#stage de ski progression

[black-arcana]

Ex-DELAIN Singer CHARLOTTE WESSELS Explores 'Heavier Sound' On Upcoming Solo Album

Charismatic Dutch singer/songwriter Charlotte Wessels is set to release her new studio album on September 20, 2024 via Napalm Records. The LP's first single, "The Exorcism", will arrive on May 16, 2024.

Wessels's album promises a cohesive exploration of fear and liberation, as well as spellbinding melancholia and dark, catchy elements meeting progressive and heavier soundscapes. Charlotte and her band will bring this story to the stage on October 4, 2024 at Utrecht's TivoliVredenburg.

The former DELAIN vocalist's earlier solo endeavors, "Tales From Six Feet Under" (2021) and "Tales From Six Feet Under Vol II" (2022) already gained Wessels a remarkable number of devotees, but for the upcoming release, Wessels is raising the bar significantly. While still writing and producing the songs in her Six Feet Under basement home studio and sharing their first incarnations with her patrons, now she's taking the songs to the next level with a band of her fellow ex-DELAIN cohorts Timo Somers (guitars, additional arrangements),Otto Schimmelpenninck Van Der Oije (bass) and Joey Marin De Boer (drums) as well as Sophia Vernikov (piano/hammond),contributing to the new, heavier sound. The album also features arrangements by Vikram Shankar (SILENT SKIES, PAIN OF SALVATION),cello by Elianne Anemaat, mixing by Guido Aalbers (MUSE, COLDPLAY, THE GATHERING) and mastering by Andy VanDette (PORCUPINE TREE, VOLA, DREAM THEATER).

Wessels states: "This album is significant, for on the one hand, telling such a deeply personal journey — through its unintended theme of fear and obsessive thoughts — and at the same time, representing the joy of finding the song's true forms with everyone involved in the making of this record. There were moments in the studio with the band that truly reminded me of why I love making music in the first place, and I don't think I've ever been as excited about music going out into the world. This is the album I want to re-introduce myself with, and I'm so glad to do it with this amazing team."

In a 2022 interview with Spain's The Metal Circus TV, Wessels was asked how she feels about the fact that DELAIN made a comeback with a new lineup. A short time earlier, DELAIN released a single, "The Quest And The Curse", featuring keyboardist, founder and main songwriter Martijn Westerholt alongside new singer Diana Leah, original guitarist Ronald Landa and original drummer Sander Zoer, plus bassist Ludovico Cioffi. Charlotte said: "I'm trying not to engage with it too much, honestly. I've seen positive responses about it, which I think is good. But I do try to keep some distance and just focus on what I'm doing rather than checking that out, because I still don't feel like that will make me happier per se."

In February 2021, Westerholt announced the dissolution of DELAIN's previous lineup. At the time, he explained: "For the last year or so, the collaboration within the band ceased to work as well as it once had. Some of us were no longer happy with the current roles in the band. We all tried very hard to find a solution for over a year, but sadly we were unable to find one. As a result, we will all be going our own ways and pursuing our own endeavors.

"I am very sad our cooperation has come to end, but at the same time I am very grateful for all the years we were able to work together. Together we toured the world, shared highs and lows, and met with many successes as well as times that pushed us to learn and grow. We all enjoyed meeting our fans and making new friends all over the globe."

At the time, Wessels said about her departure: "I know that you might have questions about the 'why' in all of this. I fully understand and respect that. Simply put, it is the sad conclusion of more than a year of trying to find solutions to built-up grievances. Part of me feels like I'm letting all of you down, I'd like you to know that this decision was not taken lightly and I apologize to those of you who had high hopes of seeing all of us together live on stage again after lockdown. Until recently, I thought this might still be in the cards for us as well."

The new DELAIN lineup made its official live debut in August 2022 at the Riverside festival in Aarburg, Switzerland.

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe

[williamgunst]

Arnaud Durand : « Mattéo Baud, plus mature, mais toujours fougueux ! »

Arnaud Durand : « Mattéo Baud, plus mature, mais toujours fougueux ! »

Athlète de notre Team SPORTMAG, Mattéo Baud donne cette fois la parole à Arnaud Durand, son entraîneur de ski de fond pour l’Equipe de France de Combiné Nordique.Tout d’abord, après tout un été de travail et de stages, comment Matteo a-t-il évolué ?Pour ma part, c’est la deuxième saison que je suis dans le groupe France A. Mattéo progresse et continue de s’améliorer. Pendant l’été, nous passons…

[morganpetitniot]

Calendrier des stages de ski progression 2019/2020 - Mise en ligne

Calendrier des stages de ski progression 2019/2020 – Mise en ligne

Salut [[PRENOM]], Ça y est !!! Le calendrier des stages de ski progression 2019 / 2020  est DIS-PO-NIBLE ! Les clients du Labo du skieur ont eu un accès prioritaire pendant 1 semaine et aujourd’hui c’est la mise en ligne publique 🙂

Si vous avez décidé de nous rejoindre, alors réserver votre place dès que vous le pouvez ! Suite à une grande demande cette saison nous avons ouvert plus de date et…

[aasthrielle]

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[xtruss]

Recounting 'Seven Sins' of the US' Alliance System

— Bu Wuwen | June 4, 2021 | Global Times

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Alliance is the evil weapon of hegemony. This is a common consensus reached among most countries, and one of the founding missions of the United States of America.

George Washington, the founding father of the United States of America, had repeatedly warned the American people to prevent the country from copying its European allies' pursuit of hegemony. In his farewell address in September 1796, Washington reinforced the idea that it was their 'true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world."

The US, driven by its irresistible greed for power, is now ironically what its founding father forewarned of and the world abominates. American geostrategist Zbigniew Brzezinski declared that the supremacy of the US in the world is supported by a fine system of alliances that covers the whole world.

The US is now desperate to find its few remaining nickles, being the over-spender it is, after being struck by financial crises and the COVID-19 pandemic. As an incurable addict of hegemony, the US cast its eyes on its allies. The US has created a gang out of the alliance system, whose trail is full of partisanship and fratricide.

We shall now recount the seven sins of this gang. '7 sins' of the US' Alliance System Infographic: Wu Tiantong — Global Times

1. Concealment

Those who chase profits are often entangled together — Old Chinese saying

Japan has recently declared that it would directly discharge the radioactive wastewater from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean, which has raised worldwide concern. Surprisingly, the US, a self-proclaimed shining beacon of environmental protection, human rights, and justice, betrayed Asian-Pacific countries and the Earth, and expressed "appreciation" in response to Japan's decision, exposing its hypocrisy.

None of this comes as a surprise. The US was always known for its double standards, where fairness and justice are nothing more than arbitrary fig leaves.

In Sharpeville of South Africa, during the apartheid era, the government opened fire on black demonstrators, killing 69 of them in the Sharpeville Massacre. In order to contain the former Soviet Union's influence in the Third World, the US could not accept losing an anti-communist ally. In the end, the "leader of the free world" cravenly defended the all-white government in South Africa without hesitation.

In fact, the standard criteria for the US' decision-making process are ideological confrontation and geopolitical interests. To serve its purpose, it stages nasty Faustian deals at any cost; it sells its soul to the devil in exchange for its gains.

2. Lying

We lied, we cheated, we stole. We had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment. - Michael Pompeo

In the past two decades alone, the US-led Multinational Coalition and Coalition of the Willing caused countless tragedies by fabricating lies.

Using a tube of detergent as evidence of weapons of mass destruction, the US launched the Iraq War that killed 250,000 civilians in the Gulf country. Jessica Lynch, a female private in the US Army was injured in the war and saved by Iraqi medics. CNN, however, falsified the story and said that Lynch was tortured as a prisoner in Iraq, and was a witness for human rights abuses. In 2007, Lynch testified in a congressional hearing that the US Army made false claims about her capture.

A decade later, the US replicated the Iraq lie. It fabricated footages of Syria using chemical weapons on civilians, which was a convenient excuse for the US to launch air raids on another country. From 2016 to 2019, the recorded number of civilian deaths in Syria was 33,584. Half of the 3,833 victims killed by bombs dropped by the US-led coalition were women and children.

Fortunately, the truth is beginning to reveal itself. Recently Vice President Kamala Harris blurted out: "You know for years and generations wars have been fought over oil." This matches the American magazine Foreign Policy's comment that "safeguarding human rights" isn't the driving force for US' external warfare, but a means to seek interests.

Hegemony monopolizes absolute power and dehumanizes the US into moral bankruptcy. The historically flaunted promised land of progression and idealism has now fallen. All is lost.

— Wu Tiantong | June 4, 2021

3. Violence

The Americans of the United States have achieved this double result with a marvelous ease, calmly, legally, philanthropically, without shedding blood, without violating a single one of the great principles of morality in the eyes of the world. You cannot destroy men while better respecting the laws of humanity. - Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville

Hegemony is by nature coldblooded. Throughout its 245 years of history, the Americans enjoyed as few as 16 years without war. From the end of WWII to 2001, the world had seen 248 armed conflicts in 153 regions, and 201 of them were started by the US.

In 1989, the US invaded Panama to depose the de facto Panamanian leader. In 1999, the US-led NATO forces, without authorization from the United Nations Security Council, bombarded the former Yugoslavia and "accidentally" bombed the Chinese embassy, killing three Chinese journalists. Since 2001, the US has started wars or military actions in Iraq, Libya, and Syria, leaving more than 800,000 dead and tens of millions of refugees.

