Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

If you walk through many of Hamiltons older areas, you will see widespread instances where single-family homes, usually two and a half story homes, have been converted into duplexes and triplexes. Sometimes additional entrances have been added, in other cases, there is a single entrance with partitioning inside to separate the living units. In addition, many of these homes already underwent expansion sometime earlier in the last century with the addition of a kitchen at the rear of the home typically with a second floor sunporch built above. Many of these conversions took place immediately after the second world war when there was a severe housing shortage in Canada, and homeowners were encouraged to duplex large homes.

In New York, the Regional Plan Association has been around for more that a hundred years. One of its most notable early members was Thomas Adams, the Scottish-born father of town planning. Adams spent several years preaching Town Planning in Canada and among his associates was one of Canadas first major planners, Naulon Cauchon who developed several grandiose plans for Hamilton. Adams formed Canadas Town Planning institute in 1919, and among the charter members was Cauchon, and Hamiltons TB McQuestena lawyer and politician who was keenly interested in planning, who went on to a major career is a promoter of parks and public works..

In the early 1920s Adamas went to new York where he joined the Regional Plan Association there and developed a 30-year official plan for New York and surrounding area.

Still functioning, a hundred years after its formation, the Regional Plan Association recently published a paper on the affordable housing shortage in the United States. Essentially the plan suggests greater intensification of existing properties.

In the paper the RPA notes, Done thoughtfully, every municipality can create more housing simply by allowing more flexibility within the context of existing land use patterns. We can create hundreds of thousands of new homes in the region just by allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and conversions of large single-family homes to two- or three-family homes, most of which would be in areas near transit.

Not all of these new homes would necessarily mean new people. Some would allow extended families to live in more comfortable situations, by having separate units for grandparents, older children or others currently living together in a single-family house. Others would allow for upgrades to legal dwelling units for people currently living in units which dont meet code compliancewhich would also help ensure that these units are safe. All would be valuable additions to housing choice in neighborhoods and the housing supply of the region as a whole.A housing unit built above a garage

We can achieve the creation of these additional homes through policies that can be implemented by the states and by local communities through both legislation and local zoning changes, by addressing technical issues to unlock this hidden housing, and by addressing the misconceptions that can undermine productive dialogue around this issue in local communities.

The paper suggests that if even one -third of single family homes in the Metropolitan New York are underwent convesion or retrofitted with one ADU, then more than 250,000 units would be created.

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Housing intensification without high-rise | - The Bay Observer - Providing a Fresh Perspective for Hamilton and Burlington

Steven A. Cohen and his wife, Alex, spent part of their Saturday outside Citi Field, in the chill and the drizzle, greeting Mets season-ticket holders who stopped by for a bobblehead promotion. By the end of the day, the fans had more than trinkets.

The Mets added two important pieces to the team Cohen bought for a record $2.475 billion last month, filling pressing vacancies on and off the field. The Mets decided on a new general manager, Jared Porter, an assistant with the Arizona Diamondbacks who has helped build four championship teams. They also filled their catching void with James McCann, a free agent from the Chicago White Sox who agreed to a four-year deal worth a bit more than $40 million.

The additions were confirmed by multiple people within baseball with direct knowledge of the moves, neither of which has been announced by the Mets. McCann must first pass a physical examination before his deal can become official, and Porter and the Mets were said to be finalizing contract details.

Cohen had initially sought to hire a president of baseball operations and a general manager, but several teams declined permission for their executives to interview. Sandy Alderson, 73, the former general manager and new Mets president, agreed to assume more baseball-related duties and focus strictly on hiring a general manager.

In Porter, he found a deeply respected and experienced evaluator who is only 41 years old. Porter a former baseball and hockey captain at Bowdoin College worked for the Boston Red Sox from 2004 through 2015, when the team won three titles, and was pro scouting director for the Chicago Cubs when they won the World Series in 2016.

Porter then joined the Diamondbacks as assistant general manager for Mike Hazen, a former Red Sox colleague, overseeing pro personnel and player development and impressing colleagues with his listening skills, personal connections and passion for scouting.

In reaching a deal with McCann, the Mets found another highly regarded person to handle a critical role. One of the pitchers McCann will catch, the right-hander Marcus Stroman, did not wait to welcome him to the team.

Beyond excited to work with @JamesMcCann34, Stroman wrote on Twitter. Ive heard nothing but unbelievable things about him as a player and person. Guy rakes at the dish and is always locked in behind the plate!

McCann, 30, flourished with the White Sox after five ordinary seasons with the Detroit Tigers, who did not tender him a contract after he hit .220 with eight homers in 2018. He made the American League All-Star team in 2019 and continued his improvement last season, when he split time at catcher with Yasmani Grandal.

In 149 games for the White Sox, McCann hit .276 with 25 homers and 75 runs batted in. His .334 on-base percentage and .474 slugging percentage combined for an .808 O.P.S., trailing only Willson Contreras, Grandal and J.T. Realmuto among catchers with at least 500 plate appearances over the last two seasons.

Realmuto, a two-time All-Star who has spent the last two years with the Philadelphia Phillies, is a headliner on the free-agent market and perhaps baseballs best catcher. The Mets had seemed to be a natural fit for Realmuto, but the deal with McCann could indicate that they are saving their biggest expenditures for other free agents, like center fielder George Springer of the Houston Astros, starter Trevor Bauer of the Cincinnati Reds, or both.

