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Palm Springs Film Festival: Patrick Stewart's comedic talent lights up 'Match'

Actors Carla Gugino, Matthew Lillard and Sir Patrick Stewart pose at the "Match" screening during the Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 3, 2015 in Palm Springs, California. ; Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for PSIFF

R.H. Greene

Is there a happier star in Hollywood than Patrick Stewart?

Certainly no one seems to be having more fun than the onetime Star Trek captain and current (and seemingly permanent) X-Man. And why shouldn't Sir Patrick be pleased with himself? He really has got it all: a thriving stage profile in both New York and London, the unconditional love of a vast and loyal fan base, and a film career that oscillates freely between franchise blockbusters and the small, character-driven chamber pieces Stewart so clearly relishes.

"Match" is about as small a movie as Stewart has ever appeared in: a well-intentioned three-character film studded with very funny dialogue courtesy of writer/director Stephen Belber, upon whose play "Match" is based.

Stewart plays an aging gay dance instructor named Tobi Powell, who may or may not have sired a child back in the swinging 60s – an era movies now take to have been 10 years of uninterrupted orgy punctuated by Beatles records and gunshots aimed at the Kennedy brothers.

As the saying goes, "If you can remember the '60s, you weren't there." Stewart's Tobi Powell was vibrantly there at the time, so it's perhaps natural that he can't seem to recall whether or not one of his rare couplings with a female partner might have had some unintended consequences.

Mincing slightly and speaking in an accent that sounds Midwestern by way of Wales, Stewart is an absolute blast to watch. His genuine (and usually underutilized) flair for comedy is roguishly on display, allowing "Match" to shift between pathos and farce with an assurance born more of the performer's bravado than the emotional contours of Belber's somewhat overeager text.

Though allegedly a bit of a shut-in, Tobi is a minor masterpiece of a lost and exuberant art form: the exaggerated star turn. It's unsurprising Frank Langella got a Tony nomination for playing him on Broadway a decade ago, and at least a bit unexpected that Stewart has gone completely unnoticed this awards season, even by the nomination-happy Golden Globes.

Belber's best writing is mostly his comedic stuff. One aria comparing cunnilingus to knitting may just be the best scene of its type since Meg Ryan faked an orgasm in "When Harry Met Sally" a quarter century ago.

Solid and believable supporting turns from Carla Gugino and Matthew Lillard add to the fun until Belber's script bogs down in the third act into the kind of paint-by-numbers epiphany shtick even TV has given up on at this point.

WATCH: The official trailer for "Match," starring Patrick Stewart

Everybody cries. Everybody changes. Everybody yawns.  Or I did anyway.

Still, go see this movie — or better yet, watch it on your phone, since it's shot almost entirely in close up — to see a grand and gracefully aging actor strut his stuff with contagious delight. You will definitely laugh, and, God, does this movie hope you'll also cry.

But if you do weep, don't be surprised if, like Tobi himself, you hate yourself in the morning.

Off-Ramp contributor R. H. Greene is covering the 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, where he recently saw the new comedy "Match" starring Patrick Stewart. "Match" comes to theaters and video-on-demand on Jan. 14.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.




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Chamber Music Forum: Nikolaas Kende, piano and Jolente De Maeyer, violin (November 14, 2024 7:00pm)

Event Begins: Thursday, November 14, 2024 7:00pm
Location: Earl V. Moore Building
Organized By: School of Music, Theatre & Dance


The Departments of Chamber Music and Piano present this Belgian piano/violin duo in a master class, coaching U-M students on the performance of piano chamber music.

GUEST ARTIST BIOS

One of the leading Belgian violinists, JOLENTE De MAEYER, has brought her virtuosity and passionate interpretations to diverse global audiences. She is recognized as an exceptionally gifted artist, reflected in the numerous awards and effusive reviews she has received for both her live performances and recordings.