The US military dragged its allies to wars that caused unprecedented refugee crises. Statistically, the number of refugees reached 11 million in Afghanistan, 380,000 in Pakistan, 3.25 million in Iraq and 12.59 million in Syria. About 1.3 million Afghans went to Pakistan and 900,000 to Iran. Of the Iraqi and Syrian refugees, about 3.5 million fled to Turkey and 1 million to Iran.

The US military always hit the headlines for its ruthless prisoner abuses. In addition, Australia proved to be a reliable lackey, allowing its soldiers to slaughter civilians in Afghanistan.

4. Plunder

The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion, but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do. - Samuel P. Huntington

In the US' alliance system, war is the most immediate way to plunder. The US, the world's top war machine, writes the word "plunder" on every page of its history of more than 200 years.

Dwight D. Eisenhower concluded his presidential term by warning the US about the increasing power of the military-industry complex. Michael Brenes, professor of history at Yale University, in his To Defeat the Radical Right, End American Empire pointed out that the American military has long been fertile ground for the far right and they together built the warfare state.

After unpegging the US dollar from gold in 1971, the US shaped a USA-US military-US dollar trinity to support its hegemony. In collaboration with its allies, the US grabbed control over the oil resources in the Middle East to prevent its dollar hegemony from falling apart, and also opened the door to plunder the region's wealth.

The US profits from every global crisis, such as from the crises in Russia and Eastern Europe when the former Soviet Union collapsed; from the Balkan Peninsula when the former Yugoslavia broke up; from the Four Asian Tigers and Southeast Asia during the Asian Financial Crisis. During the 2008 financial crisis, the whole world had to pay the American debt. Now, the US has brought out a $1.9 trillion stimulus package which, in fact, means massive amounts of banknotes will be issued to tamp down the exchange rates of foreign currencies, and consequently take advantage of the rest of the world.

Relying on its financial hegemony, the US has robbed tens of trillions of dollars from other countries. The victims, though filled with anger, are so afraid of the American military alliance which is armed to the teeth, that most of them choose to keep silent.

5. Infringement

The judicial system leaves you no room to have faith in it. It's like peeling layers and layers of onion skin. Every layer that you peel, your eyes get more teary to the point where you can't peel anymore because your eyes are so watery. You're literally weeping, and the Bible talks about this, until you have no more strength to weep. - Emmett G. Price III, host of WGBH, a public radio station located in Boston

The American alliance system expertly manipulates international rules. Power trumps justice in the pursuit of self-interest. The US chooses which international laws to enforce based solely on its convenience. In recent years, the US pulled out of the Paris Agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Treaty on Open Skies, and the INF Treaty, revoked the signing of the Arms Trade Treaty, and handled the renewal of the New START Treaty passively. It is addicted to breaching treaties.

Moreover, it feels glorified instead of being ashamed, and starts to advocate the "rules-based international order" in which the "rules" refer to its alliance's own rules and unequal terms.

The US and its allies challenged the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea with the Freedom of Navigation. They attempted to prevent the International Criminal Court (ICC) from investigating its crimes committed in the Afghan War at all costs, which included threatening the ICC investigation staff that they would be subject to retribution.

In the information sphere, the US is a hackers' empire. Early in the Cold War, it organized the notorious Five Eyes alliance to monitor electronic communications worldwide. The US blames others for information theft and cyber-attacks while it covertly obstructs cyber security.

In 2013, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee Edward Snowden brought to light the PRISM program operated by the US, which was a surveillance program targeting both citizens and political figures on a global scale. Also in 2013, Der Spiegel disclosed that the National Security Agency (NSA) had installed spyware or modified hardware in the computers before they were delivered for foreign diplomats' use.

In 2017, WikiLeaks released thousands of confidential documents that exposed how the CIA was hacking the world. In 2020, it was revealed that since the end of WWII, the CIA has been controlling a Swiss encryption company to intercept top secrets of many countries, including its allies.

6. Destruction

Moral depravity defines US politics. The United States is regarded as the greatest threat to world peace. - Noam Chomsky, US philosopher

The US and its allies have long been the fallen angel that wreck foreign regimes and regional peace.

According to Covert Regime Change: America's Secret Cold War by Assistant Professor Lindsey O'Rourke at Boston College, in the 42 years between 1947 and 1989, the US had 64 covert subversions and six open operations. The US seems to show more excitement and enthusiasm for overthrowing foreign regimes than it does for celebrating Christmas.

After the Cold War, the US has turned into an even more unscrupulous interventionist. Its frequent attempts to export the Color Revolution brought the Arab Spring. Unfortunately, it only brought an Arab Winter and an Arab Disaster.

In his On Western Terrorism: From Hiroshima to Drone Warfare, Noam Chomsky sorrowfully wrote, "This relatively short period has arguably seen the greatest number of massacres in human history. Most of them were performed in the name of lofty slogans such as freedom and democracy."

The US boasts its grandiose offshore balance strategy with its soft power and smart power when in reality, it is merely thick black theory full of schemes. In contrast to the Eastern tradition of valuing harmony and peace, the Anglo-Saxon world (the US and the UK) believes that disagreements and conflicts equals opportunity.

The US manipulated NATO to squeeze Russia's geo-space, and undermined the EU-Russia reconciliation and oil pipeline program. It supported Brexit to cripple the EU and reinforce US' control over Europe. It sowed discord in the Middle East in order to control the oil resources and made Iran an enemy of the region.

When it comes to China, the US spares no effort. The US rocked the boat in the South China Sea and made provocations, which led to turbulence in regional stability. It casts controllable tension on the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Straits to hinder peace progresses. At the China-India border, it fanned the flames of conflicts and mediated in favor of India. It also used the Quad to lure India into confronting China, intending to cause a lose-lose fight between the two developing giants.

Recently, the US obstructed the passing of a joint statement on ceasefire and cessation of violence and the protection of civilians at the Security Council despite the ongoing escalation of the Palestine-Israel situation and the overwhelming majority of UNSC members' call for an immediate ceasefire. Rather than taking proactive measures to promote peace, the US stands ready to fuel tension.

Time and time again, history has proven that the US and its allies always bring with them trouble and turmoil.

7. Disunion

In a war, you can only be killed once, but in politics, many times. - Winston Churchill

Forty years ago, the US forced Japan to sign the Plaza Accord to secure its economic supremacy. The Japanese hi-tech industry was dismantled and the Japanese economy crippled for decades. Today, it turns to South Korea and Chinese Taiwan, threatening to relocate their semiconductor industries back to the US.

From 2009 to 2017, the US imposed its long-arm jurisdiction on Europe, whereby it collected US$190 billion in penalties, monopolized massive quantities of personal information, and forcefully took over European enterprises that were sanctioned. In an attempt to reap profits, the Wall Street recently tried to overturn the century-old European football world by forming an independent European Super League, which was widely resisted and disgracefully aborted.

The COVID-19 outbreak put the US in the spotlight. The egomaniac that it is, the US selfishly fed itself even at the cost of its allies. The mask war between the US and its allies is indeed an abomination.

Ever since they have developed the COVID-19 vaccines, the US has ranked its allies. It is generous to Anglo-Saxon purebreds like the UK and Australia, lukewarm to Europe and other common allies, but haggles over ounces with Japan and South Korea.

Japan, challenged by the upcoming Olympics and the worsening pandemic, received no vaccines from the US. The Japanese Prime Minister had to beg American vaccine companies. The vaccination rate is 1 percent in Japan, which is only one fiftieth of the US. The South Korean foreign minister also begged the US for help but heard a resolute no.

At the early stage of the pandemic, India offered the Trump administration large quantities of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). Now that India is in the midst of a severe pandemic, it has received neither the vaccine raw materials that the US promised, nor any American oxygen or inhalators.

The US is an octopus and its allies are its tentacles. It uses them to try and rule the world but stay alert to prevent them from growing too strong. Once its interests are threatened, the octopus won't hesitate to cut off one or more of the tentacles or even feed on them.

So how could such an egoist and a corrupted alliance system take on global governance? How could they shamelessly claim to represent the international community?

After the Vietnam War, former Senator J. William Fulbright expressed his deep concern about the aggrandizement of the Arrogance of Power that would incur immeasurable destruction, and excessive expansion that would result in the nation's decline.

Recently, renowned American scholar Joseph Nye rang the alarm again: more and more countries are beyond the control of the US. It is extremely dangerous to believe the US is invincible.

What goes around comes around, and where vice is, vengeance follows. There will be severe penalties for the seven sins committed by the US. Justice may be served later, but it will never be absent.

[mikanskey]

Cyrano de Bergerac  - an impressionist review.  (Adapted by Jamie Lloyd and Martin Crimp with James McAvoy in the title role).

Attention spoilers !!! If you are going to see this play, do not read the following column! Do not spoil the surprise. For those who will read the following, thank you for excusing my bad English, it's not my native language.

7:15 p.m. Playhouse theater, a prestigious hall and an old place that smells of 19th century neo-rococo balconies, gilded chandeliers and a dome. We're early. We sit in the play room, 5th rank in the center. Very good places. The curtain is lifted even though the scene is still empty. The decor is a hollow cube of faux concrete. Trowel-painted white, orange plastic chairs, a few standing microphones with their long wires lying on the floor. The impression of landing in an artists' squat hidden in a suburban warehouse.