Cohen, the richest owner in the majors, energized the fans with a pledge to spend more aggressively than his predecessor, Fred Wilpon. McCann is the second free agent to agree to a multiyear deal with the team, after reliever Trevor May, who got a two-year, $15.5 million deal to leave the Minnesota Twins.

McCann, a right-handed hitter, has batted .320 against lefties over the last two seasons, and .259 against righties. He started at catcher for 27 of the White Sox 60 games last season and two of their three playoff games, while greatly improving his pitch-framing statistics.

According to Statcast, McCann ranked 56th among 64 qualified catchers in strike rate on borderline pitches in 2019. Last season, he rose to 8th out of 62 and forged a strong bond with ace Lucas Giolito, whose earned run average with McCann in eight starts (including a no-hitter) was 2.61, three runs better than it was in four starts with Grandal.

As a Tiger, McCann also worked well with Justin Verlander, whose 3.07 E.R.A. with McCann was the best E.R.A. among the seven catchers who caught Verlander for at least 70 innings with Detroit.

Hes unreal back there, Giolito told the Chicago Sun-Times in August. Every single game, every single pitch, hes into it 100 percent.

Now the Mets will get the benefit of that intensity, as Cohen and Alderson bring along Porter to continue their pursuit of stars.

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Big Day for Mets Includes a New Catcher and a New G.M. - The New York Times

Netflix has renewed its British romance dramedy series Feel Good for a second and final season, according to TVLine. The first season premiered on the streamer last March with six episodes.

RELATED: Extraction: Joe Russo Teases Potential Shared Movie Universe Is in Development

Starring Mae Martin (Baroness Von Sketch Show) and Charlotte Ritchie (Call the Midwife), the second season sees Mae (Martin) struggling to come to terms with the ghosts from her past, while George (Ritchie) tries to reinvent her present.

Im beyond excited to be able to return to the world of Feel Good, and to see Mae and Georges love story through to the dramatic conclusion we had always planned, said Martin, whos also a co-creator of the series. Im deeply attached to this story and so grateful to be getting back to work with the incredible team at Objective Fiction and our hilarious cast. Having spent most of 2020 speaking only to my kettle and my television as I watched the world burn on the internet, Im euphoric to be around other human beings again. Seeing Joe Hampsons and my dumb jokes come to life is heaven.

Season 2 will also feature returning stars Lisa Kudrow (Friends), Philip Burgers (The Sheriff of Topanga Canyon), and Adrian Lukis (Pride and Prejudice), along with the seasons new additions Jordan Stephens (Glue), John Ross Bowie (Speechless), Eve (The Talk), and Eleanor Matsuura (The Walking Dead).

RELATED: Death to 2020: Samuel L. Jackson, Lisa Kudrow, & More Join New Netflix Mockumentary

Feel Good Season 2 is expected to premiere in 2021.

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Netflixs Feel Good Renewed for a Second and Final Season - ComingSoon.net

Guillermo del Toro was initially set as the director of The Hobbit movies - and his version of the films would have proved very different.

If Guillermo del Toro would have directedThe Hobbitas originally planned, the films might have been quite different. The imaginative and visionary director would have brought his particular voice to the film, infusing it with majesty, fantasy, and whimsy.

Del Toro took some time prepping for the film, collaborating with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, the minds behindThe Lord of the Rings. The three of them worked together to get the film green-lit by MGM, which was suffering financially at the time, while del Toro worked tirelessly on the sets, creatures, and structure of the film. Del Toro had his own vision for the film, which differed from Jackson's trilogy while still paying homage to its legacy. Del Toro was not a big fan of the books by J.R.R. Tolkien, but immensely enjoyed Jackson's work, so he planned on honoring it.

RELATED: Lord Of The Rings Series In Order (Including Hobbit, TV Shows, & Books)

Time wound on, and del Toro stepped away from the film. He was heartbroken by the decision, but he said it had to be done. Jackson went on to direct the movies, turning the one novel into three films that he had to rush to make while undoing all of del Toro's work, which was mostly the former director's intellectual property. Jackson was given mere months to prepare, where heonce had years forThe Lord of the Rings. Audiences were denied the chance to see what the creative and talented del Toro would have done with the picture, but there is enough information to speculate on the details.

In del Toro's original vision,The Hobbitwould have been split into two movies, as he felt anything more than twomight feel bloated. The first would contain the bulk of the story from the novel,exploring Bilbo's journey and adventure with the dwarves. Smaug would have been introduced in the first film, as would Azog.Del Toro believed that the first film needed to have a different tone than the second one, committing to the feel of a fairy tale. His aim was to alter the aesthetic ofThe Hobbitfrom the look and feel of theLord of theRings trilogy, making something different. He gathered sketches from older editions of the novel and paintings from fans of the works of Tolkien to inspire the texture and details of the piece. The design of the wargs, for example, was new, as Guillermo felt that Jackson's design was a little too close to real-world wolves, and Guillermo wanted to emulate the demon wolves found in Norse mythology.

The second film would have been transitional, melding not only the story but the aesthetic into a look that tied in with Jackson'sLord of the Ringstrilogy. The artists would need to blend Guillermo's architecture and beasts with Jackson's, bringing the visual storytelling to a familiar place for fans. The film would have borrowed from the appendices in theLord of the Rings novels to flush out the space betweenThe HobbitandFellowship of the Ring, utilizing pieces of the story withGandalf to connect the two, including the White Council and the Dol Guldur additions, which was something del Toro planned from the beginning.