Prizewinner of several international competitions in Portugal (Cardona Competition), Russia (Liana Issakadze Competition) and London (Benjamin Britten Competition), the international career of Jolente started with a successful participation at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Performances with all major Belgian orchestras and concert tours in Europe and the United States followed. She made her debut in Florida, Vermont, California, Washington DC and Canada in 2017. This was followed by an extensive tour in South Africa. Future engagements include concert tours in Europe, Canada, United States and China.

Her recordings include concerti by Saint-Saëns and Vieuxtemps with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège with Christian Arming, awarded an ‘Editors Choice’ from Diapason, and the CD *Kreutzer Sonata* with duo partner Nikolaas Kende, awarded a ‘Gold Label’ from Klassiek Centraal.

After an invitation from Yehudi Menuhin when she was 14 years old, Jolente studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School near London. She continued her studies in London, Berlin and Waterloo where she graduated in the class of Augustin Dumay in 2013.

Since 2018 Jolente is professor violin at the Conservatory of Tilburg, the Netherlands and since 2021 also at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. Jolente has given masterclasses in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Texas and California.


“Poet in every inch of his fingers” - *Le Progres*

NIKOLAAS KENDE has been praised for his poetic playing and honest, passionate musicality. Critics have honored his sensitive and visionary musicianship and his flawless skills always serving the music. Both as soloist and chamber musician he is a highly demanded pianist on international concert stages.

A winner of several competitions, including the Cantabile, EPTA, Vriendenkrans Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Tenuto competitions, Nikolaas started performing in all major halls in Belgium and the Netherlands. Highlights included the performances of the piano concertos by Brahms, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and Bartok with Brussels Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, National Radio Orchestra Romania, among others.

After a concert at the Festival de Dansa y Musica Granada in 2019 *Ideal* wrote: "This promising pianist caresses the keyboard, expressive with colors and tender with the melody and all the degrees of affection that typify the romantic soul."

Besides being a regular guest at the Festival of Flanders, he has also performed at festivals in Italy (Ravello, Rome, Bari), France (Menton, Montpellier, Vexin), Portugal (Coimbra), Germany (Görlitz, Munich, Bad Berleburg) , Austria (Salzburg), Ireland (Westport), UK (Cotswolds), Czech Republic (Prague), Spain (Zaragoza, Madrid).

Nikolaas made his debut in America in 2009 with the 1st piano concerto of Brahms. This debut was well received in the press, “One could almost imagine a young Brahms at the keyboard doing precisely the same thing: more intent on communicating his piece than dazzling listeners with his performance.” Since then he has returned to America annually and has toured in Texas (Houston, Austin, San Antonio), California (San Francisco, Fresno, LA) and Vermont, Florida, California, Texas, Washington DC and New York. In 2019 amongst others his debut for the 'Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts' in Chicago. He also performed in the Netherlands Antilles, Canada and South Africa, where several tours followed.

In 2018 he made his debut in China with recitals in Bejijng, Harbin, Chongqing and Chengdu. Concerts in Shanghai, Xi'An, Yangzhou and Guangzhou followed in 2019. Also for the next seasons, concerts are planned in North America, Canada, South Africa and China.

As a chamber music partner he was a member of the Narziss und Goldmund trio and the Rubens Ensemble. His duo with violinist Jolente De Maeyer, which exists for almost 20 years, is often praised in the press for its exceptional synergy and harmony. The duo's debut CD *Kreutzer Sonata* was released by Warner and won a Golden Label from Klassiek Centraal for best chamber music album of 2016. De Standaard wrote about this: "You want to listen to this captivating recital album again immediately after the last track." In 2020 their next CD *Remains* was released by Evil Penguin Records.

Nikolaas studied in Antwerp with his parents, Heidi Hendrickx and Levente Kende, in Amsterdam with Jan Wijn and in Munich and Fiesole with Elisso Virsaladze. In addition he studied with such artists as Murray Perahia, Aldo Ciccolini and Radu Lupu.

In 2015, Nikolaas was appointed professor of piano at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. He has given masterclasses in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Texas, California and China.