Just a minute to realize that we are there for real, just a few moments to attend this event and the play begins. The lights come on, raw, white. They are on stage, Him is not visible. A dozen actresses and actors of all ages, colorful looks, punk, sportswear, hoodies, sneakers, overalls and pants lattice. When they speak it's to us, the audience. It is a very original and initially puzzling stage game, rare will be the times when the actors will have a conversation while looking in each other eyes. We will quickly realize that this strange way of turning the dialogues has an amazing power, that of hypnotizing us. The one who speaks speaks to us, whether he is aggressive or declaims the most beautiful declaration of love, it is to us and to us alone that he offers it. The impact is immediate. The tone is immediately urban, immediately provocative. Nothing remains of the text of Edmond Rostand, nothing and everything since it is the live soul which alone lasts, of a stupendous modernity. The verbal jousting begins, we hear bits of beatbox.

Cyrano returns to the scene. He does not have his nose. Surprising as it may seem: no, Cyrano does not have his nose, this long nose, this big nose, this peninsula that was expected, is not. No Cyrano doesn’t have his nose, but he carries nevertheless the weight of it and behind the first pass of words/weapons is the shadow of this nose that we feel honed. The beginning is funny, light, they  make fun of each other, Cyrano is in love, he takes the microphone and conquers the stage. He is boasting, he drops his jacket and stays in a black T-shirt, jeans and Caterpillar with big laces. He faces with mimes and vivid words the ridiculous Vavert. He licks his lips, he anticipates his replicas, he has fun. He comes out victorious, but seems unsure of himself behind his bravado. His friend Le Bret asks him: - Are you in love? - Yes of the beautiful Roxanne, but I'm so ugly, I have no chance to be love by her !

Honestly, seing him so charismatic, we want to tell him that he is wrong. A messy messenger arrives suddenly with good news: Roxanne may have noticed Cyrano, she wants an appointment, she has important things to say to him. Cyrano is transported with joy, he looks like a kid, his smile is huge. Laughing, he take in his arms his friend Le Bret, who tries in vain to calm him down.

Quickly Cyrano anguish, he will see Roxanne, he will tell him ... Tell him what? He stammers and tries to compose a letter while the other actors buzz around him, the shop of Ragueneau is filled with people, the story continues. We are curious, but we don’t see this letter because when one say "letter" it is the microphone which he seizes and he kneels on stage and looks for the words by talking to this microphone whose thread is string on the ground. Roxanne appears shortly after. She has other things to say to him, hope or despair for him ? They are sitting on the steps of the stage, they talk about the ancient times when they were only two children. He is moved by those memories. He puts his hands on hers, he dares to believe in his luck, he looks into her eyes, he smiles shyly when she tells him that the man she loves is a soldier like him. When she admits that this man is handsome, Cyrano freezes. He seems empty suddenly, without emotion. She asks him to protect Christian, to love him as a brother, because it’s of course the gorgeous Christian she has noticed and not the hideous Cyrano. He accepts, disappointed, hurt.

The cadets arrive on stage, the hero of the day is to celebrate. Cyrano is their hero. They scream, sing, take off their t-shirts, seize Cyrano and undress him. Amongst these tall fellows, who are carved like trunks, he is by far the smallest, the least muscular, but he is certainly the loudest. They lift him up, literally take him to the skies. He finds a smile for them, his impertinence returns, Roxanne left. A huge comrade grabs him and he ends practically on his shoulders, in his arms, legs knotted around his chest. Arrives De Guiche, slender man with sharp replies. Everyone  calm down. He offers to Cyrano to finance his poetry at the price of his servility. He refuses. He makes fun of De Guiche, he is boastful. The men sneer. De Guiche goes away, upset. Remain the cadets, all standing, all on the left of the stage, Cyrano wallows on a chair, exhausted, alone on the right. "Why did you refuse such a proposal?" They say. He begins by responding wearily, then with effrontery, then with anger, he gets carried away. He is feeling cornered, as if he had to justify himself in court. What do they all believe? That he will sell his soul, that he will enslave the only thing he is proud of! Without his freedom and impertinence he is nothing but a grotesque monster. This tirade veered violently in rage and a sob stifled the end of his diatribe. He curls up in his chair and it’s with a knotted stomach that we witness helpless this beautiful despair, this extreme fragility. He sobs and it's poignant. Ragueneau approaches him, she hesitates to comfort him, we would like someone to do it so, to hug and protect him. He seems close to breaking.

The scene changes, the play progresses, Christian the young fiery idiot meets Cyrano. Their difference of charisma is so strong that one can only wonder where Roxanne saw in this great braggart a prince charming who ignores himself. The two men make a deal, one will be beauty, the other will be the brain to bewitch the beautiful Roxanne. The moment is light, Cyrano is benevolent, he still seems to believe that this simple deal will be enough for him. Roxanne is a fierce woman, she doesn’t hesitate to swear, and to play fool with the dark De Guiche who loves her. She is not a naive and pure beauty, she is a young woman with a fiery character, her lack of compassion is scary to be honest. It’s difficult to see the good side of this lady who seems so detached from everything and who plays with men like a capricious girl. But here is the famous scene of the balcony. But no balcony on stage! Instead: four chairs. Roxanne, Christian, De Guiche and Cyrano are seated. When the characters interact, they are turned towards us, they talk to each other  but look into our eyes, when they don’t speak  they turn their backs on us. It's a game of non-musical but poetic chairs. Christian starts, ridiculously bad, his talk can’t make rhymes, he can’t say poetic words, doesn��t have inspiration. Roxanne turns away from him moodily. Cyrano, while hiding, begins to whisper replicas to help the poor Christian. It's laborious but it works.

Suddenly Cyrano, caught in the game, speaks aloud and gets up to answer Roxanne. The two men froze, their eyes round like a rabbit under the headlights of a car. Roxanne suspects that something has changed but she doesn’t want to care. Cyrano takes the hand, Christian stands back. Light and funny, the exchange suddenly takes a different tone. Cyrano sits down, at first barely master of his emotions, the dialogue resumes with Roxanne. She pushes him to his entrenchments, haughty, laughing. He amuses her at first, replies with tenderness, flirts and finally, dismissing Christian who tried to speak again, Cyrano lowers his voice. His voice lowers and lowers until it is only a murmur, hot, bewitching. In the theater, no more noise, no more a breath. It’s towards us that Cyrano is turned, it is to us that he speaks, his eyes full of a calm passion, it is a confession, it is avowal, it is of such a sensuality that it's hard not to sigh. "Roxanne, I love you .." he begins. His voice enters through all the pores of our skin. "I want you ... I need you". The words that follow are a wave, a succession of waves, soft, enveloping, erotic. Roxanne barely interrupts him and, like her, we want this intoxicating way of making love without touching each other, only with the touch of this haunting voice, never ending. When the magic is interrupted it’s Christian who gets up and hugs a rapt Roxanne. He shamelessly enjoys the kiss so beautifully won by Cyrano and we are still too intoxicate by Cyrano’s voice to realize that Cyrano has lost this game and sacrifice his heart on the altar of his loyalty. He stands aside, the lovebirds kiss each other.

Come the priest, then De Guiche. Cyrano clowns, he saves time, lovers have to get married. To distract De Guiche, Cyrano recounts with his eyes closed, as in a dream, the adventures of the kingdom of the moon. It is amusing to see that when he has his eyes closed, the effect of hypnosis imposed by this funny staging where we are the forced interlocutors has less impact.

The action is jostling, De Guiche discovers the plot, insolent Roxanne provokes him. Bad idea. Discarded, humiliated in public, De Guiche who his general sends Cyrano and Christian to war. Roxanne remains alone in front of us while the two men leave the scene by walking towards the bottom of it turned black. She asks Cyrano to protect Christian: "I'll try" he says, she asks that Christian write her long letters "I'll do what I can" promises Cyrano who is only a voice that we hear from back stages. Light turn off. Entr’acte. The light comes back on stage there are big black stairs. Men are lying on each of them. They look like recumbent ones. Le Bret discusses with another soldier. Between them comes Cyrano, who has just climbed the back of the stairs. He is wrapped up in a black jacket, he wears his worned black jeans, and we notice that to be the most impetuous and flamboyant person in this room he is none the less the one who is dressed most modestly. The following scene is light in spite of its pitiful subject, the soldiers are hungry and thirsty, Cyrano cabotine, occurs De Guiche who sends by spite all the regiment to the death. The effects of the battle are suggested by a beatboxer punctuating the tirades with dry sounds imitating cannons and grape shot. After a strange chaos where all run in all directions, appear Ragueneau and Roxanne, unconscious of the danger. The reaction of Christian is virulent, he does not want Roxanne on a battlefield, Roxanne does not hesitate to shot harch words to him. She came for him though, for him and especially for his letters. Cyrano informs her that her husband will soon be sent to death. She screams and throws herself on De Guiche. Cyrano has only time to grasp her to the waist to prevent the scandal. In the next scene, strangely disembodied, Roxanne covers Christian, whom she believes is the author of a passionate correspondence, of compliments like an enamored teenager, even reciting to him the text of the letters she has learned by heart. Christian locks himself away from her, he is very close to shed tears when she confesses to him that it is these words of which she is in love and that she could well love him even if he was disfigured. He knows he has lost. He know that Cyrano has won. It’s Cyrano who has wrote the letters.