As to where the films would split, del Toro said that it should be obvious to fans."What we're doing is because we have the relationship between Bilbo and Thorin and all the dwarves, there is a logical place for that relationship. There is a moment in the book where something is accomplished that allows us to say, 'Okay, on to the next one after this.'" It is likely the first movie would follow Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves all the way through the Misty Mountains and then to Beorn's house, right up to the edge of Mirkwood. It is here that Gandalf takes his leave to go and reckon with Dol Guldur, leaving Bilbo to figure things out for himself. Bilbo has the admiration of the dwarves for getting out of the goblin lair, following that up with a rescue from the elves. The exact place of the split was never revealed, however, so fans can merely speculate.

RELATED:The Hobbit: What Went Wrong With The Hobbit Movie Trilogy

With his knack for telling gothic fairy tales featuring children, del Toro's idea to transform the tone into one of a dark piece of children's folklore would likely have worked well. He said that his film would contain, "A world that is slightly more golden at the beginning, a very innocent environment, and the film would need to take you from a time of more purity to a darker reality throughout the film, but in the spirit of the book." Del Toro's talents lie in expressing the loneliness and horror in the loss of innocence, which his film would focus on. It would also draw parallels to Word War I, a conflict in which Tolkien fought. Del Toro has in the past used the fantastical to say something profound about the historical, telling strange and tragic fables about children against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War inThe Devil's Backboneand Pan's Labyrinth.

Del Toro's interpretation would have also captured the childlike innocence ofThe Hobbitas opposed to its more adult sequels. In the book, Tolkien had no notion of making the ring an object of enormous, world-ending evil. The ring Bilbo finds is a simple trick ring, merely turning the bearer invisible. This is what del Toro would have done, showing the difference in stakes between the first story and the remaining three.The Hobbitwas originally intended for children, reading one chapter a night, and del Toro wanted to retain that tone.

Del Toro had a dogged commitment to keeping the film very close in mood and detail to the novel. His two planned films would have followed the story in a meaningful way, using a color code to designate the passage of time as well as Bilbo's personal journey. His aesthetic would have been fanciful and macabre, focusing on favorite scenes like the contest of riddles between Gollum and Bilbo, which del Toro considers the most beautiful in the book. He also planned to illuminate the strength of the bond between Bilbo and Thorin. There wasn't much time in the three movies to show their close friendship, but del Toro had plans to highlight the generosity of spirit between the two.

The director was concerned about the lack of female characters in the film andsupported the creation of Tauriel, the elven warrior. The movie needed a warrior, and del Toro thought that Tauriel should fill that role. He intended to honor the book's introduction of Bard and his aloof presence with not a lot of characterization, so Tauriel would have been inserted into the story much in the way Bard was.

RELATED:Why Gandalf's Final Hobbit Scene Isn't A Lord Of The Rings Plot Hole

Del Toro very much wanted his own original design for the dragon in the film. He wanted the eyes to be difficult to locate, hidden within an enormous horned head to add tension to the moments when Bilbo is sneaking around. The mouth was to be very human-like, expressive, and articulate, with some thin, silky spines that almost resembled fur. The belly would have been slithery and soft, showing a surprising vulnerability.

The director understood that the design of the dragon would ruffle some feathers. Audiences have a very particular vision of a dragon in their heads, particularly when it comes to western mythology, and del Toro's desire to make something totally new and strange and unfamiliar was bold but controversial. He admitted to discomfort and tension over the design, saying that he knew it was not what people wanted.

As Tolkien was a veteran of World War I, he detested depictions of war, particularly if they were glamorous or romantic. In his children's tale, he did not want a battle to rage on, showing them that war was epic or entertaining. Instead, he had the point of view character, Bilbo, completely unconscious for the entirety of the battle, only told about the major events after the fact. This was something del Toro completely agreed with and wanted to honor, despite pressure from the studio to show a major battle scene. The three-page 6,000-warrior conflict would have remained a minimal part of the story with perhaps only a small cameo from Legolas.

The battle would have not been, as was the tagline of the thirdHobbitfilm, "the defining chapter." Instead, the focus would be on the characterization of the hobbit Bilbo, setting the plot aside in favor of story and character. Though the battle would have been greatly set aside, del Toro and Jackson did spend time brainstorming possibilities for what could be shown and what kinds of creatures would be present. He claimed that he, Jackson, and Walsh had a lot of childlike energy between them, talking excitedly late into the night. "We have a very well-funded sandbox," he said. It is not sure exactly how much del Toro would have been able to omit given studio pressure and how attached big-budget films are to action scenes, but a more couched approach would have served the film well and taken up far less time.

RELATED:How The Hobbit Changed The Ringwraith Origins For The Desolation Of Smaug

Significantly, del Toro wanted all of the actors from Jackson's trilogy to reprise their roles. He wanted the filmsparticularly the first oneto feel different and more ethereal, but he thought it a disservice to the fans if there wasn't a bit of familiarity. He did want to add new faces such as Brian Blessed as Thorin, Ron Perlman as Smaug or Beorn, Ian McShane as a dwarf, and Doug Jones as Thranduil, but pushed for Ian Holm to reprise Bilbo. (His notion to cast Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown stuck, and the beloved actor wound up in the film.) Though not a fan in general of epic fantasy, del Toro knew what audiences wanted to see and how they would expect the stories to match up.

The appendices included afterReturn of the Kingdetail the sixty years between the events ofThe HobbitandFellowship of the Ring, so some of those details such as the awakening of Mount Doom andSauron's return to Mordor may have been peppered into the end of del Toro's films. He also intended to include the White Council, which appears in the appendices, not inThe Hobbit. Including the White Council makes narrative sense for Gandalf, and also helps to illustrate the through-line between the two stories. Had del Toro been in charge, the Council would have likely only appeared in the second film, used in particular to infuse a bit of the connection missing from the books.

