistreatment, not to kill off the people being mistreated.”

Samantha Power, at confirmation hearing, faults U.N. for ‘disgrace’ in Syria by Washington Post: “Samantha Power, the Obama administration’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told a Senate panel Wednesday that the U.N.’s failure to halt mass killing in Syria is a ‘disgrace that history will judge harshly.’”

When profiling is “reasonable,” injustice becomes excusable by Fr. Bryan Massingale, US Catholic: “You don’t have to wear a hoodie or sagging pants to be perceived as a threat. The very presence of a black man in any space that violates the expectations of those in authority can constitute sufficient probable cause for suspicion and danger.  This is why the verdict of ‘not guilty’ has touched a deep well of resentment, sadness, and horror in many African American men (and in those who love us). For I not only know that if I had a son he could look like Trayvon; I know that I could be Trayvon.”

Interesting Conversation with an Atheist about the Moral Law and You Know Who  by Mark Shea, National Catholic Register: “I and others have been attempting to point out that insofar as her moral commitments have any hope of being universal and transcendent moral imperatives binding all human consciences, and not mere expressions of her subjective preference for cheddar over swiss, she will have to abandon her atheism as wholly incapable of accounting for such transcendent moral imperatives.”

Darfur in 2013 Sounds Awfully Familiar by Nicholas Kristof: “The resumption of mass atrocities in Darfur, after a bit of a lull, has led villagers to flee to this refugee camp, Abgadam, in southeast Chad. It is full of Darfuris who have arrived in recent months after Sudanese government-sponsored militias began a new spasm of murder, rape and pillage against two minority ethnic groups.”