He finds an excuse for her to go to the back of the stage. He grabbed Cyrano who until that moment had remained very much in the background like a kid who knows he made a big mistake. One can believe for a moment that their exchange will be violent, Christian is desperate, he has every reason to blame Cyrano. He spits at first how much Cyrano has exceeded his role, how much he hated him for that. But Cyrano does not seek confrontation, he looks down, apologizes, he does not want to believe for a moment that Roxanne can love someone other than Christian. He sits the young man, who has become more lost than angry. Cyrano repeats to Christian again and again than he wants only his happiness. Christian searches for his words, he gets confused, he listens, he gets closer, he confesses that he is lost. He is getting closer to Cyrano, very close. Tension escalates. "Is there a version of this life where two men can live as one?" asks Christian. Cyrano is mute, helpless. Christian kisses him. And in the theater we are all paralyzed. It’s incredible. It's an almost shy kiss that Cyrano does not reciprocate. Not immediately. Because this first hesitant kiss is followed by a second more willing, more passionate. A strange and carnal shiver runs through the theater. We hold our breath. For a split second it's a shared kiss and the two men are alone in their world. But Roxanne appears on stage from the top of the stairs and the two lovers push back violently as if they had been electrocuted. The action rushes. Still in shock, we have trouble following the sequence. A battle, the lights go out, only the voices of Roxanne and Cyrano remain. They are on each side of the stage, standing in the shadows. In the center Christian is cut by a white light, the voices are disputed, it’s  the death of Christian. The dead soldiers snatch their mic’. Everything goes black.

Last act. The principle of chairs facing the public is resumed. Only oddity, Christian, mutique and sitting cross-legged, stands on the stage. Weird spectrum that fixes us with his round eyes. Troubling ghost that comes to haunt the survivors. Two secondary characters interact. They say thus Roxanne has become an independent woman who lives alone, Cyrano comes to see her every day, as a friend. Cyrano was attacked this morning, it seems: a knife stab, someone would have seen in the hospital. The two characters disappear and give way to the two main protagonists who come to sit in the center. Christian, frozen in his position as a mute kid, is between them. Roxanne still precious and unconscious mocking shamelessly Cyrano's delay, she teases him suggesting that he spent the night in the arms of a woman. To make her laugh, he tells her in raw terms that yes. He has brought her a book he has just published, and she offers with a certain cruel irony that he can wrote a dedication on it. Cyrano’s eyes look strangely bright, tight in a jacket closed to the collar, he stands a little curled, he seems hurt on the left side. But doesn’t that. He takes with good graces the jokes of the young woman. The subject turns suddenly about Christian's letters. Cyrano asks to read them. She refuses. He asks again. His voice is supplicating. She accepts. No paper is exchanged between them, it is the microphone that passes from hand to hand. But before he had time to read that famous last letter. He tells her everything, in a desperate tone. "Roxanne I am the author of all these letters". She does not believe it.

She almost gets upset. To prove her, he tells her the beginning of the last letter. But she’s straightforward and this reaction is all the more shocking that Cyrano is in tears and has just put his heart at her feet. But she makes her pride speak, she gets up, she’s angry. He's a liar, she says, he played with her, she says. He, mad with pain and probably in agony, begins to beg her to forgive him. She has this terrible and pitifully contemporary phrase "ok so what now?" The mood changes dramatically. The words become softer, the tone turns, they are seated again, their faces are closer, they whisper words drowned in tears and forehead to forehead are ready to kiss. Will there be a happy ending to this play? It is without counting the intervention of De Guiche come to stop Cyrano ! But Cyrano faints, he collapses of his chair and falls in the arms of Roxanne. We discover that he is dying. As in the original text, he has a jump of lucidity, leaps to his feet and begins to tell a funny story about two men in love with the same woman who meet a mocking bartender. Cyrano is dying, he loses his strength and repeats the same sentence as a broken puppet but he remains up. He drops his microphone, we understand that he is dead. When the scene ends and the play with it, we do not really know what this strange conclusion means. Whatever audience is standing, it's a thunder of applause and bravo. What’s a awesome moment of art !

[bryonysimcox]

Quenching my thirst for Urbanity: Week 7, Spain

Wow. It’s been one of those weeks that have been crammed full of stuff - from arriving into València to now feeling settled in the city, from connecting with new people and clients to rekindling my love for urban exploring. It’s been a week full of sunshine and surprises.

My first thought is that in light of the current Covid-19 crisis, this blog feels truly ridiculous and self-indulgent. What started as a handful of people showing flu-like symptoms has escalated into a pretty scary global health threat, and I must admit I’ve gone from passing it off as ‘something that will blow over’ to really taking it seriously. I’m not into scaremongering, but I now see the potential impact of a virus like this on each and every one of us and on the liberties we are so used to.

All that considered, it still feels important to document our travels and to celebrate the good stuff that’s still happening. Life here in Spain feels fairly unaffected by the Corona virus at this stage (apart from a conference I attended today being about 75% empty), but we’re also following developments across the global stage where life really is being affected. I would at least say that it’s encouraging to see the way in which countries are rallying together and catalysing action to tackle this crisis (if only we could do the same for the climate crisis). Our own plans have been affected as we were headed to Italy next, but for now I’m going to focus on the last seven days that have passed here on the Spanish coast and which have marked our seventh week on the road. In reflecting on this I hope to send out a little ray of sunshine!

(image) The sun sets from our parking spot in Valencia and we’re thinking of friends and family around the globe.

This week started with our final day on the road coming into València. We were treated to a chilly ocean swim, a daytime wander around Castellón, and an adventurous evening drive up to an incredible panoramic camping spot.

On that first day of the week we woke up in an eerily deserted coastal spot, and then drove a little further south to ‘Playa Miami’ to have an ocean swim and a wash under the outdoor beach showers. Locals wrapped in layers walking past thought we were nuts, but were all pretty friendly and made us feel very much welcome - which is such a nice feeling when you’re in residential neighbourhoods and you’re concerned about being perceived as unwanted van-dwellers...

I was pretty chuffed to find a cheap refill for our gas bottle in Playa Miami too, half the price that we’d paid in France a month earlier. Spain is definitely a fair bit cheaper than France, not only in terms of fuel but also food shopping (which makes sense given that more fruit and vegetables are grown here). Restocked with supplies and setting off again, we continued southbound towards València, making our next stop at Castellón de la Plana for a lunch break.

I didn’t know much about Castellón, but George and I were enamoured by its character and spent a few chilled-out hours there. 

(images, left to right) People-friendly streets with integrated bike lanes in Castellón, gorgeous orange blossom on our walk into the city, and one of a few murals I spotted and really enjoyed there.

The first thing we observed was how cool the city’s public transport was. The tree-lined boulevard we had parked on was a key spine providing access into the city, and while we opted to walk along its generous pavement, the road also offered a bus route and city bikes. The buses weren’t just any old buses though. They were electrified buses with movable electrical conductors which flipped up and down depending on if there were overhead powerlines. The bus effectively acted as a tram, moving in a dedicated lane and with raised stops with digitised signs.

Closer into the city, the buses merged with normal traffic lanes and (presumably) ran off batteries which store power from being charged by the overhead lines. The bikes were also pretty innovative - being the most basic design out of all the city bike schemes we’ve seen but clearly being well-kept and effective. Seeing places like Castellón, which isn’t even one of the major cities in Spain, simply offer inventive and effective urban mobility solutions as part of everyday life gets me even more frustrated about the state of transport in the UK and Australia. We could learn a thing or to from mainland Europe!

Walking from the edge of Castellón into the city centre and old town, our journey was a delightful multi-sensory experience. Orange trees blossomed, letting off a sweet aromatic smell, and electric buses left the streets peacefully quiet. The town itself boasted attractive historic buildings like the Cathedral and Theatre, with pedestrian-only lanes animated by the mid-afternoon lunch break (which sees shops shut down and cafes come to life between 2ish and 5pm or so). After a coffee and cake in a charming plaza, we hopped back into Suzi and continued on our way towards València.

Up a steep and sketchy road, our parking spot for that first night offered one of the most incredible views down towards València and across the ocean.

(images) Tackling the ascent to our camping spot to the north of Valencia. Not sure if George is loving the 4WDriving or fearing for his life!

In order to feel safe and secure we decided to park a fair way out of the city, and were not disappointed by the camping spot we chose on Park4Night. Suzi handled the rocky ascent really well (even when she was still in 2WD) and we finally reached the parking spot on El Picaio in the Parc Natural de la Serra Calderona, next to the Santuari de la Santisima Verge de la Medalla Miraculosa, a small catholic chapel atop the mount.

With a celebratory beer in hand, we watched the sun set over the ocean and looked into the distance at the city of València, beyond the rocky hill and the green expanses. I felt overjoyed to be in such a stunning spot and really cherish these moments which are free and yet bring us so much value.

(images, left to right) Walking to a vantage spot from our parking, a couple of celebratory beers at the top, and the chapel we parked next to.