In November 2009, the script was delayed and the production timeline was set back to 2010. The script was still unfinished and no casting decisions had been made, pushing things back further. Guillermo decided to step back from The Hobbitin 2010. Because MGM had not yet greenlit the project, he was afraid all his hard work would be thrown away if the studio got too frustrated. He kept putting off quitting, but ultimately he was unable to stay. He handed it over, not knowing who would be put in charge of the project. "I have incredible heartache. I feel terrible about it. I was hanging by the thread of my arm for so long that at the end of the day, you have to cut it off," he said.

Del Toro spent two years on the production of the film, and when all was said and done, he had an entire production, set, creatures, and aesthetic ready, but no script and no green light that would allow for casting. As the production continued to balloon, Guillermo del Toro saw his future projects hemorrhaging and fading away, and so he made the difficult choice to step away, leaving the world without his version of The Hobbit.

NEXT: Lord of the Rings: Hobbiton Is A Terrible Name (& That's Why It's Perfect)

Cats Butthole Cut Couldnt Save The Movie Says James Corden

Elise Hanson is an award-winning playwright and novelist from Salt Lake City. She lives with her husband and three cats.

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The Hobbit That Might Have Been With Guillermo del Toro - Screen Rant

ALBANY The state could receive its first COVID-19 vaccine shipments this weekend and vaccinate nursing home and high-risk health workers within the next few weeks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday, before detailing how many dosages will be delivered to each of the states 10 regions.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve Manhattan-based drugmaker Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine Thursday following a hearing. The states independent vaccine review panel, which includes national health experts and scientists, has been in contact with the FDA and is slated to immediately begin assessing the vaccines safety following federal approval.

By the end of week two, if all goes well and the federal government sticks to the schedule, we expect all high-risk staff will receive the vaccination, Cuomo said Wednesday during a coronavirus briefing at the state Capitol. Staff at every hospital will have access to the allocation ... they will have access to the vaccine via a hospital in their region.

After approval, about 6 million dosages will be allocated to U.S. states based on population and the number of nursing home and health care workers. The federal government will procure shipments, using the military and private delivery companies FedEx and McKesson to transport to states.

They will send it where we ask them to send it and then we set priorities for not only where it goes, but who gets it, Cuomo said, adding the state will expedite vaccinating New Yorkers as soon as possible.

The state is expected to receive 85,000, or half, of an initial shipment of 170,000 doses of the vaccine in the coming days. The next half of the shipment will arrive in another 21 days, or when the first patients who received an inoculation can get their second required dose.

Its a massive undertaking, Cuomo said. I think people have not focused enough on the extent of what this undertaking means.

Additional vaccine shipments are expected on a rolling basis in the coming weeks. The immunization will be prioritized for the states 210,000 nursing home workers and about 90,000 high-risk health care workers of the states 700,000, or those who directly work with COVID-infected patients.

About 225,000 health care workers treat positive cases, including emergency room and intensive care staff.

The hospitals will select the actual individuals who will get the first vaccines within that guidance, Cuomo said.

Staff and residents at long-term and adult care facilities, EMS and other health care workers and essential workers will be prioritized to receive the vaccine in that order, Cuomo said, followed by the general public. New Yorkers enlisted in the U.S. Army and National Guard are also eligible to receive the immunization first.

The governor estimated the general public will be able to receive a vaccination in late January or early February.

We have to see how it goes, and before we get to that general, public distribution, well lay out sites where people can go to get vaccinated, the governor said. But we have a ways to go before we get there.

The state plans to release contact tracing data collected by local governments and health departments. The governor will discuss more details Friday with updates to the Coronavirus Task Forces COVID-19 response plan.

The state located 90 regional distribution centers in every region capable of producing the ultra-cold refrigeration conditions required to store the COVID-19 vaccine. In October, health officials said the vaccine would require storage at minus-70 degrees Celsius, or minus-112 Fahrenheit.

This is a different definition of cold storage this is like really, really cold storage, the governor said. Not every facility can do it, not every hospital can do it.

The north country will receive 3,700 doses of the first vaccine shipment, with the Capital Region getting 7,850 doses, 6,400 doses in Central New York, 11,150 in the Finger Lakes and 14,500 in Western New York. New York City will receive 72,000 dosages of the initial batch, and 26,500 doses will be sent to Long Island.

The state opted into a federal program to partner with CVS and Walgreens pharmacies to administer the immunization in nursing homes similar to a program giving nursing home residents the flu shot each year. The program will begin Dec. 21, with vaccine shipment deliveries starting to arrive next week.

We do expect to have enough to cover all residents and all staff, Cuomo said. The staff is vaccinated on a rolling basis to make sure they have staff thats receiving the vaccine and staff thats working at all times.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed the state will not send individual patient data to federal agencies that could be used to document citizenship or deportation. The federal government required states to sign a data-sharing agreement earlier this fall, which could have permitted federal officials to collect Americans Social Security, passport or drivers license numbers, which could be used to identify undocumented residents.

These are alarm bells for people who are undocumented, Cuomo said. If undocumented people dont get vaccinated, it compromises their health and it compromises the whole program. The program only works if you hit a critical mass of the population.

Between 75% and 85% of a population must be vaccinated for an immunization to be effective in a community. The state plans to launch a massive public education campaign to dispel the skepticism for residents to take the vaccine. Recent national polls show more than half of Americans question the safety of the shot and would decline receiving it.