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After violent attempted coup, Turkish authorities must strengthen, not weaken, rule of law and independence of judiciary, says ODIHR Director Link

WARSAW, 21 July 2016 - Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today underlined that the principles of rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights need to be upheld in Turkey, following the attempted coup.

“Any attempt to overthrow democratically elected leaders is unacceptable and is to be condemned. In responding to these unconstitutional events, however, all actions by the Turkish authorities must not exceed the legal framework of the Turkish Constitution and Turkey's international human right commitments,” said Director Link. “In investigating these events and holding responsible those who have attempted the coup, the authorities must ensure that human rights standards, due process, fair trial rights and respect for the independence of the judiciary are respected. Talk by authorities of a possible reintroduction of the death penalty and the summary firing of thousands of judges are clearly crossing the line of existing legal standards."

The ODIHR Director’s statement follows reports that thousands of judges and prosecutors across the country were detained, arrested or dismissed from their positions immediately after the failed coup attempt.

“These actions raise serious concerns regarding the Turkish authorities' respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Also the newly announced three-month state of emergency cannot legitimize disproportional measures, such as, among many others, the recently announced work-travel ban on academics,” Director Link said.

At the OSCE summit in Istanbul in 1999, OSCE participating States agreed to promote the development of independent judicial systems. This principle is further stressed in other OSCE commitments that call upon participating States to respect judges’ freedom of expression and association, guaranteed tenure and appropriate conditions of service, and the discipline, suspension and removal of judges according to law.

“ODIHR is ready to offer any assistance to Turkey in this challenging moment. Putting those who attempted the violent coup on trial is crucial,” said Director Link. “ODIHR is available to monitor these trials, in line with its existing and proven methodology. A Turkish invitation to the OSCE to monitor these trials would demonstrate Turkey's compliance with international standards, even in times of a state of emergency.”

Related Stories



  • Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
  • Press release

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OSCE Mission, police to discuss how to help prevent violent extremism and radicalization in Kosovo

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 27 June 2016 – The OSCE Mission together with the Kosovo Police will hold a two-day conference on preventing violent extremism and radicalization, starting tomorrow in Prishtinë/Priština. 

The conference will gather representatives of law enforcement agencies, religious communities, civil society, academia and media, and will explore a multi-disciplinary approach to addressing the threats of violent extremism and radicalization in Kosovo.

Participants will also elaborate on measures taken so far to prevent violent extremism and radicalization, as well as the challenges they face.

Major Fatos Makolli, Director of the Directorate against Terrorism of the Kosovo Police, and Naim Hoxha, Organized Crime Advisor at the OSCE Mission, will deliver opening remarks.

Media representatives are invited to attend the opening of the conference on Tuesday, 28 June 2016, at the Hotel Sirius in Prishtinë/Priština, starting at 09:30 hrs. 

Related Stories





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Álvaro Pombo: "Cervantes no tuvo ningún premio. Fue un pringado genial que sólo tuvo el talento y el buen humor"

Pombo explica en la RAE su relación con la lengua española, la filosofía, la ironía y la idea de fragilidad que intuye en Cervantes Leer





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One Day Model And Talent Audition Workshop

PlayList Management, LLC [PLM], a local talent management & development company, has joined forces with Scott Cooper, CEO & Founder of Talent Inc. and Evolution Management Company to host a Model and Talent Audition Workshop on Saturday, January 31st, 2015. PLM said, “Scott wants to see Bermuda’s talent and will offer industry insider advice on […]




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Bermudians To Attend Florida Talent Showcase

PlayList Management, LLC [PLM], a local Talent Management & Development Company, through their Atlanta affiliate, Studio 27 Model and Talent, is sending eight talented Bermudians to Talent INC., a National Talent Showcase, held in Orlando, Florida next month [March 2015]. A spokesperson said, “Last summer, Studio27 Model and Talent, in conjunction with PLM, launched its […]




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My Conversation with the excellent Neal Stephenson