On Wednesday, George and I drove into València. I visited once before back in 2012, but had very few memories of the place and didn’t really know what to expect this time. The main reason that this city was on our itinerary was cause of a guy I met through Twitter, four years back. Ramon is a Spanish economist and urbanist, who was undertaking some research in Australia back in 2016. He discovered me online and we were brought together by a shared interest in placemaking, eventually meeting for a drink along with one of his colleagues at the Bank Hotel in Newtown, Sydney. We have since stayed in touch, and I followed the impressive progress he was making as Chief Strategy Officer at the emerging ‘Marina de València’. The more I learnt about the waterfront project, the more it seemed that La Marina was an intriguing subject matter for a documentary, and as such it was arranged that we would come and stay in València to film.

Reconnecting with a like-minded individual like Ramon after meeting four years ago has been a wonderful affirmation of the power of networking, the internet, and sharing with others.

Not only will Ramon feature in this upcoming documentary about La Marina, a transformative project on the Mediterranean coast, but he has been the most welcoming host we could have asked for. He has hooked us up with a safe and well-appointed place to park up, which is a key consideration when staying in a city, and he’s been a friend and tour guide too, introducing us to so many passionate individuals and revealing this city’s incredible places and the stories behind them. If George and I decide to stay in València forever, it’s Ramon’s fault!

(images, left to right) Creamy skies over La Marina, our friend and urban strategist Ramon, and some of the new branding for the La Marina, which I’m really fond of.

Against the backdrop of this picturesque city, the week that has ensued has been a mix of really getting to know La Marina, the usual film editing and vanlife admin, working on some exciting commercial videography projects and exploring this new Spanish city.

We coincidentally picked the craziest time of year to come, when the city’s annual festival, ‘Las Fallas’, marks the start of spring.

We’ve signed up for the city’s bike hire scheme, which although a little heavy, are a really easy way to get around the city. It also really helps that there is an extensive network of bike lanes, well signed, separated from traffic and all joined up to one another. On Thursday we used the bikes to explore València by day, pairing a ride around iconic large-scale landmarks like the Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias with a meander around more human-scaled, everyday places like the twisting streets near the Mercado Central and the old town. Other days have seen us cycle into the city at night, when the continuous cacophony of people setting off fireworks and festivities spilling out of community centres (‘las casales falleros’) marks the start of Las Fallas.

(images, left to right) One of the remaining city gates retained from Valencia’s historic city walls, wandering the streets during Fallas celebrations, and the Centre del Carme brought to life for a night-time concert.

Las Fallas is pretty nuts, a pagan festival which was reappropriated as a Catholic celebration and is now a mash-up of satire, religion and anything related to fires and fireworks. It’s just hard to believe the Valencianos sustain this level of partying and putting up with perpetual fireworks for more than two weeks...

On Saturday afternoon, we filmed a free concert at La Marina, one of many socially-oriented initiatives which make what could be an otherwise exclusive yacht-owners’ paradise a place for the citizens of València to come, hang out, and connect to the waterfront (of course, there are yachts here too, but the place just has a really open and inclusive vibe). After the concert, we took another bike ride into the city centre (about 30 mins from the Marina where Suzi is parked up), this time for a jam-packed evening which started with a free concert at the Centre del Carme contemporary art space and ended with tapas and a midnight tour around the city’s landmarks with Ramon. After a cycle back ‘home’ at 2:30am, with full bellies and hearts, I was reminded why I love the eclecticism and vitality of cities so much.

Visiting València has strengthened my passion for urbanism and that renewal has certainly been a highlight of the week.

Stepping away from my ‘career’ as a placemaker last year was a big decision for me, and a lot of my focus over the last twelve months has just been to get the van built and make this trip happen. I haven’t spent much time in a city since we were living in Sydney, where we had access to many of the assets and activities that urban life can offer. So spending a considerable amount of time here in a major city, and especially making a documentary about La Marina, a strategic urban development with placemaking it its heart, has got me super inspired again.

(images, left to right) George attracted to a camera shop (like a moth to the light...), delightful laneways and street art, cycling around the City of the Arts & Sciences.

There was one really special moment this week, when George and I stopped mid-afternoon in a small plaza. We had been wandering through the old part of town, just south of the magnificent ‘Turia park’, a green corridor that runs through the heart of the city, and we found a spot to stop for a beer in the street. This plaza wasn’t necessarily anything special, and it certainly didn’t feature any dramatic design or grand gesture, but there was something about it that George and I both picked up on that made it a really great urban space: a place.

Perched on a wall with a cheap lager in hand, we analysed the square, full of the dynamism and complexity that just can’t be created overnight or by one master stroke. There was a restaurant with seats that spilled over onto the pavement, walls layered with peeling paint and posters advertising raves and protests, a bunch of homeless people sat nearby a lone tourist who was eating churros, bought from a temporary van selling the sweet treats for the festival period. On all sides, apartment buildings of different shapes and sizes, though mostly 4 to 5 stories, punctuated by balconies hosting flags and flowerpots and the occasional ‘to let’ sign. And of course, there were plenty of people sitting, standing, chatting, reading, busking, eating, looking and just being. And (surprise surprise) there wasn’t a chain store in sight.

A city which is layered, complex and contradictory, shaped by many hands, worn, colourful, intriguing to the eye, fun, full of confusing juxtapositions which harmonise and clash all at the same time - that is a good city.

I’m excited to see what this coming week has in store for us here in València. Wherever you are, remember to stay safe in light of the virus that dominates our headlines, but don’t forget to enjoy the layered spaces and places around you too. *Footnote*:

After finishing writing this post, I was informed that Las Fallas has now been postponed, yet another devastating impact as Covid-19 shuts down our cities. I'm gutted not to experience Las Fallas, and more importantly for all the companies, organisers and attendees affected. Pretty scary times ahead. We need collaboration, resilience, clearmindedness and positivity more than ever.

[archbetto-blog]

‘One World, One Dream’: The Olympic Hypocrisy

Sport in general offers itself as a global phenomenon, encompassing people from all over the world from different ethnic backgrounds, wealth classes, ages and genders and should be enjoyed at a range of different levels from grass roots too elite standard. A main advocate of this message is the biggest global sporting event, The Olympic games. The Olympics motto is “Citius, Altius, Fortius” translated too Swifter, Higher, Stronger and often embeds a take home slogan for each of the games; for example, ‘Inspire A Generation’, ‘Harmony and Progress’ and ‘One World, One Dream’. These as well as others present the Olympics then as not only a sporting event but a stage for togetherness and wellness for all. However, is it really all that prestige? In a modern era where helping to reduce carbon emissions and help the environment is as important as ever, and sport being an advocate for healthiness and wellness the Olympics should be the biggest contributor in fighting a climate crisis…no? 

As explored by Jay Coakley with the Great Sport Myth the Olympics shows itself to be an activist towards climate change when in reality they offer relatively no help and rather than actively doing what they so called preach they’re inherently doing the complete opposite.

A key term when looking at the environmental impacts that a mega event such as the Olympics has is Greenwashing; of which Boykoff and Mascarenhas (2016) define as the duplicitous act of voicing concern for the environment and claiming credit for providing solutions having the done the bare minimum, if anything at all.’ They also use the perspective of Harvey (2014) who describes acts of greenwashing as ‘disguising a profit driven project as a scheme to enhance human welfare.’ Boykoff and Mascarenhas (2016) further add that companies target environmentalism’s positive culture cache and how the IOC as well their local organising committee counterparts have capitalised on the sustainability zeitgeist, however haven’t embraced significant environmental principles. A clear example of greenwashing is BP (British Petroleum) who sponsored the 2012 London Olympic Games with the advertisement of ‘Fuelling the Games’, the same BP company who was responsible for the out flowing of oil into the U.S. Gulf Coast 2 years prior, costing them $4 billion dollars to clean as well as a further $5 billion in penalties. BP were part of the Sustainability Partners campaign along with 5 other companies during the Olympics even though the program was in fact a pay to play sponsorship program and had no environmental standards that had to be met nor actively implement plans to combat climate change in contrast to what was being advertised.

Deforestation and Displacement

Further controversy of the Olympics rampant environmental effects was the deforestation of 58’000 trees for the Jeongseon Alpine Centre for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The forest in question was regarded as sacred by local residents because of its associations with the Chosun ruling dynasty and consisted of rare and ancient species. Destroying its contents added to an already well documented ecological nightmare; Green Korea United (political party campaigning for changes in the region relating to climate change) also stated how the removal of the trees will have lasting irreversible effects on the areas already damaged ecosystem. While the Olympic Committee claimed to replant the trees across the area, the chemicals used on the soil throughout the games will leave the inhabitant permanently spoiled. 

Below the mountain was Sukam a small village which was destroyed too make way for ski slopes, a luxury resort, a helicopter pad and parking. Less than half of the homes destroyed were rebuilt by the government and residents were forced to relocate to a new village 0.4 Kilometres away. 

The Olympics are well renowned for displacing residents at this point purely for the benefit of the games, not only did they displace residents in South Korea they also relocated 70’000 Brazilian people from the local favelas to make space for the Olympic Park in the summer games in Rio de Janeiro 2 years prior. London also felt the effects in 2012 as the number of evicted residents spiked in the lead up too the Olympics because of increased renting prices for the games. And maybe the most disturbing of all, a massive 2 million people were displaced because of the games between 1998 and 2008 according to the Switzerland based centre on housing rights and evictions.  All this ultimately adds to the climate crises, using vital resources to destroy pre built buildings and landscapes to make way for billion-dollar infrastructures for the sake of a couple weeks of sport especially if the area is then inhabitable afterwards. This is the very unsustainable way of operating that is further killing our planet and the people living on it.