This has to be done in a way that protects social justice in the health care system, the governor said, adding the U.S. health care model discriminates against Black, Latinx and poor communities, which have fewer medical facilities and higher COVID-19 death rates.

Cuomo has said the states separate vaccine review will not delay inoculations, and will help ease the minds of Americans who remain uncertain about the vaccine.

We have the vaccine that is the weapon that will win the war if people take it, the governor said. I think the New York panel, as a second panel to approve it, is going to go a long way toward battling that skepticism and improve that process.

Amendments and additions to the states COVID-19 winter response plan will be announced Friday, Cuomo said.

State officials met virtually with all hospital administrators Wednesday to discuss the surge and flex initiative, or plan to balance patient caseloads, among individual health systems as cases continue to increase across the state and nation.

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New York's initial vaccine dosages to arrive in coming days - The Daily News Online

It seems like just yesterday Jamal Murray was going en fuego from three point land while Nikola Jokic dissected defenses in the bubble in Orlando. In reality, its been seventy-seven days since the Denver Nuggets were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 NBA Playoffs making this the shortest offseason in franchise history. Will Denver be able to build off the momentum of their Western Conference Finals run and become title contenders? Or will the turnover in the roster and rapid schedule cause them to stagnate? Tonight we begin to find out the answers to those questions.

Their opponent has plenty of questions to answer as well. Just a few years removed from being the most dominant team in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors are looking to bounce back from a forgettable season marred by injuries that saw them put up the worst record in the NBA. Tonight was supposed to be the start of a comeback story for the Warriors but they have already lost star Klay Thompson for the season to an achilles injury. Still, Golden State will have the services of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, along with several solid additions to their roster. Despite being an exhibition, tonights game is sure to provide plenty of intrigue.

Who: Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors

When: 6:30 PM MST

Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA.

How to watch/listen: Denver Stiffs does not condone piracy...unless its the romanticized 18th-century type. Altitude TV where available, League Pass for non-Denver market viewers. Sneak into the Chase Center with a Chris Mullin mask. 92.5 FM KKSE Altitude Sports Radio.

Rival blog: Golden State of Mind

Player availability: Injury reports were not submitted at time of writing. Check the NBAs official injury report website for updates.

The first game of the preseason is always going to look a bit clunky. Throw in the fact that the Nuggets added seven new players to the roster and lets just say I dont expect a very smooth game. The Warriors have gone through quite a bit of turnover themselves, with newcomers Kelly Oubre Jr. and Brad Wanaker adding to the depth behind a still potent core. Golden Sate also has been dealing with some COVID-19 issues. The aforementioned Green and second overall pick James Wiseman are both out tonight after testing positive a week ago. All in all, this game has all the makings of a true blue preseason contest.

All Nuggets fans eyes are likely to be glued to two thirds of the Unicorn Brothers. Will Michael Porter Jr. start? How many minutes and where in the rotation does Bol Bol slot in? With the shortened preseason we can expect Michael Malone wont spent too much time tinkering and will instead be using these warm up games to quickly get his team ready for when the wins and losses start to count in a week and a half. There will also be less time for players to win rotation spots. Where Bol and MPJ get their minutes and how they perform in tonights game will be very revealing for their rotation prospects, at least early on in the season.

The Unicorn Brothers (Jokic, MPJ, Bol) plus Jamal Murray is a fascinating idea to think about. It might not happen this season with Bol still early in his development but its certainly possible we get to see it. Throw in Argentinian wizard (Facundo Campazzo) and Kid Lightning (R.J. Hampton) along with a healthy Gary Harris and Will Barton and this season has the makings of being something really fun. Plus Denver still has all the fire power they need to compete for a title this year if a couple things break their way. I cant wait for it to get started.

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Preview: Denver Nuggets open 20/21 campaign with a preseason game against the Golden State Warriors - Denver Stiffs

Miami would pursue a trade for Rocketsstar James Hardenif the opportunity arises, a source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The former MVP reportedly expanded his list of preferred optionsthis week, with the Heatand Bucks joining the Nets and Sixers.

According to the source, at least two members of Miamis management team have substantial interest in adding Harden and theres no significant opposition to the move. Outsiders have raised concerns that Hardens ball-dominant style might not fit the Heats philosophy, but the belief among the front office is that Harden plays that way because thats how the offense in Houston is structured.

The Rockets havent committed to putting Harden on the market, but the source says the Heat would be among the teams to make an offer in Houston moves in that direction. The source adds that Miami would be willing to include Tyler Herroto get a deal done. The Heat prefer to keep Herro, who made a huge impact during his rookie season, but recognize that players of Hardens caliber are hard to obtain.

Assessing the situation this week, ESPNs Zach Lowe suggested Herro is better than any single player that Brooklyn would be willing to part with, though he believes the Rockets would lean toward Ben Simmonsif Philadelphia makes him available. Lowe adds that he doesnt think any substantive talks have happened with any teams regarding a Harden trade.

Jackson notes that Miami has financial restrictions to consider. Because the Heat are above the salary cap, they would have to send out close to the $41.2M that Harden earns this season. League rules state that Miami can take back as much as 125% of the salaries it parts with in the deal, plus $100K. Andre Iguodala($15M) and Kelly Olynyk($12.6M) would likely have to be included in any offer, Jackson states.

Goran Dragic, Meyers Leonardand Udonis Haslem, who all re-signed with the Heat over the offseason, have veto power over trades and cant be moved before February 6. Free agent additionsAvery Bradley andMaurice Harkless also cant be traded until that date.

