92% Amour

All Critics (91) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (84) | Rotten (7)

Amour might seem hardly the stuff of entertainment, yet the reason it has been acclaimed isn't mysterious. Confronting death, it studies life, closely and lovingly.

Because of its subject matter, and because of the actors, it's impossible to watch this film without being moved. But a martinet is running the show.

A compassionate, rigorously unsentimental masterwork from a director who doesn't normally truck in emotions like the one named in the title.

This is an unforgettable love story set at the close of day, as tragic and beautiful in its way as "Tristan und Isolde," and a portrait of the impossible beauty and fragility of life that will yield new experiences to every viewer and every viewing.

"Amour" is a perfectly made, tremendously involving film that, nonetheless, is very difficult to watch, particularly if you're past the midpoint in your life.

Intimate, admirable and elegant, it's, nevertheless, demanding, deliberate and depressing - about facing our own mortality.

A film so honest in dealing with end-of-life issues that its purity is a positive rebuke to all the maudlin movies on the subject.

Gains its power from grounding its characters' pain in something humanistic.

Profoundly moving, unflinchingly honest and tender with brave, emotionally raw performances by Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva.

Mundanely horrifying and extremely powerful.

The story behind the central tableau ... starts off completely mundane, shifts into a tale of pain and sadness, and ends on a note of horror mixed with tortured understanding.

If Haneke has any real interest in keeping art cinema alive, he should take some notes from the Queensbridge rapper Nas.

I am glad I saw it -- and hope I never see it again.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/771307454/

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A burden that children should never have to bear - World Vision Blog

An eight year old Syrian refugee child named Layla[1] shares, ?I saw my cousin dying in front of me, so I always see this scene in front of my eyes.?

As children all over North America happily rummage through the cheerful remains of Christmas Day?s joys?festive gift wrap strewn about, the latest version of Halo blaring from 40 inch television screens?the existence of Syrian children presently seeking refuge in Lebanon is one far less carefree.? In this season of joy, it?s difficult to fathom that at least 66,000 children like Layla are coping with the loss of home and childhood as their families struggle to survive the displacement of war and onset of a cold, snowy winter in Lebanon?s Bekaa Valley.

*????? *?????? *

Over the past three months, Syrian refugees have poured across Lebanon?s borders at an exponentially increasing rate.? UNHCR reports that 154,387[2] Syrian refugees are currently residing in Lebanon.? Nearly 75 percent of these refugees are women and children; children who should be focused on homework and playing are instead grappling with educational upheaval, a lack of stability and anxiety and exposure as they face uncertain futures and adapt to life in a foreign country whose host communities do not fully accept them.[3]

In short, Syrian refugee children are bearing burdens no child anywhere should ever have to carry.

Unfortunately, experiences like Layla?s are not uncommon. ?In Robbed of Childhood, Running from War, a newly released World Vision report, World Vision found many children willing to share openly and ?at length about violence, death and the politics of war.?

In the report, which surveys 100 Syrian children aged 7-13 in the Central and Western Bekaa region of Lebanon, children spoke with World Vision staff ?about images of their homes and schools burning, people getting shot and tanks roving their neighborhoods. Even indirect exposure to violence such as images of dead bodies on the news, continues to haunt them.?

Wael, showing a book he brought with him from Syria. It is his most precious procession away from his real home. It is his geography book. He flips through its pages every now and then and dreams that one day he will return with it to his home to finish his education.

One child told World Vision:

?My three brothers died in Syria.? They were younger than me. They shot my brothers when they were playing with their friends on the street.?

The experiences of these children make one?s heart heavy?even as someone who has worked with survivors of humanitarian crises around the world, I cannot imagine a world in which my very young son, who should freely enjoy an existence crashing dump trucks around our living room, bearing the devastation and politics of war.? But children who have fled Syria are doing just that.?

?My brother is 13 and used to go to school in Syria. Here he works with steel.?

?My sister, 15, used to go to school but here she works at a laundry shop.?

Like many displaced children in humanitarian crises throughout the world, Syrian refugee children in Lebanon are sometimes forced to choose work over school. ?The reasons for this are many, including challenges with enrollment, language barriers (while Syrian children are taught in Arabic, the Lebanese system includes English and French) and the economic pressures facing refugee families. ?I cannot imagine a world in which my son has to opt of middle school to support our family?s financial needs.? But this is the reality facing Syrian refugee children every day.

In the midst of holiday festivities, after Christmas sales and time with dear family and friends, consider coming alongside Syrian refugee children in Lebanon to help them shoulder burdens children should never bear.? Now that?s a world worth imagining.