Here is the audio, video, and transcript. Here is part of the episode summary: In Neal’s second appearance, Tyler asks him why he sometimes shifts from envisioning the future to illustrating the past, the rise of history autodidacts, the implications of leaked secrets from the atomic age to…




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Meloni silent as Mattarella slams Musk’s ‘intervention’ in Italian affairs

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has kept quiet on Elon Musk’s recent comments criticising Italian judges for again blocking Meloni’s migrant transfer policy with Albania, while President Sergio Mattarella responded to the billionaire, calling for respecting Italy’s sovereignty. Commenting on…




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Grant Ellis' season of 'The Bachelor' is already teasing plenty of drama to come. Here's what to know.

After getting eliminated during week six of "The Bachelorette," Grant Ellis will return as the next Bachelor. Here's what to know about season 29.




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Pardon Steve Baker and the Nonviolent J6 Defendants

Donald Trump promised repeatedly to pardon hundreds of people caught up in the events of January 6, 2021. For those who marched peacefully through the Capitol, it's time for the nightmare to end.




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Violent extortion threats forced him to transform his life. He wasn't alone





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Interested in Attracting New Talent?

With the official launch of the 2025 Commercial Career Start Program — a strategic initiative to develop the next generation of commercial talent in the hospitality industry; We are proud to announce the program’s first two hotel partners; Marriott International and IHG Hotels & Resorts, reinforcing our shared dedication to fostering young talent in the hospitality industry. More partners will be announced in the months to come leading up to the Commercial Strategy Week in London in January.




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Assembly of ionic supramolecular polymers using a decacationic pillar[5]arene to noncovalently crosslink hyaluronic acid for short DNA delivery

Org. Chem. Front., 2024, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D4QO00447G, Research Article
Qian Li, Danying Ma, Yue-Yang Liu, Hui Wang, Wei Zhou, Dan-Wei Zhang, Zhan-Ting Li
A multicationic pillar[5]arene noncovalently crosslinks hyaluronic acid to afford ionic supramolecular polymers for intramolecular delivery of short DNA.
To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above.
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry




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India, Russia discuss economic cooperation, facilitating mobility of talent and skills




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Superhydrophilic covalent organic frameworks accelerate photocatalytic production of hydrogen peroxide through proton channels

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D4TA01785D, Paper
Xiaojuan Bai, Linlong Guo, Tianqi Jia, Zhuofeng Hu
Superhydrophilic COFs with D–A structure accelerate photocatalytic synthesis of H2O2 using water as a proton supply reservoir.
To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above.
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry




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Synthesis of a pyridine-based covalent organic framework as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D4TA00892H, Paper
Shixi Zhong, He Zhao, Yingming Ji, Xiuhua Li, Ting Shu, Zhiming Cui, Shijun Liao
Covalent organic framework (COF) materials with redox activity have emerged as promising electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries.
To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above.
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry




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Regulating Pt-Covalent Triazine Frameworks Schottky Junction by Tailor-Made Nitrogen Sites towards Efficient Photocatalysis

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D4TA00618F, Paper
Chao Li, Lijiang Guan, Jin Zhang, Cheng Cheng, Zhaoqi Guo, Zhihong Tian, Li-Ming Yang, Shangbin Jin
Covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) of designable nitrogen-rich structures, which can form Schottky Junction with Pt nanoparticles, have been extensively studied in photocatalysis. However, how to tune the interaction inside the...
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry




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Pi-extended hypervalent iodine macrocycles and their supramolecular assembly with Buckminsterfullerene

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2024, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D4TC04251D, Paper
Krishna Pandey, Samsul Arafin, Grayson Venus, Eli Jones, Yachu Du, Mina Dumre Pandey, Tahir Awais, Lichang Wang, Kyle N. Plunkett
Hypervalent iodine based macrocycles with enlarged aromatic cores can form extended supramolecular assemblies with Buckminsterfullerene.
To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above.
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry




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Keeping A Good Great Lent

Fr. Barnabas helps us enter the season of Great Lent with the right attitude and with good strength for the journey.