Jackson sees Miamis best offer as Herro, two players from the group ofPrecious Achiuwa, Kendrick Nunnand Duncan Robinson, along with Olynyk and Iguodala to match salaries and first-round picks in 2025 and 2027. The Heat and Thunder would have to remove protections on the first-rounder Miami owes Oklahoma City in 2023 for that deal to be possible.

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Heat would be interested in James Harden trade - Yardbarker

Mariah Careys modern classic All I Want for Christmas Is You finally hit No. 1 (after 25 years) last holiday season, surely inspiring more songwriters to try their hand at a well-worn but welcome annual tradition. Our pop and jazz critics surveyed the latest releases and picked out 20 that offer worthy additions to your seasonal playlists.

Here are three veteran jazz musicians who understand the joys of a firmly pressed swing rhythm, and how far it can take you. The pianist Jackie Warren, the bassist Amy Shook and the drummer Sherrie Maricle have released three albums as the 3D Jazz Trio (it stands for 3 Divas), which grew out of their work in Maricles DIVA Jazz Orchestra. The latest flaunts the kind of powerful locomotion that drives the DIVA big band, steaming through 10 holiday tunes Warrens buoyant improvising right hand leading the way. GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO

The singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and virtuoso whistler Andrew Bird riffles through moods and genres on his holiday album: Hes wistful, sardonic, jaunty and pensive by turns. Along with Bird himself, the songwriters include Schubert, Irving Berlin, John Prine and John Cale. Bird mingles songs of his own with idiosyncratic takes on the standards: whistling a wordless O Holy Night over pizzicato strings, toying with bossa nova and Hot Club jazz in the Vince Guaraldi Peanuts tune Christmas Is Coming, bringing Western swing to Auld Lang Syne. Birds Greenwine is a gruesomely comic rewrite of Greensleeves, while Nights Falling and Alabaster offer comfort through long winter nights. JON PARELES

Greg Kurstin, a hitmaking producer with Adele, Sia and others, has been recording breezy, slyly retro pop since 2005 with the singer and songwriter Inara George as the Bird and the Bee. Their holiday album has a multitracked George harmonizing coolly with herself on songs like Sleigh Ride and Deck the Halls, and enlists Foo Fighters Dave Grohl to supply the hefty beat on Little Drummer Boy. Kurstins productions for The Christmas Song and Christmastime Is Here collapse the decades between blurry old movie scores and digital glitches. And two of their own songs, You and I at Christmas Time and Merry Merry, celebrate domestic comforts amid playfully meandering chords. PARELES

The cozy yet polished Southern California sound of Laurel Canyon in the mid-1970s returns on the holiday album by Karla Bonoff, whos entitled to it. She got her songs recorded in the mid-1970s by Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt, among others. The guitars are burnished, Bonoffs piano offers hymnlike chords and the vocals are natural and intimate. She sings old carols, Joni Mitchells River and a song she wrote with Kenny Edwards, Everybodys Home Tonight. PARELES

Barnaby Bright is Becky and Nathan Bliss, a married couple. She sings lead, hes the producer and occasional backup singer; both write songs. Their holiday album, Bleak Midwinter, explores various production styles Beach Boys in their own Star-Crossed Christmas, chamber-pop piano and cello in their If We Listen, booming drums and arena-scale reverberations in the English carol In the Bleak Midwinter, electronic percussion with big-band horns in Please Come Home for Christmas. Becky Blisss voice can be breathy and confiding, but she also has reserves of power when production drama ramps up. PARELES

Over the last two years, Fuerza Rgida has emerged as one of the leading trap corridos bands, blending nimble musicianship and attitudinal singing. Holiday music is perhaps too plainly joyful a medium for the group, but on Navidad con la Rgida it proves game, whether its the chipper tuba on Feliz Navidad or the brassy singing on Ven a Mi Casa Esta Navidad. But the album closer is closer to home: a heart-rending cover of the unerringly mournful Cada Diciembre by Los Plebes del Rancho de Ariel Camacho, on which the frontman Jess Ortiz sounds almost dizzy with sadness. JON CARAMANICA

The keyboardist and producer Chilly Gonzales mostly offers familiar songs, from Good King Wenceslas to All I Want for Christmas Is You, as restrained instrumentals, usually piano solos. He has fun with reharmonizations, sometimes switching major keys to minor ones, as he does in Jingle Bells and Auld Lang Syne: every so often, additional instruments twinkle into the mix. The standout tracks have guest vocalists: Feist tiptoeing through a new song she wrote with Gonzales, The Banister Bough, and Jarvis Cocker and Feist sharing a fondly observant song by David Berman, Snow Is Falling in Manhattan. PARELES

Goo Goo Dolls cling to the earnestness of classic rock, but also step outside it, on their Christmas album. One of the two originals, This Is Christmas, splits the difference between Simon & Garfunkel and Billy Joel, with a waltz that praises Not the things that you buy but the love that you bring. The other, You Aint Getting Nothing, looks back to Cab Calloway, with horns, a swinging bass line and wry lyrics: You think the seasons merry but you better think twice. They also resurface Tom Pettys Christmas All Over Again and a swinging Louis Prima obscurity, Shake Hands with Santa Claus. Its a music fans album, cognizant of a long past. PARELES