---

Elizabeth Ranade-Janis is the Program Management Officer for the World Vision Humanitarian & Emergency Affairs Team

Make a donation to the Syrian refugee crisis. The number of refugees fleeing conflict-ridden Syria has tripled in the last three months, according to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. More than 100,000 registered Syrian refugees are in Lebanon, where World Vision has been providing basic hygiene kits and food vouchers to help them survive. Your gift will help continue this urgent response.

[1] At the request of parents, the names of all children have been changed to protect identities.

[2] Note that this number represents only the Syrian refugees who feel it is safe to official register with UNHCR; there are many others believed to be living in Lebanon.

[3] From Robbed of Childhood, Running from War, World Vision, December 2012.

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Source: http://blog.worldvision.org/disaster-relief/a-burden-that-children-should-never-have-to-bear/

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How Secure Socket Layers Safeguards Businesses | SEO Desk

Every possible angle of internet indemnity businesses seek is usually based off data integrity, and where most dollars seem to flock towards.? One facet many businesses of medium size tend to forego, however, is the need of secure communication between customers and web servers, especially during the final sales page.? The standard for such security is measured with secure sockets layer technology, an ingenious method of taking packets of information and sending them between customer and server in various hexadecimal formats so hackers cannot make out what information is being traded. To enlighten the layman, we?ll delve into the world of SSL and TLS, the two syncopated security protocols which speak fluently between browser and server to enhance the total buying, or simple browsing, experience.

What SSL Is

From technical standpoints, secure sockets layer is simply taking personal information, such as credit cards, social security numbers and other pieces of sensitive data, and encrypting them using layers of hexadecimal coding which only the receiving web server can unencrypt and identify.? Generally speaking, the higher numbers of bits which are available for SSL keys, the more layers of encryption are offered.? All browsers have adopted SSL technology, especially for any transactions across multiple sites which tend to pass through several servers simultaneously.? Customers identify SSL indemnification through a small padlock either in browser bar or in lower portion of browser window, depending on which version of IE or Firefox is being used.? One major goal of these certificates, of course, is controlling further reputation damages which occur when buying experiences go south.

SSL software, or ?keys?, are already written into every major browser.? When businesses purchase hosting services and know they?ll transact using in-house payment processing services, SSL certificates will be installed on the receiving server, too, which makes hijacking information nearly impossible unless your computer has been compromised via internet connection.? Several companies which people tend to use for trusted secure sockets layer certificate keys include:

• Starfield Technologies
• GeoTrust
• VeriSign
• GoDaddy (sells their Turbo SSL which is actually issued by Starfield)
• Thawte
• Comodo

Common SSL Technical Terms

As with any programming schema or technical aspect of our internet life, those who work to secure our connections, test SSL and program servers to require secure access to webpages have specific verbiage which is commonly spoken amongst techies.? Some of these SSL-related terms are below:

• Internet Information Services (IIS) ? The general web services module which supports the secure protocols of servers, i.e. HTTPS, FTPS, SMTP, IMAP.? By default, installations of Windows on servers and local computers do not have IIS turned on.
• Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) ? When SSL has been enabled on receiving websites? servers, HTTPS is automatically turned on.? HTTPS is not a separate protocol by itself.
• Certificate Authorities (CA) ? The actual entity responsible for issuing encrypted keys for servers and website security usage.? Generally called ?trusted 3^rd parties? on many business sites, these companies guaranty the business and consumer usually through identification of company name on SSL certificate.
• Public ?Key Infrastructure (PKI) ? The basic set of governing principles of SSL-issuing authorities which have the ability to revoke, store and issue digital certificates.
• Validation Authority (VA) ? A third party to PKI authorities which basically validate the certificate as authentic, sometimes used in place of CA.
• Central Directory (CD) ? Place where keys can be stored and indexed which is always secure.

How SSL Protects Businesses

The actual protection of business interests comes, realistically, in the form of protecting customers.? Since multiple layers of encrypted information will protect your business from having payments lifted during checkout processes, customers can avoid unnecessary legal action against you should their credit card information become compromised during the payment process, or while stored on your servers.? SSL also protects businesses from fraudulent transactions to some degree, especially when using third-party payment processing software in your shopping cart.? This is done through AVS, or address verification system, which can generally match your customers? credit card address with their current IP to assure they?re within safe parameters ? if you live in Sacramento, for example, the likelihood you?d want new electronics shipped to Nairobi, Kenya is pretty rare and will raise fraud flags.