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OSCE calls for multidisciplinary approach to preventing violent extremism in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Partnership between the security sector, civil society, local government and communities, and the private sector is of vital importance to effectively counter violent extremism in Bosnia and Herzegovi




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Developing counter narratives to combat online violent extremism content, in focus of OSCE-supported course in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina this week organized a series of short courses, which concluded today in Sarajevo, on the use of Internet and social media in developing counter narratives to online content promoting violent extremism




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OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s youth summits challenge stereotypes and promote tolerance to counter violent extremism

Some 100 high school students, pedagogues and psychologists from across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) took part in two youth summits in Teslić and Vogosća this week co-hosted by the OSCE Mission to BiH and the BiH Security Ministry ...




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InPost CEO on Q3 results: we are relentlessly focused on delivering

InPost Group has announced it’s Q3 24 results this morning, featuring significant gains in volumes, sales and profitability, as well as continued expansion of its locker network in all key markets.




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Видео с текстом от SILENT WINTER

SILENT WINTER опубликовали официальное видео с текстом на композицию “We Burn The Future”. Этот трек взят из нового альбома "Utopia", релиз которого намечен на 22 ноября на No Remorse Records.
#Silent_Winter #SilentWinter
Видео: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbFmmEt9ynY




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Toptalent van Real zet op amper 19-jarige leeftijd punt achter carrière: "6 september 2022 veranderde mijn leven" - sporza.be

  1. Toptalent van Real zet op amper 19-jarige leeftijd punt achter carrière: "6 september 2022 veranderde mijn leven"  sporza.be
  2. Real Madrid-talent (19) moet nu al stoppen met voetballen: ‘Ik ben bevoorrecht geweest’  AD
  3. Zeer treurig nieuws uit Spanje: Real-talent (19) moet noodgedwongen stoppen  VoetbalPrimeur.be
  4. Real Madrid-talent (19) gedwongen te stoppen: 'Ik heb alles gegeven'  Voetbal International




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A Miming Mashup That Goes Through the Ages! (Also, Talented Ladies)




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Health anxiety: the silent, disabling epidemic




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Tolentino: No PNP officer, politician helped Guo escape from PH

MANILA, Philippines — No police nor any politician helped Alice Guo escape the Philippine jurisdiction, at least according to the internal investigation conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP). Sen. Francis Tolentino, who was speaking on behalf of the PNP as the agency’s budget sponsor, bared the matter during the Senate’s marathon plenary debates on the 2025 funding. Prior to Tolentino’s disclosure, opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros asked what was the result of the “internal investigation” conducted by the country’s police force. READ: Alice Guo says someone ‘initiated’ her escape “There was an investigation and the result was that no member […]...

Keep on reading: Tolentino: No PNP officer, politician helped Guo escape from PH




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World Diabetes Day 2024: Early and surprising signs of the silent killer - The Times of India

  1. World Diabetes Day 2024: Early and surprising signs of the silent killer  The Times of India
  2. U.S. Diabetes Rates Rise to Nearly 1 in 6 Adults  Avery Journal Times
  3. Healthwatch: Millions of Americans have diabetes and don't know it  CBS Chicago
  4. CDC: 1 in 6 American adults have diabetes, costs rise  Business Insurance
  5. 16% of Adults Have Diabetes; Compounded Semaglutide Deaths; Testosterone Tx Surge  Medpage Today




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The Relationship Between Change Management Consulting and Valentine's Day


If you've made a New Year's resolution but have not read this blog entry yet, there may still be hope. Most people have probably broken their New Year's resolutions by Valentine's Day. How can you prevent this from happening to you?

Digging up a study from the University of Washington, there are some key suggestions for succeeding with one's resolutions:

- Have a strong initial commitment to make a change. - Have coping strategies to deal with problems that will come up. - Keep track of your progress. The more monitoring you do and feedback you get, the better you will do.