Cory Henry has shake-your-head-in-disbelief-level talent, and on this self-produced EP he mixes holiday-centric originals with classic carols taken in a gospel-pop style thats recognizable if you know his work with the Funk Apostles. At an NPR holiday concert held earlier this month at the Kennedy Center in coronavirus-conscious fashion, Henry sat alone at a grand piano and played a short set including Stevie Wonders Someday at Christmas, an anthemic social justice plea, as well as two of the seven songs included on the EP. RUSSONELLO

After many years stuck in the purgatory of a bad record contract, the 29-year-old singer JoJo is making up for lost time: December Baby is her second release of 2020, following the confessional R&B of Good to Know. A mix of old classics, sleek originals, and personality-driven interstitials (does anybody carol anymore?), the modern-yet-tasteful album showcases JoJos silky voice and intuitive phrasings. Bought a last-minute plane ticket so I could see you not just through a FaceTime, she sings on Coming Home, a dreamy new song that certainly conjures the Ghost of Christmas Present. But December Baby is at its best when JoJo updates familiar songs like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Silent Night with her signature sass and pop-R&B cool. LINDSAY ZOLADZ

The pair of standout songs on this compilation from the Atlanta-based LVRN (Love Renaissance) imprint couldnt be more different. The wondrous, wise R&B melancholic Summer Walker leans into a damp, deliberate version of Santa Baby. And on 12 Days of Bhristmas, the charismatic female rapper OMB Bloodbath tackles the first half of the calendar, crashing a car and hitting the club and the mall, while Westside Boogie closes out with chaos, including a detour on day 10: Dont ask me bout the 10th day/got too drunk inside the daytime. CARAMANICA

Even the Leslie Odom Jr. albums that arent about the holidays almost feel like they are. On the heels of his breakthrough role playing Aaron Burr in Hamilton, Odom brought that Broadway ebullience into the studio in 2016 with a self-titled debut album. But it was Simply Christmas, released later that year, that sent him up the Billboard charts, establishing a niche beyond his stage persona. Two releases later, The Christmas Album mixes traditional gems (Little Drummer Boy, O Holy Night) with contemporary classics (George Michaels Last Christmas, Sara Bareilless Winter Song) and a couple of his own tunes (the jingle-jangly, synth-bass-driven Snow and the power ballad Heaven and Earth). RUSSONELLO

Yes, Dolly Parton admits on a hilariously hammy spoken-word bridge of the opening track, the idea for the title predated this album. Holly Dolly is just Partons second solo-billed holiday album, and her first since Home for Christmas, a collection of 10 traditional covers from 1990. The new LP features six of her own compositions: Christmas on the Square is a warm, rollicking bluegrass number; Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas is a characteristically randy duet with a very game Michael Bubl. Aside from Jimmy Fallon on All I Want for Christmas, the other guests make the most of their appearances: Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus; Dollys brother Randy Parton; and, most effectively, Willie Nelson, joining with Parton to sing his own stirring 1963 holiday tear-jerker, Pretty Paper. ZOLADZ

One of the years unique holiday albums, Jordin Sparkss Cider & Hennessy is full of Christmas originals that temper tradition with modern twists. The title track is up-tempo R&B about a mother letting her hair down after a long December day, and Trapmas Medley smears Maybach and Birkin dreams over rat-tat-tat percussion. But the most radical song might be the most traditional: A Baby Changes Everything, a tender track about the trials of a teen mother (who just happens to be Mary, mother of Jesus). CARAMANICA

Maddie & Tae, the spirited duo best known for Girl in a Country Song, bring their twangy, angelic harmonies to four standards and two new songs on their festive EP We Need Christmas. The originals are a mixed bag: The mawkish We Need Christmas contorts itself to be timely (any song that contains the lyric now more than ever is probably gunning a little too hard for commercial placement), but Merry Married Christmas is a genuinely sweet ode to a newlywed couples first holiday season together. The highlight is their cover of Darlene Loves Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), which slows the tempo and draws fresh emotion from a familiar tune. ZOLADZ

Can I interest you in some Wholesome Content? Savanna Shaw and her father, Mat, became a quarantine-era YouTube success story for their acoustic duets of religious-esque songs that were pinpoint precise, verging on stern. Things are moving fast this Christmas EP is their second release in the last three months, all sung in the mode of Bocelli and Groban. Their rendition of Mary, Did You Know? is poignant and elegantly spacious, almost nervy in its conviction, and I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day has an unlikely echo of Extremes More Than Words. Throughout, Savanna sings with airy sweep, and Mat booms like a drill sergeant on Thankful, father and daughter harmonize into billowy bliss. CARAMANICA

Tinashe treats familiar Christmas songs the way hip-hop producers treat samples: as springboards for commentary, moods, tangents, associations, sonic transformations. While the track list for Comfort & Joy looks familiar from God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Tinashe ricochets off the familiar material, adding verbal responses or surreally warping arrangements, using synthetic rhythms and her gravity-defying voice to change and challenge expectations. PARELES

Doesnt every Meghan Trainor song already sound like a Christmas song? So it should be no surprise that her originals here the frisky Naughty List, the swinging I Believe in Santa could have easily fit in on her other, yuletide-free albums. Mischievous misbehavior, hope beyond hope, belief in the impossible: Trainor, one of pops least self-conscious stars, focuses on them the other 364 days, too. CARAMANICA

The first holiday album from country musics reigning vocal assassin comes full of promise. Bombastic ballads, bring em on! Hardcore hymns, thou shalt be exalted! And yet My Gift is placid, light on melodrama. Restrained. Nice. Underwood duets with her son Isaiah, who is 5. And for most of the rest of the album she sings gently enough that he might be able to sing along. Bummer. CARAMANICA