All told, without the lockdown security that SSL certificates provide, you?d probably have no business transactions occurring online, nor would customers ever trust spending money online with you.

Installing Secure Sockets Layer On Your Own

Simply identified as a text file which communicates between end users? browsers and your server, installation of SSL onto your own web server really depends on which platform is being used; although literally hundreds of server OS?s are available, we?ll cover the major players: Tomcat, Microsoft Exchange Server and Apache.? Apache, MES and Tomcat will have separate instructions for each one.? We?ve briefly described below the steps for setting up your SSL on multiple server platforms since the general idea is the same.

1.?????? Download Your SSL Certificate From Provider

Your secure certificate will usually contain your domain name and have some form of extension, depending on the provider.? The key will be a text file and usually will be: domain.extension or something like that. You will only receive access to your certificate after providing CSR, or certificate signing request, from your server provider.

2.?????? Locate Instructions For Your Server

Various servers will have different methods of installation; since an article relevant to the several dozen possible configurations wouldn?t prove fruitful, here are some places where instructions exist per server:

Literally hundreds of resources are available to assist you ? even your ISP would have proper technical documentations which would assist in setting your SSL properly.

3.?????? Testing

Once you?ve managed to setup all files, tweak your server to handle secure requests and have your shopping cart matching the certificate file, it?s time for testing.? The best means for testing is either find different IP to reach your site from, or simply ask friends from abroad to access your site.? Perhaps setup mock debit cards to check how each page responds.? Whichever method works for you best, make darn sure you try some method before your customer lands on unsecured areas intended to be SSL-enabled. Should your tests pass with flying colors, you?ll need no further instructions; if any connection failures occur or pages aren?t secure, make sure you tweak the server to include all website areas where you believe secure information needs SSL technology.

Conclusion

Secure sockets layers are perhaps the saving grace of all internet transactions, and have become the signal of trust when online shoppers have visited your website with intentions of making purchases.? The main proprietary methods of how secure socket layers technology protects business around the world goes back to SSL basics ? making sure every packet of information is encrypted to elude potential hackers.? While many businesses simply use trusted third-party shopping carts for transacting, or even use PayPal, the entire process must still remain secure for the customers to feel totally protected from hacker harms.

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If you need further information on installation of SSL certificate files onto your web servers or simply want to know the various freelance certifications for obtaining work in SSL fields, the linkage above proved helpful for thousands of businesses like yourself, and should prove useful to you as well.

This is a unique article published on SEO Desk with exclusivity.

Popularity: unranked [?]

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Source: http://seodesk.org/how-secure-socket-layers-safeguards-businesses/

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the hedonista: Food Obsessed.... Moi?

Food bloggers come in all shapes and sizes (and some would say, vast, vast, quantities). But underneath them all is an obsession with food, and I've just discovered it's unnatural.

Recently I ran a trivia night at my place with nine of my nearest and dearest. It came about because it's something we do as a group, just to ensure we get together and knock back a couple of bottles of fizz once a month. For my turn, I'd asked if I could shake it up a bit, and so instead of asking a whole heap of questions about 1980s one-hit-wonders and the capitals of obscure countries, I decided to make mine food and wine themed. So I compiled a list of questions, breaking them into eight rounds of about ten questions each. Let's see how they fared.

Round 1 - picture round. What pasta is that?
Highest score - 6/10. Average: 4/10
Pasta that most of my friends have not heard of: agnolotti, farfalle, pappardelle, orzo, conchiglie.
I had a thin and thick flat pasta in there, and despite accepting pappardelle, fettuccine, linguini or tagliatelle, if they were at least listed according to brevity, none got it right. They fought over question 8, and I finally conceded that Agnolotti could also be called ravioli (it really shouldn't).

Round 2 - Fruit and veggies.
Highest score - 4/10. Average 2.5/10
I have discovered that my friends do not have any idea about potato varieties, what fruit is found in grenadine, what the difference between a herb and a tree is, how to poison someone with a fresh apple, or despite a multiple choice with 3 inane answers, only one of which was a fruit or vegetable, they could not figure out that jack-o-lanterns used to be made out of turnips. They all got The Wiggles lyrics right to "hot potato" however. And the best response? Q 9: What's in vichyssoise? ... A: fishes arse

Round 3 - Dining out.
Highest score - 5/10. Average 4/10
Do they know what napery is? No. What about the glasses different wines should be served in? No, not them either. What about smelly cheeses? No, can't tell the difference between a taleggio and a parmigiano. However, they could remember the jingle of a fast food chain's ad from all the way back in 1974, and tell me exactly what you could find in a Big Mac. Big woop.