As it turns out, these are the same types of principles that apply to change management consulting projects in the business world. Although style of change management tactics in organizations also plays a role (e.g., leading people to a goal versus spreading gasoline around a organization and coercing people by insinuating that a fire is going to happen), many change management initiatives fail to work out because:

- organizations get distracted, - do not use project management methods to manage processes (e.g., date, milestone, & issue tracking), - or ignore the importance of using a microscope on activities early on in the process of change.

Steve Shu Managing Director S4 Management Group Email: sshu@s4management.com Web: http://www.s4management.com




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{Excellent!!} Church History - A Biography of William Tyndale (Mp3)

William Tyndale part 2 by Andy Davis | Mar 7, 2009 | Topic: Christian Biography



  • Christian Study
  • Christian Church History Study
  • 3. 1522 A.D. to 1880 A.D. - Indigenous Bible translations and Church Doctrines era - The Reformation
  • Christian Mp3's FREE

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An epic film - Luther: The Movie (2003) - Martin Luther, the brilliant man of God whose defiant actions changed the world (sparked the Protestant reformation) {An excellent movie about God and mankind and the relationship between the two. It also well doc

Luther: The Movie, DVD --> Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) stars as Martin Luther, the brilliant man of God whose defiant actions changed the world, in this epic film that traces Luther's extraordinary and exhilarating quest for the people's liberation. Regional princes and the powerful Church wield a fast, firm and merciless grip on 16th-centur Germany. But when Martin Luther issues a shocking challenge to their authority, the people declare him their new leader - and hero. Even when threatened with violent death, Luther refuses to back down, sparking a bloody revolution that shakes the entire continent to its core. Approx. 2 hours 4 minutes.



  • Christian Church History Study
  • 3. 1522 A.D. to 1880 A.D. - Indigenous Bible translations and Church Doctrines era - The Reformation

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The Dark Ages - Early Middle Ages (DVD $16.99) {In case you have ever wondered if Satan is raging a relentless war against the Christian Church and against mankind in general this History documentary will lay aside all doubts.}

Between the Fall of Rome and the dawn of the Renaissance, Europe plunged into a dark night of constant war, splintered sovereignties, marauding pagans, rabid crusaders and devastating plague. That anything of value arose from this chaotic muck - much less the Renaissance - is nothing short of miraculous. Through masterful cinematography and ground-breaking research, THE DARK AGES brings to life this amazing and mysterious time. Relive in striking detail critical turning points in the Early Middle Ages including the fall of Rome to the Visigoths, the horrors of Bubonic Plague, the rise of Charlemagne and the launching of the First Crusade.



  • Christian Church History Study
  • 2. 313 A.D. to 1521 A.D. - Revised Rome and the Holy Roman Empire
  • Christian Videos

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{Excellent!!} Remnant X Radio: No King But Jesus by Tish Bowling (Mp3)

On this episode of "No King But Jesus" Tish Bowling will continue her discussion about the first admendment. She will be covering, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. -- Please plan to join us! Peace and God Bles to his Elect!




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!!Excellent -- What's the Big Deal about the KJV - (YouTube)

Sam Gipp delivers the truth cleverly and effectively in this short docu-drama.




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Frontline Source Group, Inc. Wins Inavero's 2017 Best Of Staffing® Client And Talent Awards

Frontline Source Group, Inc., a leading professional staffing firm with nationwide offices announced today that they have won Inavero's 2017 Best of Staffing® Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and job seekers.




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Frontline Source Group Wins Inavero's 2018 Best Of Staffing® Client And Talent Awards

Frontline Source Group, a principal employment agency in the staffing industry, announced today that they have received Inavero's Best of Staffing® Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and job seekers. Presented in partnership with CareerBuilder, Inavero's Best of Staffing winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality. This award is based entirely on ratings by their clients and the employees for whom they've coordinated job placements.




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How to Attract, Hire, and Retain Unicorn-Level Talent

How do you hire, onboard, and retain a great team?