System Change not Climate change

The current climate crisis is quickly becoming irreversible and evidently the Olympics isn’t and never has been a commendable advocate for changing this. However, as the ‘consumer’ we can actively fight these damaging effects and force the Olympics to change. The most obvious one being to boycott the Olympics, if there was an substantial drop in viewership for an overruling cause the IOC would surely be forced to make a change, however while this could offer a credible amount of the change the IOC and accompanying business partners would mostly be forced to change due to a drop in revenue which again leads them to advertisement etc, what we need is REAL change for the right causes.

A more advanced and sustainable concept would be ecological modernisation, this idea encompasses the notion of innovation through modern technology and modernisation and combines this with the need of global environmental needs. The term Is used to describe a technology based and innovation-orientated approach to environmental policy (Jänicke, 2008). In terms of the Olympics it would mean investing in environmental innovations and implicating them into the games to create a more sustainable event. The Olympics games in 2016 cost an estimated $13.2 billion with a viewership of 3.6 billion, the money spent on creating new stadiums that are neither sustainable or necessarily needed could be better spent on re-innervating older stadiums and creating programs to actively make the games a greener cause.

Before it’s too late

No just with the Olympics but everyone in general should be actively pursuing too create a healthier planet for the entire population. I hope this piece helps people strive towards this and helps raise awareness on how The Olympics actually operates. 

Below are articles reporting on these instances that will provide further information.

N0758211

https://www.thebalance.com/bp-gulf-oil-spill-facts-economic-impact-3306212

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/18/2018-winter-olympic-venue-displaced-south-koreans-caused-deforestation/340106002

https://www.dw.com/en/the-environmental-impact-of-the-olympics/g-42524580

[arishawatson-blog]

After World Cup sales boost

When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. But in 2014, Silicon Valley start up Hendo claimed to have crafted a real hoverboard. Instagram abounds with people taking selfies with the kangaroos, petting them, feeding them (even sharing food with them, Lady and the Tramp style), mimicking them and even lying down on the ground with them despite plentiful warnings about the kangaroo poop.. The vehicle was first revealed before auto aficionados in 2012 and is sold only in international markets.. When Bodo was a teenager, he attended Mountain View Cheap Fake Yeezys High School. 1. Chang (2008) express that the reason for reputation is to profit by the partner of the collaborator marks trying to accomplish quick acknowledgment by the customers. This brand have an exceptionally interesting marketing strategy, as it is extremely rare to see their actual products being advertised, and more common to see posts about extreme sports. At a shoot, Parineeti Chopra was seen in a grey pullover, black sunglasses and funky colour block workout pants with matching Nike sneakers. Pick up a Glock 38 and a Dean Hardtail Pro and look at you you're living like a rock star, baby. But honestly, that's not good enough. At one point, in the construction zone, the complaint said a large cheap yeezy shoes construction truck attempted to cut the minivan off, but the minivan went to the right around the truck.. IKEA targets different social classes: working class and middle class.. And while there's probably near universal recognition that the lengthy and traffic jam prone 9 San Bruno is the worst bus line in North America, we respectfully acknowledge that the 12 Folsom is a semi secret chute to downtown, the length of the 43 Masonic's route is truly incredible, and the F Market will save you when the underground implodes. I live here. 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Entre 1864 et 1933, plus de 6 000 bouteilles avaient t jetes la mer par de nombreux navires allemands, dans le cadre d'une tude, ralise par l'Observatoire naval allemand et destine mieux comprendre le sens et la direction des courants sous marins. Leto wore a red caftan with jewel loops, cradling his long haired macabre version of himself, and Tracee Ellis Ross posed inside a gold picture frame attached to the front of her black dress. There was very little interest in having us go into the kitchen. As they walked together to the area of 43rd and Manitoba, suspect 2 and 3 exited from behind bushes and demanded money from the victim.. He had donated to many Republican candidates since the 1980s, and in the 2004 presidential campaign he helped bankroll television ads by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that fake yeezys for kids attacked Democratic nominee John Kerry. See to it that babies do not wear crinkly, scratchy material costume. "When you play fast the other team might not be used to it and they don't know how to guard it. Okay, so you won't find any Faberg eggs lying about here, but the displays are stocked with plenty of head turning necklace and earring sets, elegant bracelets, pendants, and rings that will unleash that Grand Duchess within. Those services, however, are only available on international flights. Even more hilariously, this problem is confined to Android. Create a name that people can learn to trust. Stan Coveleski is the only other Cleveland pitcher to start five straight openers. A part of the Bajaj Group, Bajaj Auto Limited is a home grown auto manufacturer known for producing two and three wheelers. But it's not that I want to be this way: On the contrary, I would like to not feel that I'm doomed to a life of obsessing over my to do list. That's what contestants who go on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are attempting to do when they are picked to be on the show. It servitude under the guise of educational altruism. Wright had never had formal basketball coaching but was tall, athletic, and confident, and Clark the team's captain took him under his wing. This is great for skis and snowboards in winter, and for sand covered beach umbrellas and deflated stand up paddleboards in the summer. Like, what about a 32 ounce bottle of human scent killer? You know people will be food, right? Just go start the countdown, you amateur.Napoleon Bonaparte allegedly wrote his mistress to arrange a love tryst, saying, "I'm coming home please don't wash." The magic word behind lust is pheromones, those elusive, odorless chemicals given off in response to sexual stimulation or even romantic fantasy. Whether you're shopping formen's shoesorwomen's shoes, comfortable stylish shoes that keep up with the current style trends should be a priority.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Red Tide off Rio Beachgoers in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro contended in late 2021 with unwelcome ocean-dwelling visitors. Starting in November, countless microscopic phytoplankton amassed along the coast, coloring the clear, blue waters a dark, reddish-brown. The bloom—known as a red tide or harmful algal bloom (HAB) event—was unusually widespread and long-lived. Phytoplankton blooms are common this time of year in Rio, but they typically contain species that are beneficial to the ecosystem. In contrast, harmful algal blooms can show up any time of year, usually spurred by sewage effluents and heat waves; they tend to be small and last no longer than a few days. This red tide event spanned more than 200 kilometers of the coastline and lasted more than eight weeks. “It is very worrying,” said Priscila Lange of the Department of Meteorology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Some species in a red tide can produce toxins but, so far, those species have not been observed in the Rio bloom. Instead, Lange called the bloom “worrying” because of its likely impact on the marine food web. From September to January of most years (spring and summer in South America), cool, nutrient-rich water wells up from the depths of the ocean off Arraial do Cabo, replacing surface waters that have been pushed offshore by winds and the Coriolis effect. The abundance of nutrients and sunlight at the ocean surface triggers blooms of diatoms and other phytoplankton, which are soon consumed by zooplankton and fish larvae. Marine currents push the upwelled water masses west toward the city of Rio de Janeiro, and the warm, blue water off Rio usually turns cold and dark green. Spring 2021 was unlike most years. Lange and colleagues think six weeks of cloudiness and rain hampered the usual growth of diatoms and small flagellates, leaving the waters off Rio transparent and brimming with nutrients. When the skies finally cleared in early November, ample sunlight and low turbulence set the stage for the red tide. “Once there was light, the red folks—dinoflagellates, Mesodinium rubrum, etc.—bloomed like crazy!” Lange said. The change happened fast. The first visual observations of red tide were made on November 3, then confirmed by water samples taken from a beach in Rio on November 16. The water off Rio’s beaches quickly became very dark, and red seafoam built up. In early December, the red tide reached Arraial do Cabo and “darkened the waters of Rio’s most pristine scuba dive paradise,” Lange said. Satellite images from December 5 show the red-brown water spanning the length of the coastline between the two cities. By late December, the bloom was fading but remained visible to the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite, which acquired these images on December 26, 2021. The bloom shows up in the natural-color image (left) as a faint, dark swirl of water extending away from the coast. An even fainter patch is visible to the left of the swirl. The bloom is more distinct in the false-color image (right). In this view, shades of green depict concentrations of chlorophyll-a, the primary pigment used by phytoplankton to capture sunlight. The darkest shades of green show areas with the greatest chlorophyll concentrations. Lange and colleagues will continue to observe how the bloom progresses. But even after a massive bloom fades, the effects can be lasting. After the phytoplankton die, the process of decomposition by bacteria can deplete the water of oxygen (hypoxia) and cause fish kills. Also, the red tide species can replace other phytoplankton species that usually support a region’s fish and marine food webs. NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Kathryn Hansen.

[morganpetitniot]

[vidéo] Un moment de fun en stage de ski progression

[vidéo] Un moment de fun en stage de ski progression

Salut les skieurs !

Je suis entrain de monter les vidéos de cet hiver et même de l’hiver dernier et celle là nous fait du bien…

Car à l’endroit où j’écris ces lignes il fait très chaud !