Round 4 - Wine.
Highest score - 5/10. Average 2.5/10
Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Now I thought these were pretty easy. What is Spanish sparkling called? Apparently it's "el bubblio". The only wine growing region of NZ they could name was Marlborough, and there was a Waipara Sauvignon Blanc on the table. My husband did however know what TCA was, even if he called it tri-chloro-asinole. Everybody else just put in rude words starting with T, C and A. They didn't know how many Crus or growths you would find in the Medoc (Bordeaux), and couldn't even tell me that doux and demi sec were sweeter than brut when it comes to Champagne.

Round 5 - Guess this wine
Highest score - 3/3. Average - 1.5/3
The only disappointment here was my husband, who poured his wine in a shot glass, and then proudly declared it was Sancerre. I did proffer a more suitable receptacle, which he declined, stating loudly and tapping the side of his nose in Sherlock Holmes fashion "I've had this wine before, I know exactly what it is." He didn't change his answer. It was cheap buttery unwooded chardonnay from South Eastern Australia, not incredibly expensive and pungent Sauvignon Blanc from France.

Round 6 - Spirits and liqueurs
Highest score - 6/10. Average 4/10
What a great improvement here. Yes, they know what 'legs' are in a brandy glass. They could tell me how to make a Pi?a Colada. Only one knew that Frangelico was made with hazelnuts, but nobody had any idea what made the mind trip in Absinthe. When it came to stills, barrels and single malts, everybody utterly fell off the wagon.

Round 7 - Match the drinker to the drink
Highest score - 2/8. Average 1/8
This should have been a process of elimination. Pablo Picasso would definitely need the aid of the green fairy (absinthe) to come up with cubism (most got this). Marilyn Monroe was supposed to have once bathed in 350 bottles of Dom Perignon, and derr, Dean Martin loved Martinis. But no - they thought the Queen of England needed to drink Champagne, leaving Marilyn with the Cosmo, even though it hadn't been invented yet. They gave Madonna a Martini and Dean the Dubonnet, and then even bungled Lara Bingle's H2COCO, despite the fact that most of us are Aussies and she's been pimping it for ages now.

Round 8 - What is this?
Highest score - 3/10. Average - 1.5/10
The only constant was Sopressa, which was correctly confirmed to be a salami. But it seems Chaorce is a vegetable (no -that's Choko), Capon is a chocolate, Ceviche "mmmm... tastes like chicken!", Passito is meat, jaggery is a chilli, and nobody even put an answer for khubz, despite the fact that we all eat them nearly every day. Two out of three knew daikon was a radish, but nobody knew that Cachaca is the spirit used in one of the world's most popular cocktails, the Caipirinha, assuming in fact it is the dance that you perform after you have six of them. Kimchi? Oh, that's Indonesion for "cat on a satay stick" apparently.

By the end of this, my heart had broken, and was dribbling all over the floor like an over-ripe chunk of Chaorce. I thought this would be fun. You know, eating food, drinking wine, talking about food and wine, testing each other, the kind of things I love doing with my food blogger friends. But no, it wasn't at all. My cuisinically challenged friends laughed in mock shame through the fruit and veggie round, and only got very excited when they got to say "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun", but by the time we got to the spirits, they were groaning, telling me they were too hard. I was embarrassed, wanted to crawl under the table and drink the rest of the Bollinger and gorge on some incredible Salted Caramels someone had brought from Crate and Barrel. Maybe just sob quietly to myself. But we persisted, and by the end, we paid in wine because everyone was drowning their losses in our cellar.

Even my husband, who shares most of my food journeys didn't fare well. At one point, my best Dubai friend looked at me and asked: "Do you know the answers to all these questions, Sarah?", and I do. I only had to google a couple of the celebrity favourite drinks and double check on some barrel sizes for whiskey storage. Oh, and I didn't know what a Capon was until about two weeks ago.

Sometimes its hard to see how people don't get your obsession, and also how they can go through life eating and drinking without knowing the name of things, how they are made, and where they come from. But I guess it's just my personal thing. Luckily I have a big bunch of food-loving friends to share it with in Fooderati Arabia, and now I treasure them more than ever.

The next host of trivia has threatened to make the theme "Middle Eastern Oil Extraction" for next time. Now won't that be exciting...

Source: http://www.thehedonista.com/2012/12/food-obsessed-moi.html

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