You start by viewing your company through the EQ lens to discover your organizational obstacles―the elephants standing in the way of your company's success.

Attend this webinar, How to Attract, Hire, and Retain Unicorn-Level Talent, as headhunter and executive coach Caroline Stokes delivers a blend of recruiting and emotional intelligence strategies essential to helping you identify and tackle your elephants and acquire and retain key hires―those unicorns―that will help your company stand out, stay resilient, and drive growth.

complete article




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Excellent Portents

 I'm still in New Zealand, and life is weird but good. 

Amanda and I are raising our small boy, and I love being swept along in his enthusiasms. Zombies was mostly replaced by Star Wars while I was away. Since I've been back, Star Wars has mostly been replaced by Tintin and Dinosaurs and Sea Monsters, and Tintin and Dinosaurs and Sea Monsters appear to be slowly transmuting into Greek Mythology and Asterix and Obelix. This morning he ate breakfast in character as Obelix, complaining about the lack of Roast Boar, and then lecturing me on all the Greek Heroes who battled monsters (his list consisted of Theseus, Perseus and Herakles. He got very excited when I told him about Odysseus.)


Hair prior to recent haircut. I look like a bush.

Hair after haircut. I look less like a bush. Ash and I are poring over The Seven Crystal Balls. Photo by Amanda


I've done one public event since I've been here -- the Auckland Writers Festival. Here's the video of the first event, in which Lucy Lawless interviewed me and Amanda.


I did another talk -- just me -- and a six hour long signing the following day. It was wonderful to meet the people, but I'm definitely out of practice at doing marathon signings. I kept thinking about the nine months I spent on Skye, during which time I probably interacted with a dozen people who were there, and that includes trips to the little shop in Uig and socially distanced walks with archaeologists on the hills. New Zealand has definitely done right by its people, and that just makes the losses around the world even harder.

Amanda's already vaccinated. I'm due to get vaccinated in a couple of weeks.

The Netflix Sandman is taking up a lot of my time right now.  (Today I received a first cut of episode 9, and a finished-except for music and VFX cut of episode 4 to watch.)

Here's the Sandman First Look Behind the Scenes release from Netflix. 



(I saw an earlier version of this in which I could be seen marvelling at a copy of The Sun newspaper with the headline TUG OF LOVE BABY EATEN BY COWS, because the determination of the team to make it Sandman is astonishing -- to the point where I sent an email to Allan Heinberg, showrunning, last week, while I was watching the Dailies, and I told him of an error I'd spotted. He pointed out right back that the error was in the panel in Sandman 10 they'd used as their reference. I told them not to fix it. That kind of fidelity can only be applauded.)




And in the meantime, all of the writing time, and a lot of the meeting time (because the people I am meeting are in countries on the other side of the world it's either early in my morning or very late at night), has been taken up by two other projects I haven't talked about yet, although they've been 90% of what I've been doing for the last 18 months. But let's leave them for the next blog entry. It'll give me an incentive to write one.






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Really bloody excellent omens...

Many, many years ago (it was Hallowe'en 1989, for the curious, the year before Good Omens was published) Terry Pratchett and I were sharing a room at the World Fantasy Convention in Seattle, to keep the costs down, because we were both young authors, and taking ourselves to America and conventions were expensive. It was a wonderful convention. I remember a huge Seattle second-hand bookstore in which I found a dozen or so green-bound Storisende Edition James Branch Cabell books, each signed so neatly by the author that the bookshop people assured me that the signatures were printed, and really ten dollars a book was the correct price. 

I could afford books. Good Omens had just been sold to UK publishers and then to US publishers for more money than Terry or I had ever received for anything. (Terry had been incredibly worried about this, certain that receiving a healthy advance would mean the end of his career. When his career didn't end, Terry suggested to his agent that perhaps he ought to be getting that kind of advance for every book from now on, and his life changed, and he stopped having to share a hotel room to save money. But I digress.) Advance reading copies of Good Omens had not yet gone out, but a few editors had read it (ones who had bid for it but failed to buy it) and they all seemed very excited about it, and thrilled for us.