In 1986, stars of Latin pop, mostly Mexican, recorded Eterna Navidad, a collection of Christmas songs in Spanish that became a hit across Latin America. Eterna Navidad Celebremos revisits its track list and adds a few including John Lennons Happy Xmas (War Is Over), translated as Lleg Navidad and sung by Manuel Carrasco, from Spain performed by a newer assortment of stars. The lineup features Juanes (with a hard-rock version of Little Drummer Boy) and the rapper Pitizion from Colombia along with Mexican performers including Alejandro Fernndez, Gloria Trevi, Kurt and Banda el Recodo. While the original album reveled in a contemporary, synthesizer-happy 1980s sound, the new one is more self-conscious and rootsy, placing accordions, acoustic guitars and brasses upfront, even in songs written in the United States or Britain, like Dulce Navidad (a version of Jingle Bells), Blanca Navidad (White Christmas), Diciembre (Wham!s Last Christmas) and Rodolfo El Reno (Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer), which gets turned into a cheerful cumbia by Los Tigres del Norte. Throughout the album, the voices scratchy, husky, chirpy, floating are vividly committed. Time will tell if, in 34 years, this album will sound as dated as Eterna Navidad does now. PARELES

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20 Albums That Put a New Spin on the Holidays - The New York Times

What's the state of the Line of Succession at the end of The Crown season 4 and how does it compare to today's line-up of British Royals?

What did the British Line of Succession look like at the end The Crown season 4 and how does it compare to the present day? The most recent batch of episodes following the ins and outs of the Windsor family covereda somewhat turbulent era in British history, one that saw the rise Thatcherism, an uptick in social unrest, and the entrance of Princess Diana. The season, which spannedthe years 1979 through 1990, also featured a handful marital unions and births which would shape the Royal Family for decades to come.

Creator Peter Morgan's dramatization of Britain's mostfamousclan has often been preoccupiedwith the business-like (and often coldly detached) distribution of power, influence, and titles. The hierarchy within the Royal Family also tends to play into the psychology of its members at least the versions ofcreated for the show. In The Crown season 3, after Charles wonders why he,as heir to the throne, is treated so much more harshly than his sister, Anne replies bluntly, "Because I'm irrelevant. I rather wish she would be like that with me. It would suggest I have significance." Princess Margaret's journey throughout the quartet of seasons has largely revolved around this concept, as well, as she falls further down in the Line of Succession and more responsibilities are stripped from her. In season 4, episode 7: "Hereditary Principle,"she learns that young Prince Edward will take her place as one of the six Counsellors of State, Margaret angrily confronts her sister, shouting, "I asked you for one thing. Work! A purpose, dignity!"

Related:The Crown Season 4: What Every Character Looked Like In Real Life

In the context of the show, the Line of Succession is shownas a potent force able toinfluence the lives and emotional states of its characters and Morgan appears to be investigating the very system itself; a system which often teeters between practicality and cruelty. Here's the royal pecking-orderwhen viewers left the Windsors at the end ofThe Crown season 4and a look at where they are ranked today.

Of course, as The Crown is more-or-less conceived as a deep-dive into Queen Elizabeth's historic reign, and the monarch, played by Olivia Coleman (who wrapped her two-season run on the show), is still on the throne. However, it is easy to forget that her rise to sovereign was an atypical one, relatively speaking.Queen Elizabeth II's storyis a somewhat unusual in that she is able to remember a time in which, as a young girl, she was unlikely to rise to the throne - adetail explored ina handful of The Crown's flashbacks. After all, her father King George VI only came to the throne after his brother King Edward VIII controversially abdicated it, irrevocably changing young Elizabeth'slife as well as the nation's future. Still on the throne after a whopping 63 years, Queen Elizabeth's reign hasthe distinction of being the longest in her nation's history.

Prince Charles' status as heir apparent is rather straight-forward. As the queen's first born child and son, the Prince of Wales is next in line to assume the throne. Because of his mother's historically-long tenure as ruler, he has had, correspondingly, the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. The Crown season 4features many discussions of what kind of king Charles will be and how impactful his decisions will be on his eventual rule, so it is therefore ironic that he is yet to become monarch in the present day.

The entrance of Princess Diana marked much of this season's action and intrigue, unsurprising due to the royal-turned-humanitarian's sensational popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. However, her arrival also played into the updating of the Line of Succession and this last batch of episodes sees her giving birth to Charles' two sons Prince William and Prince Harry.Prince William has been second in line to the throne since his birth and his younger brother Harry is third by the time season 4 concludes.

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The Crown's Line Of Succession After Season 4 (Compared To Today) - Screen Rant

The Las Vegas Raiders are the most confounding team in the NFL. If you dont believe me, just look at whats transpired over the past three weeks.

On November 22, Jon Grudens team pushed the defending champion Chiefs to the brink, nearly knocking off Kansas City for the second time this season before ultimately succumbing to more late-game heroics from Patrick Mahomes. Fans and analysts alike wondered aloud if these Raiders now in their third season under Gruden had finally arrived. That if somehow this 6-4 team and its potent, top-10 offense could emerge from a muddled group of AFC contenders and mount the best challenge to Mahomes and friends come playoff time. In the moment, it felt like a reasonable question. Then the next two weeks happened.

Las Vegas followed its strong showing against Kansas City with a grotesque performance against the Falcons in Week 12. Derek Carr turned the ball over four times against a resurgent Atlanta...

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The Raiders are the NFL's most confusing team - The Athletic