Le jeu ayant beaucoup d’importance dans la progression,

Voilà un partage d’un moment de Fun entre quelques participants et moi -même lors du stage de ski progression à Baqueira en Espagne…

Belle…

[worldticketsandhospitality]

USA Football World Cup: Champion league important for USMNT to qualify FIFA World Cup

For quite a long time, U.S. men's soccer estimated progress through basic achievements: meeting all requirements for a Football World Cup 2022 from an undecorated locale and progressing to the knockout stage, developing the homegrown expert group, and sending players to another country. The bar was low, and aside from a passing disaster four years prior, the United States met it.

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Presently take in what will happen Saturday at an arena in Portugal: A youthful American assailant who directed a U.S. record move charge two years prior and a goalkeeper who went through the NCAA and MLS before likewise arriving in the English Premier League will crash in club soccer's greatest display, the UEFA Champions League last. I get goosebumps considering everything, Gregg Be strap, the U.S. public group mentor, said of Chelsea's Christian Puglisi and Manchester City's Zack Steffen being in uniform at Estacio do Dragon in Porto.

Puglisi and Steffen would not be the principal Americans to play for European and, likewise, worldwide matchless quality. In 1997, at age 20, American Jovan Kirov ski was an individual from Borussia Dortmund's title group however wasn't in uniform for the last. In 2013, Neven Subtopic, who addressed U.S. youth crews before he changed to Serbia on the senior level, begun for next in line Borussia Dortmund. For more to know about Qatar Football World Cup Packages Click here

Yet, interestingly Saturday, a functioning individual from the U.S. men's public group will step onto the triumph stage and celebrate with the silver prize in the midst of a snowstorm of confetti before a worldwide TV crowd moving toward 400 million, four times U.S. viewership of the Super Bowl. Pulisic, 22, will begin or fall off the seat sooner or later; Steffen, 26, will not play except if Eder's child, the Brazilian starter, is harmed.

It's an extensive advance for U.S. soccer, regardless of whether Pulisic plays just five minutes and TV cameras never discover Steffen on the sideline. CBS will convey the match, not on a link stage but rather with a public transmission went before by an hour and a half pregame show. Eastern Time. The third round of the PGA Tour's Charles Schwab Challenge should stand by at the soonest. That was the organization's arrangement from the start, with or without U.S. players.

The inclusion of Americans just widened the game's allure here. What is significant for U.S. soccer, however, is making this the standard instead of the exemption. The inquiry just before each hero League last shouldn't be whether an American is in the match however which ones.

On the off chance that this advancement season across the landmass is any sign, normal appearances in the Champions League's late stages will develop. Other than Pulisic and Steffen, U.S. major parts in top-five European associations qualified for next season's competition from Barcelona (Sergio Desta), Juventus (Weston McKinnie), Borussia Dortmund (Gio Reyna), Lille (Tim Wean), Wolfsburg (John Brooks), and RB Leipzig (Tyler Adams).

Adams, 22, verged on arriving at the last a year ago, falling one stage short. Others this season assumed key parts on title clubs in unobtrusive classes, for example, 20-year-old assailant Brenden Aaronson with Austria's RB Salzburg. Solid exhibitions at more modest clubs conceive moves to greater clubs in greater classes. It's the manner in which soccer works. For more to know about Qatar Football World Cup Packages Click here

U.S. men's players have been looking for some kind of employment in Europe for quite a long time, and the current tally is more than 120. In any case, having them in Champions League groups, that is somewhat unique, said Jürgen Klinsmann, the previous German genius who trained the U.S. public group from 2011 to 2016.

The crème de la crème of world football is the Champions League, and now have two parts in the last really in the group sheets, that is nothing to joke about, and that satisfies us all, said Klinsmann, a long-lasting Southern California occupant. During his residency, Klinsmann was a defender of pushing youthful Americans with high expertise levels to Europe and specifically to significant clubs, where they would raise their game by confronting more prominent difficulties and contest for playing time than in MLS.

That, obviously, didn't agree with proprietors in the homegrown circuit. The truth, however, is the best soccer is played in the significant alliances of Europe. Furthermore, as American ability creates here, the characteristic objective is Europe's force five: Premier League, Germany's Bundesliga, Spain's La Lia, Italy's Series A, and French League 1.

The climb of Pulisic and Steffen, Klinsmann said, shows all the American children, any place they are and whatever group they play in, there is a way to the greatest groups on the planet. There is a chance. It demonstrates there is such a lot of ability in the United States. Some such countless children have the characteristics. Pulisic and Steffen took various ways, however they started in Pennsylvania towns 60 miles separated.

Pulisic marked abroad at age 16, supported by Borussia Dortmund prior to being offered to Chelsea for $73 million of every 2019. Steffen played at the University of Maryland for a very long time, didn't work out in Germany, featured for the Columbus Crew, and afterward endorsed with Manchester City. To acquire playing time keep going season, he went borrowed to Germany's Fortuna Düsseldorf prior to choosing to acknowledge a reinforcement part in England this season.

We are offering tickets for Football World Cup 2022 admirers can get Qatar Football World Cup 2022 Tickets through our trusted online ticketing marketplace. Worldwideticketsandhospitality.com is the most reliable source to book Qatar Football World Cup Hospitality tickets and Football World Cup Hospitality Packages.

[brexodus]

The road starts from Lanslebourg High Street, and zigzags broadly up the mountainside. Ascending the Relai du Mt Chat, I had met an old chap who kindly explained that the Col de Mt Cenis was longer, but not nearly as steep as the Mt du Chat! So each turn was a wee bit over a mile long, and there were 5. So I struggled up each one in blisteringly hot weather, stopping regularly, but making good progress. It was stunning how one could pass the treeline on other slopes and after a couple hours saw my first snow! It was getting serious. On the way up I saw the skiing infrastructure, frozen in the heat, waiting for the powder. There were also several abandoned chalets and shacks in diverse stages of disintegration, my curiosity was piqued as to their history and purpose, but I could only pause, sweat and wonder. I also saw plenty folk on the snowline, digging for the fresh wild greens that had begun to sprout. As the final mount came into view, the last quarter-mile, the wind picked up and I experienced the primordial fear of being plucked off the high bare hillside to be swept into the surrounding void: the green and pleasant valley floor seemed very distant. The sun turned grey as I realised the clouds were now my spectral fellow travellers on the road.

[orbemnews]