On the Saturday evening Terry left the bar quite early and headed off to bed. I stayed up talking to people and having a marvelous time, hung in there until the small hours of the morning when they closed the hotel bar and all the people went away, and then headed up to the hotel room room. 


I opened the door as quietly as I could and tiptoed in the dark across the room to where my bed was located.


I'd just reached the bed when, from the far side of the room, a voice said, “What time of the night do you call this then? Your mother and I have been worried sick about you.”


Terry was wide awake. Jet lag had taken its toll.


And I was wide awake too. So we lay in our respective beds and having nothing else to do, we plotted the sequel to Good Omens. It was a good one, too. We fully intended to write it, whenever we next had three or four months free. Only I went to live in America and Terry stayed in the UK, and after Good Omens was published Sandman became SANDMAN and Discworld became DISCWORLD and there wasn't ever a good time.


But we never forgot it.


It's been thirty-one years since Good Omens was published, which means it's thirty-two years since Terry Pratchett and I lay in our respective beds in a Seattle hotel room at a World Fantasy Convention, and plotted the sequel. (I got to use bits of the sequel in the TV series version of Good Omens -- that's where our angels came from.)


Terry and I, in Cardiff in 2010, on the night we decided that Good Omens should become a television series.


Terry was clear on what he wanted from Good Omens on the telly. He wanted the story told, and if that worked, he wanted the rest of the story told.


So in September 2017 I sat down in St James' Park, beside the director, Douglas Mackinnon, on a chair with my name on it, as Showrunner of Good Omens. The chair slowly and elegantly lowered itself to the ground underneath me and fell apart, and I thought, that's not really a good omen. Fortunately, under Douglas's leadership, that chair was the only thing that collapsed. 




The crumbled chair.



So, once Good Omens the TV series had been released by Amazon and the BBC, to global acclaim, many awards and joy,  Rob Wilkins (Terry's representative on Earth) and I had the conversation with the BBC and Amazon about doing some more. And they got very excited. We talked to Michael Sheen and David Tennant about doing some more. They also got very excited. We told them a little about the plot. They got even more excited.


Rob Wilkins and David Tennant on the second day of shooting.

Me and Michael and Ash aged nearly 2.
What it was mostly like shooting Good Omens: peering into screens while something happened round the corner.



I'd been a fan of John Finnemore's for years, and had had the joy of working with him on a radio show called With Great Pleasure, where I picked passages I loved, had amazing readers read them aloud and talked about them.


(Here's a clip from that show of me talking about working with Terry Pratchett, and reading a poem by Terry: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06x3syv. Here's the whole show from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OsS_JWbzQ with John Finnemore's bits too.)




L to R: With Great Pleasure. John Finnemore, me all beardy, Nina Sosanya (Sister Mary in Good Omens) Peter Capaldi (he played Islington in the original BBC series of Neverwhere).

I asked John if he'd be willing to work with me on writing the next round of Good Omens, and was overjoyed when he said yes. We have some surprise guest collaborators too. And Douglas Mackinnon is returning to oversee the whole thing with me.


So that's the plan. We've been keeping it secret for a long time (mostly because otherwise my mail and Twitter feeds would have turned into gushing torrents of What Can You Tell Us About It? long ago) but we are now at the point where sets are being built in Scotland (which is where we're shooting, and more about filming things in Scotland soon), and we can't really keep it secret any longer.


There are so many questions people have asked about what happened next (and also, what happened before) to our favourite Angel and Demon. Here are, perhaps, some of the answers you've been hoping for. 


As Good Omens continues, we will be back in Soho, and all through time and space, solving a mystery which starts with one of the angels wandering through a Soho street market with no memory of who they might be, on their way to Aziraphale's bookshop. 


(Although our story actually begins about five minutes before anyone had got around to saying “Let there be Light”.)








  • Good Omens
  • What time of the night do you call this then?

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