Russia is amassing unprecedented military might in the Arctic Weapons experts and Western officials have expressed particular concern about one Russian ‘super-weapon,’ the Poseidon 2M39 torpedo. Development of the torpedo is moving fast with Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting an update on a “key stage” of the tests in February from his defense minister Sergei Shoigu, with further tests planned this year, according to multiple reports in state media. The device is intended to deliver a warhead of multiple megatons, according to Russian officials, causing radioactive waves that would render swathes of the target coastline uninhabitable for decades. In November, Christopher A Ford, then assistant secretary of state for International Security and Non-Proliferation, said the Poseidon is designed to “inundate U.S. coastal cities with radioactive tsunamis.” An “onyx” anti-ship cruise missile launched by the Northern Fleet in Alexandra Land, near an Arctic “trefoil” base. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense Experts agree that the weapon is “very real” and already coming to fruition. The head of Norwegian intelligence, Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensønes, told CNN that his agency has assessed the Poseidon as “part of the new type of nuclear deterrent weapons. And it is in a testing phase. But it’s a strategic system and it’s aimed at targets … and has an influence far beyond the region in which they test it currently.” Stensønes declined to give details on the torpedo’s testing progress so far. Satellite images provided to CNN by space technology company Maxar detail a stark and continuous build-up of Russian military bases and hardware on the country’s Arctic coastline, together with underground storage facilities likely for the Poseidon and other new high-tech weapons. The Russian hardware in the High North area includes bombers and MiG31BM jets, and new radar systems close to the coast of Alaska. The Russian build-up has been matched by NATO and US troop and equipment movements. American B-1 Lancer bombers stationed in Norway’s Ørland air base have recently completed missions in the eastern Barents Sea, for example. The US military’s stealth Seawolf submarine was acknowledged by US officials in August as being in the area. A senior State Department official told CNN: “There’s clearly a military challenge from the Russians in the Arctic,” including their refitting of old Cold War bases and build-up of new facilities on the Kola Peninsula near the city of Murmansk. “That has implications for the United States and its allies, not least because it creates the capacity to project power up to the North Atlantic,” the official said. Source: Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Graphic: Henrik Pettersson, CNN The satellite images show the slow and methodical strengthening of airfields and “trefoil” bases — with a shamrock-like design, daubed in the red, white and blue of the Russian flag — at several locations along Russia’s Arctic coast over the past five years. The bases are inside Russian territory and part of a legitimate defense of its borders and coastline. US officials have voiced concern, however, that the forces might be used to establish de facto control over areas of the Arctic that are further afield, and soon to be ice-free. “Russia is refurbishing Soviet-era airfields and radar installations, constructing new ports and search-and-rescue centers, and building up its fleet of nuclear- and conventionally-powered icebreakers,” Lt. Col. Thomas Campbell, a Pentagon spokesman, told CNN. The 50 Let Pobedy (50 years of victory) icebreaker moving through the Arctic ice, said to be in January this year, in a first transit of the eastern seas in deep winter. Credit: Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation “It is also expanding its network of air and coastal defense missile systems, thus strengthening its anti-access and area-denial capabilities over key portions of the Arctic,” he added. Campbell also noted the recent creation of a Quick Reaction Alert force at two Arctic airfields — Rogachevo and Anadyr — and the trial of one at Nagurskoye airfield last year. Satellite imagery from March 16 shows probable MiG31BMs at Nagurskoye for what is thought to be the first time, bringing a new capability of Russian stealth air power to the far north. High-tech weapons are also being regularly tested in the Arctic area, according to Russian officials quoted in state media and Western officials. Campbell added that in November, Russia claimed the successful test of the ‘Tsirkon’ anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile. A Russian army demonstration video of its new ski sled for the Arctic. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense The Tsirkon and the Poseidon are part of a new generation of weapons pledged by Putin in 2018 as strategic game changers in a fast-changing world. At the time US officials scorned the new weapons as technically far-fetched and improbable, yet they appear to be nearing fruition. The Norwegian intelligence chief Stensønes told CNN the Tsirkon as a “new technology, with hypersonic speeds, which makes it hard to defend against.” On Thursday, Russian state news agency TASS cited a source in the military industrial complex as saying there had been another successful test of the Tsirkon from the Admiral Gorshkov warship, saying all four test rockets had hit their target, and that another more advanced level of tests would begin in May or June. The climate emergency has removed many of Russia’s natural defenses to its north, such as walls of sheet ice, at an unanticipated rate. “The melt is moving faster than scientists predicted or thought possible several years ago,” said the senior State Department official. “It’s going to be a dramatic transformation in the decades ahead in terms of physical access.” Source: Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Graphic: Henrik Pettersson, CNN US officials also expressed concern at Moscow’s apparent bid to influence the “Northern Sea Route” — a shipping lane that runs from between Norway and Alaska, along Russia’s northern coast, across to the North Atlantic. The ‘NSR’ potentially halves the time it currently takes shipping containers to reach Europe from Asia via the Suez Canal. Russia’s Rosatom state nuclear company released elaborately produced drone video this February of the ‘Christophe de Margerie’ tanker completing an eastern route across the Arctic in winter for the first time, accompanied by the ’50 Let Pobedy’ nuclear icebreaker for its journey in three of the six Arctic seas. Campbell said Russia sought to exploit the NSR as a “major international shipping lane,” yet voiced concern at the rules Moscow was seeking to impose on vessels using the route. “Russian laws governing NSR transits exceed Russia’s authority under international law,” the Pentagon spokesman said. “They require any vessel transiting the NSR through international waters to have a Russian pilot onboard to guide the vessel. Russia is also attempting to require foreign vessels to obtain permission before entering the NSR.” The senior State Department official added: “The Russian assertions about the Northern Sea Route is most certainly an effort to lay down some rules of the road, get some de facto acquiescence on the part of the international community, and then claim this is the way things are supposed to work.” Elizabeth Buchanan, lecturer of Strategic Studies at Deakin University, Australia, said that “basic geography affords Russia the NSR which is increasingly seeing thinner ice for more of the year making it commercially viable to use as a transport artery. This might yet transform global shipping, and with it the movements of 90+% of all goods globally.” The State Department official believes the Russians are mostly interested in exporting hydrocarbons — essential to the country’s economy — along the route, but also in the resources being uncovered by the fast melt. The flexing of their military muscles in the north — key to Moscow’s nuclear defense strategy, and also mostly on Russian coastal territory — could be a bid to impose their writ on the wider area, the official said. “When the Russians are testing weapons, jamming GPS signals, closing off airspace or sea space for exercises, or flying bombers over the Arctic along the airspace of allies and partners, they are always trying to send a message,” the official added. Among these new weapons is the Poseidon 2M39. The plans for this torpedo were initially revealed in an apparently purposeful brandishing of a document discussing its capabilities by a Russian general in 2015. It was subsequently partially dismissed by analysts as a ‘paper tiger’ weapon, meant to terrify with its apocalyptic destructive powers that appear to slip around current treaty requirements, but not to be successfully deployed. Yet a series of developments in the Arctic, including, according to Russian media reports, the testing of up to three Russian submarines designed to carry the stealth weapon, which has been suggested to be 20 meters long, have now led analysts to consider the project real and active. The Belgorod, a key submarine intended to be armed with the torpedo, will undergo important testing in May, according to a TASS report, although officials in the report stressed that it would not be related to the Poseidon’s development. Russia insists motives are peaceful and economic Russia’s foreign ministry declined to comment, yet Moscow has long maintained its goals in the Arctic are economic and peaceful. A March 2020 document by Kremlin policymakers presented Russia’s key goals in an area behind 20% of its exports and 10% of its GDP. The strategy focuses on ensuring Russia’s territorial integrity and regional peace. It also expresses the need to guarantee high living standards and economic growth in the region, as well as developing a resource base and the NSR as “a globally competitive national transport corridor.” Putin regularly extols the importance of Russia’s technological superiority in the Arctic. In November, during the unveiling of a new icebreaker in St. Petersburg, the Russian President said: “It is well-known that we have a unique icebreaker fleet that holds a leading position in the development and study of Arctic territories. We must reaffirm this superiority constantly, every day.” Putin said of a submarine exercise last week in which three submarines surfaced at the same time in the polar ice: “The Arctic expedition … has no analogues in the Soviet and the modern history of Russia.” Manash Protim Boruah, a submarine expert at Jane’s Fighting Ships, said: “The reality of the weapon is clear. You can absolutely see development around the torpedo, which is happening. There is a very good probability that the Poseidon will be tested, and then there is a danger of it polluting a lot. Even without a warhead, but definitely with just a nuclear reactor inside.” Boruah said some of the specifications for the torpedo leaked by the Russians were optimistic and doubted it could reach a speed of 100 knots (around 115 miles per hour) with a 100MW nuclear reactor. He added that at such a speed, it would probably be detected quite easily as it would create a large acoustic signature. “Even if you tone it down from the speculation, it is still quite dangerous,” he said. Source: Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Graphic: Henrik Pettersson, CNN Boruah added that the construction of storage bays for the Poseidon, probably around Olenya Guba on the Kola Peninsula, were meant to be complete next year. He also expressed concerns about the Tsirkon hyper-sonic missile that Russia says it has tested twice already, which at speeds of 6 to 7 Mach would “definitely cause a lot of damage without a particularly having big warhead itself.” Katarzyna Zysk, professor of international relations at the state-run Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, said the Poseidon was “getting quite real,” given the level of infrastructure development and testing of submarines to carry the torpedo. “It is absolutely a project that will be used to scare, as a negotiation card in the future, perhaps in arms control talks,” Zysk said. “But in order to do so, it has to be credible. This seems to be real.” Stensønes also raised the concern that testing such nuclear weapons could have serious environmental consequences. “We are ecologically worried. This is not only a theoretical thing: in fact, we have seen serious accidents in the last few years,” he said, referring to the testing of the Burevestnik missile which was reported to have caused a fatal nuclear accident in 2019. “The potential of a nuclear contamination is absolutely there.” Source link Orbem News #amassing #Arctic #military #Russia #unprecedented

[architectnews]

White Box, Toronto

White Box, Toronto Commercial Tower Interior, Canadian Office Architecture, Images

White Box in Toronto

18 Jan 2021

White Box Offices

Design: dkstudio architects inc

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

InstarAGF is the young infrastructure investment arm of AGF financial advisors. Their new office, White Box, is located on the 34th floor of the venerable iconic black steel towers designed by Mies Van Der Rohe. In this Miesian sea of pristine black steel and glass, the concept was to create a dynamic, bright intervention, a white glowing box unlike any in the surrounding black towers. This was a response to the progressive, energetic, and venturous culture we discovered at InstarAGF.

To create the glowing white box, all the main office surfaces were designed in white, oftentimes highly reflective finishes. Walnut and bronze accents are the only materials that vary from the white palette and offer relief to the otherwise relentless white box concept.

Exiting the lift lobby, the front entrance greets visitors with white Statuario floors and full height feature wall. A polished white Venetian plaster wall leads into the Boardroom where a walnut wide plank 360-degree sleeve-like enclosure creates a contrasting frame for the view of Lake Ontario.

Turning the corner, the space unfolds into an open plan. The glass fronted offices follow the rigorous Miesian module and are held tight to the core. These moves, and the high gloss white epoxy flooring, create an open office that is light and airy by bringing reflections of the outside skies, and skyline, deep into the space. At night, the space gives off a white glow.

Completing the journey is the CEO office, designed with custom furniture. The CEO’s desk, credenza and coffee table, built in bronze with white Calacatta marble tops and accents, were inspired by infrastructure projects and are set off with the Island Airport, one of InstarAGF’s first projects, as a background stage.

The project is unique in that working in the black glass & steel Mies Van De Rohe Towers, we choose a mostly white palette to create the white box effect in an otherwise sea of pristine black. It is also unique to find a highly reflective white gloss epoxy floor covering the extent of a busy office, a unique and unorthodox flooring selection typically relegated to carpet tile.

White Box in Toronto, Ontario – Building Information:

Architects: dkstudio architects inc

Project size: 6500 ft2 Completion date: 2018 Building levels: 1

Photography: Michael Muraz

White Box, Toronto images / information received 180121

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Comments / photos for the White Box, Toronto Architecture office design by Tania Bortolotto for Dr. Izabella Olcyzyk page welcome

Website: Canada

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